Hollow Mask

It was night. Sunset Shimmer leaned against the statue infront of the CHS. She let out a short sigh. Things have been looking up for her. Her friends here at Canterlot High have been caring about her and she had learned many new things. Part of her was happy Twilight had left her behind, so she could discover the magic of friendship away from Equestria. Another part missed her home. Her real home. She let out another sigh.

The portal behind her suddenly lit up in a bright flash. Sunset jumped and took a few steps back. It wasn't supposed to open for over a year. She watched as a cyan-colored girl appeared in the portal frame. As she kneeled down, holding up on one hand and panting, her brown hair flowed over her. She wore a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, brown pants and a pair of sturdy looking black boots. On her back was a double-handed broadsword in it's sheath, which was strapped on her using three belts. The sword looked amazingly normal to Sunset, like the girl had took it out of a history museum.

The girl stood up, inspecting her hands and feets. Sunset noticed that she wasn't behaving like a pony finding herself in a human body. She wasn't trying out the new limbs, she was inspecting them. She moved all her fingers shortly, then continued to inspect her body, making sure everything was in place. Lastly she touched her ears, grinning slightly at the feel.

Sunset was still too baffled to speak when the girl noticed her. When she looked at her, she winced as if something had hit her on the head. "I need your clothes, your boots and your bicycle," she said with a wide smile. She had a raspy voice, reminding her of a mix of Rainbow and Pinkie Pie, that seemed out of place in the empty park in front of the school.

"Errr... who are you?" asked Sunset.

The girl came closer to her. She was a little smaller than Sunset. "Name's Hunter. Don't worry, Sunset, I won't take your stuff, was just a joke. I'm here because you have a problem," she claimed.

"Problem?" wondered Sunset.

"Does it look like I know? All I know, it will happen next month, that's all," Hunter answered. She looked around, "You have any place where I can stay, while I'm here?"

The former unicorn silently nodded. She was still a little confused by the girl, "What's that sword for? Who sent you?"

Hunter smiled again, "Did you think I come without any weapons to deal with the problem? Also it does this!" She pulled the sword from her back and in the same second she and her clothes transformed.

She now had wings and tail on her back and her ears transformed into those of a pony, additionally she now wore a light set of leathery armor. It looked heavy enough to deflect a swordstrike or maybe even a stray bullet. She swung the sword at unimaginable speeds, so fast that it transformed into a dull-grey blur. The sword was back in it's sheave before Sunset even fully processed the new clothing. As soon as her hand let the sword go, she returned to her normal attire and the pony-features vanished.

"I was sent by Twilight and another 'friend'. You could say, this is just a temporary assignment. I'm here to deal with something that will appear the next month. I can't say what it is but I can already feel it breaching through. Can't say where it is going to land, though. Feels weird without magic," Hunter explained, "Now, should we move on? It's rather cold and your place will certainly be warmer."

Sunset forgot the circumstances and laughed, "You haven't seen my apartment yet." She forgot her worries and let the strange girl follow her home.

Sunset walked down the street towards her apartment falling behind Hunter. She had observed the strange girl from the portal the whole way. Hunter was quite adept at walking on two feets and using her hands. She refused to take off her sword, even though it earned her a few curious glances from the few people walking the streets. Sunset cleared her throat, "I wondered, how are you this good at walking? It took me days to learn it properly."

Hunter smirked and looked back over her shoulders, "I had almost 20 years to learn it."

Sunset raised an eyebrow, "You mean you were a human before, got turned pony and now you are back?" She walked faster to catch up to her.

The cyan-colored girl laughed, "Not really. I'm not from here, but I was human." For a moment Sunset spotted a sad look on her face, but it was gone before she was sure.

As they walked past a dark alley the girl suddenly stopped and Sunset almost crashed into her. Hunter reached over her shoulder and touched the sword. This time only her pony ears appeared, the rest stayed hidden. The ears swiveled towards the alley and twitched, as if to catch a hidden sound. "Did you hear that?" she inquired.

Sunset looked in the alley but besides the feeling that she was being watched, there was nothing in it except a lonely and empty DeLorean blocking the alley further down. "No," she answered after a short pause. Hunter let go of the sword and hummed disapprovingly. She pierced the darkness with her eyes for a few more seconds before she looked back at Sunset.

"Must have been nothing. I believe you should lead the rest of the way," she determined.

Sunset shrugged and moved on towards the shady building that contained her apartment. If she were lucky today the heating would even be on. She didn't have a lot of money. Before Twilight had paid her visit Sunset had lived of money she had gouged out of others and what she could otherwise steal or acquire. Now she had to work on Sugarcube Corner and do various other jobs around town. The only thing that had been consistent after the Fall Formal incident was her apartment. It wasn't pretty but you could live in it. Sunset sighed.

Sunset unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped in. Hunter was right behind her. The hallway was only a few meters long and ended in a living-room-kitchen mixture. A small TV sat infront of a small couch. It was a small, warm and friendly little apartment, although it could use a bit of cleaning. Sunset dropped the keys on the kitchen table and watched as Hunter approached the little TV. It was a older CRT, parts of the plastic hull missing and replacement parts sticking out. It was cheap and it worked so Sunset didn't complain.

"Haven't seen a TV this old for a while," commented Hunter the outdated piece of technology. She crouched down and inspected the back, where most of the repairs hat taken place.

Sunset became angry at her guest, "It's not like I can go out and buy the newest technology anytime I want." The cyan girl looked over her shoulder to her in the kitchen.

"I like old stuff. It's sturdy," she determined, "and you can always make your own replacement parts." She stood up again and walked over to Sunset in the kitchen. She inspected the fridge and the various small compartments before she spoke again, "Should I try to make some food?"

Sunset considered the offer, "You know, I don't have much in form of edible food. If you want modly old bananas I cen help out though."

Hunter laughed out loud, "Let me inspect the fridge and your can reserves first. I'm quite good at cooking with leftovers." She walked over to the fridge and inspected its contents. She smiled and pulled out three eggs and a bottle of cooking oil and put them on the counter. The cyan girl searched through the small compartments until she found two cans of beans and some white toast. She smiled and put her treasures besides the eggs.

"Where are you frying pans?" she asked Sunset. She had watched Hunter assembling her supplies and wondered what she could make of it. "Below the stove," she answered. She didn't have a oven yet and relied on her microwave oven for such jobs.

Hunter pulled out on of the bigger pans and poured water in it. She switched the stove on and waited until the water was boiling. She put the toast in it and shoved it until it became a mush. She cracked the eggs and added them to the mix. At this time Sunset noticed the smell. It wasn't a pleasant one but made her hungry at the same time. Hunter used a spoon to move the yellowish-whitish mush in the pan. After a few minutes she looked satisfied and poured the beans in.

Sunset watched as the contents of the pan, that still smelled weird, assembled into a brown-white mush. It had about the consistency of old yoghurt. Hunter pulled out two soup plates and splitted the contents of the pan between the two. She took another spoon and gave it to Sunset. "Don't worry. It smells bad and it is certainly not a five-star-menu but it does its job. Add pepper if you want."

She proceeded to consume whatever she just made. Sunset hesitated shortly before she took a carefull bite or sip or whatever fit to this mess. To her surprise it tasted alright, almost like a taco, only a bit more... mushy. Certainly pepper was missing. She stood up and got it. After pouring a good amount into it she gave it to Hunter who did the same.

It tasted a lot better. After they finished their 'meal' they both sat down on the couch and Sunset switched on the TV. Both girls let out a satisfied sigh. "I always forget how substantial it is. You shouldn't eat anymore today if you want to live till tomorrow or want to get out of bed in the morning. Trust me," Hunter warned.

"I didn't plan on eating anything the next week," smirked Sunset, "On the other hand, I couldn't imagine eating this more than once a month, especially the smells."

"Yeah, you can make it yourself but be carefull. This will turn into puke-smell faster than you believe if you do it wrong," the cyan girl explained, "And if you eat it more than once every two weeks it tastes like shit. But it contains everything you need: bread, water, beans and pepper."

Sunset snickered and then yawned. This girl was certainly used to live of the remains in the fridge. She was sleeping before any more thoughts could form in her head.

Sunset awoke to the sizzling and smell of eggs in a frying pan. For a moment her mind hung onto the idea that she was back in Canterlot. That the whole human world had been just dream and she could now return to her old life.

But why was she in the kitchen? She was disappointed when she felt her fingers and toes. Just a pleasant thought. A new question rose in Sunset's mind. If she was in the human world in her apartment, who was cooking?

Adrenaline rushed through her and she shot up from her bed. She jumped off and wobbled a bit. She felt full and sluggish somehow. Carefully she moved into the kitchen to avoid greeting this new day by vomiting whatever she had eaten yesterday in the toilet or the sink.

In the kitchen stood Hunter. The cyan girl was frying two eggs in the pan. She had apparently heard the former unicorn enter the room as she turned around and smiled slightly at her.

"To greet you with the friendliest words of my people... moin!" she said and returned to finish the eggs.

Sunset's mind reeled in idle-mode for the better part of a minute, in which Hunter finished the eggs and offered them to her. Sunset didn't respond in any way so the cyan girl just put the plate on the counter in front of her and began eating herself. The jaw of the former unicorn eventually found it's way to it's correct position and she closed her mouth. She then shrugged, sat down herself and joined the strange girl in with her meal.

Hunter was the first to break the silence, "You have any plans for today? I might explore the city a bit and wouldn't say no to a bit of sight seeing."

"I planned to meet up with the girls on Sugarcube Corner. They wanted to start a band or something. I think they won't mind you sticking around."

Hunter nodded and took the now empty dishes to the sink. After they had finished washing the dishes Sunset went of in the bathroom. Not long after that Hunter heard the sound of the shower emitting through the door.

She walked over to the couch and grabbed the remote. Before she could switch on the TV someone knocked on the door. Hesistant she stood up and walked over to the door.

Without looking through the peephole she stopped before the door. "Pinkie, I know you are on the other side," she yelled through the door.

After a few seconds of silence the bubbly voice of Pinkie Pie came through it, "Hi, I wanted to talk with Sunset."

Hunter sighed and opened the door. She pierced Pinkie with her eyes but stepped aside to let her in. For a few seconds she had the impression that Pinkie's whole outfit had changed to something that would be considered too sad for a funeral and her hair was completely flat. The impression vanished and she shrugged it off as some part of her 'weird-sense'. "Sunset's in the shower but she might finish in a few minutes," she explained to the pink party planer.

"Hey,youarenewherearen'tyou?Areyougonestay?Areyou?IfyesIhavetothrowyoua..." Pinkie bubbled before Hunter stopped her with her hand.

"Yes, I will stay about a month. No, I don't want a party. And No, I don't want to be your friend," she sighed.

Pinkie looked sad for a second before she returned to her happy bubbly nature, "Nobody wants no friend. If you want I can be yours." She completed the sentence with a sound that reminded Hunter of a little rubber duck.

"No," deadpanned Hunter back, "You are just to weird. Nothing personal but you know..."

Her hair deflated a bit, "Yeah, I know but it won't stop me from trying."

Hunter sighed and resisted to plant her hand in her face. 'This will be a looong day,' she thought.

"Lyra, I will say it only once more. It's dinner time. Switch off that damn radio," yelled Bon Bon. She stood in the large doorframe, her arms crossed on her chest.

"Five more minutes. I swear. I just don't want to miss it," the mint-colored girl in question answered. She sat in front of a amateur-radio receiver. She had been sitting in front of it since lunch. She returned to her radio 'duty' and shut out the world. Lyra barely registered her roommate muttering something in her general direction as she left.

The transmission she heard in her headphones was simple. Numbers. Last month she had gotten her radio license and immediately started searching for hidden transmission of the government. Instead she found a single station transmitting numbers. Never stopping. Always at the same strength. She received at precisely 42 Mhz with a strength of 42 mW. No matter where she was. First she had believed it was an government station but who would sent nonsense? That was until 7 days ago, when she had found a pattern. It had repeated a few times now. Each time her amplifier exploded after receiving 30 digits. She had tried everything to prevent it but it was like it was cursed with magic or something.

She listened as it happened again; "Three - Sero - Five - Eight - Sero - Four - Sero - Eight -  One - Five - One - Six - Two - Three - Four - Two - Sero - Four - Sero - Five - One - Two - One - Five - One - Eight - Sero - Five - Sero - One - One - Four - Two - Seven -"

She stopped listening when her amplifier exploded again. The parts where undamaged like always and it would work again in a few minutes. She looked down on her notes: "04|05|12|15|18|05|01|14|27" The first twelve numbers where always the same and she had stopped writing them down. The last ones changed. She was still decoding it but sure that they were paired in twos. What the numbers meant was beyond her, for now. She switched off her radio equipment and the lights, leaving the room in darkness, there would be no other transmission for atleast a day. If only the transmission times would be more predictable.

The dim light on the hallway crept through the open door in the room. It illuminated Lyra's notepad and the numbers she had written on it.

18|05|16|15|18|20|00|19|09

16|15|14|25|22|09|12|12|05

02|18|05|01|03|08|00|04|05

01|06|06|09|18|13|09|20|09

08|21|14|20|05|18|27|17|06

04|05|06|05|01|20|05|04|00

15|18|09|07|09|14|27|26|01

19|08|09|14|09|14|07|27|17

14|05|23|00|04|05|19|09|07

01|12|20|05|18|14|01|20|05

04|05|12|15|18|05|01|14|27