Awakening and Remembering
DayZ of Our Lives.
By Flash Frame
Chapter 1: Awakening and Remembering.
The first thing that Sunset Shimmer noticed, was blackness... at least it was the natural kind, unlike a year prior when she'd gotten her ass handed to her by one Twilight Sparkle with the Elements of Harmony. Waking up in that crater moments later had been quite the experience she didn't want to relive.
The second thing she noticed, was the sound of waves crashing apon the shore. “The ocean? But...Canterlot is a good ways away from the...” Her thoughts stopped as she cracked open her eyes, only to be met with sensory overload from the brightness. Slamming her eyelids back shut she groaned, and rolled over onto her chest... which made it quite obvious that she wasn't in her pony form. “Well at least I know I'm still on human earth.” she slowly got her arms and legs under her and pushed herself up, slowly cracking her eyes open to try to lessen the impact of the light on her poor eyes.
Thankfully, the sand on the shore was soft, though not entirely pleasant against her bared legs. Standing up, she saw a good 30 or so feet ahead, a few shacks and homes and what looked like tool sheds. Further out she noticed the farming community. “Ok, where in Tartarus am I?” she asked herself as she brushed the sand from her legs, then grumbled. Her orange skirt was pretty much in rags, as was her purple tank top with her cutie mark. The only thing that seemed to be hanging on to her body without want to fall off, were her undergarments. She seemed no worse for wear otherwise as she checked herself for injury. Though her Boots were pretty much unsalvageable.
“H...hello?!” She called towards the little community ahead. “Is… IS THERE ANYONE THERE?!” her voice sounded fairly parched. And she could feel the pangs of hunger setting in. Making her wonder just how long she'd been out, and how she'd ended up on a beach. She ran a hand through her fiery locks as the other stayed crossed over her chest, trying to give herself some bit of modesty. And hide the lacy black underwear she had chosen.
No answer came to her calls. For all intents, it seemed as if the small settlement, smaller even than ponyville, was deserted. Walking slowly in her busted boots, she took a breath. “Ok Sunset, no need to panic, you wake up, in a strange place, not the first time.” she reminded herself. She'd gotten up to a few adventures in Equestria, and had, more than once, ended up out on her own, having to make her way back to Canterlot with naught but her magic and wits... “And now, you don't even have a single Cantrip do you?” She reminded herself and grimaced at the thought. At least she still had her wits.
She came to the first house, an old run down green and yellow number. The windows mostly busted out, she peeked inside, “Hello?” She called... only to get no reply. Deciding the town was likely a ghost town, she took a quick look around, before ducking into the small shack. It had a couple of rooms, a stove which seemed to have seen better days, a table and chairs, but that wasn't her interest, her first focus, was some replacement clothes. Turning into what she figured was the bedroom area, she was rewarded when rifling through the drawers with a pair of jeans in her size, a belt, and a green shirt. As well as a pair of old tennis shoes that she'd have to settle for, thankfully everything seemed to be in her size. “Lucky me.” she said, stripping the offending old clothing from her body, she gazed for a moment at the symbol that adorned her Tanktop... her cutie mark... not wanting to part with it, she stuffed the shirt into the back of the jeans, just to keep close for the moment before making her way to the kitchen.
The Kitchen held a treasure or two of its own. A Kitchen knife, worn, but still sharp, was on the counter, and a can of tuna, which if her memory of the date was correct, was still good. She broke into the can, using the flat of the knife as an eating utensil. Once finished with the can of tuna, and feeling a bit better. She took a moment to sit back and relax, trying to remember what had happened to leave her stranded on a beach with no one around.
-2 Days Prior-
Laughter could be heard on the pier, as various teens milled around. A rather luxurious boat, the S.S. Faust, was anchored in, with a banner across the Stern “Congratulations 2015 CHS Graduates!” it proclaimed.
“WOWIE YOWIE! This cruse was the BEST IDEA EVER!!!” The pink hair of Pinkie Pie bounced just as much as she did, as she threw a hug around Sunset and Rarity, who'd been discussing a replacement for Sunset's old leather jacket, which had seen a rather sad end when she'd been helping out Snips and Snails with a science project.
“It was a pretty good idea Pinkie, I'm glad Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were in agreement.” The flame haired ex-unicorn beamed to her friend as Rarity smiled, resting a hand demurely on Sunset's arm.
“Oh I absolutely agree Darling. A seven day cruse in the Bahamas, all expenses paid for the graduating class... I'm quite impressed really.” Even the purple haired fashionista couldn't hide her excitement for the trip. Though she did fall in to Applejack's side once the blond teen arrived, slipping a pale arm around one of Applejack's as the farm girl smiled brightly.
“Ah reckon ah'm just as excited as the lot of ya.” AJ admitted. “Though, ah ain't too happy about being out on the water that long, ain't ever been offshore ya know.”
Rainbow Dash had seen her friends gathering and decided to join them. “Aw… lighten up AJ, it's not like you don't have tons of friends around who can't help if something goes wrong, besides I'm a pretty good swimmer too you know, not just good at Soccer and Football y'know.” She said, pointing a thumb at herself with a cocky grin on her face.
The quite voice of the chiffon haired Fluttershy could be heard, even above all the other noise. “After the past two years... I'm not even worried about this trip, it'll be wonderful to have a week just relaxing. And I'm really looking forward to seeing all the sea life in an undersea dive Principal Celestia said she had lined up for our third day!” the small sound of a squee escaped the other as Pinkie Pie glomped her.
“Oh I know right!” The girls set in to chatting between one another. Sunset smiling brightly. They'd made it, they had made it through High School, without any real issues beyond the Sirens. Even Sonata Dusk was here, having chosen to continue her education at CHS. Sunset shot a wave to the blue haired girl, who waved back, but was distracted by the blond haired teen Ditzy Doo. And started chatting breezily with her.
Principal Celestia coughed through the Megaphone “Ahem, Attention Canterlot High School's Graduating Class of 2015, it's my absolute pleasure to say that this class, has been the most eventful in the history of CHS. And without further adue, let's get this cruse going!” With a cheer, the teens began to file onto the boat. Sunset and her five friends arm in arm as they went onto the boat. Not at all thinking that anything would go wrong...
-Present-
Sunset started as she sat up. Glancing out the windows, a couple of hours had passed and she realised she'd fallen asleep. Slowly gathered her bearings, and looked around. She felt rested and ready to try to find some other survivors. Remembering how she'd ended up on the trip, had her very concerned now. “Guys...I really hope you all made it to the shore...” She took a slow, deep breath, trying to keep her emotions in check. Her friends were missing, or she was missing from them, she wasn't sure. Her memory hadn't entirely returned yet, and she wasn't sure what had happened to everypon...everybody else. But she knew that she had to keep moving, she had to find a larger town, a population center, something, some way to make contact and let people know she was still alive.
Slipping from the chair, she grabbed the knife and slid it against her hip between the belt and jeans. Ensured the blade wouldn't cut her, she began moving. Out the door and towards the small set of what looked like barns not far from her. She noticed the sun's angle, and caculated for a moment. It was either morning, or afternoon now, she couldn't be sure, so she was either heading south, or north. “Alright just keep an eye on the shadows...” she reminded herself, making a note of which way the shadows were pointing. If they got shorter, she'd know it was morning....longer afternoon, from then she could navigate, since the sun set in the west, and rose in the east. If it was setting, then she'd be traveling north.
It didn't take her long to notice how...beat up everything looked. Abandoned buildings abound, she settled into her stride, keeping her eyes searching. There was practically no sign of anyone around. Then, she saw it, a shuffle of movement. “Oh..oh hey!” she called. It only took her a moment to wish she'd just stayed quiet.
The being turned, and while it looked human, Sunset had seen enough horror films to know that this, wasn't human. Red bloodstains around the mouth, clothes tattered, eyes crazed and dead looking at the same time. The woman, if it could be called that anymore, with long redish-brown hair, wearing a skirt and blouse, practically roared at Sunset, before barreling down the street towards her!
“Oh FUCK!” she drew the knife, holding it out in front of her. She was not much of a physical fighter, but whatever this was, it wanted her dead. Her fight or flight reflex tuned firmly to “flight” she ran, hard, beating dirt towards the nearest barn. Slipping inside, she rounded the corner, and waited. It only took a second for the creature to turn the corner, and Sunset lunged. “FUCK YOU!!” she burred the blade of the knife into its shoulder, and it turned, swatting her hard... knocking her back and away from it and seemingly ignoring the knife, still buried into its shoulder. With a thud, Sunset landed hard on her back. “Ohhh...yeah ok, not the best idea.” but the creature was right on top of her. She looked around franticly there had to be... YES! An Axe, old and warn, it would still be better than the knife. Rolling to the right, she dodged the things clumsy lunge for her, and grabbed the shaft of the axe, before getting up and taking as mighty a swing as she could, burring the blade of the axe with a heavy thud into the skull of the creature that had attacked her.
It felt, with a dull thump, twitching slightly on the ground before going still. Stumbling back, Sunset was shivering, she slumped against the wall of the barn. “C..celesta...forgive me... I just I... it was trying to kill me and...” she looked down at her shaking hands. She'd just killed someone, or something, with her own two hands. Never had she done that, never had she CONSIDERED doing that, at least not while in her right mind. Her mind flashed to the fall formal, standing with eldritch energy crackling around her, a ball of it flying towards Twilight Sparkle and her friends. “NOO!” she slammed her fist against the wall, the pain of the impact bringing her out of her worries, and back into the now... she winced a bit. “Ok, ok it was trying to kill me. It was self defense.” She stood back up, and grabbed the axe... wrenching it free with a sick 'schlick' sound as she pulled it from the woman's' head. She then rolled the woman over face up for a closer look.
It was clearly human, but it wasn't bleeding, at least not heavily. “Could this be a-” her thoughts were interrupted then when she heard something, something that spooked her even more than the creature... It sounded to be a ways off, but... it sounded like, the crack of a gunshot! And judging by the shadows around her... it was to the west.
Author's Note
I've sat on this for a little while, deciding if I really wanted to put myself back out in the fanfiction world or not.
Figured why not. so here we go. Chapter one of who knows how many... if you guys like it, there will be more. Just be sure to let me know in the comments. And, thanks for at least giving it a read.
Also, if you're curious where she woke up. she's on the southern shore, near Prigorodki. One of my personal, favorite areas.
Chapter 2: Survival and Revelation
To the west, Sunset Shimmer could see the rise of skyscrapers, a larger city, probably around, a Kilometer away, maybe a bit less. Running a hand through her fiery red and yellow hair, she stood, axe head resting on the ground as she leaned on the handle. She'd come away with only minor scratches from the encounter with the... woman, she'd fought moments ago.
Teal eyes strayed to the corpse, now noticing the stench coming off of it. “That...that's not fresh.” Sunset's jaw clenched as she thought of the implications that held. Before yet another gunshot was heard. As well as what sounded like return fire. “Okay, so there's some fighting going on that way, and I am NOT walking into a gunfight with just an axe.” She mumbled to herself as she looked around. There were several small buildings around. Many of which looked to be housing for whoever would have worked the small patch of farmland here.
Her path set, she turned east, following the road, her eyes landing on the couple of large, barn-like structures, to which she made a b-line for. “Maybe I can find something else to help me out...” She mused, holding the axe close as she moved, trying to stay quiet, but quick. Thankfully the shoes she'd picked up to replace her ravaged boots were holding up.
The light inside the barn was muted, lit only by light filtering in through the windows. Sunset had to squint to see inside. She walked slowly, feet thudding on the wooden planks that lined the floor. Inside was a two story barn. On the bottom level a rather hefty pile of hay, and a few boxes strewn around. Closing the door behind her she worked her way inside, her eyes landing on a can of...something. Darting forward, she picked up the can, looking carefully at it. The text was in Russian, but looking at the front, it seemed to be some form of canned, precooked pasta. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her just how hungry she was as she looked it over. “Well, let's see if I can find a better way to open you first.” tucking the can into a pocket in her jeans, she rummaged around the barn, finding a flat-head screwdriver. She moved on to the next level, when her eyes landed on something that nearly made her drop the screwdriver in shock. Sitting on a box, was an old...worn Kar 98 rifle. The old, bolt action gun sat simply, abandoned in whatever hell had hit this land.
“Wow...” Sunset's eyes traced over the weapon, sitting the axe and screwdriver down, she picked it up reverently...
~4 years prior~
Flash Sentry smirked, Sunset's eyes rolling. “I really don't see what the big deal is with this.” she huffed.
Flash chuckled. “Trust me Sunset, you'll get addicted to shooting, there's just something about being able to track and hit a small target at range that just feels...good.”
The former unicorn huffed as he sat the .22 in front of her, he'd already shown her the basic workings of the weapon, and it was sitting on the range table, ready to be fired.
Sunset picked it up like she'd been shown, aimed down the sights and pulled the trigger. The resounding crack of the round going off spooked her at first, but then, she looked. A bit south of the bulls eye, but she'd hit the target. She pulled the bolt as she'd been shown, then chambered another round... adjusting she put another round down range... Flash just stood, mouth agape, as his girlfriend proceeded to empty the next four shots dead center of the target, causing the fire headed teen to grin ear to ear. “So...got anything bigger?”
~Current Day~
Sunset stroked her fingers over the weapon, before taking it up and pulling back the bolt to inspect the chamber. The weapon was clean, ish... “A bit of carbon buildup, but nothing bad, not quite freshly oiled, but functional...no ammo, damn.” she bit her lower lip, thinking as she moved on auto pilot, her eyes searching around for any ammo boxes that might be laying around. Instead they landed on a small bit of rope, she snagged that, tying it around the rifle into a makeshift sling. “I'll take you with me, never know when it might come in handy, hell might find the ammo I need soon enough.”
Taking the axe and screwdriver back up, she used the tool to open up the can of pasta, and started digging in, her hunger driving her to eat a bit faster than she'd planned, quickly finishing off the pasta and sauce, tossing the can aside she slumped against the wall on the second floor, a 3rd floor above her caused her to look up the stairway, a small, round hole let in some sunlight.
Climbing the steps she peeked out the hole, it pointed east, giving her a good idea of what she was heading to. Along the way, she could see shambling forms out in the distance, just milling around. Nodding to herself as she pulled away from the opening, and settled back against the wall. She needed rest. She'd been through quite a bit in the past day, being attacked, waking up on the shore... who knew what before. She leaned her head back against the wall of the barn, sighing as she closed her eyes. “I hope the other's are ok...” she mumbled, before slowly, she sunk into a fitful sleep.
~4 days Prior~
The S.S. Faust rode the light waves without much of a problem... Inside, the graduating class of Canterlot Highschool, 2015 were having a blast. Vinyl Scratch was up on stage, spinning the latest tunes from Neon Lights, and adding her own mix in. The beat was heavy, and the lights strobe in time with the heavy beat. The bass practically vibrating the windows as the graduates danced.
Sunset moved with the music, flowing with it as her friends danced close by. Pinkie rocking out like she was at the last rave on earth, Dash was acting cool, though even she could be seen bobbing her head. Fluttershy was even smiling and bobbing her head lightly to the music, keeping close by Rarity who was dancing with Applejack, seemingly off in their own little world, the Fashionista and Farm girl enjoying the beat and the freedom of Graduation.
Pinkie moved closer to Sunset, who smiled over to the pink haired teen. “Yo Pinkie!” The party girl giggled, never stopping her hyperactive movements to the beat. “SUNNY!” she did stop now, long enough to glomp the fire headed teen with a hug, pulling her into the crazy dance, which Sunset just laughed and fell into, her friend's excitement contagious.
Along the far wall, soft blue eyes gazed across the dance floor, landing on the pink haired girl and the fiery locks of Sunset Shimmer. Brushing back the long white hair adorning his head, Frosty Silverwind stayed tucked into a corner, while the soft blueish-gray locks of his twin sister came into view. Glacial Breeze noticed her brother's gaze and chuckled, shaking her head softly at the rather feminine looking male. “You know, you could always go talk to her bro.” the two looked almost identical, save for hair color. Both very feminine in appearance. Something that the male took pride in.
“She's busy, it's fine.” he shuffled his feet, looking down behind his bangs. As his sister sighed. “You're hopeless sometimes Frosty.” she gave her brother a warm hug. “Seriously, just talk to her.”
His eyes fell on Sunset's form yet again, and he shook his head again, hugging his sister back. “It's fine, real...OOF!”
The entire room rocked, knocking the teen's sprawling as the ship hit a large wave. The deck almost sideways as the captain of the ship worked double time to try to keep the ship afloat. A sudden squall had blown in, undetected by weather stations, the freak weather was creating large waves, while not uncommon in the area, such sudden appearances of such freak weather was so uncommon it was almost considered myth.
Sunset gasped as she was thrown from her feet, reaching out she pulled Pinkie Pie in closer to her, trying to protect the hyper teen as they slammed hard into a table, the rim of the table biting into Sunset's back hard, causing her to wince in agony, letting out a scream of pain. Applejack had latched onto the nearest table with her legs, holding on to Rarity and Fluttershy for dear life, her signature hat having flown off in the sudden violent upturning of the ship.
Rainbow Dash had slammed hard into one of the walls, she'd hit head first, and was trying to get up, though she was stumbling heavily, blood coating one side of her face as she looked around. Her eyes falling on Ditzy Doo, who was hanging on to Sonata Dusk like her life depended on it. The former siren's eyes were closed, tears streaming down her face as she was curled into a ball clinging back to Ditzy for all she was worth.
Dash moved to try to help the other teens, before falling yet again as the ship rocked hard the opposite direction, slamming the rainbow haired teen into the deck hard. She groaned but kept moving as everyone's position changed.
Sunset rolled with Pinkie, who's hair had practically deflated to flat in seeing Dash hurt like that. Working with her friend, they pulled their way to Dash, Ditzy and Sonata.
“This is crazy, the fuck is going on?!” Dash groaned as she ensured the other's were ok, despite her own injury's. Sunset was trying to end to Dash while she was at it. Grabbing a table cloth and ripping it up, trying to clean away some of Dash's blood.
“I don't know Dash!” the unicorn was panicked, but she had to act, she scrambled over to Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack. “Are you three ok?” She asked hurriedly.
Rarity had her mascara running as she tried to stay strong in the face of an overwhelming fear. AJ held her, nodding. “We're alright, so far as physically ah think.” Fluttershy nodded, though her eyes were wide with fear as she clung to the other two. Sunset nodded hurriedly. As she moved to check on others with Dash, who was putting her own minor first aid skills to work.
Sunset made her way to the Twins. Glacial groaned as she held her arm, it was bent at an unnatural angle... but she clung with her free arm to Frosty, who just looked scared. “You two ok...” Sunset's eyes fell on Glacial's arm and she winced. “We're going to have to set that and get it splinted... Glacial right? And Frosty?” The two nodded. “Look, I'm going to try to find a first aid kit, Frosty, make sure your sister doesn't move much ok...” The femme male nodded and hugged his sister gently, who groaned as her arm was moved slightly.
Sunset moved again, this time towards the DJ station. Other teens were trying to get to their feet, Octavia was already behind the DJ booth, tending to Vinyl Scratch, who had lost her signature shades in the process, maroon eyes wide in fear despite trying to stay cool. “Yo, Sunny...ow, ok hurts to talk.” The teen groaned as Octavia tended to her. “I think she's got some broken ribs, she slammed pretty hard into the equipment when the first wave hit.” The classical music player looked up to Sunset worriedly for her friend. “We need medical attention in here.”
Sunset gave a nod. “Yeah, I know, I'm gonna try to get us ...” Her reply was cut off as another wave hit, rocking the ship yet again, the screams of the students was the last thing she heard, and what she thought was Pinkie Pie, and Frosty yelling her name, before the speaker system fell on her...
~Current~
Sunset awoke with a start, her axe at the ready as she looked around quickly. Was that what had happened? It would explain her torn up clothes and all... she couldn't rightly remember exactly... though she looked around at the gentle light that entered the barn through the round window to her left. She sighed, running a hand through her hair as she groaned, sliding to her feet as she worked her way carefully out of the barn. She'd seen a well nearby, and she needed some water. Her mouth was dry, and felt like sandpaper.
She grumbled. 'I hate this feeling.' slipping outside as quietly as possible, only the slight creak of the barn door announcing her leaving the structure, Sunset Shimmer made her way towards where she recalled seeing the spout for a water well.
The old pump glistened with slight wetness in the moonlight. Thankfully the moon was nice and large in the sky, giving Sunset ample light to see by. What unnerved the 30 year old mare turned teen, was that the sounds of nature seemed... dead. There were no crickets, there were no howls of wolves or anything else, just, silence, and the occasional echoing groan of one of those creatures out in the fields.
Her eyes fell on the spout, and she pumped the water, which flowed freely, leaning in, she drank straight from it, getting her fill before nodding. Standing up, she had to find something... That's when she looked up, just in time to see the flash of steel, and feel the thud of something hard against her head... the blossom of pain, then sweet, sweet darkness of unconsciousness met her.
Standing above her, Adagio Dazzle panted... her normally bouncy hair hung limply, as she turned Sunset over with the Crowbar, eying the unconscious teen. “Fuck you Shimmer, you ruined my life, then...this.” she motioned around her and spat to the side, snagging the gun... seeing it was empty she took it anyway. “Bitch, you'll get yours.” she kicked her hard in the ribs, before backing off, leaving the ex mage laying there, blood pooling in her fire colored locks... as Adagio stole into the night with the pilfered weapon and her crowbar.
Author's Note
Hey guys, sorry this took so long to get out. Looking back over the past month.. I really should have worked on this more, but due to job issues, and lots of stress, it just didn't happen.
I'm relieved to finally have Chapter 2 available for you all though. And while it's not perfect, I wanted to introduce a few more characters and progress the background a bit.
I also have a small request. Please, don't be afraid to give me critique, I want to give you all a good story, even if a little cliche at times. And while this fic is sitting over half positive in likes, the downvotes make me curious as to what the issue's that lay with chapter 1 are.
Please, feel free to let me know what you thought. While I might not agree, I do take critique seriously, and I'd like to hear from my readership what they think. Let me know you're likes and dislikes guys.
That being said. Hopefully you won't have to wait a month for chapter 3. ><;; Again sorry guys!
