I'll Be Gone In A Day Or Two
I've come a long way since Princess Twilight Sparkle defeated me- no, helped me find a new, better way- at the Fall Formal. I became a better person. I made friends with Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. I found the true magic within me and helped my friends defeat the Sirens at the Battle of the Bands. And I helped the Twilight from this world become a better person too, at the Friendship Games. These were all changes I didn't see coming for me at the start. They were unexpected. Amazing, but unexpected.
Kinda like how this happened.
I definitely wasn't expecting to travel to a world of black and white, and to be swept away by some random guy from said world. I mean, I know what it's like to travel from world to world... but... not like this.
I honestly just wanted to have my regular evening coffee.
My night started normally enough. I went to the downtown cafe, like I did every night. Usually I go with my friends from Canterlot High... but tonight I came alone.
I ordered the usual: strong black coffee with sugar on the side to manually stir in myself. I didn't trust the employees to do it themselves.
I brought a comic book with me. I bought it at a cool retro antique store, and the comic itself didn't seem anything that special. But… something about it was... charming, to me. I felt drawn to it somehow. I could have picked any of the fancy color comics, but instead I picked this one, one that was drawn by some anonymous artist.
I sat at a table by a window, awaiting my coffee. I looked at the cover of the comic. There was no title, just an illustration of a guy on a motorcycle.
There was little dialogue in the book; it consisted of mostly illustrations that told you what was happening. There was a motorcycle race going on, that much I could tell. And it looked like seven men on motorcycles. Two of them seemed to be racing together. The team of two were middle-aged guys, intimidating and determined to win. I guess the prize was very important, and something huge was at stake. What though, I couldn't tell.
Most of the rest were typical biker guys. Nothing much to expect from them except to be gritty and be the best at what they do.
And then there was the one. He was a younger than the two he was racing against. He looked to be about 20. He had a very different impression on me: gentle, hard-working, and honest. He was there just to prove himself a worthy opponent. He didn't care so much about the prize.
I found myself instantly rooting for the younger guy. I read on, my eyes darting around quickly across each page as my anticipation seemed to build. I really wanted him to win.
The motorcyclists were lined up at the starting line, their eyes on the man who held the gun. I didn't know much about races, but something told me that gun shot blanks, and when it was shot it signified that the race has begun.
And I was proven right as the man rose the gun and shot up into the air. Immediately the motorcycles shot forward. I kept a close eye on motorcycle #77, which was my guy's motorcycle, but I didn't need to look at the number so much because I could easily tell his flawless face against the others.
Yes, he was handsome for a comic book character. I constantly took note of it as the racers revved around corners and spun up clouds of dust everywhere they went.
I smiled to myself when #77 sped past the others, and he looked back on his competitors with triumph as he approached the finish line, and the checkered flag came down.
I was so into the comic book by this point that I barely acknowledged Mrs. Cake when she brought me my coffee. I just smiled at her briefly, before letting the enticing comic grab my attention once again. I payed no attention to the hot drink, which was getting colder by the minute.
I looked at the comic panel where the young man was holding up his trophy, getting a good look at it.
And then, to my surprise, something changed. The guy was no longer observing his trophy, but he was now looking…
… Straight at me.
I blinked, and leaned in closer to the page, trying to make sense of what happened.
Oh, it's nothing. I'm drowsy because I haven't had my caffeine, and my eyes are only playing tricks on me.
So I shrugged it off and turned the page, and noticed that the guy was still looking my way, only it was zoomed in closer on his face. I knew it was crazy but… those eyes had such expression in them… almost like he was alive. And he looked at me with those eyes, and all I could do was shudder.
My eyes looked to the next panel, and his face was closer up still. Those eyes… stared up at me with such emotion, that I was entranced. I tilted my head a bit, looking closer at those eyes…
And he winked at me.
He winked at me.
My eyes widened. What in the name of Celestia is happening?!
And then something even more incredible happened… a hand reached out of the comic book, and was reaching for me.
I jumped in my seat, staring at the hand with astonishment. It was black and white, and completely sketched like the comic illustrations… and it was extended out. It seemed to me like it wanted me to take its hand or something.
I quickly looked out to the other customers in the diner, wanting to see if anyone else was seeing this, to prove I was just going nuts and this was all an illusion. But no one looked up from their food to see what was coming out of my comic book. What is this? Is this a portal of some kind? This can't be Equestrian magic... can it?
I jerked my eyes back to the sketchy arm, which was now gesturing towards the comic book, as if saying, "Come on!"
I gulped, and I found myself looking back to the book, to the young man looking at me with those damned gorgeous eyes…
… And before I knew it, I was slowly slipping my hand into his.
And before I knew it, I was being dragged into his world.
I shut my eyes as I passed from one universe to the next. I didn't even feel any change. I opened my eyes, and found myself in his strong yet gentle arms.
"Hello," he said. He was still a drawing, but he could move around, and being in his arms, he felt so real...
"Hello…" I said back, with a small smile.
"I'm Morten. What's your name?"
"Sunset… Sunset Shimmer…"
"Beautiful," said Morten, as he gently set me down. "I'm so glad you're here…"
I looked around, seeing the squiggly lines dancing all over the place, everything sketch-ified. It was all just so beautiful. It was nothing like I'd ever seen before.
"Here, let me show you around!" He took my hand and flashed a dazzling smile at me, leading me ahead.
I felt myself smiling wider. "Okay!" I couldn't say no to that face.
Morten let go of my hand, and smiled brightly, as he approached a… window? Everything on the other side of the window looked real, not sketchy like everything else. He let go of my hand and danced over to the window, and stepped on the other side.
… And he was real. I was seeing Morten in all his realistic splendor. He was wearing black leather pants, a leather jacket not unlike my own, and a white shirt. His hair was beautiful and... fluffy. And his smile and his vibrant blue eyes were his best features.
I felt myself falling for him every minute I was around him, not caring how crazy this all was. This just seemed like such a fresh and welcomed change from the boring night I was having.
Morten had this spectacular boyish grin on his face, as he playfully peeked out the side of the window, his head and neck appearing sketchy again while the rest of him still looked real. I giggled cheerily, a big dumb smile on my face as I approached the window.
He began to sing to me, and I felt my heart melt as his sweet, almost angelic voice.
"Take on me
Take me on
I'll be gone
In a day or two…"
We chatted and laughed, enjoying each other's company, and for that moment, all that existed in the world was him and me, and me and him, and all was well.
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Meanwhile... *switch to 3rd Person point-of-view*
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Mrs. Cake came to check on Sunset to see if she could help any further, by refilling her coffee maybe. But to her surprise, Sunset was no longer there, and the coffee was untouched and cold.
The only thing that came to mind is that Sunset ditched, and didn't want to pay. Mrs. Cake shook her head. She wasn't one to usually get angry, but tonight was a rough and busy night at the diner, and this just added to her frustrations. Is Sunset going back to her trouble-making ways? She looked to the odd comic book, which Sunset had left behind. Wanting to vent her anger and frustration, Mrs. Cake picked up the comic book and crumpled it into a wad in her hands. She stomped back behind the counter and tossed the crumpled comic book into the wastebasket, feeling only slightly satisfied.
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*switch back to Sunset's POV*
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Right when I feel like things couldn't get more perfect, Morten and I suddenly felt the ground rumble under our feet. I immediately thought, earthquake! But are earthquakes even a thing in this world?
We looked around us, trying to find the source of the shaking, but it stopped almost as soon as it started. We looked at each other and shrugged, continuing what had been so abruptly interrupted.
But what we didn't know, was that the comic book was being crumpled up, and the comic panels on different pages were being smooshed up against each other. I didn't know how the magic in this world worked at all yet, but apparently, when our comic panel was pressed against another, it allowed characters from the other panel cross over to this one.
Because, out of nowhere, two menacing men came at us. One of them, with the pipe wrench that was clenched in his fist, shattered the window. Morten and I jumped back, startled. I instantly recognized them as the two middle-aged men that Morten had beat in the motorcycle race. And they were mad as hell. And their intent was clear: to do harm to Morten, who had left them in the dust and taken what they thought was theirs to win.
One of the men grabbed my arm roughly. "Hey, let me go! Let me-"
And Morten's fist came into contact with my attacker's face.
I felt Morten pulling on my other arm, wanting to get me the heck away from those men. I obliged, ripping myself out of the man's grasp. And we ran. We ran down a hallway, the sketch lines dancing around and making me dizzy. Morten dared not let go. We knew the men were after us. So we ran through the twists and turns of the endless hallway, thinking we might be able to lose them if we just kept-
And then we came to a dead end. We stopped abruptly, and I shared a desperate look with Morten before we both turned around. The two men turned the corner, only a few meters away. They slowed their steps, coming at us at a steady, menacing pace. The one in front raised his pipe wrench, a fiery gleam in his eyes…
Morten whipped around and shoved his hands in the wall. I looked at him, confused and scared. Morten pulled open a door of sorts, and all I could see was darkness on the other side.
"Go in," Morten commanded me.
"What? But…" I looked at the hole in the wall, uncertain, then back to the two men, who were nearly upon us now.
"Hurry! I'll be right behind you… just go, Sunset!" Morten nodded desperately in the direction of the abyss he wanted me to crawl through.
I gulped. I didn't want to leave him… but I had to. I shared one last look with Morten, before crawling through the hole. I looked back one last time, seeing Morten face the men and pull out his own pipe wrench, before the images faded from sight and I was thrust back into my world.
The colors of the real world overwhelmed me, and my eyes shot open, looking around. I was back in the diner. I looked up, seeing a multitude of onlookers, including Mr. and Mrs. Cake staring down at me, completely puzzled to see me laying on the floor by the wastebasket behind the counter.
My eyes slid to the wastebasket, seeing the comic wadded up inside it. I grabbed the comic book, and I jumped up, rushed past the crowd, and out onto the street, as fast as I could go. I wasn't sure if I'd ever be welcome at that diner again, and I'd have to pay Mrs. Cake for the coffee later, but that wasn't the issue on my mind right now.
I ran all the way home. I got to my room and threw off my jacket, and I rushed to my desk. I spread out the wrinkled comic on the desk's surface. I desperately flipped through the pages, trying to find out if my Morten was still okay…
All I saw was a panel that showed a wrench swinging down, and the next one pictured a man… Morten… sprawled on the ground. I whimpered, tearing up. Is he dead? He can't be…
But out of the corner of my eye, I saw something moving on the page. I looked down, and saw Morten was no longer lying there on the ground, but he was crouched in the space between two panels, banging his fist on the panel above him, like he was trying to break out.
At that moment, I heard a loud noise behind me. I whipped around, and remarkably, Morten was there in my hallway, hitting himself violently against the walls. Every time he slammed himself into a wall, his drawing self briefly flickered to his flesh-and-blood form.
I was so happy to see him, but I was freaking out. I figured he was trying hard to break off his connection to his world so he wouldn't be pulled back in, but he was hurting himself to do it. I ran both my hands through my hair, watching him constantly inflict pain on himself, and worried out of my mind.
Finally, he was completely real. There was nothing sketchy about him. He collapsed to the floor. He was panting, and I think I was panting too out of anxiety. I watched as he pushed up from the floor and looked up at me. He was covered in sweat and bruises, but he had done it.
I smiled, unable to contain my happiness. He stood, looking at me longingly, and smiling back warmly. I moved toward him, and he wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace.
I didn't know if he was going to be here in this world with me forever, or if he was going to be gone in a day or two… so I would take him on, and never let go for as long as I can help it. I couldn't wait to show him to Twilight and the others. After all this, my life would never be the same.
But that isn't so bad, is it?
