RUN GIRL RUN

Thunder dropped his hoof back to the wooden floor with a thump. He opened his mouth to speak again.

"What were you doing out in the woods by yourself, in the middle of the night?"

"Running." she said. Her words no longer came out as high pitched squeals, but as her normal voice.

"Running from what?"

"Running from my mother."

"Why?" he cocked his head.

"Because she's a bad pony, she killed my baby brother, she cut me, she cut herself, she never let me eat any good food-"

"I understand." she was cut off by Thunder. "What's your name?"

She paused, unsure of what to say.

"I-I don't know..." she said weakly.

Thunder sat and stared at her for a moment, almost dumbfounded. A pony who didn't even know her own name? It was unsettling just to think about, the idea that nopony had ever given her a name.

"You don't know your own name?"

"As far as I know, I don't have one." she replied. "Why are you helping me?"

Thunder opened his mouth for a second, but promptly close it again. His eyes rose in thought.

"Because it's wrong to leave those on death's edge as they are." he finally said.

"As far as I can tell, you're not getting much out of it..." she replied.

He paused again.

"I would argue that saving a life, is rewarding enough."

"I had no idea that ponies would value the lives of other's."

"Well it's true that some may not, most do - including me."

"I suppose I should thank you..." she began. "So, thank you for saving me from freezing to death out there."

"Don't mention it." he replied. "I suppose you're probably quite hungry, would you like something to eat?"

"Yes, I would."

"Alright, meet me downstairs in ten minutes."

She nodded, and he stood up to go. Before he left the room, he turned and said one last thing.

"I think you look like you'd make a nice 'Sunfire.'"

He left the room, his hooves audibly thumping down the hallway outside.

"Sunfire"

The name bounced about in her mind. She whispered it to herself a few times, grasping every turn of the tongue she had to make. Studying every wisp, every pop, and every nuance of it. Perhaps it would make a fitting name for her, it had a nice ring to it. She said it one final time, aloud, and proud.

She stood up and took a glance around the room. Everything seemed ordinary, and empty. The table she'd hit her head on was barren, as was the dresser in the corner of the room. The door looked rather "homemade," it was cobbled together out of roughly cut wood and glue. The lightbulb that hung from the ceiling was very clearly on it's last legs, as it flickered on and off at seemingly random intervals. It's yellow-white light gave the bedroom an eerie, desaturated hue. As thankful as Sunfire was for the shelter, it wasn't exactly too welcoming.

There was a window behind the mysterious fabric table she'd been laid across earlier. She clambered up to look out, and saw nothing but darkness. There were very faint shadows and outlines moving in the now audible wind, but nothing more than that. She began to question exactly how long she had been out. Was it still the same night? The next day? Or was it simply destined to be night forever? A symbol to forever remind her of mother's depravity? She thought to ask for the day when she went to get some food, but she realized it probably wouldn't do much good, as she didn't know when she'd left.

Food was cooking. The aroma of something was clearly rising through the floor, eggs possibly? It was hard to tell, being confined to eating whatever mother chose not to before now. Smelling the food made Sunfire realize just how hungry - and how weak - she really was. Her stomach grumbled slightly, a plea for sustenance. She began to count the seconds until she could go down.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine...

It was time.

She began towards the door, walking as fast as she could without being impolite. The hallway outside was dim, supporting only a single lightbulb to it's clutches. The walls were thin and uninsulated, letting the cold from the surrounding night leech through. It smelled faintly of mildew as she trotted, stronger in some places than others.

She reached the stairs, and began to walk down. It was dark, unpierced by the waning lightbulb behind her. Every step she took creaked, creating a horrible whine beneath her. This stairway was surely the most unsettling part of the house, so far.

The main floor was no better. The stench of mildew was much stronger here, and the source was apparent. There was a hideously large patch of mould growing in the far corner, it coated the wall like a black fuzzy blanket, and Sunfire could swear it was throbbing. Underneath the mould sat an old sofa, tattered, ripped, and unwelcoming. The coffee table next to the sofa was in no better condition than the rest of the room, it's wooden frame crumbling with time. The floor was nothing more than slabs of plywood laid next to one another on top of concrete, letting the cold night air permeate through with even more strength than upstairs.

Thunderhoof sat in the kitchen, spatula in hoof as he leaned over an old looking oven. The kitchen was grungy, each and every appliance caked with grime; it would've been sickening if she wasn't used to wallowing in filth. The kitchen held the only light source on the main floor: a dimmed fluorescent light that did not look like it belonged here. The smell of cooking eggs from the kitchen mixed the smell of mould present all throughout the house, and it made her sick. She wretched at the wicked aroma and held her hoof over her nose, blocking the scent.

"Don't mind the smell." Thunder sighed. "You get used to it after awhile..."

"I... I'm sorry," Sunfire replied. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings..."

"It's fine." he chuckled. He moved his spatula in the pan, out of her view. The now-cooked eggs were brought to their new homes; two (thankfully) clean plates. He snatched the plates in his hooves and placed them on the counter directly opposite to him. "I don't own any cutlery..."

Sunfire simply nodded in acknowledgement as she started towards the kitchen. If anything, the eggs didn't look too bad.