Sunset had her head hung as she trudged towards the school known as Canterlot High. She would have liked to have not come at all, but she found out what that accomplished around the thirtieth run when she spent all week wailing into her pillow. Letting out all the pain and sadness she'd felt over the past eternity.
She didn't need to look up to know that Lyra and Bon Bon were chatting just a bit to her right, Roseluck and Daisy were both behind her, and Octavia was in front of her. Every thing around her had been committed to memory. She could literally paint of picture of this scene without missing a detail. It's not like it would've mattered. It'd just be gone two weeks later.
She was in the hallway before she knew it. It always was such a short walk from the statue to the building. It was one of the many things she took in while doing the same walk alone hundreds of times. Sunset's mind always wandered, especially when she was alone.
And she was alone a lot nowadays.
Soon enough, she was at her locker where her five best "friends" stood, all wearing the same expression of anger and disappointment that they always wore when she approached her locker. All five of them had been memorized, mostly so she wouldn't have to look at it over and over again. It was amazing how she still called them friends after all of this. But they didn't know any better. They didn't know what she was going through. She tried to tell them once, but, as usual, it was pointless.
She would much rather have to be alone with her life again than live like this.
They began speaking to her again, saying the exact same words they always said. Sunset just tuned it out and opened up her locker, took out her stuff, and began walking to class. She knew that they were about to call out her name, yell at her to come back and listen, for Rainbow Dash to grab her arm and make her face them, and for all of them to call her those hurtful names that haunted her every day.
And, of course, it happened. It always did.
As soon as it began, it was over, with all of them just storming off away from her. People were staring like always but, like everything else, she tuned them out. She just stared down at the spot where her wrist had been grabbed over and over again. It was noticeably darker than the rest of her skin. It almost could've passed as a slight tan or sunburn to someone who didn't know better.
But she did know better. And it was a mark of hell.
A small voice in her mind that had long been repressed asked her what her plan was this time. Plan? Now that was a joke. She'd done everything she could think of. She even confessed to it, begging for their forgiveness. Those few blissful hours when they said they forgave her and she could talk to her friends again brought her to tears. But once the post continued, she couldn't own up to that. She was, once again, backed into a corner. She could either confess and be shunned by her friends for doing it or deny it and be shunned by her friends for "lying" about it.
Classes went by like normal. She knew all the material by heart. She was tempted to skip it altogether, but whatever put her into this situation wanted it to play out a certain way. And skipping class was not how it was supposed to go. A group of gang members just so happen to pass by the school when she leaves the building or, if it was later into the weeks, a group of angry students jumping her. Just another quick reminder that she wasn't the one in control. That she was just some toy being abused for something's amusement.
The next few classes passed by no different than normal. Everything was the exact same. She didn't even need to open her eyes to block the spit wad that came hurtling at her. It was all the same.
It's always the same.
Lunch soon happened. She quickly stepped over someone's outstretched leg, ducked under another's "accidental" slap towards her face, and sidestepped someone trying to shove her before entering the cafeteria. She didn't bother going to get her food. Hunger was merely a factor that could be overruled when your body resets every two weeks. Things like food and water became inconsequential. They held no purpose for her.
Sitting down at one of the few empty tables in the back, Sunset rested her chin on her hand, eyes closed. It was pointless to stare at the same scenario in front of her again. It'd be like watching a play for the sixteenth time. It made no sense since she knew exactly what was going to happen.
Instead, she focused on her thoughts. The thoughts she'd been having for the last few runs. How much longer would this last? Surely, it'd get boring around the tenth time. So why was this still going on? And why to her?
Sunset's mind quickly went blank and she sighed. "No point in thinking about it if the solution is nonexistent..."
The bell rang and, once again, she was walking to her next class that would be the same thing as always.
Soon enough, school was over. Most students were excited and ready to head home. But Sunset just wanted to be able to live again.
~~~~~~~~~~~
It was now the weekend of the first week. Sunset was sitting on the edge of the rooftop of her apartment building, staring down at the street below. Her phone was being casually flipped in an outstretched hand. If she dropped it, so what? She'd get another one in just over a week from now.
While jumping might've seemed like a choice, it wasn't. As much as she hated herself for doing it, Sunset had jumped at the end of run twenty-five. As soon as her body should've broken on the concrete, she had bolted upright in her bed. A quick look at the calender confirmed her suspicions. Suicide wouldn't work. She'd just start over with a stabbing pain where she would've died at.
Bringing her phone closer, she clicked it on. 11:55 pm. Fifty new messages from Pinkie, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy. All of which she's read dozens of times.
With an audible dinging sound, Sunset stared down at her phone. One new e-mail. With a shrug, she clicked on the notification and looked down at the message attached to it.
Happy Anniversary
Below it, was a picture of her and all of her friends, all smiling at someone's camera. Only, Sunset's face was marked out with a black marker, leaving an ugly, black mass just on the outside of a group of friends.
She felt like she should be furious. Some omnipotent being was now openly taunting her. But that emotion wouldn't spark inside her.
Instead, she just dropped her phone, watching as it quickly became a small speck on the sidewalk below, it's light flickering out of existence.
~~~~~~~~~~~
It was week two now. Wednesday, to be precise. School was over. Today was the very peak of the abuse. Not that it mattered much at all. It was just another meaningless day.
Being stuck in a time loop of the worst time of your life and being powerless to stop it really gives someone a new perspective on life. The biggest thing was that most of it was pointless. That everything that one could build up could be crushed in a single unit.
"Best not think about it." Sunset quietly whispered. "Maybe whoever is in control will get offended."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Week two. Saturday night. Sunset stepped into her apartment, shutting the door behind her. Reaching over to flick the light switch, she was actually suprised to see that it didn't turn on. Her apartment was left in complete and total darkness...
Except for a small light coming from her dining room.
Sunset could feel her heart beating heavily in her chest. The darkness itself seemed to be clinging to her skin, pulling her towards the comfort of the shadows. She swear that she could see flickers of movement just barely out of her peripheral vision. Her floorboards were quietly creaking from down the hall, some unknown force lurking just in the distance, waiting for her.
Taking a deep breath, Sunset clenched her hands tightly together. "Get a hold of yourself, Sunset. There's nothing here. Just... calm... down..." Resting her hand on the wall, she slowly made her way towards her dining room. Her eyes refused to adjust to the darkness. She couldn't even make out the wall that she was resting against.
All she could see was the light.
As she stepped closer, she could just barely make out the shape of her dinner table and a single chair on the opposite side of said table, pulled out just enough for someone to sit in. And the light, the more she seemed to look at it, looked more like a candlelight.
Deciding to take a risk, Sunset lunged forward. The second her arm left the wall, she could feel the shadows clawing at her, violently trying to drag her away into the abyss. She could feel some of her skin and flesh being ripped and torn, scratches were spreading all over her arms and legs by the millisecond. Blood soaked her jacket and pants, only adding to the extra weight on her body. With an extended arm, Sunset desperately reached for the light. She felt her hand latch onto something and-
With a heavy thumping sound, the shadows were gone. Quickly rolling up her sleeve, Sunset saw that the scrapes that she had felt on her arm were gone as well. Like they hadn't even existed.
Sunset looked up at what her hand was held tightly onto and was suprised to see the top of her chair. But wasn't it...
She took a minute to recollect her breath that had disappeared from he lungs. After she was sure that she was steady and calm, Sunset heaved herself into the chair. Taking one more deep breath, she raised her gaze to where the light was and... instead saw a single cupcake.
The cupcake was a simple vanilla with a yellow frosting with a single candle on top. Sunset also noticed that there was a small note card lying under the cake. Morbid curiosity got the better of her and she pulled the card out from it's place.
Flipping it over, Sunset saw three words written in immaculate cursive;
Make a wish
Sterling the card down and picking up the cupcake, Sunset brought it closer to her face. She stared into the flickering light of the candle. In the ember, she could see flashing images of each of her friends. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight, and even... Celestia. All of them being burnt to a crisp in the fire of this cupcake.
And she needed to put it out.
"Make a wish, huh?" Without a moment's hesitation, she blew out the candle, killing the last bit of light in the room. Removing the candle, she tossed it into the darkness and took a big bite out of the cupcake.
"Happy anniversary to me..."
Author's Note
Just a short little thing I whipped up in about three days. Who knows? Maybe if you want, I'll make a sequel or even a prequel following Sunset's journey through the fifty reruns of hell. But that'll probably be much later. Instead, I want to focus on my other story for now.
I hope you enjoyed! Any criticism is greatly appreciated. I'd love to hear what you think Sunset wished for. :D
