I awoke with a start, my head throbbing, and groaned as noise blared in my ears from my bedside, piercing through the fog of sleep like a wailing siren. It took me a moment to get my bearings, to remember where I was, before my vision cleared and I took in my surroundings. Cute floral wallpaper, soft pink blankets, and a multitude of posters both scientific and academic gave me all the clues I needed as a smile crept across my face. “I guess I passed out on you, huh, Twilight?”
I sighed and slid myself off the bed, mildly put out that I'd been yanked from slumber and irritated by the throbbing ache in my skull, but I brushed it off. It wasn't the first time my phone had woken me early, and judging from the sound of it, by way of emergency alert. I frowned and grumbled. “Could've swore I turned those off.” With a lunge, I swiped my cell from the nightstand, careful not to yank the cord from the wall that Twilight had so lovingly connected for me, and glared at the screen.
Bold letters stared up at me from the little text box, still slightly blurry, but legible.
National Emergency Alert
This is a public broadcast from the National Security Association.
All citizens are advised to remain in their homes and stay away from the windows. Do not expose yourself to the Moon in any way until further notice.
I stared at the message for several seconds before my brain finally kicked in and a chuckle rose from my chest. That was probably the most bizarre prank text I'd ever received. Why did I have to worry about Moon exposure? It's not like I could get any kind of radiation exposure from standing under a chunk of rock that did little more than reflect the light from the sun. I smiled and shook my head, setting my phone down on Twilight’s bedside table to settle back down and sleep some more. Maybe that would help get rid of this damn headache.
As I lay there, though, letting the minutes tick by on and on in the relative dark, sleep wouldn't come. I was tired, that's for sure, and I could feel the burning in my eyes as they demanded I let them rest at least a little longer, but there was a gnawing feeling building in my mind that I couldn't get over. Something was strange, barring Rainbow’s obvious, bizarre prank text, but I couldn't wrap my head around what it could be. “I'll have to ask Rainbow when she changed my text tone for herself,” I said louder than I'd meant and slapped a hand to my mouth when I noticed the lack of weight beside me. “Aww, crap, Twilight. I'm sorry I woke you up. I hope it wasn't Rainbow's text or my…”
A glance over to Twilight's side of the bed was all I needed to realize what that growing feeling of strangeness was that had kept me awake. Where Twilight should have been, as I always insisted whenever she tried to give up her bed for me on our sleepovers, was pulled back blankets and the slight indentation in the sheets from where she should have been laying. “Twilight?” I took a quick survey of the room, squinting through the dismal lighting, but couldn't find even a trace of my favorite nerd. “Did she go to the bathroom?”
I was tempted to go check on her, because it had been a few minutes since I'd woken up, but I knew how shy she was about using the bathroom. Instead, I leaned over and clicked on the little radio on the nightstand at Twilight's side of the bed, but all I got was static. A groan, and I stretched back over, grumbling to myself for knocking the dial and carefully turned the knob until I finally got something other than the grating sound of empty stations.
“-urge you to take some time to enjoy the beautiful night. Earlier, an emergency warning was sent to all citizens in mistake, an error on the part of a service worker that had decided to 'pull a prank’.”
That made sense, especially considering that the sun and moon in this world were nothing more than a star and rocky satellite. I chuckled again, imagining just how much trouble that poor guy would be in for trying to spice up his boring night for a few minutes. If it hadn’t been for the screeching awakening, I would have probably found it even funnier. Plus, I could just imagine all of the people that would run to do just the opposite of the message only to realize that nothing was going on and end up disappointed. With a mirthful sigh, I reclined back against Twilight’s headboard and grabbed the book I had been reading the night before, eager to pass the time while the radio provided a decent white noise in the background.
The minutes ticked by as I read by the light of the lamp on the bedside and I found myself losing focus from my book. Twilight was taking longer than usual, even for her meticulous cleanliness post bathroom pitstop, and a new feeling was gnawing at my mind, like I had been in the same situation before. Like deja vu. The radio kept playing in the background and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d missed the something that was causing this uncomfortable sensation, this sense of wrongness, when the news lady’s voice caught my ear again. Was that what I thought? Had she just…?
I stared at the radio watching it as if my gaze would make the newscaster talk any faster in her cheery yet somehow monotonous voice through the radio waves. “Tonight promises a wonderful experience for everybody eager to see a once in a lifetime phenomena and we urge you to take some time to enjoy the beautiful night. Earlier, an emergency warning was sent to all citizens in mistake, an error on the…”
She was repeating herself. Wasn’t this supposed to be a live broadcast station? It was the only radio that Twilight ever listened to, since it was the only twenty-four hour news broadcast in the area that tended to cater to the scientifically minded. It was strange, and weirded me out more than it should have, but I suppose any deviation from the norm would have given anybody a cause to overthink things. Especially when this damn headache kept getting worse.
With that thought in mind, I resigned myself to finally getting up and finding some relief. Missus Sparkle kept a bottle of extra strength acetaminophen in the bathroom mirror so that was my destination, and it’d also provide me an excuse to tease Twilight for taking so long in the bathroom.
I tossed on a tee shirt, preparing another round of poking fun at the bookworm for stripping me down to my underwear. Sure, I’d have done it myself if I hadn’t been exhausted from… Whatever we were doing yesterday. Still, I never passed up a chance to make Sparkle squirm. She’s cute when she’s embarrassed.
Using the light from my phone’s screen, I crept down the hall, making sure not to make any noise and avoid the floorboards I knew to creak. If you ignored the faint sound of the radio in Twilight’s room, it was strangely quiet. Even when everybody slept, there was always some sort of background noise whether it be from Night Light’s obnoxious habit of snoring or Star’s attempts to drown it out by way of a classical music playlist. Now, though, there was nothing. Had Mister Light finally gotten the surgery to help his snoring? I don’t remember Twilight mentioning anything like that, but it was possible it’d slipped her mind. Still, I couldn't ignore the thought that something was wrong.
It didn't cross my mind that the middle aged couple could have been doing something intimate until it was too late and I was peeking in through the crack of the door. The thought was moot, though, because even with the hand-filtered light from my phone I could tell that their bed was empty. Had they gotten up early as well because of the joke alarm? I hoped that was it and that my outburst earlier hadn’t been the cause. Still, they weren’t there so my sneaking about wasn’t necessary.
I carefully closed their door and continued the short trek to the bathroom. There was light coming from underneath the door this time, and a layer of worry that I hadn’t noticed had crawled into my heart melted away. “Twilight, I know you’re poopin’ in there. Let me in, I need some medicine.”
I waited for the usual rebuttal. Sunset! I’m not pooping! I’m just- L-leave me alone! I’ll be out in a minute! And waited… I pressed my ear to the door, trying to catch even the slightest sound coming from inside, but I couldn't hear a thing. “Twilight? Did you fall asleep on the toilet?” The idea of the girl dozing on the porcelain throne almost made me laugh, but the sense of dread from before smothered it. What if she was hurt? I debated whether I should just barge in or wait, but my heart was starting to thud in my chest, worry overwhelming my training to respect Twilight's privacy, and I made my choice.
“Twilight, I'm coming in. If you're okay and don't want me to see anything, cover up now.” I gave her a few more seconds, trying to laugh at the wonder of a girl being so embarrassed by being caught on the commode despite never locking the door, then twisted the knob and stepped in.
The bathroom, like Twilight's parents’ room, was devoid of any member the Sparkle family and I felt my heart sink. What I thought had been the pale yellow light from the bathroom’s shaded bulbs turned out to be the bright light of the moon filtered through the stained, fogged window beside the shower. It didn’t seem like there’d been anybody in the room since whomever had been the last to use it before bed. The sink was dry and the hand towels neatly folded.
When I stepped back towards the hallway, my phone buzzed and chirped, nearly sending my heart into my throat, and the cutesy song from one of Twilight’s favorite shows playing to notify me I had a new text. “I swear to Celestia, Twilight, if you’re in on some joke I’m not laughing!”
I unlocked the screen and stared at a message from Pinkie Pie, her bubbly voice translating perfectly into text.
Shimmy! You should totally check out the moon tonight! It’s extra special pretty!
“Ugh, c’mon Pinkie. It’s three in the morning.” I rolled my eyes, ready to check downstairs for any sign of Twilight or her family when my phone rang again. And again. And again. Text after text flooded in, one from each of my best friends, several of the other kids from the high school that I’d given my number out to, Miss Cheerilee and a few of the other teachers. And Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna.
Every message was the same, or as same as the message could be considering they were sent by different people, but the ideas were exact replicas.
Look at the moon. Check out the moon. You should see the moon.
Was that what this was? A giant prank on Sunset Shimmer for all the times I’d gone around with Dash and Pinkie? Did they all see the joke NSA message and decide to mess with me? “Twilight! If you and your family are in on this, it isn’t funny! It’s really freakin’ creepy!”
No response.
I sighed, rubbing my temples as the headache grew stronger. Of course I’d forgotten to take some of the pain pills. I begrudgingly trudged back into the bathroom and pulled open the medicine cabinet. Two capsules of fast-acting Excedrin later and I was bounding down the stairs into the Sparkle family living room, making sure that anybody downstairs could hear me coming. “Twilight? Missus Sparkle? Mister Light?”
No sign of Twilight or her family. Not even Spike, who never failed to come running whenever somebody made their presence known, had made a peep. Had some emergency come up? Did they have to leave in a hurry? Why hadn't anybody said anything? I understood, of course, that if something's was wrong and they were in a hurry that priorities had to be made, but they hadn't even left a note.
I nearly jumped out of my skin as the screeching tone of another NSA message tore through the silence of the night and it was with trembling hands that I silenced it and stared at my phone's screen.
National Emergency Alert
This is a public broadcast from the National Security Association.
All residents are
Another text sent my phone buzzing, replacing the horrible screech of the emergency tone once more with the terribly catchy theme song.
Sunny. I'm outside moon gazing. Come join me.
I let out a sigh I hadn't even known I'd been holding back as Twilight's text lifted a weight off my chest. She was okay, nobody was missing. She was just being a dork and watching the moon. I smiled, rolling my eyes. Leave it to Twilight to make me panic because she wanted to look into the heavens. As I strode towards the front of the house, I imagined the skies over Canterlot and just what kind of reaction she'd have if I took her to see the wonder of my hometown's nights. Perhaps I could even convince Princess Twilight to let us come along to the next Summer Sun Celebration. It was so easy to imagine the look of shock and awe that'd throw off her entire world view when the princess brought forth the sun instead of a natural sunrise.
I shuffled across the living room carpet, making my way towards the front door when my phone went off again.
What's taking you so long? You're going to miss it.
“I'm coming, Twilight, just hold your haunches.” My smile grew despite the ever worsening headache. Hopefully the meds would kick in soon enough so I could truly enjoy whatever it was Twilight wanted me to see with her.
I looked through the peephole on the front door to see Twilight standing with her back to the door, decked out in her constellation themed pajamas bathed in what I could only assume was the pale blue light of whatever she wanted me to see, and had to hold back a snicker. Of course she'd be too excited to bother getting dressed and she could bet her bottom that I wasn't ever going to stop teasing her over it when she noticed. I reached for the door and my tee shirt shifted, bouncing my geode necklace into view and with it came the faint glow of its magic. Had it been glowing this entire time? I took the thing in my hand, twisting the new accessory over and over to see if it would react. Was this why my head was hurting? Was it just reacting with what Twilight was calling me for?
“Thanks for the headache, buddy. Could you stop?”
The glow continued and I sighed, tucking it back into my shirt as my phone lit up once more and buzzed back to back.
It's almost over, Sunny. Hurry.
Sunnybuns ur gonna miss it
Sunset, darling. Hurry.
I reckon you're almost outta time Sunset
U can't miss this sunset its awesome
This is the event if a lifetime, Miss Shimmer. Don't be late.
My spine crawled as I scrolled through the mass of texts and turned the door knob. Did Twilight tell them I was dragging along? The door cracked open, letting in a shaft of that odd, pale, blue light as I swiped my thumb across my screen in a mass text.
Jeez guys gimme a minute. I'm going already
The door swung open and I felt goose pimples prickle up and down my skin. “Sweet Celestia, if I had known it'd be cool I would've tossed some pants on.” Twilight was standing in the middle of the yard, her arms at her side and phone held loosely in her hand as she started up into the sky. I tried to get a quick look at whatever it was, but the porch roof blocked everything but the cold light. “How are you not freezing, Twilight? It's as cold as Tartarus out here.” She didn't respond and my pulse quickened. Why? She just hasn't heard me.
The headache had quickly turned into a migraine, making my vision swim as I moved closer to the lawn, and before I could step out from the cover of the porch, my phone vibrated in three quick pulses, a reminder that I had an unread text. The preview of the NSA alert showed in the notification bar, and with a tap I brought the thread back up.
National Emergency Alert
This is a public broadcast from the National Security Association.
All residents are advised to remain indoors and ignore all notifications received from friends, family, or loved ones. Do not-
Sunny, don't.
I flinched, the glow of my geode dying down and with it my headache as I looked up at the sound of Twilight's voice. She hadn't moved an inch since I'd looked at my phone, just continuing to stare up into the sky with nary a care in the world. Something was wrong. I know I had just heard her, but it didn't look like she'd actually acknowledged me. My heart was thundering in my chest. I didn't like this. Something had happened, I know it, but what? What did the NSA message say? I swiped to open up my messaging app, but the moment I did a flood of texts flashed in the little pop-up box from all of my friends and teachers urging me to just go check out the cool moon, telling me how beautiful it was. The texts came so fast, setting off that cartoon opening in such a rapid fire cacophony, that I barely had half a second to try and piece together who had sent what.
What was so special about the moon that they were spamming me like this? Why were they all so insistent on me seeing the moon? We'd just had a lunar eclipse and the next harvest moon wasn't until later in the month. I couldn't figure it out and the more I thought about it the more worried I got. There wasn't any reason that all of my friends would be texting me at the same time, not this early in the morning, but the more I thought about it and the more I tried to remember what that damn emergency message had said the more my geode glowed and the worse my returning headache got. Something was wrong, terribly, horribly wrong, but I just couldn't figure it out. I was scared, worried, and-
Sunset, it hurts. Don't…
"Twilight! Are you o-"
I moved without thinking, ignoring my thundering heart, my worry for Twilight overriding everything else. My feet touched the grass, the icy wetness of pre frost stinging my soles, and my eyes caught the back of Twilight's head, then continued up until I was staring into the pale blue moon…
And was paralyzed as it glared back, bright, blue, and angry...
Author's Note
Yo! Here's my Spooktober spooooooky story that I myself wrote sometime last year. Horror and thriller aren't really my strong suit, but I love me some creepypasta, so I figured I'd write something that I was inspired to by L O C A L 58. Hope you enjoyed.
Here's the video of you desire it. Their stuff is spooky.
