My name is Sunset Shimmer, and this is the story of how I think I almost died to a demon that lurked in the shadows.
Another weekend rolls around, and we all know what that means... sleepover! This time, it came back to Pinkie Pie's turn to host.
Shortly after arrival, we found ourselves in the centre of one of the wildest slumber parties Pinkie Pie has ever thrown! It was so intense, so large scale that it couldn't even be contained within the walls of her own bedroom. No sirree. This party had to be moved down to the much more spacious living room downstairs. After Pinkie had discovered the sour powder in the small flying saucers, there was no stopping the girl. Before we all could process it, the room, and ourselves, were completely coated over with silly string and confetti. It was mayhem! And yet, Pinkie didn't want to stop.
We danced, played games, and you could even say we used up every ounce of energy in our bodies. Not even by the end of it all, a lot of us had already become pretty drained, and after coming out from a really busy week, I was especially tired.
The rest of the girls seemed fine enough to keep going, but I told Pinkie that I was gonna go upstairs and get some rest. She tried to convince me to stay for another five minutes at the very least, but I decided I had my fill. I needed sleep. Pinkie didn't argue further and bid me a good night. So, I went upstairs.
Being honest, I hadn't gotten a ton of sleep this week. There is always that one week where suddenly every project imaginable is due. And on top of my own work, I also participated in helping Rainbow Dash with her work. And on top of that, I still had a job to go to. I didn't count, but I'm almost certain my hours of sleep this week didn't even reach double digits.
I arrived back in the bedroom, which had blankets and pillows anywhere else except on the bed. I took my own blanket and pillow out of my bag and found a clear spot on the floor near the door. Sleep immediately began to overtake me, even with the booming music that could be heard from downstairs, and before I knew it, I was out like a light.
And soon after that... it began.
In the dead of night, I suddenly woke up. At least, I think I did. I was on my side, facing the door, but I couldn't move an inch of my body. It was difficult to breathe, feeling as though a great weight was placed onto my chest. I couldn't even do as little as move my eyes! I was as limp as a dead man.
I could see very little, but from my peripheral vision I could see my blanket hanging off the side of my body, leaving half of me uncovered. I could feel the chill of the night on my right arm and leg, but I couldn't do a single thing about it.
I don't know how long I laid there for. Could have been minutes, though, it felt like hours. I lost all sense of anything as I constantly tried to pull myself up to no avail.
Throughout this time, I couldn't hear much, all except for a distant muffling. I couldn't tell what exactly it was, or if it was even real. I tried to call out, to see if anyone was there in the room with me, but to the surprise of not even me anymore, it wasn't happening. I was stuck here, scared and confused.
But then, the sound suddenly stopped. There was nothing but total silence. I could feel sweat beginning to fall from my head as my heart beat louder and harder.
After a few minutes in the silence, I finally heard something else. A slow, incoming creaking. Something was moving. Slowly and lightly. I was hoping it was just passing by, but just as the sound came to the door, it stopped.
I heard a click. Then a squeak. I saw the door slowly open, revealling little by little a strange, dark figure. I couldn't see any features of the being, with me only being able to stare at its bottom half. But out of my peripheral, I could see piercing white eyes looking directly at me.
I tried to run! I tried to scream! But I could only mentally beg to it. In my head, I shouted, 'What is that?! What does it want?! Please don't hurt me!'
The shadowy figure did not move for a moment. I almost figured it could hear me, but then it stepped forward. Each step was an echoing pound that shook my entire lifeless body. I felt on the verge of fainting by how fast my breathing became.
The monster continued taking slow steps towards me until finally, it was inches away from my body. I knew it. It was coming for me! Whatever it was, it wanted me! Probably dead even!
I swear, I was on the verge of finally getting my screams for help out, but there was still something preventing me from doing so.
The monster seemed to kneel down, appearing more as a squished, undeterminable shape, and I could now directly see its glacial stare. This was it for me! I just knew it! In the seconds I seemed to have left, I mentally listed off the people I love and my regrets to prepare myself for what I would face beyond.
My doom was imminent, I felt it. I saw the beast reach out an arm, likely to rip my heart out! And then, in an unexpected twist, the shadow demon pulled my blanket back over my body.
My mind went completely blank for a moment, returning with just a simple, mental, 'What?' This monster that has likely scarred me and now has me considering having a night light by my bed was... nice?
If I had the ability to speak in the moment, I would have given it my thanks. Both for making me comfortable once more, and for not murdering me.
The monster then went off behind me where I couldn't see it anymore without so much as a sound. Whatever it was doing, wherever it was going, I would be forever grateful for its assistance during my period of confinement.
Soon enough, the morning sun rose again. I didn't know if I managed to fall back to sleep or not. I felt so rejuvenated and refreshed, but the best thing was that I could finally move again!
With my lost-now-found ability, I looked all around the bedroom. It seemed that no one else managed to stay up long enough to bring themselves to bed, that is, apart from Twilight, who slept in her sleeping bag beside me.
I looked back on the night before, wondering if what happened really did. Perhaps it was only a nightmare. Though, it felt so real.
When Twilight eventually wakes up, I'll definitely tell her all about it. But for now, I'm just happy I could live to tell this tale.
What a night.
Author's Note
Not the kind of story I was expecting to post at the end of the year, but hey, it is what it is.
Here's to a great 2023!