A tired sigh of relief escaped Sunny's ribcage as she shut the door behind her, her shoulders sagging just a little as she dropped her saddlebags on a comfy sofa of her living room. She trudged past the kitchen, half-consciously making her way to the bathroom and getting into the shower. The downpour of hot water washed away the stress of her day, the warmth seeping into her very bones, the sound of rushing water like music to her ears.
As she stood there, her fur soaked wet and her entire being at peace, the tranquility of the situation finally let her reminisce on the events of the day. Her life sure has changed in the past few months, hasn't it?
Going from an almost friendless outcast to a literal magic messiah was a jarring turn of events, but not entirely an unwelcome one. Truth be told, she really needed more friends in her life. Not that Hitch was bad or anything, everypony knew she appreciated him being in her life, but sometimes you require more than one friend.
Thanking Harmony under her breath, Sunny remembered that fateful day when Izzy came to Maretime Bay. The initial town-wide freakout and the following adventure were quite hectic, but the friends that she made, not to mention the return of magic and first steps to unifying all of ponykind were well worth the troubles.
Sunny felt a little guilty about bearing a grudge against Sprout after all this time, but she reasoned it was normal. After all, you could only be so lenient with somepony who turned ponies against eachother and partially destroyed your house.
She massaged the flower-scented shampoo into her mane, her lips forming a smile as she thought about one good thing that came out of Sprout's destructive temperment.
In the aftermath of Sunny's impromptu house-renovation, the Mayor of Maretime Bay postulated that Sprout is responsible for the reconstruction of her home, much to the stallion's dismay. Of course, when Sprout learned that much of the construction costs will be covered by Canterlogic, his mood improved inversely proportional to that of his mother.
Still, taking in the sheer magnitude of the damage done, said repairs could not be completed on short notice, lest Sunny'd be at risk of random cave-ins in her own humble abode. Thus, after a rather short group meeting, her friends decided that each would let Sunny live with them until her home is whole again. Her weak protest were left unheard in the face of her friends' overpowering kindness, and after noting that she really didn't have a roof under her head at that moment, she caved in and agreed to crash at each of her friends' houses while her own was under construction.
A wet towel was discarded onto a drying rack as Sunny stepped out of the shower and headed for her very own bedroom. The smell of laminated wood invaded her nostrils as she moved through the newly decorated living room, an uneasy feeling forming in the back of her mind as she took note of each object that was out of place. It was no fault of the workponies, of course, nopony would be able to perfectly reconstruct her home after what happened, but the sight made her queasy nonetheless.
Each hoofstep echoed through the empty house with a sharp clop, and by the time Sunny reached the staircase, she remembered another upside of living with somepony. No matter the day or the hour, no matter her generous host or their house, one thing always stayed the same:
She was never alone.
She hated being alone.
Now, as Sunny stared up the staircase and at the darkness lying beyond it, she couldn't help but feel a little on edge. Sunny squinted, looking deep into the pitch black area, flinching back when she saw something looking back at her.
A startled gasped escaped her lips as she backed away from the staircase, blinking rapidly. Her breathing quickened as she peered into the unknown once again, finding nothing but the outlines of a painting hanging on the wall ahead of her.
Sunny breathed with relief as she took cautious steps up the staircase, finally ascending at traversing the corridor to get a better look of the painting. Her eyes adjusted to the dark, allowing her to to take in the piece of art before her.
It was something she commisioned some time ago to a local artist, one of the few who was willing to listen, anyway. It cost her a small fortune, what with the artist refusing to paint anyone other than an earth pony, but the result was well worth the effort, and money, spent.
A purple mare with her wings outstretched was looking back at Sunny with a friendly expression, a small smile on her face. A violet halo stemmed from behind the mare's head, her horn glowing with that same color. Her front hooves were outstretched in a welcoming manner, almost urging the viewer to embrace her. The background was simple, but fitting, a seemingly infinite field of green, golden rays of glorious sunshine bathing the mare in their light.
The mare was beautiful.
Sunny mirrored the her smile.
Her father would've loved the painting.
The door creaked open, granting the mare access to her very own room. The queasy feeling returned as Sunny looked over her familiar yet distinctly different living space, a bead of sweat rolling down her brow as she noticed the inconsistencies.
It couldn't be helped, she supposed, dropping onto her bed with a tired sigh, closing her eyes. She could always rearrange things as she wanted, of course, but it wasn't something she was keen on doing right now, it was night, after all.
Minutes passed in utter silence, not a single sound coming from outside her bedroom window. It was almost unnerving, in a way, Sunny's grown attached to the sound of chirping crickets, or the occasional owl scream in the dead of night. She's grown even more attached to the sound of somepony's breathing, as creepy as that statement made her out to be, it was a proof she wasn't alone.
So why was she so on edge when she heard that sound once more?
A shiver went down her spine as she felt a pair of eyes staring her down, her breathing quickening momentarily, before becoming more subdued, even.
Was she trying to pretend she was asleep?
It wasn't going to work.
The passing seconds must've felt akin to centures to the mare, as she did her best to conceal her awareness of the presence in her room. Blood pumped through her arteries as her heart went into overdrive, her own pulse reverberating in her ears.
At some point, the suspense must have become unbearable, enough for the mare to grow desperate. She took a deep breath, her whole body shaking subtly as she opened her eyes.
In the corner of her room, right beside her window and directly opposite to her bed, stood a figure. A mare, to be prescise. Her liliac coat meshed nicely with her similarl colored mane, a dim horn protruding from her forehead. A small smile graced her face, her eyes closed as she stood in a welcoming pose, her front hooves outstretched.
It was supposed to be welcoming, at least.
All Sunny could see around the mare was darkness, one so impenetrable, it would render even the brightest of daylights null and void.
She had no wings.
Sunny's breath hitched as the figure opened its eyes, pools of black with snow-white irises looking down at her.
There was something eerie about the way it spoke, its lips moving out of sync with the words it uttered.
"Do not be afraid my dear sheperd, I have great news."
It attempted a kind smile, the mare in front of it frozen at the calling of some primal instinct that told her not to move.
"I am your true savior."
It's voice was a whisper, yet Sunny heard every word as clearly as if the speaker was next to her ear.
"I know everything about what makes you equine."
It remained still, yet grew closer towards her.
"I know what you love. "
She squeezed further into her bed, blinking accidentally as she did.
It grew closer.
"I know what you dread."
Sunny attepted to scream, but the sound died in her throat as the creature's face was enveloped in shadows, leaving only impossibly large eyes staring her down.
"You proved most dilligent at heeding my teachings, my dear shepherd. Your reward will be most fitting."
A toothy grin pierced the pitch-black of its face, mocking Sunny in its contrasting whiteness.
"Do not resist."
It was the last thing she ever saw.
"I don't think this is a big deal," Pipp whined as the group moved uphill, towards the lonely lighthouse in the distance. "back home its common practice to be a shut-in."
"This isn't Zephyr Heights, Pipp." Her sister said with an annoyed sigh, flying right beside her. "And Sunny's not one to stay home for an entire week." She added, looking worriedly at the steadily approaching pillar that was the Maretime Bay lighthouse.
"You can say that again." Hitch muttered, his expression a mix of concern and determination. "Before this whole magic thing happened, the townsponies considered it a good day if Sunny pestered them only once a day." A small smile graced his lips when he saw the sympathetic look Zipp was giving him.
"That bad, huh?"
Before Hitch could concoct a responce, Izzy's voice filled the momentary lull in conversation.
"Sunny's not bad, she's persistent!" Izzy chirped happily, the group finally conquering the hill leading to the lighthouse. "That's one of the things I like about her, she never gives up!" She finished with a smile, stopping in front of the door of Sunny's house.
Silence once again fell upon the quartet, broken by the occasional chirping of a bird, or the sound of a wave crashing against the rocky cliffside.
"No time like the present." Hitch said with a sigh, knocking on the door a few times. Seconds passed with no responce given, prompting another round of louder knocks from the stallion. When the action proved to be inconsequential in getting Sunny's attention, worry started to creep into Hitch's heart.
"Zipp, Pipp, could you look through the windows, maybe you'll see something?" He proposed, looking at the aformentioned mares with a worried expression.
"Sure thing." Zipp replied, taking to the air with her sister to do as the stallion asked. The pegasus duo sqouted each and every window in the residence, coming up with the same conclusion.
"The blinds are closed, all I can see is black." Zipp stated, landing near the two grounded ponies, worry creeping into her face.
"Same thing here." Pipp mirrored her sister's actions, pulling out a phone from behind her wing. "It's weird though, I tried to take a photo with a flash to see what's inside and, well..." She fiddled with her phone for a couple of seconds, before showing the screen to the rest of the group. "Take a look for yourself."
On the screen of Pipp's phone, each pony saw the same thing, bituminous, impenetrable darkness.
"She's got some good blinds!" Izzy's optimistic point of view wasn't shared by the rest ofthe group. "Maybe she's sleeping? How about we call her?" Izzy rushed to the door, hitting it with her hoof with surprising strength. "Sunny, It's Izzy her, are you alright? You've been couped up in your house lately, and we're all getting worried about you!"
Seconds passed with no responce, worrysome thoughts beginning to stir in Izzy's mind, until...
"Sunny alright." The mare's voice came from the other side of the door, to the combined relief of her friends.
"Sweet sauce, Sunny, you had us worried for a second!" Izzy continued, a bright smile on her face. "Come on now, you can't spend all your free time home, it's not healthy!"
"Yeah, Sunny, you need to get some excercise!" Zipp followed Izzy'l line of thinking, doing a few flips in the air.
"Besides, the sun is good for your fur!" Pipp added in a sing-song voice.
"can't. need time home." Sunny replied, earning an exasperated sigh her friends.
"Really? How much more time do you need?!" Izzy exclaimed, trotting in place nervously.
"I heard 'Judgement Neigh' is returning to theaters tomorrow, but if you want to see it, you'll have to ready up and buy tickets today!" Hitch added, sure Sunny'd come out to get a chance to see her favourtite movie.
"not much more. Come tomorrow. ready tomorrow." Sunny replied.
"Are you sure you're alright? I'm-, no, we're all worried about you, Sunny." Hitch began, gripping the doorknob with his hoof. "Mind if we come in? Just to make sure everything's okay?"
"no need to come in. I'm alright. I'm healthy. I need time home. I see you tomorrow."
Hitch pulled the doorknob, but found the door was locked tightly.
"I mean, she says she's alright. As her friends, we have to respect her boundaries, right?" Izzy proposed, not recieving a responce for a good few minutes.
"I... guess you're right." Hitch said with a sigh, the rest of the group nodding in affirmation. He took a step away from the closed door, and towards the hill's slope. Before beginning his descent, he shot the house a look.
"But you better come out tomorrow!" He all but yelled, hoping for a responce.
"I see you tomorrow."
