Shun-Torchlight

>You are Anon
>You've been living in Ponyville for a few months now
>It really didn't seem that long ago that you'd stopped at that petrol station for a can of Monster and a Lotto scratch card
>They had LED torches on offer
>"Four Ninenty-Nine" You'd said to yourself "It'd be a crime not to."
>You'd paid with what cash you had in your pocket and let them keep the penny change
>That was your last memory of home
>Next thing you remember is an orange pony in a stetson shaking you awake
>She seemed more annoyed than confused, and weirdly, so had you
>From the conversation you had, you found out you weren't the first human to just appear in Equestria
>Nor the second
>Or third
>In fact the population of Ponyville had gotten used to humans just appearing and integrating themselves into society
>You were nothing special at home, and nothing special here
>Your "Fancy lantern dohickey" however...
>The fucking torch
>But this was months ago
>Now you'd managed to integrate yourself into society somewhat, like the other humans
>You were yet to actually see another human
>Apparently they'd all moved elsewhere, one by one
>This really didn't bother you though
>You were content to just get on with your own life
>And right now, that involved answering your front door
>It was Orangehat
>I mean Applejack
>Probably after your services again
>You open the door
"A'ight AJ, what can I do for you this evening?"
>She puts a hoof behind her head and grins awkwardly
>"Oh howdy, Anon. I was wonderin' if you'd mind maybe helpin' me look fer some baskets the mah sister's gone and left out on the farm. Ah mean, it is winter, and it gets awful dark real quick..."
>You roll your eyes
"Yeah sure, lemme just grab my torch."
>That fucking LED torch
>Ponies were paying you to go and find their shit in the dark
>That was your job
>That was how you'd integrated yourself into society
>You grab your torch and a coat, before following Applejack to her farm
>You're directed to an old barn
>Faded paint, missing boards, cobwebs, hole in the roof. The works.
>"They're in their somewhere. Bring 'em by the house when you've got 'em."
>Applejack heads back to her warm little farmhouse to be all cozy, leaving you to search the barn
>It was fucking cold
>You push the door
>It creaks and some rust flakes off onto yourself
>The moonlight shines in perfectly through the hole in the roof
>It casts some disturbing looking shadows
>If you weren't in a land of technicolor ponies, this'd be B-movie horror stuff right here.
>You shine the torch around
>The baskets are pretty obvious
>They're just sat at the bottom of a pile of bad apples
>How had Applejack not seen these
>Maybe she didn't actually have eyes
>That was a fucking stupid thought, Anon
>You're fucking stupid
>You finish mentally abusing yourself and go to retrieve the baskets
>You go to close the door behind you as you leave, but the wood just breaks off in your hand
>Fuck it, it can stay open
>You begin to head back to the house
>That is, until you find yourself getting tackled to the ground and rolling across a muddy field
>You are now cold and muddy
>And lying on your back
>Stood over you is your attacker
>It's a mare
>She doesn't seem pleased
>You keep looking up at her
>She frowns at you with her polygonal, hazel retinae
>You impress yourself with you mental vocabulary as you continue your examination.
>Silky white fur, thicker and fluffier around the chest and neck
>A wavy mane, dark brown in colour, slightly over one eye, and flowing over the shoulders, with two upward protrusions.
>No, it was black
>Or really dark brown
>Or black and the light was hitting it oddly
>"What were you doing in my house?!"
>You completely miss what she says, still internally debating the colour of her mane.
>And then it hits you.
"Bournville!"
>You sit up as you name that famous dark chocolate
>And her foreleg meets your chest, pushing you back down
>"Err, no. Sharpie."
>You look up at her again
>She's glaring at you, wings outstretched
>Big butterfly like wings, marked up with that "Bournville" coloured patterning.
>Why was everything about her so... Distracting?
>Mesmerising was the word you were looking for, but you were too mesmerised to think of it
>"I asked you a question. Why were you in my house?"
"I uh.. I..."
>You were still looking at those wings
>And her fluffy chest
>You reach a hand up to touch it
>She squeaks angrily at you and hits your hand away before you can ruffle her fur
>She brings her face down inches away from your own
>"WHY WERE YOU IN MY HOUSE"
"I- I was just looking for some baskets."
>You click the torch on and shine it at the baskets you dropped
>"So bright..."
>So you were mesmerised by her, and she was mesmerised by your torch
>The fucking LED torch
>You were beginning to hate that thing
>You click it back off again
>"Gimme!"
>She makes a grab for it, but you hold it out of her reach
>"Hey! C'monnnn!"
>She keeps reaching for it, but she can't while she's holding you down
>Eventually, she collapses in what seems like defeat and lies down on top of you
>She's warm and soft
>This was a nice, if slightly surreal feeling
>She lies still for a while, before lifting her head and smiling at you.
>You still hold the torch out of reach
>"I'm Sharpie! You?"
>Now she was taking interest in you?
>You knew exactly what she was trying to do, you weren't that stupid
"Anon"
>Your reply is blunt, unimpressed
>She nuzzles you
>"Hi Anon~"
>You let out an annoyed sigh and put an arm around her
>She squeaks and wriggles, trying to get comfortable again
>"Y'know Anon, I really like you."
>That was it. That was enough. You weren't going to let this mare abuse your feels.
>Your feels were reserved for realisations of your life, and the endings of 90's Disney movies.
>This was neither.
>You roll to put yourself on top of Sharpie
>That caught her off guard, and she looks at you, slightly startled.
"Look Sharpie, you're cute, but I know you're only after my light."
>You stand up and retrieve the baskets scattered across the floor
>Sharpie is still lying on her back
>She squeaks at you, irritated before rolling over and getting up herself
>"Why won't you gimme the light?"
>You ignore her and begin to head back to Applejacks' house
>She starts following you
>"Anonnnn..."
>You drop the baskets on the doorstep and turn to face Sharpie
"I'm going home. I suggest you stop following and leave me alone."
>"No! Not until you give me the light!"
>She jumps at you, so you turn and start running
>You really didn't like running, but needs must
>She's chasing after you on hoof, shouting
>"Anon, get back here! Gimme the light!"
>You didn't think you stood a chance, but she was no quicker than you
>"You don't even need it! Give it to me!"
>She might have been cute, but she was loud and whiney too
>"Anonnnn! C'monnnnn!"
>Your house is dead ahead
>You sprint for the door and burst into your home
>It slams shut behind you
>You bolt and lock it before wiping the sweat from your brow and exhaling heavily in a cliche manner
>You flick the lights on and toss the torch into a drawer in the kitchen
>There was a tap on the glass in your door
>And another
>And two more
>"Anon! You've got loads of lights! Just gimme the little one!"
>You ignore her and start making a sandwich
>Pickled beetroot
>It was all you had in your fridge, you'd finished the cheese of this morning
>Who cares, beetroot sandwiches are fucking awesome
>At least you thought so
>"It's just one light!"
>You tuck in to your prestigious delicacy
>Sharpie continues to tap on your glass
>Her taps seem to get increasingly frantic
>"Anon let me in!"
>Her tone has changed and she's squeaking loudly
>"Anon! It's raining! Anon! Let me in! Letmein letmein letmein!"
>You knew the sound of desperation in a voice
>You knew the sound of panic
>This was neither
>This was the sound of pure fear
>Fear thick as liquid
>You could drown in it
>The remaining half of the sandwich goes back down on the plate
>You hated that torch, but you hated your conscience more
>You open the door, before you find yourself on the floor underneath a warm, fluffy mass
>She has her forelegs around you, and her face buried into your chest
>You can feel her breathing heavily
>She's shaking
>You stroke her mane, trying to calm her down
>Your hand brushes against the feathery bits sticking out at the top and she squeaks, flaring her wings out with a shower of glittery dust.
>She was so different to every other pony you'd met, and she captivated you
>You keep stroking her from the ear down as her breathing slows
>She lifts her head and looks at you
>Smiling
>She nuzzles you and whispers in your ear
>"Thank you..."
>You don't reply, and slowly sit up with her on your lap
>She just sits there, smiling at you
>"Anon, I'm kinda hungry..."
>This reminds you of your beetroot sandwich
>You lift her off you and stand up
"Yeah, I'll get you somethin'. Just let me shut the door. Don't want moths getting in."
>You swing the door shut
>"Why can't moths come in?"
"Because they're a fucking pain. They fly around the lights and it's fucking annoying. They're fucking stupid."
>Sharpie's hoof meets your face
>Hard
>She just slapped you
>She looks livid
>You rub your cheek
>And it finally clicks. Not your cheek; the puzzle in your head.
>Sharpie was a moth
>She was a pony too, but she was a moth
>You're not sure how you didn't realise earlier, it was blindingly obvious now you thought of it.
>This had put you in a hole
"Shit, I- I didn't mean that like that... I didn't know you were... Fuck. I'm fucking stupid."
>"Just shut up and get me something to eat, Anon."
>She was still scowling at you as you went back to the kitchen
>As you begin to make another sandwich, Sharpie pokes at your half eaten one before taking a bite
>"I don't like it."
>That was your sandwich
"Well that's all I've got."
>"Trust you to have no moth-friendly food."
>Coupled with her tone, that hurt.
>You didn't like to think you were anything more than casually racist.
>What did moths eat anyway?
"Look, I'm sorry. Okay? I didn't realise that you were a moth. I didn't even know that ponies could be moths. I didn't mean what I said."
>Her scowl fades away
>"I'll forgive you... When you've got me something to eat."
>She's seemingly singing her sentences now
>She certainly knew how to play with your feels
>You sigh, partially in relief
>"Right, come and find something then."
>She happily trots over to you and starts rummaging through the few things in your fridge
>She pulls out your can of Monster.
>You'd been saving that
>"Anon, what's this?"
>You take it and hold it in front of her
"Energy drink"
>"Is it sweet?"
>You nod
>"Can I have it?"
>You look at it
>It was your last ever can
>It was being saved for a special occasion
>You look down at the moth pony looking up at you expectantly
>She was special
"Sure, take it."
>You give than can back to her and watch
>She grins with glee and sits at the table
>She pokes than can a few times
>She turns it upside down
>She rolls it around the table
>You smirk
>"How do I get it out?"
>You take a glass from the sink and take it over to her
"Watch"
>You take the can, and slowly open and pour it as Sharpie watches you intently
>The brownish yellow liquid fills the glass, with about half the can left
>Excellent
>You slide the glass to your excited equine associate and finish the can off yourself, tilting your head back to empty the can entirely
>With the can empty, you exhale, content, and look back to Sharpie
>She's drinking
>At least that what you think she's doing
>You find it cute and disturbing at the same time
>Your face just shows a disturbed expression
>"Wha?"
>She asks, as if you were supposed to have seen this before, her tongue still extended into the glass
>Don't offend her again
"Nothing... Just wasn't expecting you to drink like that."
>"Ih a prohlem?"
"No, I think it's cute."
>She giggles, which bubbles her drink like blowing down a bendy straw
>You sit down opposite her to finish off your sandwich
>"I don' geh how you can eah than"
"I like beetroot"
>"Buh ihs purpuh."
"What's wrong with purple?"
>She shrugs and finishes off her drink
>A question pops into your head
"Sharpie..."
>She tilts her head
>"Mmhmm?"
"What colour is your mane?"
>She down at her mane resting on her shoulder and thinks for a second
>"I don't know Anon..."