Sunset Shimmer woke up screaming.
She stared into the moonlight, panting, sweating bullets.
The girl spun on her mattress. Her bed had been shoved into the center of her room, away from the windows and doors. All the blankets and sheets had been removed.
Hyperventilating, Sunset hugged her knees to her chest. She curled up into a little ball. Shivering. Her eyes raced across the barren walls and furniture.
At last—when she couldn't handle her own trembles any more—she hopped out of bed. Instinctively, she landed on all fours. Then, wincing, she teetered until she was standing upright like the biped she was. One pensive step after another, Sunset left her room and stumbled down the stairs of her two-story apartment.
Once she reached the first floor, the shadows shifted. With an audible yelp, Sunset flinched. She flung a nervous look over her shoulder, then searched the corners of the living room. All of the furniture had been draped over with sheets. The wall sockets were covered over with tiny strips of duct tape.
All throughout, cold silver moonlight shone... permeated.
Stifling a childish whimper, Sunset stumbled towards the kitchen. She had to lean against the walls and tabletops for support. Her hands fumbled across the counter. All of the knife and utensil drawers had been sealed shut with plastic zip-ties. The bottom cabinets that housed cleaning chemicals were boarded up.
Quivering all over, Sunset opened the only cabinet that wasn't fastened shut. All of the glass canisters were missing, and only the plastic cups remained. With a shaking hand, she grabbed one, then took it to the kitchen sink. She filled it with water, then took several hearty sips. For a brief moment, the girl's muscles relaxed.
With a sigh, she took one look into the remaining contents of the cup. Something shook... squirmed from within. Shrieking, Sunset threw the cup out of her grasp. The container rattled against the kitchen wall, spilling water all over the floor.
A look of utter horror hung off Sunset's lips. She backed out of the kitchen, shaking in her pajamas. A loud groan shook through the apartment's foundation. She jerked a look to the right. Her teeth shattered. Something dangled from overhead. Sunset flinched, looking up at the foyer's dorman chandelier.
Moonlight cascaded over every glossy, reflective surface in the hallway. Dark tendrils shook, came alive, and slithered towards her.
Sunset's eyes watered. She sniffled... then sniffled again. A sob escaped her throat as she hugged herself, quaking. She pressed her back to the wall and slid down until she was curled up on the floor, rocking back and forth.
Off in the distance, a mournful howl rolled over the city, shaking against the windows. Rattling them.
Sunset seethed. She reached her hands up, fingers scooping up clumps of scarlet hair.
Then...
There was a knock on the front door.
Sunset sucked her breath in. "...no..."
The knock repeated, louder this time. Persistent.
"It's not real..." Sunset clutched her skull, shaking her head vigorously. "It's not real. It's not real!" She cried, wept. "Don't listen to it. Don't listen don't listen don't listen—"
But then...
...the door creaked open. A gust of cold night air rushed in, billowing across Sunset's lonesome figure.
She hugged herself, rubbing her shoulders for warmth. She convulsed... hissed... and—against her better judgment—she looked up at the doorway. Glossy eyes reflected a petite, pigeon-toed figure.
Twilight Sparkle stood in a wintry cloak covering her normal school wear. At first sight of Sunset Shimmer curled up against the wall and in distress, she gasped. "Sunset...?!" She gaped down at the girl, eyes bright as she incredulously adjusted her thick, thick glasses. "Sunset Shimmer?! Is that you?!"
Sunset clenched her teeth. She stared up at Twilight in petrified horror.
"Sunset..." Twilight took a bold step forward.
"Mmmm...!" Like a rocket, Sunset sprang up off the floor and bolted towards the living room.
Twilight grimaced. "Sunset..." She closed the front door behind her and slowly... cautiously stepped into the next chamber of the apartment. There, she found Sunset squatting beside a sheet-covered couch, trembling at the mere sight of the midnight visitor. "Sunset... omigosh. It's... it's okay! It's me! Twilight—"
"St-Stay back!" Sunset yelped. Tears trailed down her cheeks, and yet she struggled to keep her voice firm. "Don't come any closer!"
Twilight winced. She anchored herself in place, nevertheless entreating her friend with glossy eyes. "Sunset... I'm not going to hurt you!" She gulped. "I would never... ever hurt you."
"It's... it's n-not me that I'm worried about!" Sunset blurted.
Twilight blinked wildly at that. "Huh? Sunset..."
"Wh-what are you even doing here?!" Sunset crawled backwards, nearly hyperventilating. "It's... it's the m-middle of the night!"
"I... I'm sorry..." Twilight winced. She brought both hands together in a demure fashion, her shoes facing inwardly. "It's just that... well... the door was unlocked... and I j-just couldn't help myself. I mean... I-I'm sorry for intruding, Sunset... and at such a bizarre time as well."
"But..." Sunset turned about, squinting into the bright moonlight beyond the curtains. "B-but—"
"It's just th-that you haven't been to school in days. You disappeared without a word, Sunset! I... I've been so worried. Your friends and I have been worried..."
"I... I..." Sunset hugged her knees again. Her voice collapsed into a series of pitiful squeaks.
"It's... I mean it's not like you." Twilight peeked her head out from around the couch. "Erm... is it?"
"Gaaaie!" Sunset scooted away from her. "I said stay back!"
"Sunset—"
"I don't want to h-hurt you, Twilight!"
"But Sunset..." Twilight stood across the carpet from her. Slowly, she squatted down so that she was even with the girl. Her eyes were full of concern. "...what makes you think that you would hurt me?"
"Because... I-I can't be trusted right now." Sunset buried her face in her hands. "I c-can't trust myself right now! It's so... so agonizing..."
"What is?" Twilight asked. She gulped hard, her voice taking on a wavering pitch. "Sunset, come with me." She held a hand out from afar. "Let me take you to the hospital—"
"It's not like that!" Sunset suddenly blurted, growling. The lines in her face sharpened as she hissed, "Don't you get it?! None of you people can help me!"
Twilight leaned back, startled by Sunset's outburst.
Sunset winced. She broke into tears once again, dropping her head to avoid Twilight's gaze. "I'm sorry. I-I'm so very sorry." She gulped. "You're right. I... I-I should have given you girls some warning. I..." She writhed. "I'll be okay. Honest, Twilight." She tried to smile. It barely came out straight. "It'll pass... it'll pass soon. Just... just go home. Please. I'll... I'll see you in school once... once it all blows over."
Twilight shook her head. "I can't leave you now, Sunset. Not after seeing you like this."
"Twilight, please—"
"You changed my life for the better." Twilight gulped hard. "You showed me a better way. If it weren't for you, Sunset, I'd be back at Crystal Prep. Miserable. Friendless. Of course I'm going to help you see this through."
"There's... there's nothing you can do..." Sunset suddenly gasped, flinching away from the darker shadows of the room. Once her turquoise eyes made a good survey of the emptiness, she relaxed, shoulders slumping behind her.
Twilight studied every movement. Calmly, she murmured, "It's... it's a magic thing, isn't it?"
Sunset sniffled. She hugged herself, trembling. "K-kinda..."
"A pony thing?"
Sunset bit her lip.
"Sunset..." Twilight sighed. She sat down across from her. "Please. I really want to help. Maybe if I just understood..."
"It's... it's hard to explain." Sunset gulped. "Remember... remember th-the first week you were at Canterlot High? When... when the other Twilight visited?"
"You mean the Princess?" Twilight nodded. "Yes. What about it?"
"Remember... mmmm..." Sunset swallowed a lump down her throat as she shivered. "...remember when we discussed with the Princess how anypony who comes through the mirror retains their pony essence deep inside their being?"
"I... think I recall that. Why? Is that what's going on here?" Twilight squinted, adjusting her glasses. "If so, how?"
"Well... uhm... back... b-b-back in Equestria..." Sunset gnashed her teeth. "...Princess Luna controls the moon."
"Uh huh..."
"But she does more than maintain the lunar cycle. She... mmmmm... she looks over the realm of dreams."
"You mean..." Twilight cocked her head to the side. "...she's Equestria's Goddess of Dreams?"
"Yes? Kinda? I mean..." Sunset shuddered, waving a single hand. "Technically speaking, she's an alicorn—and she concentrates all of her magical strength in maintaining the collective dreamscape of all equine beings in our world. And... and..." She looked at her own trembling wrist. Nervously, she bit onto her knuckle to keep her limb still.
Twilight blinked. "Does... any of this have an effect on you now that you're living over here?"
Sunset nodded with a shudder. "In more ways than you know."
"Like how?" Twilight leaned forward. "Please, Sunset. Tell me."
"I..." Sunset looked up, lips quivering. "I can't dream, Twilight."
Twilight's breath left her. "You... c-can't dream?"
Sunset shook her head.
"Like... at all?"
Sunset shook her head harder.
"Then... then what exactly is going o—?"
"Except..." Sunset hissed. "Except during a full moon. You see..." She gulped, gesturing at herself. "With the absence of Luna's guidance, my mind has nowhere to wander at night. So whenever I sleep, it's... it's like a d-deep black abyss. I... I-I have to take regular sleeping pills to get shuteye. But now? During... during a f-full moon?"
"What about it?"
"It... that... I-I dunno..." Sunset panted and panted. She hugged her knees again. "Maybe... m-mabye it drags something to the surface of my inner pony being. Something magical that doesn't know how to work on its own. But... but my mind goes wild. And every bit of energy that would normally go into dreaming manifests itself all at once... whether I'm sl-sleeping or awake."
"Is... that what's happening right now?"
Sunset's breaths came in tiny, spastic spurts.
Twilight's brow furrowed. "Sunset!"
The girl's eyes jerked towards her, twitching.
"Tell me what's happening to you," Twilight spoke, her voice soft.
A tear rolled down Sunset's face. "...the shadows keep moving. And... and..." Her eyes darted left and right. "...there are shapes. Things that are stalking me. Part... p-part of me knows that they're not real... and yet... and yet..."
"How long has this been going on for?"
Sunset buried her face in her hands. "Nnnnnghhh... all night. I... I knew it was going to happen in advance. I pr-prepared for it. It's... happened over forty times since I came here..."
Twilight grimaced. "Oh Sunset..."
"I... I usually have a grip on it. But right now?" Sunset peeked a panicked gaze through her fingers. "With the moon as bright as it is? I..." Her shoulders quivered. "...I hear them, Twilight."
"Hear who?"
Sunset's lips shook. "...the voice of every pony I've ever disappointed." She gulped hard. "Celestia. Luna. My friends from foalhood." She clenched her teeth, whimpered, and breathed: "Last night, I tried taking a shower and... a-and I saw my dead parents." She shook her head. "That's h-how I knew it started. They were dead and looking at me and... they knew, Twilight. They knew what a horrible monster I've become..."
"Sunset..."
"And... and in the closet..." Sunset panted. "I saw me. But not me me... the she demon. It's... it's like I never stopped doing horrible things to the people of this world."
Twilight crawled across the carpet. "You shouldn't have to be alone during all this."
"Nrnngh... g-go away!" Sunset yelped.
"Shhhh..." Twilight took her cloak off and draped it over Sunset's tender shoulders. She held her gently from behind. "That's not what a friend is supposed to do. And you're the best friend a girl—or a pony could have."
"That's... grnnngh..." Sunset spat. "That's not true!" She tried to shake out of Twilight's soft embrace. "You don't understand, Twilight! I've committed theft! Treason! I stole a Princess' crown and... and... I bullied the students of Canterlot High for years... long before you ever came here—!"
"You still don't deserve all of this."
"How can you say that?!" Sunset sobbed. She wiped her cheek with her sleeve, quivering. "You don't know anything!"
"Hmmmm..." Twilight hugged her closely from behind. "I know that you're a good pony."
"Twilight—"
"You're a good pony who only wants to do good things." She wrapped her arms around Sunset's waist, holding her in place, protecting her. "Sure, you've made mistakes. But you've more than made up for them."
"But... b-but..."
"Why else would all of your friends stick by your side?" Twilight leaned in so that Sunset could see her smiling face. "Why would I stick by your side?"
"I... I m-might... might harm..."
"Shhhh..." Twilight rocked her gently. "Like you could really hurt me right now. Don't you think I'm tougher than that?" A slight giggle. "I was a she-demon too, y'know."
"It's..." Sunset sniffled. "It's not the same..."
"Only because you stopped it from being permanent." Twilight caressed Sunset's cheek. "You saved me, Sunset. The last thing I'd ever do is abandon you."
"You... you mean..."
Twilight leaned back, hugging Sunset so that she leaned back with her. "I'm staying right here."
"You... you are...?"
"All night if I have to." Twilight hugged her tighter, her voice and breath warm. The scent of lavender. "We'll face the shadows together, okay?"
"I... I-I..."
"And when morning's risen, and the full moon is gone, then I'll make sure you get your sleep." Twilight leaned in to look at her again. "Sound like a deal?"
Sunset stared back, breathless.
"It's okay, Sunset." Twilight smiled. She closed her eyes. "You can go ahead and cry. I won't tell anypony."
And just like that, Sunset's face melted. She hunched over, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Shhhhh..." Twilight rocked her slowly, stroking her hair and shoulders from behind. "It's okay. We'll get you through this. I promise."
"Twilight..." Sunset wept. She wailed. "Twilight... I don't... don't deserve..."
"Don't give in, Sunset. Don't give into your fears."
"You're so precious... so sweet..." Sunset shook her head, wincing. "It should be me looking after you. Guiding you through friendship..."
"Let's make that journey together, hmmm?"
"Twilight..."
"You don't have to be afraid."
"Twilight... the only fear I have..." Sunset hyperventilated. One muscle at a time, she surrendered into Twilight's embrace. The warmth chased her sobs away, so that she spoke with utter clarity. "...is that you'll hate me..."
"Me?" Twilight leaned in. She kissed Sunset's ear. "Hate you?"
"When..." Sunset exhaled. "...when I tell you that... that I love you..."
She clenched her eyes shut, on the cusp of an explosion.
"I love you so much... and I-I've wanted this closeness for as long as I've known you."
Birds sang.
"... ... ...?" Sunset's eyes fluttered open.
Morning light wafted through the curtains. It was a cold morning.
Sunset blinked. "Twilight...?" She reached a hand up and behind her... but felt nothing. "Twilig—" She looked over her shoulder.
She was alone.
Sunset breathed... breathed. She felt the cloak that was draped over her shoulder... only it wasn't a cloak—but instead a bedsheet that had been yanked off a couch overnight. Sunset's eyes darted across the carpet, spotting broken plaster and overturned bits of furniture.
The sun grew brighter. The birds louder.
A dull sigh escaped Sunset's throat. She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself... then stood up on wobbly legs. With meditative grace, she marched back up the stairs, and took a long, warm shower.
It did a magnificent job of hiding her tears.
