//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: A State of Unrest 
// by Story blossom 
//------------------------------//

Alone.  Sunset Shimmer felt terribly alone.  Darkness completely surrounded her.  It almost felt as if she were blind from the darkness.  Fear crept up her spine at the silence.  It was then that the all too familiar figure rose before her.  The same eyes that had haunted her for so many nights appeared once again.  Tears beaded in her own eyes, as helplessness filled her mind.  The nightmare unfolded just as it always had, the dreadful shrills of laughter, the noise that consumed her, the floor’s reflection of her horrid form, and this night’s twist, betrayal.
After Sunset had accepted defeat and curled into an almost lifeless ball on the mirrored floor, the laughter stopped abruptly.  Though she dared not rise from her curled position, the voices reached her.  It was the horrified voices of her friends.
“What have you become?” the easily recognized voices wailed.
“How could you?” they taunted.
“You are a monster.”
The voices grew into a chorus of misery.  Sunset wished for it all to stop, for her mind to regain control.  She willed for it to cease, for someone to step in and end the nightmare.
“Princess Luna,” her thoughts sprang together.
Her battered voice yelled out for the Princess of the night.  Soon, however, she grew tired and gave up.  She curled tighter, and did her best to block the awful noise that haunted her.
It seemed that the princess had no intention of rescuing her, and that she would be forced to undergo the torture until she woke herself through her own terror.  Just as she was beginning to think that the pain would never end, a voice called out to her.  The regal voice was loud in her mind, so much so that it caught her attention even through the array of voices surrounding her.
“Sunset,” it called out, “Just hang on.”
The now transformed scarlet girl peeked up from her spot on the flooring, searching for the Princess that she expected to find nearby.  
“I am here,” she said.
On que, the dark blue alicorn manifested before her eyes.  The princess of the night towered over Sunset, yet she felt calmer at her arrival.  The regal pony’s eyes were caring, giving Sunset Shimmer a new sense of hope.
A small, weary smile spread across her lips as she shakily rose to stand beside Princess Luna.  The outcries of hatred still carrying through her ears.  Tears still streamed down her face, but she wiped them away with the back of her arm.  It felt rough against her face, and she refused to look at herself in the mirrored floor beneath her.
Her eyes timidly glanced back up to the princess that stood beside her.
“It’s alright, Sunset.  Now that we know who the enemy is, I can deal with them accordingly.”
She could not respond.  The words caught in her throat as a new wave of doubt entered her mind.
“How could she possibly fix this?  Even if she is a princess, Twilight herself said that Celestia had been defeated by what sounds like the same force,” thoughts rushed in Sunset’s head.
Her attention was once more drawn to the Princess as a blue glow was emitted from her long horn.  Her powerful magic went to work, as the figures around her began to disintegrate just as fast as they had appeared.
A fresh batch of tears streamed down her cheeks, but these were tears of disbelief.  She had trouble believing what she was seeing before her own eyes.  The horrors that had manifested themselves in her subconscious mind were disappearing, all thanks to Princess Luna of whom she barely knew.
Soon, the only beings left in her dream were the princess and herself.  The only remnant of the previous nightmare was her transformed appearance.  The she-demon form that she had once taken over was once again upon her body.  She felt ashamed to face the princess who saved her.
“Sunset,” Luna called out to her, “there is something I think you need to hear.”
The former citizen of Equestria still dared not look directly at the face of the princess, but stared in the general direction of Luna.  Sunset’s voice remained buried under shame and disbelief.
“Every dream, even nightmares, branch off from the dreamer’s emotions.  This invader took advantages of your fear in particular.  I can prevent the intruders from appearing again, but I cannot erase the fears behind the nightmares that they took advantage of.”
The princess let her words sink into Sunset Shimmer’s mind before continuing on, “Sunset.”
Luna attempted to lay a comforting hoof on the girl’s shoulder only to receive an unexpected wince in response.  Solemnly, the princess of the night removed her hoof.
“I know what you are feeling.  The regret, the sadness, the fear that you will again transform into the evil being that you once took form of.  Of all ponies, I should know.”
Sunset thought of the tales she was told as a young unicorn.  Among them, was the legend of Nightmare Moon.  She remembered the pained look in the eyes of her mentor, Princess Celestia, as she explained small parts of the story to the curious filly.
The amber girl suddenly felt closer to the princess that she had very little knowledge of.  But just as she began to open up, a shriek emitted from her lips.  A splitting pain shot through her skull as she cried out.
Through eyes blurred with tears, Sunset saw what she feared to be true.  The hideous figure with glowing green eyes laughed hysterically before her.  The sound became a horrid melody in the unicorn’s head, one that made her disgusted with herself for becoming so familiar with it.
The princess was completely baffled at the reappearance of the intruder.  “How?” she yelled.
“How,” the intruder continued to laugh, “Shouldn’t you know, Little Princess?”
“You shall not refer to me as such!” Luna’s words were dripping with anger, “I am Princess Luna of the night, and you are not welcome here!”
The alicorn blasted a magical beam out of her horn, striking the grotesque figure.  Though it was a direct hit, the target remained.
The piercing laughter rang out once again.  Sunset was convinced the noise would cause her ears to bleed.
“How sad,” it taunted, “the poor little princess can’t help the lost unicorn girl.”
Luna moved closer to Sunset, in attempts to shield her from the figure’s harsh insults.  
“What do you want from me!?” Sunset screamed.
All of the frustration that boiled inside of her was released all at once.  Her voice was something she didn’t recognize.  She was desperate for it to end.  This was supposed to be over.  Luna said she could fix it.
The unicorn resembled a broken toy on the mirrored floor of her own nightmare.
“From you?” the tone was still amused, “You are merely a means of transportation.  You, the poor little has been, are an open door to my future.  Our future.”
The drilling sound of beating wings returned.  Dozens of smaller figures appeared, screeching seemingly in agreement.
“We may have failed once in this world, but we will not fail again.  Your world will soon become ours.  So sleep well, Sunset Shimmer.”
The dream dematerialized around them.  Sunset hardly noticed that she had been yanked from subconscious state back into the palace bedroom.  She refused to open her eyes.
“Sunset,” Luna called, “are you alright?”
The amber unicorn barely managed to shake her head in response.  Tears steadily flowed from her shut eyes.
The princess felt an enormous amount of pity for her sister’s former pupil.  Silently, she left the room to inform her sister of the news.  The changlings would soon attack the world through the mirror.

. . .

Rarity clutched her hands tightly together in the pocket of her hoodie.  She wouldn’t be caught dead at school with such a simple outfit on.
Yet here I am.  Rainbow Dash better have a better reason than “just do it” when I get there.
She felt a chill run down the length of her spine upon seeing her friends waiting beside her school’s familiar statue.  Even from a distance, she could tell each of her friends apart.  Pinkie Pie, for instance, couldn’t hide her wild raspberry curls under her hood.
They each even had a different stance, Rainbow Dash stood, fists on her hips looking in Rarities direction.  She vaguely her the girl’s harsh whisper, “Hurry it up will you.”
Apple Jack shifted her weight on each leg, obviously uneasy, “We should hurry ‘fore somebody catches us out here.”
“AJ is right,” Twilight spoke up, “Is everyone ready?”  Not sure of her own answer to the question.
Each of the girls nodded, just as they heard a yell.
“Hey, who’s out here!?” a figure turned a flashlight on and pointed it in their direction.
“Quick, go go go!” Rainbow Dash yelled as each of the friends sprinted into the base of the statue, one after the other.
The security guard ran to the scene where he could have sworn he saw several figures standing.  Yet, he scratched his head, as he shined the flashlight around the empty courtyard where no figures were to be found.

. . .

	The princess of friendship sat, stomach full but churning as she pretended to listen to Spike’s story at the table.  More than an hour had passed, and there had been no news about her friend.  She began to wonder if she should excuse herself to go check on them, when the doors to the room flew open.
The room’s three occupants quickly turned to see Princess Luna entering.
“Sister, I am afraid it is worse than we previously expected.  I was able to temporarily rid the intruders from Sunset’s mind, but they returned.  I was unable to get much information from the leader.”
Celestia’s posture changed abruptly to one a leader, rather than somepony chatting with friends, “It is them, then.  The changlings and Queen Chrysalis?”
“Without a doubt,” Luna affirmed.  “The false queen has quite blatantly proclaimed war against the world on the other side of the mirror.”
“Something still isn’t clear, though,” Twilight spoke up.  “How do they plan on crossing over?  We must be missing . . .” her voice trailed off as an idea suddenly struck her.
“What is it, Twilight?” Celestia questioned her former pupil.
“There is only one way to get to the alternate world,” the lavender alicorn’s words were hushed, “the mirror.  They knew I would take Sunset here, to Luna.  They knew that I would leave the castle unattended.”
The princesses each looked at one another in mutual understanding.
“We must go, now,” Celestia said.