//------------------------------// // Prologue - Daydreams at Midnight // Story: Daydreams at Midnight // by Silk Spell //------------------------------// A muffled groan escaped the lips of a red and yellow haired girl. Sitting up her hands slid up to begin the work of rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, no matter how much she wished that she ‘could’ sleep. Looking over at the clock that read midnight she would only groan out again. “Well looks like there isn’t going to be any more sleeping tonight… Glad I at least got a few hours this time.” Sighing she threw the covers off and slipped off her bed. It was at this moment she realized the messy state she was in. Her normally curly and vibrant locks of hair now laid completely flat and dull against her skin sticking to her much like the sweaty white tank top and black pajama bottoms she was wearing. She felt so clammy standing there and her knees felt like they’d give out on her at any moment as she stood there taking in her pathetic state. Another sigh escaped her lips before she decided it was best to get cleaned up. Trotting into the bathroom she would strip off her clothing and step into a nice cool shower. Twenty minutes later she would exit the bathroom feeling somewhat better and now dressed in a dark purple tank top and gray sweatpants. She still had quite a few hours before school started and she was at a loss of what to do until then. Normally she would have attempted to at least get some more sleep but she had zero desire to fall into another nightmare. She would make her way over to the desk nestled away in the corner. Among the random papers, pictures, folders and a few other random knick knacks was a rather large leather bound brown book emblazoned with a bright red and yellow sun. Just the sight of it caused a smile to break out over her lips. This book brought about a few good memories… Memories she would never forget. Reaching out her fingers would trace down from the very top of the sun's tendril to the middle. Holding her finger there for a moment she imagined it warming beneath her fingers almost as if it was a sun itself. It was nostalgic seeing her cutie mark there. Sure she had been seeing it quite often what with her letters to a certain purple princess but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any sentimental value to it. She often found herself just skimming through some of the older reports. The ones that had been meant for her older mentors eyes. Before she could fall into memory lane though she would reach over and flip the book open. Flipping through the pages quickly she would find herself on her most recent writing. It was just a short letter of the previous days events. A food fight had been started by pinkie pie accidentally when she had let her excitement get the best of her, again. A small grin had crossed her lips recalling the whole ordeal. It had been a pretty big fight, the entire school had been involved and by the time it was all over the entire cafeteria had been covered in the mystery substance that had been served for lunch. In the end it had been Pinkie Pie who had been forced to clean it up, of course the others weren’t about to let her clean by herself and had helped. It had almost escalated into another food fight between the six but the threat of detention from Principal Celestia had been just a bit stronger. Her fingers traced the lettering and she couldn’t help but wish that a reply to the letter had come. Usually Twilight was pretty good about getting back to her often. But there were a few times, times such as this, where it took her longer than was usual. The waiting was just killer and tended to make her all the more anxious and self conscious. Had she said something that Twilight took offense too? Or maybe it was something that made her embarrassed? Either way it always got to her, only to have it all wash away when that reply finally arrived. Sunset couldn’t though in good heart truly be mad about it. Twilight was after all a Princess who had a responsibility to her subjects and country to do what was needed, be that simply listening to their requests for aid or taking out some kind of big and bad evil. It certainly didn’t stop a part of Sunset from being mad though, like she was being pushed aside for not being important enough. That her friend didn’t ‘consider’ her to be important enough. These feelings lasted only a few short moments but in recent days that feeling had been growing stronger and stronger and it frightened her. It felt like she was reverting to how she was before that accident a little less than a year a go. She could feel the emotions bubbling under her skin growing hotter and hotter. She would even swear that she had heard a soft whispers here and there. Every time she had attempted to confront the person she had been surprised to not see anyone behind her. She had heard them mostly when she was alone and the implications of the problem frightened her even more. It worried her and she couldn’t help but stress over it. Would tomorrow be that day those whispers turned into screams? Would those whispers begin to actually influence her? As it were they were simply a few soft words but that thought of them turning into something more...... No! She couldn’t dwell on those thoughts. It was those thoughts right there that would turn her worries and fears into reality. She simply had to shake them off and move on, at least for now. Pulling her hand away from her letter she shook her head and decided another letter was in order. At the very least it’d help her relax. Writing was also something she enjoyed doing. It helped her process her feelings much better than simply thinking about them at the very least. Pulling away the desk chair she would plop down, pen already in hand. With her pen posed to write she started with the first three words of most of her letters. Dear Princess Twilight..... The red and yellow haired girl would sit there for what felt like hours staring at those three words. As she began to write she quickly lost all thoughts. What was she going to write to Twilight about now? Anything she thought she wanted to write just fell flat at the tips of her fingers. It might have been because she wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to be feeling. Worried sure but why? Because she had had a nightmare about that night when she’d put that crown on? That she had felt angry and sad about not fulfilling what was once her dream. That she had been filled with disgust for that exact same dream she once had. Not even just the dream but what she had done to everyone she knew. No… no, no no. It had to stop, she was doing it again. Dwelling on those feelings. They were getting stronger. She could feel them beginning to boil beneath her skin and in her chest. Her heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute and she felt so angry. The memories of her last moments with her Teacher, the memories of her failed attempt at taking her rightful place as ruler of Equestria! Woa… she shook her head at that. Those kinds of thoughts hadn’t been at the forefront of her mind in so long that they felt foreign to her. Putting her pen down she would lean back into her chair hands coming up to glide through her mostly dry hair. As she worked out a few damp knots she couldn’t help but begin to let her thoughts stray. But unlike last time she didn’t let them stray into those dark thoughts from before. No this time her thoughts were of all of the good things that had happened. She had friends now! Real, honest to Faust, friends! She grinned lightly never thinking she would have something like that. At least not since she had been a little filly at the magic academy in Canterlot. Something stirred in her chest at that. She couldn’t tell what it was but if she had to take a guess it would be happiness. To know that she had people she could count on, not through fear, but through friendship… and there’s the word she had been thinking a lot about. Friendship. She couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped her lips. Along with that word came the face of her most cherished friendship. The friendship of the one she had been writing to for so long. The one she had just been attempting to write to. Looking over her eyes would find one of her favorite pictures. It was just a simple one of her and that purple mare, well girl, grinning at the camera arms slung over each other's shoulders. Her eyes lingered specifically on the girl. Staring at it always brought something out in her. A greater sense of happiness than even the day she had been chosen to be Celestia’s personal student. That thought certainly always made her smile. The butterflies that flitted about in her stomach didn’t help a single bit either. It was these feelings that always helped her out at times like these. Still smiling she would finish working the knots out of her hair. Feeling unsatisfied with her work she would stand up and head into the bathroom. She returned a few moments later with a brush. Passing by her dresser she would tap the screen of her ipod causing it to light up. A moment later and soon music filled the room. Specifically a song that she felt was perfect for the moment. It was ‘Times Like These” by the Foo Fighters. It certainly was times like these that she was glad she lived alone. After all she could be as loud as she liked! At least until her neighbors came knocking on her door, or worst yet the apartment manager. Uncaring of the consequences she turned it up a few more notches before she would fall back onto her bed to begin working on her hair with the brush. It was something that always seemed to soothe her. It always brought back the most pleasant of memories of her time as a student of Celestia. So engrossed in her trip down that memory lane that she hadn’t noticed the light glowing of the book on her desk at first. After a few songs had passed she had felt she had worked her hair enough for the moment and stood up to turn off her music as well as return her brush to the bathroom. It was on her way out of the bathroom she would finally take notice of the glowing book. The first emotion to hit her was happiness, then the butterflies and then a small hint of anger and sadness. Making her way over she would take her seat at the withdrawn chair and scoot up. An equal amount of excitement and worry filled her as she began to flip through the book. What did Twilight write? Was Twilight mad at her? Her questions and worries were soon answered. The letter was short yet enough to sate her emotions. It had been her apologizing for not writing so long and then going into detail why she had been away for the last times. Suffice to say Sunset felt like a real ass for thinking all of those bad thoughts. She should know better then to think Twilight didn’t want to be friends with her or was mad at her for whatever reason. The letter ended with her asking what was up and wondering why she had left those last few words without a letter. Sunset face-palmed at that. She had completely forgotten that the book transmitted everything written. Including unfinished letters. Picking up her pen she would begin to jot down a few sentences explaining herself, well leaving out all of those negative thoughts. Instead it was about how she had grown slightly worried, wondering why Twilight hadn’t been able to get back to her as quick as she usually did. Sunset had apologized for disturbing her so late at night and had then went on to asking how she was doing. With her letter finished she set her pen down waited for a response, if there was even going to be one. After what felt like eternity the book began to glow and vibrate gently. The response had been what she expected, Twilight telling her it was alright and that no she hadn’t woken her up. In fact the purple Alicorn had actually just returned home from her small trip. From there Twilight had begun to talk about her own days and how they went, what was going on with her friends in Ponyville as well as what had been going on around the kingdom in general. Nodding she couldn’t help but grin at the loopy writing that had begun to grow a little bit sloppy. Obviously the pony Princess was tired. A sleepy Twilight Sparkle entered her thoughts and she found the idea just adorable. So penning her next response she would explain her thoughts on the matter. Shortly after that she would begin to go into her next topic, and idea that had just struck her. “So I was thinking, if you want to anyway, if you’d like to come over to the human world for a few days? I know the girls and I would both love to see you again. It’s been quite a long time since we saw you and I figured now would be the perfect time. You see in the next few days a small competition will be taking place here at the school. It’s called the Friendship Games. Another school in the area will be visiting for it. The two schools will be competing in it. It’s mostly just for bragging rights but it’s something of a big tradition around here. So I figured you’d like to come and at least watch and show your support for everyone! And don’t worry about where you’ll sleep this time either. I’ve got everything covered.” Setting down her pen she stifled a small yawn. Looking over at the alarm clock sitting beside her bed it read 2:03 AM in big bold red lettering. It seemed like no time at all when the book began to vibrate again. This time only a small message was written upon the pages. “I would love to! Just let me check my schedule and see if there’s anything pressing that I need to do. After that I’ll just set something’s up here in-case of emergencies. If all goes well then I’ll be meet you after school in a few days. If not I’ll write you here! Anyways Spikes splayed out on the floor and I’m barely staying awake myself. I’ll talk to you later and we can iron out any extra details! Goodnight Sunset!” Sunset couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of the baby dragon sleeping on the floor. Taking up the pen she would jot down a quick goodnight before shutting the book and standing up from the desk. She could feel that butterflies coming back full force now. She was excited to see Twilight again. She just knew it was going to be a fun time. It just had to be! Another yawn would escape her lips before she decided it was time to try and get some more sleep. Maybe now with her mind slightly at ease and that annoying yet pleasing feeling in her stomach she would finally be able to get some sleep. So with that the red and yellow haired girl found herself drifting off to sleep with the thought of a cute purple haired girl invading her dreams.