It was the dead of night and...
Twilight Sparkle could not sleep.
There was no point in even trying.
She lay in her sleeping bag, staring... glaring into the fuzzy darkness of Applejack's bedroom.
The girl's breaths came in deep sighs. She hugged herself, nuzzling her cheek into the glossy fabric of her sleeping bag, searching for comfort.
It would not come.
So—stifling a groan—the teenager sat up, fluffed her pillow, fluffed it some more—then resorted to an angry grunt as she punched the stubborn thing. Within seconds—"Owieee..."—Twilight rub-rubbed her aching wrist, kissing the tiny knuckles before shaking the sting off her fingers.
The air of the room was filled with the hushed, wheezy breaths of her friends sleeping all around her.
Twilight exhaled out her nostrils, blinking blearily. She tilted her head to the side—only to catch a fuzzy blue shape and a fuzzy orange shape lying close to one another. The girl blinked curiously. Fumbling around, her hand found where her glasses were lying on the floor next to her sleeping bag. She placed the spectacles on her nose and squinted across the room.
The bed came into focus. Applejack lay on her back, goofily sprawled out with her mouth hanging wide open. Curled up next to her, clingy and petite, was none other than Rainbow Dash. The athletic teenager engulfed Applejack's entire left arm with a full-body hug.
"... ... ..." Twilight blinked. She looked at the floor—at Rainbow's empty, abandoned sleeping bag. She looked back up at the bed. "... ... ..." The girl shrugged.
Too lazy to strip her glasses off, Twilight deflated back to her mat. She found herself staring across the carpet at a hot pink sleeping bag that encased an angelic figure with flaming red-orange tresses and a golden complexion—
"Eeep!" Twilight squeaked, instantly covering her lips as her eyes went wide.
Just two feet from her, lying on her side, was Sunset Shimmer. The girl was draped in the placid throes of of blissful slumber. Her lithe body—usually proud, strong, and majestic—was now a bosomy bag of limp noodles. Her mouth was a tiny thing, breathing softly through pursed lips. To top it all off, a limp arm stretched outward, with a curiously dainty hand hanging unconsciously off the side of her sleeping bag...
...and within centimeters of Twilight's panting breaths.
"... ... ..." Twilight slowly lowered her hand from her mouth. She weathered wave after wave of quivers from deep within her lungs. By subconscious habit, she raised her fingers to adjust her glasses.
The heavenly image of Sunset's slumbering figure did not go away.
What's more... Twilight's hand didn't lower from her glasses.
The girl bit her lip. Swallowing a lump down her throat, she shifted her body... and reached her hand out.
Violet eyes locked on Sunset's wrist... and soon something else would too.
Twilight bit down on her lip. Hard. Her hand slithered across the carpet, rustling lightly. A tiny set of fingers crawled through the fuzz, kneading the upholstery one thread of a time... then slid up until each digit hovered just above Sunset's knuckles.
"Mrmmmfff..."
Twilight froze. Her eyes twitched.
Sunset's lips were moving. Her forehead tensed, and soon another sound limped out from her soft throat. "Mmmmmmfff... thhhelestiaaaa..."
Twilight Sparkle stared at her. Shivers rippled through her body. Suddenly, her vision went foggy, and there was no stopping the sniffles. She clenched her eyes shut... then tightened her hand into a tiny fist. With torturous grace, she retracted her arm, then rolled over until she was facing away from Sunset.
She lay there for a few agonizing minutes, fighting the urge to sob. Failing.
So, with a dull shudder, the girl finally unzipped her sleeping bag. She stood up, stretched her stiff legs, and carefully hobbled over the slumbering bodies all around her. Pausing at the door, Twilight leaned weakly against the frame. She stared back with a sad expression. Once her eyes found the fiery color of Sunset's hair, they blurred yet again. With a sniff, Twilight rubbed the tears dry beneath her glasses, then stepped into the second story hallway outside...