//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: A State of Unrest 
// by Story blossom 
//------------------------------//

	Moonlight streamed in through the curtains of the bedroom in the small apartment.  The bed sheets rose and fell at a rhythmic speed by the breathing of its occupant.  Dirty clothes laid in small piles across the floor of the room.  An oak desk stood against the wall opposite to the window.  A single book bound by a leather cover with a sun emblem on the front sat in the center of the desk surrounded by papers.
The scene remained tranquil, until the rhythm of the breathing from beneath the bedding quickened its pace.  The sheets rustled as the girl tossed and turned recklessly upon them.
“No,” the girl mumbled, “no, stop!”
She bolted upright, breathing loud and rushed.  Sweat grasped her purple pajamas, causing them to cling uncomfortably to her skin.  Her yellow-crimson hair disheveled from the unrest.
The teen sighed, pinching the brim of her nose.  Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and carefully dodging the discarded clothing, she entered the bathroom. She flipped the light switch on, and allowed her eyes to adjust before observing herself in the mirror. She squeaked the sink on, cold water ran over her light amber fingers.  She rubbed her face with newly moistened hands.
Vision still blurred from sleep, she felt around the counter for a hair tie, and pulled her hair into a loose pony tail.  Returning to her bedside, she retrieved her phone.  Turning it on, the girl found it to be nearly five in the morning.
She sighed.   “I can’t believe this is happening again,” she said.  “Sunset Shimmer, former unicorn resident of Equestria, ex-student of Princess Celestia, defeater of several magical power crazed beings, and I can’t even get sleep because of nightmares.”
She shook her head, nearly hysterical from insomnia.  She entered her kitchen, grabbing a can of orange soda from the refrigerator and cracking it open.
“No use in trying to go back to sleep now,” Sunset thought, “It’ll be time for school in a little while.  Still, I’m kinda freaked out about these nightmares, I don’t think I could get to sleep even if I wanted to.”
She leaned against the kitchen counter, occasionally taking sips of the fizzy beverage.  Her brow furrowed as she recalled the reoccurring nightmare.
“It seems like every night more of the dream is revealed,” her hand drew to a fist, “But I can’t for the life of me figure it out.”
The nightmare replayed in her mind—shrouded in darkness, burning green eyes stared at her while earsplitting laughter surrounded her entirety.  Then, the eyes began moving closer to her, as a twisted, hole-filled horn emerged from atop them.  In this night’s revelation, after the figure appeared before her, the laughter grew louder, Sunset covered her ears, and screamed to drown it out, but her attempts failed miserably.  Her attention was drawn to the source of the laughter, thousands of fanged beasts materialized from the shadows.  Their beating insect-like wings only added to the noise.  Sunset Shimmer sank to the floor, which she found to be more of a mirror.  Hands over ears, she looked down to find her reflection not of herself, but that of a monster.  A monster, with tattered wings, skin bright red, and eyes surrounded by black.  It was the monster she had once become, the one she swore never to become again.
“I just don’t understand,” Sunset said unto the empty apartment, “I don’t even know who that was or they were.  And then there’s the whole she-demon thing.  Everyone else has forgiven me, and I thought I had even moved past it, but I guess my unconscious mind can’t help but to rehash the whole ordeal.  Everyone would think I was going crazy if I told them.”
She sighed, checking her phone once again for the time.
“School starts in an hour, better start getting ready,” she concluded.
She revisited her bedroom, picking out clean clothes that lie amongst the dirty ones and changing into them.  She released her hair from its hanging position, grabbing a hairbrush from the bathroom, she attempted to tame its unruliness.  Still half asleep, she gazed at herself in the mirror, bags under bloodshot eyes.
“No hiding it this time, I guess,” she supposed.
Buzzing suddenly drew her attention away from the mirror and to her phone.  She picked it up as a named flashed upon it, Rainbow Dash.
“Hey Dash, what’s up?” she faked a lively tone.
“Hey, just calling to make sure you were up,” Rainbow greeted.
“Oh, boy am I,” Sunset mumbled.
“Okay, well, I’ll be there in a few,” the athletic girl informed.
“Got it.  I’ll meet you in the lobby,” she concluded.
“’Kay,” Dash hung up the phone.
She collected her things from her bedroom.  Throwing her backpack over one shoulder, she grabbed the leather tome from her desk, placing it carefully in the bag.
“Just in case,” she thought aloud.
With that, she exited the apartment door and rode the elevator down to the lobby where her friend awaited.