Sleep
Walking up to the Carousel Boutique, Sunset and Twilight stopped at the front door. Taking the photo of her jacket out from under her ear, Sunset glanced over it. The picture was a cropped version of two pictures into one: the right side showed the front of her jacket while the left showed the back of it. Holding the photo in her magic, Sunset gingerly knocked on the front door.
A few seconds passed before the door opened. Standing on the other side of the door was a white unicorn filly, who had a light, two-tone, purple-pink curly mane and green eyes.
This must be Rarity’s little sister, Sweetie Belle. Sunset thought while looking down at the filly, giving her a slight smile.
“Hello, Sweetie Belle, is Rarity here?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah, she’s upstairs,” Sweetie Belle said, looking back behind her, “I think she’s working on another one of her designs though.”
“Is she busy?” Sunset asked. “We could come back later if she is.”
“No, I don’t think she’s too busy,” Sweetie Belle said, glancing to Sunset and giving her a wide smile. “Hi, my name is Sweetie Belle!”
“Oh hello, umm, my name is Sunset...Shimmer,” Sunset said awkwardly.
“Nice to meet you!”
Twilight looked at Sunset, then turned back to Sweetie Belle. “Can we come in?” she asked.
“Sure.” Sweetie Belle took a few steps back, allowing the two mares to step in.
As Twilight and Sunset walked in, they looked down at Sweetie Belle, who had a saddlebag on.
“Rarity is up in her parlor room,” Sweetie Belle said, pointing a hoof up the stairs to the door at the end of the hall.
“Are you going somewhere?” Twilight asked curiously.
“Yeah, I’m heading to the clubhouse to meet with the other crusaders,” Sweetie Belle said, trotting out the door. “Tell Rarity I’ll be back for dinner,” she said before trotting off, leaving Twilight and Sunset looking at her as she went.
Sunset watched as the filly happily left out the door. She wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings as she felt her heart sadden. She didn't know why she felt a little sad watching the filly go, but she did. Twilight waved a hoof in Sunset’s face, breaking her from her daze.
“Come on, Rarity is upstairs,” Twilight said, eyeing Sunset worriedly before motioning her towards the stairway.
“Yeah…” Sunset muttered to herself, following Twilight.
Going up the stairs, Sunset followed Twilight to a room in the far back. Opening the door, Sunset got a good look around the room. The room was cluttered with glitter, gems, silks, designer clothes and cloth, ribbons, ponequins, half-made outfits, and sketch paper along the wall. Despite all the clutter, the room was surprisingly well organized. Not clean, but organized nonetheless.
“Rarity?” Twilight called out to the white mare sitting at a desk.
“Yes, darling, may I help you with something?” Rarity asked, turning over to look at Twilight. “Oh, Sunset, you’re back, nice to see you again. Is there something I can help you two with?”
“Oh, umm, I was wondering, if you had the free time, if you could make me something?” Sunset asked nervously.
“Well, at the moment I am free. What would you like?”
Taking her picture of her jacket, Sunset levitated it over to Rarity. “This is what I’d like you to make.”
Rarity studied the picture for a few moments, turning it around in her magic as she looked over it.
“Hmm, what type of materials is this made out of?”
“Umm, mainly leather.”
“Just leather? Well, that simply won’t do,” Rarity muttered to herself. “Are you sure this is what you would like?”
“Yeah. It may not seem like much, but it would mean a lot to me.”
“Very well, please stand over here so I can get your measurements.” With that, Rarity started her measurements and questionings for Sunset.
***
After five hours of waiting inside the Boutique, with five hours of side chatting, Sunset finally had her leather jacket. While it wasn't the same exact leather jacket like the one she had in the human world, due to the fact that the leather used was the same type Rarity used for her saddles and that she spent two hours experimenting with different materials to give it a black, shiny, leathery touch and feel, it was almost an exact replica. One of the key differences Sunset noted was that the inside of her jacket and collar were soft and cotton-filled with a smooth black silk cover. The other key difference was that instead of the metal studs that lined her collar, she had small amber gems that lined it instead, which seemed to shimmer in the light and fade in the dark. Paying Rarity for the jacket and the excess materials used, Sunset and Twilight headed back to the castle as the day was nearing night.
Upon nearing the castle, Twilight spotted two royal batpony guards standing outside her castle. “Excuse me, can I help you?” Twilight asked when she got close.
Both the batponies bowed to Twilight before answering. “No, Princess Twilight, we are here to pick up Miss Shimmer for Princess Luna.”
“Really? I was assuming that Sunset wouldn’t be leaving for another two hours.”
“Princess Luna gave the order to take Miss Shimmer to her when she is ready.” One of the batponies turned to Sunset. “So Miss Shimmer, when you are ready to leave, please let us know.”
Both guards stood at attention as they awaited Sunset’s reply. Sunset looked back to Twilight who only raised a hoof for Sunset to answer.
“Well, guess I shouldn’t keep Luna waiting then,” Sunset finally answered, more to Twilight than the guards.
“All right then. Sunset, if you happen to be finished with Luna earlier than expected, have Luna or Celestia send a message to me and I’ll have Spike leave the front door unlocked for you, okay?” Twilight said.
“All right,” Sunset agreed. “Okay then, guess that means I’m ready to go,” Sunset said to the night guards.
Nodding, both guards moved over to Luna’s night chariot. Putting on the straps, one of the guards turned to Sunset. “Miss Shimmer, is there anything you would like to get before we go?
Thinking, Sunset shooked her head with an audible no. If I need anything, I’m sure I can have it sent to me by Spike’s dragon fire.
Getting into the chariot, Sunset waved goodbye to Twilight as the guards ascended into the air.
***
After a fairly silent trip from Ponyville to Canterlot, the night guards had escorted Sunset to the courtroom.
“So, why are we here?” Sunset asked, standing before a large door.
“Princess Luna is at her night court. We have orders to wait here until she is done,” One of the night guards said.
“Wait here? Did Luna expect me to come straight away? How long is this night court supposed to last?”
“The night courts are usually short, so it shouldn't be long. Princess Luna said if you happened to come straight away, we are to wait here until her court session is done.”
“Okay…” Sunset said, taking a seat near the wall.
If this is going to be longer than expected, I’m going to ask if I can go to the royal library and wait there. Sunset thought.
After ten minutes of waiting, and Sunset was minutes away from asking to go to the library, Princess Luna appeared out of the doorway. She looked a bit exhausted and plainly tired, but nevertheless, she gave Sunset a warm smile.
“Sunset, we are glad to see you here so soon,” Luna said, looking at Sunset more closely, “Is that outfit a new trend of yours?”
“Kinda,” Sunset said, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof.
“If you will, please follow us,” Luna said, motioning to Sunset and the two guards.
Walking down the corridor, Sunset turned to Luna. “Princess Luna, if I may ask, why did you call me back so soon?”
Still walking down the hall for a bit, Luna finally answered. “Once we get into the privacy of my chamber, we shall answer all of your questions.”
Sighing internally, Sunset could only follow what Luna said as she was lead to her chamber. After a couple more minutes of walking, they finally made it to her chamber.
Luna, turning to her guards, said, “We would like you two to wait out here and make sure we are not disturbed.”
Saluting, both night guards took up stationary positions by the doors on either side. Opening the door, Luna motioned for Sunset to follow. Walking through the door, Luna turned around, casting a spell on the door.
“What’s that?” Sunset asked, seeing as the door was glowing in a dark blue aura.
“A muting spell. This way, we will have full privacy,” Luna said, walking past Sunset.
Walking over to a ponequin, Luna removed her royal regalia and placed them on it. Putting her crown on an azul, silk-looking pillow, Luna floated up and landed on her bed.
“All right, Sunset, you may proceed with thy questioning.”
Sunset shifted where she stood as she placed her questions in her head. “Umm, why did you call me back here so soon?” Sunset asked, worry lacing in her voice.
“Because, we are worried about you,” Luna said in a neutral tone.
“Worried about me? Why are you worried about me?” Sunset asked, panic rising in her voice.
Luna eyed Sunset with a concerned look. “Sunset, how are you feeling?”
The question threw Sunset off and she stumbled back a little. “I-I’m fine, why do you ask?”
“Thats good,” Luna said, looking at Sunset.
The vagueness of Luna’s answer was causing Sunset a lot of discomfort. “Princess Luna, can you please tell me why I’m here, and why you called me back so soon?”
“We are sorry for troubling you with worry,” Luna apologized. “To put our question simply, Sunset, how do you feel about yourself and your previous actions in the other world.”
Sunset looked down as the question settled in her mind. “To be honest, I still feel terrible about what I have done.”
“Please tell us exactly why you feel terrible. There is only so much Twilight can tell us without witnessing it all herself. We would like to hear the beginning, the point where Twilight could not be there.”
“Well, after the Fall Formal began my first week of reformation. My first week was like…” Sunset started to trail off. The memories of her first week and the horrible pranks the students played on her, the death glares she got at every turn, the solitude, nasty notes, paper balls that were thrown at her, even some of the students who had gotten bold enough to say what was on their mind to Sunset’s face.
Seeing the depressed look on Sunset’s face, Luna cleared her throat. “Sunset, if the question we asked is too painful for you to answer, then we shall not press further on.” That seemed to break Sunset out of her trance and eased her a bit. “If it is not too much trouble, tell us, how are things for you now?”
That seemed to perk Sunset up a bit. “Well, things are a lot better. Some of the students have forgiven me and I’ve managed to make some new friends outside the ones I already had... Though, there are still some who prefer to make me remember everything that I have done. Some even said they would never let me forget. Not that I can blame them much, seeing how much I’ve already done to them. It’s only fair, I suppose,” Sunset said, that last bit muffled under her breath.
Luna eyed Sunset curiously before asking her next question.
“Sunset, have you not forgiven yourself?”
That question pulled Sunset’s brain to a halt and crashed it. Collecting herself, Sunset thought about what Luna asked her. Moments later Sunset came to her answer.
“No, I haven’t,” Sunset answered, guilt clear in her voice, “Even though I decided to move on from my past, I haven't really forgiven myself.”
Nodding her head, Luna looked at Sunset with a small smile. “Sunset, we would like to help you with that. That is the reason we called you here, we fear that your guilt may… affect you dearly.”
“How, how do you plan on helping me? I was offered help while in the other world, but I turned it down knowing they couldn’t help me deal with this. Deal with my… corrupt self,” Sunset said quietly.
Refraining from asking any questions about the human world, Luna pushed on. “Sunset, do you not believe we can help you?”
“It’s not that, I’m just not sure how you can help.”
Giving Sunset another smile, Luna said softly, “Sunset, we too had trouble in forgiving ourself, even to the point of giving up our title as ‘Princess’ because we felt we let our subjects down, but with help from Tia we were able to do it. We would like to offer you the same help.”
Sunset could only look at Luna with wide eyes as she sat down. With only one question in mind, Sunset had to ask. “I know I didn't try to hide how much my past actions had hurt me, but what made you believe it would be this bad?”
Luna looked at Sunset with a saddened expression. “We have looked into your dreams when you were staying with Twilight. Twilight had mentioned how you were trying to be better and we were curious as to how that was going from your point of view. Least to say, what we saw worried us. We had put a spell around you so you could dream peacefully.”
“That explains why I haven't had any nightmares or any bad dreams while being here, and the lack of it on the other side,” Sunset muttered to herself. Looking back up to Luna, Sunset gave a weak smile. “Do you really think you can help me?”
“We are not sure, but it can never hurt to try.”
“Okay then, what do I need to do?”
Luna patted the side of her bed, motioning for Sunset to get on. Sunset hesitated at first, gingerly walking over to the bed. With a small breath, Sunset got on top of the bed and laid down in front of Luna. The bed was soft and firm with a cool breeze to the touch. The fine midnight blue silk that blanketed the bed was soft and comfortable as Sunset laid down on top of it.
Giving Sunset a smile, Luna closed her eyes as she began to channel her magic.
“Princess Luna, how do you plan to help me?”
“In the dream realm, for only there can we help you,” Luna answered.
Not really understanding how her dreams could help her, Sunset decided just to trust Luna’s words.
Opening her eyes, Luna looked at Sunset. “Sunset, are you ready? Once this spell touches you, you will be overcome with fatigue and fall asleep shortly after.”
“I’m ready,” Sunset said, bracing herself.
With that, Luna leaned forward and placed the tip of her horn on Sunset’s head. Wave after wave of fatigue washed over Sunset as her eyes began to get heavy. Fighting the sleep that was overcoming her, Sunset looked up at Luna. Seeing three images of Luna, Sunset’s head started to sway to and fro. With heavy eyes and extreme tiredness, all Sunset wanted to do was cuddle underneath the cool blanket and sleep. Head bobbing, Sunset felt, what she believed to be, a blanket draped over her. Looking up to Luna, Sunset’s eyes widened in horror at what she saw before her. Two images of Luna, which were moving in and out of focus, had morphed.
The only thing Sunset could mutter before falling asleep was, “Nightmare Moon.” With that, Sunset was out cold.
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That was really good, I liked it a lot.
6182884 Thanks, don't get much comment on this story for some reason.
6183025 You're welcome, I'm sorry to hear that though.
6183229 Mhm, guess as a newbie writer like me, this would happen.
Nightmare Moon? This looks interestingly promising.
6183290 Hope so.
6183304 Dude, just because you don't get a lot of comments doesn't mean your story is bad. This story is on my favorites list.
6183311 Yeah, thanks
6183326 You're welcome. By the way, have you seen any of my stories by any chance?
6183344 Don't think so, I'll give it a look tonight.
Nice. I really like where the story seems to be heading.
You might want to see about looking for an editor though. I don't remember it in the other chapters but a ton of grammatical errors seem to have slipped through in this chapter. I'm still enjoying the story but some of the tense errors especially can make it harder to read.
6183628 Sorry about that. I do have a editor, but I release the chapter early before he got the Chance to look over it.
I'll have it fix once he's not busy anymore.
6183645 nice!! I thought it seemed like an odd quality drop. Really looking forward to more of the story
6183836
Just hated waiting so long to release it.
6183391 Thanks.
6183243 That does make a lot of sense.
Great chapter, wonder what luna plans to do that needs nightmare. Show her worst fears?
6188297 Maybe, who knows. Maybe it might end up like the Ghost of Christmas Future.
Not Likely though, since me writing skill is not that far up to par.
6183326 on my favorites as well.
6200058 Thanks
6200592 twas mine pleasure