The Fall of Sunset Shimmer

Midnight

The Fall of Sunset Shimmer

Chapter Three

Midnight

Princess Celestia tosses and turns in her sleep, disturbed by images that her mind conjures up.

She knew she shouldn't have expected a good night's sleep after hearing Sunset's story, but was foolish enough to attempt to sleep.

Now she's got mentally disturbing images that will be hard to erase from her mind.

"Come now, Sunslut. Let's have some...fun, shall we?" The figure gave an evil chuckle and pinned the filly down… "You look just like your mother…"

The Princess of the Sun gasped as she jolted awake, sitting up and looking around.

"That was just a dream," she tells herself. "Calm... Calm..."

" I don't think I can get any more sleep tonight, " she ponders. "Perhaps a midnight walk will help."

" Poor Sunset, " she says. "No wonder she looks tired most of the time. The poor dear must be unable to sleep…"

Sighing, Princess Celestia leaves her chambers to take a walk.

"Sunset?" Celestia asks upon reaching the gardens. "What are you doing here?"

"Fancy seeing you here, Princess," she replies. "I couldn't sleep."

" What a coincidence. I was also unable to sleep, " says Celestia. After a few seconds, she asks, "Do you do this every night?"

" No. "

Her answers are blunt and straight to the point, as always, but they're shorter than usual.

Perhaps she's not in much of a talking mood.

"Well, I'll be returning to my walk," Celestia says awkwardly , and moves on after realising that Sunset won't reply.

Sunset turns her head as the sound of an approaching pony's hoofsteps reaches her ears. She lights her horn, only to see Sombra, who smiles and increases his pace.

“Hello Sunset,” he greets. “Let me guess, you were waiting here for me.”

She smiles. “Don't flatter yourself so much,” she teases. “I only came here because I couldn't sleep, and the thought of tossing and turning around in bed all night doesn't sound very appealing.”

Sombra puts a hoof over his heart, and says dramatically, "Oh, how you wound me!"

Sunset rolls her eyes. "Your heart is on the left side of your chest, not the right."

He blushes in embarrassment and desperately tries to change the subject. "A-anyways, what do you think of going somewhere on Saturday? This Saturday? "

"I thought Princess Luna kept you as busy a-"

"She may or may not have decided to let me take weekends off after I joked around about her overworking me, so I'm free. So, do you want to go anywhere? " As he repeats his question, he looks at the orange unicorn nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his forehoof.

He looks so hot doing that… Sunset shakes her head to clear the thoughts that are forming, and smiles. "I'd love to."

Sombra barely manages to contain his joy and settles for expressing it through the biggest grin he can manage. "Ok, I've got to go now, bye, " he exclaims and disappears in a flash of crimson light, leaving Sunset slightly confused from his sudden departure.

She chuckles quietly to herself and gets up, deciding to return to her bedroom.

Saturday comes faster than she expects, and before she knows it, Sombra's taken her to the Castle Grounds. It's the evening, just the time where ponies would be getting ready for bed.

"So, where are we going? " Sunset can't help but ask.

Sombra merely winks. "It's a surprise. For now, just relax and enjoy the scenery. Not to mention, my handsome face. As well as my incredibly styled mane. "

Sunset resists the urge to roll her eyes and just sighs. "You and your ego…"

However, she does look around and wishes that she'd brought some parchment and a quill so she could draw the surroundings. Drawing is a hobby of hers, and she's gotten quite good at it. While she doesn't feel comfortable socialising, she does like to watch ponies interact from afar.

They walk in silence for a while until Sombra asks, "Have you gone out of the Castle before?"

" Not really, " she admits. "I don't like the crowds, and most of the ponies here are...rude."

"I don't like the ponies here either. There are a few nice ones here and there, but others act like everyone is inferior to them and they rule everything."

"I dread the Nobles. From how Princess Celestia describes them, it's better to stay in than to risk running into them."

Sombra nods and Sunset asks, " How close are we now? "

He chuckles. "Getting impatient, huh?"

Sunset blushes, and upon receiving no reply, the grey unicorn says, "We're pretty close. I'd say around ten minutes. "

"...How often do you leave the Castle?"

"When I'm able to convince Princess Luna to let me, which is about once or twice every week. As I go out at night, not only do I get to enjoy the scenery which is ten times more beautiful, but I also don't have to deal with any ponies. For some reason, they're afraid of it. "

"I guess Princess Luna doesn't let you go out that much because she's worried?"

"Yeah, especially since ponies are scared of those who think and behave differently than them, and even though she knows I can handle myself thanks to the spells she taught me, as well as the bodyguard she provided, I guess she has a right to be overprotective."

" Speaking of your bodyguard...Is he here with us? "

"No, I asked him to stay back since it'd feel weird knowing he's watching us, but knowing him, he's probably following me, ready to dash forward if I get in danger."

Sunset's about to say something, but then out of the corner of her eyes, she sees a huge library. It's bigger than the one in the Castle, and she's awed by the sight of it.

"Is this…"

" The biggest library in Canterlot? " finishes Sombra with a smirk. "Yes, it is. I know how much you love books, so I decided to take you here. It claims to have books that even the Royal Library doesn't have, and-"

He notices that Sunset is no longer standing beside him, but rather, at the door of the library. Holding back laughter, he joins her.

Author's Note:

I hope this looks better than I think. It was really hard to write this chapter. I had a really hard time writing this chapter, I had the idea, but putting it into words was a completely differently story.

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