After dinner, they had tea and chatted for a while before preparing to turn off the lights and go to sleep. Meteora was a lady and also a pregnant mare; in such cold weather, she should rest early.
Aurora was the same, after all, she had pulled an all-nighter last night.
Although a series of surprises and family interactions kept her in an excited state, which temporarily suppressed her sleepiness, a pony's energy has its limits. After bidding her parents goodnight, Aurora was also ready to rest.
"Here, take this, Senior Sister. I know you usually don't sleep this early."
After escorting Sunset Shimmer to her guest room door, Aurora handed her a copy of "Daring Do and the Adventure of the Sapphire" to read before bed to pass the time.
"Thank you, Flying Light... Tonight is the best Hearths Warming Eve I've ever had in my life."
"Don't be so dramatic."
Aurora smiled, gave her a hug, and whispered in her ear.
"There will be even better ones in the future."
After enjoying the hug for a moment, they prepared to return to their respective rooms to rest.
"Happy Hearths Warming Eve, Sunset Shimmer."
"Happy Hearths Warming Eve, Aurora."
Returning to her room, Aurora yawned without any grace. She was truly exhausted now. If she didn't get to sleep early tonight, she might wake up with dark circles under her eyes tomorrow morning, and her mother would definitely notice.
But she still had to tidy up a bit before going to sleep.
Aurora carefully placed the crystal ball gifted by Twilight Sparkle in the most conspicuous spot on the display shelf, then went to the bathroom to wash up before hopping into bed and wrapping herself tightly in the quilt.
For the next few days, Sunset Shimmer would be staying at her home. Thinking about this made her look forward to the new day, wishing she could be knocked unconscious with a stick right now and wake up tomorrow morning.
"Goodnight, Makka Pakka."
Aurora closed her eyes.
— — The clock struck twelve, echoing through the winter night in Canterlot, marking the arrival of Hearths Warming Eve. Many ponies were celebrating throughout the night in their homes, welcoming the new year and blessing every day of it.
During this time of family celebration, a solitary pony appeared abruptly on the deserted street. A black cloak covered her completely, and one could only determine that she was a female Unicorn from her silhouette and the horn protruding from the top of her head.
She glanced around and did not linger, moving forward with purpose until she stood at the entrance of The House of Academic Studies.
She used a key to open the door and walked inside.
Looking at how familiar she was, it didn't look like her first time here at all. She strolled leisurely between rows of bookshelves, looking as relaxed as if she were out for a walk.
She walked up to a box of neatly stacked books; these were the books that Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle had returned to Aurora.
Perhaps this pony was also here to return a book? After all, she happened to pull a brand-new magic book from her cloak at that moment.
This was the only moment of hesitation she had shown since appearing, but she ultimately chose to place the book into the stack, mixing it with the others as if it had always belonged there.
After finishing this, she left The House of Academic Studies, locked the door again with the key, and vanished into the night.
Only the hoofprints left in the snow on the road proved that an uninvited guest had visited, but the overnight snowstorm would eventually hide all secrets, as if that pony had never appeared in this world at all.
— — Aurora opened her eyes.
She couldn't sleep.
Even though her brain and body were telling her to sleep, she just couldn't drift off, as if she had insomnia.
But how could that be? A pony as remarkably healthy in body and mind as her, how could she have symptoms of insomnia?
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