Seeing that the time had passed twelve o'clock, her sleep time was gradually decreasing. Although it was the New Year and it wouldn't matter if she slept in tomorrow, the feeling of being tired yet unable to sleep was even more agonizing.
There was an inexplicable, strange feeling in her heart that even Aurora couldn't quite put into words. It felt a bit like the mental excitement brought on by anxiety, with her magic even feeling somewhat restless.
It was as if something in the ether had touched her.
This definitely wasn't because she was too excited that her Senior Sister was sleeping nearby. After all, when they were at school, they usually lived together in the castle, and even Twilight was there.
She wouldn't suffer from insomnia over such a small matter; she wasn't a child anymore.
Unable to figure it out, Aurora ultimately attributed the cause to the aftereffects of today's intense emotional interactions. This wasn't a bad thing, and she would surely get used to it in the future.
Unable to sleep, Aurora stopped struggling and decided to sneak to the kitchen for a cup of hot milk before coming back to continue sleeping.
Passing by Sunset Shimmer's guest room, Aurora paused for a moment, wondering if she should bring a drink for her Senior Sister as well.
However, she reconsidered; at this hour, even Sunset Shimmer must surely be asleep, and knocking to disturb her would be somewhat impolite.
It would be awkward if she ended up knocking and finding out that "Senior Sister has not slept yet."
'But wouldn't it be quite fun to sneak in and launch a night raid right now?' Aurora licked her lips, thinking with a bit of mischievousness.
She had done this sort of thing back when they were at school; that time was to give Sunset Shimmer a birthday surprise, hiding in her quilt and scaring her.
Because this happened before Twilight Sparkle enrolled, it was a secret known only to the two of them.
In the moment that Aurora was lost in memories, the door suddenly opened without warning.
The pony inside probably didn't expect another pony to be standing outside her door at this hour, and her body visibly shrank back. After realizing what happened, she complained with lingering fear.
"Why are you standing at my room door like a female ghost?"
Immediately after, Sunset Shimmer remembered something and questioned her vigilantly.
"You aren't planning to launch another surprise attack like last time, are you?"
"I was just passing by this time, okay? If anything, you scared me by opening the door so suddenly."
Aurora felt a bit guilty while retorting. Although she was indeed just passing by, she had stopped at Sunset Shimmer's door for a while, and it was in that short moment that she was caught red-handed.
As for that thought of a night raid... please, she only thought about it for a second and hadn't decided to act on it yet, okay? A gentleman should be judged by their deeds, not their thoughts; don't be too harsh on an innocent pony.
However, Aurora completely failed to consider the possibility that she wasn't actually innocent, especially since she had a clear track record and was a very cheeky pony.
"It's so late, why aren't you sleeping? What are you doing opening the door and coming out?"
The quick-witted Aurora immediately launched a counterattack, because from Sunset Shimmer's reaction when she opened the door, she could tell that Sunset Shimmer hadn't opened the door because she sensed another pony outside.
Sure enough, the expression of the countered Sunset Shimmer flashed with a moment of embarrassment.
But she and Aurora had sparred so many times that Sunset Shimmer had grown somewhat, knowing that she absolutely could not lose momentum at this moment, otherwise she would be ruthlessly manipulated by the evil Aurora.
"I just lost track of time reading, and was just about to find something to drink."
Being so excited to spend the New Year at a friend's house that she couldn't sleep, and not being able to read a single word of the book—Sunset Shimmer would never admit to this fact, even if it killed her.
Just as Sunset Shimmer was about to press Aurora for the reason she wasn't sleeping in the middle of the night, she heard faint hoofbeats coming from the staircase.
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