Something was very wrong.

Twilight's heart raced as she sprinted, every gasp for air threatening to break apart her lungs. Dark tendrils of timber seemed to beckon inwards towards the path, reaching for its prey.

The forest trail was rough, littered with roots and stone, forcing Twilight to pay special attention to where she planted her hooves. Eventually, the trees grew further apart, widening, and the night sky was once again visible. She had made it to a small clearing, at which point, Twilight knew one thing to be true: She was in danger.

The clearing was uncomfortably flat with little to no grass, occupied by a small ring of impossibly thin lifeless trees that slowly swayed in the warm dead air. Twilight slowly peered into the centre of the ring, her gut sinking lower as she neared, this was not a good place.

A large pit formed in Twilight's stomach as she noticed a small puddle of scorched oil bubbling in the centre. She felt her eyes beginning to sting. Her legs trembled.

Something was seriously wrong.

And then, in another moment, Twilight was swept to her hooves.

A flood of waves slammed against her body, pulling her underneath the murky water, promising to tear her limb to limb. For thirty seconds, the unicorn found herself unable to do anything other than allow the violent current to hurl her fragile body back and forth, all while she shut her eyes and held her breath.

But, before she knew it, the current subsided as she felt the rough sand of the seabed brush against her hooves. She had made it to the shore.

The beach was oddly familiar, although it bore no immediate resemblance to anywhere Twilight knew of. She slowly trudged towards the dunes by the backshore, noticing a large silhouette growing on the dark horizon. Pitch-black limbs grew from its trunk, slowly becoming illuminated by the candlelight that flickered within itself.

The Golden Oak Library was now in full view.

Twilight entered the hollow oak, the interior seemed overwhelmingly bigger than she remembered.

Lightning cracked violently in the sky above, flashing the inside of the library with a blinding white every time it struck. Twilight's body shook uncontrollably, unable to endure the deafening booms of thunder.

A faint high-pitched ring caught her attention, seemingly coming from the front door. She slowly turned as the door opened all on its own.

"Princess Luna?" Twilight whispered.

A deafening scream knocked Twilight to the floor, sending shockwaves through her chest.

Immediately shooting back onto her hooves, Twilight sprinted through the door, finding herself back in the forest clearing, the sinister trees still resting in a circle, with Luna barely conscious lying in the centre.

Twilight swallowed and slowly approached the Princess' body. Luna's eyes abruptly shot open as the ground beneath her began to boil into a black sludge. The blood-curdling screams returned, growing more intense as she slowly began to sink into the ground.

"Princess Luna!" Twilight shrieked, shooting herself awake from her dream.

Twilight could feel tears pouring down her face as she hugged the blanket to her chest, shielding herself from the thunderstorm outside her bedroom window. It was still dark, probably well before sunrise. She fought against the feeling of dreariness in fear of going back to sleep.

It was going to be a long night.

Pulling the sheets on her body, Twilight tip-toed around Spike's bed, forcing herself downstairs and into the kitchen, where she would light the stove with her magic and boil the kettle. The unicorn remained eerily still, absent-mindedly watching the steam slowly start to escape the spout, filling the room with a whispering hush. Paying attention to these things helped keep her mind off the dream.

The dream.

Even a fleeting shard of a memory of the dream made Twilight's throat tighten. This was one of those things that she knew would stick with her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the shrieking whistle of the kettle, snapping Twilight into action as she lifted the lid with her magic and put out the flame, causing the whistle to die out. She certainly did not wish to disturb Spike.

Before she could even fetch the coffee grounds, Twilight flinched at the sounds of the tortured screams coming from her room. She quickly raced up the stairs to find a baby dragon quietly sobbing in his bed. A nightmare, she presumed.

Twilight lowered herself next to Spike's shaking body and would remain by his side for the rest of the night. Neither one of them would return to sleep.

The morning arose quicker than Twilight had anticipated. She had always loved to watch the sunrise. The slow transition between a deep blue night and a bright orange morning always conjured a funny feeling, as it was never something she got to particularly enjoy very often.

Checking the calendar, Twilight remembered she had a picnic scheduled very soon, which meant she had to prepare to present herself as if she didn't just spend the night fighting off sleep with copious amounts of black coffee. Twilight quickly fixed her mane and said goodbye to Spike, who was still reading his comic book with dreary eyes.

The bright sun blanketed its warmth around Twilight's body as she advanced towards the hills where she agreed to meet her friends. The early morning dew still clung to the grass, dampening the unicorn's hooves as she drowsily moped up the hill. Four figures under a single tree soon came into view.

"Hiya, Twilight!" Pinkie called with her usual enthusiasm.

Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash all said their greetings, with much less enthusiasm, Twilight noted.

"Hey, everyone," Twilight said, also with much less enthusiasm than Pinkie Pie. "Is Fluttershy still coming?"

"Haven't heard from her, Sugarcube," Applejack reported. The three other ponies all shook their heads.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll turn up eventually." Rarity sighed, levitating a scone to her mouth.

Rainbow groaned, "It's not like she's missing much. It's wet as hay," pressing her hoof into the picnic blanket, causing a damp circle to appear.

Silence settled into the group as Twilight sat down.

"How was your morning Twilight? Have any nightmares?" Pinkie asked brightly, breaking the tension.

Twilight flinched. "How...did-"

"We all had utterly dreadful nightmares last night." Rarity interjected.

"Except me!" Pinkie cheered.

"Except Pinkie." Rarity scowled.

"You too, huh?" said Rainbow, adjusting her sitting position.

"All of you...had nightmares?" Twilight asked, stunned.

The three ponies, sans Pinkie, nodded solemnly. Something was going on, it just couldn't be a coincidence.

"Mine was just awful. I can't even think about it without..." Applejack trailed off, and her eyes visibly began to water. These weren't just regular nightmares. These were something else.

"Even Spike had one," Twilight quietly added.

"Where's Princess Luna when you need her?" groaned Rainbow. "Isn't she supposed to like, y'know, stop these things?"

That was a very good point. Princess Luna was always there to step in when nightmares became too much to handle. Actually, Luna was in her dream now that she thought about it. That certainly wasn't a good sign considering...

Twilight told the rest about Luna's fate in her dream. The four ponies stared in shock.

"Wow," Rainbow started.

"That is a mighty bit concerning," Applejack asserted. "Do y'all think we should...see if she's all right?"

Even Pinkie looked uncomfortable at the description. Nonetheless, they all promptly agreed to prepare for a trip to Canterlot.

Something was definitely wrong.