On the ground floor of the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight Sparkle trotted into the kitchen with half-lidded eyes, lighting an enchanted lantern on the table. As she pulled open the refrigerator, she recalled the night before. Twilight had managed to study for 8 hours straight – a personal record – before stumbling to her bed and passing out. It was excessive even for her standards.
I suppose I shouldn’t replace dinner with oat bars at regular intervals during study time, she thought. Though such an efficient way of eating may increase research consumption significantly!
It was then that Twilight glanced at the clock slowly ticking away on the kitchen wall.
11:45? That can’t be right. It’s still dark out. She pondered for a moment. Perhaps I overestimated the length of study time.
She heard a small shuffle sound above, then the light tap of dragon feet down the stairs.
“Twilight, shouldn’t you get to sleep?” Spike questioned as he reached the bottom, tilting his head. “It’s just like Celestia said – you can’t keep pulling…”
She whirled around. “That’s just the problem, Spike! I just woke up! It shouldn’t be 11:45!”
Twilight began to pace. Spike had to resist the urge to plant his hand in his face and walk back upstairs, where his blanket and bed were waiting for him. He knew he had to stop things before they got out of hand.
Twilight had apparently been talking while Spike zoned out. His ears jumped in: "...and the store clerk said the batteries were guaranteed to last 40 moons! This is why you can't trust salesponies. You have to do the research firsthand. Gah, how could I be so stupid? It's just like last week, when I..."
The little dragon, still decked out in his striped pajamas, eyed the unicorn warily. He quickly shuffled forward and rested his hand on Twilight, holding her still. The pony’s legs continued to flail about even as she was stuck in place. She didn’t seem to notice, rambling on - something about Magic Kindergarten and the wrong vial.
“Come on, Twilight. It’s just a clock. The batteries must have been bad or something. I know how you can fall asleep at your desk. Then you wake up and think all Tartarus is breaking loose.” Scratching the back of his head, he continued. “And even if it was, you’re in no state to save Equestria right now.”
Twilight stomped a hoof in frustration. “You don’t understand, Spike. I slept in my bed for at least 8 or 9 hours. Then I woke up feeling refreshed, mind you, and…”
She was interrupted by the library’s front door being kicked in with a bang. An orange blur galloped in, stopping right in front of Twilight, nearly coming nose to nose with her.
“Twi, this ain’t good.”
Twilight could hear worry in Applejack’s voice, a hint she’d come to trust with utmost caution. If Applejack was concerned, you could bet your bottom dollar the hay hit the fan.
The farm pony took off her Stetson, signaling doomsday even further. “Gosh, Twilight, I don’t know what to say. It’d just be better if you came outside. Ah don’t know how to explain this, but the sun hasn’t come up, and it’s near noon!”
Twilight’s eyes lit up, bearing a toothy smile.
“Applejack! Oh, thank Celestia you understand!” She pulled AJ in for a hug. “It’s always reassuring to realize that I’m not crazy, heh heh.” She looked away sheepishly, clearing her throat.
Halfway up the stairs, Spike rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m going back to sleep,” he said, stifling a yawn. “If the sun’s not up, Spike’s not up. Night.”
Twilight glared up at him. “No way, Spike! This could be a national crisis,” she sternly said.
Before Spike could retort, Applejack cut in. “She’s right, sugarcube,” she said with a sigh. “Ain’t no tellin’ what this could mean. Chrysalis, Sombra…” She shuddered. With a slow tilt of her hat over her green eyes, she looked at the wooden floors. Then she crossed her front legs. To Twilight, this was pretty much the sign of the apocalypse. It was highly unusual to see AJ in such a distressed state.
Spike groaned. “Fine. Just let me change out of these pajamas. I can’t save the world in my PJs.”
Twilight and Applejack giggled.
“We’ll be waiting outside. Don’t be long,” Twilight chirped.
Spike plodded back up the stairs, mumbling under his breath about blankets and the sun and why Applejack has to be so right all the time. It was going to be a long day.