//------------------------------//
// Dim 
// Story: Story of the Ensembles 
// by linksbro1 
//------------------------------//

	As she delved deeper into the forest, Twilight could not help but feel nervous. Sure, she had been in the forest alone at night many times before, but something felt wrong. She had felt this once before, when she was put face to face with a Cockatrice. This feeling that your own shadow was not following you, but stalking you, hadn't even been this strong when she had been turned to stone by that Cockatrice. A chill went down her spine as she stepped on a twig, snapping it. She couldn't help but admit that she was afraid of the forest, ever since that night she experienced what Discord had gone through to be turned into stone. She shook her head, dismissing these fears as irrational, and the chance of her falling for the same trick twice was very unlikely. "If I see any feathers, or snake tails, I'll just use my magic to make it run away from me" Twilight thought to herself "Oh, that reminds me, I should really go back to Canterlot and see if I can find any books on dragon illnesses. Oh! And the history of baking, Pinkie would love it, and probably some advanced stitching methods for Rarity, and-" as her thoughts trailed on, she slowly forgot about her nervous feeling, if only she hadn't, then she would have noticed the footsteps that weren't her own.

Luna yawned as she stood up, she was bored out of her mind. It was a new moon, so she couldn't see her beautiful moon. This is what she hated most. Not being able to see the moon at night time. She walked over to the slightly open door and peered through the gap. No pony was there. She turned back to the sky with a mischievous smile. "Maybe just a few, nopony will notice..." And with that, her horn started to glow, and a moment later, a few shooting stars appeared across the sky. No pony would notice them unless they were looking for shooting stars. After a few minutes, she became bored of the shooting stars and wandered back to the telescope. It was still pointed towards the Everfree Forest. When all of sudden, she felt a twisted feeling in her stomach. She gasped, jumping back from the telescope, her heart racing. "Dear big sister! What in Equestria was that?" She whimpered. The balcony door opened, as Luna turned to see her sister standing in the doorway. "You felt it too" It wasn't a question, but a statement. "Now you know why I trust this feeling" Celestia said. Luna looked back to the telescope "What was that?" She asked with a nervous look at her sister. "Evil" Celestia replied. Her horn started to glow, and Luna looked at her curiously, but the spell became apparent at once. A small bed materialized and landed with a soft thump on the balcony. "I think it would be safer if I slept here" Celestia explained "So you can wake me much more quickly" As Celestia settled on the bed, Luna slipped away from the balcony. She had to do something to help prevent whatever was about to happen. The first guard she ran into, she ordered to go to the Everfree forest, and listen outside for any suspicious noises. The guard nodded curtly and trotted off down the hall. "What made you dash off?" Celestia aksed her sister "We have eyes on the forest, but no ears." Celestia's eyes blinked with comprehension, as she turned her head to the Everfree Forest.
"Good luck Twilight. Whatever you may be doing, please come back alive."

As Twilight Sparkle continued to talk to herself in her mind, the footsteps had gotten closer to the mare, who hadn't noticed a thing, not even the owl that had landed on her back, and not even the sound of whirring engines as a mysterious blue box disappeared right in front of her, but even the most distracted ponies will notice the feeling of falling off a ridge, and even sleepwalking ponies would notice the feeling of hitting the ground after a 10ft. fall. *WHAM* Twilight raised her head from the ground as the owl on her back flew away, frightened by the sudden fall of the mare. "Did ya get that cart's number?" She asked stupidly, dazed by her impact with the ground. Her eyes were rolling around in her head, but they weren't the only things, as Fluttershy rode past on a giant apple, and then Applejack appeared and said, "Hey Twilight, we need more pony juice." When suddenly Fluttershy turned towards her and crushed her with the apple. Twilight jumped up, looking around. She was still in the forest, no giant apple riding Fluttershy, no Applejack. She had fallen unconscious. Twilight looked up. The moon hadn't moved in the sky too much, she would have said she had been out for 20 minutes. She looked down and found saw her bag, which Zecora had returned after she had taken the herbs Twilight brought her, and upon picking it up, felt the compass within its contents "But..." Twilight choked out "It wasn't in my bag before I fell, what's it doing in it now?" She looked around nervously. She had finally regained the sense of dread telling her to run, to just run, and to wait until morning until getting the flower. But Twilight unwisely shrugged off this feeling. If only Twilight had payed attention to her surroundings before she fell, she would have noticed that she had been moved while she was unconscious.

A scream pierced the air around Sweet Apple Acres. "BIG MAC!" "Eeeewha?" A tired voice replied to the panicked mare. "APPLEBLOOM'S ROOM HAS BEEN RANSACKED! SHE'S GONE!"