Twilight Sparkle wandered the vast Canterlot library with a frown. her mane was tattered and frizzed, which was telling about her current state of mind. She hadn't been sleeping well lately. She'd been plagued by a terrible nightmare for the past month, ever since she'd collected a moonstone sample from a nearby mountain glade.
In her nightmare she walked through a dark town filled with glowing eyes that watched her dash through the streets in a panic. Everypony except for five were little more than shadows and eyes.
Eventually she reached a dead end where a strange tall pony, with weirdly elongated forelegs awaited her. He was very pale, and his eyes were dark and lined with circles. He was also grinning a wide yellow grin. He wore a strange fleshy necklace, and bone earring. He was thin and stretched for stallion, and this strangeness was emphasized by how he stood on his hind-legs. He towered over her, and Twilight found that she was suddenly unable to move. the other ponies were holding her down. all she saw of them were their smiling teeth.
The stretched out stallion moved over to her on two legs, clutching a long rectangular wicker case clutched to his chest.
"You aren't here! this is just a dream! You aren't real!" she shrieked, her voice not the commanding thing she'd tried for.
The pony only continued to grin at her, deadly silent as he moved to unlatch to wicker case. Twilight's eyes were drawn to the thing, and she was suddenly very sure she didn't want to know what was inside the case. The case, which, she suddenly realized, was not one conman to a traveling salespony like she had first thought. the more the looked at it, the more certain she became that the wicker case was a coffin. A coffin for newborn foals.
There was a soft, nonthreatening click, and the pony swung the lid of the coffin-case open and pushed a hoof into its contents. He stirred them up and grinned. The things inside gave a musical clicking, like wind-chimes, both wood and glass. The cracks and clatters from inside made her want to claw out her eardrums. The very sound made her ears hurt, though there was nothing abnormal about the sounds.
The stretched stallion extended his foreleg, and offered her a hooffull of glittering things, intermixed with narrow, bleached rib bones. some were cracked, and with them there were small pieces of a ponies spine. Twilight could feel her legs trembling, and her eyes watering. her heart was thundering so fast in her chest she thought it might explode.
Want it?
The stallion seemed to be asking her this as over and over again he presented her with his macabre treasures. She could only cry until he finished stirring the tiny wicker coffin and slid the latch closed again. The white stallion pointed to her as he left, on two legs once more, and she awoke to his haunted sleepy eyes and grin.
But not really. it was a shadow.
Now the purple mare was in the library, praying for a book that would tell her how to rid herself of her nightmares. She was somehow certain that the stallion in her dreams was Death. She was being stalked and haunted in her nightmares. Her number was up.
No! She would not allow her rational mind to be clouded by superstition and sleep deprivation!
She shook her head tiredly and galloped through rare beams of moon light, pulling relevant books from shelves as she went. Twilight sat at a table, and opened a book on dreams, only to shove it away in disgust when she realized it was on interpretation.
As if she couldn't tell already that she was dreaming of death!
as the hours passed, and the sky began to lighten with the dawn, Twilight continued her research. She found nothing to cure her nightmares that she hadn't already tried. Her brother and their friend, Cadence were both worried about her. They'd given her most of the remedial advice they knew two weeks ago. Apparently even the Canterlot library had no better.
"Maybe I've managed to offend Nightmare Moon and she's dream walking," she huffed, knowing as she spoke that she was being ridiculous.
Even so, she couldn't allow this to go on! She had her studies, and these dreams were starting to impact them!
Twilight started pacing, back and forth. Her head hurt, and her stomach growled at her. She ignored both until she saw something tall and white out of the corner of her eye. She shrieked and spun around, catapulting a heavier tome at the Stallion watching her from the book shelves.
Shining Armor ducked, and stopped the book with his horn, eyes wide and concerned.
"Twilee?"
Huffing and puffing, Twilight stared at her brother. She flinched violently when he made to step closer, and he stopped, large eyes concerned.
"Mom and Dad told me that you ran out of the house this morning... whats going on?"
Twilight felt her lower lips start to tremble. Her throat felt suddenly tight, and her eyes were burning more than they already were.
"I... I..." and then she burst into huge braying sobs, not even caring as the librarian scuttled out from the shadow, enraged by the noise.
"Get her out of here!" she commanded.
Shining Armor nodded and dashed over to his broke down LSBFF. He supported her as she cried, and led her back to her large planetarium like bedroom, listening as she choked out bits and pieces of the nightmares still bothering her.
Twilight jerked awake in the darkness with moonlight pouring through her windows, nearly sending herself tumbling onto the floor. How could she have let herself fall asleep? She didn't remember sleeping! or even feeling tired! She paced the floor of her bedroom, gnawing at her lip until blood began to drip. she was unaware, and continued to move.
Must not fall asleep, must not fall asleep, must not fall asleep. she chanted in her head. But the rhythm of the words grew all to comfortable, and soon she found her hoof beats slowing, and her head drooping. It would be so nice just to law down. Her back was sore, and her neck protested at holding up her head.
She did as her body commanded, still chanting, though her words were slowing back down. The world around her seemed to be deeper than it was, almost as if she were seeing it with an extra dimension. Her mind buzzed like a hive of bees. She rested her head of her hooves, staring into the darkness under her bed, unable to move her eyes. she just felt so comfortable. So tired, but so very comfortable.
But that wasn't right. she was on her floor. Her cold, stone floor. But even the chill of her flesh felt welcome. Her head slipped further and turned to the side away from her bed. Just as her eyes began to slip completely shut, she noticed something odd.
She could she dull, worn hooves standing near her door.