Nightmares of the Alicorn

Twilight Sparkle stepped off of her hot air balloon and breathed in the fresh Canterlot air. She sometimes missed her hometown even though Ponyville was where she was to stay. She whipped out her checklist and ran through, making sure she had everything with her. She especially made sure that the letter Princess Cadence had sent was tucked into her saddlebag. She turned around to Spike and smiled.

"Are we all set? Are you sure you can carry those bags?" She giggled as the baby dragon tried to balance the three suitcases on his back. "Spike let me get those. Your going to get my stuff everywhere. You know I can't lose any of my books." She began to lift them up from his grasp, but she was suddenly face to face with three armored ponies.

"Let us get those miss. We will take them to Room 707, the guest room next to Princess Cadence's bedroom." Twilight nodded, surprised at the authority of the princess's guards, and watched as they trotted away in synchronized movements.

"Jeez. This is the real deal, huh Spike?" Twilight turned to look at him, but he was already running towards the doors.

"Oh, Spike." Twilight sighed inwardly and galloped after him.

"Twilight Sparkle! How great it is to see you! Im so happy that you were able to come and visit. Come, you can get yourself situated in your room and then come meet me for tea in the garden." Twilight was met with Cadence's excited voice as she hugged her former foal sitter. Something seemed different about her though. Twilight pondered this as Cadence pulled her down a long regal hallway to Room 707. Cadence was acting so..skittish. Nervous. Her movements were jerky and she seemed like she was trying to make herself sound happy, when she really wasn't. She hastily left Twilight at her room and trotted briskly down a hallway, out of Twilight's sight. Spike had already run off (towards the kitchen most likely) so Twilight was alone as she entered the guest bedroom.

The room was absolutely dazzling, and Twilight gasped as she entered. The bed was a brilliant white with a canopy above and a silky screen that you could pull around to the foot. The pillows were a feathery cream with soft ruffles along the borders. There was a large window with a seat attached on the other side of the room. Next to it was an oak bookcase, empty and ready to be filled with the books Twilight had brought. The curtains had been pulled aside and there was a gorgeous view of the garden below. The dresser was a deep mahogany, and sitting on top of it was a fabulous crystal mirror with diamonds circling the border. Twilight was stunned for a few moments, and then remembered that she was expected to meet the Princess for tea, so sloppily arranged her books on the shelf and dropped her saddlebag by the other suitcases, grabbing only the letter that had been sent to her, some blank parchment and a quill pen. She stopped to ask a guard which way the garden was, hoping that she wasn't late. Even though Cadence was her favorite foal sitter, and one of the nicest friends she had, she was a princess, and she didn't want to keep her waiting, especially now that Twilight had noticed her troubled behavior. She galloped down the last long hallway towards the open door leading to the garden. It was a glorious summer day, the air was crisp and warm and the sky was a clear baby blue. She trotted down a curvy cobblestone path and spotted Cadence sitting on a fluffy pillow by a small coffee table holding a china teapot and dainty flowered teacups. She rushed over, quickly taking her seat on the soft cushion that had been set out for her. Her teacup was already full, so she levitated it up to her lips and sipped. She was nervous. The sips turned into gulps very rapidly. Whoa there Twilight, she thought Calm it down. You look like a silly filly. She set the teacup down and waited for Cadence to speak.

"Do you have any idea why I asked you to come to the castle, Twilight?" Cadence asked from across the table. She had a serious look on her face that deeply concerned the purple pony. In truth, Twilight had no idea at all, except that maybe she wanted to visit her sister-in-law. But now seeing Cadences worried expression, she knew that that was not the case. Twilight shook her head and narrowed her eyes, thinking. What could possibly worry a princess?

"You know what dreams feel like, don't you Twilight? You just kind of pop in the middle of things. You never start at the beginning. You just appear there. And you can't get a grasp on what is going on."

"Yes."

"And you know what nightmares feel like, don't you?"

"Yes. They can start from memories or things you have seen. You are scared. Terrified. You want the dream to end, and you can't. You just have to let yourself be scared."

"Precisely. Dreams, Twilight, are why I called you here today."

Twilight was confused, very confused. Ideas flashed through her mind. She forced them away and listened.

"Do you remember the Changelings, Twilight?"

Twilight's eyes widened. She did remember, even though she tried not to. That little situation hadn't seemed like a big deal to other ponies. Twilight and the gang will save the day, as always. But Twilight had been behind the scenes. She had been trapped with Cadence, the real Cadence, in a crystal cave, listening to Queen Chrysailis laugh and taunt them. Cadence had almost driven herself mad down there. It was a big impact on Twilight and Cadence both.

"What if we hadn't made it Twilight? What if that monster had married your brother? What if right now, you were talking to a monster?"

Twilight closed her eyes. "Do you have nightmares too, Cadence? The same one? Over and over?"

She nervously hoped the princess would say no. That this wasn't a problem. That this was just memories they should put behind them and Twilight was dwelling on this for too long...

"Yes, Twilight."

"Oh my..." Twilight felt almost sick with worry. Her mind was rushing with fear and uncertainty. What did this mean? Was this just mumbo jumbo and they were worried for nothing, or could this mean more? What if those nightmares weren't just their imaginations...

"I want you to stay with me, Twilight, until we can work this out. Write letters to your friends and Princess Celestia about this. Study this subject. I hope you brought a book on nightmares. We can get through this together." Cadence smiled nervously and stood up, reaching over to hug Twilight. "C'mon. Im sure Shining will want to see you once he gets word that you're here."