I've always thought that when night fell, everything would feel normal.
But if that's true, why do I have this feeling of dread?
And not to mention that I woke up randomly in the middle of the night for the first time in my whole life.
That seems kind of odd.
I guess I'll try to go back to sleep. If I can.
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I don't know where I am. This isn't the library where I fell asleep, I know that for a fact. But where is this place? Am I even in Ponyville anymore?
I feel like I need to find something. Something important. It's like a pull. I decide to follow it.
I walk down a dark hallway. I can't see much, but I continue nonetheless. My mind begins to play tricks on me. I see things out of the corner of my eye. I shiver.
Minutes pass, or at least what I assume are minutes. It could be hours, it could be days. Time loses all meaning in this place. I press forward.
I come to an archway. The room beyond is dim. I can make out something on the farthest wall. I enter.
I come to the wall, pausing to look at it. Words are written, barely visible among the stone. I read them.
It's changing history.
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In a flash, I jolt awake. I look around. I'm in the library again. I hold my head in my hooves.
It felt real. More real than any other nightmare of the same kind that I've had before. I should ask Princess Luna about it. She might be able to help.
'It's changing history'. What could that possibly mean? It's too much to think about now.
I walk downstairs. I won't be sleeping tonight.
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I read a book, trying to calm my nerves. It only works a little. The feeling of dread returns. I can't help but worry.
What if something happens to my friends? What if something happens to Spike? What if something happens to Equestria as a whole? I sigh. This isn't like me. Maybe some tea will help me out.
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An hour passes. I pace restlessly, staring out the window. Something isn't right out there. I can feel it.
In the distance, I hear sirens. Policepony sirens... I wonder what they were alerted to.
I see lights going on, as other ponies wake. Several stick their heads out their windows. Others step out of their doors, blinking sleepily as the policeponies pull to a stop. I go downstairs. This matter may concern me, after all.
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"What's going on?" I ask one of the policeponies. The words come out harsher than I wanted. The one I spoke to jumps in shock.
"Princess Twilight!" the policepony sputters, attempting to make himself presentable. "Our apologies for waking you, my apologies especially!"
I sigh, unbelieving. I wonder how long it's been since I first became his crush. Of course, I don't really like that sort of attention. I suppose it's nice.
"Apology accepted. Now can you quit with the formalities and just tell me what's going on?!?!" I say, finally losing my patience.
"Ah... Er... Yes ma'am," the policepony says, blushing heavily. I groan inwardly. This had better be important.
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I listen to the policepony, my fear growing more with each word. I look at the wall for a moment.
"An unidentifiable being? What do you mean?" I ask.
"What the witness saw was no animal, pony, or changeling, nor was it any other species in any of Equestrias' records. The being was quite literally unidentifiable," he responds, taking a sip of the tea I had made for them.
"But that's not possible. There has to be a record of it someplace. Where did you check?" I say, unable to believe that there were no records of this being.
"We checked all the records of Equestria that Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, including the private records of Luna and Celestia. We then checked with the local newspaper to see if they had seen anything like the being before," he replies. "They checked all the stories they had written about since they first started, with no success. So we had to come here."
I absorb this information in silence. Several minutes pass, after which I speak.
"What makes you think that I have information that Princess Luna and Princess Celestia don't talk about in their records?" I ask quietly. The policepony looks defeated.
"You're right, Princess Twilight. We were foolish to think you had information nopony else had," he sighs, getting up. "We're sorry to bother you. If anything strange occurs, please don't hesitate to tell us."
I watch him go, before a thought occurs to me.
"Actually..." I say as he turns around, raising an eyebrow. "There may be something I can tell you."
He looks at me for a moment before sitting down again.
I stare out my window. The policepony, who is still here after about 2 hours of me explaining my nightmare, paces in front of the door. He looks deep in thought. Abruptly, he turns to me and speaks.
"Princess Twilight, I think it would be best if we took you into protective custody," he says curtly.
"But... But why?" I ask, my eyes widening. I shuffle my wings restlessly.
"Because you are the Princess of Friendship, one of the Elements of Harmony, and you may be in danger," he responds. "Are you going to come willingly, or will I have to arrest you?"
I stare at the hoofcuffs he holds, my heart racing. I don't understand why I'm scared of being taken into custody. I look at him, a pleading expression on my face.
"If you do not come willingly within the next minute, I will arrest you and you will be charged with resisting arrest," he says quietly. "And neither I nor you want to go through that, do we, Princess Twilight?"
I stare at the table, wishing fervently that I was anywhere but here. The policepony looks at me, then at the clock.
"Thirty seconds, Princess. Make your choice," he says.
I open my mouth to speak before a sudden tremor goes through the ground. I watch, horrified, as everything begins to shake.
"Princess, we need to get you out of here before it's too late," says the policepony in an urgent tone.
I nod, getting up. As I walk towards the policepony, several books are thrown off the shelves by the quake. I trip on a table, slamming my head into the ground, nearly blacking out. I get up, looking at the policepony, then my eyes widen in terror.
"Look out!" I scream. He turns around too late. The ground ruptures as the black tentacles that had been poking out of the ground come fully out. The policepony backs up, shaking.
"T-T-Take this camera... Re-Record this n-now..." he stammers , handing me a video recorder without looking back. I recognize the camera as the one he had on his waist when we were speaking. I notice it's still on. He must've been recording me as I was talking about my dream.
I turn the camera to the tentacles obediently. The policepony speaks to the tentacles.
"Who or what are you? What business do you have here?" he asks, trying to sound confident and failing.
The tentacles wave violently as the world begins to twist. I see some sort of creature walking slowly towards the policepony. The air ripples as if a fire was in the house, invisible save for the heat at its' tip.
"Whatever you are, stay back," he warns the creature, his tranquilizer gun at the ready.
I hear a laugh unlike any I had ever heard before. The creature rushes towards the policepony, who shoots wildly. The tentacles grab him and rip him... rip him apart. It disappears and all that's left is a pile of smoking bones.
I begin to scream.
