Sleep Tight

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Chapter 01
Comatose

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A sudden, frantic knocking startled a certain purple alicorn from her slumber. As she sat up, she realized that an open book was stuck to the side of her face. Shaking her head to remove book and her sleepiness, she realized that she must've fallen asleep in the middle of her studies late last night. Or was it early this morning? She couldn't remember.

Another rapid series of knocks at her door reminded her just why she had awoken in the first place. "Um… Coming!" she announced as she tried to free her mind of sleep's fog.

Trotting over to the door and opening it, she found nothing. At first she was confused, but then a bit of motion caught her eye as she looked down to see a tiny unicorn. "Sweetie Belle?" she recognized the white unicorn filly with the purple and pink mane. "What are you doing here?"

"It's my big sister, Rarity!" she desperately explained. "There's something wrong with her! She's not waking up!"

"What?!" the alicorn exclaimed. The subject of "not waking up" could be any number of horrible things—even the most horrible thing of all. "Are-are you sure?" she tried to ask reassuringly, but only sounded worried.

The filly nodded emphatically. "I tried everything I could think of! Please, Twilight! I don't know what to do!"

"Spike! SPIIIKE!" Twilight Sparkle shouted as she ushered the young unicorn into her library.

"Guh," a groan echoed from upstairs. "Five more minutes!"

"Not now Spike! I need you to watch Sweetie Belle!" the purple alicorn scolded. "There's something wrong with Rarity and I need to get over there RIGHT NOW!"

Spike was down the stairs in an instant. "What!? Rarity!? What's wrong!?"

"She won't wake up!" Sweetie Belle screeched. "Something is really wrong with her!"

"Oh no!" Spike fretted. "Twilight, you gotta do something!"

"I know, Spike," Twilight Sparkle asserted as she grabbed her saddlebags with her magic. She quickly placed a first-aid kit, a book on first-aid, and a book with curative magic spells into the bag. "I'm going right now to check on her. Spike, you stay here with Sweetie Belle, all right?"

Spike withered a bit about not being able to go, but the seriousness of Twilight's voice kept him from protesting. "G-got it," he muttered. "You can count on me."

"Sweetie Belle," the alicorn started in as soothing a voice she could muster. "I'm going to go make sure your sister is okay, all right? I'll be back soon."

"O-okay."

With that Twilight was out the door and running full speed to the nearby boutique.

Bursting through the door, she frantically searched for her friend. I hope she okay, she worried as she found not a trace of Rarity in the store or workroom. Please let her be okay.

The kitchen was empty too. Having cleared the first floor, Twilight headed up the steps. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she began to panic. Heading straight into Rarity's room, she found the fashionista in her bed.

"Oh my goodness!" Twilight fretted as she raced to the bedside.

Rarity was lying in her bed and she seemed to be writhing in agony. Her legs would occasionally twitch and jerk, her face was contorted in anguish, and she was mumbling incoherently.

Putting a hoof to her friend's forehead, Twilight found that while Rarity was soaked with sweat, she didn't seem to have a fever. "Rarity?" Twilight gingerly prodded as she gave her ailing friend a nudge. "Rarity, can you hear me? I need you to tell me what's wrong!"

Rarity seemed to mumble something in response, but the purple alicorn just couldn't make it out. Twilight had never seen anything like this. It was almost as if…as if Rarity was suffering from a horrible nightmare. She carefully drew the sheets back and placed her head against Rarity's chest. Her heart sounded like it was beating strongly, if a bit rapidly. She also seemed to be breathing all right.

Could she really just be sleeping? Twilight wondered. She opened her saddlebag and regretted not grabbing a book on equine illnesses. Pulling out the first-aid kit she found the item she was looking for: smelling salts. She used her magic to bring the vial next to Rarity's face before opening it. Rarity stiffened and pulled away from the noxious fumes, but she didn't stir. Twilight tried to get her to awaken for several seconds before resigning and capping the smelling salts. She then replaced the vial in the kit and put the kit in her bag.

"This…I'll go get help!" Twilight Sparkle surrendered. She didn't have a clue as to what was wrong or what she could do to help her ailing friend. The hospital wasn't too far, but she wasn't sure if she could carry Rarity in her magic for that long or if it was even okay to move the elegant unicorn.

I have to go get a doctor! she decided as she pulled the covers back over the suffering unicorn. In a flash, Twilight was down the stairs and out the door. Twilight continued to rush through the streets of Ponyville as she headed towards the hospital.

A shout nearly loud enough to shatter windows caused Twilight Sparkle to come to a skidding stop outside of Sugarcube Corner. Normally, she'd chalk up any ruckus to Pinkie Pie being…Pinkie Pie, but the words she had heard made her blood run cold.

WAKE UP! Pinkie's voice echoed in Twilight's mind as she turned and entered the cake shop.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," the purple alicorn muttered over and over as she looked about the empty shop. A cacophony of noises drew Twilight to the twins' room where she found Pinkie Pie beating a drum while blowing on a trumpet. Nothing abnormal, if not for the Cakes lying sprawled out on the floor in their clothes. Both of them seemed to be afflicted with the same thing Rarity had.

"It's spreading," Twilight said in little more than a whisper as she looked to Pinkie Pie, panic running wild through her. "Pinkie! When did this happen!?"

The pink pony didn't seem to notice as she gave up on the musical instruments and moved to her party cannon. She fired the deafeningly loud device, spreading balloons and streamers all over the room. It had no effect on the sleeping Cakes.

"PINKIE PIE!" Twilight shouted, finally getting the party pony's attention.

"TWILIGHT!" Pinkie shouted back, though Twilight wasn't sure if she was just matching her own volume or if she was having trouble hearing after all that noise. "Thank Celestia you're here! Something's wrong with everypony!"

Pinkie grabbed Twilight and dragged her over next to the sleeping Cakes. "They went to check on the twins and-and… THIS! Fix it!" she shouted as she literally pressed her face against Twilight's.

Twilight shoved Pinkie away as she shook her head. She dared a peek into the crib to find that the twins were not spared this fate. Both of them seemed to be having nightmares, too.

"I-I can't do anything!" the bookworm of a pony admitted. "I was just now heading to the hospital to find a doctor! Pinkie, the same thing's happened to Rarity!"

"WHAT!?"

"Come on," Twilight urged as she headed towards the hallway. "I could use your help!"

"First you need to help them!" Pinkie asserted as she pointed to the Cakes.

Twilight shook her head. "There isn't anything I can do. That's why we have to go! You can go to the hospital and tell them what's going on while I go and see if I have any books that might tell me what in Equestria is happening to everypony!"

Pinkie looked between the beckoning Twilight and the suffering Cakes. With a little whimper she started to follow her friend. "Are you sure it's okay to just leave them there like that?" she worried as she fretted about.

"We don't have much of a choice," Twilight reasoned as the two headed down the stairs. "We will get them help. One way or another," she boldly claimed.

Pinkie let out an exaggerated yawn before replying, "If you say so."

Twilight stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the shop. The fire was gone from Pinkie's voice. She whirled around to see Pinkie swaying a bit as her eyelids threatened to overpower the pink pony's ability to keep them open. "Pinkie Pie?! Pinkie Pie stay with me!"

The normally energetic party-pony yawned again. Twilight had said something to her, but she couldn't seem to focus at all on what it was. It was strange. At the top of the stairs she'd been wide awake, but she found it hard to think about that at all as her eyes finally closed. "Just…a little nap," she muttered as she collapsed right there and succumbed to sleep's siren song.

"Pinkie! Pinkie don't fall asleep!" Twilight Sparkle uselessly urged as she moved over to her friend and picked her up. Not receiving any reply other than a light snore, Twilight began shaking her. "Come on! Wake up!"

A still-sleeping Pinkie suddenly frowned. Then she began to whimper. She'd started to have a nightmare. Twilight set Pinkie gingerly on the ground and sat next to her. She'd lost Pinkie Pie to whatever plague was sweeping through Ponyville. Literally just a minute ago Pinkie was awake and full of her normal vigor. Now her friend was on the floor twitching and moaning as some unseen force tormented her.

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight mourned as tears welled up and spilled over, falling onto Pinkie's sleeping form. "I-I'll get you help, everypony help! I promise!" she vowed as she tore herself away from Pinkie's side. She trotted over to the door before giving one last glance at Pinkie.

She willed her tears to stop as she stepped back out onto the street. That's when she noticed it. The bustling town of Ponyville had practically turned into a ghost town. Most of the shops were closed and there weren't but a few ponies out on the streets.

This is bad! Twilight thought as she took off in the direction of Ponyville's hospital. This is very, very bad!

Twilight Sparkle didn't make it far before a zooming rainbow crashed to a stop in front of her. The alicorn coughed at the dust stirred up. As the cloud cleared, she saw a rainbow-maned pegasus standing in front of her wearing a panicked expression that she assumed mirrored her own.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight greeted with a thinly veiled sense of terror in her voice. "Don't tell me…"

Rainbow Dash didn't hear a word. "Twilight! You gotta come with me right now!" she urged as she pointed a hoof. "Fluttershy didn't show up when she said she would and I went to go check on her and-and just come with! She needs your help!"

Twilight shook her head as she looked away from Dash, "She…Fluttershy's asleep, isn't she? Trapped in some kind of nightmare."

Rainbow's jaw dropped. She couldn't find any words, so she settled on nodding enthusiastically.

"The same thing has already happened to Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and all of the Cakes!" Twilight warned. "I think it's happening all over Ponyville! We've got to figure out what's going on and how to stop it.

The cyan pegasus nodded again. "Just tell me what to do!"

Twilight Sparkle pointed a hoof in the direction of the Ponyville hospital. "You go to the hospital and find out if any of the doctors there know what's going on. I'm going to go back to the library and see if I can't find the solution in one of the books there." The purple alicorn had a sense of déjà vu as she recalled a very similar situation with Pinkie Pie. "And whatever you do, don't fall asleep!"

"Got it!" Dash acknowledged as she took off with a dizzying speed.

Twilight hesitated a bit before heading back towards her library. She really, really hoped that Rainbow Dash would be able to make it to the hospital and back without falling asleep.

By the time she staggered back through her library's door, Twilight was completely exhausted. Running through town after staying up all night was anything but a pleasant experience—not to mention the whole bizarre sleeping plague that had her in a tizzy.

"Spike! I'm back!" Twilight hollered as she used her magic to close the door behind her and set her saddlebags aside.

"T-Twilight?" Spike choked out as he looked pathetically to the alicorn he had served so diligently. "I-I don't know what happened… I'm so sorry!" he apologized.

It took the purple pony a moment to make sense of Spike's words before she remembered that she had left Sweetie Belle in his care. "Oh, no," she breathed as she looked around for the filly. "Don't tell me it happened to Sweetie Belle, too!"

"If by 'it' you mean she's asleep and I can't get her to wake up and it looks like she's in pain and I don't know what to do and—"

"Where is she, Spike?" Twilight cut off the baby dragon's rambling.

He pointed up. "I put her in the guest bed," he claimed. "I didn't know what else to do!"

With a sigh and a nod, Twilight turned to her bookshelves. After all, there wasn't a thing she could to help Sweetie Belle. It was a sickening feeling, knowing that everypony was suffering and that she couldn't help them. The only thing she could do was to ignore their suffering and figure out just what the cause is. And this bookshelf was her last bastion of hope of solving it herself.

"Okay, Spike. Whatever this is, it's not just affecting Sweetie Belle and Rarity. "It's all over Ponyville!" she quickly explained. "Find me any books on sleep disorders, equine disease, or magical afflictions!"

"Right!" Spike saluted as he ran into the adjacent room while Twilight plucked books from the shelves with her magic.

In no time, they had an impressive pile of books each of which may or may not hold the answer to the crisis. While Spike continued to scrounge the shelves for any other book that might help, Twilight began quickly sifting through the books for anything that was even close to the crisis that had befallen Ponyville.

The dedicated student had the art of skimming books for useful information down to a science. In a matter of only a minute or two, she would lift a book with her magic, check the contents and the index, then flip through any sections that might be useful before setting the book down and grabbing another. So far, she'd gone through a couple of dozen books and, so far, she was just as clueless as when she'd started.

Just then, the window burst open as a rainbow-accented blue blur zoomed into the library. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight greeted with a hopeful smile. That smile instantly vanished once she got a good look at the pegasus.

Not unlike Pinkie Pie, the normally energetic Pegasus was swaying on her hooves and seemed to be struggling just to keep her eyes open. With a big yawn, Dash turned to set her bleary eyes on Twilight.

"You were right," Rainbow Dash muttered as she fought against the overwhelming desire to sleep. "It's…*yawn*…all over Ponyville. The doctors that are still awake," she explained, taking a break to yawn again, "they don't have a clue what's going on or what to do about it." Rainbow then shook her head in a desperate attempt to wake herself up.

"I-I'll get you a cup of coffee!" Twilight offered as she stepped away from her piles of books.

"W-wait," Dash halted her. "Just, do me a favor? Whenever you…*yawn*…f-find out what's behind this…kick their flank for me." With that said, Rainbow Dash collapsed to the floor and was instantly asleep.

Twilight watched in muted horror as Rainbow fell into a fitful slumber. She began to twitch and moan just like all the rest. It was only then that she realized the horrible truth. It was likely only a matter of time before she was trapped in a world of nightmares, just like all of her friends.

Equestria's newest princess quickly decided on what needed to be done. "Spike, write a letter to the Princess! Tell her about everypony being trapped in their nightmares," she ordered as she brought her saddlebag to herself with her magic and put it on. "I'm going to go see if Zecora knows what's going on. If I'm not back soon, or if you start getting really sleepy, send the letter."

"You want me to just hang onto it?" the purple dragon questioned as he grabbed a quill and parchment.

Twilight considered it a moment before nodding. "If I can solve this on my own, then we don't need to get Princess Celestia involved. It might be risky for her to come here, not to mention she would be so disappointed in me that I couldn't do it on my own," she explained herself. "I'm a princess now. I should at least be able to protect Ponyville."

The alicorn let out a long sigh before heading to the door. "But if I fall asleep, then there's nopony left to save Ponyville. If you fall asleep I can't get in touch with Princess Celestia. So, if I'm not back soon or you start getting sleepy, send it."

"Right, got it," Spike acknowledged as he began to pen the letter.

One frantic trip into the Everfree Forest later and Twilight arrived at Zecora's hut. The purple alicorn stopped in front of the door to catch her breath. This was her last hope of find a way to save Ponyville short of admitting her failure to her mentor. Twilight really, really hoped the wise herbalist would know something.

Drumming up her courage, Twilight rapped on the door. After several seconds…nothing. Not only did the door fail to open to Zecora's smiling face, there were no hoof steps. No voice. Nothing.

Warily pushing the door open, Twilight stuck her head into the hut. "Hello? Zecora?"

Still not receiving a response, the alicorn tentatively stepped inside. Her eyes were drawn almost instantly to a mass of black and white on the floor. Rushing over, she confirmed her fears—even Zecora was not spared from the mysterious plague!

"Not you, too," Twilight Sparkle lamented as she nudged the suffering zebra with a hoof. "How can you be affected by it way out here?"

A sudden, horrific thought struck Twilight. If even Zecora wasn't spared, what if this…whatever it was, wasn't just in Ponyville? What if all of Equestria was afflicted? Her mind's image of the princesses suffering in an eternal nightmare made Twilight's stomach turn.

What if I'm the last pony awake? she desolately thought. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened in horror. What if I'm not awake?!

Desperate for confirmation that she wasn't trapped in a nightmare herself, she spread a wing and brought it close to her muzzle. She stretched out and grabbed a sole feather in her teeth and gave it a good tug.

Instant regret.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" she cried out in pain as the feather dropped from her mouth and her hooves moved to her aching wing. That hurt more than she had expected, but at least she wasn't trapped in dreamland. After cradling her wing a few moments, she got up with the intent of getting back to the library as soon as possible.

The purple alicorn made it all of half a step. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she forgot Zecora was right underneath her. As she began to trip, she struggled to prevent herself from accidently stepping on the slumbering zebra. Somehow, she ended up slamming into the nearby counter and scattering herbs and jars about.

"Sorry!" Twilight shouted as if Zecora could hear her. Not thinking to use her magic, the purple alicorn continued to apologize as she tried to clean up the mess with her hooves. It certainly didn't help that she didn't have a clue where any of it was supposed to go.

As she was picking everything up, Twilight suddenly realized that Zecora must've been working on some kind of potion when she had succumbed to sleep. Now that she was thinking instead of reacting, she effortlessly scooped up everything with her magic and set it neatly on the counter. Underneath the spilled powder, leaves, flowers, and stuff she was pretty sure she didn't even want to know what it was, Twilight found an aged scrap of parchment.

Bringing it to her face in her purple aura, she read the title of the page aloud, "Bedbug Banishment Powder."

The rest of the parchment seemed to be a recipe. After mulling the possible implications, she used her magic to roll up the parchment and stick in her saddlebag. Twilight Sparkle didn't know if this "bedbug" had anything to do with the crisis at hand or not, but it was the closest thing to a lead she'd gotten all day.

Arriving back at the library, Twilight struggled to breathe as she opened the door to her library. After all this running back and forth she was definitely going to do better at the next Running of the Leaves. That is, if there was another Running of the Leaves, or if they even let princesses take part. With a weary sigh, she retrieved the parchment as she closed the door and put away her saddlebag.

"Twilight! You're back!" Spike enthusiastically greeted. "I was so worried!"

"I'm fine, spike," Twilight assured. "I'm really tired but…" she trailed off as she was stunned silent by Spike holding out a letter and preparing to send it off. "Hey! Wait!" the alicorn urged as a purple aura snatched the letter away.

"What'd you do that for?" Spike asked, bewildered.

"Not that kind of tired," she clarified, "I meant that I was exhausted." Putting the letter away, she steered the conversation back in the right direction, "Anyway, I think I might have a lead."

The tiny dragon clasped his claws together as he smiled. "I knew Zecora would come through! Now you can save Rarity and everypony else!"

Twilight shook her head as she turned to her books. "It got Zecora, too," she solemnly explained. Then she floated the parchment she got from Zecora's hut over to her number one assistant before continuing in a very somber tone, "I found this. I think she was working on it before…before she fell asleep."

"Bedbugs?" Spike wondered as he stared at the aged page. "What's that?"

She barely registered Spike's words as she scanned the shelves for a book on magical pests. "I don't know, Spike," the purple alicorn admitted as she found the book in question. "Hopefully this can shed some light on the situation."

Scanning through the pages, she quickly found the entry she was looking for. "Aha!" she exclaimed after skimming over the page. "Listen to this: a bedbug is a dangerous parasite no larger than a flea that preys on ponies. Their painless bite inflicts a powerful somnolence on the host. Once the victim is asleep, the bedbug enters their dreams and conjures nightmares to beset the host. The bedbug then feasts on the anguish and terror of their victims."

"That's just…awful," Spike muttered as he looked to Rainbow Dash. The poor pegasus was still in the middle of the floor, suffering.

"Yes, it is," Twilight sadly agreed as she turned the page. "Oh! There's a spell here to banish them from the dreams! It says it will let the victim wake up!"

Twilight studied the page for several minutes before she could be confident on just how the spell worked and how to properly use it. She wasn't about to blindly use magic ever again after the cutie mark mix-up fiasco. Having committed the spell to memory, she put the book aside.

"If I understand the spell correctly, it will purge whatever bedbugs might be plaguing a pony's dreams," she announced with confidence. "We still might need that banishing powder, though. Spike, would you mind going and getting all of the ingredients?"

"I don't mind, Twilight, but how can I get this stuff?" Spike asked. "Everypony is asleep."

Twilight Sparkle frowned. She hadn't considered that. Using her telekinesis, she brought a sack of bits over to Spike. "Even if I purge all the ponies in Ponyville there's no telling how many more of these bedbugs there might be and nothing else can stop them from affecting everypony again. Just get whatever you need and leave some bits. This is an emergency, Spike."

"O-okay. If you say so, Twilight," the purple dragon reluctantly agreed.

"Get as much as you can," the alicorn urged as she approached Rainbow Dash. "We will likely need enough to facilitate everypony in Ponyville."

Spike grabbed his wagon and tossed the bag of bits in before heading to the door. "You're sure you'll be okay?" he hesitated.

"I've been just fine so far," Twilight assured as she sat down next to Rainbow Dash. "Maybe they don't like alicorns," she joked in an attempt to assuage Spike's worries.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Spike promised as he left.

After the door closed, Twilight's horn began to glow with a purple aura. She carefully concentrated and performed the spell as she had memorized it. Rainbow Dash didn't stir. Her nightmares didn't seem to subside, either.

Did I do it wrong? the purple alicorn wondered as she pulled the book over in her aura and set in front of her. Lying down, she flipped to the page with the spell. Twilight didn't notice anything that she might've done wrong. Sighing, she followed the spell precisely as she tried again to purge the bedbugs from Rainbow Dash's dreams.

Nothing happened.

"Why isn't it working!?" she shouted as she jumped to her hooves. The sudden movement made her dizzy. A shake of her head didn't really clear her mind. It was then, with no small sense of terror, that Twilight realized she wasn't dizzy. She was sleepy. Very, very sleepy.

Realizing she'd been bitten by a bedbug, Twilight Sparkle started to desperately search her hide for the tiny, magical insect. It was no use. It could be anywhere on her and already she was having a very hard time staying awake. The fact that she got next to no sleep last night only exacerbated the problem.

"I guess you'll have to send that letter after all, Spike," she muttered as she fell back to the floor.

Sleep Tight

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Chapter 02
Waking Dream

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"Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

The purple alicorn in question cowered at the anger-laden words spoken by the pony she most admired. She was in the Canterlot Castle's throne room. Before her were Equestria's three other princesses, all of them glaring at her. Celestia stood with Luna on her right and Cadance on her left.

"I-I-I," she stumbled as she tried to defend herself.

"Silence!" Celestia hissed. "I have never been as disappointed in anpony as I am with you. Six ponies died before I received word of the plight in Ponyville!"

"Their blood is on thy hooves, Twilight Sparkle," Luna barked.

Cadance couldn't even bear to look at Twilight. "All it would have taken was a single letter, but you were too stubborn to ask for help," she said, her voice thick with disappointment.

Twilight was openly crying as she tried desperately to respond to her dressing down. "I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"I should never have allowed you to become a princess!" Celestia condemned Twilight. "You are hereby banished to the Everfree Forest! For all eternity!"

The distraught alicorn watched in horror as Celestia used her magic to rip the crown from Twilight's head and callously dumped it on the floor in front of herself. Celestia then stomped on the crown, shattering the element of magic.

Suddenly, Luna's eyes glowed a bright yellow as she reared up. "Twilight Sparkle!" she shouted. As her front hooves pounded the floor a magical shockwave erupted. Celestia and Cadance were blown out of existence as the wave of magic blew through them.

Twilight's tears dried up as she was overwhelmed by shock. Did Luna just kill Celestia and Cadance!? She looked slack-jawed to the Princess of the Moon unable to form a cogent thought, let alone vocalize any words.

"Twilight Sparkle, hath this plague reached even thou?" Luna asked.

The purple alicorn looked around, thoroughly confused. "P-plague?" "The citizens of Ponyville hath fallen victim to nightmares that even I cannot dispel," Luna explained. "It is as though another force is working against me."

As if on cue, the windows exploded inward as a horde of changelings stormed the throne room. The doors burst open behind Twilight, eliciting her to whirl around and come face-to-face with the changeling queen herself.

"Queen Chrysalis!" Twilight snarled as she assumed a fighting position.

"Do not become distracted!" the Princess of the Night warned as her horn glowed, sending out another shockwave. This one annihilated all of the changelings, even Queen Chrysalis. "I cannot keep thy nightmares at bay for long," she explained. "I beseech thee, Twilight Sparkle. Dost thou know what vile force hath befallen Ponyville?"

"Nightmare? This…this is a nightmare? I'm dreaming?" Twilight Sparkle spoke her thoughts as her memories flooded back to her. "The bedbugs!" she suddenly remembered. Without a second thought, Twilight cast the spell she had just learned. This time a purple sphere emanated from Twilight's horn. The magic permeated everything, eliciting a piercing howl. The monstrous wails quickly petered out and, as the sound faded, the dreamscape began to come unraveled.

"Thou dost know!" Luna's voice echoed as the dream faded out of existence.

Sitting up, Twilight rubbed her eyes as she looked around. She was back in her library. The spell worked! It purged the bedbugs from her dreams and brought her back to the waking world. She would have to remember to thank Princess Luna for helping her.

"Twilight! You're awake!" Spike practically shouted. The baby dragon was at the lectern, penning a letter.

"Yes," Twilight acknowledged as she stretched and got up. "I must have been bitten and fallen asleep, but the spell worked!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" Spike gushed as he set the letter aside. "I got back and found you asleep and having nightmares and I couldn't find the other letter so I started writing a new one and—"

"I know, Spike," Twilight ceased his rambling. "Did you get the ingredients?"

"Yeah," the purple dragon pointed a claw at the fully loaded wagon.

Twilight nodded in approval. "Good! Start mixing up the powder," she ordered with a confident smile. "I figured out how to do the spell right. We can get started on waking Ponyville from this endless nightmare!"

Turning back to Rainbow Dash, Twilight lowered her horn near the cyan pony's sleeping form and cast the spell. Dash muttered something and managed to roll over, but she didn't wake up. The newly-crowned princess noticed that while she stopped moaning the anguished look on her face lingered.

"Maybe it wasn't strong enough?" Twilight wondered. Putting more effort into it than before, she recast the spell. Again the purple energy passed though Rainbow Dash. This time, it didn't do anything.

Twilight shook her head. "It's not working," she resigned as she sat down and began to break down and analyze the problem to deduce just what was wrong. It had just worked for herself. Wait. Did it? She looked to her wing and quickly decided against that route. Instead she gave her foreleg a tentative nibble. A small pinch of pain reminded her that she was, indeed, awake.

There had to be another reason why it wasn't working. What was different? Twilight's eyes widened as she suddenly realized the problem. She had cast the spell in her dream! That's where the bedbugs were!

The euphoria was short-lived. Twilight had figured out the problem, but she didn't have a solution. Entering another pony's dreams was no simple matter. The magic required to do something so complex was beyond what Twilight knew. In fact, the only pony she could think of that was capable of such a feat was the very pony that had rescued her from her nightmare: Princess Luna.

Looking about, Twilight found her number one assistant mixing ingredients trying to make the banishing powder. "Spike, I think we have a problem."

"What's wrong, Twilight?" the tiny dragon asked as he looked up from his work.

Twilight hung her head in shame. "I can't do the spell right," she guiltily admitted. "It has to be cast inside the dream to work. We will have to send Princess Celestia a letter after all."

The alicorn brought out the letter she had put away earlier, but on second thought she decided to discard the letter. It didn't properly explain things. Twilight knew now exactly what was wrong and exactly how to fix it. She just couldn't do it herself. It wasn't a complete failure on her part, and she found solace in that thought.

Using her aura to retrieve a blank scroll and quill, Twilight floated them over to Spike. "Take a letter," she used her trite line as she organized her thoughts.

Those thoughts were scattered before they could form as a powerful set of knocks announced a visitor to the library. Normally, Twilight Sparkle would be a bit irked by the interruption, but right now she was just glad she wasn't the only pony left awake. "Coming!" she announced as she abandoned Spike and the letter to rush to the door.

Twilight eagerly opened the door to find what pony besides herself was still awake. The sight before her knocked her for a loop. The dark blue alicorn with a magical, flowing mane offered Twilight a small, respectful bow.

"P-Princess Luna!" Twilight sputtered. She couldn't believe the serendipity. This was just what she needed! "Please, come in!"

"I thank thee, Twilight Sparkle," Luna politely accepted Twilight's offer. The first thing she noticed was Rainbow Dash lying in the middle of the floor. She frowned at the sight. "Tell me, dost thou know what force hath beset Ponyville? Thy and thy alone seem capable of banishing the nightmares."

Twilight emphatically nodded as she grabbed the book in her magic. "I do," she affirmed as she opened the book in front of Luna and opened it to the proper page. "Magical parasites called bedbugs seem to have invaded. Spike is making a powder to ward them off and this book has a spell to purge those that have already escaped into everypony's dreams. This is the spell I used before."

Luna tried to focus as Twilight turned the page to reveal the spell, but the text seemed to blur as she struggled to focus. The lunar princess swayed a bit as a powerful drowsiness afflicted her. "Wh-what sorcery?" Luna muttered as she struggled to stay standing.

"Oh no!" Twilight recognized the symptoms. Princess Luna hadn't even been there two minutes and she'd been bitten! Worse still, she was the only one Twilight could think of that could actually save everypony!

"Spike! Do you have that powder ready?!" the purple alicorn desperately urged.

The baby dragon grabbed a small pouch and held it out in his claws. "Only one batch."

In an instant, Twilight grabbed the bag in her aura and dumped it on Luna. The fine powder quickly spread over Luna and expanded out into the room. Everypony was caught in a coughing fit until the dust subsided.

Luna shook her head as her mind was suddenly completely free of the somnolence. "What…was that?"

"Bedbugs," Twilight quickly explained. "Their bite causes ponies to fall asleep. Then they enter their dreams and cause nightmares." She then pointed a hoof at her number one assistant. "I got a recipe from Zecora on a powder that banishes them. Spike here is making it as we speak."

"Glad to be of service!" he proudly beamed.

Twilight then motioned again to the book. "There is a spell here that you can use to purge everypony's dreams of the bedbugs," she continued to rehash the explanation. "It has to be cast inside the dream to work. So only you can do it, Princess! If you get the bedbugs out of everypony's dreams then Spike and I can get rid of any that still linger in this world with the powder."

Luna let the whole situation sink in as she studied the spell in question. Once she was confident that she was able to cast such a spell, she set it to memory. "Thou hast done well, Twilight Sparkle," she praised as she turned to her fellow alicorn.

"Um…" Twilight Sparkle stumbled. "Thank you, Princess, but…I mean, how can you not know about bedbugs? Aren't you supposed to know everything about dreams?"

The alicorn in question shook her head. "I still hath much to learn, just as thou doth. When I was banished a thousand years ago no such spell existed. I know not even if the existence of these 'bedbugs' was known."

As fascinating as talking with The Princess of the Moon was, there were more pressing matters to attend to. "I will help Spike with the bedbug banishing powder if you can handle getting the bedbugs out of everypony's dreams," Twilight suggested the next course of action.

Luna walked over next to Rainbow Dash and sat down. She then turned back to Twilight, "Come hither, Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the unexpected request, but didn't question it aloud. Instead she plodded over and sat next to the larger alicorn. "Yes, Princess?"

"This is Rainbow Dash, one of the Elements of Harmony and thy precious friend, is it not?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Twilight felt compelled to answer anyway. "Yes, it is," she somberly confirmed.

"Then thou must possess a powerful connection to this one," Luna asserted. "Close thine eyes." Again, Twilight Sparkle didn't question the princess's wisdom and followed her instructions. "With thy mind, try to reach Rainbow Dash's. Do so by thinking of her personality, feel her fears, and seek her dreams."

Twilight followed Luna's instruction as she kept her eyes closed. At first she couldn't make sense of what Luna was talking about, but as her horn sparked to life she felt something. It was as if Rainbow Dash was more than just sleeping in front of her. She could practically see Dash standing there—still awash in fear and anguish—staring back at her intently. Twilight could almost feel Rainbow's distress and it seemed as if she were silently asking for help.

"Good," Luna softly praised as she felt the connection. "Thou can sense her mind now. Be gentle and expand her mind until it envelops thine own completely."

It took Twilight over a minute and dozens of approaches before she figured out how to do what Luna asked. Very gently, she allowed Rainbow Dash's presence to envelop herself. As it did, Twilight saw a flash of light.

Suddenly, Twilight was no longer in her library. She was in an alleyway that appeared to be in Ponyville, but something was terribly, terribly wrong. She couldn't feel anything, smell anything. Everything around her seemed distorted as well. It was as if everything was lacking in detail.

Violent screams tore the alicorn's attention away from her marveling, urging her to run out of the alleyway. Twilight could recognize those voices anywhere—her friends were in trouble. Dashing out into the street, she found Sugarcube Corner engulfed in flames. Up at the top of the shop were the Cakes, their twins, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and even the Cutie Mark Crusaders all out on the terrace. The roaring flames were below them and behind them, threatening to roast them alive.

Down on the street below, Rainbow Dash was sprinting back and forth helplessly as her friends shouted for her to fly up and save them. Rainbow's wings appeared to be fine, but somehow Twilight could sense that, for whatever reason, the pegasus was absolutely unable to fly.

This is Rainbow Dash's dream, Twilight realized with a tinge of horror and sympathy. No, it's her nightmare!

Not enjoying her friends' agonized screams any more than Rainbow Dash, Twilight started to the cast the spell to banish the bedbugs. Just as her horn started to glow, a sudden hoof on her shoulder halted her. She looked over to find Luna standing next to her.

"Allow me to cast the spell, but before that thou must know to exit the dreamworld," Luna urged as she withdrew her hoof. "When last thy cast the spell, the dream collapsed. Remaining within a collapsing dream is a very dangerous situation."

Twilight nodded, "I understand, Princess."

"I shall guide thee out," Luna announced as her horn glowed with a blue aura. "Prepare thyself!" she roared as a sphere of magic burst out from her horn.

The screams of her friends were replaced with the squeals of the bedbugs as they were cast out. The magic not only banished the bedbugs, but also seemed to destabilize the dreamworld. Everything started to fly apart and even the ground beneath Twilight's hooves started to give way. The next thing she knew, Luna had her forelegs wrapped around her torso and was pulling her to safety.

With another flash of light, Twilight was back in her library. She blushed a bit as she realized Luna's legs were still holding flush against the bigger alicorn. "Umm…Princess?"

Luna blushed as she released Twilight and stepped away. She cleared her throat before speaking, "Dost thou now understand the basic dreamwalking spell?"

"Yes, Princess Luna," Twilight said as she stood and gave a small bow. "Thank you very much for teaching it to me."

"It was the least I could do. Do not forget that thou hast taught me a spell as well," Luna reminded Twiligt as she gave her a bow in return. "And please, just call me 'Luna'."

Twilight smiled, "Okay, Luna."

"Wha-what's going on?" Rainbow Dash muttered as she sat up, her head still in a sleepy fog.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight joyously hugged her pegasus friend. "You're awake!"

Dash worked to pry the ecstatic alicorn off of herself. Only after she pushed Twilight away did she start to realize what was going on.

"Yeah, oh…OH!" she exclaimed as she suddenly remembered. "It got to me! Did you…save me?"

"Well, sort of," Twilight dismissed as she pointed to Luna. "Prin…uh, Luna is actually the one you should be thanking."

Luna offered a smile and a wave as Rainbow's gaze fell on her.

Rainbow gave the dark blue princess a nod. "I guess you saved me, thanks."

"Think nothing of it, Rainbow Dash," Luna graciously replied.

"Umm," Spike spoke up as he set another pouch aside. "Are you girls forgetting that Ponyville is still full of ponies trapped in their nightmares?"

Twilight didn't appreciate Spike interrupting the friendly atmosphere, but she had to admit that the bedbug crisis took precedent. "Spike is right," she reluctantly agreed.

Luna nodded. "Twilight Sparkle and I shall purge the bedbugs from everypony's dreams," she took charge as she stood. "Spike shall continue to concoct the powder, and, Rainbow Dash; wouldst thou mind delivering the cure to Twilight Sparkle and me as Spike finishes it?"

"No problem!" Rainbow Dash confidently claimed with a smile, even if she was still a little in the dark as to what was going on.

Twilight pointed upstairs as she dragged one of the finished pouches over to herself with her magic. "Sweetie Belle is upstairs, I can start there."

"Sweetie Belle is but a filly, is she not?" Luna asked before Twilight could make it a couple of steps. Twilight nodded, eliciting a frown from Luna. "Do not attempt the dreamwalking spell on that one," she warned. "The dreams of fillies, colts, and foals can be a dangerous and unstable thing. I shall see to it."

Twilight allowed Luna to take the pouch as she walked by and towards the steps. "If you think that's best," she deferred to Luna's superior experience. Turning back to Spike, she looked to the complete pouches on the table. "How many have you finished?"

"Eight," Spike said as he worked a mortar and pestle. "Well, seven since you took that one."

Lifting three from the table with her magic, she placed them in her saddlebag and put it on. "Okay. Let Luna have the rest," she instructed. "Luna and I will have everypony back to normal in no time!"

Many, many hours later…

Twilight stumbled back into her library. She didn't even bother to hang up her saddlebag, instead letting it fall on the floor. "Luna went to the dreamscape to make sure we didn't miss anypony," she announced as she kicked the door closed behind her instead of using what little magic she had left in her. "But I think we got everypony."

"Ah, that's good," Spike announced as he presented the mixing table. All the herbs and leaves had been mixed and only a few pouches remained. "We still have a few leftover pouches. Did you remember to thank Zecora?"

Twilight's mouth fell open as her eyes widened. She forgot about Zecora! With a weary sigh she put her saddlebag back on and turned back to the door. "I'll be back in a little while."

Spike just laughed a little as he shrugged. He then looked down to the pouches and was reminded that Twilight would need one to prevent Zecora from getting re-bitten. Twilight had just left, but he wasn't going to go chasing after her. The tiny dragon tossed one last pouch onto a napping Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight forgot the last one," he announced as the rainbow pony stirred. "She's headed for Zecora's. Maybe you should give her a hoof."

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow Dash yawned as she grabbed the pouch in her teeth and took to the air. "'his is 'ah lasht one, righ'?"

"It's the last one," Spike assured. "You can go home when you're done." A blur of rainbow and Spike was left alone in the library.

"Who?" Owlowiscious hooted as he stirred.

Well, Spike was almost alone. Stretching, he turned to the pet owl and Twilight's number two assistant. "You got to sleep through the whole ordeal. Lucky you," he claimed before yawning.

"Who?"

"Well, you can take care of Twilight now. She should be back before too long," he continued as he headed towards the stairs. "Everypony but me got sleep all day. It's my turn!"

---

Author's Notes – With this the story is essentially complete. Though I did rather enjoy writing for Luna. She is awesome! I might do some sort of epilogue at some point in the future so I can write more of her.