"Cock-a-doodle-doooooo!", cried the rooster perched on Applejack's back.

No response from Twilight. All the ponies in the room sighed in disappointment at their latest attempt to wake her. Celestia looked at the clock on the wall -it read 11:32 PM- and grudgingly sent the Sun back under the horizon.

"Sorry it didn't work out every pony..." said Applejack.

They'd been trying for days to get Twilight out of her stupor. Pinkie Pie brought a box full of what seemed to be the loudest things in Ponyville, and somehow managed to play them all in horrible unison. After that, she talked to Twilight about every kind of cake she'd never eaten but wanted to try, causing Celestia's sweet tooth to act up. Rarity told her about the progress she was making on Twilight's dress for her Welcome Back Party, about how beautiful which diamonds were and how Opalescence had set her back by unraveling a string that stuck out. Fluttershy told her about a strange sickness that was afflicting some of her animals, causing them to get "a bit grumpy". She vividly recalled all the fierce monsters they'd encountered, like the dragon and the hydra, the manticore, and even the recent Ursa incident.

Twilight's friends all had jobs to do in Ponyville, so they couldn't stay long. As they all left, Celestia stayed by Twilight's side, thinking of a way to help her and what she might be going through in her sleep. The Princess wasn't able to keep her thoughts afloat for long as she gave in to her exhaustion, and she fell asleep waiting for her faithful student to do just the opposite.

"...incess...Princess...! Can...u hear...e..?!....PRINCESS!!!"

Celestia woke with a gasp. She looked around the room for any sign of trouble, but the scenery hadn't changed in the time she'd been asleep. She had heard Twilight calling, clear as day. Yet here she was, still lying in the hospital bed with bandaged eyes and ragged breathing. Had she just had a nightmare, or worse, was Twilight trapped in one?!

Through the days that followed, Rainbow Dash read Daring Do and the Bandits of the Forgotten Relic to Twilight as every pony else listened and asked questions or commented periodically. And that morning, she performed a Sonic Rainboom right over the hospital to see if the sound would snap Twilight out of her coma. Though the blast shook the entire hospital, Twilight's condition remained unchanged. Applejack had come in with a rooster just minutes ago, and now that that plan had failed, the ponies were out of ideas. They all went home, knowing Twilight would be upset if they abandoned their own responsibilities just to wait for her to wake up.

Celestia stayed in Twilight's room again that night. She'd been worried sick for days about what she'd heard the other night. Was Twilight trying to communicate with her? Could she do that? Maybe they could help her escape if she could talk to them! But she hadn't slept since that night and no matter how hard the Princess tried, she couldn't go to sleep waiting for the sound of Twilight's voice.

Visiting hours started up again and along with the usual visitors came an earth pony with a silver gray mane and glasses, the mayor of Ponyville.

Princess Celestia knew the Mayor wasn't exactly the most qualified pony for her position, since she asked Twilight often to help her organize their schedule of events. She had judged from Twilight's letters that they'd actually become good friends and wasn't surprised to see her visiting. The Princess had never really been interested, but now that the Mayor was here with no political business to attend to, she noticed she wasn't as old as her gray mane made you believe. Celestia remembered that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had published an article about the Mayor dyeing her mane, and she smiled thinking about all the silly things that just seemed to happen in Ponyville regularly. The Mayor just looked at Twilight solemnly before turning her attention back to the Princess.

"Your Majesty, I desperately want to believe Twilight will wake up soon but if she doesn't..." the Mayor trailed off with sadness in her voice. "If she doesn't, we'll...we'll name the library the 'Twilight Sparkle Memorial Library' and...and we'll have a statue of her, and...and...". The Mayor wiped her tears away sniffling, "excuse me, it's just...she did more for our little town in the short time she's been with us than I have in my entire office term. And not just the Ursa thing, she helped us with the Winter Wrap Up and...well I can't imagine Ponyville anymore without it's precious librarian...all the little colts and fillies actually took an interest in reading when Twilight came to town, and we've come to count on her for a lot of our big decisions. It just wouldn't be the same, walking through town and not see Twilight and Spike dragging around a ton of books and a checklist 20-feet long...hehe..." The Mayor chuckled and Celestia smiled too, remembering they did the same thing in Canterlot.

The Mayor couldn't stay long at all, she had a very convoluted schedule now that Twilight wasn't organizing it. She said goodbye to everyone and went on her way. A few hours passed by with the same routine that had been going on for the past few weeks, every pony telling Twilight about their day and reminiscing about other fun times they'd had. That day, Applejack had brought an apple pie, hoping the smell would remind Twilight of Sweet Apple Acres before the friends split it among themselves saving a piece for Twilight. Just as the Princess finished her slice, the door opened and a zebra walked into the room!

"Hello Zecora" said Fluttershy.

"Didja have any trouble findin' the place?" asked Applejack.

"The hospital staff kindly led me to the door, but has the rest of Canterlot never seen a zebra before?" Zecora said. Celestia had to stifle a laugh, apart from her unusual style, this Zebra spoke in rhymes, something the Princess found particularly hilarious.

The ponies all shared a laugh before Zecora introduced herself to the Princess.

"Hello Your Majesty, Zecora is my name. What has happened to Twilight is truly a shame." said Zecora.

"I'm sure she appreciates you coming to visit her. I just wish there was some way we could know how she's doing." said the Princess.

"Fear not, I am not a zebra of the ordinary kind, for I know techniques to see inside her mind." rhymed the zebra.

"Zecora helped Apple Bloom when she had nightmares, Princess. Maybe she can help Twilight too." said Applejack.

Could it be true? Could this zebra's foreign techniques look inside Twilight's mind? They had tried waking her up with a rooster, for Celestia's sake! They had to give this a chance.

"Zecora, I think Twilight might have tried to contact me a few days ago, but I'm not sure." said Celestia.

Zecora gave her a quizzical look. "It is not uncommon for those close to hear, the voices of others - though not always by ear."

"What happened, Princess?" asked Rainbow Dash. The other ponies were staring at her waiting for a response.

"Once you all left, I stayed here like I do every night. Only that time, I fell asleep...and I heard Twilight call out to me."

"Are you sure it wasn't a dream?" asked Rarity.

"I thought it was, but it was much too loud and vivid for me to have just imagined it." said the Princess. It was noticeably hard to explain her experience to the others, but she didn't have a lot to go on either way.

"Twilight Sparkle is talented, and powerful too. I would not be surprised if she found a way through." said Zecora. "Step aside ponies, this dream infiltration requires focus and complete concentration..." Zecora walked up to Twilight and placed a hoof on her forehead, careful not to agitate her horn. She closed her eyes and started mumbling in a foreign language. Princess Celestia was able to speak fluent Mohawk-Zebratic, but the language Zecora was mumbling in was unfamiliar. She couldn't help but notice how this language rhymed fluidly, as opposed to the rhymes Zecora concocted in Equestrian.

Zecora continued mumbling for a while longer before staying silent for a few seconds. The abrupt pause caught the attention of every pony in the room. They watched as her face changed from calm serenity to fear and worry. It was as if Zecora herself was having a nightmare, and the ponies felt their hearts sink. What could she be seeing? They didn't need to wait long for an answer as Zecora broke out of her trance hyperventilating and placed both hooves on Twilight.

"Twilight! You cannot give up! Fight them!" sobbed Zecora, not bothering with rhymes.

"What's going on? What did you see? Who is she fighting?!" asked the Princess.

Zecora was hesitant to speak to them. "I fear that you will start to weep, if you know what Twilight goes through in her sleep."

"Tell me, that is an order." said Celestia. Zecora gathered what composure she still had before telling them what she saw.

"Twilight is trapped within her dreams, no pony can hear her screams.

She calls out desperately to her friends, but her journey may have reached its end...I'm sorry..." said Zecora sorrowfully.

The ponies were all dumbstruck. They turned to look at Princess Celestia, but she had already left the room. She ran down the halls and reached the stairs, where she climbed to the last door at the top and emerged onto the roof. The Sun had been shining the entire day, but rain clouds were quickly forming, blocking out the Sun. Twilight was screaming for help? Where was she? Why couldn't the Princess do anything to help? No doubt one of the others would show up any minute and ask if she was alright, and she would tell them she just needed some air. She was their ruler, and she had to stay calm and collected at all times. She breathed, trying to get out of her stressful mood. Composed, calm, and collected. Calm, calm...

"Princess, are you alright?" asked Rainbow Dash from the door.

"NO, I'M NOT ALRIGHT!" she screamed. Rainbow was taken aback, she'd never seen the Princess like this.

"Twilight is trapped in a coma, and all I can do is wait! Look at your Goddess! Look at how glorious and magnificent she is now! See how her radiant Sun shines in the sky!" she pointed towards where the Sun would be, if it was visible through the thick rainclouds that had gathered. Zecora and the others were on the roof, watching a side of the Princess they'd never even imagined before.

"...what good is being immortal when every pony you love grows old and dies?! All the wonderful and amazing things I can do, and I can't help Twilight when she needs me the most! I would give it all if she would just wake up..." Celestia's tears were flowing freely now as rain started to fall. "I'm an embarrassment to this crown, to this entire country! I've worn this crown for a thousand years! LOOK HOW FUCKING USEFUL IT IS NOW!" she screamed as she tossed her crown on the ground and stomped on it repeatedly, denting it.

The others wished more than anything that Twilight would wake up and comfort the Princess. They were afraid to go near her in the state she was in. Celestia kicked her mangled crown aside and lied on the ground, sobbing. The rain had ruined her flowing hair, and her coat and feathers lost their sparkly white sheen. She didn't know what she was doing, or who she was talking to, but if any pony could help Twilight, it was not Princess Celestia.

"Please..." she sobbed. "Please don't take her from me..."

The ponies let her stay this way for a short time before going to her side. They gave their ruler a long, comforting hug, letting her cry all her frustrations out before helping her back on her hooves and back inside the hospital. If by some miracle Fate had heard Celestia's words, it had blatantly ignored them. When they came back to the hallway where Twilight's room was, they found the doctor yelling commands to the nurses as they rushed into Twilight's room. One nurse stopped them in front of the door.

"Your Majesty, please wait out here." she said.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Twilight?" asked the Princess.

"CLEAR!" they heard the doctor say from inside the room.

"She's gone into cardiac arrest."