Twilight knew something was off the minute her vision cleared. She was somewhere impossible.She was in the library.

"This.. This isn't right. I can't be here."

She sat up, discovering she was in her old bed. The sheets felt as soft as she remembered. But these couldn't be the same..could they? Then it clicked. Her bed was in the middle of the library..

"What the hay?"

She jumped down from the bed and circled the room. Every book was in its proper place. Her system was still perfect. No! It couldn't be! Tirek burned the library to a crisp. There shouldn't be anything left! So how could she be standing here?

"Am I...dreaming?

Of course! That was the most obvious explanation. So she had to be asleep. And now she could wake up!

"Okay Twilight. You're dreaming. Wake up."

She closed her eyes, her brow furrowing from the effort. She relaxed and let her eyelids flutter open. Still the library.

"Okay... Let's try something else."

Holding her hoof up, she placed it between her teeth and bit down slightly. The pain shot through her body instantly. No change.

"Seriously?! Wake up!"

Her voice echoed as if she were in a cave.

"Wake up Twilight! WAKE UP!!!"

She slammed her hoof into her forehead. The walls of books contorted and twisted before snapping back to their original shape like pieces of rubber. Twilight began to panic. It seemed the library was becoming more and more like a prison. Or was it.. The front door didn't appear to be locked. It seemed normal enough. She approached and pushed it open.

"SURPRISE!!"

Twilight jumped back. Where had all these ponies come from?

"Happy birthday Twili!"

Shining Armor?

Twilight walked through the door.  This wasn't Ponyville though. This was her parent's home. The house where she grew up. She looked behind her to find the library door had turned into the front door of the house, leading out onto a Canterlot street. What was going on?

"Aren't you going to come inside sweetie?"

Twilight turned back to find her mother standing over her.

"Don't you look lovely in your new dress?"

Her mother motioned sideways. Twilight let her gaze move to a mirror. Who was that little..

She was a filly again! And It was her birthday. One of her favorite birthdays. It was the day that-

"Is something wrong Twilight?"

Twilight's attention turned to a young princess standing next to Shining Armor.

"Cadence! You came!"

Twilight galloped over to her foalsitter and tackled her in a hug. Everypony laughed as the two fell to the floor.

"Of course I came. Did you really think I'd miss your big day?"

The two stood up, allowing Twilight to look around at all the ponies that had come for the party. Several family members were present along with some fillyhood friends. But in her memory this birthday had been about one particular guest. As if the very thought was enough to summon her, the white alicorn stepped from the back of the crowd. Twilight's jaw dropped.

"Princess Celestia?! What are you doing here?"

"You're my student. Don't you think I'd wish to help you celebrate?"

Celestia's horn lit up and a book appeared out of thin air.

"I thought this was a fitting present. But keep in mind this is temporary. This is a very old book which I would like back."

Twilight watched as the book lowered to her level. It really was old. And yet it was familiar..

"Starswirl's notebook? But.. You didn't give this to me. Not now. You sent it to me in Ponyville.."

"What was that Twilight?"

Her head snapped back to find Spike behind her.

"Spike?"

"Yeah?"

Twilight turned back to the notebook. Sitting in front of her. On her library desk...

"Umm... Never mind. I'm just going to do some reading."

"Okay... I'll check in later."

Spike disappeared down the stairs.

What was happening? Twilight didn't remember ever having such incoherent dreams in the past. This was different. These weren't even dreams. They were memories, although mixed together in the wrong order. Why was she remembering all these things? This was becoming far more than a dream. Something was wrong. And Twilight was becoming afraid. What was going on? And why couldn't she wake up?

The room was growing darker. And someone was laughing. The laughter grew louder. It filled Twilight's head, causing her to cower. She knew that laugh. As she cowered on the floor, the library crumbled away to the Castle of the Two Sisters. And it was that awful night. The first time she'd set hoof in this dreadful place. Nightmare Moon stood there, her piercing stare burrowing into Twilight's soul.

"What's wrong little princess? Can't you take a little pain? Or are you afraid of what's really happening"

Twilight backed away. This wasn't a memory. This wasn't at all what had happened. And that made her fear grow even more.

"What are you?"

"Don't you recognize me?"

Twilight looked closely. There was something different. Something wrong.

"You're-"

A blinding light burst through her vision, halting the revelation. There was nothing but laughter. That horrible, horrible laughter.

Twilight!

"No!"

TWILIGHT!

"Please no!"

"Twilight!"

Twilight opened her eyes. The light was gone. And so was Nightmare. In her place was the owner of the voice.

"Luna?"

"Yes. It's me."

"How can I be sure of that? I'm dreaming."

"I walk in dreams. You know this. But it's much more difficult than that right now. Where were you before you fell asleep?"

"I... I don't remember. Probably in my study"

"Think about it. Think hard."

Luna stepped closer as Twilight did her best to remember. Surely she fell sleep while studying. No.. That wasn't it. It was the accident! Pain shot up her right side as the memory clicked into place.

The sun was out today.

The book was The Theory of Evil: How Dark Magic Came To Be

Twilight was ready to test out some of her theories. For educational reasons only, of course.

She was trying to conjure a shadow without a source. And it worked.

And that's when she lost control..

It grew too intense. Too large. It lashed out without warning.

Pain. So much pain. She could just make out her friends running towards her as her vision blurred.

Twilight took a deep breath as she jolted back into the now with Luna. Her breathing was heavy as if she'd just been through the ordeal again. In a way she had. Luna put a hoof on her shoulder.

"You remember?"

Twilight nodded, a bead of sweat rolling down her face.

"I shouldn't have tried that magic."

"You were hurt. Your friends saved you. But you have a long road to recovery. The pain is too much for you to handle in the waking world."

"So I'm asleep?"

"A coma. Celestia thought it best. And I'm afraid you'll be under until your body has healed."

"How long have I been out?"

"Only a few minutes."

"What?! That's impossible! It feels like I've been here for days!"

"Time is very different in dreams. You're body was fighting the coma. It took everything my sister and I had to calm you down. And luckily you gave me an entryway into your mind."

"I did?"

"This memory we're in. I presume it's from our first encounter?"

"Yes. When you were Nightmare Moon."

"You were focused on me. Or at least..a version of me. That combined with our efforts allowed me to break through. Comas are extremely different from normal sleep. I've never actually been able to enter the dreams of the comatose. Mostly because they're not dreams."

"What do you mean they're not dreams?"

"Your body may be asleep, but your mind is still very active. It's created this reality for you. Something to keep you from...slipping away. Its a defense mechanism."

"Defense? From what?"

Luna stood silently. That was all Twilight needed. It was either this reality, or nothing at all. She was dying.

"What can I do?"

"You need to keep yourself occupied. Your mind will help with that. There's not just memories in your head. You can create a whole world in here."

"But I don't want a world! I want my friends! I want my family!"

"Then bring them to life here. I know it's not the same, but you shouldn't be alone."

"I refuse to make copies of my loved ones. They're not replaceable!"

"Then what do you plan to do?"

"I... I don't know."

"You can't stop thinking. Whatever you might feel, you can't stop. If your mind stops working, it's over. Although from what I know about you, that shouldn't be a problem."

A small smile formed on Twilight's face. But it disappeared as quickly as it came.

"There is one thing I need to do."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"There was something here before you came. Something that frightened me very much."

"Nightmare Moon?"

"No. It wasn't Nightmare Moon. At least... Not the Nightmare Moon I remember.."

"What do you mean?"

"She was being controlled by the Nightmare force. But I don't know how that can be. The Nightmare is gone. Isn't it?"

"Who did you see?"

Tears welled up in Twilight's eyes as she locked gazes with Luna.

"Who did you see Twilight?"

The tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"It was me." Next Chapter: The Illusion Estimated time remaining: 16 Minutes