In her own sleep, Princess Luna would often drift into the dreams of other ponies. There wasn't one dream she hadn't seen, not one nightmare she hadn't overcome. Sometimes she would confront ponies in their nightmares, to help them overcome their fears. And when she could not have her own good dreams? Well, she would just join in on the dream of a foal. Their dreams were often the best; young minds being much more creative and filled with wonder than that of a 1000 year old Princess like her! On this particular night, however, Luna had a strange feeling in the back of her mind. As she settled down to sleep, there was heavy uneasiness that hung down inside of her. She wasn't sure why, and tried her best to sleep nonetheless. She could feel herself falling into a deep sleep, losing all feelings of worry and responsibility. The first vision was beautiful. Splashes of colours, bright vivid sunlight and a ray of Northern lights. Perhaps this pony really liked colours? Ah yes, it came into focus now.
A painting, full of bright splashes of paint contrasted by deep shadows. Only these shadows were created by a pony, not paint. Luna felt concerned. The scene drastically changed, a scream of fear to her back, the panicked gallop of a scared colt to her right. Everything went dark, and she could feel herself free falling. No matter how hard she beat her wings or how much she kicked, she could not escape the pull of gravity that made her fall far down. As she landed softly, the darkness started to light up. No, it wasn't lighting up.. Something was falling from the sky; many things to be exact. Light grey feathers. Many fell in front of her, the large flight feathers of a Pegasus. She had never seen feathers this large before, only her own. Not only that, but the tips of each feather was either a deep black or a red, like the colour of fresh blood. Fear started to strike her heart, and her eyes grew wide with terror. In front of her, in the distance, the darkness was lighted by the magic of an alicorn. A light grey horn that looked as if it was spattered with blood. No, not blood... It was just the colour of the aura. The colour of blood.
It was then she felt hollow inside, waking with her breath coming out in frantic pants. There was prodding at her shoulder. "Are you alright, my Princess?" It was her night guard, who had been positioned at her door. He had heard small sounds of terror coming from within her bedroom, and had come inside to make sure she was alright. "Yes, we are...Fine, thank you," Luna sat up slowly, looking down in thought. That feeling... She had only felt so much fear when Equestria had been in danger. It felt too real to be a dream... Perhaps it wasn't a dream at all? Perhaps it was even an omen.. Luna shook her head, then abruptly got up. This couldn't be right, she had seen an Alicorn in her dreams. She had better be safe than sorry. Giving her guard a stern look, she spoke in a dead serious tone. "I must speak to Celestia at once.".
Soreness was the first thing the sleeping filly noticed. She felt so heavy, so uncomftorable. Muttering something under her breath, she slowly rolled onto her other side. However, she felt leaves and twigs crunch under her back, not the soft surface of a cloud. Something was wrong, definitely wrong. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Her pupils were dilate and unfocused at first, but she quickly shook her head in alarm and struggled to sit up. She was on the ground! Everything was moving, she felt so dizzy. Her light grey pelt was streaking with mud, her back right leg had dried blood on it. "Oh no... Oh no oh no!" She pinned back her ears and fear. Did she really fall from such a height? Looking up, the pony realized she had no idea where she was. Carefully, she stood. Her legs were shaky, and the steps she made with her grey hooves were weak and uncertain. She had a limp, and her wings hurt like hell. Feathers littered the ground as well. Jeez, it was like she was an angel who fell from the heavens! Only there were dead leaves and bits of forest debris caught in her black and white mane, and her tail was knotted and unkempt. Dusky felt like she had been asleep for a long time... It was strange, though. She felt so drained even though she was so well rested. Fatigue caught up to her, and the young mare had to sit down for a rest.
She breathed in heavy pants, her eyes weary with fear and confusion. Where was she? How did she get here? Where was her father? Oh no, her father.. Sleepless Nights would be worried sick if he knew his daughter was missing. Dusky closed her eyes, fighting back tears. She was so afraid when she was all alone, no one to watch her back or keep her company, no one to help her up when she was feeling down. Most of all, no one to share her experiences with. She was a single mare, living at home in Cloudsdale with her father. Dusky had just finished secondary school, and she was ready to move on to a university of sorts. She loved the arts. But now, that was all forgotten. Right now, she needed to find civilization. Standing with new found energy, Dusky stretched out her large wings. Her family always had abnormally large wings, even for pegasi. It was just a gift they were granted with years and years ago. Ignoring the sting from the loss of feathers, she took off surprisingly easy, and found herself soaring high above the forest. This wasn't natural- she should be far too exhausted to fly this high! It was like she'd been granted new power from something, the power to keep going.
Pushing back the worrying though, she focused on the path ahead. Keeping her legs close, Dusky was easily catching speeds that would match those of the Wonder Bolts. It was like something was showing her how to use this new found energy, and what the limits were. However, she was still extremely tired. Soon enough, she was alarmed to find her closing her eyes. It was like whatever energy that had been keeping her going was trying to lull her into sleep, so that it could take over the controls. As frightening as it was, she went along with it and drifted off into a much needed sleep.