Twilight groaned exhaustedly as she sat up in bed to the sound of her obnoxious alarm clock. She glared at the device for a moment before picking it up with her magic and smashing it against the wall, breaking it into a number of tiny fragments. She was not in a good mood.

Reluctantly, she climbed out of bed, refusing to brush her mane and tail or clean herself up in any way like she normally would, and headed downstairs and into the kitchen, where Spike had fixed up a plate of pancakes and hay-bacon. She sat wordlessly and started eating. Spike faced her with a look of concern.

"Wow, Twilight," he said in mild surprise at her disorganized appearance. "You don't look so good."

"I could barely get any sleep at all last night," the young alicorn admitted with a sigh. "Just like every night for the past few days." She took a bite of her hay-bacon and laid her head on the table with a tired yawn.

It had been about a week since the incident in the Everfree, when that mad stallion had tried to hurt the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Ever since that night, Twilight had been somewhat restless. It was a small change at first, hardly noticeable. But as time passed, it had gotten worse. Her nights had suddenly gotten long and virtually sleepless, she had a constant need to move, and she had been having small bursts of anger every now and then. It was like she was stuck in a permanent state of agitation.

Speaking of which, she had suddenly started tapping her hoof against the floor impatiently. She needed to move soon, or she'd start on one of her random fits of anger again. She hurriedly finished her breakfast and left her plate and silverware for Spike to pick up and clean. She rushed to clean herself up, only managing to make herself look a little less sloppy, then hurried to the door.

"Spike, I'm going out for a little bit!" she called to the baby dragon. She didn't wait for a response, immediately leaving the building and taking in the fresh air that filled Ponyville. She took a deep breath and gave a sigh of relief, heading out into town.

"Twilight!" Spike called from a window. "Don't forget, you have flying lessons with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy today! You agreed to meet up at Fluttershy's cottage." Twilight nodded and headed off. Maybe her flying lessons would her clear her mind and get rid of some of this extra energy, wherever it had come from.

As she walked through town, she was greeted as she had normally been by several other ponies. Nothing had really changed too much since she had been coronated. Except for the wings. And the fact that everypony seemed to get at least a little bit nervous around her, which was understandable, given her new station of authority. However, despite everyone's cheerful attitudes, she only felt… angry? Pent-up? She couldn't really place it.

Going down her usual route to Fluttershy's cottage, she turned a corner, only to bump into somepony. She yelped in surprise, then glared angrily at the gray pegasus mare she had run into. It was Derpy Hooves, the local mailmare, apparently just doing her job.

"Sorry, Twilight!" Derpy apologized hurriedly as she rushed to pick the mail she had dropped. "I-!"

"Why don't you watch where you're going, you freak!?" Twilight shouted at her in a sudden fit of outrage. She instantly covered her mouth when she realized what she had said, and saw the shocked and hurt look in the other mare's odd eyes. "I… I'm sorry. Having a bad day. I didn't mean to…" She sighed in exasperation. "I've gotta go." With that said, she galloped off, not giving Derpy a chance to respond. She needed to get somewhere to clear her head.

-o-

Fluttershy hummed a sweet tune as she went through her garden, watering the flowers and vegetables that she grew there, many of her animal friends helping her with her chores. She giggled when she saw Angel apparently bickering with a bear over a blueberry bush. She went over to the bush and began picking berries and placing them all into one large pile. She then grabbed a two hooffuls of berries and placed them in front of Angel, who glared at her indignantly.

"Now, Angel," she said calmly, "Harry here is bigger than you. He needs to eat more to fill himself up. Besides, I don't want you getting a tummy ache from eating too much. Do you?" Angel rolled his eyes at the mare, but otherwise didn't offer any argument. Fluttershy giggled again and returned to caring for her garden.

After a few minutes, she headed back inside her home just in time for somepony to knock on her door. She hurried over to answer, and was greeted by Twilight, who seemed… tired. She knew of the young princess's recent lack of sleep, but she looked especially out of it today.

"Hey, Fluttershy," Twilight greeted with a heavy sigh. "You mind if I come in?"

"Not at all," the yellow pegasus replied, allowing the other mare into her home. "Is something the matter? You look like you have something on your mind. I mean, if it's private, you don't have to say anything."

Twilight chuckled dryly. "It's okay. I need to talk anyway." She took a deep breath. "I shouted at someone today. It was Derpy. I just happened to bump into her, and I called her a freak." She sighed again. "I'm starting to think that there's something really wrong with me."

"What do you mean?"

"I usually don't have any trouble sleeping at night, I don't normally need to move constantly, and I'm never really aggressive to anypony. I've talked to Nurse Redheart about it, but she says it's most likely just stress getting to me."

"Then… isn't it really nothing to worry about?"

"Maybe, but I…" Twilight began pacing around the room, clearly getting impatient. "I'm just…" She stopped and looked around at Fluttershy's home. "Whenever I'm indoors, it gets worse. I feel like the walls are closing in on me, like they're trying to keep me inside. And when I'm outside, specifically when I'm out of town, or in a forest, or even in the sky when I'm flying, I feel…" She trailed off.

Curious, Fluttershy approached her friend and said, "Feel what?"

The alicorn shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts, and headed over to the nearest window. "I feel… free. Like I belong out there. Forever. Like I don't need to follow anyone's rules. I just need to live in the moment. It…" She looked back to Fluttershy, who blinked a few times in confusion. "It's difficult to explain in so many words. It's the kind of feeling that others would have to feel as well in order to really understand."

"Oh." The pegasus thought on that for a moment. "Well, maybe it's just a sign that you need to spend more time outside? I know that even I have to go and talk to other ponies every once in a while."

"Maybe," Twilight agreed, albeit somewhat unsurely. "I'll have to talk to someone else soon, though. Maybe Zecora will have an answer for me? She knows about all sorts of illnesses."

"If you think that that's the best course of action," Fluttershy said with a smile and a nod.

Twilight nodded back. "It's settled then. After my flying lessons with you and Rainbow today, I'll go talk to Zecora." The purple mare felt some form of hope flare up in her chest slightly. If Zecora said that there was nothing wrong with her, then she would know for absolute certain that she was just fine.

-o-

Within the Everfree, Zecora hurriedly spread a fine powder in a circle around her hut, muttering shirt chants as she worked. She had only just noticed the signs. Something was loose, and it wasn't friendly. She had started working to protect herself until the danger passed almost the instant she realized the threat. And she was nearly finished.

As she completed the circle of powder around her home, she uttered one last chant just before entering her hut. With a sigh of relief, she slumped down into the nearest chair. She looked outside a window, and gasped slightly when she saw a pair of savage yellow eyes glaring right at her. They narrowed ominously, then disappeared into the forest, leaving the zebra with a rapidly beating heart and a cold sweat running down her back.

She took a few calming breaths, reminding herself that the measures she took would keep her safe. "Relax, I must stay calm," she said to herself quietly. "Upon me danger shall not fall." She repeated that phrase in her mind like a mantra, trying to ease her own concerns. She was safe from that cursed beast. But she realized quickly that she could only pray for anyone else who comes face to face with that monster.