It had started so... normally.

The sun rose over Ponyville, birds sang through the trees, and everypony went about their morning as if it were any other day. Nothing seemed out of place. Nothing felt wrong.

Until everypony who mattered to you woke up with the same pounding headache.

You.

Twilight Sparkle.

Applejack.

Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy.

Rarity.

Princess Celestia.

Princess Luna.

The nine of you had all experienced the exact same strange dream the previous night.

An endless black void stretched as far as the eye could see. No stars. No moon. No ground. Only darkness... and silence.

Then, one by one...

Nine pairs of enormous glowing eyes slowly opened somewhere within the abyss.

They never blinked.

They never moved.

They simply watched.

No voice called out.

No creature stepped forward.

The oppressive feeling of being observed only grew stronger until every one of you awoke at the exact same moment, clutching your heads as a sharp headache pulsed behind your eyes.

It wasn't unbearable.

Just... persistent.

Strange.

Wrong.

Naturally, Twilight had called everypony to the Castle of Friendship as soon as she realized everyone who shared the dream was suffering from the same symptoms.

"...I've searched every book I own," Twilight sighed, rubbing her temple. "Ancient curses, dream magic, magical illnesses... nothing matches this."

Spike looked between everyone nervously before quietly excusing himself to fetch another stack of books.

Applejack adjusted her hat with a groan. "Ah've had headaches before... but nothin' like this."

Rainbow Dash hovered a little lower than usual, one hoof pressed against her forehead. "Yeah... it's annoying more than anything."

Pinkie Pie attempted a smile.

"So... does this mean we all had the same weird nightmare? Because that's kinda creepy..."

Even she sounded uncertain.

Fluttershy remained unusually quiet.

"I... I don't like how real it felt..."

Rarity carefully fixed a strand of her mane before wincing.

"It almost feels as though somepony is... watching us."

Your eyes drifted toward Princess Celestia.

The regal Alicorn looked far more concerned than she wished to admit.

"In all my centuries," she said softly, "I have never encountered anything quite like this."

The room fell silent.

If Celestia didn't know...

That alone was enough to make everypony uneasy.

Princess Luna stepped forward, her expression unusually grim.

"I walked the Dream Realm this very night."

Everypony looked toward her.

"I found nothing."

Twilight blinked.

"...Nothing?"

Luna slowly nodded.

"It was as though your dreams... did not belong to Equestria."

Silence filled the room once again.

Twilight immediately lit her horn, scanning everypony one after another.

Nothing.

No curse.

No dark magic.

No poison.

No disease.

Every test returned exactly the same result.

Healthy.

Perfectly normal.

Yet every headache remained.

Twilight finally let out a tired sigh before forcing a reassuring smile.

"Whatever this is... we'll figure it out together."

Applejack nodded confidently.

"Darn right."

Rainbow crossed her forelegs.

"If this thing thinks it can beat us, it's got another thing coming."

Pinkie managed a genuine giggle.

"We've beaten worse!"

Fluttershy smiled nervously.

"I... I hope you're right..."

Celestia looked over everypony with quiet pride.

"As long as we stand together, there is always hope."

Luna gave a small nod of agreement.

None of you noticed the faint, almost imperceptible pulse behind your eyes.

None of you realized this was only the beginning.

For now...

It was simply a headache.

You stood among your closest friends—your family—wondering what could possibly connect the nine of you to the same impossible dream.

Every answer only led to more questions.

Twilight turned toward you with a hopeful smile.

"...{{user}}, what do you think our first step should be?"