“Magic, magic - it’s everywhere! In every nook and cranny; in every soul and object. In every little thing that thrives and dies in this big world! It’s in my coat, it’s in my mane, the ground I tread, the air I breathe, it’s you and I, and I and you, and magic, magic - it’s everywhere. In everything…  
“And everyone.” - Unknown  

 
“A unicorn whose special talent lies in magic is a unicorn who is very well off, and Twilight Sparkle is no exception. She passed every test with outstanding results, outshined all her peers in magic contests, and, during her Magical Alliteration Exam, nearly caused the entire Ministry of the Moon headquarters to collapse in on itself. After a quick evacuation and a few false alarms, she was swiftly awarded a Class 5 badge, a stern warning, and then shoved into a carriage and sent off to the Royal Ruby Academy for Magically Gifted Unicorns. There she would be become Princess Lumina’s personal student, royal scholar, and assistant - all whilst still doing her Ph.M along with her personal experiments and under the age of 21.
 
So to say that Twilight Sparkle isn’t an accomplished unicorn would be an understatement. Twilight Sparkle, however, does not ‘feel’ accomplished. There’s always things for her to do, always opportunities that are missed and, recently, she’s been having a number of very troubling nightmares. Believing them to be more than just ‘nightmares’ or reflections of her loneliness (“No, I don’t need a special somepony!”) and antisocial behaviour (“Why would I want to read your book on sparkly-monkey-vampires?”), she has set aside what little work she has and has been noting these dreams down with vigour. To her, sleep could nor come any sooner. Spoon in mouth and pan at the ready, she would fall asleep, wake up from the clattering noise of the spoon hitting the pan, and scribble down what she had dreamt before it escaped her.
 
Unfortunately, such a practise does a number on one’s health, and the nightmares would only come when she was least prepared for them. However, there is a pattern: in the dream, she will be chasing some mysterious figure in the middle of a blizzard in the dead of night, whilst also running from these blue-eyed, black monsters that kill and destroy everything, allowing the blizzard to take over civilisation. Could it mean anything? Are they a sign? Twilight seems to think so - and so does everypony else, but Twilight disagrees with their… personal critiques. This isn’t about herself - this isn’t about staying up late at night, not eating and not getting a good night’s sleep. This isn’t about Twilight being lonely - this is something more; something greater. And Twilight will prove them wrong. She will prove them all wrong! She’s onto something - she can feel it. She isn’t mad - everypony else is mad. Can’t they see? It’s not her fault that she is having these dreams, but it is her fault if she doesn’t take heed to them! “I’M NOT MAD! I’M NOT MAD!”
 
… And then the Summer Solstice Celebration happened, and that’s when madness gripped the world.”