The young mare lie in bed with a smile spread across her face. Aria grasped the picture of the academy and held onto it like a fan would a star's autograph. She opened her eyes reluctantly, aware that she had been fantasizing while yet hopeful that she had been mysteriously swept into the dream world.

But the sight she beheld was nothing out of the ordinary. Laid out before her was the charming interior of her bedroom, from the large ovoid window and soft, wooden walls to her personal bookcase and nightstand. Every surface was covered with books and bookmarks, notes and empty parchment.

A sigh of great pleasure escaped through the student's nostrils as she lazed in the warmth of the sun that spread across her room. She closed her eyes again. The delightful coziness of her abode left Aria lying still with any thoughts of moving about kept at bay by her contentment.

But a curious thought crossed her mind like a disgruntled whimper.

Why’s the sun up so early..?

Aria sat up straight. Her eyelids shot back open to reveal her violet eyes. Her heart skipped a beat as she looked over at at the little wooden clock on her nightstand.

A horrific gasp made her eyes grow even more. “Quarter to nine?!”

The mare scrambled out of bed. Her eyes darted in every direction, reassuring her that she was, in fact, no longer soaring like a bird over the dream island. In her hysteria she entangled herself in the thin layers of her bed, resulting in a face-first collision with the wooden floor. In one last effort she flailed her hoofs until finally escaping the snarl of her sheets. Once freed, she gathered herself and gaped at her clock again. The minute hand advanced by one.

“How could I have slept in?!” she screamed.

Her voice rang through the chamber of the library, as though resonating in a mocking manner. The mare started to scan the area, eyes cast across every inch of the library below. Everything sat in complete disarray. Books were scattered across the floor, some in small piles, others wide open, and even more put on a cart ready for re-shelving.