Furna sat cross-legged, her chin propped on her knuckles as she studied the chessboard. Across from her, Captain Glimmer sat tall, observing the board with a proud, knowing smile.  Her ruffled skirt spilled across the floor, filling the game room like a sea of glittering fabric. Furna expected nothing less from the great leader of the Glitter Scouts herself.

With deliberate care, Furna slid her piece forward. Just a few more moves, and Glimmer’s knight would be hers. She reached for her favourite Maple May’s Mini Milk, but the straw rasped dry. Empty. She frowned. Hadn’t it been full a moment ago?

Still thirsty, she rose and headed into the kitchen, conveniently only a few steps away. The tiles were cold beneath her feet, and a strange unease prickled her skin. The room felt…wrong. Vast and unfamiliar, its walls seemed to stretch impossibly high, making the cupboards drift further and further away from her.

Balancing on her toes, she lifted the empty carton as if appealing for a refill. That was when she felt it—a chill crawling along her spine. Out of the corner of her eye, a tall, dark figure loomed silently, casting a dark shadow that swallowed the room.

Furna tilted her head back, straining for a glimpse.

Before she could react, a fiery blaze erupted from the darkness, and a desperate, blood-curdling scream tore through the silence.

Furna jolted awake.

For a heartbeat, the world melted, and her ears rang with a thunderous pulse. She squinted, trying to make sense of her hazy vision. Where was she? She blinked, causing the fuzzy shapes in front of her to morph into a desk taken over by boxes. A bedroom? Right, it was her new room.  Furna pressed her palms against her eyes, trying to steady her breathing, but the dreadful dream clung to her.

Why is this happening?