Dream Realm

Night Slash was in his own dream world for the first time. He looked around and saw nothing but blackness. Night Slash called out into the nothingness and got no reply back. Shrugging his shoulders he floated around to see if he could find anything. For several minutes he couldn’t find anything. Night Slash was about to give up hope until the blackness took on a dream. He was watching James now back at his father’s funeral. This was where Shadow took form for the first time. Shadow didn’t have much strength so he was pretty much a third voice in his head. Shadow watched the trials and pain that James went through that gave more life to Shadow making him stronger.

Shadow was now at the turning point for James when he gained his full power. James was at the warehouse of where there was a supposed terrorist cell. James looked around at his squad and they all nodded. Demarco placed a breach charge on the door and got back. They waited for a few seconds until the charge went off. The door was sent flying in and when it was Blake threw in a flashbang while Connor threw in a concussion grenade. Once the grenades went off the team charged in ready to open fire on the terrorists. When they were in the building there was nothing. They lowered their weapons and looked around the building.

Not finding anything James called in to command to let them know that there was nothing. When he activated his comlink and called command all he got was static. Something didn’t seem right to James and for once he wished that he listened to his gut. Before he could tell his squad that something was wrong the whole warehouse was lit up. Bullets were flying from every part of the building and going everywhere. They hid behind some boxes as they waited for the firing to stop. For five minutes there was no noise except the bullets that were flying through. When the bullets finally died off they regrouped together to see if they were okay.

Connor was looking them over checking for any wounds or burns from anything. As Connor was looking them over they slowly caught their breath. James walked over to David to see if he was hadling everything okay. David was a bit shaken up but that was to be expected since this did scare the crap out of all of them. When James reached David he placed a hand on his shoulder to help calm him down. David jumped a little from the touch but when he looked at James he gave a warm smile. James gave him a smile glad that he was okay. The happiness was short lived when James was splattered in David’s blood. David hit the ground unmoving with a bullet hole through his head. James could feel his heart rate increase as he stared at David’s lifeless body. Before Shadow could watch anymore of the dream that made Shadow who he was there was a bright light.

Night Slash

Night Slash fluttered his eyes as he tried to wake himself up. He got up from the bed and popped his bones back into place. Night Slash looked over to see that there was a note from the three mares that were with him last night. Night Slash picked up the note and started reading it. The note said that there was breakfast for him in the fridge. They had gone to their jobs and the next three should be with him shortly. Night Slash put the note down and headed for the bathroom. He let the water run down his body as he took a few relaxing breaths.

With his shower done Night Slash walked over to the mirror and stared at his reflection. He was confused as to why he would dream something like this. Sure it was a changing point for Shadow but it was more so for James than anything else. After staring at his reflection he just shrugged his shoulders and went to get dressed. Once he finished dressing he went to the living room and was greeted by the three mares that were watching him for today. Colgate, Amethyst Star, and Holly Dash were sitting around eating their own breakfast. They waved to Night Slash as he waved to them and headed for the kitchen.

Night Slash opened the fridge and grabbed his breakfast that was inside. He unwrapped it from the plastic wrap and joined the three mares that were eating. They ate in relative silence just enjoying each other’s company. Once breakfast was done Holly Dash took the plates away to get them cleaned. As she cleaned the dishes Colgate was looking at Night Slash but looked very nervous. Night Slash kept quiet as he waited for Colgate to say what she wanted. There was a few minutes of silence and she didn’t look like she was going to speak any time soon.

“What do you want to say Colgate?” Night Slash asked wanting to end this awkward silence.

“Well I was wondering when was the last time that you had your teeth checked?” Colgate asked as she continued to stare at Night Slash.

“I really don’t remember the last time that I had my teeth checked.”

“Then guess what you’re getting today before we leave for a while.” Colgate said with a smile on her face.

Night Slash was silent for a few seconds trying to figure out what she meant. He finally connected the dots and started shaking his head. Colgate was going to look at his teeth and he wasn’t going to have any of it. He tried to climb out of the couch and run to the safety of his room but was stopped by Amethyst Star. She held him in her magic field and brought him over to a reclining chair. He was seated in the chair as Colgate leaned him back. Colgate summoned her utensils and got to work on Night Slash. Holly Dash came out of the kitchen and saw Night Slash on the chair. He looked at her with pleading eyes and she just shook her head.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he still couldn’t fight back he had to accept this torture. Colgate went through her regular dentist routine as she cleaned his teeth. Twenty minutes later and Night Slash had shining white teeth. He looked at Colgate annoyed at what she did and she just smiled at him. Night Slash walked over to the couch and sat down as Holly Dash joined him and hugged him. They stayed in silence as they just sat there. Ten minutes later and the girls were getting ready to leave. Night Slash watched as they got ready and headed for the door. They waved goodbye to him as they walked out and he waved good bye.

Once the door was closed he watched from the window to make sure the mares were out of sight. Once they were over the hill he headed back to the basement to sit in the bath and then swim in the pool. Once inside the basement he got changed into his swim trunks and looked at the chart. He made a chart that made a layout of where the baths and pools were. He used it to keep track of which ones that he used and what he still needed to use. After looking at it for a few minutes he decided on the one that he wanted to use and went to the cabinet to get started.

Amethyst Star, Holly Dash, and Colgate

The three mares were headed to the library to return books that they checked out. They were glad that Twilight was nice enough to wave their overdue fees if they brought the books back. They reached the library and opened the door. They entered the tree house and were greeted by Twilight. Twilight wasn’t alone in the library as the mares noticed Lyra and Trixie in the library. Amethyst waved to Lyra as she ran up to her and gave her a hug. Lyra gave her a hug in return as she held her close. Once the hug was broken off the other two gave Lyra a hug and she returned it.

They were good friends with Trixie after the Ursa Minor incident but thanks to the necklaces they still harbored hatred for her. They walked up to Trixie and shook her hand in greeting glad to see her again. With pleasantries exchanged the mares walked up to Twilight and gave her back the books. Twilight took the books and put them back where they belonged on the shelves. Twilight invited them to join her and the others for tea and they accepted. Twilight brought out the tea cups and they all sat around the coffee table.

“So Lyra what have you been up to?” Amethyst asked as she sipped her tea.

“I’ve just been practicing my harp and hanging with my coltfriend.” Upon hearing this Amethyst Star, Holly Dash, and Colgate spat out their tea. The blushed at the small mess they made but Twilight got rid of it with her magic.

“I didn’t know that you were seeing somepony?” Holly Dash said with a sly smile.

“Yeah I try not to brag about it too much. I like to keep it under control with who I’m seeing.”

“Well can we at least know who he is?” Colgate asked as she leaned in closer interested in who Lyra was dating. Lyra looked to both Trixie and Twilight to see if it was okay to answer. They nodded their heads and Lyra went to answer her question.

“Well it would be wrong to just say me but it’s actually me, Twilight, and Trixie that are going out with him. His name is James and he is the human that has been here for a few months.” Hearing this answer Holly Dash crushed the cup in her hand causing it to shatter. Trixie quickly got up and grabbed some towels to put on Holly Dash’s hand.

Holly Dash picked out the pieces of the cup from her hand as Lyra cleaned up the mess. With all the pieces out of her hand she put the towels on to clean up some of the blood. When most of the blood was cleaned off Holly Dash used her magic to close up the wound. Colgate and Amethyst Star finished off their tea and set their cups down. They looked over Holly Dash’s hand to make sure that she was fine. Seeing that everything was fine they went back to their conversation forgetting that ever happened.

“Is everything okay?” Twilight asked concerned on what made Holly Dash so mad to break her cup.

“Yeah everything is fine. Sorry for breaking you tea cup.” Holly Dash said smiling at Twilight to show that she was sorry.

“Don’t worry about the cup. I have thousands so it doesn’t really mean anything.”

“So are you seeing anypony?”

“Yes we are. His name is Night Slash and he is a very handsome unicorn.” Amethyst Star answered with a smile.

The conversation changed topics to other things about what they were up to. The three mares were mad that Lyra and Twilight were with James. Trixie on the other hand was different. She seemed like a perfect match for him since she liked to cause trouble for ponies. The mars tried their hardest to keep their anger under control as they continued to talk. Trying to keep calm was very hard because James’ name kept popping up into the conversation. After they were done talking the mares said their goodbyes and head back for the house to talk with Night Slash.

Night Slash

Night Slash was sitting in another bath that was to help him. The bath was designed to help increase his bone density and his muscle strength. As he sat in the bath absorbing the water it was slightly painful. He could feel as he muscles stretched and moved as they got stronger. His bone becoming denser was the worst pain that he was going through. It felt like his bones kept breaking and instantly repairing. He kept his eyes shut as she tried to focus on other things. Night Slash was panting heavily as the pain was just getting worse and worse for him. He was certain that he wasn’t going to be able to finish this session. Lucky for him the thirty minutes were up and he got out of the water.

He laid on the concrete trying to catch his breath from enduring the pain. His breathing slowed as the pain started to subside. Once the pain was gone Night Slash got up and walked for one of the pools. As he walked to the pool the hooded figure showed up in front of him. The figure gave a small wave that Night Slash returned. He continued on his walk to the pool as the figure summoned a chair. The figure sat down in the chair as it watched Night Slash jump into the pool. Night Slash resurfaced and he was in pain once again. The water of the pool was insanely hot and he could feel it burning his skin.

Night Slash was sweating profusely from the hot water as she started off slow on his laps. The figure couldn’t help but laugh as Night Slash was in pain from the hot water. The figure remembered when he went through something similar but instead of hot water it was lava that he swam through. The figure kept quiet as it watched Night Slash swim back and forth. As he watched Night Slash he walked around the room and found a clipboard with the different things that Night Slash had to do. As he read through it he noticed the mention of the wounds that were on him. The figure gave a slight chuckle that he forgot to mention this would happen.

Thirty minutes later and Night Slash got out of the pool. He placed himself on the ground and started rolling around. He was trying to get as much of the cold as he could get on his body. Night Slash was completely red from the intense heat that he went through while swimming. His body was cool enough that he headed for the shower so he could run cold water on his body. He walked over to the locker and pulled out a pair of clothes. He placed the clothes down and pulled in a stool into the shower. He set it on the coldest setting and sat under the running water. He released a sigh of relief as he felt his body start to cool down.

“Yeah I would like to apologize to you my friend.” The hooded figure said.

“What exactly do you have to be sorry for?” Night Slash asked calmly but was worried that he was about to be killed.

“I forgot to mention that any wounds that you had received would come back in a few days and be real.” Night Slash nodded his head in understanding until he was able to connect the dots.

“What do you mean you forgot? Out of everything that you could forget that was one of the most important pieces of information that you could give. I almost died because of your slip up since I wasn’t prepared for it.” The figure just shrugged it shoulders as Night Slash vented some of his anger.

Night Slash turned off the shower and dried off his body. He grabbed his clothes and put them on as the figure started to float in the air. The figure offered cotton candy and Night Slash took it. The two just sat around the room enjoying the sweet candy. Once they were both done eating the figure poofed out of existence. Night Slash released a heavy breath that the figure was gone. Even with being around so many dangerous creatures this one was the scariest of them all. Night Slash headed back upstairs so he could lay on the couch and relax for a bit.

When he got upstairs the three mares were home and cooking dinner. They were about to say something but stopped when they saw how tired he was. They let him take a spot on the couch and he closed his eyes. Night Slash was out for ten minutes before he was woken up. Colgate was standing over him and backed away quickly from her. He just smiled at him as she showed him his food and went to sit down. They ate in relative silence as Night Slash kept a good eye on Colgate. Colgate just shook her head as Night Slash stared at her.

When he was certain that Colgate wouldn’t do anything funny he went to finish off his food. The mares took the dishes away to get them cleaned. Before they left they asked if they could sleep with him tonight. Night Slash agreed and they went to finish cleaning. They were in the bed all together as the mares nuzzled up to him. They told him about their friends being with James and they would like his help with it. Night Slash assured them that James would be dealt with but in time. The mares nodded knowing that Night Slash would never lie to them. Night Slash couldn’t help but think about what they said about Trixie.

The necklaces allowed them to keep some type of memory that is important. The memory though is distorted as it manipulated them. It also seemed that the necklace created a false pit of emotions and something they could direct it at. Night Slash made a note to get a better scan on these necklaces to see what their full potential was. He couldn’t ask any of his mares for two reasons. The first reason was that he didn’t want to fight them if they took off the necklace. The second reason was that he didn’t want the mares to know that they were being controlled. Night Slash would have Nightmare look them over later when she stopped by again. With that decided Night Slash fell asleep with his mares cuddled into him.

Author's Notes:

Thanks to ErikTheSoulReaper for the idea on this chapter.