The intrepid adventurers' journey had finally led them to their destination. As they stood at the crest of a large hill, they had the perfect view of the valley before them, surrounded by small mountain peaks, and filled with a thick and imperceptible fog, dreary and chilling, even from a distance.

"This must be it..." Jin Fuu commented.
"This was once Dream Valley, a beautiful place of natural wonder," Garbunkle said sadly, "and somewhere in there is the lost Dream Castle, where the royal family of Ponyland once lived... until a terrible darkness befell the kingdom and all were forced to flee for their lives. Some didn't make it out, and it's been said that any who ventured in there never emerged again..."
"And somewhere in there is the object of our quest, the Wand of Rule," noted Orion.
"Eeyup," MacBiggun nodded heavily.

"Brrr! Even from here, I can sense an ominous cold emanating from the valley," Jin Fuu shuddered.

"I sense it too," Orion furrowed his brows. "We may very well be going to our doom."

"Listen..." All eyes turned to Garbunkle who looked solemn and fearful, "I know that I asked of you all to undertake this quest with me, but when it comes down to it, this really isn't your concern whether or not Princess Majesty obtains the Wand or not. I will not think ill of you if you wish to turn back. This is my mission, I will not risk anyone else's lives-"

"Oh give it a rest," Orion interjected, but gave Garbunkle a friendly smirk. "We are here because you need our help, and we all agreed to aid you in this quest. Do not sully our honor by trying to go forth alone, we will not hear of it."
"Orion is correct," Jin Fuu agreed, "Honor demands we hold true to our oath to aid you in this quest."
" Eeyup, an' t' walk away now would be a black mark on our honor," MacBiggun stated, "an' we refuse t' live wit' such disgrace on our consciences."

Garbunkle regarded the ranger, the knight, and the monk each with gratitude, admiration, and even a sense of joy. He no longer saw these brave warriors as just adventurers he'd hired. They were his friends, and he felt honored to stand alongside them.

"Very well.. then come, adventurers!" Garbunkle pointed his staff straight for the misty way ahead, "Let us sally forth and claim whatever fortune and glory awaits us!"

"Heheh, great words, Spike!" chuckled Midnight.
"Heeyeah! Your roleplaying is so passionate, you got me believing it!" added Thunderlane.
"Eeyup," smiled Macintosh.

"Haha, thanks guys," Spike got all bashful, "I'm just really having fun with you guys."

"Well, this'll be your greatest challenge yet!" Sunburst promised with a challenging smirk, "For this coming adversity requires keenness of mind, not bruteness of muscle!"

"Is 'bruteness' a word?" commented Midnight from the peanut gallery.

"Moving on...!" Sunburst cleared his throat, "As our unwavering heroes ventured into the fog-enshrouded Dream Valley, they soon find, they are not alone..."

The band of heroes had made their way down the hill and were now braving the shrouded environment, the chill in the air penetrating their skins all the way to the marrow of their bones.

"Ah think we've reached th' valley floor," MacBiggun spoke in a soft voice.

"Can you believe this fog?" asked Garbunkle. He'd tried a spell to light their way, only for his light to sputter out. "It's definitely not natural, I can feel it dampening my magic..."

"It's like having on a blindfold," agreed Orion. "Even my echolocation doesn't work here."

"Stand fast, something moves ahead!" Jin Fuu warned, and they all raised their guard as they look forward.

Though the fog was thick and blinding, they could still make out shapes, such as the trees... and something moving between them. The shapes moved so softly they almost didn't hear them at all. They heard a low and dreary moaning coming from all around them, and they knew they were surrounded. They stood back to back, as Orion readied an arrow, "What're they waiting for? They're just standing there!"

"Ah don' know, but wer' outnumbered," MacBiggun pointed out, raising his sword and shield.

"Maybe, although..." Jin Fuu couldn't help but feel a strange sadness coming from these unseen figures all around them, "I feel as though they mean us no harm."

"Wait, something's coming!" Garbunkle pointed, and they heard hoofsteps approaching them, the faceless figures making way as a tall and cloaked figure, a horn extending from a hole in the brim of their hood, lighting a harsh and creepy purple light.

"So my eyes don't deceive me! At long last, something interesting comes along," spoke a voice unmistakable female with a velvety tone that oozed with a subtle malice. "I can't even remember when last we had company..."

The heroes all tensed at this newcomer, but she continued to speak, "Pay no mind to the others, they're only interested in feeling the warmth of your life.

"Friends, you are most welcome to Nightmare Valley," the figure welcomed with a show of curtsy and a creepy tone of anticipation, "you really can't imagine what a pleasure it is to have you here."

"So who are you, if I may be so bold as to ask?" Garbunkle inquired carefully.

"Why, I am the Ruler of Nightmare Valley, of course," the figure answered, "and you are here to steal my Wand, if I'm not mistaken."

The heroes tensed, expecting a confrontation after such a subtle (yet accurate) accusation, but the figure ho-hum'd "But that's no matter. I kindly invite you to my castle, where we can match wits with a little game! Should you be so fortunate as to win, you have my word that you can have the wand. Right this way...!"

She turned and began to walk away, leaving the heroes hesitant.

"What kind of game could this stranger be talking about?" Orion wondered aloud.
"No idea, but Ah s'pose we oughta follow her," MacBiggun suggested, and they so, reluctantly

They followed the figure deeper and deeper into the misty shrouds of Dream- Or perhaps rather, Nightmare Valley, and after a short walk, the fog thinned just enough for them to see they were approaching the front gates of a large and imposing castle. They gasped and awed as they got closer, and Garbunkle whispered, "Could this be...?"

"Impressive, isn't it?" bragged the cloaked female with a subtle yet imperious tone. "A palace fit for a queen! A Nightmare Palace, that is..."

As if responding to the evil being's words, four monstrous creatures appeared! One was red and looked like an angry bull, snorting fire. Another was a long and thick green serpent, winding around as it flicked its long forked tongue in a conspiring manner. A third yellow, appearing as a cowering cat, hissing and spitting pathetically. The fourth a dreary blue bat, flapping woefully and just barely keeping itself aloft.

The heroes all tensed and readied their weapons again, assuming they'd been led into an ambush, but the cloaked figure chuckled darkly and assured, "Oh put those toys away, these are just my pets! They protect me and keep me company, and you will come to adore them as I do. I even have such lovely names for them.

"Fear, Sorrow, Anger, and Treachery."

"Lovely's not the word I would use..." Jin Fuu commented.

"Hahaha, I adore games and riddles, you see, as well as humor," the female spoke smugly, "Even the names of my pets are rather ironic. They all have one of the faults I mentioned but none of them possess the fault for which they are named.

"Fear is not fearful, Anger is not angry, Treachery is not treacherous, neither is Sorrow, and of course Sorrow is not sorry."

Out of nowhere, the yellow pet lashed out at the blue one, leading to a vicious display of intimidation from both of them, causing the female to raise her voice as though she were a scolding mother, "Calm down, children. Don't make me punish you in front of our esteemed guests."

Almost at once, the two pets calmed and stopped glaring and growling at each other before they sauntered back to their mistress's side.

"It's interesting. the fearful one and the treacherous one are afraid of Sorrow. Though they typically get along, they do get into hissy fits from time to time. Their frustrations eventually boil over and they can't help but erupt. However, Fear almost killed the sorry one over some dinner scraps of all things, hahahaha..."

The cloaked mare ventured in, her pets following, and it was a long moment before the heroes, sharing looks of apprehension before they all nodded and entered the belly of the beast. Inside, they found themselves following a long entry hall behind the cloaked mare and her monsters, as she bitterly stated, "Once upon a time, I was a lady with no equal, beholden to no one, and all adored me as their beloved, but it was by the malice and treachery of others that I lost everything!

"I was driven away from my home, and shunned by all whom I begged for help," the mare spoke bitterly and with a vengeful tone, but then it changed, "Alone and in despair, I took refuge in a forgotten ruin. It was there, at my lowest point, I discovered a power that had been buried away by those too weak and cowardly to embrace it. But I was not so pathetic! No... I accepted all that this power had to offer, and I came to a realization: Light had betrayed me, but Darkness would empower me beyond any force in this world!

"I welcomed this power into my soul, and with it I chose to take what had been owed to me! I descended upon Dream Valley and drove out the wicked ponies who had ruined and shunned me, and transformed this place into my own dominion, the Nightmare Valley! I rule all within this valley, and my subjects will languish in my domain forever... They may waste away and fade in their never-ending nightmares, but they will never cease to exist. This is their fate for all they did to wrong me, and some of them were once like you..." she peered over her shoulder and they saw her face for the first time, not clearly, but still.

She was a mare, unicorn obviously, her coat, judging by her face, was a gloomy gray-blue, and her eyes, sharply glaring with the burning gleam of molten gold, as she said, "They came looking to claim the Wand of Rule!"

The heroes all tensed again, but now they saw the mare and her pets standing before some tall double doors, "But now for some fun, it's time to begin the game!"

At her words, the doors opened, a bright light blinding them for a moment, before they saw what was inside, the mare all a giddy, "I just love this room, it's my favorite in the whole palace!"

The room was merely a modest yet fine-looking library, with comfortable furniture, floor-to-ceiling bookcases crammed with books, as well as scrolls and other written works, there was a carved coffee table, paintings, and other furnishings. But on the other side, opposite of them... was a smaller room, containing a pedestal, upon which stood what they had come for, the Wand of Rule!

"Please, come in, you are going to enjoy this," the mare said with delicious anticipation as she gestured to the wand, "I believe this is what you came for...?"

The heroes all gasped and approached the little room which contained the wand, only to find their way blocked by an invisible wall!

"Should you succeed in matching wits with me, the wand will be yours to claim," the mare proposed, even as MacBiggun began trying to break the invisible wall, which felt like glass yet it didn't give, not even a crack.
"It's no use, my friends! That wall is composed of pure magic, it cannot be forced open. The only way it will open is if you can win the game."

"So we just win and then the wand is ours?" Orion gathered, obviously not buying it. "You'll forgive me if I don't take you at your word."

"Those are the rules and I don't cheat!" the mare snapped but kept her composure.

"An' wha' happens if'n we lose?" MacBiggun was almost afraid to ask, but he knew there was a risk.

"Then you all become mine to keep..." the mare answered with ominous delight and a fiendish smile as she relished in the sounds of their subdued gasps, "like all who have attempted to outwit me, you shall remain here, forever trapped in your own heads, fading away as you caught in a nightmare from which you will never awaken! You will be doomed to wander the mists of Nightmare Valley, eternally living a nightmare!"

Gasping, Garbunkle realized, "You mean we'd wind up like those figures outside?!"

"Exactly..." the mare sneered before challenging, "So will you play or will you run away?"

"Of course we'll play and we'll beat you at your own game!" Orion responded boldly.

"Orion!" Garbunkle gasped worriedly.
"Shouldn't we discuss this?!" Jin Fuu added.

"There's no other choice," Orion said to them, "Princess Majesty is counting on us to bring her the Wand of Rule. Besides, if we put our heads together, surely we can beat whatever game this hag has in store for us."

"Heheheh, I admire your confidence, you impudent colt..." the mare sneered again as she began to leave, "So be it! The game is to find a single word, and you have until the clock strikes six for the break of dawn. If you are still here and haven't opened the door to the Wand by then, you will lose, and become mine forever... Find the correct word and the door will open, sparing you from this fate. That word just so happens to be my name..."

"Wait, so we just gotta figure out your name? That's all the game is?" Garbunkle was perplexed.

"That's all there is to it..." the mare replied, but in a 'not telling' tone of teasing, as she made for the doorway. "All the clues to the riddle are in this room, but you must find the first clue before you can proceed. In a way, it's hidden, but in another it is as obvious as the tip of your nose. As for the rest of the clues, well, I'm sure you're smart enough to figure it out... Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm in need of my beauty sleep. I'll return when the time runs out, so best of luck... hahahahahahha!!"

The doors closed shut with a heavy bang, leaving the four heroes to the game.

"Is this really the final challenge, Sunburst?" Midnight's question caused all eyes to turn to their game master, and Sunburst nodded.

"Yeah, it's right here in the rulebook," Sunburst held up the page, "The 'Quest for the Wand of Rule', it leads to a final challenge involving a riddle! But no peeking for spoilers."

"Alright, fine, I guess I was just expecting something more... you know," Midnight shrugged.

"Oh don't you worry," Sunburst assured with a raised brow, "This'll be much more challenging than you expect... back to the game!"

Hours had passed, and the advneturers were getting nowhere. MacBiggun was busy searching the room for clues while Garbunkle and Orion looked through the books and Jin Fuu was meditating, as though the answer would just come to him.

"Oh, it's useless..." Orion sighed woefully as he tried the next novel, "the answer could be anywhere in anyone of these books!"

"Rgh, maybe we could break through th' door," suggested MacBiggun after looking behind a painting.

"No, we definitely can't do that," Garbunkle interjected, "too risky."

"What do you mean?" asked Orion.

"There is an ancient enchantment on the Wand of Rule that makes it so it cannot be taken through violence or deceit," explained Garbunkle as he gazed over to it, their prize just beyond a invisible wall of magic.
"Misfortune befalls whoever takes the Wand without honor."

"But we'd be takin' it fer th' good o' Ponyland an' t' help Princess Majesty," debated the knight, "Ah mean, how could tha' not be honorable?"

"Even if we could just take it without some enchantment punishing us, I fear the witch or whatever she is spoke plainly when she said it was impossible to try to steal it," Jin Fuu finally came out of his meditation.

"We're just gonna have to figure this out, and quickly," Orion said with a glance at the nearby grandfather clock, "Dawn is less than an hour away!"

"Well, let's stop searching in a rush and just think," Garbunkle said after setting the books aside and gave it a real think, "She said the first clue is hidden yet it's as obvious as the tips of our noses."

"Well, t' look at th' tip o' yer own nose..." MacBiggun pondered before his eyes caught sight of something, "Aha! Tha's it! Ya need a mirror t' see the tip o' yer nose!"

The four of them gathered in front of a large oval-shaped mirror standing in the corner, Orion saying, "Well, I'm looking, but all I see are our reflections."

"There must be something more to this..." Jin Fuu reached up to touch the looking glass, and they all shied back when his touch caused the mirror to shine, its glass rippling like liquid, until it settled and they gasped to see words!

"Look at that!" Orion exclaimed and he read the words:

"It's a riddle!" exclaimed MacBiggun.

"This is a big clue!" Garbunkle smiled hopefully, "It tells us the witch's name is made up of five letters."

"So then, the first line states the first letter is Treachery's sin," Jin Fuu brought up, "It must refer to the pet!"

"Ah'm guessing 'T' would be kinda on th' nose there," deadpanned MacBiggun as he rubbed his chin. "So then...?"

"Remember though, she said the pets don't have the flaw they're named after," Orion reminded them, "Which means it's either fear, anger, or sorrow."

"Rrgh! This is givin' me a headache! Let's lookit th' next line!" grumbled MacBiggun and they took another look:

"I guess it means the pet that's sorry, but that would mean it's not Sorrow," Garbunkle gathered. "Still a head-scratcher there..."

"What about the third one?" Jin Fuu pointed it out:

"It doesn't sound like it refers to any of the pets," Jin Fuu pondered, "It sounds like something... superstitious, familiar even!"

"Huh, it does feel like it's ringing a bell," Orion agreed. "I could swear I've heard of something like that, something inverted that brings bad luck?"

"Huh! Ain't no such thing as luck `cept th' luck you make yerself," MacBiggun waved his hoof in a dismissive manner, and as he did so, Garbunkle caught sight of something ansd he gasped in realization!

"Wait! That's it!" All eyes turned to the wizard as Garbunkle grabbed MacBiggun's hoof and showed it to them, "That's what the clue is talking about, a horseshoe!"

"Oh right! When you invert a horseshoe, as in you turn it upside-down, it becomes a symbol for bad luck!" Orion remembered.

"That's right, but when you turn it right-side up," Garbunkle pointed out, "it becomes a symbol for good luck."

"So then... th' third letter is 'H' fer horseshoe?" MacBiggun asked, still a bit puzzled.

"No! When a horseshoe turned right-side up" Garbunkle explained, "It looks like...?"

He smiled as he waved his claw in an inviting gesture and that was when they all go it, "U!"

"Exactly! The third letter in the name is the letter U!" Garbunkle pulled out a parchment from his magic bag and wrote down five lines, with U in the middle:

"Yeah! We're on a roll now!" Orion smiled, as did his friends.

"Now, back to the second one," Jin Fuu suggested, "the clue refers to the Sorry one's flaw. But as we know, the pets don't have the flaw they're named after, so the Sorry one can't be Sorrow."

"Let's think about everything the witch said about her pets," Orion suggested before he took a moment to remember and then quoted, "'It's interesting. the fearful one and the treacherous one are afraid of Sorrow. Though they typically get along, they do get into hissy fits from time to time.' Judging by that, Sorrow can't be fearful or treacherous."

"And since they're not what their name is, Sorrow isn't sorry either," Jin Fuu reiterated.

"Which means we're left with one fault, Sorrow is angry!" Garbunkle declared with a big smile and he took his parchment to add another letter, "so the second letter must be A!"

"Ah'm surprised th' witch gave us such a big clue," MacBiggun brought up, "but Ah guess since she said it like she were jus' shootin' th' breeze she din' think we'd remember it or somethin'."

"Wait! She said something else, that Fear almost destroyed the sorry one," Orion remembered.

"So that means Fear can't be sorry, and it can't be fearful either" Jin Fuu gathered, "and we already know Sorrow is the angry one. So applying the same logic as before... that must mean Fear is treacherous!"

"That leaves us with Anger and Treachery," Garbunkle brought up. "So if Fear is treacherous, and Sorrow is angry..."

"Tha' means Anger's gotta be sorry!" MacBiggun pointed out before bringing up, "An' remember the riddle? It said th' fourth letter is somethin' ya feel when yer feelin' blue. Sorry!"

"Great work, MacBiggun!" Garbunkle wrote it onto his parchment:

"So then the last pet, Treachery, has to be fearful, since it's the only remaining fault left," Orion stated. "'The first, the first of Treachery's sin'! It's F!"

"And the last clue, 'The last, you Fear from those around you'," Jin Fuu brought up, "It's referring to the pet as well, and Fear is treacherous, which means..."

An ominous chill fell over the four heroes as the final letter spelled it out for them.

"Wait, the name of the witch is...?!" Garbunkle couldn't bring himself to say it, so the others did.

"FAUST?!" They spoke in flabbergasted disbelief.

"Impossible!" MacBiggun refuted.
"I don't believe it!" Jin Fuu was shocked.
"The witch is... the Holy Mother of Ponykind, the Lady Faust?!" Orion couldn't believe what he was saying.

"Ain't no way tha's true!" MacBiggun protested with a stamp of his hoof. "Th' Lady Faust represents everythang good, pure, an' decent in this world!"
"Not only that, this mare claimed she was betrayed and robbed of everything she had," Orion agreed. "The Church of Faust has had some contentions, but no one has ever dared to desecrate Her places of worship."

But as if to argue, a strange sensation washed over them all, like breeze laced with static, and they looked to the small room where the Wand of Rule was, and the invisible wall of magic gleamed before it shattered into ethereal fragments of mana that tinkled as they touched the floor before dissipating into fading motes of energy and faded away.

The way was clear, the Wand of Rule was theirs for the taking.

They stood up from the furniture they'd been sitting on while figuring out the riddle, and Garbunkle said, "But... if we didn't get the right answer, why did the door open?"

"I... I don't know," Orion didn't want to believe what he was even considering.

"Even if tha' is Lady Faust, it ain't anymore," MacBiggun declared bitterly, "Now she's just a monster... a witch who overthrew an' cursed a good kingdom an' its people."

They moved to stand in front of the little room, which held their prize, when they heard the doors behind them open and they turned to see her again, and she wasn't alone.

"Well done, brave ones, you found the correct answer," the witch chuckled, her manner oozing with a smug cruelty, as she stood behind her monstrous pets. "So do tell, were you surprised to learn you stand before a deity?"

They all tensed but did nothing as the witch continued to vaunt, "You are a rare breed, my friends. I can't tell you how many foolish and so-called 'heroes' struggled in despair to solve my little game, only to be reduced to groveling cowards when they failed to find the right answer in time. The sight of them blubbering and pleading for mercy was delicious...! But it's the terror they constantly live with after I take them that fills me so satisfactorily.

"To tell you the truth, only one other has ever managed to solve my riddle and determine my name! I've all but forgotten him however, it was so long ago, before any of you were born, I'd wager. He found the truth to be so unbearable, so repugnant, that he refused to enter the room and claim his prize. Standing where you are now, he told me that his cause, whatever that may have been, would have nothing to do with something that had been 'tainted' by my touch... He stormed out of here, cursing me with every step. What a fool he was, had he swallowed his pathetic pride he might have saved this valley and restored it to the way it was before I took it over!

Garbunkle's eyes widened as he recalled something back from when he was still a sorcerer's apprentice, when the witch, claiming to be Faust, asked, "So what about you? Will you collect your prize or will you also run away in disgust, now that you know who I really am?"

Orion, MacBiggun, and Jin Fuu turned their gazes to Garbunkle, who clenched his fist onto his staff before raising his head and declaring, "Run away? We have no reason to run away! You promised us if we beat your game then the wands is ours!"

"Indeed I did, little wizard," the witch sneered, "So let us conclude our business...

"Fear!" The green serpent hissed viciously.

"Sorrow!" The red bull bellowed as it prepared to charge.

"Anger!" The blue bat screeched in malcontent.

"Treachery!" The yellow cat snarled, on the verge of panic.

"Oh no!" Jin Fuu raised his hooves, ready to defend himself.

"You lied to us!" Garbunkle accused as he prepared to cast a spell.

"I did nothing of the sort," the witch tut-tutted with fiendish glee, "I said... if you win the game you could claim the wand! I never said I would permit safe departure... Devil's in the details~!

"ATTACK, MY PETS!!!"

The wretched creatures all charged, each hero facing off against one: Jin Fuu faced the serpentine Fear. MacBiggun defended himself from the raging Sorrow. Orion took to the air while avoiding the miserable Anger. Garbunkle stood against the fur-raised and arch-backed Treachery.

MacBiggun used his shield to hold off Sorrow's horns, hooves, and snorting fire, the monster's assault so violet the knight couldn't even raise his sword to strike back.

Orion found Anger to be a tricky opponent, as the wretched bat flew so randomly the ranger couldn't get a good shot to fire his arrow, and he kept having to avoid Anger's claws whenever it got too close.

Jin Fuu had to stay on the move as Fear kept striking at him with its hissing fangs, and lashing out with its long tail, trying to ensnare the monk in its coils.

Treachery was shaking with the verge of panic, and Garbunkle was afraid of what would happen when the cat finally lost its nerve, so he had a shield spell at the ready. A good thing too, as Treachery finally let out a caterwaul before it pounced in a flurry of panicking claw swipes.

"Shirudo!" Garbunkle raised his staff, the jewel glowing as he was surrounded in a bubble of protective mana, upon which Treachery's claws found no purchase yet it continued to spit and slash as though it would not calm down until the little wizard was dead.

"Urgh!" These monsters're tough!" MacBiggun grunted as he tried to push Sorrow back, but the beastly bull didn't give an inch.

"Even one wrong move and they could overwhelm us!" Jin Fuu added as he dodged another strike from Fear's fangs.

"Hahahahaha, I'm afraid you are no match for my beloved pets!" the so-called Faust mocked, "All of you will join my little family of restless dreamers, your own nightmares feeding my power, forever..."

"Hold on!" Orion yelled as Anger finally caught up to him, but he used his bow to hold the bat off from snapping at his face, as he was pinned to the wall, "You've had the Wand of Rule this entire time, so why did you never use it?! Enforce your rule or extend your territory?!"

"Hahaha, it wasn't up to me," the witch scoffed, "The Wand of Rule is tied to the royal bloodline that once lived here, unless the true heir forsakes the Wand. For anyone else, so long as it is acquired honorably, it can be a source of great power. But if obtained out of greed or ill-will, it afflicts a curse of misfortune and misery..."

"But if you knew that, didn't you fear the Wand would do the same to you?" Garbunkle asked as he kept his shield spell up, denying Treachery its desire to sink its claws and fangs into the wizard.

"I FEAR NO SUCH THING!!!" the witch barked as though she'd been insulted, "The Forces of Nightmare granted me the power I needed to take this valley, this castle, and the wand! I chose to use the wand as bait for any so brazen as to challenge my power instead of using the wand directly, because I was not tempted by it! I am immune to its powers for I am the rightful ruler of its kingdom by conquest!"

"You're not immune, you're a fool!" Orion retorted as he pushed Anger off and finally managed to shoot an arrow at the creature, though he only managed to pierce its wing. "The Wand's punishment afflicts you even now!

"Can't you see he's right!?" Jin Fuu timed it just right... and threw a chi-empowered punch straight into Fear's face when the serpent tried to strike him, breaking off one of its fangs as it reared its head back in pain.
"Living alone in this haunted valley you attacked, surrounding yourself with these monsters and the victims you cursed into an endless trance?! Sounds like a punishment perfectly fitting of your crimes!"

"SILENCE!!" screamed the witch, "I live in this palace as a queen! A GODDESS!!!!"

"Yer no goddess, an' Ah don' think yer Faust either!" MacBiggun finally got an opportunity to suckerpunch Sorrow, stunning the bull with a smash of his shield to its face before lopping off one of its horns.
"Yer just a bitter ol' mare being used by evil magic! It's gotcha so crazy, ya can' even see it in th' mirror!"

"NO!! YOU'VE GOT IT BACKWARDS!! I am in control of these powers... I AM ALL-POWERFUL!!!" the witch screamed as her cloak finally flew off, revealing her form.

She was a unicorn mare, as they'd suspected, wearing a gown of silk over her dreary blue coat, her mane was dismay like old cobwebs, and she wore a medallion bearing a frightening eye, with four jewels on it, red, blue, yellow, and green, which glowed in response to her outrage. This in turn seemed to cause the pets to all glow as well, and the heroes gasped to see the monsters grow in size and their wounds were healed.

They cried out in alarm as the pets finally broke through their defenses, Fear finally getting its coils around Jin Fuu and putting the squeeze on him. Sorrow knocked away MacBiggun's sword and shield, and pinned him against the wall with its horns. Anger's wings knocked Orion's bow out of his grasp before the bat launched itself and pinned him to the floor. Treachery's claws finally tore through Garbunkle's shield spell, and cornered him.

"I consider myself a patient mare... but I will not tolerate such insolence from peasants!" the witch seethed as she approached Garbunkle. "Make this easier on yourselves and surrender, wizard! The game is over..."

"The situation is dire... the witch has the upper hoof! There is only one chance left! Roll a 19 or 20, and you may find the means to triumph! Any lower, and you are doomed..."

"I'm calling it, I invoke the Luck buff of my Gilded Four-Leaf Clover talisman! It increases the odds in my favor by a factor of 1 to 4! Depending on this roll here..."

*Dice Roll results in lucky number 7*

"Not bad, so in accordance to that roll, your odds increase, and now your fate depends on a fifty-fifty chance! Roll an 11 or higher, and you may yet win! 10 or lower, and it's over..."

"C'mon, Spike, you can do it...!"
"It's all you, little drake!"
"Eeyup!"

"Okay, here goes nothing! Or everything...!"

The twenty-sided die rolled, every impact on the game board quaked with dread, with suspense, with butt-clenching, teeth-grinding, eye-bulging anticipation as the gamers and game master followed the die's every single move! Finally, it stopped rolling, but it span, slowing, slowing... until finally, it fell over.

And the result was...

"LUCKY NUMBER 13!!!!

Just as all seemed lost, it was then Garbunkle noticed the witch's medallion, and recalled how its jewels had so intensely radiated before the pets had all been empowered, and he realized, That's it!

Pointing his staff directly at the witch and her medallion, he mustered as much power as he could before casting the spell, "INFERNOX...!"

Exploding from the jewel of Garbunkle's staff came a mystic flame of intense blue, brilliant emerald, and ominous indigo! Following the intent and focus of Garbunkle, the Spellfyre went directly for the witch's medallion, and she screamed in alarm as it was set ablaze. In her panic, she ripped it off and threw it away from herself, only to realize her folly a split-second later and was stupefied to see her precious medallion was burned so intensely that despite being made of precious metal and gemstones nothing was left after the flames burnt themselves out. Not even ashes.

"Wha... what- I-! What have I...?! What have you done?!" the witch whimpered in abject terror, feeling a cold dread wash over her as her pets stopped attacking the heroes... and all turned their fearsome gazes at her.
"What're you all doing?! Don't just sit there, destroy them!"

Fear, Sorrow, Anger, and Treachery ignored the words of their former mistress as they all glared and growled at her, their eyes burning with unforgiving hate, before they began to approach her...

"What do you think you're doing?! I am your mistress! I AM YOUR QUEEN, YOU MUST OBEY ME! Stay back, BACK I SAY!! EERRRAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!!!!!" the witch screamed as the monsters all pounced and began to tear at her, even as their bodies began to pale and seemed to give off a sickly haze. Since they were bumping and knocking into each other, they began to fight amongst themselves, completely missing the witch, whose gown was torn and her face and withers raked with bleeding claw marks, as she crawled out from underneath.

"P-Please! Help me, I've lost control!" she whimpered pathetically.

"The monsters are dying!" Garbunkle yelled to his friends, "Without her medallion they no longer have her power to sustain them! We can finish them off!"

"Let's do it!" Orion threw one of his knives to Jin Fuu to use while he raised his bow and readied an arrow, and MacBiggun raised his sword, and Garbunkle cast another spell, manifesting a blade of energy at the top of his staff, as though it were a spear.

"TOGETHER!!!" the four heroes declared and let out the fiercest battle cries as they attacked!

Jin Fuu lopped off Fear's head, its serpentine body left squirming its death throes.

MacBiggun stabbed his sword straight into Sorrow's chest, the bull letting out agonized bellows as it keeled over.

Orin shot a perfectly aimed arrow straight between Anger's eyes, causing the leather-winged fiend to drop dead.

Garbunkle speared Treachery through the gut, the scaredy-cat yowling as it gave in.

The heroes backed away, and gasped as the monsters' bodies all turned to iridescent dust that faded away into nothing, and Garbunkle realized aloud, "They weren't her pets, they were her flaws given shape and form! She must have used her nightmare magic to manifest her fear, sorrow, anger, and treachery as metaphysical monsters."

"Th-that's right..." They all turned and saw the witch, whimpering in the corner, looking despondent and pathetic, tears running down her face, her eyes wide with horror... and remorse?
"The nightmares... the nightmares! They never stopped, every single time when I fell asleep to the point I dreaded just closing my eyes! I created those manifestations... to rid myself of the nightmares! But I found I could only sustain them... by taking victims and subjecting them to endless nightmares of their own, the fear feeding those wretched things!"

"Who are you?" Garbunkle asked, sounding a little sympathetic. "You're not really Faust..."

The witch- No, the mare shuddered as she gave the heroes a look of deepest shame, and said with clear self-loathing, "I lied, I am not Faust. I am no goddess nor am I queen, of anyone or anything. I'm just a worthless wretch who gave into a false promise and was driven mad with hate and bitterness. I was telling the truth before, though. Once, I was a noblemare, wealthy, admired, and beloved by my people, and I loved them!

"But then my downfall came in the form of a handsome prince... He wooed me and though I tried to dissuade and deny him, it wasn't long before he had won my heart. Before long, I fell head over hooves in love! Or rather, I believed I was in love... My prince became my everything, I lost interest in what was going on outside my manse. I accepted his wedding proposal, and in the hall of my old mansion we were married. That was when my beautiful dream turning into a horrific nightmare...

"My husband revealed his true colors on our wedding night, and used his power as royalty to seize my wealth and my land, he stripped me of my titles, and cast me out of my own home, divorcing me for good measure! It was then I finally saw what he had done to my people! While he'd kept me distracted with his flattering, smoozing, and courting, he'd subject my people to outrageous taxes, seized properties, and forced my people out of their homes, doing it all in my name! I begged my friends and neighbors for help to stop my former husband, but I had lost the love and respect of the ponies whose lives and rights I had been tasked with protecting, and I had failed so miserably..."

"Wait..." Orion gasped in realization, "I've heard of you! You're Lady Oneighra, of the House of Morpheus! The Morpheus family was once a noble house that, out of nowhere, was dissolved by the royal family, who claimed Morpheus had defrauded one of their princes, so they were punished by their house being dismantled, their wealth and lands seized, and the family members were either imprisoned or cast out with nothing!"

Gasping at Orion's words, the mare, Oneighra, tearfully confirmed, "That is correct... I failed my people, because I was hoodwinked by an ill-minded prince who claimed to love me, but only brought me utter ruin and shame... That's why, when I discovered the Book of Nightmares, I turned my eye upon the royal family of Dream Valley, for it was one of them that had ruined my life and the lives of my family and my people! I took their kingdom, their castle, and I did indeed tried to wield the Wand of Rule, believing it would make my conquest legitimate... but now I realize, the Wand rejected me and its punishment intermingled with the evil magicks I had foolishly immersed myself into...."

"That may be so..."

Everyone gasped and turned to the doors and saw a tall white alicorn with a mane of royal blue, cream white, and lovely lilac, her cutie-mark a burst of blue stars, and she wore an elegant crown above her brow.

"Princess Majesty!" Garbunkle immediately knelt in respect, and the others followed suit. Only Oneighra did nothing, except gape in shameful horror at the sudden appearance of the true and rightful heir to Dream Castle.

"Rise, my brave heroes, and be at ease," Princess Majesty bade them kindly. "Forgive my sudden appearance, but earlier I sensed the evil magicks over my ancestral home had finally been undone, and came as quickly as I could using a magic mirror that allowed me to travel through its looking glass and emerge in an identical mirror here in the castle.

"It brings great joy to my heart to finally walk the halls of my true home, and that would not have been possible had it not been for your courage and your dedication to see this quest triumphant. But now, I must make amends to this one who was so terribly wronged by a member of my family."

Majesty approached Oneighra, who shied at her presence, but felt her heart ease by the warm and kind smile on the princess's face... and the sadness in her amethyst purple eyes, and was astounded when Princess Majesty bowed to her!

"Words cannot express the sorrow I feel for how my granduncle so wickedly tricked you," the princess spoke, her voice laced with shame and tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
"His actions painted a black mark on our family history, and that disgrace will never be forgotten by us. Lady Oneighra, you have done great evil but all of that never would have been had you never been wronged by my granduncle, whose crimes were discovered after you took over Dream Valley, and he was stripped of his titles, rights, and sentenced to life in prison. The coward instead took his own life rather than accept his deserved punishment with dignity, for he had no honor...

"In spite of all you've done, I wish to make right the wrongs done to you, and to start, I ask you this: Lady Oneighra... will you accept my friendship?"

The princess offered her hoof to Oneighra, who was utterly speechless, and the four heroes watched in anticipation, before finally, Oneighra broke into tears. Tears of remorse, tears of joy, tears of relief, and she did not resist when Princess Majesty took the unicorn into her embrace, and gave her a warm hug that she clearly needed.

After a while, Princess Majesty took Oneighra to another room, using a spell to give her her first good night's sleep in many years, before she returned to the library and regarded Garbunkle and his band of heroes.

"By your actions, Dream Valley has been freed of the evil that has haunted it for so long, and for that you all have my deepest gratitude. I name you all Friends of Dream Valley, and you will always have a home here should ever you need a roof over your heads and a warm meal to fill your bellies. Garbunkle the Wizard, Orion the Ranger, Sir MacBiggun the Knight, and Jin Fuu the Monk, I declare your quest over and victorious! Congratulations!"

"WHOOO!!!" "YEAH!" "That was awesome!" "Great game, everypony!"

"And I hope you'll be ready for our next campaign!" Sunburst warned them, "Just wait till you find out of the Nightmare Forces that originally corrupted Oneighra."

Then they heard a distant sound of opening doors, "Midnight! Spike? We're back!"

Midnight's ears perked happily at the sound of his wife's voice, "Oh! Sounds like the girls have come back from Yakyakistan."

"Eeyup, better go an' see muh `Shy," Macintosh got up from the table, "First thing's she's gonna wanna do is see our foals."

"And I wanna talk to AJ about a recipe we discussed," Thunderlane got up too.

"Great game, guys, same time next week?" Midnight asked, and they all affirmed they'd be there and started for the doors to the entry hall.

"But next time I'm game master."
"That's fine, I wanna play with my own character next campaign. Maybe a priest? A druid? Or perhaps a Tinkerer..."

Next Chapter: 410. In Swamp Water - Part 1 Estimated time remaining: 7 Hours, 4 Minutes