"Dammit! We're taking too many casualties, here!" A Caucasian human soldier yelled, as he crouched behind a large stone pillar, which was broken in half, while the other half was crumbled, and scattered across the ravaged streets of New York City. Beside him rested another soldier, but this one was holding his left rib, which was bleeding heavily. "C'mon, Jeff! We need to get the Hell out of he-" Before he could finish his sentence, the two were engulfed in a meter-long flaming meteor which ended their lives in the matter of seconds.

From where the meteor came from, the large skyscrapers could be seen falling into large piles of rubble. As the blood-red sky revealed more meteors of equal sizes falling from over the clouds, a large mixture of men, women, and children ran through the streets, trying to dodge the falling meteors.

A few minutes later, in Washington, DC, the president's phone began to ring. As he answered it, the television was on, revealing the rapidly increasing number of casualties scattered throughout the world. When the power to the White House went out, the generators instantly booted up. Then when five security guards ran inside to try to escort the president, the television pointed only two more states unharmed by the "End of the World". Those two, of course, were Washington and Mississippi.

"Mr. President! Is... is it true? Is this the end?" One of the agents that ran into the room asked, removing his glasses. He weakly chuckled. "I had family in New York... but it looks like I'll be visiting them elsewhere, now... and a lot sooner than I might think..."

With a tear in his eyes, the president nodded his head, as he, his wife, his children, and the agents all bound their hands together. "It has been... an honor... to serve this country... in it's final moments..." Those were the last words the president said, as a large meteor the size of a twenty-story high skyscraper fell on top of the White House.

The final thing that could be seen standing in the distance was a creature larger than the size of a giant mountain, standing over the fallen, smoking landscapes below it. The creature had two glowing orange eyes, each in a glare, while it had four hooves, and two massive arms. It's back was facing the direction that led towards Mississippi, but ever-so-slowly, it turned around, as the sound of an unnervingly high-pitched screeching noise began to play for a split-second.

Justin's eyes instantly shot open, and in the matter of seconds, his entire chest was raised up, while he breathed heavily. Looking to his right, he saw that Twilight's bed was empty, and she was nowhere to be seen. At first, he thought that she was just simply reading something downstairs... until he felt a stirring movement near his left arm.

Looking to his left, he saw that Twilight was lying there next to him, only she wasn't in the covers. She was staring at him worriedly, until he sighed, and rubbed his forehead with his right hand, and asked. "Um... Twilight? What are you doing in my bed?"

She patted his back, and replied, "You were talking in your sleep... so I thought you might need somepony to be there to comfort you, that's all." Then, she yawned. "It seemed like a terrible nightmare."

Justin sat there silently for a moment, before smiling weakly. Then, he gently swept her mane with his left hand, which caught her by surprise, until she closed her eyes, and smiled at the contact. "Hmm... that feels nice..." She quietly whispered, while Justin shrugged his shoulders.

"What can I say? I'm just thankful that you're still allowing me to live here." Then it was Justin who yawned. "But seriously, Twilight... I don't need someone- err... somepony to comfort me while I have nightmares. Thanks for the offer, though. It really means a lot to me. Now please, may you get back to your bed, and not worry?" The only response he could get was the sound of feint breathing. Looking back at Twilight, Justin's smile dropped, and was followed by a sigh when he saw that she fell asleep while he was talking. "Or..." Justin began, before yawning again. "... You could just fall asleep there, and force me to sleep uncomfortably while you're on my bed." Then he paused, and weakly smiled again. "Well, I'd suppose it's your bed still, but... eh, whatever..." Finally, after gently placing his head back on the pillow, his eyes slowly closed, and at once, his mind raced back into the Dreamscape.

Unfortunately for him, though, he ended up with the same nightmare. The buildings crumbled around the soldiers, the president, his family, and the agents around him joined hands and watched their doom hit them, and the creature turned towards Justin's view, looking him directly in the eyes, followed by the loud screech. This time, however, the screech wasn't the end of the dream. The screech continued, eventually causing Justin to cover his ears within his dream, which didn't stop the screech.

Then, the creature spoke in a low-pitched demonic voice.

"He watches us..."

At once, Justin's eyes widened, and he quickly backed away, only for the creature to slowly walk towards him, standing at his eye level. "Ah, and he hasn't a clue, either..." The creature reached it's right arm in front of Justin's face, as a red glow started to form in it's palm. "Don't worry... your soul shall be ours, anyways!"

Suddenly, a low-pitched woman's voice boomed through the sky, with an echo that shook the ground below them.

"TIREK!"

The sound of the woman's voice caused the creature's eyes to widen, as it's palm stopped glowing. Then the two of them looked up, while Justin used this distraction as a chance to back away. As he did, the woman's voice appeared to be aimed towards him. "Do not be afraid, Justin, for he is not able to harm thee... the Threads of Fate hath sealed that chance from him before."

When the voice said that, the environment quickly shifted and changed, as Tirek, along with the world around them, faded into a pure white light, until Justin was in the pure white room again. He looked behind himself, and spotted the source of the voice; an all-too-familiar alicorn with a blue coat, and an even darker blue mane that sparkled with, what appeared to be, stars that shined brightly through her mane, which even waved freely at the absence of a single breeze.

Princess Luna smiled at Justin, while he quickly shook his head, and tried to get his bearings together. Then, he bowed over his right knee, placing his right hand between his chin and knee, while placing his left hand on the ground before himself. Luna, having been unfamiliar with this kind of attention, chuckled lightly, then said, "Why dost thou kneel before us? Haven't thou already proven thyself a friend of ours?"

Justin smiled, then nodded his head while standing back up. "Friend or not, I feel like I should still show my respects to the Princesses... especially the one who deserves more credit for her work... am I right, Princess Luna?"

Her eyes widened at that statement, before a smile formed on her face. "Well, thou surely bearest a kind heart within thee... but nay, we fear the credits be rightfully placed, for our former deeds still have yet to be brought at ease..." Quickly, her smile faded, and a frown formed soon after. "Especially since our father knows, and was disappointed about our actions then..."

Justin nodded his head, and asked, "The fight between your sister and you, I take it?" Luna nodded, while Justin walked up to her. "Hey, that was a thousand years ago! I know that you've learned from those past mistakes, and have already come to terms with it! All you needed was a little respect... and I'm sure you're much more appreciated now, since you're able to enter dreams..." Suddenly, Justin's eyes widened, while he scratched the back of his head. "Wait... but if you're in my dreams... and I'm Undead... how are you even able to enter my dreams, if I'm Undead?!"

Luna smiled, and chuckled, before turning her head to her left, and talking to, what appeared to be, nothing in general. "Father, wouldst thou care to explain?" At once, King Solaris appeared from behind her left, trotting out of a dark blue portal that opened vertically. He was wearing a golden crown, and cloaked in a purple and gold coat, while his purple and gold mane and tail flowed in a similar way as Princess Luna's, only this time, his mane and tail appeared to have, what looked like, a large number of galaxies decorating it from the distance, and the gold strips on his tail faded, looking like the fires of a sun getting brighter as the outer tip of the tail grew closer to the viewer's eyesight.

Whenever Justin saw him, he was about to bow, only for King Solaris to place his right fore-hoof on his chest, and smile weakly at him. "No need for formalities, Justin... I may be the king now, but the kingdom is still under the rule of my daughters... I merely help them when needed, is all!" This caused Luna to blush, and turn her head away.

Justin smiled at the two, and nodded his head. "Sorry... but y'all might want to get used to that for now. It's... kinda how I was raised."

King Solaris chuckled, and replied, "Fair enough... though I'm certain you're confused, so let me go on ahead and explain why, and most importantly, how we're here! Which would you like to hear first?"

After placing his right hand over his chin, Justin shrugged, and replied, "I guess we should get the most important first... so how are y'all here, exactly?"

Solaris walked back to Luna, and replied, "Although you and I are Undead, it only means we're immune to Magic... but it's not always the case when we sleep." Justin was about to ask how, until Solaris raised his left hoof, and continued speaking. "Yes, you are simply dreaming, but to dream, one must leave their body, and enter a different plane... it's called the 'Dreamscape'. The Dreamscape, as it's name implies, is an entirely different world altogether, ruled by one of Equestria's dearest allies, the 'Nymphari'... Spirits of Nature."

Justin raised his right eyebrow, and tilted his head. "Nymphari... Like... Nymphs? From the old stories?" He asked. Solaris nodded, while Justin scratched his head. "I'm not sure how the Nymphari have anything to do with y'all being here, though..."

Solaris weakly chuckled again, and trotted towards Justin, explaining.

"Well, Justin, as you may already know, the Undead have a deeper connection with souls than any other living creature out there... and only in the hands of an Undead can a soul be captured. The soul, however, doesn't have to be absorbed! It can also be released, imprisoned, or placed back into the body of whoever it came from, so long as you use a certain spell that's been lost since after my death... a spell that only I know, now."

Justin sighed, and nodded, while asking, "Yes sir. Thank you for letting me know that, but aren't we getting off track here?"

Again, Solaris chuckled, only this time, it was much louder. "Oh, my! Of course we aren't! The reasons why and how we are here are quite one in the same, really!" Then, his chuckling ceased, and his happy face turned into a serious one. "We are here because, while in the Dreamscape, your body is most vulnerable to Magic, so we have requested the Nymphari to protect you while we enter your side of the Dreamscape... and we're here to teach you that lost spell that only I know, should you be unable to protect those dearest to you." Again, Justin was about to ask something else, but Solaris already beat him to the punch. "The nightmare you had twice in a row is no ordinary nightmare, either... it was a vision... a memory... but it wasn't your own." Justin's eyes lowered as the thoughts began to come back to him. "It was Tirek's memory... and it would seem that you're his target, now!"

"W-WHAT?!" Justin stuttered, before taking a step back in shock. "Then... shouldn't I leave Ponyville, and hide somewhere, so nopony gets hurt?!"

Solaris sighed, and shook his head. "It would be unwise to leave the Elements unprotected... and also, they must be unaware of the danger that they are in." He looked at Luna, and smiled. "There's a reason why I told your sister and you to keep the details of the Elements of Harmony's danger a secret... I know that they will try their best at protecting Justin, here... which is why I refuse to let them know." Then, his eyes faced Justin again. "Justin, if what my daughters have told me is true, and that you've seen the outcome of several events that have recently occurred before, only in a different setting... then perhaps you're aware of the Grand Galloping Gala."

Justin's fear went to a slightly annoyed huff. "And I take it that if I'm to protect them, that means I will have to go, too?" Solaris nodded. "But before then, I'm gonna have to assist Twilight in her lesson that she learned during that 'episode' that I saw?" Solaris paused for a moment, until Luna whispered in his right ear. Then, he nodded again.

"I don't know if I'll be there, like, on the floor, but... yeah, I guess I'll protect them from the shadows up there in Canterlot."

"Good..." Solaris said, before a smile formed on his face. "Oh, and I hear you're living with a young Unicorn named 'Twilight Sparkle', or the 'Element of Magic'! How are the two of you getting along?"

Luna groaned, and looked at her father. "Father, we mustn't tarry on any longer! Justin is about to awaken!"

Solaris gave his daughter a playful frown, before sighing. "Very well, then!" He turned to Justin, and smiled. "I expect a report on your friendship with Twilight! If she is, in some way, related to the Twilight I knew and loved, I expect you to love her equally!"

Justin nodded, before the statement hit him. "W-wait, WHAT?!"

Author's Notes:

:Sneak-Peek:

"W-who are you?!" Twilight's voice echoed.

"Hey, Twilight! Talk about good timing, huh?" Justin said...

"Uh, hello? Earth-to-Egghead! You there?" Rainbow asked, waving her hoof in front of Twilight's eyes.

"So tell me, Sugarcube... why exactly are ya hidin' from all o' us? We're practically friends now, so ya know we've got yer back when somepony steps outta line!" Applejack asked Justin.

"It's not like I'm trying to shut y'all out, or anything! Trust me when I say this... I wish that I could tell you, no, everyone why I've been so secretive lately, but it's for y'alls safety that I don't..." Justin's voice echoed in response.