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“Does something trouble you, little one?”

Pinkie’s ears twitched, her eyes fixed on the night stars reflected in the endless lake before her. She wanted to look up to her friend, but instead she stared down at the lake’s surface, lifting her hoof and dipping it into the water, watching as the ripples distorted her reflection.

“She’ll be okay, right?” she asked, finally, turning up to the princess.

Princess Luna smiled softly, glancing down at the mare. “Curious. Was it not you who assured her she would be?”

“’Cause she will!” Pinkie exclaimed immediately. “She’ll be okay!” She paused and once more looked down at the water. “I just…”

Princess Luna lifted her hoof, and with it did a trail of white smoke rise from the ground. Her horn flashed, and Pinkie saw Rarity reflected in the smoke, as if it were a screen. The unicorn was sitting inside a train carriage, silently looking out the window.

“She has been damaged,” the princess said sternly. “Her dreams have not been kind to her. They have haunted her.” Her horn flashed and the image on the smoke changed, now reflecting Twilight hugging a mare Pinkie had never seen before. “And they will haunt her still.”

“Can’t you fix it?” Pinkie asked, finding she did not want to keep looking at the smokescreen.

“Not all nightmares happen within my realm, little one,” the princess said. “If one does not face one’s fears, they may come true in the end.” She lowered her hoof, allowing the wisps of smoke to disperse and disappear. “But…”

Pinkie looked up. “But…?”

“But perhaps you should have faith in her.”

The princess stood up and turned around. When Pinkie did the same, she was surprised to find a white door in the distance. She followed Princess Luna all the way to the door, and she stood back when the alicorn opened it with her magic.

“Are we going into her dreams?” Pinkie asked.

Princess Luna did not reply. She merely stepped through, prompting Pinkie to quickly follow. When she crossed the threshold, the door disappeared and she found herself on the sidewalk of a bustling city.

“Oh! I know this place!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping in place. “This is Manehattan! I came here, ’member?!” She looked around and pointed toward a large white building nearby. “That’s the train station!”

Princess Luna merely smiled. “And a most important train has arrived.”

Prompted by the statement, Pinkie stared at the train station’s entrance, and her heart jumped when she finally saw Rarity stepping out into the street. What struck Pinkie the most, however, wasn’t the lack of scars, but how happy Rarity looked.

“What’s she doing?” Pinkie whispered urgently, but received a cryptic smile in reply.

She turned back to Rarity, watching as the unicorn rushed back into the station and Pinkie’s eyes filled with tears when a giggling Rarity returned in the company of a blindfolded alicorn.

Princess Twilight Sparkle took several tentative steps forward, looking around and trying to find the source of Rarity’s laughter. Before she could do so, Rarity magicked the blindfold off, and an excited giggle left Pinkie’s lips as Twilight looked at the city before her, mouth hanging open.

The younger princess rushed toward a nearby cab, and then turned to the giddy unicorn, flagging her down with unrestrained excitement before trotting off into the street, Rarity trotting after her.

“Yes, little one,” Princess Luna said, “I believe that Rarity will be all right. Perhaps even better than she ever was.”

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Next Chapter: ~ Act III ~ 30 ~ The Magic of Hollow Shades ~ Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 52 Minutes