There was hesitation holding my tongue back like a tether. My cold eyes grew intent, unblinking.

"Your endeavors... They must end," those words slipped through my lips, seemingly resonating within the vicinity like a bell eerily. Sweat trickled from my head profusely. Nonetheless of my nervousness, I was seething with ire, my very appearance shaking like a tremor with anger.

My left eye involuntarily twitched in anger. "You... all of you..." I hissed. "All of you are responsible for the disappearance of every single noble of Canterlot? Including my sister?"

"Yes." Nodding, a pony clad in a cloak in front of me spoke up, "Do not fret. They are safe and will be freed as soon as the Dreamscape and Equestria become one. We simply needed no further impediment."

"I will never condone the act of reality and the Dreamscape merging together. There's too many conflicting factors that play in that," I continued.

Before me stood three equines in a triangular formation, standing apart from each other a few feet away from each other. Much like the pigment of the night skies above, their figures were obscured by a mantle. These mantles were of leather dyed black and was laced with silver thread.

The zephyrs of the Dreamscape pervaded around the area, causing my nebulous mane to wave much like a flag to my side. They stood here, the three cloak-clad ponies.

Not only are their appearance foreign here, they seemed to permeate an otherworldly aura that wasn't even originating from Equestria... Whatever power they had attained in order to infiltrate the Dreamscape, the very place entrusted onto me, it must be exceedingly powerful.

I tensed myself, unable to keep my composed demeanor as I bared my teeth at them, my brows furrowed into a scowl.

'Them being not originating here is already a severe crime as it is considering that I'm the only one that isn't a Sweet Dream nor a Nightmare whose presence here is permissible.'

Magic began to grow rampant within me as I loosened my leash on my magic. Cascading, the magic flared around me, shooting off crackling spits of blue fires from my body into the air. My irises reflected off midnight blue tongues of flames, my stare seemingly growing more menacing twofold.

'One that carries the title of sentinel over the night can be the only one allowed here, after all.'

"What has happen to thy formal plans?! Coexistence must be attained by persistence? Mere fallacy was spread within your ranks! Propaganda! I know of your true rationales!" I shouted at them, their only response--if it was any--was being completely immobile, intently listening for whatever I had to say. "You wish to manipulate the Dreamscape's inhabitants so that you can rid everypony in Equestria!"

"Wrong," the one in the middle interjected, his words ghastly hanging like a resonance within the air as he advanced a step. "Our endeavors remain the same over the years. We are fighting for coexistence between the Sweet Dreams, Nightmares, and all of Equine kind. We simply had come to the conclusion that you won't be bringing that ideal to pass, hence we are going with the initiative."

"Slanderous cur..." I muttered out, essentially snarling out those words. "And intend on fulfilling that madpony's objective by not only bringing forth the Dreamscape's residence into the real world, but also by shooting down all those who are adverse against this change?"

"Offenders shall know the price for protesting against the sanctity of peace between our races," the one on the right took an advance towards me as he spoke out, placing himself close towards me.

"In time, normalcy will begin anew once more through this change," the one standing on the left forwarded, speaking almost in tandem with the one on the left.

They now stood still one more time, not even glancing at me, their faces completely eclipsed by the shadow eclipsing their cloaks. Any sense of emotion from them devoid--it's as if there's a lifeless haze permeating around the miasma around them. In the middle of their mantles was a crest depicted by a spiral web of a spider with the moon imprinted in the middle of it.

This insignia was signature to the 'Dreamcatchers'. An organization whose attempts at colliding the Dreamscape and all of Equestria were routed time and time again by none other than me. Not even many knew about their existence. They regarded their clandestine nature very highly.

I stood among the ethereal, alluring grass of the Dreamscape; the greenery below me were somewhat opaque, enshrouded by a misty, faint aura of green. Among the grassland were dots of blue flame--much like ash, they swayed and glided through the air softly, illuminating everything around them.

There was a perpetual gust breezing through the vicinity, causing both my mane and the grass below me to sway in their direction. The chilling atmosphere was complimented by the black canvas filled with the cosmos known as the night sky.

This sky, however, casted no darkness upon the land as visibility was just as fine opposed to daytime. Stars, novas, and solar systems all dotted across the night sky, their ghastly tails of misty stardust pervasive among the pitch black sky's stretch. Below and across me for miles on end was an endless grassland. This prairie was boundless seemingly, patches of flowers of various colors--much like a rainbow, was ubiquitous. For every few feet or so, there would always be a small garden of flora.

The scent of said flora permeated around the chilling miasma around me, the mishmash of lavender, tulips, roses, and whatever plant was present interlaced with each other, forming an overwhelming scent in the air.

"The beings here in the Dreamscape," one of the cloaked figures--the one on the right, specifically, began to talk, "from this day, shall be freed and will be given liberty to roam the real world."

"You don't understand." I snarled, my posture dampening as I reared myself a bit down, my teeth visibly gnashed. "That will only-"

"Bring dissonance?" The cloaked figure on the left took a step forward, raising his head a bit, but not enough for me to glance a fine look on him. "I may be one of you, a pony, but I will not neglect the fact that we are afraid of other beings. We should learn to embrace those that are foreign to us; through this, we shall transcend."

"We, the Dreamcatchers," the one in the middle began, igniting his horn as a faint purplish aura began to flicker around him, "shall bestow upon them freedom." He began to emit a vehement radiance of blinding light of purple hue.

His radiance soon turned into a flash as a sickening burning sound played out as I was stricken by accosting rays of spectral purple seeping into my eyes hot, causing me to stagger back, forcing both eyes closed as I placed my hooves in front of them to act as a form of barrier. s

Soon enough, the light dissipated in a mere second, still, I was left hissing and muttering out curses as my eyes still let out burning tears. I was stricken by somewhat of a daze as a feeling of dizziness blotted my reasoning.

Rubbing my eyes as the stinging pain still resided within them, I growled back. shrugging off the feeling of disorientation as I steeled my footing.

My sight was blurry--everything seemingly distorted and warped like liquid. Blinking fervently, I shook my head further. Finally, opening my eyes once more, I glared at them, my vision having returned to me.

I stared a them, my glower giving them no quarter. Much to my dismay, however, I found that there were things having been displaced.

Within my sight, the ones that were formerly present to the left and right of me had vanished, leaving only the one in the middle to remain. There was a ghastly eerie atmosphere complimenting the dead silence.

The cloaked pony stood there alone, beside him was a bow that I had not seen being carried on him before. It came fitted with a black, metal frame that was glossy and reflected even my own reflection seamlessly. Spiral-like spines protruded from it as its bowstring was seemingly crafted out of chain links.

In the base of it, however, came a gemstone of azure blue. The gem's surface was as smooth as a mirror, but despite it giving off a distinct luster, it gave no reflection as its color ran deeply within it.

"What... what is that?" I muttered out, taking a few cautious steps backwards. Like a dissonant maelstrom, magic was rampant around the bow, constantly shifting and whirling--yet, the bow did not wane nor shatter; it somehow managed to maintain all that energy residing within it.

"This?" He reared it above head's length, gripping it tight with his magical aura as a consistent aura of purple originated from his horn. "This is the Dreamcatcher. As of the current," he cleared his throat, "we are mass-producing these." He tilted his head upwards, revealing his mouth. Adorned on it was a sly smirk that emanated malice. "These send anypony that have been struck by an arrow shot out from this into a specifically constructed prison that, many thanks to the local inhabitants here, we've constructed."

"Even without a horn--even without magic," he brandished it around, spiraling it within the air with a flick of his head from left to right, "one can operate this with ease. Arrows, you might ask?" he brought forth the bow beside his head, keeping it hovering beside him. Suddenly, light crackled and molded, forming an arrow across the bow. "That is also supplied by the Dreamcatcher's integrated magic circuitry."

Drawing the arrow into the Dreamcatcher, he pointed it upwards as he reared the arrow back. Letting it go, the arrow of magic went bolting skywards, soon becoming imperceptible as it pierced through the clouds, disappearing in the midst of the cosmos above.

"Don't you even dare..." I no longer faltered. Rising my chest, I took fervent steps towards him. "Your conquest for whatever purpose will end before it even begins." I shone my horn, channeling it with magic as I hung it high.

He shook his head as he scoffed a laugh. "Well now. I do wish to talk further but I, much like my two colleagues that have also left for business reasons, have things to do." He channeled his horn in preparation for what I presume was a teleporation spell.

"No!" I roared out as I rapidly arced myself downwards, flinging the magic that I've accumulated within my horn. My magic crackled and spat out embers of it as it glided through the air, heading its way towards the cloaked pony. "You won't be doing any of that!"

Suddenly, I could briefly glimpse a devious smile as the wind blew his cloak a bit back. As my magical orb closed the distance between it and the cloaked figure, it dispersed into flames around him, revealing what it struck instead--a magical barrier.

"W- what?" I stammered out.

"I foresaw that," he dully stated as he drew the Dreamcatcher at me. With a flick of his horn, he conjured an arrow seemingly made out of his own magic as its texture was comprised entirely out of some sort of glowing, purple material. "Well, with you being a liability, I can't have you being free."

I directed magic around me, forming a barrier encompassing me as frantically as I could. The barrier took shape, panels of hexagon-shaped magic of my own forming around myself in a spherical fashion.

I saw him disregarding the barrier as he drew his arrow, placing it upon the string of the Dreamcatcher. With the restraint of his magic having its vice with both the bow and the arrow, it begun pulling back the projectile as it held the frame with utmost grip. The Dreamcatcher shook as the arrow reached the limit of its chain string, a resonant sound of chains rattling playing in the surroundings.

He let the arrow go, the chain links blinked into place, sending the arrow spiraling towards me. The arrow cleaved through the air at such speed that its magical composition made it seem like a beam of light bolting towards me instead.

Suddenly, my perception of time seemingly slowed down sevenfold as the arrow pierced through my aegis, crumbling and shattering the panels of magic that I've set up as it continued heading towards me.

"How?" I muttered out. "Even my... barrier... couldn't fend off one measly arrow?"

"Technology intermingling with arcane arts." I bit my lip, feeling myself being chipped away of my essence, staring into him as he walked further towards me. "Unwise to underestimate it."

Suddenly... everything went dark as I felt myself being enveloped in magic, the feeling of lightness devouring my body as I suddenly felt the feeling of falling. I started to flail, but my limbs went numb, paralyzed by some unforeseen magic. I opened my voice, but only my hoarse breaths came out.

The last thing that I saw, which have seared itself into my mind, was his grimly dark grin.