Reluctantly the pair decided to head out for the next door. Freya decided not to speak again as it floated around the room seemingly examining random objects. It still made a point of ignoring the lit floor and made efforts to avoid the section that it was in. Spike did attempt to coax her into the area a few times but she would stay out of range continually hovering around another area and screaming across the way. Discord refrained from speaking to her unless absolutely necessary due to the uncertainty that it wasn’t following orders from one of the power mad spheres probably watching them.

“Freya do you have any paper or quills?” Spike spoke up after taking a few steps away from the light.

Quickly taking the items in hand he wrote out a small message sending for help. He knew enough about his dragon fire magic that would allow Celestia to create a path for her to teleport through. With a puff of green fire the message managed to escape the confines of the room in a wisp of smoke. Discord didn’t smile though. With a large belch Spike spit up the message.

Return to Sender.

There were only three words left on the page. His sending had been blocked and swiftly returned to him. Discord grabbed the message tearing it up and tossing it at Freya who looked on sadly for the mess. She calmly went about cleaning the area. Nothing hostile seemed to register for her which made Discord unsure of whether or not she was even aware of anything beyond her orders.

“Let’s go Spike. I think we’re gonna be having a bit of a wild ride with Rainbow Dash.” Discord opened the now glowing door. Spike followed after him coming to a stop when he noticed just how bright the new world was.

Rolling green hills littered the horizon in every direction. In the distance was a large castle that seemed to have eyes standing on top of a very large hill. Floating even farther over the horizon was a large ship that sailed through the sky with the front seemingly have a gray mask with a single slit where eyes would be. A large red bird with golden metal feathers flew through the sky slicing apart whatever clouds got in its way. In every sense of the word this was like a dream land. Discord looked on in wonder seemingly noticing this world.

“I see this would be a place Luna would like. A lot of chaos in the world.” Discord mumbled to himself. Spike didn’t pick up on the words he said but noticed that Discord seemingly knew about this world to some extent.

“Discord what is this place?” Spike kept his eyes peeled out around the area taking in the sights with the wonder of a child in a candy shop. The smile on his face would not disappear.

“If I remember correctly this place is a land of dreams. I forget the name of the planet itself but I do remember that it held this fountain which spewed out dreams for the inhabitants so they could have peaceful nights as they slept. When I was reigning over Equestria I actually came here for a few days in order to acquire something hidden here but I was thwarted by this small blue puffball who wore a mask. Of course time dilation was in effect so I don’t remember when I did it exactly on this world. I just remember I tried about a year before Celestia and Luna confronted me with the elements.” Discord mused on the situation. He really didn’t want to be around if that blue knight wannabe was around since he could hardly defend himself as well as he did in the last world.

“So this place would be like Luna’s workshop? I mean I tried to contact Celestia already but it seems they managed to intercept my message before it could get anywhere. Maybe if we go to this Fountain of Dreams we could reach Luna?” Spike planned out what he could send if he got lucky enough.

“Maybe unless they already heard that. In which case we still do it because then they would be forced to end this floor early or we get the message out. The only problem is finding where it could be. There probably won’t be any locals here because it’s only a simulation but if this world is part of the harmony sides control then they would make something that works rather than a pastiche of random clumps of the world all stuck together. The only clues I remember were that the fountain was at the end of a rainbow.” Discord racked his brain for all the information he could remember about the world finding that he was woefully underprepared to remember anything. Spike scanned the horizon looking for a rainbow even though it hadn’t rained… there was one flowing to the east.

“I think I found it Discord. Look there’s a rainbow that seems to be heading in that direction. Let’s hurry up and get over there. I’ll run on my own this time. I don’t know why but I feel a bit stronger right now.” Spike did a few poses which caused Discord to deadpan and roll his eyes in mock amusement.

“Sure then, running. Sounds like fun, again. Next you’ll be carrying me around.” Discord took off gaining the lead over Spike. Spike ran after him being forced to carry double speed but he wasn’t getting winded. For the next couple of miles they rushed through in silence with nothing really bothering them. Discord even realized that Spike hadn’t gotten tired or complained about the constant pace they kept.

The trek through the forest became more sedate as they were forced to slow down enough to keep on pace to find the rainbow through the foliage. Discord threw Spike above the tree line every couple of steps in order to reorient their direction towards where the fountain could be. It was on the seventh time that Spike flew into the air did Discord notice something odd, When he caught Spike from his descent again he held him up to look at his back. Starlight’s cutie mark shined on his back glowing brighter whenever he exerted himself physically.

“Spike… why do you have Starlight’s cutie mark on you?” Discord could only ask the obvious question because even he didn’t understand what was going on. This went really beyond what the chaos ladened sphere could do and he doubted that the harmony one would do so as well.

“What do you mean? I have a cutie mark on me? That doesn’t make sense at all.” Spike twisted his body slightly catching sight of the purple and white stars before feeling the sharp pain in his back from twisting so much.

Discord stared at the mark uncertain by the implications. It still didn’t make any sense and he usually could figure out what was going on within a chaotic mind. After placing Spike down they came out of the forest still untouched by anything that could be hostile. There had been a tree with a face inside but it didn’t seem to want to notice them.

“Let’s just ignore it for now. It’s not doing anything wrong it’s just weird. Let’s see the next place we have to get through is… what is that?” Discord looked on at a floating star right in front of him. It just remained hovering in place. Spike cautiously approached the star and placed his claw on it.

Within seconds of touching the star Spike was warped to the right upper tip and his claws were firmly attached. Discord was about to pull him off when he felt the same warp effect pull him to the left corner forcing him to cling onto the star. It began to pulse in steady rhythm like a heartbeat before shooting off through the sky at near supersonic speeds. It tore through portions of the terrain like a knife through butter while they hurtled on towards an unknown destination. Spike just kept his eyes closed not out of fear of course. Discord barely managed to keep his eyes open due to the wind pressure. Every bounce got them closer to their destination but they also passed through a lot of angry looking animals.

The star finally came to a stop along a large mountain path releasing the two before disappearing into stardust. ‘Well that was interesting…’ Discord looked around surveying the area while Spike reaquainted himself with the ground somewhat intimately. He laughed uproariously at the sight while Spike didn’t care one bit muttering something about never flying like that again.

“Should we tell Rarity about your torrid affair with the ground?” Discord tried desperately to stifle the laughter but after the horror house on the hill debacle the levity was well deserved and a welcome sight to behold.

“She’ll understand once I tell her what I’ve been through. Should have never touched that thing.” Spike finally dusted himself off actually thinking clearly enough to justify his actions. Though he brought up a good point.

“True. Though touching that star got us closer to where the rainbow’s end is. We follow through with this path and maybe we’ll get there before the sun sets…” Both the sun and the moon were up and tackling each other. “And I thought only sunbutt and moonbutt could have their celestial bodies fight.”

The pair watched as the two fought an even battle forming blades of moonlight and beams of sunlight. Each actually looked damaging as the impacts against the ground whenever they missed gouged out a generous amount of the planet. Quickly looking around Spike found a doorway in the middle of the sky. Above the entrance was a large orange star while the outer edges glowed and sparkled.

“Discord let’s use this doorway over here. Maybe we can get past them.” Discord looked towards the doorway also noting the orange star but with a flick of his paw urged Spike to take point. With that bit of encouragement the two went through the door and wound up in a small room covered in spikes with a rotating platform swinging through the openings. Spike groaned as he buried his face in his claws. Discord merely looked more alert at that point.

“Hm… that’s weird.” Discord looked around eagerly looking for the disturbance he was feeling. There was a small trace of magic in the air feeling the same as it would in Equestria. Without warning he jumped onto the platform following through the path while Spike waited down below.

A twist to the left, constant ducking, and a difficult maneuver to jump over larger spikes finally bore fruit as a platform stood over him. Climbing to the top Discord started to search for the cause of the magical aura. The area was surrounded with broken pillars and statues of small creatures with blank faces. They looked like puffballs but none of them had a mouth. The one near the center instead had one large eye in the center of it’s face. Below the statue on the pedestal was a glowing spear. Strangely the tip of the spear was a lightning bolt coming out of a cloud in the same exact shape and color of Rainbow’s cutie mark.

“You have got to be kidding me. I am not that, damn it all. You buckers are not allowed to call me that and I will be damned to Tartarus before I ever follow your views of me. I’m not touching that… thing.” Discord adamantly refused to be anywhere near the weapon which was ignored when he noticed that the spear was stuck to his griffon claw.

“Let go of me you monstrous little piece of shit. I will not be reduced to that role. Even if Spike enjoys his role I will not fall for your infantile attempts to shunt me off to the side.” Discord chucked the spear away only for it to rematerialize back in his claw. It was stuck to him.
The implications of the spear were not lost on him and he hated it with a passion. Without wasting a beat he kept trying to throw the spear away not realizing that something was warping in behind him. A small pony like figure with a white coat, red eye, and no other facial features stood behind him watching him. It did not move nor even attempt to make a sound as it tilted its head quizzically at the sight. It then disappeared before Discord turned around and made it’s way off into the ether.

“Ugh… Fine it comes with me.” The spear floated and attached itself to Discord’s back. He didn’t know whether or not to be impressed or annoyed at the foresight of what was most likely their design. The rotating wooden platform came back allowing Discord to ride it back down to Spike who was waiting calmly by the orange star door. When he saw the spear he pointed a finger at the spear.

“Don’t ask. I just found it up there and it looked important. It’s probably going to be like the shield and when we get back it will open another section.” Discord deadpanned wistfully rolling his eyes.

“Is that their plan? I mean this seems overly complicated and could get us killed.” Spike pointed out the obvious problems with the plan and how random it would be.

“I’m guessing that the reason they did it is because they were banking on our want to live and the necessity of us finding these items. Probably they also suppress what we can do whenever we are in the room with Freya. I don’t know how yet but this is an elaborate plan with overly complicated means to accomplish this.” Discord thought back to anyway they could get out of the problem but nothing came to mind.

“Maybe its best we follow their plan for now. We can’t get out of here and those two things are making sure we will finish this problem. They have the power to tear us out of the very air whenever they want.” Spike ushered Discord down to whisper into his ear. Discord looked incredulously at the idea but his frown turned to a smile leaving Spike a bit unnerved when he stopped explaining his plan.

“Well who knew you could be so malicious about this. Heh heh heh…” The smirk on his face was full of joy. Spike kept quiet after that hoping against hope he would forget it sometime soon. They entered the orange door and returned back to the battlefield between the sun and moon. With reluctance Discord withdrew the spear and kept it in front of him while the pair tried to make it past the battleground. They made it five steps when the sun slammed down from the sky and stood in front of them. It was strangely as tall as Discord making it even weirder to see the arms on it.

The sun pointed at the pair before it stopped and went slack jawed as its eyes started to glow a bright blue. The moon came down as well touching down on its legs but it also went slack jawed and had the same colored eyes. The two split back up but kept hovering around the area staring at the pair.

The sun burst into a blinding fireball made of pure light and slammed right where the pair was standing. Discord used the spear slamming the sun away from slamming into them as Spike got away. The sun burst into light and swapped with the moon who started to toss blades made of moonlight at Discord. Spike took the initiative and started to breathe a steady stream of fire burning the blades into dust. The moon spun its body after all the blades were gone shooting out to the pair. Spike kept up the fire breath putting pressure on the moon before being knocked to the side on impact.

Discord thrust the tip of the spear into the moon and discovered to his surprise that electricity coursed through the tip and shocked the moon into submission. It swapped place with the sun though cracks had appeared in its shape. Spike stood back up revealing only a few bruises on his scales leaving him mostly unharmed. The mark on his back was glowing brightly.

“That didn’t hurt as much… Discord look out!” Spike was still too winded from being hit to help out.

Discord spun around bringing the spear back up just as the sun used its light to try to burn him. He barely managed to get away suffering only the most minor of burns. With a flick of his claw he tossed the spear into the sun. It also cracked at that point fleeing into the sky. The two celestial bodies came down together and tried to slam into Discord. Spike took that chance to breath fire back on the moon causing it to stop it’s charge. With that chance Discord tumbled out of the way escaping a fiery body blow. A quick thrust of the spear found the tip stuck in it’s body.

The two took to circling the pair before they charged up the same white light that had struck them. A large beam of energy shot out of both of them strike in mid air low enough to hit Discord’s body. Spike and Discord hit the floor keeping their heads down as the pair of celestial bodies spun around keeping the beam centered over them. They wouldn’t stop.

Taking a chance Spike crawled forward to the edge of the arena and with a few more rotations shot out a fireball whenever the moon passed by. Three more spins and three more shots caused the moon to flinch which made the beam from the sun hit it dead on. The moon returned to the sky fully cracked and out of the fight while the sun was forced to power down and return to attacking on its own. The blue light disappeared from its eyes and it began to frantically look around utterly confused.

When it saw the moon though it forgot about its confusion and spun to Discord with the clear intent of beating him to death if the glare was anything to go by. Discord used his height to the advantage lowering his stance and thrusting the spear out to stab the sun repeatedly. A few dozen more caused the sun to rejoin the moon in the sky and slam into each other bursting into a shower of stars. With the destruction of those celestial bodies the two feared the worse… only to realize that it was still bright and nothing in particular was happening to the world. There was no eternal darkness nor were there a sudden flash fire of the atmosphere from the sun exploding within the planet’s surface. All that happened was that another star appeared ready to take them to their next location.

“That was odd… We’re gonna have to go back to those crazy speeds again aren’t we?” Spike rubbed his temples keeping his claw tips away from his scales. The pressure soothed the tension he felt but the migraine was still forthcoming. He looked towards Discord who was examining the spear closer.

“This thing channels lightning… I wonder.” He jutted the spear up into the air and a cloud came out of the tip. It wasn’t white and fluffy either. Instead the cloud looked pink and stringy… like cotton candy. His eyes shot wide open as he waited a bit to see what else it could do. Nothing happened.

“Maybe you need to tap it with the spear again?” Spike added hastily shouting out the first thing that came to mind.

Discord complied and tapped the cloud again with the spear. A small drizzle occurred leaving a few puddles to form on the ground. It was by no means a torrential typhoon of epic proportions just a small rainstorm. The smell of chocolate filled the air though. Discord genuinely smiled in actual joy as one of his powers had returned albeit through the means of a medium but it had returned. While it wasn’t his strongest ability the mundane uses for cotton candy clouds actually proved to be more beneficial than he once thought. Pinkie especially found good uses for them during her multiple parties.

“Well that is something special. Perhaps I misjudged this spear too much. Anyways get ready to hold on for your life once again Spike. This is gonna be a wild ride!” Discord grabbed the star forcing the two to warp to each of their respective corners. After a small buildup it shot out through the air leading ever closer to the supposed location of the rainbow.

Meanwhile…

The small white pony shaped thing flew around creating more shadows to gather around and stop the pair from escaping. It didn’t know what the reason was nor why it should care more for the pair’s interference rather than taking over the planet. It felt that it was important. The shadows created more pony shaped creatures all in the form of the pony who had nearly killed it the first time. The memory etched into its mind of a rainbow colored pegasus who hit it so hard that the unthinkable happened. The bandage on its chest still burned from the impact and even it’s final stand did nothing to turn the tide.

Each shadow pony had a streamlined wingspan and several yellow petals surrounding their necks. Only one eye was visible on each and they strangely glowed blue. Ignoring the face the thing managed to give them all rainbow colored manes though all in muted colors of various grayscale tones. It was just enough to recognize that they were meant to symbolize a rainbow. After finishing it’s task it flew off soaring towards the Fountain of Dreams ready to enact another plan if the pair even got that close.

A whole squadron of fifty shadows took off with a few going on an intercourse path with the star hoping to knock the two out of the sky and to their deaths.

Spike felt sick to his stomach. While he didn’t lose his lunch he still didn’t want to ride another star into the unknown. The area around them seemed to be covered in ice and snow. The landscape would have been beautiful had there not been several ponies flying through the sky directly at them. Several dived directly at the pair while a few hovered back ready to join should anything happen. Spike wasted no time to shut off his mind from the constant supersonic shenanigans and shot out multiple fireballs into the air to dissuade the attacking force. His height took a toll on his aim though forcing the arcs to be too low to actually hit anything. Discord picked him up with his tail once again and with a little squeeze managed to coax him into releasing a stream of fire over the closer attackers. A few managed to break off in time but others didn’t landing in a heap of ash on the ground. The shadows on the ground coalesced back into a single pony.

“Well at least they’ll run out of bodies soon enough.” Discord spoke while Spike just panted from the over extended breath attack. With a small leap he began to run ahead of the attacking force leading them through the icy fields while diving into random star doors all in an attempt to shake a few off. They never missed a beat following close behind the pair.

Whenever he had a chance Spike would blast another stream of fire knocking a few more down which would coalesce back into a singular pony. Strangely they kept this tactic up even as the numbers began to dwindle down to single digits. Each door would lead to another set falling and the constant shifting left both out of breath. One from retreat and one from defense yet they never stopped loyally believing that they would be able to cover for one another.

“Can’t… puff… breathe… huff… anymore… wheeze… fire… “ Spike’s heavy breathing and the attempts he made to make more fire fell short as smoke was all that came out of his maw. Discord set him down just as they hit another room that appeared to be an arena. Spike hadn’t even noticed what they had run through just to get there.

“I’m surprised you managed to stop so many of them even though we were speeding through the area. Did you see any of the things we passed,” Discord paused while Spike tiredly shook his head in the negative. “ Well, there were multiple snowpony creatures which seemed to move on their own power. A few living sparks with white gloves hovered around the area. I think the terrain was the strangest out of everything due to all the constant shifting angles and even that large snowball that tried to crush us at one point. Thankfully your fire managed to make it small enough for me to break apart before it hit us.”

Spike nodded, not out of affirmation, but out of agreement to the statement. He hadn’t even seen what had occurred during the trek. The entire time he had focused on the enemies attacking him and the strange appearance they had, Even though he didn’t hesitate attacking the group he did notice what they looked like. Each bore a strange coincidental appearance to Rainbow Dash yet in a muted grayscale. It was the eye that told him how much worse they were as they glowed the same blue that had taken over the sun and moon creatures that had been fighting each other. In fact, they had made the pair far more aggressive just like the shadow ponies they had run from.

Five of those shadow ponies had flown in and landed across from the pair. These looked to be the only one that had survived the onslaught yet something about them seemed odd. Each seemed to chitter with each other as if they were part of a hive. One of the things he had asked Thorax about when they first met was how changelings talk to each other whenever they needed to keep quiet. The lesson behind that led to a detailed explanation of how some changelings used their wings to create hypersonic frequencies which could alert another drone and only that drone depending on how fast their wings were beating. It had left a ringing in his ears but for some reason he understood a bit of what was being said. Thorax had used his wing to say his name a couple times. Spike listened carefully while the mark on his back glowed once again.

Strike from the sides.

Strike from above.

Aim for the tall one.

Two, one, two then repeat.

Spike had heard their battle plan though it was limited. He didn’t know which ones would attack first or which would do what move. Discord, unfortunately, was the only one standing while Spike needed to catch his breathe from the constant use of his fire. He was tired once again and needed some form of rest. Discord, while smirking, kept his eyes constantly shifting while sweat dripped from his brow. The cold was still all around his leaving him chilled to the bone.

“Discord… huff… two, one then two. That’s… puff… attack plan.” Spike managed to choke up the instructions he overheard softly enough to not draw attention. Discord merely nodded as the farthest two of the pack jumped into the air hovering in place. The two buzzed straight up into the air before diving down and coming from the front. The spear swung out too fast spinning in his hands forcing the two down to the ground where they got back up almost immediately and joined the group. The pony in the center was the strangest as the eye traveled down onto its stomach and opened up revealing multiple rows of teeth circling the maw and chomping in tandem with each other. Instantly the shadow flung itself for only to land on the tip of the spear and convulse from the electrical current flowing through it. The other two took their chance flying up while the two galloped full speed to tackle Discord down. The one on the spear kept hold of it subjecting itself to more electricity.

While Spike couldn’t keep breathing fire it didn’t leave him fully incapacitated. Finding a bit of stamina left he got to his feet rushing past Discord and lunging for the closest one. He managed to build up enough speed and with the power he was feeling he managed to tackle the one he had into the other galloper. With the small distraction Discord used the entire shadow pony to smack the two flyers away. Spike jumped back up and quickly backpedaled next to him. Even with all the damage they took none of the creatures dissipated.

“Well this is going well now isn’t it? Can you breath fire yet Spike?” The shadow pony on the spear finally did fade into shadows instead siphoning itself into the remaining four. They all seemed to grow a bit larger while the eye that each had glowed brighter.

“Not yet. Need a bit more time or a gem. A gem would be so great right now… “ Spike hadn’t saved any gems from his meal. ‘Damn hindsight is trying to kill me here. Why didn’t I save any Celestia damned gems.’

The remaining four didn’t waste time seeing as one of their own was lost once again. Each one fluttered around the pair zooming by at incredible speeds ready to strike at any moment. Spike was picked up in Discord’s tail and leveled with the flying pests.

“I got one left with that small amount of rest. Keep me level.” Spike took in a deep breath and fighting through the cough burped up a stream of fire through the shadow’s flight path. Two caught fire falling down to the floor and writhing around in pain as they dissolved into shadows joining with the other two which stopped flying and taking stock of their situation.

Before they could move Discord summoned a cotton candy cloud and flung it at the two. One managed to sidestep the ordeal while the other got trapped in the sugary trap. The free one flew back just as the spear tip touched the cloud electrocuting the trapped shadow. It too dissipated and rejoined the main shadow. The baleful glare of the last shadow settled on Discord who only stared back with a notoriously evil smirk waiting for it to make its move.

Spike had managed to get free laying on the ground next to him. His gasps of breath were loud and labored. That last stream of fire had taken everything out of him leaving him the mess he was on the ground. Discord took notice but kept standing in place until the threats were gone.

The shadow flew up into the air releasing the petals around its neck as they homed in on Spike’s prone body. Discord pushed his body away as they got close and swung the spear wildly around to stop them from getting through. One managed to break through the flurry of untrained swings and force Discord to the ground with a mild explosion. Stunned and on the ground, the shadow took its chance and charged up energy within the eye which had taken its place back on the chest of the equine shadow. The dark energy with the soft blue light formed into a lightning bolt and struck out for Discord.

Spike had managed to crawl back over to Discord forcing the arm that held the spear up. The tip had reached the apex of its fall and intercepted the lightning absorbing the magical energy into it. The shadow got off guard by the sudden blocking of its power caused the eye to burn a bright blue as the whole body was caught in an ethereal blue fire which burst out from its very core.

As it flew straight up into the air repositioning itself for a dive bomb run Spike poked at Discord to jolt him from his near unconscious state. After a few unsuccessful attempts Spike punched his shoulder jolting him awake. A little angry Discord got back up noticing the large black dot in the sky hurtling down at them. Groggily getting back to his feet he readied the spear angling it just right.

A cone of air had appeared around the shadow as the g-forces manage to make its features stretch. Within a burst of light a monochromatic rainboom occurred. At the same time the spear flew for the target. Minutes turned to seconds as the spear and the shadow hurtled towards each other unable to stop or turn at the last moment. Only speed mattered at that point and speed turned out to be bad for the shadow in question.

The tip of the spear pierced through the eye skewering the shadow at high speeds as it burst into a shadowy cloud disintegrating just as the burst of light and sound hit the two leaving them to duck just to hold their ground against the force being projected against them. Then the two fell over exhausted and unable to move.

“I think Rainbow would have enjoyed that… It was awesome.” Spike sheepishly mentioned before snoring took over.

“Yeah she probably would…” Discord passed out as well.

For now they would be safe. A short nap would alleviate their worries and the aches they gained from the long drawn out conflict. Fatigue had taken its course and the night soon enveloped the space where the two passed out. Small brown creatures with eyes shining with pure innocence found them while the leader, an orange being with a bandana on its head saw them. With a wave of its arm blankets and pillows were given to the two as the regular ones kept patrol of the night sky.

The white pony shaped being felt all its kin destroyed. Standing in front of the Fountain of Dreams it started to gather its energy once again. Small cuts appeared all over its body as blood seeped from the wounds and into the waters of the fountain. The rainbow slowly corroded and turned an ever deeper blood red. There would be no more dreams.