Nothing. There was nothing left to see but an inky blackness surrounding him. Spike let wasn’t even having nightmares. There were no dreams either leaving him stuck in a restless loop of monotony. They had just finished fighting off something that couldn’t be explained and they had been speeding through an ice area. Spike tried to think of anything but the dream remained dark and quiet. He couldn’t even call it a dream due to nothing even flowing in through his mind. It was causing him a load of restlessness.

Discord was confused. These were not his normal sleep conditions and they certainly weren’t giving him the normal amount of insight he usually had. Usually there were about twenty voices calling for his attention and several moments where the council would come up with a random idea that would evolve into a chaotic revolution of fantastic proportions. There was nothing but darkness not even peace which while he loathsome was be something other than darkness. Nothing happened. Order was placed on the front burner and taken to an extreme that shouldn’t have been possible. Still he felt strangely warm even though they had been stuck in a frozen over arena only now he wasn’t.

For several minutes the small creatures stood around waiting for anything to happen. A few held on to parasols and spears but the one with the bandanna stood ever vigilant for the two before him. He didn’t know why he was doing this but it felt like something that needed to be done. He didn’t have the same drive as his friends to be the best but he knew what kind of danger there was behind the appearance of the shadow creatures he saw. They were similar to the Rainbow Drops Incident and the Heart Stars Incident. The two warriors before him at least seemed to be on the level and it had been a while since he had seen the others after the mirror showed problems. There was too much going on right now and the two were starting to stir awake.

With a frantic wave of his arms all the creatures dispersed away from the arena leaving only the orange one to deal with the two. Spike’s eyes fluttered open first revealing a lit up arena and the sight of smoke trailing into the air. Twisting around he noted a passed out Discord and some weird orange creature wearing a bandanna. Panic wanted to wisp through his body but fatigue told him to shut up and calmly figure things out.

‘Ok. We’re rested and not dead so that’s good. That thing doesn’t have any teeth so it’s not gonna eat us most likely. Discord is passed out still so I’m on my own...Can I breath any fire yet…?’ Spike mentally inspected his body noting that he felt better now that there had been some rest. It was still strange that he didn’t dream that night but he could ignore it for now. He was ready to defend himself if need be but he didn’t feel anything hostile around him. So he waited keeping his breathing even and pretending to still be sleeping. The quiet allowed him to really think about all the problems they would need to get by after this room. After all this time they had barely finished one room and that was all based on luck rather than skill. Also if the draconequus was correct then they were also being force fed the scenarios for some nefarious reason that could not be explained. The word targets came back to him but the significance of it was lost on him.

Broken from his musings Discord woke up stretching out from the confines of the blanket that was surrounding him. Looking around he spotted the small orange creature then looked to Spike who was staring at it as well. Neither said anything as it looked back at them. The look in its eyes drew their attention due to the circumstances behind their slumber. It was one of bemused curiosity.

“Um… hi?” Spike spoke first waving his claw. The creature waved back keeping a silent vigil on the two. ‘Ok. Friendly, got it.’

Discord waved as well a smile across his face yet it seemed forced. ‘Is it an inhabitant or was it created in its image?’ He couldn’t figure it out due to how complicated the plan seemed to be. He didn’t notice any trace of harmony or chaos magic on the being or the ones that were hiding around the area. Still, there had been a lot happening that day… night… ‘In this realm day and night have no real meaning and we could be comatose for all that matters.’

Spike stood up first and raise his claw towards the orange creature. It did the same and somehow managed to speak.

“Bandanna Dee.”

“Spike. Nice ta meet ya.”

He nodded and pointed at Discord raising an eyebrow as if asking a question.

“This is Discord. We’re here to uh… find a specific door that has the same marking as that spear tip. We think it might be in the vicinity of the Fountain of Dreams. Think you could help us?” Spike smiled sheepishly at his request. It was a small request but there were too many unknowns for Spike to be sure of. Bandanna Dee seemed to stroke at a non-existent beard on its face as if lost in thought.

“I haven’t seen anything like that. I could at least lead you to the fountain though. Truthfully since I saw you fight the shadows that had appeared I was hoping you could help me out with a smaller problem. Y’see there has been this weird flying pony thing with a white coat and a red eye floating around here messing with our homes. He kind of wanted me to deal with some of it while the others are away in the mirror.” Bandanna Dee looked a bit down from the impossible task before him.

“I see… , “ Spike looked to Discord who only shrugged but added a subtle nod if only to get through this quicker and hopefully with less running. “We could help out if we could get to the fountain faster. Know any way to get there?”

Bandanna Dee took in the scene before him. The two in front of him were really strange looking but they also were able to deal with all the shadows if the reports by Blade Knight were something to trust by. He nodded and the group was assailed by the countless waddle dees that littered the area. Each seemed ready to contribute something to the endeavor but none spoke aside from Bandana Dee. Discord had finally gotten up and stretched out the spear magically attached to his back leaving a few stunned faces but they went back to work on their plans.

“Honestly the faster way to get to the fountain right now is to take a specialty warp star. Give us a few minutes and we can probably get something together.” Bandanna Dee prepared to run off only to be stopped by a purple claw.

“Wait can you answer something for me?” Spike managed to cry out. He knew the risks with his question but it had to be asked and needed to be done while the threat level was low enough that it wouldn’t cause too many problems for them in the first place. Discord scowled at the scene but made no move to stop him. It needed to be asked and it would confirm just what the two spheres were doing. Bandanna Dee waited for a bit.

“Have you heard of Rainbow Dash?” The question hung in the air silence held its hand the whole way through.

“You mean Captain Dash? Yeah I heard of her. She’s also in the mirror right now but there would be no way to get there right now. The mirror went missing after that so I don’t know when they would get back.” Bandanna Dee spoke with a bit of reverence in his voice surprising the two immensely.

“Discord, could we make it to her safely?” Spike eagerly wanted to get to one of his friends without having to deal with the other problems that were going on at that point.

“No. Knowing them now that we asked we wouldn’t make it and probably would be tossed from the world. Still this is good information to know right now. They are forcefully putting us in close proximity to the others for some reason even though we could manage to find them right away. Let’s continue with your plan while we help her out another way. She doesn’t want to come back to something horrible like this since she is a napping addict.” Discord coughed up his opinion but he was actually glad to know what it was that the spheres were able to do. Each door suddenly became more akin to a moment in time rather than a simulation of the area. Still Spike sulked a bit at the options before him. He knew the risks as well from his question and the fact that they were probably being watched.

“I guess you know her. She talks about her friends a lot though. Let’s see… Oh I remember. She’ll be glad to see you when she gets back. For now let’s go handle this problem and make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.” Bandanna Dee motioned behind him as a much larger warp star was dragged into view.

Spike grimaced at the sight before him feeling a lurching in his stomach as everything started gurgling in protest. Discord merely grunted in dissatisfaction. A weary sigh was released as both touched the star followed by the third arm as the three were teleported to their positions on the star. After a slight charge up the star shot out into the sky and zoomed directly for the rainbow while the waddle dees all waved their goodbyes to the cosmic object shooting across the heavens.

Strangely enough the trip was smoother than the other two times they had traveled by star. Spike managed to control himself better and Discord kept his grip easier due to the larger size of the star. The spanning horizon of the planet was quite the breathtaking sight as a cornucopia of different areas sprawled before their eyes. Cascading deserts which ranged into sheer cliff walls that suddenly froze the higher they got. Those mountains led into extensive oceans which seemed to go on for miles while littered with islands of various states of weather. This was turned into pure awe as the Rainbow Resort came into view and the vast array of colors which put even Cloudsdale to shame came into view.

The whole resort was bathed in a fountains of liquid rainbow which created their own paths made entirely out of light. Those paths were solid as well allowing the creatures of the world to walk over them with no problem at all. That sight confused Spike so much that he buried his face into his claws just to try and make sense of this world.

‘Only pegasi can do that right? But those guys are doing it so easily… This world’s clouds could support others… brain hurts so much… ‘ Spike looked up as the warp star came hurtling down to the ground below. Then it slowed down immensely allowing the three to step off before reforming and hovering in place. ‘No. No thinking not anymore.’ Spike had turned off his brain from the impossibilities he saw around him.

“I wonder if Dash had a conniption when she saw the clouds around here. The look on her face would have been priceless.” Discord’s guffawing laughter distracted him from his own thoughts allowing Spike some semblance of understanding. Mostly he wanted to laugh and forget his own thoughts which he did.

“Yeah she freaked out after Twilight gave Rarity wings to walk on clouds and such. Hopefully she didn’t turn into a nervous wreck or so I was told.” Spike remembered the story he was told when Dash had gotten a bit crazy and delayed her own performance to the last possible second.

“Never knew that about the captain. Guess I’ll be able to needle her about it now. Let’s go then. The king gave me one of the keys to this place so we can just zoom right in. I gotta warn you though that we shouldn't swim in the fountain that would mess with the dreams later so stay away from the water.” Bandanna Dee spoke up as he brandished a parasol for some reason. Discord looked on slightly bemused while Spike just stared questioningly.

Spike didn’t speak up though mostly due to not having his own weapon. Since he lost the shield he had felt a little awkward. The shield had proven itself to be very useful in keeping them alive. The spear Discord had gotten seemed to have such cool powers as if it was tailor made for him to wield. Yet the shield seemed off though he couldn’t put a claw on it. It was a good support… something his time as an assistant built into him. He quickly shook his thoughts away as the others were walking away into the resort,

“So what do you know about this monster that had been around?” Discord quietly asked as he felt the fur on the back of his neck bristle in annoyance.

“Not a lot. It’s just as soon as the king saw it he clammed up and said ‘no more possession for me!’ which left me utterly confused. He sent me out to deal with the problem even though it would have been better to send the others but he’s been a bit stubborn lately. Anyways they were already on a mission of sorts when this creature came out and destroyed the Lololo Islands. That was really scary.” Bandanna Dee shuddered to the point his whole body was shaking on the spot.

“So it could destroy islands then? Why did he get freaked out from that thing?” Spike wondered if there was more to this then they had been told but he couldn’t rightly ignore it since it would hurt one of his friends.

“He didn’t say much about it when I did question him about it. Though he was confused that I didn’t remember. When he said that I could only think of one thing but it should have been dead.” Bandanna Dee answered solemnly staring off into the distance.

Neither of the two tried to break his wistful mood. The conversation had taken long enough that they finally made it into the main fountain room. When they walked in though the very sight left them speechless. The entire fountain was bathed in red as the rainbows slowly started to be corrupted as well. The waters seeped out of the fountain covering the entire floor in the viscous solution which smelled of copper. Spike could tell that this was somewhere he didn’t want to be at the moment but his legs wouldn’t allow him to run.

Discord peeked behind them only to find the entrances in blocked by white energy oscillating at various speeds. Bandana Dee flailed his arms in surprise when his view was forced up when the sound of something being ripped apart caught his attention. There was the pony shaped creature convulsing as part of its body changed. A sickly green tail broke out of the flank covered in thorns while the wing tips extended into blood covered tips. Tears broke around its coat as more blood seeped out of the wounds. The eye soon focused on the three before it.

“Zero… “ Bandanna Dee brought up his parasol hiding behind it as the creature came closer to the ground. Its baleful gaze settled on Discord especially.

“I see it remembers me… Well horseapples.” Discord muttered as he tumbled to the sides running away from the globs of blood that shot out of Zero’s body. Each changed into shards of crystallized blood which shot out quickly piercing the area where he had been moments ago. Spike ran forward keeping out of range of where the shards impacted managing to reach Bandanna Dee who stood in place deflecting the shards as they hit the parasol. The two hid as Discord managed to find his own cover of one of the multitudes of star sculptures that littered the area.

“Spike!”

“Yeah!?”

“Covering fire now!” Discord summoned a few cotton candy clouds sending them careening into Zero only for them to be sliced to ribbons by the shards of blood. Spike fared better with his own fire shooting out fireballs against the monster. It’s coat was unaffected by the fire. Spike kept firing anyways as his fear took hold making the projectiles fling out wildly. Before he had to catch his breath one impacted on the left wing setting it entirely on fire bursting into an inferno and cooking the tips into blackened ash. It’s attention was turned back to the diminutive dragon as Bandanna Dee ran forward with his parasol

The shards shot out faster sending the two skidding back from the sheer force of projectiles smashing against the parasol. Spike tried to assist as well only for his claws tearing through the ground leaving large grooves in solid stone. Even with the two working together their combined weight wasn’t something to write home about. As Zero flew in closer a piece of cotton candy touched the blackened wingtip causing it to writhe around from the sudden touch. As it turned back to Discord the spear flew true into the eye. It fluttered around wildly as the spear disappeared from its now torn eye leaving nothing but viscera to slide down whatever constituted as it’s chin.

Discord looked on proudly. He was reluctant to do so but he was getting better with the spear. Rustiness no longer could be his crutch from the constant attacks he had suffered the day before. At least he assumed it was the day before. Time made no sense when dealing with ancient entities that seemed to want to do something utterly violent.

As the blood seeped out of the eye it blackened and mixed into the shards four of the shards took position around Zero before firing out lightning blasts at random positions. Bandana tried to block the bolt with Spike’s help only for the lightning to use the metal prong as a lightning rod. The electricity course through the parasol and into his arm sending him convulsing before entering Spike as well. While he was a dragon with incredible durability, if he did say so himself, the amount of volts that seemed to course through caused him to foam at the mouth from the intensity.

Dazed, the two fell over twitching slightly as the parasol was tightly gripped in place keeping them protected any stray projectiles though it was still only facing in one direction. Discord cursed under his breath and started to chuck the spear at Zero not really aiming in particular. He needed it to focus on him just long enough. A shard then hit his shoulder grazing it slightly.

‘Crap… when the tartarus did I step out of cover?’ Remembering about the dangers that the shards possessed he ran further away from his fallen friends taking the time to chuck the spear as a distraction. The wild tosses never managed to reach the right height to hit Zero who stayed out of range and seemingly was smiling if the curve the cut on its eye was making was true.

It flung itself forward following after Discord making sure to fire out as many shards as it possibly could while the lightning started getting more accurate managing to only be stopped by the spear tip which seemed to purify the black lighting whenever the two energies touched. With the temporary stop gap of the spear keeping him safe he ducked into the area closest to the fountain using it for cover. The shards bounced off the outer shell of the fountain keeping Discord from running into the them as he circled around the walls.

Spike had managed to toss off his paralysis for the most part. His tail wasn’t responding and neither was his left claw. It was shocking to say the least which he then mentally berated himself for the stupid pun at his expense. Bandana Dee was in worse shape though. The parasol was ruined and he wasn’t moving much except for the light spasms and shuddering breath he managed to release. It took a lot of coaxing and some prodding but Spike managed to get Bandana Dee sitting up once again. While still suffering from the dizziness he managed to push himself back to his feet. With the parasol destroyed he ripped the material off and unscrewed the handle forming a makeshift spear.

“You’re really good at this sort of thing huh?” Spike stared at the weapon slightly impressed by how fast he was recovering.

“Kind of. I haven’t been fighting long but when you’ve worked for some of the strongest beings here in Dream Land you figure out that maybe you need to get tougher to keep those you care about safe, or at least not feel like baggage, y’know.” Bandana Dee seemed to sigh at his own response before running off for the fountain.

Spike remembered his own past. Until the events of the Crystal Empire he knew just how that felt. Even then that feeling never truly went away. He sympathized with Bandanna Dee but quickly pushed out the emotions. That thing was still working to kill off Discord at least and he needed to help deal with it.

Discord managed to work his way to another level of the fountain forcing Zero to follow into the enclosed places. As they rounded one of the other pools of water Discord sprung out from cover tossing the spear as hard as he possibly could. It flew straight and true… only to strike against Zero’s shoulder. It was still smiling through the tear on its eyes and never lost that expression as it hovered around firing off more shards which Discord barely managed to dodge. It was getting better at leading it’s shots.

As it got closer a fireball shot out hitting the still intact wing setting it ablaze. Without wasting the chance before him another cotton candy cloud was formed and flung on the blaze. Writhing around Zero tried to reorient itself only to find its wings nearly charred making flying difficult to accomplish. Disoriented and unable to keep up its speed Zero didn’t sense the small puff ball above him as Bandana Dee pulled his makeshift spear into a downward thrust shoving it into Zero’s back and throwing him down to the ground. It slammed into the fountain and bounced off into the dream waters below leaving nothing more than the shards and scorch marks behind.

“Well that was a thing. We can purify the fountain with the Star Rod I think. Let’s head up for the top and use it.” Bandanna Dee wiped the sweat from his head as the winded Spike merely nodded in agreement and Discord shakily chuckled climbing around the field of shards left behind.

Battered and torn Zero stayed within the fountain water trying to ease the strain that it left on its new body. The only reason that he had gotten the new body eluded him as the pain was unimaginably horrible. The sight of a dragon and weird goat headed creature burned in what was left of its sight.

As the three made it to the top of the fountain the skies around began to burn in a harsher red light. The rainbows were almost all corrupted and only the Star Rod remained. The last beacon shined brightly at the top releasing whatever dreams it could manage. Then Bandana Dee removed it. The fountain became fully corrupted within seconds. With a heavy sigh he pushed the star into the water and chanted a small phrase unheard by both Spike and Discord. The blood that was flowing through the waters began to churn and bubble as light poured throughout the many pools of dreams forcing the corruption off the rainbows surrounding them.

The light made it to the bottom pool where Zero stayed causing the creature to spasm wildly as more of its sores were torn open and the blood started to dissipate from the sheer volume of light tearing through him. Managing to exit the water Zero could barely float as his blood dried out upon contact with the open air. The flesh surrounding him started to crack and evaporate into nothingness. It flew away from the light managing to slip away from the three on top of the fountain watching them closely from a safe distance. It didn’t know why but it needed to kill at least one of the new interlopers. It had to do it.

As the light purified everything within the fountain Bandanna Dee returned the Star Rod to the pedestal embedding it back in place. A door formed in the waters of the uppermost pool emblazoned with the same cloud and lightning bolt insignia that Discord had been carrying around.

“I guess we managed to accomplish something here. I’m sorry to say but we need to go through that door Dee.” Spike spoke up first though one would be remiss to not notice that he was wringing his claws worriedly and his eyes were darting back and forth between Discord and the door.

“Yes it seems we have to do this. Give Dash our best and tell her we are ok.” Discord grabbed Spike in his tail and walked towards the door. The symbol was glowing and allowed the two to open.

“You don’t need to- “ Bandanna Dee was cut off as the last crumbling form of Zero tore down through the sky slamming into the two and out into the room where Freya was.

Shocked, Bandanna Dee ran for the door only for it to slam shut and fade from existence. While panicking he didn’t notice the sphere behind him with the glowing blue eye. It grabbed him in its magic and stared deeply into his eyes.

Without warning Bandanna Dee’s mind turned to haze as his time with Spike and Discord was fully forgotten and he was left against the fountain utterly confused by the sight before him. ‘Where’s the monster I was supposed to stop…? Did I get it already…? Head hurts...forget it. It’s gone and the fountain seems safe maybe King Dedede was wrong. Might as well make my way back now Kirby, Meta Knight and Dash should be back soon from the Mirror World."

The harmony sphere disappeared from Dream Land leaving nothing behind but an echoing laugh. It quickly left a message to Freya before returning to Chaos and preparing for the other ponies in their world.

Discord slammed against the far wall. He wasn’t unused to pain anymore but it still bothered him on how they were treating him, a god of chaos, so haphazardly. Spike fared a bit better managing to keep on his feet and skidding to a halt. Zero had followed them into their world and looked horrible.

Whatever was left of its skin was still cracking off and turning to dust. The blood that once ran freely had dried out. The wings were nothing more than ashen nubs left on its back. The only thing that remained was the same harsh glare which was squarely affixed to the two. The hole in its eye made things much worse than it should be as the viscera still tried to pour out from it only to dry out moments after falling out. Needless to say the two of them were hardly scared of the sight before them, a monster on its last legs with no redeemable qualities. Then they stifled their horror as Zero tore out its own eye leaving behind the bloody cracked shell of its former body.

Wasting no time it swung into action slamming into the pair at blinding speed. Spike fired back his own flame only to be struck in the stomach by the wild creature. The flames were swallowed back causing Spike immense discomfort as he was tossed into the wall near Discord. Using the spear as a makeshift shield by spinning it he managed to deflect the globs of blood that somehow managed to fly out of the eye towards them. Few got in slamming Discord back into the wall. The onslaught didn’t stop as the globs focused fire on the two alternating every couple of seconds. Welts and bruises built up with every hit forcing the spear to fall from his paw. As the two were laid out on the floor the Zero focused its power attempting something.

Discord’s body floated into the air as the eye opened up revealing a large maw of teeth with frayed lips from where the spear was thrown. As his body inched closer something sounded out distracting Zero.

Without warning a large pink beam of energy lanced out of Freya catching Zero. The energy burned the eye causing it to bubble and singe from the mystic energy surrounding it. Screaming filled the room as the eye was forced back and purged from the room. The energy soon dissipated leaving behind two very bruised and beaten guys on the floor. With a quick shake Freya dispersed the mist once again healing up the physical wounds that Zero had inflicted on the two.

Unbeknownst to the three, lancing chaos energy caught the leftovers of Zero depositing him back into Dream Land. Once again the room was secured and that left the two extremely tired regardless of how much healing they received.

“Need… sleep… “ Spike managed to croak out before he began to snore loudly. Discord didn’t fall asleep right away. He watched the remains of the spear tear apart and the tip float over to a portion of the room where Starlight’s mark had lit up. The same process occurred leaving behind Dash’s mark on the ground before he was content to sleep.

Freya lifted the two in her magic conjuring up some beds for them to lay in. Within the confines of the room time held no meaning. Every world had different set times and the portals would open when necessary. She wondered why she knew that but went back to work repairing the doors that had already been used. While they couldn’t be reopened she hated leaving them looking as though someone tried to tear open the portal into her sanctity.

Out on the far wall the next door lit up. On it was three apples arranged in a triangle. Applejack’s mark glowed brightly within the dim room ready to be opened and entered.

Author's Notes:

I like Kirby games. That is all I'll say about this. Also if you're curious about what Bandanna Dee meant about Captain Dash well just wait and find out later.