The waves of magic rolling off of Luna enveloped Celestia and Luna pulling them into formation with her. With nary a wave of her horn she pulled them into the realm of dreams fully shown to her fellow princesses.

Fully before them was a large ethereal realm full of doors leading to every single one of her subjects hidden behind a large field of stars and mist that seemed to emanate from nowhere. Cadance giggled in pure bliss since it was the first time she had ever seen the realm of dreams her aunt worked through. Celestia merely sighed wistfully a content smile fully took over her muzzle.

“I have missed this Lulu. I do wish I had more time to come into the dream realm with you. We used to have such interesting games of hide and seek alongside our subjects.”

“Tis true sister. Verily I was always able to give you much trouble by my mastery of dreams. Still we should tarry not on those wonderful times. We have pressing matters now. I will bring the doors we need to go through then we must decide who goes where. I shall overrule any of those decisions on first picks for I must go keep an eye on Twilight and Fluttershy. The spirits seemed to take sweet pleasure in tormenting those two in particular with what happened. “ Luna stomped her hoof causing seven doors to appear before her. Secretly she attempted to bring two others but neither of their doors appeared. They were still awake.

“I suppose I will take Rainbow Dash and Starlight Glimmer then.” Cadance spoke up, unsure what she needed to do. Dreams were not her strong point and she was regretting not drinking that coffee now.

“I will take Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack then. I’m sure Pinkie and I can come to an agreement on cake,” -cough-, “ I mean our sense of humor. What is your plan though Luna? We could barely affect those monsters even with all three of us working together.” Celestia looked a bit off to Pinkie’s door instantly regretting her decision. It was made of cake and covered in frosting even showing the doorknob made of a giant gumdrop.

“We bring them out here. Call me out with your magic and we will drag them out of their dreamscape if they are in danger. I know they will have nightmares but I’m not sure if they will strike. We must plan for every possibility and should they not be in danger then at least our ministrations will give them a modicum of peace for the night before their task begins.” Luna stepped up to Twilight and Fluttershy’s doors then stomped her hoof again sending the other doors to their respective princess.

“Ready when you are Auntie Luna.” Cadance smiled.

“As am I Lulu” Celestia nodded solemnly.

With that declaration each princess opened their first door ready to step into the fray and face whatever was coming to face them.

Rainbow Dash’s Dreamscape

There it was, the finish line. She could feel the whipping air currents all around her as the flag waved in the distant. Her lips felt chapped from the constant speed she was at. The twinge and burning in her wings were getting worse now and she could only keep it up for a few more seconds. That was all she needed. It was coming soon. The sudden burst of energy that formed whenever she reach that speed. Mach 1 was only two seconds off. That spiral cone appeared in her peripheral and she knew just how to make the finish more awesome.
On her left was the captain of the Wonderbolts, Spitfire, catching up to her ready to overtake her should she let up. On her right was her fellow wonderbolt Fleetfoot also catching up. She was getting better but there was no need to go easy on her. Dash was the best and she knew it so she had to make this more memorable. The crowd around her was waiting for it.

In a flash of light the rainboom took over leaving Spitfire and Fleetfoot in her cloudy wake. The crowd was going wild… then the cheering disappeared. The rainboom was going slower and the other two passed her by winning the race. The finish line disappeared and in front of her were the forms of Spike and Discord reaching out for her.

She was going to get them this time she had planned for this but the rainboom was her trump card. It wasn’t working! They were being torn apart again. No! NO! She wasn’t going to fail her friends again. She flapped harder and pushed farther. It wasn’t enough again. The screams came back assaulting her ears again as they disappeared again.

Screams echoed out from her mouth leaving nothing but a string of obscenities left her mouth and she slammed her hooves against the ground letting all her anger out leaving impressions on the ground. Tears were reluctantly released as she tried to look anywhere else but where they were torn to shreds. No one else was around but she knew they would be soon. She had failed them letting two of her friends get killed in front of them. She hadn’t been fast enough to stop it. Not again… This was the fifth time she had tried to shift her thoughts to something happier but it wasn’t working. Every time a little piece of hope entered her heart they were dashed against reality. She quickly pushed the memory out again only for it to bear down again. She kept screaming for it to stop but it wouldn’t. Then that red eye appeared leering at her taunting her again.

“Rainbow Dash!Are you ok!” A pink light broke up the shadow revealing a pink alicorn floating through the haze towards her.

“Yeah… Of course I am. I’m too awesome to be kept down like this.” Dash hoarsely spoke up only to cough from the sudden use of words after her screaming fit. She looked away and rubbed her eyes to hide the tears. “I thought only Luna could do this Cadance?”

“She brought us in after a day like this. She thought it would be better to keep you girls safe from those creatures in case they try something. The dream realm is more pliable should we need to fight back against them thanks to Luna.” Cadence opened the doorway behind her. “You know you did everything you could yet they were stronger than all of us together. You can’t beat yourself over all this since we are working towards saving them now.”

“I know. I know! I just… its who I am ya know. I’m the element of loyalty. I’m Rainbow Dash the most awesome pegasus ever born. Everyone can rely on me to do something for them and I couldn’t do anything but flail at a shield and watch. I may have not been able to do something but I still failed to do anything of value. I saw Twilight and Starlight had managed to grip on Spike and Discord and manage to pull them back from the brink. They would have won too if those monsters hadn’t decided to bite them.” She shook her head getting the images out of her mind.

“Look we can deal with this but I’m gonna need you to help me with the others. Right now we are in the dream realm and we need to make sure the others are only affected by nightmares rather than the monsters.” Cadance draped her wing over Dash dragging her outside her dream into the dream realm.

Starlight Glimmer’s Dreamscape

There she stood watching her old town and a cupcake contest being run by Double Diamond. The eating contest was being set up letting her judge. On one side sat Spike ready to take care of business. A red bandanna wrapped around his head as the glare in his eyes told her that he was ready to go. Pinkie was busy coaching him as his eyes stayed forward facing determination lighting a fire that would lead him to victory. On the other side sat Discord, a smug smirk on his face. Fluttershy was on his side cheering in her own way. Starlight took a few steps forward as a bell appeared before her. With a flair of magic she rang the bell as the two competitors worked their way through the cupcakes before them.

Cheers from their friends urged them to continue on. Starlight smiled at the sight. There was nothing wrong and everything was fine. Twenty cupcakes down...Thirty down… Forty… They changed colors.

Everyone disappeared leaving only two figures. One figure was made of white scales with glowing blue eyes sitting where Spike once was. The other was covered in dark fur with glowing red eyes. On the table were small figures that looked like Spike and Discord.

She ran to the tables desperately trying to stop the two figures. One crunch, Two, three. The figures screamed as they tried to get away always falling short when they reached the edge of the table. Starlight wasted no time and blasted the two with as much magic she could muster. The beam flew straight and true impacting on them forcing them to the ground saving the figures on the table. When she looked again she only saw Spike, purple scales and green belly, clutching at where the beam struck him. The fear in his eyes evident he shimmied away as best as he could through the pain never unlocking his eyes from Starlight. Discord also returned to normal but remained motionless. She had hurt them… her fault… her fault.

“ENOUGH!” A pink force grasped the two figures squeezing them tightly as they both looked on amused at the broken pony. Too lost in her grief she didn’t notice the cyan hooves that clumsily wrapped around her face.

“It’s not them Starlight calm down and look again.” Dash firmly uttered then forced her to look at the two figures.
The two smirking figures were back to the same white and black color that they had been staring down the pink alicorn out on the edge. When they turned to Starlight their smirk died replaced by irritation. Struggling as they were they broke through the magic and rushed out of the dream.

“I thought… I thought I did something horrible. I tried to help but I made it worse.” Starlight grimaced while tears fell freely to her hooves. With her own horn she had done something so reprehensible. She wasn’t a monster like her old self. The thoughts keep swirling around make the inner parts of her dreams darken as the nightmares began to hold steady. Cadance instantly brought out her shield to protect the three. Dash lifted her hoof and slapped Starlight across the muzzle softly enough not to leave a mark. Starlight could only stare in shock.

“It wasn’t them. They trust you. You are their friend and they know it ok. No time for a pity party when we gotta go get them away from those monsters. Now stop thinking you are a horrible pony. Look I may give ya a hard time about my cutie mark but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you now. I know you’ve changed and you need to keep it together. Spike needs us. Even Discord needs us and he’s usually the one causing the trouble so get off your flank and let’s get out there to save them ok.” Dash took a confident flap into the air showing how much she believed in her conviction. “Also sorry for the slap. I’m not good with that whole touchy-feely junk. Besides tough love on you seemed to be the best way to bring you back to being calm. At least that’s what Cadance thinks.”

“I guess… I just wish I didn’t need the slap.” Starlight gingerly rubbed her muzzle. “Wait isn’t this a dream?” Looking around she noticed the nightmarish scenery started to fade back to the normal brightness of her usual dreams.

“Yeah it is. Neat, huh? Luna brought in the princesses to protect our dreams.” Dash shrugged but her wings got larger and more awesome. “We can control small things while in dreams.” Her smile almost bursted off her face as she giggled at the sight of her powerfully awesome wings.

“Yeah that does sound neat.” Starlight snickered as a bucket of water appeared over Dash’s head then fell over drenching her in water. Dash only groaned at the prank being set on her.

“Ha. Ha. I guess I deserved that. Do you know how hard it is to dry feathers.” Dash groused as her new awesome wings returned to normal effectively raining on her parade.

“Don’t worry Rainbow. I won’t say a word. Now let’s get you two to safety.” Cadance reopened the door to the dream realm and led the two back to the safety of the ring leading to all the doors.

Pinkie Pie’s Dreamscape

Celestia had been expecting something different. She knew from some of Luna’s stories that Pinkie Pie’s dream were the stuff of legends. Cakes layered so high they reached pass the sun. Battles with a giant alligator with no teeth as a mount and multitudes of parties being played on fast forward every second she was dreaming.

This was not that dream. Pinkie stood with her back to Celestia quietly making small pastries. No music. No cheers of cake batter. Only silence reigned through the kitchen.

“Hi there Princess…” The voice at the stove spoke quietly. “I wondered when someone would come to help me out. I haven’t felt much like laughing… not a lot to laugh about now, is there?”

Celestia glanced down forlornly at the young pink mare. Her mane was straight and dull while her coat was listless and grayer than the pink she wore so proudly. When Celestia finally saw her eyes all that was there was a deep sadness Celestia saw every morning she work up and looked in a mirror.

“Pinkie I know some horrible things have happened today but we need to keep hope alive. Spike and Discord are still alright.” Celestia moved forward. Her matronly instinct took over draping her wing over Pinkie’s shoulder. “You know we can get them back, right?”
Pinkie finished her cakes and sighed. She didn’t fully turn around and shifted back and forth in her chair. She knew things would work out. The author had said so but the path there would be harsh and might be too much to fully handle. He was a bit of a jerk in this regard for making such a dark story but she knew the part to play and played that part to make readers smile. It was her gift to bring a smile to everyone’s face and she would do it admirably. Not all roles were equal but she knew that even in those dark situations she would throw a party just to celebrate the readers reaching the end. Now she had lines that needed to be said.

“I know we can save them. I know what we’ll have to do on the other side will need to follow the story as effectively as possible. There are good creatures out there but there are meanies also waiting for us over there. Each of us will have a bad guy that will need to be taken care of to get back home. It’s just that when we were sitting at the table earlier before we were attacked. Well, my pinkie sense went off. Pinchy knees always meant something scary would happen and I didn’t even remember it because nothing that scary ever happens in Equestria. Even the Tirek incident didn’t make my knees that pinchy because the other combos predicted a happy ending beforehand.” Pinkie rose up finally looking at Celestia. The pinkness of her mane returned slowly but she wasn’t smiling.

“I’ve heard about that from Twilight. I suppose something other believe in is still hard for her to grasp. Still I don’t want to see you frown Pinkie. Not just because you are the Element of Laughter. No its because I truly appreciate your jovial nature. We need that kind of spirit to save our friends.”

“I know. I truly do but how do you smile when you know that eventually you might have to change who you are just to fit in with another world?” Pinkie sighed softer actually looking pensive about what was going to happen in the morning. “We’ll be alone over there and I worry about all my friends. I can’t even see two of them until much later either.” She finally turned to the cakes and showed them off.

There were two well made cakes featuring Spike and Discord. Featuring didn’t do the sight justice though. The Spike cake looked eerily just like him chocolate cake covered in purple frosting and green icing for his belly. The spikes on its back had been made of taffy and looked delectable by sight. Discord’s cake was made entirely of different flavors all brought together with chocolate being the base for everything. Red Velvet had been used for the dragon tail, Pistachio for the dragon leg, caramel for the other, marzipan for both arms. The wings and horns had been made of taffy as well. Celestia gawked at the attention to detail she had put before remembering that it was only a dream.

“I made these cakes and I’m saving them over at Sugarcube Corner for their birthdays.” Pinkie said flatly when she looked at Celestia who gaped in surprise. She finally smiled at the surprised princess. “I remember now why I should smile. Thank you Princess Celestia.”

“I didn’t do much Pinkie I merely listened to you like a good friend should. We should go help the others now. They might be having nightmares. Will you be willing to assist me?” Celestia grinned at the party pony.

“Okie Dokie Lokey. “ She giggled as she walked outside of the dream with Celestia.

Rarity’s Dreamscape

Costume and ensembles surrounded Rarity as more and more ponyquins came to life modeling all the new designs on display. She wasn’t paying attention though she just stared at a smaller Spike shaped one which offered platitudes and compliments which did nothing to stifle her sadness.

“Darling this is not helping. You were taken and we only know that they wanted a host. What does that even mean?” She looked away noticing the ponyquins disappearing as did the Spike shaped one. She walked away as more paths opened for her leading through what she remembered from the day. It didn’t help that she remembered every moment that had occurred then. The tearing of flesh, the screams, the cries of agony that there was no way to escape from her attention to details.

“Where is the exit… I don’t want to be here.” The scowl she gave was very unladylike. She couldn’t stop the wrinkles if she keep this stare but it wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t love as she saw it in her novels. He was a dear friend and she wanted him back safe and sound.
The monsters she had seen had been following her and were moving freely within her mind. Had they done something to them? She didn’t fully know what was going on but Twilight might know. The constant hum from them following her was grating. Irritating her further and further down the path. It was unladylike to fully accept fighting back no matter how much she wanted to deal with those ruffians and their boorish behavior. Especially for how they hurt her little Spikey-Wikey.

“HEY RARITY!” A pink pony jumped out of nowhere tackling her to the ground messing with her coiffure and coat. She didn’t fully care though because it finally dealt with two monsters that had been chasing after her.

“Pinkie that was uncalled for now please let me up darling,” She looked over her coat and mane and sighed, “ This will take a few spa appointments I suppose.”

A beam of light hit the two monsters forcing them away as Princess Celestia descended from on high like the sun. She was frowning though noticing that maybe she wasn’t needed. It wasn’t that she wasn’t proud of her subject for taking care of herself. No it felt as though she was bottling things up and she could see it in the scowl still adorned on Rarity’s face.

“Is everything alright Rarity?” Celestia had landed before her concern spilling from her eyes as she looked for something that would tell her what was wrong. When she didn’t speak at first she was unsure if she asked too soon.

“I… Well I guess no. I am entirely infuriated and I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I know we are on an important mission and all but I must get some clothes ready for wherever we are forced to go but we won’t know that until after we get there. I can’t plan for every little thing and I wouldn’t want to waste time carrying around that much luggage. Especially with how important this will be to get back my Spi- I mean - Spike.” She looked around the scowl replaced with worry and concern. Celestia looked onwards examining the very contours of her face to see whether this was a draw from the drama well that Twilight sometimes spoke of whenever Rarity was upset. No matter how closely she looked though there were no minced words or expressions. She had given up poise and proper behavior to show how truly upset she was. Though it was strange she hadn’t used her pet name for Spike.

“I know my little pony but we must make due with what we have. You are beautiful enough already and need nothing to detract from the natural beauty you already have. You have been keeping the nightmares at bay unlike your friends. We need to keep you safe before you are sent on your way from those monsters. Please join us out of your dreamscape so that we might keep those who would stop us at bay.” Celestia bowed before Rarity causing her to shriek at the faux pas she was performing.

“Please Princess do not bow to me I’m nopony that needs others to bow to them. Everyone is equal and those that earn respect deserve that modicum of respect back. I have done nothing to earn that from you through my own merits. Please I don’t deserve it.” Rarity was smiling at the gesture but her eyes clearly showed embarrassment. She also noticed how uncharacteristically quiet Pinkie was being after helping her up. “Pinkie where are you?”

“Over here. I was getting the door ready so I wouldn’t disturb your dramatic scenes.” She giggled as she opened the door out into the ring. As they went off Celestia stayed near the back.

‘I suppose this mare might be good enough for Spike if only she would get her head out of the fairy tales.’ She closed the door behind them.

Applejack’s Dreamscape

It had taken hours just to get done but Applejack had finally beaten the last few monsters that had come into her space. Bucky McGillyCuddy and Kicks McGee were sorer than the last time she had to applebuck the Northern and Southern orchards of her farm. It was getting tough to keep fighting but there was a lull in the monsters coming after her. While it was easy to deal with them there was a point of contention whenever she did strike a monster down. Each one looked like Spike and Discord. While there was less stress from bucking Discord about the Spike shaped ones would jump in to take the hit reminding her how loyal he was to his friends saving them even when they didn’t need saving.

“Consarn it all Spike quit muddyin’ the issue here and stop attackin’ me!” Another body flew to the side. It got worse. ‘Spike’ started to speak after every kick.

‘Why AJ I trusted you’

‘It hurts. It hurts.’

‘I guess being an element make you better than others huh?’

‘I know I messed up I guess this is what I deserve…’

She couldn’t take her friend putting himself down like that but it wasn’t him. ‘His’ eyes glowed a dull blue every time it was hit and it smirked after every hit. Every time a ling of self depreciation came up she would buck her legs a bit slower. It was only a matter of time before they would overwhelm her.

“INCOMING!” A large blast of confetti shoved the monsters to the side as a white coated unicorn forced as many small objects as possible in a large cloud of shrapnel forcing even more of the monsters back as well. Each took their place at Applejack’s sides. One readied a large cannon while the other had a glowing horn and multiple pieces of debris floating around their heads. With a light chuckle she fixed her hat high up on her head and whipped out a rope from her tail.

“Wonderin’ when I would be getting that backup sugarcubes. I thought this would be too uncouth for ya Rares.” Applejack glanced at Rarity.

“I may not enjoy this barbaric action but I will not let you deal with this alone no matter how much you think you could handle this alone.” Rarity smirked back clearly confident with her actions.

“Less talky more explodey girls. Wheeee~!” Pinkie took her time blasting every inch of the dreamscape with her cannon making sure to get at least one monster with every pass. Rarity blocked off the Spike shaped ones for Applejack while she bucked the Discord shaped ones as far away as possible. Before long the remainder of those monsters flew to a centralized spot and started to combine into dangerous looking creatures. Spike became more like the dragon that had been sleeping up in the mountains only in white scales and blue eyes. Discord had become savage looking a more demonic looking figure with darkened fur. They learned down ready to strike down the ponies remaining.

“Get down!” With a scream a large ball of magic burning brighter than the sun descended on the crowd of monsters burning a large crater where they stood. The sound of sizzling flesh and the smell of burning meat made the ponies cringe in disgust before it was replaced with ashes, both in smell and sight. “Are you quite alright dear Applejack. Sorry for not coming in sooner I wanted to make sure that I would get them all.” Celestia released her magic as the whole ground cooled off before them leaving a glass floor whose sheen seemed to reflect Celestia’s regal aura.

“Uh… no problem your majesty. Never seen something like this a’fore. I’m glad you came when you girls did.” Here back legs finally gave out forcing her to her haunches. “I’m a mite tired now just don’t tell Dash about this she’ll probably have a field day teasin’ me about how tired I got.”

“No worries AJ I pinkie promise you we won’t tell.” Pinie did the motions urging Rarity and Celestia to do so as well. Celestia wholeheartedly did so finding the whole ritual so funny. Rarity only reluctantly did so as long as her burst of violence was never spoken about again.

“Aw… Violent Rares actually made me pretty proud of ya.” The small smirk annoyed Rarity but she returned the smile nonetheless. “Anyways what cha all doing here in my dream. I thought Luna was the only pony who did that. Applebloom says she enjoys those meetings a lot.”

“Tonight is special. With the incident today all three of us will be monitoring your dreams for tonight. We must keep you safe from them. Will you please join the rest of us outside of this particular dreamscape.” Celestia nodded slightly towards a glowing doorway.

“Well shoot Princess. You don’t need to be so formal we’re all friends here.” With a smile she followed the group out towards the ring.

Twilight Sparkle’s Dreamscape

She had to escape. They were trying to stop her. It was the fifth time they had almost cornered her in a dead end. On her back was Spike. She had done it. She had saved him like she knew she could. It had been touch and go when she had found him. Those monsters had done horrible things and he still hadn’t moved since she had gotten him.

“You’ll be alright I’ll make sure you will be safe. Nothing will stop me. We’ll get out of this then I’ll get you you’re special gem cake. I’ll even make sure to dig them up myself. Just please… please be ok. I-I don’t know what I would do without you.” Tears started falling even faster clouding her eyes as the sound of roaring resounding in the distance,

Twilight ran faster through the halls of her castle dodging and weaving through the books that seemed to be appearing out of nowhere. It was behind her again trying to steal Spike away from her. The constant buzzing of the monsters were getting louder. She couldn’t get away fast enough due to the constant dead ends. It was going to happen again she couldn’t see him lost again.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE STAY STRONG!” The roar of the Royal Canterlot Voice broke the illusion. Twilight could only stare horrorstruck at the disintegration of all the books around her. Then she felt a weight lifting off her back only to notice that Spike was no longer there.

“Spike. Spike! SPIKE! Where are you? Please don’t go… don’t go.” She fell to her side sobbing uncontrollably as the Princess of the Night glided down next to her. With a flash of her horn Twilight was lifted back to her feet still lost to the tears.

“He wasn’t real Twilight. We must get ready to retrieve the real one alongside Discord as well. I think by now my sister and Cadence have gotten all your friends. From what I can feel the monsters attacked a few of them already with varying degrees of intensity.

“I-I d-do-don’t know what to do Luna. I’ve been replaying that moment for every single second since it happened. I can’t get it out of my head. Even knowing he is alive only makes me realize just how neglectful I can be of him. Those few times may not seem like much but its always the same. He gives. I take. I try to do better until my own paranoia decides to slap me upside the head. Those times I do for him are so few and far between too. Seeing him being ripped piece from piece was just the straw that broke the pony’s back.” Twilight chuckled morosely as the darkness swirled back into view for Luna.

Luna remembered this all too well from some of her worse experiences with the dream realm. Those who contemplated ending it always had this imperceptible darkness flowing through their minds ready to swallow the consciousness whole. For the most part she was successful in saving the ponies in question but every five or so she did save meant one was too far gone. The other case of flowing darkness were those who started to embrace their own weaknesses. Self wallowing their way into depression or other forms of release. It was lucky when the release was hunger or physical relief. There were far worse routes to take to madness even more macabre than the chaos Discord caused so long ago.

“Twilight. Get up. We must go save Spike. Are you going to let something horrible happen to him?” Luna grabbed hold of her staring deeply into her eyes.

“Horrible?” Luna merely nodded while the darkness came to a stop. The darkness slowly dissipated only to be replaced by clouds of red whipping all around. “They won’t make it a single step out. I won’t let them.”

Luna watched as the air exploded with magic. Twilight rose from the floor burning the very landscape in front of her till nothing but cinders were left.

“You will if you don’t calm down. Now Twilight breathe I’m sure Cadance told you that the stresses of a princess already. We need to be smart in saving Spike.” Luna lowered her shield and let her magic slowly smother the flames around her. She knew how strong Twilight was but never saw the fire that usually burned inside. Still it wouldn’t help save anyone and the flames needed to be doused. The shallow breathing and shifting eyes eventually calmed leaving a still frazzled but calm pony before her.

“I-I’m sorry for the outburst there princess. I just… Let’s go take care of things. Wait aren’t I asleep...oh right Luna, heh heh” Flustered Twilight looked away sheepishly. “I should have realized that this was a dream sooner.”

“It is fine Twilight Sparkle now let us join the others. They are waiting for you in the hub of the dream realm. I think Fluttershy is the last one we need and I would like you to join me there.” Luna opened the door to the ring and reluctantly followed behind her. Her mind was still a torrential rain of uncertainty.

Fluttershy’s Dreamscape

Luna and Twilight walked through the glowing doorway into Fluttershy’s dreamscape noting how dark the entrance was looking. Each mare trotted through the halls down looking for Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy? Where are you?” Twilight called out while Luna sent out her shadow to search as well. “Luna have you found her?”

“Neigh. My magic isn’t able to pierce through these walls. It shouldn’t be possible for anything to stop me in the dreams of my subject… except for Discord’s magic.” They rushed forward looking for any sign that Fluttershy was safe.

“Don’t worry so much my dear never even felt a thing,” A familiar voice rang out. “Now you should be more careful though these monsters want all our little friends.”

“I know but can you blame me. Y-y-you were t-torn apart in front of me,” A sob followed soon after. “I thought you were gone.”

Twilight and Luna slammed through the doors where the voices were blanching in shock with the sight before them. There at a small table were Fluttershy and Discord drinking tea together calmly. Mouths agape the two princesses mumbled impossibilities.

“Oh Twilight, Princess Luna would you like to join us? I mean, only if you’re not too busy. I would understand of course.” Fluttershy hid behind her mane before a small whine left her lips in embarrassment. “I have chamomile…”

“Ah look at that Moonbutt has finally arrived I wondered what was taking you so long. There’s going to be a lot to discuss so how about you join us for now.” With a snap of his fingers Luna and Twilight were warped to the table and into their respective seats. “Get comfortable cause I feel there’s going to be a lot of boring questions now.”

“How are you ok? We watched that thing happen. How?” Twilight’s mane was completely frazzled and her eyes twitched alternatively.

“What makes you think I’m the real Discord?”

“WHAT!?” Luna yelled out.

“I guess this would take a while. Do you remember when I was first released from my stone prison. Fluttershy was the only one that couldn’t be discorded due to her overly accepting nature. When I forcibly warped her mind I left behind a shadow in her mind that I could use to keep myself from being turned to stone. Unfortunately I got cocky and forgot about it completely. After my second release whenever Fluttershy found it necessary to hug me I shifted that shadow to protect her mind from anything chaos based.” Discord had performed pantomime from a light being cast on the wall.

“You did that just because of us?” Twilight gasped at the complex nature of his plans. He was taking them seriously enough that the only reason she had stopped him the first time was because of his own ego getting in the way. “What about when that water affected us? Why didn’t you protect her mind from that?”

“I said chaos based. Not evil based. Chaos is a natural part of the world and is necessary to the laws of entropy throughout the known universe and beyond. When the demeanor shifted to evil this aspect of me went dormant and would not be active unless something chaos based happened.” Discord looked a little miffed though he was only a shadow and kept himself so composed unlike his real form.

“Do you know about the Tree of Chaos? Or about the spheres that attacked us?” Luna spoke out next and kept her hoof against Twilight before she could go on a tirade of questions about entropy and the nature of the universe.

“Ah yes that thing. A useless aspect that I didn’t need. I destroyed it before it could create anything and absorbed the magic into my own body where I faced off against you and Sunbutt. Afterwards when you defeated me I lost that magical energy somehow. As time went on in my prison I realized that there was a voice that was always behind me trying to urge me into more extreme methods of chaos. I eventually shut the voice off after 800 years of effort. From what I could tell it was always behind my magic but when I ignored it for the final time I started to feel as though something was hunting after me. I learned later that there were aspects of the chaos I worked for. They were a constant thing lurked around watching the world move beyond their sight. Then after… Tirek, they disappeared and I didn’t see them ever again. At least not until that day.” Discord grimaced before accidentally crushing the teacup in his hand. The sharp twinge of shards impaling his palm didn’t even phase him.

“Are you alright!? Oh goodness don’t move I’ll get the first aid kit. Please be okay. Please be okay.” Fluttershy moved around at blinding speeds getting everything ready to treat the wounds.

“I’ll be alright Fluttershy. Watch.” A snap of his fingers revealed all the shards removed and an unwounded paw. Fluttershy still examined the paw to make sure it wasn’t illusion magic before she was satisfied with the turn of events. A small smile appeared on her muzzle as she gave a small kiss to his hand and gave him a lollipop from the kit. Discord could only smile warmly at the attention to detail.

“You should go with them Fluttershy. I am merely an aspect left behind to protect your mind. You need to be with the rest of your friends so that they won’t hurt them. I’ll do my part in here bestie.” Discord laughed uproariously as the walls burst apart revealing more of the chaos based creatures surrounding them. With a wave of his hand the entire group was smacked aside by a giant dustpan. A broom swept the rest into it then dumped them into a conveniently placed trash can. “I can handle anything they throw into her. Nothing shall get through me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.” Fluttershy piped up. Uncertainty placed itself at the forefront before she was forced to nod in agreement.

“Thanks for the info Discord. Be safe in here.” Twilight went up to him patting him on the back with her wing.

“I’m surprised yet proud of you Discord. We shall play cards when we are done with this.” Luna stood taller looking Discord in the eye and smiling at him. “We shall take her to the ring with the others now.”

A door opened behind them revealing the ring and all the others waiting for them. With a reluctant wave Fluttershy exited the room and went with the others followed by Luna and Twilight.

“I suppose I should do my job then.” The door closed revealing even more monsters that had been kept at bay by the chaotic spirit’s shadow. The roars and cries echoed throughout the room while Discord cracked his knuckles in anticipation. “Pleasure to do my job and do it so well.”

The creatures leapt into the fray and the draconequus swept his arms thrashing the monsters against the walls. Nothing would deter him from his fun.

Dreamscape Ring

“That really happened?” Celestia intoned. “Should I be worried about this?”

“Neigh sister. So far he has re-earned trust so far but we must be wary. So far it will be advantageous to keep her safe. How was the dream realm for you by the way?” Luna kept her even gaze not wanting to show the doubt about the situation and wanting to talk about anything else.

“It was much heavier than I thought it would be. Especially Pinkie Pie. There is so much more happening in that bouncing ball of energy. Rarity seemed out of it and worn down to the point of apathy. Applejack fought her denial almost to the point of exhaustion. I did get to break loose though so it was an enjoyable experience overall.” Celestia gave a small fake smile. It had affected her more than she thought. Luna turned to Cadance.

“How about you niece? How was your time here?” Luna peered at Cadance.

“It was weirder than I thought and it feels weird knowing how the problems they had are kept so well hidden. I never knew that about Rainbow Dash or Starlight. Is this how it is for you Aunt Luna whenever you go through other’s dreams?” Cadance posited over her new knowledge before shaking her head of the secrets she learned.

“Yes but there are more important things to think of right now. We’ve learned now about what one of the aspects that attacked us was doing before we saw it. I wonder if the Harmony one has been watching us as well when we got the Elements of Harmony.” Luna bit her lip lost in thought while Celestia and Cadance puzzled out a solution that they didn’t even know the question for.

The other girls remained in light conversation before the dream realm slowly faded. It was time to wake up and for Celestia to raise the sun. It was time to take the day on.