It wasn't that Rainbow Dash had disliked carving Nightmare Night pumpkins back when she'd been growing up in Cloudsdale. It was just that, with the pranking and the candy and the costumes and the getting to flap around all over the neighborhood until way after dark, pumpkin carving barely made it into the top ten when it came to awesome things about the festival.

In her third year at flight school, though, when Mr. Nimbus had taught them how to whip up cyclonic microbursts, Dash had moved pumpkin carving solidly into fourth place. Because being able to cut holes in a pumpkin just by looking real hard at it, rearing back, waving her wings, and scissoring her front legs in the air? That was pretty darn awesome.

The rest of her time in Cloudsdale and after her move to Ponyville and during her friend-making and world-saving and all that, pumpkin carving had stayed right there in fourth place. Then Discord had started hanging around being a good guy or whatever, and the night before his first Nightmare Night, he'd been at Fluttershy's with them, a weird smile on his weird face while he watched them settle in to carve their pumpkins. A flash like the tiniest lightning bolt ever had drawn Dash's attention to where Discord was floating, and at the first touch of Rarity's knife, her pumpkin had screamed, jumped off the table, and tumbled wailing out the door.

Dash had taken off after it, Discord had followed, and the two of them had spent the next hour or so hooting and hollering, Dash chasing Discord's shrieking pumpkin puppet thing through the moonlit streets of Ponyville till Dash had managed to catch it in a whirlwind, spinning it through the air and fatally stabbing it onto one of the spires of Twilight's castle.

Gruesome? Sure. But awesome? Doubly sure.

The next year, she and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had nudged and wheedled and whined and just about begged until Discord had done it again, but with four pumpkins this time so they could each have one. And by the year after that, it had become what Applejack called "a full-blown thang," most of the town's foals and about half the grown-ups waiting eagerly with their gourds outside Town Hall—Fluttershy had registered her quiet objections after the second time they did it, so Discord had suggested what he called "a change of venue"—for what the mayor had dubbed the Third Annual Ponyville Pumpkin Chase.

So pumpkin carving? At this point, it was definitely the second best thing about Nightmare Night. No matter what Discord said.

Well, more snorted than said. "You ponies!" He shook his head from where he lay stretched all over Fluttershy's sofa like a big brown pile of overcooked spaghetti. "You're so blood-thirsty!"

They'd all just gotten back to the cottage with their candy, had coaxed Fluttershy out of her hidey-hole with promises that Nightmare Night was officially over, and were now deep into what had become their traditional after party. This had been Starlight and Trixie's first time going out with the group, too, and Dash had to admit that the two of them added a whole new terrific level of weirdness to the thing.

Of course, nopony outdid Discord when it came to weirdness. So seeing him not hopping up and down on the cider cask or swinging from the strings of paper bats on the ceiling, Dash had wandered over in her sphinx costume to see what was up with him. But now... "Blood-thirsty?" She took a sip of her cider and smacked her lips. "Tastes like apples to me."

He gave her a look from under his ruffling eyebrows. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of your acquaintances actually had apple juice flowing in their veins." He waved across the room to AJ, painted all over in black and red squares like a checkerboard. "But I'm talking about the pumpkins."

That made Dash blink some more. "Uhh, you know that pumpkins don't have blood, right? Just seeds and that stringy, gooey stuff?"

"Ah, Rainbow Dash." Discord sat up—which was at least a step in the right direction—and pressed his lion paw to his chest. "Your density is outdone only by your fragrance, and that's ripe indeed."

Deciding she was in too good a mood to be insulted, she laughed instead. "They're just pumpkins, Discord, and chasing them's just fun."

"Exactly!" a new voice said, one that sounded to Dash's twisting ears like Discord with a stuffy nose. "And there's nothing wrong with a little imaginary fun, am I right? Or am I right?"

Her head following her ears, she turned to find herself staring at another Discord—or actually at a scrawnier, shorter, glasses-wearing version of Discord. "And who," this other Discord went on in that nasal voice, "knows more about imaginary fun than Rainbow Dash, am I right? Or am I right?"

"Hayds?" the actual Discord asked. "Is that you, or is one of Fluttershy's chickens molting again?"

The other Discord's mouth tightened. "I've told you two hundred million, four hundred forty-four thousand, three hundred and six times, Discord: my name has two syllables. Yes, it's spelled H-A-D-E-S, but it's pronounced, 'Hay-dees.'" He held up two talons of his eagle claw while he said it again: "'Hay-dees.'"

Discord made a noise like air rushing out of a balloon. "And I've told you two hundred million, four hundred forty-four thousand, three hundred and seven times: saying it that way sounds like you're looking for bargains at a grocery store." He popped into place beside this Hades guy with a dozen rolls of toilet paper squirming in his arms. "Hey! Dese on sale?" The rolls all shot from his grip and exploded, wave after wave of paper shreds wafting down over Hades. "But no!" Discord finished, waving his now-empty paws. "You never listen to my advice!"

Dash tried not to laugh—another Discord wasn't really anything to laugh about, the more she thought about it. But the pinch-mouthed look on the little guy's face, his eyes all squinty behind his glasses and toilet paper hanging from his antlers, was just too priceless. The first snicker snuck out of her, and when the guy got even more squinty-eyed, she just lost it completely, rolling over onto her back and kicking her hooves.

"Rainbow Dash!" Discord shook a claw at her. "Laughing at a wimpy, weaselly little bucket of boring like my cousin before you've been properly introduced? What atrocious manners!" He held up a glass and tapped it with a fork.

The fork cracked with a honk like the world's biggest goose, orange liquid oozing out into the glass, and silence stumbled across the room, everypony snapping their heads over to stare. "If I might have your attention?" Discord waved the glass at Hades. "This is my cousin Hayds." He shrugged. "Or 'Hay-dees,' I guess he prefers." He swigged back the orange liquid, his eyes spun like a Los Pegasus slot machine, and when they came up double lemons, two tiny clouds poofed from his ears, the whole room suddenly smelling like the air freshener Dash's mom had always used.

"Hades?" Twilight stepped forward, the glow of her magic pushing her Songbird Serenade bangs out of the way to show her wide eyes. "The architect of Tartarus? That Hades?"

"Well, now." Hades brushed at the toilet paper; it turned to fog and drifted away. "It's nice to see that Cousin Discord isn't hanging out with the usual crowd of clods and bumpkins."

"But—" Somehow, Twilight's eyes got even wider. "The legends all say that Hades was a cruel and capricious monster who locked ponies away in Tartarus for no good reason and ruled over his domain with an iron hoof till the princesses defeated him and locked him away in one of his own cages." And only then did she take a breath.

"Really?" Discord's ears perked up. "Cousin? Have you been holding out on me?"

Hades scowled. "I don't know how these stories get started! I mean, it was all business, pure and simple! I was looking to retire, these nice young pony princesses were looking for somewhere to store their immortal enemies, and we made a deal. They gave me a nice box of gold—and no, I don't mean a prison cell—and I gave them the whole place: lock, stock, and Cerberus."

Discord's ears flopped sideways. "Yes, that sounds more like the draconequus I've been trying to avoid since just after the first moment of recorded history."

Twilight's eyes were shimmering the way they always did when she was about to learn something: Dash knew it when she saw it, and blowing out a breath, she decided she'd check out what was happening in the less eggheaded parts of the party. "Oh, wow!" Twilight was saying as Dash turned to go. "That's just so absolutely fascinating! Would you have a moment to talk about the thermodynamic uncoupling matrices that you used in constructing the—"

"Actually," Hades said, sliding past Twilight to step in front of Dash. "I was hoping I could talk to Rainbow Dash about a business proposal this evening." He glanced back at Twilight. "Because, yeah, I'd love to chat about heat sinks and Four Ear's law of conduction and all that, but right here and now isn't really the time or place for that: am I right, or am I right?" He snapped his claws, and a little notebook popped up in front of him. He took it, flipped it open, and grabbed a quill pen out of thin air. "I don't often get a chance to discuss those sorts of matters with anybody who'll understand them, so could we meet, say, tomorrow for lunch at your castle?"

"Oh!" Twilight blinked several times. "Of course! That would be great!"

"You bet." His notebook disappeared, and he aimed a claw at Twilight while making a little clicking noise with his mouth. "Watercress sandwiches for me, thanks, and I'll see you then." He spun once more, lay an arm across Dash's neck, and said, "But you're the mare I'm looking for, Rainbow Dash, to help me get this new project under way."

"Really?" Discord asked before Dash could. White light swirled around her, then it cleared to show a room that looked like the main office at Weather Central in Cloudsdale the one time Dash had visited there before getting posted to Ponyville: a big desk, a bunch of wooden bookshelves, carpet all over the floor. From a couch against the wall, Dash blinked at Discord in a big chair on one side of the desk, Hades in a much smaller chair on the other. "Well, then!" Discord was going on, "On behalf of my client, I'll need to know what exactly you have in mind before I'll allow her to sign anything."

"Client?" Hades looked over at her.

Again, Dash opened her mouth, ready to spit out a denial, but at Discord's snap, an apple wedged itself between her teeth. "You see, Cousin," Discord said, pressing his claws together, "I've spent the last bit of time getting to know the interesting ins and outs of friendship. And knowing you as I do, I find myself unable to simply abandon my bosom chum Paintball Splash here to whatever dull, soul-sucking scheme you're cooking up." He clapped and leaned forward, glee wriggling across his face. "So spill! Will there be fun? Will there be mayhem? Answer the second question first!"

A little touched—and a little suspicious—Dash chomped through the apple but decided not to get huffy about Discord acting like her agent or whatever. "Yeah!" she said instead, proud that she kept the spray of juice to a minimum. "I mean, not the mayhem part, but what's this all about?"

Hades's gaze wavered back and forth between them till it stopped on Dash. "It's something I started thinking about after your Princess Luna got back from her sabbatical and took over her duties in the Dream Realm again. Sure, she's there for the big important stuff every night, but what about the little reveries ponies drift into during idle moments now and then?" He tapped the desk. "Daydreams, Rainbow Dash. Who's in charge of daydreams?"

That got Dash blinking, and even Discord cocked his head and looked thoughtful. Hades gave a little shrug. "Say you've got a couple hours to kill on the train to Canterlot, or even just a couple minutes waiting for a friend to show up. If there was an organized Realm of Daydreams, a pony could pop in, have a little imaginary fun, then pop back out and get on with her schedule."

Discord rolled his eyes. "Organized..."

"A little." Hades held out his eagle talons, a golden mist drifting around them. "It wouldn't have to be as stratified as the actual Dream Realm, and certainly wouldn't be as big a construction as Tartarus. It'd just be a light and fun way for ponies to keep track of their favorite daydreams so they can bookmark when they have to leave off and pick it up the same place the next time. And you, Rainbow Dash, would be the perfect pony to help me let ponies know about it."

Wanting to ask why he thought that, Dash got cut off a third time when Hades kept talking. "You daydreamed about being the best cloudbuster in Equestria, and you made it to the top of the team monitoring the Everfree Forest. You daydreamed about being the best monster fighter in Equestria, and you helped bring down Nightmare Moon and the changelings and a certain goat-scented joker of our mutual acquaintance."

"Hey!" from Discord.

This time, it was Hades rolling his eyes before continuing. "And on top of all that, you daydreamed about being the best flier in Equestria before becoming a featured performer with the Wonderbolts." He gave a sharp nod. "You're pretty much the posterfilly for the idea of daydreams—am I right, or am I right?—and with you on board, ponies'd know they didn't have to worry about a thing. What do you say?"

It sounded like it might be the best thing ever, she wanted to say. But remembering what Twilight and Discord had said earlier about this Hades guy, she glanced in Discord's direction to see if he was shaking his head or anything.

He was stroking his beard. "It's actually not the worst idea I've ever heard. Not that I'd be interested in such a thing, but for ponies, the way they like things so regular and all..." He nodded to Dash. "You're already as close to being a professional wool-gatherer as a non-sheepshearer can be. Why not make it official?"

The scowl she aimed at him wasn't anywhere close to real, and Dash switched it for a grin when she slid her attention back to Hades. "I'm in," she said. "What's next?"

"Terrific!" Hades crooked a claw at her. That mist sprang up again, but this time, it shot across the room to wrap around Dash's head. Startled, she sucked in a breath and sucked in some of the mist, too, a sort of cinnamon crispness to it that made her think of breakfast. "I'm calling the place Mythos, and you're now credentialed as both a sysop and a beta-tester in the—"

A click came from the wall behind Dash, and part of the bookcase swung open to reveal Fluttershy, fireflies dancing around her head and bathing her in their gentle light. Her eyes went wide, her mouth curving into a circle, and she touched a front hoof to her chest. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't realize anypony was using the pantry!" She blinked. "As an...office?"

White light washed over Dash, and she found herself sitting in Discord's lap, Hades sort of squished against the shelves along the back wall of Fluttershy's pantry, the whole space smaller than the desk had been a second ago. "We're just wrapping up," Discord said, slithering out to stand on the kitchen floor.

Dash gave him a genuine glare this time and squirmed around so she could ask Hades, "So! How do I—"

Hades's wide-eyed stare stopped her, his mouth hanging open; as Dash watched, his glasses steamed up so thick, water started dripping from the edges. He was looking past her, though, and when Dash followed his gaze, she saw Fluttershy looking back.

Fluttershy did some more blinking, then she looked up at Discord. "If you've been splitting yourself into smaller pieces again, I think you left one behind."

"Hmmm?" Discord bent down and squinted. "That? No, no, my dear Fluttershy. Even in a dim light, that's no part of me."

"Fluttershy?" Hades muttered. "I— That is, you— That is—" Shaking his head with a slosh like a half-empty pickle jar, Hades took a breath, and the smile that spread over his snout reminded Dash more of a crack in a pumpkin than anything else. "Miss Fluttershy, I've heard so much about you that it's an absolute honor to finally make your acquaintance."

"Heard?" Fluttershy did that thing where she shivered and cringed without actually moving. "About me? I...I don't know how that could've happened!"

"It's okay, Eff." Dash gestured with a wing; Fluttershy blushed, took a step back, and Dash squeezed past her and out of the pantry. "This is Discord's cousin Hades. I guess you missed his introduction out front a couple minutes ago."

"Oh!" Fluttershy's ears fell, and she stepped through the little door. "I'm so sorry, Hades! I've been making sure we had enough mustard for the sandwiches, and I—"

"Now, now, my dear." Hades took one of Fluttershy's front hooves like he was picking a flower, and in the darkness of the pantry, Dash could see a weird shimmer spring up around his eyes. "You need never apologize to me, not in this world or any other." He leaned forward and touched his lips to Fluttershy's hoof, his eyes never leaving hers and never stopping their shimmer.

Wanting to bash him in the face, Dash instead loudly cleared her throat. "So, about this daydream thing?"

"Hmmm?" Hades's eyelids fluttered like he was coming awake, then he gave a little gasp and dropped Fluttershy's hoof. "Oh! Yes! Of course!" He snapped and vanished; the scrape of claws on tile behind her got Dash to crane her head around, and Hades was standing beside Discord, the larger draconequus aiming a frown down at the smaller. "I'll let you know about Mythos! I just— I need to— I— Yes!" His ears glowing bright red, his body blew up like a balloon, and he burst with a splashing sound, a day-old popcorn smell wafting across the kitchen.

"Finally!" Discord spun one of his claws like a little fan and pointed it at his face. "I thought he'd never leave!"

Fluttershy came out of the pantry, set down the jar of mustard she had clenched in her teeth, and gave a tiny shrug. "He seemed nice."

Dash was too busy swallowing to say anything no matter how much she wanted to shout that nopony got to look at or touch Fluttershy that way, but Discord waved his lion paw. "Oh, sure! If you like 'nice.'" He crooked his claws into little quotation marks when he said that last word. "In the cookie jar of draconequus society, he's oatmeal raisin: hardly one of us at all!"

With one last shake, Dash pushed her grouchiness away and stretched her wings. "Yeah, but helping ponies with their daydreams sounds like it might be kinda fun."

Discord blew a glowing green bubble, and the kitchen suddenly smelled so much like guacamole that Dash's stomach rumbled. "Well, even a stopped clock is right six or seven times every other fortnight." He cocked an ear in Dash's direction, produced a surgical mask between his claws, and tied it on over his muzzle. "Still, it sounds like we need an emergency sandwich transfusion stat!"

With a giggle, Fluttershy pushed the mustard jar forward. "Just what the doctor ordered!"

Flaring her wings, Dash swooped over, scooped the jar up between her hooves, and darted toward Fluttershy's front room. "Oh, yeah! Let's get this party started!"

"Ummm..." Fluttershy cleared her throat as softly as maybe a mouse might. "The party actually started a couple hours ago, Rainbow."

Dash rolled her eyes at Discord, almost made a joke about Fluttershy being denser than even Dash herself, but decided pretty quickly not to. "Then let's kick it up a notch or two!" she said instead, and burst out of the kitchen into the laughing and the dancing and the eating and the drinking.

Author's Notes:

The Gates of Horn and Ivory, according to their Wikipedia entry, are an ancient Greco-Roman "literary image used to distinguish true dreams (corresponding to factual occurrences) from false." And who am I to argue with Wikipedia?

Mike