Author's Notes:

Well, here is the next one!

Uh...I hope you guys enjoy it. This is the first one of the next chapters when we will be focusing only on the events during a session, without the real world. Then we will have chapters focused on reality.

So...enjoy your reading. Please let me know your thoughts. In the comments, messages. I'll keep trying to bring these the best I can.

Thank you for your time. And thanks for reading this story.

"All these places we've been through," Arden heard as soon as he finished untying Nightmare. "What are they?"

"What do you mean?" Arden asked helping her get back on hooves. "They are trial rooms. We get in, do what we need to do and leave." Arden continued brushing the dust off her shoulders. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"I am referring to their stories," Nightmare replied, making a simple gesture her entire dress shook violently. All the dirt flew away. "They look like part of much bigger worlds." she continued, Arden noticed Luna's eye was present. And one of Nightmare's ears was o a bright blue instead of black. "Have you been to all of those places? A castle in the desert filled with monsters of sand. That cave system with the sandworm. An ancient castle brimming with the undead ruled by a creature that feeds off blood. Warzones. Sailing through the sea. How can one mortal being live through all that?"

"Well," Arden scratched the back of his head, "these are all stories that I interacted with. So, you're right about them being part of something bigger." he said heading towards the first door. Nightmare followed.

"How many stories have you seen?" she eagerly asked. Nightmare was having a blast since Arden returned after the first room was cleared. Even if she wouldn't admit it, every new room she would interrogate him about the place and what they would be doing there. Like a little child, her eyes beamed with excitement at the new sights. And she would turn red each time Arden pointed out how excited she was.

"I lost count. Interactive stories, books, interpretations, moving pictures." Arden replied, opening the first door and gesturing Nightmare to proceed. She just stood there, staring at him. Arden gave out a smile and closed the door. "Want to talk for a bit?" Nightmare Moon seemed to notice she was acting excited again.

"Y-yes! Entertain your queen!" Arden chuckled at that, earning an inquiring look from Nightmare. "You look unusually cheerful today. Any particular reason for that?"

"I had a good day, and I bet the next room shall be awesome as well," Arden replied. The memories of both hunts came back, the one after the manticore, and the other after Chrysalis. He was initially angry at her for making him walk up on Zecora like that, but after seeing her join up with him to get Chrysalis. He enjoyed the game of tag, it was surely a fun time with both of them.

"After you tell your queen the story behind one of those rooms," Nightmare demanded in an imposing tone with a smile on her face. 'She really enjoys calling herself that, doesn't she?' "Now, mortal. Your queen does not appreciate waiting, she might have to punish you if you don't entertain."

'Let's play along.' Arden thought, rolling his eyes and smiling he put up a facade. "Please your majesty, have mercy on this small and humble servant, he wishes only for your happiness and peace," Arden said getting on his knees and begging. "From what room? Your Obscurity, which story would like to hear?"

"The first one we entered. That giant made such a sad sound when we hurt him. Why?"

"Very well," Arden said getting back to his hooves. "That giant is called a Colossi. They are incarnations of giant stone statues that carry fragments of a powerful creature known as Dormin. A creature fabled to be able to resurrect the dead, it was sealed away by the power of the ancient sword," Arden explained, Nightmare had her eyes open wide and her ears perked up.

"Why was it sealed away? Tell me, mortal! Please?" Nightmare asked trying to hide her excitement. And failing miserably at it. Which resulted in a very entertained Arden. 'I swear she's trying too hard. It's adorable.'

"No one is really sure. Some say he was evil, others say because his powers defied the rules of nature. The bottom line is, there are no specifics about him as far as I know," Arden explained crossing his arms. "But the focus of that tale is actually a young lad that stole the blade we used in an attempt to perform a forbidden ritual."

"Stole? Forbidden? Why would he go to such lengths?" Nightmare completely dropped the 'high and mighty' act at this point.

"There are some motives that usually drive beings to make those decisions. A desire for power, the pursuit of knowledge, sheer curiosity, skepticism, or in some cases..." Arden made a dramatic pause, which made Nightmare lean closer. "Love. The main character of this story wanted to bring back his beloved who had been sacrificed, for she had a 'cursed fate'."

"Do they end up together?" Nightmare asked. Given how close she was moving, she was just barely holding herself back. "Is his mission successful? Tell us!"

"In a way," Arden responded, that ending always made him a bit sad. "They...they..." Arden was trying his best to tell her, but Nightmare's eyes were practically beaming with expectation for a happy ending. That was making telling her the ending even more difficult. 'A hopeless romantic? Or a child's heart inside the body of a full-grown mare? Either way, I don't want to see her cry. I don't want to see either her or Zecora cry...heck, I don't want to see anypony I care about cry. Unless they are the tears of joy.'

Suddenly, the air in the room seemed to get cold. A white fog started to form near the ground. The walls started to ooze some sort of dark liquid.

Arden looked around to see if there were any clues pointing out what was happening, Nightmare stood in front of him with her back turned towards him.

"Stand back, mortal!" Nightmare ordered, her queen act came back at full throttle. "Something's wrong." She stated, creating a silver blade with a moon emblazoned to the weapon's guard.

The black liquid started to move towards the center of the room, the sound of heavy chains rattling echoed through the place. The metallic sound made a chill roll down Arden's spine.

'Please god, don't let it be what I think this is.'

The from the dark puddle, an object started to emerge. What looked like a long pipe started to move upwards, the pipe later revealed to be part of a very long revolver. At this point Arden began to panic, the hand holding the revolver emerged. A glove and tattered sleeve covered in bullet holes with multiple stains of what could only be blood. A head covered by a bloody white sack rose from the puddle, the chains wrapped around the neck and torso.

'The Reaper.' Arden thought. Then he grabbed Nightmare's wrist and pulled her towards the door leading to the nearby rooms. The echo of chains being dragged around started to get louder, Arden heard the sound of the gun being readied. Opening the door, Arden tossed Nightmare inside before going in and locking the door behind him. The sound of a shot being fired made Arden shiver and fall backward, looking at the locked door he saw a big hole in it.

What came after was sure to haunt Arden's dreams for a while, the Reaper's bloody white eye peeked through the bullet hole. The disgusting sight moved around frantically as it bashed the door. The sound of wood cracking and metal hitting something hard blasted through the place. Now, Arden couldn't move. His legs weren't responding, his body wasn't responding. That creature scared him when it was just an image on the screen, now it had depth, smell, and a voice.

Arden got back up with the help of Nightmare, who had a different look in her eyes, she looked confident and her eyes had some sort of fire. She led Arden through the cleared rooms as fast as she could, always locking the door behind them. The sound of shooting and doors being bashed open kept getting closer and closer.

Once they were by the most recent door the chains stopped, as well as the banging and shooting. Nightmare pushed Arden into a corner of the room and stood in front of him, sword in hand and watching for anything that moved.

"I-I guess we figured out what they meant by 'don't stay in one room too long'," Arden said getting up and trying to go for the door.

"What was that thing?!" Nightmare asked, pushing Arden back into the corner. She gestured that he should stay there.

"When it's wandering the sea inside a heart of a being it's called a shadow. Once it's awakened and composes a part of a being's character it's known as a persona. That one is called the Reaper and I rather avoid him. So, let's head into the next room." Arden placed his hand over Nightmare's hand he made her lower the blade. "Come, let's get to the next story." He continued heading towards the door, Arden held the doorknob and stopped.

"What's wrong? Did the big scary monster scare you?" Nightmare mocked.

Arden let out a sighed and looked up. 'Coward, coward, coward. Being afraid is one thing, being paralyzed with fear is another. You won't have others around you all the time. Having somepony to lean on is one thing, depending on them for every bump you stumble upon is another.'

"It did," he said clenching one of his fists. "I could have died today. Then that thing comes by on the same day. I keep getting in situations with my life or my sanity at risk. But I'm glad for it in a way," Arden finished.

"Why would you be glad about that?"

Arden gave out a mild laugh before looking over his shoulder.

"Because I get to meet beings like you, who are willing to help and even save somepony as hopeless as me," Arden said twisting the doorknob. "Thanks for the rescue, Warrior Princess."

The door revealed some sort of cavern filled half-way through with water. Stepping inside Arden found himself on top of a rocky platform from where he could jump straight into the water.

'This looks like...Lanayru's spring. Please don't tell me I need to do the water temple.' Arden thought, looking around he noticed the door had disappeared and that Nightmare was nowhere in sight.

Looking down Arden noticed his body was projecting a shadow that didn't belong to him. 'Would you look at that!' Arden's amusement was short-lived, he heard a very familiar sound coming from behind him. A screech, that only one character ever did whenever they entered the scene.

Shapeshifting his left hand into a blade, Arden turned around as fast as he could in an attempt to slash the creature. Only to be blasted away into a wall by some sort of sphere, Arden felt the impact. In this room he was solid, no fog tricks to help him out.

Arden watched the creature known as Zant The Usurper attack the serpent of light that rose from the water using the same kind of magic. The spirit was bashed against a wall, and the entire room once illuminated by a calming light that came through the ceiling was taken over by a yellowish otherworldly light without a source.

A sudden excruciating pain took over Arden's body. Once again he was experiencing a change in his being, his hands turned into pawns, he could see a muzzle in his face. The pain was strong, but it was nowhere near what he felt upon arrival. Forcing himself to stand Arden noticed something else had changed, he was walking on all fours. Whatever he had become, it wasn't bipedal. Between him and the Twili, Nightmare Moon stood wielding the same weapon from before. Arden recognized this scene, if he let it play out like it originally was, Nightmare would be in trouble.

"So, you're the beast's shadow," Zant said, "you're not exactly who I was looking for. But..."

In a blink of an eye, Zant disappeared. Only to reappear behind Moon. "From what I've seen you are similar to her. Maybe you could help me. Become the Queen of the Twili, rule by my side."

Nightmare Looked over her shoulder, her stance and her guard were down. The offer appeared to have tempted her, Nightmare buried the tip of the blade on the ground. 'Please don't fall door this.' Arden thought, still trying to stand on his four legs without losing his balance.

"What is the catch?" she asked in a serious tone. 'ALMOST!'

"There is no catch," Zant whispered in her ear, Arden was surprised with how he was able to hear that. "Rule with me and we shall receive the power of the one true God."

Continued power was his promise. Arden knew whose power Zant used, he also knew how Zant would end. "Join me, let us fill this world with darkness. Destroying the wretched light and all of those who dwell in it!" When he said that, Nightmare's ears perked up. Arden saw her pupils become like the pupils of a cat.

"All of them?" Nightmare asked turning around and looking straight at Zant's face. He nodded in agreement.

"No more light?" The gesture repeated. Arden saw Nightmare glisten her teeth, a terrifying grin formed on her face.

Arden tried to speak, all came out was snarling and growls. 'Oh, COME ON!'

Finally being able to stand, Arden, lowered his stance and went for Zant's legs in an attempt to rip them off. Before he could do it though, Arden heard a gasp. The sound of flesh being torn and blood dripping, Arden felt it hitting his head. Looking up, Arden saw a silver blade piercing through the tyrant's body. Nightmare pushed the blade deeper into Zant's upper torso, the look in her eyes getting darker and darker, while her teeth grew sharper and her smile seemed to give out an ominous glow.

"Let's see the worm hiding under the mask," She said knocking the helmet off Zant's head, Arden walked around them stumbling a bit. That's when he saw Zant's face, he had his mouth hanging open. A small amount of blood came from the side of his' lips, the two orange pupils from his eyes were darting around Nightmare's face.

She got closer to his ears and whispered. "Now, I may be a shadow in the real world. But my friend is a light dweller. I would never hurt her. Nor my little pawn over here. And one more thing: I am a goddess, my silver moon will be the light of the world. In other words, I bow to no being, I obey the will of nopony but my own."

Finishing her sentence, Nightmare placed her left hoof on Zant's waist and pushed him with no effort. The usurper fell on the ground, choking on his own blood. Nightmare turned around and faced Arden, her blade still soaked in Zant's blood. It was at this point that Arden noticed his size. The mare was smaller than him when he was in his 'Deemo' form, in whatever shape he was now she was taller. But even so, with his current height, he was near the height of her shoulders. She could easily ride on his back like he was some sort of mount.

"Now, who is a good wolf?" Nightmare asked with a playful tone. Arden tilted his head. 'Great, now I'm a wolf. Enough with the form change!'

That's when he felt her hands petting his head, it wasn't a bad feeling. His tail started to move on its own. "You are my little pet from now on. My little wolf." Nightmare booped his muzzle. This time Arden growled at her. "Nah-a-ah. Don't growl at your queen, little wolf."

Suddenly red glow came from behind Nightmare, Arden's eyes widened. He shoved her to the side and lunged at Zant, who was charging a spell. Arden's head phased through the spell and he felt a sting on his forehead. Ignoring it Arden bit Zant's head, the entire skull fitted in his mouth. Arden buried his teeth on Zant's flesh, pushing the bastard's body against the ground while pulling the head. Arden ripped the false king's head from his shoulders and tossed it away. The figure's body began to rot and turn black while a cracking sound came from it. After a few seconds, the body turned into a pile of dust and was blown away. The sting became stronger for a few seconds and then it stopped.

Arden turned around and saw Nightmare looking straight at him. The world began to warp.

"Good wolfy." That's the last thing he heard before he passed out.

"Wolfy?!" Nightmare screamed shaking the wolf's body. "WOLF!" Her companion didn't respond, he was breathing, but he was unconscious.

"A curse was inflicted upon the beast." Nightmare heard from behind her. Turning around she saw a huge serpent engulfed in a golden light with an orb in its mouth. She raised her blade towards it. "It's okay child. I'm Lanayru. The guardian spirit of this spring."

"What do you mean by a curse?" she asked, sword still raised.

"I'll send you to the forest where the blade that can extract the cursed artifact from him lays dormant. The blade will react to the presence of this vile magic and force it out the beast's body." The serpent's orb started to glow, blinding Nightmare. "The blade you seek is the master sword. Your guide to reach it is a child that lives in the area."

When she opened her eyes again Nightmare saw her surroundings had changed. High trees all around her forming walls and remnants of stone structures covered in moss. Corridors made out of fallen tree hollow trunks, the host to all of this was still there. But he was conscious and walking around, he would eventually start to run before tumbling over.

'What is he doing?' Nightmare thought, as soon as she took the first step she felt something small hit the back of her head. Looking around she saw a small hat on top of a chopped-off tree, the headwear was big enough for a child to wear. The cloth used for it was worn out and the color was fading, it was adorned with leaves of different colors. Nightmare reached out to it.

"Hehehe." A laugh echoed through the forest, then a metallic sound started to come from behind Nightmare. Turning around she saw a very small lantern with a small white flame coming from it, it was dancing around. "The lost wood, the sacred grove, the place were forest dwellers don dare to go." A childish and distorted voice singing came from nowhere. "Beasts here came to hide, now I got someone to play with tonight."

"Are you the child who guards this place?" Nightmare asked looking around. "Listen, my wolf and I need to find something called Master Sword. Can you take us to it?"

"Why would a beast need the blade that no thingy that the monsters can't touch?"

"Because that wolf used to be something else, he was afflicted with a curse trying to protect me," Nightmare said, still looking for the source.

"WHA-?!" This exclamation came out of nowhere. Nightmare looked around and saw the wolf running around with the small lantern in the hand of a small gray child using clothes the same color as the hat. A big grin all over its white painted face. The child also had some sort of instrument on the other hand. "Wipiiie!" It exclaimed in between laughs. "Good wolf. Are nice to the lady?" The wolf nodded positively. "Do you need the shiny sword?" The gesture repeated.

'This wolf has his way with...whatever this little thing is.'

"Okay! I'm Skull Kid. I'll take you there, but..." The child said disappearing from the wolf's back. "We will play a game while doing it! And you can't say 'no' mister wolf, otherwise, you and your friend will get lost here. And you don't want her to get lost here do you?" The wolf gestured 'no'. "Alright! So, here is the game: I'll guide you through the forest by using sound, follow it and you'll reach the place where the sword is. But here are the catches: first, you and your beast lady here have to stay together. Second, my trumpet here controls my friends, once you start chasing me they will try to stop you. Third, This place is big, so chasing me will be a problem, find me in each segment and you'll be fine."

"Why are you making us do this?" Nightmare asked the child. "Why not just show us the way?"

"Because I want to have fun! And playing with the ones who come by is the best fun I have," The child said disappearing again. "Not to mention that sword is really picky about their owner. Now, let's begin!"

The child's voice went silent and a melody started playing on the distance. A playful tune that seemed to fill the forest with life. The moon's light filled the place with a blue pale light. Leaves fell from the trees creating big shadows that diminished the closer the got to the ground. A truly haunting and somewhat mysterious sight. 'This is a rather nice vision. Well done.'

"Let's go, wolf," Nightmare said stepping forth, only to be stopped by the beast. "What?" The wolf laid down on his belly, looked at her then at its back. The gesture repeated a few times. "We don't have time to pet you." The wolf continued to gesture without moving away. Nightmare let out a sigh and walked around the creature, she took a few steps before something walked in between her legs and lifted her off the ground.

"W-w-w-w-what?!" she exclaimed, tightening her grip on his fur as hard as she could and laying on the wolf's back. He started running through the forest.

"Y-you wanted me to ride on your back?" The wolf didn't respond, he just kept running through the forest. The wolf started to make turns through the thick woods, Nightmare could hear the trumpet getting louder and louder as he ran. Out of nowhere, a group of creatures that looked like they were made out of wood appeared.

The wolf leaped on one and tackled it wot the ground, ripping off its head. However, as he did it the wolf let itself exposed to the other creatures. Using her magic and her sword Nightmare attacked the creatures, defending the wolf. The creatures were cut down easily and the wolf started to run again. The running around kept going for some time. The sound of the trumpet got louder only to get further away each time the creatures appeared.

The process repeated as the scenery changed from a forest to what looked like the ruins of a big church.

"You win!" Skull Kid's voice echoed through the place. "Not bad mister wolf. The place you look for is right over there. Move the stone grumps to their respective spots and you'll reach the sword."

"What do you-" Nightmare was cut off because the wolf started to run again, making her almost lose her balance. 'He must know what the child meant.'

The creature took her to a big hall with two statues, each holding a big stone hammer, sitting on each side of a closed door. The statues had carvings on them, but they had a bit of damage due to the elements. The wolf walked up to the door and stopped on top of a weird symbol on the floor. The two statues started to move, a blue glow coming from them. The floor around them started to shine with powerful light causing Nightmare to shield her eyes before she was blinded. Opening her eyes again she saw that the once solid floor was now a bunch of platforms. The two statues fell out of the sky and landed, one in front of them and behind.

"Guide us back to our original spots," One of the statues spoke. "And we shall open the path towards the blade you seek."

'Talk about keeping the thing safe. Or are all these trials set up for candidates to wield the blade?'

Nightmare held on tight to the wolf as he hopped around the place. The statues mirroring his movements, it took some time, but the statues were finally back to their original places. Once there, they raised their hammers and hit the ground. The light came forth once again and the room shifted back to normal and the door opened. The wolf went through the door and walked up the step. In the center of the room, a pedestal with a blade untouched by time rested.

The wolf sat on his belly again and Nightmare got off him, she then watched him step closer to the weapon. The blade started to glow and a gale started to come from the sword, but he kept moving forward. Once he was close enough to the pedestal the light coming from the sword became more intense. Covering her eyes Nightmare felt the wind getting stronger as well. Suddenly it stopped. Opening her eyes she saw the fog creature again, he bowed before the blade and spoke. "Thank you for removing the curse."

'Is he talking to the blade?' Nightmare thought, looking at the scene.

"I shall take my leave since I do not wield the required traits to use you." The Creature started turning around when the blade seemed to make some sort of sound. "The hero chosen by the gods will come, I just needed to be purified. Thank you." The same sound came from the sword.

'It's talking?'

"What power? A cleansing light? I don't-?!" A beam of light reflected on the blade's surface straight into the Creature's chest. "That's what you meant? I see, thank you. And don't worry, your master shall return for you." He bowed again before leaving.

The room started to shift and pretty soon the place went from an abandoned temple bathed in the moonlight to a black and white room.

"So, what did you think?" The Creature asked Nightmare.

"That was a beautiful ride under the moonlight," Nightmare replied with a smirk. "Although, I'm pretty sure that when males ask females to 'ride' them. They don't mean the way you did."

"W-well sorry," the figure replied, "but that sort of thing is only for when beings are in an intimate relationship. But I can give you a ride now."

"W-what?" She asked. Nightmare felt sweat rolling down her face as the fog creature got closer. "W-what are you doing?" No response, he got closer. Nightmare backed up to a wall, the creature still quiet and moving towards her. His eyes locked on hers, she closed her eyes turning her face to the side. Suddenly she felt her face being licked. Opening her eyes she saw the wolf standing before her, he sat down shaking its tail frantically. "Y-y-y-y-you b-blasted wolf! I'm going to-"

The room faded and Nightmare found herself back in the moon. 'That idiotic wolf. I fell for his tricks again!'