Everypony stared in stunned shock as Maud very calmly withdrew a chunk of the crimson crystal from a saddlebag. Her earring glowed, a pillar of rock shot from the ground, and she placed the crystal on the pedestal.

“My element was able to break the invincible crystal,” she said stoically.

Even Luna and Celestia were speechless. Luna cast some manner of angry magic spell at the crystal, but it did not budge. Now she spoke, disbelieving,

“It is not a figment of the dream, but rather... a foreign object. Yet, it cannot be.”

Celestia was out of her chair and on her hoofs now. She exclaimed, “This isn't logical! The Elements were forged of ancient magic. We may wield ancient magic, and yet it did not have any effect upon the sanguine crystal.”

Sky interjected, “I beg your pardon your majesty, but if I understand right, it's the Harmony elements you know all about. Aren't these new ones just a myth?”

Celestia calmed now. She nodded, sat back down, and spoke after a deep breath, “Yes, that is correct young Skyblazer. Still it doesn't make sense. Here in this dream realm we may do the impossible—it's all very abstract, you see—but upon the plane of reality, that is to say, normal life, we have identified every extant magic.”

Luna provided a voice of reason, “Dear sister, a moment to reflect. We are not the only beings of longevity. What of Discord? Or eldritch aberrations such as Tyrek? The windigoes, if they do exist?”

“Hmm, true...” contemplated Celestia as she softly flapped her wings in thought, the feathers ruffling in a cool breeze, “I suppose their magic does not align with logic. Absorbing and nullifying arcane energy, or converting it into new forms, belongs to the beings of Tartarus. Twisting the very fabric of the plane of reality belongs to Discord... and quite possibly Pinkie Pie.”

“Let us be glad she doesn't seem to hold conscious control o'er it.”

Celestia shuddered before speaking, “It would seem, despite our best interests, we have been given to arrogance and folly as the result of this gift and curse of immortality.”

Sky was out of his chair now, an alarmed look on his face, “Wait, did you just say Pinkie, as in, that goofball earth pony? Magic?”

Celestia answered, “Just ask the others about her Pinkie sense sometime, or her moments of seeming insanity. Talking to herself and such as that. It drove Twilight quite mad.”

“Now then, everypony,” spoke Luna, “The matter at hoof.”

Maud continued her speech, “With this new information, and the knowledge that magic does not have to adhere to its established boundaries, I have two theories. One. The Elements of Conflict, the red crystal, crystal magic, and some manner of crystalline dragon are all connected. Two. Another flavor of magic exists which is overlooked by virtue of abstraction. Dream Magic.”

Luna ceased lying down and sat bolt upright, her ears perked up, the astral energy of her mane and tail flaring as she spoke, “It is so logical... insofar as the dream realm is a physical location, one which we even now gather in so as to speak with each other in a lucid state, the magic therein must be real.”

Maud finished the statement, “In normal times this would be a mere addendum. A margin note among the magic types. If, however, the dream realm could be damaged and offer a link to reality, the dream magic itself may escape. Princess Luna is able to physically enter the dreamspace. Ergo, it is possible.”

Luna seemed horrified, and she spoke in a feeble voice, “No... it was never meant to be, dreams are so abstract, what may it do in the plane of reality?”

Maud continued, “Sky, Cobalt. Gather around me. Let us try our elements on this crystal, in one accord.”

The pegasus and griffon got up and walked over to her. They stood in a circle around the red crystal on the stone pedestal, their elements all glowing, when something peculiar happened.

Each Element of Conflict began to brightly glow. First, Maud's silver earring with a small and delicate diamond. Next, Cobalt's ring which she wore on a talon, which held a star-shaped green emerald. Finally, Skyblazer Haycart's amulet, which he pulled from beneath his damaged dragon scale vest. This was a fine silver chain with a large, square-beveled, gray crystal on it which rippled with fogginess and dull light.

A burst of magic energy rippled through the Dreamspace, sending a rush of wind through the pines. The golden magic of Skyblazer, the deep blue magic of Cobalt, and the silver magic of Maud interlinked and formed the shape of a tricolor chain, binding them together.

Their eyes glowed white and the intensity of the magic ripples increased. All three began to levitate above the ground, and so did the red crystal. The sanguine crystal began to vibrate with increasing intensity of frequency, until it emitted an ear-piercing rending sound.

The magic chain of gold, blue, and silver suddenly reared back like an arcane snake, and catapulted forward. It wrapped around the chunk of red crystal several times, and constricted. The entire world around them began to flicker and the royal sisters wisely took flight, hovering in the air nearby, observing, prepared to use their alternate forms if the need arose.

The dream world became completely translucent, allowing both the plane of reality and the space of dreams to be visible at the same exact time. Within reality, they were located in the vault of forbidden artifacts beneath the ruins of the old castle. Meanwhile within the dream, Starlight watched in astonished wonder while holding a sturdy arcane shield over Trixie and herself.

Now, the tricolor chain of magic began to split and splinter into numerous smaller chains, all in shades of gold and silver and blue. Each chain shot towards a red crystal formation and anchored onto it firmly. The glow from the chains became fierce.

Each and every red crystal shattered into dust. The Dreamspace flickered now, and the dream began to change. Starlight and Trixie were left in the pleasant campfire dream as it faded from view.

The others found themselves in a nightmare. Far removed from the peaceful buzz of cicadas and wind through the pines, the scene now became a smoldering crater where active lava pits could be seen. At the edge of this translucent dream, a dark red, spiky hill could be seen.

The hill rose up and down a few times before Celestia and Luna realized it was a dragon. Except, it couldn't be. Even the most massive elder dragons never reached half the size of this one. Judging by the volcanic summit the dream was focused on, the dragon was half the size of the entire volcanic crater, and covered in deep red crystal spikes.

Cobalt, Sky, and Maud were still glowing and linked with magic chains, still reminding the two princesses of the dire situations where the Elements of Harmony had done the exact same thing when needed.

Now reality began to fade from view like the backdrop of a theater being withdrawn into shadow. The dream became fully visible, and the two princesses squinted against the harsh sun. Instinct drove them to fly high and away from the fatal convection heat of the lava pools, which could be many thousands of degrees.

Luna and Celestia were not dreaming. Both had personally entered the Dreamspace. Unlike the others, they could be harmed, and so they remained cautious.

The dream did not move towards the dragon but rather away, zooming out, focusing on the steep side of the mountain. Cobalt, Maud, and Skyblazer still glowed fiercely, now levitating in open space far, far above the distant ground at the base of the volcano. The entire side of the volcano was covered in sanguine crystal formations, the deep red, jagged minerals giving the appearance of moss against the dark brown of volcanic rock.

Here, the chains retracted, and began circling the three in rings. They generated some manner of magic shield. Despite the intensity of the situation, Luna and Celestia had the presence of mind to quickly put up their own durable arcane shields.

Golden magic arced towards the mountainside. It smashed into the largest gathering of crystal, shattering it on impact, shards cascading down the cliffs. Deep blue magic arced beside it. Stone silver magic followed. The glow became unbearable. Celestia and Luna darkened the tint of their arcane shields.

The dragon was awake with a shrieking roar of pain. It flew over to them in a blink, but paused at the edge of the cliff. Something was smoldering on top of its head.

What seemed to be a column of black smoke descended towards the three who represented the Elements of Conflict. The smoke shifted and flowed as though in wind until it assumed an identifiable form, that of a unicorn pony.

The dark wizard King Sombra hovered in the air before them, within the Dreamspace. He, or perhaps it, was composed of ethereal black smoke, hateful glowing red eyes, and polished armor which glowed white and somehow adhered to him despite his intangible form.

Surprisingly, this being of dark magic incarnate cast a brilliant white shade of magic from his horn. It was not aimed at the ponies gathered, but rather at the plateau of the volcano summit below.

The tricolor magic of gold, deep blue, and silver was still focused on the mountainside, sweeping back and forth, razing off sanguine red crystals, eliciting roars of pain and agony from the dragon which tried to pounce on the three but seemed to be held back by invisible bindings. The dragon was so immense that it rested its front paws on the edge of the crater while its back paws were planted in the base of the crater hundreds of feet below, one back leg ankle-deep in magma.

Sombra sent a tendril of smoking shadow at the dragon, and patted the dragon's head. It calmed, and sat. Now, the dark wizard pony turned his attention to the ground below, where a thicket of black thorns could be seen. These sinister thorn bushes covered the entire crater of the volcano, and seemed to thrive best where they were planted directly in lava.

Every red crystal covering the side of the mountain had now been obliterated. In the time this took, the black thorns had grown and gathered and become impossibly gigantic.

Now, King Sombra's pure white beams of magic intertwined with the giant spires of thorn and twisted them together into spiked columns, each the size of a large tornado.

The scale was hard to grasp for Luna and Celestia. The columns of twisted black thorns dwarfed the dragon. Now the thorns began to move with purpose towards the three Elements of Conflict, who were still glowing fiercely and still sending a tricolor blast of ancient magic at red crystals around the crater.

The thorns cracked like a whip, slamming into the conjured shield which began to crack and splinter after a single hit. Princesses Celestia and Luna calmly rose in one accord, flying towards their old enemy, King Sombra.

Celestia now used her amplified royal voice, the powerful noise booming and echoing off the mountainside. She cried out, “I am Princess Celestia of Equestria, and I am sworn to protect my land and its ponies even at the cost of my own life. Dark wizard Sombra, you are among the absolute threats to all life, among those whom we have decreed be destroyed upon sight, and you shall not harm our dear friends.”

Princess Celestia began to glow as fiercely as the chosen three, while Luna stayed far back, focusing all of her energy on her magic shielding.

Magic flashed with an audible bang. Celestia had changed. Her mane and tail were now fire which became blue and white at the tips from intensity. Her eyes glowed solid white. She felt iron and leather armor enclose around her body, clasping, encasing her. A cape of pure and absolute fire appeared from nothing and clasped itself around her neck. Suddenly, her mind became cloudy and she felt ancient magic pulsing through her thoughts, overpowering her, until her own lucid control of actions was as though seen from afar.

She now spoke, I, Daybreaker, shall end your finite span of days, Somb-ra... thou who art not king.

She became encased in a ball of blue and white fire so bright that it was blinding in broad daylight. Columns of blue fire erupted under King Sombra, crystal magic pierced the ground around him sending cruel daggers of sharpened crystal shrapnel flying towards him, ancient magic hexes and pentagrams glowed on the rocks around him, and modern spells slowed time and increased gravity fivefold.

The sheer pull of gravity brought the mountainous dragon to the ground, pinned in place, no longer a viable threat. Sombra seemed unaffected, as though he were truly a gaseous substance.

Sombra played out his own cards. Tendrils of dark magic encased several of the crystal spikes of the dragon, ripping them from its body in spasms of blood and shrieks of pain. The crystals shattered, and were thrown at Daybreaker with speed which ripped the sound barrier.

Daybreaker had to shield herself and teleport at ridiculous speed to dodge and repel every shard. While she was distracted, King Sombra rose higher into the air away from columns of hateful fire which clawed and grasped at him.

He began to speak in Old Ponish while simultaneously putting up shields. Jagged crystal daggers slammed into Daybreaker's shield, no more effective than hail against a tin roof, but with the same amount of racket.

Forgotten and forbidden dark magic began to form. Rips and tears cut through the Dreamspace like a knife through paper, each fissure flaming, from which came shadowy beings from Tartarus.

These beings seemed to struggle and writhe in pain as they were forced towards each magic hex. Princess Luna watched in unbelieving horror as the beings were torn apart in myriad ways by ancient magic curses of the highest and cruelest tier.

This spared King Sombra, who now turned his attention to Daybreaker. His shadowy form became a wisp of smoke, flying at great speed towards her. Behind him trailed the massive twisting spires of black thorn. Glaring white magic energy twisted through the thorns as they weaved a serpentine, spiraling path, surrounding Daybreaker at speeds faster than the average pegasus was capable of flying.

In response, Daybreaker went full supernova. Luna fled the scene, breaking the sound barrier. The ancient magic within the Elements of Conflict recognized the threat. It had destroyed all the red crystals on the mountaintop, and now it retracted, reforming into chains again.

Skyblazer, Cobalt, and Maud were gently set on the surface of the volcanic crater, away from the cataclysmic battle. The tricolor, glowing chains spun in rings around them once more, the magic shields were lowered, and their eyes ceased glowing. The three looked around them in lost confusion.

The chains rattled and clinked and snapped apart, making a tremendous amount of noise and scaring the three awake. Princess Luna observed, with sight enhanced by magic, as they began to shimmer and fade until they were no longer dreaming, and thus, no longer inside the realm of dreams.

This left four beings remaining. Luna continued flying, not risking a look behind her. She flew until she no longer felt an intense heat burning her back as though she stood in front of a wood stove.

Daybreaker and Sombra faced each other. King Sombra spoke in a hiss, “Fool! I have the advantage, dreams need not abide by the petty arcane law of reality!”

The spires of twisted thorn began to flicker and fade and appear again in a haphazard manner. Daybreaker could not avoid all of them as they struck at her instantaneously. She was cut several times despite the intensity of the flames and the shields and the armor.

Through the chaos, the noise, the terror, the insanity, she paused, and smiled sweetly. She spoke, Indeed, Sombra. This is not Equestria. I am still in full control, I, Princess Celestia, in the form of Daybreaker! For the weakening of magic need not matter here! Further, not one other being besides myself, thou, thy dragon, and beloved Luna have physical presence in Dreamspace. This world is paper. I am now free to rend it to ashes.

Pillars of fire the size of the thorns engulfed every single one. The yellow magic from Daybreaker's horn shot towards the volcano, and ensconced the entire mountain in a yellow glow. A ball of white-hot fire encased Daybreaker, growing until it was nearly the size of the wounded dragon below.

Daybreaker ceased her focus on time and gravity. All resumed to normal, and the speed of the thorns and her own attacks were doubled. Now, all Luna could see was a blur of movement.

One pillar of thorn got through and slammed into Daybreaker. She was launched back at speed, and she slammed into the ground at the base of the volcano at near supersonic speeds.

She rose, now bleeding profusely, her magic flickering, No, I am.. Dreamspace... it's, it's force of will, I am in control here agh, beloved Luna, please...just don't hurt her...

Daybreaker calmly rose to the air above Sombra. Her yellow magic encased the volcano as the frightened dragon took flight and fled. It flickered and faded into another pocket of Dreamspace.

Globs of lava began to levitate and the mountain trembled. The volcano was torn asunder. Rocks, trees, and lava were all held suspended in midair. The air was ripped by more tears into nowhere. Yellow arcane chains, traveling faster than the eye could see, slammed into Sombra and held the smoky form in place.

The entire volcano was dropped on top of him, and the entire pocket of Dreamspace shook, creating a sudden blast of wind in reality that scared away several deer and birds of the forest.

When the dust finally settled, Sombra was nowhere to be seen beneath the rubble. Regardless, Daybreaker was couched inside a massive ball of white fire, and breathing fire at the rubble until the very rocks began to glow.

A lone figure approached her, flying at supersonic speeds, guarded with a powerful magic aegis. Princess Luna slammed into Daybreaker, smashing through the wall of white fire before the sheer heat of it melted the very concept of physical barriers separating dimensions.

Within a forbidden ancient magic shield of total null, none of the ancient curses and not one iota of heat reached Luna. She closed her eyes, breathed, and began an Old Ponish incantation as the enraged Daybreaker breathed fire her direction, not even recognizing her.

There was a shrieking wail as daylight faded. The sun set and the moon rose in Dreamspace. Dark shadows blacker than midnight encircled Daybreaker, extinguishing the white fires. Luna's horn glowed with her deep purple, almost black, magic and modern counter-spells defused every ancient jinx and curse.

Luna braced, reminding herself this was all, literally, a dream. Nothing they did here could harm Reality. Her body glowed, and she became Nightmare Moon. This transformation was only held for ten seconds, in which time she flew towards Daybreaker with the full force of her dark and ancient magic arsenal. The already dim night became even darker as a singularity of absolute nothing formed around Daybreaker, and Nightmare Moon slammed into her with a powerful body slam.

This darkness dispersed. The flames stopped erupting. The dust settled, and Princess Luna, back in her normal form, embraced the restored Princess Celestia in a hug, steam rising off both of them from sweat and from magic. Both of them spent several minutes in each other's embrace, crying.

They released the hug at length, nuzzled each other, and they both exited Dreamspace for the solace of Reality.

Skyblazer woke up in his room, sweating. The bedding had been strewn all over from the intensity of the dream. There was a knock at his door, and then it creaked open. Cobalt quietly stepped in. She spoke in a meek whisper,

“Hey, Sky. Look, if anyone asks I never said this... but whatever that was, it scared the hell out of me.”

“Me too, Cobalt, I'm scared too. What a nightmare,” Sky trailed off in a quiet tone of disbelief.

“Sky, um, if it would be okay with you,” she gave a couple furtive glances at the door, “could we sleep together tonight? Ah, not like, not like that, you know, just... dammit, that dream world thing was terrifying, okay?”

Sky nodded with a cheesy grin. He said, “Sure, you big feathery bastard. Just help me pick up the blankets.”

The wild, bloodthirsty griffon cuddled up back to back with Sky, and in the company of each other, they were able to get more rest. This time, it was a dreamless and peaceful sleep.

Starlight Glimmer and Trixie woke up with a start in their wagon. They stumbled from a bed at each end of the wagon, stepped outside, and sat in the sharp glare of morning sunlight. The sun was just beginning to rise over the rocks and crags of the badlands region Northeast of Everfree.

They both breathed a sigh of relief. Princess Celestia was okay, and no doubt her sister as well. That sun would never be raised if Luna was harmed. Starlight was sure that Celestia would do everything in her power to protect her sister, and vice versa. She had no idea how correct that was.

“Starlight, where is Luna? She's okay, right?” asked a groggy Trixie.

“Princess Luna can physically enter and exit Dreamspace. For us, we were just dreaming,” answered Starlight, followed by a yawn, “and Celestia can physically go into dreams too, I only found that out recently.”

“Oh, that means she's probably with her sister. Which leaves us... all alone and unwatched. Are you up for some mischief?”

“Come on, Trixie. Please tell me you're better than that. After all we've seen, all they have done for us and for everypony.”

Trixie sat in consternation before speaking softly, “Yeah, I guess Twi and her friends did save Equestria... again, and again... and sometimes, it was our fault.”

“Let's get to Canterlot. We might never be the heroes, but who says we can't be on the right side for a change?”

In a canyon alcove and a day's hike from her cavern home, Maud Pie jumped to her hoofs and prepared for a fight before realizing, all had been a dream. One which was fast fading, as dreams do.

Quickly now, she withdrew parchment and quill from her saddlebags and lie in the cold and fluffy dust to write whatever she could recall.

The Elements of Conflict. These artifacts, perhaps of antiquity or perhaps forged in Dreamspace and made real by their very power, functioned the precise same way as Harmony did.

Perhaps only when Harmony was broken? That would be conflict. Maud continued jotting down essential notes on the various regions of Dreamspace, on the crystal dragon, Celestia's true power, and Sombra's escape to the dream realm and the bolstered strength it gave him.

She finished her notes, stood up, stretched, and prepared to set off for the Rambling Rock Ridge. Within this quarry was her comfortably furnished cavern home.

Maud Pie chewed on the most concerning thought which she knew everypony else would overlook in an emotional response of optimism. No matter what they did, it was still a dream world. Unstable, flexible. This could not be the end of Sombra.

Earlier that night, in Everfree Forest, Zecora the zebra was suddenly awoken. She couldn't figure out why at first, until she realized it was the lack of sound that had woken her up.

The magic alarm bell had stopped ringing. Curious, she shrugged on her cloak and, in spite of the danger posed by night in Everfree Forest, set off into the dark. It would seem that the Pool of Reflection was no longer breached by that tear into the void.

If only she could find Twilight, and get her to break the magical seal guarding the pool. All she needed was a thimble full of the magic water. She had gathered the remainder of the ingredients to cure Skyblazer's sister, all except for the water of reflection.

Dear lost Twilight, wherever you are, please find your way safe by day and by stars. Return to us soon and cease this folly. Remember the moon, recall your true calling. Violet Haycart suffers a terrible malady. Only the water may complete the remedy.

End of Book One of The Nexus Series

Author's Notes:

In the course of writing this story I have made some fascinating, useful observations.

World-building, whether from scratch or an established rubric, is calming. There is a sense of peace in developing character backgrounds, consistent events, important plot elements.

In the arduous task of completing an entire novel, keeping notes is super important. A simple notes file and changelog of minor grammar edits helps keep everything neat and tidy and consistent. With the notes I can keep fresh in mind Sky's brothers. Hayseed may inspire his own chapter in the next book, restoring Dodge Junction. Also real life may create times when one cannot write. Storyline notes on major events help keep the big picture going.