https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQiNQVEuMrw

Days, nights passed. Fear relaxed for a couple of them, then he was off traveling across the Abyssinian countryside once more with his friends. But we don't need to focus on those boring everyday occurrences! Just the parts that matter.

Fear sat in the castle garden next to Saway, lifting a hoof and bapping it against her elbow. He was smaller than her after all. There was an ounce of discomfort in the air, as if Saway was considering her words carefully, eyes squinting, tail lazily sweeping back and forth as if something excited her. Her mulberry mane hung heavy over her eyes, silver fur glistening in the soft pale moonlight. “You've been undergoing a lot of close calls lately, Fear.” Saway's voice was quiet and raspy, a little concerned, but hidden behind a facade of confidence.

The young stallion shrugged a shoulder and looked at her. “Eh. I'm trying my best. Loved ones are my biggest weakness. If they're in trouble, I'm in trouble.”

Saway sneered, turning to glance at him with her rosy eyes. “You think they can successfully stay out of it?”

Fear lifted a forehoof and twirled it around. “I'm not sure to be honest. I believe in them. I've been teaching them shadow walking lately, and eventually I'm going to teach them even more.” His hoof settled back on the ground. “I'm mostly focusing on my own problems right now. Like the fact I deeply miss Abyssinian cuisine. I knew it'd happen but I didn't realize how much. Love is tasty but fuck. It doesn't compare to a flawlessly cooked meal. It's certainly better than wasteland food though.” He stiffened his forelegs and glanced down at the ground.

Saway burst out cackling like a lazy witch, holding a foreleg against her forehead and squeezing her eyes shut, face bursting into mirth. “Oh man, Fear. You have no idea what you're missing out on. Equestria used to be so good. If it weren't for some... traumatic events I'd experienced, I would've felt worse about having thought it was my destiny to destroy it!”

“Traumatic events?” Fear queried, leaning forward to look at Saway from ahead.

“Ye'h.” Saway murmured, bringing her hoof down, her face sobering, then souring, twisting up like she'd eaten a rotten apple. Her eyes were hooded, looking across the garden back to old times. She bowed her head, staring at the grass. “I'd rather not talk about it but...”

“You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, Saway,” Fear comforted, holding up his forehooves defensively. “It's up to you in the end.”

“I know,” Saway murmured, looking up again with a steeled gaze. “I think I should talk about it though.” Her shoulders lifted in resignation, then fell as a breath escaped her lips. A pseudo breath. “My first coltfriend took advantage of me. Nothing that major. Nothing worth destroying the world over, I realize.”

Fear put a hoof on Saway's shoulder. “Don't minimize the trauma, S'way.”

“Hahaha,” Saway laughed bitterly. “It's been a while since anyone called me that, in that way. Hmm...” She wiped her snout with a hoof and took in a deep breath, an image to show she was calming herself. “It was awful. I'd rather not go into details, but... I killed him. My actions were ultimately seen to be self defense, when I was finally caught.” She adjusted her positioning. “I told your sister that I had chosen to go into the military, but that's not the full truth. It had been either that or go to prison for a few years. The reason why I owe my Princess of Death so much is not so much because she is a literal Princess of Death but because she aided me, destroyed my nightmares of trauma, of that day. She saved me.” There was a pause. “I learned that I'd shattered preconceptions of the justice system that day, and what guilty ponies were like, and what they could be capable of.” She shrugged. “I learned discipline in the military. As well as power the likes of which you've seen for yourself.” Another uncomfortable shift. “Thanks for listening colt.”

Fear nodded. “Anytime Saway. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I feel for you. I'm lucky. Every time sex has been on the table I was always able to choose it for myself. I was never forced nor coerced. Not everyone in the wasteland is so lucky.” His tail flicked. “It's not surprising, though disheartening to know that such savage behavior existed even before and during the war.”

Saway looked down to Fear with a raised eyebrow and smirk. “Where'd you think it came from? This stuff doesn't just appear out of nowhere colt. It's in our natures from the start. The ponies who wish to take command and control. The difference is, a lot of them go about it through publicly acceptable ways, such as forcing someone into bankruptcy... from your studies into history. I’m sure you know how it is by this point.” Saway leaned back and threw her forelegs up in defeat. “True peace does not exist, but there are vague simulacrums now and then of the ideal. Hard times create good equines, good equines create good times, and good times create weak equines. It's a fact of life that one day, as you've discovered with the Abyssinians, our descendants will eventually grow weak and incapable, fat off of their prosperity, if they are given a chance to have it.”

“But... that doesn't mean we...” Fear huffed. “Shouldn't strive to be... mh, better. Enact systems to make sure others are, haah, trained to be as strong as we were, even if it's not, ngh, street smarts book smarts are good enough sometimes.” He stomped a hoof on the ground, looking up at Saway.

“You're ri-” Saway glanced to Fear as the young stallion hissed and cringed inward. “What's wrong? Is it your leg?”

Fear nodded emphatically, kicking his dream leg out. It felt so real, the pain and the image of it. It was incredibly tense, to the point the muscle was aching like he'd pulled it in every single tendon. Fear collapsed to the ground and rolled over onto his back, holding his dream leg close to his body. He hissed again, grounding his teeth together. “S-sorry Saway. Just... having to deal with this right now.”

Saway nodded, before putting a hoof on Fear's belly and letting the Nightmares fused to her soul trickle into Fear, eating away that bit of his psyche that was causing him pain. Less the segment, and more the symptom.

Fear eventually relaxed, breathing raggedly and falling backwards, leaning against the ground. “Haah... haah... haah... thanks.”

Saway pulled her hoof away. “No problem. It'll help for now but it'll come back later, probably at an inconvenient moment.”

“Y-yeah. It has been while traveling. It completely incapacitates me, but I'm getting better at dealing with it slowly but surely.” Fear felt like his leg was throbbing, but he could no longer feel at all, even the dream construct. It hung limply against the ground. “I hate this experience. Literally the worst. It's like my body is traumatized and my brain welcomes the sensation even though I. Don't. Want. It.”

Saway nodded. “It be like that sometimes.” She stated while glancing ahead.

“Uuuuugh,” Fear droned out. “I hate this. Not only does everyone stare at me but this pain is bullshit.”

Saway hummed, looking down at him. “You're usually so stubborn about it though. I rarely hear you complain.”

“Yeah. I don't want anyone to know it's encumbering me. And I think I can use the leg brace to my advantage. I don't know. But sometimes it just really gets to me.” A sigh. “I'm going to go talk to Shaybna, Saway. I've put it off long enough but I gotta figure out what the new rune does now.” Fear stood up, his hindleg dipping and sliding against the ground lamely. “This sucks.”

“Did you consider asking the royalty of Abyssinia if they could give you a gemmed artificial leg to connect to your body?” Saway inquired.

Fear hesitated, turning around. “I thought about it, but there were two problems with that,” He responded, gritting his teeth and looking off to the side, gnashing slightly, pawing at the ground.

“Which is?” Saway asked, raising an eyebrow.

“One. I don't want to be a machine. That skeeves me out beyond belief. Though...” Fear paused. “I'd probably at least try to force myself to go through with the procedure if I could. There's a me out there who underwent a thaumic gland operation after all. But that leads to the second problem.” He huffed. “Zaya explained it wouldn't work anyway. My mind would be preternaturally confused, as she put it, on how to operate the machination if I could even figure out how to work it. And not only that but I'd still feel phantom pains from the old thing, like with creatures who lose a limb suddenly.” A pause. “So no go either way. It's dead for good. And at least if I keep it attached to my body I can use it like a cane sometimes to keep my balance if I move my body just right.”

“You'll get through it, Fear.” Saway stated, setting a hoof on Fear's shoulder. “I believe in you. Maybe ask Princess Luna how to stymie the pain with a dose of nightmares. They'll eat it for you. Or make it worse if you're not careful.” She shrugged a shoulder and smirked again, hoof facing the sky.

“Yeah, thanks. See you later Saway. Love ya.”

“Love you too, colt.”

And with that Fear left the area to go be alone and focus on the sword's presence next to his body. Call it to him.

==========================================================================================

“The rune is known as a Raidho, Fear.” Shaybna stated, lifting a hoof, her head tilting slightly, causing Fear's reflection in the mirror mask to distort. “It was originally crafted to allow for invisible scouting, akin to dreaming. A sort of temporary farsight. It causes your soul to diverge from your body for a few moments so that you can soar through the air and look further ahead, through walls, et cetera. I doubt you will explicitly need it, though maybe during the infiltration.” She set the hoof back down and cast her head to the side, the slits in the mask seeming to glint.

“My soul leaves my body for a moment?” Fear rubbed his chin with a hoof, humming and looking up and to the side. “Is that exactly it or is it more that it stretches? I need to know specifically so I know how best I can use it.”

Shayba looked to Fear with surprise. “What did you have in mind to use it for?”

“I have no idea yet, but I know if I tap into my cleverness I can come up with something special to use it for. So?” Fear prodded.

“It fills your body with a magical pulse that preserves your body, while your soul drifts away from it. But I do not have much magical potential infused inside of me yet, enough to warrant a heavy scouting. I could probably give you a bird's eye view of an area, or let you explore a room away from you, but that's about it until I need to recharge from your own magic.” Shaybna tilted her head. “Does that help?”

“Yes,” Fear determined. He set his hoof down and smiled. “I can feel the ideas percolating but I'm not one hundred percent sure yet. Thanks Shaybna.”

“You're welcome Fear. It’s a pleasure to be in your dreams with you. Even Saway did not think to do that.”

Fear bat a hoof. “I got the idea from Luna and Saway actually. I figured I could summon your presence, your wavelength, by calling out to you while you were close to me in reality. I'm becoming more capable. I can feel it.”

“You certainly are,” Shaybna said with an implied grin.

==========================================================================================

Luna paced in front of Fear, a worry contained within her gait. A nervous canter. Grit teeth, pulled back lips. Wary eyes. Alert body posture, nearly hypervigilant. “I have been successful so far in learning more about the Dormiens, but not enough to figure a way out to defeat them. I'm still thinking about it. It is taking all my strength to protect my little ponies, without allowing them to figure out where we are, and I fear any moment now my strength will waver and they will discover us.” She held her chin with a hoof, her body graceful and still, yet slumped. “They are like a virus growing more and more powerful the more they infect.”

Fear already knew what Luna had discovered. She'd told him. Apparently the Surreal referred to themselves as Dormiens, and, what seemed obvious in hindsight, were mutated umbrans seeking a way out of their prison through the dream world. They were certainly like a virus. Not only did they run rampant through the dream world it seemed, but one resided within the consciousness of every free umbran, giving to and taking information from it in order to maintain a communication network between all of them.

It was an incredible display of evolution for a species that already seemed to be at the top of the food chain, so to speak.

“Well if they're a virus, why not come up with some kind of antivirus? Some kind of inoculation or vaccine?” Fear leaned from side to side, a little perturbed by Luna's anxious energy, trying to keep calm despite the threat of danger right at their door.

“I can certainly try, but it's taking all my strength right now to fend them off just in general. I worry that if I do not keep holding them back they will bring despair to my little ponies in their dreams in order to siphon more energy. One way or another, we will have to be quick about finding whatever the key to destroying them for good is.” Luna murmured to herself, her lips moving silently.

“I'll try to help when I come around. Maybe if we meditate together we can figure out the wavelength or something.” Fear twirled a hoof. “For now though I had a question, before you bring Freiya to me.”

“Certainly Fear. Though I warn this is the last time I can do this for now. It's getting very... dangerous to bring other creatures here, right now. If one of the Dormiens go through the memories of someone who's had nightmares, someone who's been here recently, they may be able to find us. So this is the last time for now.”

“Sure, no problem,” Fear responded, waving a hoof. “I was curious, what do you know about souljars?”

“Not a lot, little Fear.” Luna paused, tapping a hoof against the ground a few times in quick succession. “I do know why they are so powerful though.” Fear asked why, and Luna answered. “All souls have a base identity deep within them that is temporarily overwritten when it comes into a body's life, from what I understand of zebra beliefs.” Fear had heard that much already. “It is the entrapment, and grotesque manipulation of that, and the unfulfilled, temporary destiny of one identity, never to be sated, that creates a sort of radioactive invincibility of whatever it is imbued in. Supposedly the power will wear off after many centuries, because entropy dictates that all physical things must fade with time, even a spirit's unnatural hold over an object.”

That made sense. And Fear knew from talking with Zaya that according to their beliefs, souls were masses of intelligent energy, thought given form. And it was not subject to entropy, but instead merely changed forms and grew stronger as intelligence was added to it, causing it to grow more dense, and transition between different colors. Zaya had seen fit to mention though, that the colors as they knew them were not concrete, at least the names for them weren’t. Colors just were. “Life just is. It is mortal creatures who try to impose limits and definitions on the world around them,” she had said. Zaya theorized that was one element of why decay existed in the first place. Mortal thoughts that all things must end.

Fear didn't know what to make of any of it, but he was sure somewhere in all of this was a way to defeat Seele, who he'd recently found out was...

A robot. Less a robot, and more a souljar. It was hard to comprehend that a satyr had not only had the idea to make himself into a robot, but to turn that robot into his souljar so that he could continue living... in an unusual way. Beyond normal death. In order to be rendered invincible.

This, Zaya had explained, was why Seele had encountered and harnessed an unnatural, undefeatable fate.

Fear was certain that if he was clever enough he could get through it. But just in case he was going to investigate Seele's lives in the Seer's Eye in order to look for a sure fire way to defeat him, beyond trapping him in the earth.

Which wouldn't work.

Seele's robot body was top of the line. Unless it was buried in the core of Equus like the dragons said Terra had done to the unnamed Dragonlord, there was no way he could be stopped forever.

Fear thanked Luna, and apologized for being so silent for so long, but he had a lot of thinking to do for his next confrontation. It was time to go explore the Seer's Eye with Freiya.

==========================================================================================

While Luna carefully extracted Freiya to bring her to the Princess’ dreambubble, Fear spoke with Discord.

The draconequus was wound around Fear like a python, gripping tight to his body, all four limbs resting against the small equine who was flopped down, hoping to whatever powers that be that his leg wouldn't start hurting again. All while his chin rested on Discord's belly, with their heads near each other. “So what,” Fear spoke, “was your power used for exactly? I don't know all there is to know about the past, and not everyone wants to tell me everything.”

Discord bopped Fear on the snout, making it wrinkle up. This wasn't reality though, so he didn't sneeze, just cross his eyes and wriggle his muzzle like a rabbit. “Magical, chemical weapons. Such things as that. Not really a big deal all in all.” He had a knowing tint to his voice, as if he knew where this conversation was going. As if he had read the script and was along for the ride.

“For someone who knows so much it's strange you didn't expect your power to be siphoned, and hide away some of it just in case.”

Discord just smiled, cocking his head to the side and lazily leaning against his equine comrade. “Who says I didn't, Fear?”

“If you did you would have taken it back already wouldn't you?” Fear sounded lost. It didn't seem... logical. But then he realized: Discord wasn't logical. He wouldn't take the power back either way. “Nevermind forget it.”

“No – no, you have a point. Why didn't I take it back? Follow your train of thought Fearei.” There was a sumptuous grin on his face and in his voice.

“Hmm... well... I would imagine, knowing you, you did it so you wouldn't impact the world as much. Maybe there was a reason? The power tainted you. And that's why you got rid of it.”

“Bing bing bing!” Discord clapped his hands, keeping the transformations and clones to a minimum. Not that he wasn't inclined to do it to tease Fear, and because he knew Fear liked it, but because he was tired and just wanted to relax. Besides, that's what everyone expected of him and expectations were no fun! “I hid some of my power, originally, in the Everfree Forest, but it ended up becoming part of the radioactive taint that haunts it to this day. So all my thorny vines are just laying around mixing in with the altered Killing Joke and everything else that makes that place a breeding ground for violence and bloodshed.” He stroked through Fear's mane lethargically, head stiff, his eyes narrowing slightly, knowing what was coming next. This was Fear after all. He knew his mind well enough by now.

“Hmm... but that doesn't make sense. Someone like you wouldn't use just one potential source. You'd have multiple artifacts laying around, not just some kind of seed. And come to think of it... I guess the reason why you didn't take that power back is because you wanted someone to overcome the Everfree someday.”

“Exactly!” Discord leaned against Fear with his entire body, constricting him. “Secret between you and me Fear, but I used to also be known as Grogar once upon a time.”

“Oh?” Fear teased.

“Yes. You know very little about him, but he was an intense threat to the three pony tribes back when they first settled in Equestria.” Discord had a light simper on his face, a purr in his voice.

“You talk about him in the third person. Which means he's not like you. Or you're not like him.” Fear wisely concluded.

“You're right. You catch on fast, as usual. Grogar was confronted by Gusty the Great eons ago.” Discord swept a claw and twirled it around. “His power and personality was banished to a little old bell, a magic concealing artifact, hidden away in the mountains. He was a malicious segment of my personality because he didn't know how to get what he wanted. I, Discord, escaped from that with some of my powers remaining. And chose to leave the bell behind because I was, for one, happier this way. Still... back before the war I was malicious, I suppose, I'd gone overboard at times.” Discord was about to think of an excuse, because that's how he felt at the time and no one expected it.

No one but Fear at least. Fear shushed him, able to feel where he was going. “Don't worry about it.” Fear let his eyes fall shut. “I know where you're coming from. It's hard to make friends, especially when you're damaged by power or anything else really. Power corrupts, and there's nothing more powerful than something next to omniscience or chaotic abilities.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I think a part of you deep down knew you'd be better off if you gave in to the ones trying to defeat you, whenever that time came.”

“Nothing quite so dramatic Fear,” Discord cooed. “I legitimately did not expect all those ponies to put a stop to me. Sure I made... concessions on the off chance it did happen. But I do not know everything. Everyone surprises me occasionally, especially you. But... that's why I was so defensive when I said you couldn't prove anything else. Think of Grogar like... a dead name. A name that no longer means anything to me, because it is no longer me. I would only use it on the off chance I needed to manipulate events on a grander scale.”

Fear nodded. Seeing the world destroyed could make even Discord realize he needed to do more, he was sure. The two could sort of read the sentiment together.

“Watching you has inspired me, a little bit. But you're not done yet,” Discord finished.

“What are you like in bed, Discord?”

Discord huffed, rolling his eyes. “Feeling horny are we? You should know I'm far past your age range!”

“Not like that's ever stopped us from flirting in the past.”

“They haven't seen all of our flirtations.”

“There's 'them' again. But I think I know what you mean.” Fear stretched his forelegs out until they quivered from the strain, the idea starting to come to him. “Hmmg! Life is like a story. We are just characters in a play, as my Dad would say. All of this has meaning. Am I close?”

“Your enlightenment knows no bounds,” Discord deadpanned. “But in all seriousness, if you really want to know, I can't bed anyone in anywhere but dreams nowadays.”

Fear considered it, tilting his head to the side. “Acrid's taught me to live a little. I'd like to play around with you sometime. See what a demigod does for fun. So long as you don't pull any rubber chickens on me and honk them during our joyful times.”

Discord lifted an eyebrow, his body undulating around Fear. “Might as well just call it what it is, Fear.”

“You know. I'm thinking.”

“Always a bad sign,” Discord mumbled.

“Yeah, you and me both,” Fear retorted. “But anyway.” He continued before Discord could interrupt. “Maybe someday, in a few years if I'm still alive after all this, I can go ahead and gather up that bell for you so you can regain some of your lost power, if there's a bigger reason you can't.”

Discord hummed in uncertainty. “I don't need you to, thank you though little colt.”

Fear shrugged his shoulders again and pulled his lips back into a resigned snarl. That also meant his deduction might've been incorrect. “Your loss. Though... I must say. You've been unusually open tonight.”

“You've earned the right to know a bit of my history Fear. You've not only earned my trust, but you've shown you're capable in many ways. Besides, it won't affect your journey in any negative way. What kind of friend would I be if I interfered like that?”

Fear hummed. “For me, and for my audience, you wouldn't be a very good friend at all.” My audience must have really bad taste if they think I'm entertaining.

Discord bapped Fear on the head. “You stop that this instant. Stop insulting them!” He chortled. “Not that I can complain.”

The two laughed together, and then spoke about what they'd do to each other if they got a moment alone. A little teasing never hurt anyone.

==========================================================================================

Svit, one of the many dormiens that hung out in the Liminal Space, had been infesting Freiya's dream. He was hidden in the corner of Stable 47's metal framework, crawling through the ducts that the mare had no idea existed yet knew should, waiting for the right moment to gorge his talons into the bubble and make everything go completely downhill. He hid his entire presence with the sensation of death as Freiya relaxed with the construct of her ex-husband, none the wiser to what she was going to go through. It was relaxing, and that was what this dormien preyed on.

All he had to do was wait until a specific moment, right when they were about to procreate – and they would – then glitch things the tiniest bit, bringing in the memory of her mother, catch her naked, and proceed from there. Svit had a whole plan laid out before him, just waiting to siphon her growing despair.

Only it wasn't meant to be. The spindly scarab crossed with a flayed skeletal pony, one of many shapes the dormien took on, watched from the vents as an unknown made itself known from inside the wall. Seeping from it, making the metal ripple like it was made of jello or sludge. It was Luna! Svit leaned closer into the grating, narrowing its empty, dead eyes at the situation going on. There was a conversation, one that Svit didn't really care about, and then Freiya was suddenly whisked away.

Svit had a few options right now, as he chittered in the empty dream bubble. He could wait for it to implode from not having a consciousness and then follow Luna, risking getting killed before he could find her hideout. Or he could use one of their new mutations to locate her. The mandibles covering his face clicked together wildly.

The choice was obvious.

Svit dug his talons into the dreambubble, causing the entire thing to be overtaken in glossy, blurry spiderweb cracks made of a dark energy. He jerked, adjusting himself, and let the lingering memories flow into him. Memories of who Freiya was, exactly, memories of her life, memories of her intelligence, and images of her short term memory. Both within dreaming and without. The equine beetle shook like a facehugger quivering before going dead, his eyes widening, empty pupils dilating, and lips scrunching up. He leaned forward as more information passed into him, tracing back the memories as far back as he could reach. This was Freiya's consciousness, her creation, and thus there were lingering remnants of her. The idea was that she'd likely been brought with Luna before. This was probably not an isolated incident.

The despair bug, the virus, smiled blindingly bright, his eyes having pupils and not irises. He shuddered like he was having an orgasm from the sheer power of the knowledge at his talon tips, and released it.

Dreambubble imploded.

Svit was left alone in the Liminal Space, floating in nothingness.

There was a moment of silence, before his body throbbed, its legs skittering as it glided toward the way its absorbed memories dictated. As its thorax rumbled, silent echoes rippled from its corpse-like body like a glitchy sonar pulse, radiating outward in the form of fizzy glass cracks made up of overly saturated clown vomit hues. The pulse scattered outward through the entire void, going faster than the speed of light, at the speed of thought.

The attack would begin soon. Svit rocketed through the Liminal Space to meet up with his comrades and dive into Princess Luna's bubble.

==========================================================================================

Luna had been certain she'd been safe. But something had gone wrong. While Fear and Freiya were away scouring the Seer's Eye, it had started with the nightmare-like throbbing of the dreambubble's shell. Changing to a rosey red, dimming to a claxon crimson. Luna had felt it before she'd seen it, and inevitably Luna, Saway, and Amelio were on alert.

It wasn't long before they were fighting. Various glitching monstrosities, far outnumbering the group, barged into the dream bubble, slipping between the cracks, melting out of thin air from the walls and the floor, making everything tremble and tremor... there was no end to them. Luna called back every single one of her mirror images, collecting her power into herself and spreading it out, having each of them carve swords. Made not of dreamkiller, but of actual nightmares that could eat away the psyche of anything. Saway became the shadowed monstrosity that had fought Amelio long ago, but far more powerful, cleaving through apparitions and using her ability to predict their movements on a congenital level in order to sweep and dance her way through many of them. They were not empaths after all, even if they could hide their intent in a mask of death and null. Amelio meanwhile was vulnerable, but she was an asset in the fight. She used her unnatural peace to heal the psyche wounds the glitches inflicted on her family so that their bodies would not fall prey to venoms nor lacerations.

It was macabre.

A chaotic three versus many, with Luna and her reflections maintaining the fight within Amelio's aura, and Saway taking her viciousness to a whole other level, letting loose war cry after war cry as she gashed, slammed, and dashed through enemy after enemy, the only one who felt courageous enough to put her life on the line and only come back to Amelio's radiance when she knew she could no longer fight, in order to recover.

It was a brutal massacre, and killing the glitching beasts didn't seem to put a stop to them. If anything they seemed to be getting stronger, reading their opponents and learning from them like a virus, realizing how to get around their defenses and overcome their offenses. They became apparitions of times long past, of creatures once thought to be close to the three. Amelio was barely affected, keeping her inner sanctity, while Saway occasionally hesitated, but not in any meaningful way. Luna however was the most sentimental of them, causing her to freeze up, her mirrors coming to her defense and blasting them away with violent high-powered laser spells and slashes of her swords.

Even the Starlight Shredder did not do enough to take them out. Wave after wave constantly coming, sometimes dwindling to the point they found hope renewed, only for it to be stolen away as more surged forth, seeming to take strength from their constant uphill battle.

Despair was growing.

Where was Fear and Freiya?

The battle lasted minutes, an hour. The three fought valiantly, with Amelio calling upon Fate itself to extend her reach, to send bolts of Ameliorate Reverie at her allies in order to fuse them with the spell of reparation. Even Ame was slowly growing dull and tired, not having a body that would continue refilling her mind.

Luna slacked.

Saway grew laggard.

Fear appeared in the fray with a scream, bringing all that he could to try and cleave his way through the creatures, only able to throw them off of himself before they could sink their razor sharp teeth in. A roll, a somersault, kicking one off. Punching one in the face, Bucking another in the chin. Slamming apart limbs and caving in faces. None of it seemed to work. Fear ducked into Amelio's bubble.

There was a cacophony of relief that he was back. Luna called out for Nyx to come retrieve them during the battle, so that they could move. But they needed to get back to the treasure, hidden in the obscurity of mental shadows, and take it with them. Saway twirled and barreled through creature after creature, renewed sense of vigor filling her as she swept from side to side, dancing with her claws and Nightmare body to protect her family like the warrior and knight she had been in life. Fear explained over the din that he'd already forced Freiya to wake up when he'd realized the dream bubble was in danger. He'd felt something off, and had not had the time to find out a method to destroy Seele, so he would have to work on trial and error.

Luna didn't have time to comfort him, doing everything in her power to protect their little field as they awaited Nyx's airdrop.

Fear aided the two as much as he could, showing extensive bravery in the face of certain peril, showing off his growing ability to fight while predicting movements with instinct rather than a sixth sense. Luna pushed herself to her limit as the four of them slowly retreated further into the dream construct surrounding them, pulling on the power of the liminal space and the far away dream bubbles, making everything shatter inward on itself, waking creatures up from their sleep. It would be a day forever remembered as the moment when no one was able to get back to sleep for hours – those who were scheduled to sleep at that time. Luna also pulled on the power of hypnagogic space, the realm between sleep and waking, trying with all her might to strengthen the four of them with magical powers beyond their normal means.

High powered energy lasers, plasma swords, enhanced shadow walking, and so many other things at their disposal. Saway had the easiest time of it, slipping into the nooks and crannies of everything, like a beast there was nothing she couldn't tear through as she leaped from spot to spot, dispersing glitches like it was nothing.

Still they ran rampant.

Eventually they'd succeeded in getting to the treasure room, slipping through the crack that was the bastion of light in a world of shadows, a sun in a world of void.

Nyx was waiting for them. As the door was slammed shut, a final remaining firewall to keep them out, the four discussed their options.

They had to move to the moon. There was no other way.

It would take an egregious amount of Nyx's magic to move all four of them, and not only that but he would have to occupy Fear's body from now on with part of himself whenever Fear went to sleep and came back to the moon. But he could do it. He was a self taught empath wizard. He'd trained all his life for this, millennia ago. The room vibrated, rocking and quaking as Nyx let out a transcendental scream, his green eyes whitewashing as he summoned forth the power of a mass teleportation megaspell. A mental one, rather than a physical one, to bring not only multiple consciousnesses but also a ritual-based spell created by Luna.

One second they were waiting with bated breath inside a dream bubble that was slowly crumbling from the outside in, and the next second there was a pinch of a pop...

And they were on the moon. Far away from Equus.

Nyx was panting, or at least that’s how most interpreted it. Fear ran around, his body sluggish in the nil gravity. Luna checked on Saway, Amelio took some time, hoof pressed against her chest, trying to calm herself down. The vibrations in her body were excited, exacerbated. So were the awareness of the other four. Everyone was on the verge of dispersing.

“That was wild!” Fear screamed. “Are we really going to be safe here?”

Nyx nodded. And then sat back on his haunches, holding his forelegs up in the air. “Nightmares of the Moon! Heed my call! Protect us from the threat that wishes to extinguish us all!” Nyx slammed his hooves into the sun washed dirt, his draconic eyes glowing as shadows from the dark side of the moon swarmed to his beck and call, surging over them and wrapping them up.

It would be known by those who did not have cloud cover, as the day the moon eclipsed itself. In the middle of their cratered bastion laid Luna's treasure, keeping three of the five alive and stable, maintaining their forms and preventing them from scattering to the wind, to the afterlife.

Unnatural, but necessary for now, Fear thought. The time to die was not yet.

The five murmured to each other, discussing next steps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oae989KkYkA

“Well, on the bright side,” Luna cooed, “I no longer have to worry about making the difficult decision of either protecting my little ponies or focusing on whatever this antivirus I must create is.” She shrugged her shoulders, her desiccated form phasing a few times as her treasure's altered placement caused the frequency to shift slightly. “On the dark side,” she reluctantly added, “No one's going to have peaceful dreams until this can get figured out. No one but Fear here.”

Fear huffed, sitting on his haunches and crossing his forelegs. “I love the moon and all, love the view, but this isn't my idea of a good time either. But I suppose it's better than being constantly siphoned. I wish I could bring my family here, take care of them. But I know just keeping my body maintained while my consciousness is so far away is a burden on Nyx's mind.”

Nyx murmured his agreement. “I wish I could do it too, Fear, but I am not that powerful anymore. Your family will just have to do without a good night's sleep for now.”

Fear shuddered. Amelio glared at the ground silently. “This is unfortunate, but there's nothing we can do for now. We've lost. But there's still hope. If Luna can figure out how to cast the Dormien away permanently we can still pull victory from the jaws of defeat.”

Saway sighed. “I wish I could do more, but... I suppose we're all relying on Luna now.”

Fear pumped a hoof in the air. “Keep your spirits up guys! We'll be returning to our home before we know it. It's not like Luna has anything else to do but constantly work to figure this out. I have faith in her. She's a powerful hypnomancer, and with Nyx helping her now, I'm sure, we can overcome this.” He paused.

“Besides. Saway can also help. She and Nyx have the nightmares at their disposal to do some scouting. They can figure out what all the Dormien have in common, and we can use that to slam dunk them into oblivion.” Fear slammed a hoof into the other. “So keep your spirits up okay?”

Everyone managed a small smile. Only Amelio was the one who kept silent and neutral, at peace.

Luna spoke after a moment. “Even if I do manage this, we will not be able to cast a spell with enough strength to push back this... virus, without magical aid.” She shook her head. “I am not sure I have that kind of power. I may need to sacrifice my treasure in order to cast it. I will have to die.”

Fear shook his head. “Nah. I have an idea on how we can avoid that.” He stomped a hoof on the ground.

“Even with all of us together, most of us are, in some way, shape, or form, dead. We do not have the body required to pull off that kind of magical power, even with you Fear. Unless...”

The young stallion smiled, twirling a hoof. “Yes. Exactly. It's a long shot, and it's incredibly unreliable. But it might work. With all of us together, and my Fearshatter spell, we might have a chance. We just need to figure out how to unlock it.”

Nyx shook his head. “That is not a spell to take lightly. It cannot be controlled. It is controlled by your environment, not by you.”

Maybe Discord knows how to pull it out of me? Fear thought.

Saway held up a hoof. “We've known you for a few years now Fear, even though it feels like longer. I'm sure all of us, with our intense connections to you, can figure out how to harness that power. It shouldn't be that difficult. If it is based on your environment, then surely we, as your environment, can yank it out.” Saway was as vicious and raspy as ever.

Fear smiled brightly. “We have a lot of options at our disposal. Don't let the Dormiens think they've won, because if we do, not only will the Umbrans gain the power they need to escape, but so will the Dormiens grow more powerful than we can stop. We got this, team, okay?” Fear stood up on all fours, his hindleg on the verge of flaring up.

Amelio spoke, finally. “Fearei is right. Together we can put a stop to this. That is where our magic and power lies. Do not give up hope yet.”

The five of them cheered into space and dispersed to be alone with their own thoughts. Everyone but Fear anyway. Fear knew he couldn't leave them alone, so he approached them one after another, starting with Luna.

“Hey Luna,” Fear chirped next to the desiccated corpse-ish form that was the powerful mare. “How you holding up right now? I don't want you alone with your thoughts. Focusing on how they found us, so on and so forth.”

“You are kind, Fear,” Luna responded, looking down at him. Though it felt more like she was looking up. “Though it might be better for me to be alone to ruminate. I promise I will not brood. Besides, I'm not looking to the past anymore, just the future.” She pulled out a small, tight smile. “Since you're here I suppose I should mention... it's strange being back on the moon. Even if not physically. Both times I've had Nyx by my side to comfort me, but this time I am more comfortable and sure of myself. I know what I must do to get off, and this time I do not need my sister's help to get free.” She shrugged her shoulders and glanced back at her companion. “There are a lot of fluctuating emotions inside of me, as I'm sure you can feel. From the passion of a mission, the nostalgia of a place I spent many years, all the way to the regret I have of not having been better, and the sorrow of being back at square one, in a lot of ways. But there is also happiness amidst it.”

Fear just prodded her to continue.

“Happiness that I have come so far, and in some ways have so much more than I could have ever imagined. In a lot of ways, it is thanks to you. I have a new purpose, one I can have fun with and feel fulfilled doing. I think it is that emotion, primarily that drives me to fight the Dormien.”

“Not going to let those fuckers take away what you rightfully earned, huh Luna?” Fear simpered, eyes lidded.

“No, Fear, I am not going to let those sards take what is rightfully mine. You would do well to have the same kind of intensity from here on out.”

“Eh,” Fear shrugged. “It'd be good, but I gotta take a laid back approach sometimes so as not to commit anymore sins.”

“True,” Luna commented. “But if you regress and forget the boundaries you learned to establish over the past few years, you will not feel truly free, like you can do anything. It requires a careful balance, one I am sure you will learn. So.” Luna paused. “To the future, correct?”

Fear beamed up at her and nuzzled into her side. “To the future, Princess.”

“Later,” Luna continued, “I will attach your consciousness to the moon so you return here later whenever you sleep. I will need Nyx's help with it.”

And with that Fear nodded and made his way over to Saway.

“Hey Nightmare's Way. You did an incredible job back there. I could only wish to be as ruthless as you.”

Saway grinned and guffawed, her body facing Equus as well. They could see Abyssinia from here. “You're one to talk. I saw you out of the corner of my eye in there, colt. You fought your way to us magnificently. Your growth only astounds me more each time we encounter each other. You'd be a ruthless enemy on the battlefield yourself.” She poked Fear in the side, making him grin and giggle.

“Eh. It's nothing much. Just a bunch of hard work. I've seen how you guys have rushed to keep up with me.”

“So you're finally starting to accept our compliments eh? That's good. Took you long enough.” Saway did something she wasn't normally prone to do and wrapped a foreleg around Fear, pulling him in close to her side. The contact felt good for both of them. Saway was a little uncomfortable because of her past traumas, but those were minimal compared to how she felt right now, especially after the high of a good fight. “Speaking of growth, it's nice to see you learning you don't always need to be a perfectionist and in control of everything around you.”

“Why's that?” Fear asked, looking up at her with his Canopus-like eyes.

“From what I knew of Twilight.”

Ugh, comparing me to Twilight again, Fear thought. Oh well.

Saway continued, “that was a lesson she'd had a hard time learning, and I'm not fully certain she ever did,” she rasped. “The few times I was around her, Twilight would get nervous and anxious about the little details because she felt she needed to be perfect in everything she cared about deeply, that she always had to be in control of the little details, and it caused her to have a lot of inner turmoil.” Saway shrugged. “It was difficult for her to learn how to delegate sometimes, especially with her higher end goals.”

“You're good at reading ponies, with or without empathy,” Fear noticed.

“You gotta when you're a skilled knight, runt.” Saway grinned in her voice as she looked down at Fear. “Now get going. I can tell you're checking on all of us. You don't have to worry about me. I feel like I'm living the dream. I get to be trapped on the moon, temporarily, with my Princess of Death like she was centuries ago. It's a nice feeling, being part of history like this. I never would have expected it.”

“Hah, in that case I'll move on.” Fear pulled away and bapped Saway in the shoulder, before heading over to Nyx who was looking out on the expanse opposite Equus, meditating.

“Hello Fear,” Nyx warmly welcomed. “You know, you've become so good at it maybe you should try to negotiate with the Dormien and Umbrans instead of fight them.” The humor in Nyx's calm, sedate voice was palpable. Like the slow current of a river polishing the small rock bed under it.

“Eh. I wish I could. While there are good umbrans out there, I don't think I have the required ingredients necessary to talk them down. Though, just because they're predisposed to evil doesn't mean they have to be. I’m sure I'll find more over time. We'll see what comes of it.”

“Naive. Optimistic. I like it,” Nyx purred. “You're right, no creature is born evil. It is ultimately what they choose to be with their life, when the clarity finally hits them, that decides their destiny. Whether they use their special talent for destruction, or creation, or some gray matter in between. You've learned well from me, even if you can’t orate quite as well.”

“I'll get there in time,” Fear assured with a chirp. “How are you holding up after all this?”

“It is... uncomfortable to have so many presences by my side after so long spent on my own up here with just the nightmares. However it is not unpleasant. It is nice to share a home with those I consider family, with those I can trust not to hold heavy emotions over my head. I trust all of you, and I look forward to the day all of you can leave and I can welcome your presence as I feel like I want to. How do you feel about this, Fear?”

Fear shrugged. “I'm content. Confident. Brave. I feel like we can pull this off. Even if I have to think hard, I've learned to trust in my own skills. I've died a couple times, lost multiple times in various ways, in the small things and the big things. But that's fine. I'm learning I don't need to be in control all the time, even with the things I care about.”

“That's some real growth,” Nyx stated simply. “You're on your way to embracing your destiny. I believe in you. Good luck, Fearei Shatter. Maybe someday you'll be more successful than I was in your endeavors.”

Fear waved a hoof. “Thanks Nyx, but success isn't everything. So long as I just try.”

Nyx hummed. “Wise words. Now go to Amelio. I sense she has some choice words for you.”

“I do too. See you later Nyx,” Fear replied, and headed off to go to the young mare who sat in the center of them all.

Amelio's eyes popped open and followed Fear, the ellipticals around her pupils trained on him. As he drew closer, she simpered, tilting her head to the side. When he was close enough, she spoke for only him to hear. “The fate of the world is in your hooves right now, Fear. You've come this far, earned the right to carry it on your shoulders.”

Fear rolled his eyes and smiled, sitting next to her.

“But you shouldn't be concerned, though I can tell you're not. Whatever must happen, will happen. You have your friends there to guide you, for you to delegate tasks to. And you must never forget that.”

“Yeah, part of my growth is apparently learning to trust others with the things I care about.” Fear tossed his hooves into the air and wrapped Amelio up in his embrace, though it looked awkward seeing as she was bigger than him by about a head. “Why are you so calm about all this anyway? You don't seem like you're... confident. In the same way I am.”

Amelio merely shrugged a shoulder and batted her eyelashes. “I know all the ways this can play out, and how both insignificant and meaningful this all is at the same time. In the grand scheme of things, there will be more opportunities, in other realities, in other existences. Things will always work out in one timeline that didn't work out in another. I am at peace with the haves, and have nots, because they all serve a purpose, and all are important and meaningless at the same time. You would do well to remember that even the worst times serve a special purpose, even if you cannot immediately see it. I know you see importance in even the smallest cog in the machine of life, how it serves a grander purpose, but you should also try to see the same thing in the events that take place around us. The things we cannot control.”

Fear hugged Amelio and mumbled into her coat. “I'll try.” He paused. “I should go get Nyx and Luna to cast that spell on me now. I don't want to be harassed by the Dormien when I go back to sleep. They might try to kill me for good.”

“Go for it, Fear,” Amelio stated simply. “Be the brave stallion... mare... whatever you want to be, that I know you can be.” She looked down at him and kissed his forehead.

Fear bristled pleasantly and headed off. It was time to get to work.

And here we go, we're reaching the end result of all of this.

Princess Luna, Acute Sway, and Amelioreit Reverie.

BR asks: If you wore a pipbuck, what would be your special stat?

Fear: Huh. I think it'd either be some kind of power scaling, or it'd be dual fertility measurements for my intersex-ness.

Faith: Without a doubt it'd be how many ponies I've inspired to seek out friendship and harmony with their fellow equine and those around them.

Gentler: Am I even able to wear a pipbuck? Would it work on me? Though I suppose... if I had to guess it'd be something along the lines of how many ladies I've brought to orgasm, or how many times I've won a challenge.

Acrid: Pipbucks are those Stable Tech things right? Uhh... hmm... I suppose it'd be how old my body is after the slow aging process of stasis. Or maybe some numerical value of how useful I am? Is that even possible?

Amelio: I wish I had grown up with a pipbuck! That would have been so amazing! Though mine would certainly be a meter measuring my level of influence. I think Fear's would be something similar.

Sim: It's a measurement of my popularity as an actor and comfort horse in given areas, it displays colors on the map depending on where I'm most popular and what as. I would've also been happy with it measuring the amount of mutations in my body. I remember my wife Storm's pipbuck measured her heartrate given she dealt with anxiety more often than not. It was a way for it to help her stay in control.

Drax: Hrmph. If I had a pipbuck it'd be measuring my mental state, and the level of negative emotions surrounding me so that I can remain more aware of when I need to seek out assistance or catch a break. Maybe if I had listened more before I would have avoided the last dip.

Zaya: Hee hee, a zebra wearing a pipbuck hmm? Strange question. I think it'd be a list of statistics comparing and contrasting the difference in behavior between my soul and physical brain, mentioning when they align and when they are separate.

Red Fear: I'm dead so it doesn't matter. But if I wore a pipbuck it'd count the number of lethal hits I've survived and it'd make all my scars glow in order to intimidate others.

Neur: I don't understand why I'm being asked this question but... If I had one of those mortal pipbucks it'd likely measure every single variation on the connections between everyone. Even if that sounds confusing, I could keep up.

Reality Eater Catfish: ...

The accelerating growth rate of entropy.