That night, Grogar and Isabelle fell asleep in a room adjacent to Gusty’s. “Good night, my love,” Isabelle said before falling asleep.

“Good night.” But after falling asleep, Grogar woke up in a white void and hears a strange voice.

“Where am I? Who’s there? What do you want from me?!” Suddenly, a pony-like figure in a black hood with red eyes appeared before Grogar and introduced itself.

“I want nothing you could give,” the figure said, “I’ve come to offer you the chance of a millennium.”

“What are you talking about? Where am I?”

“Your mind. I’m simply contacting you through the Dream Realm.”

“This is a dream? Why are you in my mind.”

“Because I’ve been watching you, Grogar. I’ve seen how you’re in need of something to save your population.”

“How do you know what I need? What could you possibly offer that could get rid of a drought?”

“Magic. The power to ensure that your family will never have to ask for anything ever again.”

“How could I use magic? Magic is only something that unicorns can do.”

“No, my friend. Magic is within everycreature, even you. You simply must learn to use it.”

“You’re saying that if I use magic then I can save my home and my wife?”

“Indeed.”

“What should I call you then?”

“I go by many names, but you may call me Orthodox. Master Orthodox.”

Hearing these words, Grogar woke up to see that Isabelle and Gusty were at a wooden table with soup by an empty chair. “Please, sit down and eat,” Gusty said before taking a spoon with her magic.

“What kind of soup is this?” Grogar asked.

“Vegetable,” Isabelle told her husband, “made from the food that the unicorns have recently harvested.”

“Mind if I try some?” Grogar asked, turning his attention to Gusty.

“Of course! Sit down and grab a bowl.”

Hearing this, Grogar sat down at the table and grabbed a bowl of soup from the middle of it. Smiling, he took a large slurp.

“This is delicious! I haven’t had anything to eat for almost three days,” Grogar exclaimed.

“It is good, isn’t it?” Isabelle agreed, looking at Gusty.

“I made it from corn, carrots, and beets. It’s an old family recipe.”

After finishing, Grogar and Isabelle went outside with Gusty and loaded a lot of food on their wagon.

“Thank you for the food. We owe Dream Valley with our lives!” Isabelle said.

“Don’t mention it! Just stay safe and travel through the better path this time, okay?”

“We will,” Grogar replied, “and we’ll share with all of Tambelon!” After finishing, the couple headed out on the nicer (but longer) path. Exiting Dream Valley, Grogar turned to his wife. “Honey, I had a strange dream last night.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dreamt that there was a creature, like a pony, telling me to use magic to save our home.”

“Are you sure about it? Maybe it was just a dream, and didn’t mean anything.”

“I don’t know, but I do know that whatever was talking to me was something that I need to think on.”

The two ended their conversation and headed toward Tambelon. But little did they know that this would be the last time they would travel somewhere together.

Next Chapter: Chapter 3: Darkness in Equus Estimated time remaining: 5 Minutes