I’m not certain whether it would count as the fifteenth or sixteenth day of my time here in Equestria. However, it was perhaps the single most memorable part of our journey to Ponyville. The dream was so vivid that I awoke soaked in sweat, the Black Mages gathered around attempting to silence my screams. I’m referring to the nightmare—no, it was more of a prediction—I had on the night we arrived at Sweet Apple Acres.

I stood upon a balcony on the northern side of Alexandria Castle. Beside me sat Queen Brahne, amused by whatever was playing out in front of her. I looked on, watching as so many familiar faces scrambled about the stage. They were performing a play for the entire kingdom. It was one of Lord Avon’s lesser-known works, if memory serves correctly.

There before us, the members of the Tantalus crew, as well as several of Zidane’s companions, carried themselves as if truly the characters they were portraying. I was impressed by their poetic reciting of the work.

They were on the theater ship Prima Vista, on the stage deck. There was a large group of rebels on one side, while the far side of the stage housed a group of soldiers loyal to the throne. In the center of the soldiers’ group stood Princess Garnet, who was tied up with chains, spears held at her eye-level. The loyal soldiers were angry, to the point where they were prepared to end her life.

Zidane was playing the leader of the rebels, dressed in a light jacket and torn leather boots. He was armed with nothing but a dagger. A companion of his, Amarant, was wearing a pair of large spiked gloves, dressed in an iron breastplate, attempting to hold the rebels back from attacking. There was another actor, dressed like a child, bloodied and tied up. The rest of the Tantalus crew played the part of the rebels.

The rebels were clearly outnumbered by the guards. While Garnet was tied up as a captive, the soldiers around her were decked out in the traditional warrior apparel. General Beatrix played the leader of the guards, and held Garnet in place with her broadsword pinned against the captive’s throat. Another of the monkey’s companions, Freya, played the part of the commander’s right-hand-woman, ensuring Garnet wouldn’t escape.

The summoner child, Eiko, was dressed like a bishop to play the part of the priest that would bless something on the battlefield. The Knights of Pluto played the parts of the rest of the soldiers, quite convincingly if I’m to be honest. Zidane’s gluttonous Qu companion, Quina, managed to play the role of a chef, who delivered a large pot of soup to the battlefield for the soldiers to eat in comfort. The rebels were meant to starve if not surrender. I watched as majority of the soldiers, excluding Freya, stepped to the side of the stage to enjoy their dinner.

The rebels were sitting around the child, while he was forced to stand by a wench pulling on his bonds. I could see Freya staring at the other soldiers with a scowl of jealousy on her face. Zidane noticed it too, and stabbed his dagger into the dirt. He leaped to his feet and started approaching the soldiers’ hostage.

Amarant called, “Don’t be an idiot! Those punks won’t hesitate to kill you on a moment’s notice.” He started to stand up, but was dismissed by his captain.

“Hey you, soldier!” Zidane called to the single soldier on duty.

Freya scoffed, “Silence yourself, traitor! Have you forgotten your position?” She drew her spear closer to Dagger’s throat.

The rebel captain raised his hands high, stopping in place abruptly. “I don’t wanna hurt you. I just wanna talk. It’s not like they would care, right?” He nodded toward the guards that were systematically falling asleep after finishing their food.

Freya swung her spear toward the blond-haired traitor, “What have you ungrateful brats done to my comrades?!” She threatened to leap toward her enemy, but controlled her confused anger.

Amarant sighed, “Sleeping weed, soldier. Maybe you’ve heard of it?” He began to approach the tied-up Garnet as Zidane confronted Freya.

The rebel leader laughed, “Confidence was your downfall, soldier. Your comrades were so certain they’d win, they let their guards down.”

Blank, a member of Tantalus, dashed over toward Quina and tossed a bag of frogs at him/her. With a cheer, s/he laughed, “I good spy? I feed good?”

“Good job, chef!” Zidane praised the traitorous chef before turning back to the soldier with a smug grin. “You guys didn’t even notice your chef get switched out. Talk about dumb.”

Amarant shattered Garnet’s bonds with his bladed gloves and chuckled, “We’ll just be taking her back now. Go tell your king to hire better help.” In one swift motion, the large brute flung the prisoner over his shoulder and leaped into the air, landing right beside the child.

Freya cried, “Do you not understand the consequences of your actions? If this kingdom falls, the world shall fall with it!” She darted toward the group of rebels, but her dash was cut short by a large blade being thrust into the ground. The boards of the stage splintered under the impact.

The soldier was sent flying back to where Garnet had been held captive. From the sky dropped Steiner, another Alexandrian general and friend of Zidane’s, wearing solid gold armor and carrying a golden blade in one hand. He jerked the fallen sword into his other and swung them both toward the rebels.

He laughed, “You are all foolish to believe you’ve won! It’s very rare that I must get my hands dirty in a conflict. I expect this to be a good fight!” He started a mad run at them, Zidane and the rest of the Tantalus crew meeting him half way. Amarant ripped the child from his bonds and carried him almost off-stage with Dagger.

I suddenly recognized the actor playing the child. It was none other than the single Black Mage that had escaped his own fate. Vivi, a prototype of a Mark II Black Mage. He had been designed for slightly longer life. His eyes met mine, and in an instant I was aware of something greater. He seemed more real than the others. It was almost as if he had really been there in the dream, not just something created by my mind…

The soldiers started to wake up as the battle raged on. Freya used her spear to keep them from interfering in the fight. After several heated minutes of stunts and tricks, Steiner let out an ear-shredding wail. Red fluid burst from his breastplate, and he held Zidane’s dagger firmly between his arm and torso. He fell on his back and writhed.

“You uncivilized crooks! You shall soon regret these atrocities you’ve cast upon our world! Behold, in the sky! The beast of the end of days is being born, even now!” He pointed a bloody hand at the red moon, where a large shadow was beginning to form. He let out one final scream before falling silent.

The shadow fell to the stage in a large heavy ball. It was an authentic chunk of Dark Matter. Zidane picked it up from the ground and chuckled, “The ‘beast of the end of days’, you say? Looks like a dirty rock to me. But hey, what do us ‘traitors’ know, anyway?” He started to chuckle lightheartedly.

Then the airship shook violently. Almost instinctively, I pulled Brahne from her throne and shoved her back into the castle. I subconsciously leaped from the throne onto the stage and cried, “He’s returned, Zidane!” I was consumed by a burst of Trance, generating my red aura, and pointed a flaming hand into the sky, sending everyone’s eyes upward.

In the foreground of Gaia’s blue moon, another large entity started to grow. It took the shape of a large fountain, spawning claw-like wings and a grotesque humanoid body. I immediately recognized it, just as we all did. At least, those of us who had been unfortunate enough to see it before…

Necron. The demon that had threatened to end all life in existence. Zidane defeated it in Memoria, but it was here with us now…

That was the end of the dream. I awoke with my own screams pounding my ears. The Black Mages were on either side of me, casting their Silence magic, attempting to stop me before I drew anyone outside of the house’s attention. They both looked as if they had seen ghosts, and judging from my screams, I probably had as well. Something sweet found its way into my mouth. The instant the taste registered in my brain, my screams silenced. I was suddenly thrust back into the world of reality, the visions of Necron fading away fast.

The orange mare who had greeted us at the door stood in front of me, a bottle of liquid in her hoof. Behind her stood a large red stallion and a small yellow filly. They each looked as if they’d been wrenched from sleep by Death himself.

There would be questions asked, but they wouldn’t be answered that night…