Let me see…I left off when we made it back to town. Oh boy, I can’t stress how happy Boco was to be out of the forest! But I went back to Fluttershy’s house and sat down on my couch/bed. I was really exhausted, considering I never went to sleep the previous night. After running through the woods trying to catch my little bird, I could barely keep my eyes open.

As soon as my rear end hit the couch, I was out like a light.

I remember the dream so vividly that I can tell you exactly what happened. I can even tell you who all was in it. I mean, there weren’t any ponies. They were all my friends from back in Gaia. Every one of them was there. But…so was Kuja…and Queen Brahne. I don’t know what my dream meant, but it was comforting to be able to see and hear them again, even if it wasn’t real.

We were in the theater ship Prima Vista, on the stage deck, performing some sort of play for the queen of Alexandria. In this case, the queen was still Brahne. Kuja stood by her side watching the play, with a weird grin on his face. Brahne looked like she was really having fun watching us perform.

I stood in the center of a large group of rebels, while on the far side of the stage stood a group of soldiers loyal to the throne. In the center of their group stood Dagger, who was tied up with chains, spears held at eye-level to her. The loyal soldiers were angry, to the point where they were prepared to end her life.

Whatever play we were performing, the actors were amazing. 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. Amarant was wearing a pair of large spiked gloves, dressed in an iron breastplate, attempting to hold the rebels back from attacking. I was dressed like a child, bloodied and tied up. The rest of the Tantalus crew played the part of the rebels.

We were outnumbered by the guards without a doubt. While Dagger was tied up as a captive, the soldiers around her were decked out in the traditional warrior apparel. Beatrix played the leader of the guards, and held Dagger in place with her broadsword pinned against the captive’s throat. Freya played the part of the commander’s right-hand-woman, ensuring Dagger wouldn’t escape.

Eiko was dressed like a bishop to play the part of the priest that would bless…something. The Knights of Pluto played the rest of the soldiers, quite convincingly really. Quina managed to play the role of—what else?—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 all the soldiers besides Freya walked to the side of the stage to enjoy their dinner.

The rebels were sitting around me, while I was forced to stand by a wench pulling on my bonds. I could see Freya staring at the other soldiers with a frown 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 Dagger 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 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 Dagger’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 me.

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 Dagger had been held captive. From the sky dropped Steiner, 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 us.

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 us, Zidane and the rest of the Tantalus crew meeting him half way. Amarant ripped me from my bonds and carried me almost off-stage with Dagger.

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. I saw Kuja drag Brahne from her throne and shove her back into the castle. He then leaped from the throne onto the stage. He cried, “He’s returned, Zidane!” He 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 fight it before…

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

My dream ended with Kuja shooting a fireball from his hands at Necron. The demon absorbed the blast without a problem. The airship shook one last time, and I suddenly woke up on Fluttershy’s couch. There was a small white rabbit tapping its foot impatiently in front of my face. It gave me a gentle push, trying to get me awake.

You know, talking about that dream makes me feel weird. I don’t know why, but I just…feel depressed. I have a bad feeling that it could be a vision. Gaia might be in danger of being attacked again. Or maybe Necron will attack this world…

I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t want to know…