DJ kept his eyes sealed shut, observing his surroundings with his other senses first. If he was being watched, he didn’t want to be immediately found out. He took in a deep breath through his nose… Ash, water, humid air, and dirty laundry filling his nostrils. He could hear the occasional steps of what he assumed was patrolling guards as well as other slow melodic breaths. He could only assume they were coming from his friends sharing the room with him. He learned quickly that he was not in any type of bed, but laid down on a solid, stone, floor.

     He slowly peeked one eye open, glancing at anything he could. All he could see was dark walls, and a little light coming from a little window in a door. Assuming he wasn't being watched, he slowly sat up, taking a good look around.

     Everyone, and everypony, was laying flat on their backs perfectly still. The only movement from them was the rise and fall of their breaths, their eyes under their eyelids, and the occasional twitch. DJ slowly got to his feet, checking everything he had on him.

     Which was only his phone in his pocket. Other than that, all he had was the clothes on his back.

     "WHAT T..." Jose could only get a fraction of a sentence out before DJ had landed on top of him, hand sealing his mouth shut.

     "Shush! You're gonna get us killed!" DJ whispered. "Hurry, take your shirt off, and rip it into long strands." DJ said as the realization that all others in the room would scream when they woke up as well.

     "Uhhhh, why?" Jose asked, but still complied.

     DJ looked over to Jose. "Gag 'em so they can't scream."

     Jose had a look of confusion, which suddenly changed when he remembered how he himself woke up. "Hey, where the fuck are we?" He asked.

     "Not sure, but we can't stay h..."

     A muffled scream came from Corben, who sat straight up with sweat pouring down his forehead. He looked over to DJ, who had a finger on his lips.

     "..here for long." DJ finished. Corben's hands quickly fumbled around in his mouth, before the torn fabric was fished out of his mouth.

     "What the fuck, man!?" He whispered with as much intensity as possible.

     "I'll explain later!" DJ said. "Just hurry up and get them gagged! I don't wa..."

     A cyan pegasus bolted straight upright, fear and pain clearly shown in her eyes. She tried to let out a blood curdling scream, but was stopped by the gag. Confused, she worked her hoof around in her mouth, fishing out the gag. Jose quickly made his way over to her, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned and was about to say something, when his finger touched her lips to silence her. He then put another finger on his own lips, letting out a “shhhhhhhh.” He pointed to the other unconscious ponies on the ground. “Can you help us keep them quiet when they wake up?” Jose whispered.

     Rainbow Dash slowly nodded as Jose made his way back to Corben. Reality hit Rainbow like a train. “Wait, where are we?” She asked in a hushed voice.

     “No clue.” DJ said as he used the last of his fabric to gag Kenny. “But whoever h…”

     “MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!” Tyler started flopping on the ground violently, before a frown formed on his face. “Mmmm… Mmmm mmm mmmm?” His fingers reached into his mouth. “You g…”

    “Dude, shut up!”  DJ said, grabbing the fabric from Tyler’s hand, reusing it on Rarity.

     Tyler looked around him. “Oh shit…” He said. When he realized what the other two humans were doing, he started tearing fabric from his shirt as well.

     This continued for a solid five minutes. Jose and DJ gagging the ponies and humans, Rainbow Dash would quickly fly over to the next person who woke up, then Corben and Tyler would then arrive to explain the situation. But in all reality, they didn’t have a clue about what they were in. It was obvious that the ponies were real and Taviana wasn’t, but why were they in a cell?

     Kendrick was the last person to wake up, and seemed more relieved than scared and in pain. Looking at each other, they all had a look of “What now?”

     The answer quickly came when a set of voices, one male and one female started approaching the door. DJ looked over to the groups. “Lay down, act like you’re asleep and maybe we can capture the captors!” He whispered. Laying flat on their backs, everypony and every human in the room, acted like they were once again in the dreamland of Taviana.

_____________________________________

     “You have them subdued?” Red asked, a raised eyebrow showed he was impressed with the mare’s accomplishment.

     “Yes, they are all under a sleeping spell. We also have their dreams linked together, they think they are in another world entirely.” Lust said with a proud smile. “They should be out for another two hours.”

     Red looked over. “Do they know?” He asked.

     Her smile slowly started to fade. “Know what?”

     “Do they know they are in a dream?” His voice carrying a very serious tone as they got closer to the cell door.

     “There’s no way they can know, we have the dream as clear as we can get it.” She insisted.

     The stallion turned to look at the mare. “You haven’t been monitoring their dream?” A frown clear on his face.

     “We watched it for an hour, then we cut the feed. With this many ponies under the spell, it requires way more energy than you can imagine. They had no clue when we cut it though, they were just talking around campfires.” She said, trying her best to defend herself.

     The stallion looked through the cell door’s window at the demons and ponies. They lay still, their chest rising and falling slowly. He let out a sigh. “You got lucky, Lust. But luck doesn’t last forever.” He slowly opened the door. He wanted to observe the demon from Canterlot, he was the biggest, and from the reports, the meanest. Stepping over the bodies on the floor, Lust and Red made their way to the demon, DJ.

     When they got to him, Red smiled. “He’s perfect.” He said. He observed everything, every twitch, the rise and fall of his chest, even the eyes under his eyelids moving. “Lust, tell me. What is in his mind now?”

     Lust’s horn ignited, a small strand of magic going onto DJ’s forehead. She frowned. “He’s walking through a field of some crop.” She said. “He has one of those weapons we got from the other demons. He looks as if he’s on a mission to get somewhere, but in no hurry.”

     Red frowned. “I thought the groups were together? And why is he missing an article of clothing?” He asked, still staring at the demon. He didn’t receive a response. “Lust, when I ask you a question, you answer it.” He said sternly. Still nothing. With anger building inside him, he whipped his head around. “Lust! Whe…” He was cut short at a new sight.

     One of the demons had Lust in a headlock, cutting off the air to her lungs, a hand firmly grasping the base of her horn. Red heard a shuffle behind him. Slowly turning, he was met with a pair of icy blue eyes staring into his soul. Before he could react, the demon had a firm grasp on Red’s horn.

     “Well well well…” It said with a devilish smile. “What have we here? It would appear the captors have been captured.” The demon said. Before Red could respond, he heard more shuffling. His eyes darted to his right as every demon and pony stood up to their full height. He gulped. He didn’t know what to say in this situation.

     “Here’s what’s gonna happen.” DJ said, his hand holding the horn in a way that would result in a quick *snap*. “You’re going to tell us where our stuff is, where my ring is, the way out, and the direction to Ponyville. Then, you are going to forget we ever existed, and shut down whatever operation you have going on here.”

     Red thought for a moment. “And what if I don’t?” He asked.

     The demon got right next to Red’s ear. “Then I will find my gear, find my way out of here, and find my way back to Ponyville. But that will make me very upset. You won’t like me when I’m upset.” It said.

     Red sighed. “Your gear is in the next room to the right. Keep going straight then take a right, you’ll run into some stairs, take those then take a right. The double doors lead out and directly to a path that runs into Ponyville.”

     The demon smiled.”Corb, go check if our gear is there.”

     “Roger!” The other demon said, jogging over to the next room. A minute later, 'Corb' came back. “Yup, everything’s there.” He said.

     DJ smiled, looking back to Red. “Good, you all leave me and Tyler, go get geared up.” He said. “We need  to have a chat with these amazing hosts of ours." The demons nodded,  leaving the room with the ponies in tow.  Once they left, DJ  gripped the horn even harder.

     "Now  listen and listen good." He  said,  yanking Red's  head closer. " You will not follow us,  and I will kill you if your information is wrong.  But,  do not think that you're getting out of here without punishment."  With a quick yank, Red's  horn was disconnected from his head.  Leaning down,  the demon spoke into his ear. " Remember me." He  said.  Standing up,  he nodded  to  the other demon, who held the mare up in the air.

     "P-p-please." She whimpered.

     DJ smiled. "Oh, I'm not going to knock you out. You know, you're a very pretty mare." He said, running his hand down her cheek. "It would be a shame if those just barbaric guards got in here, I'm sure the first thing they would to their unconscious leader would be too help her." Lust's face started to turn pale. DJ chuckled. "Disband this little group of yours, and never let me see your face again."

     The mare quickly nodded as the second demon dropped her to the ground. When the two left the room, Lust looked over to the stallion. His horn dismembered from his head. With that sight, Lust gave a quick nod, agreeing to the deal that was made between the demon and the pony. She had seen what they were capable of, and how quickly they were able to make their violent decisions and make one sided deals. She knew that she never should have tried to bring them into her world.

     They were worse than Discord.

__________________________

     “You realize you are way too rich to be from Noble, right Corben?” Kendrick said as he pulled his mask over his face.

     Corben smiled as he picked up his MILSIG paintball gun. “What makes you say that?”

     “Oh , I dunno, maybe because you’re packing a thousand dollar rifle.” Kendrick said as he screwed his air tank into his own gun, a much more modest Brass Eagle.

     A more metallic click caught the Defensive End and Linebacker’s attention. They turned to see Shelby holding a very real shotgun. His eyes getting big and bright with a smile forming on his face. “Yeah, you guys have fun with your paintball, I found my loadout!”

     Before Shelby could react, a hand reached out and snatched it from his hand. “Don’t think so, mate.” DJ said as he flipped the safety on and ejected the shell.

     “Hey asshole! I found that first!” Shelby protested.

     DJ looked to Shelby in disbelief. “This is my fucking gun, It’ll be a chilly day in hell when I let you have it.”

     Before Shelby could protest, his own gun was put into his chest. “Come on, man. Just shut up and let’s get going. I don’t want to be in this fucking castle or forest for long.” Matt said.

     DJ looked around the room. “Where are the girls?”

     “Outside with Kenny and Dustin.” Corben said. “They already got their gear, and the girls are rather eager to get home.”

     “Don’t blame ‘em.” DJ said as he put his own items in his pockets. “Hey, you guys got an extra shirt?”

     Corben opened his bag, before emerging with only a wife beater. “Will this work?”

     DJ nodded. “It’ll have to. I got a shirt back in my truck.”

     Corben smiled. “So, Lil’ Red’s here too?”

     DJ gave a quick nod. “Yup.” He said, looking to everyone else in the room. “Let’s go, we need to get a plan sorted out.”

     As everyone left the small room, DJ checked once more to be sure he wasn’t forgetting anything. After a quick pat down of himself, he assumed that everything that he should have, he did have.

     Until his thumb ran over his finger. His ring was still in the castle. He walked back into the room, checking every little box and corner. After two minutes, Kendrick peeked his head into the room. “Hey, man. We got to go, what are you hunting for?”

     DJ let out a sigh. “Someone stole my ring not too long ago…”

     Kendrick snapped his fingers, pointing and waving his finger. “Shelby has it!”

     Shaking his head and standing up, DJ made his way to the door. “Why the hell he has it, I don’t know. But he better not think he’s gonna keep it.”

    Once outside, the group formed a small circle, waiting for instruction from Twilight or DJ. He stepped forward first. “Here’s what we’re doing. We’re gonna get out of this forest as fast as we can, then me, Twilight, and the guys are loading up in Lil’ Red and headed to Canterlot. Twilight, you are coming with us. There isn't enough room in the truck, so if you want to come, take the train." Looking over to Shelby, DJ held out his hand. "You found a ring, it belongs to me."

     Shelby fished in his pockets, eventually finding the silver ring. Taking it, DJ made a whirling motion above his head. "Let's move!" Playing with the ring between his fingers, it felt different. But at the same time, vaguely familiar. Frowning, DJ looked down at the ring. A smile crept on his face at the sight of a small rainbow aura of colors that circled the ring. This had happened before, but a god have given it to him.

     As the group started to leave, DJ felt a slight tug on his shoe. A small vine had broken the surface and was starting to wrap around his foot. Placing the ring on his finger, he pointed the gem at the strange plant. A sharp blue light quickly flashed from the ring, turning the vine into ash. Looking around to make sure no one saw, he brought it up to his face. A large smile forming on his face.

     As he brought his shotgun to his shoulder, Kendrick walked up beside him. "Hey, you see what I see?"

     DJ looked around for anything out of the ordinary. "See what?"

     Kendrick pointed into the forest. Following the finger, DJ saw the item in question. Two yellow glowing orbs. At first they just looked like lanterns.

     Then, they blinked.

     Kendrick glared at DJ, hitting him in the chest. "Are you serious right now? This is the fucking universe we got trapped in?"

     DJ narrowed his eyes. "Is that..."

     "Ruby? Yup, which means..."

     "That we need to get the fuck out of here." DJ said. Walking a little faster he got behind the group. "Come on ladies, let's go! We're burnin' daylight!"

     Kendrick shook his head. "Out of every universe for us to get stuck in, we landed in this one?"

     "If we ignore it we won't have to deal with it." DJ said, glancing back at the orbs. "And Nightmare night isn't for another couple months."

     Kendrick have a weak smile. "Just as long as we funny have to deal with those Bl..."

     DJ glared at Kendrick. "This stays between us, understand? We don't tell anyone about what we just saw or what it means, got it?"

     "Have I ever let you down?" He asked with a grin.

     "Sophomore year." DJ said, hitting his friend's shoulder.

__________________________________________

    It was strange for Matt. He wasn't tired at all, and it was like he just woke up from the greatest nap ever. But he still felt exhausted. Every chance he got he would lean on a tree or against a rock just to get a few seconds of rest.

     The forest was thick and humid, eventually making him take off his mask just due to the amount of effort of keeping the sweat and humidity from clouding his vision. Pushing the mask to the top of his head, he realized some of his friends were having the same problem with their masks. But none seemed to be as exhausted as him.

     With a grunt, he pushed himself off the rock. His small duffle bag and gun getting more and more heavy by the second. He felt a hand fest on his shoulder, turning, he was met with a concerned look.

     “You alright, man?” Tyler asked, pulling his mask up.

     Matt let out a sigh. “Dude, I dunno. I’m exhausted.” He said. Looking over to Tyler again, he realized his friend wasn’t doing too well either. His eyes had large bags under them while being completely bloodshot. He had a small slouch that others may not have noticed, but having been around the man for over ten years, Matt knew Tyler all too well. “Holy shit bro, you look like crap.”

     Tyler let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, you don’t look so good yourself.” Tyler said, grunting as he readjusted his gun while they continues to walk with the group through the forest. “You know, I don’t feel too good about this.”

     “About what? The forest?”

     Tyler shook his head. “No, wherever we are. This fucking ponyland shit.”

     Matt nodded. “I agree. It’s bullshit. But hey, might as well make the most of it. Right?” Matt asked, shrugging while looking at Tyler.

     “How do you plan on making the most of it?” Tyler asked.

     Matt rubbed his chin. “Well, I assumed that we could get a loan and start some kind of business?” He looked to Tyler. “I mean, we could start a 7-11 or create a bunch of clubs?” He said with a smile.

     Tyler started nodding. Then, he frowned. Looking to the front of the group, he saw DJ and Twilight talking. “Eyo, Deeje!”

     DJ turned around with a raised eyebrow. “Waddup?”

     “Hey, where are we staying?”

     “Staying… As in tonight or…?”

     Tyler shook his head. “Look, you’ve been here for months now with, from what I can tell, no closer than when you got here to getting back. If this is the case, we need a place to stay until we either go home, or get a home.”

     DJ looked down to Twilight. “I can’t afford to house all of them. I barely got enough to rent out that house by the sofa place and get food and stuff. And I doubt Ry can get a job anytime soon. I kinda gave humans a bad name, and I had to work in secret.” He said.

     Twilight shook her head. “I have no idea, honestly. Maybe we can find a place for them once we get to Canterlot?”

     Tyler frowned. “Wait a minute… What do you mean you have enough to start renting a place? You got a job here?” He asked, curiosity written all over his face.

     DJ’s face started to turn a little red. Turning back towards the forest, he shook his head. “None-ya.” He said.

     Corben gave a grunt as he readjusted his bag. The large pack filled with low grade explosives was also occupied by three sleeping fillies. “You know, we’ll find out eventually anyways. Might as well just tell us now and get the harassment over with.”

     DJ groaned, grinding his teeth a little. “Alright, fine…  I’m a massage therapist.”

     The entire group stopped to stare at DJ, who let out a sigh as he felt his team’s eyes digging into his skull. “Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, you  mean to tell me that you’re a masseuse?” Jose asked, the devil’s smile on his face.

     “That’s a bit more sexual than what I do.” He said, keeping his bright red face from his friend’s eyes. “I just relieve muscle tension.”

     Tyler tried to stop himself from laughing, but eventually just completely let loose. “Bahaha! Are you serious? That’s what you’ve been doing!” Tyler asked, tears starting to stream from his eyes.

     DJ turned to his other linebacker, pointing his finger. “It paid the bills, dammit!” He said.

     Shelby smiled. “Oh look at me, my name is DJ, I put my fingers on ponies all day long for money and think I’m Billy Badass a hur du durr!” He said in a mocking voice.

     DJ held up his middle finger to Shelby. “Why don’t we get you a box and call that home for you?”

     Shelby narrowed his eyes. “You aren’t serious are you?”

     DJ shrugged. "Could be.”

________________________

     Ryan’s eyes slowly opened as the rapid beeping assaulted her ears. Reaching over, her finger reflexively hit the lock button, postponing the alarm five minutes. She let out a groan, rolling onto her side and pulling the covers over her head. She was never a morning person, and never saw how anyone was. She had heard the rumors of the ‘magical’ coffee, but couldn’t stand the taste.

     The second alarm came much quicker than she expected, and made her sigh. Sitting up and grabbing her phone, she rubbed her tired eyes. When her vision finally came into focus, she stood up from the cold floor. Looking around, she eventually found the entrance to the kitchen. She was told to make herself at home, and with a growling stomach, she intended to do just that.

     Opening the fridge, she didn’t see too much that was edible. The few things being eggs, milk, cheese, and fruits. Sighing, she grabbed all the items and set them on the counter. She searched through the cupboards for anything to cook with, eventually finding it and a loaf of bread. But before she could actually start making anything, a knock on the door caught her attention.

     Not knowing if she should answer it, she just called out for Spike. “Spike…? Someone’s at the door.” There was no response as she set down the tools and made her way to the door herself. “Spike, lazy ass, are you even up yet?” Still nothing. Shaking her head, Ryan opened the door.

     Opening the door, a mint green unicorn was searching through her bag. “One second Twilight, I have those books I was going to return real fast.”

     Ryan rubbed the back of her head, the group had said they would be back before she woke up. But looking over to the red truck and a lack of a sleeping human in the cabin disproved that pretty quick. “Hate to tell you this, Twilight’s not here.”

      The unicorn still searched through her bag. “Well, maybe you could get Spike to ch…” When the unicorn’s eyes met with Ryan, they doubled in size. Then with a quick glance to the red truck, her face grew a huge smile.

     “Spike’s out right now, I could put them on a table or something?” Ryan asked, trying to break the silence the unicorn had created.

     “Am I dreaming?” She asked, her hoof reaching out to touch Ryan, who took a step back.

     “Uhhh, can I just get those books? I kinda need to get breakfast ready.” She said, looking back into the kitchen, where an omelet to be created lay in wait.

     The unicorn’s smile grew larger and larger. “I knew it… I knew it!” She started to say.

     Ryan sighed. “Listen just give me the books.” She said, holding out one hand while the other rubbed her forehead, trying to ease the quickly forming headache.

     The unicorn was slowly walking forward, the books that were in her magic grasp now laying on the ground. “I have soooooooooo many things to ask you!” She said.

     Ryan took another step back, reaching to close the door with an awkward smile. “Uhhh, heh, ummmm… We’re closed?” Before slamming the door shut, flipping the lock. She stared at the door for a solid minute, making sure the crazy pony wouldn’t burst through. When she was satisfied that wouldn’t happen, she turned and made for her meal.

     Walking in, her pants were almost shat as a loud flapping noise filled her ears, from two inches away. Throwing her arms, she searched for the source of the noise. Her eyes eventually met a small owl, staring back. Smiling, she cocked her head. “What’s your name?” She asked, expecting it too to talk.

     “Who.”

      Ryan shrugged. “Guess not everything here can talk.”

      “Yeah, he isn’t the brightest.”

     The new voice caused Ryan to jump a good six inches in the air. Turning to Spike, who was also rubbing tired eyes. Ryan leaned over with her hand over her heart. “Jesus Christ… Don’t scare me like that, Spike!” She said, before letting out a light laugh.

     Spike looked into the kitchen, his brain still not working at full speed. “You’re making breakfast?”

     Ryan nodded. “Yeah, I was planning on it, Then some weirdo knocked on the door.”

      Spike frowned. “What classifies a weirdo for you?” He asked.

     Ryan stuck her tongue out at the dragon before walking into the kitchen. “Some… green unicorn wanted to drop off some books. Well, she then s…”

     Spike let out a breath of air. “That’s Lyra, don’t worry about her.”

     Ryan looked over to Spike. “What, not going to let me finish my story? No way I’m making you an omelet now.” She said.

      Before Spike could respond, another knock sounded on the door, accompanied with a ton of voices. His eyebrows raised. “Wow, that’s got to be a record.”

     Ryan frowned. “For what?”

     As Spike made his way to the door, he looked back at Ryan. “For some kind of disaster, in this case Lyra finding an alien, for everypony in town to run to Twilight.”

     Ryan put her hands on her hips. “She’s…. a librarian?”

     Spike grabbed the knob for the door and looked at Ryan. “You’re still new here. I’ll have to tell you later.”

     Ryan rolled her eyes, going back to her omelette. When the door opened, a familiar voice filled the air. Twilight’s. Rather than getting in the way of the reunion, Ryan just tried to listen in. But before a single word between the pony and the dragon was said, a too familiar voice filled the air.

     “What the fuck, how do you listen to this shit?” A voice screamed.

     Ryan looked over to the door. “That wasn’t Dustin… wa…”

     “Fuck you, man! This shit’s great!” Another voice rang out.

     “Kendrick?” Ryan asked herself, walking towards the door. Stepping outside, her jaw hit the floor. DJ and his defense, standing in a circle around the red truck fighting about music. DJ eventually looked over, his eyes getting the size of dinner plates, violently pointing his finger back inside. But Ryan was too confused with the random amount of players that she hadn’t a clue what he was signaling for.

     Everything made sense with his next motion. Yelling “Holy shit, dragon!” and pointing at the sky, DJ looked back to Ryan. He took his two hands, placing them firmly on his breasts, and shook them up and down. Frowning, Ryan looked down. Realization hit her like a train.

     With only Spike, a baby that had no idea how human anatomy worked, she had yet to change out of her sleepwear. Shorts and a bra.

     She started to take a step back, but it was too late. “Seriously, DJ? You c…” Kendrick locked eyes with Ryan in the doorway, his own eyes turning to the size of dinner plates, mouthing “Jesus Christ.”

     Slamming the door, Ryan quickly got dressed. But that was probably going to be a conversation starter for a while.