Legend of Silva's Gate

"There's this mold...thingy. I-in his wounds, ya know? It's rare, and needs to be removed with this uhh...medicine." Rainbow Dash motioned to the various items displayed on the cart as she tried to explain, failing miserably as the guards stared back, unamused. Just as she sighed and was about to give up the attempt, one of the guards squinted and got up into Rainbow Dash's face, causing her to shrink back slightly.

"Are you...?" The guard suddenly took a closer look at her, squinting slightly. His eyes went wide and he drew himself back as realization washed over him. "Ahh, Miss Dash! Many apologies, I hadn't recognized you in that nurse uniform. You may enter, but I have one small question, if you don't mind satisfying my curiosity?" The guard asked, speaking to her in a much less intimidating tone. As Dawn snapped out of her frozen trance, she looked between her new friend and the (now friendly) guards as Rainbow Dash nodding slowly, still wary of the two stallions before her (and wondered if they were going to ask about the embarrassing uniform). "What does the Holder of the Element of Loyalty want with this patient? I'm aware that you were the first one to notice him, but what else seems to be on your mind?" The guard asked, unfazed as Dawn gawked, open mouthed, at Rainbow Dash.

"Wait, YOU'RE the Element of Loyalty?" Healing Dawn shouted her question, shock threatening to overtake her again.

"I'll explain in a sec.." Rainbow Dash answered quietly, as Dawn came to the realization of what Rainbow Dash was hinting at when she said she and her friends often got into trouble. Turning her gaze back towards the guards, Rainbow Dash explained her intentions for a third time today. "I came because of his wings. My entire life revolves around flying, so, naturally, I know when wings are hurt. After seeing him in the forest, I could tell you that he probably won't be flying again, even without a surgeon's note. When I took a look at him, I could tell he flew a lot, too, meaning his life has changed big time. So I feel that he should have someone who can sympathize next to him..."

"I see...well, you may enter, as I previously stated. The Princesses are with him now themselves, so don't surprise them. They are conducting an investigation into his memories to find out who did this." The guard advised. Nodding to the guards, Rainbow Dash motioned to Healing Dawn to walk with her, who did so, but not without continuing to regard her with awe as the two mares walked into the secured room. "Did you manage to get a-?" The guard that spoke to Rainbow Dash asked the other without moving or looking at him, as the silent one held up a camera, still staring forward.

"Miss Dash looking extremely feminine. The guys down in the barracks are not going to believe this." the other guard thought aloud, the two of them allowing smirks to grow across both their faces as they continued to stare down the hall, growing silent once more.

"Heh, if I'd have known my status with the guards was that high, I'd have simply waltzed on in here without the uniform." Rainbow Dash bragged, smirking as she did so. Looking around the darkened room, she noticed a flickering candlelight behind drawn curtains, which covered the only bed that was occupied.

"But Rainbow Dash, you actually look cute in the uniform! I'm surprised that those stallions didn't do a double-take!" Healing Dawn teased as she winked, making Rainbow Dash squirm on the spot.

"Oh, don't...say t-that! I've never looked good in girly clothes." she downplayed, trying to act as if the compliment hadn't embarrassed her, but a creeping blush betrayed her. Healing Dawn giggled, and then pointed a hoof in the direction of the bed, getting the pair of them back on-track. After a few steps towards the curtain, a shadow stirred behind it, and a white hoof pulled the curtain back slightly, exposing Princess Celestia's face looking out at them.

"My, what a pleasant and helpful surprise! Rainbow Dash, what brings you here?" Celestia asked, smiling as she regarded her subjects before her. Sighing slightly due to having to repeat herself, Rainbow Dash explained her presence again to the Princess. "I see. Perhaps it is good that you have come. Sister and I could use your assistance as a the Holder of the Element of Loyalty."

"H-help, Princess?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused and amazed that the Princesses would need help from a pony like her. Healing Dawn was startled slightly and became nervous when Princess Luna appeared from behind her sister. Noticing this, she cast a calming smile in her direction, before placing her gaze upon Rainbow Dash.

"You've no doubt been brought up to speed by the guards outside on what it is that Sister and I are attempting to do. I dislike admitting it, but this...'stallion' has proved to be an amazing adversary, expertly parrying all my attempts to enter his dreams. It's almost as if something exists within him, blocking all outside attempts to communicate." Luna explained their situation, looking back at the hidden stallion with a blank stare. After a short pause, Luna turned her gaze back again. "Sister suspects that the Elements of Harmony could boost the magic's strength enough to force our way into his mind. I'm inclined to agree with such a deduction, as the thought crossed my mind at roughly the same time."

"So you want me to do...what exactly? I don't ever carry the Element with me." Rainbow Dash explained, raising an eyebrow as she glanced between the Princesses. Smiling, the pair of them. closed their eyes for a moment, sudden movement in the air around them causing the curtain around the stallion to flutter and shift. With a sudden flash of light, the Element of Loyalty appeared with a flash, and floated over, shining as it latched around Rainbow Dash's neck. "Oh...right. Guess I shouldn't question whats possible around you, Princesses."

"Think nothing of it, Rainbow Dash." Celestia's smile grew slightly, as she looked at her subject. Looking at Healing Dawn, she maintained her smile as she continued to speak. "Healing Dawn, it is fortunate that you have accompanied Rainbow Dash. This stallion is quite a handful, and if things slip sideways as we explore his mind, we may need your assistance as a medical expert."

"Oh, y-your highness, you f-flatter m-me! I'm no medical ex-expert!" Healing Dawn struggled to reply, nervousness threatening to make her flee the room. Celestia approached her with the same calming smile she usually wore, and nuzzled the Nurse's crest affectionately.

"Nonsense, my little pony. Your knowledge of general medicine rivals that of a surgeon's. Your assistance will be more than sufficient." the white Alicorn spoke softly to the red Earth pony, who sighed and nodded, still nervous of failing the Princesses. Rainbow Dash followed Princess Celestia as she went to rejoin her sister, who had already begun preparing for the second attempt at reading the stallion's mind. Looking at Rainbow Dash, she seemed to know what questions were running through her head as Rainbow Dash zoned out as she stared at the stallion.

"Most of the time, sleeping and day dreaming pony minds are akin to open books, at least for me. A simple mind meld, and I can experience everything that pony is having run though their mind, from memories of times gone by, to fantasy worlds where their wish is law. As the ruler of night, it has been and still is my job to weed out the nightmares that can plague Equestria. During the period in which I was swallowed by evil, Sister has become proficient in the art as well." Luna explained, nodding happily in Celestia's direction as she looked at her sister.

"Even after reading your documentation and studies on the magic, I'm still not as skilled as you, Sister." Celestia complimented, causing Luna to shake her head.

"Nonsense! You managed to balance the nightmares in the land easily in my absence. But I digress." Luna looked back to the stallion. "This magic is what allowed me to answer your question of what it is we'll be doing, without you speaking it. It also should tell you how it is normally undetectable, unless I were to implant things in your mind. This one, however," Luna motioned to the stallion, "seems to defy that logic. He has prevented Sister and I from getting any further than the outer fringes of his mind, the area which is simply clouded in confusion!" Luna's voice boomed out of frustration towards the end. Taking a moment to calm herself after admitting something in the universe defied her most trusty magic, Celestia continued for her.

"Which is why we require your assistance. If we pool out strengths, we should be able to burst through the 'wall' and probe his memories." Celestia explained, her calm demeanor encouraging Rainbow Dash.

"Well, I'm ready whenever you two Princesses are!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed boastfully, eliciting a chuckle from Celestia. Turning to Look and Luna, the two nodded at each other and both placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash, and the other onto the stallion's hooves.

"Close your eyes and blank your mind to a pure white." Luna instructed. Rainbow Dash took long, deep breaths as she quickly cleared everything from her mind. "Good, now, allow us to direct your mind along the dream..." Rainbow Dash heard Luna instruct again, this time, however, she had begun to fade away.

Feeling a strange tugging sensation in the pure white landscape she suddenly found herself in, she followed it forward. As she did so, however, she found her surroundings quickly growing dim, with grey clouds making her feel like she was entering a wild storm. 'This is the wall Sister spoke of. Push against and through it!' Rainbow Dash heard Luna's voice from deep within herself. Nodding, Rainbow Dash threw herself against the clouds, feeling only a slight repelling force at first. As soon as she pushed forward again, though, she felt a great big shove back, as if someone slammed into her. Looking forward for the offending target, she found nothing. Forcing herself forward again, she felt the same force straining against her a second time. Through the mental pushing and shoving, Rainbow Dash suddenly felt extremely exhausted. Just as she was about to give in, a great big tidal wave of strength washed over her, and when it combined with the remainder of her own strength, Rainbow Dash found herself passing the clouds easily. Rainbow Dash was filled with eagerness as she began to exit from the clouds. Her eagerness faded away instantly, however, as she looked around.

Everything was pitch black. She couldn't even see her own hoof two feet in front of her face. Continuing forward nervously, she began to wonder if entering somepony else's mind was such a good idea for someone besides the Princesses.

'Vega...please!' Rainbow Dash suddenly heard a masculine voice ring out in a similar manner in which she heard Luna's speak to her a moment ago. 'Don't fall, I need you...Vega! No!' it spoke again, the urgency, despair, and panic flowing from it, unabated. As Rainbow Dash began to be overwhelmed by the emotions from the voice, she was confused by the sudden silence. As she strained to listen for any noise, she let her guard down. 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' the voice screamed out, slamming into Rainbow Dash with what felt like a stampede of Buffalo. Straining, she suddenly felt the extra strength she earned from earlier fall away almost instantly. The assistance gone, she felt like she was bouncing along the floor.

"Ack! What the heck!" Rainbow Dash shouted out, as she glanced around from the back wall of the hospital room from the floor with Healing Dawn shouting out, extremely panicked and frantic. The shouts prompted an extremely fast response from a squad of Royal Guards, the Guards bursting through the door, into the room. As she gingerly got up, Rainbow Dash became aware that the lightning gem on her Element of Harmony was glowing brightly, and didn't seem to be growing dimmer. Glancing up at the panicked Guards and Healing Dawn, Rainbow Dash gasped as she noticed the Princesses struggling to stand up, completely dazed.

"Oh....oh my..." Celestia spoke in shock as Healing Dawn panicked around her and Luna.

"That was...AMAZING. Such raw...POWER!" Luna was exclaiming, looking more like a mad scientist than anything. As Rainbow Dash watched, she suddenly felt extremely tired. Unable to stabilize herself any longer, she dropped into an exhausted heap on the floor as her gem finally began to dim, eliciting surprise and concern from the Guards near her. Only faintly aware that she was being picked up by one of the guards, Rainbow Dash floated off into a dreamless sleep or complete whiteness.

"Dashie! You're okay! Everypony, Dashie is waking up!" Pinky Pie's distant, albeit elated voice sung out. As Rainbow Dash flicked her eyes open, she found everything blurry, and the light made her head feel like exploding. Rubbing them, she found all her friends piling up around her, excited to see that she was okay.

"Dash, if ya'll were jealous of the ahttention that stallion was gettin', you didn' have to get banged up yerself to make everypony look at you again, ya know." Applejack joked, smiling happily as Rainbow Dash gave a weak laugh.

"Did you want any water? Or medicine? Oh, those doctors take so long to get anypony anything! Their delays make me so...so mad!" Fluttershy grumbled angrily, as she placed a cup of cold water to Rainbow Dash's mouth. Accepting it gratefully, Rainbow Dash chugged the water back, her parched throat now getting moisture. "Lytenol for the headache?" Fluttershy offered, to which Rainbow Dash nodded, prompting Fluttershy to grasp two small pills in her hooves (not an easy feat!) and drop them into Rainbow Dash's open mouth.

"How are the Princesses? I'm worried they got it worse than I did..." Rainbow Dash asked, gripping her pained head with a hoof as she suspected that the force she felt from behind earlier was actually her rulers.

"They are fine, after a little TLC from Healing Dawn." Twilight explained, happy to ease her friend's worries.

"My, you should have seen it, darling! When the guards attempted to take them back to Canterlot, she walked right up to them and gave them such a glare! 'They will NOT be leaving this Hospital until I see to it that they are fit to do so!' she had shouted at them, leaving most of them in shock! It was so...invigorating seeing a mare make a stand against a pack of stallions!" Rarity gushed, relishing the scene that she had witnessed earlier.

"Heh heh, yeah, needless to say, those boys will definitely be thinkin' again before goin' hoof-to-hoof with that nurse a second time." Applejack chuckeled, recalling the shocked looks and speechlessness the guards exhibited afterwards. "By the by, wha are you wearin' a nurse outfit?" Applejack asked, her smiling causing Rainbow Dash to blush.

"Well, uhh...Healing Dawn didn't think that the guards would simply let us walk right in, so we had to...get creative." she explained, a smirk growing on Applejack's face. "So, uhm, where did you girls go...?" Rainbow Dash asked, wanting to change the subject from her attire.

"We visited that super-duper swanky new nightclub, the Watertrough! Let me tell ya, those ponies sure know how to throw a party!" Pinky Pie explained happily. The news made Rainbow Dash a little jealous, as she hadn't even had a chance to take a look at the place with all the recent weather changes that Ponyville was going through. Not to mention...

"Oh, hey, wheres that stallion? Is he okay? the Princesses and I were peeking into his mind when we got smoked." Rainbow Dash asked, eager to learn of his fate, although nervous. Twilight shook her head before she explained, glancing over at the bed a few feet away.

"No changes...he is still unconscious. A Doctor was telling me that he should have woken up by now, particularly after they tried giving him adrenaline." She replied, giving Rainbow Dash a worried look.

"Really? Hmm..." Rarity suddenly blurted out, catching everyone off guard at how odd the outburst was. "Tell me, Rainbow Dash, what were you seeing or hearing as you explored his mind?"

"Seeing? Nothing, at all. It was all black. But...I kinda remember him saying somepony's name. Begging them not to fall. Not to...die, I'm assuming." Rainbow Dash concluded, gripping her head again as she listened to Rarity speak.

"Probably a...decently appropriate indicator that he has lost a lover. No wonder the poor dear won't wake." Rarity explained, looking sadly over at the green stallion, who was absolutely covered in bandages. As she sighed, the room went silent for a few moments, with some of the mares looking at the floor. Pinky Pie glanced from one of her friends to another, her mood getting a little down each time she noticed the sad expressions.

"Oh come on, he's gonna be okay, the Princesses are okay, and so is Dashie! Why the long faces? Things can only get better!" Pinky Pie complained, now annoyed with her friends.

As he felt himself come to, Leo sighed, not opening his eyes. As he lay there, he slowly became aware that he was in a spectacularly comfortable bed. 'I'm...in a bed. I've been floating in space for 'god-knows-how-long'. But I'm in a bed now. What are the odds of my Dream sub-system simply going hay-wire, and I'm asleep in Royal quarters on Cluster Prime?' He thought to himself. Taking a chance, Leo let the sounds of his surroundings flow in. Upon the second he heard the calming pitter-patter of rain falling from a midnight storm outside an open window, he felt his mood sour. Rain never fell on Cluster Prime. 'Apparently, pretty slim. Shit. Just...shit.'

Memories of the last few hours that he was awake slowly made their way back to him, and in an effort to confirm what he had seen, he laboriously turned onto his side in the tight bedspread. Hesitant, he maneuvered his hands from under the sheets and blankets, and chanced a look at his hands, only to see that they were still hoofs, causing his mood to sour even more and make him to curse his luck.

'Why does this...this STUFF...Always happen to ME! Ugh! 'Cause things can only get better!', Brad would say. The HELL is WITH that logic! This is the absolute worst thing to happen! Nothing could make this better OR worse!' Growling in frustration, he turned back to the ceiling, bearing his teeth, and pounded on his bed. Leo continued to pound the side of his bed silently in a quiet rage, and it was only after a quiet and quick intake of breath from his right did he stop. His heart in his throat, Leo slowly turned to look to his right, only to see his rainbow-maned neighbor staring at him in surprise. As he felt his heart begin to race in panic, his mind flooded with dark and horrible images. 'Correction, EVERYTHING just got worse!!'

With a start, Rainbow Dash was awakened by movement from her left. Looking over, she noticed the Stallion had turned over onto his left side. Thinking the fact that he moved was a good sign, she happily closed her eyes again and was beginning to fall back into a pleasant slumber, aided by the peaceful rainfall.

As Rainbow Dash was slipping away again, she jolted back awake when the Stallion moved again. Looking over at him again, slightly irritated, she watched the Stallion begin a staring contest with the ceiling. His sudden pounding of his bed caused her to have a sharp intake of breath out of surprise. When he stopped suddenly and slowly turned his head in her direction, Rainbow Dash began to feel nervousness creep up upon her, making her wish she wasn't alone in the room with him. The two locked eyes, seconds feeling like minutes. As Rainbow Dash slowly shrank back in her bed, a look of pure terror overtook the Stallion's heavily bandaged face.

"Stay away! What do you things WANT from me?" the Stallion began to shout at Rainbow Dash, his jade green eyes shrinking in raw terror. "I asked you all before to leave me-!" He had continued to shout, until he grunted and fell to the floor near the window, clutching his head, and suddenly fell silent. Rainbow Dash hesitated in her bed, unsure of what to do as she was beginning to panic and wonder if the stallion was sane. She was surprised to see Princess Luna walk out from a blackened corner of the room and look towards the stallion with a blank stare.

"He holds a fear for all Ponies. A childhood nightmare plagues him." Princess Luna spoke aloud. She quietly walked towards the stallion, her mane fluttering in the wind from the storm flowing in through the open window. Without a word, she magicked him into a more comfortable position on the floor. Princess Luna's horn began to glow with a blue hue, as she lay down beside the stallion. Closing her eyes, she lowered her head so that her horn rested upon the top of his head. As Rainbow Dash continued to watch silently, she saw a white mist appear from Luna's horn and flow down into the stallion's head. Shortly after, Luna raised her head and opened her eyes, rising from the floor of the hospital room. At this, Rainbow Dash slid out of bed and onto the floor.

"What did you do?" she asked quietly, still unsure of the stallion's sanity.

"I couldn't remove his personal horror, but I did at least manage to mask it." Luna spoke as she seemed to inadvertently ignore the question, a frown on her face and she looked down upon the sleeping stallion.

"For one fill with so much anguish, strangely he puts up a magnificent fight to cling onto it." Celestia's voice floated out from the same corner in which Luna emerged. Whipping her head around to the source, Rainbow Dash witnessed the rare sight of a troubled Princess Celestia.

"Uhm, I don't want to interrupt either of you, Princesses, but whats going on?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking from one sister to the other. Glancing at Rainbow Dash for a moment, Luna looked to Celestia for a silent agreement. Nodding, Celestia looked towards Rainbow Dash, her expression softened to the one she usually wore.

"Now is not the time for any of you to know. You shall be filled in at a later point." Princess Celestia assured her. "For now, I suggest you rest until morning, as he won't be awake until them himself. To help him, you'll need your energy. He has a tendency to bolt, and he moves very quickly when he does." Celestia added. Unsure of how Celestia knew this, Rainbow Dash nodded slowly and hopped back up into her hospital bed as Princess Luna magicked the stallion into his own bed, easily covering him back up with the blankets. As Rainbow Dash got herself comfortable, a question suddenly shot into her mind as the Princesses were leaving the room.

"Oh, Princess Luna, one last question..?" she asked the blue Alicorn, who stopped to look back at her silently. "Uhm, what is 'childhood'?"

"'Childhood'...? Perhaps you misheard me, I said 'foal-hood'." Princess Luna lied, Rainbow Dash finding her extremely convincing. However, as she nodded and then laid back down onto the pillows silently, her mind whirred.

'I know what I heard, and it was definitely 'childhood'. Gonna go out on a limb here and guess that it's just like foal-hood, seeing as Princess Luna mentioned it...' she thought, just before she found herself drifting into a very relaxing sleep.

When Rainbow Dash woke up, early morning sunlight streamed through from the open window, causing her to squint and raise a leg to shield her eyes. laying on her side, she turned her gaze towards the stallion's bed, finding it empty. As she laid there, eyes squinting and staring at the bed, it took a moment for her to realize the problem her brain was prodding her with: his bed was empty. Jumping out of her bed, she zipped over to the other side of his bed, only to see his bowl of soup spilled on the floor. Rainbow Dash groaned, and quickly put the tip of her right hoof into the soup to check it's temperature, finding it cold.

"Argh, Princess Celestia wasn't kidding! He must have left the hospital by now!" Rainbow Dash growled. Quickly disrobing from the nurse uniform she still found herself in, Rainbow Dash bolted from the room and found the nearest elevator. Punching the call button, she became antsy as the elevator kept stopping at other floors. Glancing to her right, Rainbow Dash noticed an open window. Galloping over, she peeked out to the ground to see that the lobby entrance that she flew into last night was only a few floors below. Not wasting anymore time, she surprised a couple nurses and doctors when she jumped out. Being the daring pegasus she was, Rainbow Dash waited until she was only a few feet from the ground before she unfurled her wings, slowing herself with one forceful flap. When she landed on all fours with a dramatic thud, a group of fillies being watched by a nurse gave off impressed 'ooh's (as well as a gasp from the nurse). Normally, this would stroke Rainbow Dash's ego nicely, but she wanted an explanation as why Leo was already gone from the hospital, so she ignored the praise and galloped back into the hospital. When she entered the lobby, she was surprised by the high level of activity within it, a far cry from what could be described as loneliness from last night. Glancing around, Rainbow Dash began attempting to find a free nurse or doctor to ask for help.

"Rainbow Dash?" a familiar voice rung out from behind her. Turning, she saw Healing Dawn looking at her with a smile on her face. Not wasting time, she trotted over to her new friend.

"Morning, Healing Dawn! Hey, you haven't seen that stallion anywhere have you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Oh, yes, I just escorted him to the library. Said he had something he wanted to research, and was invited to the library last night when your friends visited. I left a royal guard with him, just in-case he becomes too fatigued to move around under his own power." Healing Dawn explained, attempting to reassure Rainbow Dash with the last bit. Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows at the news of his invitation, however.

"That...doesn't even make sense. He was still totally out of it last night when my friends were visiting. Besides, Twilight doesn't let anyone into the library but her friends on Wednesdays." Rainbow Dash thought aloud, Prompting a now irritated Healing Dawn to reply with a hoof to her face.

"Wonderful, just wonderful! I was told by the Doctor that he was a hoof-full and was quite snappy. But he was so silent when I talked to him, so I took his word when he...ugh! Stallions!"

"Ahh, don't worry. I'll look for him and make sure he isn't causing trouble. I get the feeling the Princesses wanted me to keep an eye on him." Rainbow Dash volunteered. Healing Dawn bit her lip for a moment, and looked around the busy hospital lobby, and then nodded.

"Thank you, Rainbow Dash. It's really busy in here, otherwise I'd go...can you at least give him heck for me?" she asked, to which Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"Sure thing, I'll be sure let you know how he's doing!" Rainbow Dash promised, just before she galloped out of the lobby and launched herself into the air.

"Interesting. This should be....very, very interesting." Angel seemingly spoke to himself from a frozen mountaintop, as a blue light retracted into a device on his wrist. As he stood still, looking towards the grey sky and smirking as the wind caused his cloak to flutter in the wind with the snow, an eerie voice floated around in the air.

"Those whom you despise approach. They pose no problem, however. Even those who exist without the flesh are still susceptible to nightmares.." Nightmare loftily replied, causing Angel to flinch slightly.

"Nightmare, please don't speak in such a manner, you're making me nervous." Angel replied uneasily, beginning to fidget and look around.

"As you should be. Remember, doppelganger, you only continue to live thanks to my intervention. I could have easily subdued the thorn in your side and killed you instead. Do not forget that." Nightmare teased evilly, causing Angel to frown and cross his arms in a 'harrumph!'.

"I'm aware, have I not said it before? I owe you my services. Which you will receive. It's up to you what we shall do about the Hive. I care not for these ponys in the slightest, so it's you're choice." Angel replied to the voice within.

"For now, we bide. The ponys can suffer, until, of course, these...'robots', were they? Until they become a hindrance. Though, it sounds like they should be easy enough for the Royal Equestrian Army to handle, so I suspect we needn't lay a finger on them. Once their blockage of your message is stopped, we can contact your precious 'Humans' and make a utopia." Nightmare explained her plan to Angel, using a similarly haughty tone. Without a sound, Angel smirked and simply waltzed over the cliff face he had been perched on top of.