Trixie slowly looked over at Nova's currently sleeping form, it had been a few days since the two of them had crossed the border successfully, and to her concern, Nova had spent most of that time sleeping.

What was really catching her attention, though, was the cuts and bruises that seemed to be healing themselves at an alarming quick speed.
Although he didn't appear to be too injured when he got back from whatever he fought, most of the wounds on his body would normally take either a week or two to properly heal and close, yet before her eyes, they were either scabs or had just flat out disappeared already.

Trixie truly didn't know what to make of her companion, sometimes, although she dreaded to admit it, he frightened her, but at the same time, there was this constant air of mystery to him, she wanted to know more, she HAD to know more.

Shaking her head, she turned her attention back towards the road, casually picking up the earphones and music player with her magic and putting it in her ears.

(Canterlot, Some time after midday, Luna's room)

Luna stretched her body out as she entered her room, the last few days had been particularly hectic for her.
With Celestia still in the hospital for observation, running most of the country had fallen to her for the time being, coupled with the recent defeat at Nova's hands and her concern for her sisters health, she welcomed the prospect of sleep, even if it meant suffering at the hand of her own nightmares.

Taking off her regalia, Luna slipped in between the covers and prepared for nightmares to come.

Something was wrong, she could feel it as soon as the dream started, looking around, she was once again within the ruins of her old castle in the Everfree, the Tantabus, the provider of her nightmares, was nowhere to be seen.
Focusing her magic, she could clearly sense its dark energy, but there was something else here as well, as she tried to focus on this foreign presence, she found herself being ripped forwards against her will.

Panicking, she attempted to struggle against whatever had suddenly taken a hold of her, only to find herself suddenly slamming to a halt.
Quickly taking a look at her surroundings, what she saw confused her, it was the same castle, only different.

Instead of the dark and gloomy presence of the Everfree, warm sunlight made its way through the holes in the ceiling, the grass that poked itself out of the stone floor had been replaced by golden wheat.

Luna's eyes shot open in realization.
"Nova and I must both be asleep, and because of the link he forged between us, our dreams have also linked." She said to herself.
A burst of rage coursed through her body, but it was quickly replaced with terror.

"If our dreams have been linked......" Luna gasped in horror. "The Tantabus!"

Charging out the giant wooden doors, Luna found herself looking upon a familiar sight, Nova's side of the dream existed directly outside hers.

Quickly scanning the area, it didn't take long to spot him, back against the single tree on top the hill was Nova.
Cautiously approaching, Luna made her way towards him, landing a few steps from him.

"Nova, what are you playing at, why are you here?" Luna asked, her voice thick with venom.
Despite this, Nova made no effort to move, let alone respond, it was only after getting a better look at his face, that she discovered why.
Sitting there, face scrunched in pain, Nova slept within his own dream, Luna, confused by this quickly remember the other reason she was here and attempted to focus on the Tantabus's location.

It was close, too close, she scanned the area, seeing nothing, but Nova.
It was at this point, that Luna almost shit herself, realizing the worst possible scenario had presented itself, the Tantabus had infected Nova, forcing him into a Nightmare, within a dream.

Panic coursed through Luna's body, if her creation managed to find its way out into the real world through Nova, the entire world would suffer endless nightmare.
Looking over Nova's forum, an insane idea entered her head, if Nova was technically dreaming due to the Tantabus's influence, she could enter his nightmare and force capture the living nightmare.
Upon thinking this, Luna could swear she heard a strange noise ring out through the air.

Shaking her head clear, she lowered her horn towards Nova's head and prepared herself to enter his nightmare.

The first thing Luna noticed was the oppressive atmosphere, a sense of loneliness, and fear ruled the area.
Opening her eyes, she was greeted with grey, everything was grey, massive structures raised high into the sky above her, the ground seemed to be made out of concrete, not a shred of nature could be seen.
Luna attempted to step forwards, only to find the action impossible, as if she didn't have the energy to do so.
Rooted as she was, she was still able to turn her body, though the simple action seemed to drain the will from her body.

After what seemed an eternity, she finally managed to turn herself around, only to be greeted with a grisly sight.
A few meters away, hung Nova, both arms chained and suspending him just above the ground.
His sudden appearance caused Luna to attempt to back up, only to find she was still rooted in place, forced to stare at his limp form.
After getting a better look, she noticed something was off, his entire body seemed a bit smaller, his hair was much shorter, and he was covered in rags, though he seemed to be breathing at least.

It was only after observing him, that she noticed his quiet mumbling, she strained her ear to listen to what he was saying.

"getoutofmyhead,getoutofmyhead,getoutofmyhead,getoutofmyhead."

To say Luna was disturbed by this would be putting it mildly.
Steeling herself, she focused her magic once again to find the living nightmare, only to once again, find it coming from Nova.
It was at that moment, that she saw it, a sick, black twisting forum was slowly making its way out of the back of his head, after a few seconds, the Tantabus suddenly rocketed out the back of Nova's head, seemingly forced out.
The was a groan that seemed to echo from all around, as the chains holding Nova up suddenly broke, his body falling to the ground.

Everything was still for a second, Luna, being rooted, the Tantabus, seemingly reeling from its expulsion, and Nova seemingly lifeless on the cold ground.

The Tantabus was the first to move, its ethereal form shot back towards Nova, seemingly wanting to force its way further into his mind, only to find itself stopped by some unseen force.

Nova was now standing, his hands holding his head in what looked like extreme pain, only for him to suddenly dart forward towards the living nightmare, which hopelessly struggled in its invisible bonds.
Nova's almost limp form stood in front of the dark creature, hands slowly rising around it, as if to clap his hands together, he started to close them around the Tantabus, though not quite touching it.

The effect was instant, the Tantabus violently lashed out, its form slowly being crushed by an invisible force, Nova slowly kept closing his hands together, seemingly commanding the unseen force to further crush the dark magic.

Before Luna could even shout out, Nova slammed his hands together, the Tantabus disappearing into nothingness.

A few seconds pass, Luna, frozen both literally and figuratively, couldn't process the event's she just bore witness too.
The Tantabus, the embodiment of nightmares, was just casually crushed to death in a nightmare it created.
Luna focused her magic and got herself the fuck out of there.

Luna opened her eyes to the sight of Nova's still sleeping forum, apparently still locked in his own nightmare, which she was grateful for.
Not wishing to find herself sharing a similar experience as the now dead Tantabus, Luna began to once again focus her magic to force herself awake.

Just before leaving the combined dream, Luna shot one more glance at Nova, only to see him looking her dead in the eye, a look of fury never before seen at her invasion of privacy, and probably figuring out the Tantabus came from her, he slowly reached towards her throat, only to grasp empty air as she disappeared.
Trembling with rage, Nova slowly stood up, before letting out a roar, that shook the entire dreaming world awake.

Nova's eye shot open, only to find himself staring at the same long road.
Letting out a long, tired sigh, he looked over to his companion, casually nodding her head to whatever song she was listening to.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Nova gave Trixie's shoulder a soft tap to get her attention, she jumped a little in her seat before looking over towards him, giving a small smile before going back to her music.

Nova stretched his body out, no longer feeling any aches or pains from his encounter with the two ever frustrating princesses, a sense of relief washed over him as he reminded himself that they had long since left Equestria behind them now, and had a whole new place to explore where, hopefully, his recent past wouldn't cause him to much hassle.

Luna shot awake, scared out of her wits as she attempted to process the series of events she just bore witness to.
Getting out of her sweat soaked bed, she quickly trotted over to the nearest window and swung it open, giving a sigh of relief as fresh air quickly swept into the stuffy room.

After a few moments to collect herself, Luna took a deep breath and attempted to check on the dreaming world, only, to find it gone.

This could only mean that Nova, in his fury, had forcefully expelled every sleeping being from their sleep at the same time.
It was only then that Luna noticed the sounds coming from outside, multiple foals were screaming and crying, and the town seemed to be in a state of confusion and slight panic.

It was at this moment, that Luna knew, she'd fucked up.

Author's Note

Because Fuck the Tantabus.