Starlight Solace

"I remember this!" Reznor exclaimed. "I was in Dubilee's class for two years in Canterlot studying it! It's the Royal Willow Grove! Why would a zebra dream about this place?"

"Maybe we should ask... her!" Sky exclaimed in horror as she saw her zebra friend Zillie getting attacked by a Derpollolous Squid Overlord, the biggest and deadliest of all squid related creatures. "She would know exactly why she dreams of a place like this!"

"But first, Sky," Geno began, seeing the giant squid as a giant threat. "We must defeat that! And... by we, I mean you!"

"Yea, verily!" Lucian agreed. "Thou must go, Sister Sky, and fight our foes with everything it takes!"

"But... why me?" Sky asked. She then turned to the unicorn she used to call Lucy Anne. "Lucian, you have your magical prowess, Reznor has his knowledge of this place, Geno has his shapeshifting capabilities, and... what do I have that you don't?"

Geno looked down from the sky he was looking at and into Sky's light blue eyes. "What you have, Miss Blue, is magic. Not that that's unexpected, of course! We all have magic! But... our magic is strengthened by our spirit guides, who don't know where we are without our dreams... except yours. Lucilia knows more than the other four Aurora Spirits who aren't Luna. And... Luna can't help us right now, since she's busy keeping the Shadow Heart powerless. Also... Zel can help you too, since it's her job anyway to protect Zillie's dreams from hurting her. That means you have-"

"Two guides helping me this time, I know!" Sky exclaimed. "And..." Should I tell Geno that I love him? Sky wondered. No, he might get the wrong idea. I only love him as a friend! The one I wish could be my coltfriend is Flaming Thunder! He's... beyond amazing!

"And what?" Geno asked, interrupting Sky's train of thought. "You know and what?"

"And..." Sky had to do some quick thinking here! "I believe I have enough strength to defeat the Derpollolous Squid Overlord!"

"Are you out of your mind?" Reznor asked Sky. "What kind of name is that  for a squid? I would have said "Tentaculus rex" or something!"

"Just hurryeth up and slayeth the beast!" Lucian exclaimed.

"Alright, alright!" Sky exclaimed as she dashed to Zillie's side, bit one of the tentacles, realised it tasted horrible, spat it out, and looked a few degrees of a slight angle upwards to see that there was no squid. It was as if nothing more than Sky's teeth made the entire beast just... plumb disappear!

Zillie, now finally conscious in the Dreamscape, looked up to see Sky looking up into thin air. "Sky, you crazy little kid!" She exclaimed. "How could you possibly kill that squid? It had so much epic power, it should have made you flee and cower!"

Huh? Sky thought. This is making it seem like Zillie is... evil! Like... she... LIKED the squid! She then thought some more If Zillie's evil... that means... this is actually SHADESTAR'S DREAM!

Almost as soon as she realised that, Sky saw a flash, like that of the Crystal Heart. Then, when the light came... she felt a... tingling sensation on her flank again! This time, she looked, expecting to see a Cutie Mark, when... she didn't. It was just light. Maybe a Cutie Mark would appear next time she felt that same sensation?

"Well, well, well!" A strange voice, like that of a cloud of myst, out of nowhere exclaimed. "What have we here?" The source of the voice then came into existence right in front of Sky, a Shadow Pony with a red aura of flashing dark magic surrounding him. "Who is it who stands up to me, Shadestar, the Prince of Darkness!?"

Sky remembered something. This isn't the real Shadestar. She thought. This version of him is just a nightmare creature... in his own dream... about Zillie being evil... and possibly other bad things! She then remembered what her father, Navy Blue, told her. Never cruel or cowardly. Sky thought. Never give up. Never give in. She then knew exactly what to say to this Shadestar character. "I am Sky Cloud Blue, and I have an item of significant importance for you! A source of power for the Shadow Heart!"

All four of Sky's quest party friends, including Zillie, were grazed and confused by this statement from her. What could she be planning? They all thought, almost at the same exact time.

"B-but..." Shadestar said, not knowing what to say. "Why would you my own enemy help me?"

"Trust me." Sky said. "I have friends. Friends who could be your friends if you just listen!"

"What kind of 'source of power' is this item?" Shadestar asked. "And why are you offering to help me obtain it?"

"It is one of the seven Crystal Stars: The Sapphire Star. My father hid it in Canterlot Fortress, right next to the castle, and told me of its location. As for the reason... just... trust me. I myself don't even know!"

"Fine." Shadestar replied. "I trust you! Now can you lead me to this 'Sapphire Star' and give it to me? Or do I have to do it myself?"

"I wouldn't do it myself if I were you." Sky responded, not sure what would happen if she left Shadestar alone with her friends. "Let us all six go and get the star. Then, once we have it, you can use its magic however you please!"

Geno, knowing about many star related objects, knew exactly what Sky was planning. But he kept that to himself. I think Sky should be the one to reveal this plan, if anyone. Instead of revealing, he just agreed. "Let's get this show on the road!" He exclaimed.

Lucian was a bit more reluctant. "Thou shadowy beast!" He exclaimed. "Thou must release mine friend Zillie, the zebra, from thy evil clutches!"

"Very well..." Shadestar replied, also reluctantly, "Umbriel!" He exclaimed, thus uncasting his spell on Zillie. "You five are all free of my darkness... for now!"

"What about me?" Reznor asked. "Can I just... stay here?"

"Absolutely not!" Sky exclaimed. "It is important for you to be there because..." She paused for a moment to have a dramatic effect. "Earth Ponies have great knowledge when it comes to buildings! And, having been in Canterlot before, the dream version should be even easier for you to navigate us through! Also... I believe you'll find some kind of treasure other than the Crystal Star if you just follow my instructions!"

"OK." Reznor replied. "I'll go."

"Then it's decided!" Sky exclaimed. "Shadestar, I need you to warp us into the fortress! We'll enter the way nopony expects us to: through the front door!"

"Just to be clear, I'm ONLY doing this for that Sapphire Star!" Shadestar exclaimed. "So don't get all cuddly with me, heroes!"

"Just cast the dang spell!" Sky exclaimed.

"Teleportus!" Shadestar exclaimed.

Really? Sky thought. That's the teleport spell? Teleportus? That sounds like somepony from Starswirl's time who wasn't him invented that one! It didn't matter. As long as it worked, it didn't matter which words were in it.

The five heroes, along with their... enemy, perhaps? Anyway, the six of them all went into the main courtyard of the Canterlot Fortress. Sky's friends were unaware as for why or how Sky could trust Shadestar, of all ponies... But... it was unimportant. The reason didn't matter, because trusting Shadestar was how Sky was able to gain Shadestar's trust. The four other heroes couldn't disagree more with Sky as for what she could do with her enemy's trust, but... they believed her when she told them there was nothing to worry about.

"Do you see this?" Sky asked Reznor, who was the only one looking away from the doorway. "It's an ancient puzzle lock!" Sky exclaimed. "I believe you might know the combination, Rez!"

Reznor didn't know the combination of that lock. He turned around, only to see three stone panels, all with the same symbol: A pentagram, or five-pointed star. Then, out of thin air, as if by magic, a scroll appeared. It had an inscription in Ferian, one of the languages that existed before Equestria, and it appeared in the air above Reznor, so he handed it to Lucian.

"Salu thral dulgen yino whirl stellari vina...!" Lucian read aloud. That was merely a third of the scroll, but luckily it was a very short one. The rest went like this, which Lucian also read aloud. "...Sala dinki du yino bim lunari damu..." Each third of the scroll must have some connection with one part of the puzzle lock's combination. Lucian thought. "...Salei delta gamma yino fei terrano sin!" Lucian exclaimed.

"I know what that means!" Geno exclaimed. "It translates into a lot more than just twenty-one words, though! It goes like this..." He begun to speak in a rhythmic voice. "Be strong, ye who enter this dungeon! Geno Whirl is the key to the door with the star-shaped lock. Be brave, anyone who abandons fear! Geno Beam is the key to the Chest of Magical Sacrifice, which is needed by Our Lady! Be free, those who change their own magic! Geno Flash is the spell to be cast on the ground when the dark times come at last unbound!"

"It said all that?" Sky asked. "How could a message like that have any connection with us and our dreams? Why are THREE of Geno's spells mentioned in that message?"

"We are unsure as well, Sister Sky!" Lucian reassured Sky. "But we believe it hath something to do with those three panels and the combination of them. The Ferian language, the one on that scroll I read aloud, be very ancient and very difficult to translate. We are surprised Geno was able to do so, as we ourselves could not!"

"Reznor, could you determine the solution to the puzzle?" Sky asked Reznor. "You've studied more than any of us about Canterlot, and..."

"Fine..." Reznor replied. "If it will make you happy, I'll do it for you... my friends!" Just then, without even a moment's notice, Reznor's flank glowed with a mysterious light, and, just as mysteriously as it appeared, the light disappeared without so much as leaving a mark... of any kind. "What was the point of that?" Reznor asked.

"I don't know," Sky replied, "but I've felt it twice, not once! Twice it happened to me, and twice it left without giving me a cutie mark!"

"Cutie, schmootie!" Reznor exclaimed. "I'm doing this for a different kind of mark! The Mark of Lucidity! The highest mark on the test of Dreamwalking!"

"That doesn't sound like you!" Sky exclaimed. "But if it is, I believe you. I know about that mark, and that was for succeeding... but once. When I was a filly, my father told me that half-unicorns have unicorn magic within them, even if they don't have horns!"

"I'm not sure where you get your facts, Sky," Reznor replied. "but I believe you too. Magic has a funny way of entering strange areas and taking us with it." With that, Reznor had nothing better to do than solve the lock puzzle. Or rather, have Geno help him do it. "Geno!"

"Yes, Rez?" Geno asked. "Do you know how to solve the puzzle? And why my name's mentioned in its riddle?"

"Yes, Geno." Reznor responded. "It has your name on it because you need to cast certain spells after I turn the dials." Reznor turned the dials as the clues instructed him: Star on the left, so no motion. Heart in the middle, so four turns up. Skull on the right, so two turns down. He then told Geno the key targets, at which the gryphon doll fired: Whirl at the left, Beam at the middle, and Flash at all three of them. Then the door opened.

"Salu! Sala! Salei!" Zillie exclaimed. "We found the light of day! Our darkest fears, of which none hears, have nothing left to say!"

"What's gotten into you, Zillie?" Sky asked. "You sound like a preacher!"

"Salu! Sala! Salei!" Zillie exclaimed again. "The darkness flew away! There's now a light, that's everbright, and nothing of the Fei!"

Nothing? Sky thought. The Fei are the Dream Stealers who turn our dreams into nightmares! I think I'd know when they left! It was then that Sky noticed that Shadestar was gone, everything felt more real, and... cold. It was winter, so that made sense. Sky was back in reality, not dreaming, but... somehow still in Canterlot. "Why are we here?" She asked.

"Because we dreamed we were here," Geno explained, "so much that we made it real without realising it." He was holding something. It was his Heart: the Heart of Bravery. "Look to your left." He told Sky Blue.

"What's to my..." Sky asked as she looked to her left. She then found the blue Aurora Heart right in front of her eyes, if not for a meter. "Is that one mine?"

"Thou tellest me!" Lucian exclaimed. "We all tried to touch it, save for thee, and we all, save for thee, got pushed back by it! We have our Heart: the Heart of Clarity, with us, and thou hast thine, so..."

Before Lucian could speak another word, Sky grabbed her Heart of Aurora. "Which Element of Purity do it and I represent?"

"Joy." Geno answered. "I knew from the moment I first saved your life that I was dreaming, and that's how I knew you were one of the heroes. Everypony else in that dream was... evil or something. That's why I saved you. I needed to know all the Heroes of Aurora were safe. I didn't even know I was one of them until I dreamed of the gryphon who created me: Gaz. He was lonely, and needed a friend, so he made me: Geno the Gryphon, his brother. Dreaming of him allowed me to remember my purpose, and then... serve it. I knew then that I was an Aurora Hero, and that my Element was Bravery... so I dreamed of dying a thousand and one times, each in a different dream, just to find a hero who needed saving! And that's how I know you're the Element of Joy, Miss Blue!"

"Wow." Sky replied in awe. "That was deep!"

"Not as deep as this pit we're falling into!" Reznor exclaimed in worry.

"What pit?" Sky asked as she looked down. "Oh. That pit!" She tried to facehoof, but missed her face. She then remembered she had wings, and flapped them. "You can flap too y'know!" Sky exclaimed to Geno, remembering he was a gryphon.

Geno flapped his wings and cast one of his signature spells: Geno Boost. He cast it on himself and all four of his hero friends, so as to give them all more power. "Geno Boost!" He exclaimed.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Lucian exclaimed, levitating himself and his four hero friends out of the pit and on the other side of it. "Illuminaria!" He exclaimed, lighting up the area. He then remembered that he didn't need to, as it was already twelve noon.

Sky, finally realising how easy it was to carry her Aurora Heart, wondered why she even thought the Heart would be heavy. "Let's review, everyone! Who here has an Aurora Heart? Say 'Aye!' if you do!"

"Aye!" Lucian exclaimed.

"Aye!" Geno exclaimed.

"Aye!" Sky exclaimed. "I believe that's all of us! The other two, Reznor and Zillie, don't have theirs! Do you?"

"Neigh!" Reznor exclaimed.

"Neigh!" Zillie exclaimed. "I say!"

Of course. Sky thought. She always rhymes! At all times! Sky, realising that the five of them were all on safe ground, looked around. The five of them weren't in Canterlot anymore, despite being there a few seconds ago. They were in Appleloosa, right next to The Salt Block. Why did we come here? Was this Geno's doing? Or Lucian's?