Protectors of the Dreamscape

Chapters

1. The Recruit
2. The Protector
3. The Shadows

1. The Recruit

"Hold still." Princess Luna's horn glowed with magical energy. "This will not hurt."

~~~

Whisper blinked in confusion. She didn't feel different. It was as if Luna's spell had simply transported the princess away. No. Not the Princess. Whisper had been moved.

Where, she couldn't know. Whisper found herself floating in a void. A great black expanse of nothingness in all directions. It wasn't a bad thing. Almost peaceful in a sense.

"So this is the Dreamscape? This is kind of boring." Whisper said aloud to nopony in particular. "Luna?! What am I supposed to do? You didn't tell me!" Whisper called to the void, but no answer came.

So Whisper drifted. She didn't know for how long, only that she was. Eventually, she spotted a faint glow in the distance.

Whisper flailed her legs in an attempt to move in the direction of the light. Unfortunately, physics seemed to have no hold upon the Dreamscape and all she managed to do was lazily flip herself over and put herself into a spin.

"Uh, Luna? Little help?" She called out again. Again there was no response. Whisper swore under her breath as she flailed some more. "I just want to go that way..." As she said go, a curious sensation overtook Whisper and she drifted closer to the light in the distance.

"Really? I have to say where I want to go?" Whisper asked the darkness. "Go that way!" Nothing.

Whisper scowled and focused her thoughts on drifting towards the light. The sensation settled on her again, this time accompanied by a realization.

"I have to think it!" She exclaimed. Whisper didn't know who she was actually talking to. It just felt better to hear something in the expanse she floated in.

The cream-colored Earth pony focused her thoughts and found that maneuvering was quite simple once she figured out how to do it. She let out a laugh as she began spinning and doing barrel rolls, finding joy in the sensation of flight. No wonder pegasi like to fly so much!

Whisper reached her destination all too soon. She gave one last little giggle as she came to a stop in front of a small doorway. The light she'd seen in the distance turned out to be a blue-flamed candle hovering above the door. Whisper looked at the door questioningly for a fraction of a second before pushing it open.

The other side of the door held a sight that honestly surprised her a little. Now that she was in a Dreamscape, Whisper didn't expect to see something so... normal.

She found herself inside a small cottage. A stone fireplace crackled lightly, somehow warming the room despite it not existing in a physical sense. Whisper found a lovely wooden floor under her hooves. The entire room was rather tastefully decorated. A lovely painting of Canterlot hung over the fireplace, and a few cushions and seats strategically dotted the room around a small coffee table with snacks laid out upon it.

Whisper blinked in silence as she absorbed the scene in front of her. She'd been so shocked by the plainness of the room, it took her a few more seconds to realize the room was staring back. Or more specifically, several ponies were.

"Hello, dear." An older mare pegasus in a plush red seat said from behind a book. "I take it you're the newest recruit?"

"Um... yes?" Whisper answered, her voice barely audible. She felt like an intruder who'd just broken into somepony's home. The older mare smiled warmly.

"Welcome to the Dreamguard. My name is Locket." Locket placed a slip of paper into the book to mark her page and stood. The pale blue mare brushed a pink lock of mane from her face before gesturing a hoof towards the other ponies in the room. "I'm going to be fighting alongside you, along with the others here. The brown stallion there is Lucky Charm," Lucky Charm nodded silently from his cushion. "and the lovely unicorn is Silver Song." A unicorn mare, roughly the same age as Whisper, smacked some chewing gum loudly before blowing a bubble with it.

"'Sup." The silver unicorn stood and slowly walked a circle around Whisper, sizing the newcomer up. "You don't look like much, you know."

"Silver!" Locket glared at the rough unicorn. "That's no way to greet your new teammate!"

"I'm sorry," Silver said with a roll of her eyes. "But you know it's true. Look at her. She'll be lucky to take down her first trog before wanting to give up." Silver turned sharply and walked from the room, as if it would somehow punctuate her argument.

Whisper stared after the mare in confusion, looking to the others in the room for answers to what just happened.

"Don't feel too bad, deary." Locket reassured. "Silver's just... abrasive. She'll come around." Locket took her seat again and gestured to the empty ones in the room. "Make yourself comfortable. We'll start your training when the others get back."

"Others?" Whispered asked.

"Mhmm. There's three others that you'll be working with. When they get back we'll make the introductions and start training in the void you came from." Locket smiled warmly.

"Void?"

"Blank spaces." Lucky Charm answered for Locket in a surprisingly lilting accent. "Gaps in the Dreamscape from when ponies aren't asleep. You came through one to get here. Luna likes dropping the new recruits in 'em. Keeps the new blood from fading in a nightmare before they know what's going on. That and I'm pretty sure she thinks it's funny."

"So... it was like a test to make me learn how to float around?" Whisper asked, pretty sure she was grasping what she was being told.

"Oh, she's a smart lass. I'm gonna like her." Lucky said as he turned to Locket.

The trio settled into a pleasant conversation. Locket was a pleasant sort, constantly chattering on about this and that. Lucky was a much quieter stallion though, only speaking when asked direct questions or when he felt he needed to say something. Whisper found him somewhat intimidating, if she were to be honest. Still, they were very open in sharing exactly what was to be expected of Whisper from the Dreamguard.

Before she could receive an answer though, the door to the room opened. More specifically, It appeared from nothingness in front of the fireplace and burst open.

Three ponies burst through. Two of them looked terrified as they carried the third through the doorway.

"Locket, we need your help!" A yellow mare cried, her orange mane hanging limply in her face. "Moonbeam's fading!"

Locket sprang to her hooves and slipped underneath one of the forelegs of the injured pony.

"Get her on the table!" Locket ordered, her friendly nature replaced by an intense demeanor. "Give me some room!"

The injured mare, an off-white mare with a cutie mark of a moon peeking from behind a cloud, moved her mouth as if she was speaking, but Whisper couldn't hear any words. They set her on the table and Locket got to work. A strange aura, like unicorn magic, surrounded both Locket and Moonbeam.

Whisper watched in terrified fascination, unsure as to what was going on. Her assumption was that Locket was doing some sort of healing magic, though how a pegusus could use healing magic was a concept she couldn't wrap her mind around.

The magical light grew as Locket focused, spreading her wings wide as if it would help her channel the magic she used better. The rest of the Dreamguard members watched with expressions that ranged from worry, to outright terror. Whisper wanted to ask what was happening, but felt that speaking now wasn't the right thing to do.

A few moments of tense silence more, and the magical aura surrounding the two ponies faded, leaving an exhausted looking Locket and a still injured Moonbeam. Now that there was no magic distorting Whisper's view, she saw that Moonbeam had no physical signs of injury. No cuts or bruises to mark trauma in a fight. Instead, she seemed to be almost translucent. Looking closer, she realized that this was, in fact, the case. Whisper could just make out the details or the fireplace through the injured mare.

"I'm sorry." Locket said wearily, sinking to her knees in exhaustion. Lucky Charm said nothing as he moved to Locket's side and picked her up. He carried the worn out pegasus from the room, pausing only long enough to shoot a look of pity to the yellow mare who had helped carry Moonbeam in.

"Don't leave her! You have to try harder, Locket!" The yellow mare cried as she tried to follow the two. The third pony who'd come in stopped her with a hoof and a shake of his head.

"Go to Moonbeam." He said, nodding in the direction of the injured mare. "She needs you, Buttercup."

Buttercup looked to Moonbeam, tears streaming down her face, before trotting over and sitting next to her. She leaned in close as Moonbeam's lips moved in silence again. She must have said something Whisper couldn't hear, as Buttercup answered with a noise somewhere between a laugh and sob.

"Yeah, I remember." Buttercup said. "You found me trying to hide in a box in someone's Dreamscape. Luna put me into a void that ended up being filled sooner than she expected. I watched you charge in and fight that Shadow I was hiding from. You were so brave, so amazing." Buttercup took a moment to fight off the waves of sorrow threatening to overwhelm her before she continued. "I'd never met anypony like you. When I talked to you, you were so nice. Nothing like when you were fighting. You don't... you don't deserve an end like this. It should be me!" The mare wrapped her forelegs around Moonbeam in a tight hug.

Moonbeam, who seemed more see-through now to Whisper, smiled weakly and shook her head. her mouth moved wordlessly again.

"No, you can't leave me!" Buttercup cried. "What will I do without you?" She asked weakly before breaking down into wracking sobs, burying her face in Moonbeam's chest.

Moonbeam smiled and placed a hoof onto Buttercup's mane, placing a gentle kiss on the mare's forehead. She seemed to linger for just a moment longer before completely fading from view. Buttercup was hugging nothingness, dipping slightly as Moonbeam vanished completely.

It was Silver Song who moved first to comfort the distraught yellow mare. Whisper had been so absorbed by the scene playing out before her that she'd never seen Silver enter. Silver didn't say a word as she slipped her forelegs about Buttercup and held her tightly.

The other stallion, a gray-blue unicorn, slipped next to Whisper's side. Without a word, he nudged her and nodded in the direction of the doorway that Locket and Lucky Charm had gone through.

The next day was subdued. Everypony seemed to be trying to shake the somber mood off in their own ways. Locket had buried herself in the book from yesterday as she rested from her exertions. Silver Song had sullenly disappeared with Buttercup, though where they'd gone was a mystery to Whisper. Sentinel, the gray-blue unicorn from yesterday, had gone into the void area Whisper had learned to fly in to "train alone".

Lucky had lead Whisper away early in the day, only saying "You need to train." Now the two found themselves in somepony's dream. Lucky Charm had said who's dream didn't matter, but that didn't stop Whisper from wanting to know.

The landscape of the dream was one quite familiar to Whisper. A perfect recreation of Canterlot. The winding streets were empty, save for a lone stallion wandering about calling out for anypony.

"Shouldn't we go help him?" Whisper asked from the top of a dress shop she remembered from the real world. One that had only sold one specific kind of dress if she recalled correctly.

"No. We're not here to help others through their nightmares." Lucky said. "That's Luna's job."

"Then what are we here for?"

"I already told you. Trainin'." Lucky Charm pointed a hoof to a shadow on a nearby rooftop. "First thing's first. Create your weapon. You're gonna kill that trog."

"Create what now? What's a trog?" Whisper asked, perplexed.

"Create a weapon. Like so." Lucky focused his vision on a spot in front of him, and mere moments later a long sword with a gently curved blade shimmered into existence. The stallion took the weapon in his mouth and stabbed it into the rooftop to let it stand on it's own. "As for a trog? That is a trog."

Lucky Charm pointed a hoof more insistently at the shadow, which had taken the form of a bipedal creature. It was a squat thing, only measuring roughly the same height as Whisper. The stocky thing was coated in scales, giving it a fish-like appearance. This was exaggerated by the fact that the thing's milky white eyes sat on the sides of it's head. Whisper watched in a mixture of fascination and disgust as it slowly sniffed the air and glanced about at the dream it found itself in.

"That thing is gross!" Whisper exclaimed, only to regret it when the creature snapped it's head in her direction. It let out a low growl. Or maybe a gurgle. Whisper couldn't tell, really.

"You've done it now, lass. Better get your weapon fast." Lucky commented idly. He watched calmly as another shadow appeared near the first trog. "They attract their own. Until you destroy 'em all, they'll just call more."

"Oh... Okay." Whisper stammered. "I've got this." She focused hard, picturing a halberd, like the ones she'd seen the guards at the castle holding. Nothing happened. She thought harder, gritting her teeth as she pictured the weapon with all her might.

"I think I saw something for a moment." Lucky chided, the humor clearly heard in his lilting voice.

"Really?" Whisper perked up for a moment.

"No, I'm just messin' with ya lass."

Whisper glowered at the stallion, who merely chuckled before taking the hilt of his sword between his teeth.

"They're comin', lass." He slurred his words around his sword.

The first trog had grown tired of waiting for the ponies it stared at to move and decided to attack. The creature dropped to all fours and charged, leaping the gap between the two buildings with surprising ease. Whisper had to admit she didn't think these trogs could move so fast.

Lucky Charm proved to be quick on his hooves as well, though. He met the trog as soon as it landed, swinging his sword cleanly at the creature's neck. It's head rolled away before it and it's body exploded into a noxious-looking black cloud.

"Don't take too long, Whisper. There won't be any left for you." Lucky smirked.

Whisper focused harder, this time on a different weapon. A sword like Lucky's. Still nothing.

Two more trogs leaped the gap between the buildings. Lucky charged and met one in midair, sinking his sword into the face of it. He kicked off the trog and landed on the building opposite the dress shop Whisper stood upon. The stallion grinned as he charged the trogs that continued to take form.

This left the other trog a clear shot at Whisper, however, who found herself unarmed still. Her mind started to race as she tried focusing on another weapon. A bow and arrows she'd seen at the Equestrian Games some months back. Still nothing, and the trog didn't care about waiting for a fair fight.

The monster charged forward and clawed at Whisper, who barely managed to duck underneath the attack. She charged past the trog, who was clearly intent on killing her. All the while, Whisper desperately tried focusing on any weapon she could imagine, but none seemed to appear.

Meanwhile, Lucky fought with the ferocity and ease of an experienced warrior. No trogs seemed to be able to pass the swirling death that was his sword. Enemies were cut down mere moments after taking a solid form.

"Lucky?! I can't do it!" Whisper called, which seemed to only frenzy the trog more.

"Aye, ya can lass!" Lucky Charm called back.

The trog smelled the fear Whisper felt, and pressed it's attack even harder. Whisper was starting to let small hits land through her dodges. Small cuts and scrapes that seemed to sap the energy from her. Eventually, she faltered in her dodges, and the trog lunged for her throat. Whisper squeezed her eyes shut, silently wishing she had something to protect herself with.

'Help me.'

The air was filled with a shrill cry of pain, though Whisper didn't feel anything. Maybe it was because she was in the Dreamscape? As far as she knew she had no physical body any more. She cautiously opened one eye before the other flew open in surprise.

Floating in the air around her was a thick red ribbon, wide enough to be a scarf. Whisper stared, absorbing every detail of the crimson fabric. It seemed to be waiting for her to do something more.

The trog was still nearby, writhing in agony as it clutched a stump where one of it's arms used to be. It was regaining it's focus though, and turned to Whisper with a low snarl before crouching low and springing forward.

Whisper was ready this time, and her new weapon intercepted the trog in mid-air knocking it back. The ribbon seemed to respond to the smallest thought from Whisper, consequently shifting and moving constantly. Like a predator waiting for the opportune moment to strike at it's prey. Whisper only had to think it, and her weapon struck, lashing out with surprising speed. The trog gave one last cry of pain as it stared at it's lower half, no longer connected to itself, before dispersing in a cloud of black smog.

Lucky floated back across the gap between the two buildings. Whisper silently admitted that she found the sight of an Earth pony floating around a little hard to get used to.

The ribbon Whisper had summoned, albeit accidentally, shrank itself considerably in length and settled itself about her neck. Somehow the mare felt just a little bit warmer.

"I've gotta say, I'm surprised. It took me three sessions like this to create my weapon. Locket had ta pull my bacon from the fire more'n once." Lucky smiled lightly. "It matches your cutie mark." He pointed out.

Whisper looked to her flank for confirmation before silently chastising herself for doing so. She'd had her cutie mark for years. She should have known that without looking.

"Come on, now. Let's get back before the others start to worry." Lucky turned and began walking to a doorway that had literally appeared from nowhere. Whisper had to once again remind herself about being in a dream world before following. "Good job today."

Whisper proudly smiled to herself, adjusting her scarf a little bit before stepping through the doorway and rejoining the rest of the Dreamguard.

2. The Protector

"The battles ahead of you will be difficult. You will be tested. Both physically and emotionally."

~~~

A tiny part of Whisper was disappointed. There was no big 'congratulations, you summoned your weapon'... anything, really. Nopony seemed to think it was a huge deal. Most of the Dreamguard didn't really say anything about it, said a simple "good job", or (in Locket's case) they replied with an off-hoofed "That's nice, dear." Whisper knew that in the big scheme of things having a weapon in the Dreamguard was expected of her, but that didn't completely dispel the disappointment she felt about nopony really caring about it.

It wasn't all bad though. When she'd come back to base she'd been given her own 'room'. This turned out to be being taught how to create doorways leading to specific areas and imagining a room for herself. A place to go when she needed to rest or be alone. The advantage of this was that nopony could enter her room without her knowing as it was tied to her directly. Locket had described it as "retreating into a tiny slice of your mind."

Whisper had (unintentionally) created an exact replica of her room in Canterlot. It had the same posters on the wall, the same boxes of well-kept comic books, and the same dresser that had once belonged to her grandmother. It even had the same lumpy mattress she'd called a bed.

Whisper had spent her free time since the battle with the trogs in her room, playing with the deadly weapon that she wore as an accessory. She didn't really 'get' how the weapon worked, per se. Sure, she could control it to some extent, but she couldn't explain how. Maybe it was all her time reading comics growing up. Maybe it was just the way Whisper's mind worked. To her, there was a difference between using an object and knowing about how it worked. It was during one of her many little sessions of toying with her new weapon, which she'd have reminded fillies to not do at home had there been any present, when somepony knocked on her door.

"We got some more trogs popping up, lass. You're up." Lucky's distinct voice called from the other side.

"Coming." Whisper replied, carefully wrapping her scarf again.

I really need to find something better to call this. 'Scarf' isn't exactly a heroic weapon name." She thought. "Excalispur and Maresil were awesome swords." Whisper made a mental note to think of something after taking care of the situation ahead.

~~~

The dream Whisper found herself in was shockingly different from the one she'd fought trogs in previously.

The world twisted and morphed, constantly shifting it's geometry. Stairs shifted into ramps before turning into hallways that twisted until you were walking on the ceiling. One moment the dream seemed to be made of nothing but marble, the next it was solid gold and encrusted with gems. Curtains shifted between a myriad of colors so quickly that it wasn't possible to process what color you were looking at before it was different.

"This is giving me a headache already." Whisper groaned. It was like a funhouse built by an indecisive clown.

"Stick close, now. Don't wanna get separated, now do we?" Lucky told the trio.

"Agreed." Came the reply from Sentinel. The unicorn had insisted on accompanying the two into the fight. Whisper didn't understand how yet, but Sentinel seemed certain that there would be more trogs than Lucky and Whisper could handle on their own.

"Where are the trogs?" Whisper asked as the three moved down a ramp that rapidly shifted into a stairwell heading upwards.

"Nearby." Sentinel gave another one word answer.

The three fell into silence as they moved. All of them were on edge, as if they could sense somepony watching them. Whisper stopped and spun around as she heard a clacking noise. There was nothing there.

Whisper turned back to follow her teammates, only to hit an impasse. More specifically, there was a wall in her path where there was once a hallway.

"Oh that's not good." Whisper said aloud. "All right, don't panic. Words to live by, there." A familiar growling came from behind her.

Turning again, the mare found herself facing three trogs. The stocky fish-creatures regarded her with a mix of curiosity and hunger. Whisper slipped her weapon from her neck and floated it nearby, readying herself for the imminent attack.

One of the trogs charged first, leaping through the air to close the gap. Whisper swirled her scarf to block the attack, already planning her counterattack. The trog struck from above, cutting the mare's side painfully. Whisper rolled reflexively, bringing her scarf up to her injured side.

Confusion set in quickly. "I saw it jump at me, how'd it get above me?" The answer turned out to be frustratingly simple. The terrain had shifted beneath Whisper's hooves, lowering the mare and opening a gap in her defenses.

The trog let out a screech and charged again, a second one joining the attack. Whisper felt the shifts in the terrain this time and was ready. The floor moved itself upwards again as the walls ballooned outwards, creating a circular courtyard. Grass sprouted from marble, and statues formed themselves out of swirling puddles of obsidian.

Whisper used the shift in terrain to her advantage. She lashed out with her weapon, slicing cleanly through the first trog as she moved upwards with the floor. The second trog came from the side, presumably thinking it had seen an opening. Whisper had expected the tandem attack, grabbing the end of her weapon in her teeth and spinning with a flourish. The scarf cracked like a whip, removing the top of the trog's head at the jaw.

Whisper ended the flourish facing the last trog. Make that four trogs. "Lucky wasn't kidding about the multiplying thing."

The cream-colored mare took a deep breath and charged.

~~~

"I told her to stick close." Sentinel pointed out dourly. "Now she is in peril."

"Relax, Sen. The lass is a natural. She'll take care o' any trogs in her way and find a way back." Lucky chuckled around the hilt of his sword.

"I do not wish to lose another comrade."

"Aye." Lucky's voice dropped into a more serious tone. "I don' either. But Whisper's got a good head on her shoulders. A few trogs shouldn't stop her."

Sentinel and Lucky were back-to-back, standing on their hind legs in the center of a horde of trogs. The two moved in synchronous fluidity, striking down any trog foolish enough to step within the radius of death the warriors had created. Lucky struck viciously at a trog, removing the poor creature's legs before a shimmering halberd swooped in at an angle, adding a new hole to the trog's face.

"It is not the trogs that make me fear for our newest recruit." Sentinel said coolly before slamming the butt of his weapon into another trog with a sickening crack.

~~~

Whisper panted heavily, now standing in an empty street where the courtyard had been. It had taken what seemed like forever to take down every trog that attacked.

"It's official. I hate trogs." The mare huffed as she flopped back onto her rump. "Too many of the darn things, if you ask me." Whisper took a moment to take stock of her injuries. A few cuts and scratches, but nothing major. "Right then, off to find the others. I hope they're all right."

Whisper set off down the street, which seemed to be having difficulty deciding if it was going to be made of dirt, gravel, or paved. It seemed to find a careful balance after a few moments, settling on a bizarre patchwork amalgam of all three options.

"Somepony's got weird dreams." Whisper pointed out to nopony in particular. "I wonder whose dream I'm in, anyway."

Whisper let her mind wander a bit, thinking back to cool weapon names while she kept an eye out for trogs and the others. Whisper preferred to find Lucky and Sentinel first.

Once she got used to the constantly changing world, Whisper had to admit that it was rather pretty, in it's own way. The colors of the sky swirled together, creating an aurora of colors Whisper had never seen before. Small patches of starlight could be seen peeking through the swirls overhead.

Hoofsteps from up ahead pulled Whisper's attention from the sky. She quickened her pace, glad to have somehow caught up to her companions.

"I'm so glad I found you guys before I-" Whisper stopped mid-sentence, staring at a horror only the most twisted of minds could conceive.

~~~

"Ya know something, Sen? We're fuckin' good at this!" Lucky laughed heartily as he caught his breath.

"Indeed. But we have no time to rest. Whisper is separated from us." Sentinel reminded Lucky. "We should get moving. She is this way." He began to move, refusing to stop when Lucky called after him.

The area around them had shifted dramatically. The pair found themselves walking on a wall, with chairs stuck to what should be the floor on their right, and a chandelier 'hanging' sideways on their left. They paid no mind to the bizarre world around them.

Sentinel was constantly scanning the room for the first signs of trogs. He could feel that there were more around, though he couldn't tell exactly where. The gray-blue unicorn furrowed his brow as he focused.

"Ya keep frownin' like that and your face will freeze that way." Lucky jabbed playfully at Sentinel.

"We do not have time for jokes. We need to finish off these trogs and find Whisper." Sentinel said evenly as he walked up a slide. "I am eager to finish our work here."

"Aye, I can't argue that." Lucky conceded. The two fell into silence as Sentinel lead the way.

A large double door formed on a wall just ahead of the two, swinging open with a loud groan. Behind it was probably the most comfortable-looking room Lucky had ever seen.

The floor was carpeted with a violet velvet rug. Furniture dotted the room in various hues of white. A large painting of a purple-maned, white mare hung over a softly crackling fire. A pony that matched the painting was sitting at a small workstation, flinging bolts of fabric about and murmuring to herself.

"Looks like we found tonight's dreamer," Lucky whispered to Sentinel. "and she's a cute one."

The mare in question hadn't noticed the two of them. As they approached, Lucky and Sentinel could hear swearing and complaining as her fabrics were deemed insufficient in some way or another.

"No, much too obtrusive. This would clash horribly with the skirt. Ew, no. Just no." The mare complained. "Oh, this is simply too much!"

"Excuse me, lass." Lucky interrupted the mare. "Can I ask ya what you're doin'?"

The mare spun about on her stool, her eyes wide with shock. She quickly surveyed the two stallions before her and composed herself expertly.

"Hello, there. I'm simply trying to find a new design for one of my dresses. I am Rarity. Might I ask your name?"

"Well, my friend here is Sentinel. He's the strong silent type, if you're into that sort o' thing. My name's Lucky Charm. If you'd like I could be your lucky charm for the night." He introduced himself with a smirk and a wink. Sentinel nudged his friend with an admonishing look.

"Sorry, 'bout that." Lucky apologized with a chuckle. "Anyway, we're lookin' for a friend. Have ya seen her?"

"Terribly sorry darling, but I haven't seen anypony else here. Now, if you don't mind I really need to get back to my work." Rarity dismissed the two as politely as she could.

"Right, well... Carry on then, lass." Lucky started walking away. "If ya need us for anything, and I do mean anything, you just let me know."

"Mhmm..." Rarity dismissed Lucky with a wave of her hoof. She was clearly looking for something else in her dream.

"Let us go, Lucky." Sentinel said sternly as he began moving again.

"All right, let's move then." Lucky pouted.

~~~

Whisper's voice caught in her throat. The creature she was staring at could have been called a spider, if spiders were about the size of a carriage. And had two extra legs,ten in total, all of which ended in hooves. And of course, if spiders had the front half of a unicorn mare sticking out of their head.

"Well, hello there." The mare part of spider-thing spoke after a long silence. "Are you lost, little morsel?"

Whisper made an attempt to reply, but only managed to let out a small squeak of fear at the sight of spider-thing.

"Oh, don't be like that, little morsel. I don't plan on eating you today." Spider-thing slowly circled Whisper, slowly looking the mare up and down. Whisper rotated as spider-thing did so, making sure to keep her eyes on it while it moved.

"Wh-what are you?" Whisper finally found words to say. Spider-thing stopped and tapped a foreleg to her chin.

"Well, that's an interesting question. What am I? Maybe I'm just part of this dream. A figment of somepony's imagination. Or maybe I'm something wicked, here to feast upon anypony who I deem fit to eat." Spider-thing tilted her head in thought. "Truthfully, I am here to watch and nothing more. You may call me Somnia, little morsel. To answer your question, I am an observer."

"Of what?" Whisper asked, finally getting over her shock.

"Everthing. The ponies that dream, your princesses, the ponies that call themselves Dreamguard. Even you, little morsel, will be watched." Somnia grinned mischievously. "What are you called?"

"Whisper." The mare replied, straightening just a bit.

"Well, little Whisper, I must bid you farewell for now. Your friends approach, and I don't care to meet them. Enjoy your hunting." Somnia brushed past Whisper and stepped into the shadows, stopping for a split second and looking over her shoulder. "The trogs you seek are that way." She pointed in the direction she claimed the trogs were. "Ta ta for now."

Somnia melted into the shadows of a wall that had not been there when she'd first started speaking with Whisper.

Whisper stared intently at the shadows, as if Somnia would jump out and surprise her. Nopony came from the shadows.

"Whisper? Are ya all right, lass?" The mare jumped in surprise and whirled around to see Lucky and Sentinel giving her worried expressions.

"I, um... uh," Whisper stammered, losing her train of thought. "Um, what?"

"I asked if you're all right. You look like ya just seen a ghost." Lucky placed a hoof on her shoulder, looking deeply into Whisper's eyes.

"I'm fine I just saw... something weird in the dream." Whisper replied. Even as she answered Whisper wondered why she wasn't saying everything.

"Well all right then, let's go hunt some trogs." Lucky grinned and started walking in the direction that wasn't where Whisper was told the trogs were at.

"Wait! They're this way." Whisper blurted out.

"How do you know that?" Sentinel finally spoke up, eyeing Whisper.

"I... saw one run off that way." Whisper lied, silently kicking herself for not just being honest. "Dammit, Whisper!" The mare mentally berated herself.

"Let us get moving then. The longer we wait the more trogs we must battle." Sentinel eyes lingered on Whisper for a moment longer, like he was looking for something. He finally seemed to give up and began trotting off in the direction Whisper had indicated. Whisper and Lucky followed close behind.

~~~

Whisper stared down at the remaining trogs in shock. She'd thought there had been a lot of trogs when she'd learned to summon her weapon. Now she realized that that was nothing compared to the scene before her.

The trogs had gathered en masse at the bottom of a patchwork hill. They seemed to be just milling about, shrieking and groaning at each other. A few hundred scaly creatures pressed against each other, oddly reminding Whisper of the time she'd been to a Countess Coloratura concert. They writhed and shoved each other, vying for space in the tightly compacted mass The very air around them seemed to shimmer and crack with silvery-white energy.

"What do we do?" Whisper asked, keeping her voice low.

"We fight." Sentinel bluntly replied. "You see those white glowing spots? Those are cracks forming in the Dreamscape."

"That's bad, right?" Whisper flattened her ears to her head.

"Aye. That's why we're here, though. To stop it." Lucky grinned in excitement. "Tell ya what lass, I'll let you get the ugly ones and I'll take care of the pretty ones."

"But they're all ugly- Hey!" Whisper shot a look at Lucky.

"Then you got your work cut out for you. We'll be right alongside ya, though." Lucky smirked.

Sentinel said nothing, opting to simply summon his weapon. A long glowing halberd with a sun etched into the head of the axe portion of the weapon. Lucky picked up on Sentinel's cue and his own sword shimmered into existence.

"All right, now! Let's go!" Lucky charged headlong into the horde, letting out a cry as he plunged into the ranks of trogs.

It was a bloodbath. Lucky cleaved through the trog ranks like they were butter. Whisper skirted the edges of the horde, striking at anything that came within her strike radius. Sentinel waded into the horde, a rock against the tide of foes that surged towards him. Trogs fell by the dozens, too stupid to come up with any real plan of attack beyond 'kill pony.'

Whisper lost herself to the cadence of battle. She whirled and spun, creating an enchanting ballet of death for any trog that dared try to close the gap. Her scarf twirled and pirouetted through the air cutting deeply into the flesh of Whisper's enemies, an extension of her will. Whisper allowed herself the tiniest of smiles.

'This is why I said yes to Luna. This is why I joined the Dreamguard. I'm like one of the heroes from my comics. No, I am a hero. This is how I'll protect Equestria!' Whisper thought to herself. She lost track of Lucky and Sentinel. As far as she knew, there was nopony else here. Not even herself. There was only this moment. This battle. A small laugh escaped Whisper as she fought harder, slipping into an almost instinctual trance.

Whisper's focus was broken. In an instant, her momentum was halted as pain shot through one of her hind legs. She looked down to see a trog biting deeply into her flesh.

The rest of the trogs nearby wasted no time, swarming over the mare in the blink of an eye. They tore and scratched at her, biting wherever they could reach. Whisper tried focusing on her weapon through the pain, but to no avail. There were too many trogs for her weapon to be effective. Whisper could hear a shriek of terror from somewhere.

The scream was hers.

Just as suddenly as the trogs had overwhelmed Whisper, they were gone. Blown to dust in a blast of golden light. Whisper looked up to see Sentinel staring down at her with contempt. Whisper felt herself trembling, wanting to shrink away from sight.

"Get up." Sentinel commanded the mare. "Fight."

Whisper stood shakily, trying her best to ignore the pain she felt. Sentinel turned away and waded back into the thinning ranks of the trogs. Whisper took up her weapon again, but her heart wasn't in the fight any more. She spent her time picking off trogs that wandered too far from their comrades for the rest of the fight. After what felt like hours, the last of the trogs fell to Lucky's blade, dispersing in a cloud of black smog.

"Hell of a fight, eh Whisper?" Lucky called out to the shaken mare. Whisper didn't respond. Instead, she broke down into tears. The terror she felt at being overwhelmed finally flooding over her in force. "Was it something I said?"

"Let's get back. The cracks are fading and I'm not sensing any more trogs." Sentinel brushed past the others, summoning a door to take them back home. Whisper followed, her head hanging low.

~~~

"Aw, don't be like that Sen. She's not got the same experience as us." Lucky tried placating the angry stallion. Whisper merely sat nearby, unable to tear her eyes from her hooves.

"Exactly! She does not have the same experience we do. She should have stayed back and learned something." Sentinel snapped back.

The others were nowhere to be found. Presumably they were off on a mission of their own. Whisper was grateful for their absence.

"How do ya expect the lass to learn anything by watchin'?" Lucky asked. "It's not how I learned to fight. I can't imagine it's how you learned either."

"That's exactly how I learned to fight. I watched my superiors and learned everything from them." Sentinel replied sharply before looking to Whisper. "And it's how you're going to learn, too. Next mission I go on you are to follow and observe, nothing more. Understand?"

Whisper nodded silently. Sentinel seemed to accept the answer, as he chose to walk away. He quickly summoned up another door and stepped through, slamming it shut before it faded from view.

Whisper's stomach was somewhere near her hooves. Her brush with death had left her feeling terrified and ashamed. She looked up as she felt a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about him, lass. He means well." Lucky smiled softly. "He just can't show how scared he was for ya. Part o' bein' a royal guard and all that."

"Sentinel was a guard?" Whisper sniffled, curiosity clawing it's way over the other emotions she felt.

"Aye. Spent years as part of Luna's night guard. When he retired, she offered him a chance at the Dreamguard. You should ask him about it some time."

Whisper nodded.

"I guess I'll have plenty of time to ask when he goes on his next mission, huh?" Whisper smiled weakly.

"That's the spirit, lass. We'll make a warrior outta you yet." Lucky smirked, making Whisper's own smile widen.

"Thanks Lucky." Whisper stood and gave the stallion a quick hug before retiring to her own room.

3. The Shadows

"I can not tell you what you will face."

~~~

"Follow me. You need more training." Were the only words that Sentinel said before leading Whisper away from her seat in what was loosely known as the common area of the Dreamguard's... area. Whisper really wasn't sure if she could call it a base, and she was too embarrassed to ask somepony about it. It wasn't a physical place, so what was she supposed to call it?

Now she found herself in a room with large square mats paneling the floor. The walls were a mix of a beautiful oak and paper, which struck Whisper as odd. Against one wall of the room sat a detailed stone statue of a stallion with a shaved mane sitting cross-legged. Two posters with indecipherable squiggles flanked the statue. Tucked into another corner of the room was a sword rack holding weapons that looked strikingly similar to the sword Lucky used.

"Where is this?" Whisper looked around in awe as she placed a hoof on a paper portion of the wall. She punched a small hole through it, and immediately moved to a different portion of the room to hide the evidence.

"You are in the training area. We use this to keep our skills sharp during slower times." Sentinel replied. "I would recommend readying your weapon." He added, his own weapon shimmering into existence as he spoke.

Whisper nodded, letting her own weapon drift away from her neck carefully. Sentinel took a ready stance, calmly waiting for Whisper to do the same. The mare obliged, tensing herself for Sentinel's attack.

None came however. The unicorn stood across from Whisper with a frustratingly relaxed expression.

"What do I do?" Whisper thought. "Am I supposed to attack him? Does he say start? Is he waiting for me to say something?" A myriad of questions flooded Whisper's mind as she tensed up. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead, dampening her fur. Her ears had gone flat against her head as she fought to figure out what was going on.

"Relax." Sentinel broke the silence with a gentle tone Whisper didn't expect him to possess. "We are comrades. This is not a real battle, you do not need to treat it as such."

Whisper relaxed slightly, taking a deep breath. "He's right. I just need to relax. This isn't anything serious. I just need to do my best." She let the breath out slowly, breathing out the anxiety that now seemed a bit silly.

"Ready?" Sentinel asked. Whisper nodded slightly. "Here I come then."

Despite having plenty of warning, Whisper nearly wasn't ready for the attack. Halberd met scarf in a shower of golden sparks. Whisper took note of the slight give in her scarf as she intercepted the attack. Before she could consider any sort of counterattack the head of Sentinel's weapon shone brilliantly, releasing a blast of golden energy that sent Whisper tumbling head over tail.

Whisper found herself laying on the ground as her ears rang. It took her three tries to finally right herself on her hooves.

"Are you all right?" Sentinel was at her side, though when that happened, Whisper wasn't sure.

"That," Whisper started slowly "was awesome! How did you do that?"

"It is... hmm..." Sentinel tapped a hoof to his chin. "How to start? It is like a gift, I guess. All of us developed some kind of unique abilities after joining the Dreamguard. My Manifestation is that energy you saw. I can use it to do attacks like that one and the one that saved you, and I can use it to create barriers if need be. Locket can use her Manifestation to heal, and the others have their own abilities."

"What's mine?" Whisper asked, barely containing her enthusiasm. "I bet it's something super cool like Filli-second's super speed or Zapp's weather control!" The mare scrunched her face in concentration, as if she would just manifest some super power just by focusing really hard.

"I can not tell you what your Manifestation will be. You will have to figure that out on your own." Sentinel stifled a barely contained chuckle. "If you are feeling all right, care to continue?"

"Sure!" Whisper trotted over to her scarf and readied herself again. "Ready when you are."

Sentinel shook his head and smiled softly. There was more than a small part of him that was impressed by the mare's ability to bounce back after a hit like that. He hadn't meant to go all out on her like that. Truth be told he'd just wanted to see how Whisper would react to a strong hit. He didn't think the mare would have had time to block his initial attack. Still, he summoned his weapon and prepared to continue Whisper's training.

"Ready?" Sentinel asked coolly.

"Ready." Whisper grinned.

~~~

Whisper ached. It was a curious sensation, this achiness. The kind of ache one feels after a job well done. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, though it did give rise to the question of "How do I ache when I don't have a real body?" It was this question that Whisper fielded to Sentinel, who didn't seem the least bit phased by the sparring match that had just taken place.

"Have you ever had a stressful day at school?" Sentinel began. "One where your head hurts because of a test or some embarrassing event? It is like that here. You may lack a form in the physical sense of the word, but your mind is very much alive in the Dreamscape. So when you do something that puts stress upon you, your mind translates it into the feeling of aching."

"That sounds like something Locket would say."

"I would hope so. That was how she explained it to me when I asked."

"But then what about stuff like eating? And sleep?" Whisper asked, remaining splayed out on the floor. "Can I dream if I live in the Dreamscape?"

Sentinel rubbed a hoof against his temple, letting out a small sigh at the flood of questions.

"Most of those questions would best be asked of Locket. I can tell you that you can eat and drink, though you do not need to. Again, Locket would know why." He answered after a momentary pause.

Whisper pouted slightly, but quickly dropped the line of questioning as she made a mental note to bug Locket later.

"How are you feeling, Whisper?" Sentinel asked.

"Fine. A bit sore, but that's about it. Why?" Whisper asked, tilting her head.

"If I recall, I said you were to accompany me on my next mission. As it so happens, there is another disturbance that needs attending to." the unicorn explained.

"How do you know?" Whisper stared blankly at Sentinel.

"I can feel it. Give it time, you will start to feel things like that too."

Whisper stood and smiled, burying the butterflies in her stomach. The memory of the trog swarm lingered at the forefront of her mind. She shook the memory away, ready to follow Sentinel.

~~~

"Sooo... I get having another fight to take care of, but why did we have to bring the newbie?" Silver Song asked of Sentinel condescendingly. "I mean, even I can tell this isn't gonna be a trog fight. Are we using her as bait?"

Sentinel narrowed his eyes at Silver as he held up a hoof to cut Whisper's retort off before she could speak.

"We are bringing her so that she may learn how to fight and contribute to the Dreamguard. Luna chose Whisper. Are you questioning Her judgement?" Sentinel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's not a fair question. I'm asking you, not Luna." Silver scowled.

The three of them were floating through a void, on their way to somepony's dreamscape. Whisper didn't quite get the technical explanation from Locket, but she took away the basics of "empty space between dreams." Silver Song had taken this opportunity to be incredibly... abrasive, as Locket had put it.

"You know full well what my answer will be. You should try getting to know your new teammate before passing judgement so quickly. She may surprise you."

Whisper suppressed a smile at Sentinel's response. She didn't know the stallion very well yet, but seeing him stand up for her already made her feel she could almost tolerate Silver's abuse.

"Yeah, because I've really developed my skills with other ponies." Silver rolled her eyes. "How much further is it? The less time I have the newbie failing to cover my flank the better I'll feel."

The three arrived at the dream in question. Both Silver and Sentinel seemed to know exactly how to get here, without any sort of conversing.

Whisper stared in awe at the edge of the dream. It stretched outward a short ways, about the length of three of herself, if she were to line herself up next to it. The edge seemed mercurial, shifting and contorting itself as if it were a living mass. This was the third time she'd seen a dream's boundary. She idly noted that this one was a purplish color. The last ones had been bluish and white, respectively.

'I wonder if the colors mean anything?' Whisper asked herself. She refused to ask any questions around Silver Song, not wishing to deal with more of the mare's unending mockery.

Sentinel stepped through first, with Silver a half-step behind him. Whisper took a deep breathe (a pointless exercise in the Dreamscape, to be sure) and stepped through, herself.

"Whoa..." Whisper's jaw dropped.

The last dreams she'd been in had been rather boring looking, the first being an open field and the second a patchwork of indecision. This dream, however, was mind-blowingly ornate.

A massive gray castle towered above the three Dreamguard members. Black stained glass windows seemed to give the castle a foreboding aura, warning trespassers to flee. The gravel path leading to the warped double-doors of the structure was lined with various statues.

Whisper paid close attention to the statues as she passed them. An angry looking griffon. A unicorn with a wicked grin and strangely curved horn. A patchwork creature made of various bits of other animals. Each of these statues felt like they had malicious intentions towards Whisper as she looked at them. She wondered what significance they held, if any.

"Damn... Somepony's got a nice dream home." Silver remarked. Whisper silently agreed.

"It is impressive. But we are not here to admire the scenery." Sentinel reminded everypony. "We must continue."

The doors to the castle opened with a lazy groan, like they wanted to protest but couldn't be bothered. The interior of the castle was the same dull gray of the exterior. Dark gray tapestries hung limply on the walls, leading the newcomers deeper into the castle. It was not a welcome invitation.

"Anypony else feel like they're being watched?" Whisper asked, glancing around nervously.

"Yes."

"Uh-huh..."

Sentinel and Silver Song answered in unison. They both wore guarded expressions as they kept a vigilant eye out for the first sign of danger. Sentinel went one step further and summoned his halberd into existence. Whisper took note of this and loosened her scarf to hang limply over her neck.

The sound of hoofsteps echoed back at the group from all sides, reminding them that they were alone in this grand hallway. A chill settled over the hallway, as if the castle itself were trying to tell them to turn back.

"What are we looking for, anyway? More trogs?" Whisper asked, wishing she had whatever the other two had to sense... stuff. She wasn't sure what they felt, exactly.

"To be honest, I am uncertain. I feel a presence, but I am unfamiliar with it." Sentinel responded with a frown. "Be ready for anything."

"Great. When I'm being nommed by dream shadow monsters, I'll be glad for the warning." Whisper quipped in frustration.

The hallway ended in another set of doors, smaller than the entrance's. This doorway lead to a large vaulted room, with a circular table in the center with seven chairs around it. The table was home to a magical projection of what looked to be all of Equestria, and even some parts beyond. Whisper waved a hoof through the image, giggling slightly at the flickering it caused.

"Hey, newbie, pay attention! We could be attacked at any moment, remember?" Silver growled.

"Sorry!" Whisper whispered back, blushing furiously at being so easily distracted.

"Whatever we are looking for is not here. We should spread out and search for whatever caused the disturbance." Sentinel suggested. "If anypony finds something, do not hesitate to call."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I've read The Hoofvengers comics. Splitting up never seems to work out for anypony involved." Whisper pointed out, drawing upon her limited experience.

"Right. Tactical advice from filly tales. At least I have a better idea of what I'm putting up with." Silver said with a roll of her eyes.

"Shows how much you know about tactics." Whisper murmured. She continued to mumble under her breath as she followed Sentinel's orders and trotted from the room.

Back in the gray hallway, Whisper turned her attention to finding whatever oddity had Sentinel worried. She couldn't tell if she was more nervous or excited at the prospect of finding a new creature in the Dreamscape.

'What would live in a dreary castle like this anyways?' She wondered. She pondered this in silence, her only companion the gentle clop of her hooves on marble as she scanned the hallway for anything out of the ordinary.

The clop of another set of hooves on marble reached Whisper's ears. She stopped and spun, expecting either Sentinel or Silver Song approaching. Neither were there. The hall was empty, save for Whisper herself.

"Hello?" Whisper called out softly. "Is somepony there?"

No reply came. Whisper turned back around and began trotting forward, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that had gripped her. She found herself glancing over her shoulder often, keeping an eye on things behind her almost as much as ahead.

"How am I going to get all this done?!"

Whisper practically jumped out of her skin. That wasn't her voice, that was for certain. And it wasn't one she recognized as Sentinel or Silver Song. The mare was torn between running to find Sentinel and seeing who the voice belonged to.

Curiosity won out, and she pressed onward, determined to find the source of the voice.

~~~

"Damn newbie. Damn Sentinel. Why do we have to split up? We should have just stuck together and made some noise. Make the damn things come to us." Silver Song grumbled to herself, only partially aware of her surroundings. She was peeved and it showed.

She'd spent almost the entire time complaining to nobody. She took comfort in her own voice, using her solitude to complain as much as she could about the things that were bothering her.

"When we get back I'll just see if they wanna spar. Then I'll beat the snot outta the newbie and Sentinel. 'Oh, we need to split up. Be nice to the newbie who threw away what was probably a very good life to live in the dream world. She made her choice.'" Silver sneered with the last word. "I can't believe somepony would do something so stupid."

"Stupid." A voice whispered from the shadows.

"Exactly! I- Hey, who's there?" Silver called out as she realized there was somepony with her. She scanned the room she was in carefully. For all purposes it looked like a normal bedroom. A large bed took up most of the room. It looks like it was once very elegant, but was now worn and faded. Clearly it had seen better days. Or it's real life counterpart had. This bed was just a projection of somepony else's mind.

Silver peeked under the bed, finding nothing. She also checked behind the curtains and in a wardrobe opposite the bed. She found nothing in either hiding spot.

"Selfish." The voice whispered again. It seemed to echo from everywhere in the room, making it nigh impossible for Silver to pinpoint where the voice hid. "Cowardly." It called in a mocking tone, like a schoolyard bully trying to hurt somepony's feelings.

"Where are you?!" Silver growled. "Stop hiding and face me!"

Instead of an answer, the door to the room slammed shut, sealing Silver inside.

~~~

Sentinel made his way down a doorless corridor, his sharp eyes seeking any form of movement. He'd been moving down the same hall for some time now, but no end to the hall was in sight. He passed another window with a blackened stained glass image of a withered tree. This marked the fifth or sixth window with the same pattern that Sentinel had passed.

He looked behind him, stopping to scan behind him carefully. Still no movement, nor had he heard anything. Sentinel didn't take it at face value though. His years of training screamed at him to be ever vigilant. He lingered for a few more moments before pressing on, only mildly satisfied that checking his flank had revealed no enemies.

Hoofsteps echoed from the walls, only further emphasizing Sentinel's solitude. The unicorn hated the silence. Silence always, always meant trouble. He hated trouble.

Sentinel stopped suddenly, perking up his ears as he tried picking up the faintest of sounds. Nothing. His ears twitched ever so slightly, determined to pick up anything. Something was making his skin crawl, but he could be sure of what. He continued again, passing another window. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he picked up the faintest sound. Something like claws on stone.

Instinct forced the stallion to roll to the side faster than any thought could. Mid-roll he could hear the sound of something heavy landing where he stood. By the time he got back to his hooves, there was nothing again. The only indication that he hadn't imagined the attack came in the form of deep gouges in the floor where he'd just been standing.

Sentinel narrowed his eyes, taking comfort in the fact that he was not alone. It meant his instincts had been right. But it also meant he was being hunted. He continued onward. Whatever was here was content with waiting. Standing around would accomplish nothing.

On and on the stallion walked, every nerve in his body tingling as he braced for the next attack. Up ahead another window was approaching, bearing that same dreary pattern and flanked by the same dreary curtains.

As he neared the window, Sentinel sighed as he came to a frustrating realization. On the floor were claw-like gouges in the marble exactly like the ones he'd left behind moments ago.

~~~

"If I move the Gala planning meeting back I can still do lunch with Celestia. But what about the ambassador from Saddle Arabia? I'd need to squeeze a meeting with him between lunch and the planning meeting. I suppose I could have Spike handle the tour. That would buy some time. But what about the school opening in Fillydelphia? I promised Cadence I'd be there!"

Whisper watched in stunned silence as a lavender alicorn paced back and forth, carrying four lists with her magic. The alicorn in question also happened to be a princess. Whisper remembered attending the coronation in Canterlot. And here she was stressing out over her duties.

Whisper was torn. On the one hoof, she wanted to go help the princess calm down. On the other hoof, this was a princess. You don't just go up and hug princesses.

'I'm pretty sure there's a law against that, anyway.' She thought. Still, Whisper knew she had to help somehow. She stepped forward and opened her mouth to speak.

"Excuse me." She piped up, nerves cranking down the volume on her words so far that she could barely hear herself. "Excuse me." She said a bit louder.

"Not now, Spike. I need to get this sorted out." The princess waved a dismissive hoof without looking over. "This is very important and-" The princess' star-shaped cutie mark began do pulse with some sort of magic mid-sentence. "Oh no! I can't do this! Why me, map?!"

The princess flung her lists into the air and flopped forward in defeat, bringing her forelegs up to cover her eyes. The alicorn began to shudder, letting out small squeaking sobs.

"Hey, don't cry. It'll be okay. What can I do to help?" Whisper stepped forward, any nerves about speaking with a princess washed away in the lavender princess' tears. "Princess?"

Movement from the corners of the other side of the room caught Whisper's attention. Shadows in the corner seemed to converge together, creating an onyx, bubbling pool before coalescing into a form that could loosely be called pony-shaped. Eyes shot open, revealing a solid teal glow.

"Oh horseapples..."

~~~

"Where the buck are you?!" Silver yelled in anger. The room she was trapped in was thrashed. The bed lay in splinters from her attacks, matching what she'd done to the wardrobe. Silver was panting for breath, scowling as she scanned for any other hiding places in the room.

"Useless." The voice's tone had gone far past it's original 'schoolyard bully' tones and had become outright derisive, cruel laughter punctuating it's words.

"Stop!" Silver shouted back at the voice.

"Weak."

Silver took a few steps back, unable to find the source of the voice.

"Alone."

"I said stop!" Silver reared up on her hind legs and slammed her hooves down with her final word. Flames engulfed the room, immediately turning it into an inferno as what was left of the room's furniture went up in flames.

Across the room, an undulating shadow-pony struggled to get to it's hooves as fire licked at it. It's teal eyes glared at Silver with an unfathomable hatred.

"Found you..." Silver smirked.

~~~

Sentinel stood straight as he waited for his pursuer to strike at him again. His ears swiveled about, trying to catch any sound that would indicate another attack. Since he'd found out that he was trapped, Sentinel had been attacked three more times. Each time he'd managed to narrowly avoid the blow from his unseen foe, but each time his opponent's strike had come closer. Sentinel knew that this would be a battle decided in one attack. The question still remained: whose attack?

The unicorn's halberd floated next to him. It seemed to mirror the stallion's apprehension, waiting for the silent command from it's wielder. The faintest golden aura wrapped around the weapon, giving the glow of Sentinel's magic an almost divine aspect.

Seconds stretched into years as Sentinel played a game of patience with his opponent. Sentinel was no stranger to standing immobile for long periods of time, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it. Each second was agonizing. Instinct told him to seek his enemy and stop the attacks on his own terms. Experience gently reminded him that moving left him more exposed in this arena designed by an unseen enemy.

Then, after an eternity and a half, Sentinel picked up the faintest sound behind him. A noise that couldn't be aptly described. It mattered not. Sentinel spun his weapon and thrust the tip of the hafted weapon behind him. Marble crumbled under the force of the strike. Sentinel wasn't sure if he'd hit the mark or not, however.

The stallion learned the answer to his unspoken question sooner than he thought. Shadows stretched from the edges of the hallway, converging on a single point a few feet from Sentinel. These shadows slowly twisted and writhed away from the floor, forming a pony-like body with eyes that glowed with a teal malice. It hissed angrily at Sentinel and crouched low, attempting to cover a golden hole in it's chest with a shadowy, clawed hoof.

Sentinel approached the wounded thing slowly, gazing sternly into it's eyes. His halberd floated along side him as he came to a stop a few feet from the creature. The blade of the weapon came to a stop resting against the creature's neck.

"Make peace with whatever foul deity you follow." Sentinel said, offering his would-be assassin a moment.

The thing hissed violently and lunged forward. It was over in an instant. Sentinel's blade struck true, scattering the shadow like ash in the wind.

The world seemed to reorient itself almost immediately. The hallway around the victorious stallion shifted and twisted, revealing once-hidden doorways and branches off the hall. A sigh of relief escaped the stallion as he trotted forward to find his comrades.

~~~

Silver stuck the creature again, sending it reeling back. Had it been a pony, it wouldn't have survived the beating it had received so far. It's features had become more distorted, as if the shadows had swollen. One of it's teal eyes was swollen in a perpetual squint. Any words that it tried to utter came out slurred.

"What was all that before? You call me things like 'weak' and then you can't back it up?" Silver scoffed. "I kinda expected more."

"No moresh." The shadow pony whimpered. "Let ush live." It held a weak hoof up in a pitiful attempt to shield it's curled up form from Silver Song's vicious attacks.

"Yeah... No." Silver took a few steps forward, which the shadow pony mirrored by dragging itself backwards until the wall stopped it. "You see, I don't like it when things attack me, mock me, make me mad... Pretty much everything you tried to do. I go by one simple rule: 'If it tries to kill you, kill it first.'"

The thing's one good eye widened in terror in the split second it took for Silver to turn around and deliver a powerful buck directly into it's head. After that it knew nothingness as what remained of it's corporeal form dispersed in a fine black mist.

Silver sneered at the spot where she'd felled her enemy before turning and leaving through the now open door.

~~~

Whisper found herself gasping for breath as her head darted about in a frantic search for her opponent. The damn thing wouldn't hold still. Every time she moved to attack it would melt away into the shadows, only to reappear somewhere else. To make matters worse, it seemed dead set on targeting the princess rather than Whisper.

Several deep cuts served as reminders of the hits Whisper had taken in order to protect the princess, who seemed all but oblivious to the battle as she curled into a ball and sobbed quietly. The creature seemed to be enjoying the fight. Each time it scored another hit against Whisper it seemed to linger a few moments longer, like a cat toying with it's prey. The shadow thing launched an attack from above, dropping from the vaulted ceiling towards the princess.

Whisper reacted before she had even thought of what to do next. Her scarf wrapped around a leg of the alicorn and tugged, sending the nigh-catatonic princess sliding away from the attack like a hockey puck.

The shadow pony hit the crystal flooring with enough force to break it, sending crystalline shards in all directions. Despite the substantial fall, it seemed unharmed. The creature merely looked at Whisper as it began to stride forward.

Whisper stepped between the thing between and the princess.

"I don't know what you are, but you're not hurting her." Whisper panted. "Not while I'm here."

The princess, meanwhile, had reverted to mumbling her schedule over and over, as if that would somehow solve whatever problems she faced outside the Dreamscape.

The shadow creature zipped forward, intent on crushing the pony standing defiantly in front of it. As it drew close it thrust a hoof forward. A hoof which twisted and elongated into a spike.

Whisper ducked and swept her weapon low, catching the shadow pony in the leg. She was rewarded with the sight of a vaguely equine leg sailing through the air and dissolving into black dust that scattered into nothingness. She pressed the advantage, rising up and wrapping her front legs around the shadow pony's neck.

The shadow pony could only yield to the forces of gravity and this stubborn mare. It found itself on it's back as it struggled against the adrenaline-fueled onslaught of hooves and this strange scarf weapon striking over and over without a moment of letting up.

Whisper refused to let this thing have a chance at recovering. It kicked and struggled back, landing a few strikes through her unrelenting assault. Whatever this shadow thing was, it was durable. It seemed to just absorb most of her strikes. The only evidence that she was doing anything came in the form of those shadowy dust particles that filled the air whenever she struck home a particularly painful blow.

After what seemed like an eternity, the shadow pony could fight back no more, and relented to the assault. It's legs went slack, dropping to the crystal floor. It merely stared back at Whisper, it's teal eyes shining with hatred.

"Do it." The thing had a voice!

"You can talk?!" Whisper cried in shock.

The creature said nothing beyond those words. Instead, it raised a hoof to it's opponent's side and struck, the now sharp limb biting deep and pulling a cry of pain from the mare pinning it.

Whether by luck or divine intervention, the defiant attack from the thing Whisper was holding to the floor managed to not kill her. At least not yet. A survival instinct kicked in. Without Whispers full consent or knowledge, her weapon coiled itself into a spiral and plunged deep into the chest of her foe. Seconds later, nothing remained of the thing that had seemed dead set on destroying Whisper.

"Are you... are you all right?" A voice asked from behind the wounded mare. Whisper responded by collapsing to her side. "Oh my gosh! You're not all right!"

A lavender light gently wrapped about Whisper, filling her with a tingly warmth that vaguely reminded her of the first time she'd drank hard cider behind the gym after school. It even made her giggle the same way she had back then. The tingly sensation quickly blocked out any pain. A few brief moments later, the magical aura was gone, taking Whisper's injuries with it.

"Thank you." Whisper sat up again. "Are you... Are you all right?"

"Oh I'm fine. Peachy keen, thanks to you... um..."

"Whisper."

"Twilight Sparkle. It's lovely to meet you." Twilight smiled brightly. The smile was quickly replaced by a look of surprise as Whisper's forelegs wrapped around Twilight in a deep hug.

"It'll be okay." Whisper whispered to the princess. "Everything will work out."

"I-" Tears filled the princess' eyes as whatever was left of her composure crumbled. "I don't know if I can do this. Being a princess... It's the hardest thing I've ever done, and if I mess this up..." She left the thought hanging, knowing full well that a mistake on her part could affect the whole of Equestria.

"Shhh." Whisper hushed the trembling mare she held. "Its okay."

Twilight broke down into tears. As she did, the color seemed to ebb into the world around the two. Dull grays were replaced by vibrant hues of violet and blue. Tattered curtains and cracked furniture mended themselves as color filled them. The entire room sparkled as the princess finally let go of some of the stress that had filled her.

~~~

Silver and Sentinel found Whisper holding Twilight still when they caught up to her. The princess had managed to regain most of her composure by the time they arrived.

"Figures. We go hunt down the threat and she hits on a princess." Silver rolled her eyes as she spoke.

Sentinel bowed low to Twilight before speaking.

"Your highness. I apologize for the intrusion, but we must be going."

Twilight nodded and stepped away, from Whisper.

"Um, thank you, but please don't bow. It makes me feel weird." Twilight rubbed her leg with a hoof nervously.

"My apologies." Sentinel replied evenly.

The world around the Dreamguard members gently swirled away, leaving the three floating in a void where the dream bubble had once been.

"What happened?" Whisper asked, looking around for Princess Twilight.

"She woke up." Sentinel answered, looking rather pleased about something.

~~~

Twilight opened her eyes as the first rays of dawn's light crept through a gap between her curtains. For the first time in a long time she smiled, ready to face her list of duties.