Protectors of the Dreamscape

"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.