The Time

On a beach, the bright sun shone over Adam, who laid unconscious on the sand, completely wet. He proceeded to wake up and cough up water. He breathed heavily, getting as much air as he could. But it was not long before he was grabbed by several pony guards. He did not bother to fight them off, too weak to do so.

Adam soon found himself in a wooden hut in a jungle. He had his wrists tied behind his back and forced to kneel, clothes and hair still damp. He looked up at the figure who sat on the makeshift throne before him. The figure had green jungle paint all over its body, and looked old and elderly. "How long has it been..." was all the figure said to Adam, in a quiet raspy voice.

"Eight hours..." Adam answered. "...eight hours." he reiterated.

"It feels so long..." the figure answered back. "...especially when waiting..." it looked at Adam with eyes of sadness. "...but I am glad you came back to me at long last."

The human smiled as he looked at the figure, despite the paint and white mane, it was still the same Fluttershy he always remembered, only much older.

"Adam? You okay?" asked Luna at the human who stared distantly into his pint of ice cream. The human snapped out of his momentary trance to find himself in the hotel dinning room, eating some ice cream with Luna.

He sighed. "You know what I fear the most Luna?" he began. Luna just shook her head. "The unknown." he explained. "The things that can't be adequately explained..."

"I can understand that fear Adam." agreed Luna as she levitated a spoonful of ice cream and ate it.

"When I was kid," Adam began. "the circus came to my town and one of the acts was a magician, and after watching him perform his tricks, I briefly believed that magic did exist, I had no other way to explain how he did it, how he made things appear, disappear, escape from difficult bonds, it was amazing." he related. "But the fact that I couldn't find a satisfactory explanation just bothered me...that's when I decided to devote my life to knowledge, become a man who had the answers to the universe's greatest mysteries..."

The mare just intently listened. "But did you ever figure out how that magician did his tricks?"

"I did eventually, when I toured with a burlesque troupe, another magician that was there explained it to me and it was all a simple case of misdirection and slight-of-hand, no actual magic involved." he explained. "I was frankly impressed that something so complex can be achieved through simple tricks." he thought back fondly, before his face fell. "I'm scared." he suddenly admitted.

"We all are Adam." agreed Luna. "But we'll get through this together." she assured.

Rainbow Dash was relieved to have lost that creature that was after her, but was also concerned that she got separated from her friends, forced to navigate the endless maze of hallways alone.

"Hey Dash!" exclaimed a new voice. This startled the cyan mare, how turned around to see Pinkie Pie.

"Gosh darn it Pinkie!" she exclaimed with annoyance. "You can't just pop into existence like that!" she complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess old habits d̴i̷e̴ hard." she explained with a slight smirk.

Dash noticed that Pinkie looked a little different than she remembered, mane now straight, her fur no longer had its bright pink shimmer and looked duller. But the Pegasus had more important matters to attend to. "Where's Fluttershy?" she asked, knowing that Pinkie was paired up with her.

"I don't know." Pinkie shrugged. "One minute she was behind me, the next, she was gone."

The cyan mare just gave a worried look. "Great, she's alone with that THING out there."

"Oh, don't you worry, I'm sure F̷l̴u̷t̷t̷e̶r̶s̶h̸y̴ can handle herself." Pinkie assured in a huskier than usual voice. Something about her seemed off to Dash, and it frightened her.

"Dash! Pinkie!" yelled Twilight, who with Starlight, trotted up to the two mares. "Good to see you two." she said with relief. "Find anything? Where's everyone else?"

"Oh yeah we found something, and it chased us all over the place before I lost it." explained Dash.

"Nightmare Moon?" said Starlight.

"No, a giant crab."

None of the other three mares expected that answer. "Right...and where is everyone else?" Twilight asked.

"I don't know, but this place is crazy, we should get out of here." Dash demanded.

"We're not leaving until Nightmare Moon has been defeated!" Twilight answered to remind her friend of the mission. "Besides, the only way we can leave is if Spike has found a way to wake us up."

"So what's the plan now?" asked a skeptical Dash.

Out in the real world, Spike was not doing that. Instead, he silently watched as the mysterious zebra, Zuberi, made a sleeping potion using Twilight's lab equipment. "So, you're making this potion because?" asked the baby dragon.

"Because Tantabus is in there, I must go inside the nightmare." Zuberi explained.

"So you know how to defeat it?" asked Spike.

"Tantabus can't be defeated, if there are bad thoughts untreated." he explained as he finished up the potion. "It's always there subconsciously, it's something done not consciously."

"So, you're saying that Tantabus is not a creature, but a thing that manifests itself from the suppression of bad thoughts?" Spike hypothesized. The zebra just silently nodded. "Did you encounter it before?"

"I have indeed encountered it, it gave my sister a bad fit." he explained ominously. He then went over back upstairs to the main room where everyone was asleep in. He went over to an empty part of the room and laid down on the floor. "In an hour please wake me up, and please do not try to letup." he urged.

"Good luck in there." said Spike before the zebra quickly chugged down the potion and promptly fell asleep.

エレベーター

Adam and Luna quietly got in an elevator. It was silent between the two, the only sound being the elevator music and the indicator lights. Adam looked at the elevator control panel to see a large amount of buttons, all blank, except for one that was stamped with Luna's cutie mark. "What's the button there?" the human asked the princess.

"The penthouse." Luna answered.

"But it has your mark on it." he pointed out.

"Like I said, the penthouse." she dodged the question. Adam was about to ask more, but the elevator reached its floor. The doors opened to reveal Rarity and Applejack running inside. "Close the door!" they both yelled in unison as they sprinted inside.

"Why? What's-" Adam peaked his head out to look around only to see a giant crab heading towards them. Without saying a word he repeatedly tapped the 'close door' button. At the last possible moment, the doors finally did close leaving a noticeable dent from the crab's claw hitting the door. Everyone stood back in silence as the elevator continued on to another floor. The human and princess agreed that it was best not to ask about what they just saw.

プール

Twilight and Pinkie Pie found themselves in the pool. They looked around to see that the pool was currently empty, drained dry. "How did we end up here?" asked a confused Twilight. "This place makes no sense."

"I know, but that's the dream world for you." responded Pinkie who shrugged her shoulders. The pink mare gave a small smirk at the unicorn.

"By the way Pinkie, you've been acting...normally...lately." noted Twilight. "What happened?" she turned only to see the straight mane pony just standing there with a smirk.

"What ever do you mean T̴w̶i̴?" continued Pinkie with an even bigger smirk with fake confusion. "I thought being normal was a good thing."

"Not with you Pinkie." stated Twilight with concern.

Pinkie just gave a crazed laugh in response, and not a cute happy laugh, but a deranged laugh that sent shivers down the unicorn's back. "I always longed to be normal...but I was never allowed to be..." she said ominously.

Twilight began to slowly back away as Pinkie slowly walked forever. "Pinkie?"

"I spent such a long time imprisoned in her mind, helpless as she took control of my life, forcing me to do nothing but watch...it sickened me." her tone grew bitter and huskier. "Parties, fun, sugary diabetes inducing food, randomness...it was horrible the stuff she forced me to do!"

"Pinkie?"

"It's P̴̲̂i̸̩͑n̷̗̆k̴̙͗ä̵̼́m̵̼͐e̸̤͋n̵̠͒a̸̘͆ now!" she suddenly snapped with rage. "P̴̟̮͚̎̉̋ȋ̷̱̝̀̉ń̸̤̻̕k̷͖̜̝̆a̶̛͖̻̋m̸͔̖̙̮̑͋͝ẹ̸͓̞͛̅ņ̷̓̐͝ä̷͍͂͒͘ ̴̨̖̜̊̈D̷̢͇̻̜͊̎́i̵̙̒a̸̹̘͈͔͑͛̂n̴̖̥͌̿͋͊ẻ̸͙̋ ̸̞͉̫̙̔̒͊̈́P̵͈̩̍i̶̬̖̗̽̀́e̴̬̹̯̿! The r̴̢̡̰̗̩̗̪̭̱̲̜̘̠̟̲̺̱̭̃̌͑͌͜e̵̥̻̥̠̲̋̀̂̊̀̌̑ạ̷̛̙̀̓̾̈́̓̏̀̆̇̆̍͌̾̕͠͠͠͠ḷ̶̘̬̗̖̤̞̥͉̘̳͛͌͑̿̈́̔̈́̽́̂͆̅̍ one, not the cheap knockoff that you thought was the true one!"

Twilight continued to back away. "Now calm down, no need to do anything rash."

"Ş̷̧̬͔̥̼̼̮͉̠̗̙̮͖̣̬̪̦̤̥̳̱̊̄̇͒͌ͅh̷̡̢̡̹̺̝͖̫͎͚̜͙͙̖̬͓̲͂̅̒̀̈́͋͂̏̽̿͌́̈́̒͑͆̚̕̚͠ȩ̸̧̛̳̩̥̺͚̰̹̦͙̗̯͖̬͕̅̃̈́͂̏̂̓͌͆͘͝͠ ̸̛͖̭̺̜̘̪̘͚͚̠̊̄́͌̏̋͂͊́̀̀́̉̅̏̀̐͘͠ͅr̷̨̡̛̟̱̗̞̺͌̾̃͒͆̾͊̓̒̈̉͑̂̂͑̚͝u̵̦̤̗̼͔̪̜̝̓̈́̈̄̂̀͝͝ȋ̶̧̧͔͍̝̩̹̱͚̳̠̳͚̺̜͔͋̈̏̊̍̎͒̓̂̒̆̿́̽̇͗̕͘͝͠͝͝ͅͅn̶̞̣̫̞̞̪̒̌́̑̊́͛́̍̔̕͜͝͠͝e̸͇̗͎̯͎̲̼̫̍̌̿̍ḓ̸̰̦̲̮̹͇̝̩̰̥͛̑̎͒̆̆̒̉̄̓̆́̂͘̕͝ͅͅ ̶̨̣͕͈͈̮̰͈̰̔̉̀̍̎̀̑͌̚m̶̨̧̛̤̫̬͕̜̟̝̞͔̱̠̜̺̲̞̎̀̓̾́̽͋͊́̆̍̀̾͆̓̎̊̀̕̕͝ͅy̷̨̨̨̧̭̗̼̼͖͍̭̪̪̬̠̓͜ ̵̨̮͕̙̥̥̹̜̘̖̼̦̗̺̃͒̊̍͊͌͋̄̕͝͠͝ͅl̵̟̳͕͍͍̠̟̘̝̻̬̪̾̐̿̐́̈́̋̉ỉ̴͚̏̐͐̉̏̆̋̊̐̐̉͂̍̋͝͝͠f̸̨̗̊̋͛̈́̈̆́͐̅̓̏̈́̉͌̚̚͠ė̸̛̛͙̃́̌̿̿́̀͛̆̔͌̅̆͊͒̕͝͝͝!" she yelled as she suddenly materialized a knife.

"What are you doing...?" the unicorn was now even more afraid as her rump hit the wall, she had nowhere to go.

"Killing everything she ever loved!" she growled angrily, knife at the ready to stab. Twilight got ready to summon a defensive spell, only for a figure, yelling a native battle cry to come out of nowhere and tackle Pinkie into the empty pool. A loud thud was heard as both bodies hit the concrete pool floor hard. Twilight quickly ran over and looked down only to see a zebra slowly get up in pain, and Pinkie with a knife in her chest, dead.

"You...killed her..." Twilight said stunned.

The zebra cracked his back, relieving his pain, before climbing up to the shallow end of the pool and climbing out. "That was not the friend that you know, a real friend would never kill though." he explained. Twilight looked again at Pinkie, only to find the entire body was gone as if it was never there.

"Where did she go?" Twilight asked with confusion.

"Most likely she is now awake, she will not feel anymore ache." he explained as he straightened himself out. "And you must be Twilight Sparkle, I don't mean to get you startled, the name is Zuberi to you, and this is something I've been through."

"You've been in the dream world before?" Zuberi just silently nodded. "But how can I know to trust you?" she asked him with suspicion. The zebra just looked at her with a serious look before walking off without saying a word. Twilight followed along as they walked out of the pool. "Do you know what's going on?" she asked.

"This is not Nightmare Moon's doing, there's a new threat that is brewing." he explained ominously in a deep voice.

"But if it is not Nightmare Moon, then what?" she asked, thinking about what he just said.

"I believe the answer is close, but the answer you will oppose." he answered ominously.

A realization suddenly dawned on the mare. "Luna? Luna is doing this? How?" she asked confused. "What makes you say that?" she demanded to know. She could not believe that Luna would be responsible for this, unless not even Luna knows it's her. "Wait," she began to theorize. "it's all in her mind...and she doesn't know it...oh no..."

In the elevator, Adam, Luna, Rarity and Applejack tried to calm themselves down as the elevator continued to rise up. They soon stopped at a random floor and the doors opened to reveal a quiet hallway. The three mares and human got off and saw that the coast was clear. Luna looked apprehensive. "I think we're safe...for now." stated the human.

"So what now?" asked Applejack.

"Figure out where Nightmare Moon is hiding." explained Adam. "But there has to be some kind of clue that will lead us to her whereabouts." he looked around only to get startled by a strange churning sound.

"That sounds like the ice machine." Luna stated, familiar with the noise. She walked over to a hidden hallway near the elevator and the mares and human followed her. They soon came across an active ice machine pouring ice cubes into a bucket, red tinted ice cubes.

Adam slowly reached for the bucket, Luna, Rarity and Applejack huddled behind him as he slowly peeked inside the bucket. "Oh my God!" the human suddenly exclaimed in disgust as he dropped the bucket on the floor, spilling its contents on the floor. The other three's eyes went wide as they saw just what startled Adam; a severed head of Celestia herself.

"No!" Luna screamed in terror. She looked over at the ice machine to see the message 'sister killer' written in blood on it. "NO!" she screamed louder before sprinting away.

"Luna wait!" Adam tried to run after the princess only to find his way blocked by a thick dark cloud of smoke, smoke that should an endless night sky. Both Adam and the two mares froze in their tracks as the smoked floated before them, the sounds of a ticker tape machine emanated from it. It appeared to have taken a quizzical interested in the human, who stared it down, refusing to budge. "What...are you?" the human asked it.

The smoke just started to show moments of Adam's past in its dark nightscape, from his childhood, to his adventures in Equestria. Then, it began to show glimpses of Luna in emotional pain, especially after Celestia's passing, this intrigued Adam even more. But then, just as soon as it appeared, it suddenly floated away past them at high speed, disappearing among the maze of hallways, leaving the three alone in stunned silence.

"What just happened?" asked a stunned Applejack.

"I think I know what's truly going on." muttered Adam as he walked off towards where Luna ran off. Both Rarity and Applejack stayed behind to keep watch. The human continued down the hallway until he heard the sounds of crying. He turned a corner to see Princess Luna curled up in a ball, sobbing. "Luna?" he asked with concern.

"It's all my fault...it's all my fault..." she muttered between tears. "...had I known about her feelings, I could've stopped her..." she explained.

Adam just crouched down next to the blue mare and brushed her back. "No Luna, if there was anyone to blame for her death it would be me, I was the one who drove her to do what she did..." he admitted.

The brushing seemed to have calmed Luna down slightly. "But I should've paid attention and..." she sighed. "...I don't know, I somehow feel like it is all my fault."

"How long have you kept this hidden?" Adam asked. "Kept this pain to yourself."

"Over a year now..." she admitted. "...needed to keep a brave face for the sake of my subjects..."

"You knew that it wasn't Nightmare Moon doing this the entire time didn't you?" Adam finally got to the point.

She looked over at the human with shame. "I knew it was either her or...it..." she said ominously.

"What is that thing anyways?" Adam asked.

"It's not a thing...but a manifestation..." Luna explained. "...it appears every time a someone suppresses their feelings and fears...the subconscious creates it as an outlet for those feelings and fears to escape, and it usually does so by giving it to other dreamers." she continued. "It wants everyone to feel just as bad as the host."

"How does one defeat it?" Adam asked once again.

"You can't, it only goes away once the host comes to terms with their fears...but most take their own lives before they ever do that..." she continued with shame and guilt.

"Because that's the easy way out..." Adam said, he knew how it felt, he knew what is was like to avoid facing your fears, especially after his former love's death in his arms.

Luna suddenly grabbed the human into a hug and began to sob into his shoulder. "I'm sorry for deceiving all of you...I was just incapable of admitting the truth." she cried.

"Just let it all out..." was all he said as he comforted her and rubbed her back. He then looked over at the corner of his eye to see a table with a flower vase on it. He slowly reached for the vase, without disturbing Luna who was still crying into his should. "...but I'm so sorry for this." he whispered. Luna's ear perked up but before she could comprehend what he said she was swiftly hit in the head hard, knocking her out. Adam gently put her down on the floor, before throwing away the pieces of the ceramic vase away. "But it just had to be done." he got up and walked back to both Rarity and Applejack.

ランドリー

Down in the laundry room, both Starlight and Rainbow Dash quietly walked in, looking around. They both silently agreed to split up so they could cover more ground since the room was massive. Dash went down the many industrial washers and dryers.

The entire room had a cold industrial feel to it, it reminded the Pegasus of a cloudless version of the Weather Factory's inner workings. She suddenly stopped in her tracks as her ears perked up to the sound of something mechanical approaching. "It must be Nightmare Moon...it sounds like it..." Dash muttered to herself.

The sound was distant, it did not appear like it was approaching the mare, but she decided to approach it instead. She cautiously and slowly walked towards the sound. Her heart pounded anxiously as she got closer to the noise. But then, she heard something else different. Dash quickly looked towards the source only to be immediately smacked in the forehead by a giant piece of hanging steel beam, instantly knocking the mare unconscious.

"Sorry Dash," began Starlight as she walked up to the lifeless Dash. "but I would rather have Luna and everyone in Equestria be nightmare prone...for now." she explained. Starlight then trotted away, if there was anyone that was going to defeat this nightmare force, it would be Starlight, she'll be a hero for once and her reputation and influence could finally regrow.

As she walked back, she noticed an unexpected sight; an orange coated stallion, one that was very familiar to her. Starlight knew it was probably just an illusion, but was curious. "Hello Starlight..." he began.

"Hello Sunburst." Starlight greeted as she trotted up to him.

He turned around and both faced each other. "I heard you've done some...infamous...things since we last saw each other." he began.

"Well, if you're going to berate me about, don't bother, I don't care, I still think what I did was right and justified." she explained in a smug tone.

"No, I'm not here for that, in fact, I was actually impressed by what you did." Sunburst said. This surprised Starlight. "I'm just here to confess something to you." he smiled as his cheeks began to blush.

"And what's that?" the mare looked at him skeptically.

"That I loved you." he admitted before he suddenly leaned in and kissed Starlight passionately on the lips. The mare was caught off guard but she allowed it to continue, kissing him passionately in return. Soon, she was pushed up against a nearby wall, the stallion standing on his hind legs roughly kissing her, the mare wrapping her hind legs around his waist and her forelegs around his neck, roughly kissing back.

He then nibbled the mare's neck. "Oh yes..." she hissed in pleasure. "...I always dreamed of this..." she gasped with joy and contentment.

"How about this?" Sunburst whispered.

Starlight looked on with confusion before her eyes went wide with surprise. She gasped out in pain as she looked down her side to see a dagger in her side. "I should've known it was too good to be true..." she gasped before her vision began to darken and her body went limp. She was dropped to the floor, bleeding heavily.

"Sorry..." was all Sunburst said before he disappeared.

A downpour fell on the dark savanna as thunder clashed. In the middle of the tall grass, a single zebra cried in anguish. The heavy rain made it hard to see her tears but it was obvious that she was bawling. "Sister?" said a voice to the zebra.

She turned around at looked at her brother with shame. "It was all my fault...I'm a monster..." she cried out.

"That wasn't you sis, it was the Tantabus-"

"I was the one that allowed it to manifest within me!" she snapped, interrupting her young sibling. "And all because I was afraid of my destiny that was set when I was born..."

"But joining the shaman order is a high honor." he explained, stunned by her words.

"I just see it as an unnecessary burden on my life, why me? Why was I chosen and not you?" she asked with anxiousness. The male zebra just approached her, she tried to resist, but was quickly put into a tight hug from her brother. She did not bother once she was within his forelegs. "Oh, Beri, I am so sorry you had to go through all of that." she said, muffled by her brother's chest.

"You're my sister Ze, I'll gladly save you from Tantabus again, it's my duty to protect you." he assured. "I'll always try to be there."

"But I'll be away for training for three years once I take my vows tomorrow, you won't be there." she said with worry.

"But I'll always be there in spirit Ze." he placed her hoof underneath her chin so she can look into his eyes. "I love you sis, and nothing will break our bond, not even distance." he smiled with assurance before pressing his forehead against his sister's. The mare was touched and pressed her forehead against her brother's in a show of affection.

They stood there like that in the rain for what felt like hours.

"Hey, Zuberi, you okay?" asked a concerned Twilight who saw the zebra in deep thought. The zebra stallion quickly snapped out of his deep thought and looked over to the mare.

"Oh, please don't worry, I am fine, just trying to look for a sign." he explained.

"What sign?" she asked. "A sign from Tantabus?"

The zebra just nodded before he came across a hallway that was completely destroyed by something big. The walls were full of holes, the ceiling also had holes on it. Everything was broken. "Twilight, do any for your friends, fear something large with odds and ends?" he asked.

"Well, Rarity did once had a reoccurring nightmare where she was being attacked by a..." she suddenly realized what the zebra meant. "...giant crab..." Twilight then saw Zuberi give a look a fear as it looked up at something behind her. The mare carefully turned around to see that there was indeed a giant crab behind her. "Oh Rarity, why couldn't you have dream about getting attacked by something not so massive and threatening..." she mumbled to herself, cursing and blaming her friend for her current predicament.

Zuberi suddenly got in front of the mare, a bo staff at the ready. "You go high...I go low." he muttered in a serious tone.

The crab suddenly lunged a claw at the two.

"So this whole thing was unknowingly Luna's doing?" asked a confused Rarity to the human who was in the elevator trying to pick a lock that closed access to the penthouse suite.

"The subconscious is a very power thing Rarity." the human explained. "Almost every thought is done without our knowledge, it influence everything we do regardless." he continued to pick the lock until finally the button to the penthouse lit up. "There we go."

"So what's the plan?" asked Applejack who kept watch out in the hallway.

"Go inside Luna's dream world, and confront that entity head on." he answered.

"But why you?" said Rarity.

"I'm a human, I have a feeling that it will be harder for it to access my fears when compared to a pony." he hypothesized. He also hoped that defeating that entity would also mean he would be able to save Fluttershy. He was willing to try even if it meant being trapped in limbo himself. He lost a loved one before and he will not let it happen again.

Have you ever experienced so much pain, that you would do anything to prevent it from happening? echoed Luna's words from when they were in the dinning hall.

Adam thought back to when he finally decided to build his time machine. He wanted to have her in his arms again, he wanted the nightmares to stop, although looking back, he realized how selfish that was. He could have moved on, but he was too stubborn to do so.

Every time he slept, he would see her standing at a ledge overlooking the ocean, no matter how fast he ran to her, he would never get any closer. No matter how loudly he yelled, it would do nothing to stop her from jumping into the ocean. It would play out the same way every single time. "Maybe if I could turn back time...I can prevent her from getting to the ledge in the first place..." he thought.

He looked over at Rarity and Applejack. "Be careful out there." he said to them before he pressed the button to the penthouse and the elevator doors began to close. The two mares tried to stop him, but the doors closed before they could do so, and the elevator began its ascent to the penthouse suite on the very top.

It was a long journey to the top. But as the indicator climbed in number, his anxiety also climbed. All the building, all the thought experiments, all the equations, all for the selfish purpose of making things go his way, to cheat death. All the countless sleepless nights over nearly four years, lead up to this very moment. Then, the elevator stopped in its tracks, the lights turned red, and a cloister bell rang.

He looked up to see the word "Penthouse" written on the elevator indicator. He has reached his destination. The doors slowly opened to reveal a long hallway made up of chalkboards, the walls were chalkboards, the floors and ceiling were chalkboards, and every single one of them had equations written on them, not just any equation, but the same equations he wrote over four years when building his time machine. He slowly walked out of the elevator and into the equation covered floor. His anxiety was so great, that he began to quietly sing to himself a random song to calm his nerves.

"When Johnny comes marching home, hurrah, hurrah..." he mumbled to himself as he carefully and methodically walked closer to the door. "...we'll give him a hearty welcome then, hurrah, hurrah..." he looked to see a phrase 'what if' start to appear on the hallway walls, replacing the equations. "...the men will cheer and the boys will shout..." he began to shake in fear. "...the ladies they will all turn out..." he suddenly saw a chalk drawing of his lovers killer everyone. "...and we'll all feel gay, when Johnny comes marching home..." his voice faltered slightly as he found himself right in front of the door.

Silence fell as he stood in front of the plain white door. It was so quiet that the only thing he could hear was his fast beating heart. He reached for the doorknob and carefully twisted it. The door suddenly opened and he was quickly engulf in a bright white light.

Adam found himself in a star filled void. Everywhere he looked, he saw countless stars, galaxies and clusters, it made him feel like he was in space.

"Adam Charles Gray." began a voice. The human turned around to see a middle aged human woman with long and frizzy red hear sitting on a throne. "Welcome." she smirked.

"Are you Tantabus?"

"I Am that I Am." was all she responded with cryptically.

"Exodus 3:14, you know about us humans I assume." he responded.

"I know about you at least." she explained. "I read your mind the moment you touched the door." she continued as she checked out her nails.

"So you know what I am here for?" he assumed.

"Yes, but it will do you no good." she answered in a nonchalant manner. "Only Luna herself can stop me...speaking of which...she thinks very highly of you."

"But it wasn't her fault that her sister died." he defended. "I was the one who did it..."

"Then why don't you tell her yourself." she pointed behind him. He turned to see Luna chained up against a wall, dangling by her forelegs. "The only thing keeping her from absolving herself from blame is her unwavering faith and blind trust in you."

"Why do you do this?" he asked her, stunned.

"I was created for one purpose and one purpose only Mr. Gray, and that is to make them face their inner demons." she explained as she got up from her seat. "The more they resist, the more powerful I became, and if they continue to refuse, I spread elsewhere to let their close loved ones now of the turmoil they were secretly suffering from." she continued. "And if that doesn't work...well...they end up taking the cowards way out." she looked over at Luna. "She's the most powerful and most stubborn host I have ever encountered."

"But why does she have so much faith in me?" he asked.

"Because you were always there when your close friends needed you most Mr. Gray." she continued. "All of them in their thoughts do nothing but shower you with praise, with positive words, with love." she pointed out. "She's not the only one with such high faith and trust in you, and that Mr. Gray, is a weakness I can and will exploit."

"But I'm just a simple extraordinary human..." he protested.

"You really don't think too highly of yourself do you Mr. Gray?" she smirked at him. "Well, why don't you go to her and explain to her why she shouldn't trust you or have high faith in you, tell her that you're nothing special, beat yourself down like you always do to her, go ahead." she dared him.

Adam slowly walked up to Luna who was barely conscious. "Adam...help..." she muttered weakly.

"Explain it to her like a child." she urged him.

The human sighed. "Luna...I am not the hero you always thought I was." Luna looked at him with confusion. "I'm just a selfish man, a man who feels like the whole world owes me happiness...a man that wants things his way, death be damned."

"But...you...saved Equestria..." Luna gasped, stunned by what she heard.

"I murdered your sister in cold blood!" he suddenly exclaimed, as tears began to fall down his cheeks. "I made her fight me, and then killed her, killed her without any remorse or shame, in fact, I was glad she was dead!" he exaggerated, but he knew Luna was not there to verify what happened. "With her out of the way I was finally able to have Twilight all to myself!" he continued. "To be my replacement for Fluttershy and Mary..."

Tears also formed in Luna's eyes. "But...but..." she did not know what to believe.

"There was nothing you could've done differently to save her...she was going to die by my hand regardless." he said coldly as he wiped away the tears.

The woman looked on with a smirk as she began to fade away. "My job is done..." she said before she faded out of existence. The chains began to disappear and Luna was now free. Adam looked around to see all the stars, galaxies and clustered fade to black.

"I'm sorry Luna..." Adam muttered before everything turned black.

To be continued...