Masks Lie and Nightmares Never Die

/

Sometime after the incident, the unconscious bodies of Twilight and Fredrick lay in separate beds. Looking down at the bodies is a white robed being examining them to see if there was any injury he missed on them. Seeing no injury the being sighed with relief before sitting on a nearby chair. Its attention focused on Fredrick as it recalled what it had to do to pacify the nightmare. It remember taking his head and smashing it into the ground to knock him out before taking out one of the medical needles packaged in a small container in the Nightmare Lord’s inner coat pocket and injecting it to his head.

“Fredrick, this is getting dangerous. Not only did you lose control and nearly killed someone, but your actions have obtained the attention of the Dream Fairies and no doubt they’re looking for a reason to oust you from your position. That is the last thing I want for you. Hopefully you or your new friend will wake up and explain to me what has been going on,” The being adjusted himself in his chair as he switch his focus to Twilight, “Speaking of new friends, who are you milady? I’ve seen a couple of equine based nightmares before, but you on the other hand are something more. Hmm…and you’re an alicorn also called a winged unicorn, huh, where did Fredrick find you milday?”

Seeing that there is nothing that can be done, the white robed nightmare stood up from its chair and headed towards the exit of the room. Before leaving the room completely the nightmare looked back at the two bodies before sighing, exiting the room, and closing the room behind them.

/

After traveling for five miles the pony group sent to save Twilight finally reached the perimeter of the mansion. It was hard to see at first because of the fog that hung around, but as they got closer to the building the group was able to see the tall building behind the gates. However, it was quickly discovered that they were standing behind the building from the gate, “We’re almost there my ponies. We just need to get past this gate and make our way to the back door of the mansion.”

Applejack and the others took a look beyond the gate only to jaw-drop at how far the mansion is from where they were standing, “Almost?! That building is who knows how many acres away from where we are!”

“Well it does seem quite a walk, but we have to persevere for Twilight’s sake,” Rarity added.

“I know that, but it’s still pretty jarring just to see how much ground we have to go through.”

Shining Armor scanned the distance between the gate and the mansion and made an estimate, “It would be at least a week or more before we make it to the mansion. We should have probably packed more food for the trip.”

“As a wisepony once said, ‘The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’ so let’s get through this gate!” Pinkie shouted as she opened the gate, “And look it’s not locked!”

The others looked at Pinkie with dumbfounded expressions before brushing it off and following her through the gate. Once they pass through the gate they were met with a rather extraordinary sight. What they saw after passing the gate is a huge statue which depicts a tall man dressed in a ringmaster’s outfit giving a piggy-back ride to a young girl.

“What an odd statue,” Rarity commented as she examined the statue.

“Indeed it does seem out of place in a world like this,” Luna added.

The group walked closer to the statue to only to find a plaque at the base of it. Shining begun to read the plaque, “In honor of the two heroes who saved the Nightmare World from itself; Sir Desmond DreamWalker and Jocelyn Ashmon. We will never forget you,” When he was finished Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie looked at each other with open mouths of shock.

“Did that thing just say what I think it said?” Applejack said as she looks over to Rarity.

“There is no denying it Applejack this statue is for Sir Desmond and his mother Jocelyn, but the better question is why is a statue of them is doing here?” Rarity added.

“Well it did say it was for saving the Nightmare World from itself, but what does it mean by that?” Pinkie questioned.

Luna and Shining looked at each other in confusion before the mare asked their own personal question, “Um…you know the two beings depicted in this statue?”

“Not really, but we heard the names from a journal Twilight showed us,” Applejack explained, “But other than that this is our first time seeing what they look like…well in statue form at least.”

“A journal? Since did when Twilight acquire it?”

“She told us she found it in her library the day before the Nightmare Brothers first attacked us,” Rarity said.

“Interesting,” Luna said as she pondered why such an object appeared right when the Nightmare Brothers first appeared. However, before she could think about it any further Shining Armor begun to shout.

“Hey there somepony up there on the statue!” he pointed to the being in question who seemed to be cleaning the statue. For a short moment the group discussed among themselves if they should get the nightmare’s attention, but in the end they decided not to as the less attention they brought to themselves the better. However, Pinkie Pie had another plans

“Hey! Nightmare guy! Do you a moment?” Pinkie shouted much to the anger of her friends.

The robed nightmare took notice of the shouting and looked down at them, “Hmm? Oh it appears I have guests I’ll be right down!”

The robed figure jumped off the statue and slowly floated down. It eventually touched down on the ground facing the group and it was only then they can see the nightmare in full detail. Firstly, the most noticeable thing they saw is the bright white robe that covered the nightmare’s body. It almost seems to glow with an ethereal light which was surprising for a nightmare such as itself as under the hood there was no face except for a shadowy apparition in the shape of a humanoid head with two glowing white eyes staring at the group. The ponies could only stare as the being bowed and a clearly male voice spoke.

“Greetings, my name is Boog. I am the caretaker of this statue and the plant life you see over there,” The nightmare then pointed to the overly large hedge maze, flower garden, and tall mushrooms, “I have to say, most visitors take the front door then the backyard, but I suppose we have a gate in the back for a reason heh heh. Anyway who are you people?”

The group stayed quiet as they didn’t know how to answer the nightmare’s question, but Pinkie on the other hand already knew how to greet him, “Hi I’m Pinkie Pie! Master of making parties and bearer of the Element of Laughter.”

“Pleasure to meet you Pinkie Pie, but what about the rest of your group?” Boog asked.

The rest of said group looked at each other when unsure looks, but decided to follow Pinkie’s example as there was no use lying.

“My names Applejack, I help run an apple farm with my family and bearer of the Element of Honesty. Nice to meet yah, I think,” Applejack said while adjusting her hat.

“I’m Rarity, I run a boutique and bearer of the Element of Generosity,” Rarity said with a respectful bow.

“I’m Princess Luna, Princess of the night and co-ruler of Canterlot with my older sister Celestia.”

“I’m Shining Armor, Prince of the Crystal Kingdom. I watch over the kingdom along with my wife, The Princess of love Cadence. Also I’m the brother to the new Princess of Friendship Twilight Sparkle,” Shining finished causing the others to look at him funny, “What? When you think about it I have a lot of titles and I’m just skimming the surface of what I do in that kingdom.”

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you all, but I have one question. What brings you to the nightmare realm more importantly Lord Nightmare’s estate?” Boog asked as he tilted his head, “As far as I can tell you don’t belong here in the world of sleep. You came here with a purpose didn’t you?”

Out everypony in the group Shining was the first to answer the question, “We’re here because your lord foalnapped my sister!” he shouted causing Boog to recoil a bit.

“Really? That’s troubling, but also ow…you don’t need to yell you know?”

“He’s also responsible for sending the beings known as The Nightmare Brothers which two out of three of them injured countless of our royal guards,” Luna added.

“Yikes, those three are trouble when given the chance to run wild. Sorry to hear that your elite fell to them.”

“Also some of our friends are stuck in some deep sleep because of one of those brothers. I believe his name was Paranoia,” Pinkie also added.

“I see…our lord has been quite a troublemaker hasn’t he? So you plan to simply waltz or sneak into the mansion and try to save this Twilight Sparkle who is very dear to you all?”

Luna narrowed her eyes when Boog said this, “Do you plan on stopping us?”

“No, I won’t stop you, but you must know that this path you are all walking on runs deeper than you think.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not my place to say, but your companion Twilight seems to plays an important role in all of this in some way.”

“Uh how?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know, but if you need to get the mansion I can help you.”

“Oooh ooh is it translocation magic?” Pinkie asked excitedly.

“I didn’t expect you to know what type of magic it is, but yeah its translocation magic,” he confirmed. Boog then started to chant a chant, “Ra na ko na ma se na te pot a sha ne ma kor re na koto wata sha toto Ra na ka na!” when he finished his chant a portal appeared before them surprising the group a bit from its sudden appearance, “Take this portal it will place you at the front of the mansion. Once you’re there knock on the door three times someone in the lobby should hear it and open the door when she asks who you are tell her Boog sent you,” He explained.

“Or we could use this,” Pinkie said as she pulled out a key.

“What?! How did you get one of those keys? Only the nightmare generals have those,” Boog said with surprise.

“Oh a nice skeleton named Skelly gave me this key,” Pinkie said happily.

“I see…well don’t use it.”

“Awww…why not?”

“The nightmare that watches over the lobby will get suspicious if she sees that key. She might think you stole it and call the guards. Trust me, it’s only going to escalate when that happens.”

“Oh.”

“But that key maybe useful later once you enter the mansion, so keep it with you.”

“Oh, well thanks for telling us!”

“So Boog…why are you helping us? Wouldn’t your lord punish you for helping his enemies?” Luna questioned earning another sigh from Boog.

“I wouldn’t be worried about my lord he can be quite…lenient, but that’s enough talk for now if you wish to save this Twilight I urge you to go through the portal.”

“I understand we won’t let your assistance be wasted. Everypony through the portal!” Luna said to the others while they nodded in agreement, and one by one they jumped through the portal until Luna was the only one left. As she was about to go through the portal herself she was stopped by Boog, “Luna…there’s one thing I need to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“If you manage to beat my lord somehow then please help him.”

“Why?”

“They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions…he’s no exception.”

“I see…I will try.”

“Thank you,” Boog then faced away from Luna signaling her that he said all that needs to say. Luna softly smiled before going through the portal causing it to disappear and leaving Boog all alone with the memorial. Boog then looked up at the memorial with the light of his eyes slightly dimmed, “Desmond…Joce…I wish we could be together again as good friends…” he said quietly to himself as he left for his house planning to check up on Fredrick and the anthro alicorn he brought into his home. Although now he has suspicions about the alicorn’s identity.

/

Luna stepped out of the portal to join the others. The rest of the group questioned why it took Luna a little longer to meet up with them. Luna answered that the Boog just wanted to talk to her a little bit longer. The group of course was curious what Boog had to say to Luna, but Luna only responded briefly.

“A promise.”

“A promise? For what?” Shining asked.

“It’s not important right now. We should proceed into the mansion,” She said seriously causing all future questions to cease. Luna then walked towards the front door and knocked three times like Boog said. After a few moments the door opened and a headless suit of armor looked out the door surprising the group save for Luna. The armor seems to have a female body, but it was rather hard to tell due to how the armor was made. The armor itself was plated armor made out of steel it also was decorated with a strange insignia unknown to the group.

“Who’s at the door?” Spoke a distant voice.

The armor made some hand signs earning a fit of excitement from the voice, “Visitors?! That’s great! But wait…their not here to cause trouble are they? Hey get me over there let me see them!” The armor walked away from the door leaving the group wondering who the other voice was. A moment later the armor came back, but with a bigger surprise, it came back holding a human head. The head itself appears to be female and its skin is tan in color with short black hair would barely reach shoulders if it had any and finally the head eye color seems to amber, “So what’s your business here at Lord Nightmare’s mansion?” the head asked politely.

“Boog sent us,” Luna responded.

“Boog sent you? What does he look like?”

“A humanoid shadow wearing a white robe.”

“Correct! Alright you’re clear c’mon in!” the head said as the armor beckoned them to come in. Once all of them were inside the door shut behind them suddenly causing the group to flinch and Shining to get his magic ready, “Sorry for the scare, the door always does that for some reason. Honestly, I blame this place,” The head explained calming the group. As the armor got back behind the desk the group looked around the lobby seeing that it’s rather impressive looking. The lobby’s main color seem to be mostly made of red and brown colorations while the tiles on the floor take after more white and dark blue checker scheme. In front of them was a wide stair case that ends up in a split from a painting leading to two separate hallways while to the left and right of them are two more hallways that leads to different rooms.

“This lobby is so…elaborate,” Rarity commented.

“Indeed” Luna added.

“So…where do we go?” asked Applejack.

“That depends, where DO you want to go?” replied the head whom was placed on the counter next to them, “Names Dully by the way, and this walking tin can is my body.”

“Nice to meet’cha dully,” Pinkie greeted excitedly as she went around the counter to shake hand to hoof with Dully’s body.

“Well now don’t we have energetic one?” Dully commented, “But greetings aside what brings you to the mansion? I haven’t seen your kind in quite a while, so what business you have here?”

“Our kind?” Luna asked.

“You guys are Dream Fairies right? I mean you got to be! What kind of horse and unicorns look like you do in real life?”

Luna was confused at first by Dully’s little information exposition, but decided it would be best to run with the misconception, “Yes of course. We are here to meet with Lord Nightmare to talk about personal matters.”

“Oh! You’re a representative? Well…you certainly look regal…uh.”

“Luna, Princess Luna.”

“Oh I see, but I’m sorry to say that our lord currently not available at the moment, but I can schedule a meeting with him later when he comes around.”

“That won’t be necessary Dully. I can take care of them myself,” spoke a familiar voice freezing most of the group in place.

“I remember that voice anywhere, it’s Panic!” Applejack shouted.

“Aw…you remember me. How sweet of you,” Panic said with a sinister smile.

Dully freaked out when the nightmare brother made his appearance, “Sir Panic! I’m honored by your presence. What brings one of the right hand men of Lord Nightmare here?”

“Well my little fraulein a little birdie told me we going to have guests over, but I didn’t think they’ll be here this early.”

“Guests? Explain nightmare!” shouted Luna.

Panic however in response only laughed while wagging his finger, “Sorry can’t tell you that, but since you’re here I might as well ‘entertain’ you while you wait for our lord,” he then took a battle ready stance. Noticing this Dully’s body took her head and hid behind the counter to avoid being caught in the battle to come.

The group readied themselves for a fight, but before they fully prepared themselves the map that was with them started blurting out warning once more. Shining took out the map in question and in turn the map showed statistics like when they met Druge.

Twisted Ringmaster: Panic

Class: Illusionist

Element: Dark

Immune: ???

Resist: ???, ???,???

Weak: ???

Lvl: 70

Feared by: 476888 people and counting.

After seeing the statistic’s Shining cursed under his breath knowing this wouldn’t be a easy fight even with the Princess helping them out.

“Shining what did the map say about him?” Applejack asked.

“Nothing good.”

“It doesn’t matter despite what the map say’s about him I assure you we can still win this fight if we work together,” Luna said attempting to bring their morale up only to earn another fit of laughter from Panic.

“Do you really think you can beat me? You’re nothing but flies in a spider web,” he taunted.

“Still your tongue nightmare my sister and I already beat one of your brothers before. Even though she’s not here with me I still have enough power to put you in your place.”

“Tch, as I recall he still manage to kidnap the baby dragon and besides…he was holding back,” Panic said with a sinister tone.

“What?!”

“Ah ha ha ha!!! Yes! that look of surprise is what I wanted to see! But forgive me…I guess no one has told you yet, but unfortunately mensa you are on your own on that one. So let’s cut the chit-chat…are you ready? Because it’s time for the opening act!” Once he ended his sentence Panic again divided himself to equal the numbers of the group. With small grin Panic spoke one last sentence as he pointed in the direction of the group “Get’em boys!”

/

Meanwhile back in Equestria, Rainbow Dash, and the others were still at the hospital getting checked since it was miracle that they woke at all considering the nature of what caused their affliction. However, during their stay in the hospital they were left with questions they didn’t have answers to. One, what happened to Grey Suture? He should have been awake along with them, but the staff said he woke up much earlier than them. However, he later disappeared without a trace. Two, who left the bouquet for Fluttershy? Ever since they woke up they found a bouquet of strangely colored flowers next to Fluttershy’s bedside along with a message from a secret admirer. Rainbow also asked the staff if there were any visitors that left it in their room. The staff responded that their friends did visited, but none of them left those flowers there. They don’t even know how the flowers got there in the first place since nopony else entered the room. Lastly, the identity of Fluttershy’s admirer. Although it seems trivial Rainbow Dash had a feeling that the admirer might know something since he managed to get in their room without alerting the staff. Also she’s curious if Fluttershy’s admirer is a good pony or not since she caught Fluttershy staring at the bouquet time after time with a blushing face. This time was no different.

“So…Fluttershy you’re hoping to meet your admirer?” she asked gently hoping not to spook her friend.

Fluttershy jumped slightly when Rainbow asked her question, but she calmed herself and responded, “Sort of Rainbow Dash, but I don’t think its good time to try and look for him.”

“Oh right…the nightmares invading our world thing,” Rainbow said while rubbing her sheepishly.

“But I also wonder if my admirer is a nice colt…I mean this is the first time I ever received a gift from somepony I don’t know, but actually likes me.”

“Well Fluttershy I safely say you and your admirer have one thing in common.”

“Oh and what would that be?”

“You’re both shy.”

“Oh…you’re right Rainbow. If he left his name anonymous I guess he’s just as shy as I am. Although I wonder who he is.”

“Well it isn’t something we need to worry about right now, but speaking of relationships,” Rainbow Dash trailed off as she looked at Nurse RedHeart who was worried for her recent coltfriend Grey Suture who hasn’t shown up yet.

“Oooh where is he? We just started a relationship and right now I don’t want it to end prematurely,” she said as she paced left and right. She continued to mumble to herself causing Rainbow Dash to sigh a bit. Rainbow then looked at Spike and Applebloom who were talking to each other, but what they were talking about she couldn’t hear due the mumbling of Nurse RedHeart. Rainbow let out another sigh now left with nothing to do, but fortunately that feeling didn’t last long as a commotion can be heard down the hall. The group all looked in the direction only to see Dr. Grey Suture running straight to where they are.

Nurse RedHeart’s eyes lit up when she saw him and immediately ran up to him when he reached them, “Grey! You’re alright!”

“I’m glad to see you too RedHeart. Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, but I had some important business to take care of.”

“What kind of business?” Applebloom asked.

“Princess Celestia type of business, she told me that our friends went to the Nightmare Realm along with Shining Armor and Princess Luna,” He explained causing Rainbow to immediately invade his personal space.

“What?! Really?”

“I never been more serious in my life.”

“How did they get in there? I want to help fight these nightmare freaks too”

“The Princess told me she used some sort of strange glowing powder to create a portal to their world.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s get to Canterlot already!”

“Why do you think I’m here for? I already signed your release forms and a royal guard chariot is waiting for us outside. All I have to ask is whose coming?” Everypony raised a hoof in the air save for Spike who actually has a hand, “Why do I even ask?...Okay! Everypony to the chariot!” he shouted as the group began running towards the exit. Once they exited the hospital they hopped on the chariot and immediately take to the air. It wasn’t long until they reached Canterlot castle.

/

The group once they landed quickly made their way to the throne room. Once they got through the doors they were met with presence of Princess Celestia who currently sits on her throne. Her face lit up when she saw them, “Thank you Grey for bringing them here,” she said with a small smile.

“It’s is nothing your highness, for I too wish to help our friends and your sister in any way I can,” Grey said with a bow.

“No need for such formality Doctor. You may speak to me normally.”

“Okay then Princess whatever you say.”

“Did you tell them why they’re here?”

“Uh…more or less.”

Celestia gave out a sigh of frustration, “I suppose not…but let me summarize. I send my sister, Shining Armor, and three of your friends to the Nightmare Realm in order to rescue Twilight from this Lord Nightmare and his cronies The Nightmare Brothers. However, I fear what would happen should they run into said brothers together.”

“What do you mean? Your sister should be strong enough to deal with at least one of them,” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Only if that were true.”

“Huh? Wait are you saying that she isn’t that powerful?”

“Not exactly. Luna can handle her own with certain level nightmares, but as you recall we fought Fear and we had no choice to go all out on him. While we did defeat him, he wasn’t completely incapacitated. What makes it worse is that it was only a fraction of that nightmare’s true power.”

“Wait what? Fear was holding back”

“Unfortunately yes, and I fear the remaining brothers we’re going easy on you on your first encounter with them. I fear to imagine how powerful their Lord is as well.”

“You got to be kidding me! Is there any way we can beat them?”

“There are only a few ways to beat a nightmare. The light of the sun is the most well known and effective way to banish a nightmare that hasn’t returned to the world of sleep. The other methods are not as well known as using the sun, but they just as effective.”

“What are the other methods?”

“One is a plant call nightmare’s bane. Burning this plant can ward off nightmares and if they breath too much of the incense from the plant it could cause them to fall unconscious or even die. The second method is the use of a dream catcher. Dream catchers as you know supposedly capture nightmares so only good dreams can pass through, but what you don’t know is that if a dream catcher is used in the world of sleep it can become any tool you can imagine leaving it as the most versatile option available to fight nightmares. And finally the last method is magic, but not just any magic Dream Magic.”

“Dream Magic? What’s that?”

“Dream magic also known as your imagination is a natural magic anypony can use regardless if they are unicorns or not. However, this magic is tricky since it only works if you entered the dream world via sleep, but if done right it can be your most powerful weapon against nightmares since you would be able to create anything you can imagine and use it as a weapon.”

“Oh yeah like when I had that nightmare from Luna’s nightmare when I thought I couldn’t fly anymore, but thanks to my friends I was able to overcome it.”

“Precisely Rainbow Dash.”

“Well now that we know the methods I still have one more question.”

“Oh what would it be?”

“Do we even have any Nightmare’s bane or Dream catchers lying around? Also what would happen if we fall asleep in those nightmare guys world?”

“That was two questions Rainbow Dash, but as for the Nightmare’s bane and Dream catchers we have some ready in supply. However, for your second question I’m not entirely sure what would happen if you fell asleep physically in the nightmare realm, but worst case scenario you will have a nightmare most likely due to the nature of the realm.”

“Huh…I would have expected worse, but if that’s it then there isn’t really much to worry about. So how about getting that portal ready?”

“We would but there is a problem.”

“Of course there is…” Rainbow Dash thought to herself, “What’s the problem?”

“The material we used to create the portal last time was a shining powder left behind by the Nightmare Brother Fear, but we used up most of it during the process.”

“What’s that have to do in creating a portal?”

“Rainbow Dash... we don’t have a secure connection to their world just yet so we cannot simply create a portal to the nightmare world, but if we have objects or things that originated from their world we could create a temporary connection.”

“Great just great! Where the heck are we going to find things from the nightmare realm?” Rainbow said in frustration.

However, while Rainbow Dash was grumbling to herself Fluttershy looked at the bouquet she brought with her. The mare stared at the flowers as she thought to herself the possible origin of the flowers, “Uh, Rainbow Dash?”

“What is it Fluttershy?”

“These flowers, you don’t think they’re from…you know where?”

“Where, the nightmare world?”

“Yeah, I just have a feeling…”

“Well the flowers are strange. Why don’t you show them to Celestia? Maybe she’ll recognize them?” On her provocation Fluttershy nervously walked towards the Princesss; flowers in hand.

Celestia noticed this and was confused when the mare presented the flowers, “Fluttershy I appreciate the gift, but I don’t think it’s a good time for gift giving. Besides I have nothing to give to you.”

“Actually Princess…I would like you to examine these flowers. I got them while I was at the hospital from a secret admirer.”

“A secret admirer? This sounds private…I don’t think I should be messing with them.”

“It’s okay really Princess, but could you at least look at them?”

“Well…as long as I have your permission,” Celestia then picked up the bouquet with her magic and brought it close to her face, so she can examine them. The group couldn’t do much but watch as the regal princess used her magic to carefully examine the flowers. After some time of awkward silence the regal mare eyes widen with realization.

“So Princess, what did you find out?” Rainbow asked.

Celestia gave a soft smile before she spoke, “I just found another resource we can use to get the portal ready again.”

“You mean Fluttershy’s flowers? I thought they looked funny, but I didn’t think they could be from the nightmare realm.”

“I was surprised as well, but now to the most important part; who’s going through the portal?”

“Well I know I’m going, I still need to give that Paranoia guy a taste of his own medicine.”

“I’m coming along too,” Grey said as he step up next to Rainbow Dash, “I foresee injury and really bad boo-boos in this trip, so you’re going to need a Doc on this mission.”

“Hey wait if you’re going then I’m coming as well!” RedHeart added.

Grey sighed, “Nurse I appreciate your willingness to follow me anywhere, but I’m afraid I can’t let you.”

“What! Why?”

“In addition to your personal safety, I want you to stay to look over these children. I mean we obviously can’t bring them along with us on this dangerous adventure,” he explained while earning complaints from Applebloom and Spike.

Celestia however put Grey’s concerns to rest, “Actually, while I agree with your concerns Doctor I believe having a nurse to aid with injury can help make your support more effective. Also you mustn’t worry about Applebloom or Spike. First of all although Applebloom may not be going with you,” she trailed off earning a groan of disappointment from the foal, “She has seen The Nightmare Brothers base of operations, so I will have her stick around with me and help me get a better picture of what we’re dealing with. As for young Spike he may not seem like, but he had his fair share of dangerous adventures. He also helped save the Crystal Kingdom from the return of King Sombra.”

“That little dragon? Huh I guess big things do come in small packages,” commented Grey.

“And most importantly he would be my only way of communicating with you once you are in the Nightmare Realm, so because of this Spike you’re going with them.”

“Thanks, I stick my head out for my friends once and I’m willing to do it again,” Spike said with a nod.

Nurse RedHeart smiled, “See that Grey? Looks like you we’re worrying for nothing”

Grey gave out a half hearted laugh, “Well looks like that cliché just got shot down…so is that everyone? Or is Miss Fluttershy coming along as well?” After he was done speaking all eyes are now on Fluttershy who pay no mind to the attention, but instead was fixated on the flowers.

“So uh Fluttershy? Do want to come with us? It’s okay if you don’t want to,” Rainbow said as she trailed off not knowing how to finish her sentence.

“I’ m going,” she said earning some surprised looks from those around her, “There someone I want to talk to in that world.”

The rest of the group said nothing as they turned to face Celestia, “Well now that’s settle it’s best to get you prepared for the worst. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy I would like you to follow this guard to the storage room and stock up as many Nighmare’s bane plant’s as you can carry while picking up some Dream Catchers since I don’t know when are you going to run into Luna, so it’s best to be preapared.”

“You got it Princess,” Rainbow Dash said with a salute as she began to follow the guard with Fluttershy following suit. However, before Fluttershy could follow Rainbow Dash Celestia spoke.

“Fluttershy would you be kind enough to leave your flowers with me? I need to judge how much we need to use along with the remaining powder,” Fluttershy nodded approvingly as she let the flowers be taken by Celestia’s magic once more.

Once Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash left Celestia turned to Grey and RedHeart, “I’m guessing you already know what you need for the trip. Talk to one of the guards outside he will get you a quick transportation to the hospital so you can gather the supplies you need.”

“Thank you Princess,” Grey and RedHeart said simultaneously as they took a bow and left leaving Spike and Applebloom with Celestia.

“As for you two you can stay here. Once I’m done analyzing we can chat about what you know about our enemy as we wait for the others,” Applebloom and Spike looked at each other for a moment before giving a shrug knowing that they don’t have much else to do.

After eighteen minutes the group was back together standing in front of Celestia equipped with bags full of supplies ready for the trip. “I see we’re well prepared now. Now time to set up the portal,” As if it was a command two guards showed up with resources needed to create the portal, one with the jar of glowing powder and the other holding three flowers, “Fluttershy I believe this belongs to you,” Using her magic Celestia brought the bouquet back to Fluttershy minus three flowers.

Fluttershy took back the bouquet and put it in her bag, “Thank you,” she said with a soft smile.

Celestia smiled back as she turned her attention to the resources being set up. She then charged the magic in her horn and fired it at the pile causing it to erupt into an azure vortex before stabilizing into a proper portal, “I must warn you since we don’t have a secure connection to their world there is no telling where in their world this portal will send you to.”

“Well we have to take that chance or else there wouldn’t be a point in our preparations,” Commented Grey.

“Couldn’t say it better myself,” added Rainbow Dash, “So Do we just jump in or at the count of three?”

“I think it’s better if we go at the count of three,” RedHeart said flatly.

“Okay…One…Two…Three!” shouted Rainbow Dash as everypony jumped into the portal and disappeared from the throne room.

“I hope they’ll be alright,” Applebloom said somberly.

“I hope so as well… they must meet up with the others as soon as possible, for I fear for the worst the Nightmare Realm has to offer.”

/