Silver Eclipse gathered up what remained of his belongings from his makeshift home and flew out into the night sky. He didn't exactly know where to go, but he had a strong desire to see how the world was faring post ETS. His inner historian spoke out to him, he had the perfect opportunity to go survey and chronicle the state of the U.S. and see how it might have been affected as a whole. Plus, he could also scout out a new home, a new life where he could find like minded ponies, perhaps even finding the researchers he so desperately wanted to find.

Silver knew that what he had planned would be a monumental task alone, but with the right connections it could be made easier. The dreamscape was the perfect research tool, allowing him to contact and collaborate with his peers wherever they were. There was no range on this power, and all he had to know was a general feel for what the person was. He was still hesitant however, still dwelling on the memories he couldn’t help but reflect on time and time again. Despite his own reservations, he knew that he would have to move past this eventually and embrace who he now was.

There was an entire world of change on the horizon, bringing a familiar feeling with it. Silver’s life had been on the course of change long before ETS had hit, but little did he know the full extent of what would occur. Silver needed to just reflect on his plans for a moment, unsure of whether he was truly making the best decision or not. He had no one else to go to, and seeing no other option, Silver closed his eyes and began to dream.

Silver forgoed his usually complex construction of the DreamPort, not seeing any reason in putting in the usually meticulous detail considering what he had in mind today. Seeing no reason in foregoing the inevitable, Silver simply sat, waiting for the intruder to arrive. He sat alone for a while, simply meditating on the choice that lied ahead, but surely enough, in due time the Intruder appeared.

“Your usual knack for detail is a little… lackluster today isn't it?”

“Look, I came here because I needed some advice.”

“Silver… Coming to me? For Advice?! Are you feeling okay today?”

“Look can you please be serious for a moment? I think you’re going to like where this is going.”

With a heavy sigh Silver continued

“I just have nopony else to go to ok? I’m about to make a life changing decision… again, and I want to make sure that I’m not doing anything rash.”

“Well don’t let me stop you, what do you need?”

“I’m leaving. This place, my home, everything except the essentials. You were right, I need to widen my world a little… a lot. The only way I can do that is by looking for those that share a similar dream as mine and I can’t find them where I’m at now. You said it best, If I just sit here and don’t even try to make my dream a reality than I’ll just dwell on the past forever.”

The intruder sat there for a moment, reflecting on Silver’s response.

“Silver, you’re really growing out of your shell, and I can respect your decision, however I do have to ask… do you know where you’re going to go?”

Silver looked away for a moment, shaking his head, “I don’t… at least not fully. I have an idea though, I want to explore the world, see what’s become of it, maybe even find more dreamers along the way.”

“Just please promise me that you’ll stay safe Silver. Can you do that?”

Silver looked at the Intruder and nodded, “I can try, I’ve managed to last this long on my own after all.”

“Just remember, if should you ever need me, you know how to find me”

“Thanks again.”

“Anytime, Silver.”

And with that, the Intruder was gone, leaving Silver alone with the answers he was searching for.

Silver awoke from his restful sleep, now certain of the decision that faced him. He would go widen his world, embarking on a search of discovery and of dreamers, ponies and people who could help make his dreams of a better tomorrow a reality. Silver knew that the odds were stacked against him, but he had to go with it, finally embracing the unknown path that lied ahead.

Stanley said goodbye to his friends, promising to keep in touch. It had been such a rapid shift in style for him, but he felt that for the first time in forever he was in control of his fears. He decided to work fast, chasing the only lead he could think of. The journey ahead would be long and tiring, but he was sure that he could manage it.

Stanley was still fearful of the future, something that he learned would never truly fade completely. The Warden of Fear was a little strange about it, but she was certainly the most qualified individual that Stanley had met on the subject. In a weirdly fitting way, she had encouraged him to face his fears within his dreams, to learn from them and grow from the experience. That’s what Stanley had been spending his time doing in between planning his journey.

He never truly knew which nightmare was coming each night, but he was determined to face the fears head first, hoping to learn from them. He closed his eyes and began to drift into an uncertain sleep.

*DANGER! THE EMERGENCY DESTRUCT SYSTEM IS NOW ACTIVE, THE SHIP WILL DETONATE IN T-MINUS 10 MINUTES!* The loud blare of warning sirens greeted Stanley as he opened his eyes, finding himself in the center of a dark and ominous room. A large window looking out at the Earth, though this was definitely not the Earth he was familiar with. The once beautiful planet was now a grim and disheveled reflection of what it once was, the formerly blue oceans now a sickly gray, not a hint of organic life could be seen on the planet below. Emergency lighting flickered to life as the alarms continued to blare, lighting the otherwise dark hallway for him.

“This… this is another nightmare!” he shouted out as he began to panic, but before he banished it he reflected for a moment, his interaction with the Warden of Fear had remained in his memory as clear as day, her words coming back to him now.

“It’s important to face your fears so that you can learn from them and grow from that knowledge. Fear is a strong feeling but it can also offer a certain enlightenment.”

“Face my fears…” He said, as he took a deep breath, resolving to find the heart of this nightmare and conquer it once and for all.

Through the sirens and mechanical hum, Stanley could hear a muffled but audible series of thuds… the creature was active. He pushed on, knowing this dream well. As he approached the access hatch, he considered turning back one last time, but his pride wouldn’t let him. Stanley was a changed pony and he no longer let fear rule his life. He had to push on.

“They never make this easy” he said, as he awkwardly fumbled with the bolts on the panel, eventually wrestling them free with the aid of a nearby wrench. The sirens blaring making it hard to keep his thoughts clear. With a deep breath, Stanley pushed on and into the vent. The emergency lighting offering a dim red glow for him to see with.

This was a game of cat and mouse, hunt or be hunted, and for the first time in his nightmares, Stanley was determined to be the hunter this time, it was the only way he could conquer this fear.

*DANGER! THE SHIP WILL DETONATE IN T-MINUS 8 MINUTES!* Came the blare of the computer, Stanley continuing on despite this.

“Come on, hatch 6, 7, 8… aha! Medical bay straight ahead!”

As Stanley climbed out of the vent, an increasingly loud series of thuds could be heard, as the very room around him seemed to shake.

“Stay brave Stanley, remember the lesson.” He said aloud, recalling his interaction, finding it useful to help keep him focused.

Stanley crawled to the nearby control terminal, activating the medbay’s emergency lighting. He closed his eyes as he did this, fearful of the horrible creatures contained within the various pods.

“No! I need to face my fears!” He shouted, opening his eyes to observe the creatures before him.

An assortment of strange and terrifying creatures could be seen in the dim illumination of the emergency lighting. They were the grim reflections of some of his greatest fears, manifested as strange monsters in the dark.

Stanley stared at each one, no longer letting the fear get to him. The first he came across was that of a large hulking alien, perfectly at home in this dim and derelict ship. Stanley took another deep breath, and when he opened his eyes the creature was gone. A loud hiss directed him to the next, a large snake slithering around it’s enclosure, venom dripping from it’s fangs. Stanley couldn’t help but shudder at this, but he treated it the same as the last.

As he wandered through the bay, he couldn’t help but reflect on the various fears around him, now realizing how irrational many of them could be. As he came across the next enclosure, this one full of large spiders, the words of the Warden echoed in his mind.

“...You won’t be physically hurt but the experience will feel very real and distressing to you.”, the Warden’s preferred method of punishment came back to Stanley… If he was already tormented by his greatest fears each night could this even phase him? Stanley didn’t want to find out, shuddering at the thought of how something could even be worse.

As he banished each creature, Stanley felt a reassuring feeling of calming peace, realizing that his fears couldn’t harm him here. He was nearing the end of the bay, the thuds only growing louder as he pressed on.

“Central Core, through corridor 9” Stanley read aloud, nearing the room that contained the creature that would surpass all others that he had faced thus far.

With another deep breath, Stanley opened the door, slowly walking into the dark tunnel ahead of him.

*DANGER! THE SHIP WILL DETONATE IN T-MINUS 5 MINUTES AND COUNTING.*

“It’s now or never Stanley, I can’t quit after coming this far.” With another deep breath he continued on, the thuds growing to a deafening level.

Stanley approached the end of the tunnel, a large airlock sat between him and the creature’s containment pod. With yet another deep breath, Stanley disengaged the door lock, entering the ship’s central core. The thuds were deafening, as the monster’s snarls and screeches bore into the very soul of Stanley, causing him to tremble harder than he had in a long time.

The piercing sirens of the alarm only added to the terror, as Stanley prepared to unleash the creature, and face his fears head on.

“This is it, I have to do this or I’ll never find the strength to conquer my fears.”

With the deepest breath he had taken thus far, Stanley unlocked the tube in front of him, the entire room beginning to shake around him, the tube’s shield slowly lowering as a blanket of fog began to creep across the floor. The creature’s growls grew to a deafening level, as it thrashed around, threatening to shatter the tube it was contained in.

*WARNING, HOSTILE CREATURE CONTAINMENT HAS BEEN BREACHED, COUNTERMEASURE PROTOCOL HAS BEEN INITIATED!*

The sirens seemed to pick up in speed, as the entire ship seemed to rumble even more.

Whether he was ready to or not, Stanley would be facing his fears head on in a few brief moments. Time seemed to slow down as the piercing glow of the creature’s glowing eyes cut through the fog, Stanley couldn’t bear to watch. He knew what was coming but couldn’t find the strength to stop it.

Once again the Warden’s lesson echoed through Stanley’s thoughts once more, “...To put it simply, it isn’t my place to conquer your fear for you, it’s something that you needed to find the power to do on your own, otherwise you wouldn’t have truly conquered them, only allowing yourself to be tormented by them time and time again.”

As the creature slowly advanced, Stanley was caught on this memory, realizing that he was doing exactly what he had come to stop. His fear was getting the better of him in a place where it simply couldn’t. This was the strength that he needed to find, the strength to face his fears once and for all.

With a deep breath he opened his eyes, the creature now mere inches from his face, as it prepared to lunge Stanley defiantly yelled out, “YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME HERE!”

The creature roared, but Stanley didn’t back down. “I’M NOT AFRAID OF YOU ANYMORE!” As the creature lunged at him, Stanley stomped down with force, the entire scene coming to a halt. The creature in front of him was at his mercy, no longer a threat to the Night Pony.

Stanley closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again the creature was gone, the sirens and alarms coming to a stop. In sequence, the lighting around the room slowly began to cut to black, the last sight Stanley saw was a shadowy pony gazing at him from the observation window above, their glowing eyes being the last thing he saw as the room faded to black, his nightmare finally over.

-=One Week Later=-

Stanley had been dreamwalking ever since he discovered how to dispel his nightmares, excitedly and eagerly searching for any leads that might help him find the oasis that he so desperately wanted to find. In the week since he had set out on a journey to find his friend he had met many new ponies, and a few sympathetic partials that seemed interested in his dreams, but for one reason or another weren’t up to the long road ahead of them.

Stanley was ok with this, not everypony was willing to just completely take their life in a new direction and he could respect them for that. He however was not one of those ponies, and instead would bravely face the unknown, for the first time in his life, he felt like he could embrace change.

His world, the world he had lived in his entire life, a world ruled by rigid schedules and routines, had completely shattered in the last few months. Like a mighty phoenix rising from the ashes, he was reborn. With no routine or schedule, or fear of the unknown, he was free to do as he pleased, and for the first time in a long time, he was unsure of what to do. His dreams of course were an important part of giving him direction, but he needed the right help to find it. And if he couldn’t find it, at least he could try and inspire others to make it.

The dreams he visited were often interesting, but he couldn’t ever seem to find quite what he was looking for. He knew that with practice he could figure out what type of dream they were experiencing, it would certainly make his goal easier to attain if he could simply filter between the different types, but he would have to figure that out for his own.

Stanley had been chasing the only lead he could think of to no avail. With no real teacher it was hard to get a sense of how to seek out those who he wasn’t directly close to. Still though, he was ever the optimist, and was certain that his rather sloppy method could pay off someday. That day was sooner than he thought, for he would stumble into a rather strange dream, a dream of knowledge… or rather, a dream of a knowledgeable pony.

Tinker toiled tirelessly on his latest invention. It was nearly complete, but still had some essential details to install and finalize.

Meanwhile Gyro, his assistant, sat idly, left to his own thoughts. He knew that Tinker was passionate about righting his past wrongs, and to be quite honest, it inspired him a lot knowing that the Pegasus was so passionate about helping others, but he couldn't help but feel a small twinge of worry, seeing that his friend was avoiding sleep and rest to ensure that his creation met his high standards.

"Tinker... Can we talk for a moment?"

The Pegasus, consumed by his work, merely shouted back to his friend as he continued to tinker with his creation. "What is it Gyro? You know how much we need this project to be completed, If this is about taking breaks rest assured that I'm perfectly fine right now."

The normally stoic unicorn couldn’t help but show genuine concern in his voice. "Tinker please, we've been friends longer than I can even remember, we're practically brothers at this point. I think It's fair to say that I can tell when you need rest and when you're overworking yourself."

"But we can't afford to delay when there's so much at stake here!"

"Rome wasn't built in a day, I realize that you're passionate about this, and it's admirable, but please remember that you can't help others if you overwork yourself. Please, let me take over for now."

The Pegasus sat there and pondered this for a few brief moments. "I suppose you're right, I'm sorry for doubting you Gyro, It's just... well you know how important this is to me, and I guess I just lost sight of what's more important in the meantime. Thanks."

The Pegasus went to his bed and slept, finally embracing the peaceful hold of sleep. As he did this Gyro began to pick up where he left off.

"I know he means well, I'm just worried that he's too optimistic for his own good sometimes. I'd hate to see him make some horrible mistake because he was too blind to see the signs... I just have to trust that he knows what he's doing in the long run." He thought to himself, unsure of the path that lied ahead, resolving to keep an eye out for his friend. The Unicorn continued on his work.

The duo were running behind schedule and Gyro knew that Tinker was growing restless. TinkerTech could be something great, and there were already big players who were attempting to tap this underutilized market. If they wanted to succeed they would have to really pull out all the stops, secure funding, spread their word as far as the eye could see, and most importantly: Solve the problems that the others hadn’t solved yet. What they really needed was help, but trustworthy help wasn’t as readily available as Gyro would have preferred, which was the perfect side effect of taking their plans on the move.

Other companies had marketing teams to solve their problems, TinkerTech had a more direct route: Taking their entire operation into the very heart of the problem. Sure, they would need a more permanent home base to run their operation out of eventually, but that wouldn’t be a practical possibility until they had secured investors. Oh well, such was the world of business.

Gyro worked well into the night, until he couldn’t bear to stay awake any longer. Tinker was out cold, and Gyro was happy that his friend was finally getting the rest he so desperately needed. Hopefully once they were on the move they could afford to take more time off.

Gyro fell into a deep sleep, the memory of TinkerTech’s founding playing out in his dreams. It was shortly after the counter spell had been cast, Barnabas and his assistant were discussing the future and where their plans would take them.

“Look, I’m telling you, what I saw was illumination! The direction I needed to make the path clearer to me!”

“Sir, I understand, but I’m still skeptical. Is it really wise to jump into this without considering the consequences?”

“Consequences?! Gyro, We stand at the brink of a new world. Surely you can see the potential in this endeavor!”

“I can Sir, but where do we start? I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand to be anywhere near the city anymore. Let’s face it, we’re not built for this right now.”

“But we can be, that’s what I’ve been saying! What do we do when we run into a problem that we can’t solve?”

“Think it through…”

“... and solve it of course!”

“Barna… Tinker, please think about this for a moment. How do we solve this problem efficiently enough to where we can even begin to start what you’re proposing? We’re far from home, away from a lab that we might not even be able to tolerate being near anymore. Travel is still out mind you, so we’re left with nothing right now!”

Tinker sat there for a moment, contemplating this.

“How hard do you think it would be to reconfigure a gas mask?”

“I’m sorry?”

“We can’t exactly solve pollution and air quality, but we can absolutely solve a smaller problem. Think about it, it wouldn’t be that hard to take an existing design and reconfigure it to work with pony anatomy.”

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“Well there’s one way to find out.”

This had been the spark that they needed, realizing that they could help ponies in small ways. Making their lives easier by solving the basic issues that cropped up in their everyday lives. As the days went on so did the list of prototype inventions. Genius gadgets that took the hard work out of their everyday lives, and it would all be a reality very soon!

The duo left the shelter they had been holding up in not long after, taking their plans and dreams with them. Their journey home was only the beginning, for they had far grander plans in mind. They were not alone in this plan though, so time was of the essence. Their ultimate goal would soon be complete, and the duo were excited to really start making progress. In a world that so desperately needed it.

As Gyro awoke, he knew that there was still much to be done, and continued the work that lied before him.

“Gyro? Shall I take over?”

“Sure sir, but please pace yourself. It takes time to seize tomorrow after all, I can’t have you working yourself to death you know.”

“You worry to much Gyro… I appreciate it though. You know that.”

“I worry because I want to make sure that you’re safe. We’ve talked about this before and I don’t want to lecture you again about it.”

“Thanks Gyro.”

“You’re welcome.”

And so the four ponies set out to follow their dreams, while they did not truly know where fate would take them, they were excited to embrace it, and set out on their journey of discovery. For the first time in nearly three months they felt as if they were in control of their lives, finding the strength where they could move forward.

Silver was still uncertain of the future that lied ahead, but he was more willing to embrace it, the Strange Intruder offering encouragement along the way, giving him advice where needed. Stanley had finally found the strength to conquer his fears, but also learned to embrace them and grow from his understanding of them. There was still so much that he was afraid of, but his encounter with the Warden of Fear gave him a better sense of courage. Tinker and Gyro had their sights set on the Horizon, working tirelessly day and night to make their shared vision a reality.

Each of these ponies had an important thing in common. They were dreamers, dreamers with visions of a brighter tomorrow, visions that they were determined to work towards despite their own personal struggles and fears. As uncertain as they were about what lied ahead, each of them couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride, knowing that they were finding the strength to grow past their own personal struggles in a world that was very different from the one they had known their whole life. This was a new Dawn for their life, a Departure from everything they had known, but the beginning of something wonderful, an adventure that they would take, and make together.

Author's Note

While this story is done for now, this isn't necessarily the end of their story, but rather the beginning. I have so much more planned and I can't wait to share it with you all! Stay tuned for updates!

Special thanks to everyone that voted on which dream sequence Stanley would encounter in this chapter!

Even more special thanks to everyone who helped offer advice along the way, in no particular order:
ASGeek2012, Halira, Cander, and Blackdust