Gallus felt a hoof shaking him gently. “Nooo,” he whined. “Just wanna sleep.”

He heard Sandbar’s voice, then. “I know, I know. But Smolder says she needs your help.” The voice paused for a moment. “Well, Ocellus says Smolder needs your help.” Another pause. The pony’s voice slowly dragged the griffon unwillingly back to full consciousness. “And now we have a dragon standing by the door glaring at me while Ocellus gets us all tea. I’m not really sure why.”

Gallus rubbed sleep from his eyes. He groaned sadly. He had just managed to fall asleep after some excellent, enthusiastic sex, and he had been looking forward to resting. Now he was awake, his butt hurt (though in a good way, mostly), and he had a grumpy dragon in his room. He sighed. “Not sure why the glaring or why the tea? Because glaring seems like her default setting,” Gallus snarked.

A grin broke through Smolder’s features at that comment. “My reputation precedes me.”

The clipclop of hooves announced Ocellus’ return. “Oh, good, you’re awake. Here, I brought tea!” She levitated a pink teacup to each of the creatures and pulled the dorm room door shut.

Smolder stared at the frilly pink cup like it might bite her. She set it down gingerly on Sandbar’s desk.

Gallus took a long, slow sip of the hot beverage. As he swallowed, the liquid warmed his insides and that feeling sharpened his mind. He took a deep breath. “Okay, what was so important that it interrupted a nap?”

Smolder glared at him silently.

Ocellus’ wings fluttered nervously. “Smolder!” she whispered. “Tell him.”

The dragon shrugged. “You promise this doesn’t leave this room?”

The griffon set his teacup down carefully. He waved a claw over his chest and then his face. “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Ocellus nodded solemnly. The dragon raised an eyebrow. “Huh? Also, you fly all the time.”

Sandbar chuckled. “It’s a Pinkie Pie Promise,” he explained. “According to Professor Pinkie, only the most heinous of villains would ever break a Pinkie Promise.”

Smolder shrugged. “I must have missed that lesson. Anyway, I guess that’s good enough.” She seemed to steel herself. “I had a nightmare.”

Gallus waited expectantly. “Yeah?”

The dragon leaned forward aggressively. “Yeah what, griffon? You wanna fight?”

Gallus threw his claws up quickly. “No. Nope! Just trying to figure out what the big deal is.” Once he determined Smolder wasn’t actually going to attack him, he lowered his claws. “Did you run into shadow ponies or something?”

“What?” the dragon said. “No. I, uh…”

The changeling sidled up beside the dragon. “You can tell your friends,” she said quietly.

Smolder shuddered and shook her head. After a moment, she sucked in a deep breath. “I had a dream I was in my mother’s hoard. And then I ran into this dragon myth: A bogey monster that supposedly haunts dragons.” She shivered, causing her scales to ripple around her midsection. “He captured me and was torturing me just like legend says.”

Gallus sat quietly. Anything that could scare Smolder like that was something he wanted nothing to do with. The dragon looked up at him, expecting some sort of response. “Uh. Have you run into him again since then?”

Smolder shook her head fiercely. “Bless my hoard, no.”

Gallus was in over his head. He didn’t have training at this sort of thing. “Maybe we should tell Princess Luna?”

The dragon snorted, small jets of flame erupting from her nostrils. “No.”

The griffon sighed, realizing he would have to muddle through this himself. “Does this monster happen to have a creepy cape?”

“The Nowhere King?” Smolder asked, crossing her arms. “Hardly. I don’t think he could even fit into clothing.”

Gallus nodded. “I’m afraid I’m not going to be much help. I never should have said you guys should tell me about nightmares. My only experience with these sort of strange dreams was running into those ponies with their shape-melting cloaks.”

The dragon’s eyes bulged. “What did you say?”

Gallus shrugged. “I’ve had dreams about these strange ponies a lot.”

“No!” Smolder said, her tone even more intense than usual. “About the cloaks.”

Gallus shivered, remembering how uncomfortable they had made him. “They had these strange patterns and shapes, and they’d swirl around the fabric and crash into each other, and it made me sick to look at them.”

Smolder’s breath was coming in shallow gulps, little bits of smoke puffing from her nose. Ocellus had one hoof around the dragon’s midsection. “What color?”

Gallus grimaced. “What?”

“What color were the Tartarus-damned shapes?!”

Gallus shivered, remembering. “The brightest white and the darkest, deepest black. Why?”

Smolder slumped back against the wall and slid down slowly, her scales screeching against the wall.

“Why?” Gallus repeated, his heart racing with concern. Sandbar suddenly gathered him into a tight hug.

Smolder had tears in her eyes. The sight made Gallus shiver. “The Nowhere King,” the dragon whimpered, “he’s real. That means he’s real.”

Ocellus started sobbing.

It took a gargantuan effort to get the overly-empathic changeling to calm down, but they finally managed with some tea and some reassuring dragon hugs. Gallus realized he was in well over his head, and despite his promise to the contrary, he felt he might have to break his word and tell the Princess of Dreams about this apparently terrifying threat. The griffon thought it would take moving mountains to get Smolder to agree to tell Princess Luna about the Nowhere King. Sandbar squeezed the griffon with one hoof, silently offering reassurance.

“Yes,” Smolder replied instantly when Gallus brought the idea up. “You should tell her.”

Gallus blinked in surprise, the additional prepared argument dead on his tongue. “Really?” he managed.

Ocellus lay across the dragon’s lap, her head on one leg. The dragon slowly stroked a claw down the exterior of the changeling’s elytra. “Look, I’m sorry I was upset before. I thought it was just some stupid dream.” She shuddered. “You sure you never heard about the shifting shapes before? Not in some book or one of those pony horror films?”

Gallus shook his head.

Smolder seemed calm, but Ocellus squirmed below her, obviously reacting to the dragon’s emotions. “Then we need the strongest allies we can find.”

The griffon shuddered. “Is it that bad?”

Smolder closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I know what I saw, what I experienced. And I know the stories from the Dragon Lands. But that’s all they’ve ever been—just stories.”

The pony known as Midnight sat in a tree waiting. He could be patient when needed. He conjured a wingknife from the ether and pulled at a large branch on the tree. The tree resisted, its form shimmering, but eventually the branch broke free. The air around the pony shivered and shook and suddenly the tree was whole again. Midnight never even looked, familiar by now with the strange properties of this place. He applied the knife, peeling the papery bark from the broken branch.

The pegasus pony worked methodically, shaping and leveling the wood in his hooves.

Movement caught his eye. He dismissed the knife, letting it dissolve into nothingness. The pony felt a small smile creep onto his face. It was important to enjoy your chosen profession, he always felt. He trapped the sharpened branch between left forehoof and chest and took flight, his deep blue wings jutting from underneath his cloak. The pegasus drifted down towards the shimmering surface of a dream.

Fire crawled across Midnight’s skin as he broached the surface. His feathers felt likely to burst into flames. The pain was monumental and overwhelming. And entirely too brief for his liking.

The dark blue pony landed in the dream. A tottering, old griffon stood staring at a house, oblivious to the intruder in his dream. Midnight sighed in disappointment. Children were much easier to break. This old fool might take some effort. Still, he considered, he could be patient.

Gallus fiddled with the quill in his claw, rereading the hastily scribbled letter requesting Princess Luna’s help. Sandbar, who had been reading over the griffon’s shoulder nodded and pulled the griffon to his feet. The two walked toward the headmare’s office. Despite it being a weekend, Headmare Twilight and Spike were likely to be in her office even into the early evening. The Princess took her work very seriously. When they arrived at the door, Gallus raised a claw and rapped on the door. After a few moments, they heard the patter of small feet and the door cracked open.

A small purple and green dragon stared out of the opening. “Oh, hey guys! If you’re looking for Twilight you just missed her—she’s out for dinner with her friends.”

Sandbar scratched his mane with a hoof. “But they didn’t invite you?”

The dragon laughed. “What? Of course they did. But I’m meeting Ember and Thorax for food in an hour anyway, so I thought I’d finish up with some admin work.”

“Admin work?” the pony asked.

Spike gave him a level look. “You don’t think those multiple-choice tests grade themselves?”

Sandbar’s face lit up. “Ooh! Can you tell me how I did on ‘Troubles with Time Travel?’”

The griffon cleared his throat.

The earth pony blushed. “Right, sorry,” he said.

“We need to get a message to Princess Luna,” Gallus said, offering up the scroll.

“To Luna?” Spike asked. He shrugged. “That’s not a request I get very often. I can do that, though.” He held out his claw. “Here, gimme.”

The griffon handed over the letter and the dragon vaporized it in his fire. “There you go; one letter to Princess Luna sent.” He fussed at a small smudge of ink on his scales. “It’s pretty early still, for her, so I hope you’re not expecting a- *urp*”

Spike convulsed and spat out a scroll bearing Luna’s crescent moon cutie mark. He caught the letter in a claw and stared at it in surprise. “I stand corrected,” he said, offering the scroll to the griffon.

Gallus unrolled the scroll and read.

Gallus Dream Strider,

Meet me in the Umbral Realm tonight. I will be waiting in the Throne Room.

Sincerely,

Luna

Despite his interrupted nap earlier in the day, Gallus had a hard time falling asleep. What if he dreamt about those ponies again? Or worse, what if he ran into Smolder’s Nowhere King? He nibbled on one talon nervously.

The griffon felt a warm leg wrap around him. The earth pony’s mouth pressed into the back of the griffon’s head and planted a large kiss. Gallus felt himself blush at the attention. “You need to sleep, right?” the pony asked in a whisper.

Gallus grunted in agreement.

The pony started humming a soft, wordless tune. Gallus closed his eyes and focused on the pony’s soft song and the warmth of his embrace. Slowly, he felt himself drifting. Drifting…

Gallus drifted lazily in the air above the School of Friendship. The partly-cloudy sky was cool, and the air was brisk. It ruffled his feathers pleasantly. The tower’s bell began to toll, but instead of its usual clanging, it emitted a soft song. He knew that tune. He had just heard it, in fact.

Ah. Sandbar’s little lullaby. He sighed, reluctant to leave the pleasant dream. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his memories of Canterlot Castle.

The now-familiar sensation of cold washed over him. He opened his eyes to find a large, dark alicorn smiling at him from a short distance away. Gallus jumped in surprise, but collected himself and turned the motion into a jerky bow. “Princess,” he said, keeping his voice calm. “Sorry it took so long to get here.”

“On the contrary,” Luna said, learning forward on her own long legs. “Many apprentices would have taken half the night to make their way here. You show great promise and skill, Dream Strider.”

Gallus felt himself blush at the compliment and the title. “Wow. Uh, thanks.”

“You have news to share?”

Gallus nodded. He told the pony princess about Smolder’s nightmare and the dragon legend. The princess listened with rapt attention. “Smolder says dragons have told stories about the Nowhere King for centuries. That he can appear in any dream and brings violent torment to any creature he finds. Smolder said his whole body is made up of the same strange, swirling symbols I’ve seen on those capes from my dreams.” Gallus shivered.

“A dark omen, indeed,” Luna agreed.

Gallus paused, considering. “How can this happen? How have you never heard of this before?”

Luna eyed him critically. “I am a Princess of Equestria. I protect my citizens and those who dwell within the border of the nation. I do not expect my unannounced presence would be welcomed in the Dragon Lands, even in dreams.” She sighed. “If this self-styled King is as dangerous as your friend indicates, however, I may have to inquire about making certain polite incursions.” The alicorn sighed. “I do so hate politics.”

Gallus nodded in agreement, thinking back to when he and his friends nearly started an international conflict when they ran away from school.

“Have you more to report?”

Gallus shook his head. “I do have a question, though. How do I find a specific dream?” He smiled, thinking of his promise to try and find Sandbar’s dream.

Luna smiled wickedly. “You wish to visit your pony friend for a romp?”

Gallus blushed and his eyes went wide.

Luna barked a laugh. “The first wish of nearly every Dream Strider.” Her smile shrunk slowly, and her voice turned wistful. “I had nearly forgotten after all these years.” She spread her wings wide, stretching the muscles taut, then let them down gently.

“Part of the most difficult magic of the Umbral Realm is finding dreams,” Princess Luna explained. “It is no easy task, given that the Realm is as large as the world which we inhabit. Larger, truly,” she admitted, “as if a pony were to dream herself on the moon, her dream would manifest on the lunar surface in this Realm.” She smiled, “And of course, creatures may dream themselves to places that do not exist at all in the waking world: a nightmare field of smiling, singing flowers, perhaps.”

“Wait, what?” the griffon inquired. “That hardly sounds like a nightmare.”

The dark alicorn nodded in agreement. “And yet the mare in question considered it torturous. You may learn more about someone than you ever expect when you visit their dreams. As to the question of finding a particular dreamer, I have found that the better you know a pony, the easier the task becomes. Focus on your memories of them, and you should be transported to where their dream exists.”

Gallus grunted. “Easy as that?”

“Just so,” the alicorn replied. Princess Luna graced the griffon with a sly smile. “May you find sweet dreams, Dream Strider.”

Gallus laughed nervously through a rising blush.

Gallus floated in the air outside Canterlot Castle. “Sandbar,” he said aloud. Memories of his boyfriend flooded his mind. The pony laughing as they skipped classes at the lake. The way the pony had blushed every time he looked at Gallus when they had first started sleeping together. Gallus moved a claw to his neck, cradling the jade turtle that hung there. The night they had exchanged tokens of their affection.

The environment shifted and twisted, the movement pulling Gallus sideways, tugging at his mind. Then it suddenly stopped.

Gallus recognized the space immediately—the hall outside their dorms. A dream shimmered brightly in the hall. Gallus caught sight of a green pony within and smiled. Sandbar was wearing a dark blue bowtie and was humming to himself. The griffon always thought his boyfriend looked good in clothing. He stepped toward the dream bubble.

Gallus watched as the pony knocked on a door. A yak opened the door and smiled broadly at the pony. “Sandbar!” Yona said in the dream. “Pony look so handsome for dance!”

The griffon stopped dead in his tracks. “What?” he muttered.

“You look gorgeous, Yona!” Sandbar nuzzled the side of the yak’s face. Gallus felt his heart pounding.

The bubble winked in the half-light of the Umbral Realm and was gone in an instant. Gallus stood, shaken. “What the fuck was that?” he yelled aloud.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. Sandbar: His round and shapely flank, his caring eyes, the way his fur felt in the griffon’s claws. The world shifted and twisted again, and Gallus found himself in the school gym. He stared intently into the bubble in front of him. Inside, the gym had been decorated in streamers and bright fabrics. Sandbar was dancing with Yona, their flanks bouncing together as they pranced around the floor. As the song ended, the yak leaned down and kissed the earth pony on the cheek, causing Sandbar to blush. Gallus felt bile rise in his throat. And tears in his eyes. He scrubbed a claw across his eyes angrily. His talons clenched painfully into the palms of his claws.

Sandbar woke suddenly, his mind still groggy from sleep. “Wha?” he murmured. It was still dark outside. He reached a hoof ahead and felt an absence in the bed beside him where Gallus would usually be. Maybe the griffon had gotten up to use the restroom? He rolled over and wondered idly what kind of dream he had been having that had left him half-hard.

Author's Note

I should point out that when I first outlined this chapter a few months back, it was Silverstream in Sandbar's dream. But... well, you know.