Dreams, Nightmares, and Friendships

"So let me get this absolutely straight. Darkrai is in a land that is positively slathered with peace, tolerance, and sparkly little rainbows?"

"T-that isn't exactly how I described it..." Palkia replied to Pika's question with a slight shudder. The raichu in front of him lifted an eyebrow.

"Dude you look almost- ow- as bad as Cresselia did when I saw her in a dream three nights ago. You been sleepin' alright?" She asked. Palkia rolled his eyes.

"Pika I don't think that now is a good time to ask random questions. Don't we have something important to do?" Lucario, who was standing right next to her, said calmly as he tapped her shoulder.

"Shooshers da, ma's talking!" The manaphy residing in the emptied out exploration bag squeaked, prompting a couple of snickers from both the Lucario and the Raichu.

"And that is one of the many bits of proof that I'm his favorite parent~!" Pika grinned smugly, drawing a playful glare from Lucario.

"Er-hem?" Palkia took a step forward to get their attention then resumed his original position.

"Anyways...I've been trying to slowly but carefully create a Tendril towards the dimension that Darkrai is currently in, and I've almost completed it, as you can see on the dias behind me. Yes, it IS a very peaceful land, and it certainly has some VERY odd energy signatures. You just need to look for Darkrai, and when you find him, wait for the right moment then attack him." Palkia said seriously, freezing even the baby Manaphy's goofing about.

"Who's Darkrai, ma?" He asked. Pika looked at him and patted his head soothingly and with a smile.

"Oh just some heartless jerkface that I'm going to beat senseless. Don't you worry none about Darkrai, Fares." She said with a grin.

"But who is he?" Fares insisted. Pika rolled her eyes and sighed.

"He's a dark type legendary that causes nightmares. He recently tried to smother the world in nightmares but I kicked his tail end all the way to another dimension apparently." She summarized.

"Oh...so he's not nice?" Fares asked as he climbed out of the Exploration Bag with the help of his figurative mother. Pika nodded.

"Exactly." She confirmed. Fares tilted his head and sat down, crossing his arms and staring at the ground as if it had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world. Pika turned towards Lucario as he tapped her shoulder and he quickly pulled her a little ways back, beginning to whisper into the Raichu's ear worriedly. Palkia watched patiently and slowly Fares got to his feet, silently moving forward and taking advantage of Palkia's intent focus on his mother and father.

"What is this thing?" He mused as he crept behind Palkia and looked at the arcanine-height portal. Fares stopped for a moment to try and think of the consequences, but he quickly lost that focus. He wanted to know if it was fuzzy or smooth.

~

Most ponies in Equestria would've found it very honorable to be invited into Canterlot Castle, and would find it even more distinguishing if one of the princesses took special notice of them. Canterlot Castle was the ultimate elite hangout, the home of the Princesses, Rulers of Equestria. A pony such as Rarity would have fainted simply at the prospect of being invited to Canterlot Castle personally by one of the Princesses. As a matter of fact...well, most ponies would react as such, actually.

Darkrai was not one of these ponies.

His blue eyes scanned the stone walls and royal flags with nothing short of complete and utter boredom as he followed Celestia, flanked by several royal guards. Every once and a while one of them would shoot him a mistrustful glare, as if they expected him to at any moment leap for Celestia's throat or try some other dirty trick. It made Darkrai want to swat them over the head for even insinuating that he'd try something so effectively foolish. What would it accomplish for him, anyways? As the whole group advanced through the gates, Darkrai paused and flicked an ear.

"Is something wrong, Darkrai?" Celestia asked. Darkrai grimaced, turning his head off in the direction of what a pony that knew his or her way around would recognize as the Canterlot Castle Gardens.

"...I thought I heard something, but it must've been my ears playing tricks on me." He assumed after a couple of moments.

"I see. If it's nothing important then, let's keep moving." Celestia said calmly, resuming her calm gait towards the Castle. Along the way several ponies walked by casting strange looks at Darkrai, and after a while he scowled angrily.

"Is there any pony in this entire castle that has manners enough not to stare?" He grumbled.

"I apologize, Darkrai; social status seems to have gone to many Canterlot ponies' heads." Celestia responded. Darkrai rolled his eyes just as a shiver ran through his wings and he stopped. His right eye twitched and the guards immediately stood in front of Celestia. Darkrai paid them no heed, instead turning around and darting off.

"Follow him, but do not attack until he actually threatens something." Celestia commanded, looking at the guards. Two of them raced off after Darkrai's rapidly fading form, only to stop dead as the pegasus stallion's black form suddenly disappeared into the ground.

"Where did he go?" one mumbled.

"I...I don't know. Just find him. No harming him though!" Celestia said calmly, turning around and beginning a face paced trot away.

~-~-~

He didn't know exactly what was happening. One second he was standing in front of a portal behind a giant pink dragon, and then seconds later, or maybe hours since he had only just woken up, he was sitting in some really fancy garden next to a giant castle being eyed by some sort of statue that looked like a bunch of animal pieces had been sewed together to form a serpentine body.

Now that Fares thought about it, that statue looked really funny. He barely held in a snicker as he scrambled onto the base of the stone and stared up at the weird creature's face.

"You aren't any kind of Pokemon I've ever seen. Were you made from a bunch of others?" He asked the cold statue, fully realizing he wouldn't get any response. A chill suddenly crept up his spine as a shadow fell across him.

"You shouldn't be climbing on that; stay away from it. Where are your parents young one?" Fares tilted his head back and almost fell of the base of the statue before his eyes met those of a mare wearing a garden hat. She had a silver coat and a white mane, and on her flank there was a small flower growing next to a watering can.

"Who're you?" Fares asked, sticking his hoof out and poking her muzzle. She gently swatted it away.

"I'm one of the Canterlot Garden Keepers. What's your name, and where are your parents?" She asked patiently, tipping her garden hat back to get a better look at the small blue unicorn colt sitting on the base of Discord's statue. He was an odd looking child, that was for sure. He had a dark blue mane and a sky blue coat, and two yellow circles rested above each of his eyes. His flank sported a cutie mark that depicted a small mound of sand with some seaweed sticking out of it, with a couple of tiny bubbles floating around the seaweed stalks.

"My name's Fares. My parents are named Pika and Lucario, and they're...uh...in a dragon's cave or something. And they were talking to it and I got bored and I touched something shiny and then I woke up and then I saw this goofy looking statue and then I climbed on it and then you were here." Fares explained, sporting a broad smile. The mare hesitated. What was he talking about? Ponies named Pika and Lucario? A dragon's cave? It didn't make any sense. Maybe the child was simply confused.

"Erm...okay; do you know how we can find your parents?" She asked hesitantly.

"Well yea we just find another shiny thing." Fares exclaimed, only succeeding in confusing the poor garden mare even more.

"Excuse me." She looked over her shoulder and yelped slightly upon the sight of a tall, black pegasus stallion walking towards her calmly. he dipped his head as he stopped in front of her.

"Greetings; I believe I know this child." He said shortly. The mare felt a slight worm of distrust towards the stallion, but then pushed it aside.

"O-oh; are you his father?" She asked. The  stallion shook his head and pricked his ears for a moment, looking out of the corner of his eye at the sky.

"I...I know his father. We're good friends." He lied nonchalantly. The mare smiled thankfully.

"Ah! So you can take him back to his parents?" She asked, buying the fib. The towering stallion nodded.

"Indeed. Come along child." He said.

"I have no idea who you are friend of Lucario but okay!" Fares said loudly, jumping off of the base of the statue onto the stallion's back. he let out a slight grunt then looked towards the mare.

"Thank you; enjoy your day miss." He said politely, thereafter turning and walking away. Fares scrambled up to the base of his neck and nudged the stallion's cheek with a hoof.

"Hey, what's your name? Do you have one? You should. Can I call you Blackie?" He asked innocently. The stallion stole only one glance.

"My name is Darkrai, yes I have a name, and no you may not call me 'Blackie'." He answered calmly. Fares blinked.

"Oh hey! Ma told me about you before I touched the shiny thing and woke up here! She said you weren't nice...I don't think she was right. You seem okay." He said. Darkrai stopped and looked at the small blue unicorn colt sitting between his wings on his back.

"...what, pray tell, did you say your mother's name was, child?" He asked. Fares smiled widely.

"I don't remember telling you but her name's Pika! My name's Fares!" As soon as the last syllable left his mouth Darkrai snapped his neck around to face forward again and for a moment everything was completely still before a look of utter hatred crossed Darkrai's face. He couldn't explain why, but that name brought white hot fury and hatred to Darkrai's heart.

He had to make sure the child stayed near him; he may have been nothing but a bubble brained unicorn colt, but maybe he knew something that would help Darkrai untangle the knotted shreds of whatever memory he had left.

"So Darkrai, where are we going?" Fares asked, putting a hoof on the black stallion's cheek as he resumed walking. Darkrai didn't shoo it away, or even look away from his route.

"Just rejoining a friend that I seemed to have rudely left behind." He said calmly. Fares tilted his head before yawning.

"You aren't gonna give me nightmares when I sleep, will you?" He asked. Darkrai tilted his head but still refused to look at anything but the path his hooves were treading.

"...No. Even if I had such an ability as giving nightmares to sleeping creatures...why would I use it against a completely defenseless colt that has done nothing to me?" He reasoned quietly. Fares smiled.

"I knew it; Ma wasn't right about you. She said you were mean, but you aren't. You're nice." He said. With that he let out another yawn.

"Touching something shiny and getting put in a fancy garden really takes a lot out of you. Nighty night Darkrai." Darkrai looked at the blue colt still sitting on his broad back, but said foal was already in the process of curling up as comfortably as possible. Darkrai stared at the lump of fur for a good minute before sighing.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Darkrai. This, for sure, is not something I can simply take back." He grumbled as he opened his wings to prevent Fares from falling and resumed his leisurely stroll back towards the castle. The guards certainly wouldn't be pleased with what they would certainly try to claim as an 'escape attempt' but it was worth it. He had found a possible key to his past, that was all that really mattered at the moment.

"HEY YOU!" Darkrai leaped out of the way as a guard tried to tackle him, and two more were instantly behind him as the first recovered.

"Just how stupid are you to try such a thing?" One asked harshly. Darkrai lifted a brow, tilted his head, then heaved a breath. These ponies were hard to stand, and he wouldn't deny that not if somebody paid him to.

"Don't you think you're being a bit paranoid-"

"Silence!"