Sky focused on keeping his head above the waves as he was carried away by the tide. He could no longer see Ponyville, wondering if it had sunk below the surface, or if he had already been swept away from the town limits.

Breaking completely free of the water would be difficult, and for the moment likely futile, so he let himself be carried on the tide, and waited for the waves to calm down. Once the calm came, he looked around, and looked down in surprise when he realized he was able to unexpectedly stand up on his hooves, as if there was an invisible surface just underneath the water. What was more, when he got to his hooves, he found his uniform, not to mention his diaper underneath, was completely dry.

Only once he took another look around, did he see that his old home, and indeed the entire surrounding town of Ponyville, had vanished, and all that remained was the starry sky, the incredibly bright full moon, and the endless expanse of water that barely came up to his fetlocks.

He looked all around, then, below the glow of the moon, he barely noticed a red glow on the horizon, and began to trot towards it, water splashing in the wake of his hooves. As he closed in, he saw that there was a small sandbar, an island that barely protruded up out of the water, and that the red glow appeared to be rotating around it in the water... More than one, actually. Getting ever closer, he saw the red hue was coming from three sources, spread evenly around the circumference of the sandbar.

Sky broke into a gallop when he saw an equine form sitting in the middle of the island, their head buried in their legs as they were curled up, as if they were cowering from the glow that circled the sandbar. The figure was nearly entirely silhouetted by the glow of the enormous moon on the horizon, so he couldn't gather any details beyond that for now. Timing his gait carefully, Sky leapt up, spread his wings, and floated above the sources of glowing light, finally getting a good look at them.

A trio of crimson red sharks circled just underneath the water. It was a little mind-bending for Sky as he quickly folded his wings in and descended towards the sand; the sharks were entirely submerged, yet his hooves hadn't even gone three inches deep into the water before hitting decidedly sold ground.

His hooves hit the sand, kicking up a few grains as he eyed the circling sharks carefully. Raising his right front hoof, the blade of bright blue light extended out from the fetlock guard, and Sky's eyes widened the glow from his weapon broke through the silhouette from the moon, and showed him just who was cowering on the sandbar.

Cobalt.

The blade wavered as his hoof began to quiver. He bit his bottom lip in anger as he glared down at his ex who hadn't even looked up, hadn't shown any signs of even realizing that somepony else had landed on the island.

Sky gritted his teeth, felt the anger build up inside as he continued standing there. He saw the bright blue hue of his blade ripple and warp as it slowly turned as crimson red as the circling sharks, becoming much more scythe-like in appearance. His mind began to race faster as the red glow continued to spread out into the water, and soon, even the giant moon half under the horizon was now blood-red. He felt his wings unfurl and twitch in anger, waiting for some, any excuse to bring his dream-powered wrath down on the stallion who had left him heartbroken.

As if he didn't have a good enough excuse already...

Suddenly, he heard a roar from behind him, and turned his head to see one of the glowing red sharks erupt out of the water, teeth bared and headed straight for the helpless unicorn.

Tilting his wings, he swung the rest of his body around, his right hoof last of all, and brought the elongated blade of the scythe slashing left across the shark's open maw. One moment it had connected, and the next moment, the crimson apex predator exploded in a shower of glowing motes of light. Immediately after that, the second shark emerged from the water, at the other side of the sandbar. Flapping his wings once, Sky brought himself around and leapt into the air, vaulting over the curled up unicorn and slashing at the shark in a sweeping right motion, it too disintegrated into red motes.

Anticipating the last one, Sky turned a split-second before the final shark broke the water's surface, but this one was lower, and closed in on the unicorn faster. Flapping his wings again, he left the sand again, somersaulting over Cobalt once, and descended to the sand, coming down with the scythe as he did so, connecting the blade on top of the shark right between his eyes.

The final nightmarish creature defeated, Sky let out a breath, finding himself with his back to the whimpering Cobalt, staring at the half moon and its reflection in the water, with the rippling water now fading to a dead calm, and letting the enormous moon appear full.

"Th-thank you..." the unicorn muttered nervously.

Sky took a step into the water, then another, then another as he began trotting towards the moon. He knew if he turned to look to see if the unicorn had looked up from his fetal position, if he gave into temptation and uttered even one word, he would regret it forever. Shoving the tears back, he broke into a gallop, and leapt up into the sky, flying as fast as he could towards the moon, wanting this test to be over more than anything. A few moments more the endless waters faded, and he found himself in the sparkling expanse of the dream realm once more, and still he didn't stop. He wouldn't stop until he saw the tower.

He lost track of what counted as time here, flying at a speed that he assumed would make Rainbow Dash proud, until he finally saw the Guardian's Tower fade into view. Angling his wings to guide him downward, seeing Princess Luna sitting in the middle of the room, looking out the window at him, smiling. The moment he passed through the window, he felt his ethereal uniform dissipate, and he found himself back in the onesie that had been made for him.

Luna's smile widened as Sky stood there staring at her.

"Congratulations, Sky," she told him, spreading her front legs, offering him a hug.

The pegasus took one uneasy, shuddering breath as he stepped towards the Princess of the Night, and the emotions that had been bubbling up inside him finally spilled over as he threw his hooves around her, burying his face in her barrel as he burst into tears.

"What's wrong, Sky?" Luna asked, squeezing him gently.

The pegasus hiccuped as he struggled to get himself under control.

"I... I came so close to... To... I wanted to do it. I wanted to hurt him, so badly, like he had hurt me..." he replied, just above a whisper, as he felt the hot tears continue.

"But you didn't," Luna told him, continuing to hold him in the embrace. "And that's the important part. You admitted your fears, you faced the darkness inside yourself, and used both of them to prove that you'll help anypony in their moment of need in the realm of dreams. Nopony is perfect. Not you, and not me."

Sky took one more deep, uneasy breath before pulling away from the princess' embrace.

"Are you saying I passed the trials, Princess?" Sky said, looking up into her eyes.

Luna nodded.

"Then..." Sky paused, continuing to calm and collect himself. "...I have to say, that I had something of an alternative motive tonight. Somepony promised me that they would speak to you if I overcame this test."

Luna's expression betrayed the fact that she hadn't entirely expected this.

"Hm. I mean, well, certainly. But you have me at a loss, Sky. Who needs a conversation with me that would provide that kind of motivation for you?" She asked.

Sky silently glanced back at the window to the dream realm, and saw the starry expanse warble and ripple as another glowing form passed through the invisible barrier, quickly taking the shape of a unicorn mare.

Rather than her traditional maid's outfit, Luminescence had appeared in a uniform very similar to Sky's; all black, from her neck to her flanks, with dark blue fetlock guards and a hood that was currently lowered.

Sky gave the mare a soft smile, before risking looking back at Luna, whose expression had turned to one of absolute disbelief.

"L... Lumi..." She managed to whisper, her eyes widening.

"I'll be in your rec room when you two are done, Princess," Sky said, excusing himself as he stepped around the stunned alicorn, passing through the barrier and silently descended the tower, stepping outside into the early Canterlot morning.

Author's Note