My Little Dream Becomes Reality

by Tilltheafterlife

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Other, Princess Luna, Original Character, Science Fiction, Adventure, Discord, Violence, Crossover, Human, Lyra, Gore
Length: 179992

A random guy who loves MLP finds himself physically in a dream with the things he appreciates. A dream demon comes out of nowhere and decides to inflict suffering and destruction. In response to the demon's actions, Samuel is forced to play the hero.

Samuel, or as he preferred to be called, Sam, was just a normal teenage guy who goes to school (prison) and watches My Little Pony. He then goes to bed and has a dream of being a pony and living in Ponyville, but little does he know his dream is about to become real when it gets invaded by a dream demon.

Two centuries ago, a demon known as, Nightmare, enters people's dreams and ruins it without their consent. Witnesses report the demon drags their physical body into the dream world through a portal. This makes it so that the demon can make their greatest fears into a reality, meaning it will not only damage the victims mentally, but also physically. Nightmare was then finally sealed away; however, it was only temporary, and he reawakens in a very weakened state after two hundred years. Nightmare must find a host to keep himself alive but who?

Published 2022-05-20 16:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-12-02 23:32:12 UTC

Chapter 2: A Dream Inside of A Dream (edited)

*Equestria's Dream Realm*

Things were now surely outrageous for the poor boy. Yes, the day started boring, and appeared identical to any other boring day of his life, though, what was happening now is absolutely out of anybody's anticipation. The child did wish for something different, whether good or bad to happen instead of the same old baloney. And surprisingly, Sam received something, or SOMEONE, paying him an unasked personal visit at a day's end.

With darkness coating his well being, and whispered prayers of tormented spirits all around...wherever he now lays, Sam wiggled and squealed in panic. The realm was dark; darker yet darker. This wasn't normal. Usually things are too good to be true, but this situation felt too bad to be real. So badly dark, that there would be no pessimist needed to rid all hope.

Sam was still confused as to what the demon was doing. It greeted Sam by giving its name to him and asking Sam to do the same as any normal respectful person would do.

But Nightmare wasn't a normal person. A normal person would never stalk someone throughout the entire day and invade their dreams for no reason. At least, Sam didn't believe he had done anything wrong to the guy. After a few moments, Sam hesitated, but then spoke.

"S-Samuel. My name is Samuel, or you can call me Sam," Sam looked at Nightmare in horror, hoping the demon had it in him to show mercy.

"Samuel," The demon's eyes widened with glee, and the same could be said for his smile. "Well, that's a name I won't forget. I can assure you, you'll live, in my memories." Nightmare's eyes grew bigger. "You know, boy. This dream of yours is something else. This world barely has any negative energy for me to feed on. And it doesn't make it any better, when I'm in such a weakened state after being sealed away for a long time."

"What do you want with me? Did you follow me all the way here to cause trouble? What are you anyway?" Sam could only assume Nightmare was a troublesome entity just based on appearance.

"You don't even know who I am, do you?" the demon softly chuckled at the young boy's ignorance. "No matter. There's no point in telling you. You're already a dead man."

Sam immediately didn't like the sound of that. And it became perfectly clear that the demon wasn't going to give a good company at all. "The heck is that supposed mean you dark blob of crude oil!?"

"Still ignorant as you are Mr. Samuel? I shall explain, because I honestly prefer tormenting the aware instead of the fools."

Sam didn't notice it until now, but he noticed the demon's mouth was not moving as the demon convienently explaned the cruel situation. Sam could hear the voice of Nightmare for sure as Sam was all ears at this point. But he didn't exactly know why the fiend's mouth refused to follow along with every word. Instead, the same exact derranged smile remained as he spoke. Was the demon talking to Sam telepathically?

"I managed to pull your physical body into this world, but I lost so much power in the process. Heh, I have so little power, that even a mere fly would be a challenge to swat in my current status," the demon admitted. "Looks like I have to keep you in this other dream world these ponies use for their worthless dreams. Haha, and once I produce more negativity, I will have enough power to take your life." Nightmare laughed, giving Sam chills down his spine.

It got even worse, as blood began to poor out of Nightmare's mouth. It looked as if he had eaten hundreds upon hundreds of people in the past. Sam could even hear the screams and cries from the tortured souls the demon had eaten. Seeing Nightmare's malevolent desires, flashbacks of Sam's life ran across his brain. The fear of death forced his past to overflow, and he barely had the tendency to focus at all.

Come on! Think happy thoughts! Sam commanded himself, hoping he could relive the greatest moments in his life internally before the worst thing that was about to happen devours him to death externally. He thought of his birthdays, how delicious the cakes were. Christmas Eve and Day, where he and his mom would bake cookies and unwrap presents. His long gone fulfillment of happiness to simple imagination, video games, and TV.

Sam didn't have any tolerance for this. He accepted the harsh cruel reality he lived in on Earth, but he could not accept or forgive one who commits murder for the pleasure of committing it without any regret.

"You're sick! Why does it have to be me of all people!? LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sam wanted to punch him in the face so hard, but forgot his body wasn't even with him to do so. The surrounding area was nothing but darkness. There wasn't any sense of sadness or joy; only fear, disgust, and rage is what Sam gave into while stuck in a void.

"I've got to say I'm surprised, boy. For a man who dreams about cupcakes, rainbows, unicorns, and whatever girly things are in this world, I expected you to scream like a little girl. Yet here you are, all calm about your upcoming painful death." Nightmare's smile faded away. "The nightmares I created for these ponies, have done a fine job at satisfying my hunger. At least they were, until a dark blue pony, taller than the others I've encountered, appeared and destroyed the nightmares I crea- " before Nightmare could finish, a flash of blue light engulfed the darkness surrounding them. Nightmare's entire body was now visible, and the moon could now be seen, shining bright in the beautiful night sky.

"WHAT DARKNESS DARES ENTER THE DREAM REALM!" said a feminine, loud, and familiar voice to Sam. He winced a tad at the sudden brightness. So did Sam's now supposed nemesis. The fear of danger didn't leave Sam at all after light came into play. He however gained a sort of futuristic hope and an easy going feeling towards it.

"Speaking of which," Nightmare made a face of annoyance.

Then, something came out of the moon and glided all the way down to the ground. The thing wasn't a thing, but a pony. Her fur was dark blue, the mane was a lighter blue that appeared to be sparkling and flowing on its own without any wind, the cutie mark was a crescent moon that had a little black fur around it, and she both had a pair of wings and a horn. There was no doubt in Sam's mind that this was Princess Luna.

"Wow, she is so beautiful," said Sam. It was now a dream that Sam wanted. Princess Luna (Guardian of the Dream Realm) vs. Nightmare (Subject 6). Who would win? Of course, Sam had his bets and hopes on Luna. He was clueless as to what was going on, but knew he needed to pay full attention for his life's sake.

"Well, I can't have her in the know of your presence, so may we meet again, if you live that long that is," Nightmare snapped his sharp and drippy fingers causing Sam to black out. The demon then turned to face the alicorn.

"YOU! HOW DARE THOU ENTER AND CORRUPT THE MINDS OF MY SUBJECTS!" Luna spat.

Nightmare looked at her with no interest. He didn't even have the urge to give an eye roll, considering how much more complex it was to do so with an extra eye. "Let's just get this over with. I'll even let you have the first attack."

Luna circled around and glared at Nightmare.

"DO NOT HUMBLE ME, DEMON! YOU SAY THIS IS YOUR DOMAIN WITH SUCH IGNORANCE, SO I WILL TEACH YOU WHO SHOULD RUN THE DREAM REALM!"

Luna then took a deep breath and her horn glowed bright.

*The Everfree Forest*

Sam awakens with a gasp, after a period of nothingness for a minute to say the least. With a sudden movement to get up, he thought an alarm was triggered for a sole purpose to ensure he would not miss any hour of the morning.

Erugh! The heck was that about? he thought while rubbing his fingers vertically down his face. It's been years since he ever had dreams, or nightmares, and for the most part none of his dreams he ever dreamed of as a little toddler had ever felt... real. Sam felt relieved to be able to feel his own human body again. When he sat up, he expected to see the far end of his bed, or at least nothing but pitch black due to a power outage that occurred last night, thanks to a severe thunderstorm. His expectation wasn't met once he gazed at his surroundings. There was only grass and trees around him. No night light, no alarm clock, no running fan, and worst of all... no home/shelter.

"What the?" Sam looked around seeing he wasn't in his bedroom anymore. For what Sam could remember he went to bed in the dark and dreamed. Looking up, he saw the moon shining in the abnormal colored night sky with no storm in sight. The night sky wasn't pure black as its color was for some reason purple and blue mixed together. That gave him pause. "Wait. Am I still dreaming?" Sam walked up to a rock he spotted on the grass and grabbed it.

While still believing it was all a dream that turned into a nightmare, Sam froze when he felt the rock as he picked it up. He gazed at the unrealistic looking trees near him. One thing for sure, the area Sam was in was none other, than the Everfree Forest. The forest was dark and scary, and he could hear the crickets chirping. "Was that demon telling the truth? Am I really physically here right now? In Equestria?" Sam threw the rock the same way he would throw his alarm clock except this time it hit a tree instead of a plain wall. The boy took the longest and largest breath a man could take. Then, he shouted in excitement. "OH, YEA!!!!! I'M REALLY HERE! I'M IN PONY HEAVEN! LESSSS GOOOO!!!!!"

Sam took the time to calm himself down. Happiness was EXTREMELY important to Sam's life. Though, he didn't want to take it for granted. Especially in a situation like this. Equestria to Sam may be like heaven, but he told himself to delay the celebration as it was way too early for such a thing. Equestria still had its dangers, and if some random demon is out for Sam's head and Equestria's destruction, then that only adds trouble by a TON. A regretful feeling came after realizing how loud he was when shouting.

"It's about time I put my survival skills to use. Here I thought learning those skills from my dad were a complete waste of time. Guess I was wrong," Sam climbed up a tree and picked an apple to eat.

He took a bite out of it with a smile as he chewed, but then was caught in surprise as he spat out the apple in disgust. The taste was bitter, and the bitter taste didn't leave his tongue right away. "Good gravy! Do ponies eat this garbage every day?!" in anger, Sam slung the poor fruit out of his clutches and into the forest. "There better be something good or at least edible for me to eat out here. I'm so dang hungry I could eat a hors- uh, cow, I mean't!"

There was a sound of a crack nearby. Sam turned around to identify the source, and saw a bush wiggling about. He quickly proposed the idea that something living must be hiding away in there from plain sight, the only question that concerned Sam is what was. He had no idea whether to approach forward, back away and wait, or simply ignore and continue with the risk of being attacked from behind.

Seconds passed fast as the living creature hopped out of the bush before Sam made one of three choices. Turns out it was a small white bunny that caused the bush to be such a disturbance. The bunny appeared frightened over something as it looked its way back.

Woah! Oh, whew. Just a bunny, Sam sighed into a relaxed state. He then raises an eyebrow when the bunny stares at him in a strange way; its frightened face returns a sense of submissive danger and familiarity. Wait a second. This little bunny... Sam's gaze keeps on a little longer until both a loud raspy voice along with a very soft voice calling from afar, confirms the bunny's identity.

"Angel?" the soft voice called out.

"Angel! Come on out here you!" the other voice, much louder and confident, called out as well.

Angel? The Angel? Sam had a slight reaction that took away his focus, and before he refocused his gaze, Angel had already hopped out of man's eye. He noticed a trail of Angel's footprints planted deep into the mud that could lead to the two ponies who were in search. This was Sam's chance to find help, but what would the two think of him? Has pony society ever had any friendly interaction with mankind?

It was difficult to make a choice. He knew those ponies, just by the sounds of their voice. But even if he came up to them in a mannerly way, they might immediately judge him on appearance. Fluttershy, the least of his worries, might squeal and cry for help. Which could result in a rainbow missile that cracks some of his bones all because of a misunderstanding.

Although, thanks to a timber wolf that jumped out of the bushes just NOW of all times... he realized why Angel was so frightened to begin with. The wolf looked right into Sam's soul with its yellow eyes while circling around him, getting ready to strike.

'AH CRAP!'

Sam thought this was going to be the last day of his life. He knew better not to challenge a wolf with his bare hands, but there was no outrunning an animal that moves on all fours. Sam had no better option but to take the wooden wolf, head on. Flesh and bone vs. oak wood. What were the chances of Sam's survival? Seemed a little unfair, but he diminished his fear by believing things could have been worse. Better to unrealistically punch a wooden tree apart than attempt to break apart a tree made of metal/stone with bare fists.

'It would be nice to have an ax or something in a fight against an enemy made of wood,' Sam felt something weird on both his right and left hand but ignored it and charged at the timber wolf. As he did, the timber wolf did the same. The timber wolf then jumped toward Sam, preparing to bite him. Before it could, Sam jerked to the left and sliced its entire body in half with his right... fist?

*1 Timber Wolf eliminated; 20 pp earned.*

Sounds of crumpling wood and an echoing agonizing squeal occurred after its death. A feeling hit Sam inside. He stood next to the timber wolf's remains in utter shock. Sure, he combined all effort into one attack, but that still doesn't break the astonishment for it taking only one swing to get the job done.

"Whoa, what happened to my hands?" Sam observed the solid black shaped axes that had replaced his hands. "Wait, this is all a dream. I can imagine anything I want! Right?" Sam imagined another coke bottle being in front of him, but nothing happened. "Huh?" he then felt a sting on his back. It was like a wasp three times the size had stung him, and he fell slightly downwards on his knees. Then, he heard a growl.

Behind him were five timber wolves staring and growling at him with the intent to kill. Sam looked at the black shaped axes that killed one of them, in one slice. "Alright, I guess that's fair," Sam immediately lifted the ax to the timber wolf in front of him and sliced its head off.

Two timber wolves then came in front of him ready to attack. One took his right while the other took his left. Sam managed to slice the one on his right in half. The other one unfortunately, got close enough to dig its claws into Sam's chest. Surprisingly, the only thing he felt was the same sting that felt like a big wasp sting. And the wound the timber wolf had made wasn't bleeding red, but black.

The timber wolf felt the ax hit its torso, but it wasn't the sharp part of the ax, causing it to land onto the ground unconscious. Sam didn't hesitate to rush over and finish the unconscious one off with multiple blows of the ax. Sam looked up to see one timber wolf backing away.

"Wait I've only killed four. Weren't there six of you?" Sam's question was answered when he felt something heavy hit his back. One of the timber wolves had sneaked behind, and tackled him to the ground. Sam groaned in pain as the timber wolf bit into his leg, ripping it off. The timber wolf in front did the same, only this time it ripped off Sam's arm. These wolves were like sharks on land, and they made him bleed like a fountain of blood. He expected to pass out over the excruciating pain he received, but he didn't. Despite high levels of blood loss, his consciousness and energy stayed perfectly normal. The pain from losing a leg and arm wasn't unbearable for some reason. Still, for Sam, it did HURT like a son of a gun. And he sensed death right around the corner of his mind if this were to continue on.

"NO! I refuse to die here!" Sam broke free and bit like a wild animal into one of the timber wolf's legs, chewing it until it was completely off. The timber wolf roared and backed away from Sam in agony. Sam got back up and used his remaining arm to slice the other timber wolf's torso. The last remaining one still in pain from a missing leg, glared at Sam one more time, gave out a weak howl, and retreated into the deeper parts of the Everfree Forest.

*4 Timber Wolves eliminated; 80 pp earned.*

When peace and quiet finally comes to Sam, he crawls towards a tree, lays on it for rest, and ignores the rough bark while in pain. He had lost his right leg and his left arm during his first actual kill or be killed battle. Worst of all, they were oozing blood, but the blood he was losing wasn't red. It was black. The wounds that Sam unwillingly got on his back and chest from the timber wolves were also leaking out black blood. Then, the ax on his right arm became a hand again once his calmness returned.

"What did this demon do to me? Am I just going to die out here?" Sam had lost all hope. This was it; he was going to die from blood loss, Nightmare was going to do whatever he planned on doing, and Sam would never be able to live his own dream in Equestria.

As his vision blurred, he thankfully caught a glimpse of two pegasi way above his view. They both waved hooves goodbye and flew in opposite directions. One flew like a flying jet into cloud height, leaving a rainbow trail; the other pegasus glided gently down someplace near the Everfree.

'Ah, they must've caught the little buggy bunny. It always pleases me to see their friendship and their accomplishments because of it. Not exactly the pleasure I'd want to feel before my death though.'

Suddenly, Sam felt something weird on both his missing arm and leg. Assuming it was the amount of blood he was losing. When he looked, he saw something black was growing out of his left arm. It seemed the blood was beginning to thicken or harden into a complete solid. It kept growing until it was the same size of his right arm. It began to change shape and color until it had fully developed into his left arm. The same thing happened on his right leg. The wounds on Sam's chest and back began to close themselves back together.

"..." he got back up, a little low on energy. How? Regeneration?

Was Sam even human anymore? He could only imagine how painful Nightmare would make his death, but it also seems that he won't be dying anytime soon due to these new regenerative abilities. Why? Just why? Maybe Nightmare wanted to see him suffer before he decides to kill. This didn't feel like a dream anymore. It felt all real.

While being physically fine but mentally not, he began to travel around the Everfree searching for food, water, and shelter for the night. The walk continued until a river was finally seen.

"Water!" Sam decided to set his base near the river. Turning his hands into the axes that were used to chop down the timber wolves he fought earlier, he began to clear out the trees around. After what seemed to be about an hour of cutting trees, Sam had already built a fire, made a bowl, found a traveling bag, and caught some fish. He didn't feel like boiling the water to kill the germs within because he believed his body would just regenerate itself constantly until all the germs were dead. The fish he cooked was much better compared to that ripe apple he ate.

One thing he noticed was his teeth being sharper than before. That could explain why the wooden leg on the timber wolf was easily ripped apart from a single bite from his mouth. Was he a carnivore? The fish were perfectly fine, but the apples were the complete opposite.

"Hey you. Creature," said a strange voice from behind. Without much fear of whoever wanted attention, Sam finished chugging one last ounce of water within several seconds, before actually revealing his face.

'Does almost everything in this world have to sneak up behind me,' he turned around to see another creature that he had known to be potentially hostile, especially towards ponies. A changeling. It wasn't a reformed one, otherwise it wouldn't have fangs, black chitin, and holes engraved on its four legs.

Sam turned his right hand into a sword and his left hand into a shield. Pointing the sword directly at the changeling, he asked. "Are you here to kill me as well?"

The changeling, in shock by immediate hostility, emerges its wings.

"What? No. Of course not. I was only scouting around for any wandering ponies to take back to the hive. Queen Chrysalis is planning an invasion in Canterlot soon. And me and my siblings just so happen to get ambushed by a pack of timber wolves. We were no match for them until you came out of nowhere and saved us. Queen Chrysalis is planning an invasion in Canterlot soon and, I was only wondering if you by any chance, would like to assist us in our quest to feed on Equestria's LOVE!" The changeling stood there, waiting for a response.

"Ah, so this dream of mine is taking place somewhere in Season 2." Sam laughed at the thought of breaking the 4th wall if there was an audience watching him. Of course, a normal simple changeling didn't understand any of that. All that mattered now is knowing when and where to begin. "What's in it for me?" Sam had an unsure look on his face. He wouldn't want to get involved in any of that mess. The changelings would just lose and helping them wouldn't change a thing for the better. The ponies would probably hunt Sam down if he was caught helping the bug ponies. Which only means double the trouble. Being hunted by a demon is hard enough, so he certainly didn't need an entire race hunting him down.

"I don't know yet. You will have to ask Queen Chrysalis about that. But please. Think about it, okay? The invasion starts way later tomorrow. Be there." The changeling then buzzed his wings and flew away.

Heh, he just had to spill his hopes on my interest in an alliance. Should I help them though? Eh.

At this point, there were only two options. It was either to stay in the same spot and wait for Nightmare to show up, or find some help. His best bet was to join the changelings or the ponies for his own safety. Trying to make peace with the ponies comes with a risk of being attacked and captured. And he didn't know if making peace with the changelings would exactly be peaceful.

'Dang, what do I do? I hate having to take risks. But I need HELP!'

Sam got back on his feet to search for any pony to talk to. There wasn't much of a choice but for him to walk through the deeper parts of the Everfree where less moonlight shined. The long walk continued with him running into branches and hearing an owl hoot again and again as he followed a dirt path. Normally his legs would be sore by now, but regeneration is a cure for all soreness and injury.

'Better continue searching this cursed forest. After all, Equestria is a magical place. Forget this forest's darkness and its dangerous mysteries beyond. I got to be brave. If anything gets in my way, I'll chop it down.'

Within minutes, and with each dirt path he came by, finding nothing unsuccessfully, the Everfree had become more of a place that tests one's patience. Sam now stomps with every step, chopping down thick branches like an emotionless robot. He figured if he needed to find his way back, leaving an exact branch trail for each path taken would be the best way to navigate. Frustration replaces fear, and he accelerates his movement.

It all ended when an opening in the distance could be spotted. Sam smiled at the sight of an exit and a possibility of something new than trees, bushes, and dirt paths.

An open area, neighbored by the Everfree, is revealed to Sam once he cuts away one last set of branches and hanging vines in desperation. From there, he saw a ruined structure. Not precisely what his hopes were.

"The Castle of the Two Sisters? Meh, not bad. Looks much more epic seeing it in actuality than from the show," Sam stated his opinion to himself. He had hoped to find something more decent. But it's better than no shelter. Plus, since he knew the castle was basically the shedded snake skin of the sun and moon goddesses of Equestria, he believed there to be useful artificial magic confined inside.

" Sam. Please. Help me, " a strange voice whispered into Sam's ear.

"Huh?" Sam searched for the source of the voice but found nothing but a staircase leading down somewhere. "Who said that?"

" Please save me, " the strange voice said louder, this time sounding more pitiful.

The source of it was definitely coming from the cave below the stairwell. 'Could it be?' Sam thought to himself. Going down into a dark cave wasn't a wise idea, especially if there's a voice luring you in. But getting help and answers is needed even if a risk is to be taken. Sam walked down the staircase and into the cave to find the Tree of Harmony sitting there. Its roots were visible on ground sight and it sparkled with such a delight.

Holes engraved on different branch parts that once contained the Elements of Harmony were empty. The tree's magic wasn't gone yet, but Sam knew its magic was deteriorating slowly without any pony's notice except his own.

'This might be the first and only tree that I'll have no desire to chop down.'

The tree spoke, surprising Sam. " My power is wanning. Retrieve the elements. "

"What? Why?" Sam walked closer to the tree, nervousness shrouding his tone. "H-how?! How are you talking to me right now? A-and how do you know my name? Have we spoken before?"

"You are in great danger. What you saw was onlya tiny fraction ofthe demon's power. I can help you destroy him and save this world."

"..." Sam raises his eyebrows whilst squeezing his eyelids.

'Not going to answer my personal questions?'

"Uh, okay. You're talking about that Nightmare fella who wants me dead, right?" Sam readjusts the strap connecting his bag. "You wanna help me?"

"I'm holding back Nightmare's power as best as I can. Once my power fades, all of Equestria is doomed, including you. I will guide you through this world, but you must retrieve the elements." The Tree of Harmony's words made Sam's eyes widen. Nightmare's true powers were being held back the entire time. It only made him wonder of what other tricks the demon had up on the sleeve.

"Well we sure are direct with business aren't we? Alright then. I help you survive; you help me survive. Fair is fair," he nodded awkwardly. "Yea, I do know you need those elements to function. The only question is how am I going to get the Elements of Harmony without having my butt hunted down?"

The Tree of Harmony said nothing more. Sam stood there for at least a brief minute, then left the cave, heading back up to the surface. If it had anything more important to say it would've stopped him there. "Looks like I'm not in this battle alone. Makes me wonder if anypony else out there will be willing to stand against my demon?"

The Tree of Harmony was at the moment his only hope. Not only did it know about his troubles, but it was also one of Equestria's greatest defenses, if treated properly. "Looks like I found the help I need. Now, I just need to help it first," he ignited his thought process as he crossed over a bridge. An objective ran around aimlessly in mind. His very next destination was Canterlot.

"It's a good thing that changeling told me tomorrow is the day. I better get some rest before I plan to go full on thief mode. I'm tired as heck!"

Sam uses his last savored energy to push the castle doors open. Moonlight poured into the great hall, giving a clear view of ruined pilers, cracks in the walls, torn sun and moon banners, and the old princess thrones themselves as a whole. Keeping his bag gripped tight, he trudged over to Luna's original throne and sat in a resting position behind it. A heavy sigh of relief finds its way out of Sam. His legs were worn out, mostly because of low energy rather than muscle soreness.

Tonight's been a long night for him. And tomorrow might be an utterly long day as well. If a Canterlot Wedding occurs on that day exactly; he might be in for a long ride.

'I'll worry about tomorrow's problems when it is tomorrow. I should just worry about making it through this night. This castle is a little frightening, though I'd think sleeping here for the night is much more safe than in the middle of the Everfree.'

"*Yawn*" Sam closed his eyes, and after a couple minutes, he fell asleep.

Luna shot a beam at Nightmare hitting him in the chest and knocking him back a bit.

Nightmare gave a creepy grin at Luna as a response to her assault. His face resembled Luna's, back when she was Nightmare Moon, and she struggled to remove the guilt out of her heart. "You are surprisingly strong. I never believed some horse with little girl magic could do so much damage."

"QUIET FIEND! YOU WILL PAY FOR THE NIGHTMARES YOU CAUSED TO MY YOUNG AND INNOCENT SUBJECTS!" Luna flared up her horn and shot another beam, however at that time, the demon was ready. Nightmare opened his mouth and sucked the magic beam in. He held it in for a second, then reflected the beam right back at Luna by shooting it out of his mouth like a fire breathing dragon of nightmares. Before it could hit, Luna flew into the air and shot a magical projectile sphere. It flew like an arrow shot out of a bow. Nightmare laughed, his reflexes overpowering her attack's speed, avoiding being directly hit .

To Luna's benefit, Nightmare's cocky side got the best of him. Believing he had successfully avoided the attack with ease, he actually later on found himself caught in a magical explosion that occurred purposefully once the exploding projectile made contact with ground.

It wasn't a lethal attack, though it did enough damage to turn both of their faces upside down. Before, Nightmare had a smile; it became a frown afterwards. Luna now smirks in front him. Her pupils now show, since the wrath inside of her dispersed. She started tasting victory.

"This has been a fun experience, but it's time to end this." Nightmare began to focus. Luna's eyes widened when six large tentacles came out of Nightmare's back.

"At first, I was surprised, but it looks like you're the one who is now surprised. Did you know throughout this entire fight, I have been gaining power from the fears and negative feelings from these ponies I've invaded? You managed to help some of them, but you haven't saved them all yet. " Nightmare's tentacles were unleashed into the air to attack Luna from above. The princess flew in a zig zag to avoid them in a haste.

Luna eventually came to a stop, her smirk now a glare. When she felt safe to speak her mind, she spoke without the royal Canterlot voice.

"You are the source of their nightmares. It is my duty as Princess of the Night to protect those from their nightmares. However, I cannot continue to uphold this negativity you are producing in every pony! Thus, destroying you is the best option I have, unless you consider surrendering and calling off your darkness you created in my realm," Luna stated mercifully in a fair manner.

"HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! Surrender, to a pony? " Nightmare's tone became dangerous." Let me show you true DARKNESS! " Nightmare charges towards Luna, ready to impale her with his long sharp bloodied horns. Instead, he only hit an incredibly strong magic barrier.

Nightmare started constantly punching and stabbing the magic barrier with his tentacles. The Princess of the Night struggled to keep the barrier together. But Nightmare showed no signs of stopping. When the barrier finally broke, Nightmare punched Luna in the muzzle knocking her fifteen feet away.

"Tell me princess. Do you bleed? Your little talking foals I torment say you are immortal." Luna attempted to fly away into the moon but was impaled six times by exactly six tentacles. Luna only growled in frustration. Turns out, rules of physical pain, no matter how severe, work differently in a realm of dreams.

"Bleed? In a dream? No. What about you?" Luna charged all of the power she had to the tip of her horn. The moon was now shining brighter than ever, completely eliminating all of the darkness around them. Luna then releases all of her power and a gigantic dark blue magic ball of light appears. Nightmare stood there in shock at how much power this pony had. He was going to regret underestimating the obstacles that had to be dealt with in this world.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Luna then fired the energy ball with all her might. The attack destroyed the tentacles that impaled her completely. When it impacted the ground, an explosion unlike any other went across the entire dream realm, causing every pony including Luna, to wake up from their slumber.

******

"Sister, are you alright! I heard yelling!" Celestia opened the door to Luna's room and saw her younger sister, terrified. Celestia quickly trotted to her younger sister in worry. "What happened? It sounded like you were shouting at some pony dear sister." Celestia tried to comfort Luna as best she could. Luna had calmed down, but her expression was still filled with concern.

"That... fiend! He's still alive! I can sense it. I couldn't save every pony from the nightmares it created." a tear fell out of Luna's eye. "I... failed. I'M A FAILURE!"

Celestia pulled her into a tight hug, hoof and wing combined. "No you haven't. Don't think that way! There are times where we all make mistakes, Luna. No pony is perfect. Even me."

"You make mistakes?" Luna sobbed. "How come everypony-"

"It doesn't matter what every pony out there thinks, sister. The past is the past. You are no longer her, anymore. And I am here for you whenever," Celestia wiped away the tears. "You are forgiven."

Luna took in a few breaths through her nose, while her sadness disappeared. "Thank you, sister. But..."

"But?" Celestia turned curious. "My, what is the matter, Luna?"

"You don't understand," Luna paused, hesitant to say what needed to be said. "I... I encountered someone... during tonight's dream realm duty. He wasn't friendly," she claimed, a tinge of aggression in her voice.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No... well, yes, but not now. I'm... exhausted from this terrible night. And I think everypony else has had a rough night as well," Luna looked out of the window. "Ah, yes, it's time to lower the moon. I will tell you everything, sister. For now, I need some time to think things through." Luna walked out of her room, leaving Celestia behind.

Author's Note

For those of you who are wondering. Nightmare is an OC I created after the inspiration of a few other antagonists from different universes.

Because this is Sam's dream, characters from video game universes will coexist with the MLP universe as the story progresses. MLP wasn't the only thing Sam cherished.

Chapter 3: A Thief (edited)

*Anomaly Day (Day before a Canterlot Wedding)*

*Ponyville*

The village known as Ponyville was one of Equestria's most famous towns which held a great spectacle of happiness to almost everypony. Everypony walked or trotted by and by with joy inside and out. For example, a common thing which tends to transpire when two commoners of Ponyville both decide a miniature interaction is necessary, they wave hooves or greet by saying a friendly "hello!" or "how's your day going?" before they continue on with their day, now showing a happy smile as a reflection to what's inside.

Outstandingly, Ponyville's population was higher than most cities or towns in Equestria. And merely 2% of Ponyville's ponies had been seen wearing a frown over a rarely bad day; said by a group of surveyors that did a personal, calculating, experimental survey.

On this very day, firsthand thing in the morning, in the midst of the village's peace, a storm appeared out of the bloom. Panic arose when weather ponies from all sides claimed that whether intentionally or not, the storm's vicious wind and heavy rain will flood Ponyville. To make matters worse, pegasi regardless of how trained to control weather, were at a break of defeat. Many of those who attempted to clear the storm were zapped by ferocious lightning.

No pony had a clue where it came from, but sadly, no pony listened to the one pony with a pinkie sense who predicted this horrible outcome. She begged them to evacuate; crazy is what everypony thought of her.

There was also an athletic pegasus mare known as Rainbow Dash, who is also known as Ponyville's greatest flyer and sky clearer, but she was nowhere to be seen for some reason. Though, despite her skills in clearing clouds, many believed that even she couldn't clear the storm of catastrophe.

As hopelessness filled everypony, a ripple of white energy came around which gave everypony a feeling or sense of creativity. Everypony paused their evacuation as if someone had come to their rescue. The magic was simple, but godly. For some reason everypony felt motivated, more alive, and confident.

"This storm is going to go bye bye," Sam claimed only to himself as he imagined the storm's destruction. "I'm doing this for the sake of them; there is no need for a reward or praise after I do what I feel is right!"

Ponyville fell silent in shock when the storm was no more. Fillies beside their personal guardian folks had pictured a super pony flying up there to save the day using their superhero powers, but alas, a destructive spell was what saves Ponyville from destruction and flooding.

*9 hours later*

Within those passing hours: a magical research team had been dispatched in search for the magical phenomenon. Most of Ponyville had moved on and removed their stress about the whole thing. While some lingered indoors, afraid of some pony or creature capable of casting a magic force which could result in the death of hundreds.

Many put their suspicion on a professional spell caster + bookworm that lived in a library inside of a tree. But she then proved her magic didn't match up. She also vowed to search and report the destructive spell caster and to never leave the library for a certain period of time. Her assistant, Spike the dragon, could leave whenever he wanted. Because a poor little bored dragon like him was left with no task for today, he decided to join the research team.

Despite getting a sniff and search for anything strange kind of job, Spike surprised the research team when he first found something connected to the storm destroyer. They ran some tests and found nothing special except for its magical bond. Unfortunately for them, there wasn't any way to track whoever made this... thing.

******

"Spike! Where have you been? The sun is about to go down!" Twilight gave Spike a look of concern as he entered through her front door. She notices the big object Spike is carrying in his hands. It appears to be a bottle containing dark fluid and had something red wrapped around in the middle, having the words coca cola written on it.

"Sorry Twilight. I was busy helping the magic research team search for the cause of a mysterious beam that was shot out of Ponyville hours ago. You should've seen it Twilight! It destroyed an entire storm!" Spike's smile turned into an apologetic one when Twilight kept her strict regarding stare. She was like a mother fussing at her little child for sneaking out and coming home late.

Twilight sighed and asked, "Where did you find that Spike?"

"It was just lying on the ground near one of the apple stands. It was pretty heavy when I picked it up, but it's nothing Spike can't handle," Spike flexed his arms to show all of his strength and glory. That glorious moment didn't last long, as the bottle was encased in a purple magic aura, and immediately floated into the air right next to Twilight. Spike took a quick notice of her curiosity and spoke up about it, "If you're wondering what it is, I have no idea. They say it's somehow connected to what happened hours ago. And from the looks of things, it's some kind of potion. But no pony challenged themselves to take a single sip. They figured it'd be best if you researched it yourself, Twilight. That's why I brought it here," Spike pointed out.

Twilight nodded as a sign of acknowledgement and made her way up the stairs, placing the bottle on a nearby table. Using her magic, she opened its cap hearing a hissing sound come out of the bottle. She jumped in surprise, then stared at it for a moment. She didn't want to drink anything beyond her well aware. It could be a potion of death or something worse made by an evil unicorn capable of casting powerful dark spells.

'Maybe I should ask Princess Celestia about this. She would know what to do. Plus, she also possesses more knowledge than I do for sure.'

Spike really wanted to see how things were going, but before getting a chance to ask, a paper and quill floated in front of him. When he thought there were no tasks left for today, he was wrong.

"Spike, take a note to Princess Celestia."

The little dragon glanced at Twilight, then went into assistant mode, determination resting in his eyes. "Okay!"

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am sorry to tell you that I have not yet learned a lesson about friendship this week. But, I have found something that might be in your interest. A recent existence of overwhelming unidentified magic has manifested here, in Ponyville. Our most talented magic research team failed to find the source. I ask sincerely that you transfer from Canterlot to Ponyville as soon as possible, for I and everypony else cannot bear to accept something so powerful beyond our knowledge. I believe this is a perfect opportunity for me to learn or discover something new in the arts of magic. And you're the only pony I know who I can look up to for help.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.

Slowly, Spike rolled the letter up into a cylinder shape as it had always been done when being delivered. He then took a ribbon from one of the library's storage closets to tie the letter in place. Once Twilight gave the order, Spike nodded and sent it away to Celestia with fire magic straight out of his mouth.

"There we go, another perfect message sent out by your number one assistant," Spike patted his chest with a fist while maintaining a straight posture.

Twilight giggled. "Okay my number one assistant, it's nap time for you and me. This day has been quite interesting, but I think it's time for us to get a little shut eye."

Spike ran to a near window and sighed upon a full lunar circle impulsing its usual light properties into the night sky. "Awwww," he frowned and his posture lowered into a pitiful slouch. "Can't I stay up late and watch over this... Coke thing?"

"No Spike, you need your rest. I'll keep an eye out on... Coke. You just have a good night's sleep for tonight." The two in the library both let out a yawn, ready to go to sleep. "Spike, whatever you do, don't touch it while I'm asleep, please," Twilight placed the cap and closed the bottle with her magic and went off to bed. Spike did the same.

When she fell asleep Twilight suddenly found herself in the Canterlot throne room. Princess Celestia was sitting there, with a face of hatred. A black figure as an inclusion to this random event stood next to Celestia. "I don't know why I chose you to be my faithful student! You will never be forgiven, Twilight Sparkle!" Celestia stood up and walked towards Twilight, horn glowing at the ready. Her royal shoes and stomps struck fear. And the black figure couldn't help itself to laugh at Twilight before disappearing into shadows.

"I don't understand! What did I do wrong?!" Twilight backed away in fear. Something was wrong. Twilight never did anything wrong. She only did exactly what the princess wanted: to make friends. And Celestia would never jump straight into a fight or a war without reasoning. "This isn't you, Celestia! You're better than this!" Twilight claimed, but Celestia's face didn't change for the better. In fact, her face lit up with wrath and envy.

"How dare you say I'm not good enough to rule! I'm stronger, smarter, and better than you, Twilight Sparkle!"

Before Twilight could say another word, Celestia shot a beam towards her own student without hesitating. Twilight closed her eyes and covered her face with a hoof.

She heard Celestia's attack hit, thankfully it wasn't her that was hit. Did Celestia miss on purpose? Twilight uncovered her face just to see Princess Luna standing in front of her with a magical barrier surrounding them both. Luna took a deep breath and stomped her hoof hard on the ground, causing the barrier to explode into a shock wave, knocking Celestia into a wall. Twilight watched as Celestia's body disappeared out of existence.

"I am here, Twilight Sparkle. Do not let your eyes deceive you. This was only a nightmare I fought off," said Luna.

"Oh, thank Celestia. Well, actually what I meant to say was, thank you, Luna," Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

"Tis my duty and pleasure miss Sparkle."

The darkness that was giving Twilight a horrifying illusion, now gone; gave Twilight an excuse to put full attention on Luna. Through the princess of night's presence Twilight felt the world around her reveal what it really is supposed to be. A dream. Pillars, windows, tiles, and all sorts of the castle hall dispersed till only a clear space of stars were left. Luna's essence grew stronger upon realization. A path of light became the surface they now stood on. Twilight took notice of the moon once Luna had her eyes on it.

"I'm afraid our time together will be short. A great darkness has been unleashed onto the dream realm. Nightmares are becoming more and more common because of its doing. Please, take care," Luna flew into the moon as her way of exit. There came an explosion of moonlight which engulfed Twilight's dream after the princess's departure.

"W-Wait! Princess Luna!" Twilight woke up to see the inside of her lovely library she now called home. "Wh-wha!?" she left her laying position in bed and rubbed both eyes one at a time as she took cognizance over what happened. Her tension went away when she felt peace in reality. "Just a dream..."

Then, without warning, another spike of tension hit her mental state. For it seemed only a minute of sleep is what she submitted to, it had actually been an hour. The mysterious bottle left on the table before she went to bed was gone. She became frozen in shock.

The first thought that came to her mind is Spike's curiosity getting the best of him. Who knows what kind of nasty effects the potion had in store for that little dragon? She almost yelled out his name before finding him sleeping in one of the smallest beds in all of Equestria, with no bottle in sight.

"Phew," Twilight took her concern away from Spike.

If Spike wasn't the pony responsible for the bottle's disappearance, then who was? A thief? The potion must've been extremely valuable. Somepony aware of its value might have sneaked into the golden oak library during her sleep, desperately trying to steal a dark potion undetected. The pony in question, either took it to a much safer place or plans to use it for trouble. Princess Luna did mention a great darkness being unleashed upon Equestria.

Twilight ran her mind with many ideas. She wasn't about to let the thief go so easily. She grabbed one of the most advanced books on the shelves and began reading. After glancing through a multitude of spell pages like a reading professional, the distressed unicorn found what she sought. The spell she was about to cast, allows the user to look into the past.

"Aha!" Twilight closed her eyes and put great focus in advance. The spell was definitely more advanced than any other spell. So advanced, that only unicorns at Twilight's level could cast it before passing out. "Come on!" she squinted with her teeth grit over struggle.

Several seconds passed, each second next to the last being more of a pain in the flank to endure. But Twilight refused to give up.

She was determined, and made one last push, casting the spell on herself. Her eyes turned blue, and she could see herself going to bed before the bottle went missing. All she had to do now was wait.

After what seemed to be half an hour of staring at a single bottle. Twilight spotted somepony sneaking in from the window quietly. The pony walked slowly towards the bottle, and a golden aura surrounded it. The thief showed herself to be a pesky unicorn mare who had a mint colored coat and a cyan mane with a white streak. Twilight already figured out what this was about.

"Lyra Heartstrings, how am I not surprised," Twilight made a face of annoyance as she saw Lyra jump out of the window, galloping all the way home.

"I'm starting to get fed up with this human nonsense," Twilight took the spell off, along with her eyes turning back to their original color. Spike was left behind as Twilight didn't even bother to wake him up as she quickly left the Golden Oak library.

*Dawn of Day Two (Day before the invasion)*

*Castle of the Two Sisters*

After a short rest Sam lazily stood up on his toes and stretched, surprised he didn't wake up with a soar bone. From his daring past self, he learned from his mistakes. One mistake was sleeping on a cold hard floor as a challenge rather than a warm and fuzzy bed. It didn't turn out well for Sam. Nor did he feel accomplished about it in the end. The last thing he needed was waking up with a fatal injury.

He considered his new passive regeneration ability. Maybe that's the reason why he didn't get a muscle cramp. With a breath of gratefulness, Sam snatched what usefulness he could find inside of the castle. Luckily for him, a usable torch supported by a piece of metal that hung on a decayed pillar caught his view.

"It ain't much. Better than nothing though," Sam said to himself, in an attempt to force a positive mindset while storing the torch in his new traveling bag.

Things have escalated from a boring day of school into absolute desperation to stay alive. Already, for only a night wandering the Everfree Forest and spending the rest of the night behind an old throne, Sam had awoke feeling homesick. He didn't know whether things were going to get worse or better. Optimism became harder to set inside, the more quickly his conditions for survival changed. And it didn't help Sam one bit when there came the fact that for once in his life... he was truly all alone.

Sam took time for several in and out breaths in relief for stress. Time remaining was uncertain, though Sam had a feeling not much of it would persist if the Tree of Harmony's super duper important task of all tasks were delayed by laziness and cowardice.

Before leaving, Sam slumped on a throne and clapped his hands together. The amount of silence made this coming moment perfect. He never did count the days, but he guessed it had been at least a year since his last prayer to... him. Was this all a punishment? Was this a test by him? Sam didn't have a clue.

With closed eyes, Sam prayed for his safety, future, luck, and his life. Not being much of a talker, his session of prayer came to an end within a minute.

"Lets do this," Sam left his comfy sitting position and sprinted out of the castle, across the wooden bridge, and followed the trail of branches he made purposefully to navigate through the Everfree. "I got a tree to save and a demon to kill. Canterlot here I come!"

******

*Canterlot*

'Oh boy. I'm not sure about this.' Sam put a hand across his forehead, shielding his eyes from Celestia's sun. The view of Canterlot up close was EXTREMELY something else entirely. He did catch glimpses of the whole place from afar back when he was maneuvering up the less steep parts of the mountain sides after exiting the forest unscathed to his surprise. The Canterlot that stood tall and strong from Sam's perspective took on a more realistic and intimidating look. And Sam felt something overwhelming that begged him to turn back.

'Ah, crap! What kind of mission impossible sort of scenario did I get into? The whole place looks like a restricted fortress! Better hope there won't be too many guards patrolli- ah for crying out LOUD!!!'

Guards of all sorts, encased in gold suits of armor marched together in groups. Many put their patrolling on the grounds, while very few patrolled the sky and castle walls. Looking at such an excessive amount of pony military, Sam wanted to turn back and hide in the forest like a miserable little pile of secrets. However, he shook his head and stood firm. No matter how stupid or reckless it felt to an insane degree, he needed help. Sam NEEDED the Elements of Harmony. And he doubted the ponies would simply hoof them over.

'Welp, here we go. I don't know how likely success is, but I do know getting through this undetected is very unlikely. These ponies won't be happy if they see me for sure. They'll probably even think I'm the so-called 'threat' that has been made against this fortress! When I'm not,' Sam told himself he wasn't a monster in spite of his hands shifting into the claws of a monster to climb an unimpeachable defense wall for normal bare hands.

After he climbed upwards and sneaked through Canterlot's first line of defenses, it happened. A gigantic magical barrier surrounded Canterlot from its top to bottom parts. The barrier's pink color and sparkles similar to a diamond showed how impressive Shining Armor really was as a unicorn captain. More importantly, it made Sam confirm his theory that today was the beginning of MLP's season 2 finale.

'Great, I need to act fast before the invasion starts. The Tree of Harmony's instructions were clear. Grab the Elements of Harmony and return them. Piece of cake,' Sam put full focus at the task at hand before prowling past multiple guards by using alley ways and certain structures to stay hidden. There were hundreds of ponies all over the place and half of them were guards. One guard spotted him and almost alerted the others, but Sam was quick enough to knock him out cold with his new and improved hardened fist.

The unconscious guard was a problem since his body laid out in pony's view. Sam quickly grabbed the guard by the hoof and dragged the poor stallion into a hidden area with sweat forming passively over guilt and fear of being caught. 'There! Now no pony will notice he's gone. In a few hours, he'll wake up like nothing happened. I hope...'

Sam shook away his feelings, then continued on in stealth. He stopped when he spotted nearly a hundred guards piling the entrance of the castle. Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, turned out to be a part of that specific group on duty. Immediately, Sam took off to find another way in, refusing to recklessly start a fight against hundreds.

'Ah, here we are!' when Sam found a balcony stretching outwards from high above, he forced his hands into sharp claws, allowing him to climb all the way to the top of the castle. Once he reached the very top he made a soft landing on the balcony and made an entrance through there. Sooner than expected, he found the door containing the elements just down a special corridor.

As he walked to his destination, he realized how long the corridor actually was. Running would make things faster, but that could blow away his stealth. The corridor had so many glass paintings with Celestia, Luna, Discord, and of course, the mane 6. When halfway there, he heard hoof steps of some pony coming his way from behind. Sam readied his fist, prepared to knock out a guard or staff member he assumed was following.

Instead, a tall mare was caught trotting behind Sam with an evil grin on her face. There came hesitation, but the mare didn't receive a face punch. Sam felt confused and unsure of what action to take. He knew this was the very beautiful Princess Cadance, however, another thought came to his head that this was Queen Chrysalis in disguise.

'Why is she following me with that smile?' Sam kept eye contact with her for a short period of time.

Cadance/Chrysalis locked eyes on the human in return. Her smile faded away and she stared at Sam curiously after he broke his acknowledgement of her. The creature had a neutral face as it continued its walk.

Sam didn't want to hurt a Princess and he most certainly didn't want to pick a fight with Queen Chrysalis, in fear that his head will be on a bunch of wanted posters by the changelings/ponies.

When he made it all the way to the sealed door. He changed his right arm into a sledgehammer, capable of destroying many things in its path.

He felt a hoof tap him on the shoulder before he could begin smashing like a destructive hulk. 'Uh oh, she's onto me. I wonder what she wants.' Sam turned around to see a face of anger and annoyance mixed together.

"Ahem! I'm talking to you." Cadance/Chrysalis kept staring at him. Sam didn't know how to respond. He knew this had to be Chrysalis in disguise, due to the amount of negativity swirling around her. "What are you doing here? I don't believe there was an invitation sent for a creature like you to attend my wedding."

"Oh! Um! My name is Sam. It's a pleasure to meet you Queen- uh, Princess!" Sam bowed down to her. As he did, he realized his suspicious acting. The kind of acting that could screw oneself up in an important conversation. "I'm only here for the Elements of Harmony, nothing more, nothing less," Sam kept his neutral face on throughout his response as he spilled the truth. "I know my appearance and intentions seem real concerning. But I just want you to understand that I need the elements for my survival. Please don't alert anypony. I'm not here to cause a ruckus to your wedding."

Her cold stare softened, "Well, that weapon of yours won't completely do the trick. This door isn't just any normal door. It's reinforced with a magical spell by Celestia herself. If you damage it in any way, Celestia will be alerted. However, I am willing to destroy the spell, as long as you don't tell any pony here about my little secret. A few of my children have told me a lot about you, and I'm pretty sure they have informed you about my plans."

Sam took a step closer and returned a stare, "Queen Chrysalis?"

Chrysalis changed into her real form and chuckled, "Ah, so you are aware."

Sam nodded with tightened lips, "Yes, I am aware of your invasion plans."

"Then promise me you won't spill the beans to any pony here. If you do, let's just say you'll suffer a long-term punishment for going against us. And trust me, we changelings don't tolerate those who get in the way of our need for love."

"Fair enough. I don't have any problem with bugs sucking what must be sucked for survival. Plus, I'm good at keeping secrets." said Sam. "So, can you remove the spell?"

"Oh, that's not all I demand from you. A few of my children also said they wandered into a forest, encountered a pack of wooden wolves, and were nearly eaten alive. When all hope was lost, you came along and saved them. I am truly grateful, really. And they say you are very strong. I can even taste your strength and potential just with a slight ounce of magic."

"Yea," Sam replied, ensuring Chrysalis that he was paying full attention.

"Once I remove Celestia's spell, and once you successfully obtain those worthless gemstones, I ask that you serve as my guard in return for my help. Deal?" Chrysalis gave Sam a nasty grin, showing all of her teeth, including her fangs.

"You sure do like to make things difficult for one to decide," Sam didn't have much of a choice. He already had a hard time deciding whether or not he should join the changelings or the ponies. But now, joining the changelings was the only hope for his survival. If Sam wanted to even have a chance against Nightmare, he needed the Tree of Harmony's help. Without the elements, the tree is utterly powerless.

"Alright fine. I'll join," Sam stood there in silence with a frown.

"Good boy. I will be sure to take care of you once we feed on Equestria's LOVE!" Chrysalis laughed and laughed until she was out of breath. She then walked up to the door, pointing her horn at it. Her horn glowed green as she focused on the spell. Sam just stood there thinking of himself as a guard dog or something else entirely. Before he knew it, Chrysalis had let out a barrage of green lightning that covered the entire door in green raging flames.

Sam looked at it all in amazement. 'Yep, Chrysalis is a bit overpowered. Please nerf her a smidge.'

The flames disappeared and the door stood there still. Chrysalis turned around proud, "Well what are you waiting for? The spell is no more!"

"Oh, right," Sam backed away prepared to charge with all his might. He took a deep breath and charged with his sledgehammer ready. The door was then brutally smashed into pieces causing a huge impact noise throughout the entire castle. A container which appeared to be a treasure chest was right in front of Sam. The elements were right there, inside that little fancy box.

"Be quick! I did not expect a loud bang to go with your theft!" Chrysalis complained.

Sam opened the chest and added the Elements of Harmony into his traveling bag. Everything was going according to plan, that was, until the galloping of many ponies could be heard. Sam panicked on the inside while Chrysalis remained calm. "Okay, how about this. I'm going to send you to someplace beneath Canterlot. Find a way out and wait until the invasion is over. We will meet again to discuss things." Chrysalis walked up to a glass painting and smashed it, making it look like some insane creature jumped out of it.

Chrysalis changed back into Cadance and her horn glowed green once again. She was so confident and calm, but Sam can tell she was a little annoyed about the unwanted mindless patrol. Green flames began to surround Sam, and, in a flash, he was gone. Cadance/Chrysalis turned to see multiple guards galloping across the corridor towards her. The fake princess sat down and began to act miserable.

"Princess Cadance! What happened here?!" said one of the guards.

Cadance/Chrysalis kept the act by whining in a similar manner as Rarity during the diamond dog incident. "Oh guards! Please help me! A monster came out of nowhere and stole the elements! It jumped right out of this now ruined glass! You need to do a better job around here!"

The guards nodded their heads in unison. One of them bowed down to her nervously. "A-As you wish your highness." All of the guards trotted out of the corridor while also escorting Candance/Chrysalis out.

*Ponyvile*

Lyra barged into her house, carelessly slamming the door as she nervously galloped towards a near desk. Lyra's roommate, Sweetie Drops, awoke from her most comforting rest on the couch; she felt concerned, but a little annoyed over Lyra's presence. "Ugh, seriously Lyra. Can't you see the moon outside? You're supposed to be sleeping, and not jumping up and down like an overstimulated Pinkie Pie who ate 3200 grams of sugar!"

"Quite down Bon Bon! Now is not the time for an argument," Lyra placed a newfound object onto her study table. Countless books and pictures rested in piles, coming close to ridding the table of free space, but Lyra made room. While the object sat in peace, its inside fluid danced like the waves from an ocean. Lyra gazed at what she stole in awe while her roommate stared at her in complete despondency. Almost every book Lyra owned had something to do with her obsession towards humans.

"Lyra, listen to me for once in your life. Those creatures you're obsessed with, aren't real. They are just like the other legendary myths made to scare foals from leaving their parents behind, or sneaking into forbidden places like the Everfree Forest," Sweetie Drops said in a harsh way.

Lyra couldn't bear those words. As much as she wanted to ignore that statement; her desire to prove her roommate wrong took control. And thus, an argument begins between them. "No! Humans are not what you think they are! I have had dreams about them for so many years!"

"So? That doesn't prove anything. Dreams can be anything you want them to be. Reality is where everything is the real deal. I know the truth hurts, Lyra, but the truth is what many need to hear. I hate to see you suffer for believing in a big lie, then setting yourself up for over the top goals that can't even be achieved. And, tell me, what makes these 'humans' you speak of so special in comparison to any other mythical creature?"

"They were the very first species to begin civilization. Humans are the reason why us ponies exist." Lyra began to stand on two hoofs instead of four in front of Sweetie Drops, and shouted, "HUMANS ARE REAL!"

"Okay! Okay! You can stop yelling!" Sweetie Drops covered her ears in pain. She didn't want to hate Lyra over a ridiculous obsession, but she hated backing down from an argument, especially if it were a stubborn mare she objected towards. "What is that thing you brought with you anyway? Is it some sort of potion you shouldn't be messing with? Oh, let me guess. You snuck out during this very night and obtained it from those imaginary creatures you call humans?" Sweetie Drops gave her the look of being fed up, but alas, Lyra didn't care once so ever.

"It's called soda. And no, I didn't exactly get it from humans, but I know that it's originally from them. Once we find a way to make more, we can say goodbye to apple cider." Lyra opened the bottle with her magic causing a hiss to come out.

"Soda?" said Sweetie Drops

"Yes. It's basically water with a bunch of other stuff added. But the ingredients that were used are unknown to pony kind." Lyra stood there, examining the bottle. She wanted to take a sip so bad. But she shook her head and closed the bottle with its cap. As she lifted the bottle with her magic, both of them heard a knock on the door. Lyra's fear rose while her magic decayed from her stolen discovery.

"Okay Lyra, I've had enough of your crazy beliefs. Hand over what you stole from me, or I will tell Princess Celestia that you are messing with dark magic." Twilight continued to knock louder and louder. Lyra's eyes widened as she quickly ran and hid the bottle in a safe spot. How could Twilight possibly know it was her? Lyra was sure Twilight was completely asleep when she found her. So how?

Sweetie Drops's ears perked up and she didn't stop herself from questioning Lyra once more. "Lyra... what's going on?"

Lyra kept her mouth shut. She didn't like this one bit, her mind sending signals of guilt along with great regret as her hooves patted a plank flooring.

Lyra ran up to Sweetie Drops and whispered, "Please back me up here."

Sweetie Drops rolled her eyes. Lyra had already gotten enough attention in Ponyville with all those made-up stories. And now, she was about to get the attention of Princess Celestia herself if found out. And from the sounds of a louder consecutive knocking, which in a way threatened to blast the door into pieces if a test of patience kept on any longer; Sweetie Drops took a stand for her friend and bravely opened the door.

Twilight's smirk upon entry made Lyra want to smack it off hard. That type of smile was by all means the worst of the worst. There wasn't any need for Lyra to act innocent. She knew Twilight long enough to know she's a smart pony who doesn't easily let things slide.

"Well Lyra. Where is it?" Twilight walked in unusually without Spike to accompany her.

"How did you know?!" Lyra stood there in shock.

"Oh, just an easy time spell." Twilight glared at her. "You know, this human obsession of yours is really getting out of hoof. I don't know what you see in those creatures, but all I see in front of me is a deranged mare who can't control oneself."

"Hey!" Sweetie Drops intervened. "No pony talks to my friend like that! Get out of here now before I lose it, Twilight!"

"I will once Lyra returns what's been stolen and repents over her theft. This is only between me and her, so don't butt in unless you want an arrest for defending a burglar like her," Twilight threatened.

"Well, the bottle caught some pony's eye, and they took it from me in exchange for 50 bits." Lyra backed away and sat down on the couch in a weird position while smiling awkwardly.

"Really?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. "So, you don't have it in your possession?"

"Nope."

"And they paid you to break into an innocent library, and you just went with it?"

"Uh correct, yes. I would do many crazy things when in need of bits. I'm a broke pony after all."

"So, this little intrusion of yours wasn't because you wanted to prove a theory about humans? Just wanting to satisfy a deal? Nothing personal or more?" Twilight's eyes narrowed over to the book table, a hoof held under her chin. She had a small feeling in her gut that Lyra wasn't fully giving away the truth. Ponies have lied to her countless of times back in her time in Canterlot. And she developed a sort of trust issue to protect herself from lies. But there, came the problem of her own isolation.

"Nope! Nothing to do with you personally or humans in general. It's just business," Lyra claimed.

Twilight didn't say anything, but her expression showed disappointment. Lyra desperately wanted Celestia's pet out of her house before anything got out of hoof. The deal for 50 bits by a skeptical pony was obviously all made up. Despite Twilight being one of the smartest mares in Ponyville, she still got played by a reasonably friendly face in which a fat lying mare hid behind.

"*sigh* I understand. So long as that... Coke isn't in your hooves. But I'm still ticked off over the unwanted surprise visit! I'm willing to let it slide if you tell me where that dealer of yours went off," Twilight offered.

"A deal for mercy in exchange for given info. I love that," Lyra grinned, then acted as if she were putting in effort for remembrance. Pretending it clicked in her head she answered, "He said he'd be at Canterlot tomorrow morning. For what reason? I don't know."

"Can you describe him to me?"

"My dealer wore a cloak covering almost every part, except for the face. He's quite a big blue stallion."

"Blue stallion. Got it."

'Yea I'm sure you did, NOW LEAVE US BE ALREADY!' Lyra held the last bit of niceness she had outside, thinking the nicer she was, the faster Twilight would leave.

Before the conversation could continue, Sweetie Drops decided another intervening was important. "Twilight, it's been a strange day and night for us all, but don't you have better things to do? I mean, it's the middle of the night. And I believe you need to get some rest for the wedding tomorrow."

Twilight looked at her in confusion. "Wedding? What wedding?"

"You know. The day your brother, Shining Armor, marries Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Sweetie Drops showed Twilight the invitation on one of the clean tables that weren't full of human research.

Twilight gasped, "How come I wasn't invited?! Unless Spike got the invitation and decided to keep it from me." Twilight ran out the door and onto the streets. She couldn't believe this. Her very own brother forgot about her. The thought made her cry while she galloped. When she got home, Spike was still asleep. Twilight decided not to bother him until he was awake. She also needed to get enough sleep. Whether Shining Armor liked it or not, Twilight was going to the wedding.

*Below Canterlot*

When the green flames cleared, Sam was no longer in the castle. His eyes met pure darkness everywhere he looked. Chrysalis wanted him someplace away from the guards, but she didn't mention any dangers, or gave a nice small description of whatever place she sent him to. The craving queen only gave orders to find a way out.

'Find a way out, huh? Easier said than done, Chrysalis. Where the heck am I? Can't even see a dang thing in this place either! I believe this is the fourth time this week my vision gets blindfolded by darkness. Makes me think of another aggravating power outage too.'

In Sam's own thinking, the place couldn't have been Nightmare's domain of utter darkness, since he believed Chrysalis possessed zero connection to dream magic. As he recalled the moments Twilight had back in the season 2 finale, it finally clicked in his head. Chrysalis had done exactly the same to him as she did to Twilight. With an exception of the intention.

'Hold up,' Sam slowly searched the insides of his traveling bag and grabbed a torch along with a box of matches. Laying the torch down, he took a few attempts to ignite one of the matches. He missed a couple strikes, but carried on. When fire came into view after his sixth or seventh attempt, he directed the flaming match downwards and ignited the torch as well. Just like Twilight's spell which made her horn into a personal violet lantern to light her surroundings; the lit torch became a success for Sam.

The constant moving flame gave light to Sam's surroundings. He felt the warmth of fire on his face and arm, and it warmed his heart to see light repel the dark. It gave Sam this sense of hope that things were going to be okay no matter how dark things get.

In his current surrounding area, he saw crystals sharp as knives, a large hole leading somewhere else in the darkened cave, and... a dubious part of the surface wall. His thoughts went back to Twilight's meet up with Cadance. Since Chrysalis had already taken Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's form as a disguise; the princess must already be trapped there. If that were true then she needed help. And Sam was the only one at this very point in time who could help. Nopony knows what's going on. No pony in Canterlot is aware of what's about to take place. Only Sam knows.

'I wonder what she'll think of me if I find her beyond this wall?' Sam reshaped his right hand into a stern hammer. 'I've destroyed many rocks in Building Construction class for fun. Lets see if this wall of rock will be any different.'

******

Cadance's POV

I was freezing cold in this dark abyss. I tried cleansing my constant shift between hunger and sadness by staring off at the very few glow in the dark crystal shards. But those beautiful colors only gave happiness for a minute or so before my thoughts of the tragedy returned. A bug queen of mystery took my appearance and trapped me here. Did anypony know about this? Did anypony see this happen? A part of me wanted to have faith in Canterlot's defenses, but another part of me wanted to accept defeat.

These crystals are formed magic proof, and I have little to no strength in physical terms after being attacked from behind. I was bruised, wounded, and drained to exhaustion. I didn't want to just sit here and do nothing. But... there wasn't any better option. I needed rest, and overthinking in such a rush will only exhaust me further.

When I took a few breaths and sat down, a striking sound entered my hearing. Aside from the common sounds from water drops and howling wind, this sound was unique. I clung to the very part of a wall from which it came. My ears caught it time and time again. Then, it stopped. Even as the silent minutes passed I kept my ears open. Being in a situation like this will make any out of the ordinary worth paying full attention to.

In my desperation for help, I heard hoof steps of somepony drawing near. No. It wasn't a pony. Those weren't the sounds of hoof steps. But... there was definitely something there. I could sense it through my magic. Something conscious, something living, someone with a soul and heart is here.

*BANG*

A great flinch is what came over me as I collapsed onto the crystal floor. I couldn't help myself but to squeal, thinking whatever was suddenly trying to break through had malicious intent. I effortlessly skidded across the floor as the cracks on the wall enlarged with each bang. My breathing became heavy and loud out of fear. The banging stopped for a moment, allowing me to catch more breath.

*BANG*

The sudden transition from silence gave me a startle. I flinched and squealed yet again. Realization at some point hit me that the wall was now broken. Its debris laid miserably on the ground as did I at this very moment. From there on, my eyes caught one of the most peculiar things I have ever seen in my days in Equestria. Questions started a race inside my mind. The question that finished in 1st place would be the one I'd focus on.

As IT came to me at a slow but creepy pace, two questions out of fifty had crossed the finish line. What sort of creature or thing was it?! And what did it want?!

Every part of my mind screamed for me to get away, to defend myself, or attempt to pacify. But, I couldn't. I was in no condition to cast such pacifying magic, nor in any condition to teleport or flee. Like a mindless animal, I clambered myself all the way to the very back wall. The creature didn't stop. IT kept walking and slightly accelerated its movement. I shivered and nearly screamed out of my lungs when it was only two hoof steps away from me.

When it held out its hand and spoke, I couldn't prevent a frozen reaction. IT could speak!

"Hey now, I don't mean no harm. I just wanna get out of here, and I bet you want the same thing I do."

"..." I struggled creating a word for this... creature. Only a face of unease is what I gave him.

"Come on now. I can't stand here all day to see ya hanging here all sad. Don't ya know how to greet a new friend? Grab my hand and I'll support you up."

"Who are you?" I asked quickly, hesitant to take his offer of help.

"I'm Sam," he answered. "What about your name?"

"Cadance," I said, taking a hold of his hand. Anxiety left passively when he gave a warm smile after pulling me upwards. The welcoming warmth I felt in my heart gave me an urge to return a smile.

"Well, what are we waiting for Cadance? Let's get my lazy head and your sorry self out of here. And uh... we'll get revenge on that bug pony that trapped us both down here," he looked at me, waiting for a response.

"Um, sure," I grinned awkwardly. Seriously, who was this Sam? What even was he? How did he know the queen had hidden me behind a wall? He just showed up out of nowhere. Should I fully trust him? I mean, he is the only one knowing what's going on, I think.

"Alright then, lets get out of here!" he gestured to an open path, then took off before I could register.

I shook my head, but followed him through every part of this cave. My trotting became a gallop when he decided to inconsiderately run off with the only light source that gave a clear view of the darkness in his hand. This crystal cave maze felt everlasting, and when Sam finally made his stop, I was relieved when I caught up.

Having your energy diminished on a low note is never a good thing when it could've been avoided. He wasn't the talkative type for sure as I took notice of his personal self being within these first couple of minutes we met. Maybe it was a good thing to be with a silent creature. After all, individuals like him are kind enough to ignore annoyance rather than complain about it. Maybe he isn't bad after all. Still, even if he appears trustworthy, I still must keep an eye out. He is not Equus.

"Not to offend you or anything, but. What exactly are you supposed to be? I have never seen a creature like you before," I went quiet when his expression became confused over my question.

"I'm a human," he started.

"Human?" I carried the subject on.

"Yea. Never heard of them?"

"No, I haven't. I don't think Equestria has ever made contact with your kind before."

"Well, Equestria is going to. Only, if I manage to live long enough to be recognized. Not that I really need any recognition. I just have a feeling it's going to come when I'm found out."

"I see..." I finished.

"Anyways, are you in any condition to fly right now?" Sam glued his eyes on my wings. He also pointed over to where light beams from the surface of Canterlot illuminated from afar. There was the exit.

"I'm afraid not. I can fly a good distance, but I don't think I can make it. We could use that minecart over there to get across!" I trotted towards it and began pushing at it with all my strength to no avail. Then, I felt something grip my belly tight. I was then picked up and placed into the minecart. Sam started removing the rocks blocking the wheels and pushed the minecart with a lot of force.

As the minecart traveled at a high-speed I saw the end of the tracks. Preparing my wings to fly with all of the energy I had left, the minecart leaped into the air and began falling, I began to flap my wings hard until I made it all the way to the exit tunnel. I turned to see Sam right next to me.

"Wait. How did you?" my question was answered after Sam dug his sharp fingers into a nearby wall.

"Just a quick and easy climbing trick I learned to catch up with flyers. Glad you made it here in one piece."

I thanked him. My surroundings darkened after Sam put out the torch and stored it, but the light of day emitting just above one last upper tunnel was enough light. We ran out of the cave to see the beautiful light of day once again.

"You better get back in the castle right away. The queen of the changelings is probably by now messing with Shining's head." Sam turned his hand into the shape of a hoof, asking for a hoof bump.

"Thank you," I ended up clapping his fake hoof instead. "W-wait?! You know my Shining Armor?!"

"Oh, uh. Yea, I do. Not in a close way though. The two of us haven't even met. And if we did then... there'd be a battle to the death."

I looked at him funny. When he stared off in a different direction I noticed an astonished reaction from him. I turned to see what was so shocking; a unicorn mare stood in front of us. This mare wasn't any ordinary old unicorn in my eyes.

Chapter 5: The Choice (edited)

*Canterlot*

"Leave me Twilight! I'm far too weak to escape!" Cadance shouted after she helplessly fell flat on the ground from a strange projectile. The guards were charging forth in an attempt to capture both Cadance and Twilight due to Cadance/Chrysalis's trickery. But before they could, Cadance managed to point her hoof in the direction where the creature had fled for Twilight's sake, believing Twilight would find safety following the creature's footsteps. But Twilight wasn't finding the idea to be easily agreeable.

"I-I can't just leave you here!" Twilight didn't want to just abandon her greatest foal sitter and regret not helping when there was room for aid.

"I'll be fine! Save yourself! I believe I will only slow you down!"

Twilight had to make a choice fast, and she chose to leave Cadance upon seeing a few guards merely several hoofsteps away from them. At this point, helping Cadance get away without failure was hopeless for Twilight.

"O-Okay," Twilight nervously agreed, and galloped into the dark alleyway where the human creature took off. She took a moment to turn her head and watch the guards pile on top on Cadance before dragging her away. "I'll come back for you!"

Twilight didn't get a response back. She shook her head as she kept galloping and galloping while making as many turns through the alleyway as possible to avoid getting caught. Many thoughts ran through her head with no end. Most of them being thoughts of how worse the day was getting. There were two Cadances, one of them being evil, and an unknown creature stealing Equestria's strongest defense. Not even the Lord of Chaos, Discord, could withstand its power. Just what does the creature want with the Elements? Power and control?

Her consistent galloping went on for a while, as Twilight did not want to risk getting caught by any Canterlot patrol members. Now, while her running pace was getting her pretty far away, Twilight was beginning to run out of breath from the intensity she was putting on her body. But despite her gradual exhaustion, she smiled at the sight of an exit out of the alley way.

Through relief, she jumped out of the alleyway and instantly spotted the bakery right in front of her. The bakery was pretty big which made her think it would be a good place to hide in. Although there were possibly a few ponies in there that could possibly give her away for a handsome reward if the guards were actually searching for her. But Twilight didn't know that for sure.

The doors to the bakery opened, getting the attention of a few mares including Applejack. "Twilight! I'm so glad ya decided to show up. I've been meaning to have ya try our delicious food. I even finished carvin' the ice sculpture," Applejack took something in her hoof and shoved it in Twilight's mouth.

Twilight was shocked at first while also finding Applejack's unexpected action unpleasant, but Twilight only remained silent in surprise as to just how tasty the food that was just shoved in her mouth turned out to be. "Wow! A job well done Applejack."

"Oh shucks, ya givin' me too much credit," Applejack replied.

Twilight smiled nervously. "Eh heh. Say, Applejack, you wouldn't happen to have someplace to hide around here, do you?"

"Uh. Yea I think so. Why do ya ask?" Applejack became a little confused for a seemingly strange question, though Twilight knew Applejack had no suspension on her just by looking at how joyful the orange country pony's mood was.

"Well, I don't know how to exactly explain it. You see-," Twilight was cut off by the sound of a loud bang coming from outside. Every mare in the room ignored it until the same sound came again multiple times.

"What in tarnation is goin' on out there?" Applejack and every pony else walked out into the open. And each and every one of their eyes were widened in shock, to witness a sudden appearance of hundreds of pony sized bugs surrounding Canterlot in an unfriendly manner. While the bugs were not able fly into city right away because of the pink forcefield bubble, many of them were currently inflicting damage to Shining Armor's spell, attempting to break in through both brute force and magical attack power.

Twilight sighed in both great annoyance and worry. "This day just keeps getting worse and worse. Worrying about one monster I still don't know about was hard enough, now we have hundreds more to worry about!"

Applejack and the other mares stared at the changeling horrid without giving Twilight much regard at the moment.

Twilight then thought to herself whether she should let Princess Celestia handle this herself or reunite her friends along with the elements.

Reuniting her friends would take a while, and who knows where the mysterious monster could have gone with the elements. Then again, Twilight is being hunted by the guards patrolling Canterlot, all thanks to an evil version of Cadance.

If Twilight were to help in this situation, Cadance/Chrysalis wouldn't be able to convince Princess Celestia to put her in the dungeon or something over betrayal.

"Okay Applejack, things are starting to get dangerous around here. We need to find the rest of our friends and retrieve the Elements or Harmony to stop these bugs. I'll search for Pinkie and Rarity in the castle. You search for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. We will meet back at the castle courtyard. Got it?"

"Yeah, I sure did. I just hope ya know whacha doin' Twi." Applejack obeyed and galloped off at a much faster speed through the benefit of being an Earth Pony. "Good luck sugar cube!" she wished, as she left Twilight to fulfill the task the unicorn had set for herself.

******

Twilight ran into the castle avoiding any interaction with the guards as much as possible. The majority of the castle guards thankfully ignored her and only a few of them looked at her with a bit of suspicion, but, nonetheless, all of the guards did leave her be. None of them did seem to really care about some prancing unicorn who appeared defenseless.

Once again it was going to take a great amount of Twilight's time and energy to locate two of her friends through the will to gallop constantly from place to place. It was as if she was trying to find the exit of the alley way all over again. Although, instead of jumping out of a dark alley way to end the suffering, Twilight found herself galloping up a set of stairs that led to the party room of the castle. There, in the party room, is where Twilight found the one and only Pinkie Pie, who appeared to be distracted on a task.

Twilight's vision was a near blur due to her second exhaustion of the day, but she swore she saw Pinkie Pie shaping the balloons into shapes similar to animals or happy faces.

"Hey Twilight! You have got to try this!" Pinkie Pie grabbed and pulled Twilight towards one of the tables with balloons. The table was fine and well built, but what wasn't fine, was the familiar bottle that stood on the table. A quarter of the dark fluid filling the bottle was now gone.

Twilight was still breathing both rapidly and heavily from her previous gallop, but she was able to regain her mind and reacted with a dramatic gasp at the sight Pinkie presented to her. Although, she was also relieved that she had found the thing Lyra stole which could have gotten Twilight in trouble in some way.

"Pinkie! Don't tell me you just drank out of it without evening acknowledging the negative effects!" Twilight observed Pinkie Pie's entire body. To Twilight's surprise, Pinkie Pie seemed perfectly fine. She appeared to be the same goofy pink pony Twilight could remember. "You're not sick, are you? And how did you take it from...whoever?"

"Take? Oh, you silly filly. Lyra gave it to me! And you know what? It wasn't just sweet and tasty. It was AMAZING!" Pinkie bounced around Twilight in excitement. "Not only does it satisfy your tongue like chocolate rain, but it can also give you possibly forbidden information no pony is supposed to even know! Like, did you know all of Equestria with every pony in it, isn't even real! That we are merely made of imagination, not flesh and bone! This entire world is a dream, not for us, but for the human, or rather the monster who came here to steal the elements!" Pinkie took a deep breath and let it out.

"Wow...that is a lot to take in right there. But to be honest Pinkie, I don't think you should leave it out on the table for some pony to dri-," Twilight was cut off as Pinkie Pie shoved the bottle into Twilight's mouth forcing her to drink it. The unicorn then grew irritated as a result and levitated the bottle out of her mouth with her magic. "Pinkie! What is wrong with you!? Why are you talking about your personal theories of existen-uh, huah..." Twilight began to feel dizzy, and after a few seconds her eyes glowed and changed color. Her entire right eye turned completely white, while her entire left eye turned completely black. The next thing she knew, was a black void surrounding her.

******

"Pinkie? Where did you go? This isn't funny!"

Twilight couldn't feel anything. It felt like the entire world didn't exist anymore. There was nothing but darkness. Then, a white flash hit her in the eyes. When it cleared, she found herself in a cave with six other ponies. One of those ponies seemed all too familiar to her.

Looking at the familiar pony closely, it was a unicorn with a wizard hat and a long beard. Twilight stood there overjoyed to see the one and only Star Swirl the Bearded.

"Star Swirl?!" Twilight didn't get an answer even though she was only a few inches away from the legendary unicorn wizard. "Uhhhh? Hello? Star Swirl?"

This was Twilight's dream. The greatest unicorn wizard in all of Equestria was standing right in front of her. Was this really her moment? Well, she couldn't exactly tell. And she was beginning to think this was all just a dream or something.

All Twilight could really do, was watch as the unicorn she always looked up to pull out a shiny glowing seed. When the seed was presented in everyponys' view, including Twilight's, Star Swirl planted it into the ground. "This seed will protect Equestria in our absence. It will grow into a powerful being of pure magic. No evil will ever set foot in Equestria at the sight of its power!"

"Um, Star Swirl, have you ever thought of giving it a name? I mean, if it's going to replace us permanently, it deserves a name, does it not?" one of the ponies asked.

"Hmmm. It shall be known as...Harmony. The spirit of order. Now no time to lose. It is time to put an end to the Pony of Shadow's rampage," the unicorn wizard casted a teleportation spell, and in a blink of an eye the six ponies were gone, leaving only Twilight in the cave.

She didn't know what was going on. She remembered being in Canterlot trying to assemble her friends, but then she randomly ends up here. And before Twilight could think of leaving, she heard a strange voice whisper her name into her ear. "Twilight."

"H-huh?" Twilight looked down to see the small seed glowing from inside of the soil underneath.

"Castleofthetwosisters. Findmethere. Thisworldwillfall without you,yourfriends, andhim," the strange voice warned.

"Wait. Just who are you?" Twilight asked.

"IamknownasthespiritofHarmony. ItismyjobtoprotectandkeepEquestriaatpeace. Iamheretoaskforyourhelp. Yourfriendshipwillbethekeytodefeatingthemonster thatthreatens Equestria'sentireexistence. Findme." Harmony's voice became quieter until no sound could be heard. The cave was then consumed into utter darkness.

"Hey wait! I have so many questions!" Twilight once again didn't get an answer, only silence. After several seconds had passed, the darkness cleared.

Twilight found herself no longer in the cave, but in a grassy meadow. She aimlessly trotted around for a few minutes and stopped after she saw Ponyville in the distance.

'First, I was in Canterlot, then a cave, and now I'm near Ponyville. Is this all a joke?' As Twilight got closer to her hometown, the bright blue sky started to slowly turn purple and black the closer she got. When she finally reached Ponyville, it was all but empty, except for six mares and a two-legged creature.

Twilight looked at them in great confusion. The six mares standing in front of her were an exact replica of her friends. Twilight thought she had gone crazy. She was seeing herself. The only thing different between Twilight and her copy was that her copy had wings instead of a horn only. And the two-legged creature was the very same creature that saved the real Cadance from the caverns beneath Canterlot, only this time it looked stronger than ever, and it carried a unique gigantic sword.

Along with the creature's enhancements, Twilight could also see the Elements of Harmony contained within the creature's gauntlet. And Twilight couldn't help but wonder if this human creature thing was exactly the monster who was said to have stolen the Elements of Harmony.

They all stood there with a serious expression on their faces. Twilight wondered what they were readying themselves for, until a strange darkness came out of nowhere.

"This is the end of the line for you, Mr. Samuel," a creepy voice said out of the darkness.

"Nah, I think you got it all backwards, Nightmare," Sam leapt towards the demon hiding in the darkness and slashed it with his bright sword. The sword's brightness caused Twilight's eyes to melt like marshmallows, and the damage it caused made a loud explosion enough to wake Twilight up from her...dream?

******

"Hey. Are you alright sugar cube?" Applejack tapped a hoof on Twilight's head.

"W-What. What happened?" Twilight sat up in her comfortable bed again. She was back at her library with her friends grouped together.

"Well, after you drank out of that thing called 'Coke' or whatever you eggheads call it during the Canterlot invasion, you fell asleep for so many hours! And Pinkie Pie had to drag you all the way back to Ponyville. None of us could wake you up. I even grabbed a bucket of water and splashed it all over you," Rainbow Dash smirked.

"Wait. What exactly happened to Canterlot while I was out?" Twilight asked in concern.

"Huh. Where do I start Twilight? I hanged out with the very beautiful Rarity, then suddenly the changelings invaded all of Canterlot. Every pony panicked until Princess Celestia gave out orders to retreat to Ponyville. Hundreds of guards are now surrounding our peaceful village. And Chrysalis, queen of the changelings, is feeding on the love of all the ponies that failed to escape, or she is enslaving them. Oh, and you just abandoned me when you were searching for your brother!" Spike gave Twilight a stern look, expecting an apology.

"Sorry Spike. I was just so upset with Shining Armor that I had forgotten my number one assistant," Twilight gave Spike a hug before she turned to look Pinkie right in the eye. "Pinkie Pie. What have you done with the Coke bottle? I need it back, now."

"Wait! You wanted it back?! But! But! I thought you would've wanted me to- ughhhh! I'm so sorry, Twilly! But... I just did the thing I thought you'd do!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with honesty.

"What do you mean do what I would do?" Twilight inquired.

Pinkie's voice changed into the sound of a nerd. "Hand it over to the princess for her to study," she switched her voice back to normal in an instant. "Isn't that what you would have want after experiencing the effects?!"

Twilight's jaw dropped to the floor. "You did what?!"

"Well duh! What else would the Great and Magical Twilight do," Pinkie Pie snorted over her own unexpected joke that flew out of her mouth.

"Pinkie! This isn't a joke! Do you have any idea how much trouble you've gotten us into?! If Celestia finds out that we've been playing with dark magic, we'll all be punished severely!"

"Twilight, my dear, calm your nerves. It probably has nothing to do with dark magic. You and Pinkie have already tasted it, and you all seem fine to me." Rarity put her hoof around Twilight to comfort her. "Besides, we should all get some rest. Princess Luna needs our help anyways."

"Princess...Luna? What do you mean she needs help? Help with what?!" Twilight's anxiety levels were beginning to clearly fire up.

"W-we have to fight against that...thing, in our dreams." Fluttershy shivered in fear.

"Relax Fluttershy. Every pony is going to be there to teach that monster a lesson, especially me," Rainbow Dash slammed her hooves together repeatedly. "It caught me off guard last night, and I'll make sure it pays for messing with the wrong pony!"

"Monster? What monster?" Twilight then remembered what Princess Luna had said to her last night in the dream world. 'A great darkness had been unleashed into her realm.'

"There's some kind of dream demon turning our dreams into nightmares, and we need to stop it ASAP. Once every pony falls asleep, we will be ready for whatever it throws at us. Now, all of you, let's get in bed. I want to be included in this fight. I might even impress the wonder bolts with my fancy fighting techniques!" Rainbow Dash pulled out a few sleeping bags to sleep in, since Twilight's bed was not big enough to fit all of the seven friends combined.

*Princess Luna's Room*

*After Celestia's Previous Retreat*

Celestia teleported into Luna's room and woke her up immediately. The princess of the night was quick to react with a great outburst of rage, believing some random pony was daring enough to disturb her sleep during her hunt for the dream demon. She even began shouting aimlessly with her royal Canterlot voice as she tried to find her undesired waker. Even a charging blast of magic from Luna's horn was enough to show how much she hated being interrupted in her sleep.

But, when the princess of the night realized it was the responsibility from her older sister, her mood softened. Although Luna was still absurdly confused as to why she was alarmed out of bed. Of course, Celestia would always explain everything quickly in both a reasonable and fashionable manner. Usually, at least.

"There is no time to waste sister. We must abandon Canterlot and save as many of our subjects as possible before they all become love sources for the changelings," Celestia teleported both herself and Luna out of the room before Luna could say a word. The two sisters were placed in front of the last remaining guards left to defend after the teleportation spell.

"All of you. Save everypony you so happen to come across and transport them all to the village known as Ponyville. We must make a full-fledged retreat," Celestia commanded while noticing a few guards appearing nervous over her requests. "Am I understood?

"Yes ma'am," the guards all bowed in unison along with their response. And they all made the decision to split into three groups with each group heading in a different direction to fulfill Celestia's orders. Once the Princesses were left alone, Luna started to shout at her older sister but refrained from going as far as to using her Canterlot voice.

"Sister! Why must you disturb my sleep! Do you know it takes so much of power and energy to fend off the awakened darkness in my realm of dreams?!" Luna let out a huff.

"My apologies, dear sister. I do, however, have a very good reason for doing so. As you may not have noticed, the changelings have invaded Canterlot and have succeeded in taking it into their own hooves. Leaving you there would only result in you too falling into their custody."

Luna calmed herself after hearing those words and chuckled. "You just wouldn't stand to live without me. I'm assuming you also require my assistance."

Celestia smiled and put a hoof under Luna's chin. "I do."

Luna blushed and looked away and asked her older sister a question, "who are these 'changelings' you speak of sister? Are they really that much of a threat to us?"

A rare frown formed on Celestia's face before she responded. "As much as I despise to say it, yes. They shattered away at much of our defenses without much struggle, and I sensed their queen's magic to be slightly more or less at my level. It would have been foolish of me to battle both the queen and her army alone."

The two sisters then teleported themselves to Ponyville after Celestia made Luna understand the current crisis at hoof. And they waited very patiently for any escorting troops to hopefully arrive with any survivors.

Instantly, several residents of Ponyville spotted the two sister princesses not too far away, and they all didn't hesitate to gather around the two alicorns. Eventually, the number of ponies surrounding the sisters formed into a crowd. Luna was easy to become overwhelmed over such an attention span, but Celestia on the other hoof did what she always did best: 'smiling and waving at everypony.'

******

Hours and hours passed until Celestia and Luna spotted the guards escorting several other survivors to the village entrance.

Six of those ponies who were brought back to safety were of course the six special friends that wielded the Elements of Harmony, and the baby dragon of course.

When the guards reached princess Celestia to report the results of their mission, they all bowed as they waited for Celestia's permission to speak up.

"Well, I'm very proud of you all. You managed to bring back a total of twenty ponies back to this village. Did you all so happen to have any luck in retrieving the elements?" Celestia only stood there with a normal smile, waiting for the news.

"Our apologies your highness, but the queen of the changelings has already secured the elements. But a few of us had the chance to spy on the queen. And from what we saw, she appears to be reviving the monster that you had defeated right before the invasion started. We have no idea what her plans are for Equestria right at the moment, but we can guess that the queen is up to no good. And this is hard to say but, Shining Armor, is...dead your highness." After the guard had finished, Celestia's smiled faded and was replaced with a neutral expression.

"I see. You will now have new orders. Gather every pony in the village and take them all into the town hall. Me and my sister have many things to discuss." Celestia requested again, flying away from the public as soon as their present business was taken care of.

******

*Town Hall*

Pinkie Pie was the first to enter the town hall, carrying an unconscious Twilight on her back and a strange bottle in her mouth. She gave the Coke bottle to Celestia and explained what happened to Twilight after she drank it. Pinkie then asked if she could skip the meeting and stay in Twilight's home to look after her. Celestia nodded and Pinkie left in an instant, leaving her friends behind.

Once almost all of Ponyville came into the town hall, they all stared at Luna. Already, Luna knew exactly why so many eyes were on her.

"Please, princess! Protect us from that demon!" one of the ponies begged. "Why have you not done so?!"

"Yea. What kind of princess walks around the night and fails to care for her own subjects first? No wonder you turned into that monstrosity, Nightmare Moon," the pony earned a slap on the muzzle from one of Princess Luna's nightguards.

"Please! I need you all to remain calm. I am trying to handle the issue as best I can," Luna looked unsure of herself. Her last fight against the dream demon turned out to be a draw. Casting a spell to pull every pony into one dream to fight against the demon might result in a different outcome, but Luna didn't want any of them to get involved. Fighting the demon alone again, however, has a risk of her failing to protect every pony's dreams.

She could feel the negativity in Equestria has increased drastically, especially after the unexpected insect visitors in Canterlot. And if Luna didn't hear or notice correctly, the demon becomes stronger the more negativity floods the air.

The ponies waited for her answer impatiently. After a few moments of silence, Luna, had decided. "My fellow subjects. It has become clear to me I cannot win this alone. I require every pony's assistance if you want that monster to be no more. When you all fall asleep, know that you all will find yourselves in one dream along with the demon. Thou shall not worry, for I will always ensure a dream ends happily no matter how messy things become."

The ponies stood there with zero words. As much as they hated the idea of getting involved with the battle, they agreed to do so. The meeting was then over, and every pony left the town hall to go about their day.

Once a few hours had passed, it was now time for Celestia to lower the sun and for Luna to raise the moon. The two closed their eyes and channeled their power into their horns. After several minutes, it was now nighttime.

"My guards and I will continue to guard this village. You on the other hoof have some unfinished business to attend to I believe," Celestia said to her younger sister.

Luna nodded in understanding and left her sister alone, knowing it was time for her and her subjects to deal with the fiend. Luna then flew up to the one and only windmill and harnessed all of the power she had into her horn. Hundreds of white glowing like strings came out of her horn and traveled into the homes of everypony. As the strings all connected to the heads of the ponies, a white flash of light covered Ponyville temporarily.

Every pony found themselves outside of Ponyville along with Luna struggling to keep the dream together. They all looked around in awe. It was like a different world.

They all gathered around Luna after they finished wondering around. "My fellow subjects hear me. The demon is here. Do not fear him. If you do, you will only give him the advantage!"

"HA! HA! HA! What do we have here?"

The ponies turned to the sketchy new voice and gasped in horror to see the demon haunting the dream realm. Most of the ponies backed away while only a few stood their ground out of great bravery.

"We're not afraid of you!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Oh really? When I ruined your dream, you feared me before. What is so different now?" Nightmare's smile loosened a bit.

"That's because I was alone before!" Rainbow Dash flew in front of the crowd and tried her best to motivate them. "Listen up! That three eyed ugly sack of teeth ain't got nothing on us! He may be strong, but we can be stronger if we all band together!"

"Yea! And we can also do whatever we want in a dream!" Pinkie Pie pointed a hoof to Derpy, who seemed to have changed her size through the power of imagination to become many times larger than any pony else.

"Oh, how very threatening you ponies make yourselves to be without any fear of failure, yet you forget this is only a dream," Nightmare unleashed his tentacles from his back, preparing to eliminate every single pony in sight, but before he knew it, a chocolate cake covered in pink icing that was the size of a cottage, fell on top of him. Nightmare broke out of it in annoyance. He was really about to manipulate the entire dream world into a full nightmare, but another unknown force was stopping him. Was it all of the ponies being in one dream?

A blast hit him in the chest. He looked up to see a red alicorn stallion glaring at him. Behind the stallion were now powered up ponies surrounded by loads of dream power. A few had different forms while some imagined random items like books turning into a weapon.

'This is going to be a rough night,' Nightmare thought to himself. "When you ponies face the reality of my existence, I can assure all of you will lose every ounce of hope in the end."

*Seized Canterlot*

Queen Chrysalis confidently walked through the hallway and entered one of the royal bedrooms she had kept Sam in to recover after the excruciating incident with the sun princess. "Wakey wakey my dear pet."

"Huh? *yawn*. Five more minutes ma, and then you can make me read whatever pointless information I don't even care about," Sam moved himself into a different comfortable position in one of the royal beds. His head was clearly half asleep as he hadn't acknowledged the fact that he was no longer at home. To Sam, the presence of Chrysalis herself while in bed, felt like his own mother coming into his room and waking him for school after forgetting to turn on his own alarm clock.

Chrysalis then gave him a slap on the cheek, just like any strict mother would for any form of disobedience. "Now is not the time for sleeping! I saved your life. And you can thank me by getting out of that bed. You've been recovering under MY care for the past five hours, and you will begin your training as a personal guard of mine in a few hours."

Training? After all the crap I went through? Ugh, that sounds like a lot of bull.

Sam pushed the covers away and stood up lazily. He stretched around for a few seconds and looked Chrysalis right in the eye. "Alright, what exactly do you want?"

"If I have to repeat myself a second time for you to understand, then I will. If you don't get it, then maybe a punishment for you is an order," Chrysalis threatened. "I saved your life from the princess. Do you not remember being cooked alive? I spent so much of my time and magic to restore you all the way back to full strength and you repay me with laziness?"

The word laziness got to Sam's head, and not in a friendly way.

Gosh. I honestly can't tell the difference between her and my mother. They both call me lazy! And I seriously don't understand why. Because the truth is, I don't spend all the time in the world sitting on the couch doing nothing. I go to school for like seven hours per day or something when I'm supposed to, and I productively spend time playing video games for sixty hours each week.

It was in Sam's nature to be lazy, but of course his mother didn't like it. "So, what is it Ms. bossy pants?"

Sam once again got another slap to the face. "Ow! Jeez!"

"You shall address me as Queen Chrysalis. Or do I have to make myself clear in a different way?" Chrysalis's horn glowed bright green, and a green ball of energy could be seen coming from the tip of her horn, and she pointed her twisted horn towards Sam's head. Not to a surprise, Sam could feel the spike of fear enter his heart. As much as he HATED giving respect against his will, he didn't want to get blasted in the face.

"Understood my Queen," Sam said with a frown.

"Good. Now I've got plans to make with my subjects. Remember that your training will begin soon. In the meantime, Pharynx will take care of you," Chrysalis said, right before she left Sam all to himself for a little amount of time.

******

*One hour later*

Pharynx came in with a table filled with several large pieces of cooked meat, fried eggs, and three fillies tied together on a plate.

"Eat!" The purple eyed changeling demanded, getting a look from Sam. "What?" Pharynx asked with aggression.

"Is it dinner time?" Sam looked closely at his food, slightly disgusted and unwilling to eat it. The fried eggs were the only parts of it that seemed edible. Other than the eggs, the meat was undercooked and sickening to look at. And of course, he wasn't about to eat the cutie mark crusaders who were coincidentally the three fillies that were brought in as Sam's unwanted meal.

"Um. What's this supposed to be?" Sam picked up a piece of meat with his bare right hand and showed it to Pharynx.

"Are you stupid? It's pony meat of course. We didn't know if you preferred meat cooked, so we gave you raw meat as well," the changeling pointed to the CMCs as the 'raw meat'.

"Uhhhhhhh," Sam finally noticed the horror through the three fillies' eyes. They just couldn't say a word as their mouths were forced shut by a set of thick tape. "Thanks, I guess. Would it be okay if you were to leave me alone, please?" Sam let the meat go onto the plate and pointed a finger at the door.

"Ouch. Very hurtful words. But you know what, it's an even bigger pain to watch over a pathetic creature like you when I have better things to do. Oh, and just one more thing. Don't even dare talk to those fillies. I've taped their mouths shut for a good reason."

And with that, Pharynx left Sam be. And when Sam was sure no changeling was coming into the room after Pharynx, he searched around and spotted his traveling bag storing the Elements of Harmony. It was just there, laying on the floor.

Huh. Didn't expect Chrysalis to leave the Elements of Harmony with me.

He put the bag around his shoulder and sat down in his bed to eat whatever was on the table.

They didn't give him a fork or a knife to cut with, but this was Equestria for goodness' sake. One of the biggest reasons why Sam dreamed of living in Equestria instead of his own hometown was of how free he could be. He wouldn't have to show any table manners, which also meant he could just eat like a pig without being judged. And wearing clothing was optional in public. And almost every pony was so kind and caring. If only the world he lived in were the same.

Sam picked up a fried egg with his hands and just in one bite, he wanted more. He took all of the eggs and shoved them right into his mouth. In less than a minute the eggs were gone. The fillies looked in horror at his sharp teeth, imagining how painful it would be for their flesh to be torn right through.

The horse meat took longer for Sam to clean. After he finished, all that remained fully on his plate were the fillies. The CMCs wiggle wormed relentlessly, trying to break free from the ropes tying them together. When they realized escape wasn't an option, they tried to scream for help, but the tape put around their mouths prevented any sound from coming out.

This was it. The fun times they had trying to get their cutie marks ends here. In the end, they will all die as blank blanks.

A tear ran through Apple Bloom's eye once she saw the monster standing in front of her and her friends. The three fillies looked at each other and nodded their heads as a sign of acceptance.

Sam turned his hand into a small blade and slowly, he cut off the ropes. The CMC's eyes widened in shock as the monster carried them all in his arms. "I'm not going to hurt you three. I'm just going to need yall to prove my innocence or something," Sam opened the closet door and threw the trio in. Closing the door, he picked up an entire dresser and barricaded the door.

Just in the nick of time, Sam managed to hide the CMCs in the closet right before a changeling came into his bedroom a few seconds later. "Queen Chrysalis wants you now. Follow me."

Sam turned to the changeling, nodded, and did what he was asked to do. While he followed the changeling through the halls, he saw what changes they had made to Canterlot during his recovering slumber. Sam had to admit to himself how cool the changes were, but it definitely wasn't as cute as it used to be since then. After a minute of traveling, Sam noticed a few changelings bow down in respect on his way to which he could assume was the throne room.

Huh? I wasn't expecting that to happen. Normally they would hiss at any creature that isn't a changeling, especially a pony.

The doors to the throne opened and Sam was met with the queen herself. She sat on a new made throne, which seemed to be the same design Sam remembered from the season six finale. "Wow. That's a nice throne you got there," Sam looked up and saw lots of ponies inside of the green changeling cocoons, hanging on the celling.

Chrysalis then gave a smile at Sam's entry. "I've been expecting you. How was the food?"

"It was alright," replied Sam, not wanting to say anything mean.

"Really? Did you know that cooked meat is from that white guard stallion you fought earlier? He was of no use to us since you killed him. Though I figured his corpse could provide of some use to you," Chrysalis made a look of intelligence.

But Sam was in shock negatively after hearing the words come out of the queen's bug mouth. "Wait. Shining Armor is dead?!"

"Ah, yes, the name brought to me about some dead nopony. Ha. Like I care. And I have brought you here to also take care of this USELESS princess. I was expecting to get so much love from the princess of LOVE. But ever since that Shining Armor died, she has become heartbroken. In other words, the love inside of her is dead and will not contribute to us with our feeding," Chrysalis threw Cadance right in front of Sam like a bag of trash. "She is in a very bad condition. I think it would be best if you ended her misery."

"So, you want me to kill her?"

"Or eat her, whichever way you prefer. Also, don't be embarrassed, but I've been studying your body while you were in bed. You really have a unique ability that I envy. The ability to gain power after killing your foe. Apparently, the more ponies you kill, the stronger you become," Chrysalis smiled with greed written all over her. While Sam had already created some nasty thoughts for what is to come next in his head. The queen could only laugh as if she were insane. "This will truly be fun. Allowing you to kill and devourer out our future foes for more power."

Great, she wants me to level myself up. I had no idea this dream would turn into some video game. Well, more like a dream game to be honest.

Sam had gotten sick of grinding after throwing elixirs at magic pots so he could kill them for large amounts of exp and ap. This only meant another long journey to level 99, but in real life.

"I want you to become even stronger. I will make you into the perfect warrior. No pony will ever stand in your way. Whether you like it or not you're going to become my strongest, fastest, and smartest bodyguard. Am I understood?" Chrysalis and the rest of the changelings in the room all stared at him, waiting for his response.

Killing ponies specifically just for power didn't sound right. He had already killed some pony, and that some pony was Twilight's brother. Sam didn't want to think about what would happen if Twilight were to know about her brother's death. But refusing to listen to Chrysalis would be a big mistake. It would only be him against hundreds of bugs. And if he couldn't get past Celestia, how would the chances of him winning a battle against Chrysalis be any better?

Sam had no choice but to comply. "Yes mam. Can I leave now?"

"Hm. I don't know, cannnnnnn you?" she asked with a smirky grin.

Sam gave her a face of annoyance. "May I leave now, please?????"

Chrysalis nodded. "Yes, you may. Your training will administer in an hour by the way."

"Cool, thanks," Sam silently huffed, carried an unconscious Cadance on his back, and traveled back to his room.

******

Making sure no changeling was around; Sam removed the large dresser and opened the closet door to free the CMCs. Grabbing the trio in his arms, he jumped out the window and began his attempt to escape Canterlot without getting caught.

Holy crap! Holy crap! Hew! I ain't doing no training under some controlling bug today! I got a demon on my arse, and I don't have any time to stay there any longer!

Sam saw a path leading directly out of the city, but he chose not to take any risks. About fifty changelings were guarding the path, so Sam had to find a different way out. So, just like before, Sam converted his hands into dark claws and started climbing the walls of Canterlot, reached the top, and jumped off to the other side where his freedom resided.

He ran and ran and ran until he eventually came to a cliff that was just across the Everfree Forest.

The idea came to him that sliding down the cliff to reach his destination would be extremely reckless. Though he could always regenerate any wound caused by fall damage.

Yea, I'm tired of playing it safe. I'm gonna slid down this cliff. But I better hold tightly onto these three fillies and the princess of love, so they don't slide to their death.

Carefully, Sam jumped and slid down the longest cliff he had ever seen, safely slid down to ground level, and quickly entered the Everfree Forest. The CMCs almost passed out from the long drop while Candance stayed on his back, dazed the entire time. As for Sam, it felt only like a trip down memory lane when he rode the Fury at Carowinds.

Once they came to a stop, Sam released the fillies out of his arms once he was sure they had escaped changeling territory. "Okay, can you three promise me you won't go running off anywhere, and you will stay with me at all times?"

He watched all three of them aggressively rip the tape from their mouths before they started to speak their minds for once.

"Wait! Hold on! What's going on!?" Sweetie Belle moved around in panic.

"First ya tried to eat us, and now ur helpin' us!?" Apple Bloom glared at Sam with suspicion.

"Yea! And how do you expect us to follow you wherever you go? You could be leading us into a trap!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Well, if you haven't looked around, we're in the Everfree Forest. I highly doubt you three know your way around this area. And who's going to protect you if some dangerous creature comes out of the bushes to have you for lunch or something?" Sam waited for a reply. He didn't get one. After shrugging, he turned around to follow the path to the Tree of Harmony without the fillies.

Welp, I tried. Only reason I wanted to protect them was to earn their trust. Guess I'll-

"Wait! What's your name mister?" Apple Bloom asked.

Sam stopped in his tracks to answer the question. "The names Sam."

Apple Bloom smiled at her new friend. "My name is Apple Bloom, and this is Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. We're the cutie mark crusaders."

"Heh. Your all so friendly. I've never felt this much emotion since I was twelve years old," Sam's non depressing moment was cut short once he saw darkness fill the sky. He could feel Nightmare's presence within the darkness and knew he was running out of time "Aw crap. I need to hurry up," Sam took off running to the Tree of Harmony, leaving the CMCs behind. Even with Cadance on his back to slow him down, he was still pretty fast.

"Hey! Where ya goin' Sam!? Don't leave us behind!"

Celestia stood on top of the Golden Oak library as she checked the telescope ever so often for any intruders. So far, Ponyville had been kept in peace while Luna dealt with whatever the thing that was ruining everyponys dreams. But her thoughts of peace didn't last long, as the pleasant peace and quiet was interrupted by a loud crack in the ground.

Darkness covered the sky and the ground shook. Multiple cracks formed on the ground and opened wide. And the guards were quick on their hooves to investigate and surround the cracks from the sudden earthquake.

They ended up pointing their spears towards a strange creature rising from above underground. The creature in question appeared to be a pony with blank purple eyes staring into the abyss. Its entire body was rotten, and its tongue came out to lick its lips in front of the guards. And they were all frightened by its disturbance that even a few guards ended up dropping their weapons out of fear before making a run for it.

The rotten pony didn't take a moment to wait, as it galloped towards a guard and bit the soldier in the leg, resulting in the guard falling unconscious as if the bite had extreme venom. Then, the creature screamed in agony once a few guards came to their senses and struck it blow by blow until it died and fell down motionless on the grass as a rotten corpse.

"What is the meaning behind this violence!?" Celestia questioned from behind.

"We're sorry your highness, but we don't know! It just came out of the ground and- SWEET CELESTIA! THERE'S MORE OF THEM?! WE WERE'NT TRAINED ENOUGH FOR THIS!" the individual guard speaking also abandoned his weapon and possibly his entire career as he galloped away cowardly from his fellow soldiers in front of the princess.

The zombie ponies that arose were already ready to gnaw them all to death. And to make matters worse, the first and previous eliminated zombie had black blood oozing out of its corpse, and the blood came together to form something solid as if the blood had a mind of its own.

"?!" The guards observed the solid blood form into a rotten hoof, and the same happened to the rest of the corpse. Well, it wasn't a corpse anymore, as the body of the slayed undead pony got back up after it regenerated all of its wounds. The regeneration process was quite similar to the two-legged creature who stole the elements. And it only made Celestia wonder if all of these terrible events were really just a coincidence.

*BOOM*

Before any pony else could be hurt or bitten, a strange rainbow beacon from the Everfree shot into the sky clearing the darkness. The army of zombies charged towards the princess, but after a few hoof steps, they were instantly vaporized by a rainbow shockwave coming from the beacon.

Once the shockwave passed through Celestia. She stood there in shock. She could feel it. That power was none other than the Elements of Harmony. Could it be?

The guards could only cluelessly stand in one spot victorious and waited for their princess to say something about the helpful incident that happened.

Of course, Celestia had to take a moment to process everything. All she knew as if now, was that the source of that power came from the forest. Which could possibly mean that the elements have been returned to where they were born, and that was the Tree of Harmony.

Believing that was the case, Celestia made up her mind on what would be next for her mental list of requests. "When the sun rises once again, I want several of you to volunteer to go into the Everfree Forest, find the Tree of Harmony, and search it for any sign of the elements. The ones who decide to volunteer will be accompanied by the six ponies who wielded the elements along the way. The dark forest is filled with dangerous creatures, and I want you all to show courage. Any more questions?" Celestia waited for a raise of hooves, and she giggled at the silence. From the looks on her troops' faces, they seem to have understood everything. Plus, she already knew her guards were overly obedient to the point where they had become unwilling to question her orders. "Very well. You all have the full night to decide."

******

All night, as Celestia said, ended rather quickly. Five hours had already passed, but it felt like a mere half an hour to Celestia after all of the stress and worrying. She didn't how she was going to deal with the whole 'changeling situation', nor did she know what she would plan on doing if the changelings or any other absurd creatures were to strike an invasion on Ponyville. And the 'fiend' her younger sister continues to yell about had finally become a part of Celestia's concerns as well.

'I cannot fail all of pony kind. I must find a way to fix all of this and set things back the way they-!!!'

Suddenly, out of straight up nowhere, Celestia sensed a strikingly familiar awakening through her horn. The awakening presence from what Celestia was sensing had a connection to the Elements of Harmony. But what really caught the princess's regard was the feeling of a great chaos being unleashed.

'It...can't be...the elements...that wouldn't make sense! It can't be him!'

"Sister," Luna spoke to Celestia through her Canterlot voice this time around to get Celestia's attention. And Celestia's attention is what Luna received after Celestia killed away her current thoughts and pinned her eyes on Luna, who jumped from the windmill and glided all the way down to meet her older sister.

Celestia quickly switched her focus on the dream demon crisis, wanting to avoid any topic related to her own ridiculous thoughts. "So...what happened in there? Did it all go well?"

"Hm...indeed it did go well, however, not in the way I intended," Luna remained calm before she proceeded to explain. It wasn't a sign of anything bad, but it also wasn't a sign of anything good or exciting. "My subjects and I all have managed to put in our best efforts to stop him from rotting the dream realm with his influence."

"And...that would be a good thing. Right?" Celestia struggled to decide whether to keep her smile up or not.

Luna let out a sigh. "We have only banished Nightmare from the dream realm. My intentions were to destroy him, but my subjects and I failed to do so. My subjects alternatively gave all of their power to me, and I unleashed it all at once at the fiend. Nightmare won't be hurting any pony anytime soon, but he is still out there, waiting for some pony to aid him in his horrible quest."

"Nightmare?"

"Yes. That is the demon's name," Luna closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly. "Nightmare."

*The Everfree Forest*

Bush after bush and tree after tree, they were all cut down by the effective swings of Sam's axe hands, which he intentionally resorted to in a rush. And the trio kept following along his path while asking him countless of questions that he wasn't in the mood to answer, but he did anyway.

"Wow Sam. How do you run so fast with only two legs? It'd be so cool to be the first pony to ever gallop on two hooves. I might even get a cutie mark for that," Scootaloo then attempted to do so, pushing her front hooves off of the ground and lifting herself up to stand just as tall as Sam. Unfortunately, her small idea was crushed in an instant as she immediately fell on her other two friends, causing Sam to take a moment to stop and chuckle.

"Aw come on. It's not fair! I have no cutie mark, and I have wings that I can't even use!" Scootaloo crossed her arms with a look of jealousy on her face.

"Why can't you just be happy with your scooter? It does fit your name anyway. I remember when I was like nine years old, I used to ride around on the sidewalk with my scooter at my grandma's house. Well, I USED to. She's dead now. And after her death, my aunt and uncle turned out to be traitors and decided to sell the house. Later on, my life just got even more depressing as I soon outgrew the small scooter.

"Quite a pity if you ask me. But enough about my crappy boring little life, I got something I gotta do, and it's not like that crappy life matters anymore. I'm now in a different world, a world I'm possibly not going to be leaving," Sam believed, as he continued his jog to the tree.

While his trip back to the tree didn't seem like it was going to be difficult, he felt an unwavering feeling in his gut that something was off. Aside from the fillies giving him company, he'd expected to run into an unfriendly forest dweller through the Everfree. Like another pack of timberwolves, a manticore, and heck, even some pesky mosquitos that are willing to make his trip back to the tree a challenge. But there was not any of that. It was just him and the innocent fillies. Or was it?

I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like we're being watched by someone in this forest. It's just so...dang quiet! There ain't any wildlife in sight right now, and it's really creeping me out. Especially because it's night time.

Even if I tell myself there ain't nothing there, it won't shake the feeling off. It's like I'm realistically playing Minecraft on peaceful mode, wandering around in a dark oak forest biome in the middle of the night, with no hostile mobs spawning in to replace the danger that doesn't exist.

"Wuhahahaha!"

?!?!

Sam heard the small laugh echoing through the forest and was on high alert before his mind found the sound of the laugh to be familliar. The laugh didn't sound sinister or wicked, but it DEFINITELY sounded chaotic and a little bit mischievous from what Sam could tell. Could it be?

No way! It can't be. Did those three hear it?

Sam turned to the CMCs to see them still chatting peacefully with one another as if no voice was heard.

Hm. Was it just my mind playing tricks on me? Or was it really who I thought was playing tricks on me?

Before Sam could think about the laughter any further, he was distracted by one of the cutie mark crusaders who started speaking to him.

"Hey, you never did tell us anything about you. Like, what are you? What's your home like? I want to know so bad," Sweetie Belle took Sam out of his thinking for a while as she began walking up to him with a cute sad face, begging to hear a sweet backstory. "Pretty please."

"Uhhhh. I'll tell you later. Right now, I need to return the elements really quick. And it won't take long, because we're already here you three," Sam chopped down the last skinny tree standing in their way and there stood the castle of the two sisters only several feet away. "I swear, the tree better have something good for me."

"WOOOW!" the three fillies exclaimed, with ginormous pupils of excitement.

"Okay, um, I think you three shouldn't follow me at this point," Sam said preparing the Elements of Harmony in his traveling bag for the tree.

"But why not?" Apple Bloom asked, clearly upset through her voice.

"Yea! I'm with Apple Bloom on this! Why not?!" Scootaloo stared at Sam with very questionable eyes.

"I mean...aren't your older sisters, parents, or whoever else cares about yall worried sick or something? I think yall should be heading home. Because I'd hate for one of yall to get hurt during your time with me, then get me accused of the damage I did not cause."

"Aw come on! This is so cool! I like going on adventures like these all the time!" Scootaloo pressed. "Maybe, if we follow you long enough, we'll get cutie marks for being brave. And I have to say, I think being with you, makes us look so cool!"

"I agree. You look so tough mister. I don't think any pony would dare mess with you," Sweetie Belle commented.

"Please Sam. We jus wanna be with ya for one night," Apple Bloom spoke what she and her other filly friends wanted from Sam, and he quickly became frustrated.

Oh, goodness. I really don't know what to say here.

With a sigh and a short moment to think, Sam agreed to let the fillies stay with him, but he wanted his talk with the Tree of Harmony to be just him and it. So, he forbid the fillies from following him down into the cave, and suggested that they should play or explore the castle of the two sisters if they were to get bored during the wait for his return.

The fillies surprisingly respected Sam's privacy with the Tree of Harmony and reached an agreement. Once they did, both the human and the fillies went their seperate ways as the human traveled down a staircase and into a cave to meet face to face with the tree. While the fillies crossed a wooden bridge to reach the terrian with the castle itself.

******

"Iseeyouhavebroughtwhatismine."

"Uh huh. Now I want some answers. Just how in the world did I end up here?" Sam put Princess Cadance safely on the ground for her to rest and tapped his left foot on the ground repeatedly.

"Youareherenowbecauseofyourthoughts. Thisworldisyourdream. Allbeingslike ponies, dragons, griffons, changelings, theyexistonlybecause of yourexistence."

"Ah, so I'm lucid dreaming right now. But if this really is all a dream, then why can't I manipulate or control this world at all? I remember creating a nice coke bottle before that Nightmare fella came out of nowhere and screwed everything up."

"BothyouandNightmareareconnectedtothis world. Tohavefullcontrolofthisworldonemustdestroytheonethatseeksthesamepower."

"So, you're saying I have to kill Nightmare before he kills me. I guess sometimes crazy talking flowers are right. It's either kill or be killed in specific situations."

"Youdohavethechoicetogiveupandgo home."

"Eh?"

"Oncethe elements aregiventome, I cancastaspelltosendyoubackhome. Youwillfind yourself in yourbed,Nightmarewillnolongerexist, youwill feel likenoneof this had everhappened. Or, if youchooseso, youcan stayinthisworldpermanentlyandrisk yourveryownlife. The choiceisyours."

"Hmmm. If I choose to stay here, how am I supposed to get rid of that demon?"

"It's simple,I can sacrifice myself to delaythe demon's true power from being unleashed. You on the other hoof must play your part by gathering enough power and friends to prepare for a long and tremendous battle."

"Sacrifice huh. Shoot. There always has to be sacrifice involved if you're fighting for something worth your while. I guess I'll stay, it's not like I got anything better to do at my hometown. Plus, I don't think I'd find working through an office job for the rest of my life after high school worth it," Sam pulled out the elements from his bag and held them out for the tree to see without much hesitation. The elements were levitated out of Sam's hands and were magically inserted into the tree.

"Before I act, there are somethings you must know," the tree's voice had changed.

"And what are those things?" he crossed his arms as he listened.

"Killing off monsters to make yourself stronger is good, but keep in mind there is a limit to your growth. If you want to gain true power, you must seek out the new and improved Elements of Infinite Harmony that are scattered across every unique part of Equestria."

Sam was about to lose it if he was getting himself on another quest to find more artifacts. "Okay, where exactly are these...Elements of Infinite Harmony?"

"They are not just out in the open. You must obtain them one by one with certain actions. First, find the golden treasure lying somewhere in the castle of the two sisters. The golden treasure is so far the only thing capable of holding the Elements of Infinite Harmony together. Then, find each individual element. Space, Reality, Time, Mind, Soul, andPower. The six ponies you know are the key."

Sam could've sworn those names sounded familiar, until it finally clicked in his head. "What the! Do I look like Thanos to you? Sure, I got muscles here and there but it's not like I'm some beefy grown man who weighs 985.5 pounds!"

The tree ignored Sam's words and continued. "Thespace element can be found in the land of crystals.Reality is in another world similar to this one.Time is underneath the sands of the badlands where the changelings reside.Mind can be found in the area right below us.Soul has been destroyed a long time ago in the past through the broken hearts and souls of many. As forPower, it only serves a master who has defeated a powerful being capable of bringing an end to this world. Find them all. You will become my replacement. Sam, the new source of harmony for Equestria."

The tree glowed bright, and Sam covered his eyes while a rainbow beam of light came out of the tree and into the sky.

*BOOM*

☼☜☹☜✌💧☜

Just like in the beginning, before the whole adventure started, an explosion noise erupted into Sam's ears like mad, but not a single destructive explosion occurred.

Instead, the rainbow beam accomplished what the Tree of Harmony said it would do, as the darkness covering the sky had cleared from the beam's power. When the process was finished, the Tree of Harmony violently exploded into pieces, leaving thick numbers of smoke in front of Sam's face. He closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting for the smoke to clear.

After a couple minutes, he opened his eyes to see a pony, no, an alicorn, standing where the Tree of Harmony once stood.

The alicorn was white coated with a red mane and tail, and its cutie mark was a quill being dipped into an ink bottle. "Thank you," the alicorn gave its thanks to Sam.

"Um...your welcome?" Sam responded with confusion.

The alicorn only smiled afterwards and slowly disappeared into thin air, leaving Sam all to himself with no one to talk to.

"What was that all about? Eh, whatever. I guess I'm on ANOTHER quest again. *sigh* This is probably where the REAL adventure starts. Almost as if all the stuff I did was just the tutorial of the whole game. Psh, this is ridiculous. Then again, I chose this path, I guess. Better get move on."

******

Sam realized something was missing as soon as he left the cave and stepped on the grassy ground. "Wait a second. Where are the cutie mark crusad- oh yea! I forgot I suggested them to explore the castle. That's probably where-"

"HELLPPP!!!!"

?!?!?!

Sam instantly recognized the screaming and yelling coming from Apple Bloom. While it was hard to hear, he could tell it came specifically from the castle of the two sisters. And he didn't hesitate to cross the old bridge and make his way to the front castle doors to hopefully aid the poor fillies in time.

After failing to open the doors with his bare hands, he assumed the doors were either locked up or jammed for some reason. He then knocked on the doors like crazy, hoping to get the attention of the fillies to come over and potentially open the door from inside. But rather than getting an expected silence or galloping hooves, he heard what seemed to be...giggling coming from the other side of the doors.

What in the world is going in there?

"Oh, my my my. This adventure of yours is certainly getting interesting," an EXTREMELY familiar voice said out of nowhere.

Holy crap...it wasn't my imagination back in the forest!

Sam already knew the owner of that voice which put him on high alert. Looking around aimlessly, he searched for any magical traps or any doohickey that may have been set up in front of the castle. "What the heck is going on in there?! Leave the fillies alone and show yourself!"

The voice laughed. "Oh, now isn't that adorable. You sound nearly the same way I predict Celestia would speak to me about my current nature. The two of you should totally get married," a white flash of magic appeared and disappeared after the ludicrous statements, revealing the CMCs along with the greatest troublemaker himself, Discord, the Lord of Chaos.

"Oh, calm down, will you. The whole screaming and crying for help were just part of the act while we were playing 'run from the draconequus' for your information."

Sam looked at the draconequus dead in the eye and asked, "Are you here to cause trouble?"

The draconequus flinched in instant disapproval. "Me? A troublemaker?" an angel halo appeared above Discord's head. "I would never. I'm here to do quite the opposite actually," the draconequus signaled the CMCs to drop a golden gauntlet on their backs. "They were starting to get bored. So, I did you a favor and gave them a field trip around the castle. And look what we found. The Tree of Harmony wanted you to find it. Am I wrong?"

Sam grew a bit insecure after hearing Discord mention the tree. "You were spying on me this entire time? So, you heard the conversation I had with the tree. And you heard exactly what I'm going to be doing?"

"Yes, I have been spying on you," Discord admitted. "Yes, I know what you're up to...sort of. And what's wrong with me knowing about it?"

Sam rolled his eyes in his own head, acknowledging Discord obviously wouldn't give a crap about one's privacy. "Wow, what a way to be nosy. I swore I could hear the sounds of your cackling from across the forest. And how did you even break out of your stone prison by the way?"

The draconequus shrugged. "Well, my very uncomfortable stone prison is made of magic. Ever since those bugs took over, a throne for the queen had been built. The throne was not ordinary. It has the ability to surround Canterlot with some kind of anti-magic field. Thus, I was free once it was built, however, I had no magic to easily escape, my escape had to be done on foot. Then, I saw you and took my chances to follow you to escape from those hideous bug ponies," Discord floated up in the air a few feet above Sam and positioned himself to make it look like an invisible beach chair was there floating along with him.

Oooooh, that makes so much more sense now. Though, I don't exactly know if that happened because of my actions, or if this whole dream is literally designed to be an alternate universe or timeline of the MLP show itself.

Sam surely enjoyed Discord as a character because all he would do is create chaos to get the ponies on edge, like turning the roads into soap, or making it rain chocolate from cotton candy clouds. It was funny to watch. But the main concern Sam had now, was if he could keep his sanity if the same were to happen to him.

"I'm guessing that gauntlet over there is what the golden treasure the tree was talking about huh?" Sam bent down and grabbed the gauntlet. "By the way. Did the girls have fun? They aren't hurt, are they?"

"Oh, of course they're not hurt!" Discord reassured. "And I'm pretty sure we had a lot of fun together. Right, Apple Bloom?" he turned to the filly he mentioned.

"We sure did have fun! We had ourselves a fun time explorin' with Discord. Right, you girls?" Apple Bloom asked her friends, pulling both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo into a hug.

"Mhm!" replied Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

The draconequus felt proud of what he did for the three young ponies, but he continued focusing on the more important matters at hoof. "Yes, now onto business. I did overhear your conversation with the tree, Sam. And it seems you have yourself a destiny to fulfill.

"Normally I don't take things seriously even if it means being turned to stone for a thousand years. But Equestria on the verge of destruction is something I cannot ignore. Without Equestria, there will be no chaos for me to spread and enjoy," Discord snapped his fingers and a few tents appeared out of thin air. "In the meantime, lets-, oh. Looks like we have some unwanted pony guests."

Sam turned into the direction Discord was in. The two of them saw six mares blocking the way across the bridge with several guards by their side.

The boy was excited to be able to meet the mane six face to face. But he also had a bit of concern in his gut that things were about to get ugly.

"YOU!" Twilight shouted. "HOW DARE YOU KILL MY ONE AND ONLY BROTHER! A MONSTER LIKE YOU SHOULD BE BURNING IN THE DEPTHS OF TARTARUS!"

The CMCs took cover behind Sam as he turned his hands into long blades to prepare for battle. "You got my back on this one Discord? You said you were here to do the opposite of trouble. Correct?"

"Certainly. Helping you should be a piece of cake. It's not like I have to even try to win," Discord snapped his fingers to unleash his chaos magic to create flying pigs with feathery wings. "This is when pigs fly."

Sam was the first of everyone there to take a deep breath for the sake of relaxation. "Oh boy. It's going to be a bumpy night."

*The Frozen North*

"My crystal slaves. I have returned! Mhmhaha!"

******

"It appears I have completely underestimated that boy and his fantasy dream of rainbow girly unicorns. That stunt he pulled off to seal away my true form for a good while was beyond any form of logic. I may need to consider forming an alliance if this is going to keep up," Nightmare suggested to himself. "Hmmm. That dark unicorn might suffice to my benefit and liking. Haha."

End of Part 1/4

Chapter 6: Seperation

*The dream realm*

"I have to give you ponies the credit. All of you are girly, but deadly. You all have tired me out. Though even so, it appears I will be the one victorious. " Nightmare looked at the last few remaining ponies standing. Twilight and her friends along with Big Macintosh, Lyra, Bon Bon, Vinyl, and Derpy were the only ponies left.

"Cmon girls! We can't give up now!" Rainbow Dash charged at Nightmare with all her might only to get slapped hard by a tentacle. Rainbow Dash landed back to where she started. When she got up, she was too dizzy to say another word.

"Throwing yourself with all you have isn't always the answer dear. This creature has to have a weakness of some sort," Rarity turned to Twilight. "If only we had some pony intelligent enough to figure that out."

And with that Twilight was met with multiple pairs of eyes staring at her. "W-what?! Excuse me?! Why is every pony depending on me all of a sudden?!"

"Aw. Are we all scared?" Nightmare chuckled. "How about I make it even scarier."

The ponies in confusion didn't understand until Nightmare dug his hands into the ground pumping nightmare magic into the dirt. The magic flowed through the grass. When it stopped a big circle of darkness surrounded Nightmare. Nightmare pulled his hands out of the ground and in the dark circle came shadow versions of each individual pony standing in Nightmare's way. The shadows raised up and stared down at their counterparts.

"It doesn't matter how much you try. The more negativity there is, the STRONGER I become. And would you look at that, my true power is coming back to me. Mmmm. I can feel it! It's only a matter of time!" Nightmare commanded his shadow puppets to attack the main 6. Then, he swung one of his tentacles out in the air causing it to cut through the sky and creating a portal to the real world.

Nightmare could taste the victory as he saw his power of darkness and nightmares cover the entire sky of the real world. "There is where my power awaits. It was nice knowing you ponies, but I have a mortal to kill. Samuel, I'm coming for you!"

"NO!" The ponies shouted and began to run after him, but it was too late. The shadow versions of them tackled them down and Nightmare had already gone through.

Exactly at that moment a rainbow beacon appeared, clearing the darkness covering the sky. "What the?!" Nightmare was knocked back into the dream realm by a rainbow shockwave. The ponies found themselves free once their shadow clones were vaporized by an unknown force that felt familiar. "Th-this is impossible! How?!"

Twilight remembered that feeling. It was the same feeling she had felt when she was with her friends against Nightmare Moon and Discord. The same feeling, she had felt when they used the Elements of Harmony together. But was it really the elements that had made them strong? No. It was their friendship. The elements were nothing without their friendship. All forces of evil were no match for The Magic of Friendship.

"Listen girls. I know he may seem strong, and you are all scared. But don't you see, it's all in our head. If you fear him or believe he is stronger than us, he will be. We have faced much worse in the past. He is nothing compared to them. And what got us through was our friendship," Twilight reached out a hoof to Fluttershy who was crying in fear. "Do you trust me?" Twilight smiled with hope and waited. Fluttershy grabbed Twilights hoof and she did the same for Applejack. The hoof grabbing started to form a chain of friendship as all the ponies glowed and floated up in the air without any wings.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Nightmare growled.

"If you say it is negativity you love. Then how would you do against positivity?" Twilight and the others flied towards Luna. The blue alicorn princess had sweat running down her head with extreme obvious pain coming from her horn. Twilight knew she couldn't hold the dream forever as she saw the bottom of her horn crack a bit.

"I'm sorry to you all. I have failed my duties as princess," Luna's horn formed another crack causing her to scream in pain.

"No. You haven't. We were the ones who failed to even notice you in the past. Don't feel bad about the past. The past is already gone. You aren't Nightmare Moon anymore," Twilight tapped Luna gently. "We forgive you."

Tears of joy ran through Luna's eyes. "Thank you."

The ponies took the time to admire each other one last time before locking their eyes on Nightmare. "Any last words, demon?" Luna said in a cold tone.

"Last words? Are you sure about that? I am NIGHTMARE, the demon who haunts one's dream. The demon who comes to feast on the living souls. I am an immortal being. How can you kill an immortal? With rainbows and pink things?"

Luna only responded with a powerful magical attack that came from her heart. The attack expanded into a white flash of light causing every pony to awaken from the dream. Twilight and her friends had awoken back in the Golden Oak Library.

"Did it work?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It better have," Applejack said. "I don't need dat monster terrorizin' my entire family at night!"

"Well let's find out! I had a blast fighting that dream parasite with my cupcakes!" Pinkie bounced out of the door leading the other five outside where they would find Luna, on top of the windmill she had used. Luna stood there in shock as to what she was seeing. Up in the air above Ponyville, Nightmare could be seen. His body appeared to be melting like snow. His tentacles and horns were falling apart. The ponies only questioned how a being could stay alive in such a condition.

"Ugh. I was hoping my plan would succeed. But it looks like I have to gain power elsewhere. I have underestimated you ponies. When I am done with that mortal, I will hunt down anypon- UGH! ANYBODY else, who dreams about ponies like you. That is a promise." Nightmare flied away from Ponyville and into the Frozen North.

Luna failed to fly after him. So much energy had been taken away from her. Luna closed her eyes and laid down into a sleeping position on top of the windmill.

"Are you kidding me?! We go through all that trouble of kicking his butt just for him to escape!" Rainbow Dash slammed her head on a pony's home to let out her frustration.

"Rainbow Dash calm down," Spike walked up to the blue pegasis. "We banished him from the dream realm so he couldn't create anymore nightmares. And that's all we wanted, right?"

"Hey, you six," a guard stood behind them. "You have been assigned by Princess Celestia, on an important task in the Everfree Forest with us. Please follow me." The six ponies and the small dragon followed the guard with no complaint. They were escorted by several more guards that came into view when they approached the forest.

Twilight being the most curious out of the six decided to speak up. "Mind telling us what this is about?"

"We are going to investigate the strange force which came from the Everfree Forest. The princess has informed us to take the six of you with us since it was somehow related to the Elements of Harmony. Oh, and you, Princess Celestia's pupil. I am sorry for your loss."

Fear began to fill Twilight's mind. "My loss?"

The guard was about to regret it but said it anyway. "Have you not heard of your brother's...death."

Twilight didn't say a word. She just stood there, causing the rest of the group to stop for her.

"Yes. Your brother, Shining Armor, was killed by the two-legged monster who stole the elements before the changelings took Canterlot by surprise. Princess Celestia burned the creature to crisp, but it was revived by the queen of the changelings. And it wouldn't be of any surprise to me if the creature now works with those stupid bugs," the guard had to signal Twilight and the others to continue walking down the path.

Twilight's tone turned dark. "So, you say this creature is still alive with the elements. What was that about you escorting us to a place related to the elements?"

"Well, our job is to escort you to the Tree of Harmony near the castle of the two sisters. And investigate the problem there. That is all."

"The castle of the two sisters. I'll take us there right away," Twilight focused a spell on her horn and a lavender aura covered the entire group for a second. When it disappeared, they were now at the entrance of a cave. The guards were caught off guard by the unicorn's abilities.

"Hmph. Show off," one of the guards whispered to themself.

"What was that?" Twilight faced the guard with obvious hidden rage.

"Uh. Nothing," the guard looked around nervously for help until he spotted something interesting and then hoof pointed to the inside of the cave. "Hey, whos' that over there?"

Inside the cavern were six known beings they all knew. A draconequus, a two-legged monster, three little fillies, and one unconscious princess laying on the ground in peace. Right away, Twilight jumped in to engage. The mare's face was boiling with hatred at the monster. Sam already knew what this was about. Turning his hands into sharp blades, he tried to look scary. When he failed to scare Twilight's socks off, Sam lowered his eyebrows in annoyance and turned the blades into shields for defense only.

Twilight galloped towards Sam ignoring the fact he had some pony, powerful by his side.

Back in Canterlot castle, a meeting was taking place. Chrysalis stood at the very front of the table creating plans with her subjects to take all of Equestria in their hooves. The meeting went swell until Pharynx showed up with bad news. Normally Chrysalis would be mad at the sudden interruption, but Pharynx is one of her best. She wouldn't get mad at him.

As Pharynx finished, Chrysalis's mood changed entirely.

"What?! He has escaped!" Chrysalis banged her cheese legs hard on the table.

"I am sorry my queen, but yes. He took off with the elements. And somehow sneaked past the entire changeling army. He is quite the ninja," Pharynx restated.

"Weren't you supposed to be looking after him?!"

"I would've been if he didn't shoo me away. For whatever reason he left, it has to have something to do with the elements. He could be anywhere by now. My only guess would be the Everfree Forest. A few of us have reported a strange source of power coming from the deep parts of the forest after uh. What was his name again?"

Chrysalis face hoofed herself, "His name is Sam. And we need Sam for one of plans to take down the princesses and their followers. I planned on making him an unstoppable tyrant. That won't be happening if he isn't even here!" Chrysalis looked at her other subjects next to the table. "I want you all and that includes you too Pharynx. To find my monster. Once you do, bring him to me, I will deal with him myself."

"Understood," Pharynx and the rest of them got up and left the room leaving Chrysalis alone to think for herself. The changelings walked down the messed-up hallways of the castle. Windows were shattered and holes could be seen in the celling after the attack. They didn't care whether it was a mess or not, as long as it was their territory. Pharynx came to stop once he saw his brother, Thorax, waving a hoof at him as he was about to leave. "What are you doing?" Pharynx asked. "You're supposed to be taking your job seriously instead of worrying about me."

Thorax lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"It doesn't matter now. Right now, you're coming with me on our mission whether you like it or not."

"Mission? What kind of mission?"

"Don't ask. Just follow us and shut your trap," Pharynx commanded.

"Alright..." Thorax did what he was told and followed his brother and the others. Once they were out of the castle they flew into the forest in search for Sam.

Nightmare crawled through the snow in freezing pain. "So... Cold... I can't give up now. I can feel it. A great darkness dwells within this frozen land. I'm so close..." Nightmare could sense so much negativity from where he stood. Nightmare accelerated into a run, in desperation to find its source. The demon didn't care about the pain, as a matter of fact the pain was fading away from the negative energy.

After a minute of running through nothing but snow, Nightmare, found his destination. It wasn't anything he would enjoy. It seemed to be only a kingdom made of crystals until he saw something fascinating appear from behind the kingdom. Large amounts of dark magical smoke flew around the kingdom causing a spike of negativity each time. This was the thing Nightmare searched for. The only question left now was would it be any of use?

The crystal ponies looked up and screamed at the horrifying shadow king. "You are all mine!" Sombra flied down to the crystal ground and returned back into his pony form. "Now, now, there is no need to scream. I will not harm my very own slaves, at least, not physically." King Sombra focused his magic. Small purple bubbles of pure darkness surrounded his horn as he charged his magic. The shadow king grinned and released the darkness out of his horn.

The crystal ponies saw visions of their greatest fears. It felt like a never-ending nightmare. And none of them stood a chance against it. All they could do was surrender their very own mind to King Sombra to end the nightmare. Sombra laughed at the sight of his returned servants. The sight of the Crystal Empire, however, did not appeal to the king of darkness and hatred. "I think it's time for a little redecorating. What do you all think?" Sombra's slaves nodded with little to no emotion. Sombra only smiled and replaced all of the sparkly crystals he could find into dark crystals with his magic.

Sombra turned into his shadow form and flied into the throne room. He was about to take the throne for himself until he spotted a dark figure, sitting on the crystal throne. The figure's eyes opened, revealing three purple eyes gazing upon Sombra with interest. "Who might you be?" Sombra took a few hoof steps forward preparing for a fight. The figure got up from the throne and took a few steps forward as well. "My name is Nightmare and I bid you no harm."

"How so?"

"I have come to offer you a deal. If you refuse, I will take off without a word."

Sombra raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"I will help you conquer this world if you choose to help me regain my strength. The amount of negativity you created is good for my health. Of course, that is not enough. I need more power. And you are the only one I see who could possibly deal with that issue. I would also like to learn spells you ponies use."

"And how do I know you won't just backstab me in the end?"

"Because we both exist to cause harm to others. Why would I backstab a being who is similar to me? Plus, I'm not in it for this world. You can have this so-called land, Equestria, for yourself. I only desire for a simple mortal to be killed by my very own hands."

Sombra's suspicion lowered. "If you don't mind me asking. What has caused you to turn into the monster you are today? I've had my reasons to be the unicorn I am today that I'd rather not discuss."

Nightmare thought about his past. The amount of pain he had felt back then made him grit his teeth. "Let's just say I was normal until jealousy and hatred filled my heart. Like you, I'd rather not discuss about the past. Now do we have a deal or not?"

Sombra had to think about this. This demon just showed out of nowhere jumping directly to a deal. What if he had other plans? Then again, how much strength have the ponies gained after a thousand years. "It's a deal," Sombra fired his dark magic into the demon.

"Yes!" Nightmare could feel his power growing. When Sombra finished, Nightmare decided to test his newfound power. The demon raised his hand and out came fifty zombie ponies from the crystal ground. "This may not be my true power, but this will do for now."

Twilight was caught by surprise as a pig with wings knocked her away before she could attack Sam. She picked herself up and blasted the pig to nothingness. Sam only watched in horror at the amount of hate that was used in the blast. "Geez. She surely is determined to kill me. I don't even know if there is any way I can reason this out." Sam felt a claw pat him on the shoulder.

"Oh, calm down Sam. What can you possibly be worried about when you have me on your side? Once that demon is gone, you and I will rule Equestria as GODS!" Discord made a strange pose to which Sam rolled his eyes to. The idea of becoming a god to create chaos along with Discord didn't sound very fitting to Sam. "You know, this cave is pretty boring for a fight like this. Let's make things a little more interesting," Discord snapped his fingers. In a matter of seconds, everypony was out in the open. The grass turned into checker tiles, the paths turned into soap, the trees disappeared, and decks of cards appeared all over the place. "Now we're cooking."

The guards all ran in panic at the sight of the draconequus, leaving the six friends behind to fend off Discord and Sam. "Hey! Where are you cowards going?!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Rarity agreed. "This is absurd! Those guards were supposed to be perfectly well trained, and I thought we had turned that disgusting creature into stone. How are we supposed to win without the elements?"

"Disgusting creature? Well, you're an untamable brat!" Discord retorted. Sam couldn't help but laugh his guts out.

Twilight stood her ground while the others were in confusion and fear. "Forget Discord! Go after that creature first!" Twilight pointed a hoof at Sam. "He is the one responsible for this mess!"

"Whoa, easy there girl," Applejack had to stop Twilight in her tracks. "Don't let your emotions get da best of ya. I know how you feel about your brother, but ya can't jump into a fight that will end with you being bucked all the way to Appaloosa."

Twilight hissed at Sam. "Your wrong Applejack. I'm not backing down. Neither should you all. As long as we have each other we can defeat any pony." Twilight's horn was covered by a rainbow aura. The unicorn focused her energy and separated it into each of her friends. Each of their cutie marks glowed as they felt the surge of magic flow within. When it was over the six ponies each glowed a separate color of the rainbow. "Get ready to face the Magic of Friendship!"

*The main sixs' abilities have been enhanced.*

Sam took a step back. "Oh boy this might be bad. I don't remember the ponies doing this in the show."

"A show? Well, that is something I am very good at making. And what is a show without any music." Discord snapped his fingers once again. Music had begun to play in the background for the ponies to hear.

'Wait a second. I remember this music. Did he just look into my memories or something? This is awesome!' Sam and Discord danced to the music like idiots. The ponies took it as an opportunity to attack them by surprise. Applejack was the first to take action. She threw her lasso, tying the rope around Sam's torso. Sam cut the rope off of himself and blocked the incoming blast from Twilight.

"This battle is so boring. How about I spice things up a bit." Discord used his magic to create glitter bombs in front of Twilight and AJ. Both ponies were blinded by the explosion. Sam bashed the two of them with his shield knocking them down unconscious. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were the next ponies to come. Fluttershy only took cover under a deck of cards.

Rainbow Dash stretched her wings and flew towards Discord ready to tackle the chaos god. "I've had just about enough of you Discord!"

"Really? The same could be said for you." Discord looked up into the sky. He smiled at the dull white color of the clouds. "I heard you're a professional at clearing the sky. I'm curious. How would do against cotton candy?"

Rainbow Dash was only a few inches close to reaching Discord until the blue pegasus was ambushed by several pink clouds. The clouds continued to pile on top of her. Rainbow Dash couldn't find it in her power to break free. The clouds felt like the stickiest thing in all of Equestria. All she could do was eat her way out.

Sam smiled at the sight. He had to admit to himself that it was little funny to see ponies get destroyed by random stupid stuff. Sam put on a serious expression right away when he saw Rarity and Spike about to launch an attack on his new friend. "Discord! Look out mate!"

"Look out? For what?" Discord felt the air become warm. It felt as if something like lava was about to reach him. When he turned to his left, Sam was covering him from the little dragon's breath. The fire was absorbed by Sam's shield. Sam cried in pain as the fire burned him on the inside. He shook it off and focused on his shield, trying to release the fire inside.

"Have a taste of your own medicine!" Sam turned his shield back into his hand and released a green fireball about three times the size of an average pony at Spike.

"No!" Rarity had to act fast. She used her magic to create a cyan magic shield in the shape of a diamond. The impact of the fireball had destroyed the shield, leaving Rarity out of breath to perform another magical spell. The chaotic fight carried on with Discord and Sam having all the fun. Twilight kept missing her shots, Applejack and Rainbow Dash's attacks were consistently blocked or cut off, Rarity and Spike were still in the middle of recovering, and Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie didn't even participate in the fight. The ones who would win were obvious.

"Oh Sam, this is just too entertaining," Discord said.

"Yea, it sure is. I don't want to overdo it though. I wouldn't want to cause any true pain. We should stop now before they decide to seek revenge against us," Sam suggested. "I already have one lavender pony thirsty for revenge. I REALLY don't need to be seen as an enemy to pony-kind."

Discord created a red throne and sat comfortably with his legs crossed. "What's there to worry about? Nothing bad is going to happen. Thanks to you, the elements are now gone. The ponies by themselves stand no chance against the lord of chaos. So, tell me. What is it that troubles you about these ponies? I mean, some of them are enjoying my chaos." Discord pointed at Pinkie Pie who laid down on the checker ground, gathering as much chocolate milk as possible from the clouds.

"Because..." Sam paused. He couldn't believe it. Never in his life had he ever defended anyone, or any pony for that matter. Whenever a fight took place at his school, he would only look at it for a split second and move on about his day without giving a care. Even if he manages to stop a fight, he wouldn't accomplish anything out of it. Knowing that another set of people would take their place. But for some reason, something deep down was telling him to stop Discord even if he didn't have the power to do so. Sam may have not felt empathy for others. But he did feel empathy for the six of them. "Look, Discord, ya can't-"

"I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" Twilight interrupted. Every pony had set their eyes on the unicorn. Twilight took a deep breath and let it out. "I can't believe it has come down to this. I'll use it..." Twilight closed her eyes and thought about her brother and the great memories they had. She decided to let her hate build and mix into her magic. Those great times she could've had with him, had been taken away. As Twilight opened her eyes Sam could sense the strong intent to kill. Twilight pointed her horn at Discord. "Let's see if the lord of chaos survives this. My TRUE fail-safe spell!"

*BOOM*

The lavender explosion spell had destroyed the chaos. The Everfree Forest was back to its original dark state. Twilight could feel the soft and moist texture of the grass. No more chocolate rain, no more checker tiles. Everything was back to normal, right?

Discord stood on top of a hill fine and healthy. The spell didn't even scratch the draconequus. Twilight in disbelief, only had one word. "How?"

Discord looked down at his feet. Sam was laying down in front of him. The boy appeared to be sleeping with his mouth open. "Come on Sam. Wake up!" Discord tapped him on the head multiple times. Nothing. Not a single movement came from Sam. Was he dead? Discord couldn't describe the feeling he was feeling. He felt something in his chest. It was something he had never felt before. Discord always enjoyed creating chaos on his own. Why was he feeling this way? It's as if having Sam by his side to be there for him had triggered something. "He would sacrifice himself for me?"

A tear formed in his eyes. He knew what this feeling was. It was sadness and despair, something he never felt. The only negative feelings he felt in the past was utter boredom. These feelings were something else.

"Dang. I can't believe I just did that." Sam grunted as he sat up. He stretched his arms and his torso only to be met with severe pain everywhere. "OW! Dang man. That spell roughed me up pretty good. You owe me a lot, Discord."

"What?! Your still alive?! Do you have any idea how worried sick I was?!"

Sam smiled. "Wow Discord. I didn't know both you and I had it in us to care for one another. I am pleasantly shocked," Sam felt the comforting breeze reach his face as he laid back onto the comforting grass. "So, since I saved your head, how about you save mine by letting me sleep in your bed tonight."

Discord returned a smile. "Ohhhh. So, you're saying you want to sleep with me?"

"What?! Sweet Celestia no! I meant I just need some place to stay and rest! Also now is not a good time to talk when we have six ponies on our tails."

Discord shook his head. "Don't worry about them. Twilight's magical spell had separated her from her friends. Twilight alone is some pony I can handle with ease."

Sam was left clueless. "What do you mean Twilight's friends were separated?"

"I mean they're gone! Take a look for yourself."

Sam sat back up to search for the six ponies. All he could find from afar was Twilight Sparkle crying in the distance. Spike stood alongside, trying his best to cheer her up. "I failed," Twilight muttered.

"There's always hope, Twilight," Spike rubbed her back to comfort her.

"NO THERE'S NOT! I'M...a failure..." Twilight galloped into the forest, tears flooding on her cheeks.

"I hope she isn't going to be a problem in the future," Sam fell to the ground after he attempted to stand. His muscles were demanding for rest. No serious injuries were spotted. So why did he feel so much pain on the inside? His regeneration would've ended the pain by now. "Wait a second. If Twilight wanted me dead so bad. Why did she aim her fail-safe spell on you instead of me?" Sam thought about having axes for hands. Nothing happened. Whatever the spell did, Sam knew it had to be built for the sole purpose of weakening an opponent. Was it permanent?

Discord crossed his arms. "What is it now?"

"My magical abilities are gone. That would explain why she targeted you. You owe me even more now since I saved your chaos magic."

"Um, what happened here? Where am I?" Cadance stood up on her four hooves. She rubbed her head trying to remember the events that had taken place back at the wedding. She looked around at her surroundings. Everything was blurry. The princess rubbed her eyes to clear her vision. Two figures stood beside her. Cadance ignored Discord and focused on Sam. "You. You're that guy who helped me escape. Was Chrysalis telling the truth? Did you kill my future husband?"

Sam ignored Cadance's question and instead changed the subject in hopes of her forgetting about the whole thing. "Well, looks who's awake. You have no idea how hard it was to carry you all the way here. You also have no idea what you missed out on. Me and Discord were having a blast. Man, if only you were there to see it."

Cadance stomped her hoof on the grass. Her tone became serious. "I don't have time for small talk. Tell me. Did you kill my future husband? Or was it some pony else?"

"Alright, alright." Sam sighed. "I did kill him. But not on purpose. He was in my way, and I had to leave Canterlot ASAP. I accidentally killed him in the process. I'm sorry."

Cadance stood in front of Sam. She lowered her head and pointed her horn at Sam's chest. His heart glowed gray with only a little red in the middle after the alicorn's magic came into contact. "I see. You were telling the truth. I can see it in your heart." Cadance turned her head to her side. "It makes me wonder. What does it feel like to be so emotionless?"

Confusion filled Sam's face. "Emotionless? Me?"

Cadance nodded.

"Heh. Where do I start with that?" Sam scratched his head. "Let's just say I have an anti-social personality disorder. I'm just a guy who feels less emotion. Does that answer your question?"

Cadance frowned. "I wish I could fix your problem. I've never seen any pony with a heart like that. It's just so empty."

"Yea I know."

"So, why did you carry me here exactly? I thought it was all over for me after I blacked out from the amount of love the queen drained."

"Hey, sorry for interrupting your stupid conversation about feelings, but I have a question. Should I teleport us away or try to reason this out because we have hundreds of bugs surrounding us right now!" Discord warned.

Chapter 7: The First Killer out of Four

"Surrender now and come with us or we will be forced to take you all down," Pharynx threatened. The changelings hissed and closed in on the trio.

Cadance hid herself behind Sam as he stood there with bravery. "Now listen. How about we calm down and-" Sam was immediately cut off after Discord teleported them back to the cave where the Tree of Harmony once stood. "Come on Discord, we could've at least tried to reason with them."

"Reasoning is too long and BORING. Plus, they didn't seem like the type who would listen to you. Those bugs are nothing but savages who are thirsty for blood and love." Discord explained.

"I just don't want to be a coward anymore. I'm tired of running away from my problems."

"Well, you certainly can't run away from your problems now when you struggle to simply walk." Discord took a hold of Cadance's neck and pulled her gently towards himself. "Your an alicorn princess aren't you? Surely you must know some kind of healing spell to cure the pain my close friend has."

"I- uh." Cadance tried to resist the sad look on Discord's face. She didn't want to trust or do whatever the lord of chaos wanted. Sam was still a stranger to her even if he did save her from her imprisonment. Even so, she felt something strange resonating in Sam. It felt as if infinite power was surrounding the boy, half of it was bad while the other half was good. Was this all a trick? "Are you sure this isn't some prank? You look to be in pain. However, why do I feel a powerful aura surrounding you. It feels like the power belongs to you. But it's failing to return to its owner."

Sam got back on his feet while using his hand to cover his chest. This time he took a few steps without falling down. "I don't know what you're talking about. If you think I can take care of myself, you're wrong. I'm only some kid who has no life. I'm a young brony who simply observes the entirety of Equestria through a screen for satisfaction. If I don't know how to survive in the real world. How am I supposed to survive in a world that rejects me?!"

"Brony? What's a brony?" Discord questioned. "It sounds like the word pony."

"It's a combination of the words man(bro) and pony," answered Sam.

"So, a brony is just another way of saying centaur? Half man and half horse."

Sam couldn't tell if Discord was being serious about this or if he was just acting dumb to annoy Sam. "No. Tirek is not a brony."

"Who or what is a Tirek?"

Sam slapped his forehead. "If you would let me finish, your questions would be answered a lot faster!"

"Well, excuuusssssse me grumpiness." Discord crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and faced the cavern walls in disapproval.

"For the love of Nayru! You're not Link and I'm not Zelda!"

As the two kept on, Cadance silently trotted out of the cave. The princess looked behind to see if she was safe. Once she made it to the exit, she stumbled on something soft as a pillow. Cadance looked down to see three small fillies bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Oh, hello there," Cadance smiled awkwardly.

The CMCs smiled back with pure joy. "The princess of love is here!" they all shouted loud enough for Sam and Discord to hear. "It's an honor to meet you!"

Discord turned to the direction of the sound, his eyes once again met Sam's "Did you hear that?"

"Yea." Sam's calmness came to an end after he realized some pony was missing. "Ah crap! Where is she?!"

Discord took in consideration to stop Cadance with his magic right away as he saw her a few inches away from the exit.

"You three shouldn't be here. You three need to get back home right away," whispered Cadance. The princess gently pushed the little fillies away and exited the cave quietly. Stepping on the grass Cadance felt the density of the ground. It was soft. Softer than the fillies themselves, meaning, she could gallop to her escape without the fear of creating any noise.

Wait. Something was off. The grass and flowers were normal for the most part. And the staircase was, melting. Melting?! Cadance rushed to the stairs and climbed only five steps up before she slipped and fell back to the start. The staircase had now turned into a fun and slippery slide with no way of returning up.

"This is ridiculous!" Cadance whispered to herself. She opened her wings in an attempt to escape by flying. The princess flapped her wings and raised herself into the air.

"Oh no, no, no. I can't allow that," Discord laughed from the ground below Cadance. The princess was hit by a large object in mid-air and landed onto Discord's arms. A rubber ducky one hundred times larger had fell from the sky. "Today's weather forecast is rainy with a few ducks," said Discord as more rubber ducks the same size poured from the clouds.

"Discord, stop it," Sam commanded. With each step he took, he felt pain in his legs. He kept on going until he had reached Discord. "You're going to grab attention over here, similar to what the Tree of Harmony had did, when it shot it's rainbow power to delay Nightmare's true form. If you continue to make it rain ducks our exposure will continue to grow. I've already had enough attention for one day. I don't need any more right now."

"Finnnne. But were keeping the leftover ducks."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Please. Let me go," Cadance begged.

"What's wrong? You were calm around us at first. What's with the sudden fear?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. You saved me, but. You're... you're a killer. And also, friends with a chaotic being. I don't know if I can trust you both."

"Trust?" Sam chuckled. "I don't think you can trust any pony at this point. We're probably the only ones you CAN trust."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that if don't put your trust in us you might find yourself screwed. The changelings are searching for us right now and they would disguise themselves as any pony to get the information they need. There's also this demon hunting me down. And once I am killed this whole world would cease to exist. So, I suggest you use a spell of some sort to be sure I am in top shape please."

Sweetie Belle backed up Sam. "He's right, princess. This guy isn't some kind of monster. He saved our flanks from being eaten. And he did the same for you. You should be thankful."

The three little fillies gave Cadance extremely cute puppy eyes which caused the alicorn's heart to explode. Discord was staring off into space daydreaming about chaos and stuff, while Sam kept his depressed and non emotional look as he always had been. "Alright fine," Cadance responded. "You've convinced me enough."

The three jumped up high and yelled. "YAY!"

Sam pulled out a finger and held it in between the middle of his mouth. "Shhhhh! Quiet all of you! I don't need y'all to blow our hiding spot away."

"Sorry," said the CMCs.

"Anyway," Sam pointed at Cadance's horn. "About that healing spell of yours. Can you fix my condition?"

"I'll see," Cadance leaped out of Discords arms, positioned her horn to Sam's heart, and released her magic into his heart. Sam felt a burning sensation in his chest. The sensation spread throughout the rest of his body. Cadance breathed rapidly after she finished the spell. "Oh pony feathers. That was so tiring. Please tell me it worked."

Sam stretched his arms and legs to the point where his bones popped. "Ah man, that's much better. Thank you. I never had someone- I mean, some pony to care for me," a tear fell from Sam's eye. "Heh, heh," more tears dripped down as he smiled wide. "Tears of joy?" Sam wiped them off his checks. "I never knew I could make any of those. This feeling," Sam moved closer to Cadance and gave her a soft hug. "This feeling, is something I haven't felt in a long time."

Cadance blushed. "Um, you're welcome. Could you-"

"KISS!" the three fillies interrupted.

"W-What?!" Cadance's heart rate shot up from 60bpm to 300bpm.

Discord butted in. "Ohhhh, this is getting very, romantic," Discord held out his hand wide open. A small and fancy black box appeared on his hand. Inside of it was a ring with one diamond held together. "This is for you, Sam, to give to your future wife."

Sam shook his head. "No. None of this has anything to do with romance. I just had the feeling of joy, which is something I never usually feel. Plus, we just met. This isn't love at first sight."

"You're no fun," Discord huffed.

"Lets not get off topic here Discord. This has been fun and all, but I have a demon to hunt down. If we continue to be clowns, we're going to be nothing other than sitting ducks."

"Okay, so what's the plan genius?"

"Hmmmm. Let's see," Sam's mind tried to process as many possibilities of what could happen. A small amount of fear hit Sam after he realized there was a possibility of the return of King Sombra. He knew his dream had started somewhere at the end of season 2. So how long would it take for Sombra to return if the events of season 3 were right around the corner. "How about all five of you head to Ponyville while I go back to Canterlot and deal with whatever punishment Chrysalis has in store for me. Nightmare feeds on negativity, so I need the five of you to keep their spirits up. And yes, that goes for you too Discord."

"Use my chaos magic for good? HA! That's something I can TOTALLY do without a problem," Discord said sarcastically.

Sam lowered his eyebrows. "Just try okay. I can't do this on my own. If you really care for this world then do the right thing by getting off your lazy chaotic butt and help me. Also, where's that gauntlet you found at the castle of the two sisters. Before the Tree of Harmony died, it said something about the six elements of infinity or whatever those things are called. It claims those magical artifacts play an important role in defeating Nightmare. As stupid as it sounds, I believe it. This is my dream after all. Being Thanos has been one of my dreams or fantasies."

"Who's Thanos?" the CMCs asked.

Sam was getting frustrated on how much explaining he needed to do. "You know what. Lets have a camp out. Those tents Discord created aren't there for nothing. We can tell spooky stories and all that stuff to get rid of our stress about the end of the world. We can start the plan tomorrow in the morning. If I get lucky I may even be able to convince Chrysalis to delay any attack she plans."

"A camp out? That sounds fun," Discord created a campfire with marshmallows burning on a stick. "Let's have some fun!"

"Yea, this will be fun, as long as you don't ruin it in any way with your chaotic nature," Sam found a set of logs and sat down in comfort. The logs were quite smooth. No. Too smooth. It was like some man decided to sand it for 4 hours straight. The memories of cutting and sanding wood in school came back and boy, were they good memories. The three fillies each sat on an individual log. Cadance sat right next to Sam, blushing even more than before. "Alright, so where do I start? It's not really a scary story. It's about a villain who wanted to end half of the universe due to overpopulation."

The CMCs sat down and listened to Sam with interest as he tried to summarize the story as best as he could. He even told them about his personal life and how he landed into Equestria. Discord flew around roasting marshmallows, ignoring the story entirely. Cadance laid down on Sam's shoulder and slept peacefully. Sam gazed at the princess. "She is so pretty...,"

Discord dropped his marshmallows in the fire and turned his attention to both of them. "Hu, hu, hu. The two of you are so cute together. Let me get the camera."

"Shut up, Dipcord," Sam snarled. "Sorry, I had to do it. Rainbow Dash is so cool."

"Dipcord? Where did that come from?" asked Discord while he scratched the side of his head.

"Never mind. You wouldn't understand because it hasn't happened yet. Also knock the thing between me and Cadance off. That mare is like, twice my age!"

Apple Bloom let out a yawn. "Hey, mister. Maybe we should call it a day. I'm all tuckered out."

"Yep, I ain't got nothing else to talk about. I'm normally a restless sleeper. Though this adventure has been killing me in a good way. And-" Sam heard the sounds of snores once he spotted the fillies laying down on the ground fast asleep. Even if the spot they slept on was rough as rock, they slept without a problem. "Heh, didn't know my stories would turn out to be some kind of bedtime story."

Sam grabbed the little fillies and moved them into the tents. He did the same with Cadance only this time he had almost lost his balance after realizing how much the princess weighed. "Whew," Sam wiped the sweat off his forehead. "I've lifted weights before but never have I ever lifted a full grown mare," Sam stood up straight trying to have a good posture even if his backbone felt like it was cut in two. "So, Discord, would you mind doing me a favor?"

Discord shrugged. "Depends on how long and boring the task is."

"Okay. I need you to go over to the Frozen North real quick, and see if you see anything out of the ordinary there. If there is please don't keep it a secret."

"Sounds easy enough. I'll be there in a snap. Literally," and just in a snap of a finger, Discord, had left.

"You better not do anything stupid Discord, *yawn.* I'm so tired," Sam spotted a vacant blue tent and decided to use it for tonight. Taking a few steps forward he stepped on something hard as steel. Looking down, the golden gauntlet Discord and the CMCs have found, sat there untouched. "Oh yea, I forgot about this thing. Better put it on before any pony else does."

Twilight and Spike avoided as many dangerous encounters as they could throughout the Everfree Forest. Ponyville was just up ahead, all Twilight had to do now was cross the long river. The fight against Discord and Sam had drained Twilight's powers. Being unable to teleport to the other side she took a hoof step into the water. It was cold, cold as ice. Twilight hissed in freezing pain with each step taken across the river. Spike sat on her back enjoying the ride. Twilight felt relieved after she had crossed the river. It was quite shallow, so no harm was done to the rest of her body, only her hooves.

"Huh. Odd. The water is never usually this cold. The same thing goes for the wind blowing on my face. Why is it so cold all of a sudden?" Twilight felt Spike shiver on her back to which she had to question. "Spike? What's the matter? You rode on my back without even taking a step in. How are you cold?"

"I'm not shivering because I'm freezing. I'm shivering because I'm scared," Spike corrected.

"Scared? Scared of what?" Twilight's heart rate shot up at the sight of a pair of yellow eyes in the shadows behind them. Three more pairs of eyes appeared within the shadows. Twilight knew this was not the best time to rest. After hearing a growl, Twilight galloped swiftly towards Ponyville, praying to Celestia she would make it back. She could hear the splashes of water made by the timber-wolves behind her. "Some pony, please help me!" Twilight's vision blackened, she can't keep going on like this. She needed to rest.

Twilight's front hoof hit a long and sturdy branch and fell face flattened into the dirt. Picking herself up she was brought face to face with a timber wolf. Its face was filled with hatred and one of its legs appeared to be chewed off. Twilight closed her eyes and cried. The timber wolf's anger was replaced with regret.

"Twilight Sparkle, the future princess of friendship," the timber wolf said letting out a soft growl. "You shall be spared," the timber wolf howled, ordering the rest of the pack to retreat deep into the forest.

Twilight got back up on all four hooves in surprise. "You're letting me go?"

"Nothing is what it seems, Twilight. Do not think of your enemy as an enemy, but rather, a future ally. Do not seek vengeance on the one you seek to kill, for it will only backfire," the timber wolf disappeared into the shadows without a trace.

"Wow, a timber wolf that talks. I have never heard of such a thing," Spike said. "Anyway, we should head back to Ponyville."

"Spike! Are you going to shake all that off!? We would have been wolf food if it wasn't for that nice timber wolf!" Twilight took heavy breaths.

"I'm sorry Twilight. It's just that, I wanna go home okay. The sun is about to rise anyway."

"I know Spike. But, there are so many strange beings appearing in Equestria. And what makes things even more strange is a talking timber wolf! We can't just ignore it," Twilight levitated Spike onto her back and trotted in the direction to Ponyville. "I'm going to inform Princess Celestia about the return of Discord and the disappearance of my friends."

The trip back to Ponyville turned out to be longer than expected for the two. Thankfully they made it back safely, however, something was off about the village. Large walls surrounding Ponyville were being constructed, and each and every household had doors and windows barricaded by wooden planks.

As the two kept on exploring, Spike patted Twilight on the neck for her attention. "Hey, Twilight."

"What is it now Spike?" Twilight asked in exhaustion.

Spike pointed to the Town Hall, "check it out."

Twilight eyes widened at the large crowd in front of the town hall. Having no idea what the commotion was about, she decided to get a closer look. From what she could see from afar was what seemed to be a training ground with guards training inexperienced ponies to fight.

Large hay bales sat separately around the open field, which were used as test dummies. Each individual pony was given a spear or a sword and was ordered to strike the hay bales in an orderly fashion. The guards shook their heads in disappointment after the majority had failed.

"They're hopeless and weak," a guard commented.

He took it all back after a beefy white stallion dropped the spear and smashed the hay bale into tiny little pieces of hay with little to no effort. The same happened to the rest that stood in the stallion's way. The guards couldn't say another word.

"YEA!" the stallion yelled. The rest of the ponies cheered the stallion on for his strength while the guards tried to hide their jealousy.

"Ladies and Gentlecolts, your attention please!" a tan pony stood in front of the Town Hall, about to give a speech. "You have all done well and the princesses are very proud. Princess Celestia has something to say to you all," Mayor Mare stepped aside allowing the princess to have the mic.

Princess Celestia spoke with a confident and cheery tone. Even if it was bad news, she didn't wipe the smile off her face. The ponies on the other hoof gasped and panicked after hearing the return of a dark unicorn.

"First the changelings, then a demon haunting our dreams, and now we have to fight a shadow king that came back from the dead a thousand years ago! Are you insane!?" a pony exclaimed. Celestia's smile disappeared but she didn't let her anger overcome her. She sighed and continued to explain and reason everything out. Once Ponyville was as calm and quiet as a mouse, Celestia ordered every pony to depart. After a few minutes the town hall was empty except for one lavender unicorn, gazing at the princess.

Seeing the pony she held dear in her hooves, Celestia's smile returned. "Twilight, my faithful student, I see you have returned safely. Do you have anything to say to me? Where are your friends? I don't see them anywhere," Celestia paused upon the drops of tears falling from Twilight's eyes. "What's wrong Twilight?"

Twilight hesitated to speak. "I failed you, princess. I failed, I failed, I failed!" Twilight said in frustration.

Celestia's smile once again left her, but she didn't frown. The amount of despair, hate, regret, and sorrow in Twilight's heart had reminded Celestia of some pony closest to her. Celestia walked up close, lowered herself down to Twilight's level of height, and gave her a soft hug, similar to what she had done to her sister, Luna. "Tell me everything."

"Lyra this is ridiculous!" Sweetie Drops groaned. "The search for this non-existing human has gotten my hooves in a broken state. Can we please go back home so I can get some sleep!?"

"Now hold on! I think the princess and her student are talking about something very important," Lyra whispered, peeking behind the Town Hall to spy on the two. For the most part, the conversation between the two failed to provide Lyra with the information she needed. All it was was Celestia comforting her number one student for her missing friends and the loss of her big brother, Shining Armor. Lyra was about to leave the scene until she heard Twilight mention something about a two-legged creature within the forest. Lyra was now all ears.

"So, you say Discord, the lord of chaos, has once again escaped from his stone prison, and now works with the strange creature who stole the elements back in Canterlot. Is that correct?" Celestia said with a serious tone.

"Yes princess, they were definitely working together," Twilight confirmed.

"What about the elements and your friends?"

"I told you, they're gone."

"Gone? How so?"

Twilight looked at her cutie mark and returned her eyes to the princess, "Magic I guess. I don't know how exactly."

Celestia didn't respond right away. Taking a moment of thought she shook her head, "I have lived on this land for more than a thousand years, and never have me and my sister dealt with such a disaster. I fear my sister is right, Equestria is doomed for destruction. The potion your pink friend has given me to study, Coke, I believe is the name of it."

Twilight froze. She had forgotten it was in Celestia's possession. Or had forgotten all about the whole thing because of her thirst for revenge. "O-oh th-that, it's nothing really," Twilight said nervously.

"No need to fear Twilight, it is something, but rather, something good. One who drinks it will be given knowledge of the past and...the future," Celestia's horn sparked, and in a flash of golden light, the coke bottle appeared, levitating around the princess in a golden aura. "It's strange. I've seen a few potions that would reveal the past, but never have I seen one that reveals the future."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "the future?"

"Yes, from what I have seen the future will not be a bright one. All my eyes could see was Equestria covered in darkness. I could even hear the screams of my subjects screaming in eternal suffering, and there is no doubt in my mind that that demonic entity had something to do with it. I hate to admit the truth, but I fear the return of Sombra and Discord is only the beginning of the end of Equestria."

Twilight was about to lose it, "the end of Equestria!?"

Celestia held out a hoof in front of Twilight, "I understand your concern, though I have plans for Equestria's survival," Celestia giggled. "And I believe you are one of the ponies that will help me do just that. And I have one last question for you, Twilight. Where did you happen to find this potion?"

"It was given to me by my number one assistant, Spike. He said it was laying on the ground near one of the apple stands. I don't think any pony knows where it had come from-" Twilight stopped. As she was talking to the princess she felt as if they were being watched. Her eyes left the princess, and she took a good look at the Town Hall to spot anything out of the ordinary.

"Is something the matter?" Celestia asked curiously.

"Nothing," Twilight sighed. "I swear some pony was eavesdropping on us, but...maybe it was just my imagination."

Lyra took in deep breaths hiding behind the Town Hall, "boy, almost got caught up in a big mess. Glad you pulled me away before I got carried away by curiosity."

Sweetie Drops rolled her eyes, "yea sure. I'm going home now, and I'd think it'd best for you to do the same."

"Wait! They aren't done yet! Please stay!" Lyra begged.

"No, Lyra. I'm tired and I need my rest. I'm sorry to say this but you're on your own," Sweetie Drops took off without another word.

"Hmph! Fine! Who needs her anyway. I can handle this all by myself," Lyra for some reason had a bad feeling of not following her friend's advice but being filled with determination to find answers she continued to spy on the two mares. As the two finished Twilight bowed and they both went their separate ways.

"C'mon! I need more info!" Lyra felt her eye lids lowering without her control. She shook it off and followed Twilight from behind.

"Before we start our invasion I want to be sure I scare the living heck out of that young man before I end him," Nightmare closed his eyes and looked into Sam's memories. Half of his memories were depressing while the other half made Nightmare laugh. Sombra walked back and forth tapping his hooves on the crystal floor to get Nightmare's attention. "Ah hah! I got it. He may not fear death, but he fears the pain that comes before it. I will make sure he suffers. And what better way to make one suffer, than turning one of their favorite things into a nightmare!"

"Can you get on with it already?" Sombra asked. It had only been a few hours and Sombra already felt like abandoning Nightmare. The demon was just too pushy and demanding, plus, Sombra might even have the power to take on Equestria on his own. Sombra waited impatiently until Nightmare had finished his spell. A fog of darkness erupted from the ground covering Sombra's view. Sombra waved his hoof repeatedly to clear the fog, once it was clear he saw something indescribable.

In front of Sombra and beside Nightmare stood a skeleton. It wore a dark blue jacket, black shorts, and a simple pair of blue shoes. A strange glowing red circle stuck to its chest, and it held a knife on its right hand. Black and gooey liquid ran down its eyes as it smiled to no end at Sombra. The skeleton raised his knife, speeded across the crystal floor, and missed his attack on the king. King Sombra thankfully reacted in time to change into his shadow form before the skeleton could slash his chest.

"Woah there, calm yourself, Killer. You wouldn't want to hurt my helper now, would you?"

"heh, why not boss? looks pretty weak to me. could even be free EXP."

Sombra glared at the skeleton, "free EXP?"

"Sombra, I'd like you to meet our new recruit, Killer Sans. He will provide us with support along the way. Oh, and I believe in Killer's world EXP stands for Execution Points. A way of measuring someone's opacity to hurt," Nightmare answered. "In other words he sees you as a free kill."

"How dare you!" Sombra gritted his teeth and readied his magic.

Killer Sans stood still with no sign of fear, "jeez, this guy is the one who needs to chill out, boss. why did you hire some kind of...ugly unicorn or whatever he is to assist us?"

"Do not underestimate his abilities, Killer. I can assure you both will play a role so try to get along," Nightmare may have not known exactly what King Sombra was capable of, though he could sense the unicorn's power to an extreme.

"Fine/fine. jinx!" Killer said after saying the same thing at the same time with Sombra. The king ignored the skeleton and moved on.

"No more stalling! Let's get on with it already," Sombra ordered his army of slaves to go forth, Nightmare did the same with his army. The ponies marched on the snowy fields as commanded, each one was zombie-like or emotionless, they didn't even feel the cold snow coming into contact with their bare hooves as they were too distracted following orders. Sombra took control in the front while Nightmare and Killer remained in the back.

Killer whispered into Nightmare's ear, "so uh, we really gonna trust this sketchy fellow, or?"

"Of course not," Nightmare whispered back. "Can't you see? We're using him for our own benefit. Once he loses his value I will dispose of him."

"love that idea," Killer chuckled.

"Now that I think of betrayal how about you head back to his crystal homeland and do a little research on him. You are bound to find one of his weaknesses," Nightmare added.

"another great idea boss," Killer gave his boss a wave and traveled back to the empire. With no one else to talk to, Nightmare had no better option than to communicate with Sombra. Passing through Sombra's army Nightmare tapped him on the head from behind.

Sombra jumped at the sudden appearance. The king showed high levels of aggression at first, until realizing who surprised him from behind.

"Oh, it is only you," Sombra said, returning to a calm state. "My apologies for acting this way. I thought you were some pony else. I guess my mind deceives me once again. Or has it?" Sombra stared at the sky above, more specifically, the clouds. "There is something lying within those clouds, I can sense it," Sombra blasted the clouds with boiling dark magic.

The clouds exploded into thin air, revealing a strange being holding binoculars. Nightmare laughed at its appearance. "Heh heh, so who's that supposed to be? Your nemesis?" Nightmare assumed by the look on the king's face. Sombra didn't answer.

"That's definitely NOT how you treat an audience!" Discord spat, dropping his binoculars in disapproval. "You're supposed to entertain the audience, not attack them you good for nothing shadow king!"

Sombra's horn bubbled and filled itself with darkness and rage. "No audience of mine will ever be one without my permission!" Sombra released another blast of dark magic, "begone! This land will be mine for taking only!"

Nightmare crossed his arms, "you mean this is our land for the taking?"

Sombra ignored the demon and put his focus on Discord. Discord hissed at the two and vanished before the magic could hit.

"Tch! Coward. Taking Equestria will be a lot more challenging than I anticipated. A being who can bend reality with a snap of his claws will be a huge rival for me," Sombra now in frustration, turned to his new demonic friend for support.

"A rival? How funny. I already have one myself."

Discord appeared inside the cave where Sam, Cadance, and the three fillies once slept.

"Sam! I have some news!" Discord checked the tents and found each and every one of them to be empty. "Where could they be? They wouldn't just leave. The changelings are out there searching for them, unless..." Discord took the time to search for clues, a green lump of goo sat on the side of the cavern walls. Discord poked it with his lion paw and wiped it off immediately.

"Looks like the changelings had paid them a visit. I guess I'll have to do the same," Discord sobbed. "Oh, I can't believe this day came so soon. Me, the lord of chaos, must now play the hero instead of the villain."

Chapter 8: To Destroy a Throne

"Who am I? What am I?" Sam questioned himself. Sitting on top of the hill, he stared off in the distance with silence. Grey clouds covered the sky, preventing any sunlight from reaching Sam's eyes. The sight of the clouds made Sam smile. Even if the environment represented sadness, he felt satisfied. "Another cloudy day huh? My favorite," the boy laid down as he continued to question his identity.

He didn't know what to trust anymore, nor did he know what to define as, real. Sam opened his hands wide open. He took a good look at them and blinked. Hooves of the same color could be seen being held in front. He blinked again, and again, and again.

Each time he blinked his hands would transform into hooves and return back to their original state after another blink. "What am I? A human, pony, monster, or a worthless piece of trash who doesn't fit into any category?" Sam started to sob while talking to himself. "I'm nothing! I have done nothing wrong or bad, but never have I ever done any good in the world! So, tell me world! WHAT AM I!? WHY DO I EXIST!?" Sam punched the ground thinking it would fix his problem.

Suddenly, something tapped him softly from behind. Sam's heart stopped as he was unable to make a move. He couldn't move his neck, arms, and legs, he felt nothing but fear taking him. The only part of him moving was his eyes. The world around him spun, evolving so fast that Sam had no comprehension of himself, nor his surroundings.

The chaos slowly came to a stop and his senses started to return. There he was, at his school, (prison) about to enter before noticing nobody walking down the entrance halls of the building. Turning to his left, something was wrong. Normally only a few houses sat peacefully and hundreds of cars sitting on the road would pile up.

This time, however, was different. Everything felt normal from where he stood, but from his far left nothing felt correct. All houses were broken down and burned, and every vehicle abandoned. It was dark, too dark. Sam felt another hoof tap him softly from behind. He turned to his right to be surprised by what he saw.

From his far right, an alicorn with red mane, his height, smiled at him with joy. Sam looked at the gorgeous sight in awe. Birds were singing and the flowers were blooming. Even a rainbow the size of an elephant from Sam's perspective formed in the sky. "You've met with a terrible fate haven't you," the alicorn said in a cheerful tone.

Sam didn't give it, or rather her, a friendly face even if she wore a nice smile like Celestia's. "Who are you? What is this place?"

The alicorn's smile didn't leave her face but Sam could tell his question had upset her a little, "you don't remember me? How sad, but...you were never good at names."

The alicorn laughed and flew into the bright light of the sky. The light shined brighter and brighter until it surpassed the brightness of the sun. Sam ducked down to protect his eyeballs. Taking a breath, he felt something enter his lungs other than air. It felt like water had entered his lungs about to clog them. Not knowing what he was breathing in other than air he coughed it out hard only for the world around him to disappear.

He felt dizzy, and warm, as if a slime monster was there hugging him in the darkness. Gasping for more air he once again inhaled the same liquid that had entered his lungs. Sam's vision returned slightly allowing him to see movement crawling and climbing onto the walls near his unknown location. Surprisingly, the stuff he took in was breathable.

Once his brain regained control of his entire body, he stretched his arms out wide. At the end of his hands, he could feel something solidly soft and squishy keeping him in.

'What is this? Green Jell-O from Walmart?' Sam squeezed and pulled while kicking with all his effort to break free from whatever kept him in. With the sound of a balloon pop, the cocoon exploded, releasing green jelly along with Sam splashing onto the castle floor. The changelings surrounding the area felt a tinge of concern, seeing how the creature escaped from its sleep. "Ah gaw- *cough* that was a terrible yet comforting experience," Sam said, forcibly coughing out more green jelly out of his lungs.

"Impossible! How?! No pony or creature has the ability to escape the confinement of our cocoons!" Pharynx, now scared, was disappointed in himself.

Sam's eyes landed on a changeling, then another, and another. He stood stiff in front of the bug crowd until one after another, they hissed violently. "Ummm. I'm out!" Sam ran out of the large room and into the ruined, mixed-up hallways. He didn't know where to go, only somewhere away from them. "C'mon, c'mon, can't stop running!" Sam hid behind a knight statue to recover his lungs. He watched the changelings fly and crawl right past him while trying not to make a sound. When he felt the way was clear he left his hiding place, "and I ran away again. Dang, I really am a coward."

"Psst! Over here," Discord said, taping the window separating him from his very first friend.

"Huh? Discord? How'd you get here? More importantly, how did I get here?"

"How about you let me in and save your stupid questions for later."

Sam almost asked another question about him being able to teleport inside until remembering the magic draining throne in the castle. Without questioning Discord, Sam unlocked the window from his side and pushed it open. "There. Now where are the others?"

"I don't know, you tell me. You were with them when I left," Discord said, flying inside through the window.

"Well don't blame me. It isn't my fault they're gone. Sometimes I have trouble waking up when I'm asleep. I can only assume the four of them are trapped in those cocoons I slept in," Sam rubbed his face with his hands. "Why does my life have to be so challenging?"

"And there goes another question that no pony will ever answer. Honestly do you ever go through at least one day without asking a single question!" Discord pulled Sam's arm with great force and tossed him into a hidden armory, "gear up. You told me I owe you one so I... decided I should make it up for you," Discord felt a bit embarrassed even if no pony was around to laugh at their new friendship.

Sam gazed at each shiny and sharp blade as he searched for a fitting weapon. Even putting a finger under his chin while trying to decide, "you knew these ponies had a secret armory with deadly weapons other than trash spears this whole time?"

"I have been stuck in the castle grounds for thousands of years, so yes. This armory is more of an emergency room, just in case of the existence of an actual threat that could result in pony extinction. The majority of these weapons were stolen from other races like griffons. Ponies are not the type to hurt or kill if you know what I mean."

Sam nodded, "true. But because of my crazy head and my enjoyment in fan animations and fan fictions of this show. That would explain why Shining Armor decided to pull out a sword to kill me. There was never blood and death in this show. Looks like the dark part of my mind had also entered my dream."

"Fan anamotions?" Discord mispronounced.

"Ah forget it! Like you said, there's no time to sit down and ask questions," Sam bent down and carefully removed a large, spiked ball and chain from its place. Sam grinned at the size of the ball and chain, "this will do."

Discord took a crossbow for himself and loaded a quiver with 20 arrows on his back. "Also, after we're done with the insect queen, what are we going to do with Sombra? In case you weren't sure of yourself he is back."

Sam gave him a look. Not mad, but, disappointing. Anger was an emotion Sam threw away a few years ago because he never did believe anger would solve anything, and heck, sometimes there's a consequence in showing off that emotion. "Sombra. If you knew he was back, why didn't you take care of him yourself?"

"Because where's the fun in that? I want to see a WAR. No. A crystal WAR," Discord reasoned terribly.

After that very sentence Sam was done talking. "Let's just free Cadance and the CMCs and destroy the throne so you can do whatever it is you do Discord."

"Agreed. We should split up. I will save Cadance and my new little students while you destroy the stupid throne keeping my magic away. With the throne out of the way I will rule Canterlot in chaos from bottom to top, and then all of Equestria!"

"Destroy the throne. Got it," Sam carried the ball and chain with both hands and jogged down the royal hall at a certain speed to avoid hurting himself with the heavy spiked ball.

Discord took the direction leading towards the cocoon chamber Sam escaped from. Even without his chaos magic, loads of confidence filled him, "good luck my new friend."

'Good luck?' Sam thought to himself while jogging. 'That's something I need at all times. And when I say I need it, I mean, I NEED it! When was the last time I ever had any good luck? Five years? A decade? Who knows?'

*Five more minutes of jogging*

'Dang man, how big is this castle? Feels like I've been jogging around here for a whole month.

*Ten more minutes of jogging*

Just where is this throne room!? And actually, now that I think about it. Where are these changelings? I'm a big target out in the open. How in the world have I not gotten a single encounter with- annnnnd I thought too soon.' Sam stopped himself and nearly allowed the ball and chain to overpower his weight.

Several changelings blocked his way. The one with purple eyes, Pharynx, was in front of the small army. Sam was getting irritated by the sight of Pharynx. "You again. Is this the third or fourth time we met or?"

Pharynx responded with a loud hiss. It was pretty clear Pharynx wasn't in the mood for talking and the same went for the others behind. However, one changeling bemused Sam. It's face, unlike the others, looked remorseful. It didn't even look as if it wanted to play along with the others. Wait...could it be???

"You guys are blocking my way, if you so kindly move out of the way there won't be any trouble," Sam politely said. As he expected, they didn't listen to a word he said. He sighed. "So be it then."

Twilight entered the Golden Oak Library and opened a hidden room of the tree with her magic. "Spike could you put the Coke potion in a safe spot in there," Twilight sighed. "It's been a rough night."

"Sure thing," Spike jumped down from the unicorns back and held the potion in his hands. It was quite heavy for the little dragon, but he wasn't about to let the one who took care of him since he was born down. Spike slowly but steadily carried the Coke potion into the dark room and placed the potion in a secure area.

Twilight used her magic to close the room after Spike finished, "*yawn* you know. Normally I would always come up with an idea on something to do every time the sun rises. This time however, I only feel like sleeping. And don't call me lazy!"

Spike yawned and stretched his arms. "Wow, who knew yawns were contagious. I can't believe we'll be sleeping during the day. The last thing we need is to become night owls."

"Oh, Spike don't worry. We'll just get a few hours of rest to be sure we can carry on. I will even set up an alarm spell that will wake us up when the time is right."

"Are you okay Twilight?" Spike asked worriedly.

Twilight faced Spike with a confused smile, "what do you mean?"

"I mean, why are so... happy and positive right now? Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie have disappeared, not to mention your brother's death. Shouldn't you be sad or worried?"

"Huh? Who is Pinkie Bow and Flutter Dash? I mean I know that miserable creature killed my brother, but I'd like to avoid that subject. I still have you Spike," Twilight pulled Spike into a cuddle and smooshed her face a little too close to Spike's.

Spike pushed her away. "Twilight! They're your friends! Stop acting like you were never with them! You were with them when we fought Discord."

"No, I'm pretty sure it was just you and me Spike. Now get some rest and stop making up stories."

Both were about to sleep until a guard busted through the door. "Twilight! Princess Celestia's top student!" the guard panted. "You are needed at once! It's an emergency!"

"Now what?" Spike grumbled.

Twilight sighed, "here I thought I could finally catch a break after a long night. Alright, come along Spike."

The two followed the guard without a word. Everything felt different and off without her friends by her side. Every time a big problem in Equestria formed Twilight would solve it with her friends. Whatever task or test Celestia had in mind, needed to be fair and easy, otherwise things wouldn't go well since it was only her and Spike. And it certainly didn't help the fact that she had barely any energy and magic to do simple actions like levitating simple objects.

The time she assisted Luna against the dream demon, Nightmare, and the time she and her friends fought against the mighty chaos duo (Discord and Sam) took away so much of her power.

"Are we there yet?" Spike covered his chest while shivering impatiently, "is no pony going to talk about how cold it is out here?!" A small, cold, and white little particle landed on Spike's nose. The purple dragon sneezed out a flame of green fire after inhaling it. More white particles rained down to the three. "Snow? What's going on? It's not even winter!"

"That's odd. The pegasi were never tasked to create snow clouds, not until 5 months," Twilight watched as the snowstorm covered the sun. The temperature decreased drastically once the last bit of sunlight was covered.

The three shivered and their teeth were chattering at the sudden cold air of snow. The snowstorm's intensity increased making it difficult to see. The guard pushed through the freezing fog while Twilight and Spike followed him slowly, covering their heads.

It was a freezing pain for the three of them, their fur wasn't enough to protect against the blizzard, the guard was lucky to at least have his suit of armor covering him. A crowd of ponies gathered around the Princesses. More and more ponies left their own cozy homes after the cold winds ruined the warmth they felt inside.

The guard directed Twilight and Spike to Celestia and Luna after they passed by the large open crowd.

"I am truly sorry for you all. But if you refuse to fight in the war, Equestria will fall onto Sombra's dark hooves," Celestia began.

"Once Equestria is in his possession each and every one of you will live in eternal cold, darkness, and imprisonment. The same will go for us, so for the sake of Celestia, please fight with us!" Luna begged. "It is unlikely the two of us have the power to fend off the King once again."

Celestia nodded, "the time has come. I have done all I can to prepare you for this battle. It is up to you now if you want Equestia to remain in harmony. Now. To all who volunteer, raise your hoof high into the air."

Everypony raised their hooves and screamed and cheered to one another, especially towards the princesses. Celestia and Luna smiled, grateful of their loyal and brave subjects.

"Um, Twilight, look!" Spike tapped Twilight's leg causing her to face Spike's direction. Twilight's eyes widened at the distance Sombra, and his army were from Ponyville. Hundreds of crystal ponies marched at Sombra's command.

Celestia and Luna and then every pony else immediately panicked and prepared themselves for a fight. Several minutes passed and Sombra felt ready enough to end Celestia's and Luna's control of Equestria, but the king wasn't prepared for the amount of time and effort his enemies used to prepare themselves.

The ponies geared up and aligned themselves in certain positions near the town, waiting for Sombra's attack. Sombra laughed seeing Celestia's and Luna's eyes filled with hope.

"Be my slaves, or it will be your graves!" Sombra grinned, transforming into his shadow form. He flew towards the princesses ignoring all physical blows and magical attacks being thrown. The princesses screamed a tiny bit and covered their front side with their wings.

Sombra almost had his way before something struck him in the chest, causing him to return to his normal state. His chest plate now melted; he covered the burnt area with his hoof. Sombra glared at what struck him. An alicorn, flew down steadily by the other two princesses.

Sombra, now surprised of a third alicorn existing, he ordered his troops to fight with him. He thought this could've been done all by himself. The king imagined taking Equestria all to himself without the help of Nightmare and his minions, and his very own crystal slaves.

The third alicorn princess charged her magic, intriguing Sombra. Surprised and curious as he was about the third alicorn, he was even more surprised by the cutie mark. "Do my eyes deceive me? A third immortal, how funny. I would like to ask how you were able to obtain the cutie mark residing on your back."

Cadance huffed, "it's none of your business! Let the crystal ponies go! None of them deserve to be your slaves!"

"Watch your mouth young pony. For you are clueless to who you talk to now. If you join me I will give you a special position after I conquer this land. You can even be my future wife, I would make a great husband for you my dear," Sombra persuaded.

Cadance's words came out angrily, "future husband. I don't think so," Cadance used her hoof and drew a thick line in the snow. "Rule the crystal empire if you want but leave us be. If you dare cross this line, we will have no choice but to put you into submission!"

Sombra breathed out with disappointment, "what a shame, you would have been perfect for me. I wonder what my, partner, is up to."

Two lines of changelings filled the throne room with a red carpet separating them both. Queen Chrysalis sat on her hard rock throne full of holes while feeling pleased with herself. Her changeling subjects and how she raised them made her feel even more pleasure for herself. She closed her eyes and relaxed her mind, ignoring all distractions.

The queen snapped back to reality after hearing heavy footsteps stomping across the hall leading to the throne room, becoming louder and louder each second. One of her best soldiers, Pharynx, already warned her and even blocked off the doors to the throne. Chrysalis felt no fear as she knew no matter what she did, the snap, is inevitable.

The changeling guards left their positions to protect the queen. Chrysalis waved a hoof at them to stop. "I'll be fine, worry about yourselves for now."

Pharynx was in disbelief. "My Queen! This creature is strong! I don't think you can handle him all by yourself!"

Chrysalis leaned back on her throne and giggled softly, "do as what your mother commands my dear. This will only take a few minutes." Sounds of screams from her children filled the entire castle. With each heavy stomp and with each heavy bang outside the throne room, the changeling guards fled from their queen. "Even if it gets ugly," Chrysalis finished.

Two voices flowed past the door, barely reaching Chrysalis's ears. For Chrysalis, the voices were the same volume as a whisper.

"So, you say she's still here." the first voice said. Sounds of grinding chains were made after the first voice finished.

The second voice sounded worried and more emotional than the first."Yes, but please don't hurt her. She is my mother. Even if she never was a good mother to me, I still love her, okay."

The first voice hesitated. "Alright then... I guess you won't be helping me at this point," another set of chains clanked, along with the sound of something with high weight being dragged and scrapped across the hard marble floor. "I'll try my best for you, Thorax."

The doors to the throne room busted opened to the amount of pressure from the large, spiked ball. Sam tugged the spiked ball back to him with force. Containing the ball in his hands he prepared for the queen's move.

Chrysalis used her magic to inspect the amount power Sam gained so far.

*Killed: N/A;____Power Gained: -4870632340965 PP*
*Killed: 5 Timberwolves;____Power Gained: 100 PP*
*Killed: Shining Armor;____ Power Gained: 450 PP*
*Killed: 57 Changelings____Power Gained: 570 PP*

*Total Power: 1120 PP*

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to show off their fighting skills. I'm impressed," Chrysalis left her throne and took a few steps towards her monster, waiting for his next move. "Well? Go on. Don't just stand there, show me how strong you can be, Sam."

Sam moved the left side of lips and readied his ball and chain. His shirt, pants, and face were covered in blue blood. He wiped it off without taking his eyes off the queen. "I'd rather talk this out than fight this out Chryssi."

"I know," Chrysalis licked her fangs, giving Sam an uncomfortable feeling inside. "I know that you're only saying that to make this go faster. I will not allow that. You have two eyes, one sees this world as a game, while the other sees this world as real. You have the head of a psychopath, and the heart of the purest."

Sam checked his surroundings to be sure not to be attacked by surprise while they talked. When he was sure Chrysalis wasn't stalling him, he locked eyes with her. "What are talking about?" Sam's empty tone made Chrysalis reassured of her statements.

"Tell me. Do you ever struggle to stop yourself from doing anything bad? Do you ever feel good for helping someone and at the same time regret not listening to the dark part of your head? You felt pain and happiness at the same time to the point where you couldn't understand yourself, and in time, your emotions started to fade."

Sam showed off a slight shocking expression. "W-what... are you serious? How? What you just said explains exactly how I felt my whole life. How did you know?"

Chrysalis smiled at Sam's expression. This is the first time she saw him expressing a single bit of emotion. When she first met him, the only face she saw was a white empty void.

"We changelings feed on love, but in order to do that we must know when the individual is feeling love in order to suck their heart out dry. While you slept, I looked into your mind to see your fears, hopes, important memories, and the things you loved. You felt so much emotion in the past but as you aged...well, I shouldn't talk about it since I know I will hit a nerve that will spark... unwanted emotion."

There was one feeling that Sam lacked, and it was love. "...So... you do know what I went through. I am a little pissed at you for entering my mind to see something personal about me without my permission, but I'll get over it someday."

Chrysalis buzzed her wings and screeched. "And that day is today. Today you unleash all of your anger. Fight me!"

Sam shook his head feeling quite hesitant. He felt strong with his new weapon and even stronger after fighting off those disgusting large bugs while Thorax guided him to the throne room.

Even if his intellect outmatched many, he still had this urge for action and stupidity. There was no better option. Chrysalis and her throne weren't going down without a fight. Adrenaline pumped in his veins urging him to start a fight without question.

"You know what. Now that I think about it, this whole world is both a dream and a game realistically. Maybe Nightmare doesn't even exist. Maybe my alarm clock will at some point ring and wake me up. So, might as well have some fun."

Sam shook his head a second time with a little laughter to go with it. "I hate to admit it, but maybe Discord was being a good friend by giving me advice. Reasoning is too long and BORING even if it is the safer and faster solution."

Chrysalis was done waiting. Her patience was far from perfect and never had she been this patient to start a fight. The queen filled herself with air and released a dreadful scream of terror and pain to Sam's ears. He felt deaf and distracted as he tried to recover.

Chrysalis slammed Sam into the castle wall followed by a hoof to the face. His ball and chain fell out of his hands after the heavy attack. He wasn't about to let Chrysalis go on. He made a tightened fist and punched Chrysalis square in the chest. The queen groaned unexpectedly and covered her chest with a hoof.

When he saw an opening, he went for his ball and chain. Sam carefully lifted the ball with his left hand containing the gauntlet, as the gauntlet protected him from the spikes and made carrying the thing much easier.

Using his arm muscles, he spun the heavy ball in the air. Chrysalis felt the wind spin along with the ball. Her confidence level dropped to zero after noticing she had only created a drop of blood on Sam's face. His regeneration abilities may have left him, but his physical strength outmatched hers.

Chrysalis had no other option but to use magic. The damage she would receive from one hit would be devastating.

Once Sam felt ready, he swung the ball and chain in Chrysalis's direction, allowing it to fly free from his grasp.

A green barrier formed in front of Chrysalis right as the metal ball came into contact with it. The barrier busted into shards and the metal ball bounced into a different direction. Due to the amount of force applied to the barrier, Chrysalis found herself face flat onto the castle floor.

Thankfully, nothing vital was damaged to the queen. As Chrysalis struggled to pick herself up Sam swung his ball and chain again only this time instead of aiming for the queen, he aimed at something else.

Cadance and Shining held hooves with one another. Gazing into each other's eyes, it felt as if their pupils became the shape of hearts. "I'm never letting go, Shining."

Shining Armor blushed, "me neither babe. What do you think our babies will look like?"

Cadance blushed even more than before, "Shining! Don't you think it's a little too early for that?! I'm not ready to be a mother! Let's avoid that topic for now, okay?"

The stallion laughed at his wife. "Well, anything for you."

Cadance smiled.

"Wake up..." a voice whispered from above.

Cadance could've sworn she heard some pony when she looked up. "Hey Shining, did you hear a voice come from somewhere dear?" Cadance's gaze returned to nothing. Shining Armor dissipated without a trace, and without a sound.

"I said wake up!" the voice said louder.

"Who are you? Where is Shining?"

"Oh, for goodness sake!"

Cadance felt something tug her by the neck. She felt both sides of her neck being squeezed tightly. Something soft and fluffy squeezed her by the left side of her neck while something hard and sharp squeezed her right.

"Let me go!" Cadance screamed in a high-pitched voice. The next thing she knew was her body being shook back in forth. She felt like passing out, and her eyelids became heavier. Who could be doing this?

Whoever was doing this had no visibility in Cadance's eyes. Her eyelids dropped against her control, and she reopened her eyes to see Discord breathing heavily onto her mane. His breath smelled like a fiery pit of chaos without any fair treatment. "Is it just me or is every pony a heavy sleeper!"

The unwanted surprise of Discord created hundreds of questions in the alicorn's head. Discord, of course, would be disgusted if forced to answer such questions. "Discord?! What happened? Where are we? Did I miss anything? Where is Sam?" Cadance's mouth was shut tight by a talon bopping her by the muzzle.

"That's it! I've had it with questions!" With a snap of his fingers Cadance's lips were replaced by a zipper. Discord pulled the zipper to the left and patted an angry Cadance on the head. Cadance tried to say something insulting to the chaotic immortal but couldn't make out a single word. Even trying to pull the zipper in the opposite direction with her hoof, but only succeeded in moving it a tad bit until it wouldn't budge.

"Yea complain all you want. It'd be nice to have a thank you for the rescue but that's finnnne. I mean, who would ever treat me, Discord, fairly, hmm?" Discord smirked at the princess until she made the decision to stay quiet. "That's better," Discord removed the zipper giving Cadance the freedom to speak.

"Okay Discord, you win." Cadance said in defeat. "What do you want?"

"Yes, yes, the old fashion line from the good to the bad. The bad always has to have a WANT, and never a need from the good. Isn't that how those stories are written? Anyway, let me explain everything, and what I say better be enough to answer your questions, otherwise you'll have a zipper on your mouth for the next five decades."

Cadance nodded nervously in response. The princess sat and listened to the draconequus with every little detail. He explained what he was up to and what his intentions were. Even telling Cadance about his plan to recreate Equestia into a land of chaos for all of time. There was however, one question Cadance was tempted to ask after hearing the part about Sam.

Why are the two of them together? She knew Discord wanted Equestria all to himself, but what are Sam's intentions? The first time she met the two together, she sensed a strong bond between the two. As if they were meant to be with one another. Discord is keeping something.

Discord made a funny look at Cadance's stress, "there's nothing to worry about. Sam destroyed the throne and I have my magic. What could possibly go wrong?"

Cadance lowered her eyebrows, "you say that and then something will go wrong. What about Sam? Aren't both of you close?"

"Close? Well... yea... I mean we're close, close, yea that's what I meant! Oh! Look it's none of your business! Me and him have a secret to keep and I'm not telling you anything else. Don't forget about the zipper!"

"Fine." Cadance felt a wet sensation on the top of her muzzle. Looking up, multiple cocoons filled with sleeping ponies hung on the large celling. Cadance noticed a snot of green goo stuck to the back of her hooves and on her mane and tail. Was she stuck in those things too? If Discord managed to free her, then why hasn't he freed the others yet?

"Don't worry about them. Once I check on Sam and his stupid head, I can assure you they'll be out before you know it. And by the way. Shouldn't you be heading back with the other princesses. I heard King Sombra is back."

Hearing that name made Cadance felt like hearing a nightmare, "WHAT!? KING SOMBRA!?"

Discord flinched, surprised at the sudden outburst from the princess of love. "Yes. Does he concern you? I could stop him now. But of course, I don't have the will power to do so. The ponies will handle him just fine."

"I need to help them!" Cadance opened a window and flew out as fast as the wind could carry her.

Discord shrugged it off and appeared in the throne room where he found Sam, beaten and chained up by a swarm of changelings. Large chunks of the throne cluttered the floor, and in the middle of the mess sat the ball and chain. "Discord! A little help here! You have your magic back don't ya!" Sam's body flopped to the red carpet as the changelings continued to pound him with their hooves and magic from behind.

"Alright, alright, break it up," Discord held up both his paw and claw, allowing his magic to surround them in a golden aura. Using his telekinetic magic, the changelings floated in mid-air and were forcefully pulled and gently smashed into a wall. Wherever the draconequus's hand moved is what direction the gravity would switch to. "If you bugs love changing forms, then I know changing gravity will certainly please you."

Sam picked himself up causing hard pain on his back. Now that Discord was back in action, he could sustain Sam. Chrysalis used her magic to break free from the telekinesis. Sam ran forth to the queen, his legs sore as can be, he tackled Chrysalis.

Figuring there was no escape, Chrysalis surrendered. "Go on, call me stupid. I should've known I had no way of controlling you. If I made my move to go after you myself none of this would have happened! Instead, I allowed you to take the lives of my very children, just to see what you were capable of."

Sam shook his head, "you're missing the point here Chrissy. I'm not in this world to be a part of anything. My only role is to save this world no matter the cost."

Chrysalis only needed to ask one question, "why?"

"Because I- well- it's because- I just have to. You have no idea how precious this world is to me. I don't care what you, Discord, Sombra, Starlight Glimmer, Tirek, or whoever else that poses a threat to the ponies do. The only real threat I see in this world is Nightmare, and I plan to destroy him. This world will live on!"

The throne room became dark and cold. Windows keeping the random blizzard out, shattered. Snow began flying in, having Sam cover the top of his eyes with his arm.

Sam stared outside confused. "What? How is there a sudden snowstorm on top of us this fast? I'm no weather forecaster but I'm pretty sure it was like 95 degrees out there several hours ago."

"Sam. Where are you??? I know you're here. I can SMELL you. If you give yourself up, I will make sure your death will quick. The sooner the better," Nightmare said in a disorderly fashion.

Sam was left with no words except, "speak of the devil."

Chapter 9: The Lady and the Killer

Dozens of the undead circled the castle. Some were average, some were crawlers, some were spitters, and some were giant mutants. The two things they mostly shared in common was the hunger for flesh and blood, and loyalty to the dream demon himself, Nightmare.

Nightmare broke into the front of the castle and took a step every three seconds. He let his hand scrape the walls of the castle, leaving three deep lines in the walls from wherever he went. The demon shouted Sam's name, asking the tall young boy to come out and play.

Sam, Discord, Chrysalis, and the rest of the changelings heard the chaos from above. They needed to act fast, or they'd all be dead in the next hour. Sam, being the only being in the room with the brains, had to be the leader. Discord may have power, but his confidence leads to his downfall. As for Chrysalis, she was busy healing her changeling minions who were injured.

"What's the plan folks?" Sam asked politely.

"I don't know! I just saved you! And now I have to save your butt again or this world will disappear," Discord growled.

"Well, we go to do something," Sam glanced at his... close... friends, then giving a quicker glance at his gauntlet, and remembered what the tree said. He smiled with hope, "space is found in the land of the crystals. The Crystal Empire, that's where I need to go." Sam's eyes locked on Discord causing Discord to cross his arms. Sam pointed his finger towards the spirit of chaos and smirked.

Discord knew what he wanted. Wasn't really up for it, but he needed to do it. He knew it was Sam's destiny to save the world and Sam needed help to fulfill that destiny. Ignoring Sam's needs will lead to Equestria's destruction, meaning no more chaos to spread and enjoy.

"Fine. I'll hold Nightmare off while you find whatever it is you're looking for. Just make it quick. Can't afford your life to be taken away," Discord said protectively.

Sam nodded, "yea, i'll be fine on my own. Be careful with Nightmare, he's full of tricks and lies."

Discord held his hand up in a snap position. "I'm the one full of tricks and lies, remember that," Discord stated, snapping his fingers. With a flash of magic, Sam disappeared from the group. Chrysalis and the rest of her children, muddled by Discord's and Sam's actions, were left unanswered. They avoided asking any further questions and focused on the bigger picture.

After the queen finished healing her subjects, she tapped Discord by the tail. "So, this Nightmare fellow. Is he a threat to us?"

Discord didn't make eye contact with the queen, he only stared at the door-less front entrance while he spoke. "Yes, yes he is. At least, once he regains his true power. Sam sacrificed the Elements of Harmony to delay it. I have never met him face to face, but I do know he is no joke, unlike me."

Pharynx walked up next to the queen and asked, "what now my queen?"

"I don't know Pharynx; I just don't know," Chrysalis admitted naively. After all the trouble she went through, disguising as Cadance to trick the ponies, ordering her children to invade, trying to control a being that is uncontrollable. It all got her thinking, what was the point in wanting Equestria anymore?

It would only be a waste of effort if a being like Nightmare were to destroy it all in a blink of an eye. Plus, with the throne destroyed, and the elements reduced to atoms, there is no stopping Discord from taking Equestria for himself.

With a breath of frustration, Chrysalis made up her mind. "We can't leave here. Abandoning Discord would mean abandoning our food. I refuse to leave this feeding ground." Chrysalis's ears straightened themselves up at the sound created from the non-shattered windows.

Tall figures stuck onto the windows, alerting the group. The zombies created strange sounds and roughly rubbed the glass. The changelings hissed in response. "Protect the queen!" Pharynx yelled. His siblings buzzed their wings in agreement, setting themselves into a fighting position.

Some stuck onto the celling, some flied steadily in mid-air, and some stayed on ground with flares of green magic on the tip of their horns. One changeling hid himself away from the rest of his brothers and sisters. Thorax.

Thorax felt bad really. But his life was too precious to give away.

The undead ponies banged their heads against the thick glass. Blood leaking out of their now cracked skulls. They screamed in agony while their tummies rumbled. With every bang, a crack would appear and expand. This wasn't good. The whole lot of them were about to be surrounded. Maybe if they took the front door, they could...

"Where is he?"

The unwelcoming voice caught the attention of everypony. Nightmare was standing outside of the throne room. His head twitched violently, and the rest of his body vibrated intensely. Chrysalis, especially her children, felt fear in their hearts, even Discord felt a little concern hit him deep within.

Nightmare's voice grew louder. "I said where is he!?"

The skeleton searched every crystal door and still had no luck. That was until he stopped at a library filled with hundreds of books. The bookshelves went in a pattern by color. The starting bookshelf was red, then the next colored yellow, blue, green, red, yellow, and so forth.

This had to be the place to find information on the King's weaknesses. Whether the skeleton enjoyed reading or not, he wasn't going to let his boss down. Even if it means he'll be wearing a pair of glasses by the time he leaves.

"heh, this is gonna suck. hope I won't be stuck here for too dam long, otherwise my boss is gonna kill me for testing his patience," Killer Sans proclaimed. He didn't want to imagine what punishment his boss had in store for him if he failed his mission. Whatever the punishment was, it was certainly worse than death.

The skeleton quickly removed the thoughts out of his bone head and began reading. The first set of books he read showed no title of their topic. Images of crystals were attached to the front cover, to which Killer Sans could guess the topic was related to, crystals.

Because reading each book entirely would take the whole week, he decided to read only a snippet of each book to see if any contained a topic about the shadow king. The process went as expected, terribly long, and he only finished about twenty books before taking a break.

On the bright side, he found out the yellow bookshelves contained the history of the Crystal Empire. One of the books even mentioned King Sombra, but there wasn't any further info for the skeleton to collect.

He rubbed his eyes to comfort them, then he continued reading, only this time, focusing on the books on the yellow shelves.

"nightmare better reward me for this. after I'm done, this whole library will be blasted to nothing! serves this library right when no one even cleans the dam place! these books are the dustiest books I've ever seen. heh, even got dust all over my jacket, reminds me of monster dust." Killer brushed off the dust from his jacket, continuing to complain to himself.

Once he felt like he got what he needed he busted out of the door. Trying to give his eyes a nice rest would be impossible with the crystals shining beautifully and brightly onto his face.

"so now I'm looking for some kind of heart shaped crystal object thing. it'd be nice to know it's location, but I'm too lazy to read more. guess I'll tear this place from bottom to top till I find it. But first..." Killer Sans raised his hand. A large gust of wind flew past the skeleton, causing his jacket to flow along with the wind for a short period of time.

In that moment a large, darkened blaster, nearly reaching the same length and height of the library, floated in front of Killer Sans. The blaster opened its jaw slowly preparing for an attack. Killer Sans closed his hand into a fist and the blaster aggressively opened its mouth in a split second, allowing the goo within, to flood the library.

The library could not withstand the black goo being blasted into itself. In only a few seconds of time the structure exploded, along with goo splattering throughout each crystal building.

The skeleton laughed at its destruction and continued from there.

The snow was thick, thicker than frozen ice cream. The wind even, made the conditions of traveling through the ice lands a freezing pain unless you were taking the train there. Thankfully for Sam, the Crystal Empire was only a few blocks away.

"Would've been nice if Discord took me directly to the Empire itself instead of some FREEZING place near it." A big puff of smoke left Sam's mouth and disappeared into the thin cold air after he sighed. "And look at that. I'm talking to myself again. It'd also be nice to have someone to talk to on this adventure."

Reaching the Crystal Empire, the air became warmer. Snow particles started to fade as well as the snow on the ground itself. It became easier for Sam to maneuver past the snowy fields without struggling to take one step at a time.

Nearing the entrance, he looked up to see a ginormous fog of blue magic covering the sky. It sparkled like diamonds almost as if there were diamonds within the fog of mystery. Ignoring it entirely, Sam entered the...........Crystal...Empire???

"Huh, this is...strange," Sam rubbed his eyes to ensure this wasn't a hallucination. Yep, it was real all right. The Crystal Empire's structures changed from cute crystal houses to tall and dull city rectangular buildings. Sam stuck his tongue out and pointed a finger at it, to express his taste towards the structures standing before him.

The windows were dirty and cracked, a few doors were left open, rats crawled in and out, and the buildings weren't even sparkling. Did the whole place go through a rough redesign or what?

Whoever redesigned the place did a terrible job. Wait. What was Sam thinking? He needed to focus on what he came for. There was no time to stop and complain about dirty old buildings.

Sam turned his head away forcefully and continued down the crystal path. Up ahead was the crystal castle and boy, it was run-down. Not only did the empire go through a terrible redesign, but also suffered from a lack of attention and care.

"...? What is this feeling? Why am I all of a sudden feeling disgust? I've visited plenty of nasty cities. The heck is wrong with me?"

Smacking his head and taking a deep breath, he tried his best to ignore his surroundings. He even gazed up at the beautiful, unique sky to make things easier. As he gave his utter focus to the unique sky, a flash of blue light stung his eyes. From that moment on an object like a shooting star tumbled down at a fast pace.

It was going to land somewhere near, somewhere in the Crystal Empire to be exact. Sam took the opportunity to gaze at it with a huge amount of admiration. What he didn't admire was the loud crash created after the land.

"What was that?" Sam looked down at his shirt to see it covered with drool. 'Golay, it even got me drooling like a baby. Didn't like the surprise of noise shocking my ears, but at least it snapped me out that trance. Never in my life have I ever been that obsessed with something shiny. Is this place cursed or something? Because I don't feel like myself right now.'

Blue smoke from where the object landed flied into the air like someone made blue flames for a campfire. Sam urged himself to check it out. Was it an alien from outer space? Or was it the thing he was looking for?

Yes, this had to be it. The tree specifically said space is found in the land of the crystals. "Oh, baby here I come!" with one more turn to the right his excitement was replaced with curiosity and a little disappointment from what he saw. He expected the thing he was seeking for to be more...well, round of course.

Instead, the object was a ten-foot crystal, with a sleeping pony trapped inside. And just by a simple glance, Sam nearly fell into another trance. He looked down and shielded his eyes from its irresistible shine and beauty. Sam slowly made his way to the source of blue light and kicked the crystal heavily to the ground, causing it to explode into shards.

Sam lightly gasped from what he saw next. Down on the floor, laid a unicorn, with pale fur, and a very stylish mane. The destruction of the crystal lead to the pony's awakening and Sam felt a tinge of excitement hit, as he knew who this pony was.

"Rarity."

The unicorn mare opened her eyelids and groaned. Her vision blurred and she shook her body to get the blood pumping again after being asleep for so long. A hoof extended towards her, to which she could predict was a gentle colt trying to treat her like any fashionable lady.

Grabbing the hoof, she allowed the stallion to pick her up. A sudden severe headache came to her as she stood up straight on all fours. She used her hoof to rub and comfort the part of her head aching from below her horn.

"Why thank you my dear. You cannot believe how long I've been trapped in that crystal. Somepony like you should get- wahhhh!" Rarity's calm state left her after realizing what dangerously stood in front of her.

"Get away from me you beast!" Rarity shouted, jumping away.

Sam reached out his hand right as he sensed her stress and worries take over. He knew he wasn't a pony, though, was he that hideous to be called a beast? Being called handsome is something he had gotten used to in the past. Rarity probably never takes it well when it comes to meeting new, unknown creatures.

"Relax!" Sam spoke in the most gentle and polite way possible. "I'm not going to hurt yah. I only came here for answers."

"Well, you certainly came to the wrong pony for answers!" Rarity snorted.

"Cmon Rarey. The tree told me you and your friends are the key to everything. Just tell me where the space thing a ma bobber is at, and the locations of your friends and I'll be out of your hair."

Rarity paused for a moment. Her face transformed into a noticeable look of confusion, but her stress remained the same. "Space? Friends? Out of my hair?" Those words felt like they meant something to her in the past. She just didn't know why those words ringed a bell. "Who are you beast?"

Sam frowned. "The name's Sam, not Beast. I'm looking for some kind of space element for this gauntlet. I could really use your help, Rarity."

Rarity's eyes became bold as Sam lifted his left arm wearing the golden gauntlet. It's texture and shine left Rarity speechless. She couldn't help but think if there were more armor pieces just like it out in Equestria.

"Wait just a minute. How do you know my name? I don't recall us having any amount of interaction."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You don't remember me?"

Rarity shook her head. Her mane shook along and covered her view after she stopped. Brushing her mane away, she answered truthfully. "No, I do not. As a matter of fact, I don't even remember how I ended up here in the first place. From what I recall, I was only a small child searching for my destiny.

After I earned my cutie mark everything around me became dark, and I found myself within that crystal you had demolished. I guess I must thank you. I thought you were the one who trapped inside."

Sam put his hands inside his pockets to keep them warm. The rest of his body was unprotected from cold. "That's strange. It was warm here a minute ago. What's with the sudden cold? I mean, not like I'm worried about freezing to death. If you haven't noticed I'm wearing black shorts and a white T-shirt. And I managed to survive out in that snowy winter of heck," Sam said, gesturing to the snow outside.

Rarity overly gasped in horror. "Oh, my stars! Darling! Forgive me for not noticing but what is that you're wearing? Bleh! Almost as if it was made from a good for nothing cotton farmer! And those large scratches!"

Sam looked down and pulled the very bottom of his shirt. "Oh, these scratches. Well, I sort of got into a fight with a few timber wolves. They were tough as wood, but I chopped them down into smithereens."

"My word, you must be so miserable!"

Sam's heart lit up like a firecracker at Rarity's new sorrowful expression. Her pupils nearly resized themselves to the exact size of her very own eyes. With the sunlight's reflection, and her bottom lip lowered, her cuteness became hard to resist. And Sam felt like falling into another trance.

"O_O I get that my clothes have seen better days, and it makes you sad, but do you have to make that...FACE!" Sam gripped his chest and moved his upper body up and down, like he was about to vomit a rainbow. Getting used to the cute horse faces from the show was hard enough. So, you can imagine how difficult it would've been to survive the cuteness in real life.

"Oh. My apologies," Rarity adjusted her face and turned to one of the messy buildings. She held a hoof in front of her mouth, her cheeks expanding with air. She turned back to Sam with her tongue sticking out. Sam nodded his head and gave her a half-smile.

"I don't blame you, Rarey. I looked at those building only for a smidge, and I already felt like planting a puke bomb in the middle of this Empire."

Rarity faced Sam with eyes demanding for respect. "My name is Rarity. Get it right or I'll call you Sammy from now on!"

Sam didn't give her an attitude. Instead, he responded respectfully, "yes 'mam, you have my word." He wasn't afraid of being called Sammy or Samuel. That, he could get used to. What he didn't want was to give her a slight amount of disrespect. He knew how ladies worked. Always demanding politeness and manners from a man. Ignorance and rudeness cannot be tolerated for a lady. "Heh, it's funny."

Rarity's expression softened, "what is funny?"

"Normally when ladies annoy me, I would tell myself screw 'em and roll my eyes. You on the other hoof... I like. Not in a romantic way but you know what I mean." Sam leaned down close. "You have my respects, Rarity.

"Hmph. Finally, some pony with the gentle qualities to please a lady. Very well. I shall assist you in your search to find... whatever it is your looking for, Sam. And if we're going to search in this dump, I suggest I take the time to tidy the place up a bit. And what I mean by a bit, I mean by a LOT!"

"No kidding," Sam glued his face onto the cleaning utensils inside the small, but only clean crystal house on the streets. He went inside and took two of each, a mop, a water bucket, a clean sprayer, a rag, and a cobweb duster. With all items crushed into his arms, he rushed out and released them, allowing the tools to roughly fall onto the street with no care. "There. Now we can clean."

"We?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "You can clean?"

Sam softly chuckled, "you'd be surprised how many times I've been ordered to clean a whole building in the real world. At first it sucked, and then it became a hobby of mine after the one hundredth time."

Rarity smiled with near tears of joy leaking out of her eyes. "My, that is certainly one of the most generous things some pon-" Rarity was cut off by an intense vibration on her chest. She felt her heart rate increase and felt a fiery flame of heat burn her heart. Below her neck, glowing and bright, was a blue heart beating from the inside. The mare freaked out. She didn't even take a breath until it momentarily disappeared. Sam expected her to respond with the most common question, what was that? Her response however, left Sam's mind clueless.

"I appreciate the generous offer. We shall start cleaning the crystal castle itself before tidying up anything else. In the meantime, I will find a sewing machine and some fabric to get started on designing something fitting for you," Rarity replied with only a tad amount of fear.

Was she even going to question what had just happened a minute ago? "Okay? Sure." Sam faced away from the unicorn. He continued to talk without making eye contact. "Are you sure you'll be fine on your own? You sound a bit worried my lady. And this place also gives me the creeps. Feels like something is about jump at us."

"No thank you. I believe I can take care of myself. Just focus on tidying up the castle, it could really use the lady's touch," she said meekly, before giving a small giggle. "And if it's truly abandoned, then it will be all ours."

Advancing to the castle, his eyebrows raised, and his mouth slightly formed a smile. "Alright then tough lady. I believe in your abilities. Let out a scream if you need me. My ears are healthier than an apple."

The castle was bigger than his expectations. With every turn he took he would at some point end up in the same room or hallway he cleaned. "I've only been here for not so long, and already, I'm getting flashbacks of Canterlot's lost hallway of heck!"

Generically, all castles were huge. Getting lost in a castle is common for the ones who are poor navigators. How unfortunate it was for Sam. He could've been finished a lot sooner if he knew a way out of this crystal maze.

When he found his next room to clean, he started with the windows. A few banners of King Sombra covered the glass preventing the sun from emitting any light. With a tight grip of his hand, he ripped the cloth apart, lighting up the room. Grabbing the bucket of water and the bottle of soap, he mixed them together. Next, he grabbed and squeezed the sponge with satisfaction. It was old and dirty but there was nothing a little wash can't fix. After dipping the sponge repeatedly, he was sure it had absorbed enough. The sponge even lost all its mold and dust and returned to pure yellow.

"Ah, reminds me of old times. Except for the fact that a sponge is being used instead of a rag." With one more swipe of the sponge, the windows were crystal clean. Sam gently opened the glass and at last, got the fresh air he needed. "Everything sure is small from up here. Still don't know what happened to the Crystal Empire. Probably should call this place the Depressing Empire now." Sam stood up in a comfortable position as he searched for his unicorn mare friend from above. Everywhere he looked filled him with depression and sickness.

"EEEEEEKK!!!!!!! Monster! Sam! HELP!" Rarity shouted and screamed from below.

Sam now caught off guard by the mare's screams, he ran down the hallways and stairs to find the exit. "I'm coming, Rarity! Just hang on!"

Familiar sounds echoed around the corridors. Sam ignored it until he reached the second floor of the castle. The sounds became louder, and he could hear the sounds of hoof steps galloping like wildfire. Sam couldn't resist the urge to stop to catch a breath. As he rested his leg muscles he got down on the floor and listened. He felt a wave of fury and blood lust from below. And the sounds were kicking his memories. "No way... those sound effects. Could it be?" When he felt well rested, he got up on his feet and took the last set of stairs downwards.

"where are you, little pony!? i'm tired of this cat and mouse game! come out of the hole ya made in the wall!" Killer demanded.

"I'm right behind you, you despicable skeleton!" Rarity charged her horn with fashion and power. Killer expected a blast of heat to be released from the mare's horn. Instead, diamonds the size of his head formed above the unicorn's horn. Rarity forcefully pointed her horn at the skeleton and released a diamond barrage of attacks.

With a simple slash of his knife, the skeleton shattered each diamond with the exception of one. One of the diamonds made a deep cut in his soul. Killer pulled it out and groaned at the sharp pain it gave him. "you'll pay for that pony! give me the location of this heart crystal and your death will be quick."

Rarity grunted. "I'd be more willing to if you were to treat me with more proper manners! And I'd appreciate if you'd stop calling me pony, I am a lady! And I'd wish to be addres-"

"enough! you wasted enough of my time, pony!" Killer created a bone and sharpened it with his knife. The skeleton lazily charged towards the mare, nearly stabbing her in the chest before he was stopped by a brute force. Killer puffed out a quantity of air whilst he collided into a crystal portrait.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" A loud, unexpected, and emotional voice nearly gave Rarity a heart attack as she was picked up and dragged away from the skeleton. Rarity looked at the stranger and was astonished to see Sam being the one who shouted those words and on the verge of becoming her hero.

"Sam!?" Rarity said with even more astonishment.

"No time to talk Rarity. That guy is tough," Sam claimed, swiftly climbing up the stairs. "Only thing is, he isn't the brightest when it comes to puzzles and critical thinking obstacles. He also really isn't good at covering his tracks. Because of the trail of bones stuck to the walls. I'm guessing he threw countless of sharp bones at you."

Rarity nodded.

"There's a place we can hide. Only if you know your magic, Rarity." The sound of a gaster blaster overpowered Sam's voice. A lasting blue laser shot out of the floor from behind, melting the rest of the ceiling. A large hole and smoke remained after the laser cleared. Either Killer blasted the floor with rage, or he's onto them.

Sam continued to make his way to the crystal throne. As soon as he heard a thump from behind, his blood ran through his veins in a flash, as he sprinted at his best. "Crap! He's onto us! Where the throne room!?"

"There!" Rarity pointed a hoof at the door all the way to the end of the hallway.

Sam's confidence returned. He had enough energy in his legs to carry him, and his unicorn friend to safety. "Do you still have magic in your horn?"

Rarity returned her focus to Sam, "yes. Why do you ask?"

Before Sam answered, he blew open the door and slammed it shut tight from behind. "That's why," Sam pointed to the crystal throne. "I need you to use dark magic quickly! There's a secret passageway to the crystal heart, and it'd make the perfect hiding spot."

Rarity jumped out of the boy's arms and landed onto her hooves perfectly. She turned to give him the look filled with concern. "Dark magic? My Sam, that may be too advanced for a young mare like me to achieve," Rarity muttered.

More concern built within Rarity, as well as in Sam. "W-well," Sam sighed gravely. "Look, it's either we hide, or we face him face to face. There is no running now, unless you want to break a hoof by jumping out of those windows."

The unicorn made a regretful face in response. Rarity trotted towards the throne, closing her eyes tightly and winced as she focused. Only a small sparkle of magic came out, and to make things worse. The magic was plain, and not dark.

A bead of sweat formed on the top of Sam's head, "just- think of something negative. Dark magic runs with negativity, I think. I- I- ah fish sticks! I don't know anything about this stuff!" Sam flinched at the sudden sound of a killer skeleton, banging on the large door keeping them safe.

"i know you're in there. let me in so we can end this!" Killer Sans grabbed his knife and pierced it through the door. He did the same thing countlessly with rage. He gave up after the twentieth stab. "guess it's time to bring out the big guns," Killer Sans summoned another dark blaster, the size of the door. Once it created enough energy, Killer released it out of its mouth like a rocket launcher. The dark blast homed past the door and onto the crystal throne like a missile.

What happened next had the three in total shock. The throne absorbed the blast without any severe damage received. With the dark energy absorbed, the throne transferred it into the crystal at the very tip of itself. Dark bubbles popped like balloons as the crystal formed a shadow of itself, revealing a secret passageway. Well, not much of a secret to Sam of course.

"There it is! Get in Rarity, quick!"

Rarity followed Sam without any hesitation. She would rather go down a dark creepy basement than be carved to death like a pumpkin.

"hey! come back here!" Killer Sans attempted to catch up. Running with his slippers had caused him to slip and fall, preventing him from reaching the dark entrance. The dark passageway simultaneously closed as the crystal at the top of the throne exploded from the extreme surge of Killer's dark energy. The two got away. "dam." Killer pushed himself up and slowly made his way out of throne room, making sure he wouldn't slip.

Chapter 10: A Crystal War, Heart, and Stone

Author's Note

Tired is all I have to say after typing all this stuff.

Chapter 10: A Crystal War, Heart, and Stone

"Come on! Where is it?" Lyra panicked and rushed around the Golden Oak Library, searching high and low for the coke bottle. Wherever it was, it had to be here. Twilight could not have brought it in and magically dispose of it to nothing. Otherwise, she would've left with it in her hooves.

Lyra looked out the window, stopping herself from letting the cold snow and wind in. All of Ponyville with the exception of herself lined up in formation. She spotted them wearing a suit of armor meant for the cold winter. More importantly she spotted Twilight occupied by the disaster far away. This is perfect, so long as Twilight and the others remain there steadily, Lyra could search peacefully.

"Let's see here. I checked under the bed, the closets, the tables, the carpets, even outside of this library. Just where is it?" Lyra walked up and down the wooden staircase, thinking where Twilight could've possibly hidden it.

*Knock, knock*

Lyra's ears shot up, her heart pounding at the assumption of Twilight or some pony else who would snitch at the door. Jumping out of the window would only risk injury and get her caught with the intrusion anyways. She gulped, walking up to the door and unlocking it with a simple push of her hoof.

The door gradually creaked open, then suddenly the pony from the other side yanked the door open, revealing herself as the crazy gray pegasus, Lyra knew. "Helloooooo!" the pony excitedly greeted. "Can I come in?"

Lyra nodded. Those strange aligned yellow eyes never got old. "You're not going to tell them I'm here, right, Derpy?"

"Of course not. I'm with you, Lyra. I saw you looking by the window of this tree. And I told myself this is the perfect place to hide away from war."

"Uh huh." Lyra's horn lit up the room with a bright yellow as she hoovered the books off the shelves and onto the floor.

Derpy gazed at Lyra's actions. "Oh wow. You're tossing books to pass the time. That looks like fun!" Derpy trotted to the opposite side of the library, grabbed a red book with her hoof and paused to question Lyra. "Won't Twilight get mad at us?"

"We can reorganize the books after we're finished. Right now, I need to continue searching."

Derpy's eyes trailed off to another book. "Searching? For what?"

An imaginary light bulb popped above Lyra's head. A little extra help shouldn't hurt. "It's some kind of dark potion. Would you like to help me find it?"

Derpy smiled in stupidity, "sure!"

"Great! You search upstairs, while I continue to search here. If you see anything strange, tell me. Twilight is full of magical surprises, so her own home should be full of the same."

Derpy flapped her wings up the stairs and within a few minutes she already created havoc among the furniture and the other fragile things. Lyra, knowing the crazy mare, predicted such chaos would happen. If Twilight were to find out, she'd put the blame on Derpy to only be punished for trespassing.

The cyan unicorn took her precious time opening and closing each spell book she came across. Twilight's books were dreadfully boring to read, and too straight forward. The chances of finding clues were quite slim. At least Derpy was there to num the boredom with her hilarious distracting stupidity.

As she was about to give up on the search, she found one peculiar book on the shelf.
Lyra stared at the cover. Twas noting but a simple drawing, colored with simple and cheap colored pencils. The three main components of the cover she paid close attention to, was the male alicorn, the monster on top, and the...coke... bottle.

With a slight amount of unease, Lyra lifted the front cover to see the first page. "What? The author is Lyra Heartstrings? Why, that's me! I don't remember writing a book. Twilight is a real nerdy creep to write ponies names down in her books without consent."

With another flip to the next page the story began with chapter one. The book was the last thing Lyra didn't search. If there's no hint or indication to what she wants, then all of her hope will land on her friend, Derpy.

Lyra read the story aloud, "chapter one, an everyday life. In a large open field, there was a medium sized house. And in that house, lived a boy, who disliked society, Samuel. The alarm clock rang right next to Samuel, interrupting his sweet and glorious dream."

"Hey Lyra!" Derpy crashed down the stairs barging into a pile of books. Her eyes spined and wobbled, just as they always been doing after crashing into a mailbox.

Lyra sighed and closed the book. "Did you by any chance find anything?"

Derpy moved her head up and down rapidly, showing off what she protected in her wings and hooves before the crash. "Is this what you're looking for?" she held up a bottle shaped object.

Lyra's heart nearly stopped beating, "wh-what! H-how in the? Where did you? WHAT!"

"I don't know what happened. My tall guardian angel fell down from the sky and showed me the way I guess," Derpy explained.

"Your guardian angel? Really?" Lyra said in a questionable and annoyed tone.

"I believe so. She was so tall and pretty," Derpy described.

"Okay, well, however you found it. You found it and that's all that matters."

Twilight eased to the right, carefully passing the army of civilians and soldiers. The princesses were only inches away. And her overly smart brain screamed at her silently, begging the unicorn to find safety. She ignored it and continued forward, listening to her heart. 'No, I'm not leaving you, Cadance.' One last line of soldiers blocked her way. The line was quite tight and there was only a small gap between two stallions. "Ex-excuse me." Twilight nervously said to the white stallion twice her height. The stallion's eyes positioned themselves to the unicorn mare. He didn't even move his head to get a good look at his newcomer.

"Yea?!" the stallion asked intensely. The second stallion in front jumped at the sudden change of volume from behind. His face was now filled with annoyance as he kept his focus to King Sombra.

"W-well," Twilight found no way to remove her eyes away from the stallion. Those fearsome red pupils, and his muscles with veins sticking out, made it difficult to even say a word. Twilight imagined her face being bashed into the insides of her tiny skull by a single hit from the stallion. 'Just play it cool. He is pretty big but as long as I stay on his good side, I'll be fine.' Twilight took in a few breaths of air to calm her stress. "May I please pass by. I need to talk to the princesses."

The white stallion once again responded intensely with his eyes becoming unfocused, "sure!" Taking one step back, the gap between the two stallions was now wide enough for Twilight to squeeze through.

"Thank you," Twilight ducked down and crawled past the line of ponies. The stallion may have looked intimidating but was a teddy bear towards others. Her stress left her as she approached Cadance and the other two alicorn princesses. "Cadance!"

"That voice," Cadance swiftly moved her head away from Sombra; now having her utter focus on Twilight. Celestia and Luna kept their eyes glued to the dark king. "What are you doing here?! This is a bad place and time for a unicorn like you!"

Twilight's excited voice transformed into a depressing one. "I believe I recall being told I am anything but a regular old unicorn. What happened to that hmm?"

Cadance didn't like where there was going. Having her best unicorn mare, Twilight, throw herself into a fight with a risk of her very own life.

"Look, I know he's dangerous. But I'm not about to lose one of the most important ponies in my life! Don't you remember? You're the greatest foul sitter in all the history of foul sitters. I can't just leave you here!" Twilight's voice saddened even further. "...There're only a few ponies in the world that makes my life worth living. And one of them..."

A pair of pink hooves circled her neck, pulling down on her mane gently. "I'm guessing there's nothing I can say to stop you."

"Argh! Enough of this chitter chat. Ethier make your move, or I will make mine!" Sombra threatened.

Celestia focused her horn to absorb the strong heat of the sun, "is this really how you want to go out, Sombra? A war against three alicorns instead of two this time?"

Sombra laughed evilly, and as more ponies stood bravely before him and his crystal army, his laugh grew more wicked. "Ha! Three of you alicorns together outmatch me. Even so, I have a few tricks hidden within me."

"And that would be?" Luna questioned, believing Sombra turned into an absolute fool in thinking that they would fall for anything he says.

"The help and teachings I have received, Princess Luna. My help is FAR much greater than yours," Sombra gestured to the Ponyville civilians suited with gold armor and spears. Very few were giving the shadow king brave looks. "After a thousand years have passed, I expected there to be more than this. What foolish rulers have their subjects live in paradise, not preparing for any sort of disaster?"

Twilight jumped in front of the alicorn trio, cutting them off. "And what kind of dark monarch turns his subjects into puppets?"

Sombra slightly lowered his face downwards. "Hmm? Who might you be young one?"

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, Celestia's pupil. If you want Cadance so bad, then you'll get through me, and my _______." Twilight's head ached. The word. What was the word?

"Is everything alright Twilight?" Cadance held out her hoof in worry.

"I- uh, I'm fine. I'm just- missing something." Twilight's headache worsened. Her head temperature increased to the point where it felt like a fever. "You, Luna, Celestia, Spike, me, and my... my... my ☞︎☼︎✋︎☜︎☠︎👎︎💧︎." Twilight fainted.

"Twilight!" Cadance rushed to the unicorn, trying to wake her in panic. A shine of light and a great darkness demolished one another in front of the alicorn's view. Celestia and Luna created a magical barrier just in the nick of time before Sombra's attack could reach them.

"Take good care of Twilight," Celestia ordered.

"Sombra is ours," Luna butted in. "This certainly reminds of the days when younger, doesn't it sister."

Celestia smiled a tad, "indeed it does."

Sombra's eyes turned green, and he shouted in rage. "My crystal slaves! Attack!"

"Yes King Sombra," they all said in unison.

Celestia gave out the signal and with that, the civilians and guards galloped into a fight. The battlefield rumbled with violence and warfare. A few civilians fled from the sight, but the majority stayed to preserve their freedom and independence.

Cadance struggled to focus on Twilight due to the lack of peace. And the air and snow became colder, faster, and thicker.

Even if Sombra's army feared nothing, they lacked any sort of fighting spirit within them. The citizens of Ponyville on the other hoof, went ham against their crystal opponents. The earth ponies bucked and slammed into the mindless slaves like bulls, creating clanking sounds. The pegasi dove in like non exploding missiles, carrying supplies and materials while also pulling up the enemies into the air and dropping them into the sweet and comforting snow. And the unicorns used magic to throw the spears and to cast spells and stuff.

Bulk Biceps even took in consideration to use those tiny wings of his to carry his big self to the top of a cliff. There, on the cliff laid a boulder twice the size as him. With a single heavy swing with his hoof, the boulder went flying towards King Sombra. The king's reflexes were fast, as he created a wall of crystals to block the incoming attack. Fortunately, the boulder successfully demolished the wall, and Sombra had no choice but to take his eyes off the princesses and use his magic to destroy it.

As he awfully expected the princess unleashed a powerful attack while caught off guard. "You two will pay for that!"

Luna smirked, "put it on our royal tab."

Sombra got back up and brushed off the pain and snow on this back. "You know, the way you two work together, gets me to thinking." Sombra closed his eyes and ears to have full focus. "What if two sisters were to fight each other?" Sombra reopened his eyes and ears, now putting his focus on Celestia. The three princesses especially Celestia checked the surroundings for any hidden attacks or surprises. Unlike normal ponies, alicorns could sense when trouble is about to arrive. "If you think the three of you can outmatch me, then let me change that."

"There is nothing to change King-" Luna was interrupted by a hot blast of sun magic to her left side. She covered the burnt spot and hissed at the burning pain. She turned to her sister. "What is this meaning of this, Celestia?!"

Celestia glared at her younger sister. "I will not allow you to subdue Equestria into an eternal night, Nightmare Moon."

"Wh-what?!" Luna shockingly said in disbelief. Did her own older sister really just attack her and call her Nightmare Moon? "What are talking about, Celestia, sister. It's me Luna, not Nightmare Moon."

"Do not lie to me. You are no longer my sister. Only a monster!"

Luna backed away. "What! No! I am not the enemy! Tis King Sombra we should focus on!"

Sombra grinned at the successful spell of dark magic. Once Celestia chased her younger sister away from the battlefield, Sombra could now put all of his attention on one alicorn instead of three. "Well, that was quite unexpected. The overwrite spell as that foolish demon likes to call it, works!"

Cadance teleported Twilight away and stood up to face the king of shadows. "What did you do to Celestia?"

"Isn't it obvious? I overwritten her mind. Now, a spell such as that cannot be abused. There are apparently consequences in overusing the spell from what he said. I guess that demon is trustworthy after all. What was his name again? Ah, yes, Nightmare."

"Nightmare?" Cadance recognized the name from one of Sam's supposedly made-up campfire stories. She thought of it as a scary joke to entertain the three fillies, like saying things about the end of Equestria and the entire world, or that he's a legendary hero meant to became Equestria's guardian, which of course felt far-fetched. He even said it to be real.

"What's wrong princess? Having thoughts about kneeling down before your king? You have no chance of victory now. Your dear princesses, Celestia and Luna, will soon destroy one another," Sombra tried to make her feel hopeless, to avoid a fight.

"No, this isn't defeat. Look far beside you. Your slaves are at a loss," Cadance pointed to the last set of crystal slaves being tackled down by the Ponyville civilians. The civilians were left bruised and cut, but they resisted the pain and galloped to aid Cadance. "Now how will you deal against me, and an army."

Sombra's face filled with frustration. "Didn't I say I have a few tricks? A few and not one?"

Cadance ignored his words and glared at the king, waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

"You asked for it, princess," Sombra casted a spell to allow his mind to travel to a dark world, a place where the flow of time didn't exist. "Nightmare. I am in need of your assistance."

A triplite of three eyes greeted him in the pitch-black dimension. "What is it you need? I was in the middle of a battle."

"The overwrite spell isn't enough to achieve my victory. I need more power," Sombra begged.

"More power you say?" Nightmare took a minute to think things through. His fight against Discord and the queen of changelings hasn't been going smoothly. Every changeling he attempted to kill would be left alive due to their protective mother. And he couldn't even lay a scratch on Discord without being rushed by a wave of baked pies. "Guess I have no better option but to lend you, my power. Ethier way I will lose. I am better off accepting defeat than wasting effort."

"That is fair," Sombra stated. The darkness surrounding the king began fading. A pulse of obscure energy ran through Sombra's veins as his mind returned to the real world.

"Do not fail, or you'll share the same fate as every other being in this world, once the seal to my true power breaks," Nightmare finished. Returning to the real world as well.

Sombra's body had a few minor changes after absorbing the power Nightmare collected. First, his flowing dark mane and tail increased in size, the color of the very tip of his horn shifted from red to purple, and his skin cracked opened leaking out droplets of pure darkness. "Ah yes! The power!"

The civilians and soldiers heavily pushed the brakes on their hooves, each skidding across the snow to a halt. They shivered to the cold winter, and to the outburst of dark power. Sombra, now filled with power and rage, created a spirally crystal the height of a cliff to stand upon. He took in a huge breath and ROARED at the crowd. The sound waves entered the minds of the ponies, destroying the eardrums. Cadance fought off the sound with her magic. Unfortunately, she was the only pony able to resist the sound. Every pony else failed to fight it off and became Sombra's new and improved slaves.

"What have you done?!"

"What had to be done. I told you this time I would play dirty. Equestria belongs to me!" Sombra deliberately shouted.

"No, this can't be happening," Cadance hopelessly said. Darkness filled her with despair and sadness. Was this really a defeat? "No! This is only a nightmare!" Cadance slapped her own face repeatedly, believing she would black out and awaken in her bedroom.

"Oh, dear princess, I can assure you this is no nightmare. This is a living nightmare!" Sombra took control of the enslaved citizens. "All of you, take her down! I will deal with the other two princes- WHAT!?" Sombra glared at what appeared to be two alicorns and one pegasus gliding down peacefully from the sky. Celestia's rage disappeared, with her present memories back. The overwrite spell was now broken. This sudden change of events had Sombra enraged, "how!? That spell was supposed to last at least twelve hours!"

"That's because I broke it," the grey pegasus informed, holding up a small magical amulet with a happy smile that wasn't a smirk. Sombra desired to wipe that goofy, stupid, joy off her face in any perturbing way possible. The two sisters gave him a bigger glare back, covering Derpy. "That's not all you grumpy sad king. Look behind you," Derpy pointed to Lyra while still remaining overly joyful.

Lyra took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she drank the Coke substance. Only a quarter of its fluids remained bubbling still after she finished chugging. "Grant me my wish."

Her horn released a massive explosion of yellow driving away Sombra and his control over the citizens. Cadance accidentally got caught up in the blast and she squinted from the burning pain inflicted on her side. Sombra and Cadance were launched like a rocket away from Ponyville.

In the sky Sombra left a hole along with a dark trail past the fluffy clouds. Lyra's attack was merely a split second of a part of his body touching a stove. Within a few seconds Sombra found the empire right below diagonally.

"Ah, I see," Sombra chuckled at the alicorn princess in the air next to him. "Sending me back to whence I came? So, you can use the crystal heart against me? That is your plan? Ha! What a foolish idea to send only you to accomplish such a witty task!" Sombra returned to a shadowy form, flying down to the kingdom he claimed.

"Oh no you don't!" Cadance rejected, using her wings to follow him down below the cold winter.

The king's luck wasn't exactly on his side. He was given power for sure, but not enough to eliminate his weaknesses. Despite Cadance's injuries her flight speed surpassed Sombra's. She flied by the king, giving him a disrespectful smirk and a wink. Sombra nearly lost himself, diving down even faster.

The entrance to the secret passageway closed before the killer skeleton could reach their tails. Killer Sans growled, stabbing the floor until walking away to find another secret passage. They were safe, for now. With the entrance closed, no sunlight could light the way down. "Crap, I hate the dark so much. Anything can jump at you without a man's notice," Sam explicitly explained. "Do you know a light source spell for your horn so we can avoid falling off the stairs and busting our heads open."

"Why yes, I certainly do," Rarity lifted her head up into the air and filled her horn with a simple charge of magic. Her horn shined like a nightlight. The most beautiful light Sam had ever seen. "There you are."

"Dang, you're pretty- I- I mean... your light is pretty," Sam corrected himself. "Let's just get out of here before Killer Sans finds a way in here."

Sam took one step at a time down, as Rarity followed along, asking questions. "So, Sam, tell me about yourself."

"Huh?" Sam turned to face the beautiful mare, "myself?"

"Yes." Rarity remained in the same happy expression. "I would like to know more about the... pony who saved my life."

Sam chuckled. "I'm a human for the last time, not a pony. I'm just a weird dude living his life and being hated by the world. I like to play video games, watch YouTube, workout, goggle the answers on school assignments, and sleep. Don't ask me what I'm doing here because I'll explain everything once I gather your other five friends."

Rarity slowed down a bit. "My five friends? I don't remember having any friends."

Sam followed her exact speed. "Ah ha! So, you do have amnesia. That ain't good. But I'm sure I can find a way to recover your memories and stuff. Twilight's true fail-safe spell must've done a huge number on you. Twilight herself might even be suffering from memory loss too."

Rarity gave Sam a confused look. Sam immediately understood her ignorance and accepted that what he said was pointless. A few minutes passed before they made it down. Rarity's legs were shaking from a sore sensation. He noticed and took in some consideration to use a few pain-relieving creams in the traveling bag. He opened the cap, squeezing the cream out like toothpaste.

Gently, he rubbed the cream on Rarity's hooves, letting the icy hot cream soak and moisturize into Rarity's muscles.

"Well, looky here. We made it to the very bottom. Time sure does fly by when you have a nice conversation," Sam found the wooden door and pulled Rarity away from it. "Don't open or even touch that door. It's cursed."

Rarity's face fell into question. "Cursed? How do you know if it's cursed when you haven't tried to open it?" Her questioning became even more resentful. "I also must ask how you knew about this safety passageway. And why are you helping me? Are you using me? Is it my magic you are in need to find what you're looking for?"

Sam didn't like where this was going but needed to reveal the truth. "Alright look the truth is, I am in need of you. But I also care for you. I'm not going to eat you or anything like that after I find the space element thingy. And I can't answer the question about how I know this place and how I know your name yet, Rarity."

"Why yet?"

Sam breathed in and out heavily. "Because it's too tiresome to explain the whole situation six times to the six of you individually. I will explain everything once I unite you, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight."

With those words, Rarity slightly frowned as she followed Sam's orders. He is the only being who can protect and guide her through this crystal maze. If it wasn't for him, she would've been sliced to death by a killing machine skeleton. Or even worse, stuck within a crystal for who knows how long.

Sam pointed to the top of the door frame. "You see that little crystal on the tippy top of that cursed door? I need you strike it with your good magic, similar to what the skeleton, Killer Sans I believe, did to the throne which led us here."

Rarity's heart pumped magic into her horn, supercharging it with fashion. She ignored the beating sensation, focusing on the door. She could feel the spell guiding her heart to where she needed to be. She questioned herself and her identity, she had no knowledge of advanced spells. Levitating objects and maybe a slight amount of teleportation was the best she could accomplish when it came to magic.

It was if some pony taught her this sort of spell a long time ago. A forgotten pony that she could reconcile with. "thgiliwT."

Sam caught the strange word in his ear. "What did you say?"

The unicorn blasted the crystal causing the door to open and uncurse itself. Rarity disregarded Sam as she galloped out of the room and into the other.

"Hey, wait up!" Sam followed after her with a jogging speed. The door behind him closed and disappeared in a flash after entering the next room of staircases leading up.

Rarity pedaled her hooves onto each step, faster than before. Her heart didn't say a word. It just gave her a destination she felt she needed to reach. A pain of guilt flooded her head, like she was running away from some pony important. That pain of guilt, however, wasn't enough to stop her from following her heart's content.

"Holy crap she's fast. Better catch up."

*2 sets of stairs later*

"It's going to be a long climb..."

*5 sets of stairs later*

His thighs were breaking down a sweat and an itch like mad.

*3 sets of stairs later*

"Whew, Lord! Does this mare know when to stop to catch a breath!? Jesus!"

*7 sets of stairs later*

Sam took the last step and fell nearly unconscious. "No... more... stairs..."

At the top a blue, crystallized, artificial heart, floated above a pedestal. Rarity gazed in awe at the crystal heart's beauty and perfection. Even ignoring every thought forming inside her mind.

After the last hoof step, Rarity tapped the heart with gentle care. It blasted a heap of blue light onto her face, blinding her temporarily. As Rarity removed her hoof away, hoping to stop the light from shining, the heart abruptly created an explosion of light across the crystal empire.

❄︎☟︎☜︎ ❄︎✋︎💣︎☜︎ ☟︎✌︎💧︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎☜︎.

******

The snow poured like a rainstorm, covering the majority of the school grounds. "Okay class," the teacher said, grabbing the attention of her small students. "Time to go back inside. Recess is over, and I don't want any pony complaining about a cancelled snowball fight."

The students frowned as they all formed a line to leave the playground. The teacher opened the door to class and told them to sit in their assigned seats. Each seat and table were labeled with a sticker, representing a pony's cutie mark with the exception of one. And the pony who sat on the blank desk was none other than the only blank blank in the class, Rarity.

The poor young filly silently sat down staring off into the distance by the window. To her surprise, the snow covered the very last tips of grass and it had only been about five minutes since the snow started to pour. It felt quite unnatural to her, but the rest class including the teacher genuinely went along with it.

The students talked and talked while the teacher searched her cabinets for any activities. Rarity remained silent, bored out of her mind.

"Attention class!" the teacher said aloud. "I will need to take care of some important business. A substitute teacher will take my place till tomorrow. Please be good," she opened the middle drawer and grabbed the list of instructions, gently laying them on her desk. She packed her bags and barged out of the door in a gallop.

Rarity crossed and flattened down her hooves, using them as a sort of pillow to sleep as she lowered her head onto them to take a nap. Outside of the hallway, unnoticed by Rarity, and unseen by the rest of the class, was a repeated pattern of a tripping horse and the sound of lockers being banged to their doom.

The class became silent as they stared at the door. A slight force pushed the door open slightly allowing the substitute teacher to squeeze through. He appeared drunk in his current state. As if he was about to fall down from dizziness. He sat down in front of the class uncomfortably, moaning in mental pain. The suit and tie he wore made him feel itchy and hot. But without it, his wings would be exposed.

"Dang, that sure was ridiculous. Not used to walking on all fours again," he said, coughing to clear his throat. "Anyways, my name is Mr. Samuel, but I prefer Mr. Sam."

A student raised their hoof, "um, could you please write your name on the board. I'm terrible at names."

Sam shook his pony head. "No can-do, and if you wanna know why, it's cuz I've been through a lot and I'm too lazy and tired. Ask some pony else to do it or do it yourself, I don't care. Just let me do my job without asking me to do unwanted favors please."

A few of them rolled their eyes at the immediate disrespectful attitude. Sam didn't give much into it. He leaned back in the chair in a strange sitting position, putting his back hooves on the teacher's desk lazily. The instructions in front were picked up by an aura mixed with black and white. It wasn't too complicated to understand, so there was no need to shrug it off and throw it away like absolute garbage.

"Ight, les get dis over with," the replacement teacher incorrectly spoke.

Two students whispered, "this guy sounds stupid."

"I know right," the other student whispered back.

Even if they kept their volume low, they didn't know about Sam's legendary hearing. Sam's eavesdropping skills were at another level. As long as his ADHD didn't get in the way, his ears could pick up the sound of a water drop from a mile away. He avoided any interaction with those two, passing out coloring sheets for every pony, even the two brats in the back next to Rarity.

"So, from what I'm reading, yall got a mini project due today. You guys can color and stuff while I go get the supplies and stuff."

Right after he left, chaos broke out. Ponies stampeded in every direction, throwing crayons, markers, erasers, and even paper airplanes made from coloring sheets. The two brats in the back crumbled a few little pieces of paper into paper balls. Then inserted the paper balls into straws. "Wake up blank blank head. It's time for us to have fun!" one of them said, aiming the straw at the poor young filly. It was horseplay, literally... but many times worse!

Rarity lifted her head after a few spitballs landed into her well-designed mane, "leave me alone," Rarity cried.

They laughed, "never!"

"Guys! Guys!" a filly in front of the class door alerted his fellow classmates. "He's coming back! In position every pony! No time to tidy up!"

They froze, hearing the sound of hoof steps once again. Dropping the school supplies carelessly, they returned to their assigned seats. Rarity felt solace as he entered the class. Seeing the clutter around, he smirked. "Well, looky here. I only been out for a few minutes and already you guys have been misbehaving. How do teachers even survive this five days a week?" The tip of his horn sparked a tad. Supplies and boxes flew back into the original tidy position with just a spark of his magic. "Now about that mini project. Found the supplies, now I just need to find some participating students to go outside on the stage to work and present. If you don't want to that's fine. You'll just get a zero for this assignment."

Rarity raised her hoof up in the air.

Sam faced her strangely. Not that his face looked strange, what made him strange to Rarity was his name, his laziness, and his coat and mane color. "Yea? Watcha need?"

Rarity nearly lost her words from the stare he gave. Something was off about this pony. He appeared normal, until peering into his eyes. The way he sat down, the way he clumsily moves, the way he talks gives her a strange vibe. "Mr. Sam, how do you expect us to finish a mini project out in that cold wintery mess of torture?" Rarity gestured outside.

Her classmates for once respected her by mumbling in agreement. As for the two bullies beside her, they could care less.

"Don't worry about that. I can solve that problem once we get out there. I promise you won't be an ice sculpture at the end of the day. Put your trust in me and you'll be good."

The students reached into their cubbies at the back left hand corner of the classroom, suiting themselves up for the cold as Sam patiently waited near an exit. One pony, on the other hoof, put Sam in full trust. Rarity.

Sam could see the authenticity in the young mare. "Glad to see that you trust me. What's your name sweetheart?"

"Rarity, sir," her heartbeats' volume increased, with her eardrums tingling. And the strangeness surrounding the stallion grew. Behind her, were faces, staring at her in a funny way. Some laughed, some did nothing, and some critically judged and teased.

"Ms. Fancy Pants? More like Ms. Snowy Pants!" one of them offensively joked, making the others point hooves and laugh. "What's the deal snowmare? Can't wear a coat or jacket like us, otherwise you will melt?"

Rarity looked down, with the top of her face covered in darkness. As sad and embarrassing as it was, she didn't have the urge to cry, or the urge to get mad.

"Enough," Sam's horn ignited a blue aura, shutting some nasty mouths closed with a magical blue potency. "Your real teacher may not be here, but I'M here. And I'm not doing this for the bits," Sam bucked open two sets of doors, releasing the wintery cold.

Walking out of the school, he guided them out with his hoof. Rarity turned out to be the first to follow along. Her heart made Sam seem like a guide to her destiny. But why? The others followed, shivering and crying. A few of them didn't like the idea of risking frostbite. Of course, as they tried to turn back, there was no turning back, since Sam forcefully shut the front entrance tight with his unique blue magic.

Now they knew something had to be up. They were in the middle of a snowstorm with only jackets to keep them warm. The temperature even, turned out to be in the negatives, according to a thermometer hanging next to a tree with its leaves covered in ice and snow.

Nearing the wooden stage, Sam ripped and torn his suit into shreds by spreading his wings. Leaving his whole body vulnerable to the winter. "The cold never bothered me. But now..." Sam faced the blizzard from above. The students froze in place, not because of the cold, but because of the alicorn standing before them.

With a grin on his face, he leapt into the snow clouds. At this point he needed to rid of this winter. Even he started to shiver near the source of the snow. With enough space and generosity, his willpower grew. "Time to take snowplowing seriously," Sam's eyes flaming blue, his horn formed a bluish black hole.

The snowstorm swirled like a hurricane, unable to resist the force of Sam's space magic. The students gazed up, at the satisfying weather vacuum. It was like a whirlpool in the sky, with Sam's black hole as its eye. He held onto his magic until the storm finally came to a clear. A bright light was now visible to Sam, and his class. A clear sky came into view as Sam instantly gave his creation of a space vacuum its own treatment by sucking it back into his horn.

His audience radiated with joy, confusion, thankfulness, and jealousy. Snow still remained on the earth's surface, but Sam didn't bother, knowing that it's thickness would reduce to nothing due to a flaming sphere above them.

"That was awesome!" a student began.

"Are you really an alicorn prince!?" a different student asked, pulling out a magnifying glass from their pocket.

"..." no answer came from Sam. Giving his students a silent treatment right after his epic moment bemused them. Most of the attention he received turned out to be positive apart from the two bullies filled with jealousy. "Welp, now that that's taken care of, I'm going to set up everything needed."

*5 minutes later*

"Phew, alright every pony, get on up here! For each and every one of you there should be a working table, a sewing machine, and a box with the materials you'll need. This project is going to test you on your ability to sew fabric. The directions are flat on your worktable. Follow those directions and you should get yourself an ez hundy. And you won't have the same design or thing to sew, just so that you don't copy each other's work and stuff."

Sam flew on the stage as the class took the wooden stairs. The young pegasi fillies avoided following Sam since they were too young to fly. Rarity was the first to start working. She found the assigned project to be quite simple, with no complex designing. Even finding herself done after several minutes of work.

A shadow came into Rarity's view. Looking up as if a tree blocked the sunlight, Sam stood in front, showing off a smile of success. "Heh, that was quick. No wonder that's your future talent."

Something different filled inside Rarity, "my future talent?"

"Yep. You're probably thinking, what the heck is this all-powerful space alicorn doing helping a little unicorn filly like you. Well, to answer your question, it's because your valuable to me."

Rarity shot a raised eyebrow, "me? Valuable?"

Sam closed his eyes and once again bended space with his horn's blue magic. "If you deny that you're valuable, then I will give you something valuable."

A rock three times the size of her, floated above them. Sam carelessly released it, allowing it to fall belligerently, causing the wooden floor below to bust open into a hole. A vibration ran across the stage creating a great disturbance among the peace.

"Go ahead," Sam gestured towards the cracked boulder. "See what's inside, malady."

Today was supposed to be a normal day for herself until he... no... Sam, showed up. His name bounced inside her brain like a ball, but never came out to reveal itself. Her heart tensed the closer she got. Its crack expanded more and more almost as if some pony was inside the rock, then, with the sound of a nut cracking, it split in half. The class wavered to forwardly design. It was distracting to notice what little time Rarity spent to finish her own project. And to notice shining colors of gleaming light out of the insides of the boulder.

"All yours," Sam stepped out of the way, giving a young lady some room.

Rarity's pupils sized up to an egg, her mouth wide open with drool. "All of these gems, for me?"

Sam nodded.

"My goodness. No pony had ever shown me this much generosity in forever. I must apologize, but I have forgotten your name mister. I know it's a shame, but..."

A soft hoof landed gently behind her mane. "Don't worry about it, and don't think about it. Generosity is a good thing. I saw you all alone with no one to talk to, so I decided to come in and help."

"But why would you help me?" Rarity turned around swiftly, making the alicorn stranger drop his hoof. Sam met a suspicious face glaring at his own face, "what's in it for you?"

"..." Silence fell onto the stage. 'The heck? She starts off like the loneliest child ever, then gets all excited similar to Pinkie Pie, and now she sounds like Cozy Glow. Eh, whateves, I got play it cool or I'll be forced to redo this entire scenario AGAIN!'

"Is there something you have to tell me?" Rarity said restively.

Sam obnoxiously struggled to find a good answer. If he were to tell her the school and students were only hallucinations, then all progress would be lost. There had to be some way to help her, just... Sam quickly glanced at his cutie mark, just like he remembered when he first came into this world spiritually before being pulled in physically, a yin yang symbol rested on his very horse form flank.

His knowledge of the yin n' yang turned out to be limited, only thing he knew was how it represented the world functioning in an endless fight between good and evil. If no good existed, then evil would have no bad to inflict. And without evil, there is no good. After a few nervous breaths, Sam answered the young mare firmly. "It's... kind of my job. Not as a sub teacher, but what I do as a hobby you know. That's what my cutie mark is all about. It's my job to keep the balance between good and evil. If something is too perfect and boring, then I'll come in and spice things up a bit. Does that make any sense to ya?"

Rarity pushed him even further, "what does that have to do with me?"

"You for example were suffering from hopelessness and loneliness. I sensed an imbalance on darkness, so I decided to shine a little light into your heart, to keep a special pony like you going. THAT is TRUE generosity."

Rarity's suspicion dropped, along with her heart rate building up. "Sam, is the name. Correct?"

"Yea, that's my name all right," Sam assured.

"What do you suppose I do know, sir?" Rarity asked benignly, giving Sam full comfort towards her and his mission.

"You could design the class a few costumes using those gems I gave you," Sam grabbed the instruction sheet. "Oh, right, I forgot to read the last set of instructions given to me by your teacher. In a few minutes ponies will gather near the stage to experience a joyful set of beauty to the eyes. Guess that was the whole point of this mini project. You guys will be showing off your designs," he went back to Rarity. "So, would ya mind adding the finishing touches?"

Rarity pressed down slightly on her chest, "it'll be my pleasure, Mr. Samuel!"

*A moment of sewing later*

After the last set of sewing, Rarity let out a breath of relief. "There we are. Tell me that this does not fit your taste," Rarity held up the gem outfits in front of the class. They found themselves appealed and attracted to Rarity's work. Each student couldn't help to gaze upon her outfits' former beauty and glory. Even the two little fillies that disliked her, gave her attention and respect. Sam was the only one able to break his gaze away. As he did, his eyes shot over to the adult ponies nearing the stage.

"Sorry to interrupt this gazing party, but we got an audience with hungry eyes coming."

Within a couple minutes, the expected audience should arrive, meaning they had little time to play dress up. Sam, for the last time, used his space magic to properly suit up each student with an individual costume. Rarity even had the chance to add any finishing touches before time ran out.

Sam set them to their positions on the wooden stage, "looks like were all set." A small amount of sunlight peaked past the slit of the curtains. Small soft chattering of grown stallions and mares echoed from the outside. "Every pony ready?"

They each responded with a different way of saying yes. Sam raised and tightened his left hoof as if he was giving a thumbs up. Hoping for the best, he pulled back the curtains revealing the audience from the class's perspective, and the dressed-up students from the audience's perspective. Sam and Rarity hid behind the left part of the curtain to watch everything take place without being seen.

Ahs and oohs came from the audience. Their eyes were hooked to the gems more than to the outfits themselves. Simple dancing and shaking came along as the wooden stage made creaking noises from the bouncing of hooves.

With the success in hoof, Sam looked down upon Rarity with a pair of glimmering eyes. "I have to say your work is SPECTACULAR!"

Rarity's expression reflected his. Not a single word was made by the fashionista unicorn, because of the excessive positivity flowing through her. A flash of blue light came from her behind, as her head started to ache for the last time. Turning to her flank, a sense of GIDDYNESS struck her hard. "Mr. Samuel, look! My cutie mark is so gorgeous!"

Turning back to Sam, who was already staring at her cutie mark with an obsessed look. "I did it..." the world shifted. The audience faded, the students faded, the stage faded, everything faded away. A mysterious void of darkness appeared, engulfing the world like a black hole until it eventually engulfed the remaining two beings close together. "☼︎☜︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☠︎!"

Rarity panicked for her life, only to be sucked into the void.

******

Friends, fashion, Sweetie Belle, generosity, Sam, space. "I remember everything..." Rarity said, half asleep.

She found no way to move her muscles or bones. Breathing and hearing were the things her body was capable of doing for now. A semi far away voice started speaking. "Come on you stupid little-" the sound of something shattering apart came into her ears, following a loud thump hitting the ground, which gave Rarity a shacking feeling down her spine, fully awakening her from her paralyzed state.

"Geez, never knew the Crystal Heart would be secured like this." A strange warmth from the heart nearly made Sam clumsily drop it, until he resisted its thermal energy. It was like carrying a hardened forty-pound potato that just came out of the microwave. Thankfully, Sam could withstand its weight, and managed to walk normally with a little pressure. "Time to wake up Ms. Fancy pants, we got ourselves a Crystal Heart to put back in place."

"Wh- wha- Sam?" Rarity wears a regretful and tense face.

"What do you remember?" Sam asked to start off an important conversation.

Rarity remained conscious on the floor, uncomfortably keeping great fashionable power within her, similar to holding in urine. "I- my- my friends. You and Discord. Why? How?"

Sam created a tightened fist and pulled in his arm to show off his successful feelings. " Yes! It worked! To be fairly honest, following that sketchy man's instructions didn't seem like the best idea to restore your memories. I honestly believed he was playing tricks on me or something."

Rarity once again bemused by Sam on so many levels, demanded the truth. She was steamed at her ignorance; it was time to know what in Celestia's name was going on. Even if it meant doing things the lady's way. "Tell me everything. I know when a gentleman like you hides something. And for proof, you cannot notice how we both shared one another's traits and thoughts. You were never into cleanliness or manners, nor was I ever this afraid of some monster out to kill me."

Sam gently laid away the Crystal Heat to avoid stressing his muscles, "monster?"

"I believe you are aware of who this monster is, correct? After you entered my mind to remind me of my destiny, I saw glimpses of your past after we sunk into that nasty black void. You had a loving family, Sam. It's sad to see a horrible monster like that pull you into your very own dream, just to destroy it."

On the inside Sam was impressed and maybe even a little nervous, but as always, he'd never express his feelings on the outside. "So that explains why I have a craving for luxury, " he smacked his lips and gave his nose full control of his breathing. "Alright, you wanna know the truth, here it is. This whole end of Equestria and me situation starts off with Nightmare being all cocky and crazy in Luna's dream realm."

*After explanation*

"And that's how we got here. You don't have to worry about Discord. He's holding off Nightmare and is on my side I think..."

"You think? You're not sure?!" Rarity said with concern.

"Well, "Mom," he's a creature of chaos just like the castle from SOTN. And chaos is unpredictable madness. I'm pretty sure once Nightmare is finished, he's gonna want something in return."

Rarity found his non caring attitude to be quite upsetting. But what could a mare do to a lazy boy like him. "By the way, how did you manage to find some way into my head? Didn't you tell me your race only had imagination as their magic and nothing more?"

Another moment of quietness fell between the two. Sam bent down to give the crystal heart a quick look before wandering around in a small circle, seeing if he had the capability of finding him. "When I saw you asleep next to the heart, I attempted to wake up a fancy looking mare. That attempt failed, causing me to put blame upon the crystal heart. Thankfully, right in the nick of time some pony appeared beside me."

"And who was that some pony?"

"Eh... he wasn't exactly a pony. More like a monster similar to Slenderman, except with an actual face. He gave me a great insight on the issue at hand, telling me what to do to fix your memory loss step by step. All I needed to really do was get up in your head and get you back on track from your messed up past. If I ever were to screw up, then I would have to reset the memory and start all over again. That's why you saw me all tired when I busted into the class like a sweaty substitute. There was one time where I sucked up the school with a black hole out of frustration and anger, but we don't have to talk about that. What matters is that I succeeded, your back to normal, your aware of the end of Equestria, and have full trust in me."

Rarity finally had the chance to free her ears from an intense focus. Now, it was her turn to speak. "I give you my thanks, but who is this man you speak of? I must also give him my thanks as well."

Sam scratched his head, "uh, he kind of vanished... Like, he gave me a hello and all that, but when he finished, he just voided out of existence without a nice goodbye," Sam puffed out a large amount of air out of his nose as if he were laughing. "What a sketchy weirdo, scaring people like that. At least he was generous enough to help me. Though, next time I see him again, my trust won't be at its best."

"Why not?" Rarity asked.

Sam shot her a look, "why not?" he commanded his hand and forearm to land on Rarity's shoulder. "Because you should never put your full trust in strangers. You ponies may live in peace, but the world I live in ain't pretty. In my world, showing generosity and kindness to other strangers could screw you over, depending on what person you give it to. People who take advantage of your kindness are what I like to call users. And then you have manipulators and backstabbers, who will fulfill your wants, then ask for something in return that you're uncomfortable doing. THAT'S, something I NEED to avoid."

"I see..." her face was filled with worry. "Do you... What about me? Do you trust me? Can I even trust you?" a little amount of irritation came to Sam in the ears after being fed her last question."I remember my friends, and our fight against you and Discord. You... you... killed, Shining Armor, Princess Cadance's future husband. "

His face hardened as he stood still, fighting a tremendous battle inside his head. After all he went through, to revive the memories of the past, it all backfired. Accepting that his intelligence was great but also limited, turns out to be one of the very few things he hated most. "Rarity... you know, I hate it when my work turns against me..."

Strong emotions in the unicorn mare sparked like a sparkler. A line had been crossed, "excuse me?" her face and voice now in a madness of horror. "I'm nothing but your very own work? I'm a thing to you?" her horn viciously sparked.

"What? No, I didn't mean it like tha- OOF!" Sam flung through the air as a result of Rarity's raging blast of fashionable power. He landed in a protective gooey green pool to prevent his death. Rarity fell out of the castle with him. A sharp pain came as his hand made contact with the burnt spot of his chest, the middle to be specific. "Ow, what the," he stared down, noticing sharp diamonds impaling the same spot that was smoking. It was only getting worse with his hand putting pressure, along with it getting impaled as well. The diamonds and a small amount of his white shirt was stripped off by his sudden pull. Blood leaked out of the skin as he ignored the pain, throwing the now bloodied crystals to the floor.

His ears popped off with the sound of another magical attack. Sam barely made the dodge but was close enough to observe the blast's insides. 'Are those crystals? Dang, that mystery man wasn't lying one bit. That mare has improved in terms of power after her memory recovery. Getting hit by the blast means I'll be burnt and shredded at the same time. I need to be more careful! And by looks of things, there's no reasoning this out yet, not with that hate inside of her.'

Sam's vision zoomed towards the crystal heart. 'I can't leave without it. I'll be screwed if Sombra makes his way back over here. Guess I have no choice but to use my special move. That heart won't move itself; I must remember the great moments of capturing the bean bag from physical education.'

Rarity fired another attack; this time Sam was ready, shouting, "Nonsense Run!" Sam ducked down then weirdly used his hands and feet to carry himself across the floor like a spider. His movement was a bit funky to be expected. However, Rarity backed off, creeped out by the new set of moves. Reaching the crystal heart, he gripped it firmly standing tall once again. The next part of the move is to run like a madman similar to what he did on a daily basis to flee school, only this time side hopping is added to the mix.

'Holy molly, this technique actually works! Now to find a way out,' he slid down the outside of the castle darted to the next closet turn, side hopping randomly to avoid any debris the crazy fashionista threw.

"Hey, you, human!" a stallion yelled from the inside of a house, peering past the crack of his door, showing only his muzzle. "In here, quick!"

Sam didn't take much consideration to question the stallion. Knowing the voice, he sprinted towards the house pulling its door wide open then slamming it shut. Books on the shelves tumbled down with one landing face down on the horn of none other than the nerdy unicorn himself, Sunburst.

Sunburst signaled Sam to move out of the way. Readying his horn, he casted a spell on his own doorstep; assuming the spell's purpose was to secure the door, Sam still remained on his guard. Turns out Sunburst casted much of his sweat and effort since he puffed and wheezed afterwards.

"You know the spells but ya can't cast the spells well huh," Sam rudely pointed out the unicorn's weakness.

Sunburst paid no attention to Sam, only giving attention towards the door cutting them away from a crazed lady. Without a moment too soon the door forcefully opened, having Sam position himself in a fighting stance, glaring at an angry mare. Sunburst stared at her with a mixture of fear and hope. Rarity gave the insides of Sunburst's home a puzzled look instead of giving it to the only two beings in front of her view.

"Please work. Pleeeeeaaassseee!" Sunburst begged with a sweaty shaking hoof.

Sam prepared to serve a little knuckle sandwich to the lady mare as she took two hoof steps forward, one remaining outside, then the other reaching inside. Her whole body vanished in an instant after the third hoof step. The two caught a great surprising feeling, Sam being surprised out of his mind, and Sunburst being surprised by his magnificent work of magic.

"Yes! It worked!" Sunburst bursted into an uncontrollable moment of jumping up and down.

Sam now found himself puzzled at Sunburst's magic at work. Sunburst eventually lost his balance once he took an exciting jump in a trickier stance with the two of his back hooves. "Whoa!" Sunburst wobbled and lost balance, cracking a sensitive spine in the process. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as gravity pulled him towards his impending pain.

Sam extended his arms, lunging near one of his favorite ponies, safely letting the nerdy unicorn fall on a less dense surface. "You aren't as heavy as I thought you'd be. Sixty pounds is your weight or something?"

Sunburst frowned slightly, a little offended by the human's sarcastic joke. "I am considered average weight, thank you very much, human."

"Human? You know what I am?" Sam released Sunburst from his grasp. "I've been called 'creature' and 'beast', never once called a human before."

"That's because I'm one of the only few who have studied your kind," Sunburst said, patting away the dust from his cloak of stars. "You're special, you know that, right?"

"Special?" Sam shook his head with a forced smile, "saying someone is special, is another way to say they are better than everyone or everypony else. Yes, I am much different than most of mankind, but that doesn't make me better than them. Anyways, back to the situation at hand- I- I mean hoof! What in the actual HECK happened to her!"

Sunburst pushed back his glasses for a sense of comfort, "well you see I simply to which I mean I hardly casted a spell to switch the entrance to my home with the exit of another door here, in the Empire."

"So, you're saying she's alone in the middle of the empire, with Killer Sans on her fancy tail and possibly Sombra himself?"

Sunburst raised an eyebrow, "Sombra isn't much of a possibly but who would be Killer Sands?"

Sam's legs itched for movement, "ah fudge! Got to get the crystal heart back in its place before Rarity gets sliced by a Michael Myers wannabe!"

"Wait!" Sunburst yelled, failing to stop the human.

Rarity sat down on a cold solid floor, filled with a sense of regret. She shot a flare of magic into the air then laid down having her whole back temperature mixed with the floor's temperature. "*sigh* I guess I may have overreacted a bit. But I still can't believe he thinks of me as a 'thing'! I am not a thing!" Rarity made another cold sigh and whispered to herself. "What is a lady like me supposed to do now?"

She counted to three and got up, searching for the way out of the empire. A dress store came across, utterly keeping her mind away from her troubling thoughts. Rarity peered past the glass with her face stuck to its texture. "My, these fabric beauties will fit me perfectly! I must show this to Sam! He will lov-... oh... right. Just where is that miraculously tall gentleman?"

"behind you," a known vicious voice muttered.

A soundwave with a gust of wind rushed by the mare's ears as she turned to the voice. Her pupils shrink, with her mouth ready to scream at the same killing skeleton standing in front of her and the crystal dress shop.

"where's your tall human hero little pony? that flare of yours gave you away."

"..."

"you can't even say. too scared of your upcoming death I believe," Killer Sans held out an open left hand to charge the blaster beside him. Rarity once again said no word, sliding her back hooves slightly backwards. "my guess is that the crystal heart had been found, correct? if you do not give me its location, we'll both die. i'll kill you for being useless, then my boss, Nightmare will kill me for being useless. so, talk little pony, TALK!"

To Killer's surprise Rarity responded bravely. "I am afraid it is in my hero's possession at the moment. And no, I will not give you any hints to his location, never! If you want a fight, then it's a fight you're going to get you meatless monster!"

Killer Sans had an agreement with her last couple words, "heh, you are right. i am technically a monster with no flesh, but you... don't know anything about me! now die."

Closing his skeletal hand, the blaster fired a large blast of goop. Rarity took precaution and covered herself with a magical diamond shield of her own. The blast of goop splatted in many directions, none splatting on Rarity.

Killer Sans didn't hesitate to strike with a slashing blow of his killer knife, destroying the diamond shield in an instant. Being inches away Rarity's horn shined like the sun, enough to melt away Killer's vision. As the killer tried to recover his eyesight Rarity shot a blast of magic. Shards of diamonds stuck withing the insides of his torso.

"the hell?! where did this power of yours come from?! you were never this strong before, I know it!"

Rarity smirked, "with a little help from others you can gain many things of course. Giving away something good generously could help you receive something good in return." The door to the dress shop behind her opened and out came a congregation of dresses flying towards Killer Sans.

A steel knife had little to no affect. Killer panicked when he witnessed a dress tying one of his hands tightly, stopping him from using any magic attacks. The same happened with his legs and even the eyes themselves. Still, this fight was far from over. Killer's other hand remained untouched, with a bitter feeling of over rest.

Hearing a sound of magic being charged, he created a bone wall in front to repel her attack. Next, he carefully slashed away the magical dresses to unblind and unbind himself. And then, clean sharpened bones formed unnaturally above, adding more shadows to the floor, only steady ones instead of moving ones.

Killer's face showed a taste of victory, while Rarity became unsure of her victory. He studiously pointed out one finger to send a signal to his attacks. Rarity teleported out before she was pinned away. She had lost control of the clothing as most were devastatingly shredded by bone.

"hehehe, is little pony scared?" Killer Sans said. The cold air gushed swiftly by them, causing Rarity's coat and tail to flow about, and the same for Killer's jacket. Rarity sensed a presence nearing them, as she glanced to her left and right. Killer proceeded forward with zero cation. About halfway he slipped and fell hard, his backbone now in shambles. A cold wet feeling entered his bottom rear end. Slowly curling back up his sleeves became wet upon contact with a puddle of water.

"I prefer to be called little lady thank you very much. And I'm not scared, I am merely avoiding an act of stupidity. An act you most likely commit several times."

Killer Sans viciously stared her down, no longer keeping a straight smile, "you little bi-"

"Female pony?" Sam cuts him off.

"uh, yea- wait who the fu-" Killer groaned in pain at the damage he received from behind.

"Quit cussing, you're not in Underverse, you're in My Little Pony which is a kids cartoon. At least try to be child friendly!" Sam demanded, pretending to look at a fourth wall. A crack formed beneath Sam's feet giving him anxiety. Sam leapt away before a rising bone zone busted out of the cracks. He thought wrong when it was just one, as more cracks followed his every move.

Out of fear, Sam ran to Rarity's side for help. She didn't show any signs of hostility as he approached, so maybe she would spare his life. The mare dug her horn in the hard floor like a drill, infusing the surface with her magic. "There, those underground bones won't be of any issue." Rarity plummeted on her left hoof, becoming woozy.

"You alright?" Sam asked.

"Yes, just a little... tired is all. I'm sorry for acting up, I just... for some reason felt hate boil inside me. And then it just vanished in an instant, never to be seen again."

"Bullcrap. I never said you were a thing. What I meant by 'work' is the amount of effort and time I put in to help you. I know this is a dream, but I can actually die here. And I'm over here interacting with you, and that feels real to me."

Rarity's expression started off cold and a little regretful, but it warmed up into an understandable state. "What happened to the heart you held within your hands. You appear to be empty handed at the moment. Did it mean anything to you?"

Sam froze and melted into a crazed firework. "Darn! I left it at Sunburst's! That goes to show of how irresponsible I can be!"

"Sunburst?"

"Just some smart unico- UH! RARITY! DO SOMETHING!" Sam jabbed his finger in Killer's direction. Rarity switched back to a defensive stance, creating another diamond barrier, this one being the size of a building. The shield was strong for sure, but would it be enough to protect them from five goop blasters? Yes, five.

Taking a couple breaths, the skeleton roared as he released the power of the blasters. Rarity groaned at the energy her shield had to withstand, the human next to her could tell she was losing her composure by the second.

"give it up little lady! you can't go on! your tall hero can't save you. he is nothing but a coward!"

"............." Sam gripped Rarity's tummy and back, tugging her away to safety as her shield gave away. "Coward. That's what I am to him? A coward?" Sam squatted down to cross his arms as a protection for his belly. Killer's skull blasters launched violently with teeth as sharp as knives. Each bit into Sam's arms, knocking him far.

"Samuel!" Rarity shouted promptly. Her tail was needled down by a sharp bone before she could make a move. "Let me go!" Rarity attempted to remove the bone without damaging her tail but managed to pull it up a quarter of the way through before Killer Sans, in the speed of sound, raised his knife to topple her head.

A white dot took the place of a small portion of his empty black right eye. Red light of blood lust covered and enraged his killer knife with hate and killing intent. "this is the end for you, no one, not even your 'hero' can save you now. die!"

*Slash*

"wh- wha- what!?" Killer muttered. Looking to his side, Sam, was between him and his prey. A warm hand of steel flesh locked Killer's arm in place.

Sam squeezed like an elephant. "I won't allow you to hurt a friend of mine," he said firmly. Never in Sam's life did he ever think he would fight back. His life was based on ignoring all who hurt him. No matter what people say, he would refuse to take it personally. But this was a cold-blooded killer about to slice the head off a unicorn he loves.

Sam, with all of his might, pulled the killer down to his knees and punched his skull. Killer's face bled as he rubbed it off to see his hand covered in blackish blood. Killer's hand started shaking uncontrollably. He looked straight at the human, now scared. Sam stood up straight with great posture, fists tightened, and eyes fierce as a lion. With the calm wind blowing, Sam imagined some kind of wild west music in his head, as if he were a cowboy about to face off against an elite gunner.

Killer threw his knife, and it flied like an arrow shot from a bow, only for Sam to luckily catch it by the handle. Sharp bones came flying then dying as Sam sliced each one in half.

'alright little hero, if your reflexes outmatch simple bones, then let's try tricky bones instead.' Killer's right eye turned blue, being the focal point of a blue attack.

Blue bones, non-sharpened, were created to attack Sam. Remembering Undertale's game mechanics Sam halted his charge to wait for the blue attacks to pass through like gas. Meanwhile Killer worked on another attack to back up his blue.

A bone larger than any other bashed out underground destroying Sam's shoulder, throwing him face flat on a building. A blue bone zone shot out trapping the human.

"don't move human, *puff* you can take the last moments of breathing before I quickly end your life. it is what my boss wants after all, whew," Killer Sans stated with sweat forming on his skull.

Sam noticed the skeleton's condition spot on, "you're tired, aren't you?"

"yea, so what? once you're gone Nightmare will reward me."

"Reward? Are you sure he said there was a reward or are you just assuming?"

"i- shut it! he's my boss, he wouldn't boss me around for nothing! he created me!"

"For the sole purpose of destroying everything including yourself? You had a brother and lived in a peaceful kingdom of monsters. Yet, you chose the dark side, instead of being the happy comedian you once were," Sam accused. "If you're siding with my enemy, then there's a high chance you'll get backstabbed," he stopped, thinking he was being ignored.

Killer Sans trembled for a moment. "YOU... DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME!"

A blue force of magic formed on Sam's neck. The skeleton was strangling the boy nonstop. Sam even had the urge to move around and accept the stinging pain from Killer's blue attack trap.

Triplets of small pebbles were thrown to Killer's thick skull, making him turn his eyes away from Sam. Sam followed Killer's face and smiled a tad. His vision was blurry from the non-consumption of oxygen moment. He could make out only an orange pony next to Rarity with something light blue under his hoof. Sam failed to cheer them on as Killer still had his blue magic chocking Sam's neck.

Rarity took a glance at Sunburst's spell book and followed its advice. "I better make this count!"

With all of her power channeled within her horn, she fired a spiraling blast of blue energy with a sharp diamond to its end. No unicorn or even alicorn had ever created a magical attack this beautiful.

Her attack hit Killer Sans in the soul, like an arrow hitting its target. His soul cracked as he fainted from the impact the attack had on his soul and body. And, without his consciousness, the blue bones keeping Sam at bay disappeared without a trace.

Sam got up and ran to the two unicorns wildly. As he got close Rarity fell down, eyes closed, and mouth wide open. He turned to Sunburst hoping for some medical support.

"Wow, that fancy mare actually did it, with your help of course, Sunburst."

"Thanks," Sunburst said in a joyful tone. "How do you know my name?"

"I... heard a lot about you. My name's Sam by the way, so you can stop calling me human."

"Eh, well, uh, good to see you Sam," Sunburst politely replied.

"Why'd you follow me here anyway?" Sam asked.

"Well, first of all you carelessly left the crystal heart in my hooves as you left my house in a rush, and second of all, I need you alive for an extra-terrestrial experiment."

"Me? An experiment?" Sam backed away, afraid of his personal space bubble being invaded. He glanced at Rarity and then shot his focus to her, ignoring a creepy Sunburst entirely. Her body was evaporating into a blue mist of steam as her essence was sucked and absorbed like a vacuum with the crystal heart as its storage bag. Sam found it traumatizing, thinking some sort of genocidal incident is about to turn him into a mist of steam. Sunburst gave him a nice laugh.

"Don't worry she will be fine. She's going through one of the rarest experiences in all of Equestria! Vestigial Transition!"

"Vestigeal what? Can you be a little more specific?" Sam muttered under his breath.

Sunburst rolled his eyes with a slight sigh added. "Am I the only pony who knows anything?"

"I believe so," Sam eyed him closely.

Sunburst saw an argument about to come into play between the two of them, but he broke out of it thanks to the skeleton standing before them. Sam and Sunburst in shock observed Killer Sans; remaining still like statues. Somehow a shattering soul wasn't adequate for Killer's death."Found you," Killers Sans said in a voice Sam remembered. "Now how did you end up here? More importantly, what is here?" the skeleton shrugged once the two in front gave him no answer. "My skeleton puppet is quite a disappointment. Heh, if you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself."

Purple eyes similar to Nightmare's formed into Killer's blank eyes.

"Im-Impossible! M-My spell sh-should've done the trick! No creature or monster could ever survive my spell!"

Sam glared at the killing machine skeleton fiercely once again, giving Killer a reason to smirk. "Face to face again, huh? It's been a while, Nightmare."

"Your friends have given me quite a hard time dear boy. But even so this is where you fall, where I win, where I become STRONG!" Nightmare commanded Killer to raise his hand in the air like he was being pulled by a couple invisible strings. Mysteriously, a blaster ten times the size of Killer rose from above.

Sam was questioning the new appearance of the blaster while Sunburst was questioning almost about everything in this situation. How did the skeleton survive? Why is his voice different? Why is Sam calling the skeleton Nightmare? The purple eyes!

"Calm down Sunburst I got this all under control," Sam's words gave Sunburst a little comfort. Though, one hundred percent unsure feelings of the boy's actions.

"A-are you s-sure, maybe we should fall back," Sunburst suggested, now more nervous after noticing Sam's glare of defiance. As soon as Nightmare unleashes whatever resides in the blaster, Sunburst would find his name fitting for the rest of life. Remembering how he bursts like a sun when being threatened for life.

"I'm no coward sunny! Still a boy, but a boy about to become a man!" Sam strictly marched forward fists tightened, ready to punch anything or anyone.

"Any last words, boy?" Killer/Nightmare was oozing with confidence.

Sam kept a blank face while marching closer, "..."

"Too scared to say anything, just like your made-up orange unicorn from behind, huh? Heh, watch and feel Samuel, as I tear you apart!" the cocky demon signaled the blaster fire out hundreds if not thousands of bloody knives, each diving down to Sam.

"Here are my last words you demonic freak!" he took a fighting position from an anime character and copied it to use his special move. "Special move: Consecutive Reflective Karma Punches!"

In perfect unison Sam blocked each knife with fists of swirling white light. He felt confident, powerful, skilled, and overjoyed of his actions. For once in his life, Sam was facing a problem on his own. No one forcefully got in his way. Sam had full control of his actions.

Sunburst gazed at the knife light show, "such power." Sam's speed accelerated to the speed of light making him blend with his whitened fists of light. To Sunburst he thought of it as light becoming a solid thing. To Nightmare, he saw it as an opportunity to test Sam's will and power.

"The boy certainly has outdone himself," Nightmare said in a way to appease thy self.

Having the temptation to test Sam, Killer/Nightmare charged his knife with raw dark power.

Sunburst flipped page after page until finding a page needed. "Sam, I have an idea!" The unicorn trotted near the scene carrying his book in an aura. Good or bad at magic he KNEW magic. Casting a spell the blaster fell into a deep sleep, stopping the endless rain of knives.

Sam turned back, pleased at the unicorn. Sunburst responded with a confident smile and raised up head.

"LOOK OUT!" Sam shouted vigilantly.

Sunburst peeked out of his eyelids then shot them open. The unicorn gasped frightfully to the skeleton about to slice his head off. He flinched his head to the side preparing for a pain so painful.

The knife had hit something alright, but it wasn't Sunburst. Sam managed to move in front and block the attack off, whilst absorbing the knife's power. The pain Sam suffered through was enough to make it feel as his left arm was sliced off many times in a row. "This is where karma comes into play Nightmare buddy," Sam's aura of fists went from a white light to a black darkness. A tightened fist of darkness slammed into the skeletal rib cage of Killer/Nightmare causing him to fly away as he vomited blood in midair.

Nightmare released the last few words he could say before losing control of Killer Sans permanently. "Someone has been improving themselves, haven't they? Heh, you can grow stronger and stronger as much as you please. No matter what, your death and the destruction of this world is inevitable."

The skeleton's corpse melted into a dark latex puddle that disappeared after Nightmare's control lifted.

*Killer Sans eliminated; 1000 pp earned.*

Sam nearly lost control of balance as a result from the new experience. Gruesomely tired, he slowly walked straight to the castle. Sounds of trotting came from behind, figuring Sunburst would follow him. "I did it Sunburst. Mind if I carry the heart for you? Looks a lot heavy if you ask me."

"Oh, of course," Sunburst released the heart from a magical grasp, allowing the heart to fall into a physical grasp. Sam remained with the same steady pace.

"The space element is residing in here, I know it. Once it's placed in its place, the space element will be revealed. Granting me the power to control space."

Sunburst, not wanting to question any topic about space, asked Sam a much fairer question. "I hope this isn't much to ask for, but who or what was that skeleton monster?"

"...I'd rather not go into much detail. All I can say is he's an insulting creation of my enemy. You can say he started off funny and nice until corruption, evil deals with a demon, and the wrong choices lead him to the destructive path he took. Guessing, Nightmare is planning on creating more of those fleshless freaks. Seeing how I or as matter of fact WE, struggled with one. Nightmare's bound to create some kind of skeleton trio to hunt our flanks down."

Sunburst refrains from asking any more questions. Human beings were mythical, intelligent creatures that should be left in peace. For Sunburst, getting to understand the human's motives and goals would be hard. It wasn't like a relationship between the two had a chance of forming in the next hour.

"By the way, were you living in Sire's Hollow before moving here to make a living?" He was only curious because Sunburst never made an appearance till season 6. At present-day, it is a season 3 premier at the moment.

"I... don't want to talk about it," Sunburst explicitly stated.

"Hm, we all got personal secrets to hide, I guess," Sam hurtfully accepted.

"Sam! You must hurry darling!"

"Wha- Rarity!? You're still alive!?" Sam communicated through the heart. The sudden interaction created a spike of relief for Sam. "Now I know I won't be letting out any tears when I think about you."

"Place the crystal heart where it belongs! Sombra's coming back as you both speak!"

"I know he is; you and I triggered a trap, while before a little fight between us took place. But Sombra isn't my only concern. What happens to you, Rarity. I mean your presence is inside the heart; will you be alright?"

"I will be fine, Samuel. Just do as I say, please!"

"King Sombra!?" Sunburst panicked. "I thought he wasn't coming back!"

"You thought? He left the crystal heart here, of course he'd be coming back to check up on it."

Sunburst motioned his eyes left and right showing his embarrassed smile. "Ye-yea I knew that!"

Sam resisted the urge to give an eye roll. "Come on, we gotta book."

******

Cadance turned out to have the eyes of a hawk, being capable of spotting Sunburst and Sam for afar. This was her chance to get help. She flied down similar to a jet, fighting away the air resistance. She told herself as she did to ignore Sombra's presence no matter what.

Sam noticed her approach by ear and waved as a friendly welcoming sign. "Look who's back; the Princess of Love, who I love."

"Th-the Pri-Princess of Love?" Sunburst blushed in an anxious way.

Cadance landed roughly, panting to her last breath. "Sam! Thank Celestia you're here!"

Sam nodded. "I could say the same for you. We got the crystal heart in our hands or hooves, now we just gotta wait for the perfect moment. Was Sombra on your tail? I need to know becau- oh, welp never mind I see the stallion himself up there," he gestured up above to a fog of shadow surrounding a top part of the castle. "Must be searching for the heart." He then took focus on Cadance, walking up close, bending down to his knees, and holding the heart up respectfully. "Cadance, will you do the honors?"

"I...Id love to," Cadance responded back respectfully. The princess of love levitated the heart onto the pedestal. It spun in circles like a fan, creating a wave of magical energy, decorating Cadance and Sunburst in a glittery crystalized form. Sombra screamed in agony from above the trio.

"I don't know if that was enough so be on your guard. Also be on guard for- uh."

Cadance raised an eyebrow to Sam, "be on our guard for uh?"

"No, look!" Sam pointed to the heart. Its power and glow diminished, and its structure nearly about to fall apart. He could hear Rarity's cries for help. The cries became screams of agony, which gave Sam's ears an agonizing pain. By instinct, he took a fist and smashed the heart like an alarm clock ten times the annoyance and torture.

The two ponies covered their faces as a blue mist of steam bushed out from a heart's destruction. From the remains of the heart now existed a blue gem stone.

Sam wore a smile of pride as he used a finger and thumb to securely lock the space element in one of the gauntlet's front holes. The stone infused its power into Sam's body, making him let out a manly scream. Sunburst swore he heard a chorus of godlike praises and gentle yells in the back of his head. "About time. I feel something so incredible in the air," he breathed in oxygen in enjoyment. "Can't believe this, I searched high and low for a single piece of the key, and it was in the heart this whole time. But I have it! THE POWER OF SPACE EVERYPONY!"

*Space Stone acquired.*

*5 more stones remain.*

Cadance planned on saying something but waited for Sam to cool off a bit. "Um, what is so special about that gemstone?"

Sam's gaze stuck to the generous space element. "It's one of six I am destined to find. The next one I'm looking for is contained in another world. Which is perfect since the entrance to that world is literally under my nose. But first, there's somepony we need to take care of."

At the top of the castle Sombra flew in, returning to his physical form. Shock unlike no other hit him square in the head as he glared at the unthinkable. "Impossible!" Sombra exclaimed fearfully. He originally locked the crystal heart away in this exact spot with a trap to alert if any thief had decided to steal such an ancient artifact. And still, it fell into some pony else's hooves.

A wave of thermal blue magic expanded from below, eating away Sombra's power. The king screamed from the top of his lungs. His body found itself weak against the magical components of whatever this magic could be. His doubts were full on Cadance, knowing an alicorn like her had no capability of such magic power.

Back in his shadow form, the king flew downwards to the suspecting source of to what he guessed would be the crystal heart now in its place. Cadance came into view, her coat and flank healing back to health. Cadance, without eyeballing, started speaking to the king that she knew was to her left. "Stop this madness already! You're a pony just like us; do you want to be seen as a monster?"

Sombra stomped a hoof, "silence! Hoof the crystal heart to me or I will force you to hoof over your life!"

Cadance shook her head. "Well, you leave me no choice. Come out you two."

An ominous blue light within the shadow's glowed behind the princess, "I don't think you're going to get anything out of this except a nice space beating," some pony interrupted from behind. The shadows were engulfed by an orange light spell casted by a unicorn stallion looking wizard. He wore a pair of circular glasses that from one's perspective, would believe there to be no glass. Also, a cloak decorated with stars covered more than half of the stallion's body.

Sombra clearly wasn't stressed or impressed, not by the unicorn at least. Sombra's concerns were constructed by Cadance, but mostly constructed on the creature who took the same shape and form as Nightmare's killing pet with the exception of flesh and hair. From the king's eyes the two appeared to be friends, having a close relationship to princess Cadance.

"Okay King Sombra, time to give up that crown!" Sam said, nearly copying a line from Rainbow Dash, only replacing 'the' with 'that'.

"Wrong. It is time to give up your freedom to me," Sombra corrected. "Any pony or creature must fall under my control. If the three of you oppose me still, I will personally lick away your lives with the very tip of my tongue."

Sam was itching for a cold fight, he wanted to find some way to stop Sombra's controlling attitude, but first, Sam needs to know Sombra's motive. "Look, can you at least tell us why you want Equestria under your control so bad? You are aware that Equestria is about to meet its end in several weeks, right?"

A ball of gas was shining bright, with no snow clouds to block its light. Cadance lightly trotted far over the king's right, as did Sunburst. Sombra, unimpressed, removed a smile. "The crystal heart has over done itself," Sombra began explaining, giving no heed to the two ponies abroad from his view. "My eternal blizzard no more, my enhanced strength no more, my slaves no more, a weak princess, no more."

Based on what he said, the crystal heart placed Sombra into a losing position. He licked around the fangs disturbingly, tasting a sort of fear within Sam. Cadance dug her dense hooves down lividly, creating four shallow holes.

"You may look fearless, but I see you are hiding something," Sombra trotted closer. "Let's see if you can handle your inner demons," his eyes transitioned to a darker green.

Sam was unable to move about, he just couldn't find the will to move away. He could feel Sombra's magic attacking him, only not physically.

'You worthless piece of trash, get a job!'

"..."

'You suck! You're so weak you can't even lift a metal ladder!'

"Lies..."

'Too chicken to clean the rug! I'm not raising a son who's a coward here!'

"I'm not scared, I just don't feel like doing work that's not mine. SO SHUT UP!"

'Nobody's going to like you.'

"Nobody likes me, huh? Well, I guess there's no point in caring about anybody then. I'M GOING TO DRAG YOU ALL TO THE INFERNO WITH ME!"

"Snap out of it, Sam!" Sunburst called seemingly far.

"SNAP OUT OF WHAT?! I'll SNAP YO-" he paused. "Sunburst?" he gazed upon a small light of cyan in the surrounding darkness he was mentally fighting. He followed the light to the end of the tunnel, reaching his escape back to reality. His breathed in heavily, believing he ran a 4-mile lap without rest. It was all in his head. "Th-Thank you, Sunburst."

The unicorn chuckled. "I only deserve partial credit. Save all thanks to her," Sunburst pointed in the direction of a fight between a weakened dark unicorn and a strengthened alicorn princess. "She's the one who broke you free from Sombra's spell."

Popping a few knuckles, Sam furnished the element stone of space with an absurd amount of willpower. "Cadance saved my cold butt. I can thank her by saving her hot butt."

Sam analyzed the furious battle between two future rulers of the empire. It was either win or lose. Win, to win over control of the empire. Lose, to lose the empire forever. Even with the heart's power boost, Sombra's powers were outmatching Cadance's. Just as always, the good finds him or herself falling into a pit of darkness and hopelessness. Only then to be given a rope of hope to climb to the light.

"That rope of hope will be me," Sam quickly controlled the fabrics of gravity to stop the alicorn from falling to her doom. Sombra followed down in shadow form then fired a blast to which Sam easily blocked with a forcefield in front. Removing the forcefield, Sam lost his balance as he used his hand to comfort the clumsy fall.

Sombra returned to a physical state, glaring at the trio. "Why can't you see this fighting is meaningless!"

"Likewise, Sombra," Cadance spoke back. "This fighting IS meaningless! If you would give up your evil ways, I can promise you happiness and love, no more pain and sorrow."

Sam tried to stand up as she talked. "She's right you know. Taking over Equestria sounds fun, but it's not going to make you feel better in the future. The more you take the less you have. And if you side with darkness, you will go down into darkness."

"Really? How so?" Sombra for once wore a straight face. Creating a belief in the trio against him.

"Take my nemesis for an example, Nightmare. I know you and him have some correspondence. That demon's goal is to cover this land in darkness, in other words wipe the very existence of all living matter. You, Sombra, are a part of that living matter. If Nightmare gets the way, there won't be any pony around to enslave. You, Sombra, yes, you. You are a slave yourself to my enemy. You are being used for his own amusement and his advantage. If you rebel against him, we can save this world together!"

Sombra looked down regretfully. "I fear it is too late for such change," he eyed two ponies. "My actions are unforgivable; no pony will ever forget!" Sombra returned to a shadowy form angrily. "I am a MONSTER!"

Sam didn't hesitate to stop the king by using a magical space force. Unbelievably, Sam still had the energy to use the stone. Though, he was sweating like a sick tired dog. Killer Sans along with Nightmare's possession, had diminished Sam's will to fight any longer. "Dang it! He's strong as heck! Hey Sunburst!"

"Yes?!" he said concerned.

"You know the spells! Isn't there a reforming spell or something in that giant book of yours?"

Sunburst felt a nuke explode in mind internally. "Why yes! Yes, I do! Um... let's see here. Um..." Sunburst rapidly turned each page like his life depended on it.

Sam groaned, starring at the stone consuming away his life force in exchange for its power. "Be quick! I'm going to pass out if this continues!"

"Why can't I move?! What is this sorcery?!" Sombra demanded.

Sam gave a tiresome shrug, "dunno. Maybe it's Zero Point Energy." He thought of Syndrome's ZPE ability, which gave him the idea of a name like that. Holding Sombra captive was an absolute pain. Sam tries to seek a more comforting way to hold Sombra away. Maybe if he focused on the sounds of pages flipping back and forth it would ease the pain.

"Found it!" Sunburst announced. "Darkness Forgiveness is the spell. It changes a pony's perspective of their past and changes the minds of other ponies to a more forgiving behavior."

Cadance blinked in surprise. She trotted closer near Sunburst getting a view of the words. "What? A loving compassionate feeling is required?"

Sunburst nodded. "The spell demands more than raw magic power. First, you must show empathy to some pony in need. Then, once the spell has fully reached its peak you must feel the same pain your opponent feels. Be warned; the pain could lead the user into the opponent's hoof steps if mentally weak."

Cadance reads one more set of lines before Sam called or rather screamed for help. Cadance sighed at what needed to be done. Both Sam and Sombra were in need of her help. She was the princess of love after all.

The princess placed her hoof on Sam's aching shoulder, casting the spell to reveal great memories. "You've done your part, let me take of the rest." Sam's heart sparked, which gave the spell a spark of energy. A smile formed on Sam's face as the space element's glow went out, as did he.

Sombra was now free, as he roared at the princess. Horn bubbling deep dark, he made an effort to go for his strongest attack. When the attack impacted Cadance, she barely managed to fight it off. Then, after enough time of enduring she unleashed the spell, her horn cracking and breaking apart.

The spell hit Sombra straight through his chest plate and into the heart. The king silently fell unconscious. Cadance did the same. Everypony was out cold except for one nerdy unicorn.

"Guess I will just stand here until they wake up," Sunburst said to himself.

*Meanwhile, in another world*

"Okay Sunset, you got this. Just walk through the portal, ask for Celestia's forgiveness and help, then everything will be fine," Sunset Shimmer said to reassure herself.

Her lips nervously tensed up, as she placed a hand (hoof) on the mirror. Before taking a step forward, a hoof from the other side came through the portal, desperately gripping Sunset's arm. The pony in question seemed like it was in need of escape. Even if Sunset Shimmer wasn't necessarily the type to help others, especially because many called her mean, she decided to pull the pony out from whatever was keeping him or her from crossing the portal.

*BOOM*

A loud explosion erupted a sound to the surrounding area. Sunset Shimmer was dazed afterwards. She tried to snap herself back up but managed to slightly open her eye lids for a split second before things became dark.

Sam tilted his head, "huh. That was very much unexpected."

End of Part 2/4

Chapter 11: An Alternate World of Ponies

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 13: Snake Eyes

☜︎☠︎❄︎☼︎✡︎ ☠︎🕆︎💣︎👌︎☜︎☼︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎

Poor Canterlot; several days before it was amenable well with Princess Celestia and Luna. It stood high up showing its beauty far wide from mountain range. Ponies could come and relish themselves within its walls during special occasions. Until one day, two occasions, good and disastrous, happened. For it seemed on that day, the day where Cadance, the princess of love, and Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard become a loving couple peacefully, things take a twist for the worst.

An invasion, carried out by Queen Chrysalis. A crave to feed on limitless years of love. Did she succeed, however? No. At least not without returning to the hive empty hoofed. Many ponies were captured for food, but that was only about a nineth of the total population of pony society. Celestia, no doubt seeks them out, but what would she accomplish?

Though, declaring war against a swarm of pesky bugs would be more preferable than a god of chaos. The princesses must find some way for them and their subjects to survive these dark time events and more upcoming ones while growing strong to take back what's theirs. How will they do it? Technology? Magic?

Oh, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself. You. Yes, you. You're probably wondering why the first three paragraphs undergo what happened over the course of previous chapters you read, leaving out the main protagonist (Sam) and the main antagonist (Nightmare).

Personally, I love reflecting on past in the present. But maybe there's no use in doing so if your memory has its perks. I'm the man telling the tale of how subject 9, subject 6, and other anomalies that don't belong, effect Equestria's story, time, and balance.

I'm a man of my word and let me tell you that I will make sure to keep close eye on my experiments. Subject 9 will grow restless without guidance. Subject 6 nearly has the harmony seal cracked. I must keep track of time, because subject 9's happiness is my dream. I will make his and my dream a reality, no matter the cost! I don't care about years of waiting or pain anymore!

I've seen enough to know what would happen if this world, namely Equestria were to run on its original course, having no anomaly interferences. It and its living inhabitance will face extension without a being capable of keeping the balance between light and darkness. That being, will be subject 9 if 9's objectives are a success.

Subject 6's mission has been completed without his realization. Subject 9's mission is to eliminate subject 6 completely. I must ensure that no mercy is allowed on 6. Subject 6 is nothing more than a failure. His utter annihilation will please me, knowing that this world, subject 9, and me, will live eternally happy in a divine paradise.

To you who read this entry, I bet you weren't expecting this. . . 'fourth wall break.' My apologies. I will continue with the categorical story.

Discord was always a confident creature of chaos. And his confidence grew to even larger scale after knowing Celestia and Luna retreated out of fear, leaving Canterlot all for Discord's chaotic redecorating. And to go along with that, for once in his life he had others at his support. He felt that sense of pleasure. The pleasure of having the help of others. It's pleasing.

In the throne room, Discord decorates the room with cards, weird magic paintings, and checkered colored paint. The CMCs gaze upon Discord's mythical creativity, while also fearing what was to come to them. He hasn't asked anything from them over the past several hours, which only made them more bored and worse, homesick.

Fortunately, despite Discord's nature of chaos, he was respectful towards their well-being. Meaning he wouldn't treat them like playthings. The three fillies gathered in a small circle and whispered into each other's ears, when Discord left at a juncture.

"Applebloom?" Sweetie Belle says seeking her help.

"Yea? What is it, Sweetie?"

"I wanna go home."

Applebloom nods. "I know ya do. We all want the same. But we can't just leave Discord all alone. Some pony needs to look after him."

"Oh please," Scootaloo objects. "You're talking about a god whose magic overpowers a princess. We're just three little fillies with blank flanks! What good is there if we stay here. I'm with Sweetie Belle."

Applebloom rejects for good various reasons, "Girls! If ya haven't listened to Discord, he warned us that a war broke lose near Ponyville. We'd be torn to shreds if we returned now."

"He's just saying that to scare us!"

"How would you know, Scootaloo? Discord saved us from those bug monsters! He even forced Chrysalis to free us! If it weren't for him, we'd be part of a changelin' buffet!"

"More like convinced her to give us up," Scootaloo muttered.

"The point on what I'm saying is that Discord cares for us. He isn't keeping us here to watch us suffer."

"But why us?" Sweetie Belle buts in. "Did you see what havoc he caused to Ponyville? It was pretty horrendous, like my big sister, Rarity said. Turning a great orderly village upside down for fun without a care of how other ponies would feel, is just wrong."

"I know, but maybe a creature like him can change. Give him a chance!" Applebloom requests imploringly.

"The only creature I trust is Sam. And Celestia knows where he left off to." Scootaloo checks her back for a brief moment, paranoid of Discord, but finds Trixie sitting from afar. She looks down in the dumps, while showing her needs for isolation. "I also don't trust that pony," Scootaloo points a hoof at Trixie.

Trixie noticed, and in all seriousness, wasn't in the mood to argue, especially going through the trouble of explaining something debatable to the young.

Applebloom shook her head, disappointed that her friends outvoted her. Discord at some point reenters after the CMCs reached an agreement, with a claw held high to signal telekinetic magic into his art tools. Canterlot's restoration, thoughtfully in progress by the lord of chaos subsites!

"Hey, mister Discord?" Applebloom stepped forth bravely. Her two best friends made faces from behind she did not see; silently begging her to keep quiet.

The paint brushes and portraits fall clumsily on the red carpet. Discord takes a deep breath to calm down, over an interruption. "Yes, yes, what is it now little ponies? I'm a bit busy if you can't tell."

"Sorry, mister Discord it's just. . . well. . ." Applebloom glances behind, revealing to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo her fear over what she was about to ask. She also caught a glimpse of Trixie sitting flat, head down, and hooves tucked in. Discord lands on one foot and then on one cloven hoof waiting for Applebloom to spit her words out.

"Go on," Discord pats Applebloom with his paw. "Don't be shy. I'd rather have terrible news spat out at my face now rather than way later at the very last minute."

"Oh, okay then!" a smile of self-esteem is what Applebloom expresses next. "So, um, we just wanted to say being with you has been fun. And we really mean it, I mean I thought you were going to torture us from the very beginning, but me, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle saw how funny and kind you can be," she motions over to Scootaloo for support. Scootaloo receives her message before Discord has time to process.

"Uh, yes! You are the best Discord! Um, you even fly faster than Rainbow Dash, I think."

Discord saw the sweat and anxiety in their eyes. His intellect wouldn't stop screaming that something was up until he gave a response. "Do you really mean that? Or are you only saying that so you can get on my good side?"

"Wh-what?! No! Of course not! We're...just trying to say we're friends, and we believe you out of all creatures in the world could really use one or three."

"Just get to the point already you three! I know there's a 'Discord I want this!' feeling slowly crawling from head to mouth. Why else would you pathetically give me those nice comments. I'm the embodiment of chaos for Samuel's sake! And yes, I prefer Samuel than Celestia-"

"We want to go home!" all three of them said in a stack of honesty. Discord's face lit up in shock, his ears twitching over to what sounded like whining. A finger snap is all Discord needs to rid them of any chance to escape. He does so, not showing a glare as in a blink of an eye, the throne room door vanishes, then is replaced by a solid wall mimicking Canterlot's structure. Their one and only exit has been sealed. Jumping out of the stained-glass windows would result in a hundred-foot fall leading to death.

"Are you three really going to leave me like this? Did our time together not matter? The field trip, camping inside a cave while telling jokes and stories. None of that mattered?"

Applebloom speaks instantly. "Of course it mattered! Us three, you, Cadance, Sam. It was fun, but-"

"But what? I'm Discord! I can do anything for you! I can look after you three! Did I not speak of the war and possible outcomes of-"

"We know!" Scootaloo interrupts. "But don't you think it's wrong to keep us trapped here for weeks, months, or maybe years?! That doesn't sound very caring and loving!"

Discord scratches his chin with his claw finger unsure of what to do. "Snake eyes! I'm so bad at these 'personal' things! What would Sam do? He's many times better at pony interaction than me."

Sweetie Belle suddenly gets an interesting idea after a slight glance over to Trixie. She whispers her thoughts to Applebloom and Scootaloo who both are delighted by her idea.

"Why don't we help you befriend Trixie. She's been lookin' pretty down lately over there all alone. And I'd think you two would give each other great company if yall got along well," Applebloom suggested.

"Really?" Discord brightens up, then darkens down once Trixie finally quits the silent treatment.

"Trixie most certainly won't be friends with some uncanny good for nothing creature whose freakish body is made up of all sorts of things!" Trixie confessed in Discord's face, the CMC's eyes widening.

Discord turned to Trixie, forgetting Chrysalis agreed giving her away for the rotten essence inside the brat's heart. Trixie quickly searches her cloak for anything useful like smoke bombs to use as an escape but finds empty pockets.

"I suppose you're looking for these," Discord held out his open right lion paw showing miniaturized magician items ranging from wands, red toy balls, and blue smoke bombs.

"What have you done?! Give the great and powerful Trixie those back!"

"Great and powerful you say?" Discord eyes Trixie's belongings. "What value do these things bring? All I see are toys made purposely for distractions and entertainment for little colts and fillies. So naive in their young little heads to not even know it's all a lie."

"That's what a great and powerful magician shows and tells! They're called magic TRICKS for a reason! It's all done to make it seem like magic, but it never was!"

"Then why call yourself 'great and powerful' when you can only manage to cast the very basic levitation spell all unicorns learn as their first?"

Trixie grits her teeth, outraged. "Don't you dare call me weak and powerless! I may have lost to a no pony unicorn who goes by the name Twilley. And was forced to work on a rock farm for weeks while making 10 bits a day. But that doesn't mean I have no chance of becoming strong! And hey, if I had that amulet of power, I could easily take you down Discord!"

"Really?" Discord disrespectfully throws her items onto her face. "Then I suppose I should give Queen Chrysalis permission to wrap you in a cocoon once more. I did free you after all."

"So, what? I'd rather fall into years of slumber within green gel than spend a day with you, Discord. You are a freak! Tartarus! Even freakier than Chrysalis!"

"Ouch. This is what happens when a handsome fellow like me interacts with a motherless brat."

"Motherless brat?! I'll have you know I have a father!"

"Still motherless. A friend of mine told me all about you in one of his stories. Can't believe I cared so much to remember. He's the only reason I picked you out to be here with me. Something about you being 'special' caught my interest."

Trixie broke into curiosity. "And who or where is this friend you speak of lord of chaos?"

"I'm honestly not sure where, because he left me behind for an important mission. A mission to search for those six elemental bearers of harmony. He promised he'd return in a few hours, but it has been over a day. Thankfully, I have put a contact device in his zipped pockets," Discord pulled out an object from thin air, and unfolded it. "This will be a private conversation. So don't die on me while I'm gone, okay," he does a simple snap and disappears.

With a room temporarily clear of Discord, it quickly becomes embarrassingly silent between Trixie and the CMCs. Trixie's glare softened once she eyed Discord's three loyal fillies. They inched back, not wanting any trouble.

"What's the matter?" Trixie murmured. "Does the great and powerful Trixie's presence intimidate you three?"

They nod. Believing what Sam informed them about this mare was true. A mare who comes back with more evil tricks and schemes after being defeated is some pony not to be underestimated.

"Heh, good. I have a plan. And if you listen to everything I say, I promise we'll be free from Discord!"

*Canterlot High*

"With all of these matters discussed upon your very personal ways, how do you plan to make up for it, Sunset?"

"I don't know vice principal Luna," Sunset quivered, her voice pleading. "I could work with Sam to fix this magical mystery mess we're stuck in right now. But other than that, I have no better idea or way."

Luna's face softened, "ah, yes. The newcomer who came here hours ago, correct? Who is he? And tell me what business he has at CHS."

Sunset smiled out of hope, thinking she could reach an agreement. "Sam. That's his name. He came from the mirror not too long ago, while I laid in a deep faint from his sudden arrival. I could still see as he saved me from an ambush of undead monster like things, before he passed out entirely upon entrance into the school. I asked him when he woke up what his deal was here, but he only befriended me, and said he wasn't going to say anything until some pony reveals they robbed him of his blue space stone."

"So, you're saying if he receives what has been taken, we will receive answers from him in return?"

"Yes, your highne- I mean, miss Luna."

Luna questionably raised an eyebrow with a slight movement of her lips as she organized every school document in stacks, then placing them in a receptive order. "Where did those good manners come from? I don't recall you showing an ounce of that kind of talk before."

"I- well... have decided to change my ways of thinking. Maybe I can assist around the school as a way of saying sorry," Sunset pleaded once more.

Luna quite frankly took in Sunset's words and came up with a great way to make things up without punishment. Just today a young man and a unicorn from the other side of the mirror, put themselves in place of CHS. Rumors of the young man, Sam, have upshot into a frenzy of talk. The unicorn, however, barely was shown and noticed in CHS's greatest social media news. With a mysterious some pony having his or her info and identity so scarce, one must be a strong reporter towards that some pony, for the safety of CHS.

Sunset, of course got chosen to do such a task by Luna and was agreed by principle Celestia herself. She couldn't remember any pony crossing through the portal alongside Sam. Then again, even if she could see while paralyzed, her vision was a blur during that time when rescued.

Already informed of the unicorn's location, Sunset leaves the office, and goes up a multitude of stairs leading to the school's rooftop after trotting through hallway after hallway. Only question she's left with now is how she'll interview this pony to ensure positive feedback on her behalf.

A quick glance at the rising moon was what she needed. Its light brightened the sky and roof. Her surroundings on top of the school became more seeable. The undead monsters gnawing out anything in their way, some even were still attempting to break into CHS. Though the doors and windows were barricaded, that wouldn't be enough to keep them away for good.

As Sunset walks along the roof's wet surface, her attention was brought to a telescope with its lens pointing away from the giant space rock in the night sky. Principal Celestia and vice principal Luna as new alicorn ponies were not experienced in magic enough yet to raise/lower the sun and moon. But unlike Equestria, this world's natural law and existence functions and revolves without magic. Sun and moon automatically maneuver on their own without any alicorn manually manipulating those two.

Beside the telescope she noticed, stood the pony she seeks for inquiry. This was her chance, no more rudeness, no more bullying. If she could interview and positively affect this pony's point of view, people would soon look at her differently.

She breathed in and out before nervously walking towards. . . . . . HIM?!

Her eyes couldn't believe it. The shade of night made it difficult to see the pony, but as she got close. . . a memory erupted in her head similar in the ways of a volcano. Eyes were not deceiving. It. . . was. . . him!

"I- um," he glanced away for a moment, sweat pouring down his face. "H-hi Sunset! It's uh, my goodness it's been a long time. Uh, what have you been up to?"

Sunset's jaw dropped. She remembered and so did he. "What I've been up to?" Sunset laughed softly at that question. "Forget about me, what about you. What have you've been doing and where were YOU when kicked out of magic school," she paused heavily before saying the name, "Sunburst?"

"Oh, well you see. . . wait just a moment! How are you here right now?! I mean shouldn't you be in Canterlot doing you know, assistant princess things?"

"That's Twilight Sparkle, to which I'm nothing like her. I'm here to ask you a few questions, that is all. The principal of this school wants to know about you and your partner, Sunburst. Please answer the truth," her horn glowed brightly as the moon, and in those seconds of thought a book and pen appeared, hovering in the air.

"Does it have to be now? I'm kind of in the middle of something-"

"First question, describe your homeland from where you are from?"

"Sunset, you already know-"

"Just answer please so you and I can get back to whatever we were doing. Vice principal Luna literally made me it clear that each of these specific questions written in this journal here, are to be answered or. . . well, I actually have no idea, but I'd feel guilty letting them both down."

Sunburst couldn't help but sigh. "Okay, fine. I'm from another world named Equestria and my home is Sire's Hollow. It's a pretty small village with ordinary ponies. I made the decision to return there after I flunked magic school. My mom was the same as I once knew her, though she said I'd have to move out eventually."

Sunset happily wrote on her journal. "Sire's Hollow, okay. Next question. What's you and your partner's business at CHS?"

Sunburst looked to the stars then back at Sunset, hoof under his chin. "Th-that particular question I can't answer completely. Really, it's my partner, Sam who you should ask, but you already did. *Sigh* all I know is that he's searching for a magical stone like the one we found inside the Crystal Heart. I'm only here to observe him, aid him, and stay in these school walls for my own safety. Because, well," Sunburst gestured over to the undead. "You get the point."

"So, you think following him wherever he goes will keep you safe?" her joyful tone slightly dissipates.

"Only when our destination is reached, is how my and every pony else's safety and happiness will be ensured forever. After all, our world is nearing its end. I can tell by the magical compounds in the sky. Equestria, the land, is screaming for help."

"Where in Equestria did you two meet?" Sunset asked.

"The Crystal Empire."

Sunset's eyes sank in confusion. "The crystal what?"

"An Empire long forgotten by a curse of King Sombra who's now reformed."

"That's the place you decided to move to? An ancient, possibly dangerous to any pony that enters, empire?!"

"Not by decision, I was kind of forced," he claimed.

"How were you forced?"

Sunburst let out his third and final sigh. "Sire's Hollow kind of had a little issue with griffons. Something about not offering enough bits, so there was an invasion that caused a wild spread of fire as punishment. We thankfully fled before any pony was hurt. I for one fled in the opposing direction, leaving my mom behind."

"You left your mother? Why?"

"Because it was time to give up my colthood and live as a full-grown stallion alone."

"Wait but isn't the empire you chose to foolishly land your hooves in in the Frozen North? That area is constantly blowing with snow; snow so thick in air that it could make venturing through impossible! Any pony without a certain compass or guide would get lost and turn into ice."

"Oh Sunset, I may barely have any skill in magic, but my knowledge exceeds more than a pony can count. I simply asked a very kind unicorn," Sunburst pulled out a spell book while talking, "to cast a wintery proof spell on me," he flipped through and easily found the page he was looking for. "And I was momentarily free from becoming a popsicle as I traveled."

Upon those stated answers, Sunset readied her journal and pen again, her face showing a tad of frustration, most of that frustration coming from a lack of info Sunburst gave about Sam. She then query's one final question that was required for her assignment's completion. The know-it-all stallion gladly presented his fancy averaged sized telescope that he packed on trip, after Sunset politely asked what he was studying on.

Cringed by the scope's appearance, she zipped her disgusted mouth, trying to not hurt Sunburst's feelings. It wasn't by her consent that she'd use it to observe Sunburst's research; she needed information in journal to return. And Sunburst said it'd be ten times faster if she'd just observe rather than him explaining the whole idea only.

The lens of Sunburst's telescope was a bit blurry, but Sunset gently rubbed a hoof on the lens surface, allowing her to see clearly into space. Her posture became straight and relaxed as she gazed through, forgetting about disturbed thoughts and replacing those thoughts with astonished ones.

"Woah! Now this is something you don't see every day," she said, as she adjusted the scope in hopes of seeing more space rocks from afar.

"It's literally what astronomers see every day," his voice then saddens. "Unfortunately, their overall usefulness to pony society is. . . little to nothing. When we're mentioning space, all normal ponies are always about sun and moon(3x); over and over again! Just two ginormous spheres that give the sky its atmosphere, color, meaning, and feeling. And very few worry about what possibly resides out there in outer space!"

"Uh huh," Sunset said without giving much attention.

Sunburst carried on, this time speaking of myths and unusual theories. "Ever thought of any space entities floating several light years away from Equestria? I have, and spell book in the fireplace do I regret doing that!" he shivered over his thoughts.

"Space is called space because of its lack of occupation. Only stars, the moon, and our star occupy space, in other words space has too much space. But what of other living beings far beyond our world? Think about it, Sunset. Colts and fillies fear the dark because they believe monsters like the boogeypony will snatch them for dinner if they stay in for long. As a full-grown stallion, I don't believe in any of those made-up scary stories, but it makes me wonder if any pony or anything dwells within the unknown darkness of outer space beyond pony's reach. If anything, a random giant like space worm with the ability to travel through space time could appear in our world. Snake eyes! I can't believe I came up with that! Picturing it in my head just makes me all apprehensive! Eugh!" Sunburst finished excitedly.

Sunset caught about half of those words as she unstuck her right eye away from glass, and asked Sunburst the question he unexpectedly wanted.

"Sunburst, what is that red thing?" she straightened her hoof over to a red glow much like a star in the night sky.

Sunburst grinned, eager to inform and ask for Sunset's help. His horn intensely sparkled, waves of orange magic flowing around, in contact with his great spell book. Sunset felt impressed how such a young stallion flipped through hundreds of pages and found the exact page number in just a number of seconds. Truely, he was the master of books; not spells, books.

"This is what I've been meaning to ask of you," he showed Sunset the book and pinpointed the starting sentence using the tip of his hoof. Sunset nearly read it aloud but paused after realizing how much information she'd have to read for a full understanding. Words written too small, too close together, and too fancy were just difficult to read even for some pony with a magnifying glass.

"What's this all about? Crystals?" Sunset stared at him closely. "This is what you've been studying? Giant rainbow crystals in space?"

Sunburst adjusted his glasses, dissatisfied over Sunset's reaction. "Not exactly. This is actually the part where I start explaining. You see that particular crystal you see far beyond our reach is special. Not because of what's outside, but because of what's inside."

Another glance, and Sunset returned to the telescope giving another check while asking for an answer, "And what's inside of this crystal you speak of?"

"A pony," he swiftly answered unhesitatingly.

Receiving a raised eyebrow was just enough to make Sunburst sigh silently deep down inside himself, knowing Sunset wasn't about to take his word on it so easily. He needed to say something logical in order to get Sunset's belief and help on this experiment, or risk getting locked up in a room for suspicious activity on school roof.

"The only pony who made into space was Luna, or. . . her evil side, Nightmare Moon. And that was by the most powerful magical artifacts in all of Equestria combined. How do you suppose some random civilized pony got sealed away in a red sharp crystal in space!? If I'm not correct when we studied magic back in Celestia's school, magic spells casted onto something can only last so long before the spell dispels."

"Yes, I understand," Sunburst comes close to ensure he is seriously understood. "But if you didn't know that crystal is related to the elements of harmony! At least, one of the elements. It's the same size and shape as the one I found crashing into the Crystal Empire. Only, that one was blue."

Sunburst fidgeted around with an opening on his cloak. He hadn't noticed it until now, but thankfully none of his body was cut open by knife or crystal shard. What a horrific experience, being a part of a battle that he was completely defenseless in. He wasn't, however, vulnerable as Rarity and Sam took all of the blasts, stabbing, and slashes Killer Sans unleashed.

After deep thinking Sunburst told Sunset what happened back in the empire and uses that past knowledge for reasoning.

"Don't you see that I'm here to help save the world?"

Sunset flinched, fifty percent of her mind believing him as the cold breeze flying by distracted her from any outside unnecessary thoughts. "So, let me get this straight," her tone of voice became a more questionable one. "Sam is searching for six ponies trapped in crystals, who we don't know. And plans to befriend them in order to give birth to another set of elements much like the previous ones?"

"If you'd like to put it that way then, yes."

"But. . . WHY? Why create another set of elements?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, believe me if I'm wrong but Sam says a being capable of destroying our world has appeared. The original elements of harmony were used up and destroyed after imprisoning his unlimited destructive power. How long? I don't know, yet."

"And how do you know gathering these new elements will have its chances against this, being."

"I don't. I'm not sure either," he nervously chuckled. "I have seen the power of just ONE. It's unthinkable of how a magical artifact capable of controlling space endlessly exists! Most magical artifacts in Equestria contain some of the most legendary magic that even overpower alicorn magic! The downside is that magical artifacts eventually die out from usage, like an electrical toy losing battery power," he coughed.

"What happens if he gets all six together?"

Laughing, Sunburst passes by her and stares off into the distance. It was as if Sunburst had been planning to pull something off for a while, and now all of sudden felt like the perfect time. "Godlike status. . . that's what he says he'll have after finishing the collection," he made a gesture to his telescope. "Come. Take a closer look."

Sunset had no urge or reason to deny his request as she ambled back.

"You see the process being used to create these elements is called CRYSTEM. An old process to create scrolls and magical artifacts by sacrificing troubled ponies who were against order in Equestria long, long ago. I do believe Starswirl the Bearded helped over this spell's making. He was the greatest unicorn of all time! Heck, I don't there's a unicorn out there who can ever reach his level again," he devotes. "Anyways, the name stands for:

Crystal

Regulate

Yearning

Success

To

Eliminate

Macabre / Malice."

"And would you care to explain the acronym?" Sunset returned to her friend's book of advanced spells.

"Sorry but no. If you want to find out, you must see it for yourself. Well, actually, if you REALLY want to find out I need your help with a complex spell. It's short, but not simple," his hoof moved along the page. "There!"

Sunset looked closely as far as her eyes could see. "What's there? The words are too small. I can barely make it out- uh," she suddenly feels her eyes adjusting themselves as the words in front of her enlarge enough for her to read. A strange set of glass is what she now sees through.

"Like it?" Sunburst rubs his eye as his vision blurs. "They're a special pair of glasses, magical even. They were a gift I earned from the princess after receiving an award for most knowledgeable student of the year. You can see the spell now, can you, Sunset?"

"I can!" she responded excitedly, relieved that it wasn't because of her eyes' health lacking a consumption of carrots. "What does the spell do anyway? There aren't any specific details about it. And I don't want to cast a spell that would cause a hazard. I was already a hazard of a student not too long ago."

"It won't cause a hazard, I swear! Don't ask me to do it myself because I'm not skilled enough. And also, don't call yourself a hazard! The spell will only increase the flow of time on an object."

"And what good would that do?"

"It will speed up the CRYSTEM process by a ton. Normally a full week is needed for CRYSTEM to finish conserving energy before landing back on surface ground. With this spell I can almost guarantee it'll land somewhere near this school tomorrow morning."

Sunset examined Sunburst and his book before putting full trust into him and the spell. Comprehension plus focus equals success. Closing her eyes for a great focus on time, her horn flared green. Sunburst couldn't help himself to jump up and down. Being a stallion of great use for the protection of Equestria felt like an honor.

It wasn't long before Sunset gained enough composure to release a bolt of green. It flew fast, faster than sound. A green flash covered the sky, then faded into darkness. Sunset felt her eyes adjust back to normal once she realized Sunburst took the pair of glasses back during the blinding flash. Once she finished Sunburst was already standing firmly at his observing position.

"Thank you!" Sunburst said cheerfully, double checking through his scope to make sure the spell had hit. "You're the best, Sunset! I knew I could count on you!"

Sunset laughed awkwardly while writing down her very last notes and answers to finish the assignment. "Heh, yea. I knew I could count on you too."

"Oh colt! I can't wait to tell Sam the good news! I'll be back to this first thing in the morning. You can come with me if you'd like tomorrow. "

*7 hours later*

When the sun rose up, Sam was energized quite enough to actually play a child's game of egg hunt. Normally, after a nice sleep he'd wake up unintentionally going through depressed thinking, but his mindset was sharply handsome to get things done today. Climbing out of bed his face remained blank as usual, but he wasn't in pain on the inside to say the least. For once his body wasn't too hot or cold after bed, which was nice.

The soreness fled from his body last night - something Sam took in after standing tall. He then went to a sink and soaked his face with cold water to rid one last episode of drowsiness. Only a few pieces of brown paper towels laid flat on the counter as Sam folded and combined each into one. Casually wiping away the dripping wetness, the towel became soaked.

He let out a few moans and a yawn before waking Lyra Heartstrings in the modest way possible. "Hey Lyra," he wiggled her whole body gently. "Sorry to wake ya all of a sudden but I got a stone to find. I wouldn't want you left here all alone."

As expected, Lyra growled in an irritable manner. Though his last statement had her heart pounding inside, stopping herself from treating Sam like an alarm clock that needed to get bucked. "Sweet Celestia, Sam! What the hay?!" she yelled. "I almost won! Almost won a staring competition against Derpy! Out of all the times you're not silent this time was particularly the worst time ever!"

Sam eased back to a shelf beside her resting place, "My bad, jeez, I didn't know you were having such a magnificent dream. By the way I carried you all the way back here while you were under Luna's sleeping spell last night."

"Okay, and?" her bad outlook showed its spice from her words. Something Sam somewhat. . .enjoyed.

"Annnnd you'd be upset that you were left sleeping on the floor unnoticed by the world of cruelty."

"Correction, your world is cruel. That's from what I, Lyra Heartstrings, Equestria's greatest and only anthropologist around here knows, " her words that traveled from mouth to ear were correct no doubt. Sam simply laughs hearing this; not offended by her pointing out the nasty ole facts about mankind in his face."I have countless books about humans at home. That's why I'm like the only pony who knows about them. But Bon Bon keeps demanding I cast those books aside, because she thinks it's weird that I have thoughts about humans every day."

"I don't think your obsession with my kind is weird at all," he encouraged. "There's a few humans out there like me who have their own obsessions with you ponies."

"Really?" Lyra's mood brightened. "You humans study us ponies?"

A shrug is what then blocked off her excitement release, "Sort of. I wouldn't say study, but I'd say fantasize is the word. Humans like me use our imagination to escape planet Earth's reality. I usually fantasize only on episodes where I feel like trash. Now, I'm not saying reality is the worst in my world because it's actually unhealthy to remain in fantasy land or a virtual world that isn't real for the rest of your life."

"Yea, your world sounds interesting, but also sad at the time," Lyra said, staring off at a window nearby.

The lights flicker, which brings her thoughts fully back to Sam. Lyra then sees a finger pointed in her direction with a conflicted look. "There is one thing I find weird about you, Lyra. You say you got piles of human history books, right?"

Lyra nods.

"How in the world did you obtain all of that knowledge about humanity written in leather and paper? Did you steal all of those books from a library or something?"

"What?! No! I-" she paused. Her hesitation to speak tempted Sam to make her spill it. "Look I respect you and all because you are part of a great species I cherish, but. . . it's none of business how I came to know about your species in the first place."

Sam sighed. Dang, another unsolved mystery. Better not push her any further when I got places to be.

"Alright fine, I'll respect your privacy," he muttered while taking a small walk to the door and opening it by the handle. "Anyways, I'm heading to the auditorium first. You wanna come?"

"To search for your missing stone? You bet," she said getting out of bed. Her hair was a tangled mess with her tail having an even worse condition than yesterday, and Sam could tell it wasn't the first time as she used magic to quickly smoothen her hair back to its original style. "Why start searching the auditorium? It's like really far from here you know. "

"Principle Celestia told me about another human like me that wanders the school. It's said that human boy is responsible for my stone's disappearance. I don't care who it is. I need that stone back!" he says in a serious tone of voice. I also wonder how Rarity is holding up in that stone. It's been a little while since we've last spoke.

Lyra gasped, "Wait! You mean. . . oh no. Sam, I think that's Flash's unbeatable companion you're talking about."

"Unbeatable?" he stared at her, mentally squeezing the juicy info out of the young mare while forming a smirk, then lifted her fully by the arm. Her nerves sparked from the astonishing strength Sam possessed. "How is he unbeatable? He's just a singer from what I've heard."

Sam quickly made a decision to exit into a hallway before Lyra could say anything back. Each hall they'd pass through at least for today, was deserted and silent like a plain hill. Posters hung on the walls showing off fun events that you'd expect to take place in a high school. The only posters that Sam paid attention to was of course the music related ones.

For Lyra's sake, Sam walked at a very quick pace rather than a run so that she doesn't experience what would feel like a bumpy hayride. After the long walk of silence without any interruption the two well good beings arrived at an entrance to the school's auditorium. Hoping for a great find, Sam released Lyra from his grasp and without any consideration of any pony standing on the other side, he quickly barged in, hyper focused.

Intense focus led to him seeing hundreds of black bendable empty chairs aligned in rows within a second. And within the next second his eyes caught Flash Sentry. There he was, on stage, as if he were about to play something for an entire audience.

Sam climbed the stairs and met Flash eye to eye. "Alright, where's my space stone?" he asked without showing aggression.

Flash was a bit busy jamming on his electric guitar until Sam appeared. Flash stopped his hoof which was now barely away from fiddling with the strings, as his pony self jumped up in shock. "Wh-woah!" he was about to complain, then realized it wasn't a random some pony. "H-hey..."

"Hey there, Flash. Sorry to disturb ya mate, but I need to have a little word with your band partner. I hope you don't mind. It's nothing personal honestly."

"Uh, okay, whoever you are," Flash Sentry pointed a hoof, "he's right behind you."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he thought it was all a trick, but decided to turn his back anyways and-

"Beepbop skdoo!"

Sam slightly looked downwards to find the source of a GREATLY known voice/sound in his memory. There from behind, stood an incredibly short young man. His hand was glued to a microphone, and he had a face filled with pride. It wasn't Sam's own fault that his eyes widened long enough to fall out. The boy's appearance and existence were to blame.

Lyra and Flash were both staring at the two humans, unsure is they somehow shared a connection. Sam wouldn't believe his vision if this wasn't his dream. But it was. Blue spikey hair, a white cross out shirt, and a pair of red shoes and a red hat. It was definitely him. Boyfriend.

Boyfriend was the mysterious 19-year-old from the Friday Night Funkin universe who had somehow beaten every single one of his opponents within the very first try in a rap battle. Though, Sam knew the dirty truth behind Boyfriend's streak of inevitable victories. Being the one who controls Boyfriend while playing the game hundreds of times during actual school, Sam would know about BF's ability. The ability to reset time to a certain state when meeting defeat.

Holy crap! When did Boyfriend become a thing in my dream world? I thought this dream was only about Equestria. Guess I'm wrong there.

"Beepbop boop baaaap, skbep beepaa be de skbep beepaa beep bap skdoo bappity bapboop," Boyfriend beeped. "Skdoo beepaa' skbep bep bap boop boop de baaaap."

Sam's expression sours. "Well, I'm sorry for being creepy. My head tends to wander sometimes, alright."

Boyfriend continues beeping, "Skdoo skebap be bappity' beepaa bep beep bap boop. Skdoo bop boop boop de beeeep beepbop beep beepaa boop bepo boop bap skdoo beeeep beep bappity beepaa beepaa be bop boop boop de."

Yea, yea, screw you. Ugh, for goodness sake, I didn't think he'd be such a jerk. This is going to make things harder for sure. Wait a second. . . his girlfriend. Where? the curiosity thankfully took his mind off his nerves.

Sam hadn't realized it yet, but he somehow understood Boyfriend's language without a hint of confusion. Not that Sam could speak in such an unformidable way, though it was as if his mind was somehow catching BF's beeps and translating them into english within milliseconds.

"Alright whatever little man, let's just get down to business," he held up his gauntlet and pointed at a small, carved out, diamond shaped hole. "Where is it? Word has gone out that you stole it while I was unconscious. It's blue and bright."

Boyfriend's eyebrows didn't move, but his smile motioned into a frown. "Be bip beep baaaap, beeeep beepbop beep beepaa' skbep beepaa beepbop boop bop skdoo bapboop skdoo skebap boop beep? Skdoo bappity boop boop skebap beepaa beepbop beep beepaa bop beepo bopo boop skbep beepaa be bappity boop beepaa be de be beeeep boop bap bopo de brep baaaap brep skdoo bep bap be de beepbop be bappity boop!"

"The big idea here is I need it back to stop the end of the world, so gimme," Sam extends an open hand, his front four fingers moving back and forth together. From Boyfriend's point of view, Sam is seen as a tall school bully demanding he is to be given lunch money.

Boyfriend believed that because of his height, many taller beings such as Sam would pick on him for their own amusement. No. Boyfriend wasn't going to let that happen. Feeling ridiculed by Sam's absurd request, Boyfriend slaps away Sam's hand, feeling great that he stood up for himself.

"Dang little man, you got some aggression going on," Sam's frustration builds. "Look, don't make me do this hard way. I HATE arguing and fighting with the innocent such as yourself."

Instead of hearing another beep in response Flash chimed in, wanting to break the argument. "Hey, let's all calm down here. I don't know who you are stranger, but there has to be a way you two can settle things with that stone."

Sam quickly turns his head, focusing on the pony who also grew blue spikey hair on scalp. "In what way exactly? I found that stone first fair and square."

Flash held his guitar tightly while trying to be part of Boyfriend's defense. "Sounds pretty selfish of you to keep a magical stone so important away from everybody and only to yourself."

"Boop boooop beep bep beepaa beepo baaaap!" Boyfriend added.

Sam tried to look unfazed, but his mind was racing for words. He couldn't win this argument no matter how hard he tried. His brain was highly above standards, though his tongue wasn't silver and far from charming. Even if he raised his voice and put on an act of aggression they'd still disagree, and Sam wasn't about to use violence to get his way. Violence isn't always the answer towards particular enemies.

Thankfully, Lyra Heartstrings, the one and only mare who was fortunately on his side, partakes in the argument. "What if you two went against each other in a sort of arranged competition?" she asked diligently.

Boyfriend puts a finger under his chin while Sam waited for his or Flash's response.

"Oh, I know!" Flash rubs his front hooves together with a smirk. "How about a-"

"Bap beep de bop beep beepaa beepaa beepo boop! (Rap Battle!)" Boyfriend said before Flash could finish.

"That's. . . exactly what I was gonna say. . ." Flash awkwardly fell silent afterwards, leaving the wooden stage to BF and Sam.

"Yea! A rap battle! That's perfect! I'd LOVE to see how well you perform Sam!" said an excited unhelpful Lyra.

"Ye-yea, sure, Lyra," he looked at a now confident little man nervously. Ah, snake eyes! A rap battle is far from perfect against Boyfriend! I'm legit testing his greatest talent and just asking to lose! But I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. I don't have any better options other than the worst, which is violence. "Alright I'll roll with your game. Winner keeps the stone, correct?"

"Baaaap boop de!" Boyfriend concurred with an energetic nod.

"Uh huh, thought so."

Boyfriend received an eyeroll from his soon to be opponent as Sam grabbed a microphone by a holding stand and shook his head over the vow he just made. The biggest concerns for Sam were the fact that he wasn't playing on a keyboard. So that meant he'd have to rely on his own voice and timing skills to win. Also because of BF's time resetting ability, Sam would have to play fairly without exceeding BF's playstyle, otherwise BF might rewind time without anyone's notice, and return back at the very beginning with more experience.

I just have to play something long enough to wear him down. I've seen him sweat many times. But now that I think about it most of his sweat came from fear over creepypasta characters from many FNF mods.

The stage lights from above shined under Flash's command with a flick of hardened switch. Conveniently, two spotlights each encircled both Sam and BF while other spotlights of different color remained out of use on stage. To test sound, they both commanded their fingers to simultaneously land on their mics.

"So let me guess. I'm going to make music with the sounds of my mouth, and you'll play along, right?"

With a wide-open smile Boyfriend held two fingers to show peace and said, "Yea!" without a single beep.

Hmm, but what to play? he thought carefully and easily gave up in a second. Snake eyes! I don't know what to sing or beep! I swear every time I compete against someone I always end up with the worst possible outcome! Like rolling a pair of dice and both of them landing on. . . . . . snake eyes.

An idea formed over a memory. "Wait! Before we sing, let me do something really quick. It won't take long I promise," Sam left his spotlight and made a few adjustments to the sound controls. It felt a little uncomfortable twisting and turning the speakers all the way up, but Sam's spirit craved recklessness. He knows an act like this would grab the entire school's unwanted attention. And he'll do it anyway without any consideration of consequences.

After Sam finished, he gave a nice pat on his chest as a way of going easy on himself. He stood up with a small grin and returned to his spotlight, microphone in hand. "Now I'm ready," Sam shot a glance at Lyra and Flash who were both sitting on what seemed to be bendable chairs. "What about yall? Are yall ready for this?"

"Woooo! Go Sam!" Lyra kindly encouraged.

Flash only remained silent with his arms crossed. Taking that silence as a yes, Sam focused on Boyfriend. For the most part things felt quite even for the two of them on stage. There wasn't any need for a large audience. Lyra and Flash were good enough.

"Alright then! This is a song called Snake Eyes. While I'm singing this, pretend that I have a cup for a head. Trust me it'll make things much better for you."

"Beepaa beepbop bap boop boop," Boyfriend counted down. "Beepaa beeeep be," he landed on two. "Be bappity boop," then one. "Bapboop be!"

This match was going to get red hot, as Sam held his mic closely to mouth, showing off extreme confidence. He could feel his energy along with BF's energy surging in the auditorium's atmosphere. Sam quickly played by the rules and started letting out different pitched sounds out of his mouth. Those sounds went out accordingly as BF responded back with approximately the same input Sam gave off.

Their rap battle happily raged on. Boyfriend maneuvered into many divergent positions to help find a right pitch for each note he must play to stay alive. A little drip of sweat washed down BF's face like a tiny waterfall filled with worry and exhaustion.

Sam's vocal cords felt like they were on fire, even so he kept on. His Cuphead like voice echoed across the entire school, curtesy to the speakers. The sound waves were so loud that even some bounced far enough outside of campus.

"You got this Sam! Take him down!" Lyra cheered.

Sam felt a tinge of joy hit his heart. He had never been motivated like this before.

*Meanwhile*

Sunset and Sunburst, the first few trotting down the halls heard the sounds. They weren't too far away from the exit. Just a few more hoof steps and- they both came to a halt. Not only because of a barricaded exit standing in pony's way from the outside world, but because they finally decided to put a short span of attention over the excessive beeping flooding their ears.

"Ugh," Sunset groaned in annoyance. "What is that sound? It sounds like. . . music."

"Hm. Maybe because it is music," Sunburst remarked. "We don't have time to mess around, Sunset. The CRYSTEM process is nearly complete, and it won't be long before the crystal makes landfall near CHS. Based on my calculations it'll land several hooves outside those doors," he levitated his spell book around. "Could you kindly teleport us through those doors?"

Sunset snarled. Her droopy eyelids along with her lifeless energy made it difficult to think straight and she couldn't bare casting another spell, even the simplest ones. "Can't you do that? Teleportation is like the second easiest spell below levitation. And just to be clear I'm only helping you again today for Sam's own sake. You have no idea how much that spell took out of me last night, Sunburst!"

"I know, I know, I'm also doing this for Sam's sake too," he sighed. "And I don't know why. It's just something I feel on the inside that's begging me to follow him."

Sunset needed rest, but he also needed her to cast one last spell to free the pony from the crystal once it lands. His horn glowed as Sunburst focused on where he wanted to be. For most common unicorns out in Equestria it'd usually take them two to three seconds to teleport. For alicorns or highly skilled unicorns it'd take 0.5 seconds. Although, for Sunburst, it required 10 seconds for an engulfing flash of orange to take both of them outdoors.

They then checked to see if any monsters were nearby. Thanks to luck there weren't any Sunburst had to bash with his book. And even more luck crawled under their muzzles once the soon to be couple gazed above into the sky where a great thick red fog resided. Suddenly, a red lighting flash struck the ground stinging their eyes by its intense brightness.

Wherever the bolt struck is exactly where the crystal they observed crashes at. Its smooth, tough, shiny edge pierces past the red fog high above, then creates a massive crack in the ground after its crash. As a result of such a rough landing a shockwave blew past the entirety of CHS and even everything in CHS's vicinity.

However, Sunburst quickly recovered out of desperation. There it was, in front of him. In an instant he caught eye of the pony inside. The pony appeared to be more or less of a young pegasus mare happily sleeping in a crystal's red ooze.

"Okay Sunset. This is the moment we've been waiting for," Sunburst flipped to page 88 in his book of spells and prayed to Celestia that Sunset would find it in herself to cast one last complex spell. "We aren't capable of shattering this crystal by brute force. Our only option is magic. And you are the only one I know who can pull it off."

"Whatever. I deserve to get paid after this," she muttered tiredly.

"There are actually two phases to the CRYSTEM process. This is only phase one."

"Excuse me? There's more to this?!" she shouted bitterly.

Sunburst chuckled a tad. "Not more for you. Sam can take care of the rest once you free the pony trapped inside. I only needed a talented unicorn such as yourself to finish phase one, due to Sam's lack of magic. I've studied his kind before and know that his kind only relies on physical and mental strength. They have no magical strength to spare once so ever."

Sunset saved her breath of reliefs for later. She stood there; spell book held in one hoof. Much of her magic and energy wasn't with her because of a restless yesterday. Even so, Sunset felt a sense of ambition form inside. It was like the universe was begging her to do this. She didn't know why, but she gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and channeled a large amount of magic power she had left into her horn, despite gaining a severe headache while so.

"I think I better take a few hoof steps back," Sunburst contemplated.

Sunset unleashed a violent blast without any hesitation after she finished charging it. The blast shattered away every attribute to what a sturdy crystal was once, leaving a blue rainbow maned pegasus free from its trappings.

"I. . . did it," Sunset Shimmer said in relief as she hit face down on mushy grass unconsciously.

Sunburst looked down at her. "I guess I have a lot to owe her in debt when she recovers."

"Urgh! What the hay? Where am I?" the pegasus asked with a raspy voice.

To Sunburst's astonishment, the mare got on all four hooves quickly without an issue. He'd think being asleep for a long time inside a crystal would cause harmful effects to one's body. Or maybe just this particular pegasus was more fit in physical health than most average pegasi.

"You're at a placed named Canterlot High. There isn't any time to explain right now. Come on, I need to get you inside before-" Sunburst froze.

"Before what?"

"Before we're nothing but roasted horse meat!" his eyes sank at the sight.

The newfound pegasus looked behind herself and she immediately flapped her wings to stay away from ground. Sunburst didn't want to make any sudden movements. The door back inside was barricaded, and it would take him too long to cast another teleportation spell away from the herd of undead creatures that now surrounded them.

Their teeth were sharper than knives, and their eyes looked to be made of the stuff of nightmares. This wasn't going to end well. The strange pegasus appears tough, though Sunburst doubts she can take them all.

"Okay, what are these monsters?! I swear if any of them land a sharp claw on my feathers I'm going to pound them to next moon!" the pegasus threatened.

A few monsters pulled butterfly like wings out of their backs to strike the courageous pegasus. She managed to throw a hard punch at one of them, busting one of the flying monsters into a pile of rotten flesh and blood. Another swoped in on her and kicked her right in her muzzle. She groaned in pain while failing to keep steady in air.

The moment more of the monsters grew wings in order to join the fight is when her confidence dropped to a level so low that she lowered herself down.

"Hey, nerdy unicorn whatever your name is!"

Sunburst gave her a dissatisfying stare. "It's Sunburst."

"Right, uh, can't you do something about this! I mean you seem like the magic type, and I think these freaks could go for some destructive magic right about now! My name's Rainbow Dash by the way," she said.

"Do you really think I can cast high level spells to care of this?!" he told her in panic as they were slowly cornered. "If I could, I would've done so already!"

As hopeless as it seemed for both of them, a strange blue wave of magic with force over the top, spaced the monsters out and away.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. "Woah! Was that you?!"

"No, it wasn't," Sunburst denied.

"Then who- *cough*" Rainbow Dash coughed out a puff of dark gray smoke that she breathed in unexpectedly. More smoke out of nowhere expanded making it difficult for them to see anything in front. Then, the smoke gathered and formed a blue portal. Next thing they knew, two beings, one tall, one short, appeared in front of them as the portal dispersed.

"Beepo boop beepaa' skbep bop boop beep beepaa beepaa beepbop boop skbep boop skdabeep bap boop beep bip skbep beepaa be bapboop boop beepaa beepbop boop bap, skbep beep brep!"

The tall one nodded as a response to the short one.

"Did some pony order a rapper, a fashionista, and a hero all together here?" Sam raised his gauntlet high showing off a blue stone's infamous glow.

"I believe they simple mindedly ordered help. There really aren't many ponies out in Equestria who ask me for anything specific these days," Rarity happily took a breath in and out once she saw her friend, Rainbow Dash. Sadly, Rainbow Dash couldn't see her. "It's good to be back with you Sam. Not to be stuck in a gauntlet, but to speak with you again."

"Yea, I missed you too. You know what else I miss?"

"No, I do not know. What is it?"

"Reckless battling!"

For it seemed only monsters with brute strength were CHS's biggest worries, there are some other wordily beasts and mythical creatures that thrive far away from school grounds. Some are dangerous, some are not.

Sadly, thanks to the high portions of magical activity that has been taking place there; had just caught the hunger of three obscure creatures. One of them being the leader of the trio, sensed the magical presence. And to their luck, it wasn't far.

"Do you two know what that is?"

"No," the other two responded to their leader, too distracted by their craving for negativity to even pay any real attention.

"It's Equestrian magic!"

Chapter 14: Horrific Discoveries

"Come on, bring it!" Rainbow Dash challenged, bringing herself up high while casting the bruises aside.

Sam widens his eyes at the horror. A deep cut rested upon Rainbow Dash's back, probably before she landed down at monster grounds, which seemed to be the cause of her wings going stiff for a second every time she flapped them. Obviously she was in pain, and Sam couldn't allow those monsters, especially the flying ones, to land a single sharp claw on her fur.

"What in the world are ya doing?!" Sam shouted from below. "You ain't going to give these nasty sharp tooth heads a taste of the rainbow in your condition, Rainbow Mare!"

The monsters didn't feel threatened by Rainbow's flying approach. Many of them growled, and more sprouted wings to overwhelm the athletic pegasus. Soon, about half had taken the high point. It wasn't quite often that Rainbow Dash's confidence would come crashing down over a challenge. As a matter of fact, challenges, especially ones related to racing and fighting, typically gave her a boost of confidence. But this challenge laid out before her decimated what great confidence she once had inside.

Even Sam could see her low self-esteem many inches away from ground level. Rainbow Dash ignored whatever was begging her to stand down and launched a nice double kick at an enemy's face, making one of many plummet down to their death. At the sight of their fallen kin, the monsters roared in rage at the murdering pegasus and didn't waste any more time to unleash their wrath.

"That's r-right! Come a-at me with all you g-got!" Rainbow yelled nervously, refusing to fly away. Her raised clenched hoof, asking for a fight, showed an ounce of reckless bravery.

Sam knew she needed help and of course wasn't about to let Rarity within the space stone witness her rainbow maned friend's slaughter.

"Sam! Do something! She's going to get herself killed!"

A sudden glow from the stone signaled Rarity's awareness. Apparently Sam could only feel her presence as the young hero faced his left side to run his mouth as if Rarity was standing beside him.

"I can't simply use the element of space to stop them by myself! I need your power and bond with me! Without any of your generous will energy, the element of space is nothing but a useless little blue rock!"

"Skbep beep brep?" Boyfriend does a couple quick puzzled blinks. Is Sam just now picking the worst time to talk to himself during battle? Or is he talking to a ghost? That's what Sunburst thought behind the front line once his horn picked up a strange unicorn reading.

"Goodness!" Sam gave cover over his eyes once they made contact with the sun. It had become exceeding with its brightness and heat that shined across this alternate world. "It's hot as a freak! And I'm not talking about those freaks, because they're not. They're ugly," he insults, but knows those monsters are too brain dead to comprehend those words and feel offended.

Frustration hitting like a rock, the fashionista peddled every part of her magic in creation of a gravitational force that forcefully slammed each flying monster either on marbled cement or grass over Sam's command. Fortunately, around 60-70 percent of those flyers busted their brains or guts on marbled cement at most.

*14 Horriflies eliminated; 210 pp earned.*

The ones that survived returned back to the original form they once were on ground level, to administer a clash on foot. Sam flinched his arm in a tight squeeze to command another gravitational force that disabled all movement and malicious energy. Like Sombra, it took a lot of will out of Sam and Rarity to withhold a dark force this large.

"Boyfriend! Now!" he demanded with gritted teeth.

"Skdoo bapboop be beepaa baaaap be bopo!" Boyfriend beeps, taking in a deep breath out loud and releasing his inner lungs to form a sound wave directed to the monsters.

Rainbow Dash quickly flew down to glare at Sam as if he were a monster fighting off her monsters. "Hey! Leave these guys to me you hairless a-"

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

Sound waves like no other, inflicted pain on their ears with a temporary deaf effect. It's insane how one little guy has potential in outmatching any loud high pitched sound meant for shattering one's ears. Funny enough Sam's hearing wasn't shattered as he felt his ears releasing from their numb state. What was shattered, however, were CHS's windows from above.

Sunburst had to take cover under his cloak from a heap of falling glass. He was relieved none had struck him, and things only got better for his and Equestria's sake after he uncovered himself and noticed a pile of headless rotten corpses. A few drops of red colored rain poured down for a few seconds along with sharp bones the size of monster teeth landing like tiny pebbles.

"Wh-wha?!" Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as her wings enclosed themselves, a slight feeling of danger prickling on her fighting mood. Her face resembled a lit emotional firecracker reaching its exploding peak in just a matter of seconds. Out of everyone participating in this fight, the small one finished the job.

Sam wasn't struggling anymore, the pegasus undergoing the CRYSTEM process was in utter shock just like Sunburst, and Sunset Shimmer awoke with a groan after BF forced her awake unknowingly.

"Well, look at that. Here I was scared out of my socks thinking I'd have to play the fallen hero to save everyone's tails," Sam patted BF nicely on his red cap. BF as always would respond with a beep no matter what word or action Sam implemented. The only difference was BF's tone, as his beeps would drop to a heavy low-pitched sound as a reaction to negativity and would rise to a light high-pitched sound over positiveness. "Thanks Boyfriend. You're a real big help."

Aw gosh, this dream keeps getting weirder and weirder. I wonder what other video game fantasy characters I'll see. Just gotta pray they'll be on my side and not Nightmare's. It's sad I don't know the dang demon's weakness yet. If only someone knew a better way to defeat him. For crying out loud my life is on the line!

After his little cavil thinking, he noticed a hoof being pressed against his side. He didn't even bother facing the mare who was frantically pushing him in a very rude way to acknowledge her. Sam pushed his irritation aside and tried sweet talking for once. After all, fire can only be relinquished by water. So maybe the same could apply for saltiness destroyed by sweetness.

"Okay freak. I don't know who you are or where I am, but I will tell you this straight, so you better listen to me!" Rainbow had her personal face and mouth merely inches away from the mysterious freak killing culprit, that she'd no doubt throw hooves on if she sensed any hostility. "I saw what you and your little buddy did to those other freaks and I'll say that was...awesome. But not as awesome as me!" she yelled ignoring the harsh reality of what happened moments earlier.

It wasn't awesome seeing you attempt to fight them all by yourself for the sake of your own coolness, but I'll keep my mouth on a nice level for you.

"Yea you were pretty awesome up there yourself Rainbow D- uh, Rainbow Dodger," Sam finished with a name he came up with quickly, trying to avoid spitting out her actual name.

Sourness flooded her expression. "I'm sorry, what? That's not my name. If you're making fun of me because there's a problem between you and me, then you need to spit it right at me in the face!"

Sam knew Rainbow Dash's competitive side, and knew an aggression spike would surge out of her if anything she felt from a stranger was suspicious or downright censure. But of course there are times where he acts before thinking. So, he'll just have to slowly nice his way out.

"Oh no, there's no problem," he gently waved both hands side to side. "Rainbow Dodger is one of those cool nicknames I like to make. It's not supposed to be insulting. I like the fact that your hair is a rainbow color and your whole body is a blue dodger," he commented with a friendly smile.

"From my standpoint, I think my flying friend would look much more glamorous in a dress," Rarity butted into Sam's head, addressing her picky feelings about looks. The stone merged with Sam's gauntlet had made a nice glow once more, but no pony noticed except Sam.

"But...why?" her tone changes to something more calm while still keeping her face close to Sam's.

"Well, it's because I'm a very visual person. I look at some pony's or some creature's appearance and expressions to determine whether they're personally for me to interact with, or if they're not for me. You seem like the cool and awesome type who deserves respect from others."

Rainbow let out a short chuckle. "Heh, well, I am well respected by Ponyville for clearing the clouds. And I have earned some respect from the Wonderbolts."

"..." Sam gave thought while trying to stop himself from overthinking this conversation. "Ponyville? I've never heard of that place. And who are the Wonderbolts?" he falsely questioned. He did know, and lied to prevent any suspicion of knowing something an outsider of Equestria wouldn't know. Sam needed to sound ignorant, weak, and humble. He figured that an act of powerlessness would be the best way to get on Rainbow Dash's good side.

A great shock wiggled like a slimy worm on Rainbow's sensitive spine. She nearly blew out tons of surprised questions before her head reminded her that where she now flies isn't her home, and whoever this creature is has no clue of what she's talking about. She shook her head sternly, taking on a much more serious tone. "Okay, enough small talk. Who are you? Where am I? And who are these ponies?" she glanced over at Sunburst and Sunset.

Sam smiled triumphant. Rainbow's emotions weren't getting the best of her anymore. "The name's Sam, and I had come here with this little fella over here," Sam pointed to Boyfriend using his thumb. "To clear the monster problem this school was having. The little guy may be little, but his beeps are one of the deadliest sounds to one's ears. As you can see the undead has a problem with intense rap, considering how their heads exploded after making contact with a single loud beep."

"Sam, huh? I don't think I can trust a. . . whatever you are like you," Rainbow tapped him by the tip of her hoof.

"Human; that's what I am. I am also friend and not foe. You'll get used to different appearances the longer you stay with weird looking friendly individuals."

"Who in Equestria said we were friends? I fight weird creatures like you almost everyday. And no creature out of pony civilization no matter how harmless will ever be my friend."

Sam raised an eyebrow astonished. A specific griffon close to Rainbow Dash popped up in his head within a milisecond after her statement. "No creature eh? Not even a cute little baby dragon or a super close to awesome as you griffon?"

"Not ever!" Rainbow affirmed.

"What about me? If I take you in with an explanation and agree to help you return home, then will you? Believe it or not I too am in need of help, your help specifically," Sam reasoned.

"You need my help?" Rainbow Dash stared at him from head to toe, observing his hardened beefy arms, and his over-sized boiled egg head. "Are you sure? You seem tough."

Sam shook his head. "I'm only tough enough to live my life independently and peacefully. There's a great danger hunting me down and if I don't prepare or find all the help I can get from ponies like you, well. . . I'm dead meat. And everypony in Equestria will also be horse meat if this threat has its way."

With his reasoning on point Rainbow Dash eventually accepted his trust, though she still kept a glare, assuring that she'd be ready for any sort of backstabbing if there were any. Before heading back in, Sam recommended Rainbow Dash to spill her questions on Sunburst and Sunset and to save any remaining ones for himself later.

"My, my, aren't we lazy?" Rarity added after Sam used a bit of her magic through the element of space to create another portal. It expanded in size, then engulfed every pony. They were now inside CHS without a moments notice.

'I've known about that for a long time, Rarity. I'm always lazy at some point each day,' Sam's voice softened.

"Tell me about yourself, Sam," she commanded without expectation for Sam to listen.

'Thought I already did? I told you before I'm a guy saving your land and your friends from the end of it all.'

"Yes, but there certainly has to be a good reason why you're doing this for us. If you had absolutely no clue why, then why even bother saving us?"

Sam fell silent for a moment. 'Just...because.'

"Just because?" she kept on. "That is not an acceptable answer! In fact, that answer isn't even an answer I believe."

'Look, I'm too lazy-'

"Lazy for what? To answer a lady's questions?"

'Yea. You'd get answers if you were my mom, but because you are not I'm not going to answer anything against my will. Because I don't like it when others know about my specific goals.'

"Did your mother ever teach you manners? The importance of respect?"

'Yea, she 100% made sure she did. But I'm only respectful whenever I feel like being respectful.'

"..." Rarity hit a sharp needle of disappointment. "Ugh, have it your way Sam. You have my other friends to save and explain to anyways. I will be patient. But just know this, I demand answers near the end of your quest!"

'Sure. No problem,' he said agreeing, suddenly noticing everypony around him frozen in time. 'Uh, what's going on? Why is no pony moving?'

"Oh, that's only a spell I cast so I can have a little chat with you. It's purpose is to get rid of most energy from objects and living things in our surrounding space."

Sam stared at the stone emitting Rarity's presence. 'You do know no pony else can hear you, right? Only I can.'

"I know that, but I wouldn't want a hero and friend of mine to suffer humiliation for staring off into space. It's what you're doing now as we talk," she stated in a caring manner. After a few seconds, the spell disengaged and every pony reentered the natural laws of time and space.

"What the?!" Rainbow Dash said, remaining above ground in shock. "How do you keep doing that?!"

"Doing what?" Sam raises his gauntlet and creates another portal. It devoured only him entirely and sent him behind Rainbow Dash once it reopened to said location. The pegasus turned around and screamed. "This?"

"YES! THAT!" Rainbow Dash bellowed.

Sam squinted. He wasn't trying to scare her in any way. Then again, sneaking behind someone very close isn't very comforting. Her wings were now flapping in a more vicious pattern along with her front hooves held up in self defense. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just making sure."

"You better be sorry! Do it again and I'll knock you all the way to Cloudsdale!" she threatened.

Geez, earning her loyalty is gonna be a lot harder than I thought. Well, I'll worry about that later. I need to look on the brighter side. Let's see, I got my stone including Rarity's spiritual presence, Boyfriend somehow exists in this dream and is on my side now, I saved Rainbow Dash who in return will become the next stone with my own patience, I managed to reform Sunset Shimmer, and Lyra Heartstrings is- ...one of my favorite ponies I just left at the auditorium!

Sam felt his heart attack him with guilt. There was no denying how selfish it was to just leave her there without a word. After all the motivation Lyra gave, it felt wrong taking the stone as a prize of victory without any sort of thank you in return. However, his head told him that it was an emergency situation, that he could reason things out while including a bit of sweet lies.

I have to find her! And I also need to find some way to stop this heat! Dang, it's like when school is secretly a giant oven and suddenly turns on present day!

The sudden nice cool breeze passing by their bodies felt comforting and welcoming. Whoever turned the AC to its max must've been sweating like a sick dog all thanks to the harsh heat outside. Sam, Boyfriend, and everypony else out there witnessed it first hoof.

Their tongues had a dryness that gave exigent demands for water of any type. Even inside they still were in contact with the sun's heat. And it was getting hotter since most of the heat trapped itself inside CHS. Funny enough while also not, there wasn't a water fountain in sight. What kind of high school this big and awesome wouldn't have any fountains in place? Sam nearly lost his mind thinking he'd have to endure through dehydration. Luckily, Lyra Heartstrings, who was prancing the halls after Sam's inconsiderate self left her in the auditorium, stopped right in front of them.

"Sam... don't leave me like that again!" Lyra puffed and wheezed.

"My bad. I just had to test my stone out again. The power surge it gives you when you connect to it will make you go hyper. And like my anger I suffer a LOT more from holding it in, than pouring it out," Sam moved his arms and hands in motion to express an explained apology.

"I most certainly agree. It's like eating Pinkie's most sugariest cake ever. With so much energy, I can't even think straight. Then I lose control and transition from a lady into a tom boy who has no self control once so ever!" Rarity's saying once again gives Sam extra company while still not reaching any pony else.

"Ah forget it," Lyra took a breath. "Anyways, I met Principle Celestia in the auditorium after you left me and Flash alone. She said she wanted to meet with you again and wanted to meet the new pony."

"Who? Rainbow Dodger? And why meet again?" he questioned, feeling relieved Lyra wasn't taking things so hard.

"Uh, my name's Rainbow Dash. Get it right!" Rainbow Dash corrected in a not so nice way, while also receiving several eyes from Sunburst, Sunset Shimmer, and Sam for a moment. "And quite staring at me! It freaks me out!"

Sunburst continued staring in amazement while the others stopped. He of course got a disgusted look from Rainbow, but because of this observational craving he needed to satisfy, he didn't stop there. Truth be told, he was a weirdo at times.

Sam shook off that embarrassment and returned to Lyra.

"Not sure exactly why. It has something to do with the monsters outside. Apparently more have gathered at the front of CHS as we speak," Lyra said.

"What?!" Sam had a little reaction. "There's more of them?"

"Apparently."

"Ah you got to be kidding me. Lyra, where's the vending machine in this school, or do they even OWN a vending machine?"

Lyra became puzzled. "It's...near the staircase to the left."

"Good, thanks," Sam picked up his feet and jogged his way there. As he did, he gave out a command to Lyra, Sunset, and Sunburst who were all watching him. "Take care of Rainbow Dash for me!"

"Hey! Wait you- oh my Celestia he leaves me again!" Lyra slammed a hoof. "And I had just caught up with him too!"

"Don't worry Lyra," Sunset Shimmer patted her from behind. "He'll come around, just as I did to friendship."

Lyra slowly faced Sunset and asked, "What do you mean he'll come around?"

*Disorderlot*

Discord's fine servants never did fail to appease him. It wasn't that he needed help; he just wanted others like them to understand the glory of being a part of chaos. The little ones helped redecorate the castle using their new enchantments Discord freely gave away. Scootaloo was given the ability to fly and to change rain clouds to pour something else other than plain water. Sweetie Belle could now bring inanimate objects to life with a little magic blast from her horn. And Apple Bloom had no way of stopping herself from touching every living plant, then watching them die by the touch of her own hooves in the Canterlot gardens.

Sadly for Trixie she had to spend an hour straight entertaining Discord while he sat on the throne repairing a phone. Trixie didn't really receive a magical enhancement as she forces herself to dance like a clown. As punishment for being a brat, Discord cursed her, making it so that if she didn't do anything to make him laugh she'd receive an itch inside and out. It wasn't a typical itch that could be scratched off for relief. Dancing and falling like a stupid unprofessional mare was the best solution for relief as the itch wouldn't end without Discord's satisfaction.

'Curse you Discord! I swear I'll get you back for this!' Trixie's thoughts distracted her from seeing a banana peel that had caused her to slip and fall with a loud thump. Where did it come from? Trixie noticed the roof of the castle missing while she laid in a miserable state on a purple carpet that was once red. The skies were visible from above, as was a now flying Scootaloo.

"Sorry Great and Powerful Trixie!" Scootaloo called out. "Well, actually, I believe it's the Terrible and Powerless Trixie I'm speaking to!"

Trixie gritted her teeth. Being made fun of was the last thing she would want in her life as a magician.

"How dare you insult me you foal!" Trixie yelled.

"How dare I?" Scootaloo smirked as she bucked a normal white cloud. It turned yellow within a few seconds and similar to all the other yellow clouds it rained more banana peels with one landing on Trixie's face. "How dare you interrupt me at work! Gosh. This is way more fun than cleaning gum off of desks in a boring classroom."

Before Trixie could say anything back, another itch ran through her whole body once more. She couldn't help but to stand on two hooves and dance again. She at first felt lazy and tired laying down, but with an urge like no other, her mind would release all the energy it can muster to easily get her back into an embarrassing energetic state for Discord's pleasure.

"That's it little ponies! Keep doing what you're doing," Discord wiped a little bitty tear off his left eye. "Oh, I've never had any pony on my side in eons! Sure they are just fillies, and the only grown mare on my side hates me, but better than being. . .alone," Discord felt something eerie strike him somewhere inside.

Trixie's dancing and obvious fake acts of silliness was now no longer making Discord feel any better. Thus, he snapped away the curse, but demanded for her to stay put.

"Now what? This isn't a trick is it?" Trixie asked. "Because if it is-"

"I will curse you with something worse if you don't keep quiet," Discord cut her off with a sudden menacing look on his face. "As you may have heard, someone has me a bit fixated at the moment. I'd very much appreciate it if you kept the hate boiling inside you a little more...to yourself. I have no patience to wait for some pony or something to fix itself for me."

Discord looked upwards to ponder about himself as he magically repaired the phone by twisting and turning a magical screwdriver. "Well, honestly I have been patient in the past. Especially the one time where I was forced to be patient in stone for thousands of years. It's funny how I still have some left. I'm a being of chaos after all," he muttered to himself and Trixie, if she was even listening.

"Hey, Discord!"

The Lord of Chaos took notice of the small little unicorn who appeared just beyond the front entrance. After a glance at the phone, and Sweetie Belle's horn, Discord leaned down. His one and only talon tapped a part of his throne, and his paw now rested underneath his chin after setting the contact device down.

Sweetie Belle slowly trotted near, desperately willing to inform Discord about something... potentially bad. Trixie rolled her eyes as she slid out of Sweetie's way, getting a tongue stuck out at her from Sweetie. Trixie's angered expression was utterly ignored; Sweetie Belle had now put her eyes on Discord with great respect. From Trixie's perspective, they were both like father and daughter, and she could feel a relationship building up just by the way they interact.

'Shesh! The Great and Powerful Trixie wonders what happened to those three little fillies. They never were this assertive towards me. Maybe Discord did something more to them than just magical improvements!' Trixie assumed.

A flash of green grabbed Trixie's attention, and an accomplished Sweetie Belle seen deforming the last flowing bit of magic from her horn. Thanks to whatever spell, the phone was now in fully working condition.

"Well done Sweetie. You really are a sweetie," Discord complimented with a gentle pat.

"Thanks Discord, but there's something I need to tell you," Sweetie Belle sat down letting Discord know she wasn't about to leave without a mouth to mouth session.

"Oh, what is it now? Don't tell me it's about your home. I thought we already agreed that there's no going back on our deal. Remember, I keep you safe in this castle away from those love sucking bugs, and in return you SERVE under my throne."

Sweetie Belle shook her head, "It's not that! It's well...it sort of is. You said a war was taking place right?"

"I did. Why do you ask?" his tone sounded more serious.

"Eh, I kind of improved a telescope with the magic you gave me and..." she paused.

"And what?" he said impatiently. "I have a phone call to make. Something I don't usually do. Spit it out!"

Sweetie Belle breathed in and released a jumble of words, "Discord, I think they're coming after you because they believe you started the war!"

"Who's they?" he asked, phone held in claw next to his ear.

"Ponies! Hundreds of them!" Sweetie described them as one of the largest mobs she had ever seen in her filly hood. She also portrayed them as zombies holding pitchforks and torches like any crazy mob she saw. From afar, at their rate of marching speed, they would approximately reach Discorderlot within five minutes. What concerned Sweetie Belle more was an improved golden armor set on the guards along with flaming swords the unicorns held. And finally, worst for last, she saw Celestia at the very front, and she definitely wore no smile. It wasn't even a disappointing frown; Celestia's wrathful expression reassembled the raging flame aura surrounding her body.

"Huh. I've seen the princess mad before. Though if you say she's boiling like a volcano on the inside then..." he started dialing without much care. "Try to hold them off as nicely as you can. If they don't play nice back, just know I am here. Tell your friends about it too, that's an order. I seriously need to have a little chat with someone right now."

Sweetie Belle sighed. "Yes, Discord."

"Good girl, now shoo!" he waved his claw. Within minutes after she left, Discord waited as the phone rang and rang for a pick up. Trixie stared at him in an obnoxious way, then shrugged and went to sleep, knowing Discord desires nothing from her poor self for now.

Thankfully, for order's sake, Discord didn't lose himself entirely after fifteen seconds had passed. Because one man on the other side of a magical phone signal took the call.

"Dang, I have no clue what these drinks are. There ain't no Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, nothing I'm used to!" Sam ranted near the beverage vending machine. "Whatever, there's always a point in my life where I must try new things."

A plastic bottle containing a certain brown mixed with orange type of soda caught Sam's eye. Realizing his pockets were plump out of bits or money for that matter, he decided to take a more reckless approach. A loud bang echoed through and through whilst pieces of glass flew across an upwards stairwell as Sam went on a binge. Having a taste of cold apple soda especially when sweating himself out quenched his thirst and formed a craving.

He lifted a filled bottle that fell out with a bare hand, twisted its cap off allowing it to sizzle, then chugged its liquid substance greedily. He didn't care about the consequences of a little vandalism and minor theft. The place was scorching hot, so he couldn't blame himself for smashing the poor beverage machine. At minimum, a whopping 100 degrees fahrenheit could best describe what the outside air felt like.

When he didn't stop on one and finished his third drink, tingles vexed his throat similar to a load of pop rocks. He accidentally fell down like a drunken man due to such a distracting sensation. It stung a little, but occurred rapidly. Sam coughed and returned in a straight up standing position, shaking away his thoughts and feelings temporarily.

Now that he helped himself, it was time to help other ponies too.

"Alright now-"

*Familiar ringtone music*

Sam paused, stared off into space, and curiously dug into his pockets to find the source. It was a phone, colored purple on one side and white on the other side. Knowing its ringtone by heart from a game he played years ago on a 3ds, he became astonished that it wasn't a DS. When he answered the call his astonishment rose even further.

"Hello?" Sam kept his voice tidy to sound as welcoming as possible to his caller.

"SAMUEL!" a voice spat, spit literally passing through the phone to Sam's ear. "Would you care to explain?!"

A pain of fear and guilt hit Sam hard inside after hearing the voice; Discord's voice.

"D-Discord! Uhhhhh- Wassup mate! How ya been?" Sam replied in a friendly manner in an obvious attempt to change Discord's subject.

"How have I been?! I've been bored out of my tail after I finished remaking Canterlot! What about YOU. If I recall correctly you said: oh Discord please oh please I'm on a happy taffy quest in search of Rainbow stones. The first one is located at the Frozen North. Teleport me there and I'll be back in a few hours. That's what you said is it not?"

"Yeeeeaaaa, about that. I got the stone like I said I would but-"

"BUT WHAT?!" Discord cut him off. "When you say a few hours, you mean a few days! I'm glad I came prepared and secretly gave you a contact device as I sent you there. Gah! I should've followed you. Wherever you are now is a strapping reason this conversation is being held on this hunk of junk."

"Look, I'm sorry. So much was happening and I didn't have time to think. I'm now in a different world searching for the second stone on the list. I don't know when I'll be back."

"Be back soon. Things in Equestria are starting to get a little out of hoof since you left. And I can assure you it's not because of me," Discord muttered, avoiding himself from being accused.

"What do you mean out of hoof? What's going on?" Sam asked, hand shacking uncontrollably. And Discord noticed his voice becoming brittle.

"It's only been a few days since I last saw you, but what SURPRISES me is how Equestria is descending into a dark era once more. While you were gone I've been checking around and about, not just sitting on a throne watching my chaos spread. I find there to be WAR. An incredible amount taking place."

"War? How? Sombra and his crystal army have already been dealt with. The king is even reformed away from his evil dark ways. And the Crystal Empire...I don't know what happened to it, but it's gone..."

"This isn't about the Crystal War. I know it happened, and I know it's over. I may never be around big events, however I have many eyes no pony can see. I can spot and sense every magical imbalance and every mood swings whether good or bad," Discord claimed in a cold tone. For once, he sounded serious. "More wars are beginning. And it's not just the ponies who are at war."

"Then... can't you stop them from destroying themselves? I mean you are the Lord of-"

"Chaos, I know!" Discord blurts out. "I COULD stop these extremely bitter incidents. But... aren't we FORGETTING someone worth mentioning? Someone who feeds off negative energy? You did beg me to send you away in a HASTE for a good reason; the reason: fear. You fear this individual creature, and so do I."

"............." Sam had a habit of staying silent whenever his negative thoughts and temptations started pulling him by the silly strings. He sadly couldn't help his thoughts since they were passive; stopping those thoughts from becoming words and hostility was what a good person like him could manage with pure mental strength. Already, Sam knew what Discord pointed out, and knew why he wasn't interfering with Equestria's humongous problems.

"Hello? Sam, are you still there?"

Sam breathed heavily into Discord's ears through the phone. And Discord heard the disapproval in Sam's breathing. "Hmm. Can't say I'm sorry for not asking you this first thing. How'd it go between you and Nightmare?"

"Well, as far as reasoning goes, my resulting attempt was the utter opposite of success. This demon is far too ambitious, I sense no morality in his very being. Even the most merciful and loving beings such as yourself, Sam, have no way of befriending that pure evil monstrosity," Discord claimed.

"So I guess he's off my mental reformation list of the wicked. What'd you do with the demon anyway?"

"I imprisoned his weak form, though he says that there's only a few weeks before his true destructive form breaks out of the seal you and that conscious tree created."

"A few weeks before he can bring about the end of Equestria? That's bull crap!" Sam protested. "A few weeks is not enough time to gather all six stones. If he's spilling the truth then there must be some way to delay it even further!"

"There is one way we could-" Discord didn't get another chance to release any more words due to what was taking place on the draconequus's side. A loud bang erupted followed by the sounds of lethal magic spells and aggressive yelling. Every second, Sam heard a multitude of hoof stomps and clacking armor. It sounded like rows of ponies were marching towards Discord.

"Discord? What's going-" a rapid set of beeping from the phone indicated a caller's hang up as Sam quickly brought the phone to his glance and saw the words: 'call ended.'

"Darn!" he huffed a displeased frown and filled a pocket with the phone. After he called in a few deep breaths to relieve a sudden frustration, he noticed a mare peeking through the edge of a hall to his left. Hearing her faint gasp as she flinched away from view only made Sam sigh in annoyance. "Lyra, come on out. I know you're there."

"O-okay," Lyra mumbled nervously. She left her hiding space in acceptance that she had been found out, along with the whole party: Sunburst, Sunset, BF, and Rainbow Dash, who were also eavesdropping. Sam didn't really take it so heavily as he kind of expected them to follow, especially Lyra.

They were all exhausted from the heat that their legs wobbled in an uncontrollable state and their lungs forced them to pant. Sam felt sorry for them and levitated the remaining drinks in front of each pony. Rainbow Dash exceptionally received her drink by hand and not magic, sealing cap opened pre. Out of every pony he served, Rainbow Dash chugged hers down without sparring any time. Sam could think of two reasons why, one, for competitive purposes or two, just the dreadful thirst that disables all self control.

"You just can't stand to see me alone do you, Lyra?" Sam grinned in spite of Lyra's annoyed face.

"No. What I can't stand is ponies and creatures who are close to me in some way; hiding something about themselves from me! I heard his voice, HIS voice! You were talking with Discord! THE LORD OF CHAOS!!!" she yelled at his face dramatically.

"So? Me and Discord are kind of friends. Sure, he's a little chaotic and impatient, but he's not exactly evil. He at least doesn't have a title like The Lord of Tartarus or The Lord of Darkness," Sam debated.

"Discord?!" Rainbow Dash shouted while landing on her hooves with a short term headache. "I know him! He's uh- he's Equestria's most notorious for turning every ponys lives upside down! Me and my- um, me and my..."

"Friends?" Sunset finished her sentence unintentionally.

"Right!" Rainbow Dash gave her a friendly smile as a thank you. There was something she felt was missing even if her statement was made. She definitely wasn't the type to think things through so she decided to shake it off with her flying. Once every pony finished their apple beverages, Rainbow unleashed her flying spirit and grabbed each emptied bottle to toss them perfectly into a trash can nearby. Sunburst caught her speed and couldn't help his jaw from opening.

"Showoff," Sunset Shimmer whispered near Lyra and Sam away from Sunburst.

"She's always a showoff in Ponyville," Lyra whispered in return. "You'll get used to it."

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, do you remember anything about your friends?" Sunburst pulled out a book and quill.

"Um...no, I don't. Honestly, I don't even know what they were like. They were just kind of...there when we used the elements on Discord."

"Interesting," Sunburst said taking notes. "So there is a makeshift memory loss during the CRYSTEM process."

Sunset was the only pony in the group who knew what Sunburst meant while Sam and the others took no acknowledgement of it and moved on.

"Alright then, now that mine and yalls thirst problem is taken care of, I'm going to meet with Celestia at the front entrance. If you all follow me there I'm officially declaring us as a heroic party," Sam took off for the third time and Lyra Heartstrings became the first to chase after him there.

Principal Celestia had kept her ground ever so slightly when the monsters gathered together to unleash a full attack. It was a good thing she practiced her new found magic on day 1. There would have been some serious reliance on many of her students if she had no way of self-defense.

Growling and gurgling sounds showed how desperate these monsters were to enter the school. Celestia watched them approach, casting a spell to increase the amount of sunlight and heat in the atmosphere. Heat waves traveled down and low afterwards, weakening them by energy standards. Celestia then flew up to prepare a rapid blast attack in hopes of taking out at least a quarter of them.

Her eyes were closed shut during her attack so she wasn't able to tell if she had reduced them in numbers yet. That was until a satisfying sound of exploding rotten flesh and bone entered her ears along with the rotten smell of burning corpses under her sun. Feeling a little drained, she opened one eye and caught a claw to the face while off guard. One of them managed to grow wings of their own in order to counterattack Celestia midair.

The strike cut through deep into her flesh, and she found herself falling down from the laceration, unable to maneuver her wings while so. As it seemed she'd land hard on ground level, a strange but comforting magic force of blue prevented her from taking the hit. Gravity just lost its chance to pull the Principal down into a bigger injury and disadvantage.

"Don't worry Celestia, we're here to help!" Sunset called out to her being the student of both versions of Celestia.

Celestia landed in a gentle thud once the magic of space washed away. Behind her she found a once troublesome student, a mysterious observer, a unicorn whose presence felt powerful and emotional, a rapping band student unaffected by the ponification curse, and the man she interviewed last night. She expected only the man and not a crowd of helpers, but who could say no to more beneficial help?

"Looks like we arrived a little late. Sorry about that, Principal Celestia. The sun has been melting us like snow ponies and men! Couldn't even think clearly without a few soft drinks against this dang heat!" Sam complained as he stepped in front of her, trying his best to ignore the sun.

Sam and Rarity, without hesitation, combined their efforts to separate each monster whether on ground or in air by force using another force. Now that they were spaced out, things appeared more fair.

"I'm getting tired of doing this!" Sam levitated a pole, sharp on one end. He swung it around and motioned his front fingers back and forth. The monsters were too brainless to understand sign language, though either way they came for Sam and his new friends violently.

A flying monster, specifically the one that gave Principal Celestia her flesh wound, nearly gave one to Sam only to get blasted in the face by a yellowish beam of light.

"We got your back Sam!" Lyra spoke from behind, igniting her horn. "You aren't leaving us behind this time because we won't allow it. We work together! We're friends! And we're supposed to have each other's backs no matter what!"

"Yea! What she said!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying next to Sam for battle. "No monster is going to lay their dirty claws on my friends while I'm around!"

Wh-what?! She means that?!

The feeling Sam got as she spoke felt... comforting and loyal. Did Rainbow Dash just call him a friend? Whatever she said could be a topic discussed for later however. He took the pole and impaled a triplet of the monsters. Something about doing it was easy. Naturally, a man with average strength would fail to pick up three corpses, each potentially weighing at least 100 pounds. But for some reason, Sam did it with ease.

Rainbow Dash also took front lines while the unicorns and an injured alicorn principal remained firing magic at the back. As several monsters passed Rainbow Dash and Sam in an attempt to attack the spell casters; Sam and Rarity made a quick move to crush them using over the top telekinesis. They screeched in agony as their limbs were torn apart, which kept on until they were silent.

With continuous pounds, bucks, blasts, dodges, and deadly stabs, the group eliminated the enemies, or so they thought.

*10 Horriflies eliminated; 150 pp earned.*

*25 Horribdos eliminated; 500 pp earned.*

Gosh! I need more time, dang it! The more I fight the less time I'll have! There's got to be a source that's responsible for the creation of these sons of horrors!

"Ah, yes!" Rainbow Dash spiraled in mid air and stopped with her hooves held up in a burst of victory. "We showed them our stuff didn't we?"

"Yes, we did. All of us did!" Lyra said.

"I was like, BAM! And you were like pew pew! And Sam was like whoosh! Stab and-"

"Oh, isn't that cute. You little ponies are so amusing when you think you've won the battle."

"Hey!" Rainbow's cheeks turned a little red. "Don't call me cute, whoever you are!"

Sam couldn't stop his eyes from widening. Remains of those monsters assimilated into a dark gloppy circle of darkness. And within seconds, a creepy horrifying skeleton, one eye red as an apple rose from a realm of nightmares. The skeleton wore nearly an imitation of Killer's outfit with the exception of blood stains. Rather than a knife, it held a ginormous ax in its non flesh hand, and its ugly head wound only made it appear tougher and scarier.

Nightmare's spiritual body presented itself behind the skeleton. "Surprised to see me here, Mr. Samuel? It's been a while since we've last spoken."

"..." Sam gave a menacing glare to which Nightmare chuckled to you.

"Oh, Mr. Samuel. Do I anger you? You want me gone from your world? Well, why don't you put a smile on your face for once. I can guarantee you I'll leave once I see that expression," Nightmare giggles in an evil way at his own sarcasm.

"Shut up," Sam responded, tone colder than any. "Just get to the point."

"The point? HA! You asked for it then," Nightmare's two bottom eyes stared at his horrifying creation while his top third kept focus on Sam. "Meet another one of your fears: Horror! He tells me he'll serve a nice special head dog to me once he takes care of your head. Be careful he's a little pointy when fighting. So I strongly recommend surrendering now! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Nightmare cackled like a loud maniac as his spiritual form disappeared out of existence.

"Ew! What is that thing!" Rainbow Dash gestured to Horror.

"Oh my stars! A duplicate!?" Rarity thought.

'Not exactly a duplicate. It's just another nightmare version of a char- I mean, someone I cherish and look up to a lot,' Sam corrects while awaiting Horror's first act.

"Okay, but why is another hideous monster like the one we dealt with here?!"

'Think about it. The first one wanted to stab my heart out. So maybe this one wants-'

"ONE HEAD DOG COMIN' UP!!!" Horror Sans broke an utter silence, readying his ax.

'Yep. That's why he's here. First my heart is in danger from a knife, and now my head isn't safe from a bloody ax, literally!'

Chapter 15: Vital Competitions

*Night 5*

*Ponyville*

The moon rose for the fifth time, greeting Equestria to another night of probable chaos. The damaging effects from previous days have yet been cleansed. And harmony in Equestria is facing a slow decline thanks to whatever force barged in.

An argument for great decisions and precautions was now in session. It was taking place in the Town Hall, a convenient place for a meeting. Every pony in charge there played a big role in Equestria's economy, health, and critical management. And of course Luna, now the last remaining princess of three, held the most authority over them.

Luna had put herself in a leading position that she found nerve-wracking, considering her rule over Equestria being over a thousand years, she was new to the new. Every pony had their eyes pinned on her as she smiled artificially and spoke to them dramatically.

She struggled. As great as it sounded to gallop or fly away from such pressure, she couldn't. It was her duty to stay and argue. It was her duty to protect them no matter what.

One at a time, each pony kindly gave their question, and Luna answered them fluidly. Fifteen questions by her calculation is how many she received for her debut on Celestia's supposed job. She managed to answer them by giving away wise tactics and reasonable statements. Though, only 3/15 of those questions really had her mind intrigued.

1) "Has Celestia gone insane or been possessed?" asked a purple eyed business stallion, his lackeys gazing at the night princess from behind.

"I am unsure. My sister is many things; a deranged mare is not one of them. I don't think I have it in my power to stop her. But I do hope she has great reasons for unleashing her wrath to take Canterlot back with such a limited army and resources."

2) "What about the monster that murdered my BBBFF?! Aren't we going to do anything about that?!" Twilight asked with hate in her tone.

"Twilight, dearest me. I know you have suffered a heavy loss, but that act is not a way of peace. Yes, something will have to be done. But you must be patient Miss Sparkle. Tis been three days since the incident and that creature you hold hate for was last seen by pony eyes after those three days. It is unlikely that creature will have any more means to step foot in pony civilization once again. It has what it wants after all..."

3) "Is the demon that you banished from our dreams a threat still?" asked a mare with tacky shades.

"That fiend is some pony else's menace if he no longer resides here or in your dreams. If he threatens to return, I will make sure to rid him of your dreams immediately."

The meeting came to an end before anypony knew it. Many decided to call it a day and poured out of the Town Hall while talking amongst themselves. Only a few ponies stayed, including the princess, who appeared both bemused and pessimistic.

Princess Luna was lost in a train of thought, and she began mumbling things to herself at the end. It felt like the fate of Equestria rested in her hooves all of a sudden. And the sudden weighted pressure from Equestria's conflicts brought her even more unease. Such as random criminal acts over poverty, monsters showing up to attack, and worst of all: villains old and new stirring their nasty intentions through pony lands. It was all too much.

With Celestia somewhat out of her league, everything felt hopeless. Luna thought that alongside her sister, there wasn't anything they could not do.

While they both played separate roles, Luna always thought of her older sister as the 'better sister.' Even though Luna possessed a special ability to access the dream realm that Celestia had no way of understanding, the princess of night still felt a sort of unfairness between her older sister. Celestia was the pony responsible for Equestria's functionality, and every pony's playfulness realistically. In Luna's eyes, Celestia was better than anypony else.

"You know, now that I look back to when me and my sister were thousands of years younger, I think I'm starting to realize where my jealousy came from," Luna spoke calmly near Twilight Sparkle, her face covered in shade of regret.

Before Twilight gave away her comforting intentions, a rich stallion intervened. Twilight shot a glare unnoticed by the very same stallion who questioned Luna about her older sister's sudden madness. As the stallion caught Luna eye to eye, the princess couldn't help but to have a suspicious feeling over his pupils.

"Princess..." he was hesitant, but he bowed down.

"You may speak your mind," Luna stood up and stared down with interest for the stallion's own comfort. She noticed his fear growing as he raised his head upwards, showing his mysterious violet eyes again.

"You're majesty, I am here on behalf of my queen to bring about a message we hope you will accept," he said, noticing the princess's suspicion.

"Go on," Luna requested, her tone sounding a little impatient, as if this specific business stallion standing before her was here at a bad time. The word 'queen' that came in his last statement only raised her hunching thoughts even further. And she couldn't deny that something about that stallion was off.

"After the invasion of Canterlot and the humiliating retreat to this village, we see you and your sister's struggles. However, we have a solution," the stallion closed his eyes as a cylinder of green flames gave way to his real identity: as a changeling. His other comrades did the same in front of the princess.

Luna's fighting instincts sparked as a reaction, but she held her own. Despite their highly unwanted visit, Luna held a hoof to put a stop to her guards who were about to tackle each changeling closest to them. With hooves covered in dark armor, they skidded only a few inches towards the imposters before halting. The guards turned their attention to Luna and saluted, while also keeping a part of their concentration on each trespasser.

"No. I would like to hear them out," the princess said firmly. "Leave them and focus on what's outside of here, for I am far more than capable of handling these 'insects' without their queen."

Her small protectors nodded and made a quick exit out of the only door. At this point in time: only a few ponies including Luna and Twilight Sparkle have entered, but have not exited through the door yet. Twilight found herself in a bit of shock once her eyes caught those who stayed. Their faces were cold stone as they stared at the changeling's intervention. And something about them gave away a sketchy feeling to Twilight.

What business would those ponies have here at this time? It wasn't like they needed to stay. Or did they?

Banners swung back and forth as Twilight observed them several hoof steps away. Half were stallions and half were mares. While their facial and body structures didn't match, their suits, mane, coat, and tail did. And what's crazier was the fact that they donned the exact identical type of shades for agent organizations. Finally, Twilight took notice of their cutie marks. She nearly screamed at what she was seeing.

An equal sign for a cutie mark didn't appear freaky, until the poor unicorn realized they ALL had an IDENTICAL cutie mark.

Twilight gave herself false thoughts to cover the disturbing truth. She would always set her mind to imagine an unpleasant situation having a simple solution rather than a complex one. Maybe those ponies are just playing dress up, and are using equal sign stickers to cover their ACTUAL cutie marks. Right?

With no specific identification on who they were, Twilight took her regard away, believing them to be a group of ridiculous ponies spying on the princess. While Luna wasn't exactly the princess who looked after Twilight as a foal, the lavender mare still held high esteem for Luna as she did for Celestia. Despite the fact that Luna formally wanted to bring about eternal night to all of Equestria.

'There isn't anything good about spying on a princess. I should tell her about these weird ponies after this little bug situation is over,' Twilight made a mental note.

"Our love problem has been taken care of. We no longer crave the love from ponies since we have something else to satisfy our hunger. With that, we ask that you offer us your forgiveness over the inconvenience we unleashed," Pharynx requested, mainly because of Chrysalis's orders.

"Forgive!?" Luna's face became stern. "How can I be sure this isn't a foolish lie from a bug? Where is your queen? Why send you here, as a messenger?"

Pharynx buzzed his wings irritably while his younger siblings refused to make a sound. 'Ugh, stupid moon pony! Just give me a yes or no answer so we can leave already! This place reeks of pitiful friendship and discolored rainbows! I swear to Chrysalis, if I'm ordered to bake cupcakes with pink frosting as my next special assignment, I will EXPLODE!'

Convincing the princess nicely was going to be a lot more daring than a poor Pharynx could imagine. He wasn't necessarily the charming talkative type as he usually relied on his powerful shape shifting abilities to get things done right away. But he sensed the alicorn's power, and refrained from any aggression.

With a sigh of annoyance, Pharynx kept on. "Look, I understand you don't want to trust us, but we just want you and your sister to know that we won't lay a single hoof on any pony unless you lay a hoof on us. If you didn't know, Discord, the Lord of Disharmony rules Canterlot in our queen's stead."

Luna's heart sank. There were many eyes in front of her while she stayed in a frozen state. While there were several mentions of Discord's return, a part of Luna didn't believe it. But now, that part of her was beginning to dust away.

"Discord is free from his stone casing again!?" Luna reacted with a flinch. It was at that moment that the changelings for a first saw her in fear.

"Yea, he's been back ever since we established our throne." Pharynx saw her expression, and figured out why it came to her. "Ah, you must be concerned about your older sister. She seeks to punish our queen, but doesn't realize she's about to punish the wrong individual."

"You mean that in both a literal and metaphorical way don't you?" she eyed Pharynx even closer, a little too close for his comfort.

Pharynx nodded. "Face it princess. Without those elements of harmony, you and your subjects are nearly powerless to the unknown forces outside of Equestria. If I were you, I would stop thinking about revenge against us and focus on what can empower pony civilization away from torment. And to be honest with you, this village's defenses we sneaked past: armed pony or brick wall, lack the essential criteria of a defense."

Luna was about ready to accept the changeling bidding. However, before doing so she questioned Pharynx about a specific creature, who she believed built a coalition with Chrysalis. This made Twilight lose all imaginative thoughts as her ears were plugging themselves into their conversation.

"Do you really need to know more about that... guy?" Pharynx asked, hoping it wasn't a serious matter.

Luna nodded solemnly. "That creature is responsible for the Elements of Harmony's disappearance, and responsible for the death of her brother," she pointed to Twilight who was glancing at them carefully. "And he could be the sole cause to Equestira's sudden spike of warfare occurring day by day. After all, no pony has ever seen anything like him before. We are unsure of his abilities."

The changeling shook his head while muttering out his thoughts. "I don't think he is the one causing your disasters. He may be playing a role in them, but he is too... annoying and innocent at the same time to be such a danger you believe he is. I didn't know what Chrysalis saw in him when she decided to ask me of all changelings to be his little caretaker. But I do know he has great ambition."

"Would you mind speaking his location? There needs to be... a talk about his motives."

"About that," Pharynx spoke unresistant."He isn't with us anymore."

"What do you mean?" Luna pushed on, her head tilted.

"I mean he was transported someplace else by Discord," he grumbled. "None of us, not even the queen have an idea where he is now! So if you want any chance of finding him, ask The Lord of Chaos!"

"..."

"Now enough getting off topic," Pharynx rushed. "Do you forgive our actions or not? Our queen promises it won't happen again."

"Very well. Tell your queen that I, Princess Luna, approve of your peace offer."

After that statement, Pharynx faced his comrades and made a sound of consecutive chirping. Twilight and Luna paid close attention. From what they were hearing, it sounded like a language spoken only by changelings. The two ponies couldn't exactly make out what was being hissed, buzzed, or chirped in Equestrian. But despite that, the two were most knowledgeable enough to comprehend it as ordering.

Luna observed the changelings salute to their general, Pharynx, as they picked themselves up from the floor with their bug-like wings. Without giving a nice goodbye, the group of changelings exited the Town Hall like a swarm of giant mosquitoes. The doors were left open after they buzzed away in a rush.

"That... went better than I anticipated," Twilight said.

Luna made a thrilling grin and gently closed the doors. Her hopes for peace were now on an ascent. She had no way of telling if it was because of a successful agreement for peace with the changelings, or simply a rewarding feeling of confidence when things start to get better during hard times.

Either way, Luna enjoyed the feeling, and didn't bother questioning anything, not even Twilight. And speaking of questioning, Twilight snapped the princess out of her little haze when the talented unicorn asked about something that Luna failed to acknowledge during her talk.

"My apologies, Miss Sparkle. My mind must've been distracted over a little pride. What seems to be the matter?" Luna asked, her eyes following Twilight's extended hoof.

"They, are the matter princess," Twilight pointed out.

"Who-" Luna made a faint gasp when she finally took notice. A line of grey ponies, each of them taking a step into the moonlight with perfect unison, is what Luna heeded. Her thoughts of their appearance turned out to be a match of Twilight's. Matching cutie marks, attires, and coat colors was unnatural for pony kind.

Twilight tilted her head to her upper left and whispered into Luna's ear. "They've been standing there since the beginning. Clearly they want a word with you; I just don't know what exactly."

"They must be part of an organization I am unaware of," Luna muttered while the ponies gave her an uneasy feeling. "There are still many secrets from the past thousand years that my sister refuses to share."

Twilight turned to her with a frown. "Could you try to get them to leave?"

Luna couldn't respond, as her face lost any will to acknowledge Twilight's level of easement. The 'agent ponies' stared at the princess as if they were emotionless robots, their bodies refusing to make any movement. Having an unreadable intention, Luna drew near them and then stopped once a thing happened.

The thing that happened made Twilight's eyes widen. In her lifetime of studying magic, she never thought she'd witness a spell invented by Star Swirl the Bearded. But she was witnessing it now, from those questionable ponies.

"The Fusion Spell..." Twilight said out loud, gazing at the process. The 'agent ponies' disintegrated into tiny particles of themselves, then came together as one. Each particle from each pony reacted the same when they were brought into physical contact. From Twilight's view, it was like a magical jigsaw puzzle putting its own pieces together to form an image.

Once each particle became a piece of matter, and once each piece connected in formation, a mare was formed into existence as a result of the spell. A jaw drop from Twilight is what the mare received as soon as she gained consciousness.

Luna kept still while getting a good look at the strange mare. Static similar from a TV ran through every part of the mare's body including her eyes, and Twilight, being the curious mare that she is, decides to get closer. However, the mare took her own right hoof and stomped before Twilight had an attempt to speak, Her one hoof stomp made a wave of static that plunged into Luna, Twilight, the Town Hall, and all of Ponyville.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!" she screamed in agony after her unreasonable action, confusion drifting upon Luna and Twilight. They then glanced at the mare's grey coat and tail, which seemed to be gaining more static as the mare's body began to disunite and deteriorate.

Twilight fought her hesitation to speak up and asked the mare with a concerned tone of voice. "Hey... what are you-"

"No," the mare groaned. "You're not the pony I seek. That man lied."

"Who lied? What is your business here pony?" Luna asked.

The mare didn't look intrigued, but she pinned her corrupted white eyes on the two in front of her. High levels of static occurred once her eyes flashed.

..........

*ID: Princess Luna*

*Status: Reformed*

*Level of Power: 28*

*Regarded Abilities: Lunar Energy Blasts, Teleportation, Flight, Royal Voice Intimidation, Control of the Moon, Dream Wanderer and Bender.*

*Goals: Forget the Past and Eliminate all Nightmares*

..........

*ID: Twilight Sparkle*

*Status: Broken*

*Level of Power: 16*

*Regarded Abilities: Advanced Levitation, Quick Comprehension, Teleportation, Rapid Firing of Magic Attacks, Supportive Spells, and Other.*

*Goals: Avenge her Brother's Death and Recover Lost Memories*

..........

Twilight could tell the mare wasn't about words, but that didn't mean she was mute. Just in time before the increasing static overtook her, the mare had managed to analyze the data shown, groaning in pain even more as she felt her time fall short.

"Princess Luna..." she said in a disorderly voice.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "We beg your pardon?"

The mare laughed in response. "What fascinating natural numbers you have in your existing code. You have my interest, princess."

When static finally engulfed the last remaining parts of her body, she exploded into a tiny sphere that immediately fled out in a flash, leaving behind a gray trail.

"Hey! Wait!" Twilight yelled, galloping outside with misfortune as she realized the trail left behind was gone. She turned behind and caught Luna trotting after her, utterly abandoning the Town Hall. They stared at each other while giving away their bewilderment. "Who... was that?"

Luna only answered once her head turned to a position of difficulty, outside and inside combined. "I don't know."

Twilight groaned over her ignorance. "Well... guess we should call it a night? The meeting is over."

"Nay," Luna's tone grew cold. "We are not through. However, thou, Twilight Sparkle, deserve rest. We on another hoof need to obtain answers on what's happening in Equestria. Tis a pity that we only know of one who could provide such answers we seek."

"What?"

Luna sighed. "Listen to me, Miss Sparkle. I need you to keep an eye on this village while I am gone."

Twilight gasped. "Me?! Why me?! Where are you even going?!"

"To Canterlot, dear," Luna prepared her wings for take off.

"But we need you princess! You can't just leave!"

"You need Celestia as much as you need me. I must be sure she'll return in one orderly fashion. And if what the changelings said are true, then Discord has Canterlot in his claw and paw. I must speak with that draconequus if we want any chance of knowing what is to come."

*Canterlot High School*

"ONE HEAD DOG COMIN' UP!!!" Horror Sans broke the utter silence, readying his ax to get the job done.

Sam's heart ran cold, instincts screaming for him to keep his guard up. He may have not a clue on what attacks the mad skeleton possesses, but had a few ideas. His new pony friends stood next to him, unable to sense what was coming.

The skeleton was only in front of them for a moment, then within a single blink of an eye, he disappeared. But during the very next moment, Sam gasped, eyes wide as he ducked under a lethal attack from behind before any of his friends could react. A resulting heavy gust of wind blew by, alerting Sam's friends to Horror's dirty plan.

Sam/Rarity, out of pure panic, decided to blow the skeleton away with a surrounding force of space magic. The friends were accidentally blown as well, but nevertheless, none ended up injured. The skeleton recovered back up with a heavy groan and shot a glare at Sam.

"ERGH! ya big beefy flesh of meat! hold still!" Horror Sans shouted from afar.

Sam shook his head, disgust written all over his face. "I don't think so. It's really horrifying for me to have some skeleton like you, chop my neck off behind my back."

Horror Sans raised his ax, its stained blood now visible. Lyra Heartstrings gagged at the skeleton's disturbing ways. His way of torturing and killing was more slow paced, creepy, and done in a wicked orderly fashion. Everypony against the skeleton got that clear description once Sam prepared for another sneak attack. But instead of a heavy melee attack from behind, a set of cleavers in a circular vertical motion rushed towards him as if they were thrown by cruel hands.

The cleavers' sharp edges had a thirst for blood, but in spite of that, Sam/Rarity conjured a projectile shield which bounced the cleavers' in the opposite direction. Two unicorns, Lyra and Sunset, levitated the runaway cleavers' and flung them towards Horror.

In astonishment, Horror Sans scarcely dodged each cleaver. While he thought his reflexes were on point, Rainbow Dash swooped in, charging at Horror like a mini missile, then became the first to inflict damage. Horror felt a crack form in his ribs as the athletic pegasus attempted to pin him down.

"Take that you creepy bonehead!" Rainbow Dash insulted.

"oh yeah? take this in return you rainbow headed moron," Horror clenched his left empty hand and brutally punched Rainbow Dash in her muzzle. She then fell to Horror's right side with a bleeding nose.

Rainbow couldn't help growling over the skeleton's cockiness. In her eyes: Horror Sans was like a big bully, who felt excessively sure of his ability to bring other ponies down. No matter how outmatched his opponents are, he still keeps a nasty grin on his face. That was something Dash desired to wipe off.

"*pant* ugh. y'know this heat is quite a pain," Horror glared at the sun, which appeared to be in a sunset position. "no wonder the boss sent me here. going against you all would be a piece of human if I wasn't being drained constantly."

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!"

More sound waves mean more shattered windows for CHS to replace. Thanks to Sunburst's bad luck, he ended up getting cut a couple times from sharp falling glass. But apart from that, Boyfriend's high-pitched voice stunned Horror. While Horror's head didn't explode like the rest of the undead, a successful stun was enough for BF to land the second hard blow.

"Beepo skdoo skbep beepaa boop bappity beepaa be beepaa beepbop skdoo skbep skdoo skdabeep baaaap be bopo bep beep bappity' beepaa beepbop beep bappity skebap beepo boop brep baaaap bop boop boop de skbep!" Boyfriend tossed his microphone, directly pounding Horror in the face.

The skeleton snapped out of his stunned state, following with a glare at what appeared to be a little human child. Horror wasn't smiling any more. "another human, eh?"

"Be bop bepo skdoo be bopo skbep beepo baaaap! bep beep bappity' beepaa baaaap be bopo beepaa boop beepo beepo, bop be bappity boop beepbop boop beep skebap!"

Horror didn't exactly catch what BF said, though he assumed it was an unpleasant attitude. "beep and bop all you want little boy," he gripped his ax tightly with both hands, eyes shrunk menacingly. "because today will be your last to do just that."

"I don't think so," Principle Celestia stated from behind Horror Sans.

"wha-" Horror failed to notice the injured alicorn at the beginning, and as he turned, he caught a fiery blast straight in his chest consequently. Then, as a part of Principle Celestia's spell, a raging fire started spreading through Horror's jacket.

Rainbow Dash smirked after hearing Horror scream his lungs out. She watched the bone monster burn with a bit of satisfaction. But nice moments don't always last long; it took only an eye blink again for Horror to disappear and reappear back to where he was summoned. The raging flames were extinguished over his swift teleportation.

Sadly for Horror, the burned damage remained; everypony noticed Horror's ruined jacket, his burnt bones, and his ruined slippers. He at this point wasn't in much of a fighting condition compared to the start when extensive pride took hold. He admitted to himself that he had underestimated the enemy, or rather the 'enemies'. But, either way, Horror Sans couldn't disobey a command given by his boss. He'd be seen as a cowardly piece of trash if he fled from the scene.

"Bleh! My, he looks certainly dreadful after exiting a furnace!" Rarity commented.

'Yea, well, the good news is that the flames did a number on him. Plus, thanks to this dang heat that's been making me and you all sweat like sick throughout this whole bizarre day. I think it's coming back to repay us,'

"Repay us? What do you mean by that, Sam?"

'Just look at him. His bones are fried, and each part of him leaks sweat. He's weak to heat.'

Sam continued staring at a drained Horror Sans. Glancing back at his new friends for a moment, Sam gained a small amount of confidence. Surprisingly, his friends were in good shape, and Sam wanted to keep it that way.

Without a warning, Lyra and Sunset fired their heaviest blasts. Clearly, Horror didn't deserve a warning from the two unicorns. But he also didn't need one either as cracks formed on the concrete in front of him.

'What the?' Sam put a good focus on the expanding cracks and nearly gasped once a wall of spiked bones shot out of the cement. The bone wall now serves Horror as his own protection, which proved itself by going by its purpose completely. The wall received severe damage, parts of bone scattering across. But despite that, the wall held itself through the unicorn attack.

"One lethal attack after another, all of you will be my dinner tonight!" Horror claimed.

Sam fixed his senses on another spike of energy. He was glad his own senses were made keen when given birth, and thankful they haven't reached a terrible downgrade throughout aging. His sudden appreciation of senses was increased by a ton during the fight because of a multitude of rumbling cracks occurring below his feet. The same ground cracks were happening each below his friends' hooves as well.

After a half second of confusion, Sam's nerves went into overdrive when he realized what Horror Sans was up to as the cowardly skeleton hid behind his bone wall.

'CRAP!!!'

Not wanting to risk his life over a second of relaxation, Sam swiftly leapt far away from his original standing position. From where he once stood, he saw another set of bone spikes arise from the cement, ready to impale any living being in its zone till death.

Lyra, Sunset, and Sunburst who also were in the zone of rising spikes, were immediately flung out of the zones after Sam took precaution over their lives. The bone spikes then rose, failing to hit any target.

Sam could hear Horror Sans mumble out impatient complaints, but Sam retained his focus on his friends. Sure, the three of them groaned unpleasantly after Sam/Rarity used an unexpected force, but at least they weren't impaled or killed by Horror Sans.

"Okay, that's it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She galloped in front of Sam and leapt into the air. Her wings kept her suspended in mid-air before she decided to hurtle her way down towards the bone wall at an incredulous speed. "Come on out of there and face me, bonehead!"

From plain sight, Rainbow's left hoof was extended while her right hoof was seen bent during her reckless charge. A faded rainbow streak followed her downwards as well. Sam knew what the crazy cyan pegasus intended and immediately called her out. "Rainbow Dash, STOP! He's lurin-" but it was too late.

Rainbow Dash had already driven herself into Horror's trap that Sam suspected. Although she did break through Horror's defensive bone wall, a spiky circular object, caught her left hoof after she landed. At that moment, Rainbow Dash couldn't stop herself from screaming in agonizing pain as the object's snapping jaw bit into her leg like a timber wolf with steel teeth. The jaw was shut tight, and it only tightens even more if Rainbow made any swift movements in hopes of breaking free.

"ha. you couldn't just keep standing there cautiously with your friends, huh? bet you had it in your dumb gut to charge at me by your self without thinking of the risks. you fell right into my trap. well, my bear trap to be specific."

"Shut up!" Rainbow yelled angrily. "This isn't fair!"

Horror chuckled. "awwww. is the little feisty pony mad? or are you just using that anger to cover up your FEAR?"

Rainbow Dash at her best, tried to unsnap the bear trap, but only managed to pull it slightly open before it snapped closed again, worsening her hoof injury.

"it should rather be called a pony trap; considering you aren't a bear," Horror got a glare from the pegasus in response. He shrugged and held his ax firmly, face becoming a sicko one as he got closer to Rainbow Dash.

Every pony far from the scene for some reason didn't do a thing but watch.

"Sam! Stop idling around and help her! She's injured and helpless for Celestia's sake!" Rarity snapped, grabbing Sam's attention.

'Yea I will now, now that I know Rainbow Dash actually NEEDS my help so badly!' Sam said, running towards the scene. His feet carried him as far as he could get, but unfortunately, Horror spotted Sam approaching. Showing a crazed smile, the horrific skeleton launched a barrage of sharpened bones, each stained in blood.

"I hate sharp things my horrific man," Sam/Rarity once again used space magic to create a field that followed and repulsed a majority of speed or force to zero movement. Each bone that was launched inside the field instantly froze. Gravity then did its work and the bones fell on the cement as Horror watched in disapproval. The skeleton shrugged a second time and he refocused on Rainbow Dash as she continued to struggle her way out of the pony trap.

"welp, guess you all win this round. to be honest, one individual against five or six individuals wasn't fair. but i'll be sure to play unfairly next time. and before I face defeat..." Horror raised his ax viciously high in the air, being only an inch away from Rainbow.

Then, for the first time, Rainbow Dash showed a face of fear. Horror's red eye disappeared, and his mouth drooled out a disgusting black ooze. "I BETTER HAVE SOME FUN FIRST! HAHAHAHA!!!!"

"HURRY SAM! THAT MONSTER IS GOING TO-"

*Chop*

Rarity lost the will to say anything to Sam after..........

"..." Rainbow Dash fell silent. There was no scream or squeal over the damage, except for a scant breath release. The miserable mare's magenta eyes gently closed as she plummeted on grass. Blood splattered out of Rainbow's gashing wound which in turn gave the green around her laying position a color of red.

'That skeleton must've had his bones chewed by a pack of dogs to inflict that much pain,' Sam charged forwards with his fists clenched in hatred. He watched Horror's cocky smile return, and for some reason saw the horrific skeleton fiddle with his ax. Did he find drips of blood a satisfying feature for his ax? Would he really chop the flesh of a living being like a wooden log to get a nice distraction? Sam didn't care.

Horror let out a weak groan once a blue force stiffened his entire body, preventing him from making any movement. He knew this was defeat. Clearly the human wasn't going to show mercy. Horror could see the sick hate in Sam's expression. It was the kind of hate that involved the desire to kill. And during this, Horror even saw one of Sam's flaws in combat after getting punched in the skull directly by Sam. Horror shook his head with a laugh to go with it.

"c'mon buddy. is that all you got? the way you fight is so predictable. it literally has no style," Horror Sans commented.

"So what? It gets the job done," Sam responded stubbornly with another hard punch, knocking Horror in the middle of the road. And again, Horror was caught in a force he couldn't break free from.

"you and your bare fists alone won't be able to stop my boss once he reaches his full potential. if it wasn't for those ponies behind ya, and that stone you carry, you wouldn't be standing in my boss's way, kiddo."

"Ah, so you're saying I need to improve myself if I want to stand a fighting chance. Finding a great weapon, or getting skilled in combat would suffice, right? Well, that sure is good advice but... I ain't got the FREAKING time!"

"..." Horror's gaze caught Sam's friends surrounding a dying Rainbow Dash in dread. He of course chuckled at his work and their reactions over it.

"Now let me and Rarity kill you real quick. You've done enough!"

"rarity? who would that be?"

Horror looked at the gauntlet, then the blue stone. He wasn't given a direct answer by Sam, but when the stone made its glow for only one second, he could've sworn he saw a white unicorn mare glaring his pitiful self down by the human's side. He wasn't able to fully capture her appearance as she was only there for a brief second. However, Horror caught the hatred in the mare's face. Was she a ghost?

He later peered at an enlarged smoky portal; a result of the stone's ability combined with Sam's will. The portal's presence and size took every pony by surprise, including those inside of CHS. For a portal nearly the size of a shack, Horror couldn't see the point in its excessive size. If Sam planned on pushing him through to the other side, he could've positioned the portal closer and at least made its size close to his own.

"a portal rather than a punch in the face? that's so much more effective," Horror said sarcastically. "what harm is that big nasty portal going to inflict anyway? oh, lemme guess, it's going to suck me in like a black hole and then I'll be trapped in an empty void once I reach the other side."

"Nah, that's not its purpose. Maybe you should take a closer and longer look," Sam suggested while pointing a finger.

Sounds of honks came echoing, along with a constant sound of running motors. Horror and Sam's friends all gazed at the portal. Half of them were unable to predict what was about to be transported through from the other side. And within an awkward second or two, several incoming trucks accidentally drove themselves into the scene as each one rapidly came through the swirling blue circle.

Horror said nothing after figuring out his dire situation. Instead of being tied down on western rails for a train to simply run over him; he was being held by a force of space so a set of military trucks can do their unintentional death job. He didn't know how, but actual ponies were operating the sturdy trucks, using their hooves to steer and mash pedals.

"Get bashed over ya horrifying piece of crap!" Sam yelled, remaining focused to keep Horror idle.

Horror frowned, bracing for a peril collision. He noticed the military stallion operating the vehicle take notice as well, mashing the brakes. Though, either way, Sam and Rarity got their way. With a loud sound like a busting stick, the stallion's truck ran over the skeleton, dangerously losing control afterwards.

"SWEET MOTHER OF-" the military stallion also lost control of himself as a result. With little to no pause, the stallion launched himself out of his vehicle, miserably rolling down a rough road. The truck then maneuvered itself on its own and carried Horror Sans towards a tall building.

Then afterwards came a loud crash followed by an explosion which dismantled the truck to a poor hunk of junk. Flames which clogged the air with smoke had engulfed it all around because of a gas leakage. The last time Sam sensed Horror teleport in the face of danger was when Celestia ignited him on fire. However, because there wasn't that 'feeling' Sam gets deep down somewhere in his mental state, Sam assumed Horror Sans had taken the full impact of the truck collision and explosion. The only question that remained now was if the skeleton were dead.

"Wh-wha. What's going...on..." Rainbow Dash said, her friends witnessing her going out cold as high amounts of blood leaked out of her wound.

'Rainbow Dash!'

Sam mumbled something to himself, hope resting in his eyes as he ran towards Dash.

"Where's the dang nurse?!"

"Redheart's probably in the medical room where you chose to rest last night. We should check to see if she's there right away!" Lyra exclaimed.

With a given thought Sam softly and briskly took hold of Rainbow Dash in both arms. He felt her pulse and heard her slow paced hefty breathing; she was still alive! Though, every pony knew that wouldn't be the case for an extension. Rainbow Dash had put herself in a deadly mess thanks to her reckless side and action was needed to ensure she'll live.

Having full concern for only Rainbow Dash and nothing more, Sam clenched a fist before transporting only himself and Dash inside CHS by manipulating space. The rest of his friends were left outside by themselves with a burning truck, a setting sun, and several military ponies.

Sunburst kept a wide open mouth after witnessing a familiar pony's spirit who overcame the CRYSTEM process successfully. If he was correct it was same pony or lady rather, who terrorized him and Sam back in the Crystal Empire; the lady, Rarity, later on made a decision to be friends over an enemy. The Crystal Heart, Rarity's well being, and Sam's guidance together, was what gave birth to the element of space.

"Wow! There's so much more I can add about these events in my book!" Sunburst claimed. "Maybe I should make a history section written over several empty pages of this book. It would be great for some pony as observing as myself to research this lengthy adventure."

Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes with a smile that screamed: 'Classic Sunburst.' "Wow, I thought after you flunked out of magic school and went through years of dark times, you'd change for the worse. Turns out I was wrong. You're still the same Sunburst I know from Celestia's school."

"Hey!" Sunburst murmured with a slight blush.

"It's true y'know," she shrugged, turning to Lyra who was now for some reason looking at them both in frustration. "What, Lyra?"

"What? What?! What do you mean, WHAT?! Sam, left us behind again! And you two are just going to talk about something casual like nothing crazy out here just happened?!" Lyra spat.

"Bep bap beep beepop baaaap skdoo skbep bopo skbep bopo beep beepo beepo baaaap bep beep skbep bopo beep beepo skdabeep be bap brep boop beepaa beepbop boop skbep boop skebap beep baaaap skbep," Boyfriend stated his honest opinion.

Sunburst and Sunset looked at each other, a little embarrassed over Lyra's outburst. Sunset then turned back and did the talking, "I mean... doesn't he always just leave us behind when he's in a rush because of something presumably important, or of great necessity that shouldn't involve us?"

"Whatever is happening to him should always involve us! That's what friends are for!"

"HEY!!!" a stallion voice yelled, angered. The group of four each sought who intervened with the loud mouth. A couple of the four already raised their eyebrows at the newcomers after facing them.

"Yes?" Lyra asked, a bit nerve racked.

"Care to explain what's going on and who's responsible for the damage of MY PERSONAL VEHICLE!" the stallion yelled once more. His hat later tilted over his stress, but he re-positioned it back. Lyra caught a glimpse of his brown mane before his hat hid it away. The stallion appeared familiar to Lyra, but she couldn't quite catch why. His brownish eyes and green coat didn't help, even if a spark happened in her head upon sight.

"Uh... who are you exactly?"

"I'm General Dan, the leader of this squad you clearly see in front of you," he said before his comrades saluted. "There's been a report of a strange phenomena occurring near here at this very school, and we all have been sent here to investigate."

"That's cool. But we already have it all under control. We do not need military involvement for this," Sunset stepped in.

"There will be military involvement whether you all like it or not! We have our orders after all," Dan said firmly.

"Orders? By who?"

"It's none of your business," Dan ordered the soldiers under his command to pull out their guns. The friendly group of four flinched as each one of them had guns pointed in their direction. "But if we want to talk business... advise us with what you know, or die. It's nothing personal."

Lyra looked at him, befuddled. "What do you mean advise you?! We have not the slightest idea in Celestia's name on what's going on either!"

The general huffed irritably over impatience and disbelief. Normally he'd refrain from wasting any time on the young obnoxious, but this time a round was different for him. His suspicion was high on the group of friends, especially the short boy.

"Maybe you can explain to us why a portal magically appeared out of nowhere; maybe you can tell us why a spoiled child-sized teenager of all people is still human, unlike everybody else who now struggles to make a single hoof step rather than a simple foot step on this planet!" General Dan gestured to Boyfriend who in turn gave General Dan the finger.

"Skbep bep bap boop beeeep be skdabeep skdabeep baaaap be bopo be bepo boop bap skebap skdoo skbep bep skdoo de beepo skdoo bappity boop skebap skebap bopo brep brep baaaap! bappity be bappity boop be skdabeep bopo skbep beeeep beep bappity beepaa baaaap be bopo beepbop boop bap boop, skdoo skebap skdoo be beepaa!" Boyfriend retaliated, clearly seeing the general's jealousy.

A glare formed on General Dan's face. "You better watch it you little punk. In case you forgot, I can give the order to rain fire on all of you whenever I want. And if I still had hands instead of these worthless hooves, I'd give double of my dirty fingers in return to your spoiled face!"

As the general continued his rant, he found himself distracted over a lack of self control. Because of that, he failed to take consideration of the fighting going on between his soldiers from behind. Not only that, he paid no attention to the sudden sounds of 'ahhhs' coming from above.

Lyra, Sunset, and Sunburst, being fed up with the general already, decided to focus on the sounds instead. Lifting their heads with neck muscles, they glanced at three flying creatures.

General Dan also wanted to get into their interest. Instantly, he regretted looking up as well. Three monstrosities, each with a tail of a mermaid, and a horse body as their upper part were swirling around them like vultures. The source of 'ahhhs' was their doing all along once the three creatures sang louder than before for a second time.

Uncomfortable at what the creatures were doing, General Dan coldly ordered his troops to shoot the singing trio down. But, there came a problem. He nearly yelled out his order again before realizing his soldiers were in the middle of tackling and fighting one another. They spat, hit, shoved, and glared into each other's eyes. For what cause? Sadly, the general didn't know. Dan knew his soldiers well, and knew this wasn't them.

"Break it up, all of you!" Dan ordered. And for a third time his orders were ignored. "Looks like they're asking me to command the rough way."

Lyra returned her focus on the soldiers, then on Dan. The general pulled his sleeves, popped his hooves, and went into the soldier frenzy. Figuring the soldiers broke away their care for answers, Lyra and the other three galloped out of harm's way and into the school. She along with Sunset caught a glimpse of the three strange singing creatures staring down at them from the sky.

The four friends were given permission to lock the school entrance by Principle Celestia. And Lyra didn't hesitate to dash through the halls in search of Sam.

Celestia watched the other three follow as she retreated to her office. During that time, the moon slowly rose upwards as the sun drifted below.

Nightmare's spirit was lurking in the shadows as he observed everything. He grinned over the coming night; then his third top eye followed the three singing figures in the sky. Intriguing ideas formed in his thoughts after seeing their feeding ability.

"Creatures that can absorb negativity similar to me? Hmmm.... how interesting."

If Nurse Redheart could say one word to describe her job it would be 'tiresome.' Every students' health including the newcomers all rested in her hooves. It was all up to her to decide whether her patients depart from the medical room alive, or stay in the beds till death. That last statement was a bit exaggerated.

"Okay Sticker Picker, you're all set. I've checked every part of you and can conclude you're free from any sickness or infection," Redheart said to her last patient.

"Are you sure? The monster that attacked me sure did have icky nails," Sticker glanced at her stitched up wound on her front leg, She felt disgusted and flinched her head away to the ceiling as a reaction.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now head back to class. I have other things I must attend to."

"Like what? Isn't it almost nighttime?" Sticker asked, getting a chuckle from Redheart.

"Paperwork deary. Lots and lots of paperwork I must fill in."

"Why?"

A sigh escaped from the nurse, which in turn brought Sticker a shameful feeling over herself. The nurse was exhausted for the day and was in need of rest. And questioning a tired pony wasn't helpful.

"Because it's my job," the nurse replied.

"Oh... well, isn't that...boring?"

Redheart smiled, gently placing her hoof under Sticker's chin. "I'm fine, deary. I'll get a chance to rest the next day. Don't worry about me. I have all the equipment and medical knowledge required to take care of both myself and every student in this school all together. Sure, some days for me will be rough, but what matters is that I provide the healthcare that every student in this school deserves."

Sticker's guilt washed away as she gave her one and only favorite nurse a cuddly hug. Nothing was wrong with a hug before a sweet goodbye was an order, especially towards those she loved most. After all her name did match her mindset. She turned out to be an unusually picky one when it came to relationships and habits. But whenever she finds a relationship that certainly feels suitable, she would pick it. And after a long period of time of gaining trust and a closer loving bond, she'd stick with that relationship for long, much like a sticker on a fridge.

"Is something wrong Sticker?" Nurse Redheart looked at her concerned.

"No," she shook her head and leaped out of her bed. "Just... thinking about myself. Heh."

As the young pretty mare exited the medical door, what happened next completely caught their attention. Out of nowhere, a portal formed in the back corner of the room. Sticker and Redheart heard a clutter of flying paper, a thrown office desk, and sounds of metal baskets clanking on the marble floor.

Then, a man the nurse knew out of all the possibilities, came through the portal before it lessened out of existence. What it left behind its stead was a mess of office paper scattered across the floor. That only meant more work for Redheart as she would have to reorganize every single bit of information on each unordered sheet of paper. But that definitely would have to wait.

"Alright nurse," Sam started carrying an unconscious mare towards the same recovery bed he was forced into. Several bruises and a LARGE flesh wound had been inflicted on the poor rainbow manned mare as Redheart eyed them both closely. Sam on the other hand appeared free from any severe damage, but of course was panting like a tuckered dog after they went through whatever chaos the nurse didn't see.

"My goodness! What happened out there?!" Redheart trotted next to Sam while he took his time setting the pegasus down. After that, he stepped aside and gestured to Rainbow Dash with both hands.

"All yours," he said.

"W-what?" she didn't know what to say right away. His out of nowhere second visit without an appointment or a pleasant knock on the door had shocked her, figuring why he desired that stone to begin with over their first encounter.

"Shoot! I don't know what! Just FIX the mare! I'll do anything to pay for your health expertise!" Sam entreated. "She's losing a lot of blood as we speak! And I don't know how to heal anybody or anypony like her in this case worth a penny!"

Nurse Redheart's expression went serious and she pinned her eyes on the damages; the over-sized cut especially. "I'd appreciate to get the name of my unexpected patient for the night."

"Course," Sam wavered a hand. "Her name is Rainbow Dash."

There came no acknowledged response by lip, but the nurse took out a plastic clip board that she used to write on. With a pencil in her mouth she wrote on a piece of paper which she later gave to Sam.

"Here, fill that in for me," Redheart hoofed over her pencil as well.

"What's this for?" Sam asked, assuming it was what he thought it was, but better safe than sorry.

"Just fill in what you know about, Rainbow Dash. There might be some questions you won't know; you can just leave them blank if you really have no idea."

"Thanks..." he said, then took a seat on an orange chair as the nurse started an advanced medical procedure.

Sam didn't feel like watching the nurse do her thing, and that's exactly what he did in the next passing moments. While he could be observing the mare do her job and potentially learn something from it, he instead focused on filling in the sheet of paper given on his lap. Tapping his head using Redheart's borrowed pencil over his own confusion towards the first set of questions, he filled each empty blank with gibberish answers, or wrote N/A on other particular ones he didn't know how to answer.

'Goodness! Whether I'm at school or not, I always find myself having to do boring paperwork no matter where I go! Although, this ain't as bad as answering questions on a test. Because not knowing the answers on this ID sheet will not count against me.'

'Ha! I feel you there.'

'???'

Sam whipped his head side to side and found a young mare sitting down peacefully on his left. She was staring at him. For now, Sam decided to pay no attention and continued on finishing what needed to be finished. He heard the nurse prance around the room like an actual wild horse, which he did find distracting as heck, but he didn't complain about it. On a good note: a prancing mare was the complete opposite of a lazy mare. And a lazy nurse was the LAST type of nurse Rainbow Dash needed for life's sake.

"Excuse me, sir," the mare finally piped up. Coincidentally or intentionally, Sam had filled in the last remaining blanks before the mare spoke up to him within the next second.

There was a brief pause, but Sam steadily faced his left to meet the mare's eyes. Her eyes were as pink as pink frosting.

"Yea? What's up?" he asked, a bit intrigued by her pinkish appearance.

"You're still human," she looked at Sam from head to toe, a charming smile forming on her cute face. "How? Everybody else including me turned into talking horses. Why haven't you?"

"Because I'm not from here," he answered honestly. "Not to be rude or anything but I'm in the middle of an apocalypse. What business do you want with me? Whatever it is, it better not be trouble."

"Hey! I was just curious. I'm not looking for any trouble, I swear."

"Then why bother talking to me? Do you really think I'm worth interacting with?"

The mare's nice expression changed over the salty attitude she wasn't expecting. "Well, YEA! You just came out of a magic portal! How can anybody not question you and your personal goals after seeing you do that?"

Sam nearly rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I ain't going to be staying here for long. I'm just here to keep watch of her recovery," Sam pointed a finger to Rainbow Dash.

The mare then annoyingly glanced at Dash. She blinked once and blinked again after returning to face Sam. "What's so special about her?" she asked, as if it wasn't obvious.

"Why do you care? She's just a pegasus I care about. It's not your concern."

Finally, the mare lost the will to smile. "Geez, what's up with you sir. Don't you think you're being a bit, unnecessarily edgy?"

"..." Sam sighed, revealing that he was frustrated about something beyond her knowledge.

"Look, why don't we start over. My name is Sticker Picker. What about your name?"

'Ah, I see. This little pony wants to be my friend. Guess I should play it nicely for now since it looks like I'm going to be here for a while.'

*3 hours later*

In that span of time, Nurse Redheart was almost done with the last bits of strapping and stitching on Rainbow's torso. The pegasus wasn't losing blood anymore as a result. For Sam, he knew healing wasn't an easy process, and knew it was something that required time. That reason alone was exactly why he even bothered speaking to Sticker Picker; to pass the time quicker.

Apparently three hours had already passed once they both reached a point where they couldn't say more about themselves. Although Sticker Picker obtained a feeling deep down that Samuel was keeping something secretive away from her. Sam read her mind, but didn't speak of it.

A little elbow nudge took her away from her thoughts. Sticker returned her focus on Sam before he spoke.

"Hey, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for acting up. I guess my mind misjudged that smile of yours," he said apologetically.

Sticker nodded, confirming she understood. "It's okay. I've known many others with trust issues. You're not the first."

He smiled and put a leg over the other as he slouched to relax.

"By the way, where are your friends?"

"My friends?" Sam looked at her confused at first and then snapped in realization. "Ah crap! My friends! I forgot all about them."

"Sam, I bring news about Miss Dash's condition," Nurse Redheart intervened, crushing the subject completely. "Good news? Or bad news first?"

"Bad news," Sam demanded without hesitating.

"Rainbow Dash... seems to be in a coma. And before you ask, I don't know when she will regain consciousness."

"Alright. If that's the bad news then what's the good news?"

"The good news is that Rainbow Dash is alive and well thanks to a miracle. I have managed to stitch each wound, including the ginormous one. Her bruises will fade away in time and she won't die from blood loss," Redheart blinked. "So um, would mind explaining how this happened? I must say those injuries were madly severe."

"Again? I just explained a bunch of past information to uh... Sticker, right?" Sam pointed to Sticker Picker with two fingers and a closed eye.

"Yes. Oooh! Oooh! Let me tell her!" Sticker excitedly raised a hoof while vibrating on her chair.

"I don't see why not," he shrugged.

Sticker coughed to clear her throat. "Okay, so long story short. Sam and his friends including Rainbow Dash were battling scary monsters! Next thing they know, a horrifying skeleton with an ax jumps out of nowhere and brutally chops Rainbow Dash on her side. Out of hate, Sam opens a portal that lures a big truck through; that of which crashes into the skeleton. And now he's here with us."

'Meh, good enough I guess.'

'Of course it was good. Are you that hard to impress?'

'???????????????????.........What?'

"..." Redheart blinked and her eyes twitched. What she just heard felt like a complete story made up by a filly. A magic portal and a walking skeleton was greatly far fetched to her. But on second thought she remembered how Sam made his entrance. And believed a nasty sharp ax was a possible cause to Dash's deadly wound.

"Wow, it's nighttime already," Sam broke the awkward silence, gazing at the moon through a window. "I'm not even sleepy yet."

"Not sleepy?!" Sticker exclaimed, yawning in the middle of her next sentence. "How can you not be tired? I haven't done anything productive all day and I already want to sleep in the dorms," she got up and stretched a hoof. "Well, whatever floats your goat, I'm going to bed. It was nice speaking to you Sam!" she gave a friendly wave before departing for the school dorms.

'There's something about that mare that is raising my nosy levels.'

'...?'

"Hey, wait!" Sam quickly caught Nurse Redheart before she made her departure as well from the medical room.

"Yes?"

"If you see any of my friends, tell them I'm in this room safe and sound."

Redheart paused. "You're staying here for the night?"

"Yep. Someone's gotta keep watch of the rainbow pony."

In spite of the offer for a convenient sleep, Sam rejected it. He cared more for Dash than his own comfort. And would go through many difficult times to keep her alive.

"Hmph. Well, have a good night Sam," Redheart kindly said.

"You too," Sam walked and stood next to Rainbow Dash as the nurse exited and closed the door shut. Now, it was just him and an unconscious Dash chilling in the medical room. He patted Rainbow's mane with care, the colorful fluff comforting his bare hand. Sadly, there wasn't any telling when or what it would take to awaken her. But all Sam cared about was the fact that she was alive.

He took a hold of the nursing bed's blanket and gently covered Rainbow Dash as nice as he would himself whenever he went to bed. The heart monitor continued its purpose with beeps that gave a healthy feeling over his stay. However, Sam also thought something was missing. He returned to a mode of thinking.

'Dang. I should've been more alert and protective. If I wasn't daydreaming throughout parts of the fight, she wouldn't have gotten chopped by Horror's ax.'

"Don't blame yourself. We both tried our hardest. Besides, fighting is undeniably not everyponys style. I for one am a mare of style, but my stylish ways do not include blood-lust."

"Hmph. That's a fair point, Rarity. I do still feel a little bad about the whole thing though. Also not gonna lie, this room feels kinda darker with less ponies for me to talk to."

Even the nightlights connected to each outlet didn't fill the room with enough light Sam intended. One by one they flickered as if they were dying.

The room was getting darker with each flicker. Darker yet darker.

Something was off. They couldn't tell what. They felt alone but at the same time not. The darkness in Sam's head was consuming him without inflicting any pain. Almost as if it were dragging him into a void of nothingness.

"Sam... what's going on?"

'It's... him. This darkness is too familiar. It's the same presence that came to me after I sought to help you back in the Crystal Empire.' Sam answered. That answer turned out to be the last thing he said to Rarity. At least for the time being. Rarity didn't say a thing back, since a twist of a door knob silenced her entirely. Next, sounds of creaks occurred as an effect of the medical door slowly opening on its own.

Coming at a stop at a 90 degree turn, the door had opened for a figure just outside of the medical room. No, it wasn't just a figure; it was a man.

"✋ 💧☜☜ ✡⚐🕆 ☟✌✞☜ ☞⚐🕆☠👎 ✌☠⚐❄☟☜☼. 👎⚐ ✡⚐🕆 ☼☜💣☜💣👌☜☼ ❄☟☜ ☞⚐☹☹⚐🕈✋☠☝ 🏱☼⚐👍☜👎🕆☼☜ ✋ ✋☠💧❄☼🕆👍❄☜👎 ☞⚐☼ ❄☟☜ ☞✋☼💧❄✍" the man spoke in a language Rarity couldn't comprehend. His decapitated and melted body maneuvered smoothly into the room. And then, a loud door slam followed.

Sam froze, and only his mouth could dare move. "You again.............."

******

*Cloudsdale*

"Leave me alone!" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"Oooh what are you gonna do, Rainbow Crash!" the bully responded, insulting her.

"Keep making fun of me and find out!"

"Haha! You think you're such a big shot? How about you prove it to us," the other bully said with a smirk.

"I will prove it! Just... uh... wh-what do ya have in...mind?" Rainbow asked, her confidence not with her at a bad time.

Sam stared at the scene, his gaze peering over to a pegasus colt with wings of an angel. By a look of things, the larger colt potentially had a sort of bond with Rainbow Dash's two mockers, who were both now challenging her to a race. Rainbow Dash gulped and her lips vibrated out of control. She was about to face a trio of bullies on her own.

While she may have considered being titled incredibly awesome if she won, she also regarded that if defeat were to occur, humiliation would hit her like a boulder on the inside. Not only would defeat give the bullies an even better reason to mock her, but worse, everypony in Cloudsdale would see her as a fool. A fool who overestimated their own abilities.

"You're on," Rainbow Dash said.

"Yea, we're on. And you'll be off," the first bully pointed away off into the land below.

"Off?" Rainbow tilted her head.

"Off of Cloudsdale once we beat you, dummy," the second bully laughed. "You'll be so embarrassed that you'll leave and never come back."

"We'll see about that!" Rainbow Dash immediately flew off to the racing area and her bullies followed her there.

As all three colts readied themselves at the starting cloud, two of them made faces over their opponent while the third taller one only had their eyes on the cloud rings. A random filly was chosen to wave the checker flag, and when she did, all four flying contestants began the race. Several other young fillies and colts cheered them on in excitement once they took off.

Rainbow Dash with a great desire to win, pushed forward. And with precise movement and speed she passed each required cloud ring and took two of her bullies by surprise after she lured them into each other as one of them attempted to knock her by the side. Afterwards, they landed onto a fluffy cloud, resting on it in a daze.

"Two out of the race, and only one to- HEY!" Rainbow Dash yelled, feeling the strange third colt swoosh by her. Instantly, the young Rainbow Dash filly grew in frustration. The third colt was definitely the most unique out of the three bullies. And by unique: he was faster, more concentrated, less talkative, and of course more confident.

His speed without an exception was on a high level, but Rainbow Dash wanted to put her own speed to the test. The two of them then passed through the second to last cloud ring without any trouble or interference. Although, despite Rainbow's accelerating speed, the colt turned out to be ahead of her. He had already dove down to reach the last cloud ring only seconds before Rainbow made the same attempt.

And with a quick and easy stunt upwards, the colt pressed onto the finish line. Rainbow Dash failed to keep up, and her humiliating defeat came after she heard a crowd of fillies cheering the third colt.

Rainbow Dash stepped on the finishing cloud, coming in second place. She growled at her rival and to all the other spectators who laughed at her loss.

"Is somepony being a sore loser?" the colt turned to Dash, a cocky smile intentionally forming on his lips.

"Yea, yea, just shut it," she spoke in a sluggish and depressed tone. The colt later ran up to her and knocked her by the side. No pony said a word or did anything after a poor Dash collapsed on a cloud's surface. And in such a mental tragedy for Rainbow Dash, every pony did the opposite of help; they laughed at her. She was about to break in tears, praying to Celestia that this was all a worthless nightmare. "No, no, no, NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

Her cries echoed across Cloudsdale. Surely some pegasus out there whether young or old would stand up for her right? The amount of humiliation Dash was in couldn't be true. She needed some pony by her side.

"Accepting this as a reality would be a real pain wouldn't it?" a voice called out to her.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash got up on all four hooves and checked her surroundings. The immature laughing slowly ended once confusion made her quiet. Then, out of nowhere, a grown alicorn pony appeared before her very eyes. His horn glowed red as a thick line of red waves cleared away what her eyes previously saw and thought were real.

Rainbow Dash, with her little head couldn't comprehend her situation. All she could understand was that magic was at its work. The cloud she once stood on became a straight solid road, and houses constructed of clouds formed by the magic that swept across her current location. The entire racing area had transformed into one of Cloudsdale's home areas. And to top it all off, the bully and the young laughing crowd around her dissipated out of existence as a result.

"Well, well. I think I'm finally beginning to understand," the strange alicorn looked down at Dash, showing he was now the only being she could interact with.

"Who...are you?" Rainbow questioned with a concentrated gaze. "Wait. Are you an alicorn?!"

"Eh, not exactly," his eyebrows lowered.

"How'd you do all of that with your horn? I just have to ask because whatever you did was very cool and awesome!" Rainbow Dash complimented. "You must be really powerful!"

Sam shook his head. "Nah, I ain't that powerful. You're actually the reason why I'm here with these limited magical abilities."

Rainbow's eyes narrowed onto the alicorn stranger. "What do you mean? I'm just a little filly right now. And you're a full grown pony! How can I of all other fillies be the reason for your special visit? Don't you have some pony else who's more important than me to talk to?"

"Nope. Believe it or not you are the source of my reality powers. And heck if you weren't here, I probably wouldn't be here either," Sam claimed.

"Wait a second. What happened to everypony at the race?! Are they okay?"

"Oh they were just part of my illusion. They weren't actually real."

"Your illusion? Excuse me?" she glared at him over a spike of high distrust. Her wings were even starting to twitch repeatedly like a fearful bird.

"Hey wait, lemme explain. I was just playing around and testing the new magic in my possession. But out of sheer coincidence, you just happen to fly into this area which I chose as a testing ground, and suffer through the dirty tricks I unintentionally unleashed over you."

A slight confusion presented on her face. "So... you're saying that all the racing and bullying was because of you. But you didn't create the whole shebang to disturb me on purpose, right?"

"Basically, yes."

"So um, why are you here anyway Prince...uh?"

"Sam alone is just fine for my name. And, I'm not a prince."

The statement took the young Rainbow Dash by surprise. If he wasn't a prince for being an alicorn, then what exactly was he?

"I'm actually here to protect you from danger. And I'm also here to ask that we form a sort of partnership."

*Rainbow Dash's POV*

I sat at one of my most favorite clouds in Cloudsdale, my new friend taking his time to reach me. I watched him slowly flutter his way in an upward diagonal direction while I begged him to pick up the pace. His wing flaps were clumsy as a beginner level and I couldn't stand to watch.

A bright light grabbed my attention towards the sun, its position giving me a nice recollection of my free time. My parents told me to be home before dark, and also said to stay clear of grown ponies during my time to fly freely. I knew well I was already disobeying one of their commands, but the grown pony was an alicorn for Celestia's sake. Surely, they'd understand why I would put my trust in this stranger. Right?

"Whew. You make flying look so easy," he said with a few deep breaths.

I looked at him funny, and laughed. He sounded like a joker, but I knew he wasn't actually joking. Hearing him say he was once completely something else inside rather than an actual pony on the outside was starting to sound pretty fetching, even for a pony like me who doesn't really believe in myths or tales.

"Heh, yea, that's what many ponies my age tell me," I claimed. "Not to make fun of you or anything, but who taught you how to fly?"

I noticed him think for a moment without much of a reaction.

"Well, I actually taught myself how to fly, but I'm guessing from your previous vision, my way of flying is poor."

I couldn't help but to nod afterwards. "I think I can teach you how to fly if you want. And I also think your wings are probably in good shape for a nice flying practice."

"Really?" Sam unfolded his wings and took a look at them. "What kind of flying practice do you think my wings can handle?"

My left eye squeezed as I eyed his wings closely while scratching the top of my head. "Eh, all you need for practice is to learn the basics and do a few hundred wing laps."

"A few hundred laps?! Why?" he asked, letting me know he was the lazy type. "How about twenty laps instead?"

I facehoofed myself and flew off of the cloud before Sam even noticed. My partner kept a cold stare while I stared back at him. Then, I motioned my hoof towards myself, giving out sign language as a little message. Being the clever pony that I knew he was... or whatever he was on the inside, he quickly caught on with a nod and began flying. It took a couple tries for him to leave the cloud, but thankfully on the third try, he succeeded and kept himself steady in the air.

"C'mon, partner. If you wanna learn how to fly the right way, then you need to put in the effort!" I crossed my hooves.

"I'm trying okay."

"Well, TRY harder! I've seen even the worst flyer fly faster than that!" I insulted him. To my surprise, he didn't get upset over it. Actually, he laughed in return. Pretty odd if you ask me. Then again an alicorn deciding to be pals with a little pegasus filly like me was WAY off.

"Fine...I'll stop being lazy for once," Sam looked at me with a difficult look.

"Good. Now let's go!" I waved my hoof to follow along with my onward command. "I have a great place where we can practice. That is, if you're willing to practice at all."

There wasn't much of a word in his mouth, but I guess he didn't need to say anything since he followed me all the way to the practice place after I took off. It was pretty empty when we got there, which was pretty nice for both of us. I for one find that flying alone freely brightens my focus, and that it helps me become a better flyer at a faster pace.

"Alright, we're here. What do I do, Rainbow Dash?" he asked, continuing to flap his wings.

"I was thinking about making you do a twirling stunt on that cloud, but---" I froze over the realization that he had just spoken my complete name. 'Did I tell him my name? Or... did he already know?'

"But, what? You think it's too much for a beginner like me?"

"Uh...yea. A tricky stunt would be way too advanced," I told him, plowing away my ridiculous curiosity. "Maybe we should start with the basics, and maybe work on your flight speed."

"Sounds fair."

"Well, if it all sounds even to you, then follow my lead!" I said, allowing immediate wing action to take me far within seconds of time. He didn't take even a second to follow me afterwards. And somehow, I saw the confidence in his face as he accelerated to a speed almost as good as my own. No self control of mine was able to prevent me from looking back at my trainee. Out of all beginner odds, HE, of all beginners was picking up the pace fast, and I mean really FAST.

"I'm catching up to you, Rainbow," he called out. "But I'm pretty sure you can fly way faster than your current speed. Am I right?"

I smiled at him. "Please, you haven't seen what real speed is like!" 'There he goes again with my name. Seriously, who is this, Sam?'

"Really? Why don't you show me?" he dared me. "I want to see you at your fastest."

I faced him again, this time sensing a little competitiveness. "Okay, you asked for it," I faced forward and used much of the will and wing power I was so far able to muster in myself. My speed then outmatched his speed after I started with a heavy dash to begin his dare. He also got caught up in the rainbow trail I left behind, causing him to fall behind.

Because I didn't want to lose sight of him over my speed, I made the decision to go in a loop around the open area, instead of continuing forward. Thankfully, within a minute of looping back around, he wasn't too far ahead from the starting route. I later on caught up to him by surprise and I giggled over his startled jump in mid air.

"Woah! Oh, wow. I kind of underestimated you a bit. You really are a fast pegasus Rainbow Dash," he complimented. "It's even crazier that I'm only half way to the end of this lap."

"Actually, you're only a quarter of the way done," I corrected. "Once you reach the 'end' you have to fly all the way back to the start from there to truly finish a lap."

"Really? Huh. This is going to be a little harder than I thought."

"Don't worry. Your wings just need to get stronger. Like I said you'll be doing about a few hundred of these. I'm pretty sure after several practice laps, you'll quickly get the hang of it."

His lips curved, almost to a frown. "Alright I'll keep going. But before I do, I must ask. Why are you making me train like some professional athletic pegasus? I may not be aware of many things, but I don't think a hundred of these LONG laps are necessary for plain and simple healthy wings."

I sighed for a brief second as my straight posture lowered to a slouch because of his question. There wasn't much of an excuse I could come up with in my head to escape this guilt. While I did say I would help him improve his wing muscles for better flying speed and form, I never told him what I wanted back in return. And with the silence of guilt cutting in after his question, his eyes stared into my soul.

"Rainbow?" he spoke my name for the third or fourth time with a bit of anger and disappointment in his voice.

"Okay look you got me! There is a reason why I'm doing this for you. An... uncalled for reason to be honest," I tried keeping the truth at a low, but his face was such a guilt bringer that the truth just spilled out of my mouth. "Listen, I need your help for an important race!"

"Why so? You've already proved to me that you're like the fastest pegasus filly."

I shook my head. "You don't understand! This coming race requires at least a form of partnership to enter. Age, weight and height don't mean anything; only the rules apply equally to each pony no matter how big or small they are."

He became still for a little before he made his amazing answer. "Fine. I'm in. When does the race start?"

"YES!" I shouted excitedly in the air.

***

Ponies from outside of the racing area were cheering all eight contestants, including me and Sam. We were now standing on the starting line, waiting for an announcement. A few of our rivals by all means had the nerve to talk smack beside us, but believe me, I had my full attention on Sam only; he was the only pony who mattered in this situation after all.

"Are you ready for this, Rainbow Dash?"

I watched the flag pony glide downwards on a cloud, awaiting an announcement as well. I took a deep breath. "Yea, I'm ready. You?"

"Yep. I'm ready too. Let's just hope those practice laps I suffered through weren't for nothing."

I blinked and took a moment to understand and remember every little detail about the race. The rules were in my opinion, a little strict and somewhat unnecessary. I gazed at Sam's horn without him knowing and realized one of the rules specifically states in bold words that no pony is allowed to use any magic of any kind. Sounded a little paranoid, but I guess unicorn magic can have it's bad in hoof.

With the audience quieting down, a voice echoed around us. That voice was the announcer. My heart rate quickly went up when my sudden little time for preparation for the biggest moment in my life daunted me. Most of the rude colts were still laughing out their mockery of us, clearly believing they were going to be the winners of this race, guaranteed.

Making fun of me and my older partner at this very moment was wrong... in two ways. For one, bullying is never a good thing, and is never the right thing to do. But secondly, while their main focus was on me, they didn't see the flag pony signal us to start. After the signal, me and Sam took ourselves in the air, getting the head start before those jerks. The race had begun.

The bullies got a bit spicy after we outsmarted them, but that didn't scare us one bit. I squinted my eyes and struggled to push through the high winds. We had just passed the first obstacle of the race, leaving three more to pass for a win. I looked back and gasped. Those jerks were picking up the pace, and my grown alicorn friend wasn't helping me here.

"Hey, Sam!" I said as I flew, trying to get his attention.

He thankfully caught on and tilted his entire body a smidge to make an awkward sharp turn over to me. "Yeah?"

I pointed at the fourth obstacle, and also dove down to legally approach our second obstacle. "Do you see that cloud launcher over there?"

"I do. Why?"

"..." my mind went blank over two things: one, the jerks had just flown ahead of us, and two, the sound of his voice while flying down at a high INTENSE speed, with the wind blowing hard on his face. "How are you so calm about all of this?!"

"I don't know," he answered while zig zagging by the steam powered machinery obstacles without a glimpse of a struggle. I did the same too, trying to not get distracted.

"It's like you've done this before."

"Maybe I have, Dash..." his voice turned strange.

I shook my head, snapping my mind to what was important. "Egh! Forget it. Anyways, back to what I was saying about that cloud launcher. It's the last obstacle of this race, and is the only obstacle that takes teamwork."

"How come?"

"Because one of us needs to stay in the launcher while the other gathers enough clouds to fuel it up. After that, one of us will be launched to a far away cloud. Whoever's launched to the cloud will have to grab a flag, and fly all the way back."

"Fly all the way back?"

"Yes. Fly all the way back," I assured him. "You got it?"

He nodded and made his decision on gathering clouds for fuel. It made perfect sense, since I was the faster flyer. We also let our excitement carry us through a giant storm cloud, which turned out to be obstacle three. Sooner than later we both passed the bullies during our trip through the crazy rain and lightning.

"Looks like our rivals are right on our tails. We're also approaching that launcher. I'll gather the clouds right away!"

Sam's direction of flying changed in an instant as I loaded my entire self into the specific launcher with our team number on it. After several seconds I caught the bullies and another team doing pretty much the same thing we were doing. Suddenly, I felt a little scared. Now that I think about it, I've never trained Sam on cloud handling. Sure, he may be able to bust them to nothing without a problem, but carrying them with care at a fast pace was a different story.

I continued laying back for the past couple of minutes before Sam finally returned with the last set of cloud fuel for a full on launch upward. He looked at me for a moment and without a word he quickly loaded the launcher and activated it. Turns out, I was the first one to be launched. My twirls in the air finished as I took control of myself and landed on the flag cloud. I may have become a bit dizzy, but that didn't stop me from retrieving our team flag and flying back to the bottom.

"RAINBOW DASH! LOOK OUT!" Sam alerted me from the great finishing distance, but I could barely hear him. He sounded worried, and I had no idea why until it hit me. Well, one of my 'enemies' hit me in the air to be specific. I felt my front bones crack on my insides after my rival bashed his hooves onto me during his launch boost. There wasn't much I could do since the jerk cut me off from my body. It wasn't a surprise that I was falling down like a helpless busted hot air balloon. All thanks to those dirty cheaters.

But all hope wasn't lost. I heard the audience gasp over an overwhelming shock. Apparently, for the sake of my life, a certain somepony had broken one of the rules. Out of thin air as far as my eyes could see, a thick cloud formed below my fall of doom. A red magical aura surrounded its fluffiness as I looked upwards, our team flag still secured in my mouth.

"Ha! I knew you wouldn't leave me hanging!" I exclaimed happily to my loyal partner. He nodded and the red magic followed his horn. Hundreds of eyes were on him, but I knew it wouldn't be long before those eyes would come for me. I gritted my teeth to better encase our flag and leapt from Sam's cloud. If there's something I'd put above winning this race, it would be winning with him, as a team.

My speed didn't stay the same as I kept on. I could see Sam and the winning cloud just a mile away! But, I could also see one of my troublemakers about to take the "w" away from me. I wasn't going to let that happen! With all my will, I blasted through the air and accelerated beyond what I thought I could speed up to. The air was fighting against me as my win or loss was starting to become a great stake. My wings felt like they were going to give out, but once I heard him speak I didn't allow my thoughts and feelings to get the best of me.

"You know you want to be the winner, Dash. I didn't just break the rules to save your tail for nothing. I've done my part, now it's time you do yours. Go get em!" he shouted. For some reason, out of all things that could've helped me, his encouraging words did. Confidence filled inside of me, and the weakness in my wings went away. The fight between me and the stinging air was continuing to a more intense level. My mouth was beginning to open as I neared the end. This was it. The moment of truth! I saw my rival just several wing flaps away from the finish, and it was there where I flung him out of the way with a circle wave of rainbows.

Gasps echoed into my ears as I tried to stop myself from flying excessively upward. I turned my head around and found a rainbow streak so thick and colorful that I never in my life have left behind. And after I finally looked down to the finishing cloud I realized why every pony was staring at me like I was awesome. I...had...just...done...IT!

A clear hoof wave from Sam clearly was a signal for me to follow up with an air dive to land with our team flag. I later on regained control of my direction changing, and then did just that. And with an epic land along with a gentle placement of our flag by both of our efforts, the crowd roared with cheer.

"We...WON!" I said.

"Yea. We sure di- uh," he froze over my uncalled for awesome hug, but I didn't care.

"I can't believe I just did a sonic rainboom! I thought it was just an old pony's tale."

"..."

I looked at him funny, and giggled at him. "What's with the silence? Do you think I'm too awesome for hugs, or what?" I crossed my hooves. "Hehe, you should see your face. You don't even look surprised in the slightest. You really are different in some way, aren't ya?"

He shrugged. "Eh, I don't know about that Dash. All I know right now is that what you did was more impressive than I could ever imagine."

"Me? Impressive? Psh!" I waved my hoof. "WE, were both AWESOME!"

"How was I in any way awesome?" he asked me, showing how exactly humble he really was.

"Uh, hello? You just summoned a giant cloud that stopped my death fall! I've seen plenty of nerdy unicorns and believe me, none of them are fit to do what you just did to save my life," I explained because his lack of pride after a sweet victory isn't in any way my style. I did at least bring out a confident smile from my explanation, but that was about it.

Then, out of nowhere, something was glowing at the back of my flank. I turned to see what it was and...

"MY CUTIE MARK!!!" I exclaimed while doing a few exciting twirls in the air. After I landed back down, I noticed Sam nodding at me with a pleasant smile.

"Well, that sure is something. I did it again," Sam kept that same smile while he looked above in the sky. Clearly, he became happy over me, but for some reason, he wasn't excited about it all like I was.

"☼︎☜︎❄︎🕆︎☼︎☠︎!"

The world around us became dark and empty. Everything and everypony except us were fading away into some sort of darkness. I had no clue on what was going on, and I freaked out as soon as the darkness started closing in on us like a crusher.

"Sam...please tell me this is one of your magical tricks."

He laid a hoof on his own horn. "Do you see the red glow? No. So this isn't my doing. But don't worry Rainbow Dash, this is perfectly safe."

"IN WHAT WAY IS ANY OF THIS SAFE?!" I wanted an answer ASAP after I realized how close the darkness had come.

"It's okay. Just calm down. You and I both are about to wake up from your mind."

******

Rainbow Dash awoke and lifted herself in a sitting position after the nerves in her backbone sparked. She was lying on a nursing bed, and she could see the night sky through the window to her right. She then shifted her head to her left and nearly unleashed an excessive panic that would've cluttered the whole room even more.

Sam, who awoke beside her expressed his feelings of accomplishment which later turned to a feeling of pity. To Sam, helping Dash recover what was lost inside was a good thing. But, he sensed a great unease in Rainbow Dash after she realized what EXACTLY was going on.

With memories of the past hitting her in the back of her head, she recalled one memory. The memory in which she and her friends fought against Discord and Sam brought great suspension in her trust and many responses she desperately held between her wild lips.

"How are your wounds, Dash? Do you remember anything?"

"Don't start asking me for answers, Sam! I know we've already built a nice bond within the past day or so, but that doesn't mean I fully trust you! A part of me still thinks you're a freak, just so you know." Rainbow Dash remembered what he had done to Twilight's brother and the Elements. Those actions were definitely freakish crimes. But despite his crimes, she sighed, and allowed the past to be the past rather than let it be the present. Sam did stand up for her in troubling times when she was in need of it, so she didn't want to accuse Sam of anything just yet.

"Is that so? Then, what answers do you want from me? You got your memories back, right?"

"Yea, I did get them back. But, to be honest, I don't want to talk about it," Rainbow Dash left her bed and removed every cast and bandage that covered her...injuries? Sam gazed at her, astonished to see that her body was left without a wound or even a scar!

"Good gosh, Dash! How the heck did you recover so fast from those wounds? I'm not a biologist, but I'm pretty sure wounds take years and years to fade away to nothing."

"Dunno. Guess I'm born healthy," she shrugged and crumpled all the medical paper into a ball that she later threw into a trash can. "By the way, what happened to that freak skeleton?"

"He got run over by a military truck I transported through a portal," Sam told her, catching her off guard.

Rainbow eyed the blue stone in Sam's ownership. "Really? Shesh. I was kind of hoping I would be the one to put him in his place. That skeleton really did get on my nerves!"

"I couldn't agree more Rainbow Dash," Rarity spoke up, still forgetting only Sam could hear her through the stone of space.

Suddenly, somepony knocked on the door.

Sam assumed it to be Redheart. Although, the slight aggressive knock and utter silence afterwards gave him a second thought. Rainbow Dash noticed his awkward pause and decided to fly over and open the door for him. It wasn't Nurse Redheart.

"Hey, Sam. Is this a bad time?" Lyra asked, intrigued by the two in front of her.

"Nah, you're good. Sorry for leaving you again. I have a moral to save others like her," Sam gestured to Rainbow Dash who was about to dash out within the next few seconds.

"Don't sweat it. I totally understand. I just came here to check on you both and to tell you that we have another threat at this school."

"Whatever it is I'll be sure to give them a nice kick in the face!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Don't be so rash, Dash. This threat isn't what you think. You're being cocky once again," Lyra criticized.

"But, confidence is my middle name! What is it anyway? Some over-sized bug creature?"

"Not really. I'm not sure how to describe them. They look more like flying sea monsters or something."

"Flying sea monsters? How many are they?" Sam crossed his arms with a receptive look on his face.

"I believe only three hover around the school so far. Why?"

"..." Sam shook his head and sighed. "Do they sing or hum in a strange way?"

"Uh, y-yes actually. Sam, how'd you know?"

"ERGH! Gimme a break already! Where's the rest of the group?"

"They're in the school gym and-"

"Cool, lets get a move on," Sam squeezed his way past Lyra and left the room in a haste. It had been only a minute since he did what needed to be done for Rainbow Dash, and now something else needed to be done about a trio of mythical creatures. Sam knew he was running out of breath with each heroic act he took in for the sake of others. He needed a break. But despite his heavy thoughts and sores, he strives to push forward anyway.

His imminent stomping echoing across the halls came to a hiatus, and he eyed Rainbow Dash who for some reason flew in front of him to block his way.

"Whoa there. Where do you think you're going?"

"The gym of course," he replied, quickly attempting to pass Rainbow Dash. She took action and pushed him back.

"Uh I don't think so. You don't look so good, Sam. I think you should let me take it from here. Whatever's going on now, I'm pretty sure my awesomeness can handle it!"

'Rainbow Dash against The Dazzlings alone. Psh! Ridiculous.'

"I have to agree with her, Sam. You REALLY don't look good at all."

"Dash...we're going to deal with whatever NEEDS to be dealt with," Sam's blue eyes darted from Rainbow Dash to a portal suddenly behind her. She struggled to keep Sam/Rarity stationary. But in the end she was pushed through the other side of their portal and into the gym.

There, the trio was met with Vice Principal Luna who stood firm in pony form.

"You..." the alicorn eyed them, especially the human.

The whole discussion of the 'singers' didn't surprise Sam at all. And luckily for him, he wasn't being accused of summoning the 'singers' over to CHS. While it may have been his fault in some way, V.P. Luna came to an understanding that it wasn't in his intentions to lure them over. Granted, he was responsible for teaching Sunset Shimmer the values of friendship, and was well respected by P. Celestia after saving her life.

Sam faced Luna, he saw his friends behind her as well. Lyra, Sunburst, Sunset, Rainbow Dash, and most importantly, Boyfriend. They were all there. He was a little befuddled as to why it was just them. School gyms were usually crowded at a large rate, so it would be hard to ignore the rampaging voices echoing across the place.

V.P. Luna then explained what trouble the 'singers' brought upon CHS and its students. Their singing was affecting nearly every student behavior in a negative way and only a few were unaffected. Choosing the gym as a hiding spot was a strange choice in Sam's eyes, considering how open and lengthy it is in size.

"So... you're telling me we're like the only ones immune to their singing?"

"I'm afraid so," Luna replied honestly.

"Shoot. Any idea why it's just us?"

Luna took a breath. Her head lowering as she came up close to Sam, her face showing pity towards him. "I think it is because of you. You are the reason why they are here. And I've already spoken to them. I asked them what they wanted, and they told me they desired you. For what reason? I am unsure."

"Well, I don't care what they want from me. Whatever they want, I'm going to make sure they don't get it," Sam thought about one of two things. "Either they're seeking to suck the magic out of me dry, or they want me gone. After all, I am doing the complete opposite of what they're doing."

"And what would that be?" Sunburst butted in.

"Friendship of course. What else would it be?"

"Um... sound wave repelling... space magic?" Sunburst answered, a drip of sweat present on his head as he smiled nervously.

"Eh, kind of true," Sam then put his focus on Boyfriend.

"Regardless, I have gathered you all here because I believe the six of you are capable of stopping them. I have seen your battles since you've arrived. Putting those three on mute will not be easy, but also not so hard for you six."

"Nah, the whole six of us stopping them together is a bit excessive," Sam dashed towards Boyfriend at lightning speed and held an arm around the rapper's neck. "I think me and BF can take those three down."

"Bopo skdoo bappity beepo be bepo boop beeeep skdoo beepaa beepbop brep boop be bap skbep be brep boop beepaa beepbop skdoo bappity bapboop?" Boyfriend questioned, still being unheard.

"Are... we certain that... you two can handle those... 'singers'? Just... the two of you?" Luna stammered.

"Yea. I think we can handle them. Plus, some of my friends might wanna stay to fend off any horrific monsters that may cause trouble or injury. If there are any still among the undead that is."

"Well, if you both are going against three. May I suggest I send along a certain somebody to... provide... musical support? Just to even things out in terms of numbers."

"Who would that somebody be?"

"You'll see them when you're outside. They too are immune to your opponents enchanted voices."

"Cool. Guess we'll get a move on then," Sam gently tightened a grip on Boyfriend's left arm and stammered out of the gym, bringing BF with him without permission in the world. "Come on BF! We got some sirens to rap with!"

*10 minutes later after Sam's and BF's departure.*

The punch being served on one of the pong tables was cold as ice. A perfect beverage for a relaxing process of peace. Several student ponies entered the gym in a nicer manner, their faces filled with regret despite the fact that they have been told that there wasn't any penalty over their bad behavior.

At any rate, the gym would soon reach its capacity to hold anymore students. Luna's plan to secure every student inside the gym later became a success as the last set of students decided to show up. Gathering every student was the hard part. The easy part for the main team overall is barricading doors afterwards. They did just that.

Apologies filled the gym from every student once under the spell. Mindlessly fighting over the littlest of things wasn't ever a good thing. And hearing the students pity themselves gave the main team an understanding that there wasn't any action or speech needed at all.

Sam and Boyfriend were on duty. Music could even be heard through the school walls. With sounds of beeps and ahhhs combined, the Sirens were clearly distracted. And it became clear they were not going to mess with the students any time soon.

With an understanding reached, the main team gathered in V.P. Luna's office. Her place of work was stocked with paper stacks, and a coffee mug rested on her desk, a written text displaying: "Next Best Principle" around its outside. With a team of five staring off at one another, Rainbow Dash was the first pony to speak up, not wanting awkwardness to get the better of their confidence.

"So... explain to me again WHY we're keeping every pony locked up? When you said I had an important task, I thought it would've come with fighting loads of bad guys!" Rainbow complained to V.P. Luna.

"We are certainly not keeping our students locked away Miss Dash. We are actually keeping them safe."

"From what exactly?" Sunset Shimmer spoke up to aid Dash. "We've dealt with the monsters wandering outside, and Sam and that rapper are out in the middle of the night dealing with those 'singers.' What more could there-"

A sudden power failure intervened. The main team jumped over the fear of this unpleasant surprise, and feared the possibilities of an attack.

"Engh! Can any pony see anything?!" Sunset asked incredulously. She twisted her head in every direction only for her eyes to meet pure darkness. Then, she came to realize there was magic. Using a bit of her effort, a red light emitted from her horn. The office became visible to the team of five as Sunset's horn served as their only candle in the dark. "Ah, there we go."

"Whoa, who cut off the lights?"

"Is this by any chance a power failure?" Lyra muttered.

"I believe so Miss Heartstings," Luna released a sigh. "Now really isn't a good time for such technical issues like these. And to make matters worse, the backup generator is being used on the-"

A shattering window cut Luna off, while the darting glass shards pierced Lyra by the cheek, leaving a few annoying cuts. They were puzzled at first, but when they saw the cause, they immediately broke into action. Lyra fired away as many magic projectiles she could muster towards an intruding monster that broke through the window.

It dropped dead on the floor within a few seconds.

They felt a little relieved over its death, but at the same time, they were GREATLY concerned.

"Wait. There's more of those freaks?! I thought those guys became monster history after we showed them our stuff!"

"Apparently there's more..." Lyra added.

"and more of me ya fools of flesh meat!" a horrifying voice echoed into the room through its door.

The team of five quickly turned their attention before an ax was swung from the other side. The ax chopped through, and the wielder grabbed it once again, preparing for another violent swing to break in. With a crack left on the door, Luna teleports all of her assistants out of the room and into the dark halls. Thankfully, Sunset Shimmer was still maintaining her spell to light the way. So, there wasn't any need for them to scamper about. They only needed to keep focus.

"Okay, why is HE still alive?! Didn't a truck squish him into a pile of bone meal or something?"

Horror San crept in the dark; even he intentionally had his ax scrape along the school walls to sound terrifying as he walked. And just because he wore a smile as he approached, it didn't mean his intentions were pleasing.

"where is the boy? answer me you fictional little ponies! or do I have to do this the messy way?" Horror presented his ax with both of his hands gripping its handle, clarifying his threat of violence. "don't play dumb with me. you five are friends with him."

"What's with you, bone freak?" Rainbow deadpanned. "Did you seriously come back from the dead to settle your unfinished business between us?"

"to settle a score with that boy! the tall one, i mean," Horror stepped a few feet closer. His injuries from the crash and his disturbing appearance became fully visible after he took a step in Sunset's light. A glare is what they saw by the look in his red eye. "tell me where he is, and I just might spare the whole lot of you from a head chop. and i'll even call off the monsters as well."

"Nah. He's our friend. And friends are supposed to look out for each other. Not betray or snitch for some pony's own benefit."

Horror chuckled in a dangerous way. "my boss wants him dead. if i succeed he will reward me. so if i can't come to him..." his left red eye faded into darkness. "i'll make him come to me!"

Luna stepped forth and conjured a magical barrier of the night to which she never thought possible. It sparkled and shined similar to her mane, and it perfectly served as her blockade.

Horror Sans, in his hungry state, had no hesitation or fear of danger. He couldn't even feel any sores or disabilities despite the broken bones implemented after his previous hunt. Furthermore, his injuries appeared to be healing on their own, surprisingly without any advanced treatment or anything.

He growled at Luna, raising his ax even higher. Then, with all his fury he struck the barrier like a mad man chopping away hardened wood. Luna couldn't stop herself from grunting over the impact Horror's attack gave.

"Go! All of you, run!" Luna shouted.

The four behind her agreed, and they galloped away with the exception of one pegasus flying at high speeds without much of a struggle. Sunset and the others kept up with Rainbow Dash's pace, trying to avoid losing her in the darkness. At some point during their getaway, Rainbow turned to her friends, nearly unfazed by the horrific situation.

"You guys think it would've been better if we as a group fought alongside Vice Principal Luna?"

Rainbow Dash ended up rolling her eyes when she accepted the fact that nerdy unicorns aren't in it for listening and answering during intimidating events. Probably because their mouths were blocked by a zipper of fear.

"Help me! Anyone! Please!" a young mare called out.

The four friendly ponies heard it, and to their luck, took the direction leading to her cries. A lit candle rested by a window next to her, giving away her location thanks to its light. When they reached her, a few monsters had forced her into a dead end, but it wasn't anything Rainbow Dash couldn't handle.

The young mare cowered in a corner, believing a nightmare had come true. She nearly let out a scream before a rainbow streak pierced across the monsters, slicing them in half. She was left shivering. It all happened so fast. What was it? Her curiosity then fell on a unicorn trio approaching her from the far end of the hall.

"Hey! Are you okay?" the unicorn emitting a light from her horn asked.

"Y-yea, thanks. Who are you girls?"

"Don't thank me yet," Rainbow Dash slowly lowered herself down to meet the young mare's view. "I'm Rainbow Dash. And these are my friends. Sunburst, Sunset, and Lyra. I'm the one who saved you by the way."

"Wow! Really? You took them out with light speed. How did you do that?"

Rainbow smiled, showing off her wings. "You see these feathery things? They aren't soft feathers anymore. They're feathers of steel!"

"How?"

"Dunno. Guess I got a nice power boost or something. Oh, hey, what's your name? I just got to know the names of every pony I save."

"Sticker Picker."

"Well, Sticks. We're heading to the gym. You should probably come with. Wouldn't want any more monsters coming at you again would ya?"

"That sounds deligh-"

Rainbow Dash unexpectedly grabbed the innocent young mare by the shoulders and lifted her from the ground. They then immediately flew away from their position; a deadly spike of bones rising from where Sticker once stood. At first, Sticker questioned Dash's actions, but took complete understanding after realizing that she would've been a perfect bone pin cushion if she were caught by the sudden lethal attack.

"you can't escape from me that easily, little ponies!" said the skeleton of horror, creeping in the dark.

"Oh yeah. You haven't even landed a single attack on any of us yet."

"Exactly. I've faced a skeleton much more resilient than you. So based on probability, there's only a small 35% chance we'll be defeated by you," Sunburst stated.

"..." Horror's tone grew menacing. "you better start galloping if you want to keep those chances at a low."

"Or, we can just disappear," Lyra wore a smirk and transported her friends straight to the gym with a teleportation spell.

"ah, i see. you ponies wanna play a game of hide and seek. i never did get to warn them, but I'm an expert at this game. hehehe. guess we'll compete to see who's better."

"Are you ready for this?" asked Sam. He stared upward and kept a close eye on the sirens circling a part of the sky.

"Bop be bap bappity bap boop beep skebap baaaap!"

"Alright then," Sam read through the instructions and connected both of their mics into Vinyl Scratch's car machine. The car machine brought Sam a few memories of the actual show, but he put those thoughts aside and admired the machine's speakers. Speakers which were meant to bolster the beeps and counter the ahhs.

"So you're the one V.P. Luna sent. I have to say she made a nice choice," Sam told Vinyl who still had a lifeless tongue. "Still mute as always, eh? Heh. I've seen only a few people as silent as you."

"Beepo boop beepop skebap be skebap skdoo skbep!"

Sam returned focus to the important situation, happily acknowledging Boyfriend's faith in their abilities. With DJ PON-3 inserting a disk and playing her daily beats, the sounds were launched loudly across the school field. Sam also acknowledged that the Dazzlings heard it from their distance, and were approaching.

Hm. I don't wanna get cocky. But if Boyfriend can just... after being defeated in a rap battle then...

"Beepbop boop bap boop beepaa beepbop boop baaaap bep be brep boop," Boyfriend warned. "Skdoo' brep bapboop be skdoo bappity bapboop beepaa be bop boop boop de bop be be de beepaa beepbop boop brep be bopo beepaa beep beepbop boop bap boop."

Sam awkwardly took a few steps until he was behind BF. "I think you should take the front lines on this one little man. You're the professional rapper here so, I'll just... provide space magic and support. Sound good?"

"Skbep bopo bap boop, beeeep beepbop beep beepaa boop bepo boop bap. Beepo boop beepaa skbep bep be brep de boop beepaa boop beep bapboop beep skdoo bappity skbep beepaa beepaa beepbop be skbep boop brep boop bap brep beep skdoo skebap skbep beep beepo bap boop beep skebap baaaap!"

The Dazzlings were fast when it came to flying from place to place. As soon as they heard the music, they were there at its source within seconds, without even taking any consideration of the possibility that it was all a trap or an intentional distraction. They as a trio could only cause so much trouble with their songs, but Sam could see they lacked a few qualities in being dangerous.

"Uh, Adagio? Do you think those are the guys? I mean, he did say our target should have a human appearance, and..."

"Ugh. Sonata, look at them! Isn't it obvious!" the yellow siren said to the blue siren on her left.

The third siren with lavender scales turned to the middle siren with confusion. "Obvious? How is it obvious? Our creepy dealer never did specify their looks. How are we supposed to know which human is the target, Adagio?"

"Does it matter if we hurt the wrong one? Think about it, Aria. This world, including Equestrian history sees us only as troublemakers. And I highly doubt we have any room for forgiveness. I think it'd be better to take both of them to our dealer. Just in case."

"Well, if we have to. But, I still have a bad feeling about all of this. Not gonna lie to you two, but our dealer gives me the creeps," Sonata admitted her opinion, showing a frown.

"I agree. His deal sounds a little fishy. And the fact that he knows so much about our desires makes him even more sketchy, Adagio."

"He said he'll help us return to Equestria. And if he doesn't keep his word... we'll be sure to make him pay!" the leader formed a vengeful grin.

"Beep baaaap!"

The sound wave forced both trios into a silent moment. And they all, especially the Dazzlings, stared at the one responsible for the noise.

Boyfriend had lost his patience. He wasn't just in it to win it; what he also wanted was to make a fool out of three pathetic sea creatures. Already, Boyfriend's hand passively shook in anger. He immediately disliked his opponents just by the sight of them. And their babbling was only making it worse.

"Hey, you three," Sam spoke up. From the angry little guy, the Dazzling turned their attention to a taller guy. "Would you girls mind singing your songs elsewhere? Everyone in the school doesn't appreciate what you're singing, nor what it's doing to them."

Two of them laughed as if it were a joke, while the leader only glared coldly in return. "Oh no. We aren't going to leave that easily."

"Why not?" Sam prepared his mic and gauntlet for any attack in secret, as he tried to sound harmless.

"Because they need me to escape this pitiful place, boy."

"..."

Nightmare's spiritual form materialized and he steadily floated above the Dazzlings. Everyone was shocked. "Trying to talk them out of my deal? HA! Foolish. If you didn't know, boy, there is only FIGHTING when I'm around," he opened his hands and grabbed a line of violet chains which formed out of nowhere. "Souls who are rational and reasoning to achieve peace and avoid war is one of the few things that piss me off!"

The Dazzlings were beginning to have a change of mind. But unfortunately for those three, it became too late for them to act. Nightmare's chains were held tightly in his grip, and the cuffs attached to those chains were locked in place on each siren neck. It became difficult for them to breathe after the sudden pressure applied. And from Sam's and BF's point of view, the Dazzlings were like pitiful giant seahorses on a leash.

They were puzzled over Nightmare's actions. And they felt trickery and betrayal as the chains continued to yank them. They couldn't fly free or sing willingly no matter how hard they tried. Eventually, they gave in, allowing Nightmare to have control.

Adagio, helplessly floated lifeless in front of their opponents as she questioned the demon about the deal. "What are you doing? Chains were never part of our deal!"

Nightmare snickered for his skillful manipulation. "These chains are the chains of suffering, ladies. It allows me to control every part of a being that submits to me in any way. You three, being the foolish creatures I knew you were, struck a deal with me, that only leads to a pit of darkness, without a single benefit. Although, the only benefits I see are all directed to me!"

"But... you said after we help take care of those guys; you would show us the way out of this world. A way back to Equestria, our original feeding ground, right?" Sonata felt Nightmare yank specifically herself by the neck a second time. She moaned out of fear and desperate hope.

"Oh..." the demon's smirk retreated for a short period of time. "I believe you three misspoke about our deal the first time we met. You said to me you wanted a way to escape this world. Not a way to return to your homeland. And I have prepared the perfect escape for you three after we are done," his smirk returned. "DEATH!"

"What?! You're sick!" Aria was ignored before she felt an odd sensation of weakness. She and the other two realized that their magic, stolen from every individual they sang to, was being vacuumed like a clump of dust. The demon gladly opened his mouth and absorbed it all.

"MMMMM! Much better! Now my three puppets. Blast the tall one first!"

The Dazzlings stared down at BF, Vinyl, and most of all, Sam. Their faces were filled with regret. They didn't want to cause any deadly harm. Even more guilt flooded their thoughts, realizing that what they were doing had no satisfaction at its end.

Unwillingly, they each blasted a red beam of their own under Nightmare's control. When all three beams made an impact, Nightmare wasn't pleased with the results. For one, he was expecting an explosion, but the beams only evaporated into thin air after making the hit. Secondly, Sam and the other two were not even fazed. Why? Because a blue force field surrounded the stage.

"Not today, thank you," Sam took a good moment to glance at the sirens. Then, noticing the red crystals and remembering that it's their source of power he came up with an idea. "Hey, BF! I need you to beep and bap as loud and long as you can. Because I think I know how to win this! And Vinyl, play some epic music. This is gonna get funky on a Friday night!"

Vinyl nodded and inserted another disk into her DJ set as a response. Music to Sam's ears started playing in front of his demon.

A frown presented itself on Nightmare. "Oh, Samuel. Why do you persist? You know no matter what you do you will only delay your inevitable destruction, inflicted by me," he commanded the sirens to continue blasting.

Sam didn't answer his demon right away. Instead, he took action in removing the space stone from his gauntlet and inserting the power of space into a part of Vinyl's machine. The force field came down afterwards, nearly giving Rarity a panic attack.

"What are you doing?! Are you trying to get us hurt!" Rarity's voice could still be heard by Sam through the stone even though it wasn't in its proper placement.

"No. I'm just trading defense for offense."

Boyfriend was feeling the surge of power entering his mic. After being patient for so long, he snapped his fingers to simulate the rap battle. He wasn't willing to wait a second longer. It was time for those 'singers' to play by his rules.

Two sets of four arrows appeared. One set appeared above Nightmare's side, while the other set of arrows appeared on Boyfriend's side. The game was set. And now, everyone participating was now trapped in Boyfriend's time loop. It was only when the song was over would they be free.

"Skbep beepbop be beeeep brep boop beeeep beepbop beep beepaa baaaap be bopo bapboop be beepaa!" Boyfriend shouted with an excited tone.

"What is all of this foolery?" Nightmare forced his frown on BF. "I don't have time for these childish tricks. Out of my way," he pulled his chains to signal his new minions to fire once more against their will. However, rather than an actual magic attack, an arrow pointing downward flew up into its proper arrow slot from above. Afterwards, the same happened to BF, only this time BF had to get rid of that note with a beep.

"Looks like you're gonna have to get through my little bodyguard first, old pal," Sam crossed his arms and gave Nightmare a smirk of his own.

"And so I shall," Nightmare unleashed an electric energy that tormented the Dazzlings into singing a song. Their song ended up becoming merely music notes for Boyfriend to mimic. After each passing note BF played, his opponents weakened. The odds of BF winning were slim. It was three against one after all. And Sam had given up his own space stone just for Boyfriend's sake.

*Crack*

Adagio heard it. She managed to take a brief moment to glance at her red gem. A crack had formed in the middle. Normally, she would panic over such a sight, but because of her situation, she craved her own gem's destruction. If it were destroyed she would be powerless. And if she were powerless, then Nightmare wouldn't have any better reason to use her anymore.

As much as she wanted to encourage the little boy, Nightmare's chains were still forcing her to sing a set of notes.

"You are a pathetic and cowardly one if I do say so myself, Mr. Samuel," Nightmare growled out his insults, knowing defeat was coming his way. He could sense the weakness the sirens were having. Worse, he barely found any negativity or weak spot on the little boy. And based on what Nightmare felt, Sam's idea to power up BF with the space stone had exceeded its purpose. Minute by minute, Boyfirend grew stronger while Nightmare's minions slowly lost their magical voice.

"Tch! Using those anomalies you call 'friends' to take care of me? Pathetic," his connection to the sirens diminished as their gems shattered into shards. Boyfriend with the power of space, had won the musical freaky battle.

The Dazzlings dropped helplessly on the ground. But despite their condition, they smiled in the face of freedom. Nightmare remained floating above. He wasn't really capable of doing anything else at this point. At least in his spiritual form.

"You win this round Mr. Samuel. But mark my words. I'll come back again, in a different form with different abilities and minions. You can't stop me no matter how many powerful friends you make. I will just come and come until you are DEAD! Do you understand what I'm trying to say?"

"I do. But I don't believe you," Sam glared at his demon before Boyfriend gave one last beep. The last beep was BF's specialty. And Nightmare figured that out for himself as its shock waves obliterated his entire spiritual form out of existence.

Boyfriend had now truly won the battle. "Bop baaaap boop bop baaaap boop beepaa beepbop bap boop boop boop baaaap boop skebap skdoo skebap skdoo be beepaa."

The overflowing energy left his system in a flash. Sam had slowly returned the power of space to the gauntlet.

"Dang," Sam held a hand on his chest. A feeling he could recognize as worthlessness was crossing his heart. It wasn't that he envied Boyfriend over the stunts he pulled, since the beginning of the rap battle. It was just that he felt completely left out of the picture. He didn't get to do much of a thing apart from lending Boyfriend his stone, but that was about it. For the most part, Boyfriend took care of the whole thing.

"Skbep beep brep? beeeep beepbop beep beepaa' skbep beeeep bap be bappity bapboop?" Boyfriend watched his taller friend shake his head.

'I am pathetic for depending on such powerful individuals,' Sam negatively thought to himself, immediately grabbing Rarity's concern.

"Oh, Sam. Don't let that fiend get to you! You have done all you could to help, darling. Dont-"

'But he's right, Rarity! I am a coward!'

"You didn't run away and abandon your friends, no matter how dangerous things got back there. You stayed. And let me tell you something. Avoiding a fight because you are guaranteed to lose or die is not cowardice; it's being smart and strategic."

"..."

*BOOM*

Out of nowhere, a circular wave of a rainbow flew across the entire sky. A little shock wave following as it passed through. They gazed at the rainbow like a beautiful set of stars. Even Vinyl Scratch removed her DJ shades to get the best view of the sudden phenomenon.

After a good stare, Sam figured out who might have created the rainboom.

"Rainbow Dash..." Sam said aloud. He once again felt something in his heart, no...someone. They were calling to him. Easily, he followed the voice, leading towards the shattered gemstone necklaces the sirens once wore.

Boyfriend and Vinyl stared off at the scene, having a weird thinking about Sam.

'Do you hear it Rarity?'

"Y-yes. But I don't understand what it is saying."

'It wants us to construct the stone we seek.'

"What do you mean? We don't even have the materials or the tools, darling!"

'Yes we do,' Sam gestured to the red gem stone pieces, then gestured to the space stone.

"..."

'I think you've figured out what the deal is.'

Without another thought or word, Sam/Rarity used the power of space. A magical blue force engulfed each small gem fragment, lifting them all in mid-air. With Sam's strength and Rarity's magic, they forged each tiny piece together into one. What was left was a red stone that Sam caught in his bare hand after it fell.

*Reality Stone acquired.*

*4 more stones remain.*

Sam felt a great connection to all of the matter in his surroundings upon inserting the second stone in the lightning shaped hole of his gauntlet. The stone's power of reality infused itself on him. He felt more powerful, but also more heavy to the amount of weight and pressure from wielding two stones at once.

He was once again making progress in his quest. However, he felt someone's presence was missing. While Rarity's spirit resided in the space stone, the reality stone contained no spirit at all. Because of its lightning bolt shape, Sam knew who he needed.

Boyfriend had kept silent before he decided to break it. "Beepaa beepbop boop bap boop' skbep beepaa beeeep be be skdabeep beepaa beepbop be skbep boop be bepo boop bap de be beeeep boop bap boop skebap bap be bep bip skbep?!"

The cries and screams from inside Sam's mind toppled what he heard from outside.

"Come on, BF. Rainbow Dash and the others are in danger. I can feel it."

Without using a portal, Sam took off in a hurry to reenter CHS. Boyfriend and Vinyl followed alongside.

"Not to be rude by asking you an unrelated question to the situation currently at hoof but... when do you plan on traveling back to Equestria? I mean, after we save our friends that is."

'Probably as soon as pleasantly possible.'

"I presume you're looking for those remaining stones. When we return to Equestria, where to next?"

'The tree told me the time stone is underneath the sands of the badlands. So, I guess that's where we'll head next.'

Pharynx and his lackeys were nearly finished with their very last assigned task. To their astonishment, everything Chrysalis assigned them to do had gone smoothly without any changeling getting hurt. All they had to do now was gather enough water for the hive and return safely to be done for the day.

Conveniently, the main source where they would always gather water from was next to the badlands. By the time they return, they might actually get a nice midnight sleep before the next unpredictable morning hits.

"Enough. I think that's enough water for everyone. Let's go ahead and call it a day and make a comeback to the hive," Pharynx ordered.

The group of changelings followed Phaynx's lead and took every shortcut they knew through the badlands. While the seemingly short trip back to the hive didn't seem abnormal at the start, the group started feeling a little uneasy about halfway through.

There was nothing but sand in their surrounding area, yet they began feeling like they were being watched. Pharynx ignored his instincts and told his comrades to keep moving.

However, when they were only a quarter of the way done they stopped. Something was DEFINITELY following them. Pharynx was the first to spot the mysterious shortish figure in their distance from behind. At that point, they couldn't keep going. They needed to see what its deal was before transporting the water to the hive. Otherwise, it would know the location of the changeling kingdom without the queen's permission.

Before Pharynx could ask what the figure wanted, it slowly made it's way towards the group. In an instant Pharynx readied himself for a potential fight, but... there ended up not being a fight at all, after the figure revealed its identity and personality.

"woah there. slow your role, kid," the figure spoke directly to Pharynx.

"Kid? Are you brain dead? I'm a full grown changeling general," Pharynx complained.

"don't you know how to greet a new pal?"

"I do, but I don't know about you being my pal. State your name and your reason for stalking us."

The figure shrugged. "i'm sans. sans the skeleton. i've been kind of lost in these parts for quite some time now. and... when I saw you guys 'bugging around' I decided, hey, why not follow those bugs to someplace suitable to live in."

"Well if it's a place to stay you're looking for, I know the perfect place."

"really?"

"Yes. You're coming with us. Our queen might find a bit of interest in you, bonehead."

End of Part 3/4

Chapter 16: Change in Perspectives (Part 1)

☜︎☠︎❄︎☼︎✡︎ ☠︎🕆︎💣︎👌︎☜︎☼︎ ❄🕈⚐

Curious.

In all of the years I spent studying in the greatness of magic and the mythical arts; I have never invested into this power, until now.

To be honest, it's one of the most unbelievable forces in existence. But even though it lacks belief by the intellect, it manages to overcome anything that stands in its way.

There is no complex reason or any elegant explanation to this power. It is only said to be a passive feeling from one who chooses to form bonds with other entities. And some may ask: "why is this the case?"

The answer is friendly emotions; though this answer also leaves another set of questions that are... incapable of being answered. The only thing that my mind can comprehend about them is that they just exist and are feelings that come out of nowhere during or after an event in one's life.

This power known as friendship is: bliss, exquisite, loyal, amusing, kind, honest, and successful in any situation.

It makes me question the point of suffering for the profit of knowledge and potency, only to sacrifice your spirit in the end. If a man with a great heart can live a better life than a man such as me with the greatest of minds then... that alone is another reason why I strive to continue this experiment. I feel as empty as the void I currently reside in.

Maybe, if my plans turn out the way I expect them to; this everlasting world will become a place of eternal peace and friendship. But there are still possibilities of failure that concern me.

For one, I cannot allow Subject 9 (Samuel) to fall or give up. His existence and ambition is incredibly vital in restoring balance to this world. And secondly, I must have faith in Subject 9 to make the right choice in the end. His choices will matter much once he is in control.

*CHS's Gymnasium*

The teleportation spell responsible for transporting the five surviving ponies to the gym had taken a toll on Lyra's horn. She wasn't used to using her teleport spell on multiple ponies at once except herself. Additionally, she was not anywhere near being one of the greatest ponies in the magic arts or into spell casting for that matter. As her poor horn left a stream of smoke, the others: Rainbow Dash, Sunburst, Sunset, and Sticker Picker were staring off into multiple light sources distributed across the ginormous room.

Apparently, the students secured in the gym had found a set of stacked crates, containing battery powered lamps. With each of those lamps, the majority of the gym was lit up. And it wasn't long before every student had their eyes on the group that had just appeared in a blink of an eye.

"How's it gliding with you girls?" Flash Sentry came up to them and asked politely with care, as the students encircled them to listen out for any important news.

"Correction, Flashy Flap, I'm not a mare- !?" Sunburst's nerve wracked mouth was silenced by the hoof of Lyra.

"No time for pleasant greetings or pointless arguments. Have any of you seen Vice Principle Luna?" Lyra said to every student, hoping for a nice answer.

"I don't think anyone's seen her. We thought she was with you guys," Flash replied.

Lyra sighed, knowing she would have to reveal the horrific bad news. And just by the looks on everybody's faces, she knew the news will bring fear upon the crowd. "She put herself in harms way in order to give us time to gallop away from that skeletal thing of a creature!" she shouted aloud.

Reactions quickly echoed from all around. As expected, the majority of the reactions were panicky, while a few were rather curious as to what happened to Luna after. Then, there were of course many whispering back and forth to their friends.

"We don't know if she is alive or not, but we do know that monster is wandering the halls," Sunset added to Lyra's earlier statement. "If we keep questioning and panicking like the pathetic students I used to think you all were in the past then... we're all dead meat. Literally, his dead meat! So, if you don't want that to happen I suggest we all band together and put an end to these monsters for good!"

The students then began mumbling things that utterly didn't come out in a confident clear tone. However, their mouths were cut off, the moment Rainbow Dash started speaking.

"Listen up! There isn't much time before that bone freak makes it over here! If we don't prepare ourselves for a fight, then how are we gonna win?! Do you guys just wanna take it and die? Because, I'm pretty sure I'm seeing faces of hopelessness all around me."

Silence filled the room. Half of the student's negative expressions and thoughts were immediately departing as Rainbow Dash continued.

"Think about it! All of us together outnumber that bone head and his other monster freaks. We can totally crush that skull of his!"

"But what if one of us gets hurt in the process?" Flash intervened.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as she turned to Flash. "So, what? If we do nothing about it, then all of us are going to get hurt!"

"She does have a point there," Sunburst said, as the other students nodded in understanding. "Those barricaded doors won't keep us safe permanently. They will only provide us with enough time to prepare."

*Bang*

Right after Sunburst finished that sentence is when the disturbance occurred. At the far right corner of the room; one of the barricaded doors received an intense blow, and became damaged. It wasn't long before the obvious individual peaking through one of the ruined cracks was acknowledged as a present threat.

There was no time for them to think about their situation, as the doors were quickly chopped away from the skeleton's way to carnage.

"you were saying?" Horror Sans kept a grin as he undauntedly took a step inside, ignoring the dusty particles he left behind. After he took a moment to understand the area he trespassed, his eyes glued onto every innocent pony in front of him. Darkened saliva was forming inside of his mouth and leaking out of his teeth beyond his control. Just by the sight of those ponies, he could already feel his absurd hunger kicking in.

With all of them in a group, his hungry mind replaced his current thoughts of them being sentient ponies to a buffet of delicious horse flesh. And with those thoughts forming, Horror Sans didn't hesitate to take the first step.

Rainbow Dash immediately caught on to what the freak was thinking and flew in front of the herd. "Oh no you don't!" she huffed aggressively at Horror, catching him off guard.

"what the? you again?" Horror created bloodied sharp bone projectiles that would soon be launched. "weren't you dead?"

"I never was. But I would've been if it wasn't for my friends," her tone grew serious. "And I'm here to protect them from you! So how about it, bone head? Are you ready for round two?"

He laughed. "uh, duh! do you own the brain of a horse? oh, right. you are literally an ignorant little horse!" he insulted her, as the bones were aggressively launched towards Dash.

Rainbow Dash focused and began to effectively dodge and deflect each homing bone with her wings. To Horror's surprise, his bones didn't create a wound on Dash's wings or any sort of minimal damage at all.

"what the hell? that's not possible. my bones were sharpened just enough for the sole purpose of impaling through all flesh!"

"Think about that again, because my feathery wings are made of steel this time," the confident pegasus charged forwards, carefully preparing for any counter attack the skeleton may have in store. This time, she would make sure not to fall for any potential trap that would make her vulnerable for a horrifying combo attack like before.

Rainbow Dash, somewhat had the upper hoof in this battle out of her knowledge. Even though Horror's attacks held much more lethality than hers, the skeleton was unable to keep up with Dash's enhanced speed. For some reason, Rainbow Dash's speed had tripled after her recovery. And because of her speed, Horror Sans found it nearly impossible to even land a single projectile bone or cleaver on his flying target. Bone zones and bear(pony) traps became useless for Horror after he realized that the pegasus was not going to ever retreat on ground level. Finally, to worsen his situation, the students were not watching the fight in anxiety. For the most part, Horror caught many glares from the surrounding distance; as if anything were to happen to Rainbow Dash, the students would be ready for a fight.

Suddenly, Horror was hit hard by his right side, and he felt a part of his rib cage crack. Rainbow Dash inevitably landed a hit with one of her four hooves. A bit of his saliva was forced out, and his vision became slightly blurred. But even so, Horror quickly countered with an elbow to Dash's face and then a heavy swing from his primary weapon. Luckily, Rainbow Dash reacted fast and used her steel-like wings to cover her front. She was heavily pushed back and a few feathers were plucked off after the impact of Horror's ax. However, the rest of her was left unharmed.

"You still aren't going to go down that easy, aren't you?" she slightly twisted her neck and popped a bone before returning to her fighting stance.

"no. i don't think- URGH!" Horror Sans was flung to the ground thanks to a heavy magical attack from behind. Rainbow Dash smiled at her opportunity for an extra attack, as she flew up to later make a hefty dive down to her bone enemy and hopefully finish him off with a driven hoof to the skull.

She failed after she hit nothing but the gym's flooring. Horror Sans had used his limited teleportation ability to reposition himself elsewhere within a blink of a pony's eye. The skeleton also managed to catch a glance at the ones who deliberately blasted his backside. The principal of the school: Celestia, and the previous pony who he fought earlier but got away: Vice Principal Luna.

"tch! this is stupid," Horror Sans laughed horrifically for a few seconds and then let out a roar. The roar echoed across the school and Horror Sans instantly did a dirty move and destroyed each battery powered lamp with a singular rising bone for each. Since the power outage remained unfixed, the gym became pitch black for everypony's eyes in absence of the lighting. "hehehehe...try and speed your way out of this one ya rainbow tomboy."

"Hey! Enough of your insults! Come on out and face me coward!"

P. Celestia and V.P. Luna including all the unicorn students who knew the spell, made their horns illuminate the darkness with their magic. Unfortunately for them, the idea didn't illuminate the gym completely enough as their magical light only managed to light 40% of the entire gym. While their spots were clearly visible to one another, Horror Sans remained in the darkness that still was.

"Stop this madness at once! Do you really think hiding in the dark is going to give you a better chance of your rabid goal to slaughter us all?" V.P. Luna reasoned, but to no avail.

It was then, that the other barricaded doors were falling apart. Banging, scratching, and screeching came along before the doors were torn down. And with that, came two groups of monsters, both coming from their own set of doors and at their own pace to help Horror Sans.

"say hello to my backup fellow minions. but, maybe there's no need for introductions since I know they've already caused mayhem to this school the previous day."

Horror's backup enclosed everypony on both sides in rows.

"go get em boys."

******

"WOULD YOU ALL HURRY IT UP! My daughter's life is on the line all thanks to this school's insecurities!" General Dan yelled at the poor electricians who were just doing their job. "I swear, one day I'm going to sue this whole school!"

"Did you guys ever think about bringing a flashlight?" asked one of the electricians.

"We left our light sources at our top secret base. And what is that supposed to mean? Are you calling us stupid?"

"Oh, no sir. We... were just curious." 'Of course I'm calling him stupid. What kind of disciplined task force comes unprepared in the face of rescuing others?' the electrician continued his work and ignored the general's attitude.

"Well, how about you guys stop asking questions AND DO YOUR DAM JOB ALREADY!"

The electrician paused for a moment,, but shook it off and focused on the wiring part needed to restore the power to CHS. 'That @$$#0!3. If he were the one doing this, I highly doubt he'd do any better. I really wish to say something in his face but... it ain't worth taking a bullet to the skull afterwards.'

"By the way. Do you know who cut off the power? I'd like to know, because if we find out who's responsible, we'll take care of them real nice with pleasure," said the general as he happily kissed his own gun as if it were his baby.

The electrician, still having to endure past the general's presence and desires as he worked, responded irritably. "I believe we saw a monster destroy the electric appliances with an ax before we were assigned this repair task."

"Believe?! You're not completely sure?! Where did you even see the dam monster!"

"On one of the resting benches just several hoof steps from here. We were on a lunch break."

"..."

"Don't worry. The lights will be on within minutes, Mr. General." the electrician assured Dan, while plugging in a set of wires.

"It better be," General Dan turned to his soldiers who were all bruised up from fighting each other under the Dazzlings songs. "Hmph. I believe y'all have seen days worse than this. How about all you quit winning and walk it off before I make you."

******

"butcher them all my minions!" Horror commanded the monsters as they switched to a ravaging mode.

After a brief second had passed, a barrage of magic beams were blasted on the undead horde, and a third of them fell dead with a busted head or vital organs. P. Celestia took one side while V.P. Luna took the other. And both alicorns charged their horns for another set of beams.

Horror's minions went silent and withdrew their attack temporarily. Apparently, even with rotten brains, they still had some form of an intellectual, knowing charging in right away would lead to their death.

Horror growled at the sight, seeing how much of a pathetic use his minions really were. He needed to use them as a distraction, but with their fear in the way, Horror wouldn't get a chance to land any killing blows without being noticed. He gritted his teeth and growled a second time before his broken heart sank and his eyes stung in surprise.

To his disadvantage, the power to CHS had reconnected, and the primary lights had returned. The pitch darkness he used to hide himself in was gone. It was his greatest chance of victory, but it diminished too fast. Now, he and his minions were utterly vulnerable.

"Looks like the electricians did their job quite nicely," V.P. Luna said behind her students. A few of them smiled at her as a thanks.

Horror Sans held his guard as P. Celestia, V.P. Luna, and their students took advantage of the light, and began the attack. The skeleton remained silent as he watched the gradual defeat of his minions, and for a moment he thought nopony could see him, but within the next few seconds an annoying pegasus came flying and glared in his face after making the landing. Once again, it was him and Rainbow Dash; a one against one fight.

"Give it up already! You know this isn't going to end well!"

"yes, you are right," he said without any dread and with a straight smile. Out of pure hunger and rage, Horror focused two fingers and aggressively snapped them, creating an enormous amount of sharp bone projectiles. "this won't end well for you, little pony."

Rainbow Dash instinctively gasped over the unavoidable attack in front of her. She saw no way of flying clear from the deadly bone field without taking a hit.

"let's end this," Horror pointed a finger and his bone attacks shot in the direction he wanted. There were at least a hundred sharp bones aiming at Dash, but she held her own and used her wings to endure through each bone that made it to its target. When Horror noticed his bones were failing to tear the pegasus away, he decided to use one last resort and throw his ax, plunging the weapon right towards Dash at an insane speed.

When the ax's sharp edges met Rainbow Dash's defensive steel wings, both her and the ax were inconveniently launched away. Rainbow Dash fell to the floor, and she quickly got up and flew away before a zone of rising spikes could impact her. Finally, as Dash kept a steady height in the air, she had enough of the skeleton.

"Hey! Rainbow Dash!" Flash Sentry called out.

She faced Flash wondering what he could've possibly wanted during a time like now. "What?!"

"Cover your ears, now!"

Rainbow Dash didn't understand, but she did so anyway while keeping an eye on Horror. The skeleton was weaponless, but that didn't mean he was completely out of flying bones. She stayed in her position for a moment until Flash and his crew stirred up their LOUD music through the gym's speakers. What happened after was nothing short of a surprise.

The monsters stopped what they were doing, screaming in agony as the music violently burrowed into their heads. It was then, that the monsters would become headless after reaching a certain point. Similar to how Boyfriend took care of them, another high, constant, and intense sound was the cause of their exploding heads and their end. And as the last remaining monsters fell down lifelessly, so would their leader. Even though Horror kept his ears covered, he clearly was not immune to the sounds. He relentlessly jolted his body left and right in pain, forgetting about the battle against Rainbow Dash entirely.

"I got you now," Rainbow Dash murmured to herself, preparing her final move. "Eat this!" she yelled, as she dove down at high speeds in hopes of ending the last monster standing. The highly intense sonic rainboom that exploded across the school and outside of it was a great sign of how destructive Dash's attack turned out to be.

Since the monsters were eliminated, courtesy of Flash Sentry, everypony had a chance to gaze upon what happened.

"She...did it," Sunset blinked and rubbed her eyes, seeing something she couldn't believe. The skeleton's chest was in shambles, his whole body helplessly falling into a dead laying position.

"Sunny Celestia!" Sunburst spoke up with excitement and levitated out his journal.

"What's the matter? Do you need me for anything?" P. Celestia asked the unicorn, walking over to him.

"Oh, no, not at all. It's just that in the world I come from, your counterpart is a princess. And because of that, we ponies from Equestria tend to use Celestia's name over occurring topics like fear and astonishment!"

"I see..." P. Celestia looked over to Rainbow Dash and Horror Sans; both of them laid flat on the gym floor in a motionless state. "Is your friend okay?"

Sunburst nodded. "More than likely. Whenever somepony such as our athletic friend, is prone to the CRYSTEM process, it...becomes much more difficult for them to die to anything. At most, the said pony would only be weakened for a period of time, before they recover back to full strength."

Surely enough, Rainbow Dash was alive as she slowly brought herself back up on all four hooves. Everypony became glad to see her still among the living, and praised her for her heroic act. She smiled over the gratitude, but groaned in pain after noticing her struggle to even take a few hoof steps.

"O-ow. I'm...tired," Rainbow Dash nearly tripped and fell, but her tuckered wings barely supported her stand.

Sunset and Sticker quickly galloped to aid Dash, but a sudden thick barrier of bones surrounded her.

"Rainbow! Are you alright! Answer us!" Sunset attempted to teleport inside the barrier and meet Dash on the other end, but her spell was quickly dismissed by a dark essence. "Crud! Magic proof, of course."

Rainbow Dash couldn't find it in her current strength to fly, figuring it was her special rainboom attack that had dragged her energy nearly to zero.

"ehehehe."

Dash's head had an upsurge of energy as she turned to the horror behind her. It couldn't be true. But it was. The skeleton was getting back on his feet and had created himself another sharp ax, made of thick bones instead.

"N-no way! How?!" she yelled, carefully backing away as far as she could while Horror Sans gradually grew closer. "This isn't fair!"

Horror Sans chuckled wickedly. "oh, little pony. you have no idea what unfairness is," his right eye formed a purple pupil in place of the emptiness, and his left eye remained red as a blood moon. "How can you call this unfair when you're talking to a monster that's already dead?"

The walking corpse continued it's dreadful walk and when he stood only inches from a helpless Rainbow Dash, the corpse held his secondary ax high for a few seconds and swung it down towards the pegasus with the intent to kill.

Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes and prepared for the worst.

*Chop*

............................

............................

............................

While there was the sound of an ax swing, there wasn't a disturbing sound of a head being chopped off violently. Rather than feeling a sharp cutting edge upon her neck, Rainbow Dash felt a pleasant and soft moisture landing on her muzzle. That soft feeling definitely wasn't what she expected. Being the brave pony that she is, Rainbow Dash dared to open her eyes.

Horror Sans/Nightmare became confused until they took a second to examine their ax. It wasn't made of bone anymore. Furthermore, they poked their finger into whatever substance the ax currently became, and almost disposed of its uselessness before realizing the ax was sticking on their hand like white glue.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and raised herself up to swiftly take a bite out of the ax as if it were food rather than a weapon.

The skeleton panicked over the sudden unnatural action and his inability to cause harm, then leaped away from the weapon munching pegasus. She continued to chew without much of a worry before swallowing a part of the ax. With a few smacks of her tongue, she diagnosed the substance just by the taste of it. "Marshmallow?" she believed.

"what?/What?!" they were at a loss of understanding.

Then, the bone wall which was purposely created to block Rainbow Dash from her friends started going through a transition as well. But, instead of marshmallows, the surrounding bone wall splattered onto the floor like nothing. And with it gone, Rainbow Dash had her aid right behind her.

"Uh. Is this a bad time, or?" Sam asked, his gauntlet containing another stone glowing red as an indication of its reality bending ability.

"Nah," Rainbow Dash trotted over to him. "You came just in the nick of time to save my flank...partner."

"..." Sam scratched his head in a shy manner as a slight blush passively formed upon his cheeks.

"Ah, Samuel. Still valiant in playing the hero, aren't you?" Nightmare spoke directly through his servant's body. "I was just about to get the accomplished murder my servant was mean't to achieve."

Sam showed off his angry face and glared into the skeleton's right eye. "Shut your medieval crap mouth up and screw off already. Seriously, how many freaking forms do you even have?"

"Actually, it's how many vessels I have, not how many forms, numbskull."

Sam shook his head, now gritting his teeth and clenching a fist over the bitter talk. His heart, legs, and feet carried him furiously forward and refused to stop even if a few more hurtful bone attacks were to come. He didn't back down from testing the new stone's capabilities as he quickly used its power to morph the incoming bones into merely harmless bubbles.

"Hmm. What a shame. This vessel could have done much more than this pathetic display," Nightmare then took notice of the red stone in Sam's possession, believing the stone was giving Sam the current ability to neutralize Horror's attacks. Then, he eyed the other holes of the gauntlet. "Those stones...you have two of them now. What is it that you are planning, Samuel?"

Sam gripped the skeleton's face tightly. "None of your business," he said, making the skeleton's entire skull turn into a fragile piece of crystal, then smashed Horror's skull into crystal shards. With the rest of the body having no head, the body collapsed onto the floor for good. "I may be a numbskull in your eyes, but at least I'm not a dead headless corpse like Horror Sans."

*Horror Sans eliminated; 950 pp earned.*

"Wow! That was so cool!" Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically. "Normally, I'd say magic is for the weak unicorn eggheads. But..." she stared carefully at the lightning bolt shaped red stone in Sam's gauntlet. "Whatever you did, that bonehead totally had it coming!"

A smile slightly formed on Sam's straight lips. "Thanks Dash."

"Uh, excuse me. I owe you a thanks too. I would've been a roasted horse if you didn't come in for the rescue."

"Yea..." Sam later spotted a red aura surrounding the pegasus in front of him. And while it was clearly visible to everypony in the room including Dash herself, she didn't seem to mind at all. "Um, Dash..."

"Heh. It feels great to remember what being loyal is all about," her gaze fell onto the red stone and then her expression quickly blasted into excitement. "I don't know what exactly it is you're going through, but you helped me remember something I held in my heart. I think I should return the favor!"

Sam could feel a connection occurring between the stone and Dash.

"From the bottom of my heart, I swear loyalty to you, Sam, till the very end!"

"..."

Just like Rarity from the Crystal Empire incidents, Rainbow Dash's body evaporated into a red mist of steam; her essence was later transferred into the reality stone to awaken the stone's true nature.

"ERGH!" Sam grunted as he fell to his knees. For some reason, the gauntlet suddenly felt like a heavy load on his body. And worse, an uneasy burning pain began to torment his arm before spreading across his body. "What the heck is this pain?!"

Sunburst became unsteady over his fascination and trotted over to Sam for observational purposes. "Ooooooh! Is this the result of what occurs when two CRYSTEM experiments combine with one another?"

"You're not helping me, dang it." Sam muttered, watching as the two current stones in his gauntlet lit up and caused a combustion reaction. "FRICK!" he shouted because of the increasing burn sensation.

Sunset Shimmer and a few other ponies came galloping to help Sam by any means, but Sunburst stopped them. "No, no, no. It's all part of the process. He must endure through it completely or he won't ever have control of those stones.

"What do you mean?! He's in danger!" Sunset watched Sam's suffering and regretted even taking a longer look.

"He's not exactly in danger..."

******

*???*

Rainbow Dash stood somewhere, her eyes wandering around a mysterious place. A flat area of land with foggy grey skies to be specific. "Wha- where am I?"

"That is exactly what I desire to know as well, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash gasped and instantly turned around to find Rarity staring from behind. "H-hey! Don't scare me like that! At least make sounds with your hooves to let me know you're comin- *GASP* Rarity?!"

"In the spirit- oh!" Rarity received a tight hug from Dash.

"It's so great to see you again!!!" a tear of joy fell from Dash's eye as Rarity understandably smiled in turn.

"Oh, yes of course. Where are my manners? It's quite a pleasure to see you once again, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash slowly released the unicorn from her hooves and wings, taking into consideration that Rarity wasn't the type to get dirty over physical contact. "Geez, it feels so long since we've last met. Where'd you even come from anyway? I'll admit you scared me half to death."

"My apologies, but do you think there is anyway I can make any hoof step sounds with this...sand, we're standing on?"

"...What?" the pegasus glanced down, stomping one of her front hooves on the sand below. Silence came afterwards. It became unclear what was going on.

"Do you see my point now?" Rarity asked, admiring the fog maneuvering around them.

"Yea, yea. I get it. Do you have any idea where we are?" she looked around. There was nothing else in sight other than sand, sand, and more sand.

"Again. I am unsure. I can at least assume we are in a sacred realm related to my stone and yours. I'd say, this place could really use a bit of color and fashion don't you think? Since it is going to be our new home for a while."

"What do you mean by our new home? We can find our way out of here, can't we?"

"We can't," Rarity answered.

"WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash broke into a panic.

"Well, at least as if now. I have been here for quite some time. I can assure you I haven't seen a way out in sight yet." her statement managed to calm Dash down to a suitable level. "I believe once Samuel finds us all, we can band together and find the way out."

"Us?"

Rarity sighed. "Our friends, Rainbow Dash. He's on a quest to find and save the six of us."

"Is that so? Then...where exactly are the others then?"

"That, I am also unsure of. I say, that creature is full of secrets. Even if he tries to hide his guilt behind a blank face, I can tell he's hiding something from us. And he's nervous about it all."

Rainbow Dash kept silent, not knowing what else she could say.

"While me and him are somewhat friends, I still don't completely know everything about him," she said.

A frown presented itself on Dash. "Really? When did you first see him?"

"Hard to believe, but it was an empire made of crystals. When I first saw him approaching me, I was quick to lash out my unreasonable side, thinking of him as a sort of beast. He continued his approach either way and...peacefully offered his help in exchange for mine."

"But, why?"

"Because...he knew my identity. Well, he knew my name to be exact, even if I myself had no knowledge of him personally. For some reason, he needed me to find that blue gem he now carries in that magnificent gauntlet."

"And you trusted him, just like that?"

Rarity snorted. "Oh, dearest Celestia no. I held a high suspicion over him when I first agreed to follow him. However, there wasn't a better option as far as I knew, but to place my trust in him for a time. A lady like me has no way of making it through an abandoned area on her own, especially when she's lost."

"Eh, makes sense."

"Additionally, outside of the empire rested a freezing blizzard! Even if I managed to find my way out without encountering harm, I'd more likely be a frozen lady if I were to step hoof into such hazardous weather. That's why I stayed and made the decision to tidy things up around the empire with him since I knew I would be staying there for quite some time."

Rainbow Dash looked at her befuddled for a bit. "So...how exactly do we get to this point from there?"

"*SIGH* It is quite a long book Rainbow Dash," she admitted, explaining everything to Rainbow Dash in a place she knew worked differently when it came to time and place.

******

After a minute, Sam's suffering came to an end. In relief, he got up on his feet, gently pressing his right hand on his sore left arm. Sunburst, who was standing in front of his personal face, looked Sam in the eyes with interest.

"Soooooooo. How do you feel?" Sunburst asked, both for caring reasons and for the satisfaction of his uncontrollable curiosity.

"I don't know," Sam noticed Nurse Redheart and a few others standing near his personal space bubble. He heavily sighed before giving an actual answer. "I'm fine, I guess. The pain is gone and I'm relieved and stuff." he said, not wanting to have any medical attention at the moment. While the pain he had gone through was without a doubt excruciating, he didn't want to waste any more time on a restoration period over his left arm only. "Wait a minute. What happened to Rainbow Dash?!"

"You don't remember?"

Sam muttered out his words. "Not after that burning pain. The only thing I could recall was saving her head from a bone ax."

"Her very essence was transmitted into one of your stones. Similar to the previous one back in the Crystal Empire. What was her name? Rarity? Well, besides the circumstances, the same transitioning event will happen to the other four stones and ponies you seek."

"Uh huh," Sam rubbed his head in thought. He was really at a loss of ideas.

A journal and quill now floated below Sunburst's face as he began asking Sam random questions to add in his notes. "On a scale of 1 to a 100, how painful was your experience with two stones uniting together with you as one?"

'Are we seriously doing this right now? -_-'

Sam quickly put aside his annoyed feelings and showed his honesty. "I'd say like...27."

Sunburst instantly jotted it down. "Twenty...seven...okay. Now, how is your arm? Are you feeling any weaknesses or any sickness as a side effect?"

"Uh, everything's fine for the most part. Except my arm's a little sore," Sam rubbed his arm with care.

"Well, don't you worry about a thing," Redheart finally butted in. "I'll have that arm of yours examined and taken care-"

"I don't want any medical support right now," he interrupted.

"Wh-what? But your arm was literally on fire and if I could just-"

"No. I'm just...I feel like I'm running out of time. And another checkup will destroy even more of the time I have remaining. I'm sorry."

"Oh..." Redheart's expression was saddened, giving Sam a bit of regret. "Well...if you're feeling fine, I guess I'll be in my...office whenever you need me," Redheart slowly exited the gym through the doorway that Horror Sans demolished. Many including Sam watched as she departed.

The bitter silence came, and Sam scratched the back of his head with a worried look. "Dang. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings like that..." his head lowered in guilt. "Words really do hurt like a son of a gun, don't they? Shoot."

Sam recalled his objectives and ignored everypony staring at him. As soon as his mind came with a decision on what could be best, he went for a walk to the outside of the school. He didn't want to use a portal since he knew a few ponies would like to follow his footsteps.

"H-hey! I'm not finished, wait for me," Sunburst followed Sam with a slight trotting motion, his notebook still floating in his magical grasp. After a few minutes of walking he started talking again. "So, what exactly is the plan now? I can make at least one prediction that you're currently searching for a third stone. Do you really think your body can manage with three or more of those stones?"

Sam shrugged as they came close to the school's primary entrance/exit. "Once again, I don't know. But there has to be a way for me to stop this madness. I ain't just gonna accept the destructive future," he used his actual arms to push open the double doors and was met with fresh air and the rising sun. "Speaking of the future; I wonder how Equestria's holding up right now. With Discord and Chrysalis on the loose that is."

"Hmmm. I guess we'll have to see the results when we get there."

"Yea. Woah, check that out," Sam ran up to the mirror portal he planned on using to return. Sunburst quickly realized what Sam was astonished about and followed behind to observe a shattered mirror.

"It's broken?!" Sunburst yelled, anxiety taking control of his emotions. His eyes grew wide and he trotted around the area as Sam took a closer look at the damage.

"Crap. All the soundwaves from me and BF's previous rap battle against The Sirens must've shattered the mirror; apparently the school's windows are not the only things affected by highly intense rap."

"Which means we're all trapped here!" Sunburst unnecessarily added.

Sam shook his head. "Not exactly. I was actually thinking of an alternate way out of here." he said, facing the crowd that had followed him outside.

"Sam!" a familiar voice in Sam's memory called out from the crowd of pony students.

"Yea?" he returned, looking at the mare who came breaching through in a gallop. Once she came to a stop in front of Sam, she was breathing heavily and a few drips of sweat ran through her face. Finally, with a pleasant and loving smile, Lyra Heartstings levitated what she held in her magic over to Sam's hands.

"There you are. I know how forgetful you can be so I did you a favor," she giggled, noticing a blissful grin on the boy's face.

"Ay, my favorite drink of all," Sam tossed the Coke bottle in his right hand and clenched his left fist to manipulate space and reality. When the two stones glowed their color, a small portal appeared next to Sam's right. The portal appeared much different and more detailed than the previous portals Sam used to create for transportation purposes. "And in ya go," lastly, Sam gently tossed the bottle of Coke right through the floating hole.

All eyes, especially Lyra's and Sunburst's were on him.

Sam gave a puzzled look in return. "What's the matter? The portal does not lead anywhere bad. It just leads to my infinite storage area I created several minutes ago," he demonstrated it again by pulling out a microphone he took from the performance stage. Their concern diminished after he explained but they were left a little confused.

Sounds from a writing quill came from Sunburst's actions before he questioned Sam's new abilities. "Wait a second. Sam, how did you figure out how to use the reality bending part of your second stone so quickly? Doesn't it take practice to use that much power?"

Sam shrugged. "I just did. All I do is focus on my surroundings, use my imagination, and close my fist to execute my thoughts through the stones' abilities," he was about to do just that. "Like this," he focused and commanded the reality stone.

As the stone glowed, a red wave of mist washed over the school, passing through everypony in the vicinity. When the wave fulfilled its purpose, everypony or...everybody to say the least were standing on twos once again. Each student became astonished over their appearances.

"What?" P. Celestia's mind began questioning reality which was the reality stone's entire purpose of course. "Our humanity has returned?" she moved her fingers which were no longer hooves.

Sunset Shimmer was the next to respond, using her human legs to walk but fell face down in failure. She and her recent time as a pony had reminded her of the usefulness of unicorn magic, but made her lose a bit of experience in the simplicity of walking only on two legs. She then groaned over the stupid pain as she sat up with her legs crossed.

"Chill. It's only a temporary illusion," Sam released his grip and allowed the recent reality shift to reverse. Now, they were ponies again.

"Fascinating," Sunburst said. "You have multiple stones you wish to obtain. And each stone has its own unique abilities! Boy, can this get any more crazier within the next hours?"

"I don't know, Sunburst. Can it?!" Sunset Shimmer uses her magic and teleports to Sam. "What are you, really? Who really are you, Sam?"

"Huh? What are you saying? I am Sam. Who else would I-"

"No, I mean-" she shook her head. "Why are you out of your way to obtain more of those stones? Isn't two or even one enough?"

Sam paused for a second, disliking where Sunset was going. "Sadly, not. I need all six of them."

"For what, exactly? You never did tell us those stones contained such magic. And you're just going to leave us in a hasty search for the next stone? Did our time together as friends didn't matter to you at all?"

Sam grew worried. "No Sunset, it's not that! I was actually planning on waiting for any pony like you to come join me before I head back to Equestria, but unfortunately it appears the connection between this world and Equestria is broken."

"The reason for why your departure from CHS is delayed or canceled isn't my concern!" the sunny unicorn growled. "The point is, you owe me and every pony else an explanation! One explanation I'd like to hear is what happened to Rainbow Dash?"

"She..." he sighed. 'Great, way to keep things in control Sam. Now, everypony here desires to have the blindfold lifted from their eyes. Shesh, I'm getting real tired of explaining my whole situation again and again. Hopefully I won't have to explain so many things to everypony else I meet in the future after this.'

Feeling bad for keeping secrets, Sam took a deep breath and spilled whatever information that he thought was necessary to spill. His bond between Sunset Shimmer and the others felt too precious to lose over not complying to give away the truth. After all they've been through, he wasn't about to let the whole friendship thing go for Sunset. And as for Sunburst, Boyfriend, and even Lyra, they too deserved an explanation on the actual situation at hoof.

Sam said to them that the whole world was in danger, revealing that a demon would soon break free from the harmony seal and destroy Equestria including its separate alternate worlds. The students conveniently kept a closed mouth as they grew extremely anxious from inside, Sam noticing it just by their face. A few, however, didn't have much of a reaction to it all, meaning they weren't buying into it. But, it was to be expected that some may not believe such a story.

Then, he explained to them his purpose, knowing it is what they wanted to know since his first arrival. Gather all six of the stones and eradicate the demon. Very simply spoken, but is done with many complications and hardships.

At the end of his explanation the majority were satisfied, but at the same time in shock knowing that the end was near. However, Lyra Heartstrings and Sunset Shimmer were one of the few who believed there was more to it than what had been said. While they did believe him, there had to be a reason as to why this was all happening. Sunset believed Sam must've avoided the topic of his personal life, and avoided speaking of who had motivated him on such a quest. Her beliefs were true out of her knowledge. Sam was keeping his personal life away. For what reason? He didn't know. He also didn't speak of the past crimes he committed in Canterlot, and he most certainly didn't tell them about the world being nothing but a dream.

"Sam...what will you do now?" P. Celestia asked, her bandaged wound visible.

"I'm going to depart from this world and search for the next stone in line," he turned around, gauntlet and fingers pointed towards the mirror portal shards. First, he used the space stone to collect each piece and re-position each one in a certain position like a jigsaw puzzle. Secondly, he used the reality stone to attach each positioned shard together, and seal away any cracks. The mirror was fully repaired. But once Sam put a hand on the transporting glass, it was nonfunctional. "Hmmm," his finger and thumb rested below his chin, eyes closed in thought.

"What's wrong Sam? Did you forget to add a little missing shard?"

"No, I don't think so. It ain't working the way it should be, Lyra. I think I know why though," Sam remembered what took place in the Crystal Empire before he and Sunburst were left with no better option. "I think I'll have to do this the messy way," he turned to all the students. "Any of you ponies wanna come with and help?"

A show of hooves blew up into the air as Sam began counting each hoof in shock. Apparently, all of them wanted to be involved. He understood their fear of the world ending if nothing is done about it, but he wasn't expecting all of them to put their care into it. That is, unless many of them were just looking for a great excuse to skip school for the coming days.

"Then...I'll have to make a major readjustment if we're all planning to depart from this world."

"And what readjustment would that be, Sam?" P. Celestia trotted over to him. "I sure pray that it's safe for all my students."

Sam nodded in understanding. "It is safe, but... I need your permission on something."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow, cautious of his suggestion.

"If I'm going to transport every student to the Equestrian world, then I'll have to transport the entire school grounds as well. Every brick, wood, glass, wire, soil, grass, and school supplies in CHS's area must be transported."

P. Celestia eyed him. "Explain."

"Creating a portal to simply walk through isn't going to cut it. While I am capable of conjuring something like that with my two stones combined, there could however be great consequences."

"Like what exactly?" Sunburst intervened.

"Like a magical malfunction or imbalance. A magical malfunction could occur since we aren't using the actual magic mirror. The mirror's magic is needed to safely ensure the pony is a part of Equestria. So, instead of making sure they're a part of Equestria, I'll make sure they can be in Equestria while still being a part of this world by bringing a good chunk of this world to Equestria."

"What about the imbalance?"

"Well, if you haven't noticed there's hundreds of students willing to go. Many of them, will almost be identical to other ponies in Equestria; much like seeing clones of themselves. If that happens, then I fear the world will mistake the students as impostors or a similar unwelcoming entity and might resort to...elimination," Sam's mind trailed back to the Too Many Pinkie Pies episode. "Transporting the school to an empty plot on the Equestrian land could suffice well as a safe place to hide whenever the going gets rough."

"..." P. Celestia slightly frowned, but she understood the penalty of every choice available. "Well, if it's true that the fight isn't over. And the lives of my students depend on your success, then the school is all yours, Samuel."

An upraise of joy and excitement exploded in the crowd as many jumped up and down upon hearing the principal's agreement. Even Sam was a little thrilled to hear the good news.

"Alright. If nopony here is against what I'm about to do, then-"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" a loud and obnoxious voice came into play. Sam gave his attention and saw a group of military folk galloping towards him, guns pointed in his direction. And Sam couldn't help but to tilt his head.

"WE HAVE YOU NOW, BOY! PUT YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD, NOW!" General Dan shouted.

'What in the world? Who are these hostiles?'

"Bleh. They're probably a bunch of violent fools. I think it would be best for us to find someplace more...quieter for our plans."

'Agreed.'

"Nah. I think we should deal with them first. If we show them our stuff, then they'll never think about bothering us again."

'...Rainbow Dash? Oh, phew. What a relief. You're still among the living. Well spiritually in actuality.'

"Uh, DUH! I don't go down so easily you know," Rainbow Dash claimed through the stone of reality.

For the sake of Sam's defense, Lyra Heartstrings, stepped in front of Sam and glared at the general. "Don't you dare think about hurting my future husband, Dan!"

'What?'

"Oh, I will if I have to, little mare! And I will hurt you too if you dare waste my time!" his hoof was right on the trigger of his gun.

"Oh yeah? Try me!" her horn sparkled and burned in rage. "You aren't going to hurt my lover until you get through with me."

'Lover? Me? Is she for real?'

"I believe she speaks the truth, Sam."

"Ew! Romance in the air is not helpful when it comes to flying."

The general gave a toothy grin towards the aggressive mare and her lover. "Okay. You want to act all tough. Then show me how tough you really are, little girly!" he wasted only a second to force the tip of his hoof to pull the trigger. Lyra closed her eyes and flinched as the general and his comrades began firing...bubbles?

"What the?!" the general caught the glowing red stone responsible for his unwanted bullet bubbles, his face growing vicious at the same time. "There it is! Do you see it, men?!" he asked his soldiers, then receiving several strict nods in response. "HA! I KNEW IT WAS YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE TO BLAME FOR THIS PONY CURSE! I SAW IT ALL WITH MY VERY EYES! THOSE STONES YOU CARRY ARE THE REASON FOR ALL OF THIS!"

Sam cringed lowering his left arm peacefully. "Uh, actually the reason why you're all ponies isn't because of-"

"Blah! Blah! Blah! BLAH! Shut your dam hole! I saw it all! You used that red one to change all these poor students back into their humanity, only to crush their desperate hopes by changing them back into pathetic ponies! What a monster you are!"

Sam stood still without a word as he took notice that the general was having a ridiculous persistence on false accusation.

'Oh, gosh. Why am I still here? Just to suffer through his crappy mouth? I already turned all of their ammo into soap bubbles for crying out loud.'

"AHEM!" Rarity exclaimed in Sam's head. "What happened to my idea?"

'Huh? Uhhh? Oh, yea! Find someplace quiet.'

The moment Sam stared off into space is when General Dan believed Sam wasn't taking him seriously. But before Dan could say or do anything, a portal similar to the one that had transported his truck to CHS a few hours ago, engulfed Sam and disappeared out of the general's sight. The boy had gotten away, and Lyra Heartstrings was still glaring at Dan.

"Now listen here you stubborn head. We don't need to put the blame on others. Nopony actually knows who or what is responsible for the pony transition that you deem a curse," Lyra said calmly, hoping to ease the general.

"Well, SOMEBODY out here needs to take responsibility for such an action. And I decide that the one who takes the blame is...that tall uneducated teenage boy," Dan stated firmly.

Sunburst eyed the general questionably. "Why? What proof do you have saying Sam's the one who did it?"

"PROOF?! Are you numskulls not going to even talk about what he did to all of you?! He reversed the curse that kept you as ponies, but then decided to reapply it after several seconds to destroy your spirits!"

V.P. Luna saw P. Celestia hesitating to act, so she decided to join the 'arguing at the general club' in Celestia's place. "Not true, general. The young boy was merely casting an illusion. He claims to have no way of truly reversing us back to our humanity, yet."

"You really believe that kind of lie from that liar?"

"Hey. Don't you dare start calling him names. Sam would never lie," Sunset Shimmer said to start backing up her friends. Her face grew stern after the general and his lackeys all faced her, ridicule written all over their faces.

The mare took a deep breath to build up the courage to speak up. "Listen. None of us really understand why you're here, but whatever the reason...no pony here cares. And additionally, I highly doubt someone as incompetent as you has any good reason to be harassing CHS and its students over something so old by now. It's final, we're ponies, and we should accept our fate rather than go insane trying to reverse the unchangeable. If you came here for the monsters, they've all been slain. And now it looks like you are here to shoot down good people instead."

"Exactly! It's your job to serve and protect! But your doing the opposite of that!" Lyra added.

"Baloney! I'm here to serve and protect you from that young, ignorant, and savage warlock! And I'll do whatever is needed to catch that son of a witch! And he will pay for what he's done to my truck when I catch him."

"General..." P. Celestia finally spoke up.

"WHAT?!" Dan shouted.

"While we are unfamiliar with these...horse appearances, we are happy no matter how we look in CHS. And accusing an innocent boy for such a crime is an incorrect behavior. I think it's best for everypony that you depart from this school right away."

The general's mood instantly grew sour. He saw the faces of disapproval and the dramatic head turns of disgust towards his presence, not realizing that he and his crew were never given a warm welcoming invitation to the school at all. But there was one mare of the entire crowd who's face appeared concerned. "Sticker..." his eyes pinned onto hers as he deeply admired her regards for him. Though, there was something he was willing to question. Was his own daughter on the right side?

"H-hey, dad," Sticker Picker said to her father timidly. She didn't know what to say, but she gave her full respectful attention.

Instantly, Dan dropped his empty rifle and ordered his troops to do the same. As many ponies began putting their intrigued attention on the father and daughter bond, Dan started questioning his daughter. "What are you doing hanging around with those low life suckers?"

Sticker gave him an uneasy glance and mumbled her words. "D-dad...they're my friends."

The general froze for a moment. And when he opened his mouth to respond, his words sounded calm but dangerously disturbing. "Excuse me? I thought you told me a tough girl like you doesn't require friends in her life. Oh, please don't tell me. Don't tell me you favor their side over me."

"I..." Sticker Picker froze for a moment as well, but it wasn't due to shock or disappointment. It was because she was scared out of her mind and she couldn't come up with anything else suitable to say other than the truth. "I do."

After that sentence, the general snapped into an intense rage, screaming and ranting like a mad man. "AH, #!%$! WHY?! JUST %!&#!@$ WHY?! FIRST, I LOSE MY TRUCK! THEN I END UP WASTING HALF AN HOUR OF MY TIME FOR NO DAM GOOD REASON! AND NOW MY DAUGHTER WHO I HAD JUST HOPED WOULD BE HAPPY TO SEE ME IS NOW AGAINST ME ON MY PERSONAL IMPORTANT MISSION!" Dan angrily stomped the ground with a hoof before he attempted to manage his rage. He breathed heavily as silence drew itself across the area and he couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt. "Dam...I'm pissed."

"D-dad. I'm sorry. Please, let's just go home." Sticker begged and trotted forward to offer him a loving hug. And while Dan's temper had cooled, he was still stressed and angered over the things that had occurred.

"Why do you have to be on their side? Why defend that magic abusing criminal?"

"He isn't a criminal dad! He's just...doing what needs to be done. And trying to hunt him down isn't going to work out. Did you see the way he disarmed you? If he was really a bad guy, then he would've killed you without any hesitation over such a threat," she coaxed.

"..." the general didn't say anything back.

Sam found himself standing on the school roof after the portal fulfilled its purpose. As the portal disappeared, he gazed around and admired the forest trees far far away from his reach. The roof, however, was quite bland in both cleanliness and structure wise, which made it difficult to admire over the forest. As much as Sam wanted to portal over to the forest, he couldn't. Not when time is almost at its limit. And while the roof was unpleasant, Sam knew the roof was the most convenient area to do what he was going to do.

With an inhale and exhale of oxygen, Sam focused his will and energy into the stones to manipulate the spatial area of the school and its existing matter.

"Here we go," Sam said to himself, unexpectedly getting a response by the two friendly mares connected to the stones.

"Do we have to go now?" Rainbow Dash grumbled in Sam's head. "A nice little break would've been nice you know."

'I know. But like I said, time isn't exactly on my side.'

"Sam is right Rainbow Dash. Our time is quite limited. And I'm sure as you and I recovered our memories, you have seen it as a vision. Am I correct?"

A mental gasp and nod is what Rainbow Dash could muster. She too saw it all; the absurd chaos, destruction, suffering, and darkness all combined was too much. And it all was going to happen because of one wicked being's ambition to inflict such a catastrophe. Though, while it did terrify her, the whole time she refrained from speaking about it. Mainly because, she feared being seen as a moron or a crazed lunatic.

'Ah, so you've seen the nightmare too. Hmm, good. That just tells me I'll have less explaining to do in the future.'

Energy radiated from Sam's gauntlet and he instantly planted a fist on the roof's surface. He felt a sort of pressure hit both the outside and inside of his well being as the earth began to quake. "You girls ready for this? Because I know this is going to be a real pain," Sam muttered, aware that the two mares will split and share the pain.

"Born ready!"

Rarity let out a quick sigh. "Yes. As long as it doesn't ruin my outside appearance, I'll endure."

With the consent from the two mares Sam couldn't help but nod and smile over the approval. "Then, les do dis!" he started raising his arm. Rarity and Rainbow Dash could now feel the hard pressure being applied on them, but it wasn't half as bad as they expected. After a few moments of nothing, CHS and its surrounding land rumbled and cracked.

It was like an earthquake for a few seconds until the supporting ground rose into the air and floated upwards, carrying the entire school along with it. And with his fist raised, Sam knowingly moved his fingers to open up his hand like a blooming flower, ready for a bee to collect its pollen. The bee in this case would be the giant portal that expanded high above into existence within a second after Sam's command.

There after, the portal did what it was supposed to do. The entire piece of land holding the school instantly got sucked up like juice and was transported out of the E.G. world and into the actual main world, Equestria. There the land remained infinitely floating somewhere above the badlands.

Sam gazed around as far as his eyes could look, hoping to find some use in doing so. Unfortunately, he saw nothing but cactus, sand, cactus, tumbleweed, dead trees, cactus, lifeless rocky mountains, more sand, and even more freaking cactus. Though despite the climate conditions and their lack of navigation, Sam still felt he had it in him for another journey of suffering. Thus, his optimism was kept in a stable condition.

"Job well done girls; I know y'all are tired after that."

"It indeed was unpleasant. Do you think you could've done it more...um, how do I say it?"

"More gentle?" Sam assumed.

"Yes! That would be the word! Right on it!" Rarity giggled. "And maybe try to avoid digging much of the earth from underneath. I must say the various foundation below the school is nothing but a mess with all of those crumbling rocks falling down one by one. It very much reminds me of my uncomfortable time with those smelly dogs who dig rocks for a living," she deadpanned.

"Oh come onnnnn, Rarity! Can't you see how awesome this is! We are standing on an entire floating island that isn't supported by clouds! And we're the ones who made it possible!"

"Yes, well. There are many dangers when it comes to a floating island such as this. One being that this island is filled with a potential risk of collapsing at any moment."

"Psh! Yea, right. Since when did a floating island like Cloudsdale ever crumble down?"

"Maybe during the incident with Discord."

"Okay, yea, but it's DISCORD. He can do basically almost anything. But I doubt that an abomination like Discord will have any business at this floating place."

"Heh, you may wanna think about that twice, Dash. He's been looking for me for a while now. And I don't think he can afford to wait any longer," Sam claimed, continuing his walk down the stairs as the two of them continued their gossip over the Lord of chaos.

As he took the last set of steps down to reach the first floor of CHS, something buzzed and vibrated in his pocket.

*Familiar ringtone music*

Sam paused, stared off into space, and remembered what it was. With an 'oh' and finger pointed upward, he reached into his pockets and took out the chaos phone for the second time.

"Hello?" Sam didn't know what to say at this point. He could only hope that Discord wasn't going to be shoving away some steam on the other end of the line.

"No need for greetings or apologies, there isn't any time for those," Discord said in a weak tone. "Where are you?"

What? He's not mad at me?

"Uhhhhh, I'm on a floating island somewhere in the middle of Equestria's wasteland," Sam answered.

"Does the island by any chance have a school?"

Sam's eyes grew wide, realizing Discord may have already found him. "Uh, yes it does!"

"Hmmm," he hummed mischievously with an added cackle before saying one word. "Perfect."

"Perfect? What do you mean?" Sam asked with his confusion building up. "Aren't you mad at me for taking so long to get back in Equestria?"

"Oh, forget about that," the Lord of chaos took a hard breath as if his lungs were in need of treatment. "I'd like to speak to you about your...ehm, nemesis. I will be waiting for you below your floating isle. You can take all the time you need up there and give a nice goodbye to any pony you care about," he let out an incredulous cough before finishing the call. "See you, Samuel."

*Call Ended*

Sam put the phone in his left pocket. And after he did that he quickly sprinted across the halls and followed every helpful sign to reach the main doors. The two mares inside of the stones were chatting to themselves in a whispered voice to prevent Sam from hearing the conversation. But did Sam care at his point in time? No.

When he made it to the main entrance/exit, hesitation filled his heart to open the doors to the outside, because if he remembered correctly there was an aggressive pony with an army after his tail. Now the only question Sam could focus on was why he was being hunted.

He stood nervously still for a moment but decided to be brave and go out. The sudden attention upon his exit out of the school caught him off guard. His uncomfortable levels were on the rise as many ponies stared at him in almost every degree angle he faced. But even so, he kept his cool and spoke up in a way he thought was best.

"Hello every pony," Sam waved to them. "How was the ride? None of y'all got hurt during it did you?"

Good gosh. Playing the nice guy sure is tough when your talking to a crowd of strangers like you're some control freak.

'I honestly would feel the same if I were in your shoes, heh.'

'...What?' Sam searched around the crowd for the mysterious voice in his head. 'Who's saying that to me?'

"Hey you, Sam is it?" a deep voice came interrupting Sam's curiousity as he turned to the general who had previously pointed a gun at his head.

"Uh, yea that's me. What do you want?"

"I want to...apologize."

Sam raised an eyebrow in surprise and stood there patiently for the general's explanation. He was willing to hear out the reason why all of the general's hate was pressured on him specifically. By any chance, the reason could be because of one of Nightmare's terrible doings in terms of manipulation on others. At least that is what Sam had in mind at first.

"Look, today really has not been my day. And to witness all of these magical myths which came to life is...something. I'm not saying I'm impressed, but I am saying that I'll stay out of it for now."

"Uh, so you're saying you'll stay out of my way? Well that's cool. After all, the more enemies that decide to stop being my enemy; the less bull crap I'll have to deal with, haha," Sam put a finger under his chin and then his mind wandered to a negative way of thinking. "Ah, but now that I think about it. If I have less enemies to deal with, then I'll have less strength to gain for my own potential."

General Dan blinked and awkwardly cleared his throat. "Ehem, anyways my name's general Dan. I originally came here to eliminate the monsters and rescue any survivors. Of course because of your 'magic' I started to get a little carried away, especially since it involved the end of my truck. And I guess my anger led to me hunting you down even though you weren't part of the objective," he then received a hoof bump by the shoulder and he turned his attention to his daughter. She glared at him eerily before quietly pointing at Sam in a certain way. Dan caught on and sighed before pity crossed his face as he looked Sam in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

'Wait, did he say something about a truck? What truck?' Sam couldn't remember until Rarity gave away the past info.

"Sam, I believe he's referring to the truck that we used to subdue that hideous skeleton several hours ago."

'Oh, yea! I remember now. Thanks Rarity.'

She chuckled at his nice attitude. "No need to thank me all the time. I think I'm starting to understand your forgetful side quite well, darling."

The interesting company was making Sam smile to say the least. There really wasn't any reason to frown or get angry since many of them were putting their trust in him. Even though he knew there were still many more enemies to come, he wanted to savor this moment of peace.

"Well um, apology accepted. But shouldn't I be the one who should be sorry? I am the one who ruined your truck."

"That may be true, but..." Sticker Picker interfered and trotted next to her Dad's side. "I believe you had your reasons for doing it."

Sam turned to the mare and interestingly enough remembered her from the medical room.

Ah, it's her again.

"Wasn't it because of that ax wielding skeleton?" she murmured.

"Well, yes, actually. I had to find some way to put him down. And there honestly weren't any better things to throw at that tough pile of nonliving bones."

Sticker smirked and hugged Dan by his side. "See dad. He didn't mean any harm. Plus, just because a lot of crazy stuff happened last night, it doesn't mean we can't be together."

Dan took a heavy breath and calmly released the air out of his lungs. "I...guess you're right. Maybe I do need to control my temper more."

As the father and daughter hugged it out, things started to become peaceful and agreeing. Many who watched the two lovers couldn't stop themselves from at least letting out a tear.

Welp, looks like I'm free from any liability from the military or whatever they are. Though there's no time to celebrate, sadly. I better pick up the pace otherwise I'll be keeping my man Discord waiting.

The boy slowly and gently walked his way through the crowd. He had been through many crowds where no one was thinking about him, but this time...every pony was thinking about him. And he couldn't exactly describe the feeling of being noticed by hundreds of individuals. Feeling proud, uncomfortable, envied, or loved were in a mix of his present emotions as he tried to keep focus.

To his own amusement, he could sense Rarity and Rainbow Dash having utter positive thoughts of being noticed and respected by so many ponies at once. It was strange to Sam. Being able to feel others feelings that aren't even his. But their connection through the stones which were connected to his very being only made sense.

'Alright you happy mares. How do y'all wanna do this?'

"Do what exactly?"

'You know. Make a way down to the surface.'

"Well, we should refrain from using portals for that," Rarity suggested. "They will only be a temporary solution, and I personally had enough casting portals for the day."

Sam nodded his head with a tightened closed lip to show his understanding. "If we aren't going to use portals then I guess we'll have to.......UHHHH.......!"

Facing directly towards the unusable mirror, Sam locked a gaze on a familiar red manned alicorn, who stood motionless in the sudden eyes of everypony that noticed her presence. In P. Celestia's awareness, it would seem the same pony responsible for the pony transition spell had made a return.

The tall alicorn focused on Sam and looked at him with lifeless eyes.

"You have certainly made quite a mess since you arrived, Samuel. But you have also made a great amount of progress in your quest."

"You..."

The alicorn nodded. "Yes. It is me."

"Who are you?"

"You still don't remember me? Hmph. That's twice in a row."

"No I do; back in the Crystal Empire. I saw you. You used a highly advanced magic spell and sealed away the whole empire in a matter of minutes," he claimed trying to recall other memories of her appearance. "And...while I was sleeping in a changeling pod, I believe I dreamed of you. So I know you based on appearance. But who you are to me personally is what I want to know about you."

"Who am I to you?" the alicorn giggled. "IwastheTreeofHarmony."

☜☠❄☼✡ ☠🕆💣👌☜☼ ❄☟☼☜☜

Apparently while I was not on watch, Subject 9 formed a friendly relationship with Subject 3 (Boyfriend) and Subject 5 (CopyCat). It was completely out of my predictions, but I highly doubt their ridiculous bonds will have any negative outcomes later on. However, I do believe I should take precaution over their unknown future choices and their current status.

By observing the files stolen from her, I can see that Subject 9 has been gaining a stat known as PP, A.K.A. Power Points. Similar to what you would expect in those virtual childish games, these points determine an individual's level of power, control, and destructive or creative capabilities.

In truth, Power Points are only obtainable by eliminating foes who pose a threat. Depending on how strong an opponent is, will result in the fair amount of PP given to the chosen one.

Currently, throughout 9's quest these files also show he had formed a friendly circle consisting of ponies. Conveniently, their identities are even shown. I can look at their names, appearances, origins, talents, and even goals. My personal favorite out of 9's friends would have to be Sunburst.

Interestingly enough, this unicorn possesses an excessive amount of knowledge, ranging in magic spells, historical events, and even the CRYSTEM process I have been using to aid Subject 9.

But all of that aside, I'm impressed at 9's growth. Though, he is still far from becoming the being I desire him to become. Concerning, Subject 2, Subject 5, and ESPECIALLY Subject 6, I might want to consider coming up with a plan B in case Subject 9 fails to comply with his objectives. After all, I fear that this friendship, Subject 9 is getting a little attached to, might lead to many problems and great disobedience. And with great disobedience, may come great recklessness with the power he will earn.

Chapter 17: Lively Chaos and Lazy Bones

*Disorderlot*

From the outside gates of Disorderlot, Celestia and the mob army she convinced relentlessly marched towards their destination. They didn't understand or actually know in the slightest why or how the changelings even managed to start the Crystal War, but if it was told from Princess Celestia herself, then it had to be true.

The return of Sombra and his dark reign was a part of their work. The nightmares, wars, and the increase of other conflicts rising in Equestria; all of it was because of the changelings. It was their fault Equestria was suffering.

And the ponies supporting their deranged princess from behind believed it entirely, not having any second guesses of any other possible cause for the disasters.

Since the changelings took Canterlot it was time for the ponies to take it back.

"Forward my little ponies!" Celestia commanded. "The Queen of the Changelings will be no more when I am through with her!"

As the mob roared with pride and pressed forward, two fillies who both had chaos magic abilities received by Discord, were watching a mad sun princess advance from outside of the front gates.

"Geez. When you said Princess Celestia was angry, I didn't think you meant THAT angry," Scootaloo said to Sweetie Belle.

"I know. Something's wrong with Celestia, don't you think? It's seriously not like her to be this...brutal. Even to a creature like Discord himself."

"Well, Sweetie. Princess or not, we gotta stop her. I'll have to fly above them and make it rain chocolate as a distraction, then you will cast a spell to make all of their weapons come to life and fight for us."

Sweetie Belle immediately shook her head. "No, we can't! Have you ever thought about how this could make us look in front of our older sisters?"

"...No?"

"Exactly! We would look like monsters using some of Discord's chaotic powers against the princess! We should try to convince them that Discord isn't as bad as he seems," Sweetie Belle reasoned.

Scootaloo's small little wings started to flap as she left the ground and forced herself into the air. Facing her unicorn friend with disagreeing lips and eyes, she flew off towards the rampaging army without a word.

"Scootaloo!" the unicorn filly called out but to no use. "ERGHHH!" she clenched her hoof and teeth, irritated by the stubbornness of her friend. With no better option in her mind, Sweetie Belle followed Scootaloo in a galloping pace, hoping she would be fast enough to persuade the princess before Scootaloo can turn to recklessness against the raging mob.

******

One filly of the three stood pointlessly still in the Disorderlot gardens, Apple Bloom. She stood there feeling bored, but at the same time nervous over her lack of purpose at the moment. While Discord did give her a big task to eliminate all plant life in the gardens with the death hooves she was given, she had already finished that task within a couple hours. Now there was nothing left for her to do.

With a sigh, Apple Bloom gazed off into the night sky, allowing her mind to get the tranquil peace required to think things over. As minutes felt like seconds her mind began forming questions that made her think back to her previous decisions throughout the most unique week of her life thus far. Was her decision to side with Discord the right thing to do? And...was her decision to follow the mysterious creature: Sam, into the unknown her smartest or stupidest choice? She didn't know for sure.

"Excuse me, Ms. Bloom."

Apple Bloom jumped with an uncontrolled squeal coming out of her mouth. She recognized the voice for sure, but of all places where she would hear it, she was hearing the near whispers of Luna's voice in Discord's claimed kingdom?

"Huh?" Apple Bloom's eyes met what she heard, and she quickly felt deceived by The Princess of the Night's random appearance and need for interaction. Normally, in any casual day of peace without chaos, Apple Bloom would not hesitate to bow and respond with a: 'yes ur highness?' or anything else respectable as a response to royalty. But after going through so many of Discord's inflicted tricks in her new home, Apple Bloom believed she was catching on to something, when she really wasn't at all.

"Apologies for such a startle, but there is no time my dear filly," Luna took several hoof steps closer to Apple Bloom as the young filly shook her head.

"No, Discord. I'm not falling for any more of your tricks," she stated, remembering the countless illusions Discord had used to play with her mind. "Just stop it! It's getting old!"

Luna froze, appalled by the filly mentioning Discord's harrowing actions.

"I am not one of Discord's tricks!" the princess came up to Apple Bloom and pulled her face so that it was facing a strict and beady pair of eyes. "Before you my dear filly stands the princess of the night. And I am here to rid the chaos of this land once and for all."

The apple filly blinked, her suspension of a fake Luna fading away. "Huh? Princess Luna? Is dat really you?!"

Luna nodded and began to reassure her young subject with a little presentation. "Tis I, Luna. The night princess who enters pony dreams and protects you from your most disturbing nightmares that ill you. And I am here now to stop that accursed draconequus from creating any more havoc."

Apple Bloom could only give a neutral face after hearing Luna speak. While she now had her full trust and loyalty to the princess standing before her, she also didn't have a pleasant feeling about Luna 'stopping' Discord. Despite the amount of crimes Discord had done and the amount of irritation he brings every ten minutes; Apple Bloom still considered him a friend.

"W-what do ya mean by 'stop?' You ain't gonna hurt him, are ya, ur highness?" the filly asked in concern.

Luna slightly narrowed her eyes at Apple Bloom. "Nay. Even if I had such a desire to 'hurt'; I doubt my magic or strength will have any effect alone against a mighty creature of chaos. Though...if I could try and negotiate with him, I may be able to put an end to Equestria's current madness."

"Negotiate? With Discord?" the filly awkwardly scratched the dirt with her right hoof and momentarily took her eyes off the princess. "I know I'm just a young pony with a tendency to not know any better and such, but...dontcha think Discord would rather do the opposite of what you're planning?"

"Maybe so, Miss Bloom. Though, doing the most ignorant things in hopes of a solution is better than not doing anything at all to solve your biggest problems that require your care. He may find it difficult to cooperate, much less cooperate at all. But I have faith that there is reasoning in that creature. Even if his own chaos blinds him from rationality."

"But...what if he doesn't listen? What will you do then?"

Luna chuckled with a bit of exhausted air exiting her lungs. "I would act how any mature pony such as myself would in such a disagreement; silently depart and allow life to take care of him. Even he has his limitations Bloom, and I know there will be a time in his life where he'll understand the importance of eliminating his wicked desires. And maybe, in time he will understand...the power of friendship."

Apple Bloom's hopeful smile faded as fast as it formed. "But it's Discord you're talking about. Do ya really think he'll give it a shot?"

"I am not sure of that, but it is worth a shot," Luna turned to one of Canterlot's many entrances and asked something out of Apple Bloom without facing the innocent filly. "Miss Bloom. If it is true, that you now serve under Discord. You must know where he might be in this...mess of a castle. Would you care to speak? It's alright if you wish not to. I'll understand if you fear the penalty that may come forth if you aid me."

"I...Discord would..." Finally, Apple Bloom's sadness and doubts left her, and her energy returned. "Oh, shucks! I can't believe I was bein' such a downer to ya ur highness! I guess I was all caught up in the things that were happening these past days."

"Please, my dear filly. It is alright, don't blame yourself. Tis quite normal to think negatively during these times, especially when you are isolated from those you love for quite a period of time," Princes Luna said, smiling at her young subject who in return smiled back.

"Yea, I guess you're right. If ur lookin' for Discord, he should be in the throne room. But I don't think you should go through that door or any other door in the castle," she warned, walking over to several sets of thick vines that seemed to be covering an entrance to someplace. "My friends kinda made a real big mess with their powers and I wouldn't want ya to walk through all that trouble princess. It just ain't safe."

Apple Bloom planted a hoof on the vines and the two watched as the vines died out. After dying, the vines fell off like crumbled leaves and a metal trapdoor became visible in Luna's eyes. Then, Apple Bloom used the same hoof to gently press open the square iron door.

"Princess, you should go down here," she pointed down to the creepy dark tunnel beyond the trap door. The princess curiously walked closer and observed.

A concerning frown daunted Luna, disliking the idea. She had lived in Canterlot for countless of years since she was a filly, and never had she known or even heard of a secret underground passageway built in the garden. "May I ask where this tunnel leads?"

"It leads ta da crystal caverns underneath Disorderlot."

The princess tilted her head. "Dis...order...lot?"

Bloom nodded. "Yep, Disorderlot. It's the new name Discord came up with after he took over Canterlot. If ya go through theze caverns, I heard you'll find a dungeon with a long thick ladder. Climb it and you'll be in the hall closest to the throne of Disorderlot in no time!"

"Really?" Luna gave one last look into the darkness and bravely casted a spell that gave her night vision. She could barely see the crystals from below the tunnel, which meant it had to be a long way down, but at least she knew utter darkness wasn't going to be a problem for her. "Thank you, Miss Bloom, I will make sure to show you my gratitude when you are sleeping. And know that when you're dreams become nightmares, I will always be there to help you."

After they gave one another a smile, Luna proceeded downwards with one very slow hoof step at a time.

"I swear your highness! It was her who wanted to mess with you all in the first place!" Sweetie Belle hoof pointed to Scootaloo.

"Is not!" the young pegasus shot a glare in retaliation.

"Is too!"

"Is not!!!"

"Is TOO!"

The two fillies who were both miserably tied together by magic sealing chains kept on with their arguing. A group of soldiers were then given an order to point spears towards the innocent fillies as a threat. When Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle caught the pointy sharp objects from the very end point of their vision, their mouths instantly lost fuel.

A spotlight shined onto the trapped young fillies, and they couldn't help but to wince over the pain it brought to their sensitive eyes. Then, a pony came up to them with a video camera in hoof, a tiny light flashing red to indicate it was recording every footage. And with no time for the two to ask if this was an unpleasant interrogation, the sun princess herself used her horn to pull the fillies closer, the spotlight and camera following their every movement.

Instantly, Celestia demanded they answer what she wanted, in such a way that it felt almost threatening. They were of course unfond of complying to her demands, but she was the princess of Equestria. And any form of disobedience towards aggressive loyalty would more likely result in cruel punishments. That reason alone is why the two made the decision to answer her.

"What do you want to know, your highness?" Scootaloo asked nicely, holding back her comebacks over Celestia's ill attitude.

The sun princess's eyes scanned Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle carefully before the questions came to her mind. And she bent down in sought for a better position to interrogate the two face to face. "Ah, yes. I'd like to know where you little brats got those... powers."

Sweetie Belle gulped, telling the princess nervously. "W-well you see, princess, Discord gave them to us as part of being his servants and-"

"Discord?" Celestia interrupted, frightened by the name mentioned. "You're servants of the Lord of Chaos?!"

"Y-yes," Sweetie said, shaking like mad and hearing gasps from the civilians and guards around them which only increased her nervousness over shame and guilt.

"Hmph. Young traitors... you two don't deserve to walk peacefully amongst other ponies in Equestria! At least, not anymore."

"Please your highness. We're sorry! Please, forgive us!" Sweetie begged. "We didn't have a choice! It's all the changelings' fault that we got under Discord's influence. They're the reason he got free-"

"SILENCE!" Celestia shouted, making Sweetie flinch out of her body. "Your reasons don't matter to me in the slightest! You will be punished for your betrayal on pony kind no matter the reason."

As the princess's tone became more vicious as she ranted and the surrounding chains becoming tighter due to her raging telekinetic magic, Scootaloo had decided enough was enough and dropped the nice act she had put on for Celestia during the past suffering minutes.

"Yea, we are kind of his servants Ms. high and mighty. Is there something wrong with that?" Scootaloo raised a brow.

Celestia had a quick wide-eyed reaction before glaring down at what she believed was an 'attitude' that was spat intentionally on her personal face by the little pegasus. "What did you just say...about me???"

"I must ask, what happened to the smart and compassionate sun princess?" Scootaloo asked, ignoring Celestia's question. "It sure is horrible that she was replaced by this thousand-year-old sun abusive jerk that can't think twice about going against Discord. Didn't it take the elements of harmony and your younger sister combined to merely turn him into stone? If so, why send all of these ponies into a battle they'll for sure lose and suffer from?"

"..." Celestia caught hundreds of shocked ponies staring at her. "In my defense, I thought those changelings along with their queen were still sitting on MY throne. I never had thought Discord would break free of his stone prison so soon and take Canterlot for himself so easily."

"But that's not all. Princess Celestia would never let her anger get the best of her so soon. She would always have the will to listen to reason rather than seek vengeance."

"Are you saying I'm an imposter?!" she yelled, beginning to lose her cool.

Scootaloo smirked and shrugged. "Either that, or you got an attitude problem from a wicked magic spell of some sort. Honestly, why are you even taking me seriously? You know I'm just a filly, right?"

Celestia's muzzle began to smoke, literally. "I know...BUT...you... really... don't talk like one!"

Laughing, Scootaloo's obnoxious grin grew even wider. "Maybe because I have a much more mature mentality than you do, considering of how you're thousand-year-old mentality is more 'foal like' at this point."

With the words getting into Celestia's head, her mane flamed up like the burning sun. With gritted teeth she attempted to harm the sassy filly with a burning attack of her own: 'sunny inferno magic'. Though regardless of Celestia's horn flaming up for an attack, Scootaloo kept wearing a smile, as if it were all a game.

"YOUR A FOOLISH WORTHLESS LITTLE PIECE OF TRASH! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU DON'T TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID!"

Just like that, Celestia's true colors were shown across the ponies around her. The ponies and even the guards themselves were confused as they took several hoof steps away from the princess. While it was understandable to them that Celestia's sudden anger onto the changelings for seizing Canterlot had its fair cause, they didn't expect their own compassionate hearted princess to outrageously threaten a filly to their grave over a bit of smack talk.

At this point, all of the ponies were siding with the young pegasus filly in their heads. The filly was right. This wasn't Celestia. Or rather, Celestia is currently not being herself. One way or the other, Celestia needed to be stopped. But how? As far as Sweetie Belle could tell, many of the ponies were too scared to even take a hoof step closer.

"Aw, boohoo. Somepony obviously can't stand being made fun of-" Scootaloo was immediately cut off by a flame attack that had directly been shot towards her position. The surrounding ponies flinched and covered their eyes as they witnessed their very princess incinerate a couple of innocent fillies.

The resulting smoke from the attack covered Scootaloo's and Sweetie Belle's remains, but Celestia was confident that she had ended their lives to a crisp. But her pleasure of cruelty quickly left her as her attention was forced onto every pony looking at her in a way that made her feel...disagreed.

"What?" Celestia stomped a hoof while angrily eyeing her servan- subjects.

"Y-you k-killed them!" one of them spoke up.

Celestia didn't like hearing that. "So what? I'm the princess of these lands. And I decide what's best."

"B-but, princess, don't you think-"

"QUIET!" her royal Canterlot voice activated, indicating her seriousness. "Do not argue with me. I am your princess. No. I am your queen. So, unless you want the same fate as those two fillies, keep your mouth shut, peasant!"

The silence amongst every pony only told Celestia no pony was daring to protest. She could sense their fear and she nodded, knowing that they came to an agreement. Albeit she forced them into the agreement using threats, she of course didn't care.

"Now then, we will enter Canterlot, kill Discord, and take back my throne! Are we clear?"

Before her servants could answer, a voice quickly intervened.

"I believe it is unclear, Princess Celestia. Do you really think you can defeat me?"

Celestia knew that voice and turned to the source of it. But she was surprised at what she saw. "What?! Impossible! How?!"

The two fillies were still alive, untouched even. How was it possible? Celestia swore she had burned them alive about a minute ago, and the attack she used was extra lethal due to the power of the morning sun. So, it didn't make sense to the wicked princess at all.

One of them still looked afraid on what was going on, but the other filly, Scootaloo, still wore a grin before speaking. Her voice also wasn't the same.

"Oh, dear Celestia. Will you ever learn that when I'm around, nothing is impossible?"

Celestia stomped a hoof, realizing the filly was Discord in disguise, and the fact that Discord had toyed with her the whole time. "Shut up, Discord!"

"No, I'm afraid I can't. After all, my speeches certainly are the most pleasant in Equestria. And my words would never anger a naughty princess, like you for example. Hahahaha."

There were suddenly pebbles levitating from the ground, and Scootaloo/Discord both freed himself and Sweetie Belle out of the chains. Celestia definitely became disappointed at what she witnessed. Those chains were pathetic for their price! And for Discord in the form of a filly to just disable its purpose like an on/off switch was humiliating for the princess.

As Sweetie Belle witnessed Discord abandoning the Scootaloo disguise and returning to his actual physical form, she wondered where the real Scootaloo was the whole time. Of course, that got answered right away as soon as Discord started rambling his mouth again to get on Celestia's nerves even more.

"Oh, I can't believe you fell it for it! Hoho! I love it when I'm a dirty trickster to those who oppose me," Discord reluctantly wiped a tear with his claw while he passively floated carelessly around everypony. "If you didn't know, the real Scootaloo is on break, sleeping near the fireplace in my kingdom. Because of course she would prefer the flames of chaos rather than the flames of a sun princess."

A great hatred grew in Celestia's eyes as her face started scrunching up. It became clear that Discord was simply calling her 'worthless'.

"What?" Discord said, seeing an extreme hater in front of him. "Are you jealous that a filly would prefer my chaos over-"

"Enough of your foolishness, Discord!" Celestia rudely took control of the conservation, desiring to get straight down to business. "What have you done with the changelings? I was expecting to enter Canterlot without any trouble and take care of them myself!"

Discord laughed at her. "Oh them? Well, it looks like I beat you to it. Now, Canterlot is under my rule, even though... only four ponies really are a part of my newfound kingdom...but who cares! I have the whole place to mostly myself and I can do whatever I want whenever I want there. And the best part? Nopony will be there to judge me or stop me from being myself. And that also applies to you too, Celestia. You wouldn't dare set a hoof in Disorderlot with the intent to crush everything I built, do you?"

A shade presented itself on Celestia's face as the princess became unresponsive in words. She stood there motionless, and she could only grin.

"Celestia...come...to...me!"

"Actually..." her wings unfolded, and her horn began flaring up.

"Burn that buffoon's existence to ash and come for me. I will give you power to burn down anything you desire my dear pony."

"That's exactly what I was planning to do!" her expression grew wild over her sudden lunacy. When her horn finished it's charging, she intentionally unleashed a great inferno of flames. But Discord, being the being that he is, snapped away those flames into harmless balloons.

"See how pointless it is? You can't defeat me. Why even try? Unless you're just playing the bad guy for the fun of it, I don't see the point in this," Discord kept on snapping his claw and paw, effortlessly degrading every flame attack into something goofy or fun.

"You are wrong, Discord. Because I will keep going until you are DEAD!"

Discord flinched. "Uh. That's a little too dark for you don't you think?"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY OR DIE!!!"

"Ooooookaayyy, I'm gonna take that as 'you have seriously lost your mind' kind of sentence. But, if it's a fight you want, then I will have no problem giving you one."

Discord snapped his claw and transported everpony in his vicinity to the throne room. Once there, he took a moment to enjoy their shocked faces as they saw the chaos he and his little helpers had been busy making as part of the transition from Canterlot to Disorderlot.

But that wasn't all there was to Disorderlot. Discord still had so much to show off. And he would be proud to show his work, regardless if it were appreciated or not. But unfortunately for Discord, things never usually go the way he plans.

When Celestia made it clear that she wasn't in it to wait for an intermission after making a violent gallop in an attempt to stab Discord with her horn, Discord wagged a finger which resulted in him freezing Celestia still with his magic.

"Now now Celestia. Just because you're a princess that doesn't mean you can just ruin my moment with your wrath," he unfolded his arms and forced his claw and paw to unleash the chaos.

Luna traveling down a tunnel to the depths of the earth wasn't quite part of her plan to seek her answers. While she was aware that as princess, she could simply hire maybe a few coal minners to join her on cave exploring in the one she was currently trotting down in specifically. But she couldn't. Not right now during this time at least.

Ever since the dream demon invaded her realm, Luna had done a little research on pony civilization conditions. Based on what she read, there were at least 66 ponies with cases of extreme negative effects due to the demon's actions in their dreams. Almost every victim suffered mentally from facing their worst fears. But that wasn't all in the reports. Some even suffered physical pain during their sleep as the demon managed to somehow make it so that their mind would believe they were being attacked for real. So any scratches, bites, or even punches that are recieved in the dream realm will translate to reality upon their awakening. And worse, a few ponies were reported dead in bed by their relatives. It wasn't understood how death came to those poor souls. Even the greatest doctors couldn't detect any physical damage that would have been the reason. All they knew, was that the demon had every reason to be blamed.

Because of those damages, Luna thought it'd be best to give ponies time to rest up rather than force them to work until their bones crack. But alas, Celestia wasn't into the idea of a 'break' period. And Luna was given a big fat no in return to her suggestion. Because Celestia was technically first in line of being ruler, Luna had no way of stopping her older sister from twisting everypony's tails mercilessly into a daily working inferno. Whether it was over a bad day or something terrible in the past, she couldn't think of any reason that would have made Celestia so...wicked and authoritative just randomly out of nowhere.

The task Luna was holding responsibly in her hooves was vital. If she wanted her subjects to be safe, she needed to fix or eliminate Equestria's problems. If she wanted her older sister to let go of the hate raging in her heart, she needed to reason with the alicorn just like the alicorn did with her thousands of years ago.

But what if things go the wrong way? If the tempting bitterness in Luna's heart overcame logic; how would the present bitterness in Celestia's heart be any different?

Over her extreme envy, Luna turned into Equestria's well known terror of the night. So she could only wonder what will become of Celestia over the extreme anger that came to her heart just yesterday. But of course she wasn't willing to find out. More than likely, if Celestia's behavior continues, she will become something very unpleasant and mean.

Then out of nowhere, a couple of concerning thoughts started bitting the back of her mind. With Celestia taking charge of all the defensive ponies in Ponyville and advancing them to Disorderlot for an all out attack, Ponyville was now nearly defenseless. And it was only worse that a powerful princess in charge of the night had just put her concerns for that place aside over the concerns for answers.

"No," Luna said to herself, her voice echoing across the cavern she now stood in. Apparently, she already reached the end of the tunnel and found herself where her young subject, Apple Bloom, said she would be. Now, she needed to find the dungeon.

"I will not think that way. Twilight Sparkle is a talented and bright unicorn mare. Surely she is capable of taking care of the village on her own, without the help from me or my sister." She strictly diggressed her thoughts and ventured deeper into the cavern of crystals, acknowledging a sudden dark mist that pitfully clouded the place the deeper she trotted.

After several minutes, it was definitely becoming inconvenient for the princess to continue on. Drips of water little by little splashed on her back as the stalactites from the ceiling leaked out every ounce of fluid in store. And it became increasingly difficult to breath as the strange mist kept getting thicker by each passing minute.

Eventually, after she went straight through a few straight tunnels while swiping multiple pebbles out of her way, she found a torch and several matches lying somewhere on flat ground. She paused for a moment to think about how a torch may have gotten into such a dark place.

Her mind soon came up with an idea when realizing how the dark mist reacted to the light from her horn. For some reason, the strange dark mist would disperse as soon as it comes into contact with the magical light bubble surrounding the tip of her horn.

With her lungs begging for mercy from the dark smoke, Luna levitated the torch and supercharged her horn with the same lighting spell. When she fully charged the light up, she stuck the tip of her horn to the tip of the torch.

In the speed of light, a blue flame grew around the torch's fuel part. And Luna's idea quickly became a success as the flame unleashed a much more wider and brighter light that completely eliminated the darkness entirely which was near her surrounding area.

She sighed in relief knowing the dark smoke will not even have a chance to enter her nostrils and
toture her lungs. As long as she held that torch in her magic, she was in the clear.

"I should give thanks to whoever abandoned this beloved torch. Though, I don't know anypony who would explore these caverns with toxins destroying one's will to breath," she chuckled softly, pressing forward through yet another large tunnel.

After a while, a sudden feeling began to strike her. It was strange. It felt like she was getting closer, but at the time...something was starting to feel off. She couldn't quite understand the feeling well until she trotted even further. She eventually felt it again, but it was definitely much stronger than last time. She had to be getting close. However, the unpleasant part of the feeling struck, and it was as if the feeling was trying to warn her about something dangerous ahead.

Confusion held onto Luna's mind as she felt lost. Despite being the night princess who became use to the darkness, she struggled to find her way. The crystal caverns were full of twists and turns, much like a nasty maze. And never was she given a map or any specific directions on where to go.

But at this point, there wasn't any turning back. It would take far too long for her to reach the same entrance tunnel. Even Celestia herself was probably already at Disorderlot's front entrance, giving an unpleasant knock as Luna continues to trot through a maze.

The lit torch definitely helped Luna navigate, and she was still grateful that the dark smoke couldn't reach her. But she could still see it becoming thicker and thicker, along with the ominous feeling growing stronger inside of her. Those could only be signs that she was getting somewhere in this desolate place.

Soon, once her hopes grew so did her chances. Out of sheer luck, she found a large open vertical hole on the dead end she trotted to. When she got close her horn instantly picked up a familiar magical essence. A too familiar essence.

"Princess Mi Amore!" she yelled, assuming that the magic essence related to the pony was an indication that they were nearby. Sadly, there wasn't any pony or princess in sight when she entered through the hole. For what Luna could guess, her horn only picked up the past existed actions and emotions from the previous days in that area she stood on. From what she'd been told, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was imprisoned in an unspecified place by the queen of changelings before the giant bug took the form of the princess. So in theory, this place had to be where the real princess was kept during that day.

Luna wondered how her escape was possible. The giant hole in the wall was a clear indication that there was a breakout, but she couldn't detect any magic that could have created such an opening. She would then discover that it...was made by a physical brute force as she observed the opening. And Luna knew for sure that a peaceful princess such as Cadance is likely unable to bust a wall of thick rock with her bare hooves for an escape attempt. More than likely, the changelings drained Cadance of her love so she would not have the energy to leave her cell. So somepony must have come to the rescue and fled someplace safe with the princess before the invasion.

"Hahaha."

A distant laugh alerted Luna and she caught the sound coming from the other side of a thin wall. With the need for answers still clinging in her head she shot a miniature blast of her magic to create another hole in Cadance's former cell. Her eyes gazed at what she sought after the dust cleared. The dungeon room was right in front her. Better yet, she saw a ladder in the distance, but it was at the very end of the hall.

"Yes! I found my way in!" Luna said to herself in giddiness, knowing she had reached the end of the labradorite.

"Yes true. But you have also found me, Princess Luna."

"What?" Luna froze for a moment, acknowledging that she was no longer alone in these deep dark caverns of despair. Hearing no other response, she began her walk through the dungeon hall, checking each cell for the voice.

"Oh, princess, you're better than this. A 'what' is a terrible response."

Luna frowned, continuing to walk past each empty cell. "How do you expect me to speak to some pony who is a stranger to me?" she countered.

"Stranger? You don't recognize my voice in the slightest, princess? Hm. Maybe that fully explains why you aren't in a panic just yet."

"A panic?" she said, her voice becoming skeptical. "What do you mean? Do I know you?"

"Hahaha."

"What is so funny?" Luna asked, creeped out entirely by the entity speaking to her. The voice was familiar in an unpleasant way. But for some reason, she couldn't pin it in her head on who it was.

She was near the end of the hall and a glorious ladder was right in front of her as her young subject promised. As she took only a few more steps to the last set of cells to her left and right side, she suddenly heard a disturbing heavy breathing to her left. Was it coming from the one talking to her before?

She felt a freeze in her heart after facing the direction she regrated facing. Inside of the cell to her left was a creature, or rather...a monster. No. Not just any monster. A demon.

"Hello, Princess. Pleasure to see you again," the demon's purple eyes were the only parts of him visible in the dark part of his cell. He then took a couple of creepy steps towards the metal bars that were holding him contained in a square room of dirt and mud. A pair of magical chains appeared around his arms after he gripped the hard metal bars with his claw hands. "How about we get down to business."

"YOU!" Luna presented her anger, using her royal canterlot voice to intimidate the demon. "YOU DARE SPEAK TO ME AGAIN AFTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME AND MY SUBJECTS!?"

The demon chuckled with his teeth remaining closed, unfazed by Luna's aggression as he did so. "I understand that we both have done wrong to each other. But can we brush that aside for a while? It was nothing personal to begin with, princess."

"NOTHING PERSONAL!? ABSURD! WHAT BUISNESS OR BENIFIT IS IT TO YOU TO SPREAD NIGHTMARES ACROSS MY REALM!?" her voice was raging and growing louder as each word was spat onto the demon's face. But even so...his smile stayed, and the demon tasted a great negativity in the air.

"Oh, Luna. Complain, weep, shout at me as loud as your heart desires. I grow stronger the more negativity I taste. You won't accomplish anything. I know why you're here. And I know you're just foolishly wasting your time on me when there are things that are a much larger matter of importance. Isn't your older sister, Celestia, currently out of her mind?"

Luna let out a quick gasp. Her voice lowered back to its original tone after she paused in shock of the demon's awareness. "How do you-"

"Know? Ha! I can read anyone's thoughts, memories, and emotions when they are nearby. You're probably looking forward to asking me who or what I am, aren't you?"

The princess nodded, admittedly.

"I am the demon known as Nightmare. And I was brought into this world to cause pain and suffering for my own survival. However, I cannot fulfill those needs with these...chains keeping me locked in this cell."

Luna found it hard to believe. "You must torment other ponies and creatures to live? Why?"

"Because..." Nightmare gripped his torso with one of his hands as a red glow emitted itself through his chest. "My heart. It feeds and fuels itself from negativity. Especially, when that negativity is formed because of my doings. Without negativity my heart will die, and so will I. A pity for me, isn't it, your highness?"

"Pity? On you? Nay," she responded critically, narrowing her eyes at the demon. "You really think I'm going to show you sympathy after what you've done? You owe almost all of Equestria an apology, especially one for me. And I highly doubt any demon would have it in their dark heart to apologize for their crimes."

"Is that so princess? You know it doesn't help when that 'creature of chaos' chained me down with nullifying ability chains to keep me here away from every living form in this world. He told me only an alicorn's magic such as yours can free me from these chains," his eyes locked onto Luna's horn in interest. "If I could, I would rip that horn out of your head and absorb its magic to counter that irritating 'Lord of Chaos.' If only if it weren't for these chains and bars keeping me separated."

"...What?"

"Haha. How about this princess. Your older sister's mind has been corrupted thanks to that pathetic crystal shadow king when he abused one of my personal spells. Am I right?"

"So what? It's none of your business."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. Knowing that fact, I can so do 'business' with you, Princess Luna."

"What is it that you mean, demon. Why would anypony do business with you? Unless they were of course out of their mind to agree to your terms."

"Well, would you at least hear what I have to offer?"

"..." Luna took a moment to think it through. While she soon made the decision to hear the demon out, she felt quite skeptical about the offer. Afterall, he was the first of all the other severe problems to appear in Equestria's so called 'Tartarus Period,' named after Ponyville's experience with the pain, suffering and death of many before the day of the wedding in Canterlot.

"If you desire your sister's freedom from her corruption, I can do just that. But I ask for only one thing."

"And that is?" she asked in a strict tone.

"My freedom of course. I want out of these bars. But first these chains have got to go. I'm sick of them making me feel powerless. "

If Luna hadn't had great caution, she would've taken the deal by now. But still, the choice to allow the demon to roam around Equestria once more in exchange for Celestia's sake was a heavy choice for Luna. She again looked at the demon and not once did his smile fade despite the sheer number of times she spat her hatred onto him over his action.

"How am I supposed to know whether or not this whole talk is meant to be reasonable for me and you, or nothing but a load of cunning filth from a dreadful fiend?" she raised a brow.

The demon kept calm without much of a reaction or expression change.

"Believe whatever you want to believe my dear. Either way, I will get my freedom. You will only delay my release if you refuse to take my deal. But this is your older sister we're speaking about. Don't you want her fixed?" he coaxed.

"I do. And..." the princess took a single heavy breath and slowly let it out. "I accept your offer. BUT. On two conditions."

"What are they?"

"When you are free, you will from now on be unallowed to enter the dream realm ever again. I am still disturbed by your trespass into my realm, and I'd prefer you stay out of the dream realm for good. And secondly, you must not harm anypony who may get in the way of you freeing my sister. I can assure you that I, Princess Luna, am one of the most reasonable ponies in Equestria now. I will talk things over if things get out of hoof."

Nightmare gripped the bars tightly. His unique extra third eye on his forehead rolled. "Fine. A deal's a deal then. Let me out of here and I'll do my thing."

******

The corrupted princess only had a few seconds to react. Before she knew it, Discord had started the battle, intentionally flattening her with a super-sized piece of chocolate cake with strawberry icing. After several seconds of silence, Discord believed Celestia was already knocked out, and he laughed.

"It seems I had just flattened one of Equestria's most powerful beings. That definitely was a piece of cake. Literally!" Discord floated himself down on his hoof and foot and danced randomly on the floor in celebration. He was about to set his attention to the army brought in as backup, but before he could an explosion of fire happened from inside of Discord's crafty bakery work. All the frosting and cake splattered across the room like mud, sticking to the walls and pillars of the room.

"Speaking a little too soon aren't we, Discord?" Celestia spoke, grinning wickedly to show her confidence. "You know you can't get rid of a princess THAT easily."

"Blah! Way to spoil the celebration, but you know, my video camera could use a bit more footage of entertainment for me to look back on and enjoy," he shrugged clapping his paw and claw together to signal his servants. In a flash, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, the real Scootaloo, and even Trixie appeared in front of Discord. "The princess is all mine. You four will deal with her subjects."

"I shall NOT!" Trixie spat in protest to Discord's command. "The Great and Powerful Trixie refuses to take order from the likes of- WAOH!!!" the world around her spun to invert. With her complaints ignored she huffed and acknowledged the fact that she and many other ponies were standing straight up on the celling. Apart from Discord and Celestia who were still both standing on the actual floor, it seemed as if Discord inverted the laws of gravity itself to affect everypony except himself and the princess.

"Wow! Soooo cooool!" the real Scootaloo's pupils enlarged at the sight of the room. "Discord flipped the castle upside down!"

Sweetie Belle came up next to her friend and gave a sweet correction. "Actually...I'm pretty sure it's just us and everypony else in front of us that were flipped upside down."

"Oh...that's still cool though!"

"Uh, girls...whadya sugges we do with des here ponies?" Apple Bloom asked, waiting for a nice answer.

"Those ponies?" Scootaloo turned to the crowd. "Psh. Well, I dunno. Discord said to deal with them so-"

"Honestly, I think we should put on a show for them," Trixie interrupted, causing the three fillies to eye her questionably. "Please, I mean a show for them in a nice way you foolish foals! They don't look like they want to hurt anypony. They're just here under Sun Stink's orders. They deserve some cheering up from the great Trixie. Plus, I for one can put on a dance after doing so many of them dozens of times thanks to one of Discord's temporary curses."

Then from above, a flaming ball of mass came crashing down behind Trixie, igniting a part of her tail on fire. The unicorn yelped in utter shock and broke into an unintentional dance, hoping her intense movements would put out the flames. Clearly, she wasn't an expert on extinguishing anything flammable as the fillies rushed to her aid as they saw the fire spread. That there alone was quite a scene for the civilians and guards to watch and keep distracted while the princess and Discord had their own private chat.

Out of their awareness, two beings were watching and listening through a crack on the other side of the throne room door. The conversation between the draconequs and the princess of the sun were catching their interest.

"Geez. Celestia, could you kindly explain your outrageous behavior? I seriously have no idea why you're being so ill towards me. Shouldn't we calmly and rationally talk this out like grown ponies? If you didn't know, this place is still technically changeling territory. I was just given permission to borrow this place from the queen because I'm one of her 'special some creatures'."

Celestia shockingly raised a brow. "You're considering reason?" she replied in doubt and shook her head with a laugh. "Oh, dearest Discord. It's far too late for reasoning. No matter what you tell me, I will never believe the words of a mischievous creature like you, Discord."

"Really?" he snapped his claw to get rid of another incoming fireball before continuing to run his mouth. "Then tell me, Celestia. What exactly do you believe about me?"

Celestia eyed him with a smirk on her face. "I believe you're trying to deceive me. I believe you think you can toy with me like it's all a game to you. I believe you took this kingdom right under the nose of those nasty insects without asking. AND, I believe you're not as powerful as things seem."

'Ah yes, there is definitely something up with this pony.' While Discord had his suspicion on Celestia's mind being tampered with, he didn't want to bring that up just yet. He knew for a fact this wasn't the Celestia he knew throughout the years in Equestria.

"If that is what you believe then I understand," Discord leapt up and used his wings to fly steadily in the air. "Let me tell you, everything you believe is false, but it's a shame I can't completely prove that to you. And if you think you can take me, then come at me with all you have," he challenged.

Celestia eyed him cautiously, took out one of her valuable swords, and prepared to slice the lord of chaos. Though, her timing for an attack preparation couldn't have been worse as she was left wide open for a barraging scoops of giant ice cream that soon landed on top of her just like the previous dessert. But instead of taking her sweet time, Celestia ragingly imploded the dessert and flew to Discord, her wings going off at full speed.

"Woops," Discord dodged the assaulting princess and countered the attack by slowing time and lassoing a long thick ribbon on her back hoof to swing her around in circles. He continued to use the chaotic strength of his lion hand to whirl Celestia around until he had his fun. After letting lose, Celestia tumbled onto the floor, slamming into a pillar. "Hoho! Now that was hilarious! Hahahaha!"

Celestia only got up in an instant and shot a glare at him as a way to show her thoughts over his act. Then once again, out of no surprise, she pulled out her secondary blade and flew forth a second time.

"Oh poo. You obviously have no idea what 'fun' is, do you?" he summoned a great number of pies, each one having a different flavor under their crust. Of course, Discord wasn't that basic, and he attached pairs of wings to his creations, giving the pies the ability to home in like a missile.

After Celestia saw the chaos in her way, her speed decelerated. Having no time to get away, Celestia unwillingly took a raspberry pie to the face, and along with taking several other pies to the rest of her body. She was slammed down on the floor for a third time after the tenth pie homed in.

"Now that's what you call 'fighting in style'. You should try it Celestia. It's really fun!"

"Quiet..." she demanded dangerously.

"Oh? Is that salt I hear? Are you upset that I'm indirectly calling your fighting style 'plain'? Because to be honest, it really is."

"SILENCE YOU CHEAP PUTRID LUNATIC!" she gritted her teeth as her mane lost its gentle fluff and turned to nothing but flame.

The draconequus idly floated in the air, completely unnerved. "Well, that is rage I don't see every day. Did your parents ever teach you how to control your temper? Actually, no, why am I asking you that? You're a thousand years old for chaos's sake. How can I be so dumb to think that you, Celestia, have never been taught how to be rational in a sense? So, for you to act this deranged over my words of honesty, it is truly a bit...humiliating, don't you think?"

"EURAGHHHHHH!!!" Celestia screamed from the top of her lungs, unleashing a magical attack that blasted through Discord's torso. The attack continued forward devastating a huge chunk of the celling, but fortunately it missed the ponies who were still waiting things out in peace on the celling's surface.

"Now that just isn't a way to act, for a princess to say the least. I know I may sound like a foal asking this, but I want to know. What's gotten into you all of a sudden? And I'm being literal. Something or someone is secretly on your mind, and it's trying to control you," Discord claimed, putting his body back together and regenerating every part of it that was decimated.

"Why do you care?! I'm here to take back my kingdom! And then I'm going to destroy every creature or even pony that was responsible for this mess! My anger is none of your- *GASP!*"

"Your power. Your energy. Your kingdom. Your HATRED. Give it to me!"

There was no need for the demon to repeat what he wanted. It happened instantly after he finished speaking. Celestia's mane gradually returned to normal, and the flames extinguished. Her eyes began transitioning into a gray color along with her mane losing its sparkle and ability to flow passively on its own. Discord looked at Celestia in concern, not knowing what exactly was causing the decaying princess to lose so much energy or magic.

"Um, Celestia. Is everything fine with you? You look a little..." Discord drew multiple circles with his claw, failing to come up with the right words for a description. "How do I say it?"

"Don't think about it too much spirit of disharmony," the demon said from behind Celestia, this time aloud so that everypony could hear. Taking notice that the sun princess was fully drained of her negative energy, Nightmare pushed the alicorn out the way with force and smiled at the legendary draconequus standing in his way. "I recommend concentrating more on your pointless existence before I DESTROY it entirely."

"What the?! Okay time out," the draconequus clapped his hands and reverted gravity to everypony standing on the celling, causing them to fall miserably on the floor. "Now how did you escape? I thought only alicorn magic could break free of my chains of chaos. Unless..."

"Hahahaha! Foolish creature! You are far too unaware of many things. You are powerful, but you lack the knowledge and understanding on how this world really works." Nightmare shifted his hand into a sharp thick blade.

"Oh really? Then how about I show you what I know about magic. Then we will see who really knows more," Discord raised his lion paw and squeezed a thumb and finger in challenge.

"This will not be a competition. I have absorbed her power."

"And what good will that do for you? You stand before the Lord of Chaos and the spirit of disharmony. What makes you think you'll stand a chance with Celestia's power?"

"Isn't it obvious? You clearly have fatal weaknesses regardless of your power. If you're chaotic chains can only be broken by an alicorn, then surely one of the only ways to subdue you is with alicorn power. And just by looking at you at first glance, I can tell you have a carefree attitude I can take advantage of."

Before Discord could say or do anything to respond with a dirty comeback, Nightmare turned out to be one step ahead. A tentacle of Nightmare struck out of the marble floor, and quickly took a hold onto Discord's paw. In that moment, Nightmare saw an opening. With the time he gave himself to spare, Nightmare charged forward and delivered a nasty blow onto Discord's right arm.

Discord screamed in a way he never did in his life. The pain. It was agonizing. The draconequus couldn't diagnose exactly what damaged him, but he could tell it was nasty. He then felt a strange numbness in his body as he fell helplessly on the floor.

"Discord!" the CMCs called out, realizing he was randomly on the verge of defeat.

"It doesn't matter how many ponies, mythical creatures, rainbows, or even gods that Mr. Samuel places in my way. It's pathetic on how he depends on these witless fantasy creatures like you for an example to stop my plans. I WILL destroy him. And I WILL destroy this world."

Luckily Princess Luna was watching the whole time, and she immediately came busting through the front doors to help Discord.

"NIGHTMARE! STOP THIS MADNESS THIS INSTANT!" she yelled, noticing Nightmare raising his blade hand above Discord's head for a finishing blow. The demon paused and faced the princess behind him. He was wearing an ugly smile after what he did.

"If you insist, princess," Nightmare intentionally melted into a puddle of dark goop and lazily made his way to the throne, with his sludge form leaving a slimy trail. He then reverted back to his real form and sat on the throne like a king. "My poison of darkness will gradually end him anyway."

"Nightmare, we had a deal! I specifically told you not to harm anypony during this time! And you said you would free my sister from your curse, not drain her of her magic!" Luna spoke up to present the fact that Nightmare had not held his end of the bargain.

"Well..." Nightmare extended his arm by a long length and grabbed an unconscious Celestia by the neck. Luna's eyes widened as a reaction. "The part where I agreed to not hurt anypony in the process..." he slowly positioned the very sharpest part of his hand blade to Celestia's neck. "And considering of how we didn't exactly shake hooves or hands on that deal, I'd have to say..."

Barley. Only barley did Celestia get to open her eyes and see her younger sister. Luna was able to see the remorse in Celestia's face. And only a few tears could make it down her face. Nightmare had actually freed her from the curse. Though, at what unexpected price?

"L-Luna..." Celestia said dreadfully, finding it difficult to even focus on her surroundings due to the amount of energy drained out of her.

"I lied..."

*SLASH*

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Luna watched in despair as her older sister tumbled down the stairs and landed flat on the carpet. Her entire body was motionless.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! CELESTIA!!!!!" Luna cried out, approaching her older sister. While Nightmare didn't go for an attack after realizing Luna was completely vulnerable upon her sorrows, he was still watching the two. Watching them very closely. Too closely. With his smile widening at the sight, it was obvious he was taking great pleasure over his cruel actions.

Checking for a pulse or any sign of life, Luna couldn't find any. Celestia's eyes were closed shut and the warmth of her body started to decrease.

"No, no, no, no. Please no! This has to be a nightmare!"

"Hehe. Hahaha! AHAHAHAHA!!! Oh, you've just spoken my name. I like that you know. It is a sign of how terrible you feel. Mmmmm. And I can taste the bitterness inside of you. It's so delicious!" Nightmare caught an extreme look of anger from the young princess. "And here comes the madness. It happens to every vessel I mess with. I believe the greatest nightmare you've ever had was your sister passing away before she was given the chance to give a perfect goodbye. Ha! You can say that I just made your little nightmare a reality."

"You...YOU!" Luna mindlessly charged forth, wanting to buck the demon with her bare hooves. When she came close, she instantly got slapped away by a hardened demon hand and landed about halfway across the throne room. But she wasn't going to give up. SOMETHING needed to be done. SOMEONE needed to take the blame. "YOU FIEND! I WILL MAKE SURE YOU ARE SLAINED NO MATTER THE COST!"

"No matter the cost? Are you so sure of that?" Nightmare spotted her horn glowing, meaning she was about to resort to magical attacks instead. "You do know that I have just absorbed the power of your older sister. The strongest pony of all ponies in this world. What makes you think you'll stand a chance against me by yourself?"

"STOP SPEAKING TO ME! I WILL-"

"No. Don't," Discord cut her off, holding his lion paw miserably across her neck. "We should retreat, Disorderlot has fallen."

"WHAT? RETREAT?! WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME SUCH A THING?! THAT IS NOT AN OPTIO-"

*BOOM*

Again, Luna's outburst was interrupted by a loud explosion outside of the kingdom. Then suddenly, the ground began to shake, and Nightmare's grin grew wider than ever.

"Well, well, well. Look what finally decided to come to its senses."

"What nonsense do you speak of demon?!" Luna questioned, feeling an uncomfortable vibration on the floor.

"My TRUE power is now strong enough to chip away that nullifying barrier of harmony!"

Rumbles of the earth continued to roar, cracking the marble floors all across the castle. In addition to the quake, a massive swirly storm of darkness formed out of nowhere in the sky above the kingdom. And massive purple bolts of lightning shot out of the clouds and struck the ground.

"Okay, things are only getting worse from here on," Discord complained, coughing out of his mouth as if he were sick. "I'm taking us someplace much safer to think things through before somepony over here does something stupid."

"I BEG YOUR PARDON?!" Luna took notice of the look Discord was giving her after he finished that sentence.

"Yes, run away. Enjoy the uncorrupted parts of this world before I turn it to zero," Nightmare laughed and watched the draconequus weakly snap his claw to teleport three little fillies, a bratty unicorn, an army of ponies, and a broken princess out of harm's way.

*The Changeling Hive*

In actuality, it had taken only several mere minutes for Pharynx and his crew to reach the hive. But, with the bitter heat of the sun draining their energy, and especially the annoying skeleton creature thing that wouldn't simply shut up about his jokes, the whole trip felt like an hour to endure.

The changeling hive wasn't what the skeleton expected when the actual height of the place took him by surprise. He was expecting the hive to be more round in structure, but it was built much more like a castle. It certainly was far from being one of the most pleasant castles in the world as there were several giant holes in the walls. Though, when he spotted multiple other changelings using those holes as entrance/exit tunnels for whatever reason, he came to sort of understand.

The skeleton looked upward to find an army of other changelings flying someplace else. The place on which they were going made him question the changeling escorting him to the queen. "hey, you with the purple eyes. i've got a question for ya."

"Save it," Pharynx responded rudely.

"oh, c'mon buddy. it's just one little question. i promise there aren't any hidden puns in answering," the skeleton smiled gleefully after the changeling came to a stop.

They were near the entrance of the hive and the changeling guards who were given the duty to guard the entrance with their life had stepped aside for them enter right away.

Pharynx sighed with a good amount of frustration lingering in his breath, and he asked what the skeleton wanted aggressively. "What?"

"where in the world are those bugs flying off to?"

"None of your business," Pharynx answered without even giving a glance at anything except where they were heading. "Let's get a move on already, unless you want us to break your spine and carry you to our queen ourselves."

The skeleton was shoved forward from one of the changelings after Pharynx gave the order to advance. He gave a slightly uncomfortable look to the changeling that shoved him, but he received a shameless hiss in return. After hearing that, the skeleton shrugged and followed the leader.

"geez, aren't we a friendly bunch of bugs. too bad those bugs i mentioned are 'winging it' out there compared to all of you ground bugs."

Pharynx and the other changelings ignored every word as they trotted through the hive, and had to resist the urge to buck the skeleton creature in the face for being irritating as tartarus with his puns. Fortunately, for the benefit of Pharynx's and every other changelings' sanity, they knew every part of the hive from the back of their hooves.

Even if a tunnel that primarily led to the queen's chamber closed, there would always be another hole that would form an alternate route. Even if those routes took longer, the changelings knew their way no matter how many times the hive changes its former structure.

But for the skeleton, he wanted to ask whether his escorts knew where they were going. All he could find throughout his little tour around the hive was rock, green resin, a few stuffed green cocoons, and more rock. There weren't any kinds of signs or any hints that the skeleton could see to possibly use as navigation.

"Alright, we're here," Pharynx claimed, right when the skeleton was about to run his mouth once more.

"whew, finally. it sure took long enough. or maybe it's just me. i'm not actually the type of skeleton that loves walking. truly, i prefer talking and taking short cuts to make things easier when it comes to traveling from place to place."

"Yea, we've already figured that part out about you," he said, turning to the skeleton. "Now can you do us changelings a favor and shut up for the next few hours? Your terrible jokes have seriously caused a constant buzz in our ears."

The skeleton chuckled, shaking his head. "sorry, pal. no can do. i'm not the type of skeleton who makes promises to strangers i've just met. at least...not ever since that old lady......eh, forget it."

Pharynx raised a brow. "You are aware that you're in a place with hundreds of us, right? I don't think it would be smart to act all cool and mighty around here if I were you. I bet even I all by myself can pin you down on the floor and stuff you into a cocoon without a sweat."

"woah. no need to add any threats to your attitude buddy."

"Well, 'buddy,' do yourself a favor and wipe that smile off your face. The queen will not tolerate or accept those who act like pathetic clowns in the hive." Pharynx buzzed his wings as a command for his fellow mates to advance.

The skeleton followed along, walking through one last large tunnel to enter the queen's chamber. "i don't think my smile is going to go anywhere, but hey, look on the bright side. at least we're 'walking' this argument off. aren't we?"

Again, Pharynx and the others didn't respond, but he could tell by the look on their faces that they weren't deaf. Pharynx was clearly about to lose it, while the majority were simply just giving an eye roll to the whole sentence. And while it felt like the skeleton's jokes weren't welcome in any place of the hive, the skeleton could've sworn he spotted a single changeling giggling after the joke once they reached the center of the queen's chamber.

"My Queen!" Pharynx called out. "We have brought an unknown stranger during our return. He claims to have been wondering the badlands for hours. And he requests a place to stay in our hive."

A pair of green slitted eyes appeared in the dark shaded part of the celling. The skeleton then heard a creepy hiss and couldn't resist but to look up to find a large bug slowly but surely climbing their way down using their sticky smooth but steel like hooves as suction cups to stick onto the hive walls.

The skeleton quickly came to the conclusion that it was the queen. She had her eyes stuck onto him like food as she approached like a predator about to feast on their prey. And after she licked her fangs and got close, her face changed to a more relaxed and controlled expression.

"You demand a place to stay in my hive? Hmph. Why should I give you a place to stay? Here, I'm the one who gives out demands, not you, foul meatless creature."

The skeleton became astonished by the queen's attitude. He certainly wasn't expecting this. Though, what exactly can a poor skeleton like him do in this case? "uh. i dunno. maybe this place needs me to liven things up. y'know, in exchange for my basic essential needs to live and all that stuff."

Chrysalis frowned. Seeing no way of toying with the creature for her own fun, she didn't have a better choice but to only get straight to the point with the skeleton. "And what exactly do you mean by 'liven things up.' What kind of work did you do to productively make a living in the past?"

"hm. not sure. maybe telling some entertaining jokes and creating some tricky puzzles could put a few smiles around here. after all, everyone around this place looks so burnt out."

Chrysalis lowered her head and menacingly stared down at the skeleton. "And what exactly makes you think that entertainment around my hive will do us any good? It really sounds like you're just trying to convince me to lend you our food and supplies free of charge!"

"uh...not...exactly..."

"Don't bother lying. That smile of yours will not fool me. You obviously have guilt written all over your face," Chrysalis believed, licking her fangs after stating what she thought. "But...if you need to stay here so bad, then how about this. Instead of us bringing you food, YOU will give us a delightful meal of unique love each and every day."

A drip of sweat formed on the side of his skull after understanding what she meant. The conversation was going down a wrong path. "sorry, bug lady. i'm really not in it to be anyone's daily meal. how's 'bout we start this whole thing over. i'm sans. sans the-"

A loud chirp from Chrysalis interrupted Sans from finishing his calm statement. His eyes instantly darted to a few changelings giving a solute to their queen. He also heard multiple sounds of hissing and crawling coming from the tunnels that had just formed into the walls of the chamber. And the nasty toothy grin the queen was expressing on Sans was just icing on the cake to confirm why she chirped in the first place.

An extreme wave of concern struck the very back of Sans's bone. He believed the place had just turned hostile. And the changeling guards, who were given the order to tackle him down, found themselves tackling nothing but thin air. The guards blinked in surprise, unable to find the skeleton's position.

"Umm, what?" one of the changeling guards began, getting back up on their hooves and searching the whole chamber with their well-trained eyes. "Where did he go?!"

A load of other changelings maneuvered into the chamber from the entrance tunnels due to the queen's previous command.

But alas, even with backup, the skeleton creature was nowhere in sight. It was as if in just a blink of an eye, the skeleton escaped so fast that no changeling got a chance to see him take off. But that was impossible. He couldn't have just...disappeared out of their sight. There was no way.

"I swear my queen! We were right behind his back!" the other guard spoke up. "We didn't see him make a move at all!"

"I know. I was right in front of the whole thing. Do you really think reporting it was necessary?" she snarled, searching for her supposed additional food source to add to the hive's food storage.

Then, there was a change in the atmosphere.

"welp, looks like we've just reached a disagreement. honestly, i don't underst-" Sans sighed, watching the same changeling guards come at him with their might.

To avoid the inconvenience, Sans took one of his nice 'shortcuts' again. He ended up on the other side of the chamber.

"don't you bugs know it's kinda rude to cut someone off while their trying to spread some reason around the place? oh wait, i know what it is. you've all been born and raised by a mother who could seriously use some manners herself, huh?" he remarked, getting quite the amount of hissing in return.

"Nopony dares insult the hive!" an approaching changeling shouted, presenting his sharp fangs to Sans. "Surrender now, or we changelings will give you a beating you'll never forget, bonehead!"

Sans showed no sign of a reaction in front of the dozens of changelings that had cornered him. He only responded with a faint chuckle and an added joke. "bonehead, eh? that sure is a name. though i prefer to keep my name as sans."

A semi large bone came diagonally out of the ground and smacked the heck out of an assaulting changeling that had threatened the comedian.

"hehe. you could say that you just took a 'bone' to the 'head' for attacking me."

Sans's attackers immediately lost their courage to go for a direct capture after acknowledging that the skeleton could actually fight back.

"well, would you look at that. the feeling you have on me sure is 'changeling' for the better, isn't it? hehe," he carelessly opened his arms out of his pockets and created a bone wall which tripled his height. "but you know, jokes aside, i think we need to understand each other."

Chrysalis stood in her place, observantly watching the skeleton plow away any of her children that came close with thick magical bone attacks. Some of the bones struck out of the wall or ground as a surprise attack, while some miniaturized bones appeared out of thin air to somewhat smack her children all around.

Thankfully, none of the attacks Sans used were deadly. The changelings attempting to take him saw that as a good thing. But, for Chrysalis, something felt WAY off.

Out of curiosity, the changeling queen magically scanned the skeleton's power using her horn to sense his magic out, and she froze in shock.

'W-what? His magic is... No way. Is this a joke?' she thought.

Based on what her horn picked up, the skeleton's magic and abilities were on a high level out of expectations. It turned out to be read so high that the skeleton's power could nearly match even her own power as a queen. And as her pointless order to capture the skeleton continued to be a recurring thing to no avail, it soon became understandable in Chrysalis's head for why the skeleton was doing this.

Sans was holding back ever since the start of the battle. And he didn't seem to want to cause any trouble for the hive.

"sweet asgore, when do you bugs plan on giving up?" Sans asked his attackers, pushing all of them back with another maneuvered bone wall. He then pulled out a bottle of ketchup from one of his front pockets and drank out of the bottle in enjoyment. "ahhh. now that's the stuff. if you all didn't know, ketchup is one of the best energy substances i can drink up to keep this fight going on for hours and hours. so, if you don't want to keep fighting for that long, then now would be a good time for you bugs to lay off on the whole capturing me thing."

"We changelings NEVER give up! I'll end this now and satisfy my queen," Pharynx secretly whispered to himself and attempted to crawl from the ceiling and down from the corner wall to catch Sans behind. The unique changeling managed to creepily make it close, but Sans reacted quick and threw his entire bottle of ketchup at Pharynx.

The ridiculous amount of ketchup that splattered all over the poor changeling had stunned him momentarily. Then, Sans took the chance he had and summoned a bunch of long blue bones out of the ground to surround Pharynx.

"blue means don't move bug. just think of stop signs except their blue instead of red. as long as you don't move, you'll be unharmed."

Pharynx hastily shook away the ketchup and touched a blue bone with one of his hooves to make sure it wasn't a lie. He then regretted his choice after the blue bone he touched inflicted a nasty shock that damaged some blood cells on his insides.

"heh. see. what did i tell ya? you shoul-"

"Enough..."

A loud but calm chirp came from the queen who interrupted the battle. The rest of the changelings halted their every movement and bowed before their queen.

Sans recognized the chirp and he put his favorable attention to the queen while still keeping an eye for any sneaky changelings like Pharynx.

"It's clear to me now that this isn't going anywhere. Tell me...Sans. WHY are you here? I know you didn't just venture around our turf for only a place to stay."

"what? why are we being respectful all of a sudden? not long ago you said i was going to be bug food for the rest of my days."

"I did. But I've changed my mind," Chrysalis responded in a soothe tone.

"huh?" he tilted his skull for a head. "i don't understand. you really want to know WHY i'm here? why is that? i'm a total stranger to you and your hive."

"Because something about you seems..." Chrysalis hesitated greatly to say the word. "...Special."

"really?" Sans closed his eyes in thought as the changelings around him freely talked amongst themselves. "welp, if you want to know so badly then..."

A great sigh escaped from Sans's smile as he shoved his hands right back into his pockets. He glued his eyes on Chrysalis and stared at her blank expression for a short moment.

"look, i'm not going to go into full detail, but long story short, i've been through a lot of hell before i even found myself here. and as i walked through an endless hell in hopes of finding a way out, a certain person caught my interest. i was hoping...well, maybe you would know him by chance."

"And who would that person be?" Chrysalis asked automatically.

"i don't know. but throughout my journey in Equestria, i've been told that he worked for you changelings to spoil a wedding not too long ago. sound familiar?"

The hive became free of all sound.

"if so. do you know where he is?"

Chapter 18: Yet Another Place to Stay

A dreadful dryness daunted the tongue of Sweetie Belle. Her two closest friends quickly began to feel it to. It was irritating. They have been standing on a rocky surface in the middle of nowhere for the past few hours with nothing suitable to drink for their health. And the fact that their brains were beginning to drowse up thanks to the hot raging sun from Celestia's past rage, wasn't a good sign.

The Lord of Chaos did have good intentions with bringing himself and the other innocent ponies to the inside of a random cave somewhere around a deserted area. But of course, some ponies refused to see the good in that action. Many were gossiping that they were now only playthings to Discord, lost helplessly in the badlands with no better option but to comply with Discord's demands to survive.

The draconequus did nothing but laugh as he overheard the ponies speak out pointless trash about him from the other side of the cave. To Discord, they really were a group of ungrateful ponies. If it wasn't for his all powerful magic, they probably would have been nothing more than a delightful galloping prey for Canterlot's new owner.

"Discord..." Sweetie Belle poorly called out to her new master before miserably falling down to her tummy.

Discord raised a brow at the unicorn filly as he sat down on the most convenient rock he found. The other two fillies also approached him, misery written all over their face.

"We're thirsty!" the three of them all shouted at once, forcing their lips into a desperate frown, and their pupils to enlarge in a way to emotionally express their begging.

They were at least asking for something essential. It wasn't like the three of them were being over dramatic over something they wanted. So maybe Discord would be willing to-

"Oh come on. Are you little ponies always this 'needy' in front of your caretakers or whoever? Sour me, it's not like you three little hatchlings are unable to take care of yourselves without the aid of the mature," he said sarcastically.

Apple Bloom glared at him and shoved her face in Discord's personal view of space. "But all three of us NEED help! Why did ya take us here of all places to hide from that monster? Our older sisters and parents certainly ain't gonna show up out of nowhere in the middle of this dust of rock. And I'm pretty apple licking sure that you know we can't keep living like this!"

"Exactly!" Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof at Discord. "You're the one who dragged us into this crazy mess! I think you're the one who should be taking responsibility for us!"

Discord crossed his arms. "And what gave you this idiotic idea that I, The Lord of Chaos would ever think about taking responsibility for anything or anypony?"

"Probably because you're the one and only 'caring' draconequus from those lame equestrian history books," Scootaloo stated, finally chiming in. "We always have to read those lame books about creatures like you in class for our assignments. And if we're caught sleeping during the time we're supposed to read, well... you don't wanna know what Miss Cheerlee would do."

"Ha! Me? Caring? No. Don't be ridiculous. And I think I'd rather not know about your derranged teacher. But why speak of your poor performance about studying fake equestrian history? What exactly does that have to do with me or what we're fussing about?"

The three fillies explained. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle struggled to speak thanks to the bitter dryness in their throats, but gave out most of what they read about in Discord's past while Scootaloo only muttered out a few bits of information, refusing to sound like an egghead.

Apparently, before Discord grew chaotic and turned Equestria upside down with his powers a thousand years ago, he once met a beautiful mare back in his earlier days on one very specific cold night. Discord instantly scratched the side of his head with one finger while intrigued and puzzled at the same time at what he was hearing from three helpless fillies.

They didn't provide Discord with a description of the mare as there wasn't any personal info of the mare in any of the books at all. It was only cited that the mare grew close to Discord and the two of them took care of each other responsibly out of pure love, until tragedy struck the two of them and they were forced on seperate paths which both led to their downfall.

At the end of the story, the draconequus lost something dear on the inside of his heart and mind as he lived, while the mare lived just long enough to tell the tale narratively before facing her early death.

"Wow. That...was one of the most pointless fairytales I have ever heard," Discord commented, the fillies presenting a triplet of sad faces afterwards. "You three really think I took responsibility for the life of a mare who dare I say never existed in this world?"

They nodded, hearing a set of hoof steps coming from a distance as Discord weakly slouched in disapproval. His mood was changing.

"Children, those fairytales you read day to day are probably just made-up stories that are meant to make fun of me," he couldn't help but frown at a negative thought. "Of course, who in Equestria would ever like or even fall in love with me, Discord. Every pony hates me for who I am..."

A large bowl of water appeared magically in front of the CMCs after Discord snapped his glorious claw.

"There. Drink up and leave me alone for the time being. I'll take you three back to your rightful homes when I am in the mood."

A protesting thought formed in the back of Scootaloo's mind. However, her thirst for something to drink was beyond her control. Once she saw what Discord brought them, she and her two friends were in a trance.

The trio gave a full minute gaze at the few drops of water splashing around aimlessly outside of the wooden bowl before eventually halting. After a minute, the water grew idle inside of the bowl, leaving the fillies to recklessly plant their cute heads and playfully drink until they were satisfied.

"Thank Equestria that's been taken care of," Discord got up from the rock and knew the fillies were completely distracted by their own slurping that they would not notice his temporary mini exit out of the cave.

When he reached the outside, the sun glistening beautifully before it usually sets for the night, he felt an excruciating pain on his right arm. He couldn't help but to wince and put his attention to his pitiful paw. The wound that was once there had been instantly taken care of with just a snap of his claw. However, a black essence seemed to be spreading nonstop on the inside. The draconequus could tell, seeing how it became more visible and bigger in size with each passing hour. And no matter how many times he tried to snap it away, his magic would have no effect on it.

He sighed, acknowledging the fact that he had underestimated the demon of nightmares. He could feel the poison of darkness at its work. And it would only be a matter of time before the poison would finish him. His physical body was weakening, and he could sense a bit of disconnection in his magic.

Discord sat down on the ground and felt an instant comfort enter his mind as he thought about the future. 'Wherever you are my...friend. Please do help.'

He soon found his inner peace when staring off into the setting sun and watching the moon rise thanks to Luna's control over it. He always wanted to know how in the world Celestia and Luna connected themselves to the sun and moon. Were they under the influences of many magical training sessions to achieve that kind of connection? Or were they basically born with the ability in the first place?

Whatever the reason, he needed to understand alicorn magic. Ethier that, or he needed some pony to take care of the poison for him. His magic alone clearly wasn't enough. Sure, his magic was capable of bending reality without mercy, but it had its limitations. One obvious limitation that had been known for years was its weakness against the elements of harmony. A shame he became aware of his second weakness over alicorn magic when it damaged him in the deadliest way possible.

Now that Celestia passed away, the ponies were left without a pony to rule the daytime. Not only that, but the pony responsible for keeping every pony's dreams safe and significant clearly had been affected deeply by the loss. And well, speaking of that pony, there she was, standing right behind Discord.

A word never came out of Luna's mouth. Not ever since Discord teleported her to his personal cave to hide away from the threat.

"You do know you can speak to me out loud, princess. I dislike quiet ponies who stare at me for a reason but never tell me why," he murmured. "In case you have forgotten I am the one who saved you from that lunatic. You should be repaying me with at least a bit of gratitude, don't you think? I didn't just take you here for you to grief and stare, so speak your mind already!"

Even after the lord of chaos demanded her to speak up, she didn't. Not in the slightest did she say a word. The sounds of hoof steps were the only thing Discord got during the unwanted silent treatment. The princess seemed to be approaching the draconequus for a reason. Was it because of anger? Discord couldn't tell.

His eyes rolled when Luna made the conscious decision to sit down by his left side, also staring off into her wonderous moon similar to him.

He gave one gentle snap of his claw, and he became too distracted by Luna's presence to even enjoy the fireworks he created and sent out into the night sky.

A smile crept on Luna's face and Discord couldn't tell if the smile was the good type or the disturbing type. "Ha. Those exploding flames are easily a sight to behold," the princess finally spoke up. "They...their sparks...reminds me of some pony important in my life who had just passed away..."

"..." Discord could only put a strange look on the princess without saying anything. Of all the times she could've broke her silence and speak, she chose a time Discord had unexpected.

The fireworks continued to do their thing as the two continued to watch. Luna soon began giggling like a little filly after a specific pair of fireworks caught her eye. One of the fireworks exploded into the shape of a yellow sun while the other exploded into the shape of a blue crescent moon. "Tis despairing that the sun no longer exists with the moon anymore..." she said, watching the last few minutes of the show.

Being the honest mare that she knew she was, Luna had to admit that Discord's magic impressed her. Though it was a shame that he chose to use it for his own selfish desires.

After the mini firework show ended, Discord eyed the mare beside him carefully. "Okay, what's your deal? You're the princess of all Equestria now. And you haven't said anything ever since that 'incident' for the past hours until now. What gives?"

Luna didn't answer. She looked up and put on a smile on her face as she focused on the stars. And she swore each star was aligned in such a way that by playing connecting the dots would form the appearance of...her.

"Can you feel her? She's up there, telling me everything will be alright," she then turned to the draconequus. "What do you think? Do you think everything will be alright?"

He quickly caught eye of her entire face staring off into his soul. Her well-being was somehow affecting his heart, and Discord couldn't describe the feeling. "Uh- well uh- I don't know. M-maybe," a slight blush formed across his cheeks, but he shook it off immediately. "But seriously, why are you here? Shouldn't you be someplace else doing royal business things?"

"Nay," she shook her head. "I see no point. Everything is falling apart."

"No point? What do you mean, there is no point? Are you seriously considering giving up?"

Luna nodded. "Tis what I had in mind after thinking about Equestria's...end."

A sigh escaped Discord's mouth. "And here we go with the end of the world again. For the love of chaos am I sick of hearing that. Do I have to go through those times when I heard that lie over something stupid? 'Goodness to Celestia, I'm late for school or my job and it's the end of the world! Sweet Celestia, it's the end of the world because I forgot to deliver the cupcakes to some pony's tea party!' Ergh! It's soooo dramatic."

The sheer act Discord pulled off left Luna giggling for a short time, but she quickly dismissed it. "Oh my. You certainly do know how to act, Discord. But this is serious. You must understand, the reason why I traveled far and wide to...um, Disorderlot alone was because I needed answers. Answers from you, Discord."

"Hmph. Go on."

Luna stood up and gazed upon the stars once more as she spoke. "I think something is wrong with Equestria. And I do not think it is because of you or anypony else, but because there are beings or specific things that don't belong in this world."

"..."

"Ever since that fiend appeared in the dream realm, I have been sensing something unusual in the works of magic. While that demon is definitely a part of this mystery, I feel that there are more beings who too have trespassed into this land with different intentions."

"And what exactly makes you so sure that those beings you speak of even exist?"

"I have spotted at least three of them who were clearly...unequestrian by first glance. One of those beings had to be the creature who stole away the Elements of Harmony. And ever since that creature did just that, Equestria hasn't been the same. Now I am here to ask you why. Why did that creature steal Equestria's most defensive tool? I must know. Because I believe very much of the damage to our peaceful civilization could have been avoided or sustained if those artifacts were still in our hooves."

"Oh? You know about my two-legged friend?"

"Yes, I believe I do. There have been many newsletters about him. Also, a new student of mine, Twilight Sparkle, has given word of your little 'escape' from your stone prison. And she claims that you have a potential bond with that creature in some way. Is that true?"

A grin suddenly crossed his face. "Welllll, we sort of are close friends in a way. Oh, but who am I kidding? I suppose I could provide you with the answer on why he took the elements, but...I think I'd like something prepaid before I give an answer."

Luna knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince Discord. Which is why she wasn't surprised when Discord demanded a price. Discord then held up his paw and presented to the princess the area where the source of the poison of darkness began to spread throughout his body.

"Would you mind fixing this for me. I have tried snapping it away hundreds of times and it has become tiring. You are the only alicorn I know who may be able to neutralize the poison. And it is fueled by Celestia's alicorn magic. Surely you must know much more about it than I do."

"Oh, you poor creature!" Luna pitied, gently taking a hold of Discord's paw to analyze without his consent. "That demon must be the cruelest being to ever exist!"

"Um? What are you doing? Uh-no no NO!"

"Please. Let me help you," she said gently and enthusiastically, igniting the magic in her horn to charge up a spell that is supposed to be purposely made for restoration on any biological being.

Discord could feel the tingles of magic entering his veins. The process wasn't anywhere near pleasant for him to say the least, but it also wasn't so bad for him to handle. He would've thrown a chaotic tantrum over it if it started to sting like Tartarus.

"Almost there..." Luna kept her focus, watching as the poison of darkness gradually decreased inside of Discord's paw. Whatever she was doing seemed to be working to Discord's surprise. He couldn't even take out a small ounce of the poison with his own magic.

Meanwhile, the trio of unsatisfied fillies were exiting out of the cave, wanting more from Discord.

"Hay, Discord! We appreciate the water and all, but when exactly are you going to be-" Apple Bloom and the others froze in place upon catching the scene before their eyes. Their jaws dropped on the ground like anvils as they witnessed Luna, one of the alicorn sisters who once turned the Lord of Chaos to stone, giving away her hospitality to Discord.

Luna glanced at the young fillies as soon as her work was done. She smiled, both for her accomplishment on healing Discord and knowing how ridiculous it may have looked for the fillies to witness an unspeakable act.

"There. It is done. Good as new?" the princess asked, hoping she had made a difference in Discord's case.

"Welllll," Discord took a moment to analyze every part of his former infected arm. The black essence was gone, and he could sense every part of his strength returning. "I'm DEEPLY sorry to say this to you princess, but you just did a horrible..."

Luna raised a brow. "A horrible........what?"

Another playful toothy grin formed on Discord's face. "A horrible outstanding job of course! Hahaha! Oh, I knew you would be the one to save me! I saw the outcome through the possible futures in my own eyes! And I can't wait to see the look on that demon's face when he- haha! Sees that I'm still alive! HAHAHA!"

A set of thunder actively started to blast away a wild sound, almost perfectly timed when Discord flied up high into the air. He snapped his claw without hesitation and teleported himself and every pony else onto a special cloud he designed with his magic. And he finished his creation by attaching a steering stick made of candy canes to maneuver the entire cloud.

"Wait. Discord, what are you doing?" Luna inquired. "Are you not going to give me the reason for the creature's theft on the Elements of Harmony?"

"Well, look, about that. I was planning on taking all of us to him that way he could give you the full story but...I don't know where he is. Uh-not that I can't find him or anything like that, it's just I was poisoned, and I honestly had no mood or energy to search for him during that time. But when you, princess, came to your senses and aided me with your magic, I now feel like my true self again. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to aid you in return. I am the Lord of Chaos Revie-"

A mini shockwave from behind Discord interrupted his title before he turned around. From miles away, a giant red portal formed above the night sky and out came a floating isle with a large building on its surface. After the sky portal closed, the island remained floating in a steady position.

Instantly, Discord clapped his paw and claw and rubbed them together. "Oooooh, looks like we're in luck, princess! We might not have to search the whole weeks' worth of Equestria to find him after all."

"What do you-" Luna found her question being cut off as her hooves were sort of stuck tightly into the cloud's fluffy thick surface.

"Buckle up everypony!" Discord unnecessarily warned, fueling the cloud with his magic before it blasted off like a rocket. "DISCORD'S BACK, BABY!"

*The Floating Isle*

Well...this is a little awkward.

Sam was definitely not expecting a surprise visit from the tree. Or at least a visit from the pony form it presents itself as if now. There were still so many questions Sam wanted to ask of it, but he felt quite hesitant about saying anything at the moment. His new friends including every single student of CHS were staring at both him and the alicorn of harmony. Sam had honestly never had this much attention from a crowd. Throughout his whole life, he had only gotten the strict attention from maybe one or two strangers for being a reckless deranged child on specific bad days. And even that was enough for him freeze up when they would judge him for his acts.

"Soooo, Tree of Harmony. I get the whole idea about gathering all six of the infinite element gems to defeat Nightmare for my sake and for the sake of this world. But I feel like you left out a few specific details about the mission."

"You may ask away whatever you wish for me to answer, Master Samuel. Also, you do not have to address me as the Tree of Harmony," it said with an android-like tone of voice.

"Really? Then what should I call you? The Fausticorn?"

"It does not matter what you wish to call me. But if you are curious, no, I am not the Fausticorn. I am merely taking the form of my creator who...left this world under my hooves. The form you see before your eyes is the form of an imaginary goddess who you believe maintains authority and harmony in this world. To clarify, this imaginary goddess is known as my original master and creator, Laruen Faust. I took this form because I believed you would deem me more trustworthy. And if you must know about my identity, my creator had already given me a title before I became a tree with my essence stored inside of it. The name given to me was Dream; a pleasant name for my existence, in my opinion," the alicorn fully addressed.

A part of Sam's left eye twitched after hearing the excessive information, but he managed to break it down without a complaint coming out of his mouth. "So, what you're saying is that the Fausticorn actually existed, ruled this land in perfect harmony thousands of years ago, and then created you to take her place before retiring. Is that correct?"

"Precisely. But my primary function is to save this world and let the joy of creation shine once again. On the other hoof, my creator's desire and purpose was to fill the empty void that was once not this world with her magic of creative light." Dream stated truthfully.

Sam grew confused as he thought about the whole story. "But what about the Pillars? I thought they were the ones who created you."

"You are referring to Season 7, Episode 26 of your personal cartoon series 'My Little Pony'. It is a respectable show that benefits your mental health during your darkest times," Dream unnecessarily pointed out. "While the Pillars infusing their magic into me played a role in my creation, it was the Fausticorn who created the crystal seed in the first place with her power."

Sam was in shock hearing what she had stated first. "Uhhhh. Wait, hold up, time out for a second."

The alicorn remained expressionless as she obediently waited for Sam to speak.

"We're currently in the middle of a Season 3 timeline, right?"

The alicorn quickly responded with a nod.

"Then how in the world do you...I mean, all I know is that in the actual show, you take the form of Twilight Sparkle, and you don't even show off your conscience until Season 8. I know the question I'm about to ask is silly, but...have you always been aware of what things were going on in Equestria ever since the day you sprouted from under the Earth?"

"Master Samuel, this is a friendly reminder that you are in a dream world built purposely for you. This is not exactly a fanfiction situation where you are a human survivalist trying his very best to fit into Equestria. Any events that occur in the actual show may not happen exactly the way you will expect since this world combines every part of your imagina-"

"Uh okay, okay, okay. I think I get it," he interrupted, trying to push away the fourth wall breaks and all the existential complexity to the side for now. "But why are you helping me in this hard to explain situation? I'm just a random guy who goes to a depressing school and watches My Little Pony for a living."

"Because if you die...this world will die along with you. Innocent ponies and every creature of peace no matter how big, friendly, or strong will transform into dust if your existence were to shatter." Dream reasonably explained. "Since that is the case, my job to protect this world will also include protecting you. I understand you are used to telling yourself that you have no importance in the world but understand that this world you have been pulled into is your world. And whether you like it or not, this world will either serve as your eternal paradise, or your eternal grave."

"Woah. That's pretty dark..." Sam went back and thought about how the whole situation started. He slowly looked at the alicorn of dreams in the eyes and caught one of the friendliest smiles he had ever seen on a person's face. Something about her smile felt caring, kind, and wholesome in every regard. But why? Why would some pony take the time to care for some random dude like Sam? While he was curious, he thought about Nightmare and the menacing smile that demon gave him when he started the whole journey. And he then started thinking about the cruel acts he received from others during his time living the depressing life. "So, you're basically supposed to be the opposite version of Nightmare."

"Considering my name and my intentions, then yes."

"Well, holy moly. I ain't got nothing to complain about that. And here I was thinking everything, everypony, and even me were about to descend to the dark abyss without mercy," he could for some reason feel a big tension spike up from the crowd behind him.

The alicorn of dreams gently turned to face the Badlands from below. "I suppose now you are searching for the Element of Time. Hm. That stone is surely the most unique of the six, but technically each stone is unique in their own way. And it really does not matter what order you gather them in since there is no stone of the six that is proven better than the other or more superior. In the end, each stone depends on the other five to fulfill the purpose they are meant to fulfill by their wielder."

Sam gave a worried look which caught Dream's attention within a matter of a second. The boy hesitated, but he eventually told her what was wrong. "Errr ya see. I think there might be a bit of a problem with that..." he then scratched the back of his head with uncertainty. "Sorry, I don't actually know if there is a problem with it. I just-"

Dream gently came up to him and put a hoof over his shoulder to comfort him. "You can tell me anything whenever you like. I can detect your current emotions through my magic. Currently, you are suffering from a despairing depression, an extreme social anxiety, and a pain of regret from the wrath you had unleashed on the individuals who wronged you in the past. You are also experiencing a slight amount of self-dislike, believing you have said something wrong towards me."

"Woah, woah...okay um...wow uh- you really are caring." Sam stated as he felt a wave of sadness enter his emotional state. And crazy enough, a few tears began dripping down. It was as if a miracle had come into Sam's life once the alicorn started to sound much more like a caring mother. "I don't want to sound so hopeless, but I don't think I'm going to be able hold all six at them at once. Heck, I mean, holding only two of them feels like carrying a boulder on my back."

The alicorn smiled as she quickly came to understand what the situation was. "Yes, it is true the stones require a strong wielder. And the more stones you wield at once, the more weight you're well-being will be forced to carry."

"Yea I know. But is there anything I can do to make carrying the stones more bearable? I'm just asking because if the physical, mental, and spiritual weight from those stones straight up multiply when combined together, I think I'll die within seconds if I carry all six of them at once in my current state," he argued.

"Do not worry about how difficult it will be to carry all of the stones at once. Your quest is far from over than it may seem. I can assure you that if you continue on this quest, you'll face many hardships, battles, puzzles, and several daring tests. While they are difficult, they are there for the sole purpose for you to grow strong. Do you feel stronger after what you've been through thus far?"

Sam shrugged. "I mean I guess so. When I was battling a bunch of monsters a while ago, I really did feel stronger in that state compared to the condition I was in when I first got into this world. I guess...after every moment where I bled, sweat, fought, and solved a problem, I gained a good amount of strength out of it."

"Then, you know what you must do if you desire to wield all six stones at once," Dream gazed upward into the night sky that had suddenly became dark and gloomy. The alicorn could sense the demon's existence just by sniffing the dark essence in the sky above. "And there isn't much time left. My Barrier of Harmony will not hold his destructive form for much longer. Once that form of his is unleashed into this world, I fear it will only be a matter of time before this world is covered by his darkness."

Sam didn't quite catch on, but it definitely sounded unnerving to him. He didn't exactly know what he was going to do other than continue into the unknown. Furthermore, the odds of victory didn't sound good. But he figured that rather than thinking about the probability of being successful, he should focus on the current obstacles that he should deal with for the day. And with hope, he will be able to wield all six of the stones, defeat Nightmare, and live happily ever after with the power of little pony friendship in his life.

"Alright, I'll try to do whatever it takes," Sam said with a sigh.

"Good. Now..." the alicorn gave one last glance to every pony behind Sam. "You must leave this place in my hooves," she flied up without another word and activated her supreme magic. The former humans of the alternate world gazed at her excellence as a magical fog began stirring around the sky. Dream's sudden action caught Sam and a few others by surprise before she replaced every bit of the sky with a blank white void of nothingness around the area.

What the? What the heck is she doing?

His eyes narrowed towards the alicorn who was for some reason doing something...that he knew what she was seriously doing! His now alerted mind recalled back to what had happened in the Crystal Empire. This was the same mysterious alicorn that had for some unknown reason, consumed the entire empire with her magic, and forced Sam and Sunburst to flee into the Equestria Girl's world to begin with. But why? Why consume an entire empire with magic? Was it because she wanted to quickly force Sam to follow his quest for the second stone? Or maybe, it was because she wanted to prevent the empire from ever coming into contact with the demon again. In any case, she could've done a better job if she had at least gave a fair warning to Sam about what her plans were instead of taking immediate action.

"Ummm, Sam. What's going on? Do you know that pony?" Sunburst asked, getting a surprised look from Lyra Heartstrings who stood next to him.

"Did you not hear what she said!? She's the legendary Tree of Harmony!" Lyra exclaimed. "Don't you know about the legend of the tree from Ponyville's most flavorful and unique story?"

"Uh no, I uh- sorry, I've never been to Ponyville. Well, speaking of Ponyville, that was the place I alternatively would have chosen as my place to stay to study magic in peace if staying in the Crystal Empire turned out to be a mistake."

"Hey guys, I think this might be our cue to leave," Sam said to the couple arguing through the situation at hoof. After a familiar white beam of light came funneling down to the surface similar to a tornado, Sam knew the same event was about to occur to the island they were currently stranded on in midair.

Knowing there was not much time, Sam took a little second to glance at a convenient lined up group of his friends. And he quickly believed he needed to at least take them along with him for the next journey. Whatever Dream wanted with the school and its students; Sam hoped they would be taken care of in her hooves.

Then, out of prediction, Rarity began stating a few quick concerning details in Sam's mind. "Sam, darling. Are you sure we can create another portal for all of them? You truly appear ruined after what we've done to get back into Equestria."

'Meh, I think I still got some juice. But there's no way I'm transporting every pony out of here. If Dream plans on claiming this island as her own, then she must be looking forward in claiming everypony else who originally came from the alternate world.'

"Who cares whatever the reason! If you still have the fuel to get us from here to Cloudsdale, then let's book it out of here with our friends already!" Rainbow Dash suggested with reasonable unease.

"Yep. I couldn't agree more with ya Dash," Sam accidentally responded aloud, confusing Sunset Shimmer, Sunburst, Lyra, and Boyfriend who were all chosen.

"Bop bap beep. Beeeep beepbop be beep bep beepaa bopo beep beepo beepo baaaap beepaa beep beepo bip skbep beepaa be beepaa beepbop boop brep skbep boop beepo bepo boop skbep beep beepaa beep beepaa skdoo brep boop beepo skdoo bip boop beepaa beepbop skdoo skbep? beepo be beepo," Boyfriend beeped a single time on his microphone and gave out a peace sign with two fingers as if it were the end.

Sam laughed at the act. It didn't really matter whether the rapper was faking it or not. He wasn't going to be consumed by the magic regardless of what he was thinking. And it all happened so fast as Boyfriend heard the sound of an active stone being used, and the rapper randomly felt himself landing on a soft patch of sand. The other ponies had the same experience, but they landed unpleasantly flat on their bellies.

"There we are. I created a portal wide enough below our feet or hooves to safely take us away from the scene just in case you were wondering," Sam explained before he acknowledged that Sunset Shimmer was not in the group. Instead, he found out that two specific ponies had taken her place.

His right eyebrow raised in bewilderment before he struggled to say their names again. "Um...Sticker Picker and General Dan, right?"

The two ponies who had taken Sunset Shimmer's place were speechless at first. They then turned towards the direction of the island that was currently being engulfed by the alicorn's magic. And Sam couldn't blame anypony like them for feeling unnerved by a being capable of sucking away giant parts of land, especially when the reason is uncertain.

"What in the hell!? What the %@&4 is going on!?" General Dan looked around in his current position in a fast overreacted pace. "And where the $!@# are we!?"

"Dad! Language! There are ponies around us who can hear it!" Sticker Picker pointed out.

"I don't give a dam! I've already used profanity around many people in my life for very understandable reasons. And I have the right to swear any TIME and any dam WAY I want. Especially over a deranged phenomenon like this!"

"Beepbop be bappity boop skbep beepaa beepo baaaap, skdoo' brep brep be bap boop bopo bappity bep be brep skdabeep be bap beepaa beep bop beepo boop bop boop skdoo bappity bapboop skdoo bappity beepaa beepbop boop brep skdoo skebap skebap beepo boop be skdabeep beep skebap boop skbep boop bap beepaa," Boyfriend slightly intervened with his opinion. The general utterly ignored the rapper because the general was currently not in the mood to decipher whatever the rapper pointlessly beeped and baped.

"Hey, don't you guys worry," Sam said to the whole five he brought. "I got a nice chaotic friend that said he'd be down here below the island. Once we see him, I'm pretty sure we'll be able to manage things from this point on."

"BOY! That friend of yours better have a way of getting us out of this $#!%. Because if he doesn't..." General Dan aggressively trotted into Sam's personal space and put a mean hoof onto his chest. "I will shoot your magical @&$ down with my backup pistol!"

"DAD!" Sticker yelled, trying to get her dad to come to his senses again. "All of this is happening for a reason! I know it's unpleasant as can be, but you can't just put the blame on somebody else!"

"What in the world are you talking about!? Look!" Dan pointed a hoof at an empty space in the sky that once had the island floating above the ground. "The island with your school which contained a lot of resources for our survival is now gone thanks to one of HIS fairytale friends! And you expect me not to get pissed off at the person who thought it'd be a good idea to magically take us to a place with no resource against our will?! He could just leave us here by ourselves!"

"Actually, I was not intending on bringing you two here," Sam bravely spoke up.

"WHAT?!"

"I was intending on bringing some pony else, but it looks like she somehow magically swapped herself with both of you in her place. So, I guess she wasn't willing to go with me," he reasoned and hoped it would at least cool the general off. "Oh well, I don't really care. I just thought it'd be unwise to not take at least some pony with me before I left for the next stone. Sorry for the inconvenience."

"Oh, just shut your mouth! Where is this other fairytale friend of yours anyway?"

"Yeah, seriously. Where is this friend your supposed to talk to right now, Sam? I'd really like to know. A friend of you is always a friend of mine," Lyra told them happily, brightening the atmosphere with her mood.

Sunburst readjusted his glasses as he tried to endure the intense chilling cold during the night. "Eh, I just want to meet this friend so we can get out of here already."

"Well, ya see...I don't know if you guys would exactly consider him a friend. Chaos is his middle name afterall-"

"CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU SAID THE MAGIC WORD!"

"Woah what in-" Sam was cut off as a pair of electrical arrow signs with a sloppy text of 'WINNER!' painted on both sides came rooting out of the surface of the sand. The signs were clearly both pointing at Sam as if he had won something special in once of a lifetime. And after that came a ridiculous amount of confide that flooded his clear vision of what was in front of him.

Then of course came the sound effect of teleportation and the voice Sam knew all too well after receiving a dramatic entrance from his friend. "Hoho! Oh, I just LOVE it when some pony uses that word! Honestly, the only ponies I usually hear speak of chaos these days our young little fillies who don't know any better."

All of the ponies were in complete shock once they saw The Lord of Chaos in front of their very eyes. Lyra and Sunburst both received a feeling of insecurity since the two of them were originally from Equestria, resulting in them knowing about the creature's identity. While Dan and Sticker on the other hoof, turned out to be frightened just by the creature's appearance. They didn't know who the creature was or what his intentions were until Sam finally stepped in and chatted with his 'friend' as planned.

"Heyyyy, Discord. It sure has been a while."

"Ooh, I know," Discord magically extended his arm and wrapped Sam in a warm one arm hug. "Where in Equestria have you been? I was looking forward to seeing you again on the day after you fled to the Frozen North."

"Yea I know. But I ran into a bit of a strange event that changed my plans."

"Annnd look at what you collected while you were gone," Discord pointed his pointy claw at the two stones that filled two out of six holes in Sam's golden gauntlet. "You must know that my dragon side is craving to have those for dinner. So, maybe keep those gems away from me before I think about devouring them," he brutally stated his thoughts, creating a nasty discomfort on the two mares inside of the stones.

"Ugh! Did he really have to say it that way? The nerve he would need to even consider swallowing me and you, Rainbow Dash, is absolutely unthinkable!"

"I know right! What a creep..."

"You wanted to talk to me about something, didn't you?" Sam asked whilst he ignored the two mares whispering inside of his head.

"Oh yes, the whole thing about your nemesis. Yes, yes, yes, I know, I know. But really..." Discord snapped his claw and teleported Luna, the CMCs, and a large group of ponies a few feet behind his current standpoint. "The princess of the night is really the one who would LOVE to discuss it with you. I'll just be on my personal cloud of wonder while I listen. Because honestly, The Spirit of Disharmony never wastes his valuable time on conversating in a reasonable manner."

A shrug happened on the inside of Sam's mind before Discord did what he said he was going to do. Sam was sure he had heard Discord sick as a dog back when they spoke on the phone, but he now sounded energized and active. Was Discord's weakened voice really just an act to cause a bitter worry in Sam's soul. If so, Sam would admit that it kind of worked.

But now wasn't the time for Sam to think about small meaningless thoughts. He spotted the princess of the night who was also known as Celestia's younger sister, or Luna by actual name. And at this point, Sam believed the princess, out of all the ponies who would want to talk with him, came to find him by putting her trust in Discord to take her on a small sketchy trip. The boy was now just greatly confused out of his mind.

"Sam!!!" a trio of voices shouted aloud before he attempted to speak with Luna.

"Huh? Oh-" Sam felt the pleasant soft warm fur of the CMCs after they each leapt directly onto his chest. With a fast reflex, Sam managed to tightly secure the wild fillies with a hug and prevented himself from inconveniently tumbling down from the sum of their weight.

"We're so glad ta see ya again, Sam! Whew, ya have any idea how difficult things have been since ya left?" Apple Bloom questioned her tall friend as she, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were gently brought down out of Sam's arms.

"Yea! Discord has been putting us to work to help spread his chaos. But apparently, Discord had something nasty going on with the princesses and some crazy monster that got Discord hurt!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"And ever since he got hurt and left Canterlot, he's been looking for you for the past hours!" Sweetie Belle quickly asserted.

"Woah now, calm down. I wasn't expecting all of this company at once," Sam said, taking a breath while an overwhelming feeling made him feel a slight amount of unease. He then noticed that behind the fillies stood a random group of ponies who were with Discord. Unexpectedly, the group of ponies spitted themselves off into three separate mini groups before each mini group put their attention on a specific somepony in the vicinity.

One group trotted over to Lyra, the second wanted to speak with Sunburst, and the third gradually made their way over to the princess of the night. However, Luna quickly and kindly dismissed the third group as she turned out to be more interested in the human standing a few hoof steps away from her presence.

The princess couldn't think of any horrible reason to not start a conversation with the creature. But she also couldn't say it was her fault when she awkwardly stared at the human for a moment and hesitated to speak what she had in her mind. The creature was after all the one who successfully broke into Canterlot and stole the elements. He also was assumed to be capable of dealing with highly durable ponies after the incident with the Captain of the Royal Guard. And even Discord himself, being the nigh-omnipotent being that he knew he was, said he held a considerable amount of respect for the human creature.

Great. I wasn't expecting pony royalty to come into play this early in my quest. I better think carefully on my words. Because I wouldn't want to accidentally upset the princess for talking like an idiot.

Sam neutrally gave his full attention to the princess with his mouth closed shut. Of course, Sam intentionally closed his mouth so that Luna would be given the first chance to start speaking. The princess looked at him funny for a short period, but she began the conversation regardless.

"Greetings...human. I am the princess of the night. Perhaps you have heard of me," she begun, concern painted all over her face.

Sam nodded while he responded. "Yea, I've known about you and your sister. You're the pony who's responsible for raising and lowering the moon."

"That is...correct," her concerned expression switched to a more concentrated and curious one. "So, it is true that you are aware of what goes around in Equestria."

"I mean...I guess so. Though, I've been in an alternate world for who knows how long. So more than likely, I missed out on a bunch of events that may have happened while I was absent."

The princess didn't think much of it as she was overall desiring to get to the point with Sam. "I see...but as a princess of Equestria I must ensure that my land is safe for my subjects. And the reason why I have come to speak to you is because I want to know what business you have in these lands."

"Hm. Well, I'll say my business here was to originally find some way to survive and start a new life, but that idea got pretty dull for me quick. So, I decided...*sigh* you know what, let me tell you why I'm REALLY here, princess."

*7 minutes of explaining later*

"And that's why I stole the Elements of Harmony and am now searching for new and improved ones," Sam finished his long-summarized explanation/backstory and took a breath of relief.

Though, despite Sam's effort to explain his situation and objective, Princess Luna wasn't all that impressed in what she was told, as she felt as if Sam had left out several bits of personal information on purpose.

"So, it is the belief from an unknown deity that collecting those...infinite elements will give you the power to destroy your nemesis?"

"Pretty much. I mean hear me out. To tell you the truth, I'm just some nobody looking for purpose and great pleasure. And if I or any pony else can't kill Nightmare, then we can all kiss our lives goodbye. Because lemme tell ya, I'd rather be dead than watch Nightmare turn everything we love into a living Tartarus."

Her eyes were glued suspiciously at him for a while, but she eventually put her suspicions to the side. However, that did not mean she believed Sam word for word. In equestrian terms of law, the human was technically a criminal. Both a thief and a murderer to be specific. Even if Sam claimed to have good reasons, he didn't exactly have direct proof.

"Listen to me, human. And listen very well. You are free to go," she told him in a stern tone.

"Really?"

"But if are to commit any further crimes, you will be punished no matter the reason," her thoughts drifted to Twilight's loss and the emotional effect it brought to her.

"Okay..."

"Oh, but please do forgive me for saying such a thing. It is by Equestrian law that you are to be punished for such misdeed. As princess, I can only pardon you this once. So please don't take it for granted."

"Alright, fine. I'm not good at making promises, but I'll try not to do some crazy stuff from this moment on. You look pretty by the way."

"You have my thanks, human."

"It's Sam if you're wondering."

"Oh, my apologies..." Luna's horn suddenly detected a dark essence in from afar. And she knew exactly what it was all about. "Sam, is the demon you speak of after you?"

He put his hands above his waistline as his lips showed his frustration. "Yep. I'm his primary target. Any other living being that comes close into his range will be liable as a secondary target. And he probably ain't gonna stop doing what he's doing until he finds me again. Nightmare is just going to destroy everything he sees. And that's just how it's going to be unless he's stopped."

Luna's horn glowed as she and her reliable night vision took sight of every single pony in the area. "Well, I am glad we had this moment to speak with you. As for your friends, I believe they would be much safer with me."

Noticing the glow on her horn, Sam realized she was going to teleport someplace else. "Where are you going?"

"To Ponyville. I must return and warn all of my subjects who reside in the town. I will leave you and Discord to yourselves to do whatever you believe must be done," she finished as soon as a giant flash of her magic took her, Sunburst, Lyra, Boyfriend, and the group of ponies away from the area in the speed of light.

Welp, that talk was convenient. It could've gone better, but I guess time isn't on any pony's side. Although...that may change if I acquire the time element.

"Soooo, what's da plan now, partner?" Discord inquired, a cowboy hat resting on his head as if he were a country person.

"Hmmm," Sam looked up with a finger under his chin. "I guess we should find someplace to stay before we start our search for the third element."

"Well in that case, you're in luck. Because I know the perfect place," Discord said with a bit of mischief in his tone.

"Oh boy...what is it, Discord?"

*The Changeling Hive*

Chrysalis watched as her children went in and out of her chamber to access more restricted parts of the hive as they did as they were told. Many of her subjects were carrying small buckets of water, and bags filled with meat and mushrooms to store into a specific part of the hive. It was pretty much their job ever since Chrysalis gave them the stern order to gather supplies. Unbelievably enough, the entire hive itself was beginning to run low on basic essential needs after the invasion they inflicted on Canterlot.

She found it funny that the Equestrian ponies believed they were only sucking the love out of pure innocent hearts for the pleasure. But the harsh reality of it all was that the changeling race needed that love to survive. And their mission to seek out Equestria's love and contain it in a set of cocoons was a success. However, ever since Discord took the throne of Canterlot for himself in exchange for a way to produce unlimited love for her and her children in the near future, the queen trusted him on the deal, and they were forced to live back in their original home.

The thought of having unlimited love made her drool. She could only imagine not having to put concerns on hunting and cocooning other creatures or ponies for their love, just for them to eventually run out of juice and die out. Physical food and water on the other hoof can be grown or found in the badlands. That only meant the changelings would never have to leave the badlands ever again if Discord were to keep his future promise.

Now, as if right now, Chrysalis was just sitting on a pile of rubble, waiting patiently for The Lord of Chaos to arrive. And she figured observing the magnificent work of her children would pass the time significantly. Although, while it seemed every sentient living being in the hive was productively working, there was...one exception. And Chrysalis could hear it only several hoof steps away.

"Zzzzzzzzz." A sleeping skeleton, with a constant smile on his face, was inconveniently snoring loudly in the far back corner of the queen's chamber.

Chrysalis had respectfully allowed him to stay and rest for the time being after seeing what the pile of bones was capable of. But that didn't mean she was going to allow him to be very disruptive forever. If the skeleton's businesses venturing into the hive was all for the human and not to provide support, then Chrysalis will only tolerate his presence for a day.

The skeleton was obviously upset when Chrysalis only pointed out possible locations on where the human could be as she didn't exactly have the human under her hooves. And even Chrysalis herself wanted to have at least a chat with the human again.

"My queen," a royal changeling guard confronted her. "We have a couple of visitors approaching the entrance to the hive. How should we respond?"

As the words entered the queen's ears, and her mind begged her to continue thinking about other stuff in solitude, Chrysalis softly dismissed the guard with an unexpected command, "Let Thorax and his little assigned group take care of them. After all, today is their turn to watch over the entrance."

"W-what?!" the guard showed his surprised emotion. "Are you certain they can handle the outsiders? What if those outsiders are highly dangerous?"

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "You worry too much. Did you even get a good look at those 'visitors?' Because I'm not going to send the entire hive into a panic over something petty. And additionally, Thorax and his group need to learn how to deal with 'visitors' on their own. Especially any hostile ones."

"...Understood, my queen."

"Good. Now get back to patrolling the upper parts of the hive. I have some thinking to catch up on. And if Thorax is in any danger, I assure you those 'visitors' will take it up with me," she said coldly, casually licking her fangs in uninterest.

The guard awkwardly saluted and left the queen on her own.

******

"Welp...I can't say this is the place I had in mind. But you know, the changeling hive may actually be a good place to start when searching these wastelands. Thanks, Discord."

Discord instantly pressured one of his fingers onto Sam's lips. "Dah, no, no, no, no. Don't thank me, because I'm not real. Thank the pony who is ambitious enough to stand up for himself, and the pony who is determined to put his enemy into the depths of Tartarus where he belongs.

Sam gently freed his mouth from Discord's paw and asked, "And who would that pony be?"

Discord frustratingly covered his head with his eagle claw. "Owh, for goodness' sake. The pony I'm talking about is you! Was that not obvious at first?"

"Um...not exactly. Plus, I'm not even a pony," Sam pointed out as he began walking towards the entrance of the hive on foot.

Discord sighed with even more frustration exiting out of his chaotic lungs as he followed Sam. "Well how about I put it a different way."

A spotlight, similar to what presents someone in an elegant manner to grab an audience's attention to that person on stage, is what lit up and glimmered on Sam. Clearly, the spotlight and the sudden darkened atmosphere was Discord's magic at work.

"You, Samuel, are one of the most, if not the most, important and most special pony to ever exist in this cosmos. Why, might you ask? Because you my friend, can gather all six of the infinite elements, and destroy Nightmare before he consumes us all. And if Nightmare succeeds, then I'm afraid everypony will be doomed in an eternal nightmare."

Sam's eyes widened for a moment before returning to normal after hearing what he believed to be a bit ridiculous. "Heh, that's nice of you to say Discord. But don't you think that's a bit of an exaggeration? And back to what I said earlier. I'm not a pony."

'Not a pony yet...' Discord thought in his head before Sam questioned him after they got closer to the changeling hive.

"By the way. What was up with the princess? She seemed depressed as heck when we talked. And I thought I was the only one suffering from constant sadness all the time. Is she okay?" he curiously asked with care in his voice.

"Oh, you really don't want to know..." Discord stated.

"Come on just tell me. I always wanna know what-"

"Her older sister, Celestia, died while you were away from Canterlot."

"..."

"I'm afraid It's the truth."

A rare, shocked expression became Sam's face as if his heart was melting away an emotionless frost. "What in the world happened to Celestia?!"

"She umm. How do I say it? Ugh, I have no clue what happened to that old pony. The least I can say is that something random got into her head and it drove her NUTS. And when she made the decision to take me down, your nemesis showed up and absorbed her magic including whatever that was making her crazy. After that, well...he took Celestia's life in front of her younger sister."

Sam shot a look that was almost a glare at the draconequus. "What the heck Discord! You're the Lord of Chaos! Couldn't you have done something to that dark piece of crap?!"

He quietly shook his head. "Sorry, I couldn't. You see, Nightmare absorbed Celestia's power and had it all for himself. And it only took one blow from that demon to bring me down to my knees. I never told any pony, but alicorn magic is my weakness. And we had no choice but to retreat."

"Ah, good grief. Things just have to start going downhill to make life harder. Golay I'm tired."

Sam was beginning to stress out. But he knew he had to keep pushing forward. Even with Discord walking by his side, Sam still felt he was going through his quest alone. At this point, he was begging for a miracle. He wanted to feel like there was still hope. And...out of everything he could ever want; he wanted to know what he needed.

"H-hault. W-who goes there?" an innocent voice asked. It sounded hesitatant and a little frightened, showing it was not comfortable with meeting strangers at all. And if Sam was recalling the sound of the voice correctly, the voice's owner was Thorax.

Discord noticed the changeling guards right in front of the entrance first before Sam squeezed passed an open narrow crack between two boulders.

"Oh great, looks like we can't walk our way in without being spotted," Discord turned to Sam in a fast manner. "Well, time for you, Sam, to do what you do best!"

"Do what I do best?" Sam scratched his shoulders to knock off tiny pieces of ruble before also taking notice of the changelings who were staring at the two of them in disarray. Sam couldn't tell right away which of the changelings were Thorax, but he could guess it was the changeling at the very front of the patrol group.

"You know. Try to be as reasonable as possible to every pony you meet? I mean, unless you want me to raise havoc to this place and reduce our chances of speaking to Chrysalis for her aid. I'm fine with that as well. Afterall, if there is a 50/50 chance of me dying to that demon of yours if he isn't stopped. It makes me think if I should call the whole 'helping you out part' off and have fun with my glorious chaos before the end of the world," Discord exaggerated.

"Discord. Come on man. You know dang well I need your help," Sam sighed in defeat when Discord didn't respond back. "Fine. I'll do it. But I want you to know that I dislike doing the talking," he cautiously walked up to the changeling patrol and tried to act friendly towards the group. But sadly, all he got in return was a bunch of hissing and glares directed toward his face. Though he could tell those hisses were more out of fear than anger.

"Wait..." Thorax commanded to the group, with Sam and Discord assuming he was the leader. "Are you...who I think you are?" Thorax gazed at the tall human boy with curiosity.

Sam remembered his time with Thorax. He then remembered every bit of the past like it was just yesterday. He remembered being put into a changeling pod, busting out of it to see the changelings had taken Canterlot, and destroyed the magic sucking throne that they constructed over Celestia's throne to get Discord's magic back in action.

"Yea I am who you think I am. But I'm not here to bash out any changelings. Nor is Discord willing to bring chaos to this hive...right, Discord?"

"Yes, yes, of course, of course. No chaos, not even given from the slightest tips of my paw and claw," Discord stated peacefully.

"We're just here to talk to the queen about some big important stuff," he told them honestly, but he only received another set of unpleasant hisses, as if talking gently to the group of bugs wasn't enough.

Shoot. Maybe I shouldn't have included 'bash' in my statements. They may think we're trying to secretly screw their queen up in some way.

"Stop it guys, please!" Thorax exclaimed nervously to his group. "I don't think they're here to cause us any harm. They just need to speak with Chrysalis and be out of our hair."

His siblings weren't very pleased at first, but they eventually suited down and allowed Discord and Sam a free entry into the hive without raising a changeling alarm or anything like that. Thorax was then kind enough from his heart to escort the two visitors through the hive using his navigation skills to make it to room to room while the other changelings followed behind them.

There were so many twists and turns Discord and Sam had to trudge by and many of those turns seemed to be taking them in a constant circle throughout the hive. Even some rooms appeared similar to the entrance rooms as if they just found themselves back where they began. But Thorax claimed he knew the way and Sam trusted him even if the friendly bug didn't sound very clear and confident.

Eventually, as they were nearing Chrysalis's chamber, Sam got to chat a little with Thorax. "Sooooo, Thorax. How have things been around here?"

"H-huh?" Thorax turned around, astonished that Sam wanted to talk.

"You know. How's business been in here? Are yall eating well? Are you guys getting plenty of love and all that sweet stuff?"

"Well, um...yes, we're doing fine. Why do you ask?"

Sam shrugged. "Eh, just wanted to know. I care about a lot of living beings in this world. Especially the beings I know like you, Thorax."

"Oh...thank you. That's...very sweet of you," he responded with a little blush and squeezed lips.

"No need mate," said Sam, walking down a set of stairs to reach the entrance of the queen's chamber. "By the way, where's your buddy Pharynx? I don't believe I've seen that purple eyed bug anywhere around during our little escort."

"He was sent on another important mission. Chrysalis even promised him he would get a long-deserved break once he finished."

"Really? What was he ordered to do?"

"I think it was something to do with looting villages from across Equestria. I don't know the exact reason. You'll have to ask Chrysalis if you wanna know."

"Yea, I understand. But hey, it sure was nice talking to ya. Hope we meet again sometime," Sam finished, realizing they had just entered the queen's chamber. And there was Chrysalis, sitting on a large pile of pebbles with her horn focusing on its magic. Then, her eyelids opened, and she spotted the draconequus she had been waiting for.

******

Out of all the visitors she was expecting for Thorax to bring in, she didn't expect the visitors she desired. She looked around her chamber and realized the sentient skeleton was no longer sleeping in the corner of the room. She raised a brow at his disappearance, but she waved it off and focused on what she primarily cared about the most.

With a pleasant look of approval on Chrysalis, she congratulated Thorax and his group and even told them there was a possible reward waiting for them at the end of the day. She then ordered them to quietly exit her chamber and leave her with Discord and Sam.

Thorax was afraid to even make a sound, but he saluted the same way every changeling did and buzzed out of the chamber without a word or a chirp due to the queen's orders.

When the three were alone, Chrysalis first put her focus on Discord who was playfully licking a strange looking flavor of ice cream on a cone.

"Discord. Are you here to pay your debt? Or are you here to just fool around?" Chrysalis watched the draconequus annoyingly toss and waste the ice cream he created for his own enjoyment.

"Yes, I know. The whole 'infinite love deal' I promised when you surrendered the throne of Canterlot to me. Honestly, I don't even know why I made that deal when I, The Lord of Chaos, can just send you bugs flying away with just a sneeze. But I guess a deal is a deal," Discord simply pointed a claw at Sam. "I believe you'll find the answer to 'infinite love' through him and his dumb logical and caring mind."

Chrysalis's eyes instantly locked onto Sam before the boy slightly flinched at the sudden attention. But instead of asking something out of Sam right away, the queen unexpectedly used the magic from her horn to inspect Sam's power. Before the spell activated, however, Sam noticed a bit of grey color mixed with the green essence of her magic. And something about the gray magic felt...dull and off at the same time to him.

*Killed: ???;____Power Gained: -66593614777601010 PP*
*Killed: 5 Timberwolves;____Power Gained: 100 PP*
*Killed: Shining Armor;____ Power Gained: 450 PP*
*Killed: 57 Changelings____Power Gained: 570 PP*
*Killed: Killer Sans;____Power Gained: 1000 PP*
*Killed: 24 Horriflies;____Power Gained: 360 PP*
*Killed: 25 Horribdos;____Power Gained: 500 PP*
*Killed: Horror Sans;____Power Gained: 950 PP*

*Total Power: 3930 PP*

"Well, well, well. Look at that. You've gotten stronger since we've last met. I'd say your three times as stronger as you were before," Chrysalis claimed. "And here I thought you were never going to return to me and serve as my guard as you promised."

"Oh, well, I mean...I'm actually here to ask for your help, Chrysalis."

She looked at him in interest. "Really?"

Sam presented his golden gauntlet, and the two gems contained in its holes to Chrysalis before he explained the whole situation. After he revealed his problems, he asked her if she knew anything about a third existing gem that could be anywhere around the badlands.

Unfortunately, Chrysalis had been completely unaware of the elements of infinity until now. In other words, she didn't have a clue on where the third stone could be. However, that didn't mean she was helpless. The queen began giving out a few suggestions on what Sam could or should do. And Sam turned out to be willing to listen to any advice that he could potentially use to find the next stone.

"If you say the third stone is underneath the sands of these lands, I highly doubt you'll find it anywhere near our hive. But if you're looking for magical stones then you should probably search for one of my most obedient children, Pharynx, who just so happens to be searching for another set of magical dark stones to rebuild my throne."

"Rebuild your throne? I thought you already had one in this place."

"Well, I don't. Originally, I planned on building one to protect the hive from magic. But we got...overconfident and decided to build it in Canterlot when we thought driving the ponies out would mean the kingdom was ours. But it was when you started going on a rampage, took down a good amount of my children one by one, and destroyed my one and only throne is when things went downhill for us."

Ah, that explains why Discord still has magic in here. I guess the throne hadn't been built at all in the actual show until somewhere in Season 6.

"Hey, come on now. I had a reason for being that aggressive during that time. You did order your minions to capture me and my friends in cocoons while we were asleep in a cave."

"Yes well, you forgot about our deal. But I guess the deal's off since it seems you now have much more important things to catch up on," Chrysalis then explained to Sam that if he wanted a chance to find Pharynx, he would have to search towns or villages that were on the northern parts of Equestria that were outside of Ponyville or Canterlot. Finally, she told him a certain being made of bones was looking for him. But she didn't give a description, a name, or where-

"heyyyyy, there you are," a chill voice came interfering from the side of the chamber. "sorry, Chrissy. i had to take a little lunch break. and i know just how much you love my snores."

"Wait...no way..." Sam found himself staring at well-known figure who was short with no hair and a blue jacket covering its bones after he immediately turned to meet one of his favorite characters of all time.

Holy crap! It's actually him! And not one of his corrupted versions for once!

"What?! There's another one of those boneheads?! Grrrr! Sam, use my element and let me give it to him!" Rainbow Dash demanded harshly.

"Rainbow Dash! Calm your nerves! This one may be friendly and reasonable compared to the other one we had to stop," Rarity suggested.

"*yawn* so you're the human those ponies were talking about this whole time, heh."

"..." Sam's will to interact was frozen, but he knew he had to respond at some point. He just couldn't leave Sans the Skeleton hanging. He just couldn't!

"..." the skeleton's expression changed over the silence. "not much of a talker, huh? that's okay. i've seen many humans paranoid about being around strangers. although, you are one very tall human. that's odd. every human i've ever met were pretty short for their height."

"Um...what are you-"

"oh, and you can speak. wow. the last human i remember could barely make a sound out of their mouth. i'm sans. sans the skeleton. what's your name, kiddo?"

"I'm Sam. Sam the...random guy who is currently trying to find meaning in life," Sam answered with brutal honesty.

"heh, woah, buddy. no need to be so dark. i didn't ask to know about your personal life. i only wanted your name, pal."

"Y-yea. S-sorry it's just...it's so great to see you Sans!"

A small, short cackle came out of the skeleton. "sure, kid. we've just met, but i'll roll with that."

"What are you doing here anyway? More importantly, HOW did you get here? And when I say 'here' I mean, Equestria."

"hey now, slow it down, kid. we don't need to get deep into that just yet. i'm just here to help you is all."

"Help? With what?"

"don't ya have some demon chasing after ya?"

The question had Sam in shock. How did he know? "...Yea I do."

"well, how's about you and me form a little bond with each other. nightmare, which is that demon chasing your tail is the same demon who messed with me not too long ago. what do ya say? i've heard you've been making some good friends around here. got any room for one more, buddy chum pal?" Sans requested.

Sam was a little confused and a bit suspicious. While he did think of Sans as a very cool individual, he found it pretty strange of how he knew about Nightmare. And it was not pleasant that the skeleton wasn't being specific. It felt as if Sam was being sweet talked into somethings, he would rather not be involved in. But...he eventually accepted anyway. "Sure. I don't see why not. Let's team up."

The two of them later came up to each other and shook hands. What happened next was the sound of a whoopee cushion that had been secretly tied onto Sans's hand.

"hehehe. the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it still makes me laugh," he added a chuckle upon witnessing a silly giggle from Sam as a reaction to the funny trick. "it's a trick i use 99 percent of the time whenever i meet someone new."

As the two started a small talk conversation, Chrysalis remained sitting on her pile of rocks, observing them. Though there was not much for her to observe on Discord who was napping on a chair he created in the middle of the chamber. She once again secretly used her magic to scan Sam again. Only this time, she focused more on scanning the two stones themselves. And it only took a few minutes of processing for her to finish. The results...didn't look so good.

"Ehem!" Chrysalis managed to cut off the two conversating with just that. "I do not believe it would be smart to search for or even wield another stone. You will need more strength, Sam. And I can tell those stones are weighing you down."

Sam momentarily turned to Chrysalis. He was surprised that she knew. But the question still remained; how was Sam supposed to gather enough strength to wield the compacity of six stones? He had slaughtered many monsters throughout his quest, but clearly it wasn't anywhere near enough to reach the strength he needed. Like Chrysalis said earlier to him back when she ruled Canterlot for a day, is that the only way for him to gain strength is to kill more enemies or monsters.

"So, what can I do?" Sam removed the gauntlet from his arm, and he instantly felt the disconnection from Rarity and Rainbow Dash as the weight he carried faded away. And he felt relieved.

"For one, you should work on how you battle your opponents. If you plan on going on a killing spree to gain as much power as possible then you should maybe consider a bit of fighting practice," Chrysalis proposed. "And don't lie to me. I have fought you before and honestly, you fight like a child throwing a tantrum at an adult."

Hey!

"I believe you should avoid using those stones for the time being. Overall, putting a big reliance on those stones could be one of your biggest downfalls. I think you should just focus on yourself for now rather than relying on two pieces of powerful rocks that will only slow you down in growing."

Sam understood what she meant. But he certainly didn't expect such a helpful amount of advice from Queen Chrysalis. Because in the actual show, Sam believed she was one of the most selfish creatures in Equestria, who could care less for any creature or pony except for her children.

"Well thanks for the advice. But why are you helping me this much?" Sam wanted to know as he grew suspicious over the thoughts in his head saying she was an evil dirty villain who would stab him in the back at some point.

"You don't trust me? Why would I not help you? You're supposed to be my guard. The stronger I help you become, the more of a useful defense you can be, which I can order up in case of an emergency," her vision slid over to Sans as she thought about trust issues. She had a bitter feeling that something was wrong with the walking skeleton. When she first saw him, he was serious and desperate for help. But now, he seemed calm and had decided to put on a funny act for the time being.

"You there, skeleton," Chrysalis pointed a hoof at Sans.

"sup," Sans replied.

"I know I said you could only stay here for a day. But I'll allow you to stay in the hive for as long as want if you help Sam train in self-defense," she offered. "That means I want to see you attack him without lethal or even severe force."

Sans responded with a lazy shrug. "sure. sounds like a pretty good deal."

"And Sam, you must evade, destroy, and survive any attack he throws onto you for a certain period of time without passing out," she ordered.

"Wh-what? What are you sayin-"

She cut Sam off faster than a second. "That was an order. Do I have to resort to something else to make it clearer?"

Sam blinked and looked back and forth between Sans and Chrysalis. From the looks of things, it seemed Chrysalis wanted him to train his endurance and agility right in her own chamber right now. And as for Sans, well, he just had a casual smile like there wasn't a worry in the world. However, sadly for Sam, he had it in his very own right to worry. He had been going through so many things in his quest without much of rest. And after transporting the whole CHS building to Equestria with the space and reality stones, he felt way too exhausted for a present fight.

"Remember you two. You both are in my domain, and I will say when you are allowed to stop fighting. When I think you two are done, you both can rest in one of the guest bedrooms to the left of my chamber. Is that clear?"

"can do," Sans agreed.

"Uh, sure..." Sam hesitantly agreed as he didn't want to fight Sans in his current condition. But Chrysalis only ordered Sans to attack without lethal force. And only ordered Sam to evade or endure every separate attack without fighting back. So it couldn't be that hard, right?

"Good. Now get into your preferable battle position," she once again ordered, watching the two of them taking a few steps away for a good distance.

Sam kept his eyes on Sans while gently laying the golden gauntlet down on the floor. Then, he organized his fists and arms into a strange position, similar to a brawler.

With a wave of his left arm, Sans summoned a couple of flying bones that pointed in Sam's direction. Now it was on Chrysalis to give the command to start the mini fight.

"Ooooh, I need to see this," said Discord, who had just woken up from his nap. He even created a bag of popcorn and a pair of 3D glasses for himself as he began to watch.

"Ready..." Chrysalis inspected both Sam and Sans to see if they were truly all set before she continued to give out the signal. She also noticed several of her children peeking through the cracks of the entrance to see what the commotion was all about. "Set..."

Sam took one second to breath in preparation before-

"FIGHT!"

The battle begun and Sam was immediately given a slap on the cheeks by a few of San's bones.

"OW!" Sam felt the bones bounce off, thankful that they didn't impale through his skin. He also could feel a great sting occurring on his cheeks after the attack and he was already about to call it quits.

"c'mon buddy. what's the matter?" Sans summoned a trio of floating bones this time and sent each one of them flying one by one towards the poor boy.

Sam quickly reacted and managed to dodge at least two of the incoming bones, but he was hit square in the chest by the third and he was sent down to his knees. He couldn't find it in his strength to get up. He was tired and hungry. And worse, he didn't have the stones to control the aspects of space and reality to make the fight bearabl-

NO! I ain't giving up yet!

Sam got up and punched a fourth incoming bone into bits as adrenaline started pumping in his veins. Realizing Sam had gotten into a fighting mood, Sans decided to bump up the difficulty by adding a few striking bones from the ground into the mix. The first few striking bones struck Sam hard on the side, but he instantly picked himself up after tumbling down and kept it going.

As Sam pressed forward, Sans thickened the size of his bone attacks and started using bone walls that slid across the entire chamber in a matter of seconds and would bash anyone against the wall if they were hit. And even some bone walls were impossible to avoid that Sam had to resort to punching one of them through the middle to reduce any inconvenient damage. Though, his fists were bleeding out as if he had punched a brick wall.

"impressive. guess i'll add some blue attacks," Sans snaped his fingers and created a combination of every attack he had presented thus far with the exception of the added blue bones.

A grunt escaped Sam after he did his best to evade every attack. The blue bones especially were making it difficult for Sam to dodge anything as he had to halt his every movement for each impassable blue bone that posed a threat for his health. Then, he would find himself immediately switching modes to avoid a normal bone attack within a split second after halting for the blue bones.

Oddly enough, Discord wanted to be a part of the action. But as he thought of what he was going to snap into existence to make the battle more chaotic, something unexpected happened...

*CRASH*

Within seconds after the loud noise, the battle between Sam and Sans came to a permanent stop. Everyone's' ears felt as if they were nearly going to explode after hearing such a loud disturbance. And Chrysalis wasn't complaining when the fight came to an abrupt end over their curiosity rather than her command to cease action.

"What the heck was that?" asked Sam as he turned to eye everyone in the chamber. They too also seemed clueless.

"Hmm. Whatever it was, it didn't sound pleasant. I'd ask one of my children to investigate, but it seems like they ran off to someplace much safer in the hive," believed Chrysalis. She got up from where she sat for the past hours and gave the command to Sam to investigate. "There. Your first job as my guard. Find out what caused the racket, to ensure the safety of the hive."

Ugh! I know I made a deal to be her guard. But why do I feel like everyone is putting everything on me?

Sans acknowledged Sam's expression of concern and decided to encourage. "hey, no worries, buddy. just take it from me. kids these days can walk for thousans of miles. and as for me, well. you could say these old lazy bones can only walk a mile before falling asleep at my post. so, all i'm saying is...you got this kid."

"And he most certainly will have it with my help," Discord spoke confidently as he grabbed Sam by the side with his lion paw. "I'll take us there in an instant."

It didn't matter if Sam was ready or not. Discord snapped his claw to magically take both himself and an unprepared Sam to the source of the noise. In a flash of light, the two found themselves outside of the hive somewhere in the badlands again.

The dry air didn't serve their lungs well, but thankfully with Discord's magic, they found the source right away.

"A crystal with the color green? Huh? Not what I expected," Discord made his way closer to the crystal, which he believed caused the disturbance in sound.

Wait a minute. I know what this is...

Once Sam got close and peered inside of the crystal, there slept a third pony of the mane 6. The sleeping pony's coat was pink, and her tail and mane were puffed up with a much darker pink color. Regarding the color of the crystal being green, Sam guessed the mare sleeping inside should somehow be connected to the time element.

"Pinkie Pie..." Sam worded her name aloud, surprising Discord as he too knew that name.

Chapter 19: A Growing Darkness

As the harmony barrier continued to be chipped away by the power of Nightmare's true form, the demon sat on Celestia's throne and relaxed himself as he thought of his next plan of action.

His wicked smile remained true to himself once he realized that he probably wasn't going to have to ever manipulate any other being to his will and rely on those beings to fulfill his dirty work.

The demon had three forms that made Nightmare, Nightmare. He had not the slightest idea on where his spiritual form had gone after he lost its connection and contact, but it didn't matter whatsoever at this point in time. His spiritual form's main purpose was to enter another alternate existing world and secretly create negativity to absorb and transfer back to the main world. Though it seemed to have failed in doing so.

His destructive form, or rather his true form was the form that existed to get the job done. Its job was rather simple, really. All it was made to do was to consume and destroy the world to ensure all light will never exist again. However, his true form was the only form of the three that required negative fuel to stay active. And ever since the harmony barrier came out of nowhere to seal away his true form, it had difficulty in staying active from there on out.

But like all barriers, there is always a way to shatter them away. And Nightmare's plan to continue sending away negative energy he gathers from the world to empower his form of destructive darkness seemed to be working. It appeared that it would only be a matter of time before his true form breaks through the barrier and takes action. Once it does, it would have to gradually consume parts of the world to increase its size and destructive capabilities until it becomes strong enough to finish the job.

Finally, there was Nightmare's one and only well-known immortal form. It was the form that first awakened and pulled Samuel into the world. It was the form that manipulated pony dreams to create nightmares and feed on their negativity to awaken his destructive form. It was the form that bonded with King Sombra. And it was the same sentient form that murdered Celestia and managed to defeat Discord using the princess's power.

Now, Nightmare's immortal form was just waiting for the perfect moment to strike as he remained sitting patiently on the throne without any regrets on what he had done thus far.

Out of no-good particular reason, the demon started to laugh like a complete maniac. Thankfully, no pony was around to hear the absurd cackling that would make any pony want to question what exactly the matter was in terms of insanity and mindlessness. As he laughed aimlessly around the throne room of Canterlot, he thought about what method of torture and murder he would use on Samuel specifically. He knew killing Samuel would end the world right away, but that wasn't exactly what Nightmare wanted.

What the demon REALLY desired was the enjoyment in watching the ponies suffer a slow decay in darkness. He desired to watch them lose what they love most. He desired to make them feel pain until they could no longer scream. And he desired to have fun with his role before the end.

"Hehehe..." Nightmare felt a surge of power in his negative heart and as a dark fog clogged every part of Canterlot, the demon raised his hand upward to command the fog to aggressively stretch far and wide into the sky. As the fog progressed in his command, it fused and shrinked into a small dark cloud ball before exploding into several large gooey, purplish, dark projectiles that spreaded across Equestria. "Rise my minions...RISE!"

Nightmare heard the cries of the undead and knew they were rising from the ground. He knew the undead monsters he had summoned from the underworld would feast on every mortal flesh they'd find. And the best part of it all, he could summon as many as he'd like without much of a sweat, as necromancy was one of the demon's biggest professions as part of his dark nature.

With monsters running around the world, there would be no one with the exception of very few who would be able to really interfere with his evil plans. The monsters could bite, run, jump, spit, crawl, and sometimes destroy so much in their way to temporarily num the unending hunger in their rotten stomachs. And there are even times where they can infect the living and make them become part of the undead.

Things only got worse from there on as more and more cracks formed on the barrier, indicating that it wouldn't be around to keep Nightmare's true form away much longer. The banging continued as a result of the constant bashing the destructive form inflicted against its seal. Judging by the intensity of the bashing, Nightmare believed his wild destructive form would certainly be ready for a fight once it broke lose. The demon just had to be careful not to allow anyone to go inside of it and destroy its-

*BAM*

The sudden loud noise from above alerted Nightmare and he looked upwards through his top middle eye while his other two eyes kept their view on the throne room door. His smile widened. There it was. Finally, after all this time it was free. And in an instant, Nightmare felt his immortal form's conscience connect itself with his destructive form.

His destructive form floated above the castle before it started going through a transformation process to ready itself for its purpose. Right now, it merely appeared as a floating dark cloud of lumpy coal, but it definitely wasn't going to stay that way for long.

"Hmmm...interesting," Nightmare clenched his right fist and opened it to reveal a quarter of an upside-down white heart. The demon then stared at it with interest as he felt the connection of the heart correlating itself with both the original owner and Samuel. The fact that the heart piece was correlating with Samuel had filled the demon with worry.

Frantically for Nightmare, he sensed an increase of power resonating within the young boy. There was no doubt in Nightmare's mind that Samuel was getting stronger.

"I may want to create a backup plan sooner than later if plan A goes to waste. I cannot allow that boy to live much longer. Otherwise, I may end up outmatched in the end. " he roughly squeezed and abused the soul as he connected its power into a spell that he actually put effort into for once.

Once he unleashed the spell, it did its thing and summoned the third killing skeleton of the four, only this time the third skeleton appeared to be more on the reckless, deranged, and savage side. Blood could be seen bleeding out of the skeleton's teeth while his blank pupils twitched rapidly to no end. The skeleton was also holding the skull of some other skeleton with a sharp bone piercing diagonally out of the other skeleton's skull.

"HEELLLOO, MAASSTERR," the crazy skeleton greeted with a creepy voice as he smacked his teeth multiple times.

"Disregard any small talk, servant. It will be your downfall whenever you are in battle," Nightmare declared.

The skeleton went into a mode of silence, his teeth no longer being smacked to please his master. Though, his crazed smile still remained along with his unsettling stare that he would always present to any other being near his vicinity.

"I created every part of you, including your deranged mind for a reason. So, you know what you must do for me at this time. And do return quickly with any valuable resource or information. You should know that I despise being patient for so long."

"UNDERSSTOOOD...MASSTERR!" the insane monster bowed and gripped the skull of his brother tightly before teleporting out of the throne room to fulfill his duty. And with that, Nightmare had already set a potential plan B in action.

Meanwhile, Nightmare's destructive form was about 60% done with its transformation. At the bottom part of its structure, it had already grown several humongous tentacles that were sharp as can be. There were also many other vital parts that were forming as it proceeded through its transformation process. The destructive form was even growing a little bigger in size during its progression. And finally, near the end of the transformation, the form grew three demonic heads. Each head had their own pair of horns and their own singular eye to that of cyclops. The heads let out a demonic roar, revealing their hungry sharp teeth that appeared capable of eating away at an entire building.

"Hahahahaha..." Nightmare observed his destructive form forcibly consume window shards, pillars, broken pieces of walls, and even small buildings as his form used an unimaginable force that could telekinetically pull away large chunks of the Earth and magically consume those chunks to grow bigger and stronger. And all three heads managed to have their eyes create a useful tool, which was a purple tractor beam that allowed the heads to clearly see, spot, and disturbingly pull up certain entities into the air and into their starving mouths.

After the destructive form became used to consuming large chunks of the surrounding land and had grown twice the size it was before it began its function of consumption, Nightmare knew it was time to unleash his attack and begin the next phase.

The second phase is what Nightmare had been waiting to get to throughout the start, but ever since Samuel's little pony friends started to interfere with Nightmare's plans, Nightmare didn't have a better option but to delay his dark future actions. But now, with his destructive form fueled to unleash a darkness like no other onto Samuel's world of wonder, Nightmare could finally smile for real as he takes pleasure in making a successful horror story made of nightmares.

"The village will be first," Nightmare created a signal of thoughts that were transmitted to his destructive form. After the signal became apparent, Nightmare's destructive form roared once again before following the conscious command to aggressively maneuver itself towards Ponyville and consume every part of the village until there was nothing left. Then, whenever it's done, Nightmare will continue the same process someplace else. That's all there was for the demon's existence.

Nightmare will continue to torment, spread his darkness, create nightmares, and consume or destroy the entire world. And he will not stop until Samuel is dead. That is his purpose, and no reasoning in the world can change it.

*The Golden Oak Library*

Twilight sighed and sat on the floor, her mane a complete mess. She knew running Ponyville on her own after Luna's department would've been rough, but she didn't know it would be THAT tough.

'UGH! Sunny swirly Celestia! How do the princesses even manage to keep up with all of Equestria every day!? I barely managed to keep the whole town in check for the night! Whew, okay calm down, this is your first time on the job...take a deep breath...everything's going to be fine.'

Twilight sadly went through a rough day and a terrible night as she made herself create a checklist and then another checklist after checklist that she would use to organize the 'to do's' and the important events for Ponyville's own good after being put in charge by Princess Luna to watch over the town.

'For Luna's sake! Did I have to negotiate everything to the most stubborn ponies that I have ever met? Horse apples! They were so unreasonable! At least I know it's possible to knock some sense into those ponies when you're in charge. Seriously, they switch from carefree to obedient as soon as I remind them how I'm the one in charge.'

She really wanted to call it a night, but after she acknowledged the unexpected number of misplaced books cluttering nearly the entire library, her tasks for the night were not over just yet.

'Oh... Well, isn't this wonderful. Ever since the crystal war against Sombra happened, Spike and I weren't around to keep an eye on this place. Great.......'

With an even heavier and frustrated sigh, Twilight pushed the remaining magic through her horn and levitated each individual book. After spinning the books around to get a good view of their titles and numbers, Twilight started placing the books into their corresponding shelves one by one.

"Hey, Twilight," Spike called out, trying to grab her attention as the little dragon came into the room with a book in both of his claws. He felt a slight constant breeze whirling around as the flying books that were controlled by a magic aura, circled in a constant motion which allowed Twilight to pick up the titles of each book in a fast pace.

"Hold on Spike. I'm not in the mood to talk right now. I still have a few more books to organize before I even think about doing anything else," Twilight said with exhaustion in her voice.

"I know. That's why I brought you a book that you forgot upstairs," Spike reasoned.

Twilight sooner than later caught sight of the book in the dragon's claw after she was down to the last couple of books to organize. With a pleasing smile that she gave to her number one assistant, Twilight forced the book out of Spike's claws with her magic before she got a look at the cover and title.

"My Little Dream Becomes Reality?" Twilight raised a brow; the title of the book was unrecognizable, or rather...strange to her.

"What's wrong Twilight?" Spike asked with a worried look, believing he had mistakenly given her a book that she disliked.

"No, nothing's wrong Spike. It's just..." Twilight scanned every outside part of the book and even looked through every page within seconds with her skillful eyes. She eventually confirmed it wasn't a spell book but more of a book related to something personal.

"Huh. That's...odd. This book isn't even finished," Twilight once again flipped through every page, only this time she focused on the number of chapters she caught sight of. "There seems to be around fifty chapters planned out, and only 18 of those chapters are finished. But that doesn't make any sense! Last I checked, there were only ten chapters planned, and only three chapters filled out when I got this book."

Spike scratched his little scales from the side of his head as he tried to accompany Twilight with the mystery. "So what? It's not like that book wrote itself. When and where did you even get that book Twilight?"

Twilight instantly nudged herself towards a wooden desk with a light lamp that she would use to examine specific books even further before answering her little dragon.

"I retrieved this book from an earth pony who goes by the name Bon Bon. I believe she gave it to me when we made a trip to Canterlot by train to attend my brother's wedding. And if I'm not mistaken, she said Lyra Heartstrings is the pony who wrote this, but I can't say for sure if there isn't even an author's name displayed on any part of the cover."

The dragon looked around the library and scratched the bottom of his small chin. "So which shelf is it going to be put into? It's gotta be put somewhere, right?"

"No Spike," she rejected. "An unfinished book like this doesn't have a place in the library. It should rightfully be sent back to its owner."

Spike stared at her for a bit, but didn't bother arguing over something reasonable. Although, the dragon definitely thought it would've been better if the book were in Twilight's hooves for the time being. She was a master librarian after all. And no place but a quiet library owned by a great caretaker is perfect for a book's safe keeping.

"Oh, alright," Spike accepted defeat before hearing something outside. "Hey, what's that?"

The little amount of noise in the Golden Oak Library provided plenty of room for the sudden galloping sounds of ponies. And both Twilight and Spike glanced outside through the windows to see what the deal was. Sometimes, Twilight really wished that she could be more focused on what was going on presently in Equestria that was outside of her books. Because after Twilight quickly opened her door, she spotted what she thought she saw across the path to her home. And out of no surprise, ponies were galloping towards it, or rather the princess to be specific.

"Spike! Look! She's back!" Twilight exclaimed, putting the strange book in her saddle bag before following along the galloping crowd down the path, leaving Spike to look after the library by himself as he decided not to follow.

When Twilight made her way closest to Princess Luna, something about the princess was...off. The tears sliding down her royal cheeks were a clear sign of bad news, but Twilight couldn't exactly pinpoint the issue in her head. She also acknowledged the group of ponies who were standing behind Luna, but Celestia was not anywhere to be seen.

Eventually, the silence between every pony happened as they realized their questions were being ignored by the princess. In exchange for their silence, Luna gained the confidence to speak up about her tragic loss and the growing darkness that will soon bring Equestria down.

"Greetings, every pony. Tis I, Princess Luna, who has returned with an...important message regarding my trip to reason with my...sister," Luna found almost the entirety of Ponyville putting their full respectful attention onto her which wasn't helping her mind relax as she grew hesitant to continue her speech. Clearly, every pony eyeing her were confused, curious, and were craving to hear the princess out. The same feeling applied for Twilight with the difference of the feeling being ten times as curious and engaged for her.

The princess took a breath, believing her subjects deserved to know the truth. She just couldn't stand to let them live their lives while being unaware of the importance.

"I am deeply sorry to return with disappointing news, but I am here to speak the truth..." the princess once again felt the demon's dark essence in the air as she flapped her royal wing to signal every guard to immediately execute their ways of defending the town. "My sister, Celestia, has..."

*Luna's POV*

Twilight Sparkle's face was the worst of the worst out of all the ponies, after I gave away the most terrible news. My hooves were frozen stiff on the ground as I watched my subjects gasp, panic, and scream in great disbelief. It certainly was a horrible sight. Though, the ponies and that young little creature that I decided to take with me to this village didn't seem to give much of a concern. But that is to be expected since they have witnessed my sister's death through their own very eyes. Additionally, some of them appear to be outsiders who may have no knowledge of my sister.

The amount of panic I have arisen in my subjects was exactly the amount I had imagined before I conducted the speech. But it is for their own good that they know what's coming for them. The demon, and the new dark presence. I can detect it from here. And it is not far from this place. Perhaps the demon took Canterlot for himself and has decided to use me and my sister's kingdom as his layer to safely create something disastrous. But whatever this dark presence he plans on unleashing, I must have my subjects moved elsewhere. Canterlot is closest to this village after all.

I waited for my subjects to calm down, albeit I waited for quite a while, but when they did, I gave clear instructions for evacuation. And yes, since that fiend murdered my sister, brought Discord to his knees, and took Canterlot for himself. I believe it is no longer safe to stay in this village. Canterlot is not far from here. And I can feel the dark essence of his existence growing stronger. This town may even be his first target for attack.

"Um, Princess Luna?" Twilight Sparkle uncomfortably trotted up to me with a pitiful face. "I'm sorry for asking you this but I just wanted to know if..." she took a moment to ask her question. "If Celestia said anything before, you know..."

A small portion of my anger entered my heart. But it wasn't for Twilight Sparkle. It was just for the bitter memory of the incident. "...Nay. The demon did not give her a chance for any last words. There was not even a tinge of hesitation or any sort of negotiation the demon had in his dark heart. It was just murder. The demon clearly showed no mercy."

"Oh..." her saddened face grew heavier. "So...what's the plan now? You said you wanted every pony to evacuate the town, right? How will that work?"

"Well, I believe there are a number of ways Miss Sparkle. Primarily, I am sticking with the train, as I believe it is capable of transporting everypony away to a much safer place."

"But where will we go?" she asked me, as to be expected from my sister's prized pupil. "Where will we be safe from the demon?"

Truthfully, the area on which we will flee to was supposed to be a surprise for all of my subjects, but I gave the hidden information away to Miss Sparkle and asked her to also keep a secret. After I had given away the knowledge of the demon's power and the death of my sister to my subjects, I do not think they deserve to know any more about any additional unpleasantries.

I have already ordered a train to arrive within the next few hours. That should provide my subjects with enough time to enjoy their last moments in this village before their departure. Though, it certainly will sadden me to watch as my subjects develop a type of homesickness to this future change. Not to mention the conditions we ponies will face in our new home. But what can we do about it? Unfortunately, I'm afraid there's nothing that can be done for the time being. That fiend is just too powerful and cunning for me or any pony to withstand. And if he plans on eradicating Equestria until there is nothing but darkness, then I shall devise a plan on stopping him.

I don't know how that demon will be stopped, nor do I know if that demon CAN be stopped. But I do know we as ponies that represent the flow of harmony must give it our all to survive this chaos and madness that has been unleashed. While I am uncertain if the demon is the sole cause of the other disasters, I will put the full blame on him anyway as I believe he is currently the biggest threat to pony existence.

That creature who stole our precious elements apparently has quite the rivalry with the demon. It's surprising how motivated a creature can get towards a singular goal when they value almost nothing in their mind. And trust me, I can read personalities and memories through one's mind, just like I would when it comes to protecting or supporting pony dreams.

But could that creature really be the key to destroying the demon? He doesn't appear to have much, but I can guess the creature has his own personal plans to destroy his nemesis. Tis quite a pity that Miss Twilight despises the creature so dear. A personal loss is deeply tragic. And hatred is always around the corner to corrupt the souls that have been damaged. However, I felt a great amount of regret in the creature's heart when I first met him face to face. He didn't seem to be a cold-hearted killer. So, I can only presume it was an accident.

After I had provided reasoning to my subjects, they all left for their friends, family, and homes. When I last checked, Miss Sparkle had left with the cyan pony that I took with me after questioning the creature who apparently really befriended Discord. I honestly found it hard to believe at first when I read the daily Equestrian news. I always think half of what is in those papers are fake. After getting proof on something unlikely, I may have thought wrong about those newspapers.

A great breeze of the night swirled around my mane as I felt it whispering to me that my tasks were finished for the night. Funny enough, despite receiving Celestia's duties after her death, it appears I am task free for tonight. All that is left now is to wait for the train I ordered to arrive and ensure everypony makes it in one peace.

Now it is quite a silly feeling of mine, but whenever I'm alone, I feel energized to do almost anything. Though, 'almost everything' is a bit exaggerated. Maybe I should describe the feeling as a sudden will of getting things done with motivation, since every pony had left me by myself to cherish the last time they will be here.

Normally, the feeling of solitude is something I'm quite used to, but I have never felt it this much on such a high degree. And it is much more of a lonelier feeling than it was being alone while banished in the moon. You see, my sister was usually always close to where I am at all times, even if separate from such a distance, we as alicorn sisters connect with one another through our magic. I felt my sister's magic disconnect from mine as soon as she was...murdered.

Now, ever since then, whenever no pony is around to talk to, I feel this horrible feeling of true loneliness in my heart. Now that I know that my sister is no longer around to detect my pain through her magic, I truly felt alone. But there isn't any way in Equestria I will quit pursuing for a peaceful land for my subjects, despite the loss of my older sister. There must still be hope no matter how much darkness trespasses into our land.

"L-Luna..."

"?!..." I flinched, instantly recognizing the voice. But was it really who I thought it was?

"Why did you fail me?"

I turned my attention from behind to notice...my sister standing not so far away from me. Her mane and tail were no longer sparkling and flowing beautifully like my own, and her skin...appeared rotten by the sight of it. Then, I recalled what she had inquired earlier, and decided to try and answer.

"S-sister? What do you mean?" I asked in return, having an unspeakable hard time believing she was alive. Was this her ghost? Impossible.

"You could've saved me! You could've killed that fiend when you had the chance! But nay," my sister's rotten hooves drifted across the path as she slowly approached me with anger and resentment in her eyes. It also seemed no pony was around to witness this moment. It appeared to be just me and my sister, if this really was sister.

"I-I don't understand! There was not anything I could do!" I yelled, refusing to sound shameful.

An excessive number of flames engulfed every part of my sister; the flames even thrived on her as if she were a stove stocked with large pieces of firewood.

"REALLY?! Don't I remember you foolishly struck a deal with him?"

I shook my head in defiance. "I did it save you, sister. And I have learned the hard way to never trust demons ever again!"

"FALSE! IT IS MY THRONE THAT YOU THINK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR OWN SISTER!" she harshly commented, referring to the time when I became Nightmare Moon. "YOU SHOULD'VE STAYED IN THE MOON WHERE YOU RIGHTFULLY SO BELONG!"

"No..." I said without hesitation. "You're not real. I know my sister. And she would never say such things to me over a mistake. There is still hope no matter how many mistakes I or any pony else makes. As long as the fight for Equestria's sake isn't given up, me and my subjects will witness a bright future. So, I must ask for your departure. Because I know. You're. Not. My. Sister."

The rotten alicorn standing in front of me had lost the will to speak back in my astonishment. However, she did disappear like a spirit in response to my words. I would say it took at least eight seconds before I saw nothing but a gas cloud of spiritual energy dissipating into thin air.

Now of course after witnessing such a thing, I just have to ask myself what in Equestria was that about? Obviously, it was a spell casted upon me to deceive the most common senses of mine, but I have never seen a spell like it before. And I believe I have sensed the dark arts of magic being involved in some way. I should-

"Hahaha. You speak of hope princess. But that is a word for fools."

'Wh-What?!' my thoughts screamed and raged inside of my mind. It...couldn't be. There was no way he could be here this early!

"Awww, what are those desperate thoughts I hear inside of your head, princess? A desire for my demise? A need for evacuation? Why is that? Do you have any idea on how pointless that is?"

'SILIENCE!' I squinted my eyes as they teared. My internal thoughts were beginning to screech in pain over the present nightmare. Why was this happening? How was he here now of all times?

"And here comes my favorite part of the process; negativity is always a delightful taste when I torment you and your subjects."

A wicked laugh echoed across the very sensitive parts of my mind when it became clear to me that this very moment was all just a game to this cruel fiend!

"Where are you?! Show yourself, demon!" I demanded through the royal Canterlot voice, attempting to sound intimidating, but alas the demon did not give fear as a response. I was able tell by the sound of his voice.

"Go on. Yell. Scream as much as you desire. It is only music to my ears," the demon stated with a slight cackle, bringing out a despairing emotion in my heart. I also sensed his utter presence in front of me, but he was not anywhere in my view. Why? Was this conservation meant to distract me? To torment me?

"Just know, no pony can help you when you're living a nightmare. Specifically, a living nightmare created from the Nightmare. "

Enough was enough! I have endured through this demon long enough! And I could just feel a smile coming along that fiend's mouth as he hid in the shadows to watch me suffer from the sound of his voice.

It was time to take action. The countless ideas flowing inside of my suffering head sooner than later combined into one for a solution. I quickly came to my senses and remembered that I have the ability to access any pony's mind through the use of my dream realm, including my own. Thus, I will access the parts of my mind that the demon believes he can fiddle with!

"And do you honestly believe that will work on me?"

I channeled a great amount of magic in my horn and casted the dream spell to connect my mind with the dream realm! Everything in the world went dark, and I felt myself connecting with my realm, as the spell finished its work.

I then opened my eyes, carefully observing my surroundings in the process. The fake moonlight shined across my realm before the light uncovered the darkness which was once enveloping a replica of Ponyville. The lights, buildings, and pathways were the same. The only difference I found was that no pony was around with the exception of me.

With this place I placed myself into, the dream realm made no exception with its mysterious foggy atmosphere that surrounded the mimicked village. Heh. And I believe only a few ponies including Miss Sparkle and me would really find this endearing by sight. The rest of my fellow subjects who cherish only the day would most likely believe this village to either be haunted or put to silence by a wicked force if they were in this dream to see it themselves. But I wasn't here to admire the village's beauty in the dream realm. Not now.

I took a few seconds to breath before looking around back and forth. Even with the fog, my eyes had the ability to see everything in the distance a mile away. Everything appeared to be the same. Nothing seemed to be unusual about this place other than the darker tone that dimmed the light from what I am used to seeing in the real world. It was all surprisingly peaceful and calm.

Only then when I turned to face the path on the other side...is when my time of peace had come to an end. I instantly gasped in horror after I shortly spotted the demon who was responsible for tampering with my visions and thoughts. The fiend was standing still beyond the path as I heard the clicks and crunches of his body tearing and reforming in a constant cycle. Though, I couldn't tell whether those sounds were coming from his hands, arms, neck, or all three, as the demon showed off to what I assumed to be his self-pleasureful activity. It was a deranged activity in which he would repeatedly snap and crack his bones before allowing them to regenerate like any careless maniac. More specifically the type of maniac who does not fear harm.

"Quite a smart move for a pony such as you. Only true intellects will see how pointless your actions are too."

"Enough of your discouragement!" I yelled, controlling my anger so I wouldn't find myself screaming from the top of my lungs with no control.

"There is always room for discour-"

I instantly wrapped his utter mouth with a magical bandage before he could finish that sentence. Since we are specifically in MY dream in the realm of dreams, I had full control of its reality. The bandage was purposefully created to silence any entity through their lips, whenever deemed necessary. Even though I was a faraway distance when I did so, my sister showed me how much of an important factor and advantage range could bring to you and your enemy.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

I froze, my pupils shrunk before I turned to what tapped me from behind. And I spotted the fiend attempting to creep behind my back. Absurd...he was beyond the path hundreds of hooves away before, but in a blink of an eye, he managed to slip behind me without a moment's notice.

Regardless of that egotistical stunt, I used the power at my disposal to create four individual chains, designed by the essence of my magic, that each cuffed his legs and arms in an instant. Now, he was unable to move around my realm any longer. And when I felt confident, I angrily gripped the front part of his neck with my left hoof before using my other hoof to buck his head repeatedly in a spare less and very vengeful manner.

The demon irritatingly ate away at the bandage covering his mouth. And he once again began speaking with calmness in his tone. "You are only making this easier for me. And I highly doubt you really have anything to threaten me with."

I kept on pounding and pounding the fiend's face, only to notice his toothy grin remaining calmly the same and still as his facial expression despite the amount of physical damage I threw at him. I could even swear that I heard laughter coming out of the demon with each buck he received from me. Was he really sincerely enjoying every bit of torture? Or is it all a trick to deceive me?

"You think mere violence will do any good? Haha! You can't kill me, princess. I am the embodiment of the fear, the doubt, the despair, the darkness, the suffering, and the evil for this world," the demon continued speaking word for word about his feats, while seemingly ignoring my bucking.

As my intense thirst for vengeance softened, my consistent attacks on the fiend with my bare hooves slowly reduced to nothing, believing it wasn't getting us anywhere at all. And with a sigh, I carefully glared into the fiend's eyes before I noticed him tilt his head to the side. The demon didn't seem to be intimidated, more or less shook by my angered presence. He seemed to be more on the puzzled side more than anything. Though, it certainly was hard to tell exactly what he was feeling, considering of how I never once saw that smile of his ever wear off.

"Demon," I called him out, refraining from saying his name. "Do you think this is funny? Do you think all of this is a game? Is hurting my subjects and all of pony kind that endearing to you?"

A slight chuckle came out of the fiend. "What do you think princess?"

The question caught me off guard for a moment. I was sincerely expecting a direct answer from the demon, but he didn't seem to be in a rush. Also, I didn't see it until now, but I believe he questioned me without moving a single lip muscle of his mouth.

"I think you're doing this all for your selfish desires to inflict pain for the pleasure. What else would a fiend like you desire? And I really do not believe the nightmares you created for my subjects is a dire need for you."

I sensed a careless shrug as a response to my thoughts, even though the demon didn't show it. "Believe what you wish to believe about me princess. It won't do you any good. Either way, no matter my intentions or motives, my plans will be put into action."

My mind was quite uneased and angered at the same time upon hearing such pride. Despite me having the upper hoof since we were in my realm, this fiend was not even in the slightest showing an ounce of fear. Moreover, he seemed quite pleased that he was here, chained up like a wild ravenous beast with the inability to move for the time being. But why?

I sincerely could not resist the urge to ask, even if I were to receive a lie in return. "Demon...may I ask exactly, what are your plans?"

An even wider grin blew across the fiend's face, along with his pupils on all three of his eyes enlarging as if he were exhilarated by a simple question of mine.

"Oh? My existence has you curious about the future? Hehehe. What would you like to know?"

I took a moment to think what to ask, having a hard time believing this fiend's words would provide any use in defeating him. After all, it is unlogical that a demon would ever provide the forces of good with its weakness. But I feel that I must at least squeeze some sort of information out of this demon while we're both stuck here for a time.

"What is it that you desire?" I asked him as gently as I could manage, but the boiling rage that continued to grow with each hateful thought, over the injustice of my sister's death because of this fiend, was definitely not making it easy.

"Are my intentions not obvious?" his right eyelid covered the top right part of his right eye, and I believed he was raising his left unseeable eyebrow in attempt to show his suspicion. "My desire is to dominate all of existence in this world, then destroy it until every ounce of light is sunken and consumed into the dark abyss I will create. And when that is done, I will recreate this world in my own image. I will resurrect your subjects who will fall, to live an endless loop of a horror story, which will appeal to my need for negativity. When that is accomplished, there will be no need to stalk and hunt for a prey to torment, as you and every other living being in this world will fall victim to an endless cycle of your worst nightmares to keep me alive."

I eventually asked the fiend something else, since he clearly wasn't going to go into full detail on how that plan of his will be executed. "What about that...human boy who has been wandering Equestria? Is he of any concern for you?"

"......"

A change of mood entered the atmosphere as a moment of extreme quietness came in to make the demon's change of mood more noticeable. For once, and for the first time I believe; his smile lowered into a frown.

"Oh how funny and stupid he is. He thinks he can make friends and go on a heroric quest to slay the evil. How pathetic. The real world doesn't work that way. Why should this world be any different?"

A continuous moment of the demon ranting away his thoughts about the human boy kept on for an estimated couple of minutes. I remained still, and stared at him with as much focus as I could muster. For the sake of all pony good, I could barely make out what was being said about the human boy I mentioned. The fiend's voice was a complete whisper to say the least, but I could tell those whispers were the result of no-good thoughts.

"No matter what, I will make sure this story ends with the sweet taste of my victory," he said it out loud with an outrageous volume before continuing his rant about everything that stands in his way towards his goals.

*The Waking World / Ponyville*

Twilight unusually trotted alongside Lyra Heartstrings as they gradually made their way to the house of Bon Bon, since Lyra wanted to speak to her closest friend again. But Lyra was finding her little trip down the path to be quite a pain in the flank as the company of the lavender unicorn beside her was really an unpleasant and unwanted incident she wasn't expecting to put up with during this time. Lyra also didn't have it in her to even pay Twilight any attention, but sadly for Lyra, she started noticing Twilight becoming more obnoxious with a consistent barrage of her ridiculous questions that were unanswered, along with her voice growing louder the more she was ignored.

While Lyra may have stumbled into several ponies who may have possibly ticked her off from time to time in the past, Twilight Sparkle was about to be the first pony to drive away all of the sanity available for the first time.

When Lyra first met Twilight back in Canterlot, she remembered that the lavender unicorn was too engaged into those very old dusty books of hers to even have the time to speak to any pony. The one moment when Lyra waved at Twilight only for the greeting to be ignored showed how much care Twilight really gave towards common interaction. But for some reason, Twilight was presently all in for an all-out conversation with Lyra.

Although, despite Twilight speaking her every word loud and clear, a poor Lyra Heartstrings could barely manage to comprehend even a single sentence. And it had already been past five minutes of Twilight speaking away an introduction of an essay that probably wasn't written on paper.

However, once Twilight pulled out a specific book out of her saddle bag, the entire rest of Twilight's chit chat became more clearer as she and Lyra continued down the path. They also decided to take the time to admire the scenery, and all of the greatest structures ever made in Ponyville, as they believed tonight would be the last night they would ever lay their eyes on the village that they called home.

"So, Lyra, back to what I was saying earlier," Twilight shoved the book in Lyra's face to get her attention as Twilight proceeded to speak. "This book belongs to you, right?"

Lyra looked over to the obsessed nerdy unicorn before taking the time to glance over to the cover presented inappropriately in front of her face.

Instantly, Lyra raised a brow and put a hoof on top of the book to slowly lower it down to the height of her chest. She didn't appreciate having a book shoved in her face. "Twilight, what's your deal, exactly? For your information, I don't own any kinds of books like the one you're referring to. Gee, I haven't actually written a single book ever in my life. The least amount of experience I've had when it came to writing was maybe a short poem I wrote back in my school when I was a filly. Other than that, all the books I keep at home are only books borrowed from your literal library."

Twilight quickly grew in shock. "What?! But...your name."

"My name what?" Lyra asked in a quick pace, clearly wanting the whole conversation to be over with as fast as possible.

"Your name is written on the book claiming that you're the author! Your friend Bon Bon gave it to me back in Canterlot and even said that this book was from you!"

"Well, it's not, okay," Lyra finalized, beginning to get very irritated over Twilight's excessive persevering desire to squeeze all personal information out like a serious detective. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Because I'm not just gonna leave an unfinished book in the middle of nowhere to rot!" she answered without any hesitation as her voice grew stern. "Every book in Equestria, no matter the topic or length, deserves to be treated with care."

'Says the pony who values the company of her books more than the company of real ponies themselves...' Lyra fought off the temptation to allow that thought to become her words since she wanted to avoid starting an argument about stupid books with a ridiculous book worm of a unicorn.

Realizing that Lyra wasn't about to give any care to the book situation whether she owned the book or not, Twilight then asked, "Could I at least visit your home and speak with Bon Bon? She is the one who gave me this book in the first place."

Lyra let out a mere exhausted sigh before she could give permission for entry. "Sure...but do not go around and mess with any of my research. And I mean it this time! You really have a hard time minding other ponys' personal space."

"Yeesh, I get it," Twilight agreed, but was ruffled over the fact that Lyra just threw the bitter truth in her face like a mean mare. The truth is, Twilight was being judged as a nosey pony. "Could you kindly escort me to your place of stay please? I'm beginning to feel a tinge of rain falling on my nuzzle, and I really would not appreciate finding myself in the middle of a heavy rain cloud that will drench my mane out here in public."

"Agreed. We should get going before the it's too late," Lyra stated with a bit of worry in her voice. "I also may have to warn Bon Bon about the whole 'evacuation' situation going on. Because I don't believe I saw her in the crowd during the urgent message from Luna. She may be occupied by something at home."

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" exclaimed Twilight as she was just about to beg Lyra to gallop a lot faster when they were already trotting to their destination in a fast pace.

"Alright smart horse. If you know so much, then you should be able to explain what the $#!% happened out there!" General Dan demanded for Sunburst to speak up as the poor unicorn was shoved into an ally way after leaving the urgent meeting from Princess Luna.

Sunburst instantly spoke in disapproval at the rough general. "Excuse me? Am I being held responsible for your problems? Because shoving ponies into alley ways without permission is quite a criminal act and an inappropriate kind of action if I do say so myself."

"If you are with that boy who caused all of this horse$#%/, then you must be an accomplice of the whole thing. And what I am doing is not criminal! I am only bringing scum like you, to justice," the general then pulled out a combat knife from one of his leather pockets before pointing it at Sunburst's neck. "Now talk before I do what you know I'll do without a clear answer."

"Okay, okay, fine," Sunburst surrendered as the knife that was threatening to slice his throat like a fruit, instantly wiped away his calm and reluctant face to an expression of panic. "I just met the guy some place back where I once chose to live! And FYI, he actually isn't the cause of the whole crisis going in the world! As a matter of fact, he claims to be willing to fix everything when he's given the chance! That's literally all I know, so please let me go!"

Dan looked at his hostage with some distrust. "Then why send me and my daughter to this other world where you magic freaks dwell in?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure he said to have put you here by accident. It's not like he did it on purpose to bring you down or anything."

The general's face became a great glare. "Accident my @%$! That boy and his crack magic is full of tricks and lies! $#&*, if he has magic freaks for friends like that...goat head, dragon snake, like thing I saw not too long ago, then that boy definitely ain't nothing but trouble! I don't care what the %@#= he said to me back at that school! He's the cause of the problems we're facing right now!"

"You're just going to blame my friend for every single one of your problems that he's not accountable for? That's honestly very brutal in my opinion."

"The hell I am. And I'm going to make sure to get his @%& the next time I see his #!@&/%$ face!"

"DAD! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!" a shouting high-pitched voice echoed across the alley and faded into the darkness as the two stallions quickly put their attention onto the disappointed pink mare who had appeared to have just entered the alley.

The general got a good look at his daughter, and his glare on Sunburst faded into a frown of disappointment.

"Sweetheart, for the last time, there ain't nothing wrong with me," Dan said to his daughter, his tone turning calm and caring as sweet as a hummingbird when he looked at his daughter in the eyes. "You just got to understand that sometimes, there are bad people in the world who enjoy pissing daddy off. And those who piss daddy off, will get what they deserve."

"Well, that doesn't really explain your actions. Because I really don't think I'm the pony who deserves to be put on a death penalty threat by yo-" Sunburst was silenced by a thick hoof covering and pressuring every muscle of his mouth.

"SHUT YOUR #&@%!*$ HOLE!" the wrath of general Dan had returned, and he directed his knife to a much more fatal position, as if he were about to slash away at a poor Sunburst who just wanted to be let free. "This conversation is between me and my daughter! So, if you don't want to be a headless horse corpse, I suggest you cut your tongue before I cut away your dam life!"

Hearing the threat, Sunburst stopped himself from responding like he would always do in a casual argument. This clearly wasn't a casual argument Sunburst was forced into. The only hope he thought he had at this point, was the reasonable compassion that the general's daughter showed off.

"Dad, please. Leave the poor unicorn alone," the general's daughter, Sticker Picker, came up close and put a hoof gently on her father's shoulder. For the sake of peace, the general instantly felt relaxed, relieved, and surprisingly unworried upon receiving a loving touch from his good sweetheart.

Sunburst froze, bewildered at the sight he was witnessing.

"Now..." Sticker Picker's eyes glowed pink as she stared into her father's eyes. The general grew drowsy, along with his face tiring down upon receiving eye contact. Then, within a few seconds without the two blinking at all, general Dan released his grip on his trusty knife and eventually gave up pressuring Sunburst to the side of a structure so he could fully put his attention on the pony he cared for the most.

"Sweetie...I'll do anything it takes to keep us safe. But I will also do whatever it takes to make you...happy," General Dan said sympathetically.

A smile came to his daughter's face before she gave a strange command that sounded like she had authority over her dad. "Don't worry dad. All you have to do...is let the unicorn stallion go. And I will be pleased with your existe- uh I mean!" Sticker shortly glanced over to Sunburst, as if she didn't want him to hear something she kept private from others. "I meant to say I will be happy and satisfied to have you as a father. Dad."

"I under-" Dan's head shook as if something pinched the side of his head or brain. But he quickly soothed up before finishing the word he was going to say. "-Stand," he finally turned to Sunburst and said, "You are free to go, but I better not see you with that magic boy again, or I will find you, and make you suffer over endangering the environment and my daughter with this 'magic'."

Sunburst could only stare at them for such a short period of time before an extremely awkward feeling in his gut would tell him to gallop away as far as possible, because he should know that what just happened really isn't any of his problems.

"Y-yea, th-thanks," Sunburst could only manage a fake grin as sweat flowed down his head. "Nice knowing you two, I-I'm outta here!"

Just like that, Sunburst galloped to someplace else, leaving a simple father and daughter all to themselves.

Luna sat and continued to observe the demon who was completely still and quiet after he finished his complaints about a particular individual he despised. The princess was sure the demon was captured in her chains of dreams, still not wanting him to be able to move around and risk his escape from the dream realm.

"So, is that really all you desire?" Luna asked, noticing she got the demon's attention once his top middle eye of his three, showed itself. "Consume every aspect of Equestria and use the power you've consumed to create a new world of nightmares in Equestria's place, where us ponies suffer to no end?"

Nightmare's middle eye blinked, and he lifted his entire head to directly eye Luna. "You speak words no more truthful than any other, princess!" he claimed, his toothy grin returning in the process.

The response Luna received felt completely unthinkable to her. "Why? Why are you doing this? There must be a good reason for such a desire. Why do you hate us ponies so much? Why do you...exist?"

"Woah now! Let us not dig into such pointless existential subjects here. Only then will more questions arise that I will be unwilling or unable to answer."

"Eurgh! ANSWER ME NOW, DEMON! OR I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY SISTER!" Luna shouted with her royal canterlot voice combined.

"I've already suffered rotting under those caves of that stupid place you used to call your kingdom," Nightmare's grin became sinister and daring. "Do you think you'll be able to top it off!? Just know, this form of me cannot die."

"Form of you?" Luna instantly lost her rage, and her mind was lost in thought. "What are you saying?"

"Oh? Dropping the intimidating act I see. Well, regardless, you don't scare me worth the fly. Sure, you can shock me with those chains, buck me in the worst spots possible, and even keep this form of mine trapped in this realm forever, but you will have to stay and keep watch of me forever in here, while the rest of your pony friends deal with the worst of the worst without you."

"...No way in Equestria...could it be?" Luna took concern of the outrageous dark presence she sensed not too long ago and decided to check up on the presence once more with her magic. The presence was far from Ponyville last time she checked, but...when she casted a spell to check up on Ponyville presently once more, her mind exploded in a heap of panic. "N-no! Th-this can't be! The dark presence! It's arriving faster than I thought it would! I can sense it just a hundred hoof steps away from Ponyville!"

"Hahaha! Yes! Foolish princess! Did you really think keeping me trapped here as much as you please would be your advantage? Hoho, it's so pleasing when you ponies think you're right, yet I prove that isn't the reality."

Luna had enough and knew time was no longer on her side, or any of her subjects' sides for that matter. She figured that the whole point of this was a setup meant to distract her from the big picture. Knowing that she would have to depart from realm to aid her subjects, allowing the demon to escape in the process, only clouded her mind with deep frustration.

There really wasn't much she could do. She had to take responsibly for her subjects' lives. Otherwise, she will only end up failing every single one of them as a princess over an absurd desire for revenge over her sister's death.

Luna wanted to torture and make the demon suffer for what he had done. But she couldn't. She just...couldn't. Not while the ponies she cares for most are in danger without her help. But before she made the decision to depart, she cocked her head to the side and gave a sideways glare on the demon, who was smiling through the pleasure of his trickery.

"What exactly are you sending to harm my subjects, demon?" Luna demanded an answer, but she didn't expect to get a direct good one out of it of course.

"Ah, the good asking the bad for helpful advice on how to defeat them. How illogical can you be princess? Do you honestly think I'll provide you knowledge that will make things fair? I am the bad guy in your story after all. And bad guys don't ever play nice unless they become arrogant enough to believe they are untouchable every step of the way."

Luna couldn't help but to grit her teeth, but she resisted the urge to unleash a nasty rage onto the fiend. With that, the princess charged her horn and exited the dream realm in order to protect her subjects, leaving the demon to escape from the realm without any pony to stop him.

"Oh, pity. It is a shame, really. I was just about to give away a hint on the disaster. Oh well," Nightmare disturbingly transformed himself into a form of dark sludge, allowing himself to easily slip out of the magical chains. "The disaster is my destructive form. And it sure will be quite a storm for those ponies when they witness it consume their homes. Oh, it will be such a pleasure to watch."

Nightmare looked around for an exit out of the realm and spotted one all the way up in the bright moon. "Hehehe, Hahaha, HAHAHA!" after his moment of laughter, he reached for the exit by extending his stretchable arms and gripping onto the fake moon. Slowly, the demon stretched and pulled himself up to freedom. "Your next, Mr. Samuel."

"What?!" Twilight yelled aloud. "How do you not remember giving away this book to me?!" she immediately presented its cover in Bon Bon's face just like she did with Lyra during their gallop towards the house they were presently in to avoid the sudden rain outside.

"Uh, I never had a book like that to give in the first place. And also, what are you doing in our home, Twilight?" Sweetie Drops asked over the unexpected visit she certainly wasn't prepared for. "You weren't given an invitation to a party here you know."

Twilight's left eye twitched irritably. "I'm here because I need to return this book to its rightful owner. And I didn't just come here to joke around!" Twilight stomped her hoof in defiance, quickly unnerving both Sweetie Drops and Lyra together. "You gave me the book, Bon Bon! You said that Lyra wrote it and wanted to share it with some pony else, but Lyra tells me, that it literally doesn't belong to her at all! And then I come here to get answers from you, Bon Bon, but then you lie that you didn't do such a thing! NOW WHICH ONE IS IT!"

"Wait, Twilight. Didn't you say Bon Bon gave you the book when you were alone during the Canterlot Wedding?" Lyra asked, thinking it would go somewhere.

"Yes, for the last time! And speaking of time, I don't have time for tricks or any of these silly games! Either you two tell me who this book rightfully belongs to or I'm gonna leave it at some random pony's doorstep with a note clearly stating it is all theirs to keep forever!"

Sweetie Drops could only roll her eyes to express how little she cared, but Lyra could agree with Twilight on the moral that no book (except spell books in relation to the dark arts of magic) do not deserve to be abandoned, no matter how crappy the book is written.

"Twilight, I think it was a changeling who was trying to play tricks on you during the time you were given the book. Me and Bon Bon never planned on giving anything in our possession away. And to support that theory, we have pictures of the exact locations me and Bon Bon were when we attended the wedding ourselves," Lyra walked over to one of the drawers nearby. "Would you like to see them yourself?"

"Uh..." Twilight almost blushed at the embarrassing thought that came to her head that she had not thought about it being a changeling who was possibly responsible for this entire incident they were currently in in the first place. "No thanks. I've heard enough."

*Knock knock knock knock knock*

Twilight, Lyra, and Sweetie Drops took their attention over to the door and wondered who could be on the other side.

"I'll get it," Sweetie Drops offered with a tiresome face. Lyra and Twilight could only remain staring at the door in suspicion as they both felt a little creeped out by unexpected visitors during the night.

"Who could possibly be at our doorstep this late?" Lyra put a hoof under her chin and tried to gather every piece of personal information she could muster in her head to get a guess on who it may be.

"Well, let's find out," Sweetie Drops carefully opened the door and noticed a bit of rain pouring onto the entrance rug as a result of the storm happening outside. And when the mare fully opened the door, the pony who knocked was seen to be a pitiful orange manned unicorn stallion, who's cloak became drenched while in the weather.

"Um, who are you?" Sweetie Drops raised a brow at the unicorn stallion who she did not recognize as a Ponyville resident.

"Please! I need help!" Sunburst begged.

"Eh, sorry, but we're kind of-"

"Wait a second, Bon Bon," Lyra butted in before taking the conversation to the stallion herself. "Aren't you the pony I befriended back in that other world? Because I think you're one of the few ponies I met, who has a connection with my human friend."

"Um, yep, that's me. I'm close friends with the human," Sunburst reassured, taking a wet hoof step inside as Bon Bon stepped aside with confusion. The unicorn stallion then took notice of his drenched cloak and tail dripping away rainwater all over the floor as he walked. And he presented a humble apologetic smile and said, "S-sorry, I just came here hoping some pony would offer me a place to stay. I guess I'm in luck to find you three ponies who are up for warm welcomes."

Lyra chuckled. "Honestly, it's ironic how we're the ones who should be thankful that a stallion like you showed up at the right time," she complimented unromantically. "You enjoy reading books, right?"

"Uh, yes, actually. I find studying magic through the books of spells in general to be quite a hobby of mine. Why do you ask?"

"Great!" Lyra instantly took hold of the book out of Twilight's magic with her own and levitated it right in front of Sunburst within a split second. "Take it, please! It's all yours!"

Sunburst accepted the strange request and took a hold of the book himself before he got a look at its cover and title. "My Little Dream Becomes Reality?" he read the title aloud and received a few nods from the only two unicorn mares in the room who both appeared to be relieved after hoofing it over to him. "I do believe I heard arguing before I knocked. Was that what it was about? Over a book?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Sweetie Drops said from behind him. "Apparently Twilight over here said she was going to explode in some way, if no pony accepted the lost book without its owner."

Twilight didn't wait even a second to add her vexed feelings to the conversation. "That isn't exactly what I said I'll do, but you get the idea, sir."

As the four ponies began settling down, a loud raging thunder intimidated all of them. And when they acknowledged the sudden heavy rain, along with the strong winds they saw through the windows, they knew it would take a bold dare and a hefty reward for any of them to leave the house.

"So, uh, you ponies want to sit by the fire and talk?" Sweetie Drops suggested nicely.

"You kidding? After all the crazy things I've been through?! Of course we should talk!"

*30 minutes later*

Twilight Sparkle sat on the one and only rocking chair in the living room, as she listened to Lyra, Bon Bon, and Sunburst chat with one another about several topics. Lyra had explained exactly what happened and exactly where she was sent after providing her own unique way of assistance during the Crystal War. Sweetie Drops was surprised and impressed, but she found it far from true. Though, Sweetie Drops wasn't upset that Lyra was away from the house for a few days, since she was used to not having Lyra in the same place with her during unexpected times.

As for Sunburst, he explained his adventures with the rumored human wandering the lands, and that caught Twilight's interest. But she wondered why exactly Sunburst was describing the human creature as more...'friendly' rather than a 'monster' to be true. Twilight figured the human creature may have taken Sunburst hostage and used him as a pawn, but apparently Sunburst described his utter time with the human as more of a friendly bond instead of a complete ordeal.

"Do you all think every pony is really doing okay out there? It sure is pretty stormy outside," Twilight commented.

Sunburst and the others looked out of one of the windows again to watch the storm. And they all appeared to be in an anxious state upon observing the pitiful weather.

"Gee, it's really getting dangerous out there. Do you ponies think that's why the princess wanted us to evacuate?" Sunburst took a sip of a cup tea that Lyra generously served to every pony as he waited for a response.

"I don't know. Princess Luna really isn't the specific type," Twilight snickered. "Like one time, she needed a full description on what the word 'fun' meant. So, when she said we're evacuating because of a 'dark presence,' it's honestly difficult to tell what she meant by that."

"Well, whatever the reason, I think we'll all make it," Sweetie Drops motivated the group before finishing her last portion of tea.

"When do you all think they're going to start sending every pony out of town?" Lyra asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

"*sigh* Luna told me to keep it a secret, but because I trust you ponies, I'll tell-" Twilight was cut by an abrupt knocking before she could get the chance to speak up about the topic she wanted to cover.

The sounds of a pony knocking came from the door once more. Only this time, it sounded even more urgent and louder. And as the four of them turned to face the door, a tough stallion's voice could be heard from the other side.

"By the order of Princess Luna, we are here to escort every pony to the train for evacuation NOW! Please respond obediently to this urgency, or we will have to sadly FORCE you into submission!"

The four ponies inside of the house were in shock. But to make sure it wasn't some sort of prank, the four of them each galloped out of their seats and to the door. Twilight took curtesy of opening the door by its handle before she and the others realized it wasn't a joke at all.

There stood a highly trained and heavily armored guard, who appeared to have no time for humor at all in their life.

"You four, come with me. The princess has informed us all that a dark storm has arrived to tear this village apart! You must come with me at once for evacuation!"

"Wait what? This is happening now?!" Twilight gasped after the guard nodded. "But, what about Spike, my assistant. I need to warn him-"

"No need, Miss Sparkle. A patrol is already sending him to the train."

"O-oh okay!"

*BOOM*

An excruciating loud noise of lightning struck, and as the strong winds along with heavy rain worsened, the ponies knew they were in deep trouble.

"HAHA! TREMBLE BEFORE ME PONIES OF THIS WORLD! I WILL CONSUME EVERYTHING, UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT!"

The guard turned to the voice that echoed a mile away and noticed the danger from afar. "We must go! NOW!"

Sunburst, Lyra, Sweetie Drops, and Twilight all agreed and followed the guard in a galloping pace to the train station on the other side of the village. They did so without looking back, believing they would be quicker on their hooves if they were to face forward the whole way through. And as they followed the most effective path shown, they saw other ponies the same as them, screaming and yelling in disarray as other guards were forcing them out of their homes for the benefit of life.

"Our train is this way, to our left!" the guard pointed. "We're almost there you four!"

"W-wait. G-guard. Where is the Princess- ahhhh!" Twilight screamed from the top of her lungs as a thick tree came tearing down and was about to squish her into a dead mushed unicorn. But before it could do so, some pony came in just in the nick of time to buck it out of the way with a heavy hit from just their bare hooves. "Wh-wha?"

Twilight opened her eyes to see she was unharmed. Then, she looked up to find the pony who saved her. But it surprisingly wasn't the guard. A brown pony, wearing a camouflaged outfit had saved her from her potential death. And she was just about to thank the brown stallion, but he started speaking loudly before Twilight could let out a word.

"What the hell is going on?!" General Dan shouted, glancing over to what was behind him and every pony else. The general could not even help himself but to freeze in shock like everypony else who chose to see what exactly was after them.

"IT IS TIME TO SLAUGHTER YOU ANIMALS!"

An insane, ginormous, black tentacle of goo came slithering out of the dark stormy wind, demolishing pony homes as it searched for some pony to kill in the process. The ponies who continued to stare blankly into the storm, eventually caught sight of the three purple glowing eyes that were each the size of a giant's eye in estimation.

"HEELLPP!!!" a familiar voice screamed, snapping the ponies out of their frozen gaze on the living storm, and activated a load of boiling nerves in General Dan as he watched his screaming daughter get lifted and squeezed up by one of the humongous tentacles of the storm.

"Leave...my...daughter...out of this," Dan spoke up fearsomely with his combat knife gripped tight in his mouth. Then, without any hesitation, Dan leapt as high as a dolphin before grabbing onto the tentacle. Once there, he aggressively sliced through the tentacle's slimy skin and bone again, and again, and again, until there was no living tentacle to slice.

With Dan's trusty strength and rage, he managed to cut the tentacle in half. And with it dead, his daughter quickly began falling down to the ground after being freed from its grasp. Her rough landing was luckily softened by a bush of flowers conveniently on the ground beneath her fall.

"$#!/! Where the hell's the train?!"

"This way!" a few fellow guards alerted and pointed in the direction of the station.

"Come on every pony! Get a move on!" Lyra shouted, in hopes she would give out a little encouragement to not just stand around and become prey by dumb choice.

There definitely was zero time for every pony around the village to open up their feelings of agreement through their words like they always did. But they did express it through their quick action in fleeing the place they once called home, despite abandoning any prized possessions for the storm of nightmares to just absorb.

"YOU ALL CAN RUN AND HIDE! BUT I WILL MAKE SURE THERE WILL BE NO PLACE ELSE TO GO WHEN I COME FOR YOU PONIES ONCE MORE!"

The citizens of Ponyville tried to ignore the voice while they galloped over to the station. And when the station was in their reach, Princess Luna and her guards were standing in the middle to guide every pony into a specific car train. It wasn't a surprise that there was more car trains attached to the entire train itself than normal, since the entire population of Ponyville were meant to fit in every part of the train for immediate evacuation.

"Hurry my little ponies! Quickly now!" Luna watched the conscience demonic storm tear apart the most famous village of Equestria down to the grim. And once every pony boarded the train, the train instantly departed from the station and was onto its destination without a moment to spare.

"Twilight...?" Spike tapped the lavender unicorn who presently watched in horror at what was going to become of Ponyville. The demonic storm didn't seem like it was planning on stopping its consumption until nothing left of the village remained.

"Yes Spike?" Twilight later acknowledged her baby dragon and felt relieved he was safe and sound.

"Do you think the library will be okay?" Spike inquired.

"No Spike, I don't think so," Twilight answered with zero optimism.

Chapter 1: An Everyday Life (edited)

In a large open field, there was a medium sized house. And in that house, lived a boy, who disliked society, Samuel.

The alarm clock rang right next to Samuel, interrupting his sweet and glorious dream. Samuel opened his eyes in anger and turned the alarm off. Grabbing the clock, Samuel threw it at the wall. He didn't throw it as hard as he wanted to since he didn't want to grab the attention of his parents.

He lazily gripped the edge of the blanket that covered him nicely, swooshing it away with an arm muscle stronger than average. A swift breeze greeted him as he sat up. Samuel made a smile over to the purple squared fan in the front right hand corner of his bedroom.

The fan created a constant noise being a little loud, but soft enough to make sleeping possible. A few hanging decorations flowed along in the fan's wind, so as their shadows. The propeller encased stopped revolving after Sam finally twisted the switch off.

The decor hanging on handles on walls halted their movement as the air stiffened. Sam upwardly stretched, using his hands to support his back. When the bones popped, Sam moaned in solace. He was feeling sad about today, not because of the dust and hair collectively on the floor and rug, but because of nonstop interruption of peace, insults, and an inability to get anything done from the past few days of the week.

What's there to expect today? He had already gathered his thinking and plans for today: how to survive the same crap, while dealing with many mental illnesses endlessly making him suffer inside.

Depression and ADHD. Two of many issues Sam for sure apprehended for himself, knowing both were holding back his capabilities in life. Though, ADHD turned out to be the first mental issue he had back in second grade. Even causing him a near flunk in elementary school. And now here he was, in high school earning a high GPA.

He was only fifteen years old as a sophomore, (10th grader) and was captivated in math. And he lived with his mom and dad who turned out to be strict parents. Within each passing year they'd elaborate a more controlling side to which Sam had no way to cease. However, being strict didn't mean they'd know about his secrets. One secret hidden in the fields of Sam's brain was an obsession with a show named My Little Pony. Usually only one chance came to watch at least one episode a week because of the time being a great predicament.

"Ah great, another boring day of school," Sam hardly pushes away the half opened door for more room to exit out of his bedroom. "It's gonna be the same bull crap. Annoying people, excessive unessential work, and other painful stuff."

He began walking down the darkened hallway, seeing light in the living room across from. A plan involving making an egg sandwich to help build the muscles he wanted formed in the back of his mind. The thought creates a wet mouth he obstructs to avoid drooling.

Upon entrance to the living room his little amount of peace and quiet was ruined by an aggravating voice he hears 24/7.

"Good morning my son, could you come over here and read this out loud for me," his mom showed him an image with a stapled text on her phone.

"And there goes my peace and quiet," Sam whispered to himself while looking extremely annoyed at her.

Of course, as always, none of it was ever interesting to him. The only reason why she forces him to read it out loud is because she wants him to care about whatever the topic was, not that he ever will. And no matter how many times he tells her to stop and leave him alone, she is just too stubborn to even listen to him. Though, deep down, Sam did love and care for his mom. Depression was one of the main things that had caused Sam's emotionless state.

He decided to start making his own breakfast and it was easy really. Set the temperature to medium heat, add a slice of butter, get four eggs and beat them, add salt and pepper, toast some unhealthy bread, wait for the eggs to cook, put them together and add cheese if you want. After Sam had planned out his breakfast, his dad came in and asked, "Honey could you get me some bagels."

"Right away dear!" Sam's mom ran into the kitchen in a hurry to fulfill a command. She grabbed four bagels out of a bag, toasted them in a toaster, and added butter after she noticed a crisp.

"Mournin' son," his dad greeted.

"Mournin' dad," Sam responded monotonous.

His dad heard sounds of frying grease and butter, and smelled something dull. "Another one of those sandwiches you're making I presume," he said without checking.

"Yep, same breakfast, on the same day," a big loud pop forced Sam to keep watch over the smoking pan.

"What do you mean the same day? You just had that yesterday, son."

"I know. I mean, everyday seems to be, y'know. . . the same."

"Pssh!" his dad pressed a power button, switching on his computer. "Boy, what in the world happened to you?"

Sam shrugged inside.

"Well, guess that's how things go when you get older. Honey, pour me a cup of coffee while you're at it."

His dad was alright because all he did for a living was watch YouTube and kept his mom occupied by arguing with her all day. This also allows Sam to watch his favorite show, My Little Pony, in peace.

With patience and practiced spatula flips, the eggs were ready. Combining eggs, bread, and cheese into a sandwich, he sat down and took a huge bite. Bits of crumbs fell onto his plate as smoke released out of the eggs' inside. Sure it was hot as a boiling river, but Sam could not resist its taste.

When an empty plate remained, he gave a pat on his tummy and went up to the calendar to see what day it was since he had nothing better to do. Today was Friday which meant the weekend was coming up, but what really piqued his interest was it being Friday the 13th.

Sam then had an abrupt craving for something different to happen. He didn't care whether it was good or bad. It just HAD to be SOMETHING different instead of the same old baloney.

"Oh boy, here we go again," Sam had to leave way earlier than usual. He also had to make his way over to the school on foot since the car had broken down. A swift cold breeze slightly tipped away Sam's balance backwards.

By feeling the wind's temperature, Sam could estimate the air temperature around 25 degrees. Despite choosing to wear a white T-shirt, thin black elastic shorts, and feeble tenner shoes, he didn't complain about freezing. As a matter of fact, he started relishing the cold, having no regret without a jacket.

Sam crossed many intersections cautiously on his way. While watching the scenery for amusement purposes. Nature was a big key to Sam's positive mood. He heard a few people speaking out disliking comments as he passed by; things like: 'weirdo'. I'm weird? he thought to himself. "Yeah. . . I am," he said acceptedly to no one.

The wind continuously blows over Sam's direction as well as leaves owned by trees, ruffling. Sam fought against the winds current by shifting into a fast sturdy walk. Spotting a line of cars, he knew school was just up ahead.

It's a beautiful day outside when the sun is shining and blinding, not many cars on the streets honking horns at each other, and the animals living the life in the trees without any man to cut them down.

Unfortunately, that's all about to change in a few minutes. Up ahead is a two-story building filled with sadness, depression, boredom, and hundreds of negative edgy people. The majority of the people there were either annoying or aggressive. Most would just cuss him out or flip him off for being all nosy. Which is exactly why Sam never talks to others or desires attention unless absolutely necessary.

"Welp, time to go back to the place I like to call prison. Let's see if I can survive this ordeal again to see the beautiful light of day and another episode of MLP." Sam always did describe school as another form of a prison, due to the fact that it's a government building and people his age are there against their will.

Before he enters an incredibly loud noise erupts in his ears to which what sounded like a huge explosion that came out of nowhere.

*BOOM*

He covered his ears and closes his eyes in case of another, but none came. When he opened his eyes, he saw the sky's color had turned to what seemed to be a mixture of purple and black instead of blue. He then heard the screams and footsteps of many students running around and bumping into each other like wild animals.

"What happened to the sky?!" said a student.

"IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!" said another student.

Before another word was said, the same explosion like sound came, this time louder than the last.

*BOOM*

There was a white flash that blinded all of them as if somebody laid a gigantic flash grenade. After the blindness effect from the flash disappeared, Sam looked up to see the sky back to its original sky blue and to see the sun still shining bright enough to blind him.

Everything was silent. Everybody had vanished. Sam took a stroll over to the front door of school. A presence and a tremendous feeling of being watched is what Sam felt behind him as he turned around immediately. A gust washed through the air.

He froze; two figures now stood several feet away. Both appearing to be facing him. Inside, he was trembling in fear. It was like living in a horror game; so scared of what's to come next, then when you feel safe, the music stops, and you find yourself alone. . . . . . . or are you?

A small laugh echoed out giving Sam the creeps. "Uh. . . hi-" he blinked with an embarrassing flinch as he listened to something so loud and unforeseen.

☹︎☜︎❄︎ ❄︎☟︎✋︎💧︎ ☝︎✌︎💣︎☜︎ 👍︎⚐︎💣︎💣︎☜︎☠︎👍︎☜︎✏︎

The garbage noise trespassed into Sam's ears, defining his sense of hearing. It wasn't long before he had put a finger in each ear, praying for this all to be some silly nightmare.

Hesitantly he blinked. What was once there, was gone in an instant. His sense of reality in mishmash, he noticed hundreds of students once scared of a crisis, going about their day as if nothing happened. The air collectedly followed in, relaxing Sam's mindset.

"What was that all about? Maybe it was just my head playing tricks on me," Sam rubbed his eyes. "Gives me an even better reason to see some kind of psychiatrist. Heck, might even need a few medications."

Sam wasn't all too worried about the event that just happened unless there was a huge global disaster report about it occurring towards other people. He could only imagine if Friday the 13th was actually going to be a day where people are unlucky to have a terrible fate or if Jason Vorhees actually exists.

A gaze of Sam's put itself over to a crowd of students. The same crowd he saw almost daily as he enters school grounds. They babbled and babbled about random things during their personal life, along with much horseplay in their large intimacy.

Rarity's generous spirit had formed within Sam's very soul. He let a smile, slightly forced, and openhandedly clutches the door's handle. They undeniably were predictable when it came over responses. They all gave an excited 'thank you' to the young gentleman keeping the door open with a foot.

After all that nonsense was over most of the school day was normal. He went to his assigned classes as usual and would always do the work but would fall asleep or play cool math games if the teacher was discussing something uninteresting in class.

His first class, English, was Sam's worst subject of all time. Thankfully, the class had the best teacher of all time, Mrs. T. At first, Sam was afraid she was going to aggravate him to death since she was loud and energetic when she first came in. But she gave Sam the peace and quiet he needed and showed him a lot of kindness.

And if he had any free time, he would always pull out his Chromebook and plug in his headphones that he took from his computer class to watch MLP in Chemistry class.

"Hey guys, Sam is watching MLP again!!!" Carson went up to a few more boys, tapping them on the shoulder to grab their attention, and pointed a finger at Sam.

Sam liked Carson as a friend because he always seemed to be quite the cheery fellow. One day Carson caught him watching the show and at first, started asking him if it were a joke. And then it started to become a thing with a few more boys asking Sam WEIRD questions that should never be specifically said.

"Oh, great, just what I need," Sam closed his Chromebook to prevent the boys from seeing anything. Uncomfortable with being surrounded by cast down frowns, Sam finally spoke up for himself. "What do you guys want? I'm sitting back here by myself for a reason!"

Carson frowned even more. "Aw come on Sam! You know we all wanna see it."

"Yea. You should be put on this TV series called My Strange Addiction. You'd make that series perfect," one of Carson's friends suggested.

Sam shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll pass thank you very much. Also, I'm not addicted to MLP. I watch it because it makes me happy, and it motivates me to be a good person. I'm a young brony and I don't care what others think. Same thing goes for my religion, Christianity."

They smiled. "You are a good person, Sammy," the third one said.

"Why thank you."

"You're also one of the weirdest of the weirdest weirdos I've ever seen walk on the face of this earth."

Sam didn't respond.

"Just be honest with us. If you're one of those so called 'bronies' who are grown men into My Little Pony. Do you :eeyup:nope:eeyup: off to it?" Carson made a perverted smile while leaning nearer. Sam didn't say a word. Instead, he got out of the chair and ran out of the room, heading to his very last class after hearing the sound of the bell.

"Somebody please help me. . ."

Sam's last destination before he could finally leave fortunately turned out to be art. Art was probably the only fun class, compared to the rest. His art teacher, Ms. Green, was a very chill teacher over all since she understood him quite a lot. And it was satisfying to draw and color in things. Better than reading or listening to someone talk about a boring topic you'll most likely forget in a few weeks.

Only eighty more minutes till I can leave! Replacing a hard stool with a comfy chair, he slouched down causing a bend on the chair's back as he let out a rough sigh.

Today was Freedom Friday, where his assignment for art was to basically draw anything, he wanted. As long as he worked for at least an hour, he'd surely get a hundred as a participation grade.

Goodness knows what school would've been like for Sam if Chromebooks didn't exist. Lifting the monitor upwards, it turns on automatically. Typing in his school ID he searches up images of Lyra Heartstrings to trace over on paper.

A pump of joy flooded his sadness once he finished outlining his drawing of Lyra. All that needed to be done now was its coloration. This should be fun. With a sky-blue colored pencil he pressed it down, scribbling back and forth. Such peaceful activities can lift one's motivational spirit through rough times.

When the final bell rang, Sam immediately got out of the school as quickly as he could. Once out of campus he began to run home like a madman. The glistening sun made it difficult for him to see but he kept on anyway. When he got close to home, he was all too tuckered out to keep on running, so he decided to take a short cut and walk through the woods instead of the sidewalk.

Sam wasn't afraid of going into the woods because he knew there were no wild animals to bite off his flesh. Plus, he'd prefer hearing leaves rattling and birds chirping. Rather than listening to upright chaos in the streets of a small mayhem town.

Trees formed a shade dotted with light shining through the leaves. A few twigs snapped as Sam's metal foot landed step by step. And several branches broke off as the human went by his excursion.

After what seemed to be about 5 minutes of walking, he was almost out of the woods. Suddenly, without notice he tripped on a hidden rock under the fallen leaves and fell to the ground.

"What the!?" Sam got up and looked behind to see what tripped him. "Oh, stupid rock." Sam turned in the direction of the exit to the...wait.

He turned around to where he was last facing and saw nothing.

"Hehehe!"

"Who's there?!" Sam didn't get a response, just utter silence. He could've sworn he saw three purple glowing eyes in the darkness. It felt as if he was being watched or stalked by someone or...something!

Ignoring what is believed to be seen. He continued to walk home hoping not to get ambushed by anything. Monsters didn't exist and it could have been a hallucination that came into effect after the event where the sky turned purple and black for a few seconds. Who knows what kind of secret organization and experiments are being used and hidden in this world today?

At home, Sam finally made it in one piece. Grabbing the handle, he pushes his home's door open. His dad sat on a large, cushioned rock chair while watching classic TV.

"Hey, son. How was school?"

"Oh, you know the same boring stuff as always. I'm glad to be here again," Sam answered honestly as Applejack.

"Heh, did ya miss me?"

Sam answers sadly and lovingly, "I did dad. I did," after a quick glance around, someone important could not be seen. Sam planted suspicion inside. "Where's mom at?"

"She's visiting the grocery store because she missed out on Thursday," he sighed. "She's been gone for a few hours, but she'll be back before you know it."

"I see. . ." taking a glance outside through the stained window, Sam noticed a vacant spot on the porch once occupied by their broken-down car. "Say, did someone from some kind of car service repair come over here and repaired our car while I was at school?"

"Yes, a few guys came," Sam's father switched the channel with a simple press of a button from the remote. "Your mother would never make it anywhere without the car. She isn't as fit as you, son. And heck, I'm a disabled veteran! I ain't able to travel the world like I used to. I'm barely able to get around the house. I'm getting old, son! I'm gettin' old."

Old? Sam despised that word. He didn't want to grow up anymore, neither did he want anything to do with the future. Many say the future is bright for themselves; the future for Sam alternatively, is remarkably dark.

The daily routine was still followed right after school, which was cleaning the house from top to bottom, playing play station one games like final fantasy 7, working out, watching MLP, and going to sleep.

*5 hours later*

My gosh! It's already dark outside. Where is she? he walked around nervously, starting to think his mother was kidnapped. "Hey dad I think-" Sam held in his voice, eyes wide out of worry that he hadn't noticed the old man sleeping on his chair. The snores were as loud as a Snorlax.

Rule number nine in the family book is never disturb a man's sleep unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. In this case, he'd probably get yelled at and be told to wait till mourning before speaking of it again. Guess I'll watch some MLP before I go sleep tonight. Hopefully mom will turn up later.

A large threatening evil feeling whooshed by sending a sudden shockwave of life danger into Sam's wellbeing. Woah! Who's there!?

Nothing was there. However. . . there was something definitely off. The door not far away, was ajar. He thought he had locked it in fear of some stalker following him during his journey through the woods.

He gave a moment of thought while securing the door. No longer could the evil be felt, but this was the third time of today it lurked near. Disregarding it again would prove to be an insane dare. Was it now inside? Or is it all in his head? "If any paranormal stuff occurs in this house, I'm calling the ghostbusters."

Slowly tip toeing past his dad, into a dark hallway. He restlessly turned on the lights in his own private backroom, sat down carelessly on a brown sturdy chair, and groaned. "Ah boy. Been a loooong day," Sam held a remote and turned on the other TV meant for him.

Switching the source to HDMI 3 so that the Nintendo Switch could connect; yes, Sam owned a NS. He had already installed YouTube into the Switch so he could watch any episode about MLP for free anytime he wanted.

Now let's see here. How about a Canterlot Wedding. Yeah, that one will do. I've seen it before but it's healthy for my mind and spirit. I'd be surprised if I dream about Equestria after watching this.

*40 minutes later*

Sam gazed in awe at the very last scenes during a wrap up song. His interest numbing a soreness in his back and rear end.

"Now this, was a great wedding," Twilight commented.

"Oh yeah? Just wait until you see what I have planned for the bachelor party," said the chad baby dragon with a giggle.

The six friends then giggled along as the episode came to an end during a scene of fireworks. One last firework exploding into a heart shaped green and pink mix. Credits popped up afterwards indicating the episode's end.

Sam yawned in a bit of exasperation. It was a little past his bedtime and he had delayed brushing his teeth and getting a nice clean shower as a preparation for bed. Those two things needed to be done. Not that he really cared that much about hygiene, but his mom did. She'd lose it if there wasn't a scent of shampoo on his head/hair or a scent of lotion on skin.

With a few steps across he entered one of two bathrooms. "Let's get this over with. I don't even feel like daydreaming right now," Sam snatches a green used up toothbrush out of a cupholder and in a fast pace, adds toothpaste then scrubs aggressively in an attempt to get the job down in just a few seconds flat.

Expectedly, he spat out a bit of blood while removing the toothpaste contents from his mouth into a near sink.

Next, Sam readied himself for a cold shower. Yet another perplex way to train endurance. Though Sam was more than capable of handling it. He turned the cold trim ring right, causing a flow of water out of the faucet and shower head.

Cold water splashed all over him. A strong nerve made Sam lightheaded as it ran through his spine, but it quickly adapted to the freezing water. Many would find it agonizing or not survivable, though Sam was weird and different.

He started to quit caring about others' opinions several months ago. Criticism, to Sam's thinking wasn't always positive unless very constructive and spoken in a non-aggressive tone. Sometimes he'd see criticism as insulting rather than helpful.

Soon, Sam found comfort and hummed an intro song whilst dancing. Water dripped over the bathroom's fluffy carpet his feet comfortably indulge in as he dries himself using a lavender towel.

"*Yawn* now it's time for bed. Well, actually fifteen minutes past time."

Before given the chance over a nice restful sleep, the lights flickered repeatedly until darkness drowned Sam's sight. Thankfully, he already made it to bed.

"STUPID POWER OUTAGE!" Sam's dad smashes his remote control on the ground out of anger, causing the batteries to spring out. He definitely wasn't in the mood to fix whatever the problem was with the power, and it didn't make his mood better when he was on the best part of one of his old western movies: Matt Dylan or Gun Smoke possibly.

There were sounds of thunder and rain coming from outside. Sam couldn't see it, but the storm sounded pretty rough out there. Even hearing the sounds of lightning striking the ground.

"Of course, there's a storm, because what else would cause a power outage! Guess I'll just sleep in complete darkness," Sam tucked himself under the covers hoping for the power to be back in working condition when he awakens. It was Friday the 13th, but there couldn't be any possible way for this day to get any worse now. "Tomorrow is another day," Sam dozed off in a matter of minutes leaving a head pressing down on his pillow.

"Hehehe," a voice chuckled. "Have a sweet dream, boy. The more sweetness, the more bitterness I can cause."

*❄☟☜ ⚐❄☟☜☼ 🕈⚐☼☹👎*

Sam opened his eyes leisurely while gasping for. . . air? "Woah, what happened? And where am I?" he asked himself, realizing his present location not being his bedroom.

Darkness wasn't covering him anymore for sure because he was outside during the middle of the day. It was a clear sky to, without a storm in sight. "The heck is going on? Why do I feel so. . . different?" Sam could not feel any of his internal organs functioning. The insides of his body was like a nonliving spirit. Did he die in his sleep? Was his imaginary stalker actually real and decided to sneak and eliminate him while vulnerable in bed?

Those questions buried under a gravestone in mind, he quickly came to a few of his senses. Putting focus over a nearby fantasy looking village that immediately caught his eye.

"Holy! No way!" a sign in front saying: 'Welcome to Ponyville,' destroyed Sam's thinking of reality entirely or any thoughts of dreaming. His depression gone (for now), his mind fully focused without wondering about. "I got to see what's popping over there, NOW!"

In a rush he galloped then tripped and fell. Though, galloping wouldn't be the right word if he were still standing on two feet. Now, that he figured out what caused such a clumsy trip over, he checked his arms. They were now a different size and shape, covered in fur.

While in shock he quickly stood up now on four hooves. The structure of his body was different to what he was used to. Moreover, he felt something outside while feeling nothing inside. For some anonymous cause, he shifted from human to pony.

His fur was light tan, the mane was black with a white stripe running through, his pupils were completely black, the cutie mark appeared to be a circle with one half being white and the other half being black, with two little dots being the opposite color on both sides.

He then felt the wings on his body and the horn sticking out of his head. Sam walked around the village excited to finally be able to talk to these friendly cute ponies. Could this all really be true? Was Sam truly in pony heaven now?

After a few minutes of walking, he came across what seemed to be an apple stand. Getting an apple was the first thing on his mind, but when he went up there, he realized he didn't have any money or should now be known as bits.

"Sorry for the trouble I forgot I didn't have any bits on me," said Sam in a sad tone of voice. The pony didn't respond, nor did he look like he was paying any attention. It was as if Sam wasn't there at all. "Helloooo?" he waved a hoof, still missing attention.

Sam was about to walk away but saw a panicking pony behind, that was about to collide with him. Sam braced, expecting a collision, but the pony passed right through his body as if he were a ghost, as the pink pony in question interacted with the worker running the apple stand.

"Hey mister do you have any fuji and granny smith apples!? I'm fresh out and I need those apples to make the biggest of the biggest apple cake for the apple family!" the panicking pony exclaimed, not yet realizing why her tail twitched.

"Of course, Pinkie Pie. How many?"

Pinkie Pie? Sam observed the shaking pony wearing a small umbrella. Her puffed pink tail twitched relentlessly as if it had a mind of its own. Oh wow, it is her!

"Hold it!" Pinkie sniffed the air with another moment of twitching. "Some pony is spying on us. I can sense it!" Pinkie's eyes narrowed over in Sam's direction. The hyped-up mare slowly took five hoof steps until her glare and muzzle were about two inches from Sam's muzzle.

Can she see me now or?

"I don't like this. I DON'T LIKE THIS ONE BIT!" she shouted.

Sam pulled away, "??????????"

The apple stand pony stared at Pinkie with a puzzled look. They weren't going to question Pinkie's sense of nature. Despite her supernatural self and behavior, there was something about Pinkie that made many ponies feel like she played a big role over Equestria's balance.

Her tail, hind legs, ears, and head twitched intensely like they never did before. A pinkie sense, depending on what parts of Pinkie's body twitches predicts what happens later in the next seconds or minutes. When she stopped shaking up and down, she overly gasped.

"This is bad! Like really, really BAD!"

"What's bad?!" Sam tried to communicate, but once again was left without an answer back. A matter of fact, a couple ponies literally pass right through him like he didn't matter enough to connect over to other matters of importance.

"Every pony run! Water is going to fall, and it won't be gentle!" Pinkie went into hyper mode and bounced out of town.

Then suddenly it was obvious on what was going on. When Pinkie Pie got the other pony's attention it became clear. "Right, this is only a dream. None of this is actually real. But if this is my dream, can't I just imagine anything I want?"

Sam then started thinking about a coca cola bottle. His horn glowed bright and an incredible tiny beam of white, shot from his horn and into the ground. A tiny white flash appeared and disappeared in a blink of an eye where the tiny beam was shot. And there was the coke bottle, just sitting, waiting for someone to drink it.

After getting all excited about his new ability to imagine anything he wants all of a sudden, the sun wasn't shining bright anymore and something wet landed on Sam's muzzle unnoticed. When he looked up, he saw a ginormous number of dark clouds pouring rain, right about to hit Ponyville.

Every pony was taking cover as fast as they could. Normally Sam would always find the rain to be pleasant because it would make the environment feel sad and depressing just like the way he is in the real world.

But this wasn't the real world, and Sam certainly didn't like seeing the ponies suffer or having all of that positivity of theirs to be ruined. Even if this wasn't real, he felt bad for them.

Sam decided to imagine about all of the clouds disappearing. His horn glowed once again but this time an incredibly tiny black beam shot out his horn and into the clouds incinerating them all.

All of the ponies came out and were screaming with joy. Not even knowing who or what got rid of the clouds. But it didn't matter to Sam. As long as they're happy, he's happy.

Suddenly a very familiar explosion sound popped into Sam's ears.

*BOOM*

There was a white flash that blinded him for a few seconds. When it wore off, he looked up into the sky to see it was the same purple and blackish mixture he remembers seeing in the real world. Looking at his surroundings he was in complete shock. Every pony had vanished around him. But that wasn't the only thing that caught his eye.

In front of him was a dark figure with three disturbing purple glowing eyes, two eyes were on the bottom, one eye was on the top. Two horns were sticking out of its head, and it had this psychopathic, monstrous, bloodied smile on its face. Its body was the same shape as the black figure he saw at the school. Its eyes were the same eyes that he saw in the woods on his way home.

Sam at first thought it was all in his head. Nothing was following him at all. It was just a dream that turned into a nightmare, and it will end at some point in time. Then the demonic like figure thing spoke.

"I got you right where I want you," said the demon while keeping that murderous smile on his face.

"You can talk to me?!" said Sam.

The demon didn't say another word after that but charged at Sam to which felt like the speed of light. When the demon collided with Sam, all Sam could see was darkness.

Sam felt something grabbing him by the neck but couldn't tell what it was. He couldn't even see his own body whether he was still a pony or a human again.

Several seconds later the unknown force on his neck came off. Sam felt himself fall down while gasping for air. Three eyes of the demon appeared glowing brighter than ever. Sam tried to move but to no avail. He couldn't even feel his own body. Sam didn't know what was real or not real anymore.

All he could think about was the demon that was staring at him intently. What was it going to do, kill him? The demon had followed him to school, near his home, and in his dreams. But why did it have to be Sam of all people. After a moment of silence, it spoke again.

"Hello human. You are now in my domain. My name is Nightmare. Who are you?" Nightmare asked.

Author's Note

Well guys this is my first time doing this kind of stuff so don't expect this to be done anytime soon. I am writing this story for my own amusement so if you guys somehow by any chance get interested into this story, I hope you have a LOT of patience because it's going to be like the year 2030 when I'm finished with this.

Chapter 4: Rise of the Changelings (edited)

*The Throne Room*

Celestia sat in her throne as always, preparing for the big day. Today, was an important day as Celestia herself believed. The sun was free from any cloud blockage, the entire castle was cleaned in preparation, and Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard, was already in place for the upcoming important wedding for tomorrow.

It also became quickly evident to Celestia that she wasn't the only pony who really cared about the wedding. Just a few minutes ago, while she made a few trips across the castle halls, there was already a large portion of her royal staff wandering the castle from place to place with great busyness, that was clearly being displayed in their faces and through their tense movements.

The princess of the sun smiled at the thought of her hard-working subjects. She also thought of the list of the things she wanted to be applied into the wedding and believed that her hard-working ponies would only end up providing more than what has been asked.

As Celestia took a hold of a paper and quill to write with her magic, her younger sister, Luna, walked in with all of the energy drained out of her. The lower part of her eyelids was darkened as if she had gone through the most difficult time in the dream realm, and her mane was no longer flowing and sparkling like it would be during her time of wellness.

"Good morning sister. Overworked yourself during that night, didn't you? Well, maybe a sweet morning brought to you by your sister will cheer you up. I have prepared you some very delicious pancakes in the dining room just for you. Please, do enjoy," Celestia offered, before she began to write a few invitations to send over to several particular ponies across Equestria.

"There is no time for any small talk, sister. I have some very important matters to discuss," Luna found it difficult to breath as she talked.

"As do I, Luna," Celestia claimed. "I'm sure you have heard of the big wedding tomorrow. And I'm sure you've caught eye of my subjects' current productivity. Everything should go as planned; however, I'm afraid security in all of Canterlot must be leveled greatly. You see, a threat has been made against Canterlot, and I must make sure nothing will ruin the special day for both the captain, and princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

"A threat against this very capital? That's foolish!" Luna found it hard to believe as she had a hard time keeping her balance as she spoke. "Well, I would like to inform you, sister, a threat has also been made onto the dream realm. I require assistance now, unless you want everypony in Equestria to never ever sleep again!" Luna fell onto the castle floor after her hooves slowly gave up on her.

Celestia dropped the letter and quill in shock upon witnessing her sister's misery. While Celestia thought it was just one of those rare nights of hardship, she had just now noticed the actual condition Luna was in, and realized Luna needed help. Trotting up to her dear sister, Celestia supported Luna as she struggled to stand up. Celestia then remembered the screams of blame Luna had unleashed in her sleep last night. And Celestia knew that kind of panic and rage wasn't something she could ignore. "Tell me everything. I will not allow any harm to come to you, Luna. I promise." Celestia insistently gave her younger sister a hug.

"...A demon ventured into my realm. And made its own personal home there to feast and ruin the dreams of our subjects like a parasite," Luna turned her head away in anger and regret. "I tried my very best to fend off that fiend, but my power alone was not enough. He's using my realm as a place to spread nightmares among our subjects' deepest fears, then to feed on their negativity, and become strong. I even fear it plans on using the dream realm as its primary source of power. And soon, it will find its way into the real world and do...ugh, who knows what to our land! Please sister, the fate of Equestria and our subjects depends on us if we do not do anything now!"

Celestia paused for a moment after hearing the word demon come out of Luna's mouth, but Celestia snapped out of it and nodded her head in agreement. She had thought demons had gone extinct after the great war thousands of years ago. Seeing the condition Luna was in, this was no joke or laughing matter. Demons were nothing but heartless killers, destroying everything in their path with no mercy.

"Very well, I shall do everything in my power to stop the darkness to which you say exists. But first, I must keep Canterlot on guard from whatever threat is to come during the upcoming wedding. I will even ask for additional protection," Celestia carried Luna out if the throne room and into her room.

*The Golden Oak Library*

Twilight woke up filled with energy. And it wasn't the good type of energy some pony would expect on a sunny day. The day had just started, and Twilight was already planning on tackling Shining armor to the ground. She didn't like the fact that her own personal brother was getting married to some pony she didn't know. And it especially didn't feel right that her brother didn't tell her that in person.

She did not feel astonished that she had spent a few hours of the night in her library complaining and planning on what action would be best for her to take in her unpleasant situation. Though, she was sure to get exactly enough sleep to ensure she would be able to effectively straighten things out with her brother and the whole wedding event without a need for shut eye.

But before she could think about waking Spike up, something in her head brought to her attention that something was missing. Looking around, she remembered a bottle sitting on the very wooden table she would always keep an eye on when she left bookmarked books that she didn't finish reading. Twilight slammed a hoof on her forehead. "Oh no," Twilight couldn't believe that she had forgotten to search Lyra for the dark fluid. She realized she was so caught up in the sudden disappointing news that her head lost focus as to why she even showed up to Lyra's house in the first place. 'Ugh. I'll have to deal with that later. Right now, I need to deal with my brother.'

Twilight walked downstairs to see Spike reading a letter. She approached him slowly to get a better perspective while noticing another letter folded up on the ground next to him. "What do you got there Spike?" Twilight tapped him with a hoof.

Spike turned around in surprise as soon as he felt Twilight's gentle hoof. Then, he genuinely let out a small burst of excitement. "You're awake! Here, I've been waiting to give this to you," Spike handed Twilight the letter. "It's an invitation to a wedding in Canterlot, with the preparations beginning today, and the actual wedding itself happening tomorrow," Spike noticed Twilight's mood changing from a bad mood to a good mood after reading the letter.

"Thank Celestia!" Twilight felt relieved. "For a second there I thought my brother, Shining Armor, had forgotten all about me." Twilight picked up the second letter next to Spike and began reading. The letter contained details on what she and her friends will be doing. Applejack makes the food, Rarity makes the dresses, Pinkie Pie plans a party, Fluttershy gets the birds to sing, Rainbow Dash does a sonic rainboom, and Twilight is the one to make sure everything goes as planned.

"Come along Spike, we have a train to catch," Twilight left the library with Spike following her from behind. As the two made their way through the village, a few ponies caught both Twilight's and Spike's attention for a few seconds. The two of them however, only slowed down into a trotting pace as their concern for the wedding was greater than their concern for the ponies in question. The ponies seemed to be extremely exhausted, or even frightened and traumatized over something for what Twilight and Spike could see. Was it because of a bad night or sleep?

Twilight had seen a few ponies sleepy throughout a day before, but she had never seen exactly THIS many ponies exhausted off of their tail because of one pitiful night. But despite her concern, now was not the time for her to focus on the health of those ponies as she herself needed to focus on her own mental health. Twilight strictly shook her head and continued galloping to the train station.

Reaching their destination, Twilight saw her friends standing on the station's wooden platform while having a conversation with each other and waiting for the very slow train to arrive.

"Hey girls! Here comes Twilight!" Pinkie shouted, grabbing the attention of the other mares.

"Yea yea, I bet you are all as excited as I am," Twilight smiled as she approached her friends, but her smile wasn't really as exciting compared to the others, especially Pinkie's. "You girls must've gotten an invitation from the princess too. Do you each know exactly what you'll be doing there?"

"Oh yeah! It's gonna be awesome!" Rainbow Dash confidently answered with a load of carefree energy. "I'm gonna make the most amazing sonic rainboom the princess asked for, and everypony including the Wonderbolts themselves will be drooling at the sight of my stuff!"

"My oh my, Twilight. You don't seem to be excited about this wedding at all. Whatever is the matter darling?" Rarity asked, only getting an annoyed expression from Twilight as an answer.

"Oh, I'm doing just fiiiinnneee, Rarity. It's not like a companion of mine who decided to wait the last minute to tell me today's the day he's getting married by some nopony is upsetting me right now. Nope, I am totally relaxed right now. And speaking of companions, do any of you girls see Spike? I swear he was right behind me when I found you girls," Twilight claimed, searching for where her young assistant dragon may have run off to.

"Uh, Twi? He's right behin' ya now," Applejack pointed a hoof, causing Twilight to turn to the one direction she didn't check, and saw her precious little dragon walking up from behind her. Although, his movement speed was more of an amble than a normal walk. And Twilight just noticed the utter exhaustion Spike was expressing passively through the drops of sweat running down his head.

All of the other five mares noticed it too, and they quickly became concerned for the poor dragon.

But Twilight was more focused on the criticism side than any personal care as she yelled, "Spike! You had me worried sick! Didn't I tell you to stay close to me at all times and not run off someplace else, even for a brief-"

Spike fell on the wooden floor before Twilight could finish, and the poor dragon lifted his head to speak. "Come on Twilight. You know I can only run so fast on two legs. Can you at least slow down for me when you're running off somewhere?" Everypony stared at Spike and giggled after realizing that the little dragon was alright and that he wasn't in much of a severe condition of injury. "Hey! It's not funny. You girls always get ahead of me because you can fly, teleport, and even walk perfectly on FOUR hooves instead of TWO pitiful small feet," Spike presented a small splinter on the bottom of his pitiful right foot to express his frustration, and the dragon hopped up and down to prevent his fall as he pulled out the splinter while standing on only his left foot without any pillar to lean on for support. "See what I mean?"

Spike flung the prickling piece of wood away before looking up at the six mares to spot any signs of pity written on their faces. Fluttershy was of course the best pony of the six to show any feeling of care through her face, but Spike was more interested in seeing Rarity's expression of care than any other pony. The dragon even attempted to put on his best 'cute dragon act' to hopefully earn the girls' hearts. But even though he put on his best act, the six mares didn't show any signs of giving away the dragon's wanted emotions as they rather looked at him funny as if he were overexaggerating. Which he was. And Applejack herself could tell as she turned out to be the only mare who presented a questionable face.

It wasn't too long until they could all hear the sound of a train whistle. All of the mares turned to the direction of the sound in joy and felt relieved that the tormenting wait was officially over. The attention Spike had earned for only a few moments ended up leaving him quickly, as they all boarded the train to Canterlot.

******

They each sat in a seat that was only capable of holding two ponies each, as the majority of them chatted like there wasn't a tomorrow at all. And as the minutes ticked by, their conversations eventually led to the events that they experienced just yesterday. The seven of them were even sure to be honest, knowing Applejack would smell a lie as if it were an explosion of toxic gas.

Pinkie Pie was the first to start, telling her friends that she had an exciting party, with loads of fresh cupcakes that were perfectly stacked in a pyramid that she quickly mowed down with her sweet shredding mouth.

The conversation then went to Rarity and Applejack who both had to deal with their differences again. Apparently, the rain from the previous storm bothered Rarity as she forgot to pack her umbrella that day. And Applejack was forced to pull her out from under a bench that Rarity decided to use as an alternate way to prevent her dress from getting wet. Only then did Applejack accidentally pull Rarity into a mud puddle, soaked and stained her favorite dress in the process, and the two had an underwhelming argument about whose fault it was before the storm was incinerated. But a single lesser argument such as that would never break up their friendship with one another.

Finally, there was Twilight Sparkle, the next pony who took hold of the conversation after the conductor of the train alerted them that they were getting close to their destination. She told them all about Lyra the other night; how she was being all crazy in the head about humans again, that the reckless unicorn even broke into the library to steal something that was believed to be related to the specific species she outrageously admired. Everypony in the train busted out in laughter after hearing Twilight's personal story.

"Ha! Classic Lyra. She's always so obsessed with those things. And to make things better, me and Fluttershy believe we saw a real one fighting against a pack of timberwolves!" Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves with a smile.

"Really? Ya sure ya ain't makin that all up? Where in the wide world of Equestria did ya see all that?" Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, just somewhere in the Everfree Forest. Right, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash faced Fluttershy expecting her to act nervously.

"Y-yes. We s-saw it after Angel told us. I-It was h-horrifying to see, but...the creature di-didn't seem to b-be enjoying it. He l-looked frightened! I-it was i-if he was lost in that f-forest, w-with...no wh-where else to go!" Fluttershy felt her own sweat run down her muzzle.

Twilight was already willing to ask the shy pegasus mare questions, but she held her mouth shut and pushed her thoughts aside once she and everypony else saw something pink pass right through them as the train came to a stop. When the conductor finally gave the announcement that it was time to depart the train, everypony packed their things with amazed solace as they got up from their seats and slowly exited the train.

Twilight and her friends were the last to depart, and when they did, they were immediately accompanied by multiple guards surrounding the area. It was pretty clear that the guards were there for security reasons, but it did fell a little over kill to have THAT many in one spot. And along with a whole pink magic barrier surrounding Canterlot, which Twilight easily recognized as her brother's magic, it became clear that her brother was already here to add icing on the excessively large cake of guards.

Twilight galloped past the guards in anger, while her friends looked at her worried.

Passing a couple of guards who both flinched at the angry unicorn plowing by, she continued to search for Shining Armor, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey um, do you know where Shining Armor is?" Twilight asked one of the guards patrolling the streets.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but Shining Armor is busy trying to catch the monster responsible for the Elements of Harmony's disappearance not too long ago." The guard pointed his spear towards what appeared to be holes on the castle wall, leading up all the way to the room containing the elements.

"A monster stole the Elements of Harmony?! What kind of monster?! Has Discord returned?!" Twilight asked.

"Please Miss. Calm yourself. We are unsure of the monster's origins, and we have yet to catch the monster. But I can assure you that it is not the Lord of Chaos you speak of. One of us was knocked out into a temporary daze by a single hit to the face from the monster. And they described the monster like a dragon, except scaleless, wingless, stronger, and intelligent. It is thought that the monster also has the ability to climb walls which is why you see parts of the castle walls ruined because of the monster's carelessness. And it is believed the monster is still here trying to find a way out." The guard directed Twilight to a shattered glass all the way to the top. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza said it jumped out of that window with the elements in its hands. But we sadly couldn't trace to where exactly the monster ran off to."

Twilight froze, "So, the monster really did get away with the Elements?!"

"I'm afraid so, Miss. We don't know what the monster's intentions are with the elements. But no matter what, the elements should never fall into the hooves of somepony else except for Celestia's. Now if you would excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to." The guard gave his last bit of respect before trotting past Twilight Sparkle, and into the castle. And Twilight was unfortunately still left unanswered about her brother's whereabouts.

******

*10 minutes later*

"Ugh! Could this day get any worse?!" Twilight dramatically questioned herself, taking out her list of preparations for the wedding as she continued to rant by herself. She knew it would only be a matter of time before her preparations were expected to be finished, but the sheer outrageous disappointment Twilight had against her brother for not directly speaking in advance about his plans for today made it difficult for her to even care about the wedding preparations in the first place.

But, somewhere in the unicorn's head, a part of her did not want to disappoint her mentor no matter cost. That is why Twilight made the decision to take a deep breath before focusing on the current task at hoof. All Twilight could remember from princess Celestia's requests, was that she needed to ensure everything was perfectly set up and prepared at its best. In other words, she needed to check on her friends to see how they were doing, and to check off the things they've done, and to mark off the things they didn't/forgot to do from the request checklist given to her in the letter.

Applejack was the first on the list and the closest in Twilight's area to her own convivence. Twilight was then able to quickly spot and follow the cobblestone path leading towards the bakery with an upset frown on her face. Today has already been rough for Twilight and even niggling as well. At this point, the poor lavender unicorn felt that if the day were to go any further downhill; she would literally explode.

Shining Armor, about to get married to Princess Mi Amore- whatever her name may be, without being told in person? And a monster roaming around Canterlot, keeping Shining Armor way too busy to even spend any time with her. The day surely was not playing nice on Twilight.

The path leading to the bakery felt too long for her, so she decided to take a shortcut instead, which was an open grass area that was surrounded by several cafes and several picnic tables. The area to her surprise, turned out to be completely guard free. Only a few ponies were there, enjoying their day as if they really had nothing to worry about at all.

Twilight easily grew jealous over the joyful smiles on those ponys' faces as she passed by. And with her focus being on those ponies, she was able to recognize one of them as Octavia, a musical leader in Ponyville, who appeared to be getting served a large beverage for only a bit. Octavia gave Twilight a friendly wave after noticing Twilight passing by. Twilight did the same and carried on.

*💣✋💣✋👍*

Surprisingly, Twilight felt better about herself after receiving and giving a friendly interaction with some pony she barely even spoke to. And a warm smile formed on Twilight's face after a single lightbulb lit up in her head.

'Maybe it's just a little friendship that I need to give away to brighten this day. Yea, that's it! I just need to reach Applejack and- WAHH!'

"S-sorry, I...didn't see you there," Sweetie Drops offered a helping hoof along with her apology to Twilight.

It took Twilight a few seconds to come to her full sense as she shook off the dizziness before she knew exactly what happened. "No worries. I didn't see you either. I guess my mind was not in a good place since I've been thinking about how bad this day could be," Twilight took Sweetie Drop's hoof and accepted the apology after being helped back up. Then, putting a hoof under her chin, Twilight thought about whether she should abandon her tasks for the wedding just so she could spend all the time getting back the dark fluid. She thought about 'Lyra's dealer' who was said to have bought the dark fluid from Lyra's hooves through bits, but there was not enough proof for Twilight to believe that such a thing had happened.

Sweetie drops noticed Twilight was once again in her own head, and she made an awkward smile and started to walk away until Twilight decided to ask, "Say, Bon Bon, have you seen your friend, Lyra, anywhere? I'd like to speak to her again."

Sweetie Drops paused and took a deep breath. "Yes. She's out on the streets asking every pony to try out that dark potion that she prefers to mention as...soda or something. Pretty strange, huh?"

"Yea, if there's anything I can agree with almost everypony who knows Lyra, it's that she's weird. Period!" Twilight pointed out, with bias in her tone. "Wait...did you just say she's asking ponies to take a sip out of that...that...!"

A nod from Sweetie Drops was all Twilight needed to comprehend.

"HA! HA! I knew it! I knew there wasn't a dealer! I knew Lyra was keeping that potion all to herself all along!"

Sweetie Drops didn't say anything in response about the current subject. The mare's eyes simply wandered off for a moment as a part of her partially agreed, while another part of her did not.

Instead of getting the response Twilight expected, Sweetie Drops opened up with another random apology out of nowhere. "Hey, Twilight, I just wanted to let you know that I apologize for sort of defending Lyra; I was only doing what friends are supposed to do. These humans Lyra keeps mentioning every day is driving me nuts! Not only does it make her look bad, but it also makes me look bad!"

"It's alright Lyra, helping your friends in need is a good thing. But there are times where you have to say no, even if it means losing a friend that may not even be who you really think they are." Twilight wrapped her hoof around Bon Bon's neck. "Look, if you really wanna get good friends, I suggest getting rid of the bad ones first. Do you know if the potion has affected any pony yet?"

"Well, no I don't think so. Almost everypony who Lyra offered the potion to immediately rejected it with no questions asked. I'd be surprised if anypony would be crazy enough to even be a part of Lyra's experiment. Oh, but don't tell her I said that! She's my only friend. And if I lose her..."

"Hey, no worries. I can be your friend if you'd like!" Twilight offered.

Bon Bon's face turned from regretful to grateful. "Really?! Thanks Twilight!" Sweetie Drops dug into her saddlebag to grab a very unique book. "Here, I've been planning on giving this away to a friend. Lyra wrote this book for me many years ago. I got to say it wasn't all bad for a book about a human."

"Huh? She wrote an entire book on just one human?" Twilight grabbed the book with her magic and studied the cover. "My Little Dream Becomes Reality?" The cover was a simple drawing, plain green hills, a beautiful sky with clouds, and a familiar bottle sitting right next to what looked to be a young alicorn with the look of concern. "What's this book all about? And what's with the weird monster like thing hiding in the darkness above?"

"Oh, the book is just about some fictional prophecy Lyra made up. She thinks a great evil will be unleashed upon Equestria, and a human will show up to save the day. In the end, the human sacrifices his own humanity to defeat the evil monster. And is cursed to live forever in Equestria as a pony, only because he cared for us all. Pretty good story if you ask me. Now if I may, I must attend a little event that needs me on the other side of Canterlot," Sweetie Drops instantly galloped away from Twilight in such a sudden hurry.

*☜☠👎 👍⚐💣💣🕆☠✋👍✌❄✋⚐☠*

"Hey! Wait just a- huh?" Twilight turned to the direction where Bon Bon ran off, but she was nowhere in sight. With confusion entering Twilight's head, the unicorn observed the book given to her. She started flipping through the pages, seeing that the book was not even finished.

She shrugged, sighed, closed the book before adding it to her saddle bag, and carried on.

******

Twilight continued down the guard free path while carrying the strange book in her saddle. The search for Lyra began, but she was worried she would miss out on organizing everything with her friends.

'Oh, sweet Celestia. What am I supposed to do? I have so many things pilled on my hooves right now! And it's not like I can do them all at once!'

Twilight's anxiety level had clearly shot through the roof, and she was at a loss on what she could possibly do to solve her dilemma. She didn't want to upset Celestia by avoiding her expectations, but the poor unicorn mare also didn't want to be held part of Lyra's ridiculous act in sampling teaspoons of a dark magical potion for the sake of proving the existence of a species.

"Oh boy. I can see the light is at the end of tunnel. We can finally get the heck out of here!"

Twilight stopped and put her focus on the echoing voice. Her nervousness no longer on her tasks for the day, she nervously and curiously trotted towards the voice which led her to a cave in the middle of an abandoned area in Canterlot that tunneled underground.

Twilight, starting to get so focused at the task at hoof, kept on walking closer and closer, but stopped when she heard hoof steps coming from the cave. She stood there for several seconds, curious as to why somepony would be down there.

A tall, light pink alicorn rushed out of the cave, panting. Twilight was very fast to gasp appropriately with a wide-open smile. "Cadance! Is that you?!"

"Twilight!" Cadance welcomed Twilight with open arms.

Twilight's misery fell right off at the sight of the best foal sitter in all of the history of foal sitters.

"Sunshine sunshine lady bugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Cadance and Twilight both sang their favorite silly little song ever since they were fillies. And when the sudden graceful memories flooded back in Twilight's head; she felt like she was in paradise for a brief moment.

Unfortunately for Twilight, her beautiful moment came to an end when she saw a tall figure standing behind Cadance. The figure in question was utterly unrecognizable, and without a word, Twilight backed away in both bewilderment and fear.

Cadance eyed the figure and turned back to Twilight with a smile and a bit of an eyeroll for Twilight's ridiculous panic. "Don't worry, he's harmless. He's the one who helped me escape from the cave underneath Canterlot."

"Escape? You were imprisoned?!" Twilight asked.

Cadance let out a sigh. "There's no time to explain. My doppelganger is going to ruin everything if we don't stop her now." Cadance turned to face Sam, begging him for his assistance. Sam didn't say a word but stared up from above. Twilight and Cadance stared in the same direction to see Cadance/Chrysalis flying in the air with several guards by her side, including Shining Armor.

"Those little twerps are the targets! Seize that imposter!" ordered Cadance/Chrysalis before she presented an unnerving smile and shot something green into the air from her horn. The green blast exploded in mid-air like a firework and Sam quickly figured that things were about to go all ham.

"Alright, it was good to see you guys, but I'm out of here!" Sam took off running, leaving Cadance and Twilight to fend for themselves as the guards charged at them with no hesitation, believing they were going to catch the impostor as they were told, but they didn't realize that they were doing the complete opposite.

Sam kept running expecting to see more guards, but none came. Although, when he got to the areas of Canterlot more out in the open, he realized what was keeping the guards. Apparently, most of the entire Canterlot army from what Sam could tell were putting their attention and energy on the hundreds if not thousands of flying pony bugs on the outside of the pink magic shield.

What the? Chrysalis already gave the order for her minions to attack already? Shoot. If I knew she was gonna do that today, I would've took off as soon as it started! Sam looked around at the barrier surrounding Canterlot, to see the changelings aggressively banging their entire bodies onto every part of the shield.

Truthfully, Sam didn't know exactly why Chrysalis placed in the order so early. All he knew was that the attack only occurred during the actual day of the wedding, when Chrysalis herself was exposed. Sam could at least assume that the invasion was scheduled early due to his actions having a potential change in events.

The first thought that came to mind in the current situation was bad luck, but he figured it could be used as a great opportunity to escape, since the changelings were banging themselves hard on the barrier, which will definitely cause the barrier to shatter, allowing Sam to have a chance to escape. And since Chrysalis didn't have as much time to weaken Shining armor, it should take the changelings a while to break through, allowing Sam to prepare his stealthy exit.

"Don't let the monster escape with the elements!" Shining Armor shouted, alerting his fellow comrades.

Ah crap...so much for stealth

Sam acknowledged a few guards beginning to chase after him as fast as they could. Being the scaredy cat that Sam knew he was, he ran off, hoping they would leave him be if he chose to not fight back at all.

The boy once again knew he couldn't outrun a creature on all fours. Figuring that the guards weren't going to stop, knowing that he still had the Elements of Harmony in his traveling bag, Sam believed there was no other way but to fight his way out of this.

Once he got close enough to the barrier, he turned to face them. One guard pointed his spear and stabbed him in the chest. The guard felt what seemed to be a brick hitting him on the side of the head as Sam punched him with his hardened fist in retaliation. And with that, the fight had begun.

Two pegasi guards flied at Sam from both sides. To Sam's luck, he was quick, and he managed to punch the one on his right and blocked the one on the left by turning his left arm into a dark shield and smashed the other pegasi guard into the ground. Then, there were four more guards, one of them being Shining Armor.

"Hand over the elements now! We will hesitate to put you down, beast!" Shining Armor put up a magic barrier around himself as Sam picked up one of the unconscious pegasi guards and threw the guard directly at his opponents, knocking down all of Shining Armor's help as if they were bowling pins.

"Come on man. Can't we talk this out. The elements are needed for my quest to save this world. So, unless you want everypony to die, I think you should let me go. And I know you can be a little overprotective, Shining Armor," Sam grabbed the spear in his chest and pulled it out, allowing his body to heal the wound on its own.

"How do you expect me to believe that? And how do you even know my name, monster?" Shining Armor took a step forward while keeping his guard up.

"Oh, come on. Can't you see the real threat here? It's literally all around us right now," Sam gestured to the changelings who were EXTREMELY close to breaking Shining Armor's spell. "Chasing after me is only distracting you," Sam claimed, turning his right arm into the same sledgehammer used to destroy the door containing the elements.

"Princess Celestia and Luna will protect us all. And the elements can stop any threat that comes our way. You will pay for not only stealing artifacts crucial to everypony's survival, but also for scaring my future wife to death." Shining Armor pulled out a sword with his magic ready for a fight. Sam, with a pump of adrenaline, swung his hammer attempting to hit Shining Armor out cold as the stallion charged forth. A strange pinkish barrier came out of nowhere and surrounded the stallion as Sam's sledgehammer failed to reach the target, hitting only the barrier.

Sam felt a sting come from his entire left arm. He looked to see his left arm sliced off by Shining Armor's thick sword. In fear for his life, Sam jumped back, giving time for his arm to regenerate the damage.

Seeing the amount struggle Sam was having, the stallion couldn't help but to take a moment but to swing his sword around in the air with a smug grin on his face. The outcome for this fight became very clear. Sam was not about to win this unless he were to find some way around that stunt the stallion pulled.

Because suffering exists for a few beings to endure, the fight continued with Sam's entire body being sliced and diced. All of Sam's attacks were failing to bash through the barrier. And the more Sam regenerated. The more dizzy and tired he felt.

Darn, I'm using way too much of my energy on regeneration. I need to find a solution and fast.

Sam threw a spear from one of the guards laying on the ground. As Sam predicted, the spear had no effect. Then, something caught his eye. The sword Shining Armor carried, passed right through the barrier as the stallion swung it around in confidence. Sam couldn't help but smile as a genius idea came up in his head.

"Ya know what? I guess...I deserve this..." Sam got on his knees and cried out for mercy.

"Aw, isn't that sweet. Are you giving up, monster?" Shining Armor asked, not getting a response. And after a minute the stallion threw his personal thick sword at Sam, expecting it to be the finishing blow to any other monster in Equestria's history.

But just in the nick of time, Sam lifted his head and caught the thick sword in his hands. It sure did burn like a raging fire on his hands to stop that amount of force, but at least he prevented any major damage.

"It's over!" Sam yelled, taking the sword for himself.

While he felt like he had zero energy to spare, he stood back up on his feet regardless and charged at the cocky stallion. Shining Armor rolled his eyes, believing the monster had become desperate.

"Monsters always lose because they fail to understand that brute force is not exactly what it takes too-URGH!"

Before the stallion knew it, an immense pain came from his chest as he was knocked onto the dirt. Shining Armor opened his eyes to see his sword stolen by the monster, covered in blood. Shining Armor's chest plate, stronger than the average armor was shattered into pieces. Shining Armor even looked at his chest in horror to see a huge cut has been made. Apparently, Sam figured out that Shining Armor's own sword had no correlation with his own barrier spell unlike everything else.

"You...monsters...won't...get away...w-with.......t-this.........." Shining Armor's eyes closed by themselves slowly until not a single breath could be heard.

The winner dropped the sword filled with regret. Did he just...kill some pony out of instinct? It was never in Sam's nature to take away one's life. Was he a monster now?

*Killed Shining Armor; 450pp earned.*

"ARGH!" Sam felt as if the sun had touched his back as he was shot by something many times hotter than fire. He got back on his feet and touched his back only to wince in pain. Turning around to confront the pony or thing responsible, he spotted a tall white mare standing in front of him. Her mane sparkled and flowed endlessly. And a golden tiara sat on top of her head.

"Princess Celestia..." Sam looked at her with both comfort and fear. He knew he was in a heap of trouble just by examining the princess's face. Celestia would always make an effort to smile throughout the entire day. And Sam wanted to return the favor by also choosing to make an effort to smile even though expressing positive emotions wasn't his strong suit. Then, he lifted his arms into the air as if a cop told him that he was under arrest.

Celestia only stared at him with anger and frustration until she spoke up. "Please. Return the Elements of Harmony. If you comply, your punishment will be reduced."

"Woah, woah, wait. Before I do. I've got a question for ya," Sam's smile grew until he started letting out a chuckle.

"And that would be?" Celestia said.

"Has anypony in the wide world of Equestria ever called you...good looking?" Sam felt proud of himself for showing all that honesty. It's always good to tell the truth(not really). Celestia blushed and her eyes widened. She shook her head and gritted her teeth. Sam's smile faded away because it was at this moment that he knew...he messed up.

Celestia's horn glowed along with a flame surrounding it. Flames as hot as the sun erupted from her horn, burning Sam nonstop. "AAAAAH! GOD!" Sam moved and jumped around to avoid the flames of rage and hatred only to fail. The heat Sam felt was like burning your finger on a lit candle except having your entire body burned to crisp. "OKAY! OKAY! I TAKE IT BACK! AAAAAH!"

Celestia took a deep breath and let it out to calm herself. The flames around the monster cleared leaving only a skinless, black goo skeleton that fell to the ground along with the traveling bag containing the elements. Somehow, the bag was completely fine, untouched by the barrage of flames Celestia sent. Did the elements have a mind of their own to protect themselves from incoming attacks?

Celestia checked both Shining Armor and the monster, to see if they were still alive. Shining Armor was still breathing but barely. If the stallion were to stay laying there any longer without any treatment, there is no doubt in Celestia's mind that Twilight would be the one to bury him. As for the monster, he appeared to be dead. No pulse, breathing, or movement. But Celestia didn't fully disregard the corpse, as she wanted further study on the creature more. It was nothing anypony has ever seen.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of something big shattering into a million pieces around her. Shining Armor's spell protecting all of Canterlot was now broken. Everypony including Celestia herself, were too focused on the elements and the monster, that they have forgotten all about the changelings chipping away at the barrier.

Everypony screamed and galloped in panic as the changelings dived into Canterlot. Many of the bug ponies smashed into the ground and hissed at the ponies. To make things worse, all of the guards did a poor job at defending, most were captured and stuck in some green, liquid, gooey stuff. While the rest managed to fight a few off but retreated when hundreds more came.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show their face." Cadance/Chrysalis said from behind Celestia's back and smiled. A short burst of green flames surrounded Cadance/Chrysalis revealing her true self, Queen Chrysalis. The alicorn became speechless as to what was going on, and Chrysalis took the opportunity to shoot the princess in the chest while the distraction of her subject's cries got to the alicorn.

Celestia got back up and desperately tried to grab the Elements of Harmony from the bag next to the possibly dead monster. But before she could, Chrysalis stood in the way and ordered a few changelings to guard the monster alongside her. "Nah ah ah. The elements now belong to him. I made a deal to be sure of that," Chrysalis's horn glowed, ready to blast the princess in the face. Celestia thought about fighting back, but realized she stood no chance against a whole army.

With the feeling of powerlessness kicking in, the princess of the sun teleported away before she took any more unnecessary damage. All of Canterlot's defenses were now gone. Celestia failed, all of the guards along with Cadance have been captured, Shining Armor was out cold, the elements were still in Sam's possession, and Luna was too busy dealing with a particular demon.

"Aw, I was hoping for a fair fight," Chrysalis looked down in disappointment.

"Should we search for her your highness?" One of the changelings asked.

"Hmph. It matters not. Canterlot is now ours. And the elements are in our hooves." Chrysalis looked at the creature and sensed life. "I will take care of the creature. Do what you want with the worthless stallion."

*The Dream Realm*

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh, this is all just too pleasing!" Nightmare laughed. "It certainly would have been much more entertaining if I were there to watch your humiliating defeat. Ha! Ha!"

"Why don't you just shut up and stop cackling in my face," Sam retorted with a reasonable glare.

"Oooh! Irritated now, aren't you? Well, that's all beneficial to me. Afterall, the less confident you are, and the more negative you are about things, will only give me the upper hand."

"..."

"Though, it seems you won't be staying here for long. I can sense your life returning. You'll be awake soon enough. And I will make sure to make you suffer when we meet outside of this realm."

Chapter 12: New Loyal Friends

A dream inside of a dream is what Sam proposed he had as he woke up from the sounds of beeping. Uncovering the blanket above his chest he sat up straight. To what felt like an invisible force pulling him down into a laying position it was only his laziness pulling him down, due to the beds comfort. A few band aids enclosed his previous wounds, with much dried-up blood resting still on his four arms.

Shifting his gaze to the other patient beds, he found three other ponies, in a good type of custody. The care they received seemed to be much more stipulated compared to Sam's own. Even one pony was wrapped from horn to hoof in band aids, giving the appearance of a horse mummy. Letting out a quick laugh, Sam turned right where the sun shined past a window. Hearing the clock tick second by second lowered his patience for some nurse to enter, so he stared off into space and daydreamed. Even grabbing the holter monitor by its supporting pole, shaking it gradually as a distraction for boredom.

He then took a nice look around, imagining playing I spy with my little eye with someone close. He played it using colors as hints, imagining his close friend/relative saying something back. "I spy with my little eye, something blue," he thought about the blue books on the shelves, then decided to use something cooler. That was when he discovered a blue gemstone stolen from his possession. "W-what?!" being horrified, his heart tickled fearfully. The gold gauntlet remained still in his hand, only, one problem; the diamond shaped hole used to contain the space element was empty.

Sam lifted his body up and out of bed without hesitation. Whatever willpower came over him, it for sure overpowered his laziness. Aggressively he pulled the drawers by the handle, having the bottom drawer slide open, and finding nothing except a few photos of... a cyan unicorn kissing him on the forehead while in bed. The tip of his thumb and finger relinquishes their secure grab on the photos, descending them down flat on the floor.

His mouth became wide open in surprise, staring downwards at each image depicting a crazed loving pony, sucking away his lips with her horse mouth. Based on the cutie mark string instrument on her flank, he figured it to be none other than Lyra Heartstrings. When he realized, he became less surprised, however, more concerned. Lyra was one of his favorite background ponies, and there were times where while in bed, a lonely feeling would decree him to hug a pillow, imagining himself hugging Lyra as if she were a pillow.

"Huh? Better keep these," he said, handpicking the thin squared pictures, then organizing them into a stack for his pocket. Searching under each bed, he found nothing magical from what his eyes could see. He did spot a clump of dust that caused him to sneeze upon close contact with his nose, but that was about it. Clearly, now that he remembers his clumsy fall to the floor before passing out after being chased. The answer was clear. Sompony had just stolen a valuable blue stone out of the diamond hole.

His bottom teeth scratched his top as he stressed out, "ah for crying out loud! Can I actually have somepony on my side rather than a crazy draconequus or a thirsty for love bug queen!" stress had now taken him in a heated sweat.

With Equestria along with every living being inheriting a part of him, Sam may not find himself alone after all. What he'd really need most is somepony or someone who he could empathize with. A clone of himself could very much do the trick. But such a thing isn't possible in reality. Asking even the best scientist in the world to create a clone for himself, he'd probably receive an answer like "no" or "in your dreams."

"In my dreams huh? Yea I'm in my dream alright. Too bad I have no control over it. At least, not until that demon is slayed," for consolation inside, he continued talking to himself as all the pain he went through thus far for ONE singular element of infinity exhausted him inside. "Never kept count, but I guess I've been in this dream for five days by now. I wonder if my parents are worried, well, actually, what I am thinking of course they are. They're strict and nosy as can be."

His mind put focus on a beeping noise from the holter monitor as a distraction from an agonizing sore ache over his body. Thoughts of past weakness had to be pushed aside in order for thoughts of the present to occur. He had no time for depression, nor did he have time for distractions.

"Sam? Is everything alright in there?"

A knock came from the door to Sam's right. He shook and quivered over the bed at an unforeseen visitor. Whoever this pony was must've been the nurse of the place. Or maybe even the doctor if he were transferred over to an actual hospital while asleep. He never checked the window to see if the medical room was connected to Canterlot High. "Uh, yea whoever you are."

A laugh came from the outside, her voice congenial enough for trust. "My name's Lyra Heartstrings. I am here on behalf of your species. May we come in?"

Hesitation built inside. Sam knew this pony for who she was. He just felt troubled responding to some pony that, he, at least considered wife material. "Sure. Come right on in," he anxiously gave permission.

The doorknob turned by a magic aura, then Lyra pushed the door hard with her hoof, making it smash against the wall. A few patients in bed, awoke after the wall bang, but Sam paid no attention as his attention had bigger things to pay. Lyra was standing there, showing off her joy using a smile so wide that Sam couldn't even imitate, to fake smile in public. He caught a glance of a white pony with a pink mane and tail, and a white hat, red cross symbolized behind Lyra.

"Oh, it's such an honor to see you! You have no idea how long little ole me has been searching for you!!!" Lyra galloped and jumped onto Sam nearly making him lose balance. No words managed to make way out of Sam's mouth. Reluctantly he gently hugged the unicorn feeling her soft cyan fur like a blanket. Lyra only smiled as she rubbed her hooves down his back. "I'm touching a real human being! See?! SEE?!"

Sam took his whole face on a nice little trip into Lyra's mane. He sniffed her body like a flower, blushing a tad. What was this feeling? Why was this happening? .........He didn't know. Throughout his life he would feel nothing but hate boiling inside his guts towards those who hurt him so dear. This feeling, however, was different. 'Is this love? Is this what Chrysalis means by me lacking love?' he thought to himself.

"O-oh okay, you can let go of me now, heh."

"Oh yea...sorry about that," Sam used his willpower to let go before he got too attached. Nurse Redheart trotted next to his bed, asking Sam to sit down for a check up. He looked at them both in question. "Whoa hold on I don't need any medical help- ssh," he felt his leg become stiff. A slight amount of blood dripping away from wounded areas.

"Mhm," the nurse grinned. "I must ask a few questions first. And I WANT you to answer honestly."

"Answer honestly? Miss nurse I'm the most honest man in the world. I'll put my savage side to the side. I'm not gonna even say 'what if I don't'."

"Are you bleeding?"

The question accommodating three words said fast, had Sam pausing a few seconds before an answer followed.

"I was. These band aids do a poor job at patching up your skin."

"Are any of your bones broken?"

"Possibly."

"Are you suffering inside and out?"

Sam checked himself from bottom to top. His wrists stung like mad, and his brain uncontrollably produced more negative thoughts due to multiple mental disabilities. He tightened a lip and nodded. "Yea."

"Then you need help," she insisted. "I swear to you the next person I see die. I'm going to give up on my career!"

"Dang, not to be rude, but you remind me of my 2nd grade teacher, except the opposite. Every time I felt physical pain that wasn't severe as a toddler, I'd always cry for help. And then she'd ask me the same questions in a rejecting way only to tell me to walk it off," Sam faced Lyra, allowing Redheart to continue her work.

"So, you're probably wondering why I know your name; why you're here, right? I for one am here from Equestria. There's countless newspapers about you being the cause of Equestria's future doom."

Sam kept a still posture while speaking. "Yea, I'm willing to bet you're here to interview me. I myself got a lot of questions for you. I need to know what those bloodthirsty humanoid figures outside of the school were, and I desperately NEED to know WHO took my space stone!"

"Space stone?" she gave a confused look.

"Don't tell me you're playing dumb are you? I saw you before I passed out. You've had to have known who removed it from my gauntlet. I got a collection to establish and having the progress bar set back to 0% isn't helping you know!" he breathed in and out drastically as the nurse instructed.

"Now you must remain calm. You just woke up from bed," Redheart could hear his heart pounding faster from her Stethoscope. One of Redheart's hooves pressed down softly onto Sam's chest as she checked, giving him comfort. "I understand a talking pony like me is abnormal, but I was once human before. None of us are going to hurt you," she let out a short laugh. "But, I do believe a grown man like you can take both of us down without a problem, right?"

He sighed and relaxed, ignoring the question entirely, "Alright fine. Guess I should provide you with answers first," Sam said, willing to be more kind. "Ask away."

Lyra returned to her happy face. "YAY! Okay so um! What's your name?"

"Samuel. But didn't you already say my exact nickname, Sam, by the door a few minutes ago?"

"Oh yes um..."Lyra awkwardly maneuvered her eyes upwards in thought. 'Wow, humans have such great memories and intelligence! I need to up my game!' she said within the head. "Do you have any siblings?"

"No."

"Any friends?" she continued.

"None, except one."

"And where are you from?"

"From a different world and I mean a completely different world with chaos, boredom and no magic." Sam muttered, wearing a straight face.

Lyra gladly gave her thoughts of impression to Sam, "You answered my questions so fluidly. I knew humans were superior to us!" she coughed to clear her throat. "Anyways, based on your answers we can assume you are a lone wolf. And you now confirm the belief of another world without magic!"

Sam rubbed his face awkwardly, "So that's all you needed to know?"

"Meh, I might have more to ask in the future. For now you're in the clear."

"Ah," he rubbed his hands together while grabbing a pillow to hold softly. "Now its my turn. How do you know my name, Lyra? Have you been stalking me this whole time?"

Lyra forced her lips inside her mouth showing a look of guilt. "Oh... that... well, it's complicated. Growing up in Equestria I've gotten into the habit of checking newspapers sent into the mailbox by my friend. Many of them from the past few days mentioned you, the two-legged beast roaming the Everfree doing who knows what." Lyra kept on explaining how the ponies from Equestria put the blame on Sam for Chrysalis's take over on Canterlot, along with Discord's possible freedom to reign chaos over the land thrice.

"I became curious overtime. They never gave a depicted image of you, which made me question if they were using this to make me and my beliefs on humans a joke. So I made the decision to search around and about. Now, I wouldn't want to call it spying-"

"Spying?" he caught the word.

"No! Like, fortuitous spying. You know like reading someone's diary against your consent."

"How? I was alone for the most part when I came into Equestria," he claimed to back up any false thinking.

"Yea, I know," she sighed as if something she feared, had to be faced here and now. "I don't want you to get upset but," Lyra hesitantly grabbed something wrapped with a gift wrapper from the nurse's rolling shelf. "This is for you, Sam. Please don't be mad at me."

"What is it?" he took the thing without receiving an answer. Looking at Lyra solemnly he tore away the ribbon and paper revealing a bottle of Coca Cola filled up to the cap. Sam raised an eyebrow, "What's there for me to be upset about? It's just a bottle of Coke. I don't get it."

"It doesn't belong to you?" Lyra fell into a sharp disappointment but also a weird relief. "It's the reason why I traveled all the way here, literally! It gives special magic power ups and visions of truth. It also can magically refill once empty, so there's no need to worry about it running out. But are you sure you have no recollection of it? I mean I swore Coke was related to your species from what I studied about humans. And it never existed in Equestria until you arrived." Lyra saw a shrug, increasing the level of disappointment. She'd hope to at least find some sort of clue from where it came from. She went through all the trouble of carrying it to Sam, only for him to be clueless about the whole thing.

"Not that I know of- ERGH!" he held a hand over his head, nearly like a hard hitting face palm. His right side landed hard on the bed mattress making it wobble for a short moment. Nurse Redheart worriedly checked his health status shown on the machinery. "Ahhh! Freak!" he screamed.

"What's happening to him?!" she put her focus onto the nurse as well.

"His vitals are in fine shape. The issue must be his head," Redheart assumed.

"Don't worry I'm fine!" Sam's legs shifted excruciatingly across the bed sheets. "The pain is going away slowly! I just need endurance!"

"Are you undergoing Equestria's most painful migraine in history?"

"Ergh!" he breathed in and out, begging for body relief. The lighting above became sensitive as his vision blurred. During this event, a source of power connected to Sam's personal spiritual being. It was familiar for one, and also stronger than powerful. The same power he perceived at the start as a spirit before Nightmare pulled his physical body in. An infinite source of power that he owned. Little did he know, it is the flesh sealing it away.

Within a few minutes, Sam regains his sight. Lyra stood on top of him changing her expression from a worried frown to a smile of relief. They stared at each other's faces, almost creating a staring contest. It was a joy to see somepony who truly cared for him rather than in a toxic way.

"Hey," Lyra spoke up to break the silence.

"Hey there." he happily raised both eyebrows while blinking.

Lyra boobed his nose and yelled, "YAY! You're fine and I won!" she jumped on the bed like a monkey.

"Won what?"

"A staring contest with you. At least I think that's what we were doing, right? Derpy never gives me a chance to win any of those." she showed a mixed expression of sadness and happiness.

"That's... nice?" he didn't know what to say.

Lyra faced him again, concerned slightly, "Are you okay? You dropped the bottle on the floor by the way. Thankfully it didn't spill; it'd make the janitor of this place lose it."

"Yeah I'm fine," he gazed down to the bottle, moving his arm in an attempt to pick it up. A feeling of anguish grew inside causing him to jerk away far from the bottle.

"What's the matter? Did Death itself put a curse?"

Sam answers calmly, "No. Just keep that thing away from me. It might give me another headache of fire. Plus it doesn't belong to me." Sam didn't speak the truth. After having contact with the bottle of Coke his brain unbarred a memory. It was him who created the bottle of Coke with desirable thinking and the use of limitless dream magic.

The power to create, destroy, and bend Equestria- no, his dream world of wonder. The Coke bottle recalls his past while illuminating a vision of the future, containing darkness he must face and a light greater than no other he will dwell within at the end of his adventure.

"Suit yourself," Lyra replaces an empty space on a countertop with Sam's said to be dangerous item. It'd be much safer in Lyra's hooves rather than in Sam's clumsy hands.

Sam noticed something wrapping around his muscular arms. It was lukewarm and thick like a wide rubber band, as it tightened his arm in a hard squeeze. This felt all too familiar for him as Nurse Redheart asked for Sam's attention and permission for the next set of checkups.

"I can note everything you need to know about this school since you're going to be staying here with us," the nurse stated.

The supporting metal legs of the bed creaked. Sam now sits at the very edge of the bed with his legs crossed into an x. "It'd be nice to have a tour of this school. I believe I saw this place being the size of a white house before I passed out after being chased outside. Oh, and could you explain why you're all PONIES?! I swore I heard you say, once human. What happened?" he asked as Nurse Redheart proceeded to check his blood pressure along with his weight.

Redheart sighed slightly, "A little... incident occurred with the mirror before you and your... mare friend came through," she answered tentatively.

"Mare friend?" he was a bit confused at first until he saw Lyra's cheeks blushing red as roses. Seeing the slight guilt in her eyes, Sam remembers the photos he pulled from one of the drawers. With a look Sam digs into his pockets revealing a few pictures that were...something, "Bet you didn't expect me to find these huh?" he smiled.

"Wh-wha- HOW?!" her blush enlarged.

"You didn't think I would find it if you left the photos here? Did you leave it on purpose?"

"W-well ya see. I kind of have an obsession for huma-"

"I know that," Sam made his arm fall lazily down his lap. "But I don't think an obsession with a species involves having your entire fluffy body on mine and throwing me kisses while asleep. Unless it was the other you that originated from this world."

Lyra slid her hoof across the floor. She didn't want to admit it but she could feel her uncontrollable face showing a sign of love. Sam's face was only straight and serious so it was difficult to tell whether he was downright mad or simply curious about the whole romantic situation.

"Ah, forget it. I'm not going to even question it unless it becomes more of a thing," he hardly omits it as he returns to Nurse Redheart's guidance. Redheart's hoof covered her mouth while a hard giggle escaped. Sam ignores, "Now, about that incident."

Before Redheart thought of any word, a unicorn, filled with rudeness, specifically with a mane colored in a mix of red and orange, butted in. "I'll explain everything to you here and now, but in return, you're going to help me!" Sunset Shimmer shoved Lyra away giving a near glare.

Nurse Redheart fled the scene in a hurtle, leaving a nice red lolly pop on top of a brown desk beside. Reminded Sam of the times back when he was six years old. Back when the world wasn't cruel. He faced Sunset, refusing any sort of tension to be shown. Knowing Sunset, she'd probably boss him around if he couldn't stand up for himself.

"Help you with what?" Sam imagined himself stealing Twilight's crown.

"Help me return this world back to what it used to be! I'm the only pony who desires my humanity back!" she took an angry breath in. "You and that short rapper are the only ones who remain human. Explain that! This blue mare said you know what's going on. And I know you're not from here!" Sunset came close, having the eagerness to rudely push Sam down.

"I don't know! I just got here!" he spoke vaguely in fear. "How about you explain what happened so I can have a better understanding. I want to help, but I'm not about to put up with that mean attitude of yours," Sam pointed out.

Sunset gritted her teeth and slapped Sam's left cheek. His head darted to the side by force, only for Sam to turn it back in its original position, unfazed. "Hey chill out I-" he took a hold of Sunset's other hoof before she got the second satisfying slap.

Lyra, unnoticeable, pulled Sunset down by the tail. Sunset's glare shot at Lyra, but the mare stood her ground. "If you're going to hurt him, you will have to hurt me too!"

Sam put a hand over his chest, "Lyra... my heart. You just warmed it up." he spotted a reaction on Sunset's horn and immediately took action. A burning sensation came upon his hand as he gripped the magical cone. He felt the heat rise knowing her magic was trying to bust out.

"Get off me!" Sunset groaned. She gradually increased her horn's magical mini source, until the outsides were hot as the burning flames of the sun.

Sam released his grip as he wavered his right arm while wincing, "Ergh! Freaking hot!" Not wanting to grip a pack of fire bare handed, he used his left hand wearing the gauntlet, hoping for the gauntlet to protect him similar to an oven glove. Sunset softly gasped, and teleported several inches away before having her magic covered up again.

"Okay! You win! Dang you're one persistent guy aren't you," she winced, rubbing her fur head with a hoof in hopes of easing her pain. "Don't ever do that again! I almost thought my horn was going to explode like a powder keg."

Sam responded in an annoyed, sarcastic tone. "Yea, okay, my hand was some sort of triggering flame, about to make contact with magic dusty powder inside your horn to cause an explosion," a head shook. "At least you didn't heat your horn hot enough to ignite my right hand into ashes."

Sunset frowned, her eyebrows moving into a wide open V pointing downwards. "If you didn't upset the living bananas out of me, none of that would've happened you know."

"I like bananas, because they help me live a life in a cruel world."

"Does it look like I care? Plus that's besides the point, you lunatic."

Sam returned a frown, but decided not to return any hurtful words.

"Listen Sunset, if you're the only pony here with information we're not aware of, perhaps you should spill it rather than spilling your negativity in front of us, please."

"And why do you care?" Sunset turned her attention to Lyra. "You are just some new nopony who attended this school about a day ago."

Lyra huffed hatefully. "I care, because I'm about to buck you in the face if you don't SHUT UP!"

Sunset controlled her anger before losing herself. Her reputation towards other students was poor, and she didn't want the entire school especially Principle Celestia, to notice her foul attitude, by a simple act of violence. Plus it would be two against one, Sunset believing both had already created a nice bond together.

"I will start from the beginning," she sighed.

Sam crossed his arms as he listened. He moved his rear end to a cooler part of the medical bed he comfortably sat on. "Hold it, I need me some candy first," he said, reaching far enough to grab the sweet sucker left by Redheart. Slowly unwrapping the wrapper he ripped it away instantly after it loosened. The lolly pop was red as an apple to be exact. Sam forced the edge of his tongue to extend outwards taking a sluggish lick. "Continue," he told them, ignoring their cringe.

When the room was silent, giving Sunset the opportunity to finally explain, Lyra locked the door from behind followed by a silencing spell to ensure no knocking interruptions. "If this is going to be long I better rest my hooves," she took a chair her size, leaping backwards to land in a seating position like Sam's. "Oh, and if I fall asleep wake me in the worst way possible, okay?"

Sunset rolled her eyes, "Ugh, whatever. Now, as I was saying I will start from the beginning."

******

Sunset's POV

"This is ridiculous! I want power!" I demanded. "You're the princess of the sun, the pony who wielded the elements of harmony! There has to be something else other than the stupid power of friendship!"

Celestia responded back to me with a tedious apology. "I'm sorry, Sunset. But wanting more power than you already have isn't in my teachings. Perhaps it's friends you should be seeking. I can see the misery in your eyes."

"Well maybe I wouldn't be so miserable if you would just give me what I want!" I spat.

My old mentor's face turned stern as expected. "The answer is no, Sunset Shimmer."

I screamed and galloped away, then Celestia begged me to stay. I of course shook my head and barged out of the royal throne room. Walking along the carpet in outrage beyond the halls. I passed a few guards on the way who were out by Celestia's orders to stop me, but thanks to her teachings I managed to easily teleport past them in a flash of blue light. "Sorry it had to be this way," I told them sarcastically including Celestia who entered the halls from behind. "Princess."

After passing through a few doors down to my right it didn't take long to find my escape tunnel, or rather my escape mirror. Its shine, reflection, and color were no different from the past year. The reflection of guards behind caught my eye away. Not wanting to delay my escape any further, I leapt in fast.

The ride certainly wasn't a calming one, as I spun in a rainbow of circles. Luckily for me, time made it on my side just as I made it to the other side. I got up using my hands to support my balance. Here I stood, at the grounds of Canterlot High, where I spent my days away from Equestria.

It took quite some time getting used to once Principle Celestia offered me a place to stay here. Many of the students here were nothing but garrulous lunatics until I came along and snapped some sense into them. Now, whenever I wander the halls everybody gives off the silent treatment. I would always bare the will to laugh.

One night, during my moderate lay down moment in bed. A peculiar voice called out inside my mind. "Equestria's gateway; destroy it!"

I couldn't tell if my imagination was playing tricks on me, or if it were Trixie playing those kinds of tricks as payback. I nervously got up and heard it again, and again, and AGAIN! And its increase in volume only made it worse. My desperate sight noticed a light-weighted sledgehammer, stationary next to my bed.

Its wooden handle was fun to grip along with using it to smash a mirror. I took a small breath allowing my legs now possessing a mind of their own, to carry me outside. When I made it, the mirror reacted bizarrely the closer I approached.

"Yes, yes, do it now!" it exclaimed desperately.

For an unknown reason, my head had no intentions to talk back. It was like the word no was removed from my mouth. The weight of guilt pulling me down didn't stop me. I lifted my sledgehammer high, preparing for a hit. With one last look around to ensure a price for vandalism wouldn't be held accountable towards me. I swung it applying much of my might, so hopefully a nice sweet dream will await me after this voice leaves my head.

Sounds of glass shattered in a loud bang. I coughed as a ton of dark smoke was released out of the portal because of my actions. A triplet of purple eyes greeted me within the darkness.

"A world linked to his world? I guess the pony king of shadows' advice has its value. Speaking of value," it leered at me. "You there, are the inhabitants within this world strong or weak?"

I managed only a mouth open, but no words came out of my open mouth. It glanced over to the school, then at me. Tentacles sprouted behind its hard to look at spine and back. One of them forms a hand at the end of the sharp tip, smacking me away from its view. I landed on my hips next to the road, moaning at an aching bruise forming on my right shoulder where it hit.

"Foolish. You fell for me. Someone else who is as weak as your standards would've been more wise than reckless," it ran in a motion of killing, but then it stopped right as one of its sharp tentacles made contact with my blood after a fast little needle stab. I was too scared for my life to say anything. Its face came close, along with my scent coming to its nose. "You smell good... what is this terrible desire I sense? I love it! HA!"

Whatever or whoever this is, they were sick in the head. Many times worse than me. The creature jumped high, aiming for the town full of people. Many were slaughtered while some faced an infection he placed upon our civilization. I don't know why I was spared. Was it because I was responsible for creating a free entrance for him? Or was it simply because he likes me?

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Woah! Woah!" Sam cuts her off.

******

*Back in the hospital*

"Okay first of all, that first person past experience you explained was amazing," Sam took a breath in to release moments later. "Second of all, the creature you mentioned..." Sam stared at her seriously. "Describe it again."

Sunset held a hoof under her chin. "It was a crazed demonic monster thirsty for blood lust. Two horns were stuck to the top of its head, and it had very creepy purple eyes I think."

Fingers owned by the only human in the room shivered, Sunset looked at him in question. "Sorry, I didn't let you finish. But uh, could you please tell me the rest without excessive detail. No offense, but I'm kind of bored."

She gave an angered look. Only, she decided to take that anger over to Lyra who in no mistake was taking a nap on a chair she leaned onto abnormally. Sunset made a smirk and grabbed a glass cup loaded with water from a sink nearby. From behind the sleeping pony, Sunset shoved her wet alarm using a simple action of tilting 180 degrees.

The awoken cyan unicorn broke into a small gallop until her hooves reached the edge of a brick counter. Lyra lashes out at Sunset Shimmer, "What the heck, Sunset!?"

"What? You said to wake you up in the worst way possible. Is having water dripping down from your mane after a nap not the worst?"

"Why you! You- you're the worst!" Lyra hoof pointed. "No wonder everypony dislikes you! You are mean!"

"The word mean is so childish. Grow up, will you," Sunset insulted.

A cyan horn glowed."That's it! I'm going to kick that rotten spirit of yours out of shame!"

Sam took a step between the two hot mares in hopes of stopping a future fight in the next few seconds. They felt the warmth in Sam's arms after he easily tugged them towards him.

"Ugh! Let me go stupid human!" Lyra wiggled assertively.

"I don't think so," Sam pulled tighter. "Do any of these medical cabinets have any chill pills?"

"No, but I think there's a few mini bottles filled with easy to swallow pills for brainless unicorns who never look over actual spell books for knowledge," Sunset gestured to Lyra.

"GRRRR!"

"Relax," he urged, while tightening them into a bear hug.

Sunset winced over the pressure as did Lyra. "Release me! It's Lyra who needs to be squeezed to death. Not me you stupid... uh... humon?"

"Human," Sam corrected. "And I'm not letting go; not until you shove a bar of soap in your pony mouth, and after Lyra takes her chill pills."

"There is no such thing as chill pills!"

"Well, take your will pills!"

"Those aren't real either."

"I mean take your will power into your own responsible hooves before I give you a taste of my power," Sam gave Sunset freedom hoping the mare had the sense in herself to be silent. Lyra lost the will to free herself after Sam's other arm locked in.

Lyra gave out a sigh of acceptance, "Okay, I guess there's no need for violence... BUT, I want an apology from her. She can't have the freedom to hurt other ponies' feelings and get away with it."

Sam blinked, then glared at Sunset, "Sunset?"

Sunset Shimmer relaxed her frame of mind in order to stop any future mess or conflict. Her teeth pressured themselves while she avoided making a huff in front of the two. "I'm..." she paused. "Sorry."

Lyra sat back down in the same chair, "There. That wasn't so hard was it?" she smirked.

The mares were a few snippets away from another argument; with Sam being the only being in the room with a calm but also worried mood. Despite Sunset's held in anger the mare confessed her story, having her eyes glued to Sam's in order to avoid any distractions from Lyra.

"The beast that came out of the mirror is responsible for those monsters outside of the school. But those monsters were actually civilians at first. I honestly don't know what happened. In a split second the world turned upside-down before my eyes as he showed up and started injecting everybody with some sort of zombie virus," Sunset explained. She stopped waiting for Sam to talk back.

"Then what? You aren't finished yet are you? Because that does not explain the pony situation," he crossed his arms.

"Well, I was really thinking you'd have a reaction, unlike somepony here who's reactions are snores!" she gestured angrily to Lyra sleeping once again on the chair. Slouched down further than last.

Sam examined Lyra closely. He'd thought being awakened by a large splash of water to the head was something awfully unforgettable in the next passing minutes. Very hard to think Lyra was this dumb to dare another sleeping period, in the middle of Sunset's speech. And not only was it rude, but was also exceedingly irritating to ignore her snores. His concentration came to a conclusion once he saw a sudden transition of expression from Lyra.

Her calm closed eyes started to squeeze as Lyra grinned and snorted. Clearly this was a fake out prank personally for Sunset Shimmer to show how much she disrespects Sunset. Sam let out a cold deep sigh, then laid heavily on the mattress, right arm upon his forehead dramatically, "oh lord, I'm going to be here all day. Could you two be peaceful for once? I have a mission to save Equestria from eternal darkness. I don't have time to lay here and hear yall bleat!"

Lyra attempts to butter up Sam while bringing Sunset down, "Ha! See Sunset! You're so annoying even the most patient human can't stand you!"

"I said yall which means you too, Lyra. Gosh, does it require me to have more or less of a country accent like Applejack? Hey, over there, I need the two of yall ta take it down a notch or I'ma throw a quick fixin'. Or do you prefer me speaking like: Hey you girls, if you both don't quit I will have to make you."

Lyra shrugged, "meh. It does not matter."

"Applejack? Who's that?" Sunset asks coldly.

"Some pony in Equestria who runs an apple farm and is happy bucking apples. Sweet Celestia, did Applejack bake the best apple sweets," she answered, her tongue watering over sweet tasting thoughts.

"There isn't an Applejack in this school?" Sam curiously sat up.

"Nope never heard the name. I've been in this school for quite a while, I'm pretty sure there's no Applejack here."

"Hm. Then I guess that means no Rarity, Dashie, Pinkie, Flutters, and no Twilight?"

"Erm, I don't know any of those names. Sorry but also not."

With a sigh Sam planted his feet on the marble floor, "You can tell me the rest later. I need to get my space stone back as soon as possible. Any idea where or who it might-"

*Beep*

From above the ceiling, there was a speaker that made an alerting beep to catch the trio's ears. Their heads flinched upwards. Each wearing discrete faces over such a small disrupting sudden noise. Sunset wore a face of disgust, Lyra wore a face of surprise, and as for Sam, his serious face was darting back and forth towards the speaker and a camera which he hadn't noticed.

"Nurse Redheart?" vice principal Luna quickly called out from her microphone.

"She's not here," Sunset muttered. "I think she had a near heart attack as I came in. She's probably at lunch wailing in fearful tears right now," she chuckled terribly.

"Oh, well could you be a nice dear for once and PLEASE report to Celesta's office immediately."

"Oh great, what is it this time?" Sunset pressured.

"..." Luna coaxes, "This is not just about you, Sunset Shimmer. I want the newcomer to accompany you. There are certain matters we must discuss. And to make things less concerning, a punishment has not been administered. Be quick," Luna hung the call off. A sound much like a crushed can echos out of the speaker, giving an indication she finished.

"Ugh, give me a break!" her teeth gritted in front of Sam. "You and me, office now!"

Sam's eyebrows astonishingly rises, "a-alright. You good?"

"Am I good? What does it look like to you?!" Sunset trotted closer until she was a couple of inches away from the tall mannish boy. "Are you good towards me?"

"Uh..." he hesitated, "yea. I mean I'm a great trustworthy guy with patience higher than much of humanity. And I'm definitely looking forward to being your friend. That is only if you are, you know, nicer, and less of a bossy pony seeking their own evil desires."

"Friends?" she laughed, "Don't be ridiculous. Celestia told me the same. Giving respect and care for others; what a joke."

"It's not a joke," he claimed. Sam didn't know any of Sunset's past life or how she grew up. But he came to believe Sunset had never experienced any sort of friendship. In other words, a tree of bad luck covered her childhood with shade, away from the light many colts and fillies thrived in.

He certainly wasn't a guy built on charisma and was never experienced into relationships and bonds. But even so, a blood pumping muscle organ inside took control. "Look, I understand friendship may seem dumb or weak to you, but you probably never did give it a chance."

"I did once..." Sunset stated as a correction.

And a correction it was as Sam made a sudden movement being caught off guard. "Really now?" By the way she spoke, it sounded truthful. A few trust issues here and there didn't make Sam jump straight into calling her a liar. "Tell me what went wrong. I want the truth."

Sunset nodded, "It happened during one of Celestia's practices. I failed to comprehend numerous parts of her subjects, so she insisted I find somepony who I could relate to and basically carry me through particular practices I didn't understand, and I carry that pony through the things they didn't understand."

"Did you happen to find anypony?" he curiously squatted down gradually until he was at Sunset's high point.

"Yes," her face shifted, while she faced away from him to hide her weak sorrow. "He sure was something to me. We both turned out to be born as sun type unicorns and I had a bit of a crush on him with his wizardly outfit. We became great partners before we were forced to depart our ways from magic school. Whenever I didn't understand, whenever I got caught up in frustration, he was always there for me," a tear fell. "Oh, how it saddened me to see him go."

"Really? Why'd he leave?"

"The council made a decision of kicking his know-it-all flank out. They were thankfully kind enough to explain why in person. Many ponies who are forced out typically get letters showing how they failed to pass essential tests. He got kicked out for an absurd lack of skill in magic casting," Sunset got a view of Sam's wondrous face. "What's with that look?" she grilled, then gave a glance over to Lyra who had already gotten bored of the conversation.

"Oh uh. . . nothing; just. . . imagining some pony and an event in my head," he answered fretfully. Out of pure anxiety he caught Lyra tapping her hoof impatiently at the door. A sense of dread washed over Sam as the seconds and minutes ticked by, thinking principle Celestia would lose her patience soon enough if they didn't get a move on. He could sense the damaged unicorn's emotions rising.

Sunset felt a human finger lift her chin from below. "Hey look, I understand a loss of a friend could drive you to never give friendship a chance again. But let me tell you something. You're not the only pony I know in Equestria who lost a friend because of some stupid incident or talent. Give friendship another chance. And from a wise man: you shouldn't focus on the one you lost otherwise you'll miss out on the one that's coming," Sam advised.

An extra set of tears wets his finger. Her depressed gaze examined the blank eyes of a yet to be known high intelligent fool.

"Who's coming?" Sunset sobbed out of hopelessness.

"I can't predict what's coming in your future, nor can I predict what's coming to mine, but I do know it is I, who came for you," his eyes pinned to her cries of loneliness. An invisible rainbow forms above them both. Sam's arm gently wraps around Sunset. "Friends?"

Sunset had her hoof gently rub across the back of her friend's neck. "Friends," she answered.

"Hey!" Lyra shouted. "Don't forget about where we're supposed to be going!"

They looked at each other, bothered. The emotional moment cut off short, Sam gets up shaking his head. "Alright, let us get a move on then," he drags himself not carrying away any saccharine time. Sunset goes along, surprisingly without protest, but letting out a groan.

Wandering through the right side of the halls a few ponies gasp. Their mouth wide open at Sam, paying no attention over to the two unicorn mares in front escorting him to the office. Instead of backing away believing a tall, hostile, hairless two-legged ape monster, was about to raise heck, they came close. A few pulling out cameras creating waves of light flashes.

"H-hey! Cut it out! No filming or photographing anypony without consent!" Lyra covered her eyes frequently while trotting pass slowly.

"Relax you overreactive Equestrian," Sunset said, going with Lyra's pace. "The attention isn't on you or me; it's on Sam."

Questions boomed from a forming crowd left and right. Sam simply acted unaware of his surroundings, walking in saunter ignoring what he could. Course, not exactly easy to offer no reaction or attention over what seemed like an hour of constant camera flashes and loud attention seeking mouths.

"Geez, his popularity will go off the charts being human just like that little rapper boy," Sunset pointed out.

The crowd didn't stop there; more came out of hiding exhilarated. Yells, cheers, and even jealousy exploded throughout. Two anger bombs land on two unicorn mares, one having a higher impact over Lyra.

"That's it! I'm out of here! See you at Celestia's office!" Lyra galloped away, Sunset galloping along, abandoning Sam to push away the crowd alone.

"Well, isn't that just sweet of them," Sam refused to stop and interact. His only interaction would be with the principle, or rather the alternate sun princess, transformed into a pony for as of now unknown causes.

Directions written on the signs to her office weren't complex to follow, though long, as he traveled past the gymnasium, janitor's closet, auditorium, art hall, and the cafeteria.

Voices of ponies reduce as time goes by, lending Sam a right to nod satisfyingly deep. He didn't bother checking, knowing the crowd behind was slowly withdrawing. It'd only be within a few minutes that Sam would have no pony following. A roaring electric guitar busted a sound, silencing one last bit of ponies. Sam peered into the classroom where it came from to see Flash Sentry rocking hard. Flash appeared to be competing against someone, but Sam couldn't see Flash's competitor.

Playing professional music with steady fingers is one thing. Playing with steady hooves was totally out of question in reality.

Within a moment too soon a familiar sound crossed Sam's ears as it crossed his world once he ventured on. A sound, a voice, an attacking beep from someone Sam kept in his dreams after overusing DFJK keys on his laptop. He will later regret ignoring.

"Beepaa beepbop skdoo skbep skdoo skbep beepaa beepbop boop boop bappity skebap skdabeep beepo beep skbep beepbop!"

Sam laughed finding Lyra and Sunset already waiting at the door, and how no pony desperately wanting answers from him, followed. "Even the most persistent crowds eventually give up on me."

"How in the?" Lyra showed her fillings of bemusement. "How'd you get here so quickly without any pony chasing you!? I swear it was utter chaos there when we left you, no hard feelings, Sam. I honestly can't stand living up to an enormous bunch of wild ponies, right, Sunset!"

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I cannot agree more with. . . Lyra," Sunset glanced at Sam closely. "You don't look tired at all. Did you just walk here? We galloped and waited only around 5 minutes for you to show up."

Sam approached the door, not glancing back. "I speed walked."

"And that's how you maneuvered so quickly?"

"It's what I always do when heading to class or between in my school. And with enough patience a crowd chasing you is bound to buzz off if you ignore them long enough," he squashed a bit of fear taking in, and twists the golden knob. After a push, Celestia's office is revealed.

Celestia was plumped on her rolling chair, eager for a chat. Vice principal Luna stood next to Celestia, glaring at a particular unicorn whose personal status overall, carried disgusting social implications. Their hooves were bare, no tiara in place above their head. Their manes and tails sparkle and flow like constant waves of a tiny ocean.

Two alicorns, one unicorn, and one human within a private meeting. A very different meeting in fact as Celestia imagined the door and windows sealing shut, her horn making magic happen, and they actually did after a split second.

"You there, little pony from the other world, I must ask for your departure," Luna pointed her horn at Lyra, sleeping spell at ready. "Please do not misunderstand, for this discussion is meant only for the two beside you. You will awake in bed the next day if you chose not to leave."

Lyra stomped a hoof forward, vexed at Luna's words. "Are you kidding me!? I came all the way here for- for. . . *yawn*" Lyra falls down into a deep sleep.

Sam, being astonished leaned over to Sunset and whispered. "Hey, so how long exactly was it before you all transitioned to ponyhood unwillingly?"

"About two days ago. Why?" Sunset whispers back, eyeing Luna.

"Huh. They sure did pick up on magic quickly in those two days if what you say is true. "

"Is there something you'd like to tell us before we get down to business?" Celestia maturely ended their whispering.

"Nah, let's get down to business now before I ask anything," he felt ashamed answering in a cocky tone, unfortunately for Sam, words tend to slip out when going through the face of boredom.

Celestia kept a warm smile while remaining dignified. "Very well, I shall discuss the important matters. You two were called here for a reason. Well, not for one. Sunset, I would be obliged if you report to Luna's office, she will discuss the particular consequences of your actions." Celestia levitated her coffee cup half full and sipped.

"Consequences?" Sunset caught Luna's stern stare waiting for her at an office next to Celestia's. "Oh, pony feathers, what's this about this time?"

"Enter and you'll be answered," Luna sounded cranky.

Sunset trotted in letting out a huff. Luna's office's door slammed shut upon Sunset's entrance. The young mare was in deep crap for sure.

"Please, take a seat and state your name newcomer," Celestia kindly commanded.

Sam pulled a smooth metal chair and slouched on it. "My name's Sam."

"Greetings Sam, I am Celestia, former principle of CHS. I can improvise any questions you may have. And I am aware you are not from this world. I have called you here because I want to help you," her hooves patted the table, her coffee enlivening her mood.

"Oh yea, why is that?"

"I am sure word broke out to you that we once had feet and fingers like you, correct?"

Sam slouched further. "You mean once human?"

"Correct. After further investigation as to why, Sunset Shimmer, the mare many of my students consider 'mean' was found responsible. Somehow, in a midst of night she conjured a demon into our world after a strange interaction with the mirror statue at front."

"Yea I know. Sunset Shimmer already told me that. I just want to know about this pony situation yall got going on. The demon you are referring to is without a doubt my nemesis. What happened to him? Seems he left in a pinch leaving behind those cursed zombie monsters outside that chased me not long ago."

"He didn't leave; somebody forced his return back where he came from," Celestia clarified.

"Who did?"

"I was afraid you'd ask that, for I have yet to discover her identity. She was red manned pony, flying down our school ground streets like a miracle. She used great magic against the demon, though she accidentally followed the demon in after repairing the mirror. And because of her magic we became ponies. Some have wings, some were bestowed horns, and some are strong enough to smash down walls with bare hooves."

"A red manned pony?"

Celestia nodded. "I was hoping you'd know about her since you come from the same world."

He thought of the pony in question during his escape from the Crystal Empire. The pony who almost sucked him into a white void if it weren't for the mirror. "Uh, I don't really know her. Is that all?" Sam asked, tapping his foot ready to jump up.

"You tell me, Sam. Do you need help? The pony told me before leaving that if someone came through the mirror, I was to support that someone no matter what."

Sam knew deep down a LOT of help was needed for him mentally, but he didn't tell her such a thing. His mental issues were his and his only. Endurance is the key. There wasn't any need for therapy or medication. "There are two things. One is a cure for boredom and the other is a blue stone some pony stole from me. That's it."

"A blue stone?" Celestia gave thought. "I have heard rumors of such a thing reported. I forgot to mention that you, Sam, are not the only human inside these walls. He is much shorter, but many say he has your stone. As for your boredom, you may ask any staff members for jobs. You can stay here as much as you like so long as you don't leave. That would be foolish, wouldn't it?"

Sam agreed. "Any idea where this other human could be?"

"He is a singer, or more of a beeper. I'd check both the auditorium and the band rooms first if I were you. He is starting to become a star in our musical ways."

"Thanks princes- I mean principle Celestia," he corrected himself and jumped up. Lyra steadily lays on a cold floor with snores after Luna's spell. It was near midnight, and a yawn didn't have to tell him the time twice. "I'm going to go get some sleep," he grasped Lyra in both arms, whilst leaving.

Moonlight illuminates his only bedsheets once he returned to the medical room. There wasn't any other bed except his for Lyra to sleep peacefully on. With a shrug and a little blush, he tucks Lyra in and snuggles her in bed. "I'll search tomorrow."