Mind-Space Equestria

1.5

‘Morning sleepyheads.’

Twilight’s eyes shot open to reveal Bon Bon standing on the other side of the cage door with a large box of gowns by her feet. But how… I just closed my eyes… it doesn’t. Twilight felt a hoof pressing against her chin and gently pulling her head to the right.

‘Think of it like Pinkie Sense,’ said Pinkie. ‘Perhaps it isn’t something you should spend too much time thinking about, silly filly.’

Twilight frowned. Oh, she would be spending plenty of time thinking about it just as soon as they got back to Nightmare Castle. Bon Bon opened the door, allowing the girls to step from the cell and stretch their legs.

‘The stitching on these gowns is simply a crime against fashion. It’s amazing that they don’t just fall apart in my hooves,’ said Rarity as she searched through the box for something that would go well with purple and white. ‘Girls, come over here and I will help you dress.’

‘I know how to put on a dress.’

‘Well then darling, be my guest,’ said Rarity tossing Rainbow a gown, her smirk growing ever larger the more that Rainbow struggled. ‘You sure you don’t need a hoof?’

‘No no I’m good. I’m almost done just have to… okay fine you win.’ Rarity giggled. ‘This has got to be the most complicated piece of clothing I have ever seen,’ said Dash.

‘Bon Bon, any advice on the best way to reach the Empress?’ asked Twilight as Rarity helped the non-earth ponies into their gowns.

‘Why would you want to know that?’

‘Pinkie would like us to make sure that the Empress notices your skill in the arena.’

‘I think that Pinkie is asking for the impossible.’

‘Twilight’s really good at performing miracles; she defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord after all.’

‘Are you familiar with the seating arrangements for the Amphitheatre?’

‘It goes from the most important mares up to the lowest plebs, with males seated at the very top.’

Bon Bon nodded. ‘Empress Lyra sits in the pulvinar, the imperial box located on the north side of the Amphitheatre. Naturally, it only has one entrance. A tunnel that can only be accessed from the Imperial Palace.’

‘That will make things difficult,’ said Twilight.

‘You might have more luck getting the Empress’s attention if you joined us in the battle.’

‘Don’t worry, Twilight will find a way into the thing-a-me box,’ said Pinkie. ‘She’s really good at sneaking into places. You should have seen her tiptoe her way into the Canterlot archives.’

‘Yes where we got noticed by everypony. A very successful infiltration attempt wouldn’t you agree Pinkie?’

‘Yep, it was amazing,’ said Pinkie with absolutely sincerity.

‘Twilight I hate to interrupt but it really is time for you to slip into the proper attire for our little enterprise,’ said Rarity who was already wearing one of the long flowing gowns.

‘And we need to go and collect our armour,’ said Bon Bon.

‘Good luck everypony.’

‘You too Pinkie,’ said Twilight grimacing as Rarity tightened the corset.

The hubbub died the instant Bon Bon led Pinkie Pie and Applejack into the waiting chamber. The gladiators all dressed in their gold plated armour stared at Bon Bon as she made her way over to the window in the wall.

‘Three sets please?’

‘Sponsor’s name?’

‘Madam Posey.’

The squire dumped three sets of bronze chest plates, helmets and saddle guards onto the counter.

‘I would like three sets of gold armour if you would be so kind,’ said Bon Bon with a hint of irritation in her voice.

‘Yeah well your sponsor only paid for you. You want three sets you get bronze. You want gold then forget about the savages, they’re just fodder anyway.’

‘The bronze armour will do just fine.’

‘Hmph, Madam Posey was right.’

Bon Bon cast the squire a funny look as she carried the armour over to the last bit of free bench space located right beside the hole where the gladiators did their business.

‘Do you guys get the feeling that we’re not welcome here?’ whispered Applejack.

‘The atmosphere is colder than the last time I was here,’ said Bon Bon, ‘and I find it odd that Madam Posey didn’t provide the necessary funds to secure the best armour for everypony.’

‘Well I think we should be thanking her,’ said Pinkie, ‘because with our bronze armour we’re bound to stand out amongst all that shiny gold.’

‘You are right Pinkie, the armour will certainly do that,’ said Bon Bon as she slipped on the chest plate.

‘Good thing we have these helmets,’ said Pinkie with a giggle as the vibrations from the hooves applauding above sent stone chips raining down on their heads.

‘Sure sounds like a lot of pony folk have come out to watch the fighting.’

‘Well this is the biggest event of the year,’ replied Bon Bon. ‘Almost every pony in the city is now sitting in the stands above our heads.’

‘You sure that you don’t want to wear a helmet?’ asked Bon Bon as she checked over Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s armour, making sure they had attached it properly.

‘Nah this hat is all the protection I need,’ replied Applejack as the chamber door slid open, flooding the room with light.

Through squinted eyes, Bon Bon saw the squire standing in the doorway.

‘All right you lot, get moving. Those who fight well can buy me a drink in the Winking Mare tonight.’

‘Ready girls?’ asked Bon Bon.

‘Ready.’

The roar of thousands swept around the stands as the gladiators stepped out onto the sandy floor of the arena. Applejack had never seen so many ponies. The Equestria Rodeo had only a couple of thousand sitting in the stands with far fewer competitors on the field. The number of gladiators spread out over the arena did not leave a pony much room to move.

‘Ooh when does it start? When does it start?’

‘When Empress Lyra raises her hoof into the air.’

Pinkie turned her head towards the elaborately constructed pulvinar. That was where they needed to head. It would make things easier for Twilight if she could spot them as soon as she arrived in the box. The ponies in the stands fell silent as Empress Lyra emerged from the shadows.

‘She’s simply breath taking.’

Pinkie grinned at Bon Bon; the silly filly had it bad. If she had just chortled at the kooky then there wouldn’t be the need for anypony to be here.

Up in the stands, Madam Posey was searching for Bon Bon with little success. She shouldn’t be this hard to spot with a bunch of savages watching her back. Madam Posey snorted when she came across the mares in bronze armour. The fools clearly had to pay for their own armour; they’d be the first to go. As the crowd fell silent Madam Posey turned her attention to Empress Lyra and smiled as the pony raised her right hoof. Soon this dream would be over and her work in the real would begin.

‘So what’s the plan Captain?’

‘Pinkie is the Captain Rainbow not me.’

‘Yeah well Pinkie’s not here right now is she?’

Twilight gave Dash a weak smile. She appreciated the thought but they needed to get to the pulvinar as fast as possible. Twilight wasn’t sure if Applejack or Pinkie could be hurt in this dream but there was no time for research so the sooner the fight ended the better. ‘No plan, just get to the Imperial Palace as fast as we can without drawing unnecessary attention to ourselves.’

Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow and Fluttershy trotted down the narrow tunnel that still stank of sweat and blood.

‘It’s an absolute shame that such fabulous gowns have to be dragged through such filth.’

‘I prefer your dresses Rarity. For one thing they’re a lot more comfortable,’ said Twilight wishing that she could loosen the corset just a little.

‘Why thank you darling, comfort is of course a very important part of design.’

At the gate, Twilight reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the skeleton tailbone. Time to find out if this thing worked as well as the earbuds had. If it didn’t, Spike was going to hear about it. The gate swung open and the girls trotted up the street to ground level where Twilight took the first opportunity to get them off the road used for prisoners. Now if she recalled her history notes correctly, the Imperial Palace was located to the north of the amphitheatre. Problem was that without a map, Twilight had no clue where to go.

‘Rainbow which way’s north?’ whispered Twilight. Dash lifted her hoof and pointed to the right. ‘Thanks.’

‘This place is like a ghost town,’ said Rainbow as they headed back towards the amphitheatre.

Twilight glared at Dash who mouthed oops before zipping her lips shut with her hoof. Rainbow was right however, there was no pony around except for the odd guard but Twilight didn’t want to risk anypony overhearing their conversations.

The roar from the amphitheatre almost had the girls glancing up at the skies. Clearly, the fight had begun and their time was now very short. Twilight picked up the pace as they rounded the steps of the coliseum and proceeded towards the Imperial Palace.

‘Any idea how we’re going to get inside?’ asked Rainbow. Twilight gave her a look. ‘Oh right crap sorry.’

Twilight wasn’t so much annoyed because Rainbow had spoken but by the fact that she didn’t have an answer. It was going to be almost impossible to get inside without drawing the attention of the guards.

It would be rather difficulty for anypony to mistake the Imperial Palace as anything but the home of the Empress. Long wide platform steps covered in statues led up to the marble columns and elaborately carved stone walls of the palace.

‘And I thought the Canterlot palace was the most prestigious building I would ever get to see.’

Twilight glared at Rarity then decided to give Dash and Fluttershy one for good measure. Perhaps she should just magically glue their lips together and be done with it. Heading up the platform steps, Twilight paused next to one of the Lyra statues. She had to stifle a giggle as stone Lyra reached up to the sky with a gloved three-fingered hand instead of a hoof. The fingers most likely represented the three major cities of preclassical Equestria but still, the idea of ponies with hands was simply ludicrous. It was the sort of idea Pinkie Pie would come up with.

‘Psst.’

Twilight glanced over at Rainbow who flicked her nose towards the palace. Several guards were marching in their direction, luckily a different squad than the ones who had arrested them when they first entered the city.

‘May I enquire as to why four young mares are making their way to the Imperial Palace instead of towards the tournament currently underway in the amphitheatre?’

Twilight met the guard’s gaze while her mind scrambled to prepare a plausible response. As one of the guards took a step forward, Fluttershy let out her trademark squeak. Fluttershy… of course. ‘We’re from Monacornus and we wished to see the Imperial Palace while visiting this fine city. Our friend Fluttershy has a nervous disposition and feels unwell in large crowds, so we thought that this would be an excellent time to visit the palace.’

Fluttershy took a couple of steps backwards as all the guards turned towards her. What if they asked a question and expected her to answer? Fluttershy did the only thing she could think of, drop to the ground and cover her eyes with her hooves.

The guards looked at each other and shrugged. ‘Proceed.’

As the guards headed back to their posts, Twilight leaned over and whispered in Fluttershy’s ear. ‘It’s safe to get up.’

Twilight and Rainbow rolled their eyes as Rarity began dusting the dirt from Fluttershy’s dress before Fluttershy had even started to rise from the ground.

‘What? Only a savage would allow their dress to remain filthy.’

Dash and Twilight giggled as they made their way into the palace’s grand entrance hall.

‘Oh my visitors, and here I was thinking that my boss was just being a meanie pants for making me work through the tournament. I mean who would want to tour the palace while there’s a big fight going on. But noooo, I had to work just because I got Empress Lyra day off. Oh but where are my manners, would you like to go on a free tour of the palace?’

‘Um sure, that would be wonderful,’ said Twilight unable to stop staring at the stallion’s bright lime green suit and large top hat with the word tour guide stamped across it.

’Fantastic, if you four lovely mares would kindly follow me…’

Twilight plastered a big smile across her face and couldn’t help but wonder just how many glasses of red cordial the stallion had consumed before he started his shift. He had almost as much energy as Pinkie Pie, if those two got together and had foals…

‘And on this very spot two hundred years ago Empress Firefly chopped off the head of her own daughter and that of the savage she was trying to sneak into her room. You can still see the bloodstains on the floor.’

Twilight couldn’t stop herself from glancing at the tiles. The guide was right which was kinda creepy. You’d have thought that somepony would have replaced the tiles sometime in the past two hundred years. Twilight shook her head, while this was fascinating they weren’t here for a history lesson. They needed to get to the tunnel as quickly as possible.

‘Fascinating,’ said Twilight, ‘but what my friends and I are really curious about is the rumour that there is a tunnel that leads straight to the pulvinar in the Amphitheatre.’

‘Oh that’s no rumour, it’s right down that corridor. Would you like to see it?’

‘Really you can take us there? We would be ever so grateful.’

The corridor had a rather surprising number of guards considering how close they were getting to the Empress. There were just two standing on either side of the entrance, both of whom were currently resting their eyes.

‘The tunnel was originally built not for security but because Empress Bubbles got tired of shaking everyponies hoof on the way back to the palace.’ At the sound of the tour guide’s voice, the guards leapt to attention and quickly adjusted their armour as the tour group approached.

‘Psst.’ Once Rainbow had Twilight’s attention she put her hoof around Fluttershy’s neck and gave it a subtle pretend twist. Twilight shook her head. There would be no snapping of necks, even if there were technically no laws against killing dream ponies. What they needed was something that would get them out of the way. What they needed… of course, but what to cast it on. There wasn’t really anything around except for that silly hat on the stallion’s head.

‘Hey what are you doing!’ shouted the guards as Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and channelled her magical energy through her horn. Dash moved to block the guards as they rushed towards Twilight while heart shapes floated up towards the tour guide’s hat.

‘Nopony look at the hat!’ shouted Twilight.

‘Oh my gosh what are you doing?’ said the tour guide scrambling to knock the hat from his head.

‘I must have that hat,’ said one of the guards as the glow around Twilight’s horn faded.

‘Absolutely not, this is my hat. You can’t have it.’

‘Then I will just have to take it.’

‘You’re going to have to catch me first,’ said the tour guide, grabbing his hat and galloping off down the corridor.

‘Oh no you don’t it’s mine,’ growled the guards as they chased after the stallion.

‘May we open our eyes now?’ asked Rarity.

‘The coast is clear,’ replied Twilight.

‘The Need It Want It spell?’ said Rainbow with a grin.

‘It’s all I could think of,’ replied Twilight as they trotted down the tunnel.

‘Pity the tour guide didn’t run this way, that hat could have distracted the whole stadium,’ said Fluttershy.

‘Yes, including Bon Bon, Applejack, Pinkie and the Empress.’

‘Oh my yes that would be problematic.’

‘So what are we going to do about the guards protecting the Empress?’

‘There will be no snapping of necks Rainbow Dash.’

‘Oh come on it’s not like they’re alive or anything.’

‘I find this violent streak of yours quite disturbing,’ said Rarity.

‘Chill guys I’m just joshing with ya.’

‘I’m kinda hoping they’ll be so enthralled with the battle that they won’t notice us sneaking in,’ responded Twilight. It wasn’t much of a plan but it was the best she could come up with without detailed knowledge of what awaited them in the pulvinar.

‘Stay together,’ said Bon Bon. ‘If you get separated and suddenly find yourself walking on white fluffy clouds with the sun on your back, don’t worry you’re already dead.’

What a cheery thought pondered Applejack as she bucked a gladiator in the chest and sent her hurtling into a group of fighters, knocking them over like bowling pins.

Bon Bon scoped up a small pile of sand and flicked it into the face of an approaching gladiator. As the mare tried to rid her eyes of sand, Bon Bon pounded her chest armour with several powerful kicks.

‘Eat dirt Pinkie Pie style!’ The blast from the party cannon caused a momentary lapse in the fighting as every gladiator turned to look at the mare lying face down in the sand and covered in streamers.

‘Have you noticed that they seem to be lining up just to fight us?’ mentioned Applejack while ducking under a pair of hooves that knocked the Stetson from her head.

‘You really should have taken the helmet and yes they do seem to be giving us quite a lot of attention,’ said Bon Bon.

‘They’re just jealous of our super cool armour,’ replied Pinkie.

Applejack bucked the gladiator in the chest, sending the mare falling to the ground where she sunk her hindquarters into the gladiator’s stomach. ‘That’s for knocking off my hat,’ said Applejack returning her prized possession to its rightful place.

‘Wee this is fun.’

Applejack glanced up to see Pinkie floating in the sky and spinning like a windmill.

‘Levitation spell,’ said Bon Bon. ‘Look there, the pegasi protecting that unicorn. You go high, I’ll go low.’

Charging like a bull Applejack launched herself into the air, grabbing hold of the pegasus and slamming her into the gladiators that were guarding the unicorn’s rear. Bon Bon slid across the sand, knocking two of the pegasi off their hooves before banging their heads together. Realising she was in trouble, the unicorn cut off the spell and turned to face the savages.

‘Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!’ Applejack and Bon Bon smirked at each other as Pinkie Pie landed on the unicorn, turning her into a pancake.

The blast of a horn and the roar from the stands had every gladiator turning towards the gates as hordes of timberwolves and manitcores poured into the arena. The rest of the gladiators quickly forgot about Bon Bon and the savages as they turned their attention to threats they couldn’t afford to ignore.

‘Now might be a good time to start making our way over to the Empress,’ suggested Applejack.

Bon Bon nodded as she removed a timberwolf’s head with a single kick. Weaving their way through gladiators, timberwolves and manitcores, they had almost made it to the pulvinar when blood-curdling screams rose up from the gladiators behind them. Bon Bon, Applejack and Pinkie Pie turned around to see a giant three-headed hound tossing ponies into the air as if they were chew toys.

‘Here boy!’

‘Pinkie are you mad?’

‘Now there’s a silly question,’ said Applejack. ‘I take it that there is a reason why you want that critter’s attention?’

‘Well can you think of a better way to catch Empress Lyra’s eye?’

‘Take on Cerberus are you mad?’ growled Bon Bon.

‘She’s as mad as a rattlesnake,’ replied Applejack, ‘but she does have a point. Empress Lyra will be mightily impressed with anypony who is brave enough to take on that hellhound.’

Bon Bon’s eyes grew wide as Cerberus bounded towards them. The things a mare had to do to catch the attention of their special somepony. ‘We’ll take a head each. I’ll take the middle, Pinkie the right, Applejack the left. If we attack all three heads at once we stand a better chance of not ending up as kibble.’

With the other gladiators keeping their distance, all they had to worry about were four sets of claws, three sets of jaws and 126 very sharp teeth. The three heads of Cerberus lunged at the three ponies who dared to stand before him. Pinkie bounced over the snapping jaws while Applejack rolled to the left and Bon Bon performed a faultless backwards summersault to avoid the central head’s bloodstained teeth.

‘Now now Bubbles play nice,’ said Pinkie.

‘Bubbles?’

‘Yep Bubbles, oh and we mustn’t forget Foamy and Fred.’

‘Right,’ responded Applejack giving Fred a whack on his muzzle. Fred responded by grabbing hold of Applejack’s tail and flinging her across the arena.

Bon Bon dodged a swipe from the claws to give Foamy a bloody nose as Applejack weaved her way passed stacks of unconscious bodies and the occasional intercepting gladiator, to arrive back in time to see Pinkie plop onto the neck of one of Cerberus’s heads.

‘Here I am Bubbles.’ Bubbles growled as he shook his head violently from side to side. ‘Wow Bubbles you’re better than the mechanical bull I hired for AJ’s birthday. Tell me, do you do parties?’ Pinkie leapt calmly into the air as Fred and Foamy sank their teeth into Bubbles’s neck. All three heads screamed in agony as droplets of blood splattered onto the sand.

‘It’s a good thing Fluttershy isn’t here. She’d be really upset that you hurt poor Cerberus,’ said Applejack.

‘Yes poor Cerberus,’ said Bon Bon with a sneer.

Fluttershy trotted along behind Twilight and the others as they neared what looked like a wall of white light. The steadily increasing sound of her own heartbeat started to overpower her thoughts the closer they trotted to the end of the tunnel. Why was she here? She should be back on the moon babysitting the fillies, the Cutie Mark Crusaders she could handle. Derpy was the one who should here. She was a pegasus. Derpy could do anything they would need her to do, unless it was looking after fluffy little animals but there wasn’t likely to be many of them in a pony’s nightmare.

‘Fluttershy, you okay?’ whispered Twilight.

Fluttershy looked up from the stone floor and nodded meekly.

‘Don’t worry Flutters. All we need to do is show this Lyra pony how awesome Bon Bon is and we’re out of here,’ said Dash wrapping her wing around her fellow pegasus.

‘Dash keep your voice down,’ whispered Twilight as they approached the light. ‘We step through in three… two… one.’

Twilight’s eyelids slammed shut as the sunlight robbed her of her vision. The seconds ticked by as she waited for her eyes to adjust, her skin prickling in anticipation of a guard’s hooves forcing her to the ground. After a terrifying minute Twilight was able to part her eyes enough to see that the guards were too engrossed in the fighting to notice the four intruders standing at the back of the box. Twilight certainly hoped that her brother trained his guards better than this.

‘Hey what are you doing in here?’

Okay so maybe they were paying attention. Chaos erupted as the guards leapt at the intruders. Rainbow took off with several on her tail, at least for as long as it took Dash to build up speed. Now this was more like it she thought, twisting and churning through the air above the arena. The nearly transparent bubble still prevented her from vanishing into the great blue beyond. Not that she would of course. Rainbow Dash did not leave her friends hanging.

‘Get her!’

Rainbow stuck out her tongue then led the guards on a merry chase around the arena while the remaining pegasus guards sandwiched Fluttershy between them. Not that it occurred to Fluttershy to use her wings but she would have run if her legs had not been trembling.

Several guards lay unconscious at Rarity’s feet after several well-placed kicks and more would have followed had the guards not grabbed her from behind. ‘Put me down you ruffians! This is not how you treat a lady?’

‘What curse are you trying to put on us witch?’

‘Oh Twilight would you be a dear and translate for the guards.’

Twilight was too busy weaving her way through to the front of the box to even hear Rarity’s words. Glancing down into the arena Twilight saw Bon Bon, Applejack and Pinkie Pie in a fierce battle with Cerberus. What the hay? How the heck did he get out again? Twilight felt the guards grab onto her flank. Twisting around, she turned to face Lyra who seemed unperturbed by the chaos going on around her as she sat in her oversized throne.

‘Empress Lyra look, those gladiators in bronze armour led by the earth pony Bon Bon are taking on the great beast Cerberus in your honour!’ It was all Twilight could think of to do. Unfortunately, the Need It Want It spell would not work on a single pony. Besides, in a situation like this, its use would be completely unethical.

‘Throw the savages into the arena,’ ordered the Commander of the Guards.

‘Wait,’ interrupted the Empress, ‘If they are so desperate for me to see these earth ponies fight then let their fate be linked to the success of those fighting the beast.’

Bon Bon dodged to the left as Foamy’s snout pummelled into the ground.

‘Now.’ Applejack and Bon Bon bucked Foamy on either side of his head. While Bubbles and Fred tried to swallow Bon Bon and Applejack whole, Pinkie used the time to stuff her party cannon full of sand.

‘Hey guys look at me! Look at me!’ BOOM! Thousands of sand granules and several large rocks pelted the three faces of Cerberus. ‘Hey Bon Bon, Twilight did it Empress Lyra is watching,’ said Pinkie.

Bon Bon glanced over at the pulvinar. It was now or never. Crouching down on her hind legs, Bon Bon leapt into the air and with a twist kick wacked Foamy’s muzzle with all her strength. The force of the impact giving several of Foamy’s teeth the gift of freedom and Foamy the gift of unconsciousness.

’Pinkie can I borrow your party cannon?’

‘Sure thing.’

‘Going to try killing two birds with one stone, can you keep Bubbles and ah Fred distracted for a minute or two?’

‘Can do,’ replied Applejack. ‘Hey Cerberus bet you can’t grab this bull by the horns.’

‘Pfft bet he can’t catch me,’ said Pinkie.

As Applejack and Pinkie Pie played tag with Cerberus, Bon Bon weaved in and out of the gladiators as she searched for the perfect stone. And there it was, resting peacefully between the rear hooves of a gladiator that was busily trying to knock out a fellow competitor with a left hook. Bon Bon knocked over the gladiator’s hind legs, causing her to tumble and smash her head against the rock. The other fighter looked at Bon Bon in surprise then horror as Bon Bon’s hoof connected with her nose. ‘Hope her helmet didn’t damage it,’ said Bon Bon pushing the gladiator away so that she could lift up the stone and waddle back towards the cannon on her hind legs.

‘High five Bubbles, ha ha too slow,’ said Pinkie with a giggle.

Bon Bon dropped the rock into the end of the party cannon. After writing out a couple of quick calculations in the sand, Bon Bon trotted over to the edge of the arena to mark a giant cross on the ground. ‘Applejack, over here if you please.’

‘Yeehaw this way little doggy.’

Bon Bon watched as Cerberus bounded towards the mark with a still unconscious Foamy dangling like a limp sausage between the other two heads. Bon Bon lit the fuse and the rock blasted from the end of the cannon only to sail over the heads of the hellhound.

‘Darn we missed.’

‘Did we,’ replied Bon Bon as the rock collided with one of the amphitheatre’s support columns and split in two, the fragments ricocheting into the back of Bubbles and Fred’s heads. With a grunt, Cerberus teetered for a moment before collapsing to the ground.

Up in the pulvinar, Twilight turned to Lyra. ‘Surely such an impressive performance should be rewarded Empress?’ This was it, if Lyra decided not to meet with Bon Bon then Twilight would have to write Princess Celestia a sorry we failed letter. Actually, that was Pinkie’s job now. Maybe there were advantages to being second in command after all.

Bon Bon glanced up to towards the pulvinar only to find herself caught in the gaze of the Empress. Her mouth went dry as the sound of the continuing battle faded away. Bon Bon wished to remove her helmet and wipe away the beads of sweat now dribbling down the side of her face, but didn’t want to risk it in case the Empress misinterpreted the action as disinterest.

‘Sound the horn.’

The sound of a single horn brought the arena to a standstill as every gladiator turned towards the imperial box. This turned out to be a rather silly move for those still battling timberwolves and manitcores.

‘Bring this Bon Bon and her fighting companions to me. I wish to meet them.’

The pegasus guards who had spent their time keeping Fluttershy grounded, saluted and flew down to the arena as Dash shot passed with two guards still in toe.

‘Dash!’

Rainbow circled back and landed beside Twilight. It looked like playtime was over. Dash smirked as her pursuers crashed into the back of the pulvinar and lay on the floor gasping for air. One by one, the pegasus guards dropped Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Bon Bon at the feet of the Empress.

‘Well somepony’s dream is about to come true,’ giggled Pinkie.

‘Shh,’ said Applejack as the three earth ponies bowed to the Empress.

‘Bon Bon, your performance in the arena today was most impressive.’

‘Thank you Empress.’

‘Would you mind joining me in my chamber so that we may talk in private? My guards will attend to your companions.’

‘I would be honoured my Empress.’

Empress Lyra stepped down from her throne and indicated that Bon Bon should follow as she disappeared back into the tunnel.

‘What are you laughing about?’ asked Twilight.

‘Talk.’ Snorted Dash. ‘Sure if you count moaning each other’s name as talking.’

‘What are you savages say…’ The guards in the pulvinar vanished as the colours started to bleed from the walls of the amphitheatre. The screams of the gladiators and the cheers of the crowds ceased in an instant as whole sections of the audience vanished one after the other, leaving behind empty seats that vanished moments later.

‘What’s going on?’

‘Well considering that Lyra and Bon Bon were about to have a bit of how’s your father, the horizontal bop, hit a home run, slap and tickle, rock the casbah…’

‘Yes thank you Pinkie, I’m sure even Twilight knows what you mean,’ said Rarity.

‘Ah not really.’

‘She means they’re having sex,’ Rainbow whispered in Twilight’s ear.

‘Oh.’

‘So naturally Bon Bon is waking up before anything interesting can happen,’ said Pinkie.

‘I hate when that happens,’ mumbled Dash.

‘Um girls don’t you think we ought to get back to Spike before this whole place disappears,’ said Applejack.

‘Down the tunnel,’ said Twilight, leading the charge back to the Imperial Palace. ‘What the?’ As they galloped through the wall of white light at the opposite end of the tunnel, Twilight had excepted to be back in the palace, not running through tall grass.

‘So how did it go?’

‘No time, we need the gem. Bon Bon is waking up.’

Spike rolled the rock out of the way and started to dig.

‘He buried my necklace?’ said Rarity.

‘He swallowed it originally,’ replied Twilight. ‘I thought burying it was a less disgusting option.’

‘Yes, quite.’

Spike pulled the fire ruby from the earth as the grass turned grey and the sky vanished leaving nothing in its place.

‘Quick everypony touch the talisman,’ said Twilight as the tall grass disappeared. Now only the ground they were standing on remained.

‘Demos Oneipoli.’

‘Pinkie! It’s Demos Oneiroi,’ said Twilight as the ground beneath their hooves vanished.

Bon Bon sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes. That had to be the strangest dream she had ever had. She pushed back the covers and stumbled into the en suite. She turned on the light and gazed at her reflection.

‘This is it Bon Bon. Today is the day. When you see Lyra for lunch, you will ask her out on a date. Won’t you Bon Bon?’