So now Spotlight, Blades and Echo decided to stand their ground against the tyrannical Dream Sheep since he was the one that ordered the Sleep Dragon to burn Blackout to a crisp as indicated by the flames where Blackout once stood. The Dream Sheep stated,
“Face it, Spotlight! I’ve fried your boyfriend after suffering defeat from him. What do you plan to do without him?”
Spotlight replied, “Finish what Blackout started!”
The Sleep Dragon asked, “Are we going to argue...or figure out what those flames behind us are glowing and changing color?”
The Dream Sheep looked at his pet, “Impossible, you dim-witted dinosaur. The only thing it served was Fried Blackout.”
Blades saw the flames turn from blue and black to black and red, “Then explain that!”
The Dream Sheep turned as his eyes widened as he saw the colors of red and black. The sheep stuttered, “Well, that wasn’t part of my ingenious plan.”
The black and red flames started to expand as the Sleep Dragon backed off towards the trio with the sheep on his back…”Um, are you sure you didn’t plan this?”
The Dream Sheep yelled, “Of course I didn’t plan this you nincompoop! This is something that’s…” He couldn’t finish his statement as the black fire started to take the form of a large ferocious dragon as the red fire turned to red eyes. At that instant the flames extinguished as its large wings flared out as it roared intimidation. The Dream Sheep screamed in fright,
“QUICK, HIT IT WITH YOUR TAIL!!” The Sleep Dragon did a tail slam which it the black dragon, but the dragon caught the sleep ball and tossed the evil duo towards a wall. The dragon glared at them with it’s glowing red eyes in fury as it used its fire breath on the two. The barrier was able to protect them, but the next breath shattered it as the black dragon slammed the sleep ball over the Sleep Dragon’s head as he fell asleep leaving the Dream Sheep vulnerable as he got off the knocked out dragon and started to run,
“AAAAHHHHHH!!!! WAKE UP, YOU FOOL AND SAVE ME FROM THIS MONSTER!!!” The Dream Sheep galloped across the chamber trying to avoid the large black dragon, but was quickly surrounded by three vengeful dragon Skylanders as they all said,
“This is for Blackout you sack of wool!”
Then the three dragons attacked as Spotlight hit him with her rings and beams, Blades used a cyclone swirl with sword blades in it while Echo used her musical screech and bubble attack on the Dream Sheep.
It wasn’t until a black claw took the sheep out of the group and tossed him back to the Sleep Dragon as he finally woken up. The Sleep Dragon asked, “Hey, I thought you said that you would beat the Skylanders this time...”
The Dream Sheep stated, “It’s not MY fault that they cheated. Who knew that my least favorite could do… do...well do THAT? But I’m not going to be in this dragon’s line of sight when it’s around! Come, we must fly!”
The Sleep Dragon questioned as the black dragon growled at them, “What again? Where to this time?”
The Dream Sheep stated, “Someplace where those fool Skylanders can never touch us: home! Now FLY!!”
The Sleep Dragon cheered, “YAY! HOME!!”
The duo took off quickly before the black dragon could finish them off. The black dragon, seeing that his enemy fled as a coward, roared in victory and in anger that he couldn’t finish them. As it stood in the center of the chamber, the black dragon pondered over his prey getting away...until a blue light got his attention...the black dragon turned to see Spotlight approaching him with glowing blue eyes and she was singing very calmly,
“You are Sheath of the Night...Aaaahhhhh...,”
Blades noticed this and yelled, “SPOTLIGHT! DON’T!” He was about to stop her, but Spotlight erected a Light Barrier to keep Blades from interfering. She continued singing with her eyes glowing blue once again,
“You are the Sheath of the Night,
With the Scales as Black as the Night.” The black dragon backed up in fright as Spotlight approached as she continued,
“Just as it seems,
Yet the Fury Eyes of Red,
Can…” She was interrupted when the black dragon lashed out at her and slashed her with his black claw. Although there was no collateral damage, she was knocked to the ground as she screamed,
“AAAAAHHHHH!” Echo yelled, “NO!!!”
The black dragon now standing over the downed Spotlight as it looked as though it was ready to strike her down until she finished,
“C...Can be calmed,
W...with the Eyes...of Blue.”
The black dragon sneered and wrapped his large claw around her neck. Spotlight said in tears, “Kill me if you must...but please...do it as yourself.”
That statement made the black dragon release her as she stood back for a few steps before the larger dragon jolted and screeched in pain as rings of black and red circled around it until it flared its wings opened and vanished in a flash of light as Blackout himself soon took form.
Blackout collapsed as he struggled to stand, “I...I have it...in me.”
Spotlight dashed to him as she hugged him, “Not now, Blackout...we thought you were dead...but we’ll discuss this later. We just have to ring this bell.”
Blackout and Spotlight returned to the others as the bell emerged and Blades rang it as it’s magic went to work.
Meanwhile outside the temple, the Dream Sheep watched in horror as the bells lifted his Sleep Spell,
“No...NO...NOOOOO!! How is this possible!?”
The Sleep Dragon answered, “What don’t you know? It’s those magic bells, you see? They work like...well...like a great big alarm clock. Haha.”
The sheep was angry, “GAH! This is not over do you hear me! They may have stopped me in the Waking World. But they got to fall asleep sometime! And when they do, rest assured, they will all have nightmares they will NEVER FORGET!”
The Sleep Dragon asked, “But what about Blackout? Whatever happened back there...it saved his life.”
The Dream Sheep was worried, “Oh yes. Blackout, the thorn in my backside...now being in possession of something that I THOUGHT was a waking world legend! But don’t worry, We will get to Plan B soon enough!”
He called out to Blackout, “So enjoy your victory today, you more meddlesome dragon! Because I’m not BEATEN YET!” He and the Sleep Dragon turned towards the Portal to the Nightmare Realm as the sheep laughed.
Back at the Archives, Blackout was being examined by a mabu doctor specialized in Dragon Physiology with his friends, Wiggleworth and Princess Luna present. The doctor did a few sample tests on Blackout just for anything abnormal. Once his tests were complete, he gave the results to the Head Librarian,
“Well, physically, he’s fine, he wasn’t harmed by the fire breath at all. Although, I noticed a unique brainwave pattern, something that hasn’t been heard of in about a thousand years or so.”
Wiggleworth nodded and asked, “Anything else?”
The doc replied with as he grabbed his kit, “The pattern is identical to that of an ancient dragon from the Time before Purple Dragons.”
Wiggleworth’s worm eyes widened, “Which dragon is it identical to, doctor?”
The doc pulled up an ancient sketch of the same dragon from the bell chamber, “My cousin sketched this when exploring ancient ruins...it’s the proof you need.”
Wiggleworth was amazed, “By the Ancestors…” Luna asked, “What are we looking at?”
Wiggleworth stated, “This is an Ancestral Dragon from Ancient Times. This one is specifically called ‘Red-Eyes Black Dragon.’ Because it’s what they first see in the night as it flies.”
Spotlight looked at it, “Red Eyes Black Dragon?”
Wiggleworth nodded, “And I must say that it’s quite unexpected for Blackout to contain the soul of this dragon.” The Head Librarian added, “And that you were able to calm him down.”
Spotlight stuttered, “I...I didn’t know what else to do. The Red Eyes was ferocious and his attacks are deadly, but the Dream Sheep fled from the scene. I started to sing to…”
Wiggleworth asked, “Were your eyes glowing blue?”
The Sun Dragon nodded, “Yes, what do you mean?”
The Head Librarian was about to answer until Bertha kicked open the door as he spoke in chompy tongue while holding the last Gem Key. Blackout noticed the chompy talking as he asked,
“What’s going on?” The chompy spoke in his chompy tongue as Blackout translated, “I managed to obtain the last gem, but the Dream Sheep said something about making preparations for the Ultimate nightmare for which Skylands would never wake up from. I realized that he just won’t quit, so I came to warn you guys.”
Blackout asked, “Do you see any signs of the King of Dreams?”
The chompy shook ‘no’ as he answered. Blackout replied, “I thought so, but since we have the last gem key, we could open the door to the Nightmare Wing and free Hugo.”
Wiggleworth spoke as the dragon rejoined the others, “Blackout, just be careful during battle...you have the Red Eyes inside of you.”
Blackout nodded and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll control it.”
Soon enough, the group left the medical wing and reached the door to the Nightmare Wing. The door was grateful that he could open again, but he also warned about what they read in there. The door opened as they made their way up to a familiar scholar with the book next to him. Wiggleworth pointed,
“There he is! Let’s see…” He realized, “Oh my!”
Blackout understood what that meant as he noticed, “Since Hugo was at the heart of it when the curse started, he’s in a very deep sleep that even we can’t wake him up from…”
Wiggleworth nodded, “Very good observation, Blackout. You cannot wake him since he’s so deeply affected by the curse.” The worm added, “At least, not in our world.”
Spotlight asked, “What do you mean ‘not in our world?” The dragoness was confused to why he said that as the sleeping Hugo said, “zzzZZZzzz...so much wool… zzzZZZzzz… Wha? ...what’s that... horrible noise? ...zzzZZZzzz.”
The Head Librarian noticed, “He seems quite agitated. It looks like he is trapped in some horrible nightmare!”
Blades facewinged, “And knowing Hugo’s fear of sheep, it would most likely be a sheep nightmare.”
Echo noticed, “We have to do something! We have to find a way to get into Hugo’s Nightmare and save him!”
Wiggleworth turned to the sleeping librarian, “My colleague here knows more on how to seek out your friend in the Nightmare Realm.”
Blackout went to the librarian and woke him up as the metal suit jittered away and said, Who disturbs my slumber?” He noticed the black dragon, “Oh, Blackout. I sincerely hope you’re not here to open another rift to some nightmarish world?”
Blackout shook his head, “No, We’re here to stop this curse.” He looked at the portal, “When did this show up?”
The librarian replied as he pointed to the sleeping mabu, “It was opened by your sad friend here and all these evil creatures came gushing out. The nerve!”
Spotlight approached and said, “If this is here then this is our ticket into the Nightmare Realm to rescue Hugo from his nightmare.”
Blackout added, “And to battle the Dream Sheep once and for all!”
The librarian shrugged, “This portal goes both ways. Your funeral so be my guest.” Before Blackout and his friends entered the portal, Wiggleworth stopped him,
“Just be careful, Blackout. The spirit of the Red Eyes dwells inside of you. But don’t see it as an anchor, you can call upon several traits that make the Red Eyes so deadly.”
Blackout nodded, “I will. Hope you got a party waiting for us when we get back.” The Head Librarian chuckled as he said, “Just go and save your friend. He needs your help.”
As the four dragons entered the portal, the librarian approached Wiggleworth as he said, “I’ve read about the Red Eyes before this madness. But do you believe that Blackout can control the very thing inside him?”
The Head Librarian sighed, “There are many things about Blackout that catches my attention, he’s from the Dream Realm, he’s the Dream Sheep’s Archenemy and now he holds the spirit of one of the Ancestral Dragons in his soul.”
The librarian stated, “Against the Dream Sheep’s forces, that drake may be our last hope.”
Wiggleworth corrected, “No, there is another with the spirit of another Ancestral Dragon…”
Inside the Nightmare Realm, The Dream Sheep was pacing about his lair all confused about the appearance of the Red Eye Black Dragon back at the Palace of Waking. He was angry beyond recognition, but his plan to bring the ultimate nightmare to Skylands is going to be set in motion. He has his nightmare generators near his lair to generate all of the nightmares that he needs to unleash on Skylands. He says,
“How could I’ve known that the Red Eyes existed? It’s impossible and better yet - WHY COULDN’T BLACKOUT JUST DIE!?”
The Sleep Dragon answered, “Well, he does have his friends with him and that dragoness as well.”
The Dream Sheep asked, “You think I didn’t already know that you pin-headed dolt?!”
The Sleep Dragon stated, “And who knows, the Skylanders could already be on their way here right now.”
The Dream Sheep was about to lash out in insults when it hit him, “That’s right, the portal back at the Eternal Archives is their doorway into the Nightmare Realm!”
The Sleep Dragon yawned, “Well, I’m going back to my dragon house for a nap…” As the dragon began to leave, the sheep stopped him, “Wait, if the Skylanders get to you...I want you to ‘take care of them’ especially Blackout! Understand?”
The Sleep Dragon nodded, “Okay, but how should I take care of them?”
The sheep smiled as he brought his hoof up to his neck and slid it across his neck as he said, “Now go, leave me to my work!”
As the Sleep Dragon left, the Dream Sheep brought out the comic book that Malefor gave him and said,
“If I’m defeated here, opening a portal into this comic book is plan b...and taking Blackout with me.”
He set it aside and said, “That depends on IF he gets to me and besides...I have my minions and my three prisons for each of those stupid Sages of Waking. Blackout would never reach me without those Sages. And I have my pea brained dragon as a lookout, so there is no way that Blackout would reach me!”
Soon enough, there was beeping sound coming from one of the Sage Prisons informing him that a Nightmare Villain has arrived. He looked at the bio of this one,
“Hmm...Bucktooth the Tiny...wants to plant his own little evil empire...serve up the sweetest , juiciest fruit of evil...unusual sword made from the peg-leg of a pirate that made fun of his hairdo (which plants are very sensitive about) … Lead Singer of the Purple Nightmare Funk Parade and plans to go on their Nightmare Tour after I take over Skylands. (That’s nice)”
After that, the Dream Sheep got onto the intercom to give Bucktooth instructions, “Ahhhh! Welcome, my evil pirate minion! You are now standing in one of the three brand new, custom made prisons for those stupid Sages of Waking!” He added, “Without whom, Blackout can’t possibly thwart my nightmarish plan!”
He sighed, “Unfortunately, my incompetent guards have managed to lose the key to the prisoner’s cell.” He commanded, “I command that you use your pirate-y skills to dig up the key and check on the prisoner...you know, just to be safe.” He finished, “Make it quick and I will reward you with - My Eternal Gratitude, that should be enough.”
After he cut communications to the first prison, he heard a voice saying, “You’re still that confident in your minions. As always.”
The sheep turned around and saw what looked like an imaginary version of Blackout, “Wha? How!? Why are you here!?”
The dragon chuckled, “I’m just a figment of your imagination, Dream Sheep. Just to show your obsession of getting rid of the real one.”
The sheep shouted, “I nearly had you if you didn’t unleash the Red-Eyes Black Dragon from within you! Who knew that it was there in the first place!?”
‘Blackout’ replied with, “Is it strange that you lost the battle in all three towers of waking? Is it no surprise that I had others with me to help me out of tough situations?”
The Dream Sheep asked, “Why are you telling me this?”
‘Blackout’ asked, “Remember the gems you stole from the archives?”
The sheep nodded, “Yes, those gems were useless to me. So I gave them to my minions…”
The figment of his imagination shook his head, “You see, those gems were keys to others wings in the archives. The minions that you gave the gems to...were not on your side anymore.”
The sheep asked, “What do you mean ‘not on my side anymore’ They were clearly Nightmare villains.”
The figment answered, “The problem is that - You’ve been duped. Your so-called minions have flipped sides and handed the gem keys to me and the others - unlocking the doors in the archives.”
The Sheep scoffed, “Impossible, my minions would never do that!”
Before fading away, ‘Blackout’ smiled, “You might want to check what Bucktooth is doing.”
The Dream Sheep activated the cameras and saw the Nightmare Sprout freeing the first Sage of Waking, “Hey! What are you doing!!! I told you to check on the prisoner! Not FREE him!!!”
Bucktooth replied, “Princess Luna has offered me a new position and a pirate like me is honored to serve under the sisters.”
The Dream Sheep knew that name, “Princess Luna!? Grrr!!! You may have converted one of my minions, Princess! But rest assured, you will be sorry for messing with the Dream Sheep!”
Bucktooth looked at the Sage, “C’mon then, let’s go!” Bucktooth and the Sage left.
In the Sleep Dragon’s lair, Blackout and his friends cautiously approached the sleeping dragon with Hugo following behind. Hugo recognized him,
“That’s the dragon that terrible sheep has under his control.”
Blackout nodded, “Yes, I know - The Sleep Dragon. The Dream Sheep’s own personal dragon steed, that has the looks of a dog and the brain of an idiot.”
Spotlight spoke, “With the Dream Sheep separated from him, do you think he would be more agreeable than when he’s around?”
Blackout stated, “Only one way to find out.” He turned to Hugo, “Hugo, stand back and keep your eyes open for that gray ball of wool.”
Hugo shuddered at the mention, “If I see him, I...I’ll let you know.”
Blackout approached the sleeping dragon as he spoke, “Excuse me, Sleep Dragon?”
The Sleep Dragon jolted awake as he said, “Wha!? Who!? Oh… Hello there, Blackout! I see you also brought your girlfriend as well…”
Blackout stuttered, “Girlfriend? I mean… she’s not…” Spotlight seemed to chuckle at his embarrassment as the Sleep Dragon tried to remember something,
“What was I supposed to do when you got here? Something about ‘taking care of you…” Just when the four dragons thought it would mean a fight, the Sleep Dragon assumed, “I bet the Dream Sheep meant to make sure you’re comfortable and feel welcome! Yeah! I can even help you get to his castle!”
Blades asked in shock, “You’re going to help us?”
The Sleep Dragon nodded, “That’s right, Blades. But I’m actually quite hungry though and that makes me sleepy!” He asked, “Do you four think you could go into my dragon house and get me some bacon?”
Echo asked, “Why bacon?” The large dragon stated, “It’s the only thing that wakes me up...zzzZZZzzz…” The large dragon fell asleep as Blackout knew what they had to do, “We get him the bacon and he helps us get to the Dream Sheep. But we also need another Nightmare Villain to rescue the remaining Sages.”
Spotlight spoke, “We already found one and we need the other two to get to into the Dream Sheep’s Lair.”
Echo spoke, “Beating him is the only way to end Hugo’s nightmare and the curse all together.”
Blades said, “Then let’s get a move on…” Blackout smiled, “Because we’ve got a date with the Dream Sheep.” The four dragons soon entered the Sleep Dragon’s dragon house in search of the bacon.
In Griffonstone, the operation to strike the Abysmal Abyss has begun since the Imaginators had already went into position to take down the grublin guards.
Tidal Wave relied on his fists as he pummeled each and every grublin to pieces.
Quick Blaze focused her blasters as she got a quick shot to the heads of each grublin before they shattered to crystals.
Radiant Sun was doing her fair share to a patrol of guards as her sorcery and elemental powers destroyed three guard towers near the abyss. After destroying the guard towers and taking down the patrols, the three imaginators regrouped to a secluded area to send the signal flare. Quick Blaze pointed her blasters up, but paused since they were in plain sight of the portal. She wondered,
“I wonder how the griffins could sleep with that portal overhead?”
Radiant spoke, “I do not know how long, but Spike’s friend said that she could close the portal.”
Tidal nodded, “He’ll bash the leader to pieces and that girl dragon will close the portal!”
Quick Blaze nodded as she pointed her blasters up into the air, “Well...let’s give them all the time they need to find that Doomlander!” She shot the flare into the air as the Imaginators left their hiding spot to join up with the diversionary attack force.
On one of the towers of Griffonstone, overlooking the battlefield, Spike, Ember, Gilda, Trail Blazer and Sonic Boom were watching as the attack began. Eye-Brawl, Dive-Clops, and Crash were with the Senseis and the other Skylanders that were leading this diversion. Gilda asked,
“Are you sure that this plan will work? We’ve done a lot of things in the past, but using a battle as cover to get into the abyss is just messed up.”
Spike understood, “We have several capable fighters out there plus the reinforcements. It doesn’t seem like it would be enough...for now.”
Gilda asked suspiciously. “You’ve got another trick up that claw of yours?”
Spike smiled, “After we take down the Bowslinger…” He noticed the grublins were distracted, “We need to move into the abyss.”
The dragon jumped off of the tower and glided down passed the battlefield to the edge that leads into the abyss. The others followed as well as Gilda asked,
“Well, that was quick of you to jump down to the cliff.”
Spike nodded, “I saw an opportunity to sneak in...and went for it.”
Gilda replied, “Good thinking, dude.” The Purple Dragon felt the heavy winds of the abyss as he approached the cliff as he said, “You were right about the high winds of this place.”
Sonic Boom stepped forward, “This is where I come in.” Spike stood to the side as the mother griffin flared her wings out as a barrier emanated from her. It expanded until it was around the group as Sonic Boom said,
“This barrier will protect us from the winds of the abyss. Stay close to me while in flight or you will be blown off course.”
Gilda pointed out, “But it’s hard to see through the dark…” Trail Blazer approached, “Even with my bright fire power, it wouldn’t be enough...but Spike and I made sure that precautions were made.”
The group was now wearing mining helmets so they could figure out where they are going. Spike tightened the strap on his helmet so it won’t as he turned to the others and said, “Alright guys, let’s stick close to Sonic Boom and don’t fall behind.”
The group took to the air as they descended down into the abyss. They kept close to Sonic Boom and did their best to not stray apart from each other. Ember asked as she kept herself inside the barrier, “So we made it down into the abyss, now where is the grublin base?”
Spike shined the helmet light on the walls of the abyss as he said, “It’s down here somewhere…” Gilda spoke, “We better find it quickly, there is no telling what could happen to the fighters upstairs.”
Spike knew that Gilda was worried about her militia, cementing her change over the years even further. Finding the Grublin Base is the challenge since it’s pitch black outside of the barrier and their helmet lights could only go so far. Spike looked around for a sec until he heard a voice in the back of his head which sounded like someone giving orders to another,
“Once we take the city…”
Spike’s vision soon jolted into images of who said those words and saw the Bowslinger speaking to a Grublin Hero Orc while handing it a round object as he continued, “Set the charges. Destroy the entire city. Let this be an example of Lord Malefor’s power!”
The Hero Orc nodded as he spoke in its usual gibberish as the Bowslinger nodded, “I know the griffins have launched an attack on our post. But this abyss is well-protected, but a Skylander of the Air Element can maneuver through here.”
Spike’s vision snapped back to normal as he saw his friends hovering near him as he saw an ethereal trail between Gilda and Sonic Boom. The griffin skylander asked,
“Are you okay, Spike?” The Purple Dragon nodded, “Yes, but…” He paused for a moment and admitted, “I...I know where they’re hiding.”
Gilda asked suspiciously, “What? Where and How?” Spike explained, “I’m not sure, but for some reason...I heard the Bowslinger’s voice in my head...discussing his plan after they take the city.”
Trail Blazer asked, “Where is the base?” Spike flew to Sonic Boom and said, “I can see the trail to the base from my eyes. You’ll have to follow me and keep inside the barrier at the same time.”
Sonic Boom sighed, “All right, Spike. You’re the Purple Dragon, so we’ll follow you.” Spike replied, “And you’re the air skylander with the barrier.”
The mother griffin chuckled, “Indeed I am.” As they began to follow the trail, Gilda asked in curiosity,
“What are they going to do to Griffonstone if they take it?”
Spike replied, “They’re going to destroy the entire kingdom to set as an example.”
Gilda was shocked, “Why are they doing this?” The Purple Dragon assured, “I don’t know, but we will stop them from taking the city!”
Ember spoke, “We better. This city is relying on us to save them.”
In the Dream Sheep’s Lair, he was angry on the interference of the infamous Princess Luna, the Equestrian Dream Walker, Goddess of the Night. The sheep sighed,
“I’ve heard of that mare before, she has a colorful past as far as I know. But she’s also the little sister to the Sun Princess. I should’ve known that she would be involved…”
“And involved we are, Dream Sheep.” Said a female voice as the sheep turned to see the Night Princess herself. He asked in shock, “Wha? How did you get in here!? This is supposed to keep me protected without those sages!”
Princess Luna shook her head, “There are some things that cannot protect a fiend of dreams like you from us.”
The sheep asked, “H-how!?” The alicorn replied as she circled around the sheep, “When the first sage was freed, the barrier around your castle started to weaken and it was weak enough for me to enter and meet you face-to-face.”
The Dream Sheep asked, “Have you come to admit defeat as I prepare my ultimate nightmare for Skylands?”
Luna shook her head, “Strong words coming from an overconfident sheep that has seen his minions betray him.”
The Dream Sheep pointed a hoof at the alicorn and said, “You just wait and see, Princess.” Luna noticed the Dream Sheep’s prision screen indicate that a Nightmare Villain has arrived.
“I see that one of your minions has arrived at the prison. I think it’s time to take my leave. But keep this in mind, you are the biggest fool that we ever faced in underestimating your enemy.” And with that, she vanished.
After that conversation with Princess Luna, the Dream Sheep opened the biography of the turtle as he read,
“Hmm...Shellshock Sheldon, the only member of the Secret Turtle Liberation Front, has a tendency to sneeze which makes it hard for him to make friends, claims to once be a professional pitcher in the Nightmare Baseball League, not recommended to question it.”
He soon got on the second prison’s intercom as he saw the bomber turtle, Shellshock Sheldon enter the prison as he showed his shock and frustration to the turtle,
“I can’t believe this! My minions let the a Sage from the first prison escape - and now they mistakenly locked this one with explosives! What a bunch of idiots!!!”
Sheldon looked at the Dream Sheep’s intercom statue while shaking his head. The sheep swore that he said something along the lines of ‘then get smarter minions.’ But shook it off and called out to Sheldon,
“Hey! Turtle boy! You want to use those bombing skills of yours to clear the area of explosives? You know...before anyone gets hurt!!!”
The sheep saw the turtle nod as he counted that as a yes before adding, “While you’re at it, why don’t you go check on the prisoner?”
The turtle bomber put a thumbs up as a yes. This pleased the sheep as he said, “There are rafts in the area so standing on the edges will help you move around. But be careful, the stompers I installed to keep out trespassers, especially a certain black dragon are still operational. Hide in your shell to shield yourself from the shockwaves.” He finished with, “Off you go! And don’t forget! DO NOT! I repeat DO NOT free the prisoner!”
He switched off the intercom as he pulled up an image of his nightmare generators. He smiled at his devices, “Why didn’t I think of this before? I would channel a nightmare that they can NEVER wake up from, into Skylands! Not even those stupid bells would stop it!” He sighed as he remembered one other problem, “And there’s also the Equestrian Isles…”
He thought about that place as he brought up an image of the isles, still protected by the barrier which prevents his spells from harming the isles. He sneered, “Once my nightmares have overtaken Skylands, I will pay a personal visit to the Equestrian Isles and make them pay for resisting me! HAHAHAHAHAHA!”
Then a familiar voice spoke, “Harming the Equestrian Isles is no small feat.”
The sheep saw the imaginary Blackout again as he said, “It will be once my nightmares spread across Skylands...and you won’t be around to see it!”
‘Blackout’ chuckled, “Even so, Queen Fausticorn would never allow harm to come to the isles.”
The Dream Sheep asked, “Queen Fausticorn?” The black dragon answered, “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s mother, she’s kind, benevolent and cares for the inhabitants of the isles. I wouldn’t cross her if I were you.”
The Dream Sheep asked with pride, “What’s so scary about a mother to those Princesses?”
‘Blackout’ stated, “You wouldn’t want to see her mad or you would just be a wool coat afterwards.”
The sheep gulped, “I never really thought about it.” He soon swallowed his pride, “But when my nightmares spread, I hope she will be afraid.”
The black dragon chuckled, “That all depends on if or when I get to you.” The alarm went off again as ‘Blackout’ stated, “Keeping an eye on your minions lately?” He vanished as the dream Sheep saw Shellshock Sheldon blowing open the Sage’s cage as he yelled,
“What are you doing?! I don’t recall asking you to BLOW OPEN the prisoner’s cage!”
Sheldon replied, “Princess Luna has use for a bomber turtle like me. And also...consider this as my resignation!”
The Dream Sheep shouted, “Curse you, Princess Luna!! I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!!”
Sheldon looked at the sage, “Let’s get out of here.” The sage replied, “Lead the way, my mean-looking turtle friend. We just have one more Sage to rescue so we can lift this Nightmare Curse!”
Back in the Abysmal Abyss, the infiltration team have been following Spike through the abyss as he lead them along the path to the grublin base.
For Spike, as he followed the ethereal trail, he looked at those accompanying him, they were willing to put their lives on the line to end this battle in victory. Gilda formed her militia since the grublins came and laid siege on the city. But she wasn’t the Gilda that he met all those years ago, she definitely changed for the better. But the one thing that boggled the Purple Dragon’s mind about Gilda - her friendship with Rainbow Dash.
He remembered something that Twilight would say to him, “When a friendship is strained, you need to bring the two together so they could figure out what strained their friendship in the first place. Maybe then, their friendship will be mended.”
He chuckled at this saying since Twilight was the big sister giving him advice. He’ll have to mend Gilda’s friendship with Rainbow Dash later...after they win the battle.
After a few more minutes of flying, they saw something stick out of the wall of the chasm. It was a structure unlike no other, it was built like a complex with grublins patrolling the place. Spike stopped as the others followed as they saw the complex. Spike looked at his friends,
“I think we found the base.”