//------------------------------//
// Chapter 39** 
// Story: Pandemic: Picking up the Pieces 
// by Halira 
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Phobia, for the first time in many days, entered the dreamscape by her own volition. 

She entered the star filled expanse and found Rosetta already waiting for her, with a worried look on her face. The reason for the worry was understandable. Rosetta was worried about what Tonya's meddling might have done other than what was intended. Phobia worried about that too, but it wasn't important at the moment. She had her focus for the time being; to complete her training and get bound to the dreamscape. If Tonya screwed up and left some side effect it didn't matter if it didn't interfere with those goals.

"How are you feeling?" Rosetta asked, then blinked and lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, I should be giving the Oaths. Psychic Calm..."

Phobia placed a hood up to her lover's lips. "I'm not bound yet. Save those for when I'm bound." She removed her hoof. "To answer your question, I'm feeling really good. It's nice to fall asleep and not get raped in my dreams immediately."

"Any...side effects?" Rosetta asked.

Phobia shook her head. "Nothing I've noticed yet. It doesn't mean there aren't any. If there are any you'll probably spot them before I do. My mind has been altered, so I'm probably the worst judge of any differences, even if I do pick up on anything."

Rosetta nodded in acceptance. "I'll let you know if I notice anything. I really wish you hadn't let Tonya do that. If she hurt you I'll hurt her."

Phobia looked up at the stars. "I didn't let her do anything. I told her to do it. If anything is out of order it's my fault and my fault alone. Don't take it out on her."

Rosetta sullenly bowed her head. "If you say so. I'm just worried about you."

"Good," Phobia said flatly. "If you aren't worried it'll take us longer to catch any problems."

Rosetta sighed. "I know; fear keeps us safe."

Phobia nodded in acknowledgement of her lasting lesson to all night ponies. Then continued. "Let's get started. Time is precious and I've put us on a tight schedule due to what happened earlier."

She looked around at all the stars and called out, "Whoever's acting as Dreamwarden right now is being really slow. I've been here a minute or two and you haven't shown up. I know you know I'm here, so show yourself so we can get to work."

Without so much as a flash an older night pony mare eating at a table appeared above them. The older mare looked down at her with a look of annoyance. "I was trying to give you and your lover a few minutes together, and didn't know if Luna was scheduled to come attend to you. I was having good manners; something you could stand a bit more of, sister."

Rosetta bristled up a bit. "She's in a hurry, she doesn't have time to be perfectly polite."

The older mare raised an eyebrow then raised a wing. Rosetta vanished from sight.

Phobia growled, enraged that Rosetta was getting punished. "That was completely unnecessary, Sha'am! That's my fiancée not some random night pony!"

Rosetta reappeared and was breathing heavily, wide eyed and sobbing, she was soaking wet with water. She spotted Phobia and scrambled over to Phobia and hugged her tightly, still sobbing. Phobia resisted the urge to go buck her fellow Dreamwarden and just hugged Rosetta tightly. The full horror of the experience would fade quickly, just like any other dream.

Sha'am was unfazed. "There's always time for good manners. And despite her ties to you in the waking world she's still just another dreamwalker here, don't let your emotions blind you to that fact. I'd do the same to my own great-great-grandfoal if he was a night pony who dared mouth off to me as a greeting in the dreamscape, and I love him dearly. Rosetta Stone, I believe you should now redo your greeting to me. Oaths, please."

Rosetta quieted her sobs, and still trembling turned and faced Sha'am. "Psychic Calm, we promise ponies shall dream in peace. Yinyu Wu Yan, we shall not allow our passions to lead us to folly. Ghadab, the Wardens' anger is unyielding and just. Phobia Remedy, fear of the Wardens keeps us safe. Tikhiy Krik, we shall keep the secrets of the Wardens. Sha'am Maut, better to die than to face the Wardens' justice."

"There, was that so hard?" Sha'am said as she picked up a berry from her table and tossed it towards Rosetta. The berry just hovered in front if Rosetta unmoving once it reached her. "If you eat that berry the memory of the pain shall disapate faster. You've been punished, and it's over with."

Rosetta glared at the berry then shoved it away. The berry floated away for a few feet then vanished into nothingness.

Sha'am shrugged in response. "Very well, that's a choice you can freely make. It was merely an offer. If you wish to remember the pain longer than you need to that's your choice."

Phobia touched a comforting wing to Rosetta's back as she looked at her fellow Dreamwarden. "Rosetta was telling the truth. I'm in a hurry. We have some things to discuss."

Sha'am picked up another berry and swallowed it whole. "And what matters are those that make you both so ill-mannered?"

Phobia took a deep breath. "There's a night pony named Shadow Dancer, he has forcefully mind controled many ponies and humans. I confronted him and told him that he will get judgement in two days."

The table with all the food abruptly vanished into nothing and Sha'am sat rigidly still. "I see...Rosetta Stone, you'll leave us so my sister and I can talk in private. I don't care where you go, but I do not want you present here. This is Dreamwarden business, not yours."

Rosetta gave Phobia a sad look and Phobia touched a wing to Rosetta's face and spoke softly. "Go do some dreamwalking. I'll be alright. I already suspected that you wouldn't be allowed to be involved with most of what happens today."

Rosetta touched a hoof to Phobia and then went in for a full hug. "You just make sure you keep yourself alive. I'll be very mad at you if you die. Please, just don't die on me."

Phobia hugged her close. "I won't. Sha'am would be just as angry if I died, so I'm pretty sure she won't let it happen."

"I promise I'll keep my sister among the living, even if I have to give my own waking life to do it. I won't lose her by having her die unbound. Eternity is too long a time to go without my fellow Dreamwardens. You have my word as a Dreamwarden she'll return to you," Sha'am assured Rosetta. "Now quit dawdling and go."

Rosetta wiped her eyes and nodded, then she vanished as she shifted somewhere else in the dreamscape.

Sha'am came close to Phobia. "It's good to see you out of your nightmare. It seems Luna was mistaken when she said it would take a long time. You do realize the position you have put us in though, right? You have basically made it so all six of us have to be all bound in a very short time. You and our other two brothers are at very different levels of preparation, Ghadab is even farther behind than you."

Phobia nodded. "I understand. I also understand that Luna has been taking her time. You, Yinyu, and Tikhiy training us might be a faster alternative. Plus, the three of you working together to help bind might minimize how long we actually need to be able to survive."

Sha'am smiled a conspiratorial grin. "I'm glad we think similarly, sister. I had been sitting back out of love and respect for Luna. She has a lot of personal experience that should be respected. Unfortunately for her, she is only the heir of one universe's legacy of Dreamwardens. The six of us are heirs of two, and that gives us insights she lacks. She may be older than us, and more experienced, but her knowledge doesn't go nearly as deep as ours."

That wasn't something that was discussed with her before. "What do you mean by that? Luna is over a thousand years old. I would think that's enough to say she has more insight than any of us."

Sha'am stepped back from her and studied her. "I could explain it to you, but this is something you'll learn anyway when you're bound. You'll understand it then. Luna forgets how old this universe is, and does not know our legacy here. All we can do is the same as any other Dreamwarden, try not to repeat the mistakes of the past. There were mistakes this universe has paid a very heavy price for, and may still pay for many times over. Luna must never learn of what happened to our predecessors here. We must struggle on. That's what life is after all, an endless struggle. To live is to struggle, and we Dreamwardens are sworn to protect life, despite the tragic follies of our predecessors."

Phobia tilted her head slightly, unable to make much of Sha'am's rambling. "Funny things for the Warden of Death to be saying."

Sha'am waved a wing dismissively. "Death is a part of life, an important part. Just like anger and vengence, lust and passion, silent contemplation, peace through compromise, or fear and caution. Sunset Shimmer thought she could build a society on this world free of these things. Such folly, such stagnation, such an affront to living. We know them as virtues though. Those pillars that ponies like to quote are all worthwhile, but we shall not let ponies forget our pillars and become mere mindless shells of themselves."

Phobia grimmaced. "And ponies call me a fanatic about fear. You certainly eclipse me in the fanatic department."

Sha'am snorted. "I'm just dedicated to my work and purpose is all. I understand the struggle against death as a virtue, that struggle is true life. It is just like understanding the virtue of fear is important to you. We aren't the most pleasant of virtues, but we're important."

"You don't need to preach to me," Phobia responded calmly, if slightly annoyed. She was eager to get to training and Sha'am wanted to spout crazy sermons.  "I already recognize the importance of these things. I have my mother for a preacher, I don't need another one. It's the regular dreamwalkers that need these lectures, not me."

"Just making sure we are on the same page," the older mare said as she recreated her table with food. "I have already put out a summons for all six of us to gather together and get to work. Considering we have to wait till everypony can get themselves to sleep despite the differing time zones it'll take a few minutes."

A night pony stallion with fur the color of desert sand and  a red mane came crashing down between them out of nowhere and Sha'am smiled as she floated herself and the table back upwards. "See they're already starting to arrive. Pick yourself up, Ghadab, Dreamwardens shouldn't look so undignified. And mind your manners; you've the most appalling manners on a pony that I have ever met, brother."

Ghadab pulled himself to his hooves growling. "My manners are perfect, you queen of all bitches. Curse your mother's pussy, your pussy is too large."

Phobia's eyes widened to the size of saucers as Ghadab continued on his curse ridden tirade for another solid minute before finally seeming to run out of insults. Sha'am calmly took little bites of a pastry the whole time Ghadab raged.

Sha'am finished swallowing her pastry. "Well, you're certainly as pleasant to deal with as ever, brother. Now that you have gotten that out of your system I'd like to introduce you to our sister, Phobia Remedy."

Ghadab turned her and spoke politely. "Peace be with you, sister."

Phobia wasn't sure how to respond after just listening to his verbal beating of Sha'am. "Um, peace be with you as well, brother."

Sha'am continued to eat but spoke to them between bites. "You two and Psychic Calm will all be training together today. The training will be very intense. If all goes well when we're done some of you will be ready for binding. Psychic Calm is very close and I'm confident he shall be bound before today is out. I hope you two can rise to the task as well. Krik and Yinyu shall be assisting as well."

As if summoned by name, a pony that bore a passing resemblance to Yinyu--if Yinyu had fins instead of legs--swam into view and gave Sha'am a dirty look. "You'd better have a good reason for having a pony shove a damn tranquilizer dart up my ass, Sha'am! I was in the middle of an orgy and enjoying myself very much."

Sha'am raised an eyebrow at Yinyu. "Since when do you not fall asleep after a heated round of sex? I just hastened the process along."

Yinyu shook her fins in frustration. "But it was an orgy! What don't you understand? I don't get many of those, and you interrupted it!"

"I'll explain as soon as Krik and Psy arrive," Sha'am replied then pointed to Phobia and Ghadab with a wing. "You've met our brother and sister here, right?"

Yinyu glanced down at them then smiled as she swam in a circle around them. "Yeah, Mr. Potty Mouth and Nightmare Moon version two, they're alright. The whole gang is getting together, must be something fun. Missing an orgy might be worth that."

"I'm not a potty mouth, you pussy mad whoring heathen!" Ghadab snapped.

Yinyu giggled "Ghadab, you say the nicest things!"

Ghadab puffed out his chest. "Yes, yes I do."

Phobia now understood Luna's selection process for choosing Dreamwardens. She went out and found the most insane batch of night ponies that she could possibly find and offered them a completely insane job. It all made complete sense now. Phobia was also apparently completely insane too because here she was standing with all these other nutjobs and malcontents that she'd spend the rest of eternity with.

Two more stallions appeared as Phobia was thinking. One of the sat down and just stared with a flat expression up at Sha'am and the other scowled up at her.

The scowling one spoke. "Sha'am, I need to report that I've been attacked. A night pony came at me and jammed a needle into me, knocking me out."

Yinyu flew over to the stallion and patted him on the head with a fin. "That was just Sha'am trying to make sure you're asleep."

The stallion raised an eyebrow and spoke in a flat voice. "I was on my way to bed anyway. It could have waited five minutes."

Yinyu crossed her fins in front of her and gave Sha'am a disapproving frown. "I know! That's kind of what I said. Where does she get all these ponies who are on call to knock ponies out with darts and needles and whatnot anyway? Sister, you should appologize to me and Psychy Wikey."

The stallion looked at Yinyu calmly. "My name is Psychic Calm, not Psychy Wikey. You can call me Psy if you want, but not Psychy Wikey."

Sha'am looked down at the pair from her table. "I needed you both urgently, so I won't appologize. As for where I get these ponies, I get a few ponies here and there who think very highly of me and make it clear they are willing to do me little favors."

Yinyu spread her fins in outrage. "Little favors like shoving darts into ponies when they're in the middle of an orgy?!"

Sha'am waved a hoof at her. "You're more concerned I interrupted your extreme carnal sex than getting darted."

"Of course I am!" Yinyu shouted.

"Well, Yinyu is a mare fucking cock sucking whore so what did you expect?" Ghadab snapped. 

Yinyu turned to Ghadab with a big smile on her face. "Ghadab you always know the best things to say about me. Thank you."

Ghadab bowed his head. "You're welcome."

Yep, most completely insane group of ponies that Luna could find. That was definitely the criteria.

Sha'am banished her table and looked down at the collective group. "Now that we're all here we can get on to business. Our sister, Phobia, has gone and decreed that we'll being giving judgement on a stallion in two days. With that in mind, we need to make sure that the three of you who are not bound yet are bound before we have to sit to judge."

Yinyu raised a fin like a student in a classroom. "Um, question. Ghadab too? Psychy Wikey is almost ready and you might be able to force Ms. Nightmares through, but Mr. Potty Mouth is pretty far behind."

Ghadab dug at the empty expanse like he would the ground and looked downward. "My whore sister is right. Luna has not given me much time. I'm ashamed to admit I'm far from prepared."

"I will see that you have the time you need to be trained between now and then if I have to commit suicide and load you up with enough tranquilizer to down an elephant in heat," Sha'am said. "We're going to all be there, one way or another, presenting a united front. If we lose credibility at this early stage it'll take years to undo the damage."

"And where is Luna right now? Shouldn't she be here?" Psychic Calm asked.

Sha'am shrugged. "Either in her own universe or awake. I didn't bother to check which. I'm not about to have a pony try to tranquize an alicorn from Equestria  and cause some international incident. She'll just have to accept that we made a decision without her input. It isn't our job to live in her shadow. This is our realm and she'll accept our decisions here. She made us to take charge of situations, not await her approval. If she disapproves she'll just have to live with it. We shall go to her with issues when it's appropriate to do so."

Phobia crossed her forelegs and rolled her eyes. "Yes, because we're clearly the most responsible and stable group of ponies."

Sha'am sighed and put buried her face in her hoof. "We're an eccentric group, that's abundantly clear. You definitely have demonstrated that we have some issues with responsibilities that need to be remedied thanks to your hastily bringing us to have to pass judgement in two days. We're adapting to the situation at hoof. The training and binding shall be done. It may be agonizing for you three, but that's just the way it has to go. It might not seem like it, but we have what it takes to do this."

Ghadab flicked his tail. "I can deal with pain." 

Psy raised an eyebrow. "I prefer to avoid agony if you can manage it. As has already been stated I am almost ready now."

Phobia took a deep breath. She had gotten herself into this situation, and her responsibility demanded she follow through. "I will do whatever's needed."

Yinyu swam around them all. "Don't worry brothers and sister. No matter how bad this training is it doesn't begin to compare with the binding. The binding is bad, worse than anything we do to misbehaving dreamwalkers. It isn't even the pain, which is the worst pain imaginable, it's what you see."

Psy snorted. "You're words of encouragement and support are rather lackluster, Yinyu."

Yinyu swam over to pat and ruffle his mane with a fin. "Awe, don't worry Psychy Wiley. I'll make sure you live through this."

"Again, my name is not Psychy Wikey."

Phobia shook her head. This was the group she would be spending eternity with and would have as her closest family of sorts, a twisted dysfunctional family. What did Luna even see in any of them that was worthwhile? Maybe the training would drive her insane and she wouldn't notice anymore how insane this all was.