//------------------------------//
// Do Princess's Dream of Magic Sheep 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S5 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot, close to sunset... 

Trixie let out a yawn as she finished doing her mane, ready for the night ahead. Since she became Luna's student, she had slowly changed her sleeping habits to one of a nocturnal pony. As such, sunset had become her sunrise as she had awoken just an hour or so ago. After finishing her clean up, she teleported down to the kitchen in order to grab breakfast/supper, along with her teacher's.

"Evening," she told the cooks as she headed over to the fridge.

"Evening..." the completely drained looking chefs replied as they were finishing cleaning the kitchen.

In response, Trixie opened the fridge while licking her lips at the sight of the pancakes that had been made for them that morning, courtesy of Celestia. A simple heating spell later would have them back to being freshly cooked, "Here we go. Bye boys..." She waved to the cooks after taking the two plates in her magic, the ponies all waving back before she warped away.

She then reappeared outside her room, now going to Luna's private chambers despite knowing the princess would still be asleep. With her duty to raise the moon, add the stars, and watch over the ponies in their dreams, not to mention the lessons she gave Trixie, the alicorn always ended up sleeping all the way from sunrise to sunset. But hopefully, the spell Trixie was working on would help lighten that load. It was here that she arrived at Luna's door, knocking on her door before opening it up, "Princess, I'm-"

"No..." she heard Luna moan, "It's gone!"

"Princess?" Trixie stepped inside, placing their food on the table as she went to the bedchambers. There, she found Luna asleep in a moon-shaped bed, only for the princess to shoot up with a look of horror in her eyes. "Princess? Are you alright?"

"What?!" Luna yelped as her eyes darted around, gasps escaping her mouth as she began staring at her bedsheets.

"I asked if you were alright. What happened?"

Luna continued to pant as she put a hoof to her forehead, "No...my dream...my dream ended...happily."

Trixie tilted her head at this, "Um...isn't that a good thing?"

Luna just shook her head, "No. It is a very...very bad thing."





The next day...

Flash let out a yawn as he squirted shampoo onto Springer's head, the jakhowl sighing as the stallion rubbed the soap into his fur. They and the rest of the mane seven were all in Carousel Boutique, each one grooming their pets with love and care. Not only that, Soarin was also there, visiting his marefriend, which he was now helping her clean up her pet tortoise.

Springer let out another sigh, "Ahh...this is the life."

"Speak for yourself," Flash mumbled.

"Ooh, this is so much fun!" Pinkie cheered as she bounced past Rainbow, who let out a yawn right into her boyfriend's face as she scrubbed Tank's shell while Soarin was busy cleaning the turtle's propeller.

"Yeah Rarity, thanks for setting all this up."

Fluttershy shined a small smile as she sat on a table, Angel in her lap. "A grooming day for our pets really was a great idea."

"Not getting any complaints from me," Springer added while lying back in the tub.

Flash growled at the jakhowl, "Remind me why I'm doing this again. You're not my pet, and you can clean yourself up just fine on your own."

Springer chuckled back, "But I am your partner. Isn't this what partners do?"

Flash let out a grumble as he was about to squirt shampoo into the jakhowl's eyes, only to hear the sound of Opalescence howling. This made him turn to see the cat jump onto the wall as she glared down at her owner. "Oh my!" Rarity yelped as she let out a yawn, "Oh...I'm sorry Opal. I um...I didn't get my normal beauty sleep last night."

Opal let out a hiss as Twilight spoke up, "You know..." She yawned as well while brushing Owlowiscious. "I didn't sleep well either."

This was met with a bunch of nods of agreement from every pony in the building except Soarin as Pinkie cartwheeled past them all. "I'm totally beat too!" She chimed in as she landed in front of Soarin.

"If this is you beat, I'd hate to see what you look like fully rested and full of caffeine."

"Oh, I've done that." Pinkie giggled as she put her hooves behind the back of her head, "It was like the world's most intense game of musical statues."

Before she could go into detail, Winona let out a bark. "All right Winona." Applejack tiredly reached around the table, looking for a brush but grabbing Gummy by mistake. "Time for yer brushin'." But as she held Gummy out, the alligator bit onto the dog's ear, making her yip in surprise before swinging her head around. She then dislodged the fangless reptile and sent him flying across the room, landing on Owlowiscious's head. The motion spooked the owl, making him hop out of Twilight's hooves, knocking the princess into Tank's bath.

"Blaugh!" Twilight yelped before her head rose out of the water. "Applejack!"

"Oops," the farm pony lightly chuckled, "Ah guess ah'm too plumb tuckered out to do this right."

"What is up with you all today?" Soarin asked as he saw that each of them had bags under their eyes. "You look like you're one bad night away from becoming the living undead."

"We're just...tired." Flash let out another yawn, Fluttershy doing the same.

"Iron and I even went to bed early last night." She then started shivering, "But then I had a really...scary nightmare."

This statement caught everypony's attention, except Flash and Soarin. The girls all leaned over to the animal keeper as Pinkie exclaimed, "ME TOO!"

"Same here." Rainbow added before looking away, "Except uh...you know, I didn't think mine was that scary. Just a run of mill nightmare."

"Well, mine sure was." Twilight groaned as she looked over at Flash, only for the defender to roll his eyes at her. "There was this blue smoke monster and..." She didn't finish as she now saw the others all staring at her, "What?"

"I dreamed about a blue smoke thingy too!" Fluttershy gasped before putting her hooves over her mouth.

"Me too!" Applejack continued.

As the other girls confirmed this, Soarin turned to Flash, noticing he wasn't talking, "What about you? Any bad dreams?"

Flash shook his head. "Nope. My dreams were the usual form of awesome and fun." He turned to Twilight, who was now getting out of the tub. "I just didn't get any sleep because a certain somepony kept screaming, kicking and levitating me out of bed every time she had a nightmare."

Twilight looked away, whispering, "I said I was sorry."

"You flung me out of the window." Flash growled back before rubbing his sides, "And it still hurts..."

Before Twilight could reply, Spike handed her a towel as he spoke up. "Huh. I wonder why I didn't have that nightmare. I slept great!"

"Me too," Springer added. "It's only the girls who had a nightmare. Wonder what links them together?"

"Well...they're all the Elements of Harmony?" Soarin suggested as he put Tank's propeller on him.

Flash waved his hoof at this, "Eh, so am I, and my dreams were perfectly fine."

Rarity let out a 'hmph', "Even if you boys are fine, the rest of us still saw this creature haunt our dreams! That could be a serious problem, as I need my beauty sleep....then again, is it only for girls? That's some sexist nightmare if that's the case!"

Twilight shook her head as she started toweling down, "That does sound a little out there...though that doesn't mean it isn't true."

"I'd hate to see the reverse then." Flash added as he started brushing Springer's tail, "I mean, a big old smoke monster? Sounds like some throwaway plot device for a mystery show...and not in the least bit scary."

"Tell that to when you have something suddenly interrupt your sleep." Twilight hissed as she finished drying before giving the towel back to the little drake, "Speaking of sleep though, I have an idea. Spike, could you send a scroll to Princess Luna?"

"Sure!" Spike tossed the towels back over his head, all of them landing and burying Flash as he pulled a scroll out of nowhere. "All set!"

Twilight nodded as she began to pace around the room, "Dear Princess Luna, last night my friends and I all dreamt of a creature made of blue smoke. I'm sure you're very busy, but-" She let out a yawn, "when you have the chance, please let me know if you have any idea what it could mean. Yours-" Another yawn escaped her, "Princess Twilight Sparkle." She turned back to Spike, "You can leave out the yawns."

Spike quickly crossed out a few sections before rolling up the scroll and sending it off in a burst of fire.

Watching this, Flash opened his mouth, "So..."

BLAM!

That was the sound of the boutique's doors being thrown open as the alicorn of the night appeared, gasping as she asked, "Which of you saw the creature of blue smoke in your nightmare?!"

Fluttershy's' eyes went wide as she commented, "Wow...that was fast."

Flash nodded in agreement as he pulled the rags off his head, "No kidding. If you ever get bored being a princess, I bet any pizza delivery place would be happy to have you."

"Now is not the time for jokes Sentry!" Luna screeched as she walked inside, "Now, who saw the creature?!"

Twilight was the one to answer, "We all did."

"Not us!" Spike pointed to Springer and himself, the jakhowl rolling his eyes as the girls all said they know.

Flash then spoke up. "I didn't have nightmares either."

"I see..." Luna hummed as she began to bit her lip, everypony seeing sweat now go down her face, "This is troubling."

"So you've encountered the smoke monster too?" Twilight asked her, Luna nodding back.

"The Tantabus is a creature of my nightmares. It escaped from my slumber yesterday."

Fluttershy shivered at the description. "But how did it get into ours?"

Princess Luna opened her mouth at this, only to sigh as she looked away, "The Tantabus is...like a parasite. My dreams must no longer be enough for it. Now it seeks others to infect and corrupt...and it must have learned of you all from seeing you in my dreams."

Soarin spoke up next, "What were you dreaming about?"

"The nightmare it created was of me reverting back to...Nightmare Moon." They watched as she took a moment to form her next words, the princess mumbling as she then said, "As...her, the nightmare then showed me being freed from the form by....you seven."

"Huh. So it went after the heroes of the nightmare. Interesting..." Twilight commented as she rubbed her chin in thought, "That explains why it was just us."

"Uh, hello?" Flash waved his hooves around, "I'm one of the elements and I didn't have the nightmare. You saying only the girls saved you?"

Luna shook her head, "No, you were there. The Tantabus should have gone after you as well."

"So why didn't it?" Flash responded, "You saying this...smoke thing doesn't like how my dreams taste? Should I be insulted?"

"That does sound kinda silly." Pinkie chimed in, Flash shivering at her words.

"If you're saying that, I'm in trouble." Flash added as he looked away.

While he did this, a bulb went off above Twilight's head, "If Flash wasn't affected....it must have been because of the Sacred Light! It protects him from all manner of magic. Well, that is if the Tantabus is a creature of dream magic. If it is, the Sacred Light would have shielded Flash."

"Yes, it is made of dream magic." Luna replied as she crossed her hooves, "And that makes sense. It is not the first time Flash's dreams have been inaccessible, as I couldn't get to them back when we searched through his lost memories. Though...the Tantabus could enter Sentry's dreams....but only if he allows it to."

"Which I doubt I'll be doing," Flash stated with a shrug.

It was here Rainbow floated in between Twilight and Luna, "Oookay. So uh...what's the problem here? Smokey gave us some bad dreams. That's no biggie, right?"

Luna shook her head, "I saw that the Tantabus had grown more powerful, but I did not realize that that power was enough to enable it to escape my dreams. If its power grows, it could very well find a way to escape into the real world. It...it could turn all of Equestria into a living nightmare!"

Everypony else now saw the look of fear on the princess's face, Rainbow responding, "Okay, I take it back! That does sound bad! Really bad!"

"What do we do? How do we stop it Princess Luna?" Twilight asked next.

Luna put her hoof to her chin, "Well...now that I know where it is, I can fight it by entering your dreams. Hopefully, that'll allow me to destroy it once and for all."

"Sounds like a plan," Soarin added as he leaned on the side of the wall with a smirk. "And we'll be there to help."

Luna shook her head again, "No. This is something I must do alone. After all, I am the only one that has the power to enter another's dream."

Twilight walked in front of the princess, "Princess Luna, surely we can help you someway else than just-"

"Hold it!" yelled a new voice, interrupted the alicorn as everyone turned to the door. There, they saw a certain light blue pony standing in a heroic pose with bright lights illuminating her from behind.

"Trixie?!" Flash gasped as he squinted at the bright light, "What are you doing here?"

"To help." Trixie used her magic to shut off the spotlight behind her, teleporting it away before walking in.

"How did you know I would come here?" Luna asked, eyeballing her student before Trixie held up the letter Spike had sent.

"I saw you were gone and found this, then asked around in town. A colt named Pip told me he had seen you zoom through town to this place. Anyways, I'm here to help."

Luna sighed. "I applaud your eagerness to help, but you cannot. For as I said, I am the only one capable of entering dreams." She then saw a sheepish smile appear on Trixie's face, raising an eyebrow in response. "Bellatrix?"

"I...may have been secretly studying your magic and learned to do it herself." She saw Luna's eyes narrow at this, "Please don't be mad."

"Trixie....the magic I use is very dangerous. Even my own sister would be a fool to try and learn to use it." Luna leaned down as her eyes glared at Trixie's eye level, "The dream realm is a place where no normal pony should just waltz into. You can easily trap and lose yourself there. Not to mention-"

"I know!" Trixie interrupted, making Luna growl. The sight made her student shiver, but she continued, "Princes...I had to. For you. I...I've seen how exhausted you've been whenever you finish your dream walking. Night after night, along with your other duties and helping me study. I...I know I shouldn't have done it, but....I uh...I figured that if I learned how to use your magic...I could help lighten the load."

Luna stared at her student for another minute, only to sigh as she pulled Trixie into a hug, "Oh, my dear student. I'm thankful you'd go so far for me."

Trixie returned the hug, her eyes soon glancing over to see everypony smirking at the bond. Growling, she mouthed, 'shove off' as the hug ended and she looked up at her mentor, "Princess...I want to help you the way you've helped me. I won't let you face the Tantabus alone."

Luna shook her head one last time. "Well...I get the feeling that even if I said no, you'd still end up doing it. Very well. I will allow you to join me in this trial, but you must do exactly what I say." Trixie nodded as Luna turned back to the others. "The rest of you, prepare for tonight, for it will be a long one."





As they waited for night time, they began preparations by telling the rest of the defenders about what was happening. Iron did not take to the idea of something invading his girlfriend's dreams, but Fluttershy convinced him to go along with it. The rest of the group then prepared Flash and Twilight's room by adding several more beds that they could sleep in while Trixie and Luna went to sleep in a guest room for some extra energy. It wasn't long till Luna had woken up and raised the moon to the sky as the others watched, "There...now it is time to get to work."

"We've prepared everything exactly as you requested." Twilight opened the door to her and Flash's room.

"Excellent. This will do nicely." Luna commented as she flew around the room. "As you seven slumber here, I will pursue the creature into whichever of your dreams it infests."

"Yeah, about that..." They all turned to Lightning, who had a raised eyebrow on his face, "Wouldn't it be better for only one of them to fall asleep? Then there'd only be one dream for this thing to hide in."

Luna shook her head in response. "No, I'm afraid it's not that easy. The dream realm exists even while you're awake. It simply takes a blank form that awaits for your next dream to give it shape, which the Tantabus will be waiting in. My magic only allows me to enter the dreams of a pony that's sleeping, a limitation the Tantabus does not possess."

Trixie nodded in agreement. "That means unless all of you are asleep, Luna and I won't be able to follow it anywhere it could hide."

"That's also why Flash needs to be asleep as well," Luna pointed to the knight. "We can't rule out the possibility of the Tantabus finding a way to get around your defenses and hide in your dreamscape. I suspect you don't want to do this, but I need you to lower your guard and allow us access to your dreams. The Sacred Light should drop that protection if you want it too."

Flash shrugged at this, hopping into the bed first as the rest of the defenders, Spike, Wild and Soarin all sat down before Grand spoke up, "We'll be here, ready to react in case the Tantabus does manage to escape. I don't know how much we'll be able to do against this thing, but we'll be ready either way."

"Thank you," Luna added as she turned to the others now getting into bed. "Now, are you all ready?"

They all nodded as Pinkie went, "Ooh!" She bounced on her head. "It'll be like a princess sleepover!"

"Speaking of princesses," Twilight and Flash pulled the covers over them as she stared at Luna. "Aren't you gonna ask Celestia for her help as well?"

Luna shook her head again, "No. As I told Trixie, my magic is extremely dangerous. My sister knows this and has never tried to learn it. Only I can walk in the dreamscape without issue." She then turned to Trixie, "Which is why you must do exactly as I tell you. One wrong move and you could end up trapped in the ponies' subconscious forever. That or you might accidentally do serious mental damage. When we're in there, your job will be to help protect the others from whatever nightmares the Tantabus will throw at them. I alone must fight the creature. No pony else can help."

"Even us?" Applejack asked.

Luna sighed at this, "Especially you. You have all suffered so much because of me. You need only slumber while I hunt the Tantabus in your dreams."

"We got it," Flash added as he let out another yawn, "Guess it's bedtime. Good thing I had Scootaloo sleepover at Sweetapple Acres. If that thing got out and appeared here..." He didn't say anything else as he blinked at Luna, "Not that I think you'll let it."

Luna giggled at this, Applejack rolling her eyes at the comment, "She'll be fine with my little sis. Not only that, one good thing about not sleepin' well last night..." She rolled over to her side, "shouldn't be too hard to fall asleep now."

"Are you kidding?!" Pinkie cheered as she suddenly appeared from under Applejack's blanket. "This is so exciting, I don't know how I'm ever going to-" The earth pony didn't finish that sentence as she fell back onto the pillow, loudly snoring at the rest chuckled at the sight....and Applejack had to go over to Pinkie's bed due to the party pony now sleeping in hers.

The rest of the defenders sat back as they saw everypony fall asleep, each soldiers now drinking several large coffee cups in preparation for the long night. As they did this, Luna and Trixie both sparked their horns before summoning several strings of light, all of them latching onto seven pony heads. Connections now made, Luna selected the first dream to head into with Trixie following behind her.

"Whoa!" Trixie gasped as she found herself flying through a tunnel of light before a myriad of doors popped into existence. Each one had a symbol on the door, Trixie guessing them to be cutie marks, "This...this is the dream realm?"

"It is the void between dreams. It is here that we can enter the dreams of others." Luna replied as she sparked her horn, all but seven doors disappearing, "There, I've separated their dreams from the others. As long as they don't dream of other ponies, the Tantabus cannot get to them." She then closed her eyes, soon turning to the diamond image door. "In here!"

She opened the door and flew in, Trixie right behind her. In a flash, the two found themselves in a room filled with windows and...living dresses? "This is gonna take some getting used too."

Luna's eyes darted around the room, only to point at a corner. There in that space was a strange black and purple cloud of wispy smoke, the being now flying into the dresses before transforming them into fanged monsters. "It's here!" She yelled as they saw one of the dresses destroy the others, ripping them to shreds.

Trixie gulped at the sight. "Trixie's heard of killer fashion sense, but..." She watched as Rarity move over to the remains of the dress, tears in her eyes as she cried.

"It was such a pretty little chiffon." She fell to her knees, "What kind of monster would do this?!"

"The Tantabus," Luna replied as her horn began to spark.

Rarity shot the creature a death glare as she picked herself up, "Then let's stop it! You'll pay for what you've done here!"

"Aw yeah! Let's do this!" Trixie cheered as her started to glow.

"No!" Luna held her wings up in front of them, "I don't want you to suffer anymore because of me." While she said that, Trixie began to see that the Tantabus started to double in size, "I will catch it. Trixie, help Rarity fight off these beasts!" She then started firing a series of beams at the Tantabus, destroying several dresses as the monster kept dodging each attack.

"Couldn't you have dreamed up something with less grabby bits?" Trixie asked as she used her magic to slice off a ribbon that was now wrapping around her leg.

Rarity fired her own magic, pushing it away. "It's not like I have control of what I dream."

"It has jumped into another dream!" The two looked up and saw Luna pointing to a now bricked up window. "I am sorry, but if I am to stop it, Trixie and I must follow it where you cannot."

"Go!" Rarity yelled as she destroyed another monster dress, Trixie now using her magic to float up next to Luna as she destroyed the wall and jumped out the window. Trixie followed through, soon finding themselves back at the door corridor.

"In here." Luna added as she opened another door, only for both to see what appeared to be Cloudsdale.

"Is this Rainbow's dream?" Trixie asked as she tried to look back at the door, only for the two to be suddenly hit by what felt like a wave. "WHOA!" The unicorn fell over, shaking her head as she looked back up, hadn't had time to see which cutie mark was on the door, but then heard Pinkie's voice as she trotted by. "What the heck just happened?"

"Seems Miss Pie is a vivid dreamer." Luna replied as they saw Pinkie now hop by, the scene changing as she bounced around, "Until she focuses on a single dream, neither I or the Tantabus will be able to do anything."

Trixie shook her head, getting back up as she commented, "Sounds good to me. Maybe Smoky'll get bored and we can catch it leaving her dream."

But as she said that, the dream shifted into the image of Pinkie's room...and stayed there. "Now!" Luna declared as they ran into the room, Trixie following to find herself in a location that was filled with tons of cakes and desserts.

"Good thing I'm not that much of a sweets eater." Trixie muttered until they saw a puff of smoke hop into a big cake, only for it to grow eyes and a big angry frown. "I make my point."

"Take it down!" Luna yelled as she fired a beam directly into the dessert, the cake exploding in one shot. Its parts splattered all over her, the frosting now covering her face, "Ugh..."

"That was fast." Trixie added before seeing the smoke monster fly out of the plate the cake was on. "There!" But as she yelled at this, the Tantabus flew into a box and shut the lid.

Luna leapt at the box, only for the world to shift to the Crystal Empire, the Tantabus now gone. "No!"

Pinkie flinched at the sight, "Sorry! My mind is just too...jumpy."

Luna shook her head at this, quickly creating a door that she and Trixie went back to the corridor. Here, Luna summoned a door with butterflies on it. "Hopefully this one won't be too hard...though it is Fluttershy." Trixie prayed. "The Tantabus will probably be using something only she's scared of."

But when they arrived in her dream, they both went wide-eyed at the new sight. "N-n-n-n-nice...giant...evil Angel," Fluttershy quivered as the sight of a giant version of her pet now morphed into a horned, fanged, red-eyed beast.

"Never mind!" The two flew down, Luna grabbing Fluttershy as she screamed while Trixie started shooting beams at the new monstrosity.

"Phew! Oh, thank you princess!" Fluttershy replied as she hugged Luna, the princess putting her down as she turned to see Trixie defeating the monster bunny before firing a beam at the Tantabus, only for the smoke to dodge it. In response, it flew into a birdhouse, making the unicorn growl as Luna summoned another door.

"Trixie!" Luna called out as she followed after her mentor, the two now finding themselves in a orchid.

"Okay...that thing is getting faster."

"We have no choice but to keep chasing, my dear student. We just have to catch it once...." Luna muttered as she stared at the trees, "Though...where is it?"

Trixie crossed her hooves at this, "I'm assuming this is Applejack's dream, though she's nowhere to be found. Did it hop to another dream?"

"No...I can sense it-there!" Luna pointed to a wisp of smoke fly over the trees, only for it suddenly descend into the pasture. Gasping at the sight, the duo ran through the garden, trying to follow the smoky menace as it made its way to a certain earth pony.

It was Applejack, who was cleaning a giant apple, "Ah...this is the life." As she did this, the Tantabus hopped into a nearby tree, its roots instantly rotting away. The sight made Applejack look up, now seeing several apples shrivel up before falling off their branches, "What the-"

"Over there!" Trixie yelled as she fired a beam at the tree, the smoke monster phasing out of it as it then leaped into the giant apple. Before anypony could react, the fruit limped over, quickly turning into a mushy mess. "Gross!"

"Mah apple!" Applejack yelped as a hole now appeared in the fruit, the monster sucking itself right through the new entrance, "No!"

"Blast it!" Luna growled as she summoned another door, "Come Trixie, we need make chase now!"

"Right!" Trixie added as they hopped into the wooden frame, only the two quickly closing the door behind them. There, they saw a light blue blur fly around, the pony kicking what appeared to be a changeling, "Huh?"

Luna grimaced at the sight, seeing Rainbow Dash punch two changelings in a row, "I see the Tantabus has already turned Rainbow's slumbers into a nightmare! How is it going this fast?!"

Rainbow turned to the voice, punching a changeling behind her without looking, "Hey Princess Luna. Sorry, haven't seen that uh...Tanta-thing yet. Having too much fun."

"Too much fun?!" Trixie exclaimed, now seeing Rainbow dodge another bug before kicking three more.

"Yeah! This is my favorite kind of dream!" She then spun like a top, knocking out five changelings in a row, "Yahoo! I am awesome!" But as she hit another foe, the world suddenly began to shift. The invasion of bugs instantly disappeared, the three blinking as the background changed to a big flower field. "Huh? Why are we here?"

"Did her dream shift like Pinkie's?" Trixie asked next, only for her mentor to shake her head.

"No...I suspect this is the work of the Tantabus."

"But why would it be a flower field?"

As Trixie asked this, she turned to Rainbow, only to see a look of horror on her face. Following her line of sight, Trixie began to backpedal at a new sight.


We are such happy flowers


It was here that they all saw the source of the sudden song, finding it to be...sunflowers?


We will now sing for hours


More and more living sunflowers appeared around them, all singing and dancing with giant eyes and girly grins.


Aren't we unbearably cute?
Watch me solo on jazz flute


One of the flowers pulled out a flute and began to play, causing Rainbow to scream in horror at the sound. It was here that Luna spotted the Tantabus fly up into the clouds, both ponies firing at a blast at the monster. But as it hit the clouds, it vanished.

"It's getting faster," Trixie commented as Luna summoned another door.

"Which means it's getting stronger. Come." Luna added as they went to another room, this one being filled with books. As they walked inside, they quickly noticed a certain purple alicorn, her eyes scanning through a queue of flying books. Trixie watched as more books flew by, some showing huge magic equations while others showed pictures of Twilight's friends and family.

"What a nice dream." Trixie responded as she watched more books fly by. But as another book landed onto Twilight's lap, a shriek came out of her mouth.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Twilight screamed as the book grew fangs, biting at her as Luna fired a beam right at the evil novel. The book fell with a thud, the pages now encased in crystal. It was here that several others began to surround Twilight, only for Trixie to fire a volley of blasts, all turning the novels into ice cubes.

"This isn't working!" Trixie yelled as the books all fell to the ground, the crystalized book now shattering as the Tantabus flew away again.

"It doesn't matter! We must keep pressuring it!" Luna announced as a new wave of books flew in front of her, "Get out of my-"

BLAM!

A new beam of magic blasted the tomes away, both turning to see Twilight fighting back the books, "You two go on ahead! I'll be fine!"

"Thanks." Trixie replied as Luna summoned one final door, Trixie grinning at the sight, "We're done to one pony left. We have it cornered."

"Indeed. The only one it hasn't been in is Flash's."

"That should be good. I mean, how's it gonna give the Element of Courage a nightmare?"

"Do not underestimate the Tantabus."





Flash happily sighed as he slumped over, his form resting in Ponyville Park as he started to play his guitar. Around him was the whole town of ponies, all mainly blank looking...but you could see the smiles. The sight made him relax, his hoof slowly strumming the guitar strings.

"This is the life..." he muttered as he pulled out a guitar pick, "Now, what should I play next? Maybe some-"

His mouth came to a stop as he saw something now sitting right in front of him, staring the defender down. It was the Tantabus, the sight making him feel a chill go down his spine. Before he could say anything, the misty being shot into the sky, only for a mass of black clouds to form.

"What the-" he tried to say, only for a lightning bolt to strike down, instantly destroying a nearby house. The explosion knocked him off his hooves, his form rolling down the hill as he tried to come to a stop. But as he did this, he looked back up and gasped at the next sight. Before he could do anything, a volley of bolts blasted the town, explosions consuming every house and pony.

"NOOOOO!!!" he screamed as he flared his wings, trying to fly before a bolt suddenly struck him. His wings stopped moving as he felt the electricity surge his body, slamming him into the dirt as pain overtook his body. And as he felt this surge, he tried to look back up, only to go truly wide-eyed at the next sight.

It was his friends, all of them running up to him as bolts began to dance around the defender. Before he could say anything, a bolt hit Applejack, instantly turning her to dust, "NO!"

"FLASH!" Twilight cried as another bolt hit Rainbow and Rarity, "Help us Flash!"

Two more bolts struck next, blasting Fluttershy and Pinkie to bits, "NO!" he yelled as he tried to get up, tears forming in his eyes.

But as this happened, Twilight appeared right in front of him, inches away from his face as she whispered out, "Help...me..."

"NO!" He screeched, but it was too late. Another bolt struck her, the explosion knocking him flying back.

And as his form slammed into a building, his body slumped over as Twilight's voice echoed in his head, "You failed."

"Why couldn't you save us?" Fluttershy's voice asked next.

"You were supposed to protect us," Rarity added.

"Some knight you are," Rainbow continued.

"What a failure," Applejack said after that.

"Why Flash?" Pinkie whimpered out as Flash began to cover his ears.

"No...stop it! You're all I have! I can't lose you!" Flash yelled as tears began to drip down his face, "No...I...I..."

"Flash!"

"No...no..."

"FLASH!" a new voice screamed, a flash light now revealing Luna and Trixie. The unicorn quickly leaned over, shaking the defender as she said, "It's okay, its just a dream."

"Trixie?" Flash muttered out as he looked up at her, "What is...what are you-"

"Its okay. You didn't fail." Trixie then put her hoof in his, helping him up, "Don't worry. Twilight and the others are all fine."

"But...but they..." Flash muttered out before putting his hoof to his forehead, "Right...that's right. This...is a dream."

"One the Tantabus has infected," Luna added. "Do not worry, young Sentry. Your friends are safe."

"Thank goodness." Flash gasped before fully standing up, "Thank you, you two."

"No problem." Trixie replied as Flash looked up at the sky.

"Hey Tantabus! That's a dirty trick you just did, but it won't work again. You don't scare me!"

"But there are things you do fear!" A voice called out from the flames of one of the destroyed houses, making them turn to see a snake-like figure appear inside. "Things you've been afraid of since before you even met Twilight. The one fear you've never been able to conquer." Several more serpents appeared in the flames, shaking their heads as they began to create a strange rattling noise.

The two mares watched as Flash's eyes grew wider, his entire body beginning to shake as started to backpedal. "No....not that! Anything but that!"

Luna and Trixie watched as the serpent creatures slithered out of the flames, revealing themselves to be...sock puppets?

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Flash fell onto his flank and started scooting backwards, "Get away!"

Trixie raised an eyebrow at the sight, "Seriously?!" The unicorn turned to Flash, "You've faced unknown horrors without even blinking, but sock puppets have you cowering like a little foal?!" As she asked that, a sock puppet hopped at Flash, the unicorn quickly freezing it in place with ice magic.

"Those eyes," Flash whimpered out. "Those soulless, empty eyes." He then saw one puppet appear right in his face, shaking its head to make its googly eyes rattle. "GAH!" Trixie fired another beam, this one turning the puppet into a pile of ash.

But as she began to fight more sock puppets, Luna was now chasing the Tantabus in the sky. As she did this, the smoke monster hopped cloud to cloud, Luna firing beam after beam to try and strike it down. Despite this though, the misty menace dodged every blow, only to suddenly drop like a rock out of the sky.

"What?!" Luna yelped as she saw it go straight for Flash, "NO!"

And as the pegasi was still frozen in fear, he looked up, only to see the monster about to fall right on top of him.





"AAAAAHHHHH!" The mane seven cried as they all shot up awake, each showing nothing but fear on their faces. Spike, Soarin and the defenders all hopped in their seats at the sudden outburst.

"What happened?" Spike asked as he and Lightning ran over to Rarity.

"Are you all okay?" Springer asked Flash, who was now clinging to Twilight with a face that looked like he had a serious case of PTSD.

"That...was horrible!" Fluttershy whispered as Iron pulled her close. "I...I never want to have that nightmare again!"

"Me either!" Rainbow whimper as she started rocking back and forth, Soarin stroking her mane.

"You've all obviously been through a lot," Grand told them. "This Tantabus creature must be very serious. I hope you all caught it."

"I am so sorry, my friends." They all looked up to see Luna flying down, Trixie floating beside her. "I failed." They touched down before Luna before letting out a long shameful sigh, "It will be back to infect your dreams the next time you sleep."

"Oh no!" Fluttershy screamed as she tried to hide under her covers, Iron being suddenly pulled under as well, surprised at his marefriend's strength.

"I'm not letting that thing back in my dreams," Flash chimed in next. "Sacred Light...please do your thing."

"We don't all have that luxury," Applejack barked back, "Ah reckon' ah could live without seeing that thing ever again."

"But you will!" Luna yelled as everypony turned to her, "Again and again, every night until it grows powerful enough to infect the waking world!" Everypony frowned at this as Luna moved over to a nearby window. "After what I did as Nightmare Moon, the fact that I am once again responsible for harming others is...it is more than I can bear."

She then felt a hoof on her shoulder, now seeing Trixie shaking her head, "Princess, this isn't your fault. The Tantabus might have been born in your dreams, but that doesn't mean you asked it to start terrorising others."

"She's right," Pinkie added. "It'll be okay! Everypony makes mistakes!"

Trixie nodded in agreement. "We might have failed this time, but we're not gonna give up. That's something you taught me, to not stop trying until there's absolutely nothing left to do."

Luna sighed as she shook head, turning back to the others, "As long as none of you dreamed about another pony, the Tantabus should remain confined to your dreams. I still have a chance to catch it before it's too late."

"Phew..." Pinkie gasped as they all breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good to hear!" She then clutched her pillow. "Although after you left, I did happen to dream that I was eating a giant ice-cream cone with all of Ponyville while taking a test we hadn't studied for." The party pony shined a huge grin next, ignoring the looks of horror on everypony's faces. "See, what'd I tell ya? Everypony makes mistakes!"

Facehoofs happened all around as Twilight spoke up, "If that's the case....that means the Tantabus could be turning every dream in Ponyville into a nightmare!"

"It is far worse than that," Luna continued. "Infecting all those dreams gives it more power. Soon it will be able to escape into the real world and infect Equestria with its nightmare plague!"

Everyone gulped at this, all turning to give Pinkie a death glare. The earth pony giggled at the sight before hiding away in her bed blanket, Lightning now chiming in, "This is really bad now."

"Eh, what's done is done," Grand added. "What matters now is stopping the Tantabus before it grows too strong. Every second we spend talking is a second it has to grow stronger."

They all nodded as Rarity turned to Luna, "You must let us help you fight against this creature!"

"But how?" Fluttershy asked next, "The Tantabus was able to escape Luna when it only had seven dreams it could get to!"

"That is true," Luna commented. "With so many dreams to hide in, I do not know how I can catch it."

"Maybe we could trap it in one of the dreams?" Springer suggested.

"How?" Wild responded, "How the heck are we supposed to trap something in the dream realm?"

"We could try and lure it into my dream," Flash chimed in, "If my Sacred Light could keep it from getting in, then maybe it could keep it from getting out."

Luna shook her head, "No, I won't take that risk. Once it knows it's trapped, it would likely start attacking you in the dream. That could cause serious damage to your psyche, if not worse."

This made Twilight reach out and clutch Flash's hoof, knowing he would gladly take that risk. But as she saw this, a thought hopped into her head as she turned to Luna, "Princess Luna, if this thing got to our dreams based on who it sees....what if everypony in Ponyville were having one singular dream? Would that trap it?"

This question made Luna go wide-eyed, only to start rubbing her chin in thought, "A wide spread shared dream? Hmmm...well, I can create shared dreams, but...for so many ponies at once? I've never done anything like that. The amount of power it would take-"

"Maybe I can help?" Trixie interrupted, Luna shaking her head in response.

"No. This level of magic is beyond what you've learned. If I am to do this, then I must do it alone. The question is...can I actually do it?"

"Well, it is worth a try, isn't it?" Fluttershy asked.

Luna bit her lip at this, Grand now walking up to her, "Princess, if there's one thing I've learned in my time as a knight, it's that there a some things that can only be done together. I wanted to stop Doom on my own, but I never would have been able to without the help of the other knights."

"Didn't you try to take him one on one and lost gramps?" Lightning countered, only to get a glare from the old pony.

"Quiet you!"

Luna sighed at this, looking away, "I...suppose you're right. I will do anything to end this, including accept your help. I cannot allow the Tantabus to escape into the real world." She stared back at the group, "All of you must now go back to sleep, including those who were not asleep before." They all nodded and began to lay down, Iron, Soarin and Wild getting in bed with their girlfriends while Lightning and Grand took to the floor and Springer got in Spike's bed.

Trixie then turned to Luna, "I'm ready."

Luna shook her head again. "You've already used too much magic. It will take time for you to learn to dreamwalk without having me to help you. I need full concentration to link the dreams after all." She placed a hoff on Trixie's shoulder. "Sleep my student, join the others in the shared dream." Trixie sighed at this, nodding as she laid down. "And hope that I can create such a dream."

The group slowly drifted back into the realm of sleep, Luna's horn sparking as she flew above the room. A sphere of light appeared next, a multitude of strings flying out as they flew across Ponyville, filling the whole town with a array of bright lights.





When Trixie opened her eyes, she found she was now standing in Ponyville's main square. But as she began to look around, she gasped at the sight of the 'town'. There was now muffins with wings flying by, walking street lamps, floating rowboats and a kaiju sized pegasus trotting around. There was no doubt about it, this was one big dream.

Twilight gasped at this, "Princess Luna did it!"

"Nice!" Flash cheered as he punched his hooves together, "So, where is this thing?"

Everypony began to survey the area next, Applejack shivering at the sight of Opalescence chase a pony the size of a mouse, making her shiver in memory of Poison Joke. But as she saw this, she then noticed somepony walk up to her, smiling at the pony, "Big Mac! Boy, ah'm glad to see somethin' familiar!" But her sentence was soon contradicted when she saw this Big Mac now had a horn, which began to glow yellow.

"Eeyup!" He yelled as he flared some wings, soon flying over the group.

As they watched this, Lightning scratched the side of his head, "Oooookay. Maybe we should look for Princess Luna first. Any ideas where she is?"

"PONIES!" Everypony turned to the square, now seeing the night alicorn descend among them. The whole group gasped at the sight, all bowing in unison.

"Princess Luna!" They all yelled, only for Luna to shake her head.

"There is no time for bowing my friends! There is something coming, something terrible!" She would have said more, only for her eyes to look up and see a giant cloud monster floating over some houses. "No, it is already here!" The Tantabus let out a mighty roar as it approached, the townponies beginning to scream in terror. "I am so sorry! I brought this upon you...but I will end it now!" She fired a blast from her horn, the Tantabus being pushed back before smacking it away.

The ponies screamed at the sight, the mane seven and defenders rushing over to Luna. "Are you alright?" Trixie asked her mentor.

Luna grunted as she shook her head, "It...is taking all my strength just to hold this massive dream together! You all will have to stop it!" Everypony's eyes shrunk at this, gulping as Luna muttered out, "I...I truly wish I did not have to ask this of you!"

They all turned back to the Tantabus, now seeing it terrorize other ponies. The group shared glances before Twilight spoke up, "Then you're in luck."

Flash nodded in agreement. "Because we'd do it even if you didn't ask."

"Yeah!" Rainbow flew up alongside Soarin, "We're already on it!" They flew at the monster, the others charging as well. But as they got close, the Tantabus flew into a nearby house, causing it to grow two giant legs, fiery eyes and a fanged mouth, making them all come to a stop.

Flash blinked at the sight. "That's something you don't see every day."

"It's night," Springer deadpanned.

"Oh...then it makes perfect sense." He then saw the house start chasing after Octavia and Vinyl, the sight making him shake his head, "Ugh, I wish I had Lightbringer. If only I could....wait a minute." He closed his eyes, a smirk appearing on his face as a flash of light appeared in front of him. There, his guitar materialized, his hooves slinging it over his form, "Aw yeah!"

He strummed the instrument, causing the lines of sheet music to fly out of the strings, notes now swimming on the lines. The lines wrapped around the house and tied it up, allowing the two musical ponies to get away as Twilight to fire a beam at the building. It soon slumped over, its mouth opening as a stallion flew out of the door before being caught by Applejack. Fluttershy then saw Time Turner trapped between its toes, which she closed her eyes before a light consumed her body. A second later, she reappeared as Flutterbat, letting her go down and bite the house's foot. This allowed Time Turner to escape, freeing Lightning up to fire a good ten million volts into the house.

The others were also facing off against corrupted dreams, Grand creating a sinkhole to knock monsters in while Trixie helped Applejack against living plants by freezing them in place. Springer now clad in battle form, slashed apart a street lamp that had been attacking the CMC. "You three alright?" They nodded, Apple Bloom looking up and raising an eyebrow.

"Is that...Mac?" Springer now saw what appeared to be an alicorn Big Macintosh flying overhead, Rainbow flying by next with Soarin.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it." Springer commented as he smacked away another street lamp. "Just keep moving."

"Okay!" the trio replied in unison, all running away as Springer turned to see Applejack run by, the jakhowl soon following her.

"How are we even gonna know when it's able to escape?" Applejack asked as she grouped up with the others, only for all of them to gasp as they now saw the Tantabus suddenly manifest a sword from its body and slice open the sky. Doing so made a giant white tear, which unleashed a radiant light.

Rainbow gulped at the sight. "Oh, I think we'll know." Twilight shot a blast next, which hit the Tantabus, recoiling it fromt he tear. As she did this, Luna fired a beam as well, this one to seal the tear before slumping over.

"Luna!" Trixie cried in horror.

The alicorn looked back up, gasping for air as she said, "Hurry my friends! You must stop it now!"

"You got it!" Rainbow yelled as she flew after the cloud, only to miss it as it morphed into a ring that she flew through. "Huh?!"

"I got it!" Soarin added, only for the Tantabus to turn into a series of rings, all which he went through, "What the-"

The two began dancing in the air, all trying to catch the cloud as it floated around, zipping around each attack. Watching this, Flash turned to his friends, "This is bad. If this thing can keep up with Rainbow and Soarin, I know I can't catch it." He then pointed to his marefriend, "Any suggestions?"

"I'm not sure. I honestly don't know what I can do here in the dream world." Twilight replied as she shook her head, "I mean, even if we combined all our powers, I suspect the Tantabus could still get around us. There has to be another solution we're not seeing." Twilight then fired a beam at the monster, the attack bouncing right off the smoke. "Yeah...that didn't work either. We need something else and quick."

But as she said this, Flutterbat flew over the group, "We need help Twilight."

"We know that Shy," Iron responded as he stared at his batpony marefriend, "But-"

"That's it! Fluttershy, you're a genius!" Twilight interrupted before she took to the air, flying over a group of panicking townponies, "Everypony, listen to me!" Most came to a stop, all staring at the alicorn as her horn began to shine, producing a giant light as she said, "Listen, we need your help destroying that monster! We can't do it alone!"

"But how can we help?" Mr. Cake asked first. "Nopony in Ponyville has your magic or your speed!"

Rainbow nodded at this, "That's true...in Ponyville!"

"But this here isn't Ponyville!" Applejack yelled next, "It's a dream!" As she said this, Big Mac flew by while firing blasts at a bunch of monster dream muffins.

"Eeyup!"

"And not just any dream!" Twilight continued, "This is your dream! Anything you can do in your dreams, you can do it now!"

The ponies all blinked at the declaration, unable to comprehend her words. But as they did this, they then saw Spike snap his claws. Looking down at the drake, his was consumed in a flash of light, only to reappear eight feet tall with a cape, armor and bulging biceps. "Well...if you're gonna dream, might as well dream big, right?" Spike added as he leapt onto the kaiju Derpy, kicking her sides, "Hi-yah!"

"Whoo!" Derpy cheered before flying off, the rest of the town gasping at the sight. This was followed with the Tantabus trying to rip another hole in the dreamscape, only for Spike to dream a lance, which he sliced at the monster. This made the beast recoil, only for Filthy Rich to fly up on a floating cloud of bits, firing them like a beam at the smoke monster.

"My turn!" Wild leaped up as his puppets appeared and grew beside him, all now ten feet tall. "Have at him, giant buddies!" The puppets then all fired lasers from their eyes, Wild cheering with fans in his hooves.

Springer shined a big grin at the sight, only to clinch his eyes close, "Its a dream...that means I should be able to reach that form again..." He reopened his eyes, his body now morphed into his mega form. "Yes! It worked!"

"Whoa....is that what I think it is buddy?" Flash asked as Springer summoned a giant Aura Blast.

"If you're thinking of the form I used to beat Shade, then yes." Springer replied as he threw the sphere at the beast. The cloud tried to reply, whipping at the attack, only for it to explode into hundreds of normal-sized orbs that now all hit the monster. "Aw yeah!"

Trixie stepped up next, transforming into her old stage costume as she threw a bunch of eggs at the Tantabus. In a puff of smoke, they morphed into giant doves, all pecking at the cloud.

As this happened, Flash's body blasted off a beam of light, his Sacred Light armor appearing on his body. There, he formed a sphere in his hooves, smacking it with his sword right into the smoke cloud. "NOW!"

Iron, Lightning and Grand rushed in, Iron and Grand's Celestic Gears growing three times their size as they struck the beast while Lightning fired off a lightning blast that morphed into what looked like a chinese dragon. The three attacks struck the Tantabus, sending in flying through three houses.

The defenders smirked at the sight, only for Flash to see his sister fly past him with giant wings, "Scoots?!" he yelped as he saw this sister reach the monster, summoning a large gust of wind at the beast, "Nice one sis!"

Rainbow and Soarin flew up next, Rainbow morphing into the Power Pony Zap while Soarin changed into his Wonderbolt uniform. The two began spinning around the cloud, creating a tornado as sparks flew off the two's hooves, zapping the cloud in submission.

"It's working!" Rainbow cheered.

The others all nodded, only for the Tantabus to pull itself out of the vortex. "But it's not enough!" Twilight yelled as they now saw the beast flick Soarin and Rainbow away, only to start trying to make a tear again.

"Then do more!" Pinkie screamed. "This is a dream, remember?" Twilight nodded as she summoned the Golden Oaks Library, the treehouse appearing in a flash of light. She then pointed at the Tantabus before the doors opened, a barrage of books flying out after the monster.

Applejack galloped with the novels, morphing into Mistress Mare-velous as she used her magic lasso to pull the Tantabus away from the tear. Doing so allowed Rarity to conjure up a needle and thread, which she used to seal the tear. The unicorn shined a huge grin at this, only to go wide-eyed as she now saw Fluttershy stride by while riding a giant monster Angel bunny.

As the bunny began to hold back the smoke cloud, Trixie then summoned an Ursa Minor, the giant bear roaring as it charged at the Tantabus. "Alright...we're almost there." she looked back at Luna, the alicorn panting as sweat poured down her face, "Just hold on princess. Just a little longer.

Luna let out a strained groan, tears leaking from her eyes. "I cannot hold this dream together much longer! Equestria will fall because of me!"

And then it happened. The Tantabus let out a mighty roar before it suddenly doubled in size, knocking away everything around it. "Look out!" Flash yelled as he grabbed Scootaloo, leaping away as the Ursa Minor almost landed on them.

Spike and Derpy almost slammed into a building, the giant pegasus just barely managing to regain control as the drake muttered, "Am I crazy, or did it just get even bigger after Luna said that?"

Twilight shook her head at this, "No...that's exactly what happened. But if that's the case," she turned to Luna, "I think it's feeding off your guilt, Princess Luna!"

Trixie's eyes shrunk at her statement, now thinking back to everything that had happened, "Oh no...don't tell me that's why it was able to beat Princess Luna before!"

Luna saw her student turn to her, the huge frown on the mare's face. The sight made her cry, making her look up at the monster as it kept growing, "If that is so...then perhaps that is how it grew strong enough to escape in the first place."

"Say what now?!" Applejack asked as she leapt up onto a building, the Tantabus manifesting a horn that it used to slice the sky open again.

"Oh no you don't!" Flash created a giant sword of light, hitting the beast in with a full swing before slicing off the horn, "Back off smoky!"

Luna's tears were in full flow now as she watched the battle, "No...I....I...I created the Tantabus to give myself the same nightmare every night..." Her panting increased, her breath staggering as she slumped over, "I...I created it to punish myself for the evil I caused as Nightmare Moon!"

"But why would you do that?!" Fluttershy asked as she flew by.

"I...I..." she tried to say, only for everypony to look up at the Tantabus again. This time, it began to take a new shape, this one being...Luna.

"WHOA!" The beast smacked Flash away, Soarin and Rainbow managing to catch him before he hit the ground.

"The Tantabus was created to make sure I never forgave myself for how much Equestria suffered because of me! Its there because of my failure....how I failed my country....and the jakhowl. I failed as their leader and...and I thought I could move on." She slumped down again, putting her wings over her face, "But...but it seems I have not learned my lesson, as now I've only made you suffer more!" She began to cry more, the Tantabus couniting to grow in size at every tear.

Twilight gulped at the sight, only to turn to Luna as she yelled, "Princess Luna...you have to stop. If you do, it just might be the key to stopping all this!"

"Yeah!" Rainbow added as she Soarin flew around the Tantabus, trying to get it's attention, "If it gets strong because you feel bad about what you did as Nightmare Moon, then you just gotta stop feeling bad!"

"How can I forgive myself?! I am no better now than I was then! I keep failing! My creation, which is another failure, is about to turn the world into a living nightmare!"

"But look at what you're doing!" Twilight barked back. "Nightmare Moon would've wanted the Tantabus to turn Equestria into a nightmare! You're doing everything you can to stop it! Don't you see?! That proves you're not the same pony you were then!"

"And look at all the good you've done since coming back!" Flash called out flew back into the fray, slashing at the creature as he tried to keep it from entering the portal. "You've helped so many ponies grow and become better. You helped me learn about my past, you've helped Scootaloo and her friends. You even helped Springer learn to understand his people!"

Trixie then knelt down to Luna's eye level. "And you've helped me more than anypony. You saw the potential in me that I never would have thought possible. You taught me to believe in myself and keep trying to become the best pony I could be....something you know I couldn't have done before being with you." She put her hooves to Luna's chin, "You once said you'd never give up on me. Well...I'm not giving up on you, because you're not Nightmare Moon. If you were, you wouldn't have tried to help me grow. You would have tried to keep me from becoming stronger."

Luna opened her eyes, meeting Trixie's gaze as Twilight continued, "Everypony who knows you knows that Nightmare Moon is in the past! We all trust you Princess Luna! Do you trust us enough to believe we're right?"

"I...I...." Luna tried to say, only for yell of pain to ring out.

"GYAH!" Flash screamed as he smacked down into the dirt, landing right in front of Luna.

Luna blinked at him, soon standing up as she stared at all her friends around her. A teary smile began to form as she declared, "I do! I believe!"

With those words, it happened. The Tantabus started to shrink, the tear doing the same. But before it could try to still hop into tear....the monster stopped. It no longer went for the tear, only to instead take to air as it turned around. Everypony saw it was coming for Luna, all ready to fight it as it landed in front of her.

However, this didn't happen. Instead, Luna walked up to the smoke monster, its body merging with her in a flash of light as she declared, "Thank you! Thank you all!"

And as they tried to reply, they all found themselves being engulfed by a bright light.





The light of the sun hit Twilight's face as she awoke from her slumber, making her sit up with a gasp, "Luna did it!"

The others all woke up at his, rubbing their eyes and yawning as Applejack chimed in, "She sure did! Only...ah'm not exactly sure what she did."

Iron rubbed the side of his forehead, "Yeah...I don't get it. Did the Tantabus...possess her?"

Twilight shook her head. "Luna created the Tantabus to punish herself. The worse she felt, the more power it had, but once she finally forgave herself for what Nightmare Moon did..."

"Poof!" Spike finished, only for Fluttershy to shush them all. She pointed at the floor, everypony seeing the princess of the night now fast asleep, laying on a bunch of pillows that had mysteriously appeared below her. "Huh...wonder what she's dreaming about now."

Trixie just chuckled, now placing a blanket over her. "As long as it's a good dream, that's all that matters."

Flash nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she definitely deserves one." He then let out a yawn. "Don't know about you all, but I wouldn't mind a few more hours rest."

The others all let out chimes of agreement, Soarin laying back. "I think this is the first time I've woken up more tired than when I was asleep."

The rest of the group all laid back, some snuggling up to their special somepony. None of them fell asleep, but they did relax as they let their troubles disappear. Thirty minutes later, the sound of the door opening made them open their eyes to see the CMC walk in. "Here they are," Scootaloo commented as she entered in last. "Hey bro. Crazy night, huh?"

"Yup," Flash closed his eyes again, "Pretty crazy. You have fun at Sweet Apple?"

"You bet," he heard her say before she reached into her saddlebag. "Check it out. Granny Smith found some of her old socks that didn't fit her anymore, so she showed us how to make them into something super fun."

Flash cracked his eyes open, only to see something that made his heart stop. "Pretty cool huh?" Scootaloo said as the trio each waved a sock puppet in front of him.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Flash suddenly crawled over Twilight before flying out the window at max speed, the ponies he left behind blinking at the sight of his retreating form.

"What...just happened?" Soarin asked as Trixie giggled at the sight.

"Hmm...should I tell them or not?" she whispered to herself before tilting her hat over her face, "Nah. I think I'll keep that one for a rainy day...for now."