Slowly stirring awake, I started looking around, trying to find out where I ended up.
I was not sure what happened, but I got separated from the other three, and I also could not feel them, anymore. However, I did know they were not dead in some instinctual way.
Next most important thing probably was the question where I was.
Looking around, it looked like I was in the dream realm. Interesting, but is the dream realm a unified existence along all worlds? Highly unlikely.
There was still… a tether! I could sense my other selves!
Quickly thinking, I pulled Flare’s consciousness to me but found that I could unfortunately not concentrate enough to pull in Celestia as well.
“Huh? Wait – Nightmare?”
I nodded.
“Good to see you alive. I think it would be a good idea to set a meeting spot. I’d say Equestria, Canterhorn, flame symbol?”
She shrugged.
“Sounds good. I am far in the past, so it could get a bit problematic, but otherwise, I’m fine,” she responded, and I nodded. She vanished from the dream, and I concentrated on Celestia.
She just tilted her head at me.
“Equestria, Canterhorn, meeting, flame symbol. Flare agreed, but I cannot sense Daybreaker,” I said, remembering that the real Celestia was good at decision making, and hoping that this applied to her now as well.
She just gave me a blank look.
“Is there any reason for you acting as if we’re short on time?”
“Not really, but I want to explore the dream world. Maybe I can find Daybreaker.”
Celestia shrugged.
“That’s as good of a reason as any. I think it could be an idea to meet there. By ‘Equestria’, do you mean where Flare is right now?”
“Let’s just say yes,” I responded, thinking. There was still the question of how we’d get to the future, though…
“Well, if there are more of us in one place, I think Daybreaker could sense us. The question is if she will think about trying to sense us, though.”
I shrugged in response.
“Well, she could be stuck in the flow of time… Flare and you seem to have been separated from me longer than I was ‘only’ me,” I said, getting a thoughtful expression from her.
“Let’s just think about that when we’re one entity again. I believe the magic I’m studying could help with that, as it gives me a way to virtualize some aspects of it,” she responded before excusing herself.
She vanished, and I took a look around in the mostly empty dream realm.
Now what?
“Yeeeeargh!”
Ah.
Checking up on the scream, I found a dream filled with black energy. I had no idea what it was, but I could tell that the pony was suffocating in it.
After removing said energy, I then saw a green unicorn where it was previously, not having his mark yet.
“Ah, you survived,” I drily commented, getting an outdrawn sigh from him.
“I guess I – wait.”
He then turned to me.
“Nightmares I may have, but I never dream lucidly. Pray tell, who are you?”
“Nightmare.”
After a while of explaining and laughing (on my side), the stallion explained a bit about the world he was in. He also mentioned something peculiar.
The arrival of a sentient golem made from lava.
“Well, that’s probably my sister,” I realized, getting a surprised look from him.
“Really? Well, I can see the similarities, I guess…”
A bit more questioning revealed that he talked a bit with Flare, but that was about it.
“So, your name is Nightmare? Does it mean something?”
I shrugged.
“I’m not sure what I am supposed to be. Or should be able to do. I cannot tell you much more than I already have.”
“I see. You said you were searching for your other two sisters?”
I shook my head.
“Not exactly. I know roughly where they are but not how to get to them,” I responded, shrugging.
“Are you trapped in the dream realm?”
I shrugged again.
“I’m not sure, honestly. But at least I know where Flare is, and roughly where Celestia is.”
“Then, what about taking, uh, Flare was it?”
I nodded.
“To Celestia and then try to find the last one?”
I tilted my head.
That… could work.
“Hey, Flare!”
The black pony raised an eyebrow at Celestia and Nightmare.
“Yeah?”
“Plan changed.”
“How so?”
I turned to Celestia.
“You said you were in a world where you could put magic into script, runes, the like, right?”
A nod.
“We’ll try to find our way to you, and you should try to create a signal beacon or something of the sort for us. When we’re with you, we’ll try to find Daybreaker.”
“Sounds good,” she responded, then tilting her head.
“You can track me, right?”
I nodded.
“Yeah, probably.”
“Then use that. Now, I have time, so what should I do while I wait?”
After discussing our plans for the intimidate future, the two left again, but for some reason, I felt like I should follow Flare.
Watching her, I could her see build a wall around a village, blow up some gems and talk with the ponies around her, but unfortunately could not hear anything.
Thanks to her expression I could tell that something was wrong, though, and followed her within the dream realm.
And I felt worse and worse as time went on, and as Flare went south-east.
Just after a few more minutes, she was shot down by sickly yellow magic.
“Need a lift?”
She froze up for a second, but then recognized my voice, allowing me to pour myself into her. We might be separated in mind right now – but not in soul.