Upon opening the establishment's doors, all the Crossfires stopped what they were doing the moment they saw none other than their nephew walking up to the reception as the one stationed there continued going over some paperwork with her eyes closed and humming a happy tune, "Hi! Welcome to the golden mirage. How can I...?"
She stopped mid-sentence once she opened her eyes and saw a nervous and younger version of her nephew standing before her. "Hi, Aunty, it's been a while."
"B-Bluey? Is that you? As in the actual you, you?" She asked, raising a hoof to touch his face, yet he stopped her by grabbing it.
"I'm here for you, auntie. We need to talk face to face, and I would prefer it with the real you. Please, I don't want to talk with a copy."
"Oh? Oh! Ah, sure, sure, the door is that way." She pointed to her right and gave the same instructions to the other mane seven that had come through earlier.
Nodding once, Blueblood thanked her and went to confront the real Tempo.
Standing before the doors, Blueblood took a deep breath before pushing both doors wide open. He was startled when he saw all the feathers, sand, and floating islands everywhere, as well as the giant Alicorn, hitting what appeared to be a gold crystalized mirror floating in mid-air next to a giant bird creature made of sand, sleeping using a hill of feathers as a pillow.
Steeling his resolve, Blueblood marched forward, ignoring everything around him until he was face to face with the giant sand alicorn, who, upon seeing him, smiled and bent down to see him more clearly.
"Blueblood, my sweet snowflake, you came to me just in time. I was about..."
She was about to hug him when Blueblood raised a hand to stop her. "...I know, Auntie, Pinkie told me."
"She did?" Tempo looked surprised and turned to her right, where the human Pinkie was still enjoying her dream of baking another cake. "When?"
"It's not important, Auntie. I know you want to do good, and your plan sounds incredible, but you need to listen to me."
"No need to say anything, sweetie; I know what you are gonna say, and the answer is yes."
"What?"
"I was planning to look for you anyway and wanted to find a couple more of you later on. Isn't it wonderful? We can all be the family we always wanted to be, without pain or grief, only my nephews and I in our perfect little world. I need you to be more patient, however. Something seems to be trying to block my magic, and I need to..."
"No!" Blueblood howled at her in anger, "That's enough, Auntie! I know I only want what you think is best for me, but you are putting words in my mouth! I need you to listen to what I have to say."
For a moment, she remained quiet before bending down again to look at him eye to eye. "Of course, dear, I'm always all ears. What is it?"
Blueblood trembled and had to hold back tears. "I don't want to do this again. I'm sorry."
"There is nothing to apologize, dear, whatever you did before I forgive you."
"No, I meant I'm sorry for this. NOW!" Blueblood screamed and rushed forward to hug Tempo's nose, while from his shadow emerged a copy of himself sporting silver hair and a red trench coat, a woman with cat ears and a lion tail wearing giant electric boxing gloves and a massive siren floating in mid-air before swimming right at her.
Minutes earlier, at the school entrance
Once everyone gathered, Nefertiti didn't waste time and demanded to see if, with Blood Moon magic, they discovered any new powers, serving as an example when her ears reverted to their lioness form, and she also recovered her tail. Her additions seem to be made of pure electricity, and her gauntlets increased in size and now discharged black electric energy.
In Sonata's case, the power boost allowed her to increase her size and grow a siren's tail, in addition to giving her gills on her hips and neck, plus green-scaled skin and sharp fangs—all that while returning her ability to fly as if she was swimming in the air.
For the Prince's part, he revealed the rest of his transformation, which included two horns, bat-like wings, and his skin had taken on a more reddish hue. Lastly, his sclera also had turned black, increasing the intensity of his piercing red eyes.
His wardrobe had also undergone alterations beyond the inclusion of a hood. He now wore an elaborate crimson-red trench coat, a combination of black jeans, and a tight shirt.
The appearance had an intimidating air to it. Especially for the teen Blueblood, who asked his counterpart to return to his other form, confessing he doesn't have anything magical going on and how the Prince only gave him a red aura to surround and protect his body from mind reading.
Reverting to normal, Nefi considered all this new information before arriving at a plan of action.
"OK, listen up. We must time our actions just right to get the jump on Tempo and Dream. First of all, Bludegard, you would need to carry all of us until we are right in front of those two."
"Excuse me!?" The teenager screamed in shock and terror. "You just want me to march in there head first? Like, I'm just picking up a book from the library? And how am I supposed to carry you? I'm the weakest one here."
"I didn't mean that literally. We will hitch a ride on your shadow."
"In my...my shadow?" He repeated, perplexed, before looking down at his own shadow. Nefi demonstrated her point by stepping onto it and then sinking into it as if it were made of water, shocking everyone briefly before she quickly reappeared.
"See? Like this. It cannot be any easier."
"H...how did you...?"
"It is an Abyssinian technique that only royalty and our elite soldiers can do. The boost in power from the Prince reawoke that power in me just like it gave Sonata her flight back. And more importantly, it gives us an edge. Listen up, junior; since you're the Tempo expert, we will be trusting you to take the lead. Do what you need to get us inside and as close to her as possible; once you have her right in front of you, give us the signal, and we will spring from your shadow to divide the two."
"I have a technique where I have control of dreams in a specific zone. I can use it to protect you and keep those two apart. By using you as a conductor, you can have limited control inside. Whatever you think of will manifest as reality, plus you would also have Sonata as additional backup. So you can rest easy knowing we've got you covered as long as you trust us."
The teenager was a bit unsure but nodded. "And would I be able to say my piece once you use that trick?"
The Prince remained quiet for a moment before nodding. "Yes, even if she's different, this way, you can have closure."
"Thank you, and all I have to do is make sure my shadow is positioned in front of her, right?"
"That is all. You carry us there, and we will give you the space to do your thing with Tempo while Blue and I take care of Dream."
"Yeah, I can do that. I know exactly what to say for her to stop." Bludegard assured them confidently.
Back at the present
Prince Blueblood placed his hands together and extended his palms before summoning forth a deep red orb with wailing faces whirling around within it, increasing its size before launching it and encapsulating Tempo, the other Blueblood and Sonata, in a Nightmare Opera.
"Up to you, Blue, Sonny. Good luck." The Prince smirked as he and Nefertiti turned to face Dream.
"As for you," He takes out his massive sword. "I don't know about you, Nefi, but I'm craving some chicken right now."
"I could go for a bite," Nefi played along as her gauntlets crackled with electricity as they approached. The griffin did not notice anything happening and moved his head to get a more comfortable position on his pillow.
"Hey, Sandy!" Shouting to get his attention, Blueblood made a vertical slash that rent the air asunder and sent the blade of vacuum through the intervening space, catching the back of the griffin's neck and making the creature stir in its sleep. "Rise and shine, the sun's up, and you need to move that fat ass of yours." the Prince continued to taunt, yet Dream barely acknowledged his existence and lazily lifted his head to look at the pair with groggy eyes.
"What now?" Dream leaned forward as his eyes focused on the two, specifically on Blueblood. The Prince smirked, believing he was getting angry, yet to his confusion and surprise, he didn't seem bothered.
"Ah, it's you, that annoying heir from that pony that used my powers and pretended they were hers." Yawning, he nearly swallowed the two royals whole before the gust of his breath almost blew them away. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm trying to sleep?" He complained disinterestedly as he laid his head on the giant pillow again and tried to close his eyes.
There was a moment of silence until another electric bolt and air slash at his head made the sand griffin cringe and look at the two with annoyance. "Afraid that is not gonna happen, Sandy," Blueblood composed himself. "You see, we don't care that you are a lazy potato, we don't care that all you do is lay around pretending to be a sand hill, but when you take our homes, friends, and loved ones hostage? We do care."
Dream rolled his eyes and turned his head. "Again, with this? Just leave me alone. I was only paying a debt. Go and complain to Desire. She is the one that did this; I am only keeping up my part of the deal."
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that will not happen." Nefi rushed ahead and stood on Dream's beak. "The thing is, we already dealt with Desire; she is the one that told us how this is all your doing. So if you ever want to go back to sleep, you better fix it."
"You are expecting me to believe you stopped Desire? Please, don't let me laugh."
"We didn't; he did it all by himself." Nefi clarified, gesturing at Blueblood, who pointed the sword at him.
"And I would gladly show you how. Now, I would prefer we resolve this peacefully, so will you move, or will I have to turn you into a lawn ornament first?"
Dreams attention to his sword and starts to charge a rainbow light on it; groaning in annoyance, he sighs and closes his eyes. "I'm too tired to deal with this; play with these if you want a fight that badly." He turned away, showing them his back as Blueblood prepared and loosed another blast, yet before it could land, a blast of red energy burst up from the floor and deflected his attack.
Moments later, both royals froze in shock when two crystals rose up from the floor near Dream's body, Which quickly formed into copies of demon versions of Twilight and Sunset Shimmer. However, they had one disturbing new feature: instead of eyes, there were mouths ringed with razor-sharp teeth. Taking flight, the demons looked at the two royals with creepy smiles and charged magic within their hands.
"OK, that is just disturbing," Nefi remarked, gulping audibly at the sight before them as she readied her gauntlets. "Not sure what use could there be of using mouths for eyes, nor do I want to find out. Let's deal with those fast."
Preparing for a fight, the Prince nodded, glancing back at the dome behind them.
I hope you two are faring better there.
Inside the bubble
Once they split off from the Royal duo, Tempo managed to brush off Bludegard and took a step back in surprise as the sphere enveloped them. "Two Bluebloods? But I...? How?" Her eyes widened in realization. "You are my Blueblood from this world, aren't you?" She asked, yet she didn't sound disappointed, angry, or confused. Instead, her voice, appearance, and eyes were serene and relaxed.
"Oh, my sweet little snowflake! Now I have two of you to spoil rotten!" She extended her wings to bring Bludegard closer until he spoke
"Auntie STOP!" The outburst snapped her out of her reverie as the student stepped forward. "You need to stop! I know you mean well, but this is just madness! You are going to kill us all!" He managed to say, gathering all the courage he had in him. While inside, he was practically screaming.
Sweet, merciful god! I'm scolding a freaking KAIJU! Have I lost my freaking mind?! What the hell am I doing here?! I'm so dead.
Swallow hard, he tries to compose himself mentally. No, no! Focus! This is my chance. I need to do this. This is the only way I can say goodbye. Remember what the Prince showed you.
Closing his eyes, he tried to recall his thoughts, not realizing until it was too late that what he was thinking had been broadcast upon the dome's walls for everyone to see.
"Ah, Blueblood," Sonata tried to warn him, yet it was too late as the memory started to play out. Soon, they saw the two Bluebloods discussing and the student taking the Prince's hand, which caused the two to be enveloped in the red mist and appear in the middle of a grassy plain with a single tree in the distance.
"What the hell is going on?" the student asked, looking around, startled by the development.
"Welcome to the Blood Moon field," The Prince announced, appearing in his dusk pony form, startling the student. "A place I formed inside my dreamscape, pretty nice, right? It was one of the first things I did with my new powers." He explained while lifting his right forehoof, emanating the red mist. Suddenly, Nightmare Moon flew down, scaring the student again as she landed in front of the Prince, and they shared a nuzzle.
"An homage to my aunt." He looked at his counterpart as he backed away. "Don't be afraid of your family, Junior. Embrace them wholey for who they are." The Prince instructed, yet the student wasn't listening, and he ran away after viewing his counterpart hugging a demon horse. His fears made her look even more terrifying at the moment.
The memory ended, and the student shook his head and opened his eyes as he kept looking at Tempo. "So if you have any love for me, you would stop this and stop being so big now!"
Tempo and Sonata both look at him with neutral expressions, making him nervous. "Please?"
"Blueblood," Sonata sighed and brought the palm of her hand to her face. "You just show her what you thought about."
"What?" He looked at her in shock, and she just pointed at the dome where the memory had frozen with him running away
"Remember? What you think happens, and what you remember is reproduced." Sonata reminded him in annoyance as he could only laugh nervously with a big blush on his face.
"Oops"
On the other hand, Tempo didn't pay much attention to them as she approached the frozen image, staring at the Prince pictured there with longing. "My sweet nephew, that is the real one, right? The one from my world." Smiling, she pressed her head against the image. "You are just like Attire, always seeing the best of everyone and having the biggest of hearts. Even towards monsters."
Her words and gaze hardened, looking at the demon version of Luna. "They don't deserve you. What aunt throws their family into danger like that? Who lets their nephews play with monsters, for pony's sake?! No, that won't do. I must fix this." She then looked at the other two.
"And it seems this world Celestia is no better, letting their own Blueblood do whatever he wants. She might as well have thrown you right into the fire herself!" She huffed in annoyance before looking back at the two teens and smiled.
"I'm not the bad guy here. I don't even want to hurt you, so why don't you join us? There is more than enough space for all of us." She extended her right forehoof to them as the ground started to turn white. From it, copies of herself began to fly all over the place, punching holes into the Prince's spell until the bubble burst, and the copies kept flying until they reached a specific distance and remained hovering in the air to stare at them.
"What?" The Prince looked back in shock as the monsters they were fighting suddenly stopped. It only took one glance at their faces for the student to scream and dash to hide behind his copy as Sonata changed into her siren form, getting ready to fight, too.
"There you are, sweetie," Tempo called out to the Prince, maintaining a serene smile. "It was a charming effort using that spell on me, very clever, but I'm in control here, dear; even with all your training, I'm still tethered to the realm of the dream itself. There is nothing you can do that I can't undo."
The group regrouped and formed up back to back as the student shivered at a loss for words. Looking at him, the Prince smiled and tapped his head. "Are you gonna waste your chance?"
"Huh?" Bludegard looked at the Prince, who was eyeing him with a calm smile. "Didn't you want to have closure with your aunt?"
"Of course I do! But how am I supposed to do that?! I don't even know if THAT is her now," he complained, pointing at the most enormous Tempo.
"She isn't. My aunt is right there." The Prince points at the giant white pillow. "This is her dream, so you must focus on the big sandy one. It won't matter if that's not the real body; she must listen to what you say."
"Remember what I told you, junior?" Nefi called out as she smiled as well, "We trust you, so you better trust us. Don't worry about the copies; focus on your task."
"Just as you asked, we deal with the dangerous part, and you care for her. You do that, and you'll take care of a huge problem for us." Sonata added. "Just rush straight forward the moment we move."
The student can only blink as he looks at the three. "How can you be calm in this situation?"
That makes the magical trio laugh. "We aren't, but at the same time, we have to be junior. I can't speak for Sonata, but when you have your kingdom's weight resting on your shoulders, you can't back down." Nefi replied, getting ready.
"As for me, I owe them my freedom and my self-confidence. I don't want my friends facing danger alone. We are on this one together to the end. Whatever that may be." Sonata explained as she bared her teeth and turned her attention to the other copies of Tempo, who started to look up.
"We knew this would not be easy, but we can't just break down and quit when things get difficult. No plan survives first contact with the enemy. That is why you need to know how to improvise."
Tempo looked at their set expressions and seemed to fold in on herself in sadness. "Why won't you listen? I don't want to hurt you. I want to make things better. Soon, everything will be better for you and for us all." She looked up and raised her wings. "Perhaps you need a sample. Let me show you how I'll make a better tomorrow. My copies, go and make everyone happy."
Her copies changed into other species and raised their hooves, hands, claws, and wings before opening more portals to other worlds and flying through them.
All the worlds soon shuddered under the repercussions of Tempo's actions as their skies cracked open. Up above, all could see an inverted view of the same desert around the royal party. All were startled when sand creatures burst forth and flew towards them at max speed, pulling everyone into a hug and putting them into cocoons. The Celestia's of their respective worlds erected domes to protect as many people as possible using their magic, be they human, dragon, stallion, or pony; they all worked together to buy Blueblood and his team as much time as possible. Even in the scholastic universe, the students and Celestia watched with the same shock as the principals clenched their fists.
"Principals!" One of the students cried out, "The sky...everything has been erased. What do we do?"
"We pray." That is the only thing Celestia could reply with as she and Luna kept staring at the sky. "We hold on for as long as we can and pray for this to end soon."
Back at the island, everyone could only stare in horror as the barriers between worlds were about to collapse at any second.
"Auntie, stop!" The Prince tries to reach her, but she doesn't listen.
"You are breaking time and space! If you keep that up, we're all going to die!" Bludegard added in, equally terrified.
"I will not allow it, you will see. I would make the perfect word for all Bluebloods, and if some worlds filled with pain are erased in that process, then it would be better for all of us!" She replied, completely lost in her delusion as Tempo raised her wings and hooves.
"Is not used. She is lost in her fantasy. We need to stop her by force." Sonata looked at the others.
As her words reached both Bluebloods, they started to look down, unsure of what to do.
"It's the only option, Blue!" Nefi yelled at them, catching their attention, "Sonata is right. This is hard for you, but you must stay strong here. Words aren't reaching her. If we want to stop her, we have no choice but to fight her head-on. We need you to use the elements on her before reality collapses." Nefi concluded while jumping on the siren's head. "It's the only way."
Clenching his teeth and closing his eyes, the Prince grabbed the hilt of his weapon.
"Aunties, this must be how you felt during the Nightmare Moon event, right?"
"She...she is kidding, right?" Wait, what are you going to do?" Bludegard asks in horror as the Prince nods and cleans the tears from his eyes
"I'm sorry, Auntie; I swear, even if it takes another thousand years, I will ensure you're freed afterward."
"What?! A thousand...you are going to fight her? No, you can't. She is your aunt, for crying out loud?!" the student grabbed his trench coat with fear and anger. "You can't, not like this. I told you I would deal with her, so focus on the monsters. We don't have to resort to this. There may be another..."
"There is no other way!" The Prince grabbed his ludegard's shirt and lifted him. "There isn't!" The Prince stared into his counterpart's eyes briefly before sniffing and dropping him.
"Please prove me wrong."
"What?" The student looked at him, confused.
"One last chance, and you better make it count; you say you know her and know how to reach her, right? Then I will give you that opening. I will focus my power on Dream and the rest. You better make things right because if you don't, I will never forgive you, and you will never be allowed to blame your Aunt Celestia again for robbing you of closure."
Before he could come up with a reply, they were all marching straight to Tempo and the monsters Twilight and Sunset. The Prince stopped holding back and charged all his magic and the elements into Clarent, not wanting to leave anything to chance.
For some reason, the two monsters remained still and let them pass, and they were about to tackle the pegasus until a blue blur hit their side and brought the group to the ground.
Confused, they looked at none other than the human Rainbow staring at them, and the colors of her body drained.
"Rainbow Dash?" Blueblood asks her in shock, "What is happening with you, Rainbow?"
"Look out!" Sonata uses her body to protect them from a boulder. When the dust cleared, they were surprised when Applejack appeared in the same condition as Rainbow Dash. Not only her but Sunset and the rest also approached, starting to charge their elements.
"I get it. They are brainwashed!" Nefi explained, causing the Prince to tighten the hold on his sword, starting to get nervous and not expecting this twist as he looked at how the elements now stood in between them and Tempo. His magic began to fizzle out, and to his horror, the powers of the elements stopped responding as they seemed to be fading as well.
"No, this is all their own doing," Tempo replied serenely. "This is what they want, which makes me right."
Suddenly, more and more people start to appear and glare at them. "This is their best dream ever, and they don't want it to end. From their point of view, you are the bad guys. So, of course, they would also like to stop you.
A woman summoned giant vines to try and grab them. In contrast, another gathered mirrors that seemed to be acting as black holes marched toward them. The Prince attempted to use the elements but only sparks left the sword, and the glow dimmed, leaving only a thin rainbow light on the blade's edge.
Feeling the heat, Blueblood and the group start to back away until they return to where they once stood with Bludegard.
"We don't want to wake up, and you are not gonna make us," Tempo promised, her tone now serious.
Starting to panic, Bludegard rushed forward and unsheathed Yamato, releasing all its magic. The resulting giant blue bubble swallowed the group before bursting, leaving nothing behind but a series of slashes on the ground.
Everyone blinked in confusion after this and started to look around for them but could not find any sign of the wayward group. Tempo only sighed and shook his head. "They are as stubborn as Royal—that old fogie. What Attire ever saw in him, I'll never know," She complained quietly to herself before looking at her little army.
"Don't worry, kids; I won't let them end your dreams."
As they all relaxed and returned to their dreams, the group reappeared in mid-air before falling on top of a floating island not too far away with a series of giant trees filled with apples that served as cover.
Once they recovered, Nefi didn't waste time looking at Bludegard in shock as he kept swinging his sword in the air with his eyes closed. "Junior, you can teleport?"
"I can do what?!" He opens his eyes and looks back at her before realizing where he is. "I...we...I did that?"
"I think I remember something like this happening to the other Twilight and her friends; contact with magic gave them superpowers or something like that." Sonata remarked as she returned to her regular form, but not before looking back to make sure neither Tempo nor anyone else was looking in their direction, which, to their relief, seemed to be the case.
"Seems like you awakened your own power just in time, too. It doesn't seem like any of them spotted us."
"So... I got new powers because, of course I would b-but that is good, right? Now, we can all calm down and think this through. We can devise another plan besides injuring Aunt Tempo, right?"
He asked hopefully. However, the silence of the remainder of the team was deafening as they all lowered their heads.
"Right!?" He repeated in desperation
"What other choice do we have?" The Prince fired back angrily, irritated with the whole situation. "I hate it as much as you do. But she is not listening, and you are too scared to face her like you promised. If we don't do it, everyone's sacrifices will be for nothing. We will be all gone."
He then looks at his sword with anger and concern. "So why? Why, of all times, did you decide to stop working now?"
"Isn't it obvious?" The student responded diplomatically. "Yes, I might have been a coward there for a moment, but you don't believe you can do what you claim, either." The student remarked before lowering his head and sitting down, leaning against a tree. "Let's face it. We are not ready for this, she said so herself. Nothing you do, she can't undo. We would only be wasting our time, now more than ever, since you lost your only other option."
The Prince could not think of a counter-argument and could only clench his fists, hitting another tree in frustration. "Damn it, if only there could be a way to reach her."
Looking at the two with pity, the group's women looked at one another before smiling and nodding.
"We need to keep fighting," Sonata told the pair, catching their attention.
"Yeah, Blue, I know it is not something you are used to as a pony, but there is such a thing as tough love. And hey, didn't we promise to make our voices heard?"
"I know what tough love is." Bludegard remarked back to them with a deadpan look. "Heck, that is what I did to snap my other aunty out of her pity party. I'm not proud, but that is exactly what my mom and herself would have done."
That caught the rest of the group's attention as he looked at them with irritation. "Don't be so surprised; she was a pilot, for crying out loud. Of course, those guys are used to those sorts of things, but this is different! With her, I yanked the sheets off and dragged her to an intervention and then got professional help. You expect me to do what? Hit her on the chin and yell snap out of it!?" He points downward, "She is a freaking sand dune! I would get swallowed up before that does anything productive."
"We know the risks," Sonata continued. "It's not like we are stupid either, but we still have the power to do something about it, and I, for one, don't want to see any more ponies suffer."
"Blue, you are not only the pony of dreams; you are your own pony with way more tricks than just that. Someone who promised to one day become an alicorn, isn't that right?" Nefi reminded him, causing him to smile. "If your power over dreams doesn't work, we will try something else." She raised her fist in front of him.
"I know this is scary, Bluey; I'm scared too, scared of change, scared of what may happen, scared that we may be making the wrong decision, but I'd rather face my fears and hope for the best than just stay quiet and let the world keep pushing me around." Sonata extended her fist to the student as well, giving him hope once more. "You wanted to have closure, too, right? Then I would gladly help. Let's find it together. Just leave the fighting to us."
The student felt unsure and looked at his copy, who was in the same position, before smiling. "Right, I came all that way here, and I have had more than enough sand in places I don't want to mention. I might as well reach the finish line. I don't like leaving things halfway done."
"Did I ever mention how beautiful you are, Nefi? Inside and out, you are the greatest feline princess anyone could ask for; thanks for being my friend." The Prince recovered his fighting spirit, and the two approached their friends.
"For our worlds," The bluebloods said simultaneously and fist-bumped their friends.
"For our voices," the women responded.
"For our dreams," They said collectively, causing the Prince's sword, weapons, and hair to start glowing with a new white light.
Their voices and the new shining light alerted the bigger Tempo as she looked back to see both Bluebloods walking toward her with determination.
"I wasn't expecting you two to return so soon." Tempo smiled as she started walking toward them. "Does that mean you have changed your mind?"
"You know we haven't," The Prince immediately responded, halting her advance.
"Auntie, I may be scared, but this is wrong and needs to stop right here, right now,"
Bludegard steeled his nerves and told her once again.
"This again? Don't you see? I'm only..."
"You are done talking!" They both yell at her, startling the pegasus
"We are going to talk seriously, Auntie, right here. And this time, we will make sure you listen." The Prince promised. At that moment, from the island behind them, a giant siren and bipedal lioness made of water and electricity flew into the air, attacking and blowing away all her copies before closing the portals. The Tempo was frozen and could only look at the display of power with wide eyes.
"No, what are you doing? You are ruining everything," She complained while maintaining her calm voice.
"The world you want is fake," Bludegard started. "It's just a fantasy. You're trying to drown yourself to ignore the pain."
"I am sorry, Aunty, but we can't keep turning a blind eye and pretend everything is fine. Formal Attire and Royal Treatment are dead; my parents were your friends, but they are gone, and they are not coming back." The Prince continued as the pair advanced toward her.
"No, you don't understand."She shake her head and walk backwards with tears starting to form in her eyes
"Oh, I understand plenty about what that son of a bitch of Sharp Shooter did to you!" Bludegard's voice rang like a bell to the mares' ears as she held her head. Suddenly, they start to see her memories.
"He kept on sweet-talking to you while feeding you pills, thinking it was for the best when it was just poisoning you. By the time we realized what he was doing, it was too late for my aunt, but it is not too late for you; I beg you, aunt, snap...out of it?" Both Bluebloods were horrified at the truth they witnessed in the realm of dreams.
As Bludegard said, Shooter also drugged the Equestrian Tempo, but it didn't stop there; he experimented on her, operated on her body, and placed all sorts of spells and quite possibly curses on her body until she was left as she is now.
"Sharp is my friend, he is, he is, he only wants me to stop feeling pain, he didn't betray me, he didn't do all these cruel things, he was my right wing, he...he...he" Tempo was in the middle of breaking down as both the sand copy and the original started crying. Nefi and Sonata were making quick work of the clones, destroying the final one and landing next to the Bluebloods.
"Auntie!" They yelled and tried to approach her, but the women stopped them with a paw and fin.
"He...he can't be stopped!" Tempo finally wailed into the air, and all her copies started to break down into sand and gather on her body, and she and the original Tempo started to merge with Dream himself.
"What's happening?" Nefi asks in horror.
"What my Sharp Shooter did to Aunt Tempo was way worse than what his world's Shooter did." The Prince answered dazedly.
"Agreed, and that is really hard to do knowing what I know about mine." Bludegard added, clenching his fist. "Blueblood, when this is all over and when we rescue her..."
"You don't even have to ask. Once this is over, once she is saved..." The Prince had to clean his eyes and stare at Tempo angrily, yet his fury is directed at the one responsible for all her pain. "I will end her nightmare and make Sharp Shooter pay!"
"No, please don't do it. He is a monster that can't be stopped. That is why I must save you; I must save everyone; I must protect them; I have to put them in a place he will never find you. And I would do it because...because I would become their queen!"
Tempo was then absorbed by a pillar of light that blinded everyone. When it faded, they were shocked to see a pure white pegasus with wings for ears covering her eyes, four other wings sprouted from her back, a long horn sprouted from her forehead, and three giant gems colored yellow, blue, and white formed a triangle merged with her chest.
"What did she do?" Sonata questioned in surprise.
"She...she merged with Dream, just like Rose did with Desire," The Prince explained, trying to collect himself. "Wait, look!" He points at the gems, where they see the silhouettes of her and the royal sisters. "So that is where Dream hid them."
The group doesn't have time to think much more about it as Tempo quickly charges and unleashes a pure white laser at them at breakneck speed. It tore through the ground and hit the Bluebloods, sending them flying.
"Blue!" The girls yelled before looking back and getting hit by two more laser beams.
The girls managed to recover first and rushed toward Mega Tempo, yet she remained still and kept shooting as they tried their best to dodge and counter. But crystal walls blocked their attacks, quickly summoned and dismissed with a casual flick of Tempo's frontal hooves.
Recovering from their own blasts, both Bluebloods tried to stand up, only to be tackled by the returned monster clones of Sunset and Twilight. Bludegard yelped at the suddenly close face of his opponent.
"Hang in there. I'm coming!" The Prince tried to help, but the Sunset clone blocked his movements and didn't let him advance, forcing the student to close his eyes and steel himself before teleporting. Then, he reappeared to grab the Prince to run from the clones, only for a vine to grab their legs and plant them on the ground.
They both tried to cut themselves free using the Prince's sword but were surprised when not only the human version but also the original versions of the mane six held their arms. The Prince, in particular, was in shock when he saw Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity holding his body as the Crystal clones took a step back.
"No, not you, too."
"Equestria is saved, and soon everyone else will follow." Mega Tempo claimed as pony AJ kicked him in the stomach and sent him flying, Bludegard received the same treatment from his human version of the mare. All fourteen women then surrounded them and raised their hands, invoking their elements, and slowly turned them both into stone. "This is what I meant." Tempo proclaim in a neutral tune
Seeing the Blueblood pair's distress, the girls abandoned their assault on Mega Tempo and rushed to their aid. Nefi used her electricity to make arrows, which were quickly loosed. At the same time, Sonata kept blasting sonic waves, yet the pegasus remained still as she merely summoned more shields to block everything they tried, and then suddenly, she created a shield right through the middle of Sonata, slicing her in half. Nefi tried to dodge and kept firing until her arm suffered the same fate. They were left vulnerable for a point-blank shot that brought the two to the ground, where they lay there and reverted to their original bodies, to the relief of both Bluebloods. The cuts only affected their magical forms, and they were whole again.
"Why continue to fight if this is what you are fighting for? Pain, misery, hurtful memories? Is it so wrong to want to erase all of those things? What good is clinging to the memories that only bring you pain?" Mega Tempo asked as the girls tried to reach the two boys, but they were too tired and beaten. Both Bluebloods try to reach for them as well. Both the crystal clones grabbed their hands and prevented them from trying anything.
"Just relax and go to sleep. Everything will be fine afterwards." Mega Tempo assured them one last time as the Bluebloods found themselves with only one arm, part of their torsos, and their heads free. The student closed his teary eyes, starting to accept his final fate.
Looking at the chaos, the Prince was trying to come up with a plan for the current situation, remembering the words of his friends, seeing how many of them were also imprisoned in a pink cage, and then he finally noticed a familiar gleam in the monsters wearing Sunset and Twilight's face "...you are wrong auntie" The Prince said calmly through gritted teeth "We are not clinging to those memories to feel pain."
The spell stopped as everyone looked at him with curiosity. Even Bludeguard opened his eyes to look over. "We do it because they are what make us the people we are today. They are lessons and adventures. They are a way of accepting ourselves and others for whom we are completely, even them." he points at the clones that looked at them curiously and tilted their heads. "I can feel it in your hearts. I can't believe it took me this long to realize it. As bad as you are, you are still a part of the person you form part of."
The clones Twilight and Sunset look at each other before looking at the originals and then at him: "To accept one is to accept their flaws. That is what love is: to embrace them and move past them. Only then do you reach something magnificent. Remember what I told you, Bludegard?" The Prince smirked and extended his hand to the crystal Sunset, who was taken aback but slowly approached him. "Open your heart, see yourself in them. We both know that kind of pain very well."
"What? You mean...but..."
"Please trust in me and yourself. If you want something real, you must accept it; don't be afraid to open your heart to them."
Still unsure, but with a trembling hand, Bludegard nodded and took a deep breath before following Blueblood's example and extending his arm toward Midnight Sparkle. Both are taking their hands, confusing everyone, minus Sonata and Nefi.
"I accept you for who you are." The Prince offered the crystal Sunset Satan.
"I know how it feels to be treated like you are lesser; I will never do that." Bludegard understood and followed suit, making the crystal clones teared up and hugged them. Seconds later, they began to shine red and blue and launched both Bluebloods into the air, creating a giant white star shaped like their cutie mark. The colors of those in the dream started to return as they snapped out of their trance and shook their heads before staring at the star.
"What is going on?" Sonata asked in fascination, too exhausted to even sit.
"Blueblood's ace in the hole, his final trick, called the shadow embrace spell," Nefi groaned before they were surprised when others started helping them out and up. The sleeping spell holding them seemed to have been broken by the light. "Get ready, everyone. So far, he has only used it with Princess Luna, but when he gets his target, he can reach out to others' hearts. Something tells me this would be a variant for his dusk form."
When the light finally faded, both Bluebloods emerged in their new forms. The Prince sported two prominent horns on his forehead set above his eyes, his skin now crimson red, and rather than Clarent's normal flame-like appearance, the blade had taken a new form, substantially thicker and longer as the Prince was tall but in no way lesser in function and form. He was also adorned in armor that guarded the knees, legs, torso, and shoulders beneath a red trench coat and fingerless gloves.
Bludegard, for his part, had one horn in the middle of his forehead; his skin was now blue, and he was sporting an elegant shirt, vest, and cravat combination along with a long blue duster tied off a black belt, dark blue pants, and beige boots, both seemed to float in mid-air.
Lastly, their more surprising feature was that they both had red and blue bat wings.
"A new form?" Pony Twilight asked in shock
"They look sort of like what your evil versions looked in the past, but they look...good?" Rarity looked at them with curious and almost lustful eyes before realizing what she said and shook her head. "I meant good good, not an evil kind of way, yeah like that!" She clarified quickly with color in her cheeks and looked at everyone to see if anyone noticed before looking at Sunset and the human Twilight.
"Wow, what just happened?" Bludegard looked at himself in shock before staring at his hand, which was starting to vibrate. " Is this what you meant by accepting others into your heart?"
The Prince chuckled at his reaction. "Think of it more like a sample of that. Tell me, how do you feel?"
He lowers his hand and closes his eyes. "I feel...I feel like I understand Twilight better now. And I'm ready to speak," He replied confidently and excitedly.
"Good, because that is exactly what we will do; just let your emotions do the talking, and your body will follow." The Prince instructed as they prepared once more.
Recovering from the shock, Mega Tempo launched copies of herself at the pair, only for Bludegard to reach for his katana and remain still as the clones approached. All were sliced to pieces once they came within range. Meanwhile, Blueblood raised his sword horizontally and took one swing through the air, creating a gust of wind that blew away almost all of the sand in the area, turning it into crystal before it disintegrated and bringing everything back to reality as well as unbalancing Tempo who launch another barrage of her lasers, forcing the twin Bluebloods on to the defensive as they dodged and teleported away from ground zero before lunging at her, only for Tempo to teleport herself trying to avoid their attacks and hit them with her magic.
"Why? Why do you insist on fighting? Don't you see I only want the best for you?" Tempo kept trying to convince them
"And who is gonna save you?" The Prince countered
"What?" Tempo was caught off guard by the question.
"Auntie, I never got to say it, but you are the greatest aunt ever. You raised me like your own son and taught me so much, and not a day goes by when I don't miss you. I love you, and while I couldn't save my version of you, I can at least save you. That is why we will rescue you, even if you need a bit of tough love," Bludegard joined in.
"No more excuses, no more denial. This time is for real." They both flew at top speed as she charged her horn, but at the last second, they dodged and flew down before flying upwards at her face. "Aunt Tempo!" They gathered their strength and clenched their fists
"Snap out of it!" With a simultaneous cry, they punched her right in the chin, igniting their fist with magic, catching her off guard as they rocketed upward. Tempo tried to resist and lower her chin, but the twins won the struggle and sent her flying, the impact flooding the sky with memories of the two, their adventures, and the promise they made once.
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"What is your dream?" A voice echoed through the room as they both smiled and decided to respond, recalling clearly that question and how now they have an answer for it.
"I want to be someone big and strong, someone my aunt can be proud of." Bludegard answered confidently.
"My dream is to become an alicorn and sit on a throne with my family. "
"I know the path would be hard, painful, and downright scary, but I want to face it regardless because that is the type of stallion I am. We will keep moving forward until we reach our goals, so remember this about me. I'm Prince Blueblood! And I would become the stallion whose horn will pierce the stars!"
"I'm Bludegard the Third, and I would become the man that would reach the stars!"
They remain in the air as Tempo falls to the ground with enough force to cause a tremor, leaving the audience cold.
"One punch, they brought her down...with one PUNCH!" Human Rainbow yelled in disbelief.
Sonata and Nefi soon found their second wind and started to rise to their feet, trembling in excitement. "Well, after something like that, there is no way I can sit still."
"I told you, I won't let my friends face this alone." Then electricity and water appear over their forms, and they soon return to their magical forms to help in the battle.
"Oh, this is so awesome! Come on, girls, we can't let them have all the fun!" Pony Dash called out as the mane six nodded in equal excitement and agreement. Before rushing forward, Dash looked back at her human copy and smirked. "Try to keep up, rookie."
"What?" offended Human Dash glared at her counterpart's retreating form as the ponies went to assist.
"OK, that is it. No pony copy of me will beat me! Let go, girls. We need to show them how it is done." Dash rushed forward, and they all soon followed after her. Sunset and Starlight stay behind momentarily, looking at one another before shrugging and smiling before running in.
Recovering, Tempo glared at the twins before teleporting away when they almost struck her again, only to be tackled and bound to the ground by a giant lioness. Nefi shrank her body in mid-air before smirking.
Moments later, she becomes a flash of lightning that hits Tempo from all directions, lifting her back into the air until Tempo manages to summon a shield to protect her entire body. Sonata then appeared and started to fly around her, creating a water spout before she started to yell while swimming, creating a sonic wave that battered Tempo. The merged pegasus tried to fly free, launching lasers and shields everywhere, getting desperate as more and more assailants started to appear, the elements launching a blast of harmony while the mane six did their best to distract her.
Managing to block an attack and gain a moment of respite, Tempo calmed her breathing, then struck the ground, shattering it and levitating giant chunks of rubble into the air. Still, when she threw it, Bludegard made quick work of it and slashed it apart. At the same time, Blueblood rushed forward, summoning his magic, and struck out with an empowered sword slash that managed to catch her in the stomach, taking her breath away and bringing her down low again.
Bludegard followed up, summoning his magic to tie her to the ground by creating light chains that grabbed her wings.
This time, she was better prepared and summoned a shield of sand in time for when the twin Bluebloods extended their arms and launched all their magic in a concentrated series of blasts so strong Tempo couldn't divert her attention away in order to teleport and soon had to think fast, trying to move what little sand was available to form a shield, break the chains and make more copies of herself.
Regardless, the twin Bluebloods continued their assault and let their friends take care of the copies, bringing the place into complete chaos and despite all that, Tempo's anger gradually but constantly evaporated and was replaced with a sensation she had not felt in more than twenty years: adrenaline and excitement.
"I must...I must stop it, I know that, and yet I...I don't want to end this just yet. I...I want to play more and see what my nephew is really about. Oh, I want to show him my best moves." She started to realize, but something yanked her out of that line of thought.
"No," Dream finally spoke in irritation. "I finally found the perfect place to have some peace and quiet to sleep without worrying about whining creatures crying at me. I'm not going to give that up! Especially when that annoying heir is messing with me again!"
"Dream, wait, maybe they have a point. My nephew would never be fighting like this without any reason. Maybe we should..."
"I don't care what they want! I want to sleep! And if you don't do anything about it, I will."
Taking control, the sand shifted to Dream's form and stood up, making the two Bluebloods smirk. "There you are, kind of late to join the party, don't you think, Sandy?"
Their friends soon joined them in the sky. "Does that mean Tempo is out?" Sonata asked.
"That or Sandy here finally decided to do something... Good." Blueblood cracked his knuckles. "I have been meaning to show him what happens when you kidnap my family." He grinned eagerly at his friends. "What do you say? Let's go ruin the day of that overgrown chicken."
"Let me...sleep!" Dream yelled, summoning a sandstorm that caught them all off guard and eroded both Bluebloods' forms—noticing that Sonata circled them all and acted as a shield for them. "What's happening? How is he doing that?"
After restoring their armor a bit, Blueblood looked to the siren. "We are using something from his realm to boost our power. He's probably trying to take it back."
"Then leave the front line to us," Nefi commented, preparing another attack. "You focus on rescuing your aunts."
"Blueblood" Both Rainbow Dashes appear in their field of vision
"What?" The two reply. "Which one?" The Prince asked for clarification.
"Both, listen, we found the quicksand that's acting as the portal. The Twilights, Starlight, and Sunset think that if we use the elements and put all our magic there, we can beat him and save our worlds in one fell swoop, but you need to push him down."
"Use the elements on him while we drag him back to Equestria?" Blueblood thought out loud while mulling it over in his mind before looking at his friends. "I love it. That's my cousin for you, and I think we can arrange that, but we will have to time our moves just right, Blue. How good are you with that katana?"
The student smirked and lifted it. "I have won my fair share of tournaments and been itching to show off a bit."
"Good. Here is your chance once he is exposed, I need you to aim at the gems in his chest." He points at Dream. "Nefi, Sonny, ready to go home?"
They both smiled and nodded.
"Then just put him in place and make him trip. I will finish the job, and there will be a small window for you to make your move, Blud. So get ready."
"You just watch me. I'll leave you all slack-jawed and speechless," he boasted confidently before flying away to get into position. The Prince nodded and flew high into the sky to prepare, too.
Taking that as the signal. Nefi summoned and discharged a massive lighting bolt that blinded Dream, briefly ending his storm long enough for Sonata to rush forward and spin, bringing with her a deluge of water to Slam into Dream head-on.
Startled, blind, and off balance, Dream tried to do something, but charging all her power, Nefi catapulted herself forward and tackled him as they both battered and dragged him backward until he was inches from quicksand where all the girls had circled and had their elements at the ready, everyone put all their magic into the portal making it glow gold as a result.
"No! I don't want to go, you can't make me, I don't want to go!" He complained and was about to do something, lifting his talon in the air, yet his body froze as he reached out.
"Not so easy to fight with a numb body, right?” Sonata smirked, and between her and Nefi, they lifted him and flew upward, dumping him backward into the portal.
Sunset and her group flared their elements to life with magic and raised their hands into a Y formation, creating a rainbow-colored portal. The dream could only watch in horror at the display as he looked up and saw Blueblood charging his sword, which seemed to be increasing in size, taking on the appearance of a razor-edged shard of twinkling night sky.
-Connect with my sky, nephew, and become part of it. Let it flow into your body- Hearing Luna's voice helped the Prince relax as he lifted his sword and then launched down with his friend and battle companion. To those observing, It looked like he was dragging a piece of the night itself in the form of a giant sword that increased in size until it was the size of a small house.
In a desperate attempt, Dream made his eyes shine and lifted his wings, creating a series of astral shields for support, only to be halted when Bludegard made his move. Taking up his stance some distance away from the group, he channeled his magic into his katana. He waited for the exact moment to strike before blinking out of existence and back behind Dream, sheathing his blade in a practiced motion. Dream's body collapsed along the clean diagonal cut that split his body in two, taking along the gem on his chest, which soon also slid three as lesser, but no less devastating, cuts made themselves known, dividing them into three and releasing all mares contained within simultaneously.
Everyone powering the portal watched the display of power and skill with their jaws wide open while Bludegard smiled back at them and winked.
The royal sisters open their eyes just in time to see Sonata and Nefi break apart Dream's shields, stopping short of shattering the final one, which Blueblood smashed through. The Prince's sword connected with Dream's face as they all fell forward and got swallowed by the portal. The Abyssinian princess managed to grab Tempo before they were entirely in. Blueblood's house-size sword then contracted, creating a gravitational pull that pulled Dream's sand into the hole and forced him to endure all of Blueblood's gathered magical power.
Immediately after, Luna woke up with a gasp in the middle of the room, with ponies sleeping everywhere and magic sand starting to disintegrate into dust.
Realizing what was happening, she got to work and immediately rushed to the window, putting the sky back in order as more ponies started to stir and wake up from their slumber.
In the meantime, as the dream realm broke down, and the portal continued to act as a black hole sucking and breaking down the palace, the other mares that were serving as Tempo proxies were released and brought to Equestria. Dream tries to conjure something, but with his lower half still reforming and a sword lodged in his face, he could not do anything.
"I...only wanted to sleep and forget," Dream lamented as the trio advanced their final attack through the portal. As they fall, flashes of Dream's memories pass by like shattered glass, showing the group images of a much younger Dream playing with Destiny, reading together, and even her helping him maintain order in the dream realm as if she were his big sister, ending with him crying his eyes out.
"You are also grieving," The Prince whispered in understanding before shaking his head and steeling his resolve.
"Sorry, Sandy, times up. You and everyone else need to wake up now!" The sword shines even brighter, and the elements reappear as Blueblood and his friends finally recover their original forms and finally reach Appleloosa, creating a pillar of rainbow light that vaporizes Dream and sends him back to his realm. The same pillar of light appeared in the human world as Bludegard used his power to teleport back and forth, pulling together his group before bringing all of them into a big group hug and, summoning all of his strength, teleported them right to the school's entrance, where he tossed them and himself right back into the school before they were accidentally sucked into Equestria. When they landed in the school, Bludegard lost his new devilish form and returned to his normal human form. Save for the blue gem in his hand that he drops. The stone is quickly sucked up and is the last item through the portal before it closes.
All the planets are engulfed in the light, and for a brief moment, there is only white, but when the light fades, everything has returned to normal. Prince Blueblood finds himself lying in the middle of a dune beside his exhausted and unconscious friends and staring at the clear night sky. All around him were mares emerging from pony-shaped sand dunes with a gasp.
Meanwhile, Bludegard was about to fall asleep as students and the principals gathered around the group. "Is everyone alright? What exactly happened?" Celestia asked Sunset in barely contained fear as everyone helped the group to stand up.
"Wait... Bludegard, is that Yamato?!" Luna questioned in rage, pointing at the sword next to her nephew.
"Yes, yes, it is." Bludegard smiled and chuckled lightly before passing out from exhaustion.