//------------------------------// // The Unencumbered Unconscious // Story: Blueblood's Ascension Part III; or, Even Alicorns Have Dreams // by MyHobby //------------------------------// Redheart flinched awake. She looked around the break room, attempting to reorient herself. She rubbed a hoof across her eyes as she levitated her cap onto her head. A glance at the clock revealed that only five minutes of her ten minute break had been spent sleeping. She tapped the magic hourglass beside her chair, one that was set to give off a happy little ding when her break was finished. She groaned as she set it on its side, halting the flow of sand. “Guess I didn’t wanna relax after all.” She walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. A mirror showed that she had bags under her eyes, which she regarded with a scowl. “If I walk into a patient’s room, they’re gonna think Zombie Ponies are attacking.” The word “zombie” jogged her memory a bit. She thought back to when she had been asleep. She knew that she had been dreaming, and that the dream had woke her up, but she couldn’t remember any details. Her vision doubled, and she tottered on her hooves. She righted herself with a quick shake of her head. She stared into her reflection’s eyes. She wasn’t that tired, was she? The touch of silk tickled her back. She looked behind herself, but there was nothing there. She turned to the mirror and saw Lyra Heartstrings looking back. She gasped and blinked. Once her eyes were opened, Lyra’s face had disappeared. Instead, she saw her own tired visage. She shuffled her hooves. “Maybe this was a bad night to cover for Daisychain…” “You’ve been left alone.” The soft touch of silk returned to her back. Redheart spun quickly, her eyes searching for any sign of another pony. “Wh-who’s there!?” She licked her lips. She gave the mirror a final glance, and thought she saw Blueblood in the reflection. A closer examination only showed herself. She gritted her teeth. “I’m getting tired of this.” A strange, shapeless mass materialized beside her, seeming to be made of translucent fabric. An angular face with glowing eyes topped the billowy creature. “You’ve been left alone.” Redheart screamed. She tumbled to her rump and pushed herself backwards across the floor. The creature easily kept pace with her. “Blueblood didn’t say two words to you after that dance. He’s so obviously rejected you.” Redheart’s eyes darted between the monster and the door. “Did you really think,” it asked, “that you had a chance with the prince?” Redheart shot to her hooves and trampled her way to the room’s single entrance. She slipped on the smooth floors and slid a short distance. The monster was above her again, its eyes twinkling. “Of course, that’s nothing compared to the loss of Lyra,” it murmured quietly. “Who will protect you now, Princess of Hospice? Who will save you from the Nightmares?” “I will!” She grabbed a forgotten cup of coffee on the counter with a flash of telekinesis. It shot through the air, and passed unhindered through the Nightmare’s body. Redheart grimaced as the creature drifted closer. “That was very silly, don’t you think?” Redheart tried to stand, but she found her legs frozen stiff. She shivered all over as the Nightmare came in contact with her body. “Relax,” it whispered. “We’re just going to remember…” Rainbow Dash trotted through the brightly-lit halls. They never shut the lights off in the hallways, she had been told, because taking care of ponies was a twenty-four-hour business. As a result, the night outside looked pitch-black and uninviting. Rainbow Dash stuck her head out a window and squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of the stars above. She could make out one or two of the bright ones, but most were obscured in the glare from the hospital lights. Her ears twitched as a scream caught her attention. “Wha—?” She ran towards the sound, even as it faded. She stopped beside a door marked “break room,” it being her best guess for the source of the noise. She didn’t figure on any sort of life-threatening happenings taking place in a break room, but she pressed her ear to the door regardless. “Did you really think you had a shot with the prince?” a voice whispered. “What the—?” Rainbow heard the clompity of hooves on the floor, and the thump of a pony’s body hitting the ground. There was a few murmurs that Dash couldn’t make out. She reached for the handle and tried to yank the door open. It was locked. She pressed her ear to the door, and felt a chill run down her spine. “Who will save you from the Nightmares?” Dash’s eyes widened. She spun and bucked the door with all the strength she could muster. It didn’t budge. She ran to a nearby bathroom and turned the faucet on. She stuck her hoof under the stream of water and felt her hoof begin to tingle with magic. Droplets of water splashed off of her leg and collected in the air. She flicked and flapped her wings in intricate motions, which molded the droplets into a tiny cloud, dark with moisture. She dragged it through the air towards the break room door. She hovered behind the cloud and took in a deep breath. After aiming carefully, she punched the cloud with as much force as she could muster. A lightning bolt leapt from the cloud and struck the door handle. The metal melted in a fiery conglomeration of slag and smoke, taking the locking mechanism with it. The next time Rainbow Dash bucked the door, it swung aside easily. The Nightmare looked up as Rainbow Dash entered. Even though it didn’t technically have a mouth, Rainbow could still see the smirk on its face. It was a smirk she had seen on far too many enemies in the past, the one that said, “Too late, Sucker!” The creature vanished, the only remains a fine mist that hovered around Redheart’s head. The nurse lay on the floor, tossing and turning, small moans of fear squeaking out every few seconds. Rainbow Dash leaped beside her, hoping for a way to help. “Gosh… Darn it! How do I stop this!?” She stomped her hoof on the ground. “Flash! He’ll know what to do!” She raced for the soldier’s room, her wings aching a lot sooner than they would have on a normal day. She didn’t so much as knock before she opened the door, leading a sleeping Flash Sentry to bolt upright in bed after she shouted “Mayday!” in his ear. “Whazza portent pull up!” he gasped. He stared at Rainbow for a moment before his face scrunched up in pain. “Gah, my gut,” he moaned. “We have a problem, Sentry!” she said. “Redheart’s under attack by a Nightmare!” His eyes widened. He turned to the ceiling with a sigh. “Help me up.” Rainbow tilted her head. She looked to his stomach, which still glowed with the power of ambrosia. “You sure you can—” “Help me up,” he repeated. “Then take me to her.” He turned his eyes to Rainbow. “We gotta go into her dream, Dash. We gotta fight the Nightmare head-on, before it’s too late.” Rainbow nodded, and placed her foreleg under his. She extended a wing to steady him as he teetered precariously out of bed. She held him on his feet for a moment, waiting for him to indicate that he could stand on his own. “I hate lightning now,” he grunted. “Come on, can’t waste any time!” Rainbow Dash urged him on, letting him lean on her side for support. She grasped at the hanger that held his ambrosia and dragged it along behind her. They made their way to the break room slowly, the minutes inching past painfully for the both of them. When they came to the room, Redheart was lying on her side, her legs drawn up tight against her body. She shivered as sweat beaded on her forehead. Rainbow Dash worried her bottom lip. “I half-expected her to be, like, ‘Nightmare Syringe’ right about now.” Flash slumped to the ground next to the tormented alicorn. One hoof held his stomach while the other went to Redheart’s forehead. “She needs a blanket.” Rainbow Dash disappeared, and reappeared with a quilt off of her own bed a few seconds later. She draped it over Redheart’s body and knelt beside her. “What now?” Flash Sentry’s eyes popped. “Oh.” Rainbow Dash jumped into the air. “‘Oh’ what!?” “We need an alicorn—or a unicorn, I guess—to cast the dreamhopping spell.” “Oh, so that’s what…” Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows angled down. “Fine time to bring it up!” Marzipan shuffled the papers on her desk as she prepared to leave for the night. The receptionist took a final glance at the clock, cursed the late hour, and then trotted for the exit. She was intercepted by a blue pegasus that hovered in the air despite being confined to bed-rest. Said pegasus’ eyes darted to and fro as she spoke. “Hay, are there any unicorns working here right now?” Marzipan frowned. “You ought to be resting.” “Can we get over the whole ‘hospital’ thing?” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m in the middle of trying to save my friend, here!” “What’s wrong?” Marzipan turned to the stairway. “Is there an emergency? Should I call Redheart—?” “Redheart’s the one in trouble!” Rainbow Dash raised her hooves. “I need somepony with enough magic to perform a dreamhopping spell, stat!” Marzipan shook her head. “I’m an earth pony! How’m I supposed to know how much power you need?” “Do I look like I know an ethereal parabola from a fey line?” Rainbow shouted back. “Just show me somepony with a horn! I don’t care if they’re a goat! I’ll take anything with a horn right now!” “We don’t have any goats on staff!” Marzipan said. “Missing! The! Point!” Rainbow Dash grasped Marzipan’s face in her hooves. “Is there anypony here who can cast a spell?” “Vrner Scrch!” Marzipan said between scrunched-up cheeks. “What?” Rainbow Dash let the receptionist drop to the floor. “There’s a friend of Redheart’s, an alicorn!” Marzipan pointed down a hallway. “In the family waiting area!” Rainbow Dash was off at just shy the speed of sound. She was at least decently familiar with the layout of the hospital, due to Scootaloo’s infrequent trips and her own overzealous training style. She peeled around corners and rocketed down hallways until she reached the indicated room. Within, on one harder-than-was-really-desired couch, an alicorn snoozed. She reclined back, her head hanging over the edge of an armrest in a way that did nothing to help her chronic neck pain. Her mouth was open wide to allow her snores easy passage. Rainbow Dash landed and trotted up to the couch. She wasn’t quite looking where she was going. Her knee made contact with a table that held a pair of purple sunglasses. She winced as the table rattled around. “Don’t you touch my glasses!” Vinyl Scratch said as she shot to a sitting position. She blinked the bleariness from her eyes and turned to Dash. “Wha—?” “You’re a friend of Redheart’s, Right?” Rainbow Dash said quickly. “She needs your help.” “Eyeeeah, I…” Vinyl squinted at her. “Who are you?” Rainbow Dash grabbed her hoof. “My name’s Rainbow Dash, and I really don’t have time to make your acquaintance!” They shot out the doorway, Vinyl’s magic making a desperate grab at her sunglasses. She resisted the movement until Rainbow Dash decided that flying would be faster. Vinyl flailed her legs in the air, her eyes wide. “What the hay!” “Redheart’s being attacked by a Nightmare!” Rainbow Dash said. “We need you to cast a dreamhopping spell!” “I don’t know any dreamhopping spells!” Vinyl snatched her sunglasses out of the air and set them on her nose. “You’ve got the wrong pony!” “Flash’ll teach yah!” Rainbow rounded a corner. “He’s got the instructions, or something.” They skidded to a halt beside the break room door, with Vinyl slipping a few meters further than Dash. Rainbow nodded to the room. “Besides, she needs you.” Vinyl gasped when she laid eyes on Redheart. She rushed to her side and knelt beside her. “Oh, crud, crud, crummy crud.” She looked up at Flash Sentry. “How do I cast the spell? Come on! Chop, chop, bro!” Flash’s ears twitched away from the verbal assault. “How’s your teleporting?” “Passable,” Vinyl said. She looked at Redheart over her glasses. “I never really do it casually, but once or twice for a gig—” “Alright.” Flash Sentry scooted closer to her. “Can you teleport more than one pony at once?” Vinyl shrugged. “Not before the ascension, but—” “Next question,” Flash interrupted again. “Have you ever had a lucid dream?” “What’s…?” Vinyl shook her head. “One where I knew I was dreamin’? Maybe once, I dunno.” “Okay.” Flash turned to Rainbow Dash. “I need my saddlebags out of my room.” She rolled her eyes, but took off all the same. Flash leaned towards Vinyl. “We’re gonna decide on a dream, alright? We’re gonna imagine a dream together, and then you need to keep thinking of that dream after you fall asleep.” “How can I fall asleep at a time like—?” “I’ve got enchanted sand.” Flash looked up as Rainbow Dash dropped the saddlebags beside him. “I want you to focus on that dream, and I want you to try to remember that it’s a dream.” Vinyl Scratch rubbed her eyes. “What if it doesn’t work? What if I just start snoozing like a idiot?” Flash’s eyes grew hard. “Then Redheart’s gonna stay like that.” Vinyl’s face contorted; her lips drew back and her eyebrows slanted down. “That ain’t gonna happen.” “I know.” Flash took a pouch out of the saddlebags. “When you’re in the dream, you need to picture me. I’ll be sleeping, too. You need to use your teleportation spell to jump into my dream.” Vinyl’s sunglasses slid down her snout. “How do you know I’m not just gonna teleport my body?” “Dreams are funny.” Flash scratched at the back of his head. “Princess Luna told me that it would work out fine. Blame her if we just end up zapping ourselves silly.” Vinyl nodded, though her frown spoke otherwise. “How’m I gonna find your dream?” “Like I said, it’ll be real similar to yours.” Flash gave her an unconvincing smile. “What’chyah got for me?” “Ever been to a club?” Vinyl asked. “Strobe lights? Thumping music? Ponies dancing like heck?” “Ah, no.” Flash sighed. “What else you got?” Vinyl pursed her lips together. “Hay, the gala’s in a couple weeks. You ever been to the Grand Galloping Gala?” “Nope.” Flash groaned. “This is harder than I thought.” Rainbow Dash leaned between them. “Doreen Bean’s coffee shop. We’ve all been there at least once.” She looked at Vinyl. “Er, have you been there? I know Redheart likes to—” “Yeah, of course I’ve been there.” Vinyl polished a hoof on her chest. “It’s basically Redheart, Lyra, and my official hangout spot.” “Wait.” Flash looked at each of them in turn. “You two don’t know each other?” Rainbow Dash and Vinyl shrugged. “Should we?” Vinyl asked. “I don’t— Whatever.” He put his hoof on the bridge of his nose. “You good with that dream?” “Yeah, yeah, I’m cool.” Vinyl placed her sunglasses beside her flank and shut her eyes tight. “Hit me, Flashy.” He inched open the top of the bag. Golden light spilled out. He took a hesitant breath, then threw a hoof-full into the air. Vinyl Scratch picked her head off of the table. The smell of coffee filled her nose. She turned and, sure enough, there was her cup right beside her. Her ears twitched as they took in the sounds of the bustling Keen Bean Coffee Shoppe. “Long night, Scratch?” Redheart asked. She, perplexingly enough, was wearing her nurse’s cap. “Not as bad as the long day after, right?” Lyra said. She, perplexingly enough, was not Nightmared. Vinyl shook her head. “Yeah, I was just…” She shook her head again, harder. “I was….” She opened her eyes and frowned. “I dunno what I was just doing.” A mare walked past. Her coat was a pattern of rainbow stripes, and her mane was a nice sky-blue. Vinyl blinked a few times. “Oh, right, I’m dreaming!” She stood, sending her chair tumbling backwards. She looked at Redheart, bit her lip, and then lit her horn. “Flash, if I go nuts, I’m blaming you.” The world exploded into a mesh of colors as she teleported. She felt like she was flying, falling, stretching, and shrinking all at once. Her head spun as she was propelled into places unknown. She halted at last. She found herself in a realm that reminded her very much of that mystical place where all alicorns went when they ascended. Rather than the sheer emptiness of that place, she could see stars in the distance. She reached out, and was surprised when her hoof actually touched the glowing object. An image flashed through her mind: A mountain of ice cream and the dragon that was eating it. She blinked the image away as she drew her hoof back. She looked at the other stars, certain that each was another dream. “Okay, Flash, how’m I gonna find yours?” She touched another dream, this time seeing a vision of dancing, sugary-sweet snow-cones. “Nadda.” Another held a warm hearth and copious amounts of hot cocoa, though wind howled outside. “Cool, but nope.” Another held what was certain to be a snow day. “What’s with all the cold?” She took a step back from the dreams she had been browsing. Now that she looked closer, she could detect a slight pattern in their slow movements. “Okay, if this group’s here…” She turned around, looking behind herself. “This group… Is it?” She touched a star and saw the smooth floors, low ceiling, and wooden tables of the Keen Bean. “Bingo.” She charged her horn and teleported again, this time moving into a dream, rather than out. From the larger crowd, it appeared that it was karaoke night. Flash Sentry stood on the stage, twanging his guitar in a way that Vinyl had only seen the greats perform. His chest was adorned with a black vest, and one eye was painted over with a strange, admittedly cool-looking, design. A crowd of fillies and mares screamed his name, but his eyes never left the purple one in the front row. “You know he’s Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash, Flash Sentry! “When he goes around, The whole room starts to reel!” Vinyl pushed through the crowd and unplugged his speaker. The wall of females turned and glared at her, but she paid them no mind. She grabbed Flash by the wing. “Come on, Flashy. We gotta get a move on.” Flash looked beseechingly at his adoring fans. “But—but Twilight—” “Isn’t here.” Vinyl tugged. “You’re dreaming, remember?” The guitar vanished. “Oh,” Flash said. He looked at the floor. “Oh, right.” The crowds vanished soon after, Twilight’s figment taking a moment longer to dissipate. “Let’s go.” The teleportation was twice as weird with a pony in tow. They both spend a moment shaking their heads in the strange midway point. Vinyl touched another dream. It was also of the coffee shop, but there was something… odd about it. “Is that Rainbow’s?” Flash asked. “Um…” Vinyl shrugged. “Maybe? Kinda ironic if it is.” “How so?” Rather than answer, Vinyl took hold of his hoof and made the hop. They tumbled to a hardwood floor, right in the middle of the waiting line. Flash Sentry looked around, his eyes widening. “Oh. That’s… Huh.” Rainbow Dash appeared beside them, her mane six different shades of gray. “It’s about time you guys showed up.” Her coat was also a shade of gray. As was the coffee shop, the world outside the windows, and all of the patrons. “You guys are pretty good,” Rainbow said “I figured I’d have to wait for you to run out of hysterics before we could move on.” “It’s not really funny so much as it’s…” Vinyl held her hooves out as though framing a picture. “Fitting?” Flash tilted his head. “I thought colorless dreams were usually bad ones.” “This is totally a bad dream.” Rainbow Dash pointed, her eyebrows and voice level. “Have you seen the size of this line?” Vinyl cleared her throat. “Well, can we get a move on? We need to find Redheart’s dream.” Rainbow squinted. “‘Find’ it?” “You’ll see,” Flash said. The next trip wasn’t that bad for Vinyl Scratch, but she could see Rainbow Dash’s eyes rolling around. Vinyl hid a smirk when she saw that Rainbow Dash’s coloring remained a few variations of gray. Dash looked down at her hooves. “Okay, this is ridiculous.” “Focus.” Flash took a few steps “forward.” “Do you have any idea where it could be?” “Hay, I’m not even sure what kind of dream she’s having, let alone where…” Vinyl Scratch’s face fell as she saw one star in particular. This one was not twinkling brightly, but was strobing violently. It flashed red, and jiggled around as if it was struggling. “But if I had to guess…” She reached out to touch it, but flinched back as if her hoof had been burned. She shut her eyes tight. “Stick close, guys. This is gonna be a doozey.” Her horn shimmered. Vinyl told herself it wasn’t real. She told herself that it couldn’t be real, because Flash was still dressed like a rock star, and Rainbow Dash’s colors were still desaturated. She told herself that she and the others were still lying on the floor, in the hospital, next to Redheart. She wasn’t a very convincing pony, she decided. From the wet moss underfoot, to the thick fog rolling around, to the towering trees shooting up into the sky, the dream was a spot-on recreation of the Everfree Forest. Though Vinyl had never spent any real time in the forest, there was no mistaking the feeling that everything wanted to kill her. A low whistle sounded from Rainbow Dash’s gray mouth. “Wow. She sure knows her forests, doesn’t she?” Vinyl walked a short ways forward, and almost immediately tripped over a vine obscured by the fog. “Son of a gun.” “Has she ever told you about this dream?” Flash asked. He pulled at his vest as he looked around. “That might give us a clue about how to end it.” “She’s… She’s always said that she doesn’t dream much.” Vinyl shrugged without looking at them. “I mean, if the subject ever comes up.” Rainbow Dash flew straight up, and came down just as fast. Her chest heaved. “Guys, do not go up there. Do not. It’s pitch black, like there isn’t even a sky.” Flash nodded as he ran a hoof over the bark of a tree. “She probably never thought about the sky, as far as the dream goes.” He looked at Vinyl, his forehead furrowing. “Does the Everfree Forest ring any bells?” A wail pierced their eardrums. Their heads snapped around until they faced the darkest part of the forest. Three sets of jaws dropped, and three sets of eyes widened in horror. A pony floated out of the mists, hovering about half meter above the ground. Its coat was pale, its mane a haze of immaterial strands that flowed around its head. It had no ears, and it had no tail. Its legs moved slowly, as if it was prancing in slow motion. The grass beneath its hooves died as it moved along its path. Its path was heading straight for the three of them. Vinyl took a step back, and the pony looked at her. Its mouth was constantly open, and rows of sharp, shark-like teeth leered at her. Its eyes were hollow and dark. They stared at her, but they stared through her as well. The pony turned slowly in midair, correcting its path until it was headed directly for Vinyl. Its mouth widened, emitting an unearthly cry that stuck a dagger of icy cold through Vinyl’s heart. Vinyl Scratch, Rainbow Dash, and Flash Sentry screamed. They about-faced and headed deeper into the jungle, away from the thing. Slowly, but surely, the pony followed. Vinyl’s heart felt like it was about to explode. Something deep inside told her that it would explode if the thing caught up with her. A glance back revealed that it was close, but the distance between them was growing. “Scratch, stop!” Rainbow said. She grabbed at Vinyl’s wing with her teeth. Vinyl found her legs jerked out from beneath her. She stopped short of tumbling down a long, narrow chasm, held back as she was by Rainbow Dash’s dental work. “Th-thanks. Whoo.” Flash looked down, and nodded when something caught his eye. “Cave down there. Maybe we can hide.” “Maybe,” Rainbow Dash hissed, “we can get ourselves trapped between a ghost and a hard place!” “N-not a ghost,” Vinyl said. She blinked rapidly. She thought she remembered something, but… “It’s not a ghost, it’s a wight.” Flash frowned as he took to the air. He looked across the chasm and saw stone ruins sitting on the other side. “Is that… the palace?” “Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said as she jumped the gap. “It’ll have a million better places to hide!” The three of them flew into the crumbling ruins. Vinyl’s stomach twisted when she saw the thing float over the canyon like it wasn’t even there. Another wail made their hair stand on end. They reached the courtyard, where ancient stone pillars had tumbled to the ground. A circle of stone flooring sat at the center, which they passed over with clomping hooves. They entered the front door of the old castle and ran past the pedestal that once held the Elements of Harmony. The next doorway they sought to enter was locked. Rainbow Dash bucked it with all her might, but it held. “Horseapples!” She turned to Flash. “Hay, we can’t get hurt in a dream, right?” Flash gulped. “We can’t get hurt in our own dreams.” Vinyl’s eyes snapped shut. “But this is Redheart’s dream.” They popped open again. “Her dream. Or not?” She frowned as her heart sank. “Guys. Guys, I know what to do. I remember.” Flash held a hoof out to her, but she waved him off. “You guys hang back,” Vinyl said. “I got this.” The thing cried out as it rounded the pedestal. Vinyl Scratch took in a deep breath, ignored the feeling that told her to run, run, run! and walked towards the pony. Now that she was closer, she could see that the thing was small. Maybe half the size of a full-grown pony. Its mouth widened, its teeth glinting in light that came from nowhere. It flowed through the air towards Vinyl. Rainbow Dash spread her gray wings, her eyes wide. Flash placed a hoof on her back to hold her steady. Vinyl Scratch held her legs out to the pony. “H-hay. Hay.” She waved her hooves towards herself. “Hay, come here.” Tears poured from her eyes as the thing came closer. “I-it’s okay. You can come. You don’t—” She shivered from head to tail. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore.” Rainbow’s jaw dropped. Flash Sentry gave the thing a double take. “If that thing’s scared, then what are we?” Vinyl’s forelegs met the thing’s. She drew it into a deep embrace and ran her hoof along its back. “It’s alright. You’re safe now. Nopony’s gonna hurt you anymore. Nopony’s gonna run away.” A sound came from the thing. It was a sound very much like sobbing. Vinyl placed her cheek against the thing’s. “You can wake up now, Redheart. The Nightmare’s over.” The thing changed. Its pale coat became white. Its mane and tail grew long and pink. Its eyes filled with light and tears. In the place of the monster, there was a young filly who didn’t even have her cutie mark yet. “F-Flash,” Vinyl said, “that cave at the bottom of the canyon. I think you’re gonna find the Nightmare creature in there.” Rainbow Dash was off in a streak of gray. She returned a moment later with a silky substance clutched in her forelegs. She threw the Night Terror against the wall so hard that the stone cracked. “Say hello to the idiot behind all this.” The Night Terror slumped to the ground, its glowing eyes twirling around in its head. Flash stomped on the edge of its body. “You can come quietly, or I can leave you alone with my friend.” The Night Terror took one look into Rainbow Dash’s eyes, and then nodded vigorously. “I surrender,” it whispered. The sun peeked out over the horizon, banishing the fog. Vinyl looked at it with relief in her eyes. “That you, Redheart?” “Yeah,” the little filly said. “I think I’m… awake.” She faded away, and the castle with her. Vinyl Scratch, Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry, and the Night Terror found themselves in the place between dreams. “Okay,” Vinyl said. “Meet you guys back in the real world.” Rainbow Dash touched her dream and vanished. Flash Sentry hesitated at his. “You know,” he said, “the dreams usually feel real when you’re in them.” Vinyl nodded as she teleported away.