Luna teleported into Ponyville, and quickly flew to the library. It had been nearly an hour, and Jack still couldn't be woken up. Twilight let Luna in, and explained developments since her letter. "We've tried shaking him, or holding his twitches still, no response. I tried casting the sleep spell on Fluttershy and a little later on Rarity and Dash. They fell asleep and were in a dream but they were separate dreams and Jack wasn't there and Dash said she didn't have her goggles. Can you help us?"
Luna strode to the circle of flour and watched the sergal's short, rapid breathing. Her normal stern look of formality softened a little, and she brushed her hoof awkwardly across the floor. "Whoever is doing this is pouring a lot of magic into holding Jack still. We've been tracking it since about a minute before your letter arrived." The princess of the night looked around at the sleepy eyed ponies, and waved them closer. "I can't bring you all into a single dream the way Jack can, but I can enter your dreams and bring you with me." The shushing and swooshing of hair against cloth as everyone went back to their sleeping spots around the flour circle, and at a signal from Luna, Twilight cast her sleep spell again.
The next morning, sun peeking in her window, Twilight's first thought was "how did I miss that?" But considering how high the sun was to reach her window it would be time to go back to her daily routines. Pulling the blanket aside she rolled out of bed, only to find her movements severely hampered by a red bar that appeared to be forcibly strapped to her side. That's xìnxīn! I'm asleep!
Twilight raced down the stairs to the central room in the library. Spike was putting away some books, and there were several forgotten tea cups on various surfaces. "Morning Twilight. Rarity should be bringing Sweetie Belle over to pick up a science book or two but there isn't anything else planned. Have some breakfast I guess." The young dragon absentmindedly pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "I made oatmeal and you're welcome to finish it off."
Twilight walked carefully around her home. Nothing seemed amiss. The furniture was back in the middle of the room, and there was no sign of flour. Or her friends, and Spike wasn't supposed to be included. "Spike!" The poor dragon dropped the book he was trying to leverage into the tight space on the bottom shelf. "Are you awake?"
Spike dutifully turned and looked at her. "Yes." He was standing at attention. This can't be the waking spike. My dream Spike then? But there were no details missing from his appearance. He was even fidgeting like the real Spike would.
"No you're not." She said with authority.
Spike blinked. "Oooohkaaay." He went back to cramming the book into the shelf. From this distance Twilight could just make out the title. Anthropomorphized Compendium of Spells Cast by Nonponies (with emphasis on spells requiring physical components)
Twilight thought for a moment, and decided That's not a title I have. Or have heard of. But maybe her dream Spike knew things her conscious mind didn't, like Eos had. "Where is prince Jack?"
Book put away, Spike again turned to look at his employer and roommate. "In his cave, in the Everfree Forest about twenty minutes walk from Zecora's hut. At least, that's where he lives." Spike looked pleadingly at Twilight.
Who queried "Should we go to his cave, then?" That could be it thought Twilight. His cave here, represents the door to his dreaming.
Spike raised an eyebrow. "Are you looking for Jack?"
Twilight rebutted quickly with "No I'm looking for princess Luna."
Spike sighed. "Twilight I don't think they've shacked up together. The cave isn't where you'll find Luna." He started to walk in the direction of the kitchen. "You know, I think it's you who's not awake. I'll make some extra strong black tea, OK?"
After a quick look around for signs of the princess who had not materialized in her dream, Twilight motioned for her assistant Spike, shouting "Wait! Uh." Looking around again she tried to remember why she was so sure this was a dream. "This red thing." Twilight drew her tachi a tiny ways out of the scabbard. "How long have I been sleeping with it?"
Spike snorted in derision. "A while now. Honestly Twilight I don't remember when you started but you never take the thing off." A look of self defending concern crossed his face, and he hesitantly added. "It ... looks good on you?"
But just then the door flew open, and in strode princess Luna. Spike yelped and once his feet were in contact with the ground again, ran into the kitchen. Luna zeroed in on Twilight, and strode confidently toward her. "This will be a little more complicated than I feared. Follow me from your own dream into mine. What, what is?" Her eyes now focused on the tiny guard separating hilt from blade, where two hieroglyphs were imprinted into the metal.
From the kitchen, Spike's voice came defiantly, saying "I told you it was you who was asleep!"
Angrily Twilight called back "So are you, Spike! This is MY dream after all." Twilight turned back to the princess who was closely examining the marks.
She looked up curiously at her subject, without moving her head. "You're arguing with yourself?"
Twilight smiled awkwardly and tried to cover her blush with a nervous giggle. "Your highness I spend most of my waking time arguing with myself, it shouldn't surprise anypony I argue with my dream people too."
Looking one last time at Twilight's blade of her heart, Luna said "xìnxīn." And while Twilight couldn't reproduce the sound she knew that was how Eos had said it. Luna stepped back, and took in the sight of the whole sword, and was overtaken by laughter. She quickly covered her mouth with her right fetlock joint, unable to control her mirth.
Seeing Twilight's blank stare, Luna explained. "That sword is a tachi; a cavalry sword. The army was just starting to make them way back when. Before the nightmare moon incident. OK?" Twilight nodded. She hadn't know hardened steel to have been in common production for over a millenia but of course the government would end up getting anything nice, first. Putting her hoof back on the floor, Luna continued. "That marking though, in written in ancient Gryphon. Which is fine, except I've read of a big war between our peoples. And by the time the war was over military practices had shifted so we favor short swords now for maneuverability."
Twilight looked at her dream weapon and considered her words. "So our blacksmiths would never make a tachi and give it a gryphon name, and the gryphons would never have made a sword that would be used to kill their own people in wartime." Luna nodded.
Twilight sighed. "I like it anyway. So, what have you learned? Where is Jack?"
Princess Luna turned to the doorway. "Follow me." And with that, strode out. Twilight hurried to keep up.
As they left the library, which was just her tree in this dream, Twilight watched as every few steps more buildings faded, and the grass rapidly died until she was trotting on coarse tan colored sand. They were paralleling a train track now, and in the distance she could see the boarding platform, although the train engine itself was nowhere to be seen.
Now her friends faded into view, gathered around a small table filled with various baked goods. Luna looked them over, levitated a bright pink cupcake, and commented nonchalantly "I didn't put this here. Whose table is this?" And as Luna bit into the imaginary confection, Pinkie jumped up and waved her hooves excitedly in the air.
"Me Princess! I thought cupcakes would sound good and there was a bunch of cupcakes and I thought we shouldn't be eating of the sand even if the sand is imaginary so I said I wanted a table but nothing happened so I tried to think about what a table looked like but that didn't work either so I just picked up one of the cupcakes and when I set it down I expected a table to be there and look Princess! There was!"
Luna grinned at the ADHD party pony's long winded explanation and replied "Your awareness of what makes a good confection is well appreciated." But presently she lowered her head to stare intently at the table, and it faded from view. Most of Twilight's friend stood up and put a serious face on, with the exception of Pinkie Pie whose smile dropped when her table went away. Luna continued, "Now that we're all here, as you see the engine is symbolically attached to Jack who is not here.
"Since Celestia is not skilled in dreams I will need to remain awake in case this is a ruse to reach Celestia." Luna walked to the boarding platform, then around to approach the ground beneath the steps. There was a steel cable emerging from a stone set in the ground. Luna squared up her posture, braced herself as she gritted her teeth, and lifted the stone. Yikes! thought Twilight. if that were a real stone it would weight more than ten times what I do.
Luna set the stone down, and beneath it was revealed a poorly lit staircase. "Down there my warriors. This path has been attached to Jack's mind. At the bottom you will find yourself in his dreaming world." Stepping back from the entrance Luna looked the group over, and briefly bowed to them, then quickly stood up looking embarrassed. "I bid you the best luck my well wishes can offer you, and good night to you all.
With that, she leapt into the air, and turned into a bolt of lightening that illuminated the sky for a moment before fading, and leaving them alone. Pinkie giggled. Rarity said "That was quite an exit, princess." while Applejack chose to bow deeply to the last spot the princess had been standing in her dream.
Twilight started to descend, then said "This sword is too long for passages like this one. Who wants to take point? Dash?" But in response to her offer, Rainbow Dash just raised an eyebrow and waited for another pony to respond.
Pinkie pogo hopped into the tunnel. "OK!" she said still pogo hopping down the steep stairs. Rainbow, to her credit, lowered her goggles and declared she'd take second, and followed the pink menace of the pogo stance.
Rarity took fourth just behind Applejack, and Fluttershy preferred the last place behind Twilight, but she made her yellow and pink friend promise to keep up. She only nodded meekly, not even 'meep'ing but Twilight trusted she wouldn't abandon the group now.
It was a long descent. Sometimes the air was stale, wet, and smelling of rotting vegetation at the bottom of a swamp. Other times for minutes long there would be a cold dry wind blowing down the stairs, and up their tails. Twilight couldn't see what was illuminating the passageway but her lighted horn was not strictly speaking necessary, although it made her feel better. Rarity must have agreed since she had created a light too.
Periodically they'd hear noises. Quiet ones, just loud enough to make the group stop. But the stones remained unchanged, and the chittering or moaning or scraping sounds would only be heard in that section. A dozen steps more and the group couldn't hear it anymore.
After enough monotony that Twilight couldn't tell how long they'd gone or what time it was supposed to be, Pinkie called "The steps are different!" But that was a slow change. The stone darkened, the steps were deeper and shallower, and finally Twilight could see a light source. Every twenty fifth block was inexplicably glowing.
Pinkie called out there was a dead end, but Dash followed that with "I see a door." The group filed off the stairs onto a round room with no light, and stood on slick polished stone. At a nod of readiness from everypony Dash opened an invisible door, and the smells of an old growth forest, just after the rain came rushing in. It might have been day outside but only if the forest canopy was quite thick. "I can hear all kinds of critters but none too near." Came Dash's proclamation of the safety of the door.
Twilight suggested proceeding with a slow caution. "And lets try not to get separated. But if nothing is attacking us right now Applejack and I can spread out since our weapons need space." That was when Twilight noticed Pinkie was fascinated with the doorway itself. "Pinkie did you hear me?" Those pink ears didn't stray from the upper right corner of the doorway one iota. "Pinkie?"
Pinkie's eyes went wide, and she exclaimed "That's so cool but where do I get one?" Pinkie reared up, and pinned her ears and promptly galloped off, disappearing into the doorway. Not through the doorway, but into the wall itself.
Pinkie was gone. "Nuts and shoes." Somepony said.