It was early Tuesday morning as Dark laid asleep in his guest bed. Ever since Rarity bought that tea for him during their trip to the mall, Dark's felt more relaxed before heading to bed, along with his dreams being clear of Death's presence. At the moment, Dark was dreaming of him and Twilight laying on one of the grassy hills as they watched the sunset together with a wing draped over her. Holding her close, Dark lovingly nuzzled her as she leaned her head up against his side. Feeling at peace, Dark didn't want for this moment to end, but someone else had other plans for him.
Opening his eyes, Dark saw that Twilight had suddenly vanished from his side and was now alone on top of the hill. As he began getting back up, he started to notice that he wasn't a kirin like he was a moment ago, but was back to being a human. Turning around to see where Twilight had disappeared to, he began looking out for her. That was, until he saw a familiar form overshadowing him. Giving an annoyed snort, Dark turned to face the unwelcomed visitor.
"What do you want now, Death?"
"You know of me." he said, his voice just as haunting as ever.
"I had some help figuring out who and what you are."
"Even though you know this, you still remain in this world that you don't belong."
"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm here. And besides that, I can't return to my home world until the portal back there is fixed."
"So, you're stuck here then?"
"Yes."
"Regardless, your presence here is displeasing to me."
"Why? Is it because this world's version of me is dead?"
"That would be the case, yes." Death answered before summoning his scythe.
"Are you going to try killing me again?"
"If that's what it takes for you to leave, then yes."
"Will you quit being stubborn about this? Seriously, I want to go home just as much as you want me gone from this world, but like I said, until whatever is wrong with the portal is fixed, I'm stuck here."
"Not my problem."
Gliding over to Dark, Death raised his scythe above his head, ready to swing it down upon him again. But as he got closer, Dark had had enough of this. With this being his dream, he conjured his Death Reaver in his right hand and raised it to block Death's scythe that he'd started swinging.
"Oh? So you would challenge Death?"
"It wouldn't be the first time," Dark returned as he pushed the scythe off of his sword and followed it up with a swing, forcing Death to glide back away from him. "But if it's all the same, I'd rather not have to fight you, so I'd like to make a request of you."
"That being?"
"All I want is for you to stop bothering me when I'm dreaming until I can return home, so I can have a goodnight's sleep without having to dream or worry about dreaming of you. Besides, I'm a little pissed right now that you interrupted that dream I was just having, especially since I haven't seen her in a week from today."
"And why would I do that?"
"Because I asked nicely?"
"Do you honestly believe that I, Death, would just say 'yes' because you asked me nicely?"
"Well, it worked for my world's version of you, and still does."
"And if I chose to not leave you alone?"
"Then I'll fight you here and now. And right now, since you're in my dream and I'm fully aware of you now, I can manipulate this dream to benefit me in any way I see fit to defeat you."
"You're bluffing."
Using his dream, Dark empowered his sword with what would've been his magic, causing its blade to be shrouded by a blade made of shadows.
"Care to test that?"
Silently, Death lowered his scythe and floated back farther away from Dark.
"It would appear that my attempts at scaring you off have now become fruitless."
"So you'll stop bothering me while I sleep?"
"If you're to use your dreams against me, then I can't do much more to you." A pair of pale-blue eyes began to glow brightly beneath his hood. "With that said, if I can't send you away through your dreams, then I'll just have to come and find you in person."
"I'll be sure to have the tea and biscuits ready when you get here," Dark joked.
"You may mock me now, but when we meet again, you will die."
With those last words, Death faded from Dark's dream, returning it to the way it was before he came in. Seeing that he was a kirin again and that Twilight was there with him, Dark put his thoughts of Death's threat off to the side and decided to try and enjoy his time with Twilight, even if this was just a dream.
Waking up with the rising sun, Dark was happy that Death had decided to leave him be, even though it ended with a threat. Still though, the thought of him being able to sleep peacefully again was enough in itself to give Dark an extra spring in his step as he made his way down to Sunset's kitchen and quickly made the two of them something to eat before school started. Happily humming to himself, he moved quickly and fluently as he went about the kitchen. Not long later, he sat the two plates down just as Sunset walked in.
"Good morning~" Dark sang, causing Sunset to pause for a moment.
"Well, someone's in a good mood today," she noticed.
"Yep. Saw Death in my dream last night and talked to him like Rainbow said."
"And it worked just like that?" she questioned as she and Dark too their seats at the table.
"Well, not quite. It took some pushing back and some... chosen words, to make him leave me be."
"From the way you're saying it, I'm doubting that he took it very well."
"He threatened to kill me in person," Dark nonchalantly said with a shrug.
"He what?!"
"What? I've done it before with Nocturne."
"But you were back in Equestria and had your magic! Here, you don't!"
"... okay, so maybe mistakes were made."
"Yeah, you just pissed-off the freaking Grim Reaper, and now he's personally coming for you." Sunset paused and took a gulp of her milk. "Does he at least know that you're Equestria's version of him?"
"If he does, then he hasn't shown any signs of it."
"Is it even possible for two Incarnations of Death to kill each other?"
"It is," Dark nodded. "From my understanding, only death and holy, or light magic if you prefer to call it, can truly kill us. Of course, since I don't have any magic here like you said, I'm willing to bet that I'm more vulnerable than he is."
"No duh, Sherlock."
The two ate in relative silence for a few minutes before Dark spoke back up.
"So, any news from Twilight?"
"As it turns out, there is," Sunset answered. "They found out that the portal itself is working just fine. The problem that they're dealing with is that somewhere in Equestria, somepony has a jammer that's interfering with the portal."
"If I had to guess, I'd say that the pony who has this jammer is the same one that attacked me. You know, since that amulet he had was what sent me here in the first place."
"Yeah, I was thinking that too."
"Just sucks that I saw him from behind and could only get a glimpse of his mane and horn."
"Well, you did say that his horn was curved and was white with a blue tip. How many unicorns are there that could have a horn as unique as that?"
"The only pony who would have a horn similar to that would be King Sombra, but his was black with a red tip."
"Still though, I'm sure that he'd stick out like a sore thumb, so it shouldn't be long before they find him."
"I hope so," he sighed. "But that remains up in the air at the moment. The last time we tried tracking him, he disappeared into the Everfree Forest and just resurfaced when he confronted me."
"Trust me, they'll find him," she softly said before looking up towards the clock. "We'd better get this cleaned up. School will be starting soon."
Quickly cleaning their dishes, the two put on their boots and jackets before heading out the door and towards school. After a fifteen minute walk, they finally came into view of Canterlot High where they could see their friends gathered by the statute. Giving them a wave, the two made their way over and joined them.
"Good morning, girls," Dark happily greeted them.
"My, someone seems to be in a good mood," Rarity said, causing Dark to chuckle.
"Heh, that's exactly what Sunset said."
"So, what is it that has you in such spirits today? Did you get a message from Princess Twilight that the portal was fixed?"
"Sunset did get a message, yes. Turns out that the portal is just fine, but it's there's a jammer that's blocking it from working properly."
"Oh, okay."
"So, what's gotten ya actin' so chipper then?" Applejack asked.
"I took Rainbow's advice and talked to Death last night," he answered her.
"And how well did that go?" Rainbow eagerly questioned. "I mean, you got to talk to the Death. What's he like?"
"Same as in the pictures I've seen of him, but his voice is soft and smooth, and yet eerie and haunting. Oh, and his eyes glow with a pale-blue color."
"Sorry to interrupt," Twilight chimed in, "but if we stay out here any longer, we'll miss the bell."
Hearing her words, the seven of them followed her into the building and towards their first class of the day. But, unknown to them yet again, they were being watched by someone from across the street.
Standing on the sidewalk, a young man in navy-blue jeans wearing a white and black hooded jacket, watched as Dark and the seven girls disappeared into the building. With a scowl on his hooded face, he reached up into his pants pocket for his phone and dialed a number. Soon afterwards, the other person picked up.
"Yes, what do you want?"
"I know enough of his schedule now," he said. "I want your men to strike tonight."
"Who do you think you're talking to, boy? Remember who it was that spared you from suffering the same fate as your town."
"Shove it, Inferno!" he barked. "You'd best remember who it was that killed him in the first place, especially since you and your so-called 'gang' failed so miserably to do so yourselves how many times?"
"... remind me exactly why it is that I'm allowing you to live again?"
"Because you owe me big for what I did for you. And besides, I've done plenty of work for you and your, heh, gang, over these last few months. And on top of that, I've done it without being caught by the police."
"... fair enough I suppose, but don't get too used to it. Now, what is it that you want to do exactly?"
"Tonight, I want thirty of your men to follow me to where Dark is currently staying at."
"Thirty? Is this some kind of joke? Why in the hell would I allow that many of my men to go off with you just for one guy?"
"Because, if he's anything like what the other Dark was, then we'll need them, and of this, I'm not exaggerating. Now, back to what I was saying. After I get my thirty men, I want them to capture him so that I can have some fun with him."
"Did you have a place in mind for your 'fun'? Because the last place you used is still literally a bloody mess from last time, and that was over a week ago."
The young man gleefully smirked. "Oh, I have a spot in mind, and I'm looking right at it. Not only will it make an impact on them, but it'll also prove to them to never get involved against us, knowingly or not."
The morning classes went by quickly and uneventfully today as the eight friends were sitting at their lunch table. While Fluttershy opted for the fruit salad, everyone else went with today's lunch of sloppy joes. While Dark did question whether to eat it or not, being as it was all meat pretty much meat, the sweet smells of it were too tempting for him to pass. but it was well worth it, for as soon as he started, he found his meal already gone.
"Wow, you're more messy eating that than I am eating cake," Pinkie giggled, looking at the food covering Dark's mouth as he tried to lick it off.
"I can't help it," he defended. "It's so good that I can't stop myself from eating it. By the way, do you think they'll serve seconds?"
"Sorry, sugarcube, but it's one servin' per person," Applejack chuckled. "Heh, even if ya do have as big of an appetite as my brother."
"I'm more surprised that you're so open to eating meat," Rarity said. "After all, you were a pony once."
"I'll admit that it was a little disturbing at first, especially with how good it smells and how delicious it tastes," Dark admitted, "but I'm starting to get used to it. After all, I didn't even now I was eating meat at first until it was too late."
"I'm still sorry about that," Sunset apologized.
"Hey, it was an accident, nothing harmful. Besides, you eat meat too, and you were a pony as well once."
"I know, but I still should've said something to you sooner."
"Just something to remember for next time I guess," he said before looking over Sunset's shoulder to see Adagio giving him the stink eye. "Hey, any of you girls know why Adagio is giving me that look? She's been doing it since our talk at Sunset's place."
"Probably because you still haven't actually told her who or what you are."
"I have to agree with Adagio on that one," Twilight said. "You didn't really give us an answer."
"And Ah'm agreein' with Twilight," Applejack nodded. "Besides, it was pretty obvious that you were tryin' ta avoid tellin' us."
Dark shook his head. "Believe me, I thought about telling you girls, but I'm not sure how you would all react. Sunset handled it rather well, but since she's from Equestria, stuff like this isn't that big of a deal as it would be to you girls... I think."
"Don't worry about it," Rainbow waved off. "After all the weird and crazy stuff that's happened here to us, I doubt that it'll be that bad."
"That's what I thought too, Rainbow," Sunset said, "but as it turns out, it kinda is."
"I think that we should let him tell us when he feels ready," Fluttershy voiced. "After all, pressuring him into telling us isn't very nice of us."
"Thanks, Fluttershy, but it's alright," Dark said to her with a smile before looking to the others. "If you want to know that badly, then I'll tell you, but not today. I'll need some time to get myself ready to tell you all. Maybe in a day or two?"
"Of course, darling. Just take your time and you can tell us whenever you're ready," Rarity told him.
"And what about us?"
Looking over towards where the voice came from, they saw that the Dazzlings had walked up to them.
"What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked.
"Don't play dumb with me now. Incase you girls didn't know, my sisters and I have learned how to read lips over our thousand plus years of living here."
"... oh."
"So," she continued, now looking over at Dark, "you're going to tell them what you really are?"
"Yes," he sighed.
"Good. Because after what I saw, I want to know everything that there is that you're hiding about it."
"Okay, okay. Look, when I decide when I'll tell everyone, I'll make sure to come to you three too."
"Good." Adagio then paused when she looked at the mess on Dark's face. "Umm, is that sloppy joe on your face?"
"Yep."
"... you do know that that's made of meat, right?"
"I know."
"Okay, just making sure that you knew is all."
"What a weird guy," Aria muttered. "Seriously, a pony who likes eating meat?"
"Kirin," Dark corrected.
"Oh, right, because that makes it sooo much better. Heck, since you like eating meat, I'd bet that you've already gone and eaten pony."
Dark was about to answer her, but memories of last Saturday morning came flowing back to him, causing him to slap his hand over his mouth. Glancing over to Sunset, Dark could see that she was biting her bottom lip while trying to keep her blush down. Deciding to not go with a verbal answer this time, Dark instead shook his head.
"Oh, really? Well then, what was the first piece of meat that you had?"
Thinking of this as having a double-meaning like her previous question, Dark kept silent and looked away from them, unwilling to answer. After going a moment without an answer, Aria gave an irritated huff.
"Fine, don't tell us then," she said before storming off, followed by her sisters.
A few seconds after they left, Rainbow looked back to Dark.
"Hey, what was up with that? Why didn't you answer her?"
"Because that last time I answered a question like that, I let something slip that I shouldn't have," Dark answered her.
"Really? Like what? Is it good?"
"Okay, that, I'm not telling any of you about. I already let that slide when Sunset asked me, but I won't do it again."
Later that night, Dark and Sunset were sitting in the living room working on their homework. While math wasn't that big of a problem, history was a different matter. Thankfully though, Sunset was willing to help him as he needed it. At the moment, they were going over World War II.
"Some of these battles are just stupid," Dark commented as he looked over a certain page. "Like this 'D-Day'. I swear, if I was there and turned into a Scaleless Dragon, I would've taken out those guys on the beach and saved thousands of soldiers."
Sunset looked at him in surprise. "Can you actually do that?"
"Well... not yet. Nocturne's been training me in various spells of his, and transforming into his original dragon form is one of them. Actually, last time we practiced it, I had just about had it."
"Just how big are we talking about, anyway?"
Dark scratched his chin as he thought about a good comparison to what he remembered. Then again, it was nighttime when they fought, so his judgment of his height might've been a little off.
"Well, when I fought him, it was dark outside, so it kinda hid part of him when looking up. But if I had to say off the top of my head, I'd say that he could stand over Canterlot High."
Sunset's eyes went wide. "You mean like he can stand on his back legs with his arms on top of it?"
"Nope. I'm talking about him standing over it completely. As in that while standing on all fours, the bottom of his barrel would clear the top of Canterlot High's rooftop. Though the glass dome on top of it might be a bit too tall."
"What?! Just how big was he?!"
"According to the book, he and the other Scaleless Dragons all stood at over a hundred and some feet tall. But then again, the book's information has been proven wrong before, so they could very well be bigger than that."
Sunset shook her head in disbelief. "If that's the case, then I'd have no doubt that you could've cleared that coast. Heck, if they saw you marching with the army, you might've ended the war just by your presence alone."
"And I'm just talking about using my fire breath. I haven't even begun thinking of what it would be like if I also used my magic too."
"I suppose so," she said before letting out a yawn. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think that I've had enough studying for one night."
"Yeah. Don't know why Mr. Cranky gave us a test for tomorrow. You'd think that something like that would be saved for a Friday."
"Only for his class it seems like this is the case. But enough about that. I'm tired and am heading off to bed."
"Alright. Goodnight, Sunset," Dark waved.
"Goodnight to you too, Dark," she returned as she headed up the stairs. "Oh, and don't forget to turn off the lights when you're done."
"Don't worry, I won't."
Walking over to the nearby wall, Dark flipped the light switch and turned off the lights to the living room before doing the same to the kitchen. With the ground floor plunged into the dark of the night, Dark went up to his own room. Closing the bedroom door behind him, Dark put his shirt, socks and waist cape on a nearby chair, and sat his boots by the bed before looking at his sword leaning up on the bedside wall.
Hopefully we'll be back home soon, Dark thought as he looked at the blade with a chuckle. And to think, I'm actually beginning to miss talking to you now.
Turning off the lamp on his nightstand, Dark crawled into bed and started to drift off to a sleep, looking forward to having a night of dreams without the Grim Reaper's interference.
A few hours later at midnight, thirty men in matching leather jackets surrounded Sunset's house as the one leading them followed up from behind them.
"Now remember," he quietly told them through an earpiece, "I want you all to be quiet when entering. Dark is the target, so if you see that girl there, just ignore her."
"And what if she starts getting in our way?" one of them asked.
"Just knock her out. Now, quit talking and get started on picking those locks."
Bringing a lock picking kit out of their pockets, one of them began picking the lock of the front door while another went to the back. After a few minutes of figuring out the locks later, both doors opened, allowing for the gang to make their way in. However, with the heaviness of their boots and their growing numbers walking on the ground floor, their footsteps were felt and heard.
Sunset was peacefully asleep, dreaming of her sitting on the beach with a lavender skinned girl with glasses. In silence, they watched as the sun began to set over the horizon. As Sunset closed her eyes, feeling the sun's rays shining over her, she unexpectedly felt a hand laying over her own. Looking over, she saw her world's Twilight smiling at her as she gently squeezed Sunset's hand and began to lean in towards her. Feeling her heart soaring, Sunset closed her eyes and began leaning in to meet her half-way... before she was abruptly awoken.
Snapping her eyes wide open, Sunset found herself unable to speak due to someone's hand being placed over her mouth. Darting her eyes around in a panic, she quickly saw Dark standing over her with a finger to his lips, telling her to keep quiet. With a silent nod from Sunset, Dark removed his hand.
"Dark, what do you think you're doing in my room?!" Sunset hissed. "And why are you fully clothed and carrying your sword?"
"We have some unexpected company," he whispered, pointing down to the floor.
Listening carefully, Sunset soon heard several sets of footsteps coming from downstairs. Getting slightly scared that a group of people had broken into her house, Sunset shrank back into her bed.
"Do you know who they are?"
"Sorry, Sunset, but I just woke-up to them before coming in here, so I don't know who they are or why they're here."
"We should call the police."
"And what if they start coming up here?"
"Well, you're geared for fighting them. If they come up here, could you fight them off without killing them?"
"I'll try my best to not kill them, but they won't be leaving here without some kind of injury."
"Just as long as you don't kill any of them and stay safe. Princess Twilight would be pissed if she heard that you got hurt under my watch."
"I think that she'd be more mad at me than-" Dark paused when he heard footsteps climbing up the stairs. "Looks like I'll have to fight them after all."
"Okay. You do that and I'll call for help. Just be careful."
"Sure. I'll try to lead them out the back door and into the woods. Also, when I leave your room, make sure that you lock the door behind me."
With a nod from Sunset, Dark made his way out of her room and stood on the other side of the door until he heard the door lock. Steeling himself, Dark walked over to the top of the stairs to see the first of several intruders making their way up towards them. Unfortunately for them though, they didn't notice Dark until the guy up in the lead was met with a boot to his face, throwing him back down the stairs and into the others. But before any of them could get back up, Dark jumped from the top of the stairs and landed on the pile of bodies, causing each of them to either howl or groan in pain.
Taking a brief moment to take-in his surroundings, Dark saw that the front door was heavily guarded, some guys who were in the living room, and a few down the hallway and in the kitchen. Seeing as the back door was least guarded, Dark made his way over, swinging his sword and non-lethally cutting any who got too close to him, while punching or kicking the others. Once he got outside, he waited for a moment to hear them charging after him. Then, with the light of the full moon reflecting off of the layer of snow on the ground to light his way, Dark led them into the forest.
Running in, Dark kept quiet as he hid in the shadows behind one of the trees, waiting for them to get close enough. However, while he was expecting them to be thorough in their search for him in the dark forest, they instead kept their pace and started running past him, thinking that he'd just continued to run farther into the forest to escape them. After hearing the sound of footsteps dying down, Dark surprised the next guy by swinging his arm out and clotheslined him, then kicking him in the head to make sure that he was out cold.
Looking up from his downed foe, Dark saw that there was about six more coming towards him shouting, while he began to hear those that had passed him getting closer. Charging forward, Dark began swinging his sword and blocking the baseball bats that they were wielding. Dark, however, had the edge in reach as his greatsword was twice the length of their weapons. Using his superior range of attack to his advantage, Dark swung to parry their strikes, or to get a hit off on them. As he continued to fight them and take them out one at a time, he made sure that the wounds that they sustained were light and would heal over time in a week or two instead of them dying from it.
Hearing a crowd of war cries from the forest behind him, Dark barely had any time to turn around to block the first strike that came at him before having to leap back to avoid a swing from another guy. Trying to stay light on his feet, Dark kept moving as to not be surrounded while striking at any who got too close for his liking. Soon enough, most of them were lying on the ground in pain while the remainder had begun to spread out and started corralling Dark into a corner. Backing up to the side of the house, Dark held his sword out in front of him to help ward them off. However, what he didn't know was the window above him that had silently been opened.
Leaping down through the window, the leader of the group came down upon Dark with a strike to the back of his head. Stumbling to a knee, Dark tried to figure out what had happened to him and how someone could've gotten behind him with his back to the wall. Trying to shake his head clear, Dark began to get back up on his feet, only to find another strike to the back of his head, causing him to collapse on the ground before blacking-out.
Looking out upon the injured gang members, their leader gave a disgruntled snort.
"I can't believe that he didn't kill you all," he unhappily told them. "I don't know what he was thinking, but you should all consider yourselves lucky that he went easy on you."
"And how would you know that, sir?" one of them questioned.
"Like I already told you, you dumbass, those that did get hit are all alive and not dead. I'm sure that if he were to go all-out that none of you would be alive right now. Now, go help the injured back to the vans and take them back to the hideout. After that, I want you guys to meetup with me."
"What about you?" another one of them asked.
"I'm taking him to the boiler room of Canterlot High, along with a few dozen feet of chains, and my collection of knives."
Over in Equestria, Luna was sitting on the throne as Celestia came to talk to her before going to sleep.
"Now, Luna," Celestia spoke, "I know that you can handle yourself, but are you sure that you don't need my assistance for tonight? You know that the ghosts of the dead have been more aggressive during the night than they are during the day."
"I know, sister," Luna said, "but my guards and I are perfectly fine in handling such pests, thanks to a few spells that I found in the Canterlot Archives pertaining to these beings."
"Alright. If you're sure about this, then I shall leave you to it. Goodnight, Luna."
"Goodnight, Tia. Oh, wait, I almost forgot to ask you something."
"Yes?"
"Did you or Twilight find anything out on the whereabouts of this culprit?"
"Sorry to say that we haven't."
"That is rather unfortunate. We've been able to hold back the news of the risen dead for now, but I don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep this up."
"I know," Celestia tiredly sighed.
"I suppose I shouldn't keep you any longer then, less you become grumpy when you awaken."
With an agreeable nod, Celestia teleported herself from the throne room, leaving Luna by herself. As time went by, she became progressively bored waiting for any ponies to come to her night court.
Seems like it'll be another quiet night at court, she thought to herself. Well then, I may as well keep myself busy and see what ponies are dreaming of these nights... and perhaps quell a few nightmares if there are any.
Focusing her magic, Luna soon found herself within the Dreamscape lined with long rows of doors on either side of her, each leading into a pony's dream. Making her way down the row of doors, Luna would glance at each that she passed by. Even from outside the doors to their dreams, she could feel whether or not if they were having a nightmare. She eventually did come across a few lighter ones which she cleared them of, but they were mostly harmless. It wasn't until she came across a familiar door that she'd been having problems with this last week that she stopped. Letting out a sad sigh, Luna opened the door and walked inside the blinding light.
Once the light died down, Luna found herself standing in a crowd of ponies wearing black clothing. Instantly, she knew what this dream was about, seeing as the dreamer had been having this dream several times already. Making her way up to the front, Luna stopped at the familiar sight of an open coffin with a picture of Dark laying in it. Shaking her head free of any stray thoughts that might pop up from seeing this, Luna turned around to find the dreamer. Immediately she saw Twilight and her friends, then her gaze fell upon Spike, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and finally, Sweetie Belle, who was huddled up crying with Spike and the two other fillies. Walking over, Luna gently laid a hoof on Sweetie Belle's shoulder, causing the young filly to glance up at her.
"P-P-Princess Luna?"
"Everything is alright, young Sweetie Belle," Luna softly said as she cleared the nightmare, replacing it with a luscious meadow with a sole tree to provide shade.
"Is-Is this a dream again?" Sweetie Belle unsteadily asked.
"It is, though I don't understand why you continue to have that same nightmare. Didn't your sister and her friends tell you what happened to him?"
"They did, but I'm still worried about him. Maybe not as much as Twilight is, but I still am."
"Why is that?" Luna asked as she laid herself down alongside Sweetie Belle.
"Because," she began, her eyes starting to tear up again, "that bad pony sent him to a whole different world with nopony there with him, a-and no way for him to get home."
"I understand, Sweetie Belle, but rest assured that we are doing what we can to get him back. Besides, even though he's off in a different world, Twilight was able to get a message from him saying that he's just fine and was able to find himself some friends who are helping to support him."
"O-Okay."
"Good. Now, before I leave to check on everypony else, what kind of dream would you like to have?"
With barely a moment of thinking, Sweetie Belle mad her request of just having Spike and the other Crusaders with her. Happy to oblige, Luna connected the other three to Sweetie Belle's dream and after explaining to the new arrivals why they were here, they were more than happy to stay. Of course, they would've stayed anyway. Seeing how happy she was, Luna left the four to their devices and left Sweetie Belle's dream. Closing the door to her dream behind her, Luna continued down past the doors.
A few hours later of going through different dreams and helping those that needed it, Luna soon came upon another familiar door, one that she made a habit of keeping away from. Giving a snort to Blueblood's door, Luna was about to pass by it before she came to a dead stop in front of it.
"What is the meaning of this strange feeling?" Luna asked herself. "Whatever it is, it isn't like all his other dreams about wealth and mares."
Taking a cautious step forward, Luna opened the door into Blueblood's dream. Once the light died down, she looked around in an unfamiliar room full of different magical items. Getting a sense of unease by being in Blueblood's dream, Luna casted a spell to make herself invisible to him and began looking around. As she continued through the isles, she began to hear somepony talking. Following the direction of where the voices were coming from, Luna soon found herself in a back room where she saw three hooded ponies.
Just as she was about to question who they were though, the first removed his hood to reveal Blueblood, while the second stallion was the one that she remembered accompanied King Inferno to their meeting named Gunter. The third one however, still kept his hood up. Despite her seeing them though, Luna couldn't quite hear them. Sneaking closer behind Blueblood, Luna began eavesdropping on them.
"You heard about the attack on Ponyville, right?" the shopkeeper asked the two stallions.
"Yes, what about it?" Blueblood questioned.
The shopkeeper grinned wickedly. "That was my doing, all to either kill Dark, or make him suffer by losing what was precious to him."
Wait, so this is the pony who Dark described to Twilight? Luna wondered. Then again, he does have that curved horn. Strange how it's white, but the tip is blue. Also, this mystery stallion's blue coat will help us with narrowing down our list of suspects.
Luna ceased her pondering as she noticed Blueblood and Gunter reaching for something beneath their respective cloaks and placing them on a nearby table. Once the two backed away, the shopkeeper walked over and took a look at the items.
"What's up with this piece of-"
"Careful with that!" Blueblood nearly shouted. "That isn't just a mirror fragment!"
Wait, did he say it was a mirror fragment? Luna mentally asked herself.
"Be silent and listen. What we have here is a fragment of a mirror portal."
Wanting to get better details about their plan, Luna remained silent as she watched Blueblood's dream betray him. A few minutes later, she had everything that she needed to know. All, that is, but where this conspirator was located at, but she knew just the prince to interrogate.
Alright, I've heard enough of this! she heatedly thought as she casted herself out of the dream and back into the waking world.
"Guards!"
"Yes, Princess?" the two guards asked, saluting.
"I want two dozen of my guards sent here immediately. Also, I want for you and them to move silently so that nopony can hear you."
Giving Luna a parting salute, the two left to fetch her guards. After they left, Luna teleported her armor to her and donned it. Finishing placing her helmet upon her head, Luna looked up to the sound of the doors opening to see two dozen of her lunar guards filing in before standing at attention.
"Mares and gentlecolts," Luna began addressing, "I require your assistance for bringing in a known conspirator of the one that we've been hunting lately. However, due to who this pony that we'll be arresting is, I cannot give any of you their name yet." Luna began walking past them and towards the door. "That being said, let us waste no more time in bringing this pony in so that I may begin to interrogate him."
Throwing open the double-doors, Luna casted a silencing spell to mask their hoofsteps as she and her guards marched down the hallways. Knowing where to go, she led them swiftly and silently to their target. A few minutes later, she stopped in front of a white, double-door with Blueblood's cutie mark on it. Using her magic, Luna picked the lock and carefully opened the doors so she wouldn't make any loud sounds and wake him.
Walking through the doorway, Luna made her way past his living room and towards the door to his bedroom. Silently opening the door, she led her guards in and surrounded the king-sized bed that Blueblood was sleeping on. Just as Luna was about to give the order for them to arrest him, she heard him sleep talking.
"Soon, Twilight, you'll be mine," Blueblood muttered in his sleep.
Having heard enough, Luna kicked the bed, causing Blueblood to wake-up and sit-up in his bed with startled eyes. Taking in his surroundings, he saw that he was surrounded by lunar guards with Luna herself standing at the foot of his bed glaring at him.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he demanded.
"Prince Blueblood," Luna seethed. "By my right as a Princess of Equestria, I hereby place you under arrest for knowingly conspiring with a known fugitive against the crown, as a start."
"What?!" Blueblood shouted as two the guards began slapping him with cuffs and a magical inhibitor ring. "These charges are false! There is no way that I would-"
"Be silent! I have looked into your dreams and have seen what you and your partners have done, or should I say partner, seeing as the other one should be dead by now. You, Blueblood, knew that we've been after that pony for some time now, and yet you go and align yourself with him!"
"W-W-What are you talking about?"
"This isn't the proper place to have this discussion," Luna told him before addressing the guards. "We will be taking him to the interrogation room in the dungeons where I will personally question him."
"NO! Please, don't do it!"
"I am. And besides, this has been a long time coming, considering all of the shady deals that you've made behind our backs before this. Everything from bribery, blackmailing, and many more that I'm sure that I'm forgetting at the moment. Now, I want you to remain silent until we get you to the dungeons. If you so much as squeak out of that foul mouth of yours, I'll have you muzzled either by the guards here, or by myself."
A half-hour later, Blueblood was sitting alone in a dank room beneath Canterlot Castle. He was shoved in there by Luna herself before she left him to go fetch Celestia, considering that she should probably want to see and hear this for herself. About another twenty minutes after Luna left, Blueblood was blinded by a flash of light. Taking a moment to blink away the blindness in his eyes, Blueblood found himself face-to-face with a furious Celestia, while Luna stood beside her silently glaring at him.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, Blueblood," Celestia told him, her usual motherly tone now cold and demanding.
"T-There's nothing that you can do now," he shakily said.
"Doth thou hath no clue as to what's going on?! What thou hath done to Equestria?!" Luna demanded, falling back into her old speech.
"Excuse me?"
"Let me make this clear to you, Blueblood," Celestia firmly spoke. "Thanks to you and your rather stupid plan, the dead are walking Equestria."
"What?! But we didn't do anything like that!"
"Maybe not directly, but you still did. You see, Dark is the Lord of Death, meaning that his presence in our world keeps the dead in check. Without him here, anypony who dies shall remain in this world as a walking corpse."
"Are you saying that they're z-zombies?"
"Living dead would be a better term, but yes."
"And all of this happened because of you giving that stallion the mirror fragment!" Luna added.
"By the way, how did you come upon that fragment?"
"I swiped it when the mirror was here for repairs when it was being transported from the Crystal Empire to Ponyville," Blueblood hastily explained.
"Ah."
"Well now," Luna began, "since you seem to be in a telling mood, why don't you tell us where this device that you've conspired to create is so that we can destroy it and save Dark."
"It doesn't matter now, seeing as how it's a pointless pursuit at this point," Blueblood told her.
"Excuse me?"
"My partner managed to get ahold of somepony in the other world where we sent Dark to. And if all went as planned, he should've hunted down Dark by now and dealt with him for us."
No sooner had those words left his mouth did Blueblood find himself thrown off his chair and pinned against the wall by Luna's hooves.
"If Dark dies, then you will suffer the same fate! Now tell us where your partner is!"
Dark's head was throbbing as he came to. The first thing that he noticed was that his jacket and shirt were missing, though everything else that he had on was still there. Second was that he was kneeling on something very hard and uncomfortable. And third was that something cold and metallic was holding his arms up by his wrists. Slowly opening his eyes, Dark looked around to see that he was in some sort of a poorly-lit, underground room with pipes running along the ceiling. Looking up, he then saw that his right arm was being held up with thick chains, along with his left arm. Turning his head around as much as he could, he saw what looked like a large furnace of some kind behind him.
Shaking his head to try and relief himself any remaining dizziness, Dark moved his foot to try standing up with, but didn't get very far as he felt something restraining his feet too. Looking behind him and down at his feet, he saw that his ankles were chained to the floor, completely immobilizing him. Getting a little worried with the memories of what happened before flooding back into him, Dark began to pull on the chains to free himself, but he wasn't getting anywhere.
"That's not going to work, you know," a voice in the shadows told him.
Looking across the room, Dark saw a male figure in a white and black hooded jacket walking through the doorway and towards a covered table off to the side.
"What do you want with me?" Dark asked, trying to remain calm.
"Oh, nothing much," he answered Dark, removing the cloth to reveal a table covered with an assortment of different knives and other sharp objects, including Dark's Death Reaver. "I just wanted to have a bit of fun with you."
Noticing they way he said the word "fun", along with the blades on the table, Dark's heart started beating much faster.
"Alright, let me reword that. Why did you send those guys after me? That was your doing, right?"
"Yes, it was. And I did it because my... associates and I, have a mutual goal."
"And that would be?" Dark asked, though pretty much having a good idea of what it was already.
"Your death."
Figures, Dark mentally sighed.
"However." He paused, walking over to Dark with a bowie knife in his hand. "Unlike them, I would fine no greater pleasure than seeing you writhing in pain before me. But, seeing as how it's so late in the night, that'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Without warning, Dark let out a cry as he felt a searing pain in his left arm. Lifting his head up, Dark saw that whoever this guy was had just embedded his knife through his right forearm.
"That's just a little preview of what to look forward to tomorrow. And don't worry, I'll be leaving the knife in there. Wouldn't want you to go bleeding out on me yet, would we?"
Joyfully laughing, he walking out the room and locked the door behind him, leaving Dark alone with nothing but the light of the furnace, the knife in his forearm, and a sense of dread of what's to come.