My Little Dream Becomes Reality

by Tilltheafterlife

Chapter 13: Snake Eyes

☜︎☠︎❄︎☼︎✡︎ ☠︎🕆︎💣︎👌︎☜︎☼︎ ⚐︎☠︎☜︎

Poor Canterlot; several days before it was amenable well with Princess Celestia and Luna. It stood high up showing its beauty far wide from mountain range. Ponies could come and relish themselves within its walls during special occasions. Until one day, two occasions, good and disastrous, happened. For it seemed on that day, the day where Cadance, the princess of love, and Shining Armor, the captain of the royal guard become a loving couple peacefully, things take a twist for the worst.

An invasion, carried out by Queen Chrysalis. A crave to feed on limitless years of love. Did she succeed, however? No. At least not without returning to the hive empty hoofed. Many ponies were captured for food, but that was only about a nineth of the total population of pony society. Celestia, no doubt seeks them out, but what would she accomplish?

Though, declaring war against a swarm of pesky bugs would be more preferable than a god of chaos. The princesses must find some way for them and their subjects to survive these dark time events and more upcoming ones while growing strong to take back what's theirs. How will they do it? Technology? Magic?

Oh, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself. You. Yes, you. You're probably wondering why the first three paragraphs undergo what happened over the course of previous chapters you read, leaving out the main protagonist (Sam) and the main antagonist (Nightmare).

Personally, I love reflecting on past in the present. But maybe there's no use in doing so if your memory has its perks. I'm the man telling the tale of how subject 9, subject 6, and other anomalies that don't belong, effect Equestria's story, time, and balance.

I'm a man of my word and let me tell you that I will make sure to keep close eye on my experiments. Subject 9 will grow restless without guidance. Subject 6 nearly has the harmony seal cracked. I must keep track of time, because subject 9's happiness is my dream. I will make his and my dream a reality, no matter the cost! I don't care about years of waiting or pain anymore!

I've seen enough to know what would happen if this world, namely Equestria were to run on its original course, having no anomaly interferences. It and its living inhabitance will face extension without a being capable of keeping the balance between light and darkness. That being, will be subject 9 if 9's objectives are a success.

Subject 6's mission has been completed without his realization. Subject 9's mission is to eliminate subject 6 completely. I must ensure that no mercy is allowed on 6. Subject 6 is nothing more than a failure. His utter annihilation will please me, knowing that this world, subject 9, and me, will live eternally happy in a divine paradise.

To you who read this entry, I bet you weren't expecting this. . . 'fourth wall break.' My apologies. I will continue with the categorical story.

---

Discord was always a confident creature of chaos. And his confidence grew to even larger scale after knowing Celestia and Luna retreated out of fear, leaving Canterlot all for Discord's chaotic redecorating. And to go along with that, for once in his life he had others at his support. He felt that sense of pleasure. The pleasure of having the help of others. It's pleasing.

In the throne room, Discord decorates the room with cards, weird magic paintings, and checkered colored paint. The CMCs gaze upon Discord's mythical creativity, while also fearing what was to come to them. He hasn't asked anything from them over the past several hours, which only made them more bored and worse, homesick.

Fortunately, despite Discord's nature of chaos, he was respectful towards their well-being. Meaning he wouldn't treat them like playthings. The three fillies gathered in a small circle and whispered into each other's ears, when Discord left at a juncture.

"Applebloom?" Sweetie Belle says seeking her help.

"Yea? What is it, Sweetie?"

"I wanna go home."

Applebloom nods. "I know ya do. We all want the same. But we can't just leave Discord all alone. Some pony needs to look after him."

"Oh please," Scootaloo objects. "You're talking about a god whose magic overpowers a princess. We're just three little fillies with blank flanks! What good is there if we stay here. I'm with Sweetie Belle."

Applebloom rejects for good various reasons, "Girls! If ya haven't listened to Discord, he warned us that a war broke lose near Ponyville. We'd be torn to shreds if we returned now."

"He's just saying that to scare us!"

"How would you know, Scootaloo? Discord saved us from those bug monsters! He even forced Chrysalis to free us! If it weren't for him, we'd be part of a changelin' buffet!"

"More like convinced her to give us up," Scootaloo muttered.

"The point on what I'm saying is that Discord cares for us. He isn't keeping us here to watch us suffer."

"But why us?" Sweetie Belle buts in. "Did you see what havoc he caused to Ponyville? It was pretty horrendous, like my big sister, Rarity said. Turning a great orderly village upside down for fun without a care of how other ponies would feel, is just wrong."

"I know, but maybe a creature like him can change. Give him a chance!" Applebloom requests imploringly.

"The only creature I trust is Sam. And Celestia knows where he left off to." Scootaloo checks her back for a brief moment, paranoid of Discord, but finds Trixie sitting from afar. She looks down in the dumps, while showing her needs for isolation. "I also don't trust that pony," Scootaloo points a hoof at Trixie.

Trixie noticed, and in all seriousness, wasn't in the mood to argue, especially going through the trouble of explaining something debatable to the young.

Applebloom shook her head, disappointed that her friends outvoted her. Discord at some point reenters after the CMCs reached an agreement, with a claw held high to signal telekinetic magic into his art tools. Canterlot's restoration, thoughtfully in progress by the lord of chaos subsites!

"Hey, mister Discord?" Applebloom stepped forth bravely. Her two best friends made faces from behind she did not see; silently begging her to keep quiet.

The paint brushes and portraits fall clumsily on the red carpet. Discord takes a deep breath to calm down, over an interruption. "Yes, yes, what is it now little ponies? I'm a bit busy if you can't tell."

"Sorry, mister Discord it's just. . . well. . ." Applebloom glances behind, revealing to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo her fear over what she was about to ask. She also caught a glimpse of Trixie sitting flat, head down, and hooves tucked in. Discord lands on one foot and then on one cloven hoof waiting for Applebloom to spit her words out.

"Go on," Discord pats Applebloom with his paw. "Don't be shy. I'd rather have terrible news spat out at my face now rather than way later at the very last minute."

"Oh, okay then!" a smile of self-esteem is what Applebloom expresses next. "So, um, we just wanted to say being with you has been fun. And we really mean it, I mean I thought you were going to torture us from the very beginning, but me, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle saw how funny and kind you can be," she motions over to Scootaloo for support. Scootaloo receives her message before Discord has time to process.

"Uh, yes! You are the best Discord! Um, you even fly faster than Rainbow Dash, I think."

Discord saw the sweat and anxiety in their eyes. His intellect wouldn't stop screaming that something was up until he gave a response. "Do you really mean that? Or are you only saying that so you can get on my good side?"

"Wh-what?! No! Of course not! We're...just trying to say we're friends, and we believe you out of all creatures in the world could really use one or three."

"Just get to the point already you three! I know there's a 'Discord I want this!' feeling slowly crawling from head to mouth. Why else would you pathetically give me those nice comments. I'm the embodiment of chaos for Samuel's sake! And yes, I prefer Samuel than Celestia-"

"We want to go home!" all three of them said in a stack of honesty. Discord's face lit up in shock, his ears twitching over to what sounded like whining. A finger snap is all Discord needs to rid them of any chance to escape. He does so, not showing a glare as in a blink of an eye, the throne room door vanishes, then is replaced by a solid wall mimicking Canterlot's structure. Their one and only exit has been sealed. Jumping out of the stained-glass windows would result in a hundred-foot fall leading to death.

"Are you three really going to leave me like this? Did our time together not matter? The field trip, camping inside a cave while telling jokes and stories. None of that mattered?"

Applebloom speaks instantly. "Of course it mattered! Us three, you, Cadance, Sam. It was fun, but-"

"But what? I'm Discord! I can do anything for you! I can look after you three! Did I not speak of the war and possible outcomes of-"

"We know!" Scootaloo interrupts. "But don't you think it's wrong to keep us trapped here for weeks, months, or maybe years?! That doesn't sound very caring and loving!"

Discord scratches his chin with his claw finger unsure of what to do. "Snake eyes! I'm so bad at these 'personal' things! What would Sam do? He's many times better at pony interaction than me."

Sweetie Belle suddenly gets an interesting idea after a slight glance over to Trixie. She whispers her thoughts to Applebloom and Scootaloo who both are delighted by her idea.

"Why don't we help you befriend Trixie. She's been lookin' pretty down lately over there all alone. And I'd think you two would give each other great company if yall got along well," Applebloom suggested.

"Really?" Discord brightens up, then darkens down once Trixie finally quits the silent treatment.

"Trixie most certainly won't be friends with some uncanny good for nothing creature whose freakish body is made up of all sorts of things!" Trixie confessed in Discord's face, the CMC's eyes widening.

Discord turned to Trixie, forgetting Chrysalis agreed giving her away for the rotten essence inside the brat's heart. Trixie quickly searches her cloak for anything useful like smoke bombs to use as an escape but finds empty pockets.

"I suppose you're looking for these," Discord held out his open right lion paw showing miniaturized magician items ranging from wands, red toy balls, and blue smoke bombs.

"What have you done?! Give the great and powerful Trixie those back!"

"Great and powerful you say?" Discord eyes Trixie's belongings. "What value do these things bring? All I see are toys made purposely for distractions and entertainment for little colts and fillies. So naive in their young little heads to not even know it's all a lie."

"That's what a great and powerful magician shows and tells! They're called magic TRICKS for a reason! It's all done to make it seem like magic, but it never was!"

"Then why call yourself 'great and powerful' when you can only manage to cast the very basic levitation spell all unicorns learn as their first?"

Trixie grits her teeth, outraged. "Don't you dare call me weak and powerless! I may have lost to a no pony unicorn who goes by the name Twilley. And was forced to work on a rock farm for weeks while making 10 bits a day. But that doesn't mean I have no chance of becoming strong! And hey, if I had that amulet of power, I could easily take you down Discord!"

"Really?" Discord disrespectfully throws her items onto her face. "Then I suppose I should give Queen Chrysalis permission to wrap you in a cocoon once more. I did free you after all."

"So, what? I'd rather fall into years of slumber within green gel than spend a day with you, Discord. You are a freak! Tartarus! Even freakier than Chrysalis!"

"Ouch. This is what happens when a handsome fellow like me interacts with a motherless brat."

"Motherless brat?! I'll have you know I have a father!"

"Still motherless. A friend of mine told me all about you in one of his stories. Can't believe I cared so much to remember. He's the only reason I picked you out to be here with me. Something about you being 'special' caught my interest."

Trixie broke into curiosity. "And who or where is this friend you speak of lord of chaos?"

"I'm honestly not sure where, because he left me behind for an important mission. A mission to search for those six elemental bearers of harmony. He promised he'd return in a few hours, but it has been over a day. Thankfully, I have put a contact device in his zipped pockets," Discord pulled out an object from thin air, and unfolded it. "This will be a private conversation. So don't die on me while I'm gone, okay," he does a simple snap and disappears.

With a room temporarily clear of Discord, it quickly becomes embarrassingly silent between Trixie and the CMCs. Trixie's glare softened once she eyed Discord's three loyal fillies. They inched back, not wanting any trouble.

"What's the matter?" Trixie murmured. "Does the great and powerful Trixie's presence intimidate you three?"

They nod. Believing what Sam informed them about this mare was true. A mare who comes back with more evil tricks and schemes after being defeated is some pony not to be underestimated.

"Heh, good. I have a plan. And if you listen to everything I say, I promise we'll be free from Discord!"

---

*Canterlot High*

"With all of these matters discussed upon your very personal ways, how do you plan to make up for it, Sunset?"

"I don't know vice principal Luna," Sunset quivered, her voice pleading. "I could work with Sam to fix this magical mystery mess we're stuck in right now. But other than that, I have no better idea or way."

Luna's face softened, "ah, yes. The newcomer who came here hours ago, correct? Who is he? And tell me what business he has at CHS."

Sunset smiled out of hope, thinking she could reach an agreement. "Sam. That's his name. He came from the mirror not too long ago, while I laid in a deep faint from his sudden arrival. I could still see as he saved me from an ambush of undead monster like things, before he passed out entirely upon entrance into the school. I asked him when he woke up what his deal was here, but he only befriended me, and said he wasn't going to say anything until some pony reveals they robbed him of his blue space stone."

"So, you're saying if he receives what has been taken, we will receive answers from him in return?"

"Yes, your highne- I mean, miss Luna."

Luna questionably raised an eyebrow with a slight movement of her lips as she organized every school document in stacks, then placing them in a receptive order. "Where did those good manners come from? I don't recall you showing an ounce of that kind of talk before."

"I- well... have decided to change my ways of thinking. Maybe I can assist around the school as a way of saying sorry," Sunset pleaded once more.

Luna quite frankly took in Sunset's words and came up with a great way to make things up without punishment. Just today a young man and a unicorn from the other side of the mirror, put themselves in place of CHS. Rumors of the young man, Sam, have upshot into a frenzy of talk. The unicorn, however, barely was shown and noticed in CHS's greatest social media news. With a mysterious some pony having his or her info and identity so scarce, one must be a strong reporter towards that some pony, for the safety of CHS.

Sunset, of course got chosen to do such a task by Luna and was agreed by principle Celestia herself. She couldn't remember any pony crossing through the portal alongside Sam. Then again, even if she could see while paralyzed, her vision was a blur during that time when rescued.

Already informed of the unicorn's location, Sunset leaves the office, and goes up a multitude of stairs leading to the school's rooftop after trotting through hallway after hallway. Only question she's left with now is how she'll interview this pony to ensure positive feedback on her behalf.

A quick glance at the rising moon was what she needed. Its light brightened the sky and roof. Her surroundings on top of the school became more seeable. The undead monsters gnawing out anything in their way, some even were still attempting to break into CHS. Though the doors and windows were barricaded, that wouldn't be enough to keep them away for good.

As Sunset walks along the roof's wet surface, her attention was brought to a telescope with its lens pointing away from the giant space rock in the night sky. Principal Celestia and vice principal Luna as new alicorn ponies were not experienced in magic enough yet to raise/lower the sun and moon. But unlike Equestria, this world's natural law and existence functions and revolves without magic. Sun and moon automatically maneuver on their own without any alicorn manually manipulating those two.

Beside the telescope she noticed, stood the pony she seeks for inquiry. This was her chance, no more rudeness, no more bullying. If she could interview and positively affect this pony's point of view, people would soon look at her differently.

She breathed in and out before nervously walking towards. . . . . . HIM?!

Her eyes couldn't believe it. The shade of night made it difficult to see the pony, but as she got close. . . a memory erupted in her head similar in the ways of a volcano. Eyes were not deceiving. It. . . was. . . him!

"I- um," he glanced away for a moment, sweat pouring down his face. "H-hi Sunset! It's uh, my goodness it's been a long time. Uh, what have you been up to?"

Sunset's jaw dropped. She remembered and so did he. "What I've been up to?" Sunset laughed softly at that question. "Forget about me, what about you. What have you've been doing and where were YOU when kicked out of magic school," she paused heavily before saying the name, "Sunburst?"

"Oh, well you see. . . wait just a moment! How are you here right now?! I mean shouldn't you be in Canterlot doing you know, assistant princess things?"

"That's Twilight Sparkle, to which I'm nothing like her. I'm here to ask you a few questions, that is all. The principal of this school wants to know about you and your partner, Sunburst. Please answer the truth," her horn glowed brightly as the moon, and in those seconds of thought a book and pen appeared, hovering in the air.

"Does it have to be now? I'm kind of in the middle of something-"

"First question, describe your homeland from where you are from?"

"Sunset, you already know-"

"Just answer please so you and I can get back to whatever we were doing. Vice principal Luna literally made me it clear that each of these specific questions written in this journal here, are to be answered or. . . well, I actually have no idea, but I'd feel guilty letting them both down."

Sunburst couldn't help but sigh. "Okay, fine. I'm from another world named Equestria and my home is Sire's Hollow. It's a pretty small village with ordinary ponies. I made the decision to return there after I flunked magic school. My mom was the same as I once knew her, though she said I'd have to move out eventually."

Sunset happily wrote on her journal. "Sire's Hollow, okay. Next question. What's you and your partner's business at CHS?"

Sunburst looked to the stars then back at Sunset, hoof under his chin. "Th-that particular question I can't answer completely. Really, it's my partner, Sam who you should ask, but you already did. *Sigh* all I know is that he's searching for a magical stone like the one we found inside the Crystal Heart. I'm only here to observe him, aid him, and stay in these school walls for my own safety. Because, well," Sunburst gestured over to the undead. "You get the point."

"So, you think following him wherever he goes will keep you safe?" her joyful tone slightly dissipates.

"Only when our destination is reached, is how my and every pony else's safety and happiness will be ensured forever. After all, our world is nearing its end. I can tell by the magical compounds in the sky. Equestria, the land, is screaming for help."

"Where in Equestria did you two meet?" Sunset asked.

"The Crystal Empire."

Sunset's eyes sank in confusion. "The crystal what?"

"An Empire long forgotten by a curse of King Sombra who's now reformed."

"That's the place you decided to move to? An ancient, possibly dangerous to any pony that enters, empire?!"

"Not by decision, I was kind of forced," he claimed.

"How were you forced?"

Sunburst let out his third and final sigh. "Sire's Hollow kind of had a little issue with griffons. Something about not offering enough bits, so there was an invasion that caused a wild spread of fire as punishment. We thankfully fled before any pony was hurt. I for one fled in the opposing direction, leaving my mom behind."

"You left your mother? Why?"

"Because it was time to give up my colthood and live as a full-grown stallion alone."

"Wait but isn't the empire you chose to foolishly land your hooves in in the Frozen North? That area is constantly blowing with snow; snow so thick in air that it could make venturing through impossible! Any pony without a certain compass or guide would get lost and turn into ice."

"Oh Sunset, I may barely have any skill in magic, but my knowledge exceeds more than a pony can count. I simply asked a very kind unicorn," Sunburst pulled out a spell book while talking, "to cast a wintery proof spell on me," he flipped through and easily found the page he was looking for. "And I was momentarily free from becoming a popsicle as I traveled."

Upon those stated answers, Sunset readied her journal and pen again, her face showing a tad of frustration, most of that frustration coming from a lack of info Sunburst gave about Sam. She then query's one final question that was required for her assignment's completion. The know-it-all stallion gladly presented his fancy averaged sized telescope that he packed on trip, after Sunset politely asked what he was studying on.

Cringed by the scope's appearance, she zipped her disgusted mouth, trying to not hurt Sunburst's feelings. It wasn't by her consent that she'd use it to observe Sunburst's research; she needed information in journal to return. And Sunburst said it'd be ten times faster if she'd just observe rather than him explaining the whole idea only.

The lens of Sunburst's telescope was a bit blurry, but Sunset gently rubbed a hoof on the lens surface, allowing her to see clearly into space. Her posture became straight and relaxed as she gazed through, forgetting about disturbed thoughts and replacing those thoughts with astonished ones.

"Woah! Now this is something you don't see every day," she said, as she adjusted the scope in hopes of seeing more space rocks from afar.

"It's literally what astronomers see every day," his voice then saddens. "Unfortunately, their overall usefulness to pony society is. . . little to nothing. When we're mentioning space, all normal ponies are always about sun and moon(3x); over and over again! Just two ginormous spheres that give the sky its atmosphere, color, meaning, and feeling. And very few worry about what possibly resides out there in outer space!"

"Uh huh," Sunset said without giving much attention.

Sunburst carried on, this time speaking of myths and unusual theories. "Ever thought of any space entities floating several light years away from Equestria? I have, and spell book in the fireplace do I regret doing that!" he shivered over his thoughts.

"Space is called space because of its lack of occupation. Only stars, the moon, and our star occupy space, in other words space has too much space. But what of other living beings far beyond our world? Think about it, Sunset. Colts and fillies fear the dark because they believe monsters like the boogeypony will snatch them for dinner if they stay in for long. As a full-grown stallion, I don't believe in any of those made-up scary stories, but it makes me wonder if any pony or anything dwells within the unknown darkness of outer space beyond pony's reach. If anything, a random giant like space worm with the ability to travel through space time could appear in our world. Snake eyes! I can't believe I came up with that! Picturing it in my head just makes me all apprehensive! Eugh!" Sunburst finished excitedly.

Sunset caught about half of those words as she unstuck her right eye away from glass, and asked Sunburst the question he unexpectedly wanted.

"Sunburst, what is that red thing?" she straightened her hoof over to a red glow much like a star in the night sky.

Sunburst grinned, eager to inform and ask for Sunset's help. His horn intensely sparkled, waves of orange magic flowing around, in contact with his great spell book. Sunset felt impressed how such a young stallion flipped through hundreds of pages and found the exact page number in just a number of seconds. Truely, he was the master of books; not spells, books.

"This is what I've been meaning to ask of you," he showed Sunset the book and pinpointed the starting sentence using the tip of his hoof. Sunset nearly read it aloud but paused after realizing how much information she'd have to read for a full understanding. Words written too small, too close together, and too fancy were just difficult to read even for some pony with a magnifying glass.

"What's this all about? Crystals?" Sunset stared at him closely. "This is what you've been studying? Giant rainbow crystals in space?"

Sunburst adjusted his glasses, dissatisfied over Sunset's reaction. "Not exactly. This is actually the part where I start explaining. You see that particular crystal you see far beyond our reach is special. Not because of what's outside, but because of what's inside."

Another glance, and Sunset returned to the telescope giving another check while asking for an answer, "And what's inside of this crystal you speak of?"

"A pony," he swiftly answered unhesitatingly.

Receiving a raised eyebrow was just enough to make Sunburst sigh silently deep down inside himself, knowing Sunset wasn't about to take his word on it so easily. He needed to say something logical in order to get Sunset's belief and help on this experiment, or risk getting locked up in a room for suspicious activity on school roof.

"The only pony who made into space was Luna, or. . . her evil side, Nightmare Moon. And that was by the most powerful magical artifacts in all of Equestria combined. How do you suppose some random civilized pony got sealed away in a red sharp crystal in space!? If I'm not correct when we studied magic back in Celestia's school, magic spells casted onto something can only last so long before the spell dispels."

"Yes, I understand," Sunburst comes close to ensure he is seriously understood. "But if you didn't know that crystal is related to the elements of harmony! At least, one of the elements. It's the same size and shape as the one I found crashing into the Crystal Empire. Only, that one was blue."

Sunburst fidgeted around with an opening on his cloak. He hadn't noticed it until now, but thankfully none of his body was cut open by knife or crystal shard. What a horrific experience, being a part of a battle that he was completely defenseless in. He wasn't, however, vulnerable as Rarity and Sam took all of the blasts, stabbing, and slashes Killer Sans unleashed.

After deep thinking Sunburst told Sunset what happened back in the empire and uses that past knowledge for reasoning.

"Don't you see that I'm here to help save the world?"

Sunset flinched, fifty percent of her mind believing him as the cold breeze flying by distracted her from any outside unnecessary thoughts. "So, let me get this straight," her tone of voice became a more questionable one. "Sam is searching for six ponies trapped in crystals, who we don't know. And plans to befriend them in order to give birth to another set of elements much like the previous ones?"

"If you'd like to put it that way then, yes."

"But. . . WHY? Why create another set of elements?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, believe me if I'm wrong but Sam says a being capable of destroying our world has appeared. The original elements of harmony were used up and destroyed after imprisoning his unlimited destructive power. How long? I don't know, yet."

"And how do you know gathering these new elements will have its chances against this, being."

"I don't. I'm not sure either," he nervously chuckled. "I have seen the power of just ONE. It's unthinkable of how a magical artifact capable of controlling space endlessly exists! Most magical artifacts in Equestria contain some of the most legendary magic that even overpower alicorn magic! The downside is that magical artifacts eventually die out from usage, like an electrical toy losing battery power," he coughed.

"What happens if he gets all six together?"

Laughing, Sunburst passes by her and stares off into the distance. It was as if Sunburst had been planning to pull something off for a while, and now all of sudden felt like the perfect time. "Godlike status. . . that's what he says he'll have after finishing the collection," he made a gesture to his telescope. "Come. Take a closer look."

Sunset had no urge or reason to deny his request as she ambled back.

"You see the process being used to create these elements is called CRYSTEM. An old process to create scrolls and magical artifacts by sacrificing troubled ponies who were against order in Equestria long, long ago. I do believe Starswirl the Bearded helped over this spell's making. He was the greatest unicorn of all time! Heck, I don't there's a unicorn out there who can ever reach his level again," he devotes. "Anyways, the name stands for:

Crystal

Regulate

Yearning

Success

To

Eliminate

Macabre / Malice."

"And would you care to explain the acronym?" Sunset returned to her friend's book of advanced spells.

"Sorry but no. If you want to find out, you must see it for yourself. Well, actually, if you REALLY want to find out I need your help with a complex spell. It's short, but not simple," his hoof moved along the page. "There!"

Sunset looked closely as far as her eyes could see. "What's there? The words are too small. I can barely make it out- uh," she suddenly feels her eyes adjusting themselves as the words in front of her enlarge enough for her to read. A strange set of glass is what she now sees through.

"Like it?" Sunburst rubs his eye as his vision blurs. "They're a special pair of glasses, magical even. They were a gift I earned from the princess after receiving an award for most knowledgeable student of the year. You can see the spell now, can you, Sunset?"

"I can!" she responded excitedly, relieved that it wasn't because of her eyes' health lacking a consumption of carrots. "What does the spell do anyway? There aren't any specific details about it. And I don't want to cast a spell that would cause a hazard. I was already a hazard of a student not too long ago."

"It won't cause a hazard, I swear! Don't ask me to do it myself because I'm not skilled enough. And also, don't call yourself a hazard! The spell will only increase the flow of time on an object."

"And what good would that do?"

"It will speed up the CRYSTEM process by a ton. Normally a full week is needed for CRYSTEM to finish conserving energy before landing back on surface ground. With this spell I can almost guarantee it'll land somewhere near this school tomorrow morning."

Sunset examined Sunburst and his book before putting full trust into him and the spell. Comprehension plus focus equals success. Closing her eyes for a great focus on time, her horn flared green. Sunburst couldn't help himself to jump up and down. Being a stallion of great use for the protection of Equestria felt like an honor.

It wasn't long before Sunset gained enough composure to release a bolt of green. It flew fast, faster than sound. A green flash covered the sky, then faded into darkness. Sunset felt her eyes adjust back to normal once she realized Sunburst took the pair of glasses back during the blinding flash. Once she finished Sunburst was already standing firmly at his observing position.

"Thank you!" Sunburst said cheerfully, double checking through his scope to make sure the spell had hit. "You're the best, Sunset! I knew I could count on you!"

Sunset laughed awkwardly while writing down her very last notes and answers to finish the assignment. "Heh, yea. I knew I could count on you too."

"Oh colt! I can't wait to tell Sam the good news! I'll be back to this first thing in the morning. You can come with me if you'd like tomorrow. "

---

*7 hours later*

When the sun rose up, Sam was energized quite enough to actually play a child's game of egg hunt. Normally, after a nice sleep he'd wake up unintentionally going through depressed thinking, but his mindset was sharply handsome to get things done today. Climbing out of bed his face remained blank as usual, but he wasn't in pain on the inside to say the least. For once his body wasn't too hot or cold after bed, which was nice.

The soreness fled from his body last night - something Sam took in after standing tall. He then went to a sink and soaked his face with cold water to rid one last episode of drowsiness. Only a few pieces of brown paper towels laid flat on the counter as Sam folded and combined each into one. Casually wiping away the dripping wetness, the towel became soaked.

He let out a few moans and a yawn before waking Lyra Heartstrings in the modest way possible. "Hey Lyra," he wiggled her whole body gently. "Sorry to wake ya all of a sudden but I got a stone to find. I wouldn't want you left here all alone."

As expected, Lyra growled in an irritable manner. Though his last statement had her heart pounding inside, stopping herself from treating Sam like an alarm clock that needed to get bucked. "Sweet Celestia, Sam! What the hay?!" she yelled. "I almost won! Almost won a staring competition against Derpy! Out of all the times you're not silent this time was particularly the worst time ever!"

Sam eased back to a shelf beside her resting place, "My bad, jeez, I didn't know you were having such a magnificent dream. By the way I carried you all the way back here while you were under Luna's sleeping spell last night."

"Okay, and?" her bad outlook showed its spice from her words. Something Sam somewhat. . .enjoyed.

"Annnnd you'd be upset that you were left sleeping on the floor unnoticed by the world of cruelty."

"Correction, your world is cruel. That's from what I, Lyra Heartstrings, Equestria's greatest and only anthropologist around here knows, " her words that traveled from mouth to ear were correct no doubt. Sam simply laughs hearing this; not offended by her pointing out the nasty ole facts about mankind in his face."I have countless books about humans at home. That's why I'm like the only pony who knows about them. But Bon Bon keeps demanding I cast those books aside, because she thinks it's weird that I have thoughts about humans every day."

"I don't think your obsession with my kind is weird at all," he encouraged. "There's a few humans out there like me who have their own obsessions with you ponies."

"Really?" Lyra's mood brightened. "You humans study us ponies?"

A shrug is what then blocked off her excitement release, "Sort of. I wouldn't say study, but I'd say fantasize is the word. Humans like me use our imagination to escape planet Earth's reality. I usually fantasize only on episodes where I feel like trash. Now, I'm not saying reality is the worst in my world because it's actually unhealthy to remain in fantasy land or a virtual world that isn't real for the rest of your life."

"Yea, your world sounds interesting, but also sad at the time," Lyra said, staring off at a window nearby.

The lights flicker, which brings her thoughts fully back to Sam. Lyra then sees a finger pointed in her direction with a conflicted look. "There is one thing I find weird about you, Lyra. You say you got piles of human history books, right?"

Lyra nods.

"How in the world did you obtain all of that knowledge about humanity written in leather and paper? Did you steal all of those books from a library or something?"

"What?! No! I-" she paused. Her hesitation to speak tempted Sam to make her spill it. "Look I respect you and all because you are part of a great species I cherish, but. . . it's none of business how I came to know about your species in the first place."

Sam sighed. Dang, another unsolved mystery. Better not push her any further when I got places to be.

"Alright fine, I'll respect your privacy," he muttered while taking a small walk to the door and opening it by the handle. "Anyways, I'm heading to the auditorium first. You wanna come?"

"To search for your missing stone? You bet," she said getting out of bed. Her hair was a tangled mess with her tail having an even worse condition than yesterday, and Sam could tell it wasn't the first time as she used magic to quickly smoothen her hair back to its original style. "Why start searching the auditorium? It's like really far from here you know. "

"Principle Celestia told me about another human like me that wanders the school. It's said that human boy is responsible for my stone's disappearance. I don't care who it is. I need that stone back!" he says in a serious tone of voice. I also wonder how Rarity is holding up in that stone. It's been a little while since we've last spoke.

Lyra gasped, "Wait! You mean. . . oh no. Sam, I think that's Flash's unbeatable companion you're talking about."

"Unbeatable?" he stared at her, mentally squeezing the juicy info out of the young mare while forming a smirk, then lifted her fully by the arm. Her nerves sparked from the astonishing strength Sam possessed. "How is he unbeatable? He's just a singer from what I've heard."

Sam quickly made a decision to exit into a hallway before Lyra could say anything back. Each hall they'd pass through at least for today, was deserted and silent like a plain hill. Posters hung on the walls showing off fun events that you'd expect to take place in a high school. The only posters that Sam paid attention to was of course the music related ones.

For Lyra's sake, Sam walked at a very quick pace rather than a run so that she doesn't experience what would feel like a bumpy hayride. After the long walk of silence without any interruption the two well good beings arrived at an entrance to the school's auditorium. Hoping for a great find, Sam released Lyra from his grasp and without any consideration of any pony standing on the other side, he quickly barged in, hyper focused.

Intense focus led to him seeing hundreds of black bendable empty chairs aligned in rows within a second. And within the next second his eyes caught Flash Sentry. There he was, on stage, as if he were about to play something for an entire audience.

Sam climbed the stairs and met Flash eye to eye. "Alright, where's my space stone?" he asked without showing aggression.

Flash was a bit busy jamming on his electric guitar until Sam appeared. Flash stopped his hoof which was now barely away from fiddling with the strings, as his pony self jumped up in shock. "Wh-woah!" he was about to complain, then realized it wasn't a random some pony. "H-hey..."

"Hey there, Flash. Sorry to disturb ya mate, but I need to have a little word with your band partner. I hope you don't mind. It's nothing personal honestly."

"Uh, okay, whoever you are," Flash Sentry pointed a hoof, "he's right behind you."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he thought it was all a trick, but decided to turn his back anyways and-

"Beepbop skdoo!"

Sam slightly looked downwards to find the source of a GREATLY known voice/sound in his memory. There from behind, stood an incredibly short young man. His hand was glued to a microphone, and he had a face filled with pride. It wasn't Sam's own fault that his eyes widened long enough to fall out. The boy's appearance and existence were to blame.

Lyra and Flash were both staring at the two humans, unsure is they somehow shared a connection. Sam wouldn't believe his vision if this wasn't his dream. But it was. Blue spikey hair, a white cross out shirt, and a pair of red shoes and a red hat. It was definitely him. Boyfriend.

Boyfriend was the mysterious 19-year-old from the Friday Night Funkin universe who had somehow beaten every single one of his opponents within the very first try in a rap battle. Though, Sam knew the dirty truth behind Boyfriend's streak of inevitable victories. Being the one who controls Boyfriend while playing the game hundreds of times during actual school, Sam would know about BF's ability. The ability to reset time to a certain state when meeting defeat.

Holy crap! When did Boyfriend become a thing in my dream world? I thought this dream was only about Equestria. Guess I'm wrong there.

"Beepbop boop baaaap, skbep beepaa be de skbep beepaa beep bap skdoo bappity bapboop," Boyfriend beeped. "Skdoo beepaa' skbep bep bap boop boop de baaaap."

Sam's expression sours. "Well, I'm sorry for being creepy. My head tends to wander sometimes, alright."

Boyfriend continues beeping, "Skdoo skebap be bappity' beepaa bep beep bap boop. Skdoo bop boop boop de beeeep beepbop beep beepaa boop bepo boop bap skdoo beeeep beep bappity beepaa beepaa be bop boop boop de."

Yea, yea, screw you. Ugh, for goodness sake, I didn't think he'd be such a jerk. This is going to make things harder for sure. Wait a second. . . his girlfriend. Where? the curiosity thankfully took his mind off his nerves.

Sam hadn't realized it yet, but he somehow understood Boyfriend's language without a hint of confusion. Not that Sam could speak in such an unformidable way, though it was as if his mind was somehow catching BF's beeps and translating them into english within milliseconds.

"Alright whatever little man, let's just get down to business," he held up his gauntlet and pointed at a small, carved out, diamond shaped hole. "Where is it? Word has gone out that you stole it while I was unconscious. It's blue and bright."

Boyfriend's eyebrows didn't move, but his smile motioned into a frown. "Be bip beep baaaap, beeeep beepbop beep beepaa' skbep beepaa beepbop boop bop skdoo bapboop skdoo skebap boop beep? Skdoo bappity boop boop skebap beepaa beepbop beep beepaa bop beepo bopo boop skbep beepaa be bappity boop beepaa be de be beeeep boop bap bopo de brep baaaap brep skdoo bep bap be de beepbop be bappity boop!"

"The big idea here is I need it back to stop the end of the world, so gimme," Sam extends an open hand, his front four fingers moving back and forth together. From Boyfriend's point of view, Sam is seen as a tall school bully demanding he is to be given lunch money.

Boyfriend believed that because of his height, many taller beings such as Sam would pick on him for their own amusement. No. Boyfriend wasn't going to let that happen. Feeling ridiculed by Sam's absurd request, Boyfriend slaps away Sam's hand, feeling great that he stood up for himself.

"Dang little man, you got some aggression going on," Sam's frustration builds. "Look, don't make me do this hard way. I HATE arguing and fighting with the innocent such as yourself."

Instead of hearing another beep in response Flash chimed in, wanting to break the argument. "Hey, let's all calm down here. I don't know who you are stranger, but there has to be a way you two can settle things with that stone."

Sam quickly turns his head, focusing on the pony who also grew blue spikey hair on scalp. "In what way exactly? I found that stone first fair and square."

Flash held his guitar tightly while trying to be part of Boyfriend's defense. "Sounds pretty selfish of you to keep a magical stone so important away from everybody and only to yourself."

"Boop boooop beep bep beepaa beepo baaaap!" Boyfriend added.

Sam tried to look unfazed, but his mind was racing for words. He couldn't win this argument no matter how hard he tried. His brain was highly above standards, though his tongue wasn't silver and far from charming. Even if he raised his voice and put on an act of aggression they'd still disagree, and Sam wasn't about to use violence to get his way. Violence isn't always the answer towards particular enemies.

Thankfully, Lyra Heartstrings, the one and only mare who was fortunately on his side, partakes in the argument. "What if you two went against each other in a sort of arranged competition?" she asked diligently.

Boyfriend puts a finger under his chin while Sam waited for his or Flash's response.

"Oh, I know!" Flash rubs his front hooves together with a smirk. "How about a-"

"Bap beep de bop beep beepaa beepaa beepo boop! (Rap Battle!)" Boyfriend said before Flash could finish.

"That's. . . exactly what I was gonna say. . ." Flash awkwardly fell silent afterwards, leaving the wooden stage to BF and Sam.

"Yea! A rap battle! That's perfect! I'd LOVE to see how well you perform Sam!" said an excited unhelpful Lyra.

"Ye-yea, sure, Lyra," he looked at a now confident little man nervously. Ah, snake eyes! A rap battle is far from perfect against Boyfriend! I'm legit testing his greatest talent and just asking to lose! But I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. I don't have any better options other than the worst, which is violence. "Alright I'll roll with your game. Winner keeps the stone, correct?"

"Baaaap boop de!" Boyfriend concurred with an energetic nod.

"Uh huh, thought so."

Boyfriend received an eyeroll from his soon to be opponent as Sam grabbed a microphone by a holding stand and shook his head over the vow he just made. The biggest concerns for Sam were the fact that he wasn't playing on a keyboard. So that meant he'd have to rely on his own voice and timing skills to win. Also because of BF's time resetting ability, Sam would have to play fairly without exceeding BF's playstyle, otherwise BF might rewind time without anyone's notice, and return back at the very beginning with more experience.

I just have to play something long enough to wear him down. I've seen him sweat many times. But now that I think about it most of his sweat came from fear over creepypasta characters from many FNF mods.

The stage lights from above shined under Flash's command with a flick of hardened switch. Conveniently, two spotlights each encircled both Sam and BF while other spotlights of different color remained out of use on stage. To test sound, they both commanded their fingers to simultaneously land on their mics.

"So let me guess. I'm going to make music with the sounds of my mouth, and you'll play along, right?"

With a wide-open smile Boyfriend held two fingers to show peace and said, "Yea!" without a single beep.

Hmm, but what to play? he thought carefully and easily gave up in a second. Snake eyes! I don't know what to sing or beep! I swear every time I compete against someone I always end up with the worst possible outcome! Like rolling a pair of dice and both of them landing on. . . . . . snake eyes.

An idea formed over a memory. "Wait! Before we sing, let me do something really quick. It won't take long I promise," Sam left his spotlight and made a few adjustments to the sound controls. It felt a little uncomfortable twisting and turning the speakers all the way up, but Sam's spirit craved recklessness. He knows an act like this would grab the entire school's unwanted attention. And he'll do it anyway without any consideration of consequences.

After Sam finished, he gave a nice pat on his chest as a way of going easy on himself. He stood up with a small grin and returned to his spotlight, microphone in hand. "Now I'm ready," Sam shot a glance at Lyra and Flash who were both sitting on what seemed to be bendable chairs. "What about yall? Are yall ready for this?"

"Woooo! Go Sam!" Lyra kindly encouraged.

Flash only remained silent with his arms crossed. Taking that silence as a yes, Sam focused on Boyfriend. For the most part things felt quite even for the two of them on stage. There wasn't any need for a large audience. Lyra and Flash were good enough.

"Alright then! This is a song called Snake Eyes. While I'm singing this, pretend that I have a cup for a head. Trust me it'll make things much better for you."

"Beepaa beepbop bap boop boop," Boyfriend counted down. "Beepaa beeeep be," he landed on two. "Be bappity boop," then one. "Bapboop be!"

This match was going to get red hot, as Sam held his mic closely to mouth, showing off extreme confidence. He could feel his energy along with BF's energy surging in the auditorium's atmosphere. Sam quickly played by the rules and started letting out different pitched sounds out of his mouth. Those sounds went out accordingly as BF responded back with approximately the same input Sam gave off.

Their rap battle happily raged on. Boyfriend maneuvered into many divergent positions to help find a right pitch for each note he must play to stay alive. A little drip of sweat washed down BF's face like a tiny waterfall filled with worry and exhaustion.

Sam's vocal cords felt like they were on fire, even so he kept on. His Cuphead like voice echoed across the entire school, curtesy to the speakers. The sound waves were so loud that even some bounced far enough outside of campus.

"You got this Sam! Take him down!" Lyra cheered.

Sam felt a tinge of joy hit his heart. He had never been motivated like this before.

----

*Meanwhile*

Sunset and Sunburst, the first few trotting down the halls heard the sounds. They weren't too far away from the exit. Just a few more hoof steps and- they both came to a halt. Not only because of a barricaded exit standing in pony's way from the outside world, but because they finally decided to put a short span of attention over the excessive beeping flooding their ears.

"Ugh," Sunset groaned in annoyance. "What is that sound? It sounds like. . . music."

"Hm. Maybe because it is music," Sunburst remarked. "We don't have time to mess around, Sunset. The CRYSTEM process is nearly complete, and it won't be long before the crystal makes landfall near CHS. Based on my calculations it'll land several hooves outside those doors," he levitated his spell book around. "Could you kindly teleport us through those doors?"

Sunset snarled. Her droopy eyelids along with her lifeless energy made it difficult to think straight and she couldn't bare casting another spell, even the simplest ones. "Can't you do that? Teleportation is like the second easiest spell below levitation. And just to be clear I'm only helping you again today for Sam's own sake. You have no idea how much that spell took out of me last night, Sunburst!"

"I know, I know, I'm also doing this for Sam's sake too," he sighed. "And I don't know why. It's just something I feel on the inside that's begging me to follow him."

Sunset needed rest, but he also needed her to cast one last spell to free the pony from the crystal once it lands. His horn glowed as Sunburst focused on where he wanted to be. For most common unicorns out in Equestria it'd usually take them two to three seconds to teleport. For alicorns or highly skilled unicorns it'd take 0.5 seconds. Although, for Sunburst, it required 10 seconds for an engulfing flash of orange to take both of them outdoors.

They then checked to see if any monsters were nearby. Thanks to luck there weren't any Sunburst had to bash with his book. And even more luck crawled under their muzzles once the soon to be couple gazed above into the sky where a great thick red fog resided. Suddenly, a red lighting flash struck the ground stinging their eyes by its intense brightness.

Wherever the bolt struck is exactly where the crystal they observed crashes at. Its smooth, tough, shiny edge pierces past the red fog high above, then creates a massive crack in the ground after its crash. As a result of such a rough landing a shockwave blew past the entirety of CHS and even everything in CHS's vicinity.

However, Sunburst quickly recovered out of desperation. There it was, in front of him. In an instant he caught eye of the pony inside. The pony appeared to be more or less of a young pegasus mare happily sleeping in a crystal's red ooze.

"Okay Sunset. This is the moment we've been waiting for," Sunburst flipped to page 88 in his book of spells and prayed to Celestia that Sunset would find it in herself to cast one last complex spell. "We aren't capable of shattering this crystal by brute force. Our only option is magic. And you are the only one I know who can pull it off."

"Whatever. I deserve to get paid after this," she muttered tiredly.

"There are actually two phases to the CRYSTEM process. This is only phase one."

"Excuse me? There's more to this?!" she shouted bitterly.

Sunburst chuckled a tad. "Not more for you. Sam can take care of the rest once you free the pony trapped inside. I only needed a talented unicorn such as yourself to finish phase one, due to Sam's lack of magic. I've studied his kind before and know that his kind only relies on physical and mental strength. They have no magical strength to spare once so ever."

Sunset saved her breath of reliefs for later. She stood there; spell book held in one hoof. Much of her magic and energy wasn't with her because of a restless yesterday. Even so, Sunset felt a sense of ambition form inside. It was like the universe was begging her to do this. She didn't know why, but she gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and channeled a large amount of magic power she had left into her horn, despite gaining a severe headache while so.

"I think I better take a few hoof steps back," Sunburst contemplated.

Sunset unleashed a violent blast without any hesitation after she finished charging it. The blast shattered away every attribute to what a sturdy crystal was once, leaving a blue rainbow maned pegasus free from its trappings.

"I. . . did it," Sunset Shimmer said in relief as she hit face down on mushy grass unconsciously.

Sunburst looked down at her. "I guess I have a lot to owe her in debt when she recovers."

"Urgh! What the hay? Where am I?" the pegasus asked with a raspy voice.

To Sunburst's astonishment, the mare got on all four hooves quickly without an issue. He'd think being asleep for a long time inside a crystal would cause harmful effects to one's body. Or maybe just this particular pegasus was more fit in physical health than most average pegasi.

"You're at a placed named Canterlot High. There isn't any time to explain right now. Come on, I need to get you inside before-" Sunburst froze.

"Before what?"

"Before we're nothing but roasted horse meat!" his eyes sank at the sight.

The newfound pegasus looked behind herself and she immediately flapped her wings to stay away from ground. Sunburst didn't want to make any sudden movements. The door back inside was barricaded, and it would take him too long to cast another teleportation spell away from the herd of undead creatures that now surrounded them.

Their teeth were sharper than knives, and their eyes looked to be made of the stuff of nightmares. This wasn't going to end well. The strange pegasus appears tough, though Sunburst doubts she can take them all.

"Okay, what are these monsters?! I swear if any of them land a sharp claw on my feathers I'm going to pound them to next moon!" the pegasus threatened.

A few monsters pulled butterfly like wings out of their backs to strike the courageous pegasus. She managed to throw a hard punch at one of them, busting one of the flying monsters into a pile of rotten flesh and blood. Another swoped in on her and kicked her right in her muzzle. She groaned in pain while failing to keep steady in air.

The moment more of the monsters grew wings in order to join the fight is when her confidence dropped to a level so low that she lowered herself down.

"Hey, nerdy unicorn whatever your name is!"

Sunburst gave her a dissatisfying stare. "It's Sunburst."

"Right, uh, can't you do something about this! I mean you seem like the magic type, and I think these freaks could go for some destructive magic right about now! My name's Rainbow Dash by the way," she said.

"Do you really think I can cast high level spells to care of this?!" he told her in panic as they were slowly cornered. "If I could, I would've done so already!"

As hopeless as it seemed for both of them, a strange blue wave of magic with force over the top, spaced the monsters out and away.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped. "Woah! Was that you?!"

"No, it wasn't," Sunburst denied.

"Then who- *cough*" Rainbow Dash coughed out a puff of dark gray smoke that she breathed in unexpectedly. More smoke out of nowhere expanded making it difficult for them to see anything in front. Then, the smoke gathered and formed a blue portal. Next thing they knew, two beings, one tall, one short, appeared in front of them as the portal dispersed.

"Beepo boop beepaa' skbep bop boop beep beepaa beepaa beepbop boop skbep boop skdabeep bap boop beep bip skbep beepaa be bapboop boop beepaa beepbop boop bap, skbep beep brep!"

The tall one nodded as a response to the short one.

"Did some pony order a rapper, a fashionista, and a hero all together here?" Sam raised his gauntlet high showing off a blue stone's infamous glow.

"I believe they simple mindedly ordered help. There really aren't many ponies out in Equestria who ask me for anything specific these days," Rarity happily took a breath in and out once she saw her friend, Rainbow Dash. Sadly, Rainbow Dash couldn't see her. "It's good to be back with you Sam. Not to be stuck in a gauntlet, but to speak with you again."

"Yea, I missed you too. You know what else I miss?"

"No, I do not know. What is it?"

"Reckless battling!"

---

For it seemed only monsters with brute strength were CHS's biggest worries, there are some other wordily beasts and mythical creatures that thrive far away from school grounds. Some are dangerous, some are not.

Sadly, thanks to the high portions of magical activity that has been taking place there; had just caught the hunger of three obscure creatures. One of them being the leader of the trio, sensed the magical presence. And to their luck, it wasn't far.

"Do you two know what that is?"

"No," the other two responded to their leader, too distracted by their craving for negativity to even pay any real attention.

"It's Equestrian magic!"