Twilight Sparkle and Luna fight a dream succubus which threatens the lives of every unicorn, alicorn, and zebra in Equestria.
When Twilight Sparkle was transformed into an alicorn, she had no idea of the responsibilities the new station it would bring. Luna began training her to fight on the dreamscape. She tried her best to attend to the lessons, but was not expecting to be tested. Now that moment has come. She and Luna are in a fight, not only for their lives, but for the lives of every unicorn and alicorn in Equestria. "Just think of this as a pop quiz." said Luna. "You're not helping, Luna." Twilight said. Note: Guest appearance by a character from Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic. You do not need to have read it to understand the character, which is why I'm not labelling it as a crossover.
Twilight burst into Luna's chamber. She looked as though she had been interrupted from her sleep. Luna had contacted her in a dream.
Luna looked very weak and could not even get up.
"P-Princess Luna!" Twilight gasped. I got here as quickly as I could. What's wrong?"
Luna looked up at her friend. "I...need...your help. The battle has drained me."
"Battle?" Twilight was confused as she looked around the room. Everything seemed in order.
"It's...not in here. It's...in there. The Dreaming."
"Oh dear. But you haven't finished training me for that." Twilight said. Luna had been training her to fight in the Dreaming ever since she had become an alicorn.
Luna shook her head. "One can not always be fully prepared, my student." She motioned a wing toward a bottle with purple powder made from burnt lavender petals inside. She slowly got up to levitate two cups and make chamomile tea.
"You know what to do." Luna ordered.
Twilight nodded. She placed the bottle in her mouth and walked around herself and Luna, creating a circle around them. Then she stopped and walked in a different pattern within the circle.
Luna finished preparing the tea with her magic and chanted a spell. Twilight chanted the same words, with slight difficulty for she was still not used to the language in the spell.
Luna levitated one cup to Twilight's mouth and another to her own.
Twilight drank the tea and began to feel drowsy. Luna also drank the tea. Within moments, they were no longer awake and fell to the floor. The next moment, they were in the Dreaming.
Twilight examined their surroundings. She remembered the first thing Luna had taught her about the Dreaming.
"The first thing to remember is that there are no rules." Luna had said. "The Dreaming has no order. No rhyme nor reason. Only chaos."
"Discord would be at home, then." Twilight had joked.
"Are you ready for this?" Luna asked.
"Not really." Twilight confessed.
"Think of it as a pop quiz." Luna giggled.
"You're not helping." Twilight said with narrowed eyes.
Two other alicorns came into view.
"Princess Celestia! Cadence!" Twilight ran up to her mentor and her sister-in-law. Their wings were frayed and they could barely run.
"Why did you bring her here?" Celestia asked.
"I'm sure she is ready for the challenge ahead." Luna said.
"This isn't a good time for one of her lessons." Cadence objected.
"And when would be a good time?" Luna fumed. "When that sorban has drained us completely?"
"Sorban? We're--you said nothing about a sorban!" Twilight gasped. "I remember them from that book you gave me. They feed on magic! We're pretty much the main course!"
"Calm down, sister-in-law." Cadence walked over a placed a comforting wing on Twilight's wing. She touched her horn with hers and sent magical energy into it.
"Fear of this kind will not help. It wants you to be afraid."
Twilight felt fear escaping her mind. She looked over at her friends. Luna, Celestia, and Cadence were depending on her.
"I mustn't panic." she told herself. "Thank you Cadence."
Cadence nodded. "Anytime"
They stopped at a tree with twisted limbs that dug into the ground, forming cages around several unicorns. Twilight recognized two of them.
"Twilight!" a pale blue unicorn clad in purple robes shouted. "The Great and Powerful Trixie cannot bear this! She must be freed!"
Rarity was next to her. "Must you always be so melodramatic, darling? Twilight, it's good to see you, but you shouldn't be here."
"You seem in better shape than the princesses." Twilight said.
"That's only because that thing hasn't come after us yet." Trixie explained. "It's a six-course meal. We're just dessert."
"How are we going to defeat this thing? You don't think we could simply zap it all night long." Twilight asked.
"No. That's not our strategy." Luna said. "Free your friends. Use your horn on the tree."
"Right." Twilight nodded.
She walked over to the tree and used her magic to free her friends.
"Why do you need her? The Great and Powerful Trixie..." Trixie began.
"Should be silent." Rarity cut her off. "I know we're friends, but do stop carrying on."
Luna said. "The three of us are too weak to go look for the Speckled Opal, the succubus's only weakness. That's where you come in, Rarity."
"Oh, I get it. My gem-tracking abilities." Rarity realized.
"And what about me?" Trixie said.
"I'm sure you can be of help." Luna said. "You'll come up with something."
"So where do we start looking?" Twilight asked.
"There's a cliff over that way." Luna pointed with her wing.
"Will you be all right?" Rarity asked. "I don't see how you could fight a cerebus in your condition, let alone a succubus."
"I understand your concern. I have enough magic to heal the others. We'll make do." Cadence answered.
"But--" Twilight explained.
"No time, my friend." Trixie interrupted, shaking her head. Her pride was absent for once.
Twilight fought back tears, for she knew how vulnerable Luna, Celestia, and Cadence were in their condition. There was an even greater danger, for in the world of Dreaming, even alicorns were mortal, in a way. If they died here, they would remain in the Dreaming for eternity, unable to return to their bodies. I'm not ready to take your place just yet.
Once they were on their way, Rarity turned to Trixie. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "You're quiet all of a sudden."
"I am worried. When I'm worried, my pride goes away." Trixie explained.
"That explains your sudden absence of third-person speak." Rarity joked.
"We're here." Twilight announced.
Rarity sighed. "Looks like I've got my work cut out. There's opals everywhere!"
"Swell." Trixie sighed. "A needle in a whole stack of needles."
"We've got bigger problems, girls." Twilight said, sniffing the air. "Do you smell that?"
A two-headed dragon approached them.
"As if we didn't have enough problems." Trixie sighed. "Maybe we should distract it?"
"Good idea." Twilight nodded.
The dragon's left head breathed fire, while the right head breathed ice.
Rarity did her best to keep her mind on her task. Despite their differences, Twilight and Trixie were better at magic than she.
Then she had an idea! "Of course! I'll use my gem-tracking!" She concentrated her magic and focused it on the gems.
"I have an idea." Twilight said to Trixie. "The two heads. I think we can use that to our advantage."
Trixie nodded. "You take the fire head, and I'll take the ice."
The two of them ran circles around the monster. Twilight flew up so that her target was breathing fire everywhere. Trixie darted back and forth, distracting her target. The monster was confused, which was what they wanted. The ice half blasted Twilight's target with ice. The monster was now to heavy to stand on its own and fell over.
Rarity used her horn to make a flare.
"Knew she'd find it. Come on, the others need us!" Twilight said.
Twilight, Rarity, and Trixie arrived just in time. The Sorban had re-appeared. It had tentacles all over its body, which it used to ensnare its victims and rob their magic. With each attack, it had grown stronger.
"So!" the monster bellowed when it caught site of them. "They've come back! I'm hungry!"
"Luna!" Twilight exclaimed. "I have the opal!"
Luna smiled. "Toss it here!" she exclaimed.
Twilight nodded and used her horn to guide the opal to Luna.
Luna caught the opal in her mouth and tossed it into the air.
"Oh no, you don't!" the Sorban interrupted and lashed out a tentacle at them, knocking Luna down before she could use the opal.
"Luna!" Twilight ran to her mentor. She picked up the opal.
"What do I do?" Twilight asked.
Luna said "Use the opal on your horn. Concentrate dark magic on it. Hurry!"
Twilight sighed and took a deep breath. She pointed her horn at the jewel and it began to glow and disappear. Her horn turned black. She turned and aimed at the monster. The monster felt the full force of the attack.
"No! You cannot win!"
"I think you've done enough for the night." a voice was heard. Another pony came into view. It was a gray alicorn and had jet black hair. On its flank was an ankh. It had a pleasant aura despite its appearance. It walked up to the monster, as if unafraid of it.
"No!" the Sorban cried. "Keep away!"
The pony shook her head. "You've defied me for the last time." It touched the monster with its wing. The monster gasped for breath and then let out a death rattle.
"Who?" Twilight asked.
"She's not much for fashion." Rarity said.
"You need not fear me." said the stranger. "I am not here for you. Yet."
"I was wondering if you'd show up." said Luna to the stranger.
"You know her?" Twilight said.
"Why of course I know her. She and I are quite close. Our stations are similar after all." said Luna.
"Then, tell us. who is she?" Twilight asked.
"Why, friends, I am Death." the stranger said.
Everypony gasped.
"As I said, I'm not here for you." Death giggled. "It is not time for either of you. I came to help you defeat the monster. Your attack only weakened it. I came to expire it."
"I see." Luna said. She was the only one who was unafraid of Death.
"Your student is doing quite well. I have been watching the both of you. I never thought she would do as well as you at dark magic. I hope she is aware of its consequences."
"She will not tread my path." said Luna.
"See that she doesn't." said Death. "Well, I have work to do. Farewell, friend." And with that, Death disappeared.
"How...how do you know her?" Twilight said.
"When I was exiled, Death was my only companion." said Luna. "She gave me comfort. That is her purpose. Did you truly think Death was something to be feared?"
Twilight was silent.
"Come, dawn is approaching." Celestia said.
The next morning, Luna greeted her student. "I am sorry that you had to meet her this early in your training."
"You mean Death?" Twilight said.
"Yes. I had hoped you would not meet her until one of your friends died. She is not as frightening as you might think."
Twilight was silent.
"In any case, you did well, my student. Same time, tomorrow night?"