> Of Dreams and Magic
>  by Bladewolf
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter One: Sunrise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What the heck, Sunset?”

Rainbow Dash crouched holding Fluttershy who was slumped against a dented locker. Her muffled cries barely heard over the gathering crowds’ whispers. Sunset Shimmer stood speechless in the middle of the school hallway.

“Huh? What’s the big idea?”  asked Rainbow with a scowl. “Fluttershy was just walking. You didn’t have to shove her. Aw jeez, Flutters, are you okay?”

“I.. she…”

“What, Sunset? What excuse you got this time?”

“She was in my way.” Sunset clapped her hands over her mouth and stared wide-eyed. She didn't say that. That wasn't what she said! In a whisper she tried to apologize, “Next time I'll make her into a literal wallflower.”

Rainbow jumped to her feet and got in between her and Fluttershy. “I can't believe we thought you changed. We stood up for you. I stood up for you.”

Sunset stepped back unsure of what to do. She glanced between the furious Rainbow and the cowering Fluttershy. How did this happen? She couldn't remember coming to school today. Sunset held out a wavering hand to her shy friend.

“Don't you touch her again!” Rainbow intervened and shoved Sunset hard through the open classroom door behind her. Firm hands caught her by the shoulders and spun her around. 

“Y'all got some explaining to do, Sunset,” said Applejack in a matter of fact tone. Her face was stern as she roughly moved Sunset to the side showing her the room.

Dozens of clothes were shredded into ribbons, others torn apart into pieces with the largest amount slowly burning in a pile next to the window. Rarity was frozen in mute horror staring at the destruction wrought before breaking down into wails and tears. “This. I-is. Th-th-the wooorst!”

“Possible thing. Yep, and I wanna know why ya done did it, Sunset. I'm mad, right furious even, but I'll let ya say your piece before anything else. That’s just the kinda gal I am,” said Applejack with her grip biting painfully into Sunset’s shoulders. “Explain.”

What was going on? First Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy and now Applejack and Rarity? Sunset would never hurt her friends or destroy their possessions! That was behind her, that violent and selfish person she used to be. “AJ, please, let’s be honest with each other. It was all gaudy, tacky and tawdry trash. It was a thankless job taking it out, but someone had to step up.”

Applejack slowly released Sunset from her grip, the farm girl’s knuckles white when she made fists. “Hoh-kay then. Well. Granny always said—“

“She-demon!” Rarity screamed.

“—that violence ain’t an answer. I was raised better than that. But I’ll be asking forgiveness later. Grit your teeth, Sunny girl.” 

This couldn’t be happening. Rarity’s yelling at her in scorn, Rainbow’s consoling a still weeping Fluttershy in the hall and Applejack fist’s about to collide with her face. None of it could be true; she wouldn’t do such things to her friends. No, she refused to believe it. Someone was framing her, whoever was talking with her voice was manipulating her friends against her. It couldn’t be real.

Sunset raised her arms to defend herself from the blow. Applejack yelled as she fell backward to the floor clutching her hand. The blunt trauma to her face never came causing her to peek out from her arms. Her red arms that ended with demonic claws. “Oh no. No, no please no. I’m so sorry, Applejack.”

“Sorry this, Shimmer!” Sunset’s shoulder was pulled whipping her around to see Rainbow’s fist before it smashed into her jaw.

—————

Sunset’s heart pumped furiously as everything was dark and soft. For a moment she felt like she was on a cloud, but it was only her bed. The harsh buzzer of her alarm clock sounded off to her side repetitively, waking her fully back into reality. She rolled over and hit the snooze button with sleepy satisfaction.

Sleep was overtaking her once again, and yet the nightmare of herself being a raging she-demon and betraying her friends still fresh in her mind kept it barely at bay. Sunset thought it would be like other dreams, a hazy recollection after you fully awoke, but these nightmares she had been having lately were completely lucid. As worrying as it was she wasn’t about to let it come between her and sleep.

It was fated for a softer, quicker buzzing of her phone vibrating atop the glass nightstand to prevent said slumber. Sunset blindly reached for where she knew her phone was, picked it up and inspected the offending device with a half-open eye. She had missed a call from Twilight Sparkle along with a text.

Sunset tossed her phone on her covers, rolled over and prepared to get her earned rest. Whatever it was could wait an hour.

Another buzzing came from her nightstand.

“Fine, universe, you win,” mumbled Sunset as she kicked off her covers to stare at the glowing journal. “There’s a joke here and I’m missing it.”

The text from the human Twilight was asking if she wanted to visit a robotics fair this afternoon and to call her back. Sunset smirked as that was just the type of event she could get behind. Equestria never had a lot of technology and it took a lot of time to adapt to the idea of phones and internet. Robots? Sign her up.

Sunset dialed up her phone and called Twilight as she eyed the offensively glowing journal. “I’ll get to you in a moment.”

The phone rang once before Twilight picked up. “Hello, Twilight speaking.”

“Yeah, hey, sorry about missing your call. Got your text though.”

“Oh. Oh, Sunset. Glad you called. Give me—No, Spike. Spike, put it back. I don’t care if it is—nevermind. He’s absconded with his leash saying he can walk himself. I’ll never get used to owning a talking dog. So, you got my text?”

“Yeah. Got to say that a fair about all things robots sounds pretty good. Have you called the others to see what they’re up to?” Sunset grabbed the journal and set it on her lap. She opened it to turn off its glow and idly flipped the pages.

“Yes. I called Rarity first because she’s actually the one to tell me about it. Normally I would be all over this event, but we had just got back from Camp Everfree two weeks ago and it slipped my mind. Ahem, she said that she, Fluttershy and Applejack would all be attending the spa at the mall. Then afterward the mall itself.”

“Applejack? Wouldn’t have thought.” Sunset laughed trying to imagine how those two talked Applejack of all people to go with them to the spa. That farm girl swore that a three-minute shower was all you needed to get clean.

“Yes, I agree. Pinkie Pie is working today at, well, I’m not really sure what she does. She mumbled something about the difficulty to puppet pinatas using pie tins and I sort of gave up after that. Rainbow Dash on the other hand has plans closeby.”

“Close? Oh, by the fair. Where is it?”

“It’s hosted in the Diamond Expo in Crystal City not far from where I live. Rainbow’s going to a concert lasting most of the midday, but she invited us all to a movie in the evening.”

“That’s cool, I’m in. For all of it. Guess it’ll be just me and you up until the movie, huh Twilight.” 

“Oh. Y-yes, I assume so. Um, are you okay with it just being me? I mean, I planned on all our friends coming, but if it’s just you and I going I will have to rethink the time schedule, change out the—”

“Calm down, Twi. It’s fine. Look, I’ll meet you at the bus stop in the city in two hours. That’s at,” said Sunset glanced at her blinking alarm clock. “Oh wow, it’s already nine? Okay, so I’ll meet you there around eleven.”

“Two hours? Okay, that gives me plenty of preparation time.”

“Then it’s a date. See you later.”

“A-a date? Sunset? Sunset!”

Sunset ended the call with a click and a small shake of her head. One Twilight had been dealt with and one more to go. The journal was open on her lap turned to the faintly glowing page, the newest addition to the magical two-way communication diary, to read what the princess of friendship was writing about.

   ‘Dear Sunset,

How are you doing? I hope you are doing well in the human world. I realize I have not visited you and the girls in a long time, and I wish I could, but my Friendship Duties are a hoofful. Have I mentioned I have taken on a student of my very own? Right, of course I have, it is just I am so very proud of the progress she has been making. After that whole timeline fiasco revenge plot she has been making great strides in learning friendship. However, I didn’t write to tell you of my exploits. 

I am very interested in your latest friendship report about a Camp Everfree. You described yourself and the girls gaining newfound magical abilities along with seven color-themed gems. Now, not to alarm you, but as you know Equestria has a Tree of Harmony. It is the source of harmony magic and the Elements themselves, a set of magical gem artifacts. My theory is that your gems are the beginning of the human world’s Harmony Magic. The source or, at the very least, a byproduct of this newfound magic. I cannot even begin to speculate what they truly are or how they are affecting your world right now, but keep them safe. 

If you or the girls need any advice, not that I am saying you do as you were a brilliant mage that studied under the guidance of Princess Celestia, please do not hesitate to write to me for assistance. It would be my pleasure and I will travel out to meet all of you when I am available. I have to end on this note as Spike is talking about going on a walk. Why a walk needs three packs full of stuff I’m not sure, but he’s being awful secretive recently. I wonder if he made a friend. Oh, this is so exciting! I’ll have to wait for him to get back, of course, but a new friend is always a welcome occasion! 

Write back at your own convenience.

Your Friend,
Twilight Sparkle
Princess of Friendship

This single letter made Sunset forget those worries of her earlier dream. It was just a dream and she wouldn’t let her own imagination get the best of her. She closed the journal and set it aside for later. A proper response to something as thoughtful as that needed forethought. That and talking to the girls on how they were all handling their newfound magical abilities. 

A moment later she had her phone to her ear calling her friend. Six dial tones later it clicked as they picked up. “Yo, this is Dash.”

“Hey, Dash. Me and Twi are gonna—”

“Haha, got you! Nah, this is my voicebox… mail… thing. Leave a message at the beep and I’ll catch you later. Later!”  After a moment it beeped.

Sunset sighed audibly into her phone. “Okay, you got me. Dash, me and Twi are going to be at the Diamond Expo around noon. Hit me up when you’re good for that movie. Talk to you later.”

Once she hung up she laughed. Everything about the day was feeling good. A day out with friends. Summer break only lasted so long so she hoped to make the best of it. Two hours until she had to meet up with Twilight, minus the thirty-minute bus ride into the city. Take out the time to walk and that left her a bit over an hour. Sunset looked over herself and scrunched up her nose. An hour didn’t feel like enough time.

> Chapter Two: Promenade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset examined herself in the oval vanity mirror in her room. She wore a light blue blouse, her red and yellow mixed skirt and a pair of blue jeans. Not everyone could pull off jeans in a skirt, and if she was honest she looked amazing. Then again human fashion still flummoxed her, as did the idea of clothes still being a necessity instead of a quality of life good. Nevertheless, she has made leaps in improvements over the years.

The fake leather jacket, as she wasn’t a barbarian even when evil and rebellious, hung to the side of the mirror. It would complete her ensemble, but the connotations attached to the jacket kept her wary of it. She found it silly; it was just a piece of clothing. She reached for it, paused and headed for the door. She glanced back into the apartment, grabbed her shoulder bag and closed the door.

A brisk walk later Sunset was nearly at the bus stop. The schedule had it arriving in several minutes which was plenty of a safety window for her not to miss the public transportation. That would have been embarrassing to explain to Twilight.

“Sunset!” yelled a hooded figure under the bus stop’s shade. Not just anyone either as Sunset saw her friend waving all too eagerly. 

“Heh, hey Twilight. You, uh, got to say I wasn’t expecting you,” said Sunset gesturing at Twilight. “Especially not bogged down. You know it’s almost eighty degrees out today, right?”

Twilight was nearly completely covered head to toe with her purple ankle-length long skirt, dark blue hoodie and pink backpack on her back. Her hair was set in her usual bun, but the weather had frizzed it out of its normally perfect style. 

“Yes, that it is. It’s supposed to be colder tonight, and I was prepared for any abnormalities in the weather. You can’t trust the local news for accurate reports anymore. A backpack is absolutely needed for any outside excursions as I have prepared numerous nutrient bars, a safety kit, and survival needs. It doubles to have room for anything I am to collect along the way,” said Twilight is a satisfied nod.

Sunset spied the outline of several books stuffed in her bags and smirked. “Survival needs, huh? Glad to see you again. So, uh, what are you doing here? Not that I mind, beats riding that smelly bus alone, but, well.”

Twilight smiled sheepishly. “I thought that it would be more than the two of us, most likely the whole group and figured it would be easier if we all met up at the same point and time. I didn’t account for everyone having plans for today. Guess I forgot friends normally plan ahead of schedule for events like this, huh?”

She patted her backpack proudly. “And yes, survival needs. A good book can make hours fly by in no time.”

Sunset’s smirk shifted as she glanced between Twilight and her backpack. “Twilight. How long have you been waiting?”

“Oh. Not… long. Since I called? Really, it isn’t a big deal. I had books prepared for just the occasion.”

“Yes, yes you did.” Sunset shook her head as the bus pulled up. “Next time? Please come over to my place. You don’t need to wait around if you’re waiting on me.”

“Y-your pla—oh I couldn’t impose. I mean, the heat isn’t all that bad and sweating is supposed to be good for your skin and random passersby giving you odd stares is a worthwhile life experience.” Twilight bit her lip. “Okay. Next time then.”

Twilight boarded the bus with Sunset following behind her. She led the pair to the very back of the bus, something Sunset noticed but said nothing about. The two sat down and got comfortable as the bus roared noisily and began its trek to the city. 

“So.”

“So.”

A minute of awkward silence between the two as they looked at everything but each other. Sunset wasn’t sure why there was ice to break, they had just gotten on a bus and sat next to each other, but decided to break it anyway.

“Excited about this robotics fair? I am even though I have very little idea what to expect.”

“Yes, very much so. There are a lot of experimental displays and individual developers reaching out for a sponsor that are catching my interest. I was there last year in their shoes hoping for the same thing.”

“Last year? Not showing up this year, huh?”

“Well, between leaving Crystal Prep to transfer over to CHS, dreading over the entire Friendship Games fiasco and that ordeal at Camp Everfree I haven’t had time. That and this whole magic business.” Twilight rubbed the back of her neck then looked at it in mild embarrassment as it was sweaty. 

Twilight looked at Sunset unsurely, her eyes moving to her neck. “I notice you’re not wearing your gem.”

Sunset was about to respond before Twilight continued. “I’m not wearing mine either.”

“Yeah, I love magic, but wearing it lets me harness it fully. That comes with a bit of uncontrollability. It was interesting seeing the store clerk’s past day when he handed me change the first time but seeing everyone’s private moments at a finger’s touch? I felt like I was invading privacy,” said Sunset. “Not to worry though as it’s safely packed in my bag.”

“Yes, mine as well. I understand what you mean. Without wearing it I can do a little telekinesis, but wearing it? It can get out of my hands at times and is a little bit scary. I can only wonder how the others manage to wear theirs all the time.” Twilight frowned. “That and I can’t help but feel when I’m wearing it…”

“What is it, Twi?”

“No, nevermind.”

That was worrisome to Sunset. The feeling that Twilight gave, the tone of her voice, it reminded her of how she was acting back in Camp Everfree. Sunset put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder and gave a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, you can tell me, Twilight. We learned not to bottle up these kinds of things, remember?”

“You’re right, Sunset. It’s just, I think you would be the only one to understand, but… when I’m wearing the gem I feel powerful. Like I’m in total control of something beyond myself. But I’m not and that scares me. It makes me think of her. Midnight Sparkle.” Twilight sighed. “I know she’s not there, and it’s completely illogical but it’s how I feel.”

Twilight looked nervous and quickly waved a hand. “Not that I’m saying that the others wouldn’t understand or that you only would because you once turned into a crazed demon! I didn’t know you then, and only heard about it from the girls, but—”

“Twilight, it’s okay. I,” started Sunset. She hesitated when she thought of her past and her morning. “I understand about fearing your past. I mean, I live with it over my head every day. The girls are wonderful, they really are, but I can see it when the other students look at me. Most forgive and forget, but the few who don’t? Even myself.”

“What?” asked Twilight.

Sunset stared at her hands. “I still have these dreams. Nightmares really, of things I’ve done, of things I didn’t do or things I could’ve done. Of me being a true demon. It’s... I don’t know. Sometimes I wake up just as it gets bad, other times I’m reminded of all my friends and we beat back the darkness, but others? Just, yeah, I understand what you mean.”

A moment of silence passed between the two. Sunset looked up to see tears in Twilight’s eyes. “Oh. Oh, I’m so sorry, Twi. This was supposed to be a fun day, just us and some robots and I made it about myself. I thought I was past this.”

Twilight embraced Sunset is a hug. “No, no no don’t be sorry. I know we didn’t know each other in your past, but you aren’t like that.” She pulled away to lock her teary eyes with Sunset’s. “The Sunset Shimmer I met was courageous, brave and loyal. She stands up for her friends, supports them when they’re scared over something, and you saved me from myself when I was in a bad position. 

“Even now you, you helped me. I too have nightmares about Midnight Sparkle. Sometimes she beats me, waging her terror on the world and other times it’s you. You, Sunset Shimmer, who comes out in a ray of golden light with wings aflame and rescues me. Never forget that.”

“Okay, okay,” said Sunset “You’ve convinced me to stop feeling sorry for myself. Thanks, Twi.”

Twilight wiped her eyes, jumped that she was still holding onto Sunset and released her before scooting away quickly. Sunset laughed, her negative feelings banished by her friend’s support. “You’re pretty slick yourself, Sparkle. Don’t you forget who saved the day versus Gaia Everfree. We can’t let our pasts define our future, right?”

“Heh heh, right.”

“So.”

“So.”

“If you were here… what was that about Spike walking himself?”
> Chapter Three: For Science
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Behold! The power of science!”

A mechanical arm gripped a drumstick in a metal pincer and proceeded to play a slow musical beat on the drum in front of it. The teenage boy with square glasses smiled widely as he gestured to his exhibit.

“It knows seven scores and is delicate enough to pick up a glass of water!”

Sunset and Twilight stood amongst a few others watching the boy’s experiment with interest. Twilight was studying it habitually as Sunset took it for what it was: a machine playing music. She asked aloud, “It plays well, but does it know more upbeat songs?”

“Hmm,” he said rubbing his chin. “There’s one, give me a second.” He operated a small computer on the side and turned some dials on the switchboard. The robotic arm stopped for a moment before playing a faster beat on the drums.

“Fascinating,” muttered Twilight.

“Sure is. A few more and the first robot band could be formed,” said Sunset.

The song was picking up, too fast as the teenager behind the machine began to panic. Sparks and smoke flowed out of the arm as it sent the drumstick hurtling across the path into a group of people walking by.

“Whoa!” 

“Hey!”

“Watch it!”

“Sorry, sorry,” apologized the teenager as he frantically went to repair his machine.

The pair of girls shared a look before continuing off further into the fair. Small booths to large platforms were piled side by side forming a long makeshift street of exhibits inside the west wing of the Diamond Expo. 

“That was pretty cool up until it went on the fritz. What did you think, Twilight?” asked Sunset as the two rolled up onto display about a perpetual energy machine with two large ends spinning around quickly.

“I think it could give Pinkie Pie a run for her skills if he calibrated it properly. Otherwise, it’s movement was very fluid. Must have taken a lot of time to work out every kink for one song, let alone several.”

“Of course that’s what you would focus on.”

Twilight crossed her arms. “Of course. One has to appreciate the effort it takes, not just the end result. For example, this perpetual motion exhibit. It spins endlessly using it’s own energy and momentum, so it looks plain and not very fancy. However, how long do you think it takes to design and set up this kind of device?”

Sunset shrugged. “A lot I assume.”

“I’ll accept that. A lot indeed. We have to appreciate all aspects of effort, not just what is flashy and cool.” Twilight nodded in agreement with herself.

“Well. It’s getting pretty flashy for a boring machine,” said Sunset.

“What?” Twilight focused back on the exhibit to see it too was beginning to spark and smoke. The constantly spinning weights on the top snapped off from the base and went flying off into the crowd again. Both girls ducked out of the way as it flew past them. 

“Again? Jeez, hope no one got hurt. Let’s go see.” Sunset grabbed Twilight’s hand and pulled her toward the crowd. 

“What? W-wait, Sunset.”

The two walked up to the crowd dispersing with a girl in the center sporting a bruise on her arm with the weights on the floor next to her. A girl with light red skin, long bright green hair, and wearing the Crystal Prep school uniform. 

Twilight escaped Sunset’s grasp and stood off to the side behind Sunset. “Lemon Zest?”

“Twilight? Twilight Sparkle? Hey man, uh, hey. Didn’t really expect to see you here,” said Lemon Zest as she rubbed her bruised arm. “Dang thing flew outta nowhere. First that stick and now this? Pretty bad luck.”

“Are you okay?” asked Sunset. “Just asking in case you need help.”

Lemon Zest stared at the pair of girls before shaking her head. “Nah man, I’m good. Probably. Sorta. Look, just enjoy the fair.”

A few yells from a ways down the path came before the crowd parted. Rolling fast towards them was a large cart that was modeled after a tank smoking heavily from the inside out. It was only a couple seconds before crashing into the three girls.

“Twilight!”

“Got it,” said Twilight. Her hands shone with lavender light as the rolling tank glowed with the same energy. 

Sunset grabbed a shocked Lemon and Twilight by the arms pulling both of them to the side. The rolling cart tank passed by them before crushing another exhibit to pieces. An older man stared at the lettuce strewn about his work and smoking debris in complete silent shock.

“Whoa, nice save, Twi,” said Sunset as she dusted herself off. “I didn’t really expect you to slow it down like that, but cool.”

Twilight breathed in and out slowly collecting her calm. “And what did you expect me to do?”

“You know? I don’t really know. Heat of the moment kind of thing.” Sunset laughed nervously before checking on Lemon. “Hey, uh, Lemon Zest. I know I asked already, but are you okay?”

Lemon Zest stared at Twilight, her gaze on her hands, as she spoke quietly, “You used magic.”

“Um. Is that a yes?” 

“You used magic.”

Sunset shared a look with Twilight who returned a shake of her head. 

“No. No, I’m not okay. This is the third time today. Today.” Lemon narrowed her eyes as she ground her teeth. “You have magic, Sparkle. Not cool. Is this your doing?”

Sunset stepped between the two. “Whoa, what’s going on?”

“I haven’t done anything,” said Twilight.

“No, it has to be. You used, well, whatever that was. This has to be your fault, it has to. There’s no other reason,” said Lemon, her anger fading. 

A crew of uniformed people, armbands denoting them as staff for the building, rushed to try and secure the area. They cordoned off the crash and politely suggested that people vacate the area for now and enjoy another part of the fair.

“Alright.” Sunset pointed to the hallway leading out of their area. “Well, you look okay. Twilight, let’s go.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight and Sunset began walking out. 

“Wait. Hold on, guys.” Lemon followed behind them as she chewed on a nail. “You guys have magic. You two must see it often, right? Weird stuff happening that’s not really explainable?”

“Yeah, guess we do,” said Sunset.

“Sunset, we had a giant magical battle at camp just a couple weeks ago. Before that was the, um, Friendship Games.” Twilight clasped her hands. “I haven’t had that much experience, no.”

Lemon bit her lip. “But you have some. So, got a question for you girls. You said battle? Was it against a monster?”

The three girls entered one of the expo hallways leading around the building as they walked slowly toward one of the other fair areas. Sunset jabbed a thumb toward a nearby bench and vending machine. Twilight took a seat with Lemon standing near the edge casting glances over her shoulder. Sunset bought a bag of pretzels from the machine.

“I wouldn’t say Gloriosa was a monster—” 

“She tried to trap kids at a camp forever,” interjected Sunset.

“—but she did go a little crazy with magic. The amount of magic she had tried to take her over. Too much and a person can become possessed by it. Like I was,” said Twilight. 

“Ditto on me as well.”

“Okay, so not her. What about others?” asked Lemon with nervousness. “Like, real monsters.”

Sunset popped her bag of pretzels, which earned her a look from Twilight that said she was clearly not caring for her casualness in this conversation. “I’ve seen a lot of magic, but monsters? Other than my own incident I can only think of the Sirens. Trio of fish demons that hypnotize people into chaos.”

Twilight deadpanned at her. “Fish demons?”

Sunset ate a pretzel. “Do you want to get technical?”

“Yes. Wait, no.” Twilight turned to Lemon. “Why do you ask, Lemon? Not that I don’t enjoy talking to an old, um, acq… schoolmate?”

“Smooth.” Sunset crunched another pretzel.

Lemon wilted under the look of the two girls, her nervousness apparent. “Look, guys, I’m sorry for accusing you, but you two are the only thing that’s made sense in the last several days. I’ve been experiencing, seeing, something and I can’t explain it. It’s following me. I thought it was my imagination, you know? The games were crazy, but you never hear about magic again once it was over.”

Twilight nodded. “Yes, I have noticed that. They were pretty crazy events and no one has heard of them outside of those involved. It’s rather weird.”

“I thought it was a one-time thing too,” mumbled Lemon Zest.

“What’s this about monsters though?” asked Sunset, the casual demeanor slipping away to be replaced by concern. The girl looked like she was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. “No offense, but you’re looking pretty spooked.”

Lemon flung her hands out wide. “That’s cause I am, man! I feel like there’s this bogeyman creeping around the school, my house and even my room. I can see it, occasionally in the corner of my eyes. It’s freaking me out. That’s why I thought it was just me until I saw you had magic. I thought it was like,” Lemon huffed and looked away.

“What?” asked Twilight.

“I thought maybe you were messing with me. Revenge on your old school or something. I know, I know, you’d never do that. Still, this has been bugging me really bad, guys. Bad enough I’m complaining to two girls I barely know.”

Twilight stood up from the bench and held her arms out. “Lemon, I know we aren’t close. Hey, Sunset and I are willing to help however we can. I know it might be a bit awkward, but um. Do you want a hug?”

Lemon looked warily at Twilight before checking around the hallway. No one else was there within sight. The normally joyful girl embraced Twilight for three seconds before stepping back and slapping her cheeks. “Yeah, that was helpful and awkward. Never thought you’d offer a hug, girl. Weird, but it helped.”

A pretzel was crunched loudly. The two stared at Sunset. “What?”

Her pocket vibrated as the beginning of a loud rock metal song rang out. Sunset pulled out her phone and flipped it open. A picture of Rainbow Dash was on the screen. As Sunset swiped the answer button the phone sparked wildly. With a yell she dropped the phone which smoked as it went dead. 

“Shoot! What the hay was that?” asked Sunset staring at her completely fried phone. “That’s, I don’t even know. How do you describe losing your phone?”

Lemon stepped back staring wide-eyed at the phone. “That’s the fourth time today. That’s how it’s been happening, guys. Technology going wrong and stuff. I can’t even listen to my music anymore. My headphones, girls. Headphones! I’ve been lucky, I think. Never been hurt bad, but imagine if that was near your ear. Yeah, stuff is scary.”

Sunset cringed. “Okay, I can see how that would be bad. I didn’t sense anything magical though. Did you, Twilight?”

“No,” said Twilight. “One moment we’re talking and the next your phone short-circuits. It is a short-circuit, probably.”

The light of the vending machine flared brightly before the glass shattered. It went dead as sparks played off the broken bulb and black smoke rose to the ceiling. The three girls all got up and backed away from the vending machine.

“Okay. That’s freaky,” said Sunset.

“I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation for all of this,” said Twilight.

“Oh no, not again. Why is this happening to me?” asked Lemon Zest. 

All the hall lights flared dark before lighting back up a dim red that pulsated slowly. The grind of metal roared as shutter doors slammed down over the hallway exits behind and in front of them in the distance. A quiet horn beeped above them repeatedly.

Sunset rifled through her bag and pulled out her gem necklace. She gestured to Twilight to do the same and the two girls donned their magical pendants. 

“Okay, let’s analyze the situation,” said Twilight in a panic. “The fire shutter doors descended all too rapidly, the lights went into the emergency mode similar to when they have a power outage, and technology near us is going on the fritz.”

Lemon Zest screamed. “We’re trapped!”

A crunch of a pretzel echoed.
> Chapter Four: Menace
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Really?” Twilight glared at Sunset.

“What?”

“We’re in a crisis and you’re eating your snack,” stated Twilight.

Sunset reached slowly into the bag to pull out a few more pretzels. “Don’t you think we’re overreacting a little bit? Take a breath and think. We were talking about scary stuff then some things burned out. Despite that, there isn’t a monster or anything waiting around the corner.”

Lemon Zest held a hand to her chest and took several breaths. “You don’t know that, man. I swear there’s been some spooky stuff, and there has to be something behind it. This, right here, isn’t normal!”

“Okay, maybe you’re right, Sunset. It just appears like a crisis, but there are no telltale sounds. Everything is okay. Soon the shutters will lift, everything will return to normal, and if not rescuers will be here in several minutes at least.” Twilight pulled out her phone. “No signal. Typical.”

“None?” asked Sunset.

“Huh, yes. That’s odd. I would think I would get at least a bar since we’re in a city,” wondered Twilight. 

“I’m telling you guys that it’s a monster causing all of this. The lockdown, the no signal, phones wrecking. You think I don’t wear headphones and carry anything for fun?” Lemon Zest paced back and forth. 

“Well…”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“I know it’s something magic. One incident, all at that dumb school competition, and suddenly all those horror movies don’t seem so impossible,” rambled Lemon. “Jeez, even I hear myself, but it’s crazy.”

Sunset sighed as she ate the last of her small snack bag. It was helping normalize a tense situation for her. She could grab more from the busted machine, but even she wasn’t keen on getting near something that all but exploded for no reason. “I know it seems like a lot, but monsters aren’t that big of a deal. It only sounds bad because you’ve never seen any and they’re more of a myth.”

“No, it’s a pretty big deal, Sunset,” said Twilight. “Earth doesn’t have monsters like Equestria. It shouldn’t anyway, although it makes you think so with all the folklore surrounding them. Having something that can cause this kind of situation without anyone noticing? That’s scary.”

Sunset held the gem of her necklace in her fingers. “P-Twilight said something about magic in her last entry. About how maybe we’re, sort of, you know, maybe gaining new magic.”

Twilight gestured to her glowing hand as she crumpled the empty snack bag with telekinesis. “I know that.”

“No, I mean, more like magic. In general.”

“Oh,” stated Twilight. “Well then. That’s a big deal if it’s true.”

“Hey,” called Lemon from the closed shutter that led back into the wrecked fair site. “Do you think you could lift this with your magic?”

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck as she and Sunset walked over. “Maybe?”

“Twilight, you lifted a boulder that blocked a cave. This little metal sheet shouldn’t be a problem. You can do it,” said Sunset supportively.

Standing with arms outstretched towards shutter Twilight’s hands glowed brightly. A lavender magical field encompassed the bottom of the shutter and it groaned loudly at it slowly raised inch by inch.

“C’mon, Twi you can do it.”

“Oh jeez, she actually can? That’s crazy, man”

“Not. Helping.” Twilight groaned under the metaphysical weight as the shutter raised two feet off the ground before she had to stop in exhaustion. “Okay, that’s a lot harder than a boulder. I’m working against all the mechanics of the door, not just the door itself.”

“Hey, we can crawl out now though,” said Sunset with a smile.

“Yes!” exclaimed Lemon.

The soft buzz and whir akin to a windup toy came from below them. All three girls stared as a small robot dog waddled its way under the shutter into the hallway at their feet and stopped. 

“Arf.”

Nobody moved.

“Woof.”

“Okay, nobody panic. It’s clearly just a toy,” said Twilight.

“Yeah man, just a toy. Haha.” Lemon tensed ready to jump away at the drop of a pin.

“Relax, it’s just a small robot pooch. It isn’t any bigger than Spike,” said Sunset as she reached down to pick up the canine robot. When her fingers touched it golden magic coursed over it and ran back into her as her psychometry activated.

It was a dark bedroom with a girl huddled under the covers. Nothing stirred as it watched with only the sound of the girl breathing. The scene changed to watching the girl, Lemon Zest, walk out of school with a few of her friends. She checked her phone only for it to spark and die in a second. Another scene was a rushing down a makeshift street. Booths on both sides of the path as it barrelled towards three girls and narrowly missed any of them crashing into an exhibit.

Sunset gasped as she came back out of her magic. Cautiously she stepped away from the toy dog.

“Woof.”

“Okay. That is definitely not a toy,” stated Sunset grimly. 

“What? What did you see?” asked Twilight.

“Something stalking Lemon. Her bedroom, the school, and that crashed cart from earlier. Hah, yeah, I was wrong. This is a pretty good time to panic.”

Lemon backpedaled away. “I knew it! I knew I wasn’t crazy.”

The robot dog took a step forward and began sparking. Acrid black smoke rose up from it as its circuits fried and it sputtered to a stop.

Twilight and Sunset looked to each other. 

“Well that was a scare.” Twilight wiped the sweat from her brow and adjusted her glasses.

“No joke. This is what it’s been like for you, Lemon?” asked Sunset.

“Yes! I don’t know much about monsters, but man, believe me. I’d rather have a big nasty just up and fight instead of terrifying me out of my headphones,” exclaimed Lemon.

“Mind. Out of your mind,” said Twilight.

“My music’s more important than that, science girl,” stated Lemon firmly.

“Arf.”

All three girls went silent. 

“Did it just bark?” asked Twilight.

The black smoke swirled around the robotic dog before being sucked back into the machine. Plastic and metal stretched and broke as the smoke tore it apart from the inside out, growing larger and larger. A toy dog’s face sat atop a massive shadowy maw, large smoky claws were covered in warped plastic, and a wispy tail of darkness swished strewn with metal bits. A large beast growled mechanically.

“Woof.”

“R-run away!” yelled Lemon as she bolted towards the wall.

“Lemon!”

Sunset looked around for something to use in self-defense. Nothing small or dangerous was nearby so she settled for the next best thing. Her empty pretzel bag smacked the monster in the face. Now empty handed she ran off to a corner as she pointed at the broken bending machine. “Twilight, throw it!”

The beast looked between the two fleeing targets, but focused back onto Lemon and lunged at her. It’s heaving smoke body was as large as she was and something told Sunset that the smoke wasn’t as simple as being gaseous anymore.

“No, no, no not me, go after someone else, man.” Lemon backed up against the wall.

Sunset gripped a trash can. Her palms bit into the cold rim, she braced her legs and flung it at the beast with all her might. It impacted the floor two feet from her intended target. “Okay, that was a lot heavier than I thought. Run for the door, Lemon!”

Lemon heaved as panic set in. Step by step the shadow monster closed in on her, encompassing her vision entirely. A vending machine plowed into the beast sending it flying several feet. 

“Go!” yelled Twilight, her hands aglow. 

“I-I can’t. It’ll come for me, dangit. Help,” pleaded Lemon as she stood on shaking legs and clutching the wall.

Sunset glanced at the beast before sprinting over to Lemon. It pushed off the broken machine with ease, shook itself down, and turned to face the two. A loud roar, mechanical and gutterly, came from the beast’s maw before it charged the Lemon again. 

A bench blindsided the creature sending it careening into the wall.

“Gods, I love that,” said Sunset as she gripped Lemon and helped her make her way over to the shutter. 

Twilight joined them. “I don’t know how much longer I can throw stuff that big. I’m feeling faint and this wasn’t exactly a heavily decorated hall space.”

“It’s focusing on you,” Sunset said to Lemon. “Go first.”

Lemon nodded and crawled under the shutter door gap. 

The beast pushed the broken bench off itself and stood up. Black ooze dripped from its smoky hide, yet left no trails as it touched the ground. It shook its head and charged at the girls again. 

Thinking fast Sunset took off her bag and tossed it hard into the beast’s face. With a crunch, not the monster’s face but Sunset noted all of the valuables inside her bag, the beast roared as the bag blinded it. It veered off its path to slam into a pillar a couple feet from Twilight.

“Go, go. I’m right behind you,” said Sunset.

Twilight hesitated but crawled under the shutter door into the open fair ground. 

Sunset was ready now that the monster got its bearings back. It looked around and only saw one girl. The heavy snort it gave made Sunset cautious. Her cautiousness rose as it didn’t charge her, but instead paced around her before standing in front of the shutter. It looked up to the ceiling at the pulsating red lights. 

Sunset felt something in the air. A hum, or an invisible force not unlike her sense when someone is casting magic. She couldn’t see what happened, but something jumped between the beast and the light. 

The shutter door began to rise.

“What? Oh, oh shoot.” The door rose enough for Sunset to bolt out moments before the beast followed behind. It passed all three girls into the middle of the path cutting off their retreat.

“It can open the doors?” asked a panicked Twilight. 

“I… it’s a monster. I forgot it was smart enough to do all of this,” explained Sunset as she grabbed a broom that was lying next to an exhibit. 

“Oh man, I think I’m gonna be sick,” said Lemon holding a hand to her stomach and bracing herself against a metal signpost. 

“Um.” Twilight uneasily glanced at Sunset.  “Ready for round two?”

The beast snarled.

“Do we have a choice?” asked Sunset with a weak smile.

It charged toward Lemon.

Twilight grabbed a nearby table in her magic and flung it at the monster. It headbutted against it shattering the wood into splinters and barely faltered.

Sunset jumped forward and thrust the broom into its belly. It was like pushing against a brick wall. The broom snapped in two and sent Sunset falling to the ground.

“”Lemon!””

Lemon Zest watched the beast run straight at her. “N-not cool!”

A massive burst of air slammed down atop the beast sending it to the floor. It whined in pain for the first time as all its momentum ground it to a halt a few feet from Lemon Zest. The girl collapsed to her knees as the beast struggled to get up.

Dropping from the top of an exhibit to their left was a figure shrouded in extravagant scarves and flowing robes. A wide brimmed witch’s hat obscured her face in a darkness that sunlight didn’t pierce through. A delicate hand raised a gnarled wand and gave it a flick downward. 

Another massive blast of air slammed down atop the monster. It howled and wailed and the figure repeated it again. The last blast cratered it into tiled floor two inches deep. The beast’s body dissolved into shadowy wisps that coiled into the air, swirling into a mist.

A mist that promptly flew into Lemon Zest. The girl panicked as the smoky mist was completely absorbed into her body. She patted herself down with wide eyes. “It’s inside me, man. Get it out, get it out!”

“Twilight, you okay?” asked Sunset.  She kept an eye of the mysterious witch-like figure as she got up and stumbled over to Twilight.

“Yes, I believe so. My ankle hurts and I’m extremely exhausted, but that’s like saying the obvious, isn’t it?” Twilight joined Sunset who both walked over to Lemon Zest.

“Who are you?” asked Sunset with a little anger.

An echoing voice, female and haughty, came from the witch. “You simpletons can’t see  the obvious?”

Sunset stood tall, an arm raised over Lemon defensively. “Oh we can see you. We aren’t intimidated by you or that monster. Right, Twilight?”

“Well I was intimidated to be honest,” replied Twilight. Sunset playfully punched her in the shoulder. “What? We aren’t all used to this monster fighting business.”

The shrouded figure tipped her hat and shook her head to herself. “Trixie cannot believe this. What have you gotten yourself into, Shimmer?”

> Chapter Five: Gathering
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Trixie?” asked Sunset.

“Yes, yes. It is I, the great and powerful Trixie.” The robed witch approached the group of teenagers while glancing around the evacuated fair site. “A shame that the fair was ruined. Trixie was sure to win first place with Sparkle out of the running.”

“You… what happened to you?” asked Twilight while inspecting the witch further. “I can’t see your face even in this light. I know that’s not how shadows work, even with a wide hat.”

“Right, give Trixie a moment, will you? Just making sure the nightmare didn’t escape.”

“What, the shadow monster?” Sunset jabbed a thumb at Lemon. “It dissolved and sort of, I guess, possessed Lemon Zest.”

“It what!?” Lemon yelled and quickly hugged herself.

“Trixie assumed so, but she never knows. They’re crafty sometimes,” she said. All at once the scarves, robes, and hat began to break apart into particles that disappeared like faint light leaving only the light blue skinned girl with silver-blue hair. 

Trixie dusted off her dark blue hoodie and purple jeans casually speaking her arrogant manner. “Well, that’s that. Honestly, Trixie was having a good day until some accidents postponed her winning. She should’ve known that it would somehow link bad to Sunset Shimmer and crew.

“Well, not all of the crew,” finished Trixie peering at Lemon and Twilight. 

Twilight comforted Lemon as she helped her stand up, the girl tearful and scared. “Trixie, please, do you know what’s going on? Sunset and I were just here for the fair and got wrapped up in this.”

“Not that I would’ve ignored Lemon if she needed help. Which she did,” added Sunset.

Trixie rolled her eyes at the three. “Yes, Trixie knows what’s going on. More or less, anyway. Trixie has many experiences, but do not ask Trixie for a scientific breakdown. She is great and powerful, not boring and studious.”

“So? What’s going on?” questioned Sunset.

Trixie stared her down. “You want Trixie to explain herself here? In the middle of the area they cordoned off? With a crying girl about to breakdown? And Trixie thought you the clever one. But who is Trixie to deny her audience? It all started—”

“She has a point. My house isn’t far from here. We can walk over there in no time at all,” said Twilight. “Lemon, can you walk?”

“Y-yeah, I’m cool. Thanks, guys,” muttered Lemon. “This has been crazy terrifying.”

“Trixie does not enjoy being interrupted. Fine, lead the way, Sparkle.” Trixie put her hands in her hoodie’s pockets and followed Twilight as she helped Lemon along. 

“So. We can go, but how do we leave exactly? The shutters are still down,” stated Sunset pointing back at the hallway still glowing from the red warning lights.

“Must Trixie do everything? She entered grandly from the emergency fire door behind the curtain.” Trixie turned and walked over to the exhibit she jumped down from. With three well-placed kicks, she broke down the makeshift walls revealing an open double door with a large red exit sign above it. “And now Trixie adds vandalism to her victories.”

“That’s not a victory, Trixie,” said Sunset. 

“Shows you what you know about victories.”

“Girls, please, let’s just… leave.” Twilight sighed as they all walked out of the nearly wrecked robotics fair. 

A crowd had gathered outside of the expo with fire trucks and a police car nearby. There didn’t appear to be any emergency, everyone milling about like it was a drill. Several people looked their way but no one did anything as the four girls walked down the street. 

They walked in silence down several blocks. Sunset kept an eye on Trixie who was typically arrogant. Twilight constantly looked over a borderline-crying Lemon Zest. Every time someone went to speak they found it too hard to break the silence.

Except for Trixie as they approached Twilight’s house. “Your house is purple. What an abysmal color.” Trixie pondered that for a moment. “For a house. Purple is perfect for many things, like capes and hats, but a house?”

“Is that an insult or compliment?” asked Twilight rhetorically.

“Both,” answered Trixie regardless.

The four entered the house behind Twilight.

“Mom, Dad? Shining, are you here?” she called out. Nobody answered. “Nobody’s home. I thought Shining would be here at least. Really could use an older sibling’s advice right now.”

Trixie made her way into the living room and plopped down on the sofa. “Please, Trixie’s advice is all you ever need.”

Sunset’s anger flared. “Gods, Trixie. Do you have to be so obnoxious all the time?”

“I don’t know, Shimmer. Do you and your friends have to use horse magic and shoot rainbow beams at people all the time?” Trixie retorted miffed. 

Twilight escorted Sunset and Lemon into the room after Trixie. “One moment and I’ll get something to drink. Uh. What does anyone want to drink.”

“Cola.”

“Jeez, um, iced tea?”

“Trixie will have water. Trixie doubts you would have anything she would normally request.”

“Okay, give me a moment,” said Twilight as she disappeared into the kitchen nearby.

“Seriously, Trixie, tone is down a notch? We almost got chewed on by a shadow monster,” stated Sunset.

Trixie gasped mockingly. “Why, Trixie had no idea. Why didn’t you say so? The Humble and Apologetic Trixie says sorry. Sorry.”

“Can we just wait for Twilight?” pleaded Lemon clasping her hands together as she sat in a recliner chair straight-backed.

“Sorry it took so long, I wasn’t sure if you wanted ice in your water or not. I assumed you’re good with cola from the bottle, Sunset. It was in the fridge so no worries.” Twilight set the glass on a coaster in front of Trixie, tossed the bottle to Sunset who caught it with both hands and handed the glass of iced tea to Lemon carefully. “Here, Lemon.”

“T-thanks Twilight. Seriously, it’s really cool of you.”

“Okay, Trixie. Feel free to explain,” said Sunset.

Trixie stared as the cold glass of ice water before looking at Twilight puzzled. “No straw?”

All three were about to say something before Trixie continued. “Alright, Trixie knows when to cut her losses. Understand that this hasn’t been a good moment for Trixie. She doesn’t like what has to come next.”

“Next?” Lemon sounded worried. Her grip on the glass tightened as she slowly drank. 

“Sigh.”

“Did you really say sigh?”

“Sigh,” Trixie emphasized. “Trixie shall now explain, but she really thought the Shimmer girl would know already.”

“Know what?” asked Sunset.

Trixie held up a hand. In said hand was a single gnarled oak wand, one that wasn’t there before. She held it gently and gave it a casual flick. “Magic.”

A light breeze pushed against Sunset blowing her hair into her face. 

“Of course I know… no. Wait, did you?”

“Sunset, she used magic. I thought only our friends and us had magic?” asked Twilight.

“Hah, yes. Trixie had her moment of fun. Now she will explain what she thinks. Sparkle, Shimmer, you and your crew have what I like to all horse magic.”

“Equestrian magic,” corrected Sunset.

“Horse magic. You grow little ears, gain a ponytail, and do... Well, you do whatever horses do with magic. I don’t know. Trixie isn’t all that involved in your escapades except as collateral damage.” Trixie had a slow drink from her glass, looking completely satisfied.

“What I have is human magic. As much as it pains me to say it, Trixie was not always great and powerful. No, it was sometime after you defeated those three sirens in the musical festival Trixie deserved to win. Of course she didn’t,” Trixie stated firmly. “Because the finalists had magic!”

“Trixie, you know that’s not true,” Sunset said softly.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. Trixie digresses. A week or two after that Trixie had a horrendous nightmare. She won’t go into detail because of how plain and awful it is, but afterward Trixie knew it was no mere dream. No ordinary nightmare.”

“What was it?” asked Twilight.

“Trixie doesn’t know, but it was very real. Too real if Trixie must say. It took precisely thirteen days for Trixie to figure it out. That was when Trixie became great. It was only after she defeated her first nightmare when Trixie became powerful.”

Sunset ground her teeth. “This isn’t explaining anything. You’re just being condescending, Trixie.”

“Sunset, please.” Twilight studied Trixie. “So you’re saying that you had a nightmare, a real nightmare, after that battle of the bands. That it somehow led you to having magic?”

Trixie sipped her water. “Yes.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Dreams often make little sense, Sparkle,” said Trixie. “What you saw at the fair was Trixie’s animus. Her personification of her spirit if you would. Trixie has found that anyone who has the life-changing nightmare gains one. Which is why, during the Friendship Games, when you two transformed into not-horses Trixie assumed you were like her.”

Trixie studied all three girls closely. “Which you are, make no doubt. Trixie has seen all of your true forms, which is why Trixie was properly stumped when she saw you two being trounced by a baby nightmare.”

“Baby? I almost died!” yelled Lemon. “Sorry.”

“Trixie never said it would be easy as a baby. She got the surprise attack so it didn’t last long. Trixie admits, she hasn’t faced more than ten nightmares in the real world. Few were so easy as it could be solved with pure overwhelming force.” Trixie frowned. “Let alone after that.”

“Woah, wait, hold on. You’ve battled ten of these things, and that was the weakest?” asked Sunset. “How? I know you have magic, but, no, you said we did too. Well, we do, but not like you. Argh, this is really confusing.”

“Yes. As Trixie put it we have equestrian magic and human magic, but we don’t know how to use the latter,” said Twilight.

“Sparkle is correct. All three of you have human magic. Although speaking aloud I would coin it as dream magic. Usually Trixie just says magic, but now there’s two types and it can get confusing.”

Lemon looked up and rubbed her eyes. “Three?”

“Yes,” Trixie confirmed. “May Trixie know how long you have been feeling uncomfortable, Lemon Zest?”

“Since last week,” said Lemon.

“That sounds about right.” Trixie gestured at Twilight. “Trixie is hungry. Do you have any chips? Original if you don’t mind.”

“Trixie?” Twilight smiled.

“Fine. A week is the typical time your first nightmare studies you. Even the dumb ones do this. It will make you feel cautious, watch you turn weak, stalk you until you’re scared, and when you’re a paranoid mess about to break down in a fit of hysteria as everyone around you thinks you’re crazy it strikes when you’re weakest.” Trixie cracked her fingers in a silent moment. “I assume while you two lucked out with the magic transformation at the games, Lemon has been experiencing the standard way.”

“Trixie, when you said thirteen days,” said Sunset.

“I said I’m not talking about it, Shimmer,” stated Trixie flatly.

All three girls blinked.

“Trixie is explaining to the ignorant masses. Don’t interrupt her. Trixie is not magnanimous enough to offer help to a total stranger. However, anyone who is experiencing nightmares, real ones, are not strangers to Trixie.” 

Trixie twirled the wand in her hand with practiced grace. “You may have noticed the nightmare now flowed into Lemon Zest. Trixie has been saying words. Dreams. Nightmares. Animus is an old term for mind and spirit. Are you seeing where Trixie is going with this?”

Twilight’s gaze danced back and forth as her mind raced. “It’s a nightmare manifested in reality. We defeated it here, but it went back to… to where it came from.” She gulped. “It doesn’t end here. It has to be defeated inside the dream?”

Lemon’s breathing picked up as she glanced around the room. “I can’t defeat it on my own, girls. You gotta help me.”

Sunset stared at her hands. “I want to, but how do you help someone fight a dream?”

Trixie sighed. “Trixie knows, and it’s why she’s here. Now comes the hard part.”
> Chapter Six: Descend
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Awesome, awesome, awesome. I’m so very awesome. Awesome, awesome, yeah!” A familiar tomboyish song played from Twilight’s pocket. She grabbed her phone quickly, muffling the ringtone quickly. 

“Is that Rainbow?” asked Sunset. “Wait. Do you have personalized ringtones for everyone? I know that isn’t your standard one.”

Twilight nodded. “Of course. Just like how every friend is unique.”

“What’s mine?” Sunset leaned forward.

“We-heh-ell, look at that. Rainbow Dash is calling,” said Twilight as she answered the phone quickly and set it on the table. “Hey Dash, Twilight speaking. You’re on speaker.”

“Hey Twilight. Where’ve you two been? I’ve been trying to call you and Sunset for like an hour,” said Rainbow Dash over the phone.

“We’re having a rough day, Dash,” said Sunset leaning closer to the phone. “Lots of weird magic, a scary battle, you know the drill.”

“Oh hey, Sunset. Makes sense. Are you two okay? The Rocky Road concert just ended a bit ago and I was trying to hit you girls up for that movie. Is that science thing over yet?” asked Rainbow.

Trixie glanced between Sunset and Twilight. “Trixie feels like she is missing something.”

“Wait. Was that Trixie?”

“Hmm. Definitely some potato chips. Are you sure you have none, Sparkle?”

Twilight glared at Trixie. “No. There are no chips in this house.”

“Okay, now I’m definitely interested,” said Rainbow.

“We’re okay, Rainbow. Mostly. It’s a lot to take in at the moment, and sorry. Gotta take a raincheck on that movie,” said Sunset looking at Lemon Zest. “We’re helping a new friend with that weird magic business.”

Lemon Zest stared at Sunset, wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled.

“Okay. Weird magic business, yeah. So, uh, guess the movie’s out. Want me to round up the girls? You know we always have your backs.” 

Twilight held her gem pendant in her hand as it dangled off her neck. “Could you please, Rainbow? I think that would be a good idea. Trixie, Sunset, Lemon Zest and I are at my house. You remember where that is?”

“You betcha I do. It’s that purple house in the neighborhood with three story homes? I mean, it’s kinda hard to forget a purple house, Twilight,” said Rainbow.

“Trixie knew it.”

“Yeah, okay. I’m gonna go grab the girls, except maybe Pinkie. I seriously have no idea where she is, and I think she’s gone off the grid today.”

“Thanks, Dash. You’re awesome,” said Sunset.

“Always and you know it. Later!” The phone went dead as the call was ended.

“Um, should we wait for your friends to get here?” asked Lemon. “More people, the better, right?”

“Trixie would agree, but time is important. That and Trixie isn’t sure the whole Shimmer Crew can use dream magic. Trixie doesn’t know what you call people with magic and people without. Terms are difficult and no one else liked mine.” 

“Oh, okay. Well, how are you guys gonna do this?” asked Lemon.

“That’s a good question. I assume it will need a lot of preparation and setup. Magic… magic needs incense, right? I wonder if there’s a book on this type of spell, or maybe a study on dreaming would be helpful,” rambled Twilight.

“Or is requires precise dimensional calculations and several rare components that we don’t have on hand. We need to have all the right sigils and runes to channel the magic through, right?” asked Sunset.

Trixie stared blankly at both of them. “Trixie has no idea what you fools are on about. It’s really easy. Lemon Zest will go to sleep, and when she does you two and Trixie will go into her dreams and fight the nightmare.”

“What?”

“How?”

“Before Trixie teaches anyone anything she doesn’t want to do this in the living room. As comfortable as the couch is, Trixie doesn’t want to sleep on it,” stated Trixie.

Lemon nodded in agreement. “I mean, yeah, it’s cool but if I’m gonna have to sleep. Um, not here would be nice?”

“Well, I suppose we could use my room. Just please keep in mind I wasn’t planning on having guests today. I didn’t get, it’s not exactly, um, this way.” Twilight gestured for the over three to follow with a hand. They went up the stairs, down a hallway lined with pictures and banners, before entering a door at the end.

One wall of the bedroom was trophies. Every shape and size, every one of them golden and large, stacked upon one another and lined across a massive showcase with many shelves. Just below the polished trophies was a line of blue ribbons in their own frames in precise rows and columns. The hardwood floor was nearly spotless, a few mechanical parts were strewn about, and the perfectly made double bed took up most of the room otherwise.

Sunset walked in after Twilight and sat in the computer chair as the desk opposite of the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable for how flat it looked. “If this is what you all messy I would hate to hear what you would say about my apartment.”

“And Trixie is once again reminded of why she never wins anything,” said Trixie upon seeing the trophy wall. She sat on the edge of the bed with no hesitancy. 

Lemon Zest joined Trixie sitting on the bed. “Yeah, you know, competition scene is rough around here. Okay, so how do I do this? I’m not really feelin’ sleep right now.”

Trixie gave a cheap laugh, not like her usual self. “Lay on the bed and try going to sleep. Trust Trixie, if you try and think about the nightmare you’ll be out in a second.”

Lemon crawled further on the bed, she looked to Twilight her gestured for her it was okay to do so, and laid upon her back. She closed her eyes, clasped her hands over her chest, and breathed deeply.

“And she’s out,” said Trixie.

“What? It’s been literally three seconds,” said Twilight.

Sunset got up from the chair and stared down at the sleeping girl. “Lemon? Hey, Lemon, you awake or asleep?”

No response other than breathing.

“Okay, that’s pretty freaky.” 

“Now you two find a comfortable position. Trixie advises this as the last time she did this she ended up with a sore back for two weeks,” said Trixie as she bounced on the edge of the bed playfully. The rocking didn’t even stir the sleeping girl.

Sunset closed the door, leaned against it and slid down to a sitting position with a knee propped up for her to rest her arm on. Twilight opted to grab her pillows off the bed, lay them on the wood floor in a line, and lay down on them comfortably.

“Now what?” asked Sunset.

Trixie looked up in thought and rolled her hand slowly. “Well, Trixie isn’t sure how to explain it. She knew how to do it by instinct. Okay, follow with Trixie on this one. To note you won’t see each other, even if you both do it at the same time.”

“What do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“You will see what Trixie means. Now, ahem, close your eyes.”

Sunset watched Twilight do so, gave one glance at Trixie who frowned while staring at Lemon Zest, and closed her eyes. 

“You know what the room looks like. Imagine the room, every detail down to the lint on the window. Take it in. Draw the room into your mind. See yourself in the room, exactly how you remember yourself. Not how you feel, what your body feels, but how you imagine yourself appearing.”

Sunset did as Trixie explained. In her mind was Twilight’s room, the bed, the computer, trophies and all. Twilight was lying down on the pillows, the creases in them soft lines barely holding any weight. Lemon was sinking into the blankets on the bed and Trixie was frowning tightly as she talked. She saw herself, slumped against the door and resting her head on her knee. 

“Now open your eyes.”

“What? You just told—” Sunset opened her eyes as she was beginning to argue, but her breath lodged in her throat after she did. The image in her mind, like a faded photograph from an old attic, flared to life as if newly restored. Every color was brighter, every detail more vivid, the shadows were fluid like unmoving water. And she saw herself still there, slumped against the door with her eyes closed. 

“Trixie proves herself to be a great teacher,” said Trixie giving herself three quick claps. “Or she assumes so seeing as no one is awake.”

“Trixie, I’m right here,” said Sunset waving a glowing hand in front her face.

It surprised her that her body was literally glowing and her hair was defying gravity in a nonexistent breeze. She was wearing a strapless pink and white dress, her boots were literal flames cascading around her legs, and wings of golden light sprouted from her back. Barely in the tip of her vision, she saw a spiraling horn of light. Sunset looked similar to the form she turned into to save Twilight from herself during the Friendship Games.

“This is what Trixie calls Dreamwalking. No, Trixie doesn’t understand how it works, Sparkle. Trixie is sure you’ll figure it out. No, Trixie can’t hear what anyone is saying because everyone is sleeping. Just… look around you. You’ll be your animus, a personification of your true self, or so Trixie believes. You’ll also see other people’s animus’, of which only people who have dream magic will have.”

Sunset studied Twilight’s sleeping form. Her friend was still there in her heavily layered clothes soundlessly sleeping, but that was underneath another girl. A flowing full-body robe of shooting stars and galaxies that moved like the night sky covered nearly her entire body. A shining blue horn of energy erupted from her brow, brilliant glowing blue wings, feathered like an angel’s unlike her own, sprawled on the floor from her back. 

Trixie was herself but overlaid atop her every movement was the shrouded witch figure they had seen back at the fair. “Trixie will join you shortly. You will notice Lemon Zest. Now that she is asleep Trixie will be honest. The next part, helping her with her nightmare, can be many things. Never are they pleasant.”

Sunset crept close to the Lemon who slept deeply. Unlike the other two girls, she couldn’t see Lemon’s form. It was there, layered on top of her body like everyone else, but it was shrouded in a swirling darkness. The way it rippled was vile, every wisp that clung to the girl unsettled Sunset in her stomach and that was merely from the sight of it. Was this how Lemon was feeling the whole time?

“Now, to enter the dream all you have to do it touch her. Like how you imagined the room in detail, just think about going into her mind. Now, if you’ll excuse Trixie she has a nightmare to fight.” Trixie got up, turned around, and belly flopped on Twilight’s bed with all too much enjoyment for it. Sunset swore Trixie was out cold before she hit the blanket.

“Well. Here goes nothing,” said Sunset. Her hand touched Lemon’s forehead. The darkness screamed at her touch, grabbed her hand and sucked her in with a violent pull. Every fiber of her being, from her horn to her toes, felt repulsed at she fell into Lemon Zest. The room vanished in a whirlpool as nothingness overtook her.
> Chapter Seven: Awaken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night sky was wrong. It wasn’t that it was black, nor was it that no stars shone in the heavens, but that it lacked a perceivable depth. There was no empty vastness of the cosmos. Only a flat darkness that hid beyond a bright white hexagonal grid dome that encompassed the city. Each hexagon shimmered with faint, translucent energy that made Sunset feel safe. Protected.

“This is Long Arch to Pyrebright, do you copy?” a pleasant lady’s voice came from her helmet.

Hesitantly, Sunset brought up two fingers and pressed a small button beneath her left ear. “This… is Pyrebright. Orders?”

Why had she responded like that? More importantly, how had she known what to do or say. Sunset Shimmer, a pony transformed into a human, stared at herself once again. A bright yellow and white jumpsuit, latex by the feel of it, covered her body. Over the top of it, at sensitive points like the hands, elbows, and knees were red armor plates. She had made the plating, a combination of metal frame and hard plastic, herself.

“Finally. You’ve been silent for three minutes. Is your locator on? We need you back in position. The shielders can’t hold Behemoth in for much longer,” said Long Arch over the communications.

“...Yeah, it got damaged,” said Sunset as memories came unbidden to her mind. A fall had damaged her helmet. Luckily it had only broken the locator and not her skull.

“Noted. Fairy is waiting two blocks west of your last known location. Regroup and get ready to resume bombardment. Shit, Lightning did what? Long Arch out.”  The communication buzzed with a slight static as the lady disconnected.

Sunset held her head in her hands, more memories coming to the surface.  She was Fire Flower, a young girl who had always aspired to be a hero. When her power blossomed in the late years of high school she had made her own costume and took on her dream of being a hero. A year later she had some experience under her belt, but a call for heroes went out when a category ‘Demon’ threat was discovered nearby. Fire Flower, who donned her suit as Pyrebright, couldn’t in good will ignore it.

No, that wasn’t right; she was Sunset Shimmer. The memories were hazy, but she had a recollection of her entire last year of crime fighting vivid in her mind. Slowly repairing her suit after each battle, her friends and mentors laughing alongside her and the new home she had found along the way.

Sunset went westward to the edge of the roof she was atop and stared over the city. Towering skyscrapers lorded over widespread cathedrals and sprawling buildings tipped with spires; a city of gothic architecture spread out before her. Off in the distance ahead of her, several blocks away, was a faceted gem dome of many colors that towered over a few buildings. It beamed bright in the dark night, but she could make out a few dozen people surrounding it from all sides. People dressed up in costumes and colors of light and dark origins. Heroes, she knew, and a few villains as well. 

Three rooftops over she spotted a short, round girl who sparkled like glitter and had translucent butterfly wings out her back. Sunset looked at the wide street below her, at least twenty feet across, and wondered how she was going to cross it. 

A warmth spread through her body as she knew how. She backed up several steps and took off in a sprint toward the edge of the roof. With a jump she soared over the street, but she wasn’t going to make it. Not normally. Sunset never stopped running, each step in mid air had a bright burst of fire ignite under her foot with enough force to let her take the next step. Ten strides of rocket stepping her way across she street and she landed on the roof.

“I have fire powers,” she mumbled to herself. “Specifically the ability to condense and combust air at my will, and with no harm to myself.”  Sunset held out a hand. Air gathered into her palm, squeezed into a tiny fraction of itself and exploded in a small ball of fire no bigger than a cheap firework.

Sunset hustled over the next two rooftops to meet up with the girl called Fairy. She had never met her before, but she knew who she was in name. As Sunset landed on the same roof as Fairy the glittering girl called out to her, “Hey Pyrebright. Long Arch said you’d be heading my way. I, um, heh. Looked like you didn’t kick it in that last magma blast.”

A memory rose as if it was still fresh in her mind. She was standing next to two elderly men, each a hero she looked up to. Idolized even, as a wave of flaming earth engulfed a school next to her. The heat from the blast slagged her building with ease collapsing its entire left side into the boiling, volcanic earth below. One of the elderly heroes grabbed her and quickly threw her, sending her careening into the air toward the opposite side. She landed where she had woken up before Long Arch called.

“T-technically,” she said with her voice cracking. “It was a lava blast. Above the surface.”

Fairy cried tears with a smile on her face. Sunset knew that the banter was false courage. A joke to laugh away the fear. “Leave it to the fire girl to know what’s what,” said Fairy. Instead of wiping the tears away she pulled a shortbow off of her shoulder and took a stance.

“Did you see ole General Steel?” she asked as she pulled the bowstring. An arrow of light formed already nocked. 

The green suited man with a beaming white smile and sharp blue eyes, who never stopped smiling even as he threw her from certain flaming death, who fell in as the building collapsed after he saved her life. Sunset’s throat caught painfully as she tried to speak. “N-no, I haven’t. Maybe he’s up front?”

Fairy smiled as she stared at the glittering dome with sharp blue eyes. “Maybe. He’d want to bring this monster down, you know?”

She was Sunset Shimmer, not Fire Flower. Not Pyrebright. Right?

“Long Arch to all. Behemoth’s breaking free. Begin attack when the barriers fall.”

Fairy squinted through her tears. “You heard the lady.”


Sunset started to speak, but her words died in her throat. Questions came to mind about this city, the battle that was taking place, even who she was. Yet each time she thought about something it was at the back of her mind as a memory. That the city was Steephill, a home that they were defending against a monster that was considered a national threat, and she was one of its heroes.

Air gathered in Sunset’s hands, condensing into long bars of air so compact they were solid enough for her to grip. She grabbed tight, the weight only in her mind, as she held it up ready to throw like a javelin. A technique she could recall making herself while she was alone in her room.

“This is hurting my head,” muttered Sunset. Was this what Trixie meant by unpleasant? Was this all really a dream of someone sleeping on a bed, or was that her own daydream? 

“Sorry girl, fairy dust ain’t the cure-all it used to be,” replied Fairy with a hitch in her voice.

Sunset was deafened. It wasn’t sound of the barriers shattering like glass or the many explosions and attacks the numerous heroes made in the next second. A screeching roar threatened to burst her eardrums and sent her nerves into shock. As it died down a torrent of wind, the boom from the creature’s roar, slammed into the building she was standing atop. The shifting of the stone bricks in the walls and cracking of the hard roof’s floor frightened Sunset. What in Equestria could do that with its voice?

Rising out of the broken barrier dome, like a chick freeing itself from an egg, was a living nightmare. Its jaw was cracked, yellowing stone undercutting jagged teeth and tusks larger than her entire body. Three black and yellow frog eyes blinked separately as it shook its massive red and brown shell that reminded her of an armadillo’s body if armadillo's had towering spikes atop each shell plate. Massive three toed claws wrenched the street and earth itself apart.

She threw her air javelin without thinking about it, her eyes never leaving the monster named Behemoth, and it soared at unnatural speeds. When it impacted Behemoth’s shell she felt it. Sunset ignited the air over a hundred feet away from her creating a massive explosion of yellow fire.

Beside her Fairy let loose an arrow every second that pelted Behemoth, each one becoming a ray of light as the girl let them loose from the bow. It wasn’t just them two; a couple dozen different attacks of all shape and colors assaulted the monstrosity. Behemoth weathered the onslaught with rage. Its claws and jaws thrashed and swiped at the heroes near it. Few took the blows well as someone was sent through a building and another barely deflecting it with a projected shield. 

Behemoth crouched on all fours and shook itself down. The spikes on its shell ignited with red energy streaking across each other. A loud whistle pierced the air as nearly twenty spikes shot off like missiles and struck down at the groups of heroes bombarding them atop buildings. The cacophony of crumbling structures and explosions overtook her own cries when a spike narrowly missed the two girls and destroyed the neighboring building.

Sunset repeated attacking the monster, not sure what else she could contribute to the battle. She could barely make out the silhouettes of people fighting at the front beyond Behemoth itself and the multitude of powers. Behemoth roared, a different sound to the previous screech. It’s shell shifted colors from red and brown to yellow and white. 

A static pop came from her helmet. “Pyrebright, it’s shifted its immunity to fire and ice. Cease attacking. Three blocks to your northeast three heroes went offline. Search and rescue. Respond when on the scene. Long Arch out.”

One of the spikes jutted from a destroyed building roughly where she was ordered to go. Fairy was still firing arrows in silence. Their eyes met and nothing else needed to be said. This wasn’t a time for weak knees or tearful words. Sunset’s fists clenched as she took off toward the ruined building. 

Her rocket steps let her make good time skipping across the ruined streets and other wreckage to her destination. She touched down just outside one of the collapsed walls. The spike that had destroyed the building was twice as tall as her and stood embedded in the earth amidst the structure. Sunset picked her way inside through the rubble and wrecked furniture looking for any sign of those heroes.

“Hello, can anyone answer me?” she called out. Her voice was loud, but she barely heard herself over the sounds of battle further away. Despite that a muffled voice came from deeper inside. 

In a rush she crawled through warped rebar and over a fragmented shelf into the room that held the spike itself. The dim light of the sky grid filtered through the holes in the walls and ceiling casting pale rays and creating shadows. A large, broad-shouldered man clutched his ribs and arm with the other, his green and black suit shredded and soaked making the green sections appear black. He peered at Sunset with one eye. 

“Ah knew halp would be sendin’ quicklike. Damn munster got me good, lass.” He coughed hard, the sound making Sunset cringe as she rushed forward to help him. “Mah comm is broke so ya need to radio in. Wha’ happened to Cruiser and Buster?”

“I-I don’t know.” Sunset glanced around the room. 

An arm jutted from the rubble bent and bleeding. Her gut churned as she pointed at the heap of debris. 

The man dragged himself a few steps to see what she saw. “Damn shame tha’ is.”

“No, no, wait. Maybe they’re still okay. Give me one second and I’ll—” Sunset began walking over before the man grabbed her arm with his only good hand.

“Lass, look at me. They wouldn’ want ya ta see them like tha’. Just… jus’ radio in, would ya?” 

“But!”

“Lass!”

Sunset glanced between the injured man and the what once had been a person. What was this? This battle, this unneeded death and destruction. This wasn’t her world. Not either of her homes. 

She pressed the button on her helmet. “This is Pyrebright. One confirmed survivor. Injured heavily.”

A moment passed before Long Arch responded.. “Give me a moment. Redirecting a mover to evacuate. Long Arch out.”

“Help is on the way, sir. You’re going to be okay,” said Sunset as she turned away from the nauseating sight and focused on the large man. Nothing came to mind about him, not a name or memory. What had she been expecting when she was going to search and rescue? She wasn’t a naive filly anymore.

The air quivered before it was torn into two. A swirling abyss of bright lights and nebulas appeared in a rift before it snapped shut. The portal vanished leaving behind a girl in a long robe with constellations sewn into it. A wonderful girl with light purple skin, long dark blue hair that had a pink and purple streak in it, and was staring at her with wide, tearful eyes. 

“Sunset?”
> Chapter Eight: Journey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Twilight!” cheered Sunset. She rushed forward and swept her friend up into a hug so quickly it left Twilight double-tapping Sunset’s shoulder for air. Sunset let her go as Twilight nervously chuckled while she backpedaled a couple steps.

“I am so glad to see you,” sighed Twilight as she wiped away her tears. “Not that I’m not normally glad to see you, but this… all of this has been so insane. Sunset, I…” 

A hoarse cough interrupted the two as the injured man breathed heavy and clutched his side and injured arm. He smiled sadly as he said, “Ah, don’ mind me, you lasses. I can live a minute while y’all reconfirm each other is alive. This ain’t an easy fight for youngsters.”

“Oh, I am so sorry, sir. Um, give me one moment and I’ll have you safe as you can be,” said Twilight. A black light hovered at her fingertips; she slashed with a hand downwards. Underneath the injured man another rift tore itself into existence. He sank into it instantly with a startled and then relieved expression. Once the man was entirely gone the rift snapped shut with a soft puff of displaced air.

“He’ll be safe, right?” asked Sunset. She glanced between the rubble in the far corner of the room and the spot where the injured man was. Not wanting to be in here any longer Sunset grabbed Twilight’s hand and led her out of the room. “Let’s go outside to talk.”

“Yes, I, um, I portaled him to the medical ward. There were a few very tough shielders blocking any of Behemoth’s attacks there. He should be fine. Well, I mean, he’ll live. Fine is subjective in this situation.” rambled Twilight as she followed Sunset.

“This is just all so insane. I’ve never witnessed anything like this at all, not even in my own worst nightmares.” Twilight took a breath of fresh air as the two stumbled out of the crumbling building and into a wide, cracked street. “I… there aren’t words for this. Well, there are words but how can you describe something like this in totality? I’ve read numerous history books about wars and the experience of battle. Several biographies detail how soldiers felt and what they went through, but I just… 

“Sunset, I’m scared.”

The pit of Sunset’s stomach squirmed. Sometimes she forgot how peaceful living in the human world can be even with the occasional magical incident. Her own training and experiences in Equestria have included fighting back monsters and ancient evils, but this was enough to wear her nerves down to threads and make her doubt her own sanity. Seeing Twilight step through that portal gave her world a foundation, to help fight back those doubts that crawled into her mind. 

Sunset pushed all those worries and doubts down inside her. She couldn’t burden one of her best friends with that while they were suffering the same and worse. “Remember who you are. You’re Twilight Sparkle, a brilliant girl who is helping someone she barely knows fight back a demon no one knows anything about. This… this is all just a dream. A nightmare that we’ll beat. I promise.”

Twilight stared directly into Sunset’s eyes. “Is it really just a dream? Is this… this place a figment of unconsciousness? Is it really that simple?”

The thoughts Sunset pushed down started to bubble to the surface.

“Was that guy I sent away imaginary? Is this whole battle not real?” Twilight cried as she gripped her own arms tightly. “I… have memories. My name is Spring Dew, I live at home with my mother and uncle. I go to school and have many friends who share my interests. The visit to the observatory, a trip to the creek; I see their faces and hear their voices.

“My name is also Starfall. I-I’m a hero that works in natural disasters. I help save people from places that aren’t immediately accessible. Years of this all stuffed into my mind alongside another. Another me named Twilight Sparkle.” She hid her face beneath her hands and crouched against an empty car. “I don’t know what to do.”

Explosions flashed in the distance as the resulting warm wind washed over the two girls in the street. All those feelings Sunset ignored tried to overtake her, some of them were the same worries Twilight was having, but she forced them deep down. Sunset had to be strong right now in order to support her friend. She knew there would be time later for her own tears, but not while her friend was in need.

Sunset slouched against the car right next to Twilight and gently pulled the girl in with a one-armed hug. “I don’t have the answers to that. This… maybe this is what Trixie was referring to. Maybe not, but Twilight. I’m here with you, and we both know who we really are. Whether this world is real or not, whether it’s a dream or we’re both crazy, we’re both here. Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer.

“The real question is do you care?”

Twilight sniffed as she peeked between her hands at Sunset’s face. “Care?”

Voices yelled in the distance accompanied by a monster’s roar. The hexagonal force field grid up above blinked furiously as it tried to stay lighting up the night sky. A quiet crackle of static as the communications buzzed with a pleasant lady’s voice ordering about all the available heroes.

Sunset ran a hand over her helmet and down through the hair flowing out the back. “Yes. I don’t know what you’ve done or seen, but everything you have was a choice you made. Do you regret doing those actions? Is it meaningless to you to save people fighting this battle?”

Twilight sat up straight quickly and furiously shook her head. “No, no, of course not!”

“Then you care.” Sunset smiled at her friend. “And no matter what this all is, you know who you are and who you want to be.”

The two girls stared at each other for several moments in silence before Sunset stood up. Her own words settled the feelings inside herself. “And no matter what name I go by, I know I’m not the type of girl to stand on the sidelines of a battle I could be helping in. I’m not asking you to join me, Twilight. It’s scary, terrifying even, to fight.”

Twilight slowly stood up and slapped her cheeks lightly twice. “No, you’re right. If we’re here then that means Trixie and Lemon Zest are somewhere in this disaster. I can’t forget why we’re here in the first place. If this is the nightmare that Lemon is to face, I won’t let her face it alone.”

“We won’t,” said Sunset.

They nodded to each other. A crackle of static buzzed in both their ears as the comms flared on.

“Pyrebright, head to the front lines. We lost Flamespire and need a heavy fire attacker. Starfall, move her and get over to the Steel Stadium. There’s two injured to recover. Long Arch out.” 

“As quick and precise as usual. Would you, Twilight?” Sunset stepped a few feet away. 

Black light hovered around Twilight’s fingertips as she slashed downwards ripping a portal in the air beside them. “Sunset… thanks. Be careful though, we don’t know if what happens to us here has any consequences or not. Something I think I will remind Trixie of when we go back home.”

Sunset rolled her shoulders as she prepared to fight. “I agree, but I can’t say she’s at fault. Maybe she didn’t know, or maybe it’s hard to explain and put into words. She did tell us it wouldn’t be pleasant.”

Twilight huffed. “There’s a difference between unpleasant and mentally scarring. Be safe, and we’ll meet again. Promise.”

“Promise,” said Sunset. “Also it’s hard not to meet again when you have portal powers!” Sunset genuinely laughed away her fears as she jumped through the rift. 

Sweat formed nearly instantly as the stale and scorched air hit her hard when she stepped foot onto the broken asphalt. What remained large square park she stood beside wasn’t enough to render is recognizable. The trees were naught but broken husks or ashes underfoot. Stone and brick buildings alike were crushed, frozen, slagged or hovering in midair in a golden hue as time itself halted its destruction.

The cacophony of yells of all ages shocked her into action. Towering over everything amidst the ruined park was Behemoth. Now that she was up close and personal it was even more monstrous than she had thought. It was five times her height and twice that long as it shambled around on four thick legs. One of the frog eyes stared at her desynced from the other two.

“Down!” someone yelled.

Sunset quickly drew in a large wall of air in front of her. Unsure of what the warning meant she wasn’t going to stand there. The air exploded inches away from her. While the heat didn’t harm her the physics of it didn’t ignore her either. She was blasted back several feet from where she was and was sent rolling across the ground. In a hurry she got back to her feet to witness a green laser streak from the frog eye and incinerate the ground where she had once stood.

“Quit gawking and blast it,” yelled that same female voice. 

“Right. I got this,” muttered Sunset. An air javelin formed in her hand before she took off sprinting around the side of Behemoth. When she got around to its flank she threw the javelin and let it impact the thick leg before combusting it. The explosion shook everything around it leaving a large burn mark on the leg, but little else.

Behemoth turned slightly enough for the eye to lock back onto her again. It began to gain a green hue signaling another laser attack, but before it could the ruins of a car impacted it as fast as a bullet. The screech of metal sent shivers down her back, but in response she formed a heavy and dense air sphere. With an effort she sent it whizzing up to the eye just as the car was about to fall and ignited the sphere.

The explosion warped and fused the ruins of the car to the eye leaving it red and glowing from the heat. Behemoth roared in pain, anger, or whatever emotion it was feeling. Sunset would’ve bet on anger as it spun around so fast she barely had time to dodge a claw from taking off her head. 

“Jeez, what’s this thing made of?”

An older tanned gentleman with a half-singed top hat, broken monocle and wearing tuxedo suit with numerous burn holes in it landed beside her. “Ma’am, we need your firepower concentrated on the shell. We need to break it if we’re to finally kill this damned beast.”

He held out a showman’s magic wand in one hand, his singed top hat in the other, and tapped it twice. With a small flourish a cannon as large as Sunset dropped out from under it. When he pulled the tug string at the base it shot a pair of manacles out large enough to clasp together two of Behemoth’s legs. The beast was strong, but this surprise entanglement caused the massive monstrosity to trip on itself and collapse atop its stomach.

“What do I do?” asked Sunset as she pointed at the shell. It was currently the colors yellow and green signaling its immunity to fire and acid. 

“I will try and get a companion of an opposing element to maintain assault on it long enough for it to shift its defenses,” said the magician. He crawled into his own cannon, lit the fuse, and gave a salute to Sunset. “When it changes try to destroy a section of the shell. We’ve made a lot of breakthroughs, but we lost our last firepower. Godspeed.”

In a surprisingly quiet explosion the cannon shot the magician at least a hundred feet across the park over to the top of a half-standing building. There was a blue and white suited fellow just short of where the magician landed. 

“Alright, we have a plan.”
> Chapter Nine: Planning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I said get down!”

A tall woman wearing a forest green and brown camouflage jacket and pants, brown boots and a black shirt tackled Sunset to the ground. Behemoth’s tail cut through the air above them, a blow that made her shiver when she thought about getting hit by it. The woman’s green riot helmet covered her face with an opaque guard but did nothing to hide her scathing fury. 

“Don’t stand there like an idiot,” she yelled as she stood up, pulled a large rocket launcher from her back and fired it at the tail. The impact and explosion did little, but seeing as the woman uncaringly tossed the empty launcher to the ground Sunset doubted it was meant to do much.

“C’mon, you’re one of our few powerhouses left. Quit idling where Behemoth will eat you for an afternoon snack!” The woman rolled her wrist around, and in a blink of an eye a long barrelled silver pistol appeared in hand. She continued to fire it as she waved Sunset forward to follow her.

From the building across from them, large spears of ice were being launched out of several cannons. Each spear that impacted Behemoth’s shell shattered into shards with very few leaving flesh wounds even when they hit the body. The icy onslaught was joined in as random machinery was launched out from between alleys at high velocity.

Behemoth had its three frog eyes focused on different people across the battlefield. It spun faster than Sunset would have thought something with that much mass should be able to. A claw slammed down on a bright green forcefield, the suited man inside it struggling with all his might before the forcefield shattered into sparks. The claw sent a tremor through the ground that made Sunset stumble.

A potbellied man rained down a storm of lightning atop Behemoth as a white-cowled flyer held him in their arms. One of the frog eyes sent several red beams out at the pair. They dodged and weaved through the air, their electric storm never stopping. The man didn’t have a chance to scream when one of the red beams seared off his potbelly and everything lower. The white-cowled flyer dropped the scorched remains and evaded the continuous beams in the sky.

The military woman growled as she grabbed Sunset’s hand and dragged her along. Sunset stared at the carnage that was fighting this monster towering over her. Her mind had gone blank until the woman all but dragged her into cover behind a broken wooden bench.

“Long Arch, Jade Jolt, and Hollyflower are dead. We need reinforcements!” the military woman screamed into her headset. “No, I don’t care. Get her ass over here. Containment won’t work when all your supers are six feet under!” 

The woman waved her hands as she conjured up two rocket launchers and slung one across her back. “Our trump card is coming down field. Distract Behemoth while she kills it.”

“Trump card? What if it fails?” asked Sunset.

“Then it’s your turn,” the woman said grimly. 

Everything grew dark; the luminescent hexagonal grid faded from the night sky slowly drawing into itself until a single hexagon barrier shone like a star in the black expanse. It shot down like a comet, a silver trail of light behind it, as the glowing barrier smashed down onto Behemoth. Its massive body crushed into the ground shaking the earth and leaving a crater several feet deep in its wake.

Standing atop the barrier that crushed the monstrosity with horrifying strength was a girl. She threw her light blue and silver hair over her shoulder with a flourish, her silver ballroom gown sparkled like diamonds in her own barrier’s light as she wore clothing more suited to a high society party than fighting amongst a battlefield.

With a flick of her arm several hexagons popped into existence surrounding Behemoth like a fence. Another flick sent them coiling around Behemoth in a vice grip, the monster’s body breaking and bleeding from the sheer pressure. It roared in pain, each eye crying viscous ichor as it struggled to free itself. 

“And that’s Lightshow,” muttered the military woman, awe in even her hatred-filled voice.

Each hexagon emitted a brilliant light, a slight buzz of energy felt in the air that set Sunset’s hair on end like static electricity. That light burst into silver energy beams that pierced and slammed against Behemoth. It raged and rocked in agony, buildings crumbling from the tremors and the park now decimated beyond all recognition.

The woman, Lightshow, stepped forward on her barrier platform. She stared down at the monster below her with contempt. “The Great. And Powerful. Lightshow! Has always wondered why no one uses their strongest attack first. Do you fear Lightshow, you beast? Fear her!”

Sunset’s jaw dropped. “That’s Lightshow?”

Behemoth roared in anger, pain and whatever emotions the calamity causing monster felt. Its shell on its back changed one of its colors dull silver. The beams of energy and hexagons that imprisoned and strangled Behemoth shattered at its mere touch. It rose, slowly, with chilling mist wafting out its nostrils and jaw, to level three bleeding eyes at Lightshow. 

It headbutted Lightshow with all its tons of mass focused at a single point. In less than a second the girl standing atop the barrier broke the sound barrier as she was sent straight through two separate buildings into the distance. It was a blow that would have killed anybody else, but the military woman frowned.

“That’s Lightshow. Looks like our timing was fucked. It’s still immune to fire and now our trump’s element. Shit, look, you’re useless right now until we can open up its immunity. Go see if she’s dead or not.”

“Uh, okay. Got it.”

The military woman turned on her headset. “Pyrebright is going to see if Lightshow bit it.”

Static popped in Sunset’s ears as her communications opened. “Pyrebright, Sureshot said you’re on search and rescue. Copy?”

Sunset pressed the button and spoke hesitantly as she kept one eye on Behemoth, “Yeah, copy.”

“Alright. Soundwave was nearby and went offline when Lightshow crashed. Search for her also, alright? Long Arch out.” Her comms went silent.

“Stay safe, kid.”

“You too.”

The two parted in a sprint away from each other. Behemoth swatted a flying hero out of the air with a claw before turning its sights toward Sunset. Praying that it wasn’t going to attack her she let out a breath of relief when two rockets exploded against Behemoth’s face. 

Sunset yelled back at Sureshot, “What part of that is safe?”

The woman yelled back as she conjured up another rocket, “You’re safer now. Hurry up and recover our trump card!”

Her pace toward the crash site was hurried by Sunset’s rocket step. Each foot forward sped her up as she ran through the cratered and burned park, through several building’s worths of rubble and debris, and far too much dust Sunset wanted to breathe in. She slowed at the neared the spot Lightshow had crashed into. 

She was going to yell to see if anyone responded but heard voices speaking within the half-destroyed chapel. The inflection and tone were obviously Lightshow’s, but the second Sunset couldn’t place. She crept through the wreckage while avoiding injuring herself on the unstable ground or jutting scrap of wreckage. Lightshow was lying down against a broken pillar and an armored girl on roller skates, who she assumed was Soundwave, was fumbling about unsure of how to help.

“Oh jeez. Trixie, are you okay?,” asked Soundwave who was Lemon Zest.

“No,” grumbled Lightshow who was Trixie. “Lightshow is very sure she isn’t okay.”

Sunset stumbled off some of the crumbled cement into the area. “Oh shoot.”

Trixie’s left arm was gone from the shoulder down, blood-soaked the side of her dress and was stopped by the hexagonal barrier encompassing the wound. Both girls started at Sunset but immediately calmed down upon recognizing her. “Solid timing, Shimmer. You look like you’re a fiery girl. Lightshow is having a hard time concentrating trying not to bleed out. Maybe do something about it?” 

Lemon fidgeted as she knelt by Trixie. “Holy… jeez, you can’t be serious, Trixie.”

“It’s Lightshow right now, and she is very serious. Shimmer, quit your gawking and cauterize this already.” Trixie glared.

Unsure of what else to do Sunset hurried to Trixie’s side. The barrier around her shoulder fell revealing the grievous injury in all its glory. It turned Sunset’s stomach inside out seeing it up close and Lemon gagged. The girl that was actually injured grit her teeth preparing for the oncoming pain.

Air gathered gently around the wound as Sunset hovered her hands over it. “Ready?”

“Yes, yes, Lightshow is always ready.”

“Trixie, please girl, stop already. You’ve done enough! You’re missing a freaking arm. Just… you’re not Lightshow. You don’t have to be a hero.” Lemon pleaded. 

The air exploded burning the wound closed enough for the bleeding to stop, but the smell nauseated Sunset even more than the sight. Trixie breathed heavily trying to compose herself as Sunset said, “This isn’t just a dream, is it? It’s real, real enough that we feel everything. It has to be… because I can’t imagine otherwise.”

Trixie pushed herself upright against the pillar. “Trixie is always herself, and she happens to be Lightshow right now. You never ask a magician to break character on stage.”

Lemon slammed a fist on the ground. “This isn’t a stage, Trixie!”

A laugh escaped Trixie. “Isn’t it? Life is a stage, dear Soundwave. We are playing our part right now. That’s how a lot of these dreams are. Most are like this, assuming a character to play. Some we are free to be ourselves and do as we please, and the other kind… heck, that really hurts.”

Sunset pressed her communications button and radioed in, “Long Arch, Lightshow is injured and Soundwave is unharmed. Please send rescue.”

Trixie scowled at Sunset. “Shimmer, don’t be a fool. This isn’t real; it’s just a dream. It gets unpleasant when you die in a dream, but you don’t die. Far, far worse things happen when you let the nightmare win. Lightshow is going to… get… up.”

She crawled to her feet using the pillar as a brace with Lemon rushing to her aid. “She is going to go back out there and kill Behemoth, and then Lemon Zest will be free.”

“It’s not worth, Trixie. I’m not worth it,” muttered Lemon. “This whole dang thing is just another failure in the long line of failures recently.”

“Don’t tell Lightshow what is or isn’t worth her time.”

“But I’m not. I thought I was, you know? During the Games I thought I was on top of the world. Hah, that showed me the truth.” Lemon rubbed the back of her neck. “Went from first to last pretty quick. School got a lot harder to make up for that. It made the competition ramp up pretty quick, and I’m not made for that kind of deal, yeah? Couldn’t do anything right.”

“Hey now, that’s just school. There’s more than that out there,” said Sunset. 

“Hah. For you maybe, but for me? My friends, or who were my friends once, my parents, the teachers, the colleges after that, jobs and such? They think differently. It’s really harsh out there, and I’m just… I just can’t do it. I’m not worth anything, and especially not that,” Lemon quietly yelled as she motioned at Trixie’s shoulder stump. “Let’s just quit this already…”

“Lemon, that’s not true. There’s a whole world, worlds even—”

“Shut it, you two. And Lightshow thought she talked a lot. Shimmer is, ugh, right; you aren’t worthless.”

“But I—” 

“I said shut it! Listen here, you dolt. You are worth Trixie’s time, and she determines that because she wants to. Why else would Trixie, and to their own credit, Shimmer and Sparkle, help you? Kindness and the goodness of our hearts?” Trixie blew a sweaty lock of hair out of her eyes despite half her bangs being matted to her face. 

“Um, I think that’s exactly why Twilight and I are doing this.” 

“As Trixie was saying, she isn’t doing this just out of good feelings. Trixie has many ulterior motives, and one of them is because she’s selfish. She’s been through this herself and can’t stand for someone else to do it alone. If she helps and everything turns out good then she has a new companion that knows what Trixie goes through. She might even want that person to join her coven and be friends.”

Sunset held up a hand.

“Yes, Shimmer?”

“That’s called kindness.”

“Don’t confuse Trixie with your weird friendship emotions. She is doing this grueling and now extremely painful event in order to get something out of it. How dare you claim Trixie isn’t selfish. Now, listen here, Soundwave. Trixie is amazing. Lightshow is also amazing. That’s why she is who she is, got it? Now, would someone as amazing as Trixie ever be friends with someone who’s worthless?”

“Trixie, I’m—”

“The answer is no, fool. Trixie is great and powerful and everyone she’s friends with is also great by association. She doesn’t have any loser or worthless friends. Now, are you Trixie’s friend?”

Lemon Zest cried silently as she bit her lip. “...Yes.”

“Perfect. Now that we’ve decided that this is has meaning let’s go hunt us a monster.”

Sunset stared at the two girls in front of her with a smirk. “You both are pretty great.”

Trixie laughed. “Keep that up and you can be my friend too, Shimmer.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
> Chapter Ten: Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The static pop in Sunset’s ear signaled her comms opening. “Pyrebright, Starfall is on her way to move you. Sorry to say it, but we need Lightshow even if she’s injured. All of you are to enter the fray. Behemoth’s on the ropes. Long Arch out.” 

Not a minute later the air split apart as a rift appeared several feet from Sunset before Twilight stepped through. She was covered in dust and ash, her clothing was scorched and torn but her person appeared unharmed. At least physically.

“Hey, Sunset, I’m here to portal you all. Oh hello, Lemon. Tri—Stars above, Trixie! Your arm!” Twilight ran over to Trixie and fought between wanting to hug Trixie or forcing her to stay still. “You have a debilitating wound, dangerous blood loss, oh my gosh did you burn this shut? We need to get you to a hospital right now. Give me a moment and I’ll move you to the medical ward. How are you even functioning right now?”

Trixie stepped back from the hysteric girl. “Sparkle, Lightshow is hardly in need of medical care. She has simply lost a single limb. Yes, it hurts a lot, and frankly Lightshow wished it didn’t. It is simply because Lightshow is so amazing that she doesn’t feel pain as mere mortals do.”

Sunset was also worried about Trixie, but seeing as she had endured losing her arm and then having Sunset cauterize it with an unflappable attitude made that worry tone itself down. “Wait, really?”

Trixie gave a quick mocking laugh. “No, not really. It’s part of my powers. Alas, Lightshow has been dealt worse in the past.”

Twilight nearly screeched. “Worse!?”

Lemon gulped. “Dang, girl. Are all these nightmares as bad as this?”

“No.” All three girls shared a look of relief. “May Lightshow remind you that this is a baby nightmare? This is the easiest she has ever faced. Look at us; only one injury amongst the dreamers. You may thank the great and powerful Lightshow for being as amazing as she is.”

Lemon smiled warmly. “Thanks, Trixie.”

“Yes yes, that was mostly rhetorical but nevertheless appreciated. This still hurts a whole lot, so let’s wrap this up, shall we? Sparkle, I assume you are here to send us to our victory.” 

Twilight nodded and ripped open a rift in front of the group with a swipe of her fingers. “This goes a couple blocks over to near Behemoth. Be careful when you exit.”

Sunset flexed her fingers and wondered about the fight. Real or not she had seen many heroes die with ease fighting Behemoth. “So what actually happens if we die here in the dream?”

Trixie met Sunset’s eyes and the look she gave her sent a shiver down Sunset’s spine. “I highly advise that you don’t. You may not be really dead, but that’s not the worst there is to be, Shimmer.”

With that and a small flourish of her arm, Trixie jumped through the rift. 

“So… does anyone else get scared when she drops the third person speech?” asked Lemon.

Nobody else said anything before Sunset jumped through the rift. If there was a flaw with Twilight’s powers it would be that you cannot see the other side of the portal until you step through. Breathing sent ice cold air down her throat and into her lungs as her skin bristled from the unexpected chill. Trixie was barely two feet in front of her holding her arm outstretched blocking a torrent of snow and ice with a barrier wall. 

Lemon and Twilight quickly followed through the rift and ended up bumping into each other as everyone was huddled behind the barrier wall. “It seems that the beast doesn’t like the amazing Lightshow very much. She dares to say the feeling is mutual!”

When the flurry died down Trixie dropped the barrier wall to reveal Behemoth, in all its massive glory, staring down at them with frosty vapor trailing from its mouth. All eyes went wide as it snorted out white smoke. Trixie pointed at the blue and green shell and yelled, “Its shell is acid and ice. Scatter and let’s finish this!” 

Twilight flung her arms down, a black light trailing from her hands, as she said, “Lemon, take the right. Sunset; the left. Trixie? Um, do what you do. I’ll try and support whoever is still around here.”

Rifts opened up underneath Sunset and Lemon causing both girls to fall through them. Sunset’s feet hit the ground a second later as she was dropped a foot downwards. Behemoth was still so close it took up her entire vision, but she was relieved she wasn’t looking at it face to face and instead was off to its side.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Sunset flexed her hands and took off running toward Behemoth’s backside. With every other step she lobbed balls of air at the monster’s flesh that burst into a fiery explosion. Unlike earlier when it ignored her attacks each explosion left charred flesh and blackened muscle oozing with ichor. 

Behemoth roared in pain. Large chunks of building debris were being rocketed into its body, spears of lightning were thrown by a hero atop a roof near her, Trixie’s hexagonal barriers bludgeoned and cut into its face and maw with Sunset’s fiery explosions against its legs and side. It was merely a drop in the bucket compared to all the injuries caused by the numerous heroes that have been battling it, but everyone could tell it was reaching its end. 

Each movement was labored and its breath heaved with each swipe of its claw or tail. Numerous pools of ichor were littered about the battlefield with the largest being where Trixie was fighting Behemoth far closer than was safe considering it had headbutted her through several buildings last time.

“Shell, shell.” It needed to be broken somehow as it was the source of all Behemoth’s defense. Sunset observed the numerous cracks and chipped panels of its shell. She could cause a large explosion, but it wouldn’t be enough to do what others have failed at so far. “No, wait… not alone I can’t.”

Sunset changed her course from going around Behemoth to running at it. Air focused underneath her feet and exploded as she jumped. Her body tensed as she flew several feet in the air and then did the same thing again and again until she landed on Behemoth’s shell. 

From atop its shell she saw the whole battle. There were less than seven heroes left to her dismay with four of them being her and her friends. Sunset couldn’t help but admire Trixie for staring Behemoth in its eyes as she continued to pummel its face and block each attack in return. The trump card of the heroes couldn’t have been a better person. “Probably. I mean, it’s still Trixie.”

Twilight flitted about between her portals helping the remaining three heroes continue their attacks and saving them when Behemoth turned its attention toward them. She couldn’t see Lemon from her vantage point but assumed the girl was doing what she could. 

Sunset precariously walked across Behemoth’s back looking for a weak point in the shell. A plate or section that took more damage than the others. A massive slam from Trixie shoved Behemoth enough to make Sunset stumble. Even over the monster’s pained roar Sunset could hear Trixie’s haughty laugh.

“Ah.” Up near the base of its neck was several plates of its shell discolored from the odd immunity coloration it adapts. “I hope this works.”

She hurried along its shell and knelt down next to the discolored plates. Air gathered in Sunset’s hands and exploded over and over. Cracks formed and chips of its shell were blasted off, but it wasn’t much progress. “Think, think, what do I do?”

Her own blasts weren’t hurting her, but any more and she would knock herself off of Behemoth’s back. “Wait… Trixie! Trixie!”

Sunset’s yell was answered by Trixie’s own. “What do you want, Shimmer? Lightshow is being great and powerful over here! “

“Cover me with a barrier! All of me!” 

“Sure, whatever. Victory shall be ours, beast!” 

Air gathered and condensed itself into Sunset’s hands, but kept gathering to the point where each breath felt humid and suffocating. She was nearly obscured by the air so thick it appeared similar to a fog when the hexagonal light barrier enshrouded Sunset in a small dome. “This won’ hurt me. This won’t hurt. Probably. Dangit.”

Sunset stared at her hand, flexed her fingers, and winced as she snapped. A small spark turned into a blazing inferno before she could blink. There was no air to breathe, no world to balance, nothing existed but roaring heat and cacophony inside her ears. 

The flames evaporated in what felt like minutes later. Trixie’s barrier was gone, destroyed or dismissed she couldn’t tell. Beneath her knees was a bulbous and knotted mass of flesh charred black and burned away a foot deep into the body; The plates of the shell she knelt upon were nonexistent. Sunset smirked as she went to radio in that Behemoth was exposed, but found no helmet on her head. In addition, nearly all of her suit was gone or scorched to barely maintaining itself. 


Her breath was knocked out of her by the most unexpected thing anyone anticipated. Behemoth, in its gargantuan body, leaped several feet into the air with surprising speed. When it landed the earth shook. What few buildings left standing crumbled, a massive cloud of dirt, dust, ash billowed out around it and silenced the battlefield. A moment later Sunset impacted back down onto the shell and bounced off. 

She couldn’t make heads or tails of any directions to orient herself, let alone use her power to prevent her falling. “Oh Celestia this is g—”

Immunity to fire was definitely not one of Sunset’s abilities. It shot through her back and spread throughout her entire body. A scream was ripped from her throat as the pain needled all her muscles. Her ears felt wet as she could barely focus enough to open her eyes.

A familiar sound of air being torn open came through muffled. “Sunset? Sunset!”

Sunset cracked an eye open to see Twilight and Lemon emerge from within the dust cloud. Even now there barely enough light to see each other. Twilight slid to her side and she felt hands gently cradle her. “By the sun… Sunset…”  

“Jeez, oh man.” 

Sunset bit back another scream when she tried to move her arm. “H-hey girls. How did you find me?”

“I saw you fall. Look, I’ll get you help. You’ll be fine, just fine.” Twilight’s hand became enveloped in black light.

“No! Twilight,” said Sunset. Speaking felt like eating sandpaper. “The shell is broke. Base of neck. We need Trixie. Someone to attack it. I’ll be f-fine when this is over.”

Twilight bit her finger. “I didn’t see what happened to Trixie. Lemon, can you do it?”

“Um. I don’t know. Maybe?” 

Sunset coughed which only made her back burn and felt like needles were tormenting her chest. “You can do it. Remember, any friend of Trixie’s is amazing.”

Lemon firmly nodded. “Right.”

“I’m not leaving you here, Sunset. Not like this,” cried Twilight. “I can’t.”

Twilight’s forehead was flicked despite the burning agony in Sunset’s everything. “I’m not dead. Just go save the world or something so we can go home.”

“O-okay. Okay.” Twilight ripped open a rift beneath Sunset and gently lowered her into it. Sunset found herself atop a tall spire many blocks away from the battle. Behemoth seemed small, like a pet amongst a playset. Twilight’s hand vanished back into the portal as it closed with a snap. 

She could barely spot through her blurred vision the black rift open atop Behemoth’s shell. Her friends stepped out of it and disappeared from her sight. The beast that had tormented and butchered this city froze. It felt that something was amiss before it began a wild tantrum. It threw itself against the ground, shook itself with all its might, and screeched in pain. It screamed over and over, its voice weakening each time before it slumped to the ground. 

A siren slowly crescendoed over the silent city. Its monotone blaring was accompanied by a bright light. Its whiteness consumed Sunset’s vision as her chest tightened. Her body felt like it was being squeezed through a tube and compressed before everything went dark. 
> Chapter Eleven: Just A Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset’s heart pumped furiously as everything was dark. Her hand clutched her chest, each beat pulsating against her palm, as she tried to calm down. No fiery agony was assailing her body or no loud roars of monsters in the distance; it was silent except for four people breathing.

A crunch echoed through the room. 

Her eyes snapped open to see Trixie sitting on the edge of the Twilight’s bed. In one hand was a potato chip, and the other was a Hays Original chips bag. Their eyes met as Trixie ate another chip loudly crunching down on it. “Welcome back to the world of the living, Shimmer.”

“Really?” asked Sunset.

“Err… yes, re—”

“You’re eating chips right now?” asked Sunset. “After all that. Not even a few minutes after a crisis and you’re eating a snack?”

“Trixie thinks you’re overreacting.”

“No, I’m not… wait.” Sunset gazed around the bedroom. Lemon Zest and Twilight were still asleep in their exact same positions she last saw them in. The light outside had dimmed but it was still in the early evening. She herself hadn’t moved a muscle from leaning against the bedroom door. “How did you get chips?”

Trixie ate another chip as she wiggled her fingers. “Magic.”

Sunset slowly rose to her feet being careful not to agitate her injuries. She blinked and realized she had no injuries. Her mind was still reeling from that experience. Sunset felt with a hand around her back and neck waiting for something, anything, to happen. 

“You’re fine, Shimmer. It was a dream.” Trixie’s tone was soft. 

“But it was so real. Everything about it was, well,” said Sunset. 

“Trixie understands. That’s why it’s a nightmare and it’s difficult. They’re not entirely bad all the time, but yes it tends to be very unpleasant. Trixie did warn you all.” She went to eat another chip, but Sunset stepped forward and lightly punched Trixie in her shoulder.

“Ow!” Trixie pouted. “You’re a brute, Shimmer.”

“And you didn’t tell us anything before we went in. Details like it’s painfully real would’ve been far more helpful than ‘it’s unpleasant’,” said Sunset. 

Trixie rubbed her shoulder. “Would you have followed Trixie if she said so? If she said that you could experience death and would have to potentially fight monstrous creatures would you have still helped? Be honest, Shimmer. Teenagers aren’t known for being altruistic.”

“We helped at the fair.” Sunset frowned. “Of course we would’ve. You didn’t have to try and trick us into helping.  You’re a teen yourself, so why did you help?”

Trixie ate another potato chip and glanced at the sleeping Lemon Zest. “I was being honest in the dream and when I said no one should have to weather this alone. Could you imagine it, Shimmer? Slowly going crazy as it torments you at every waking moment, then one night in your sleep it strikes at your dreams?”

“I—”

“To have all your reality broken down, then thrust into a dream so real, so lucid that you have memories of a whole life separate from yourself? It’s not always as easy as ganging up on a giant monster.”

“Okay, sheesh. I get what you mean.” Sunset sighed. “You don’t have to be so patronizing about everything.”

“Oh please, like you wouldn’t do the same in Trixie’s position.” 

Sunset was about to answer before she was pulled down to the floor. Thin arms wrapped around her tightly in a hug that left her gasping for breath. For someone who rarely exercises Twilight has her in a vice-like grip. “Sunset, you’re okay! Stars above, I was so worried about you. I’m so, so sorry I left. Can you ever forgive me?”

“T-Twi…” Sunset tapped her on her arms. 

“Oh!” Twilight relaxed her grip but didn’t release Sunset. “Please forgive me. You told me to go, but I was so scared. Everyone kept saying it was just a dream but it was so real. I couldn’t… I wouldn’t be able to if…”

Sunset glared at Trixie who frozen while watching. “Okay, Trixie is sorry she wasn’t more clear on the details. Trusting people is hard for Trixie, okay?”

“Apology begrudgingly accepted,” said Sunset. “Twilight, there’s nothing to forgive but I’ll forgive you anyway if you let me go. You’re, uh, kind of strangling me.”

Twilight paused as she examined her arms. Specifically where her arms were and who she was hanging onto. Sunset could’ve mistaken her for Rainbow Dash for how fast Twilight had crossed the bedroom. “Ah hah. Haha. Yes, sorry about that. I was just really worried.”

Lemon Zest was sitting upright staring at all three of them with wide eyes. “Woah.”

Trixie smirked. “How do you feel?”

Lemon examined herself slowly. “I feel good, like, really good. Ah, yeah, man this is freaky. A lot of that dream still scares the music out of me, but I understand what Trixie was talking about.”

“Ahem,” fake-coughed Twilight as she dusted herself down. “About what?” 

“Ah, what was it again? Instinct or something? Yeah, girls, I can totally feel it now.” Lemon smiled. “That and it feels like, oh man, not to be cliche but a darkness has really been lifted, you know?”

Trixie ate another potato chip. 

Twilight scowled. “Where did you get those?”

Trixie gulped and nervously wiggled her fingers. “Magic?”

“You’re insufferable,” said Twilight.

“Agreed.” Sunset rolled her eyes.

“So, like, what was that whole dream nightmare thing about anyhow? The memories thing was pretty freaky, but now that we’re back, uh, in the real world? They’re really hazy. Like, again not to be cliche, but a dream?” asked Lemon. 

“It’s a dream,” said Trixie. “It’s not supposed to make sense. They’re the mysterious enigmas of life. A demonic manifestation of chaos.”

“Or,” started Twilight. “The dream was about a hurdle or life problem. Maybe you had something lately that was on your mind, something that was blocking your normal life? Oh, right, the Friendship Games. I could imagine that school would get extremely competitive at Crystal Prep since we, uh, they lost.”

“Sparkle, no.”

“So,” added Sunset. “The Behemoth was like the roadblock. The wall that had to be overcome?”

Twilight snapped and pointed at Sunset. “That’s it! The immunity from its shell must’ve been about how the challenge is always adapting to what Lemon does. When something was defeating it, it changed to become immune to that attempt. It could mean that every effort tried to stop it was in vain.”

“Shimmer, Sparkle, stop. Stop it right now.”

Sunset grinned. “So then it would be a nightmare incredibly hard to beat on your own. It’s something you would want friends to help with, which might also symbolize how Crystal Prep is cutthroat. No one would want to help out their rivals. But what about who we were inside the dream?”

“You’re ruining everything,” said Trixie. 

Twilight clapped her hands together. “Of course. Lemon doesn’t really know you very well, Sunset, but with your motif and how the Games went I couldn’t see why you wouldn’t be explosive and fiery. Myself? Well, portals. Rifts to be more exact would be that, uh… It’s because I left. I went to CHS and was the only one that was a part of two different factions at one point.”

Lemon’s jaw dropped. “Woah.”

Sunset nodded at the upset Trixie. “What about her?”

Twilight rubbed her chin. “Well, I would suspect that’s due to how Trixie presented herself. She showed up at exactly the right moment and displayed powerful abilities, knowledge about the problem and helped solved the solution. She always is so egotistic and haughty that in this situation it would put her as an extremely important figure. That’s probably why she was the last resort. Her abilities were—”

A potato chip hit Twilight in the forehead with another chip hitting Sunset on the nose. “Stop dissecting the dream, especially when guessing about Trixie. It ruins the mystique of it all. This time you’re putting science and logic to dreams. Next you’ll want to know how magic tricks work.”

Sunset scrunched up her nose and picked up the offending chip. “Yeah, like how you got these chips.”

Trixie groaned. “See? This is your influence, Sparkle.”

Lemon stared at her own hands. “Wow, I’m pretty complex, huh? I figured we just all went to another world where the nightmare was originally from using the dream as some sort of pseudo-portal and we possessed our otherworld counterparts. From then we got all their recent memories to know the world and how to use their abilities in order to combat a threat that no one else could defeat. I like the dream one better, cause, you know, that means an alternate Sunset and Trixie are maimed or dead.”

All three girls stared at Lemon with wide eyes. 

“No.”

“Uh.”

“I hope not.”

Twilight picked up the chip that had hit her. “If you’re going to dirty up my room so I have then you lose room privileges. Everyone out. Living room time, yes.”

Sunset stood up, gently took Trixie by the shoulders and guided her out of the room. “If it makes anyone feel better, that other world theory could also just be a temporary world created by the nightmare so it had more rule over it than us. It would explain why the sky had no stars and the world never felt bigger than that one city. Yes, let’s go with that.”

As Trixie was all but pushed out of the room by Sunset she grabbed a handful of chips and stuffed her face. “This wouldn’t be an issue if you just left it as a dream.”

All the girls headed down to the living room once again and gathered in their same places they had before they all went to sleep. As they all got seated and comfortable the doorbell rang. And rang and rang as someone was mashing it rapidly. 

“And that would be Dash.” Twilight groaned as she made her way to the front door.

As soon as Twilight opened the door a rainbow blur stormed the living room. Hand in hand was Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity all dizzy from the hectic speed. Dash made a karate chop motion and posed while darting her eyes left and right. “Alright, Sunset, Twilight, we’re here. Where’s the weird magic at? I’m totally ready to fight more evil magic all day.”

“Oh, um, could we not? I mean, at least make sure it’s evil? I wouldn’t want someone to get hurt.” Fluttershy straightened out her floral white and green dress. 

“Dear, I agree wholeheartedly. Why, it seems like just every other month we battle some nefarious cretin or dastardly neer-do-well. All this conflict is not ladylike at all,” said Rarity.

“Now, y’all know I got your backs.” Applejack eyed Trixie. “Okay, maybe not all y’alls back, but ya get my drift.”

Sunset gave each of her friends a wave. “It’s okay. Everything’s cleared up and resolved. Right, Trixie?”

Trixie ate a chip and nodded. “Yes, for now.”

Fluttershy wiped her brow and Rarity frowned. “Darling, you did not drag us away from the mall for something that’s already done and over with, now did you?”

Applejack nudged Rarity. “Look, I ain’t sayin’ the mall ain’t great but our friends needed us. I ain’t gonna say no to that.”

Rainbow nodded but did not break her martial arts pose. “Yeah, Rarity. Combating strange magic is always better than the mall anyway.”

Trixie gestured with her free hand. “Ladies and gentleladies, the Shimmer Crew.”

“Uh, we are so not called that,” said Rainbow finally breaking pose. 

“Actually,” muttered Fluttershy as she held up a hand. “I’ve, um, heard Snips and Snails call us that.”

“Well they aren’t—”

“And Lily, Rose, Cherry, Flash and a few others as well.”

“Okay, first thing on the list is changing that name. Like, no offense Sunset, but we aren’t your crew. We’re all clearly the Rainbooms, but if that isn’t going to stick we need to come up with a plan, stat.”

Twilight held up a hand.

Dash deadpanned. “No, this isn’t a literal list, Twilight.”

Twilight lowered her hand.

The front door began to shake with small, strong knocks. Each one silencing the room of teens as all eyes went to the door. Its doorknob shook before slowly spinning with a creak. It edged open, the daylight casting a dark silhouette of a four-limbed beast. It stalked inside on its paws heading straight for the group of girls. 

“Spike!” yelled Twilight. 

Spike stood just inside the house and shook himself down, his little doggy backpack suspiciously clunking noisily. He crawled over to the living room weighed by his pack, crawled out from under it, and jumped up on the living room table. 

“Trixie asks what everyone else is thinking. How does a dog one foot tall open a door with a handle four times his height?”

“No, man, it’s more like how does he even know how to open a door? It’s a knob on the outside too, not a handle,” said Lemon.

Spike scratched his ears and spoke aloud, “So what did I miss?”

Trixie and Lemon screamed. 

Everyone laughed as the two girls went on in hysterics about a talking dog. 

Sunset leaned next to him and whispered, “Just weird magic stuff.”
> Chapter Twelve: A Day of Lemon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lemon Zest slumped in her chair as she idly flipped a pencil over between her fingers as she gazed around the classroom. Others mirrored her enthusiasm for being in the summer classes but had the discipline to look interested at the teacher continued on in his never-ending speech of local history. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want to be here, as the classes were voluntary for the extra credit and route into advanced classes at Crystal Prep. It was that her mind was elsewhere thinking back on the events of two days ago.

“Symbolism is an important facet of our culture. Ever since the early revolution against the…” spoke the elderly teacher in such monotone that Lemon tuned it out as she had already read over this section in the book. Lemon smiled as she thought about it only having been a couple days. The large headphones that hung around her neck were once again a soothing weight on her shoulders instead of a burden that brought fear. 

Lemon no longer had to look over her shoulder afraid of shadows that she felt followed her, nor did she stray away from lights and technology with fear of them malfunctioning or even exploding. She had slept comfortably the last two nights although she didn’t experience any dreams. If she did she didn’t remember them but guessed that it wasn’t too odd an occurrence. After constant night terrors having no dreams at all was a blessing. 

She glanced at the time again; five minutes until it turned three o'clock. Just a few minutes until she was free to go. Lemon thought about what those girls had said in the dream-like world. That school wasn’t the entire world, no matter how everyone claimed its importance. When was it she started feeling like she wasn’t free? 

“...and that’s why we often wear personalized marks or symbols on our vestments. Ah, it seems our time is up for today,” the teacher said right before the bell rang signaling the end of school. “I hope everyone will prepare their papers on what you all view a world where such a defining event didn’t happen would be like. I’ll be interested in reading what you all come up with. Now then, off you all go.”

Right as he finished speaking everyone in class stood up, began to gather their things and leave. Lemon beat them all to the door as she hustled into the hallway and down towards her locker. She opened it and deposited all her books and utensils inside before grabbing her phone. The rules on placing all phones and other devices in lockers was one that she detested and only got away with wearing her headphones like she did because they weren’t plugged in or connected to anything. 

“I’ll fix that problem,” muttered Lemon as she synced her phone up with her headphones and immediately pulled up one of her favorite playlists. The urge to press play was the worst thing she had to resist doing all day as she had to wait until she was outside of the school. There wasn’t any direct rule on music in the halls but she didn’t want to risk it.

A loud slam of the locker door to her right startled Lemon out of her reverie. The light gold skinned, long rosy-haired girl shoved her books into her locker that was next to Lemon’s with force. Each book slammed against the thin metal backing so hard Lemon swore it left a dent. 

“Oh don’t worry, dearies. It’ll be held again in a month,” said Sour Sweet in a pleasantly sarcastic tone. She slammed another book into her locker as she ground her teeth. “A month more for those loser’s to try and one-up me!”

The locker to Lemon’s left was opened up quietly by the light purplish-blue skinned, gray-haired teen with a half-lidded expression. “You’re upset because you think you’ll lose when Twilight Sparkle enters.”

Sour Sweet clenched her fingers in frustration before nearly throwing her last book into the locker and slamming it. “This was it, Sugarcoat. Finally a chance for someone other than that know-it-all to win. Then an error in the alarm system ruined it! Aren’t you upset?”

“Yes, but I wasn’t going to win,” said Sugarcoat as she calmly placed all her belongings in the locker and pulled out her shoulder bag. 

“Oh, don’t say that. You know you had a good chance at winning,” said Sour Sweet. “Not as good as me though.” 

The events at the robotics fair brought a rush of feelings for Lemon. It was terrifying pretty much throughout the entirety of it as she feared for her sanity, her life and then even more when it started to get weird. Then even when it was explained to be magic and they had to enter that otherworldly dream to fight it still was horrifying, but she got to meet three really cool people.

She knew Twilight already, but not on a personal level. Sunset Shimmer was intimidating if she was honest, something about her presence could make her feel on edge. Yet she was nothing but supportive and kind in a way no one else she knew around her would be. Then there was Trixie. Just the thought of the coolest girl she got to meet brought a smile to her face.

“What are you smiling about?” 

Lemon looked up to see Sour Sweet uncomfortably close and staring at her. 

“Oh nothing, girl,” muttered Lemon as she quickly got rid of that smile. 

Sour Sweet looked at Sugarcoat and nodded at Lemon Zest. Sugarcoat rolled her eyes, closed her locker and took Sour’s side as they cornered Lemon against the lockers. “Oh come now, Lemon Zest. We’re friends, aren’t we? Friends… don’t smile at their friend’s misfortune!”

“No no, I wasn’t smiling at that. Uh, just thought of the fair is all, Sour Sweet.”

“Oh?” Sour placed her hands on her hips. “And why would that make you smile? What’s so smile-worthy that happened?”

Lemon glanced at Sugarcoat who shrugged in response. “Uh. The thought of you winning in a month?”

“That was a poor attempt at lying,” stated Sugarcoat. 

“Lying? You wouldn’t smile unless it made you happy,” said Sour as she thought about it carefully. “Meaning the fair closing made you happy. Happy that you weren't going to win? No, wait. Oh my gosh. Did you cause the problems at the fair?”

“Uh.” Lemon hesitated.

“You did!” Sour Sweet gasped as even Sugarcoat looked to be paying attention now. “You sabotaged the fair because you wouldn’t win.”

“I totally didn’t!” Lemon looked left and right before dashing past Sugarcoat who made no efforts to stop her. 

“You won’t beat me, Lemon! Not one month, not one year will let you ever be better than me! You hear me?!” yelled Sour Sweet.  

Sugarcoat looked from the fleeing Lemon Zest to the furious Sour Sweet. “True, she wouldn’t beat you but you won’t beat Sparkle in a month either.”

Just before Lemon Zest ran out of the school she heard the enraged scream of Sour Sweet. Lemon panted as she got on the edge of the campus and caught her breath. In her hand was her backpack she made sure not to forget from her locker. The locker that she had forgotten to close and lock. Lemon winced at imagining the damage the enraged teen might do to it.

“Man, that girl needs to chill,” said Lemon as she pulled out her phone and pulled up a new number. The image on the contact list was possibly the only picture that had ever been posed for before. Her thumb hovered over the call button for a minute as a lot of thoughts ran through her head over straight up calling someone she barely knew. 

The dial tone lasted one ring. ”Hello, the amazing and awe-inspiring Trixie is here. What can she do for you?” 

“Ah, hey Trixie. There’s still that meeting going on today, right?” asked Lemon Zest.

“Yes yes, around five or so. Does Trixie need to resend you the directions?” 

“No, it’s all good. Just wanted to make sure, you know? Just got out of school so I’ll be heading over there right now. There’s no problem in being early, is there?” 

“Hardly. Trixie is already here so how could it ever be a problem? No, you be quiet. What? How dare you insinuate that Trixie is a problem. Sorry, Lemon Zest, give Trixie a moment as she deals with this naysayer.”

“I’ll, uh, speak to you in a bit anyway. See you later, Trixie,” said Lemon. She waited a moment for Trixie to say something but only heard the sounds of arguing away from the phone before Trixie hung up on her instead.

Lemon stared at the phone. “Gosh, she is way too cool.”

She pulled up one of her favorite playlists on her phone, hit play and put the phone in her pocket. The subtle vibrations from her headphones made her heart beat in anticipation. Steadily, savoring the moment, she picked up the headphones off of her neck and placed them over her ears. The moment the music flowed into her brain she shivered in delight. It was amazing how much you miss something after not having it. 

An empty feeling in her gut told her she was hungry and she wasn’t sure of how long she was going to be at this meeting Trixie had set up or if it would have food. She made her way over to the bus stop as she went over the directions Trixie had messaged her yesterday. It was in a residential area of Crystal City so Lemon wondered if she was going to get to see Trixie’s house.

Lemon walked along she sidewalks in sync with the beat of the rhythm of the music. Sometimes she would take a slow step and others her pace would qualify as running, but each step made her feel alive again. Music was her foundation, her bedrock much like how she would say science is to Twilight Sparkle. Lemon was just happy everything was over and she didn’t need to experience that again.

As the bus stop came into sight she spied a nacho stand near it and thought about it carefully. Nachos weren’t the most balanced of meals. Who was she kidding? Eating a full helping of nachos was probably the most unhealthy thing she could do right now. It was nothing but salted chips and layers of melted cheese.

Lemon found herself at the front of the nacho stand in no time at all. The time of day meant that there wasn’t a soul in line except for herself. A perky long-haired girl slumped against the stand with a smile on her face.

“Welcome to Nitrous Nachos, what kind of nachos do you want? Oh, and if you get a grande supreme you get a free drink!” said the young server. 

Lemon Zest couldn’t help the good feelings she had from the day, school not included, from taking over her decision. She took out five dollars and beamed at the server. “Alright, a grande supreme it is! Cola for the drink, girl.”

“Alright times two,” replied the server. “Give me a minute and I’ll totally have it ready.”

She watched the server take out a comically large paper tray and started filling it with chips. A little salt, an absolute ton of cheese and various peppers later Lemon had her nachos. In fact, she would guess that it was almost literally a minute later. 

“I know you said grande, but this is, uh, a little bit bigger than what I thought for five bucks,” said Lemon.

“Hah, I know, right?” The server girl leaned against the stand with one arm and smirked. “You’re, like, the only customer to totally get what I said. That and you’re the only customer I’ve had in two hours so I added a bit extra, with extra bits!”

Lemon couldn’t help but laugh. “Dang, girl. That’s really cool of you.”

The bus pulled up to the stop a bit ways. “Oh shoot, that’s my ride. Have a good day!”

“Yeah, you too. Nice headphones!” called the server girl as Lemon hustled over to the bus with her large nachos in hand. She quickly boarded and took the seat in the very front. The bus driver eyed her and her nachos before grunting to himself and closed the bus doors. 

Her music played in her ears, not loud enough to drown out everything around her, as she ate a chip from the nachos. The greasy texture of the cheese and crunch of the chips was excellent. Lemon must’ve been hungrier than she assumed because over the fifteen-minute ride on the bus she had devoured every single chip of the huge serving and still didn’t feel full. 

Lemon stared at the empty paper tray. “That’s weird, right?”

The bus pulled up at her stop and Lemon got off quickly. Most of the drive and while she exited was uncomfortable due to the odd glare that the bus driver had given her the entire time. Was it the nachos? She glanced back at the old driver who continued to glare at her as she stood at on the sidewalk a step away from the doors. He pointed at a red sign above him, one with bold white lettering.

’No Drinks, Food or Consumables On The Vehicle’.

“Oh. Sorry,” apologized Lemon.

The driver grunted, closed the bus doors with a hiss and drove off.

“Cool of him to let me finish eating though.”

Lemon pulled out her phone and reread the directions Trixie had texted her. They weren’t complicated directions, far from it, but Trixie had an odd habit of describing the points of interest in her own colorful way. She had just gotten off at the smelly bench full of common folk and was to follow the north sidewalk alongside the mindless drone factories until reaching the crosswalk. 

“Take a left here and a right up here,” mumbled Lemon as she hurriedly walked through the thin street crowd into a large walled housing complex stuck in the middle of tall office buildings. She continued alongside the brick wall before finding the entrance inside.

“Third street, a right turn.” Very blunt directions when Lemon saw past all the opinionated information. She turned down the sidewalk and continued until stopped at her destination.

“Number Forty-two Cosmic Lane. Guess this is the place.” The two-story house was painted a pale white with wooden walls and dark blue borders and trimming. It was obvious from looking that all the windows were tinted so heavily they might as well have been blacked out. 

Lemon looked for the doorbell but had to settle with knocking on the white door with a black gargoyle head door knocker. It was silent for a couple minutes. She fidgeted outside the door of the stranger’s house wondering if she got the address wrong. Was it the house next door, or was everyone out because she was really early?

The click of the door unlocking snapped her out of it before it was opened revealing an older woman with pale blue skin and long two-toned blue hair. “Ah, you were Miss Zest if I recall correctly, are you not? You are far earlier than scheduled. I will assume that is Trixie’s influence at hand, for better or worse.”

Lemon blinked twice as she stared at the adult. “Miss Luna? Vice Principal Luna?”

“Oh, of course, do come in,” said Luna as she stepped aside and held the door open. “And please. Call me Luna.”
> Chapter Thirteen: Overly Punctual
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Whoa.” Lemon cautiously walked into the house. “This is like forbidden territory. A house of a school teacher.”

Luna closed the door and pointed at Lemon’s shoes. “Take them off and put them on the rack if you will. Bathroom’s down the hall to the left, kitchen to the right if you require refreshments. Upstairs if off limits.”

“Gotcha.” Lemon took off her shoes and placed them on the shoe rack next to the door.

The entrance was a small alcove that led into a large living room with homely style furniture that reminded Lemon of her grandmother’s house with the amount of brightly-themed furnishings, laced pillows and the vast amount of portraits and framed decorations. A hallway led immediately off to the left that had a couple doors and ended with a spiral staircase. To her right she could see the opening to the kitchen just past a small dining room. 

Luna silently walked over and plopped down on a particular cushion on the couch that appeared more worn out than the rest of it. She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and unpaused the movie she had been watching. 

Lemon fidgeted in place. What was she supposed to do? This was no man's land! A teacher’s house, even if she was from another school, and an adult that was a stranger as well. Nothing in a teenager’s social experience had prepared her for this. Does she take a seat and join her or wait for some sort of instruction? 

She sighed in relief once she saw Trixie walking down the stairs eating a bag of peanuts. A familiar face to break her out of this situation. 

“If it isn’t Lemon Zest. Welcome, welcome. Trixie didn’t expect you to make it here so fast. Now we’re only waiting on the others.” Trixie walked past Lemon and pointed over at a smaller couch. Lemon could only watch in awe as Trixie fell on the couch and ate a handful of peanuts as if this was her home. Wait, was this her home?

“Uh. If I’m not being too forward and all, do you live here, Trixie?” asked Lemon as she hesitantly followed Trixie over to the couch and took the seat next to her. 

“No? Why would you ask that?” asked Trixie slightly confused.

Luna spoke without moving her gaze from the television, “Perhaps it is the manner that you conduct yourself within the homestead of another.”

Lemon nodded. “Yeah, that and you came from upstairs. That was off limits, right?”

“Oh poor, misguided Lemon. Trixie has much to teach you about the world.” Trixie shook her head slowly. 

“Please do not. We do not need another problem child around here,” said Luna.

“Shush you naysayer! Trixie is hardly a problem.” Trixie put a hand to her chest and held her head high. “Trixie is a wondrous gift to the world.”

Lemon could only nod slowly in agreement, but it didn’t really answer her question. “Miss Luna?”

Heavy knocks came from the front door. With a sigh Luna paused her movie, got up and went to answer the door. “Trixie has earned her leniency, however, she should remember how far that extends.”

Trixie laughed sheepishly. “Trixie does.” 

Luna opened the door fully to reveal a pale aquamarine girl with paler green and white hair with strikingly gold eyes. Her attire was a black robe with white cobweb lines across it all, complete with long sleeves and a hood. She gave a small cheery wave to Luna who gestured her inside with her own wave.

“Heyo V.P. Luna, Trix, new girl. I’m fashionably early for our assembly!” cheered Lyra Heartstrings who waved her hands in the air. She stepped inside, kicked off her shoes lazily into the lowest part of the shoe rack, and looked around the living room. “Yeah! Who’s missing?”

Luna closed the door without a word, went back to her seat and resumed her movie. “Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle along with any of their friends they decide to bring.”

“Trixie doubts any of the normal Shimmer Crew will show. Trixie said it would be mostly about dream magic and such things and horse magic users wouldn’t understand.” Trixie glanced between Lemon and Lyra. “Lyra, this is Lemon Zest. Lemon, that’s Lyra. Friend introduction over.”

Lemon gave a shy wave. “Hey.”

Lyra rushed over and slapped both her hands over Lemon’s hand. “Oh. My. Gosh. New member. You are going to be so amazing. Don’t you worry, I’ll show you everything there is to know about being a witch.”

“W-witch?” Lemon looked to Trixie who’s attention was on the movie then back to Lyra. “Is that why you’re in that getup?”

“Yeah!” Lyra looked ecstatic but upon studying Lemon’s expressions her own enthusiasm dwindled. “You’re here to join our Lunar Coven, right?”

“Um…”

“What? You’re not?” Lyra whirled on Trixie. “Trix, she is, isn’t she? I thought you said you had a new friend. You made this huge deal about it and everything!”

Trixie coughed and choked on the peanuts she was eating. She furiously beat a fist against her chest trying to ease her choking breaths. “T-Trixie never said such things. Don’t listen to her slander, Lemon. L-look, Trixie didn’t say she had a for sure member. That’s what the meeting is about. She, Shimmer and Sparkle are all new to this and need an introduction.”

Lyra held up both her hands and used her open palms to point as Lemon and then Trixie. “That’s that, this is this. Gasp, did you lie to me, Trix? Lying about getting a new friend? How could you.”

“What?! No, Trixie means, uh.”

“I’m totally her friend if she’ll let me,” said Lemon.

“Yes, that’s right. We’re friends.”

Lyra stared hard at Trixie. 

“Luna?” cried out Trixie.

Luna didn’t look away from the movie for one second. “Do not involve me in your drama. I have one of my own I am trying to watch.”

Lemon raised her hand. 

Lyra stepped back and pointed at Lemon. “Yes, new girl?”

“What’s the Lunar Coven?” 

Lyra gave Trixie a death glare. “You didn’t even tell her? Am I the only one trying to hold this group together? After everything we’ve been through and you don’t even tell your friend about us?”

“Look, Trixie forgot as it wasn’t a subject that came up. Everything happened so fast that it slipped Trixie’s mind, okay?” Trixie held up her hands in defeat. “Do you want to explain or shall Trixie?”

“What about Sunset and Twilight?” asked Lemon.

“No.” stated Trixie before Lyra could say something. “One: they have their own crew. Two: they’re Trixie’s rivals!”

“Drat. Here I thought we might have a whole bunch of new members,” said Lyra. “If our glorious leader says they’re rivals then it can’t be helped. Can’t get buddy buddy with the competition.”

Lemon winced.

Lyra took a seat on the recliner next to the small couch. “Well, one is better than none. The Lunar Coven is our group of witches!”

“Witches?”

“Witches.”

“We’re witches?” asked Lemon towards Trixie.

“No, we’re awakened.”

“Witches!” shouted Lyra. “I don’t accept anything else, Trix. Heck, you use a wand and your avatar is literally a witch! How are you not a witch?”

“Everybody is a naysayer today. No, Trixie, you can’t invite people early because we’re watching a movie. No, Trixie, you can’t make up and use words without group agreement,” said Trixie in a mocking tone. “It’s Trixie’s animus, thank you very much. We use dream magic, not witchcraft like you do so clearly we aren’t all witches.”

Lemon’s eyed widened. “Wait, you’re a real witch?”

“Okay, so you use magic that could clearly be an odd branch of witchcraft. That doesn’t not make you a witch. Why else would you call us a coven?”

Trixie thrust a finger at Luna. “That was all Luna’s idea! She thought it sounded cool!”

Luna froze and slowly looked at the group of girls. “My apologies. I personally did not think that Trixie would truly name our gathering as such. It was clearly my mistake to assume she would guess it was a sarcastic quip playing up egoism in an ironic manner at her own expense.”

Lyra huffed. “Okay, now you tell me. Doesn’t mean I’m not wrong though. Clearly we’ve derailed from the important topic.”

“That wasn’t important? Then why did you make such a fuss!” exclaimed Trixie.

“Titles matter. In any case, Lemon? Do you want to join?”

“I don’t know, this is all pretty sudden. Witchcraft and strange magic, you know? Can I answer after we have this meeting?”

Lyra frowned. “Trix will totally be your bestest friend and will totally be happy if you join.”

“I’m in,” said Lemon. “But I’m not a witch, you know?”

Lyra rubbed her hands together with a sinister smile. “Don’t you worry none. That can be fixed.”

“Um.” Lemon glanced at Trixie. “So witches are real?”

“Lyra, we all clearly agreed that this would be explained in the meeting. Now, please? Trixie is trying to watch this movie.”

A series of heavy knocks once again came from the door.

Luna rubbed her temples before she paused the movie, threw the remote against the couch, and stomped over to the door. She threw the door open so fast Lemon thought it would’ve left a dent in the wall had she released the door handle. 

“See? I told you this was the home of the principal and vice-principal!” yelled Twilight Sparkle in a nervous tone. 

Sunset bit her lip as she gave a weak smile to Luna. “Hey. Ahem, I mean, hello? We, um, aren’t at the wrong address, are we?”

Luna frowned. “Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle and Miss Shimmer. You are extremely early. Fortunately for you everyone else was acting upon the same agenda. Do come in. Take off your shoes and put them on the rack. Bathroom is down the hall to the left and the kitchen is to the right if you require refreshments.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you.”

Luna let the pair come inside the house before closing the door and trudging back to her seat on the couch. She threw herself down on the cushion, picked up the remote, and unpaused the movie. “And the upstairs is off limits.”

The two nervous girls, clearly feeling the same about being in a teacher’s house as Lemon did, followed the shoe instruction and stood at the edge of the living room. Sunset held out a hand to Lyra. “Lyra, right? We’ve never really met before. I’m Sunset Shimmer.”

“Twilight Sparkle, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Lyra quickly grasped Sunset’s hand and shook it hard. “We’ve met when you bullied me so tyrannically that I contemplated quitting school!”

Sunset’s smile faltered. “Uh…”

Lyra blew out air. “Nah, don’t worry about it. Nice to meet the real you and you as well, Twilight. Water under the bridge and all that. Now, here’s the real question. Want to—wait I can’t because we’re rivals, crud. Okay, new real question! Do you think magic is cool?”

Sunset grinned weakly. “Yeah, I love it.”

Twilight rubbed her arm. “I like it but it’s very scary.”

Lyra nodded. “Good, good.”

Luna coughed hard grabbing the attention of all the teenagers. “Seeing as everyone decided to void the schedule we had previously planned and arrived far earlier than the desired time I’ll say this once. I am going to watch this movie, it will end fifteen minutes prior to five, and then we will hold our gathering. Until then you have two choices. Sit down and watch it or sit down. Understood?”

"""Yes, Vice-Principal Luna.”””

Luna shot a look to Trixie. 

Trixie rolled her eyes and ate a handful of peanuts. “Trixie understands.”    

Luna relaxed in her seat. “Good. Ah, here comes the best part.”

Lemon looked at the movie that was playing on the television. Two young teenagers were having a romantic scene in a car on a cliff. The movie was enough to make Lemon cringe because not only was it a horror film, it was one of the cheap knockoff cliche horror films. Screams came from the speakers along with violent chainsaw noises and the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart. 

Luna smiled.
> Chapter Fourteen: Assembly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the movie was over and it was close to five o’clock Luna had Twilight quickly rearrange the living room so all the couches and recliner were in a wide circle for all the girls to sit in. Luna took the recliner as Sunset and Twilight took the two-seater couch and Lemon, Trixie and Lyra took the three-seat couch.

“Alright,” started Luna with a clap of her hands. “This is the official start of the gathering of the Lunar Coven and outside participants. Welcome, outsiders Lemon Zest, Sunset Shimmer, and Twilight Sparkle. I believe we all know each other well enough or barely enough to forgo name introductions. However, as newly awakened we do require that introduction. It is also one of the reasons we are gathering here today.”

Sunset raised her hand. 

“Yes, Sunset Shimmer?” asked Luna.

“The Lunar Coven? Also doesn’t this feel a little cheesy? A meeting in your living room?”

Luna nodded and replied seriously, “Yes, but what else would you suggest? That we rent out some local arena or building to hold a meeting in? The most serious of places we could discuss this is my home, of whom is this gathering’s only adult. This is no movie with secret bases and code names like that of a child would play.”

Lyra smirked. “Not entirely, anyway. We can use titles though if we want.”

“Yes, Lyra Heartstrings is correct. Now, to properly start this meeting I want everyone to bear the proof of your awakening.”

“Pardon?” asked Twilight.

“Ahem,” said Trixie. “Behold!”

Lemon watched as Trixie snapped her fingers while leaning in against the arm of the couch. Within two seconds her body blurred and disappeared beneath winding extravagant purple scarves and shredded scraps of black robes that enshrouded her entire being. A large wide-brim witches hat snapped into existence atop her head that cast her face in a shadow no light could pierce. 

When Trixie spoke her voice echoed ominously, “Trixie has demonstrated what Luna means.”

“Totally a witch,” whispered Lyra to Lemon.

“Oh. I don’t know how to do that,” said Sunset.

“Neither do I,” said Twilight.

Luna appraised the two with a discerning eye. “Yes… Trixie mentioned that the events at the high school may have awakened you two in a different manner than our own. Fret not, children. As our newest awakened, care to try and explain it, Lemon Zest?”

All eyes turned to Lemon which caused her to sink into the couch. She wasn’t normally a shy person, far from it, but this situation was putting her in the spotlight. It was far too similar to being in school with the teacher calling on her to answer a problem she wasn’t positive she knew.

“Aight, I’ll try.” Lemon thought about how Trixie did it but knew that line of thought wouldn’t get her anywhere. Trixie was far more experienced than her, and with the girl herself watching she didn’t want to appear incompetent. 

Everyone said she had awakened due to her nightmare. The dream of fighting that giant monster was somehow a turning point. Lemon thought about the dream and felt something in the back of her mind. It felt physical, a thrum that felt like the pressure similar to a headache but without the pain. 

“I’m thinking about my dream, the nightmare that we experienced. When I do it feels like I have a headache, but it’s not painful. The more I focus on it, the stronger it gets.” Lemon focused on it to the point that she shut her eyes. She envisioned the sound like a tune, a wavelength that beat back the darkness. “I feel like I can see it. Just… if I…”

That thrum suddenly shot from her head to her entire body. It enveloped her in a warmth that she didn’t know she was missing like a blanket on a cold day. Her eyes shot open to see everyone staring at her with wide or accepting eyes. 

Everything was green. 

Lemon looked herself over and was surprised. Head to toe she was covered in a pink and black suit that reminded her of the armored motocross suits. Her gloves were comparatively thin except with small speakers set inside the palms and on her feet were pink and black rollerblades with shock green wheels. Her head was covered with a helmet that had a thin green visor that hid her whole face. 

“Woah, I look like one of those racers that ride the motorbikes,” muttered Lemon as she flexed her gloves. The entire suit was surprisingly comfortable and not at all restricting like she thought it might be. 

“That is odd,” said Luna.

“What, did I do it wrong?” asked Lemon. When she looked up at Luna she noticed something odd, although not what Luna was mentioning. A small green tune, a visible audio line similar to a heart monitor, hovered over Luna’s head from Lemon’s perspective. It beat rhythmically, a steady pace that never skipped a beat.

“No, you did not. It is merely that you are the only one we have seen so far that is not what you would strictly call fantasy themed.” Luna held a hand up to her ear and gave it a small snap. Much like Trixie, she blurred for a moment to be replaced by something else.

A feminine set of detailed midnight blue heavy armor hovered in midair. Black smoke fluttered and solidified into a makeshift body that held the armor together in a humanoid form. A pair of large swords were hovering around it before settling on its back. Two teal flames lit up inside its helmet before developing a slit-like pupil.

Twilight, Sunset, and Lemon all jumped back into their seats in fright. Lemon noticed that the tunes above the other two girl’s heads were going erratic and spiking heavily. 

“By the sun, Luna! You look like a freaking nightmare!” yelled Sunset. 

Twilight held a hand to her chest and breathed deeply. “Oh, I was so not ready for that.”

When Luna spoke it was her normal voice unaffected by her new form. “Ah yes, apologies. I forgot how this would appear to others. Trixie is so fond of saying this is our true selves, yet I find nothing symbolic about this regarding my own person.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Yes, because there’s nothing symbolic about a woman whose outer personality is like armor yet inside is so—”

The two flame eyes of Luna flared up at Trixie which made her words die in her throat. 

“...Right.” 

Lyra jumped up on the couch and pointed both hands at Twilight and Sunset. “Don’t listen to them! I’ll teach you girls how to manifest. You’ve already seen yourselves once when dreamwalking, right? Just focus on that image and imagine you’re putting yourself on like a suit or clothing. It’s easiest to develop a signal or habit that helps that focus. Trix and V.P. Luna do it with snaps, but me?

“Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!”  In no time at all Lyra was actually not all that different. 

Sunset examined Lyra. “Well, you don’t really have as much an impact as Trixie or Luna. It just looks like you took off your robe and put on medieval traveling clothes and doubled on some cool effeminate cloth armor decked out in jewelry.”  

Lyra puffed out her chest. “Of course. Nothing but me and some witch-like attire. Technically I’m a warlock though. Dark powers, demon summoning, that kinda jazz. Put that aside though cause I’m totally a witch. Hi-yah!”

“Lyra, do not stand on my couch.”

Lyra gulped and immediately sat down. “Sorry, V.P.”

“And that is all of us. Do you think that you can do it? You are welcome to stay even if you cannot, but it becomes a bit more awkward. Not as much as being the adult in a room full of teenagers.” Luna relaxed in her recliner. “Your form will be far more comfortable, although we have yet to figure out why.”

Twilight and Sunset shared a look before they both gave it a try. It took several minutes but both managed to become their new dream-related forms. Sunset was a more brilliant version of the ‘Daydream Shimmer’ as Rainbow Dash enjoyed calling it. Twilight was herself, much like Lyra, but in a magician’s robe that was made up of galaxies and stars with a blue horn and blue feathered wings out her back.

“Everyone is totally cool,” said Lemon.

“It’s true to both statements,” replied Twilight Sparkle. “This is similar to being weightless and free of physical constrictions that we normally deal with on a daily basis. It’s far more comfortable because for whatever reason we aren’t bound by physics as hard as we normally are. Of course they still apply. I do question why I appear as I do, but that’s a question we all wonder, huh?”

Luna and Lyra nodded while Trixie huffed. 

“Okay,” started Sunset. “This meeting has been really vague about what it’s going to tell us. Trixie’s explanations were far from great, so I believe that you’ll be explaining things now, Luna?”

“Yes, you are correct, Sunset. However, I will state right now that while Trixie is far from the best at explaining things—”

“Hey!”

“—she is the most senior of us regarding these circumstances. I myself awakened to this strange phenomenon just after the Friendship Games with Lyra joining me a week after that.”

Twilight began writing in a composition notebook that Lemon hadn’t noticed her bring in or hold at all since she was here. Where did she get it? “Did you and Lyra awaken as you put it due to being attacked by a nightmare like Lemon Zest?”

“Yes. However, just because we awakened due to those dreadful events with nightmares does not mean that are the key factor,” said Luna.

“What do you mean?”

“Nightmares are cunning, violent and dangerous. We do not know why they exist or how, but they are always involved in the awakening process except for you and Sunset Shimmer. However, not everyone maimed or attacked by a nightmare ends up being awakened.” 

Luna sighed, her exhale being a bit of black smoke. “Trust me on this. Otherwise we would have dozens of awakened if not the whole school.”

Sunset sat up straight. “There’s been that many nightmares? Trixie said she’d only fought ten or so.”

“Eleven now,” stated Trixie with confidence.

“No, there has only been perhaps twenty so far involving or near Canterlot High School, at least as far as we can tell. It’s just that they are very elusive and hurt many people in their paths. Most of it has been minor, a scare or a few scratches, but they grow the more they act and longer they live. Lemon’s nightmare was but a week old. A baby that was truly easily dealt with.”

Lemon shivered at the thought of all that being the easiest to deal with. “So, like, how do you find out about this stuff.”

“Oh, you know,” said Lyra. “V.P. Luna has been acting as the guidance counselor for the last couple months. Those nasty nightmare buggers absolutely love sending kids and the like into a panic or anxiety attacks. I was one of them, you know!”

“Correct. Our data regarding nightmares is a far cry from proper research but as of yet none have started off on a big scale attack. It always starts small with signs that someone like myself can catch if luck is on my side before it gets to the point of injury or lives being threatened.”

“What!? How come we haven’t heard about this?” asked Sunset.

“Ahem. Miss Shimmer, do you not recall the events at camp a couple weeks ago? That was one such life threatening event, yet everyone appears to have forgotten or suppressed it. The same could be said for the Friendship Games. While the students as C.H.S. gossip, anything truly dangerous or the like appears to be fleeting. I cannot help but wonder if it is less enticing than that of what the local soccer captain and gymnastics leader are doing behind the gym.”

Trixie looked at Luna. “Wait, what was that about romantic rumors? Trixie has to know about this.”

Lyra leaned over and whispered loudly, “Shh, I’ll tell you later.”

Twilight was continuing to take notes as Sunset began asking the questions. Lemon didn’t have much to offer or say in the first place. This was far above what she normally did, although it appeared that everyone else dealt with the strange and abnormal on a frequent basis. 

It felt nice to be included.

“Okay, so we don’t have much data on the what, who and why of these nightmare creatures,” said Twilight. ”The same can be said for our transformations. Hmm, yes, well Sunset and I have experience due to the equestrian magic that lets us pony up, but this seems to be an entirely different set of rules.”

“Oh, they all have a common point, don’t they?” mentioned Lemon.

Luna held out a sharp armored hand. It spun and twisted in a way that would have broken a normal person’s limb. Slowly a blue flame sparked into existence hovering just above the palm before developing its own thin pupil to stare at Sunset. 

“Magic.” Luna extinguished the flame by crushing it in a fist. 

“Yes yes, Trixie knows. There’s horse magic and dream magic. Two different magics for two different worlds. Easy peasy, what’s next?” Trixie stuffed some peanuts into the darkness of her hat and everyone heard the crunch of her eating.

Lyra raised a hand high over her head. “Ooh, oh. Pick me!”

Luna gestured to Lyra. “Go ahead.”

“Okay, so we’ve totally been calling this magic human magic due to there being that horse magic that the Shimmer Crew all have, right?”

Lemon noticed that the tune above Sunset’s head flared bright and spiked once.

“So Trixie totally mentioned that it should be called dream magic, cause, you know, dreams. Right, right, we haven’t really discussed that yet. Anyway, guess what? C’mon guess. Anyone? Nevermind I’ll just tell you. Just yesterday I have confirmed there is, in fact, human magic!”

Everyone was silent before all the girls erupted in chatter trying to talk over one another. Luna clapped her hands together causing a loud metallic ringing. “Quiet down please. Lyra, continue.”

“Right-o. So, you know how I’m totally into witches and witchcraft and stuff?”

“No, Trixie had absolutely zero idea.”

“Aww, Trix is so cute when she’s sarcastic.”

“You can’t even see my face, how dare you call me cute!”

“And when she breaks her third person thing. Hah! Anyway—”

“Don’t you anyway Trixie!”

“I’ve been a long practicing witch. They’re just so amazing and cool, you know? Occasionally I practice doing spells and brewing potions and such. Of course none of it ever worked. I mean, duh, witchcraft isn’t real. Well, no, it is but I’m totally not a witch. Wait, no, I am a witch but… okay, a lot of changes and stuff have happened in the last few months. Fact is I’m actually an actual witch now because witchcraft is totally real. My last potion I brewed turned out to be real!”

Trixie sat straight up at this. “Real potions? Are you sure?”

“Yes! Why else do you think the popular sports captains are making out behind the gym? That was me! Okay, I know that sounds creepy but in my defense I didn’t think it’d work.” Lyra rubbed her shoulder with an embarrassed flush. “See, I told you I’d tell you later.”

“And that is it. We have the equestrian magic that seven of my students are gifted with, the awakening of people to the ability of dream magic and now Lyra’s discovery that witchcraft is real.” Luna clasped her hands together. “I would dare to say that it might not just be witchcraft, but all magical myths.”

A chill covered the room that made everyone shiver except for Lemon. “Wait, sorry but I’m not following.”

The tune above Twilight was ecstatic, bouncing so fast that if it was an actual heart monitor she would likely to have a seizure. Yet she was calm and analytical when she said, “It means that every myth, legend and otherwise fabled magical practice or event might have truth. It may become something real and tangible that people can use in this day and age of science. If that happened it would be chaos. I wouldn’t say a few magical incidents can break the hold on science as you can clearly see with the events that transpire with these nightmares and Sunset’s many magical events. 

“However, if it was not a few but many? This isn’t like whatever event granted us the access to dream magic. This is magic that can be studied off of the internet or books. Knowledge would have to be restricted. Banned even, but that’s nearly impossible with the internet and instant communication unlike in older medieval times.”

“Oh,” said Lemon. “So that dream world of monsters and superheroes wouldn’t be impossible, huh?”

“No, it wouldn’t. Magic wouldn’t be the end of society,” said Sunset. Her tune was completely stable as she steepled her fingers. “However the time period of which humanity would have to adapt to magic would crumble cities or countries.”

“Fortunately,” started Luna. “There is one aspect of this that is in our favor.”

“What’s that?” asked Twilight.

The front door opened drawing everyone’s attention. 

Celestia stepped inside with a couple bags full of groceries. After she closed the door and put up her shoes and keys she froze at the scene of the living room. “Oh. Oh dear. Luna, you didn’t tell me we were having guests. It’s almost dinner time! Well, I believe we have enough to feed the children.”

She nodded at everyone as she walked by and towards the kitchen. “Everyone is welcome to stay for dinner if they enjoy spaghetti. Don’t let me get in your way of the tutoring. Ah, not that I expect that Miss Shimmer and Miss Sparkle would need it. Nevertheless, carry on.”

Lemon furrowed her eyebrows. “What just happened?”

“Yes, I second that question,” said Twilight.

“Wow, Trixie. I didn’t know you needed to be tutored.” A smug grin was on Sunset’s face.

“Nay to your saying, Shimmer! Trixie has grades that are great and awe-inspiring.”

“I thought you managed a three-point-oh g.p.a,” muttered Lyra.

Trixie pulled at her hat and muffled her scream.

“Ahem. If you would notice that my sister did not comment on us?”

Lemon said, “I noticed.”

“I have theorized that it is what has been preventing news of all these magical incidents from spreading. Even the ones involved forget or suppress the events even if they know it happened. Not as we know it, no, but they will remember what they think happened.”

“What does that have to do with this? I thought she would just be used to seeing your Lunar Coven meeting up,” said Sunset. 

“A good guess but no dice, Shimmer,” said Trixie. “The Veil protects all non-awakened from seeing our animus’. They instead simply see us as we were. The principal saw us as a group of teenagers and Luna meeting in a room, not a bunch of magically transformed beings.”

“Witches.”

“Avatars.”

“Trixie uses her own terminology!”

Twilight was back to writing in her notebook. “Does that include magic we use as well? That this veil that Trixie mentioned somehow alters their perception of the magical reality in front of normal people and presents the most normal or easily explainable scene?”

“Um.” Luna’s blazing eyes managed to blink. “I like your explanation much better than my own. Yes, let us go with that.”

Sunset sighed. “So that explains a lot. Okay, so what I’ve gathered so far is that a lot of your, our, knowledge is based on experience. As far as anyone can tell we’re the pioneers. The forefront of this oncoming magic. Correct?”

“Correct,” said Luna. “I consider both myself and you all more fortunate for it. Myself because I would hate to imagine a bunch of superpowered teens without the supervision or guidance of an adult who understands.”

Everyone shared a look and glanced at Trixie.

“What? What?” asked Trixie.

Twilight squealed as she shook Sunset. “Sunset, Sunset! New magic, new theories. This is so very exciting!”

“For once Trixie can agree with Sparkle on something.”

“I needn’t remind everyone of the danger that new magic poses, yet I will do so. I will state it again that this is dangerous. Twice as much so if not more due to the presence of the nightmare creatures and the dream realms they create,” said Luna.

“Oh yeah, that freaky dream world. Ah… I was really terrified pretty much the entire time but nothing bad happened to me really. Trixie and Sunset however…” Lemon glanced at the two girls.

“Psh. That was easy for the great and powerful Trixie.”

Sunset grimaced. “Not sorry to say that it wasn’t as easy for me. I’ve never experienced falling a few stories and all but breaking my entire skeleton. I’d rather not have that happen again.”

“Then you will want to abstain from facing the nightmares in their realms. From what Trixie described it was truly an easy battle. Yes, I speak after wading through her constant exaggerations and boasting. For one, no one died during the dream. It is a relief at that. Secondly is that you won on your first try.”

Sunset blinked. “Wait, try?”

“Death?” Twilight shivered her shoulders.

Trixie went quiet as did Lyra. 

Luna leaned forward in the recliner. “Yes. I have fought seven of the nightmares in their realms, Lyra three and Trixie eleven. Would you not think that we would lose or perish at least once?”

“Um, statistically speaking? Yes, I had hoped nobody had,” said Twilight.

“The dream realms that we have come across are all different. The realities, the eras, the people and places have never once been the same. However, there is always a goal for the dreamers to complete. You will know it once you enter. Such is the nature of things we assume.”

“The memories?” asked Lemon.

“Correct. We have been in three different rulings for memories so far. The first and most common is that we are supplanted into a role. A life not our own complete with their memories yet we retain ourselves.”

Twilight gasped. “...Retain?”

Luna continued. “The second is that we have memories of the world or what our goal is and remain as our avatars. This is typically in our favor as we are using our abilities we have accumulated and are experienced with.”

“Oh Tartarus…”

“The third is one only myself and Trixie experienced. I can only hope that it was an exception but I feel like it is not. It is a dream where you are planted into a life not your own, with memories not your own, abilities not your own and without anything of your real self left.”

Lemon held a hand over her mouth. “You mean you don’t exist? You just up and become another person?”

“Correct,” said Luna sourly. “We were lucky in that the trial was cleared. When Trixie and I exited we remembered everything very clearly, but were helpless inside the dream.”

“But how did you do it? I mean, there had to be some way, right?” asked Lemon.

“The possessed dreamer. I will not reveal who they are out of respect and their privacy, but I will say that they are the only one lucid during the dream. The roles any helping awakened offer turned into people and resources that the dreamer could use.”

“But if the possessed person was completely new…” Twilight had tears in her eyes.

“Such was the case I’m afraid.”

Lyra clapped her hands. “Enough of this pity party! Sad things are sad but let’s not focus on that. Nothing we can do about it but be vigilant, right? Yeah!”

“And if we die in the dream?” asked Sunset in a quiet voice.

“Terrible things happen. I would vote to take Lyra’s suggestion at not focusing on it but everyone new has a right to know what would transpire should that situation arise,” said Luna. “Unlike death in reality, of which is a possibility when fighting nightmares here, dying in their dream realms happens far too frequently. Sometimes nothing happens to you yourself, merely a run of unfortunate luck.”

“Or you can have the mind of the person you replaced in the dream instead replace you in reality,” added Trixie.

“Trix! There’s this thing called tact,” said Lyra while scowling at Trixie.

“Trixie had tact when she mentioned it upon their first dream battle. Now that we’re revealing the nitty gritty they deserve to know,” argued Trixie so fiercely you could imagine herself scowling as well.

“Enough, children,” said Luna. “You are both right. Nevertheless, losing yourself is one of the worst outcomes we have seen, yet not the worst. That would be that for whatever reason and rules these creatures play by if they manage to fell you in their realms there is a chance they can plant an egg inside you.”

Twilight squirmed. “Inside me?”

“Metaphorically speaking as it’s not a physical egg. A nightmare egg in your psyche would spawn when it finds a chance and begin the process all over with yourself as its host.”

“Is that why there are only three of you but you all have fought so many?” asked Sunset.

Luna shook her head. “No, Sunset Shimmer. There are a few more awakened such as us. However, they are not up to the task of risking their lives and sanity to battle these nightmarish creatures. No one may fault them as the awakening by nightmare is hardly pleasant or safe. Miss Lemon Zest is the fortunate one to run into three other awakened to help her in her time of need.”

Lemon bowed her head to the three girls who helped her. “Thanks so much, girls. Yeah, jeez, I couldn’t imagine what that’d be like on my own. Or, no, I can totally imagine it. Not cool. Definitely not cool at all.”

“No worries, Lemon. Me and Twilight are glad to help.”

“Of course. Anytime, anywhere,” said Twilight. 

“Trixie as well, although maybe not anytime. Trixie has a schedule and is very busy. Although she can try and make time for a friend in need.”

Lemon was grateful that she had a visor hiding her face as she felt the blush so much that it made her dizzy. 

Celestia poked her head out from behind a wall. “Dinner is ready if any of you girls are hungry.”

Luna, in all her floating armor glory, stood up and started off towards the kitchen. 

“Wait, we’re eating like this?” asked Twilight toward Luna and the group who started to follow her lead.

Luna shrugged. “A brief recess for dinner and we will resume our meeting. It takes an amount of magic to conjure our forms. That and it is much harder to get spaghetti stains out of clothing than it is to undo a transformation.”

Twilight was puzzled as she mumbled about immaterial clothing, laundry and other things under her breath that weren't caught by Lemon when she headed into the kitchen. Her thoughts went toward the nachos she had just eaten not a couple hours ago, yet she was already hungry enough for a full meal. The mystery of her appetite aside she hoped that it didn’t all go to her waist.

The food was delicious and dinner passed by uneventfully. Everyone was discussing their opinions and debating over facts and discoveries in the meeting afterward. It was comfortable for Lemon Zest to be a part of a close circle like this, even if she was a new member. New friends and a social circle that she would belong to. She wasn’t sure how she felt about being a witch in a coven, but a friend in a group of people that accepted her was all she needed.

Another hour passed as it was getting late in the night. Sunset and Twilight left after the meeting was over with Lemon hanging around for a bit more as she talked with Trixie and Lyra. Luna got caught by her sister and was temporarily dragged away to do something that none of the teens wanted to worry about. Soon enough it was time for Lyra and Lemon to leave to make it for the last bus. Trixie saw them off with a wave which made Lemon wonder if she did, in fact, live there or not. 

Lyra was a bright person. Blindingly so, Lemon thought due to how accepting and friendly she was. It was not even a day gone by that she had met Lyra but the girl made her feel as if they had been friends for weeks or months. Something about everyone she had met today felt so different from her schoolmates at Crystal Prep. Lemon wouldn’t say that her schoolmates weren’t kind or friendly but she didn’t realize it could be so much… more.

Unfortunately, Lyra lived quite a ways away from her own stop and had to get off the bus early. With the rest of the ride back quiet and alone Lemon contemplated all the information she had gotten today. It was all so above her head. Maybe it was above everyone else’s too, but they pushed past that and stepped up to the challenge?

Lemon stepped off the bus and sighed at that thought. Could she step up to the challenge of facing nightmarish creatures in both this world and a different one? Maybe, she thought, but also maybe not. She wouldn’t know until she tried. The experience of being stalked and fighting the nightmare of her own wasn’t a good example as it was a forced decision. That and she had plenty of help from those wonderfully cool girls.


If she couldn’t step up to that, maybe she could at least help someone who is down.

From the way the girl’s legs were spread out, her posture in a horrendous slouch against the bus stop bench and her arms over her face covering her expression Lemon could tell the girl was disheartened. She frowned because it was the server girl that had joyfully sold her nachos with being nice and giving her extra.

The meeting earlier went over partial manifestations. To call upon her avatar, or animus she wasn’t sure which term to use, only just enough to use an ability. Lemon tapped her forward while focusing inward.

Everything went green. This time, however, there was no visor. Her eyes and vision instead turned completely green. 

A small tune, a wavelength, floated above the depressed girl’s head. It spiked and shook in a chaotic frenzy even though the girl herself was unmoving and dour. 

Lemon sat next to the girl on the bench. “Hey.”

She barely moved her arm so she could peek out at Lemon. “Hey.”

“You okay?” asked Lemon.

“No, not at all,” replied the girl.

“Want some company?”

The girl sighed and corrected her posture. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

They sat there for a minute. 

“So.”

“So. Want to talk about it?”

“I got fired,” she said simply.

Lemon winced. “It’s okay, I’m sure you’ll get another job.”

“Yeah, maybe. Try explaining that to my sisters. They’ll just tell me how I can’t ever do anything right. That I screwed up again.” The girl sighed again. “Not that they’re wrong, I guess.”

“Hey, girl, don’t be like that. It’ll work out, probably.”

“Probably.”

Lemon scratched her head and held out her other hand. “Well, hey, the nachos were really good. Thanks for that and all, even if it was your job.”

“Thanks?”

“Thanks.”

They both laughed as the girl took Lemon’s hand and shook it.

“I’m Lemon Zest, pleased to meet you,” said Lemon.

“It’s nacho pleasure, it’s all mine,” said the girl with a smile and chuckle. “I’m Sonata. Sonata Dusk.”