"Our kingdom has several areas separated by the rainbow river." King Moonsoul explained. "The bluer the river is, you would enter Sapphire Ocean Village. Bluish to green indicates Emerald Jungle. Yellow to orange is the Golden Desert. Some of the shifting hues indicate our forest." His eyes began to darken. "The red and purple shows that you've reached the Hollow Realm. A desolate land filled with shadows. Twisted trees shelter the Nightmares and Chimeras. Caves ruled by bats. The Plains of despair have Skeletal Beast roaming them. The Skullasaurus is their leader and one of the Dark Dream King's fiercest generals."

"Skullasaurus!" Pooh and friends yelled. They all remembered the creature from the time Christopher Robin was still a young boy. After misreading the letter, and thanks to Owl, they went on a wild trek through the woods to a cave named 'Skull'. By then, they all soon learned that it was all make-believe caused by fear and Pooh's rumbling tummy. To hear that this creature was real put every heart on ice. They could almost imagine the Skullasaurus entering the shadows of the castle and snatching them.

"Don't worry," King Moonsoul assured them. "He won't do anything without orders from his king."

"As far as we know," Tobias spoke. Their king has a...difficult relationship with his subjects. Sometimes the natives do as he says and sometimes...they take matters into their own hands."

King Moonsoul nodded. "It would only be a matter of time before one of his generals turn on him and seize the truly concerns us is their castle. Castle Nevermoor is made of obsidian and onyx. It's nearly invisible in Raven Mountain, a pointed mountain range and the only way you can see the castle is when light glitters against the amethyst windows. They capture light and can only glow for only a few hours before they dim."

"Um…" Piglet raised his hand. "Forgive me, your majesty…uh...b-but what does all this have to do with us?"

The Dragon King and his generals all shared grim expressions. Finally, the king replied to Piglet's question. "The king doesn't like those that interfere with his plans or any creature that embodies joy or friendship. He believes they would be temporary to the inevitable pain and sorrow. He would have his warrior take you and put you in the shadow void where you would be tossed into a pit filled with nothing but darkness."

"If he's angry enough, he would no doubt turn you all to dust." Frost muttered.

Piglet gulped. Rabbit's ears pointing upward in fright. Owl nervously wringing a napkin. Tigger made a soured face, his lips pulled inward. Eeyore and Lumpy looked on with great concern.

Gypsy's feathers were extremely ruffled. "Nice job, Frost!" The griffin hissed. "Now they're scared silly. WE are going to protect them and if any of those scraggly chimeras come by, they have to go through me! Heck! Let them all come! Bring it on!"

"Here! Here!" Rubella chirped.

Tobias leaned in next to Kessy. "Word to the wise: Never make Gypsy mad." he muttered.

"Calm down everyone." Echowing spoke. "We would talk about that later. Right now, we should enjoy the fact that the child is home. Rest assured you'll be safe with us and none of the Hollow's going to hurt you while we're here."

"Well said, Echowing," King Moonsoul smiled. "Without further ado, let the miracle feast begin!"

Everyone at the table cheered. Pooh smiled and clapped. His friends cheered slightly, fear lingering in their voices. He looked at the egg. He noticed that it glowed and wiggled to the sound of the could almost imagine a fiery creature hopping up and down with glee and gazing at him with bright eyes.

The sound of music and laughter clung to the air. Despite the fright placed on them earlier. Pooh and company had a grand old time. Rabbit eagerly talked about herbs and how to care for them with Ester. Tigger and Roo entertained everyone with their bouncing tricks. Owl telling them about the stories of his relatives. Kange blushed at the showering comments of the chef. Eeyore munched on his food, but had a small smile on his face. Kessy enjoyed her time with Rubella and Tobias. Lumpy talked to Lacy answering whatever question that came to her mind. Gopher was looking over his gemstone. Piglet admired the decorations and, surprisingly, asked Echowing about them.

Once the festivities were over, everyone began to go forth with the planned out evening. Pooh and his friends followed King Moonsoul to the guest chambers. Each room was large and spacious. A large bed filled with feathers and straw made a surprisingly soft bed. Windows showed the forest, allowing the moonlight to seep through. A few of Pooh's friends decided to pair up for the night. Pooh allowed Piglet to stay in his room, since the small animal can have a hard time sleeping when the concept of danger filled his mind.

"My room is close to this one." King Moonsoul spoke. His wing pointed to a door that had a goose holding a lily carved into the large oaken door. "If you need anything or if something's wrong, tell me. Also, you keep your gems close to you at all times. The Dark Dream King is known to walk into others dreams and give them nightmares beyond any imagination."

"That's a-a-awful!" Piglet stuttered, immediately hugging his ruby tightly. "Why would he do a thing like that?"

"To gain information about where you are and what you are doing next." King Moonsoul shifted the egg in his claws, fearful that it would roll away from him.

"Thank you for telling us this, your majesty. We'll make sure they stay in bed." Pooh answered. He looked down at the diamond in front of him. "Although it might prove challenging to snuggle up against a rock while tossing and turning."

The white dragon barked a laugh. "Please, call me Moonsoul. You've earned it. Don't worry about the stones. As long as you don't let it stray too far from you." King Moonsoul smiled softly, his eyes beginning to droop. "Goodnight." He turned around and left for his room.

Pooh waved and smiled. Piglet also smiled. "Goodnight, Moonsoul." He turned and opened his door that had a wolf carved into it. The two friends stared awestruck at the sight of their room. White curtains billowing in the breeze of an open window. A blue carpet lay before them. Two white roses were cradled in a vase which sat on a chestnut nightstand. The chest was also made of the same wood set at the end of the large bed.

"Wow," Piglet said. "They sure do know how to feel welcome. Even if they are a little scary." He placed down his suitcase and began unpacking. Once he found his pajamas, he changed out of his green sweater and into his white nightshirt.

Pooh changed into his purple nightshirt and nightcap. He was glad things went well with meeting the king. "I do hope we get to explore Rainbow Forest soon. Maybe even do a few magic spells. They look like a lot of fun."

"Maybe." Piglet said, crawling into bed. "But I wonder how much we'd be allowed to explore. After all, Honey Maple-" He covered his mouth. "Oh dear, now you got me saying the name."

Pooh chuckled. "Yes, I do like the name. It keeps reminding me of summer and fall. The warm fires-" His mind thought back to the creature of light. "I hope Honey Maple likes me. It's odd really, but whenever I'm around the egg, I keep remembering Christopher Robin. Maybe it has something to do with the weird dream I had." He explained his bizarre vision that happened back at Owl's house as he crawled into bed.

"Yikes!" Piglet gasped. "You better tell the others about this. There's no telling what would happen."

"I will. Anything to help my friends."

Piglet yawned. "Well, goodnight Pooh." He laid down on a pillow and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight Piglet." Pooh looked out the window and gazed at the starry sky. Unaware that the worst is yet to come.