The nightmare has disturbed my sleep once more. And this time, no one would come to comfort me. That fact alone had made this one the worst nightmare until now.

It began with darkness.

Not just shadow-dark, not even night-dark, but dark as if it were a fluid, or a matter, that could envelop you like snow or water. It was soft but also sharp, like wool. It was warm, I couldn't breathe. It was like drowning, but I was drowning in my own fear.

Then, the laughter came. Mörk.

"Mwahaha! You think you're safe, don't you?" he sneered. I felt a sudden rush of air past me. I tried to turn, but I couldn't.

"Heheheh. Oh, you stupid, naïve, little filly." He continued to snicker.

"But you know, I've got a surprise for you. And I know how you love surprises."

A part of the darkness rose, like mist. I saw a barren space, with here and there a dead tree or bush. The dead grass was grey. There was no other growth.

Instead, I saw an army.

An army of ponies, young and old, staring straight forward. All clad in pitch-black armor, they were standing on the wasteland. They were all armed, either with spears or with gleaming swords. All had a pitch-black shield, some carried it with a wing, others held it floating in their magic. The earth ponies had the shield secured to their armor. But the one thing that stood out most, was that their eye-white was black, staring in nothing. And on the front row…

On the front row stood Wing Noir.

His eyes were black too. His normal clothes were gone. Instead, he was clad in the smaller version of the armor, all black, but he had streaks of red on the edges of the armor. He had no helmet, so you could see his eyes even better. He was holding a spear in his hooves, decorated with blood-red figures. He had no shield.

He was looking straight at me with his black eyes. I staggered backwards and closed my eyes, but that didn't get the image off my mind's eye. Mörk was cackling evilly.

"Oh, you little filly! Don't you see? He cannot be saved! He is one of us now! He will lead us to you, and when we have found you…"

He left the sentence unfinished. Instead, he showed me what he would do.

Wing Noir began to run. He ran straight at me, his black gaze locked at his target. I tried to run, but I couldn't. It was as if I were paralyzed; all I could do was stare into his golden-black eyes.

While running, he lowered his spear and without hesitation… he lunged it forward.

Right into my heart.

I shot up, panting and sweating. My chest hurt, right where the spear would've hit. I lifted a hoof to stroke over the sour spot. I thought of Noir, his laughter, his soothing words. But it only made my chest hurt even more. I reached with my magic for my quill to write it down.

When I was finished, I turned around and buried my head in my pillow, crying. The once white sheets were now stained with the salty tears. But after a while, I found myself slowly drifting off to sleep, hopefully a bit more peaceful…

Mörk's laughter was still present.

"Oh, you stupid little filly. You know I'm right. You know you shouldn't have trusted him in the first place."

I was still sobbing, sitting on the cold, dark floor. My sobs were echoing through the non-existent room; it was all black, only black. A rectangle somewhere high up lit me up with silver light, like a spotlight. It casts a small shadow behind me.

I looked back, trying to locate the laughter. "Where are you? Why are you doing this to me?"

Somewhere, he groaned out of annoyance. "You are even thicker than I thought. Do you want me to let Wing kill you again?"

I flinched. He laughed again. I felt a sudden breeze going through my hair, a shiver ran up my spine. The silver light flickered and a colt stepped in. At first, I couldn't see him, but I realized it was Noir. My throat ran dry, I tried to swallow but I couldn't. My knees wobbled. He just stood, rigid, only flicking his tail once. His eyes pierced through me. The darkness that surrounded the gold was still overwhelming.

"Look at him. He is under my control. One word, just one word, and he'll kill you again and again. I will let you suffer in the dream world…" he paused, "and in the real world too."

Wing Noir stepped forward. A second beam of silver light shone upon him, illuminating his black armor. He pointed the spear with me and stood ready to charge.

I closed my eyes, unwilling to go through all again. Then, I heard a groan. I could feel it vibrating under my feet, but nothing happened. I don't know how long I had stood there, but when I opened my eyes, everything was silent. It was an empty silence, as if nopony was there anymore.

Wing Noir was still standing there, like a statue. But Mörk… I think Mörk was gone… But why?

I noticed the silver light had changed. I looked up to the rectangle – and saw the moon and the stars, blinking at me. I smiled. Luna is back, I thought. But she has left the dream to me… I sensed the dream wasn't over yet. I looked back at Noir, who hasn't moved at all. But his eyes were still black and his spear was still pointed at me.

Carefully, I took a step forward. He didn't move a muscle. I stepped out of the circle of light, into the dark. The gound was still steady, so I took another step.

"…Noir?" I called out, softly. He still didn't move.

"Noir… Come back." I said, a bit harder this time. "Noir… Let go of the spear…"

I put my hoof down and looked at him, my head tilted a bit. I saw the black flicker a bit to grey and back to black. But he's still down there, somewhere.

"Noir… can you hear me? Please, wake up…"

Then, out of nowhere, the rumbling started again.

[i]"You will NEVER GET HIM BACK!"[/i]

My surroundings began to shake under my hooves, and I fell. But the silver moon only seemed to get bigger and bigger, as if I was floating there. When the light was beginning to get blinding, it went all black – and I woke up, staring at the ceiling.

I took a deep breath. What does this mean? I sit up and shake my head to make it a bit clearer. What is going on… I know that. Mörk is real, he's trying to get me. He's using… Noir!... as bait! I know it's a trap. That is obvious! But I can't just leave him there? We have to find him! He's my friend… my best friend… and it's what friends do!

I sigh. I turn around to hug my pillow.

Noir… I miss him. After being in his company for so long, it just feels… empty without him. I closed my eyes, thinking of him. I smiled.

I started to drift off to sleep again, when somepony knocked on my door. I opened my eye, then the other. I sighed, got out of bed and fashioned my mane so I was a bit presentable.

"Come in." I said, groggily.

The door opened. Swift Spry came in, smiling.

"Good morning! Want some breakfast?"

I nodded.

"Do you want to eat here, or downstairs with us?"

I thought for a moment, looking at the ground.

"Downstairs."

His smile brightened. "Good! Are you ready?"

He lifted his hoof to take a step, but he froze in mid-air.

"Oh, and, by the way," he turns around, "your mane looks a bit…" He pointed his hoof at his mane, making stroking movements. I blushed and tried to entangle my manes a bit.

Swift chuckled. "You should talk to Warpath about toiletries. He's in charge of everything."

He turned around and left.

It was then, that I noticed I was still writing… oh? Interesting. Next question: Should I leave my quill and notebook here? Yes. Yes, I should… I'll grab them later.

So. I followed him downstairs, to the kitchen.

The kitchen wasn't big. On one wall, there was a kitchen counter with a sink. Above and below were cupboards, a dishwasher and an oven; on the right was a large fridge and a smaller microwave. On the left was a stove.

In the middle of the kitchen was a big table, where the others were enjoying their meal: Enerjack, Snipit. Swift sat down and gestured I should do the same.

"Snipit, where's Warpath?" Swift asked. Snipit shrugged. "How should I know? Judging by his empty plate," he nodded to the plate on the counter, "he already ate."

Enerjack rolled with his eyes. "Official stuff, I guess." Swift nodded and began to eat.

I looked down on my plate. It had toast with a fried egg on it. I was hungry, so I began to eat.

Around me, conversation was going on as if I wasn't there. I didn't mind, though, I was too focused on my breakfast to worry. Swift asked me if I wanted to watch a sparring session between him and Warpath. And maybe, just maybe, Snipit could teach me a few tricks with my magic.

After breakfast, Swift brought me back to my room. I fetched my saddlebags and my notebook and quill. I'm writing this down on my way to the sparring room. I'm curious how that would go.

We went through a heavy, wooden door. Inside, there was a big, round hall, almost like an arena. There was a small pathway to the middle of the where there was a wide circle with nothing in it, only dirt and rocks. It was uneven ground, as the ground hat shifted times and times again. Alongside of that, there were long, sharp, iron stakes pointing up. They had also several sharp ends pointing sideways. They were long, you had to move very swiftly to navigate through.

Alongside the main hall were several smaller rooms: each with other grounds to train on: one to throw knives, one with a puppet to practice sword fighting and your spells, and others had more puppets to practice close combat.

The ceiling was high, and almost on top of the ceiling, far above the iron spikes, there was an iron 'cage' where you could safely sit and watch. You could access via the main hall, with a lot of stairs.

I climbed the stairs alone, Swift was getting ready far down. He was wearing his armor. It was light blue, with golden decorations. He told me it was very strong armor, that he had gotten from his father. It could even withstand dragon fire! I think he's going to need it. He was cleaning his sword, Shinigami.

On the other side of the circle, Enerjack was meditating. The runes on his neck and back were glowing. His eyes were shut. He hadn't put off his saddlebags – he appeared to have them on permanently. I wondered what was in it.

Snipit was somewhere in the forest of iron. He was invisible for Enerjack and Snipit, but I could see him clearly. It appeared he was muttering spells, to control the stakes. His horn was glowing. The stakes were bending at his will.

Then, Enerjack was ready. He stood up and pulled out his two swords, Hellraiser and Judgement. Swift Spry readied and nodded.

This was going to be fun.

Enerjack charged. His wings propelled him forward, right at Swift. Swift dodged, flying upward, making a somersault and landing again, facing Enerjack, who turned when he didn't hit his target. This time, Swift Spry charged and Enerjack blocked it with his sword, Judgement, who he held in his left hand. His other sword, Hellraiser, came just a millisecond later. He swung the sword at Swift's, who almost lost his grip. But he still stood and flew up before Enerjack could give him another blow.

Enerjack took a deep breath. The runes on his head and back lit once again, and with an incredible speed, he flew after Swift. In mid-air, Swift turned and clashed his sword, Shinigami, against Judgement. Enerjack then lifted Hellraiser but Swift dodged it.

I realized that Enerjack was left-handed. That isn't a weakness per se, but if Swift played it smart, he could use it in his advantage. And I think he has realized that too.

Swift began to attack Enerjack from the left. Enerjack managed to dodge some of the blows, but he couldn't dodge all. Though his thick scales were still intact, I think it must've hurt. Any normal pony wouldn't have been able to survive.

Enerjack flew up, out of the rain of blows, until he was hovering right above Swift. He began to force him down. Swift was fighting to get away from there. And yes – right above the ground, he managed to bring a precise blow on Enerjack that he could go away. He landed next to Enerjack, panting.

"So, is it going to be this way, huh?"

Enerjack grinned, panting as well. "It's always going to be this way."

Swift positioned himself, pointing Shinigami at him.

"Well then, LET'S DANCE!"

And with a yell, he charged Enerjack, who swiftly dodged the blow. Swift ran past him, into the maze of stakes. Enerjack tried to follow him, but he was too big to fit between the stakes without being pierced. He roared out of anger and flew into the air. The runes on his back and his neck flamed once again and a mighty beam of fire came out of his mouth, heating the iron stakes red-hot.

Of course, Swift had foreseen this. His armor was good enough to withstand fire, so a few warm pins that scratched his armor wasn't going to hurt him. But I did imagine that it was getting awfully hot in there, if he hasn't got any coolers in it.

Meanwhile, Snipit was done preparing himself with the stakes and the other two were getting closer and closer. When they were close enough, Snipit closed his eyes and the pins cut loose from its stakes. They were pointed at the pegasus and the dragon. He opened his eyes, waiting for the right moment.

There. Swift Spry had almost reached him, when he threw the pins. For Swift, they came out of nowhere, but he dodged them all. He was a fast thinker, that was for sure. But Enerjack wasn't so lucky; a few spikes ricocheted off his scales – one even penetrated it. But it didn't do him any apparent harm, so he continued his hunt on Swift.

And the fight went on. But below, I saw something else. Warpath has returned, with another stallion… Shadowflame!? I gasped out of delight and wanted to get down immediately… but I don't think that would be such a good idea; Enerjack was breathing fire again.

Warpath nodded to Shadowflame, who looked up. He smiled to me; I smiled back and waved. He nodded back to Warpath and closed his eyes, concentrating on a spell. He soon was wrapped in a hardly visible dome of magic, to protect him from any harm while crossing the battlefield.

While Shadow was climbing the stairs, Warpath was looking at the fight, no doubt waiting for the right moment to strike. He positioned himself, and sprang in the air when he saw fit. He first began to attack Snipit in a magical fight.

Before Snipit could react, Warpath had a whirlwind coming out of his horn. It knocked Snipit to the side and the spikes he had wielded fell down when he lost concentration. With a huff, he regained his concentration, picked the spikes up and aimed at Warpath. He dodged them and tried to aim another spell at him, but at that moment Swift hit Snipit – accidently, but it knocked Snipit out of Warpath's range. Warpath growled and began to attack Swift with more wind spells.

Enerjack saw this, and decided to help Swift. He charged at Warpath, but he lashed wind at him, trying to knock him off his flying path. Enerjack almost fell, but he grunted and the runes lit up once again. With a mighty flap of his wings, he managed to stay in the air. With a loud yell, he charged Warpath, who then summoned rock out of the middle of the circle. With a gigantic boulder he created a shield where Enerjack almost crashed. He managed to pull up just in time – he had to position his mighty claws so, that he ricocheted off the rock.

Meanwhile, Swift had managed to get out of Warpath's grip, speeding up in the air where he had more ground to attack. He stayed in one position to think of what to do next.

In the meantime, Shadowflame had climbed the stairs and sat down next to me. He smiled, I smiled back. He eyed my busy quill.

"Hm. I see you've improved."

I looked at him, my head tilted a bit. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled. "Well, you're writing while we're talking."

I looked at the quill, that was still writing. I chuckled as well.

"Yes… You could say that."

A loud yell from the 'battlefield' gained my attention.

Swift, Snipit, Enerjack and Warpath had positioned themselves each in their respective quarter of the circle, facing eachother.

It was Snipit, that had started firing huge beams of light at Warpath opposite of him. Warpath blocked it, sending the beam in several different directions. In Swift's and Warpath's as well. They flew up, trying to dodge it, but they were blown away from the impact.

When Warparth had steadied himself from the first blow (the beam was still in the air) his horn sparked even more and shook the ground beneath Snipit. Snipit lost his concentration and the beam stopped. Warpath quickly send a blast of wind to knock him down, but Snipit made a barrier that kept away the wind. But Snipit was already weakened from earlier attacks, and he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. He was panting, struggling to keep the spell working. Warpath grinned; he was still fit because he had joined the fight later on.

But in the meantime, Swift and Enerjack had recovered from the impact. They looked at each other, nodded and began to attack Warpath from different sides. Swift came down from the right, Shinigami ready to attack. At the same time, Enerjack came from the left, the runes on his neck glowing: he was preparing to fire away.

Warpath saw them both coming in the corner of his eyes. He quickly raised a barrier of stone on his left just when Enerjack fired, but he had to break the wind spell on Snipit to dodge Swift's sword. To do so, he picked up some sharp rocks and threw them at Swift, who quickly raised Shinigami to dodge them. But one of the rocks hit his wing, dislocating some of his feathers. He yelled and fell on the ground, clutching his wing. When he was sure it wasn't that bad, he stood up and picked up his sword.

When Warpath had broken the spell, Snipit fell down out of exhaustion. He grunted, but he couldn't stand up. He was too tired. He shook his head and retreated into the field of iron stakes, into one of the rooms that exited on the field. I couldn't see him after that; I wonder where he went.

The only two that were still actively fighting, were Warpath and Enerjack.

But Enerjack was panting as well, but just like Swift, he was determined to stay on his feet. He kept on the ground. The runes on his back were now glowing red, signaling that he should let them rest. He had only limited shots in an amount of time, and he didn't want to overheat them.

Warpath still stood steadily on the ground, prepared for the last fight.

Swift was the first to charge. Shinigami was pointed forward, aimed at Warpath. Warpath lifted with his magic the stones from the ground and began to throw them at Swift. Swift swiftly dodged them. Only a second after Swift, Enerjack ran to Warpath and started to attack him with Judgement and Hellraiser from the left. But Warpath simply put up a stone shield that stopped them both.

They crashed head-first into the wall. Swift held his head and fell down, moaning. Snipit emerged from the stakes to drag him from the field into safety. I hope they'll be all right.

Enerjack and Warpath are circling around each other, the air very tense. Then, without warning, Warpath jumped and opened his muzzle. He spat a huge bolt of flame in the direction of Enerjack! You could feel the heat from where I sat!

Enerjack hadn't got much time, but the runes on his back lit once more and white-hot fire exited his beak. The flames met eachother exactly in the middle of the circle! The momentum lasted only a few seconds, where a huge ball of fire floated in the middle of the circle. Then, it exploded! Both Enerjack and Warpath were blown backwards by the impact.

Panting, they both stood up. The fight was over.

"Phew. That was… something." Shadow said. I nodded.

That indeed was something.

Dear Civviq,

I need to make this quick, because they´ll soon fetch me for dinner.

Today I was allowed to take a look around in the camp. Everypony was working; either gathering wood in the forest, or fetching water. I could catch a glimpse of Carbon again, and he still didn't look good. He had his eyes closed shut and was growling, while some other ponies were holding him, forcing something on his neck. He grunted and struggled. I couldn't see what it was.

Father walked to me and sat down next to me, his face stern as always.

"That is what happens if you disobey the rules."

I frowned and looked up to him. "He's my friend.'

Well, that's not exactly true. But he tried to help me and protected you, so I respected him. Here, where everypony is my enemy, he could be called my friend.

Father glanced sideways to me. "the Dark Lord has given you another chance. Don't waste it."

My face fell and my ears pointed down. "I want to get out of here."

Father now looked me in the eye. The black of his eye flickered to grey for a moment, but the next moment it was gone.

"Son, don't say that. I don't want you to get hurt, but if you escape, I will be forced to."

I looked away and nodded. Father sighed.

Carbon had stopped struggling. He was panting now; the ponies had released him. His eye-white was flickering from white, to grey, to black, to grey again. He shook his head wildly.

"He's trying to fight it." Father said. "But nopony can fight it."

I heard a twinge of sadness in his voice. I looked up, but was only met with his stoic gaze.

I buried my head in my hooves. I think it's your fault, you know. If it weren't for you, I would never be here. If that stupid wind hadn't picked my hat, I would still be… Yes, where would I be? On the road, alone? No company, no friends?

I closed my eyes. No, I if I could, I wouldn´t have changed what I did.

I´m sorry, Civ. I´m scared. What if they turn me black too? What if they force me to hurt you? I'd never hurt you. But you know that, don't you? I mean, I might seem a bit harsh sometimes, but I really don't mean any harm.

I'm writing this down, because… I just don't know what to do next. This helps me think, clear my mind. If I see you again, I'm going to thank you because you introduced me to writing. If I see you again…

Dinner will soon be served. I have to go.

I miss you. I hope I will see you soon.

Your friend,

Wing Noir