Notes: Hello everyone! I am really happy to see so many unique responses to my question. I have taken them into consideration, and you will see why I wanted you guys to ponder such things in a chapter to come. For your time, I will give you all those magical candy canes of ultimate power I talked about a couple chpaters back. Why? Because I don't think it would be a good idea to let Russet Burbanks and FocusedStream get away with being the only ones armed with such dangerous weapons. Now, onto answering reviews! To combee77: Thanks for pointing out that error! I fixed it the minute I saw your review. To austin: Happiness and worry (and security) cannot really coincide. If you are happy, then you generally are not worried. No doubt you could be stressed, but you have no fear of what is to come. And what makes you think there cannot be things worse than Harold? I can think of two other beings from eons long past that could veritably cast the whole Tri-Multiverse into chaos! To Minebrine: As I said previously, happiness and security are not really proportional to each other (inversely or otherwise). You can find peace in the most dangerous of places, simply because you do not fear death or what is to come. To Echo Off: Perhaps they don't, but it is all in the mind! I have know quite a few people who risk their lives everyday, but are at complete peace about it! And they are some of the most joyful people I know. To madmanwithafork: knowing that stormtroopers couldn't hit a Star Trek Red Shirt even if they tried, I wouldn't exactly say having them as an entourage is security at its finest... but I understand what you are trying to say. To FocusedStream: Yes, happiness is most certainly a win! A new story, eh? I like the idea, but it would take forever, since the upper realm comes from graphic novels I made many, many years ago, and translating from pictures and speech bubbles to text is not my forte. But I shall consider it! And now... Behold the final chapter for Twilight, Flaming Star, Rarity, and Discord! Enjoy!

Dimension: Little Nemo, Nightmare Land

Planet: Nightmare Land

Specific Location: Dark Forest

Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer

Sunflower and Dark stared at the pile of unconscious (and time-frozen) ponies.

"How are we going to get Discord and Rarity out of that frozen state?" asked Sunflower.

Dark shrugged. "It is indefinite. The only to give them relief is to kill them."

Sunflower glanced sharply at Dark. "What is with you and killing innocents? Now, seriously, I know you have a spellbinder shocker. If you hit them with it, it should jolt them out of that state, since they are really only trapped within their mind."

Dark chuckled darkly. "Very clever. I don't recall you being this bright when we used to be part of the team."

Sunflower leaned close to Dark and muttered, "I have matured during my eons of exile. Clearly you have not."

Dark ignored him. He quickly tapped his right wrist, causing a small metallic device to appear. It began to glow blue, and strobe lights of shimmering energy exploded from it, bathing Rarity and Discord. In an instant the two let out distressed yells, and then collapsed in a heap.

Sunflower rushed over to Discord and Rarity and began to gently shake them, bringing them to.

Rarity let out a piercing scream as she became conscious. She shot up, her eyes wide. Sunflower held her down on her back, standing clear of her flailing hooves.

"Rarity! Calm down!" yelled Sunflower as he shook her again, a little more roughly that time.

Rarity gasped, breathing in long and deep after screaming for at least two minutes straight. Eyes focusing on Sunflower, Rarity coughed and croaked, "It… it was terrible! I saw my boutique! It was full of all the designer clothes for the royalty of the Galloping Gala… and it… it burst into flames!"

Rarity began to sob, as she began to mutter something about lace not going well with open flames. Sunflower gently patted her head, and then went over to Discord, who was quietly staring at the dark sky.

"Discord, I need you to focus," said Sunflower slowly, "Where are we?"

Discord pulled a face. "Nightmare Land. Not exactly someplace I want to remember… or be in."

"You look rather pale," said Rarity, "are you okay? What did you see?"

Discord shook his head. "Nothing. There was no chaos, there was no color, and there was no excitement. There was just nothing. Pure order, all in the form of nothingness."

Dark chuckled harshly. "You both thing those are nightmares? I have spent millennia here, and I have seen things that would make you both unintentionally urinate."

Sunflower got up and stood directly in front of Dark. Their helmets were almost touching as Sunflower snapped, "Dark. Back down. We need to start working together."

"We do work together," replied Dark, sharply, "We just don't get along. I do what I want when Blue is not around."

Rarity looked over worriedly at the two arguing behemoths that were the Inquisitors. She then slowly crawled over to where Twilight lay, still in a daze. She shook her friend lightly and said, "Twilight? Are you awake?"

Twilight nodded, her eyes now wide and in shock. "I saw… I saw a monster… I saw THE monster…"

Discord floated over to her and gently patted her cheek. "I must say that I am glad I was already down and out before what you saw came into existence. You poor pony!"

Twilight shuddered, and then held out a hoof, allowing Rarity to help her to all fours. Twilight looked around blearily, and then saw Flaming Star, still in a heap. She rushed over to him and began to shake him lightly.

"Flaming Star? Flaming Star!"

The bright yellow pony opened an eye groggily and looked fondly at Twilight. "Dear… are we in heaven?"

Discord snorted. "I should say not. I am an avid believer that such a hallowed place as heaven is not full of twisted trees, splattered blood, and Inquisitors named Dark."

The name "Dark" immediately brought Flaming Star to his senses and returned his strength. He scrambled to all fours and looked around wildly. His eyes landed upon the black-clad giant, Dark.

Dark turned to looked at the wide-eyed pony. He began to laugh. The sound was grating, and full of malice. "Well, Sunflower, I can understand how you made friends with these things. Look at their adorable eyes. It makes me want to bundle them in a fluffy blanket, put them in a basket, and then hurl that basket into an automatic meat grinder the size of a small moon."

Sunflower stood in front of Dark and kneeled down until he was eye-height with Flaming Star. Then he murmured, "Ignore him. However, we do have a problem. We may have Dark, but we are not free yet. Our teleportation and portal-jumping abilities have been disabled. That means the Nightmare King has several other things he wants to test us with until he becomes annoyed or tired of our presence."

Suddenly, the sky somehow managed to darken even more, and everyone present felt as if their souls were crying out in pain. The only one who seemed not to be clearly affected was Dark. However, his voice sounded interested.

"Feel how the very soul cries out in horror? The Nightmare King has decided to call upon another pawn to test us."

Pitch black smoke exploded from the earth and boiled around the team, obscuring their view. Dark and Sunflower stood back-to-back while Twilight buried her face in Flaming Star's mane. Rarity and Discord huddled close together.

A voice weaved it way through the shadows, tearing at the tender ears of all listening.

"A grave lies open, silence has been kept, the worms await its host… Come home, my friends, today or ten centuries time… you all will eventually come… home…"

The shadows suddenly turned into tangible tentacles of blackness. These tentacles slowly began to caress the terrified face of Twilight, and wrap around the limbs of Discord. Dark straightened up and laughed outright. "You do not scare me. I have no fear of anything, and that you should know."

The tentacles relinquished Twilight and Discord and turned to face Dark.

"Ahhhh… The warrior. You have been a plentiful source of amusement for my master. In all of the eons since sins induced darkness in the mind and in the dreamscape, no one has seen a being such as you. Your tactics and so… unorthodox. A warrior for good, defeating evil by releasing more shadows from his heart than his adversaries, drowning the dark in the shadows with his bare hands…"

Dark whipped out his hatchet, which sparked to life with unholy power. "That is right. I am the only one able to stare into the abyss, and never blink… EVER."

Dark rushed the tentacles with inhuman speed. In less than a second over a score of the shadow tentacles were smashed into dust.

The voice did not sound even close to pained as it laughed, "You have sealed your own fate then, Dark. Come and joint me in your true home: a shallow grave."

The black inquisitor did not even flinch. "My heart is too drained of light to even deserve a grave. I will lie slain on the battlefield and rot… and I will be content with that."

The darkness dispersed exposing the owner of the myriad of tentacles of blackness: a huge mass of rotting organic material, looking somewhat akin to a cross between a squid and a leech, stood high above the twisted treetops.

It let out a mournful wail, and then the voice spoke within their heads again. "Dark is the only one fit to be here, children. But now I shall let you all rest in the land of oblivion and void."

The tentacles rose in a mass, to strike at the harrowed team, and then another fight began.

Flaming Star slammed two hooves into the ground, pulling up a giant curved wall of stone to protect himself, Twilight, Discord, and Rairty. Rarity the darted out of cover and threw bolts of pure energy (that looked suspiciously like hairpins).

Dark saw this pitiful attack from Rarity and shook his head. "I take it back. I don't want to die here. I want to die alone."

Sunflower pulled out his sniper rifle and fired off a score of perfectly-aimed shot in less than a second. He just glanced at Dark and nodded his head significantly. Though the two hated each other, they could always count on each other in combat.

The two rushed the monster together with Rarity, Discord, and Flaming Star providing cover. The two inquisitors then broke off, flanking the monster. Immediately the nightmarish construct attempted to crush the gnats with hundreds upon hundreds of blade-like tentacles, but the two weathered fighters slipped through its offensive with ease. At that instant Flaming Star superheated the stone wall that was protecting him into lava, and then hurled that lava at the monster. It splashed against the construct of hell, causing a large radius of it to burst into flames, but all it seemingly did was fill the air with the smell of burning flesh.

An extra-large tentacle then exploded from the earth beneath Twilight's hooves, sending her and her friends reeling back. That moment of confusion was all the monster needed: in an instant they were seized by tentacles. However, Sunflower quickly whirled about and released a snap-shot, severing the tentacle binding Flaming Star. Now free, the yellow pony took advantage of his unfettered hooves to unleash a lightning blast that turned the other offending tentacles into charred sticks. In a second Rarity and Discord combined their powers to hurl a blast of water charged with electricity. It splashed against the construct of hell, sending spasms along it. The leech-squid head howled in protest, but the voice that continued to echo in their heads remained calm and sickly-sweet.

"Your home awaits… If I am defeated then time will bring you to me nonetheless…"

The tentacles increased in multitudes, striving to bury the beleaguered heroes, but were driven once more by fire and ice. At this point Dark was standing upon the head of the creature of tentacles, emptying explosive rocket after explosive rocket into its head. However, every time a rocket struck the monster's head, the explosion simply fizzled into sparks… useless.

"This is a first!" exclaimed Dark, leaping off the head, dragging the hatchet across the enemy's head. The leech-squid face spit right in two, exposing pulsing innards, but in a second the thing regenerated almost as if it had never been hurt in the first place.

"And that is a first as well!" exclaimed Dark. He ducked under a bunch of tentacles and severed a hundred more with a shockwave attack from his right fist. "I did not think that was possible! My weapons have no effect!" He did not sound worried. In fact, his voice had an undertone of amusement.

The tentacles rose high into the sky, blocking out the gloomy light emanating from the sickly clouds. They rushed down upon the two inquisitors, a solid wall of doom. But neither Sunflower nor Dark were scared. They quickly fired a focused volley at a specific spot, clearing an opening. As they leapt through the army of tentacles, Dark pulled an Inquisitor Grenade from nowhere. As they dodged the practically undodgeable attack, Dark dropped the grenade. In a second the bomb detonated, consuming the thousands of tentacles in pure destruction.

"You are preventing the inevitable. I am undefeatable in your minds. Come home…" murmured the voice in their heads, still sounding unbothered.

Sunflower suddenly stiffened. "Come home… Undefeatable in our minds… I understand now. Stop fighting."

Dark glanced at Sunflower. "What? I can keep this up for eons, and I have. This thing is too weak to take me down, even if I cannot hurt it myself."

Sunflower shook his head. "We need to give up. We need to let it consume us."

Discord's jaw literally hit the floor. "I… I beg your pardon?! Last time I checked, good sir, giant tarry black tentacles were not on the 'good' list of huggable things!"

"I agree with Discord for once!" cried Rarity, "I refuse to let my mane be mussed up by such fouls appendages!"

Flaming Star said nothing for a moment. Then he looked Sunflower straight in the eyes and said, "Do you know what you are doing?"

Sunflower nodded. "I do."

Flaming Star turned to Twilight, Rarity, and Discord and said, "We need to stop fighting. Let it take us. Do as Sunflower said."

Twilight looked at Flaming Star with wide, questioning eyes for a second, and then nodded wordlessly. She huddled close to him as more tentacles rose to block out the sky. There was a moment of silence that seemed to go on for an eternity… and then they struck. The tentacles buried the team, consuming them all…

Dimension: Little Nemo, Oblivion

Planet: Oblivion

Specific Location: The Lone Witness

Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer

Twilight's eyes snapped open, gasping raggedly. She looked around… Her friends… They were all alive. She almost sobbed with relief as she then realized they were all on the shore of that small island in the middle of the Ocean of Oblivion. They had escaped. She then realized that Dark and Sunflower were standing side-by-side off to her left, conversing in hushed tones. She trotted up to Sunflower and gently tapped his armored hand with a hoof. Sunflower glanced at Twilight and said, "Are you okay?"

Twilight nodded her head. "I am! But I have to ask… h-how did you know that was going to work?"

Sunflower shrugged. "When I saw that Dark's hatchet had no effect on that unholy monster, I could not believe it. There is nothing that can stand against that weapon, forged by the Holies. Then I realized that if there was nothing that can stand against that weapon, then what we were fighting must be nothing… It must be an illusion that our minds made real. Then it struck me that if we stopped fighting and let the thing win, it would dissolve when our minds registered its inability to truly harm us. All went according to plan, but all of you passed out from sheer terror. But the Nightmare King became bored after he realized we had escaped the paradox he had set up, and returned us to here."

Twilight sighed. "That's… that's good. Can we go home now?"

Sunflower nodded. "Yes. Let's wake everyone up."

Dark stood to one side as Twilight and Sunflower woke up their friends.

"By my auntie's apron! I'm still alive!" exclaimed Discord joyfully hugging his own body, "I swear never to mess with Princess Luna's dreams ever again!"

"… Or mine either," added Rarity, a little severely, "I hope you remember that one dream with the clown and the tennis ball you gave me. It wasn't funny."

Discord grinned sheepishly. "O-oh! That? I don't remember that at all! You must be hallucinating again…"

Flaming Star coughed loudly. "I think we should save such upcoming arguments for another time. Let's go to Rerenhaw."

Sunflower turned away and activated a portal that led to Rerenhaw. Slowly, the whole group walked (or trotted) through. They were met by Doxia, who was sitting in Mattimeo's chair at the head of the council table.

"Hey! Everyone's back! And look! My least favorite Inquisitor is with them! I hope he didn't accidentally kill anyone!" exclaimed Doxia, getting up and shaking hands (or hooves) with everyone except Dark.

Dark crossed his arms solemnly and said in a gravelly voice, "It matters not. Where is Blue?"

Doxia looked a nearby holographic screen. "You will know soon enough. Sunflower, in a moment you will be returned to full power. Mattimeo is just setting up some things with Blue… Then he will attend to Summer."

"You mean August," snapped Flaming Star, remembering the anger he had been harboring toward Mattimeo and Doxia, "And what's more, you promised to help August, not give him up to Blue."

Doxia suddenly realized that a conflict would soon be rising, but he could do nothing about it. So instead he sighed and replied, "I… am. Mattimeo is giving August a chance to eject Blue from his body and become himself again."

"Wait," Dark interjected abruptly, "You mean that this weakling I am looking at in this screen right now, August, is trying to escape Blue? Fool. He will never be able to do such a thing."

Flaming Star whirled on Dark. "You're the fool. You underestimate the goodness within August. Blue and his hideously evil impulses will not prevail."

Dark laughed. "Goodness? Evil? What filth are you spouting? This is not about good or evil. This is about Rerenhaw assembling the most capable force to eliminate a threat, and that would be us. We greatly apologize that we are not benevolent and righteous like the knights of old, but last time I checked my team and I were the most powerful beings ever to enter into combat aside from that idiot Kytax."

"You think you are powerful, but that is only because people fear you. These is no love, only fear. And thus… you will NEVER be as powerful as beings like Sunset Shadow or Twilight," snarled Flaming Star.

Dark leaned in close. "Let me take my hatchet to Twilight, and then we will see who is truly powerful."

Flaming Star let out a yell, and unleashed a blast of energy powerful enough to vaporize a small planet, all focused in a small burst. However, the moment the energy struck Dark's armor it fizzled away, with no damage done. Dark reached forward and seized Flaming Star by the neck, hoisting him high into the air. Twilight screamed.

Dark was seconds away from snapping Flaming Star's neck like a brittle toothpick… when he was stopped by the tip of a blade pressing into his back. Dark began to chuckle when he realized whose sword that was: it was Doxia's, the most powerful non-angelic weapon in the tri-multiverses.

"You break Flaming Star's neck, and I gut you," muttered Doxia, his voice terrifying in its sternness.

Dark did not relinquish Flaming Star's neck as he replied, "And then what will you do? Find a being to replace me? I am irreplaceable, and even Sunflower will admit that. You are bluffing."

Doxia tightened his grip about his almighty sword. "Try me."

Dark's chuckling turned into a harsh bellowing of laughter. He hurled Flaming Star against a wall and turned to go nose-to-nose with Doxia.

"You fear me and my valuableness, Doxia," said Dark.

"You fear my sword, Dark," replied Doxia, "I am more powerful than you, and you know it."

Dark motioned to the holographic image of Blue and then to Sunflower. "But as a team… We could smite you, Doxia."

Doxia sheathed his blade. It an instant the weapon of power shimmered out of existence. "You forget that you are not the only one with a team."

Doxia then turned to Twilight, Flaming Star, Discord, and Rarity. "You four… I cannot thank you enough. You have done incredible things. I am sorry that we have to part in this manner."

Rarity actually gave Doxia a huge smile. "Oh, don't worry your head about it dear! We shall just be running along! I postponed all of my other responsibilities indefinitely, but I do believe it will be for the best if I run along now. Farewell, my love!"

Flaming Star looked at Doixa and murmured, "Thank you… for trying to save August."

Doxia looked to Flaming Star. His voice was quiet, and drained of all joy. "You make it sound like August has already failed… But he has yet to face him internal demon. August may be victorious yet."

"I will not be led by a foolish boy, wearing Blue's armor as a mockery of our past," snarled Dark.

Sunflower turned on his comrade as well. "You respect power Dark. And if August wins, then Blue has given August back his body because he respects the boy's power. And if Blue respects August's power, then you will as well, and you know it."

Dark stepped back into the shadows.

Doxia then turned to gently pat Twilight's head. "Right, I suppose you all need to get going. I understand that this was not really the climatic revelation you were hoping for… But that is how real life generally is. I appreciate all that you have done for me, but, as I said before, it is time for you to go. I do not know when I will be back to visit you guys… if ever. But I want you all to know: I am looking out for you four. In fact, I am looking out for everyone in your dimension."

Twilight smiled brightly, now recovered from the shock of Dark attacking her husband. "Thank you Doxia."

Discord just winked, and then snapped a finger. A portal back to the My Little Pony dimension opened up, and he hopped through. He was followed by Rarity, Twilight, and Flaming Star. The portal closed with a "pop" and silence regained control of the empty halls of Rerenhaw.

Notes: I will mention that I initially was not satisfied with the ending... but then I realized that the second season never really revolved around this team. It was always about Summer, Lyric, August, Gene, and Jefferson. And thus, I will say that it most certainly came full circle and exited the loop with style. I hope to employ even more ponies in the next part of the second season (and I do believe many of you will be happy with who I bring). Now the end is near! Once again I will mention my appreciation for all of your support! I really need it. Again, thank you! Now, I will mention that I have actually written all the chapters from here to the finale for this part of the season. So, I have a question: do you guys want me to update twice every week (Tuesdays and Fridays) until we reach the end, or do you want me to continue with posting once every week? Let me know!