2/7

It was such a startling change it helped me remember that Luna was one of the Alicorn Princesses, the immortal and powerful guardians of Harmony itself. And that made what happened next all the more perplexing.

The door I had summoned burst open. Literally burst, exploded into splinters that quickly disassociated from the dreamworld and thus reality, evaporating into puffs as smoke. As the fog cleared, Rock Solid was standing there with a glare in his eyes that faded a little bit upon seeing me.

“First!” He said. “C’mon we need to…” In a moment, there was a flash of purple and Princess Luna was upon him, rear legs lashing out to strike him in the side. A thunderous clang rolled out as she banged against his armor and he was knocked onto his side. He performed a graceful combat roll and was up on his hooves, eyeing Luna up and down. I noticed his armor wasn’t dented at all, nor did he seem particularly winded by a hit like a freight train.

He moved towards Princess Luna in a charge that belied his size and this time, I could see smoke rising from his hooves as he ran, leaving diluted little grey marks where he touched. Luna stood resolute, a roll of immaterial magic flowing over her, a low and easy posture that obviously looked ready to toss the charging stallion. If it had been me, she probably could have just picked me up in her magic and held me at bay, but with Rock’s size, speed, and magical control…

And then, a few feet before collision, Rock jumped. It wasn’t a tackle, though Luna’s stance was definitely looking for one. Instead, Rock aimed all his momentum into his hooves and drove them deep into the ground in front of Luna, sliding into the palace floor like butter. And then with a mighty heave he lifted, a huge chunk of the ground going with him, and the same thin grey color underneath the huge slab of stone as he chucked it. Luna wasn’t expecting this and went with the stone as it was unceremoniously thrown away from Rock, a surprised shout rolling out from her and getting quieter and quieter as she was swiftly removed from the premises.

I stared at the inky darkness that Luna had just been propelled into. I stared at Rock. I stared at the indentation where the floor had been. I was roughly grabbed around the haunch and yanked over towards the door I had created in the dream. The infinite plane of black lay beyond, but in the farthest distance there was a yawning portal of light, a pinprick that we were moving towards rapidly.

“Rock? What the hay is going on?” I asked as he hurried along with me clutched indelicately at his side like a saddlebag.

“I have no idea!” He said, a triumphant crow to his voice. “I was looking for you and found a door and then I just chucked the sun-spotted Princess of the Night!”