//------------------------------// // Arc 3 Chapter 4: Nightmares and Dreaming // Story: The Problem of Evil // by Quixotic Mage //------------------------------// Two days after her conversation with Sombra Luna could see that the fast pace she’d set had begun to wear on her troops.  Armor was less polished, coats dustier. There was a weariness in every step that a single night’s sleep couldn’t cure. Salutes came without the same snap.  No pony was close to breaking yet, the royal guard was made of sterner stuff than that, but the week of high speed travel was taking its toll. Truth be told, Luna had begun to feel it too.  Not physical exhaustion, that was some ways off yet for the alicorn, but a kind of psychic strain.  Ponies, at their core, were a prey species. Though they had evolved over the millennia, there was still a part of their hindbrain that writhed in terror at the constant pursuit by beings with sharp teeth and claws.  At least the fear just made it easier for the herd to run together. Fortunately, as they made camp on the evening of the seventh day after setting out from the city, they were only one more hard day’s march from Galloping Gorge.  According to the latest updates Luna had received, their reinforcements had arrived first and were now waiting for them there. There was nothing quite as reassuring as galloping straight into the waiting hooves of an army five times the size of the one that pursued them.  With that numerical advantage and Luna’s magical support it would be a straightforward, if bloody, battle to win. Sombra’s army was still two days’ march behind them, so they would likely have a day or two to rest and prepare.  Then would come the final battle. Possibly. Maybe Sombra would simply turn his army around when he realized the size of the newly fortified pony army. A part of Luna hoped that that would be the case.  She knew they would need to face Sombra eventually, but her instincts told her that the time was not yet right.  As she flew high above the army to conduct her daily inspection for Sombra’s taint, she indulged in a fantasy that, upon seeing the reinforcements, Sombra promptly surrendered and everything was resolved without any further loss of life. Luna smiled to herself and indulged in that pleasant fantasy.  Maybe after that her sister would magically return and be so impressed with the job Luna had done that she’d actually continue the co-ruler arrangement in fact as well as in name.  And while she was wishing for the impossible why not wish that the Nightmare had never consumed her in the first place? That last addition was a bridge too far, and Luna felt her suspension of disbelief wane and the fantasy fade.  It had been a nice thought, but her worries were not so easily dismissed. Her eyes raked the ground again, searching for any sign of Sombra in her army, and not finding it.  The knot of anxiety caused by that absence had been what she’d hoped the fantasy would distract her from.  She loved her ponies as much as the next princess, but she knew there had to be flawed ponies among her army.  There had to be some pony down there who would give in to Sombra. Either she could simply not find those ponies that had given in or Sombra had not tempted them, and both possibilities frightened her.  The first possibility seemed unlikely. They had tested it and she could easily see Sombra’s taint on Pinkie Pie. She could even see his dark magic infecting the strains of natural magic the filled the landscape below, presumably something to do with his control of Hvergelmir.  No, she had no trouble seeing his darkness. So if Sombra was not seeking to possess her army, what was he doing?  Luna growled as she came to the end of her flight, once more having found nothing.  She banked sharply and circled back above her army. Having no idea what Sombra was doing pricked at her worse than the pursuing army did.  She was sure he was not idle, and that when she learned what he’d been doing it would be bad news. On a whim, Luna decided to fly up high enough that she’d be able to see their destination for the next day.  It would be too far to make out many details but it’d do her heart good to see for herself that the reinforcements really were waiting for them.  Maybe seeing the full might of the Equestrian army would set her mind at ease. With a powerful downward thrust, she shot up into the thinning air.  The wind rushed past, ruffling her feathers while the cool clear air filled her lungs.  It brought peace like a compress against a heated brow. Flying always provided her with solace in troubled times.  She liked to imagine that her troubles themselves were earthbound and that she was leaving them behind with every flap of her mighty wings. Up she flew, thousands of feet higher than she’d gone in recent memory.  The sunset’s rays colored the scattered clouds a deep red and purple that, at first glance, enthralled in their brilliance.  It was beautiful. She might set the sun and organize the stars, but the sunset was a natural result of the sun’s motion across the sky.  Luna could enjoy its beauty solely as an audience, and she intended to do so until the last possible moment before setting the sun. So she intended.  But as she gazed out on the colorful clouds, the deep reds and purples became the scarlet blood and purple bruises of the battlefield.  Luna sighed and closed her eyes, gorge rising as memories of battles ancient and recent forced their way into her mind. No solace was to be permitted her here, it seemed. The peace of the sunset soundly banished, Luna turned instead toward Galloping Gorge, seeking comfort in the sight of other ponies.  She saw, as she had expected, the faint signs of a pony encampment. Vague blobs moved here and there, no doubt going about the basic tasks that kept the camp running.  It was the very picture of an ordinary pony camp and, had she been looking with ordinary sight she would have been suitably reassured. However, Luna had not yet removed her immortal sight, and with that sight the truth was plain. A vast wave of Sombra’s dark taint covered the pony camp on the horizon for as far as her eyes could see. Luna’s sinking heart was matched by her rising understanding.  This was the reason Sombra had been content to keep his distance, the reason he had made no attempt to turn the members of her army.  He had claimed their reinforcements. If they had continued their march they would have been welcomed into the army and then all would have been turned or killed.  Luna shivered at how close they had come to utter ruin, saved only by a moment of serendipity. Not that their current situation was much better.  By claiming their reinforcements Sombra had demonstrated a terrifying fact.  His reach and speed of possession exceeded their speed of travel. There was no safe harbor imaginable any more.  Everywhere they turned they’d find Sombra waiting for them. It was as if he’d claimed the entire world as his demesne and all of creation now moved to his will. In effect, the last force in the world capable of opposing Sombra were those ponies in the small tired band that camped below. Rigid tension filled her muscles and Luna felt herself begin to shake.  She couldn’t have said whether it was from fury or fear. A snarl contorted her muzzle as a scream forced its way from her throat.  She threw back her head and howled against the sky. With a snap of her wings a hurricane gust stormed in all directions. Lurid bolts of magic flew from her horn and skewered the clouds foolish enough to remain nearby.  The Princess of the Night raged against an uncaring sky. “HOW FAR WILL WE BE TESTED?” she roared. “I couldn’t say.  But I do think it’s time we had a little chat,” came a voice, silken, seductive and achingly, intimately, terrifyingly familiar. “No!  No it can’t be,” Luna cried, fear overpowering anger.  She wrapped wings and hooves in on herself, flinching from those few words.  She was curled so tight and still that she would have dropped from the sky had her instinctive pegasus magic not sustained her flight.  “You’re gone. Banished by the Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon no longer exists!” “And yet, here I am.  Now, you’re no good to me as a trembling wreck, so take a moment and calm yourself.  Here in your mind we’ve all the time in the world.” The voice came from nowhere and echoed within Luna’s head.  She clamped her hooves over her ears, but nothing could block out words that were not being spoken aloud. Nightmare Moon continued, “I’ve been trying to teach you for a while and those self-portraits simply weren’t getting the job done fast enough.”  Luna had the distinctly unpleasant sensation of a part of her mind rolling its metaphorical eyes. “Stop with the hooves, you know it’s not going to work,” Nightmare Moon scolded her. Hesitantly, Luna lowered her hooves.  “Why arise now you monster?” she asked.  “We are in dire straits as it is, without adding another dark force to the mix.” “This situation is precisely why I’ve been forced to be more direct.  Take another look at that.” Luna felt her focus being pushed back toward the southern horizon.  The wave of Sombra’s magic was still dark and unmistakable to her immortal sight. “You need me to have a prayer against that.” “Oh, is this the part where I make a deal with the devil?  Where I sacrifice my autonomy for great and terrible power?” Luna asked sarcastically.  “No thanks. There’s no way your help makes anything any better. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a futile last stand to plan.” “Luna, you don’t think I’m some external force, do you?”  The Nightmare sounded exasperated, almost fondly so. “You know better than that.  I’m not some infection that corrupted you, nor am I an evil split personality trying to take control of our body.  I’m just… let’s say a little piece of yourself you’ve been ignoring for too long.” Luna had made to dive back to the ground, but at Nightmare’s words she hesitated.  “If that’s the case, then why am I hearing your voice as if you’re an entirely separate pony?” “Think, Luna,” Nightmare urged.  “What originally gave rise to me?  What gave you a taste of power, let you play out your fantasies of rule as an entirely new pony that had never known the disregard of those sun-loving fools?” “The Dreaming.” Luna answered.  “I dreamed myself in charge and made you when I couldn’t make myself fit in that fantasy.  Then, when dreams weren’t enough, I brought you to the real world.” “More than that,” Nightmare Moon pressed.  “You are Princess of the Night and at the heart of night is the Dreaming.  For too long have you denied your core out of fear of me, and because of that you have been pushed around by your inferiors.” “Yes, I see now.  I open myself to the Dreaming and find you back in charge.”  Luna snorted. “It’s exactly as I said a moment ago, you’re just pouncing on a moment of weakness.” “I’m not real!” the Nightmare shouted in Luna’s head.  “I’m just a daydream given a momentary glimpse of life by the magic you are denying.  Take it back up and I’ll burn away, like mist before the sun.” She sighed regretfully.  “And even if I were real, surely I would be less inimical to the world than Sombra’s infinite slavery?  I want to beat him. With every insubstantial fiber of my being I want him broken for what he’s done. You must, at the very least, be able to believe that no part of you wants him to win” Put that way, it was almost believable.  Everything Luna remembered of being Nightmare Moon suggested that she would hate to share power with a pony she viewed as beneath her.  “I’m not saying I believe you,” Luna hedged, “but if I were to do as you say how would that help against Sombra?” “You must have realized that, with Sombra’s commandeering of your reinforcements, this isn’t going to be won by armies.  We’re horribly outnumbered and after he takes us and gains full control of Hvergelmir even a joint defense by all the other immortals would not be a guaranteed success.”  Luna nodded along for that had become all too clear. “So we flee, for the moment, and deny him the troops he’ll gain from our defeat and our own self.” “We flee to the Dreaming,” Luna said with sudden understanding.  “That would place us beyond his reach and provide time for us to develop other plans.  But the army makes that impossible. That many minds in the Dreaming would produce chaos, even if I had the strength to bring them all there.” “You will have the strength, if only you stop fleeing from it.  The Dreaming is the heart of your power after all,” said Nightmare, sounding satisfied.  “You are right about the destruction that that many minds would cause if they were all in the dreaming at once.  If only there was a state that you could put them in that was compatible with the Dreaming and would keep their minds and bodies quiescent.  Ideally such a state would be a natural function of every living creature so it wouldn’t take much to place them in it or keep them that way.”  Luna distinctly felt her mind casting a sideways glance at her. “Are you getting this, Luna? Or do I need to be more obvious? I’d paint you a picture, but, as we all know, there’s no guarantee that that would work.” Luna rolled her eyes.  “I get it, I get it. I can put most of the soldiers into a deep sleep.  The Dreaming should be able to support those of us to whom the task of planning falls.”  Her own flippant tone caught Luna by surprise. Just a half hour ago she had been screaming at the heavens.  Now she felt, not good, but calmer, more in control of herself. There was something to be said for meeting you worst demon and finding more her less fearsome than expected to make other problems seem manageable. The Nightmare had been hers, Luna knew.  There had never been any question that becoming Nightmare Moon had been a choice.  Of course, Luna had often chosen to hide away rather than own up to that choice. That option had been taken from her and she had met the side of herself that she feared.  And, perhaps, in coming to terms with it, she might find the strength she’d need to face Sombra as well. Aloud she said, “Alright Nightmare, you’re on.  We’ll flee to the Dreaming. And if you turn out to be more external and evil than you seem, then I’ll just have to beat you down before I move on to Sombra!” Luna spared one last growl for the shadow on the horizon before diving down below the clouds.  As she dropped she reached out for the sun and moon, sending the sun to its rest beneath the earth and bringing for the moon to fill her with its argent light.  Her timing was impeccable. The first ray of moonlight lit her fall like a spotlight and she cracked the ground before the command tent while bathed in the bright regard of her moon. “Princess,” whispered Sunlit Rooms in awe.  She had exited the tent to meet Luna at the end of her flyby and had emerged just in time to see the princess descend.  “That was beautiful.” “Thank you, Sunlit,” Luna said gently.  “But I’m afraid there’s little time for beauty now.  We must act quickly, and we’re going to need your skills to do it.” Though she was not a member of the military, Sunlit had picked up a few things and she snapped a salute that would have done any solider proud.  “You can count on me, princess!” “Good.  I need you to draw up the most efficient way to gather the troops in the center of camp in groups no larger than squads.  Pass on the orders to those assistants of yours and have them start bringing the soldiers there.” Luna’s spat orders rapid fire and Sunlit nodded along so fast her head seemed in danger of catching fire.  “Tell the beings that were at our general staff meeting not to go through the portal.  Also, send somepony to bring Captain Armor to me.” “No need, princess.  I’m here,” Shining Armor said, arriving at a trot.  “I saw you speeding down to Earth and thought I’d better find out what’s going on.” “Never mind on that last order.  Go Sunlit. We don’t have much time.”  Luna watched as the smaller pony dashed off to carry out her commands, then turned to head to the center of camp herself.  “Walk with me Captain.” “Of course,” he said, falling into step.  “So what is going on?” “Remember how we wondered why Sombra hadn’t managed to take any of our troops?  I just found out.” As they walked down the row of tents Luna brought the Captain up to speed, though she kept the part about Nightmare Moon to herself, playing it off as her own idea.  She finished just as they reached the camp’s center. Pony army encampments all followed the same pattern, to ease navigation no matter where they were set up.  As part of that, the center of camp held a wide open space capable of holding a significant proportion of the army at any one time.  Luna walked to the very center of that open space, drawing strength from the feeling of being surrounded by her subjects. “I’m going to open a portal to the Dreaming here.”  With her hoof, Luna dragged out a square in the dirt.  “Have the soldiers enter no more than three at a time. Have them line up as soon as they arrive, but wait until I give the signal that the portal’s ready.  Understand?” Shining Armor frowned.  “I understand,” he said, though his discontent and worry were writ plain on his face. Luna, conditioned by her time with Twilight, had expected him to voice his objections and was thrown off by his swift acquiescence.  “You may voice your concerns, Captain. We do not have much time, but if I cannot convince the captain of my army of the wisdom of my plan then perhaps this is a mistake.” Respecting the need for haste, Shining Armor’s speech was stilted and fast.  “Will this be safe for the soldier’s you put to sleep? And why are we disbanding our army when we’re faced with more foes than ever?” “The soldier’s put to sleep will simply be asleep, rocked in the cradle of the Dreaming.  If I am incapacitated and unable to retrieve them they will simply remain asleep in the Dreaming, which might well be preferable to life as Sombra’s slave or death.”  Luna met and held the Captain’s assessing gaze. “I am disbanding the army because this is not a battle that they can win and I will not see them die needlessly fighting against their enslaved fellow citizens.  We must strike at Sombra and disrupt his means of possession if we are to win this, and in that task an army would not help. Does this satisfy you Captain Armor?” He held her gaze a moment longer and then nodded.  “Alright, princess. It makes sense to me, and this situation certainly calls for desperate measures.”  With that, he turned away and set to organizing the first troops to arrive. Only marginally less worried, Luna turned her attention to her own task.  She had not lied to Shining Armor, the portal would be perfectly safe, provided she could make the spells work. Luna reached for her magic, letting mortal and immortal waves of power wash through her body like the tides.  Magic had always felt like water to her. Mortal magic was like a warm bath while snug in her home in the depths of winter, personal and comforting and restorative.  Immortal magic felt more like a midnight dip in the ocean on somepony else’s private beach, tingling cold and exciting with just a hint of the forbidden and dangerous.  Holding both was an exercise in boarding two trains of thought from the same station, but both would be needed for this spell to work. The portal to the Dreaming needed to be immortal magic, so she brought that to the forefront of her mind first.  As it came the sense of Nightmare Moon grew stronger in her mind. She could feel the other – yet not other – pony watching closely and lending her being to the effort.  Though it had been a thousand years and more since Luna had last opened a portal to the Dreaming, her mind had not forgotten. Patterns long unused creaked to life and she reached for the veil between worlds. Moonlight helped.  It leant an alien glow to the landscape that aided Luna in feeling her way to another place.  She let everything blur before her, focusing on impressions over causality. Why was that grass beneath her hooves?  Not because it had grown wild here for millennia, but because this moment demanded a dash of green and a hint of softness.  The next might call for something else entirely and it would be gone just as easily. Were those military tents at the boundary of the field, or strange creatures wandering on spindly legs across the landscape?  Was that the clip-clop of pony hooves, or the steady plinking of rain on stone? Was she wet or dry, cold or warm? Was she all things at once?  Of course. Nothing was certain and everything was exactly what it needed to be when it needed to be it, and for no longer than that. Slowly meandering down through thematic connections, Luna felt her way to the Dreaming.  Urgency might have compelled her to haste, had it been possible. But it was not. Dreams and the Dreaming could not be forced.  The more effort and need she poured into this spell, the longer the task would take. It was not so different from an insomniac lying awake in the small hours of the morning, whose every plea to the sandmare would send her sweet gift spinning further out of reach. Luna was no insomniac, and for all that it had been a long time the ways of the Dreaming were writ into her soul.  Soon enough, an oval swirl of darkness unfolded in the dirt square she had drawn. The portal was open. Keeping it so was no easy feat.  That particular train of thought was destined to follow every idle turning of the tracks and maintaining a general direction for the rails and train required a peculiarly absentminded form of concentration. The task was made all the more difficult by the second spell Luna needed to cast.  She had to use mortal magic to place a sleep spell on the portal that would activate as ponies walked through.  Fortunately, the spell for compelling sleep was relatively simple for her. Luna shaped it easily enough while spending the majority of her attention on maintaining the portal. Combining the two disparate spells was the most challenging of her tasks.  It required skills similar to those of lucid dreaming. On the one hoof, she had to maintain the dreamlike state require by the portal, on the other hoof she needed the focus and control that guided all waking spell casting.  Preventing one from disrupting the other was no easy task. Not for nothing though, was Luna mistress of the Dreaming, in all its forms.  Slowly the spell came together, the immortal foundation layered over with the mortal soporific.  Once it was constructed Luna’s task became easier. All she had to do was preserve the balance of immortal and mortal magic, without peering too closely at the inherently unstable boundary.  This freed up enough of her attention that she became aware of her surroundings again. While she had been casting, Shining Armor had organized his troops and they now stood where she had indicated, waiting for the command to enter the portal. “Go ahead, Captain.  The portal is ready, get them moving,” she said, jerking her head toward her creation. Captain Armor saluted.  “Yes, princess. You heard her soldiers, forward march!”  With mechanical precision the soldiers parade-marched forward, three abreast.  Yet many could not help breaking from their stoic state to give some acknowledgement to their princess. Some smiled, others nodded.  Another few hummed the refrain of the Lunar Anthem just loud enough for her to hear.  They loved their princess and they wanted to make sure she knew that as they marched into the unknown, for her.  Luna drank in their adulation, adoring every small sign of affection with a desperation that frightened her. “So it turns out that for our deepest desire to come true all that was required was Celestia’s disappearance,” Nightmare Moon remarked idly.  “Just as we predicted and attempted to realize all those years ago.” Luna was so startled by that observation that she almost lost her hold on the portal.  “I didn’t ask for this,” she objected plaintively. “Even you – we – would have only banished Celestia.  We would not have condemned her to the death she now faces.” “Perhaps not.  But however the circumstance arose, you have this and you love it.  Am I wrong, Luna?” “I won’t apologize for returning my subjects love,” Luna protested.  “But that doesn’t mean I don’t want my sister back.” “Are you so eager to return to Celestia’s shadow?” Nightmare Moon prodded.  “It is, after all, ever so large and dark enough to give rise to nightmares.” “Is this going to be a regular thing?” Luna asked, irritated.  “You popping up in my head and poking at me, trying to stir up resentment?” “I told you Luna, I’m not real.”  The Nightmare sounded almost sad. “As you reconnect with the Dreaming I expect I’ll fade away.  It would have been kinder to not give me awareness of myself. Regardless, you should take heed of this warning direct from your subconscious.  You are happy with Celestia gone. If you truly want her back, you’d best start thinking of how to share power without losing the affection you’ve enjoyed in her absence.” “That was a more nuanced point that I thought you were making.”  Luna hesitated wrestling with herself, then said, “Thank you, Nightmare, I’ll think about that.” “See that you do,” was the Nightmare’s only reply. The next several hours passed in a blur.  Luna dedicated part of her mind to holding the portal and spent the rest considering Nightmare Moon’s words.  She’d come to no conclusions when the blur of soldiers marching past finally slowed and ended. With a start, Luna came to realize that the camp itself was empty, save only for those beings she had asked Sunlit to hold aside. “I intend to bring those of you still here with me into the Dreaming in an awake state,” she called to those assembled.  “We should be safe there and will try to devise a way to strike at Sombra directly. Give me a moment to undo the sleep spell and then we must hurry.  There will be time for discussion once we are through.” “Well, if we are to die, at least I will do so having seen a place of magic no other dragon has beheld with their waking eyes,” Sim said grandly.  “I am content. Cast your magic, princess. I will follow.” “Wait,” Iolite said, scanning the gathered crowd.  “Where’s Spike? I hadn’t seen him since we left the city, but I thought he was just sequestered with Twilight.” Luna hesitated.  “He is likely with the missing member of the mane six,” she said cautiously. “You mean Rarity?” Iolite asked.  “I suppose that makes sense. His feelings for her are not exactly subtle.  And where exactly is she, then?” “We don’t have time for me to explain,” Luna said.  “Suffice it to say that they are not near, and we place them in no more danger by heading through the portal without them.” “Fine,” Iolite said unhappily.  “I don’t like it, but I understand we are pressed for time,” Iolite acknowledged.  “ No one else ventured an objection, so Luna turned her attention back to the spell.  It was difficult to refocus on the component spells after so long taking it as a whole, like trying to move a specific muscle in one cheek rather than her whole face.  Still, destruction has ever been easier than creation and it was the work of moments to set the sleep spell to crumbling. “It is ready,” Luna called.  “Everyone prepare to pass through.  Dragons one at a time, please.” Before anyone could move, Rainbow spoke up.  “What about Pinkie?” she asked bluntly. Luna, who had completely forgotten Pinkie and the special trouble she might cause, was caught flatfooted.  “What about her?” “We’re taking her with us.” Rainbow spoke with absolute conviction.  Grounded by her wounded wings, she nevertheless managed to glare up at Luna as though she was looking down on the princess. Despite Rainbow’s objection, Luna held her ground. “No.  That would bring Sombra straight into the Dreaming with us.  Besides, she’s already been taken over. The incoming armies won’t have any reason to hurt her.  We need to get to work on a way to save everypony, not risk it all for a pony we’ve already lost.”  Luna was aiming for a gentle, consoling tone but a trace of agitation crept through. “We’re taking her,” Rainbow repeated.  “Or I’ll destroy that portal and strand us all.  No pony is getting left behind.” Her magenta eyes were hard and certain, and Luna knew that Rainbow was not bluffing.  As if to confirm it, Rainbow raised one hoof and Luna saw a spark of electricity on the infamous bloodstained ebonite gloves. Dash was not mistaken either.  A pony as fast as Rainbow could easily do enough damage to disrupt Luna’s concentration and destroy the portal.  It was doubtful that there would be enough time to form another portal before Sombra realized he had an opening to capture the leaders of the army that opposed him.  Then too, Rainbow might have a better idea than it seemed at first glance. In the Dreaming Luna could almost certainly contain Sombra and they might well be able to get more information out of him than that could have otherwise.  Finally, they simply didn’t have time to argue. “Fine,” Luna said abruptly, startling those listening.  “But we can’t give her, or Sombra, any time to figure out what’s going on.  I can’t move from here without losing the portal, so Twilight will have to go with you to undo the wards around Pinkie’s tent.” Twilight, who had been uncharacteristically quiet until then, spoke up.  “If Sombra reacts quickly I don’t know that I’ll be able to run back here in time.  And I’m afraid that you, Rainbow, aren’t in any shape to carry us back here.” “I’ll carry you,” Gilda and Thraxus offered at the same time. Rainbow Dash looked from one to the other, assessing them.  “Gilda will come with me,” she said at last. “You grab Pinkie in your talons and fly her through the portal.  Twilight, you grab hold of my neck and I’ll run us back here. Thraxus, you make sure the portal stays open as long as possible.” Thraxus looked down at this small body and his face twisted in distaste, but he nodded.  “Very well.” “Sombra will realize something is going on once the wards around Pinkie drop,” Luna warned.  “He’ll probably be teleporting troops in here the second you grab Pinkie. Will you be fast enough with Twilight on your back?” Dash raised an eyebrow and Gilda snorted.  “You’re asking if Dash is fast enough? She is.  But if it doesn’t look like we’re going to make it you go through and leave us behind,” Gilda said stalwartly.  “We’re willing to take that risk, and you’re the one pony we can’t afford to lose.” Dash glanced sideways at the griffon.  “Thanks,” she muttered. “Both of you,” she added, looking over at Thraxus.” “Of course,” Thraxus said, as if there had never been any doubt.  Gilda just placed a supportive talon on Dash’s shoulder. Luna spared a second to consider their plan.  She wasn’t thrilled with it, but every second they delayed the danger mounted.  Without the army they were horribly vulnerable to an all-out attack. “Very well.  Do it. Go!” Gilda and Rainbow Dash took off like a shot, with Twilight running behind as fast as her legs could carry her. “The rest of you, enter the portal.  Don’t go far on the other side,” she warned.  “I’m not entirely sure how the Dreaming will adapt to this many beings at one time, so try not to make too much commotion.” With various sounds of acquiescence, the other beings started moving through.  First Iolite, still glancing around in the hopes that Spike would turn up at the last minute.  She was followed swiftly by Sim, looking delighted that it would get to see something new. Then Applejack, the last sad remainder of the mane six, Sunlit Rooms, ever-faithful assistant, and Shining Armor, the loyal captain entered the portal in quick succession. After they all entered Thraxus and Luna had nothing to do but wait, straining their senses for any sign that Pinkie’s wards had fallen and the rest were on their way.  Luna’s heartbeat sounded loud in her ears and every thump seemed to take minutes to come. Now that she had a moment with nothing to distract her from worry the doubts started to pile on.  What if this had been a mistake? What if she had just single-hoofedly removed the only obstacle to Sombra’s victory? What if– A tingle ran down her spine as she felt the wards fall.  Almost immediately the pops of teleportation began to echo through the camp.  Flames went up at the command tent, the supply wagons, and the mess hall. Obviously, Sombra had planned this attack and had merely been waiting for an opening. Hoofsteps thundered on the dirt, growing closer to where Luna stood.  She didn’t have much time to wait for Rainbow and the others, but the pegasus was nothing if not fast.  Surely she would be there in time. She glanced over at Thraxus who raised a threatening claw and said “wait.” Suddenly, a squad of Sombra’s troops turned the corner around a tent and saw they had a straight shot to Luna.  Unicorns charged attack spells, pegasus charged lightning bolts, and earth ponies just charged. She couldn’t simultaneously defend herself and maintain the portal.  Thraxus might try to fight, but he was still small and couldn’t keep all the ponies off of her. Luna was out of time. The dragon and the princess shared a last glance.  Thraxus looked at the oncoming soldiers and hung his head.  “Go,” he said. “I will wait for Rainbow Dash and we will sell our lives dearly.” She hated to do it, but there was no choice and there was no time.  Luna made her decision to go. Just before she could leap through the portal, a polychromatic streak zoomed through the oncoming ponies, bowling them over with its speed and force.  A lightning bolt shot from it, blasting the troops that had been out of range of the first pass. Luna could scarcely believe her eyes.  Rainbow Dash, proving once more that impossible was a word for other ponies, was flying despite her wounded and bound wings.  Or perhaps gliding would be a more accurate term. She was leaping into the air and using pegasus magic to send herself rocketing forward.  A very frazzled Twilight had her forelegs wrapped around Rainbow’s neck and was holding on for dear life. It was an entirely novel and very impressive form of locomotion.  Most importantly, it was fast. Luna barely had time to understand how Rainbow Dash was moving before the other pony had closed the distance. “Come on Thraxus, Gilda’s right behind me,” she called, as she passed through the portal.  Taking her at her word, Thraxus dashed forward and followed her through the portal. Turning, Luna saw that Dash was correct.  Gilda flew rapidly through the gap Dash had punched in the squad of attacking soldiers.  Pinkie Pie, doubtlessly under Sombra’s influence, squirmed and writhed in an attempt to break free.  But griffons were hunters at heart, and it was a rare pony that could escape once it was clasped in a griffon’s talons.  Sure enough, Gilda had no problem holding on to Pinkie Pie as she flew the last few yards and entered the portal. As the last tuft of the griffon’s tail whipped through the portal Luna hesitated no longer.  She released her hold on the magic and the portal began to shrink at once. Luna took two steps forward and dove, sliding into the welcoming embrace of the Dreaming.  On a whim she flared her wings, flipping over so she could shoot one last laugh into the disbelieving faces of Sombra’s soldiers as she escaped their clutches. This proved to have been a poor idea, as it meant she was not looking where she came out.  Luna crashed into the ponies on the other side of the portal and went down in a tumble of far too many legs. With a struggle she raised her head and took in the scene. There were, at first glance, three ponies present who should not have been, and one pony who should have been there was missing.  Every creature present seemed stunned at the sudden changes in the group’s compositon, but Rainbow Dash was most bothered by the missing pony.  She gazed down at the white pony with a purple mane who had flipped over her head and now lay on her back in front of Dash. “What the hay?  Rarity?” she asked, desperately confused.  “If you’re here, then where’s Twilight?”