//------------------------------// // Arc 3 Chapter 6: In the Dreaming // Story: The Problem of Evil // by Quixotic Mage //------------------------------// Tumbling through the portal left Luna disoriented.  She struggled to disentangle her limbs from the pony she’d tripped over and check on the others at the same time.  She had a vague sense that there were more ponies present than had come through the portal, but in that first moment she wasn’t sure exactly who or why. “Why are you here, Rarity?” Rainbow Dash asked again, still staring down at her in confusion.   “Where’s Twilight?” Luna tried to answer Rainbow Dash.  She knew that they all deserved answers about why Dash had been carrying Rarity instead of Twilight, but she was interrupted before she had the chance to explain. “FREE!” a gleeful voice roared and set the Dreaming to shaking.  “Free at last and none now shall stop me!” Luna’s heart sank within her breast.  It seemed her worst fears had been realized.  In bringing Pinkie to the Dreaming she had given Sombra free reign in a new world and doomed them all. “No!” A second voice growled.  “You are mine and you’ll not escape me.”  There was another rumble and an explosion from far too close rocked Luna before halting unnaturally fast. Glancing up, Luna saw one of the strangest sights she’d ever encountered.  Sombra was indeed free and materialized. He stood before her in the flesh, tall and proud with steel armor on his chest and hooves, a plush red coat trimmed with white on his back, and a sharp red horn atop his head.  Dark magic of green and purple colored his eyes and was so powerful that it whipped the air into a froth around him. His baleful glare was nearly fierce enough to freeze Luna in place even though it wasn’t directed at her. And he was covered in bright pink glitter. Luna blinked in disbelief, unable to process exactly what was happening. Sombra growled again and fired a beam the color of dried blood. It splashed harmlessly against a vibrantly grinning Pinkie Pie.  She licked the droplets from her lips. “Strawberry!” she exclaimed.  “My favorite of the farm themed berries.” A blue beam from Sombra followed the red, freezing the ground where it passed.  Pinkie just laughed again. “And now it’s strawberry ice cream. It’s so nice of you to make me dessert.  It’s almost enough to make me forget you were such a meanypants. Almost.” Pinkie’s grin grew unnaturally wide and took on a frighteningly Pinkamena tint. Sombra fired again and again, sending magic screaming through the air at Pinkie.  Jagged lightning tore the fabric of the Dreaming apart and flames were sent to burn her away.  Energies more eldritch still shot from the enraged king, all to no effect. “How are you immune to my magic?” he shouted, having totally forgotten the presence of the others.  “No pony is stronger than I!” “Maybe it’s because I’m not really here at all.  ~OoooOOooOO~” Pinkie waved her hooves before her as she uttered a ghostly wail.  Then her body began to fade from sight, leaving only her Cheshire grin. That too faded and Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen.  There was a moment’s pause and Sombra twisted from side to side, trying to spot the illusive pony he’d so recently possessed. “Nope!  I was here after all,” Pinkie chirped, fading back in at the exact same spot she’d vanished from.  “You’re just not doing it right. Here, let me show you.” Reaching into the nothing behind her she pulled out a cannon so large that Luna could have sat comfortably in the barrel.  The barrel itself was painted sky blue with sunshine yellow stripes and a bright pink firing seat lay on its back. A cheerful label written along the barrel in comic sans declared it to be the Party Artillery. Sombra paled and desperately summoned a dark grey bubble to shield himself.  Pinkie back flipped up into the targeting seat and threw her whole body into turning a crank to lower the cannon until it pointed right at Sombra. “This is for attacking Equestria!” BOOM! A massive cannonball fired from the barrel of the cannon and exploded on Sombra’s shield.  Luna reached for her magic, fearful that Sombra was too close to the others and they would be caught in the blast.  She needn’t have worried. While the Party Artillery seemed to behave just like an ordinary cannon for Sombra, it merely added party hats to everyone else in range. “This is for taking over the Crystal Empire!” BOOM! Sombra’s shield flickered and Luna could see him gritting his teeth against the blasts.  His hooves were digging into the changing dream-stuff of the ground and each blast pushed him back even further. “This is for brainwashing Blueblood!” Tink. Luna blinked.  That shot had been the size of a marble and hit as hard as a raindrop. Pinkie shrugged.  “Yeah, I guess no pony really cared about that.  Let’s try again. This is for brainwashing every pony and griffon and dragon besides Blueblood!” BOOM! “This is for setting us all against each other!” BOOM! Pinkie’s smile was unnaturally wide, and even as Luna watched her mouth opened and she began to laugh.  It was a pained and agonizing laugh, all sharp edges and broken glass. A lesson in why Pinkie was the Element of Laughter and not the element of joy. “This is for kidnapping me and forcing your way into my mind!” BOOM! With a sound like a dead tree branch snapping a crack formed in the grey bubble of Sombra’s shield.  He was drenched in sweat and his face contorted with the effort of trying to hold the shield in place. “And this?  This one’s for Fluttershy!” BOOM! Sombra’s shield shattered and he screamed as the feedback lashed at his mind.  Luna watched in satisfaction as he fell to his knees, panting from the exertion, but Pinkie wasn’t quite done. “Hey Sombra,” she whispered in his ear.  She stood over him, having crossed the intervening distance in an instant.  “What’s that on your forehead?” Reaching forward, Pinkie took hold of Sombra’s horn and with a single pull yanked it from its rightful place.  “Looks like a carrot to me.” Slowly, making sure that Sombra could see her, Pinkie lifted Sombra’s horn, which had taken on a decidedly orange tint, to her lips and bit it in two. “No, not my magic,” Sombra whimpered, crying as Pinkie ground his horn into smaller and smaller pieces.  Luna had an idea what was happening now and, since Pinkie seemed to have the upper hoof, she was willing to let the scene play out. “Yuck.” Pinkie spit out the sad remains of Sombra’s horn in disgust and peered at him with insincere concern.  “Why Sombra, you look tired. Here, take a load off.” She reached forward and, with little apparent effort, removed his right foreleg.  Instead of a spray of blood his skin under the leg was smooth and unmarked, as if he had been born with only three legs. Sombra, however, had not been expecting it and he couldn’t stay balanced on just three knees.  He fell and his face ground into the dust. And it was dust for, with a firmness that was uncharacteristic of the Dreaming, it refused to change to something softer to cushion his fall. “Please,” Sombra whimpered again. “Hmm? Please what?  Please stop? That doesn’t sound like fun.”  Pinkie cocked her head and looked at Sombra, taking in his pathetic state.  “You’ve done so many mean things and if I stopped now you’d still have a leg to stand on.”  She darted forward again and before Luna could react all four of Sombra’s legs were neatly stacked in front of him next to the shreds of his horn. Without legs to stabilize him Sombra was nothing more than a barrel and a head.  He rolled sideways, the side of his head resting on the ground, still breathing heavily.  Pinkie Pie took a long look at his broken form and then nodded, satisfied. “That’ll do Pinks, that’ll do,” she said to herself.  Then Pinkie took a deep breath and the fight went out of her.  Her hair deflated, falling straight to her shoulders just as it had when she’d been possessed.  She stumbled a few steps away and then collapsed to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut.  Lacking even the strength to stand, she shivered and curled in on herself. No pony quite knew what to do though, characteristically, Rainbow Dash was the first to react.  She galloped over to Pinkie and paused in confusion when the bindings on her wings prevented her from hugging her friend.  She made do with her hooves, wrapping them tight around the trembling pony. Pinkie clung to her desperately, taking great gulping lungfuls of air. “It’s ok.  It’s ok,” Rainbow murmured, soothing her with a gentleness Luna had not thought she still possessed.  Seeing Dash like that was enough for Luna to forgive her for forcing them to bring Pinkie along. Truth be told, she’d forgotten that Pinkie was in the camp and wouldn’t have been able to make her own way to the portal.  Dash’s reminder had been needed, but the threat had been unnecessary. Armed with the reminder Luna had been loath to leave the poor possessed pony behind as well. Applejack and Rarity quickly joined in on the group hug, trying to reassure Pinkie with their nearness and warmth.  “It’s alright, sugarcube. Just breathe. That’s it. In and out. Breathe.” Steadiness was Applejack’s watchword and it emanated from the very sound of her voice.  “We’ve got you. You’re safe now.” “He was inside my head,” Pinkie gulped.  “And I couldn’t– I couldn’t get him out. He wouldn’t get out and he made say those things to all of you.  I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” “It’s wasn’t you darling.”  Rarity rubbed her hoof in circles along Pinkie’s back.  “We know it wasn’t you. We’re just so glad you’re back.” As the ponies tried to comfort Pinkie, Sim undulated over to Luna.  “I don’t suppose that that is truly the end of it?” Luna shook her head.  “There’s no way it will be that easy.  If I had to guess, I’d say that that is just the part of Sombra that was contained in Pinkie’s mind.  Though why it is so fully formed I don’t know.” “Pity.  Do you think–“ “Are you just going to ignore me, Luna?  I’ll give you a pass for earlier because the pink one put on quite the show, but this is growing ridiculous.” Sim stopped speaking, nonplussed at being interrupted.    It looked around, clearly sure somepony had just spoke and just as clearly unsure exactly where that pony was.  “I beg your pardon. I didn’t see you there, Miss?” It was, Luna thought, rather like trying to avoid catching the eye of somepony staring at you from across a crowded room.  You wait and wait for them to bow to the dictates of politeness and look away, only they don’t. And looking directly at them or fully away becomes impossible. On some level, Luna had realized that that pony was present from the second she had crossed through the portal.  After all, they were the pony she had stumbled over immediately after arriving. However, not until that pony’s name was spoken did the veneer of denial drop and force Luna to fully confront the reality of their presence. “Nightmare Moon,” she said, and there she was.  Wearing the body of darkest midnight with the slitted green pupils that Luna had worn when she launched her rebellion.  It seemed that here in the Dreaming she was as real as Luna herself. “Indeed?” asked Sim uncertainly, glancing from Luna to Nightmare Moon.  “In that case I suspect you have some private matters to discuss. I’ll just excuse myself.”  With unseemly haste and a single fearful backward glance it slithered away, leaving Luna alone with herself. Nightmare Moon chuckled.  “Cautious, that one. I’m surprised it’s even here to begin with rather than safely ensconced in some cave in the dragon lands studying the arcana of its being.” Luna glared at the other alicorn, trying desperately to cover fear with anger.  “No tricks, Nightmare. Why are you here?” “I don’t know,” she said, shrugging.  “I had expected to vanish once you opened the portal and revisited the Dreaming personally.  Instead I find myself more corporeal than ever.” She stretched her wings wide and rolled her neck from side to side, displaying a visceral pleasure in her own physicality.  “And I must say, I am enjoying having a body again, for however long it lasts.” “I’m not playing games, Nightmare.  I have spent too long fantasizing about killing you to hesitate for long when the opportunity presents itself.”  Luna’s horn lit as she reached for her magic. “If I had to guess, I’d say that that is precisely why I am here.”  Nightmare pointed at Luna’s glowing horn.  “This is the Dreaming. You are master here and yet you reach for your magic to put me in my place?  Pathetic. Ms. Pie, a mortal earth pony, made better use of the Dreaming than you.” “Magic is all I’ll need to stop you from bringing eternal night,” Luna growled with false bravado. “Eternal night?”  Nightmare Moon threw back and head and laughed.  “Eternal night! I don’t care about eternal night.  Don’t you remember where the Nightmare Moon persona came from?” “Don’t you dare laugh at the princess!”  Sunlit Rooms dashed between the two alicorns and faced down Nightmare Moon, flaring her wings.  “I won’t let you torment her anymore.” Luna was struck once again by the depth of Sunlit’s care for her.  Despite all its magic Sim had not dared even stand near her while she spoke with her Nightmare, and despite being an ordinary pegasus Sunlit was still willing to come charging in to stand between them. “It’s alright,” she said, placing a gentle hoof on Sunlit’s trembling but unbowed back.  “We were just talking. I’ll let you know when it’s time to fight.” “Do you really want your secretary here for this little chat?”  Nightmare Moon snorted derisively. “I rather thought you were afraid of others knowing the truth.” “She has stood by me time and again,” Luna said simply.  “I trust her.” “Are you sure, princess?” Sunlit Rooms asked, folding her wings back and looking up at Luna.  “If you’re not in danger I don’t want to intrude.” “I am sure,” Luna said.  “I could use the support of a friend in this.” Nightmare Moon glared from one to the other, a pained expression on her face.  “So be it. Now, where were we? Ah, yes. Luna, what do you remember of my origin?” Luna hesitated.  “It was in the Dreaming, I think, but it was so long ago.  And my banishment did my memories no favors.” “Well, let me help you fill in the details then.  You were jealous of your sister. I’m sure you remember that much,” Nightmare said.  “So you fled from the real world and made a kingdom of your own within the Dreaming.” Slowly, Luna nodded as the hazy memories made the long trek down through the centuries to the forefront of her mind.  “Even here, where I was the undisputed master and my will could be made manifest, my temperament was unsuited to ruling.  I was timid and shied away from the weight of the responsibilities I imposed on myself in mimicry of those borne by my sister.  I could not truly imagine myself on the throne.” Luna hung her head. “It seems that leadership simply is not in my nature. I could not even lead in a place born from my own imagination.  Small wonder I did so poorly in the real world.” “You didn’t, princess,” Sunlit Rooms said firmly, placing a tentative hoof on her side.  “You have made mistakes, yes, but recently you have demonstrated that you are capable of ruling and ruling well, no matter what your self-doubt says.” “I have the power to rule,” Luna acknowledged.  “But I lack something else, the knowledge, the will, perhaps my very self is simply incompatible with the crown.  I feel that now and I felt it then. So I imagined a new self that was capable of ruling, and I did so here in the Dreaming where identity is limited only by imagination.” “You imagined up a self that was confident and strong and wanted to shepherd your subjects as they deserved.”  Nightmare Moon gestured to herself. “Me. In the beginning, at least, I was to fulfill the role you felt destined for but unequal to.” “And in the end playing make-believe here in the Dreaming wasn’t enough for me.”  At the memory of her shame Luna looked away, unable to bear the consoling gaze of Sunlit Rooms.  “I layered that persona over top of my real mind. I brought it from the Dreaming to the real world.  And in doing so everything went awry.” Nightmare Moon didn’t respond.  Feeling the need for distance, Luna walked a step away from them both and stared out over the landscape of the Dreaming.  It was superficially similar to the tundra they had left behind in the real world. However, before the eye could set its sights too far a haze, like that over cobblestones on a hot day, obfuscated the horizon.  Details would change and shift. What was a patch of grass one moment might be dirt or stone or crystal the next. Odder changes happened more infrequently. Even as she looked outward, the ground Luna was standing on briefly changed into a brilliant ruby of impossible size, before changing back into grass. It was soothing, in a way.  Luna was mistress of a world of change and proof of change was what she most desired at that moment.  She tossed her head in frustration and the amber tips of her ethereal mane floated past her eyes, catching her by surprise just as they always did.  It had been months since she was first granted the mantle of the sun, but in that time Luna had still not gotten used to the change in her mane, that tinge of sunrise that now tinted the tips.  It was undeniable proof that she had achieved what she had so desired long ago: sole dominion over sun and moon and Equestria. Achieved and persevered, if not excelled.  It could not be said, Luna admitted to herself, that she had ruled well or responsibly in the months since Celestia had left her the throne.  She had not been personally responsible for the apocalypse, though. And while that was a very low bar to meet, it was the one she had been most concerned about meeting.  Sombra was the threat to the world, not Nightmare Moon, and that would have to be enough. “I forgive you for Nightmare Moon,” Sunlit Rooms said suddenly. Luna turned back to the little white pegasus with the sunlight cutie mark.  The smaller pony’s wings twitched with nervous energy, but she met Luna’s gaze with a fervency that startled the princess. “You committed a crime a very long time ago.  By any reasonable judgement your thousand years of exile is more than sufficient to pay for that crime.  Please, let your guilt for Nightmare Moon go.” There was a dream-haze, and Luna felt as if she was looking up at Sunlit Rooms instead of down.  For one brief moment she saw achingly familiar purple eyes and a horn to go with those wide white wings. Then Nightmare Moon spoke and the moment faded. “It might not count for much, but I agree,” Nightmare Moon put in nervously.  “Don’t get too hung up on what happened between us in the real world. That’s not what matters now.  In fact, I think it’s holding you back.” Well wasn’t that the strangest of things.  Her own Nightmare telling her to leave it behind, and a sun-blessed pony offering forgiveness for her sins.  It wasn’t enough to her all that plagued her. Luna’s guilt could not be so easily expunged. It could be made quiescent though.  Perhaps she did not need to cling so heavily to her past.  Perhaps she could let it drift from her, just a little. Perhaps it wouldn’t be wrong to hope that one day the wound left by the Nightmare would truly heal.  It would scar, of course, and she would always remember, but there might come a day when it no longer hurt in quite the same way. “Alright,” she said aloud.  Luna stepped forward and wrapped a wing around Sunlit Rooms, taking solace in the other pony’s words and warmth.  She turned to look at Nightmare Moon. “Alright. I’ll the past where it belongs, for now. If this isn’t about what you and I once were, then why are you here?” Nightmare Moon seemed relieved to be getting back on track.  “It’s about the Dreaming. I was given my life, my consciousness, and now my body by the Dreaming.  I have no relation to the Nightmare Moon you were in the real world. Rather, I am a reflection of your original intent in the Dreaming.” “So what does that mean?” Luna asked, frustrated.  “Can you speak plainly for once?” “I think I’m a message.”  Nightmare Moon shifted uneasily.  “You still haven’t truly reclaimed the Dreaming.   You went for your magic instead of your will when you were about to attack me.  More, I get the feeling there’s something deeper wrong with the Dreaming. Something that made it spit forth a replica of the only ruler it’s ever known in a desperate plea for help.” “Fine.”  Luna rubbed tiredly at her face.  “I will accept for the moment that you are not about to try and possess me.  As for the rest of it… I’ll keep an eye out, I guess, but it’s not like we don’t have enough problems to be getting on with.” “Could Sombra be threatening the Dreaming somehow?” Sunlit Rooms piped up from her place at Luna’s side. The Nightmare nodded.  “It has to be something like that.  During the stalemate it was all I could do to influence your paintings.  When you found out Sombra had taken over your reinforcements I was able to speak to you, and in fleeing to the Dreaming I received this body.  Whatever the problem is, it’s getting more urgent.” Of course it was.  One more worry added to the pile.  One more problem she had no idea how to approach or to solve. “You can use magic and control the Dreaming, correct?” she asked Nightmare Moon.  In answer Nightmare Moon held up a hoof and had it ripple through all the colors of the rainbow.  “Great. You try and, I don’t know, commune with the Dreaming or something. See if you can get any more information about this threat.” Nightmare Moon frowned.  “I really think that you need to reinforce your connection to the Dreaming.  I’m not sure how much I can do.” Luna removed her wing from Sunlit Rooms and looked over at the other ponies that had joined them in the Dreaming.  “Just see what you can come up with. I’ll give it a shot if I ever get a spare second. Right now I need to see if I can get any information out of Pinkie Pie.  She broke free of Sombra somehow and that could be very important.” “Right, go on then.” Satisfied, Luna and Sunlit Rooms left Nightmare Moon to her own devices.  They trotted toward where Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were still clustered close around Pinkie Pie.  While Luna had spoken to Nightmare Moon they had managed to calm Pinkie slightly. Nearby, Shining Armor stood guard over the defeated Sombra.  His pink shield bubble was wrapped around Sombra’s unmoving limbless form, likely inverted to prevent egress rather than ingress, and the Captain’s attention was split between the spell and listening to Rarity’s explanation of exactly where Twilight was. “And that is why I disguised myself as her and she stayed behind,” Rarity concluded as Luna and Sunlit Rooms approached. “They are caught up?” Luna inquired. Rarity shrugged from her position in the cuddle pile with one foreleg still wrapped around Pinkie.  “They know what I do, which isn’t much. Do you need the short version Ms. Rooms?” Sunlit Rooms shook her head.  “I worked too closely with Twilight in getting the army ready to march to not notice when you made the switch.  I wasn’t that surprised by it either given what Twilight said when we were all together.” Rarity nodded and then turned her attention back to Luna.  “Princess, do you truly believe Twilight will be alright in the middle of the city with just Spike for protection?” “I don’t know,” Luna admitted.  “In retrospect perhaps Twilight was right.  Running only gave Sombra more time to take over other ponies, so I can’t help but think that perhaps staying would have been the wiser course of action.  Still, there’s no sense worrying about what can’t be changed. We need to decide what we’re doing now, and for that I need to ask Pinkie some questions.” The ponies exchanged looks, clearly still worried for their friend.  “Alright, but be gentle. The gal’s been through a lot.” “Of course,” Luna acknowledged Applejack’s warning.  She sat on the ground, near the group of them and spoke softly.  “Pinkie, can you hear me?” Pinkie’s eyes drifted over to Luna.  They weren’t as vacant as Luna had feared but neither were they as piercing as usual.  She managed a weak nod. “You just beat the hay out of Sombra,” Luna praised.  Pinkie’s eyes sharpened at that and she gave another nod with a ghost of a smile.  “You pulled a weapon out of nowhere. How did you know how to do that?” Pinkie squirmed a little and the girls gave her more space so she could breathe and respond.  “I’ve been here before. Every night when I sleep I come here. I’d never have enough time to plan all my parties otherwise.  You change decorations with just a thought so it’s easy to find the perfect mix.” “You’re a lucid dreamer,” Luna said in sudden understanding.  “I see.” “I don’t,” Applejack said bluntly.  “Why could Pinkie do all that crazy stuff before?  And I know I’m breaking the number one rule of Pinkie in askin’, but it might be important.” “This, all of this, is the Dreaming.”  Luna gestured to the landscape all around them.  “You could think of it as Equestria’s dream, the dream of the land itself.  Normally, pony dreams sort of drift on top of it. It’s a little like foam floating on the surface of a larger bubble.  Sometimes the barrier between the two breaks and the smaller bubble gets absorbed into the larger. Do you follow me so far?” “I think so,” Rarity said uncertainly.  “So Pinkie’s bubble melds with the larger one more often?” “There’s a bit more to it.  I suspect Pinkie is a natural lucid dreamer, somepony who always knows when they’re in a dream and can control it,” Luna added at Rainbow’s look of confusion.  “Sleeping ponies fall into and out of the Dreaming by chance every now and again, but a lucid dreamer can do it on purpose. I suspect Pinkie did it accidentally as a foal and has been crossing over and controlling the Dreaming ever since.” “And that’s all it took to beat Sombra?” Rarity asked skeptically. “This version of Sombra,” Luna corrected.  “The Sombra that was possessing Pinkie Pie.  The real Sombra is still out in the real world possessing everypony else.”  There was little surprise on the faces of the other ponies, only quiet resignation.  They had not truly believed things could end so easily. Luna refocused on Pinkie, trying to return the gentleness to her voice to soften the blow of the questions she had to ask.  “Pinkie, I need to ask you some more questions. Questions about Sombra. Do you think you can answer me?” “If it’ll help, I’ll do it,” Pinkie said, her voice stubborn but very small. “Thank you Pinkie.  You’ve already done a great deal, and now I just have to ask a little bit more.  I need you to tell me how Sombra possessed you.” Pinkie shuddered and did not speak for the longest time.  Luna feared she’d pushed the other pony too far. She had nearly given up on getting a response when Pinkie hesitantly opened her mouth and tried to force out a few words. “It- it was when I was captured.  By the griffons. The first time I mean.  I had been wandering around and you all told me not to and I didn’t listen and I should have listened.”  She clamped her mouth shut so hard her teeth clicked, cutting off her babbling. “Take your time, Pinkie,” Luna coached.  “There’s no hurry. We have as much time as you need.  When you feel ready, please, tell me what happened after you were captured.” Pinkie drew in a ragged breath and kept going.  “They brought me back to their camp and give me these weird plants that made me so sleepy.  I slept normally and when I woke up the next morning they seemed really angry. They gave me more plants and had griffons pinching and prodding me the whole next night so I wouldn’t sleep.  On the third night they finally let me rest and when I woke up he had me.” Pinkie whimpered and fell silent. “The plants were probably just normal relaxants meant to loosen your natural mental defenses,” Luna hypothesized.  “But when you fell asleep you just came to the Dreaming and he couldn’t reach you. Then they must have made sure you were too tired to have dreams so that the plants could take effect.” “So, what, if any of us were fed those plants Sombra could take control of us?” Rainbow asked. “I think so,” Luna answered.  “That’s probably how he forced the griffons to join him.  He converted a few willingly and then those griffons drugged the others to make them vulnerable to Sombra.  And it would have been risky to do that to the ponies because he knew I was using my immortal sight regularly and would have noticed if tainted ponies were wandering around our camp.” “I guess you looking for your sister actually ended up protecting the camp,” Sunlit Rooms said. “So inadvertently that I don’t think I deserve any credit for it, but yes.”  Luna focused back on Pinkie. “I’m sorry you went through that, Pinkie, and I’m sorry I have to ask you more, but I need a few more answers from you.  Please, what did being possessed feel like?” Luna tried to couch the question in as delicate language as possible, but no matter the gentleness she was still prodding a raw wound, and she knew it.  This was the best chance they’d had to understand how Sombra was performing these possessions and Luna couldn’t afford let it pass, even to spare Pinkie the pain of remembrance. “It hurt.” she whimpered again.  “It was like my mind was split in two.  Half of me woke up and I couldn’t move. But my body moved.  I had to watch and feel as Sombra woke up and stretched. Feel as he moved and talked and ate and drank in my skin.”  Her trembling had returned, almost as bad as it had been immediately after she had beaten Sombra. The others moved closer, trying to reassure her, but Pinkie had drifted beyond their reach. “Surely that’s enough, Princess.  Can’t you see its hurting her?” Rarity pleaded. “And the other half Pinkie?” Luna asked implacably. “I was somewhere else.  Like a dream, but it hurt.  I’d see things that weren’t real.  I watch a rock falling toward my friends and not be able to move or scream.  Then suddenly I’d be drowning in an ocean of frosting or watching everypony cry when I told a joke instead of laughing.  The only thing that stayed the same was the pit in my tummy. An ache of pain and fear and terror and confusion.” “A nightmare,” Luna spoke in tones of dawning realization.  “You were trapped in a nightmare. But you didn’t recognize it because as a lucid dreamer you’ve never had one before.  And that’s why you could act against his will sometimes, because of your practice in controlling your dreams.” Luna turned away, her mind whirling.  Dreams were the answer to how Sombra dealt with the ponies he controlled.  He placed them in dreams, blissful fantasies to those that came willingly, and unending nightmares to those that did not.  Meanwhile, he kept just enough of their consciousness around to pilot the body and maintain the normal processes of the pony in question.  After all, the griffon’s he’d taken over had still known how to fly despite Sombra’s lack of wings. That still left questions, of course.  Even Luna herself would be hard pressed to force a certain type of dream upon a pony, and she could never have done it for so many or at so far a distance.  There were still pieces of this puzzle missing. Fortunately, there was one more source of information she could plumb the depths of. “Princess Luna, are you alright?” Rarity asked, snapping Luna back to the present. “Yes, yes I’m fine.  Thank you, Pinkie, thank you so much for being brave.  What you just told me was very important. Rest now, and try to let the love of your friends soothe your pain.”  Luna was pleased to see the other ponies hold Pinkie all the tighter at her words. Sunlit Rooms kneeled close by, offering what comfort she could.  Even Pinkie herself looked a little stronger for having spoken, as though the venom had been drawn from her wound. Rising, Luna let the pleasant expression fall from her face as she stalked toward where Captain Shining Armor stood guard over Sombra.  As she neared, she saw that Shining Armor was watching the mares with a curious expression on his face. Luna couldn’t quite read it, but she could make out a kind of sorrowful tenderness.  It seemed out of place in the normally stoic captain and Luna spared a moment out of concern. “Bit for your thoughts Captain?” she asked. He shrugged helplessly.  “Pinkie reminds me of my wife.  They have the same coat color, I think, and Cadance was always beaming a smile out to the world.  She likes to say that it’s her job to spread love everywhere she goes.” “You must miss her very much,” Luna commented. “I thought about bringing her,” Shining Armor admitted.  Behind him a silhouette, long limbed, graceful, and tinged with pink flickered into life for a brief instant before fading back out.  Shining Armor continued none the wiser. “After all, there is precedent for the commander’s wife accompanying him on campaign. But we had recently learned that she was with foal and I didn’t want to risk her on the rigors of living in a military camp.  After seeing what happened to Pinkie, what might happen to all of us, I’m glad she’s in Canterlot.” “This is no place for civilians,” Luna agreed.  “A part of me regrets not protesting the inclusion of Twilight’s friends.  Perhaps the Elements of Harmony would have been useful, but with Fluttershy’s death those four are now merely innocents in over their heads.” Shining Armor’s eyes focused on Luna for the first time in the conversation, catching her by surprise with their intensity.  “Yet they are here. Though my whole army is gone into enchanted slumber those four remain and carry on. And perhaps Twilight is doing something to help our cause as well, wherever in that cursed city she might be.” Luna let her gaze follow the ground to the hazy horizon, past which lay the city where Twilight and Spike fought alone.  She turned and looked the other way to where she had hoped to fight a victorious battle until her forces had been turned against her.  “Strength of arms would not have won the day. Caught between Sombra’s army and our own stolen reinforcements we all would have died. We’re counting on a miracle now Captain, though I cannot say from whence it will come.  It might be those four, or Twilight, or you, or even me. They have made miracles before, brought me back to myself, and that is as good a reason as any to have them here, despite my regrets.” Shining Armor shook his head, then winced and raised his hoof to his horn.  “I’m sure you are right Princess. Forgive me for troubling you with my worries when there are so many more urgent problems.” “No, Captain, I am glad to offer you an ear.”  Luna placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. She could feel him trembling from weariness, but she could feel, too, how he rallied at her touch.  “After the manner of dreams, time in this place passes as fast or as slow as it needs to. We have all the time in the world, so if there is anything that you need to say, please, speak.” Shining Armor took a deep breath and looked at her straight on.  Desperation and faith warred with one another and settled into fatalistic serenity.  “There will be no miracles from me, I don’t think. I will follow your commands and fight at your side, but I’ve come to the ends of my strength and I know it.  I want to go home, Princess. I want to kiss my wife and meet my son or daughter. I want to introduce them to their aunt and reintroduce her to our family. I had thought those small and reasonable dreams.  Now, though? Now they seem impossibly far away, beyond any strength I could muster. And so I place my trust in you. My liege, please, bring us home.” Luna felt Shining Armor’s regard settle on her brow with all the weight of a crown.  Gazing at him she saw a pony pushed past his limits. Perhaps it had been the injury, shielding all his soldiers at once, or perhaps it had been the shock of losing Twilight just when he thought they’d completed their great escape.  Perhaps it had been the loss of the army of which he was captain. Regardless, somewhere along the way her brave Captain of the Royal Guard had broken. Now he was counting on her for deliverance. At that moment, for the first time in her long life, Luna understood what it meant to rule.  Always before there had been another that she could turn to and depend on. First it had been her sister, and then more recently Twilight Sparkle.  Now all the responsibility lay with her. There would be no pony to fix her mistakes, to succeed if she failed. Shining Armor was counting on her and her alone.  It was her duty as princess to answer the need of this one subject. The obligation was heavy.  It was, in many ways, what she had craved and feared all at once.  It was what she had demanded from her sister all those months ago, just before Celestia had left.  She had her task and if she succeeded should would have earned her position as princess, at least in her own eyes.  And yet the weight of it made her wonder if what she’d desired was truly something worth seeking, or if it was something that she could carry now that she’d found it. Despite her uncertainty, Captain Armor deserved an answer.  Reaching for a strength she was not sure she possessed, Luna spoke.  “I will bring you home Captain. I promise that you will see your family again.”  She had no way to keep that promise, of course, and both Luna and Shining Armor knew it.  But the simply act of making that promise had the capacity to reassure and Shining Armor accepted that with gratitude. “Thank you, Princess,” he said simply. As they had spoken, Nightmare Moon had neared, watching the emotions that roiled Luna’s face with uncanny insight.  “You begin to understand, Luna.” “Yes,” Luna said.  “I think I finally am beginning to.  You’ve made no progress with the Dreaming, I suppose?” “Naturally.” “Fine.  You can stay then, and see if you notice anything that I do not.  Now, Shining Armor, please remove your shield. I need to see what information I can extract from our captive.” Shining Armor saluted.  The emotion he’d displayed retreating behind the familiar soldier’s mask.  With another wince he focused and slowly reabsorbed the magic he had expended in containing the prostrate Sombra. Groaning with the effort, Sombra raised his head to glare at Luna.  “You’ve won. Congratulations. Will you bring me to Canterlot to stand trial or just kill me right here?” Even had she not already known better, the casual arrogance in Sombra’s voice would have raised her suspicions.  There was something lacking in it though. Far from the poisoned honey of his previous speech his voice was rough and grating. “I am not so foolish as to believe that, Sombra,” Luna said.  “I’m sure this is just the small part of yourself that was within Pinkie Pie.” Like flipping a switch, Sombra discarded his mournful aspect, though the pain he had suffered at Pinkie’s hooves was clearly still present.  “If you know that much then you know that your position is just as hopeless as it was before. Have you given any thought to accepting my offer and surrendering?” “Which offer would that be?” Luna asked acidly.  “Your offer to let me live as a lotus-eater, forever trapped in a blissful daze?  Or your offer to take the burden of my position and let me live out a brief mortal life?” “Either, of course.  I can be generous to those that cease their wasteful opposition.”  Sombra shifted, unconsciously trying to look down his nose at her and nearly falling over without his limbs to balance him.  Watching him wobble in place was almost comical and neatly killed any fear Luna had of him, or of this particular incarnation anyway. “You couldn’t, actually,” she corrected.  “Take me over, I mean. Thanks to Pinkie I know a little more about how your possession works, where you send the minds of the hosts, and I can confidently say that it would not work on me.” It was true.  If the hosts were indeed sent into a nightmare or a blissful dream, then it was impossible for Sombra to control her since, as the ruler of the Dreaming, she was always in control of her dreams. “As to your other offer,” she said in a wondering tone.  “It doesn’t tempt me any longer. Somewhere along the way winning praise and love as somepony I am not lost its appeal.  I suppose I should thank you for that. I doubt it would have happened as quickly had I not been forced to deal with you.” “Keep your thanks,” Sombra spat, once more jarring Luna’s expectations.  She had thought he would smoothly accept her thanks and parlay that into a claim about everything he could offer her.  Instead, he was simply lashing out in anger. “I can break that hard-won self-acceptance with a single phrase. This is all your fault.  All that I’ve done was possible because of you!” “Is this some kind of metaphorical nonsense?” Luna asked angrily.  “Leaders always create their own rebellions or some such stupidity.” Sombra actually laughed at that.  “Nothing of the kind. Do you remember what you did to me, Princess?  You came to my prison and were tempted by my whispers. And then the mantle of the sun fell upon you and what did you do?” “I bound you,” Luna snarled.  “I wrapped you in that burning cocoon so tightly that you should never have broken free.” “Oh you did.  It burns my body still with the flame and the light of the sun.  Can you imagine that constant agony?” Luna involuntarily shivered and Sombra caught it.  “Yes I guess you of all ponies can imagine what chains of sunlight might feel like. The moon can’t have been a comfortable place to be entombed.  Anyway, here’s the thing. Haven’t you heard that old saying ‘the closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes’?” “No,” Luna whispered, horror dawning in her eyes. “Yes,” came Sombra’s vindictive whisper.  “You wrapped me in the light of the sun and it let me send my shadows slithering across the land.  Whispering into this ear and that until ponies began to fall under my sway. At last I could place myself within them, linking one host to another until my tortured body was simply one small node in a web spanning a country.” The revelation hurt Luna less than she might have thought it would.  Perhaps because it changed nothing about their situation and what she had to do.  Sombra was her responsibility, whether or not it was her fault that he had gained the strength to be a threat in the first place.  Far more interesting to her was the concept of Sombra’s web of shadows connecting all the ponies he’d possessed. She was at the cusp of understanding everything.  She just needed one more piece. Luna needed Sombra to keep speaking, and for that Sombra needed to believe his words were hurting her. “It’s not possible,” cried Luna.  “It was a prison powered by the sun.  There’s no way you could co-opt that power.  It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault you hurt my subjects!” Nightmare Moon was looking at her strangely.  Perhaps she was overselling it, but, if so, Sombra was too caught up in relishing his barbs to notice. “It is your fault,” he hissed.  “It’s your fault I forced my mind onto the minds of so many of your subjects.  And each subject I claimed added to my strength and my wisdom. I have the brainpower and the magic of thousands of ponies and it’s all thanks to you.” That was it.  That was the key Luna needed, she could feel it.  Sombra’s voiced faded to a distant annoying buzz as all her thoughts focused on the puzzle.  He was using a network of the minds of the ponies he possessed. To do that they had to be connected in some way.  Those minds were pushed into dreams so that Sombra could control them. He had some kind of a connection between dreaming minds. Luna felt a chill as she raised her eyes to Nightmare Moon.  Nightmare Moon who had been trying to tell her for six months with increasing urgency that something was awry in the dreaming.  Luna reached within for her immortal sight, dreading what she would see. The magic, faithful as ever, came to her call.  Her eyes glowed a brilliant white as the magic suffused them and she looked. Sombra was a dark pool of shadow, a living oil stain that rippled and writhed as she watched, dirtying the ground with its mere presence.  That much she had expected. As she raised her eyes she saw proof positive that she had guessed correctly.  Tendrils of darkness were strung throughout the Dreaming. Far to the north, in a cruel parody of sunrise, rose an orb of dark threads with rays emanating in all directions.  They crested high above and crashed down into the landscape, sunbeams that brought only cold and dark. Strung together so tightly they blotted out the sky. And each thread represented a pony under Sombra’s control. Luna nearly despaired at the sight of his strength laid out so indisputably.  He had at his disposal the wits and the strengths of thousands of ponies, dragons, and griffons, guided by a single implacable amoral intelligence.  And what did she have? Six ponies, two of them broken, one outcast griffon, three dragons, and a manifestation of her own most hated self. How could she win this battle? No, that was the wrong way to think of this, Luna knew.  She had found a weakness, no matter how it masqueraded as a strength.  As proof, the Sombra captured here was cut off from the network, and it was for that reason he had been weak enough to be beaten by Pinkie and had been stupid enough to fall for Luna’s simple acting. His control of his puppets relied on the Dreaming and the Dreaming was, or should have been, hers.  Which meant that there was only one thing to do. Luna abruptly strode away from Sombra, ignoring his strident protests.  “Replace the shield,” she called over her shoulder to Shining Armor, trusting that he could and would comply. She approached the dragons who were observing the proceedings with varying levels of interest.  “Is there anything you three wish to tell me?” she asked brusquely. Sim cocked its head.  “Is there some reason to think there would be?” “I’ve had important conversations with everypony else,” Luna pointed out.  “It seemed worth checking in.” Thraxus grunted.  “Ponies talk too much.  Unlike most dragons.” He threw a look at Sim.  “There is a foe worth fighting, so we will fight.” Iolite nodded.  “Plus my son is somewhere out there with the pony he calls sister.  I trusted him when he said he had something important to do, but that doesn’t mean I’ll object to going back for him.” “As they say, we are at your command for the duration of this conflict.”  Sim bowed, then continued much more informally. “My curiosity would never forgive me for missing the conclusion.” Luna spared a small smile for the dragons.  If only every interaction could be so straightforward.   Then she turned and raised her voice so everypony could hear her. “Subjects, gather before me!” Gather they did, though it was a slow process.  Shining Armor had to drag the bubble containing Sombra along with him and it took several moments for the ponies to get Pinkie Pie up and moving.  When they all stood before her, Luna spoke again. “Thanks to all of your help, I finally understand how Sombra is controlling everypony.  He first gains control of a pony, either willingly or by weakening their mental defenses and then forcibly taking them over.  When he has control he forms a copy of his own mind in them and displaces their mind to a dream, keeping enough to preserve any information or special skills they have.  All those versions of Sombra in his thralls are linked through the Dreaming to form a single hive mind.” “So if we kill the original Sombra will that deal with all the others?” Rainbow Dash shouted out. Luna shook her head.  “No. As the Sombra that Pinkie Pie defeated shows, the Sombra’s in each pony are complete beings capable of running the network on their own.  His original body is powerful and the center of the network, but so many connections have been made that I doubt it’s essential anymore.” “Fascinating!” Sim said.  “What an ingenious way of achieving permanence.  You’d need to either kill every pony he’s possessed or excise him from every mind simultaneously to actually kill him.”  It noted that everyone else was glaring at it and its enthusiasm for dimmed. “Not that we should kill everypony that’s possessed.  That would be genocide. Which is bad.” “Yes, Sim, genocide is bad.  Thank you for that contribution.  If you have any more useful magical ideas, I will listen to them as we travel.”  Luna rolled her eyes and then turned her attention back to the group at large. “Despite his strength, I believe I have found a way to deal a serious blow to Sombra.  It will not defeat him, but it will open up new avenues of attack. I’ll explain the details on the way. For now, know that we must travel back to the Crystal Empire to face Sombra in his seat of power.” Luna paused and surveyed the gathered beings.  She had expected protests. Instead, there were nods all around, as if no pony had expected anything else. “If anypony does not wish to return to that danger, they are welcome to stay here in this safe part of the Dreaming.  I can see to your comfort and will return for you if we are victorious. If we are not, then, for what it’s worth, you’ll be the only free pony alive.”  No pony responded to Luna’s offer. If anything, the stubbornness in each face grew firmer. Still, Luna felt compelled to make more concrete attempts at letting go those who did not feel up to fighting. “Shining Armor, what about you?” she asked delicately.  “I know your wound is troubling you. No pony would think less of you for sitting this one out.” He pointed north and simply said, “my sister is there.” Luna turned to Pinkie.  “What about you, Pinkie Pie?  After what you’ve been through surely you would prefer to rest in safety.” Pinkie had stopped shivering but her whole body still drooped, upright only due to the friends on either side.  Her voice, when it came, was small, with just a tiny spark of its usual flair. That spark would have to be enough.  “I don’t want to be alone. And I don’t want to wonder if there was something I could have done.” Luna looked each pony, griffon, and dragon in the eye in turn, giving them one last chance to back out of what was very likely a suicide mission.  None moved and none spoke “So be it,” she said.  “Now there is one last task before we depart.”  She strode forward and stood beside the bubble containing Sombra.  “Shining Armor, if you would?” Without a word of complaint at dismantling the bubble he had so recently put back up, Shining Armor lowered the shield.  Sombra glared up at all of them, the ferocity of his gaze should have driven them back, but no pony would give him that satisfaction, not even Pinkie who had more right to be afraid than most. “Sombra,” Luna intoned.  “You asked if I would bring you to Canterlot to stand trial.  That is not necessary. As Princess of Equestria, I accuse you of crimes against equinity.  As Princess, I find you guilty. As Princess, I sentence you to death. And as Princess, I will carry out your sentence forthwith.” “What? No. No!”  Fear entered Sombra’s eyes and Luna was not so noble as to pretend that she did not enjoy seeing it there.  She paid his pleas no mind. Luna, master of the Dreaming, reached out not with magic, but with pure will.  She immersed herself in the very fabric of the Dreaming, nestling into it like a perfectly broken in old coat.  Then, with a groan of effort and the pain of an unused muscle, she willed the Dreaming to swallow Sombra. A roar of shifting earth drowned out Sombra’s pleading.  As if the ground had turned to water upon the sea, a wave of dirt rose up and crested high above Sombra.  He craned his head back watching with terror as the shadow of the dirt covered him. He leaned back too far and lost his balance, falling supine before the wave. With a last grunt of effort, Luna’s will brought the wave crashing down.  It slammed into Sombra and crushed his body beneath the rock. Then the ground smoothed itself back out and no trace of their dark foe remained.  A sigh ran through the gathered beings. The absence of Sombra’s looming presence was a palpable relief, though so much weight still remained on their shoulders. Still, one and all they stood a little straighter, held their heads a little higher.  This Sombra, small piece though he was, had been slain, and that gave them hope. Luna allowed them all a moment to take strength from this victory.  She met Nightmare Moon’s eyes and accepted the approving nod in the spirit in which it was meant. At last, Luna broke the silence.  “Come, my friends and allies. The true battle awaits us back in the Crystal Empire.”