Nightmare Moon and I had just developed a new dream, that was supposed to target the loyalty that American soldiers have for their country. But would it actually work, or fail like the rest of our plans?
I awoke, slumped over the conference room table. I pushed myself up and wiped the drool off of my chin, then glared at the dark mare on the other side of the table.
"I hate it when you do that."
"Shame, you snore so divinely."
"Fuck you."
Her response was a wide, toothy grin.
"Whatever. The dream made sense and I think it will work."
"I concur. Shall we rejoin my Camarilla? I challenge thee to a Dagorhir battle."
"Yeah, fine."
I made the bitch suffer and whupped her ass twice in a row. That'll teach her to use me like that.
Well, she then beat me the next five times before I gave up. So I'm not sure who taught who a lesson in the end.
Next evening, I pulled out the Commanding General's business card and gave him a call. His aide answered, and I set up a meeting with them later that evening. It was still early in the evening, so the appointment was at the Commanding General's office rather than at his home. As soon as I hung up the phone, Nightmare Moon and I left the Moon Palace and made our way back to Camp Pendleton. Just under an hour later, we crossed the base's northern border. Nightmare Moon then began to track the Commanding General's shadow parasite, which led us directly to his office in Mainside. The two of us landed outside the building and walked towards the brightly-lit entrance. Just before we got to the doorway however, the Commanding General's aide opened the door for us and he ushered us inside immediately. Down the hallway and through another door that had the Commanding General's name on it, and we were inside his outer office. Around the corner and through one last doorway, and we were finally inside the Commanding General's office. He had already risen from his desk to greet us.
Nightmare Moon wasted no time and sent both men into dreamland. Then she started the Commanding General through the new dream, which we were calling 'Loyalty', while I handled his aide. And the dream was working very well indeed.
"Hey Luna, it looks like the new dream is working. The shadow parasite has already gone deeper into his brain."
"Didnst I ask thee not to call me by that name, unless we were alone?"
"Yeah, but these two are asleep so we're alone."
"No, we are not alone. We are WORKING."
"Sorry."
The mare relented and gave me a soft smile.
"You are forgiven. And I concur, the shadow parasites have gained a greater hold on them than before. In fact...
"Yes, the Commanding General's shadow parasite has full control! This is most fortuitous. How is your subject?"
"Yeah, same for the aide here. Shall we wake them up?"
"Yes, we shall."
A flash from Nightmare Moon's horn, and the two men began to stir. As soon as they caught sight of the ebony mare, they smiled and sat up straight on the carpet.
"Welcome back, my minions. Will you now deploy your troops at my command, to save your country from the creatures?"
The Commanding General spoke up.
"Yes, Mistress! Just tell me when and where."
A broad smile stole over the Night Mare's muzzle.
"Not yet. We must first verify that the soldiers under your command have not been replaced by these creatures. My Captain and I must visit each of them in their dreams, to test if they are still human. Can you help us with this task?"
"Of course! My aide will give you any assistance that you need."
In truth, our way of 'testing' each soldier was to give them a shadow parasite and run them through the new Loyalty dream. But we needed to know where each soldier lived and when they were likely to be asleep. The Commanding General was correct, his aide would be an invaluable resource to us. The three of us left the Commanding General's office, and paused to talk at the aide's desk. The aide spoke to us first.
"So, what's your plan Mistress?"
"We need to visit each soldier personally, and examine their dreams for signs of betrayal."
"Alright, do they need to be already asleep before you visit them?"
"It is preferred, otherwise the soldier may resist and begin to fight."
"Got it, I can set up a schedule of who you should visit and when, but I can't guarantee that they will all be asleep at that time."
"Understood."
The aide scribbled some numbers down on a pad of paper.
"So, how long does it take to enslave one of us?"
"Either my Captain or I can start the process in less than a minute. We can monitor their dreams from nearby, and can monitor many at once."
"I see, I see...figure a minute per soldier, add twenty percent more for travel time...
"From my estimates, you should have full control of this base in three to four weeks, Mistress."
"WHAT? So long?! How many soldiers are stationed here?"
"About 42,000 active soldiers, plus a varying number of reservists, retirees and guests at any time."
Nightmare Moon sat back on her haunches, a dumbstruck look on her muzzle.
"Forty-two thousand..."
"I take it you didn't expect so many, Mistress?"
"No. No, I did not.
"This process must be sped up somehow."
"Got it. got it. The problem is, Mistress: at one minute per soldier, excluding travel time, you're looking at about thirty days to clear the base. If you two can split up, that's still fifteen days."
"I can find no fault in your logic. However, I can subjugate more than one human at once within the same time period. I am uncertain as to how many, however."
"Alright. I think I have a plan..."
I missed out on the rest of that conversation, as the Commanding General had pulled me aside to enslave another one of his aides. When I returned, Nightmare Moon and the aide had concocted a plan. That night, we were to enslave soldiers and officers from a list that the aide gave to us. He said that these people were necessary to enact his plan. Once each person was enslaved, they were to call the aide and receive their orders. Nightmare Moon and I each had our own list, so we split up and enslaved each of the sleeping soldiers on our lists. Once the last person on our lists was enslaved, we returned to the Commanding General's office and waited for daybreak.
Early the next morning, we were escorted to a large warehouse. I was wearing a generic soldier illusion, while I carried Nightmare Moon (in her mist form, of course) in a duffle bag. The warehouse was filled with soldiers, at least a hundred or more walking around. On one side, enslaved soldiers were passing out military cots. Soldiers were taking cots and setting them up in rows throughout the warehouse. In one corner was a large tent, which looked to be big enough for 5-6 people to comfortably stand in. It was to this tent that I was led. Once inside, I saw that it was empty except for the Commanding Officer's aide. As soon as the tent flap was closed, I released Nightmare Moon from the duffle bag. Then, our briefing began. Essentially, once the soldiers had settled down on the cots and closed their eyes, Nightmare Moon would cast a far-reaching spell that would make them fall asleep. She and I would then give the now-sleeping soldiers shadow parasites, and then start the new Loyalty dream sequence. After all the soldiers were dreaming away, Nightmare Moon and I would be transported to another location to enslave another group that were ready for us.
New Loyalty dream sequence, you say? The original process we used to enslave someone was fairly simple. A person would complete the Loyalty dream while either Nightmare Moon or I watched them. If they chose to help Nighty, we ran them through a nice dream. If they didn't help her, we triggered a nightmare based on their deepest fears. After those dreams ended, we would manually restart the Loyalty dream. Because we had so many dreamers to supervise, Nightmare Moon was forced to chain the dreams together. This meant that the good or bad dream would start automatically, depending on the dreamer's choices. Those dreams would run for a short while, then the Loyalty dream would restart. The soldiers would then dream forever in a never-ending cycle, unless one of us ended the dream sequence manually or someone woke them up.
I asked Nightmare Moon why we didn't do this process with the Savior dream, and she said that the Savior dream had too many possible endings to automate the good and bad dreams. But with the Loyalty dream, it was much simpler to determine success or failure. She acknowledged that there was a risk that the wrong dream could be triggered by mistake, such as a successful Loyalty dreamer getting a nightmare. But with so many soldiers to enslave, she deemed it to be an acceptable risk.
We visited warehouses, auditoriums, and even a movie theater. Each location could fit scores of soldiers, and every one of them allowed Nightmare Moon and me to enslave soldiers en masse. Later that morning, we were brought back to the first location to check on the dreaming soldiers. When soldiers were deemed to be fully enslaved, they were awakened and sent off to resume their normal duties. Otherwise, they were left alone to keep dreaming. When the last soldier left a location, the next time we returned it was full of new soldiers awaiting their enslavement. The plan didn't feel very efficient to me, as the dreamers spent far too much time dreaming than they had to. But the plan was set up to let Nightmare Moon and I enslave soldiers as fast as we could. So it didn't matter if the soldiers were dreaming too long. The plan was efficient for us, not the dreamers.
It was a good thing that Nightmare Moon and I did not need to sleep, as it took close to three days of work around the clock to completely enslave all the active soldiers at Camp Pendleton. Despite all this hard work, Nightmare Moon told me that we were not yet done. She had noticed a little quirkiness in the shadow parasites' hold on the soldiers, probably caused by automating the good and bad dreams. However, she said she had come up with a solution. And what did she come up with?
A pep rally.
No, I am not kidding.
She needed to gather the newly-enslaved together again, so the two of us set up a new meeting with the Commanding General and his aide. After we exchanged the usual pleasantries, the Commanding General got to the point of the meeting.
"So Mistress, what is is you need of me?"
"I must ask you to gather the subjugated soldiers together, so that I may discuss with them the current subject at hand."
"'The current subject'? You mean...the 'coup'?"
The phrase 'the current subject at hand' was a trigger phrase used in the Loyalty dream. It was intended to remind the Commanding General that Nightmare Moon was 'working to save the government from being overthrown'. Of course, WE were the ones that were trying to overthrow the government but he didn't need to know that.
Nightmare Moon answered the Commanding General with a single nod.
"Of course, of course! Anything you need. My aide will make the arrangements."
"Thank you, General. But first, I would like to brief you and your aide on 'the current subject at hand'."
With that, Nightmare Moon cast a simple glamour spell on the two men. I watched their eyes glaze over as the spell took hold. The Night Mare told me that this last spell was intended to cement their loyalty to her, and to settle any instabilities with the shadow parasite. Once the spell had completed, both men refocused on the ebony mare and she completed her 'discussion'.
"I have completed my examination of all of the soldiers that reside here, and all of them are loyal to you and your country. However, be wary of those soldiers outside the base. Most are good and not a threat, but some are still suspect. Until we find the source, say nothing. Not even to your fellow soldiers. When I know who our enemy is, I will call for you to fight by my side."
The two men stared at Nightmare Moon like she was a goddess from on high, one who had promised to smite all their enemies and bring forth a new era of peace and prosperity. And to be honest, that IS what she promised to them. Too bad for them, it was all a lie.
After the 'briefing' had concluded, the Commanding General's aide arranged for Nightmare Moon's newly enslaved soldiers to meet her at the newly renovated Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton Training Center. We were told, however, that folks just called it the 'base theater'. With seating for over a thousand, it was an excellent place to cast a single spell on a lot of soldiers at once. Too bad we weren't able to use it for the Loyalty spell, as Nightmare Moon did not feel that she could control over a thousand 'free' soldiers at one time. But she felt she could easily handle a thousand enslaved soldiers at once. Go figure.
The 'meeting' in the base theater worked well. The shadow parasites allowed Moony to get the soldiers into their seats quickly, and to get them to sit calmly for the glamour spell to take effect. She then gave the same speech to the soldiers as she did to the Commanding General and his aide. It was my job to check the soldier's shadow parasites as they left, to make sure they were strong and stable. There were no unstable ones; each and every soldier left the base theater in high spirits, and they all felt filled with a strong sense of purpose. Nightmare Moon was able to hold these meetings every half-hour until every enslaved soldier was completely and permanently in Nightmare Moon's enthrall. We waited until dusk fell, then made our final trek back to the Moon Palace in Los Angeles. This time, we were confident that the base was well and truly ours.
After entering the Moon Palace through our secret door, the two of us made our way into the throne room. To my surprise, it was completely empty of people. The room smelled like it had been empty for at least a few days.
"Whoa. Where is everyone?"
"Hmm? Ah. Once I realized that we would be at the military base for an extended time, I spoke to Janice and had her dismiss them all. They served no purpose here if we were not present, correct?"
"Uh, right. I'm fine with it, just surprised. It hasn't been empty like this for a while."
"Quite. I shall recall them when I deem it to be appropriate. Now, let us retire for the day. We have been awake for several days and have much magic to restore. When we awaken this evening, we shall first have a feast and then discuss our plans for the future."
Luna dipped her head slightly, then gave me a soft smile.
"Besides, we have not been intimate for what seems like an age. I wish to spend such special times with you once again."
Who was I to say no to such a gorgeous mare?
The next evening, we ordered pizza and soda and a huge order of buffalo wings for Luna. Two security guards delivered our large order up to the Moon Palace, and Luna brought it over to her throne-couch for us to devour. Much noshing and crunching of chicken bones was had. I had forgotten how good food tasted! Now that I was used to magic keeping me alive, eating food was a rare treat. And I didn't have to feel guilty about overeating, as long as I didn't do it all the time. Magic was, well, magic after all. But as the phrase goes, all good things must come to an end. In this case, I mean we ran out of food. We magicked the empty boxes and trash into a corner, and Luna made a credible attempt to get all the barbecue sauce out of her fur. Finally, we leaned back into the soft foam of the throne-couch, and sighed contently.
"Ah, I simply adore these Buffalo Wings. I shall have to introduce the beast to Equestria one day."
"Actually, they're fried chicken wings slathered in a special tangy 'buffalo' sauce. Not sure why it's called a 'buffalo' sauce, though."
"Truly?"
"Yup. I presume you already have chickens in Equestria?"
"Aye, though they are merely used for their eggs and their ability to eat bugs and insects that would plague other farm animals."
"Well then, all you need to do is import the buffalo sauce. You might even be able to make a similar sauce, I believe the basic recipe can easily be found."
"Mmmm, excellent."
The ebony mare suddenly let out a very unladylike belch. I stared at her, and the surprised mare stared back. Then we broke out in peals of laughter.
"Oh ho ho ho ho, ah hah hah! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Wah ha ha ha ha ha--"
Just as suddenly, I let out a loud belch of my own. We stopped laughing for a moment, while we let that sink in. Then, we were lost in laughter again. It felt like hours before we calmed down, though it was probably only a few minutes.
"Ahaha, ho. Truly, I wish that these times would never end."
"Hah, hah, hah. Oh yeah. But if we ate like this every day, we'd be fatter then Celestia in no time."
"Ah, yes. She is truly an icon of excess, a perfect example of what a pony should not do with one's long life. Or waistline.
"Though I would wish for some guidance on what we should do next, on our quest to conquer this world. For we do seem to be at an impasse."
"True. I have no helpful advice here, I'm not an experienced warrior. Well, I wasn't before we met anyway.
"How did you try to take Equestria away from your sister?"
Luna sighed as she thought back a thousand years to her attempted conquest of Equestria.
"Equestria had a sparse population, with woods and farmland in between each hamlet. Thus it was easy to conquer a town, then intimidate its residents into compliance. I could then leave a small group of guards or constructs to keep the town under my control. Eventually, I could have taken over all of Equestria with this strategy.
"However, the towns upon this world seem to stretch beyond the horizon."
"Actually, the Southern California area is made up of a bunch of smaller towns. But one town turns into another without any space between them, so it all appears to be one large megalopolis. As far as conquering and defending the area, it all might as well be one large town."
"Agreed. Additionally, I have noticed that the population density is magnitudes greater here than any city in Equestria I am aware of. Keeping the populace under control will be difficult.
"Shadow parasites are not viable for the general population. I could not use them even if this world had Equestria's lower population density. We must rely on other means of control."
"Yeah Luna, I agree. It would be better if we could keep our rule hidden from the people, convince them that everything is still normal and safe. The average person only interacts with the local police, and we already have them under our control."
"Thus, we cannot use a heavy hand when interacting with them or they may revolt."
"Something like that. Or worse, they notify the forces outside this area that they are no longer in control and they invade."
"That would be most unfortunate, as our soldiers will not attack their comrades. The invaders would not only trot in unopposed, we would also lose control of most of our army.
"It appears that we have an army that is of little use to us."
Luna sighed and looked down at her hooves, a move I learned meant that she was uncomfortable or nervous.
"It would have been most fortuitous for us if the leader of the military base was able to connect us with somepony in this nation's capitol. Or with somepony that could do such a thing."
"Right, someone with those connections..."
I audibly gasped out loud as my mind finally made the right connections.
"Bait!"
"Bait, my Captain? For what or for whom?"
I excitedly explained my plan to the Mare in the Moon.
"We need someone who can get us to Washington DC, right? But we don't know who that is or where to find them. Right?"
"Correct, though I do not yet understand."
"What if we lured that kind of person to us, instead?"
"That would be preferable, of course. But how would we know when such a person had arrived?"
"I'm not sure how yet, but we'll figure it out. But when they get here, we enslave them. If that person doesn't have the contacts we need, we keep it up until we find someone."
"I am not convinced that your plan is feasible, Captain. It seems to rely too much on random chance."
"True, but I'm sure it will be faster than taking over the country, town by town."
"Perhaps. However, you may continue."
"So, we use our new soldiers to lock down the greater Los Angeles area. We don't block communication or travel in or out, but we make it inconvenient enough to attract attention. The populace will complain, and someone from Washington DC will have to respond."
"And if they choose to respond with military force?"
I shifted around in my seat, before I replied to her question. The gurgling in my stomach from all the soda was beginning to make me uncomfortable.
"They won't. Not right away, at least. We can make the lock down seem reasonable, like they're filming for an upcoming movie or something."
"A 'movie'? Ah, one of the 'bronies' organized something he called 'movie night'. He brought a device that used light to put pictures on the wall that moved."
"Sounds right. The word 'movie' is shorthand for 'moving picture'."
"Ah."
"Yup. Think of it like a special kind of play that you might see in a theater. The actors act out a scene. But instead of acting to an audience, they act to a special camera that records what it sees. The scene can now be acted out anywhere you bring a movie camera, it doesn't have to stay inside a theater."
"Ingenious.
"Do these 'movie' cameras have anything in common with the 'webcams' the brony used to find our home?"
"Uh...yes! The name 'webcam' is shorthand for 'web camera', a cheap camera that makes low-quality pictures and movies. A movie camera is more complicated and makes very high-quality movies."
"Excellent. I begin to understand this planet's technology. Please continue."
"Right."
I let out another belch, but we were so wrapped up in our conversation that we didn't find it funny at all.
"Um, where was I?"
"You were speaking of our soldiers making a movie, I believe."
"Oh! I remember now. Soldiers and machines from our country's military are regularly used as actors for movies. Our soldiers will simply tell everyone that they're filming a movie."
"I see. And how will this lure bureaucrats to us?"
"Well, movie filming can take days or weeks in one location. The longer we maintain the military presence and use the same story, the more attention we attract. But the story is still reasonable enough that people will just complain louder rather than demand that we stop. We keep up the ruse until the right person comes here to investigate."
"I begin to understand. Enough complaints will require a visit by a petty bureaucrat, and we use him or her to get to your President."
"Correct."
"And how did you plan on intercepting this bureaucrat when they arrive?"
"Um, I hadn't gotten that far yet. They'll probably raise enough of a stink when they arrive that they'll be pretty obvious."
"Your plan is inefficient and risky. The bureaucrat may attract the wrong kind of attention before we can subvert them. And what if the visitor is not a petty bureaucrat, but a soldier or guard of some sort? One sent to quietly investigate, then leave?"
"That's true. I hadn't thought about that."
"We must find these visitors quickly, before they can report their findings. It would be best to intercept them as soon as they arrive."
"I agree, but I don't know how to do that.
"I guess this plan won't work after all."
"Do not give up hope yet. I am certain we can detect these visitors if we can get them to pass through a magic mirror."
A WHAT?!