//------------------------------// // Corruption Ch 2 - The Threat // Story: The Conquering of Love // by Littlecolt //------------------------------// Book Four: Corruption Chapter Two - The Threat “Never-ending nightmare?” Celestia asked. “Is that because of Nightmare Moon?” Luna nodded her head. “In part, yes, but that is not the whole story,” she said. She tilted her head towards Mulcibar and Linnai and looked at them, blinking a few times, her eyes moving across their features. The two changelings instinctively leaned away from her. “Well, I’m sure you have many questions, but first, the vital information I spoke of.” Luna’s horn began to glow and a magic circle appeared next to her, as if a thin layer of water had been suspended in the air. Upon the rippling surface, an image of the throne room in Canterlot appeared, changeling cocoons hanging from the ceiling, and streams of green magic flowing through the chamber. “Surely you have seen the vast network of green magical energy,” she said. Celestia, Twilight, and Fluttershy nodded their heads. “This is the main spell that is being cast by the changelings. You may have thought that this was love energy being pulled from the dreams of our fellow ponies, but that is not accurate. This spell, webbed from mind to mind, is what holds us in our permanent state of slumber, and maintains the dream worlds we’ve been trapped in.” Celestia put a hoof against her chin. “I knew it didn’t seem like just a vector for the love energy. So this spell is creating these dream worlds?” Luna smirked slightly at the question and shot a glance at the two changelings. “Perhaps if our captors were more skilled, they would have been able to create more ideal dream worlds for us. However, they are amateurs in this realm of magic. It is painfully obvious,” she said. Linnai glared at her, but remained silent. “No, the dreams are of our own creation, the spell just keeps the entire world in motion. You may have noticed in your dreams before that events seem to center only on what is directly around you. These dream worlds are running full-time, so to speak, which is part of the problem I’ll eventually be coming to..” “That must be why time passes at a seemingly normal rate, and we can get tired and hungry in the dreams,” Twilight added, and Luna nodded her head in response. “It is forbidden magic. Even worse, the spell itself has been changed. The ones who have cast this spell mixed in other aspects, including psychic magic and defensive magic. Have you encountered any changelings in your dreams that seemed a bit single-minded?” Twilight nodded her head. “Yes. In my dream, there were some changelings. They had taken over the bodies of my friends. One of them was what Princess Celestia called a shadow of Chrysalis, but the others were normal changelings. One of them acted so strange at the end, too…” Luna frowned. “That is highly unusual, then. The defensive spell, from what I can tell, is designed to create changeling drones inside the dream world, eventually assaulting the dreamer and causing the dream to be ended so it can be started again. I hadn’t detected any magic that would cause any intelligent entities to appear, let alone a shadow of Chrysalis.” “She seemed very real,” Celestia interjected. “At the time, I had assumed that she had projected her mind into the dream. It wasn’t really her, she vanished once we defeated her, and we haven’t been found out.” Twilight tapped a hoof against the floor. “But what about the changeling from my dream that was impersonating Applejack? She was different, at least at the end.” Luna waved her hoof back and forth in front of her. “Best not to speculate, who knows what sort of other magic they’ve accidentally encoded into the dream preservation spell. I can only tell you what I’ve detected,” she said. “However, we do have two of the changelings here with us, perhaps they could shed some light on that subject?” A look of incredulity washed over Linnai and Mulcibar’s faces. Linnai stamped her hoof on the stone floor. “You expect us to help you? Are you out of your minds?” she shouted. Discord floated over to the two changelings and stared at Mulcibar. “There could be ways of getting the information we need,” he said, and then laughed. A shiver ran down Mulcibar’s spine. “Perhaps that won’t be necessary,” Luna said. She tapped the watery surface, and an image of her cocoon appeared. It pulsed outward with dark red magic. “The changelings, no matter how powerful their magi may be, lack the capacity of the dream magic we are being held by. I am afraid to say, but the magic that binds us in our minds is my own. When I was first captured, the changeling queen somehow overpowered me and put me to sleep. They’ve been converting my energy for their purposes ever since.” “She did that to me, too,” said Twilight. “I woke up once. Of course, you would know that, wouldn’t you? You were there, and so was Nightmare Moon.” Luna nodded to Twilight. “Yes, that was later, though, and it may have been a different spell entirely. I think now would be as good a time as any to share the events that led up to my capture. “I had just lowered the moon on the day of the wedding and was heading towards my chambers. My original intention was to get some early sleep so I could be awake for the wedding ceremony later that day. However, that was not to be. Twilight’s distress had me puzzled, and I knew I would not be able to get any rest until I investigated the matter myself,” Luna explained. She waved her hoof in front of the shining screen and the image expanded in size. Everypony watched as a scene unfolded upon its surface.   Luna walked slowly down the hallway to her bedroom, her eyes distant in thought. She arrived at the large double doors that led to her room. Armed members of her personal guard stood on either side and they both saluted her as she approached. One guard pulled the door open, allowing Luna to pass.   “Good evening, your majesty,” one of the bat-winged guards said in a respectful tone. “May you sleep well.”   “Thank you,” Luna replied and then turned to face the guard who had spoken. “Keep a close eye out for anything suspicious, no matter how small. I wish to be notified of anything unusual, even if you must awaken me, understood?”   The guard nodded his head, and Luna smiled. She backed into the room and shut the door. Now in the privacy of her own quarters, she hurried across to a desk at the far end. Using her magic, she pulled a piece of parchment and a quill from the drawer and began to write. The scene’s view lowered to the paper so that her written words were visible.   As I am sure you are aware, a threat was issued against Canterlot. I was perplexed by this fact at first, but now I believe that it was possibly a diversionary tactic. What if the enemy is already inside Canterlot, hiding? Twilight Sparkle, who is one of the most perceptive ponies I know, has suspicions about Princess Cadence. I overheard her trying to convince her friends of this. I worry that your familiarity with Cadence may be blinding you to any suspicious acts, but I have no such problem. I had not met Princess Cadence until a couple of days ago. I intend to go ask her some questions. If you are reading this, it means that Twilight’s suspicions were correct, and for whatever reason, I was unable to return to my sleeping quarters. Please act accordingly.   Luna rolled the message up and sealed it. She walked back to her doorway and opened it, turning to the guard who had greeted her. The guard stood at attention and saluted. “Highness?”   “Take this scroll,” she said, handing the rolled paper to the guard. “Keep it with you at all times, do not hand it over to anyone but me. If anyone comes here for me, tell them that I am asleep and not to be disturbed. If I am not back within the hour, deliver the scroll to my sister. Consider this mission to be of the utmost priority, taking precedence above all other duties. Understood?”   The armored bat-pony nodded his head and tucked the scroll away under his chestplate. “My princess, it shall be done.” Luna smiled at him and galloped away, down the hall and then leapt out of an open window, landing on the ledge on the castle exterior.   “It took me some searching to find Princess Cadence. The first place I checked was her bedroom, but I only found a guard there,” Luna explained as the scene changed.   “I am here to see Princess Cadence,” Luna told the guard, issuing a command. “You shall allow me entrance.”   The guard, taken aback, stepped aside. “Of course, your highness, but Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is not inside.”   Luna pushed the door of the bedroom open and stepped inside. The room was empty other than some mannequins and clothing strewn about. She turned to the guard. “Do you know where she went?”   The guard nodded his head. “Aye, she’s gone to her secret changing room to prepare for the wedding,” he said nervously. “I don’t think she wanted to be disturbed, though.”   “What is this secret changing room? Where is it?” Luna asked, this having been the first time she’d heard of it.   “The guard explained to me that Cadence had specifically requested a room to herself in the castle’s lower level, in one of the aft buildings,” Luna said as the scene changed. “I arrived there as quickly as I could, being careful to not be seen. It didn’t even dawn on me at the time that the guard could have been setting me up.”   Luna entered the aft building, a large secondary structure that was used for the groundskeepers. It was full of gardening supplies and tools. Luna walked through the room, looking back and forth at all of the gear. “Caring for the castle gardens takes a lot. I wonder why Princess Cadence would have chosen this location, though,” she said. At the back of the room was a door, and behind it was a staircase that led down to a long hallway. Lanterns on either side of the hall were lit up, and the door at the end of the hall had light coming through from underneath. Luna’s eyes narrowed and she made her way to the door as quietly as she could.   She pressed her ear against the door. On the other side, the sound of stone rubbing against stone could be heard. Luna pressed the door open a crack and peered into the room. There was no sign of anypony. The room itself was bare, a dull, square room with stone floors and stone walls.   I know I heard that, though. Somepony is in there, she thought, audibly to the vision’s viewers. She slowly pushed the door open the rest of the way and quietly walked to the other side of the room. She scanned the walls and floor, looking for any stone that seemed out of place until she spotted it – a stone that was sticking up from the floor. She walked over to the stone and pushed her front hoof against it. It sunk into the floor, and the wall in front of her swung open, revealing a crystalline cave beyond. The light from the room’s lanterns hit the crystals, creating a colorful, sparkling display.   “What is this place? A secret cave underneath Canterlot?” Luna said aloud. She pressed against the stone on the ground again and the doorway swung shut. “I must report this finding. We shall order an investigation of this cave, and then perhaps we shall get to the bottom of this.”   “I can deliver that message for you,” a voice came from behind Luna. She turned around quickly and was greeted by the sight of a bat-pony in armor. Two other guards came in through the door behind him. She recognized them as all of the door guards she had spoken with that morning.   Luna lowered her stance toward the ground. “Where did you come from? We did not order you to follow us,” she said angrily.   “We couldn’t let you come here all alone, princess. What sort of guards would we be, then?” the guard in front asked. “I think you’ll find that this place is quite dangerous.”   The three guards bounded towards the princess, who dodged to the side with great speed. The unicorn guard lit up his horn and blasted a beam of magic, which hit Luna in the side and slammed her against a wall. She maintained her posture and charged her own magic into her horn.   “YOU SHALL CEASE THIS AT ONCE!!” Luna shouted at full volume. “YOU SHALL TELL US WHO YOU ARE AND WHY YOU ARE ATTACKING US!! SPEAK NOW, AND WE MAY BE MERCIFUL!!”   The three guards stared at her, their eyes glowing green. “Sorry, Princess, but your orders mean nothing anymore,” one of the bat-ponies said, pulling a rolled up scroll from his armor, the seal on it clearly broken. He lifted the scroll up in front of the unicorn guard, who shot the paper with magic, reducing it to ash.   “You’re too close to the truth, just like Twilight Sparkle,” a voice from the hallway said. “And just like Twilight Sparkle, you’ll have to be removed… at least until the time is right.”   Princess Cadence stepped into the room and slowly approached Luna.   “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!” Luna shouted, becoming enraged. “What is the meaning of this?”   Cadence’s eyes glowed green and she smiled at Luna. “Sorry,” she said. “Wrong pony.” A flash of green magical fire erupted from floor to ceiling where Cadence stood. After it subsided, Chrysalis stood before Luna, laughing.   “A changeling!” Luna gasped, backing away a few steps. “What do you want from us? Why are you impersonating Princess Cadence?”   “Oh, dearest Luna,” Chrysalis said calmly. “I thought we were closer than that. I thought we were kindred spirits, and that you would at least understand us.”   “Perhaps in the past I tried to stand up for your kind, but I can not stand for such possibly treasonous acts! Speak quickly if you do not act in malice, and we may yet forgive your transgressions,” Luna responded.   Chrysalis laughed and walked closer to Luna. “Treason? Forgive me, Princess, but I do not seek your forgiveness, nor could this be considered treason. You’re no ruler of mine,” she said. “Furthermore, you really don’t remember, do you? You don’t know who I am, but I know you ever so well.”  Chrysalis’ horn lit up with green magic, and at the same moment, a flash of green magic erupted from Luna’s chest. The princess turned her head down towards it, staring in horror. She glared up at Chrysalis.   “What have you done to me?” Luna asked, her voice full of pain as she strained to speak.   “What haven’t I done to you?” Chrysalis said, laughing. “You’re still so naïve, even after a thousand years… and just like a thousand years ago, you’ll be the key to Equestria’s downfall.”   Luna fell to the ground, her strength draining from her rapidly. Her eyes became heavy, and she felt herself drifting out of consciousness. The last thing she saw was the changeling queen’s smiling face staring down at her.   “Nighty-night, Princess,” Chrysalis said.   The scene went black, and Luna bowed her head in shame. “I couldn’t stop her. I was careless,” she said. She raised her gaze towards Celestia, holding back tears from her eyes. “Forgive me, sister. I should not have acted alone. It was arrogant and irresponsible.”   Celestia shook her head. “Little sister, we all made mistakes. This outcome was probably unavoidable.” “I’m confused,” Twilight spoke up. “What did you mean when you said you’d stood up for the changelings in the past? I’d never read about--” “That is a story best kept for another time, Twilight,” Celestia quickly interrupted. Her eyes locked with Twilight’s, which were glowing with curiosity. She narrowed her own and shook her head briefly before turning back to her sister. “More importantly, do you know what she meant by you not remembering, Luna?” Luna lifted her head back up and sighed. “I still do not understand that, or the magic she used to subdue me. Regardless,” she continued, “I was captured and thrown into this dream world, and was forced to face something I never thought could threaten me again.”   “Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said, her eyes narrowing. The watery circle next to Luna rippled, the image upon it becoming distorted for a moment, and then calming again. Nightmare Moon appeared upon the surface now, laughing and pulsating with dark magic. “We all have our inner demons, some of us more so than others. In your journey, you may have seen first-hoof just how horrible the mind can be,” she said. Fluttershy nodded her head and frowned as she remembered her nightmarish dream world. “My inner demon is this creature, this alternate version of myself, Nightmare Moon. Born of jealousy, hatred, and a lust for power, Nightmare Moon is the embodiment of all my worst thoughts and feelings. “I suppose I should explain, although it pains me to say it, especially to some of the very ponies who freed me from my dark side,” Luna said, then closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “Nightmare Moon was never truly defeated. From the very first night of my return to Equestria, though not every night, I’ve had vivid nightmares in which she haunts me, chasing me down, swearing that she will return. Sometimes I could defeat her in the dream. Sometimes…” The watery screen flashed with scenes of Nightmare Moon chasing Luna, and even fighting her. The scene changed over and over, and eventually stayed on the image of Luna as a foal, cowering in a corner as the shadow of Nightmare Moon overtook her.   Celestia placed a hoof over her mouth, and the others all gasped as the scene faded out. Luna opened her eyes again, their whites faintly shining. “We were evenly matched, and she has never been able to gain control again. In the past two months, I had even been able to eliminate her from my dreams entirely. However, it seems to have been all for nothing.”   “But, princess,” Fluttershy said quietly, visibly shaken from the news and the imagery. “Isn’t Nightmare Moon just a part of you? Can you not just make her go away again?”   “It would seem not. Even worse, this is a dream that I cannot wake up from, and it is also a dream that is connected to hundreds of other dreams. Here, within the web of dreams that the changelings have created, Nightmare Moon has returned and is more powerful than ever.”   “Ridiculous!” Linnai said loudly. “Even if what you say is true, everything in this dream world is contained!”   Mulcibar nodded his head. “It’s true, we were among the ones who were, and are still, holding you captive inside your cocoon, Luna,” he said. “She can’t possibly go out into other dreams, even if these others have been able to!”   The tip of Luna’s horn flashed and her eyes glowed white. “ARROGANT FOOLS!” she shouted. “IF YOU THINK IT SO IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT, THEN HOW DID YOU GET IN? IF YOU THINK SHE HAS NOT BEEN INFECTING YOUR NETWORK OF MAGIC, HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THE CORRUPTION WHICH YOU CLEARLY SAW WITHIN THE DREAM YOU JUST ARRIVED FROM?”   Mulcibar and Linnai instinctively lurched backwards, their ears pressing down against their heads. Luna’s eyes returned to normal and she took another deep breath.   “She has been here within this prison of the mind the whole time, indeed,” Luna explained, “but every pulse of magic that you take and convert, she has laced with her dark magic. You’ve been aiding her this whole time, and you had no idea! Do you not see the truth? I say this not in arrogance since it was my other half who conceived this plan, but as a warning! You and your kind are nothing but pawns in her game! You’ve practically handed Equestria to her!”   Mulcibar’s eyes narrowed in thought, but Linnai fell to the floor with laughter. “Pawns? To ponies?” she managed to get out between fits. “We would quickly put her in her place if she so much as tried to stand against us! Our queen is powerful and gaining more power every minute! That power will be spread to all of us, and we will be unstoppable!”   Luna shook her head. “If you face her and have thoughts such as those, they shall be the last thoughts you ever have,” she said. “It is taking all the power I can muster to merely keep her out of this small section of my dream, and that’s after she’s been sending magic out to the other dreams.” Linnai scoffed. “Her lucidity is just--” she started, but was snapped to a stop by her brother’s hoof pressing to her lips. She glared at him. “Let her continue,” Mulcibar said, and then leaned in, pressing his lips to Linnai’s ear, whispering “We are clearly at their mercy right now, so let us see what we can gleam from her story. Our moment to act comes with time.” Luna eyed Mulcibar suspiciously, but nodded her head. “From the moment I entered my dream world, I knew something was wrong. I tried to wake myself, but it was not possible. I knew I had to come up with an escape plan as quickly as possible. I could feel my magic being leeched out of me. Using my lucidity, I scanned my dream, and immediately noticed the immensity of it,” she said. The shining image beside her showed her teleporting all over Equestria, from Canterlot, to Ponyville, to the Everfree Forest, to the badlands in the south, to the frozen north. “I determined that magic was holding me in a state of sleep. I could detect no exit from the dream world. Briefly, I considered drastic action, wondering if suicide may be the only way to jolt myself to waking.” The scene showed Luna standing at the top of the tall mountain that Canterlot was built into the side of, staring down at the distant ground below. “Fortunately, at that moment, a gleam of pink light from the south caught my eye. I felt the presence of something strange coming from Ponyville, and travelled there as fast as I could,” she continued, and the scene beside her flashed as she shot through the sky like a shooting star. “Pinkie Pie!” Luna said with surprise as she landed on the balcony of Sugarcube Corner. She stared at the pink earth pony, squinting slightly as barely visible particles of pink magic glistened around her. “Princess! Thank goodness you finally came!” Pinkie responded as she walked to the edge of the balcony and pointed a hoof down at a pair of ponies walking through the street. “There’s something wrong with everypony. I don’t know what the deal is! It’s hard to explain, but they all seem… empty, somehow.” Luna looked down at the ponies below and nodded her head. “Pinkie, if you can tell the difference between them and you, or I, then you must be some sort of anomaly,” she said calmly, and Pinkie tilted her head with confusion. Luna turned to Pinkie and raised her hoof in front of her. “You may be my key to finding the way. Pinkie Pie, I need your help. Close your eyes and concentrate. This may feel strange, but you have to believe me. All of Equestria is in danger.” Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but it sounds serious. We should go get Twilight and the others!” she suggested. “No!” Luna replied quickly. “It must be you, Pinkie Pie! You have a strange energy swirling all around you. I must delve into that energy and and see if it leads me to a way out. There is no further time to explain!” Luna’s horn glowed, and a bright pink aura lit up around Pinkie Pie, revealing a trail of magic particles flying up to the sky and into a larger, barely visible stream of energy. Luna stared up at it, and Pinkie Pie pointed her hoof upward. “What is that? What’s going on?” she asked, smiling brightly at the colorful display. Luna did not answer, but instead latched onto Pinkie’s front right foreleg and took to the sky, pulling the pink pony along with her. She sped through the air along the magic trail, weaving her way down towards the Everfree Forest, landing at the statue of Nightmare Moon. A jewel upon the statue’s chest glowed with dark power. Pinkie looked around, seemingly unaffected by the whole situation, and smiled brightly. “That was fun! Can we do it again?” Luna shook her head and shot a small blast of energy into the jewel on the statue. A rip in the fabric of reality spread open before her, and on the other side, she saw the room in which her cocoon hung, a circle of changelings around her concentrating and chanting dark incantations. Her ears twitched as the words of their spells entered them, and her eyes shot open wide. “This can not continue!” Luna gasped. She turned to Pinkie Pie and pointed towards the rift. “Pinkie Pie, I know this is probably rather confusing for you, but what I am about to tell you is the frightening truth. Equestria has been invaded by beings known as changelings. They have a sordid past with Equestria, and had vanished before the time when I was banished to the moon. To see them now, and like this, is truly a dark matter. They have trapped me within a dream world, here inside my mind. You are part of my dream, but one that seems to be ever so important. I must find and awaken my sister and Twilight, as well as the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Because of this, I must leave here, but you must serve a vital role and protect this statue. Nopony may come near it. Do you understand?” Pinkie Pie nodded her head slowly and put a hoof to her chin. “So, if this is a dream, then it should be no problem for me to create, say… a giant banana split!” she said, and then waved her hooves in front of her. When nothing appeared, she frowned and sighed. Luna shook her head. “You don’t believe us, do you?” she asked despondently. “Well, let’s make this just a bit easier, then.” Luna’s horn began to glow and her eyes lit up. A flash shot through the air in a circle all around the two ponies. Luna lowered her horn and touched it to Pinkie’s forehead. What happened? Pinkie’s voice projected outward, audible to the viewers of the scene, though her lips were not moving. I’ve connected us, Luna’s voice responded. You are part of my dream, so giving us this sort of link is a simple task. We’ve no time to waste. Can I trust you to guard this statue and alert me of anything that approaches? I guess so, Pinkie thought, lifting a hoof up to her head and lightly knocking on the side of it. This is so strange, but I guess this being a dream would explain why everypony seemed so different in town. Very well. As a precautionary measure, I’ve placed a barrier around this place that will cause any creature that comes near it to actively choose to change their heading to avoid it, as well, Luna thought, and then turned toward the statue. She looked over her shoulder at Pinkie, who had taken a seat on the ground and had a ponderous look in her eyes. I shall return as soon as I am able. “Hey, Princess Luna,” Pinkie said out loud, looking up at the alicorn as she was about to pass through the rift. “If this is a dream, and everypony is different… why am I not like them, too?” Luna paused, her lips parting, but words unable to form behind them. Indeed, I do not know the reason behind this anomaly, she thought, forgetting that Pinkie could hear her. It’s okay, Pinkie thought in response. You have to go help our friends! I hope I get to meet them. I mean, when I think about it, I realize that I don’t even know them! I just know we’re friends, and that thought fills me with such warmth. Please, Princess, you have to help them! Luna smiled. You may be even braver than I, to face that fact. Stay strong, Pinkie Pie. And remember, if anything happens, shout as loudly as you can in your mind. I shall hear you. With that, she began to step through the rift and out into the stream of consciousness. A flash of purple sparked from the sky, and Luna looked back over her shoulder, pausing once more. What was that? It was faint, but… she pondered. After a moment she turned her head forward once more, and fully exited her dream world, leaving Pinkie Pie to stand guard. These dreams are seeded with such a mixture of magic, there’s no telling what I just sensed. I should hurry! Luna looked down at Twilight. “As you know, after I left my dream world, I made an unsuccessful attempt at waking you, Twilight. The trace of strange magic I had felt upon leaving my dream world had been Nightmare Moon appearing and then following me out,” she said. “We were caught by the changeling defense spell and pulled back into my mind. What I found there, upon returning, was a land ravaged by dark magic.” She waved her hoof in front of the floating magic beside her, and the image changed to show the landscape around the statue where Luna had left Pinkie Pie. The trees had been blasted away, nothing but stumps of shattered wood left. The grass was withered and gray, mostly reduced to ash. Pinkie Pie was laying on the ground, her body blackened and burned, and her breathing stopped. “Pinkie!” Luna shouted and charged towards the still pony, sliding to a stop beside her. She knelt down and put her ear against Pinkie’s muzzle. “Why didn’t you call for me? I can’t believe that Nightmare Moon… that I… would do this.” She shut her eyes tightly, tears pushing their way out from the corners. “I swear, whatever it is you are planning, it will not succeed!” Luna shouted loudly, clutching Pinkie Pie in an embrace and pulling her close. “Do you hear me? You will fail! Just like you always have!” Not always, a voice whispered into Luna’s ear. Luna twisted her head around, but nothing was there. She quickly turned her attention back to Pinkie Pie and began to channel magic into the faded pink body. Come on, Pinkie! she thought, lightly shaking her. We have to get moving! I can feel a dark presence closing in on us! Closing in on you? the voice whispered in Luna’s ear. I’ve been with you for over a century. We are the closest of partners, you and I. Luna wrapped her front right foreleg around Pinkie Pie tightly and stood up, continuing to channel magic into her. Dark clouds formed overhead, and lightning streaked between them. Luna’s heart raced. “Pinkie Pie!” she shouted. “Wake up this instant!” Pinkie Pie gasped for breath, and her eyes shot open. She stared blankly into the dark sky above, her pupils dilated widely. “Just... five more... minutes,” she said as she caught her breath. “Sorry, but I don’t think we have that much time!” Luna responded. A dark shadow shot down from the sky and covered the place they stood in blackness.