The Mane Six sat around the Conference Chambers table that contained the Cutie Map. Spike, now far too big to fit in his crystal chair, simply sat behind his chair, still being able to see over it, and wrapping his long tail around the perimeter of the chairs. All of them except Twilight and Spike rubbed their burning eyes as they tried to rid the sleep from them. Dash huffed and crossed her forelegs,

“Twilight…it’s four o’clock in the morning…what is so important to wake us up…”

“This is what I called you for.” Twilight stated, as her horn lit up and she summoned the Cutie Map to rise from the table. Her confident demeanor morphed into that of confusion, as the map shined with its usual pristine glow.

“I-I don’t understand…” Twilight stuttered. “There was black fire, an-and it covered the whole thing. And there was a mare, she spoke in a strange language-”

“Sugarcube, are ya sure yer feelin’ alright?” Applejack questioned with concern in her tone. “Ah remember ya tellin’ us that ya hadn’t been getting’ any sleep lately…maybe ya just had a bad nightmare…”

“No…” Twilight lightly shook her head, “No, I know what was there. It was real! Spike was with me. He saw the map in blazes. He attacked the mare that was talking to us!”

All eyes turned to Spike.

“Well, is that true?” Rarity questioned. “Were you successful in your attack?”

‘Who does she think she is, asking you questions. She that damned plaything’s mouth!’

Spike ignored the voice in his head, “No. Whoever she was, she got away.” He crossed his arms, “I can’t explain why the fire is no longer engulfing the map, nor do I understand the strange language of the mare…but Twilight is telling the truth.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully before looking over at Twilight, “The problem has resolved itself for now. If it happens again, we will let Princess Celestia and Princess Luna know.”

“A-are you sure that’s a good idea, Spike?” Fluttershy questioned softly. “This sounds like something they should know about right away…”

“We don’t have any proof of this happening. The only thing that we have is my word and Twilight's. While I’m sure Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would take our word, there’s just no point in causing them any uneasiness if we can’t show anything for it.”

‘Why are you lying to your playthings? Just tell them the truth!’

‘Shut the fuck up!’

The mares looked around at each other, mumbling a few words of agreement. Dash stretched her wings out,

“Welp, if we’re done here, I’m heading back home. Let me know when you want to wake us up with another one of your wacky dreams.” She gave her wings a few flaps before hopping out of her chair. “I got work in a couple of hours, so I’m gotta go…”

Twilight scratched the back of her neck, “Sorry girls, I just…I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Hey, we’re your friends…you can call us for anything, even if it’s cutting into our sleep time.” Dash gave her a crooked grin. “I’m just jokin’ with you. Seriously, if you need us, don’t hesitate to send a message.”

With that, she pushed open the windows and shot into the sky, her trademark rainbow trailing behind her amongst the stars. Soon, after the others said their goodnight’s before heading home, and the castle fell silent once more.

“Well, I’m wide awake now…” Spike grumbled. “I think I’ll go and do some gem hunting in the castle mines.” He looked down at her, “You gonna be alright, Twi?”

Twilight nodded, “I’ll be fine…” she let out a yawn, “I’m going back to bed…try to get some sleep before I have to go to that meeting in Griffinstone…”

“I’ll sleep in one of the guest bedrooms so that I don’t wake you up.”

Twilight nodded before stifling another yawn and heading back to her room, “I’ll see you in the morning…”

Spike grunted in response before heading off in his own direction. Twilight slowly trudged up to her bedroom and entered. As she passed through the doors, the hairs down her back raised up with instinctive fear and alertness.  The room was darker, blacker than Luna ever made her Night. The door gently shut on it’s own.

“Take a seat dear…”

Twilight recognized the voice instantly. It was the same voice that spoke to her and Spike earlier in the night. Her horn illuminated with magic, but no matter how much she tried to light up the room, she couldn’t pierce the blackness that surrounded her.

“Go to your bed…after all, it looks very comfortable…”

She took rigid, mechanical steps to her bed. She knew this was wrong. Something in her told her to scream. To call out for Spike, for her friends, for the guards, anypony. And yet she could not resist the gentle command that was given to her. The touch of the cool silken sheets made her shiver as she nestled into them.

“Relax…nothing will happen to you so long as you do what I ask of you…and you will do as I ask…”

Twilight still had her mind, and the willpower to question the voice,

“What makes you think I’ll just do what you want?”

The darkness that surrounded her started to edge closer to her bed. Twilight felt herself go mind numbingly cold. A hoof emerged from the darkness, and a set of piercing, icy-blue eyes peered out at her,

“Because…you do not have as much willpower as you think you do.” There was a shuffling sound, “You’ve allowed me to lay beside you without even realizing it.”

Twilight blinked. There was a Unicorn mare that was laying in the massive bed beside her. Her coat was a shade of glittering ebony, and her mane and tail were a rich, dark shade of crimson, and her cutie mark was a reddish pink ring with a slanted ‘s’ symbol within, that reached from one side of the ring to the other. She looked up at Twilight with hypnotic gaze,

“My, my…you are quite a beautiful mare, Princess.” She smiled, sporting a set of particularly sharp canines. “Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and Magic…it must be quite a burdening task for you to be that.”

Twilight dumbly shook her head. The mare chuckled lightly, her laugh sounding like silver bells to Twilight’s ears.

“Is something wrong, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight opened her mouth to think of the words to say, but none would come to her. Who was this mare, and why did she leave her so dumbfounded?

“W-who are you?”

Her silvery laugh softly echoed through the bedroom, “I am called…Silken Touch. For you though, my Princess, you may just call me ‘Silk’.” The mare leaned forward, resting her cheek in one of her hooves, “You know, I have come from a great distance to get here, Princess…”

“T-thank you...” Twilight slowly responded. Why did she just say that? Why in the gods name was she thanking her?!

“You must be a very busy mare, Princess. Do you...have time for any fun?”

“Sometimes…” Twilight answered. “I always try to make time for my friends…”

Silk’s smile disappeared, “Oh, no no no, Princess. I did not mean for friends. I meant…” she gently tapped her chin, “Time for more…pleasurable fun…”

Twilight instantly felt her face flush with heat. Silk put a hoof to her lips,

“You’re not…a virgin, are you?”

“No!” Twilight snapped, embarrassed by the question. Silk’s gentle smile returned to her features. She was very beautiful, Twilight had to admit that much. And she seemed to be friendly, for the most part. Why was Twilight worried about her again?

She snapped back to the present when she felt a hoof on her chest. She followed the foreleg it was attached to, and locking eyes with Silk.

“You haven’t had any real fun in a while…” Silk’s eyelids drooped a little and her smile changed into one that had an underlying meaning. “So much pent up tension and energy…” she licked her lips, “Perhaps I could help relieve you of some of that tension…”

Twilight didn’t want this. She knew this was wrong. She wanted this mare out of her room. She had managed to get into the castle and bypass security without anypony seeing her. She may have been the reason that the map was on fire. She managed to dodge Spike’s attack, and there was a possibility that her magic rivaled that of an Alicorn. She was dangerous, and while Twilight still had some fear in her heart, she knew she had to do something. She opened her mouth, ready to tell Silk to get out, or she would be forced out.

“I’d like that…”

DAMMIT NO!!! That’s not what she meant to say!!

Silk leaned in closer. Her breath smelled of fruit scented wine and her coat smelled of lavender and…new leather? There was also a tinge of stationary and the sharp scent of ink. She smelled like lavender…and a freshly printed book. How did she smell like that?

“What desires do you have, Princess?” she pressed herself up against Twilight. Now the princess knew why she was named Silken Touch. “Let me look into your eyes, so that I may do as you wish…”

She tilted Twilight’s chin up so that their eyes locked. Twilight felt her lids go heavy. Her eyes were light colored like the vast, clear blue sky, and somehow dark with the intense depth of all the oceans on their planet. Her body was swallowed up with a warm, tingly sensation, and her mind drowned in sudden intoxication. Silk wasn’t dangerous…she was just a fierce mare that Twilight needed to tame. This mare was brave, to think she could waltz up into Twilight’s castle and just act like she owned the place!

“I’ve been a bad filly…Princess…” Silk whispered, sex practically dripping her lips. Twilight couldn’t control herself any longer. She smiled the smile that she would only give to a somepony she had planned to make her mate. It had been a while since she had been intimate with another. She gently pressed Silk down into the lush mattress. Even though it had been a while since she had been with another pony, she would prove that she was by no means rusty.

“Yes…you have been a naughty filly…it’s time somepony taught you some discipline…

                                                                                 -MLP-

“Get the fuck up, you lazy sack of shit!”

Vinyl’s eyes snapped open, yet she could see nothing. Darkness stretched on into eternity, so thick that she couldn’t even see her hoof in front of her muzzle.

“Ugh…not this place again…”

A pillar of amber colored light shined in front of her, and within the pillar, a mirror appeared. A shadowy figure appeared in it, until it shaped and formed itself to look like Vinyl, the only difference being that the irses were a pumpkin orange. The DJ rolled her eyes and stared at her reflection,

“What do you want, Madd?”

The creature’s eyes flared with an angry orange light, “You’re running out of time, and you don’t even care.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Madd banged on the mirror. It cracked beneath her hooves, “He’s coming, dammit! You have to let me out!”

Vinyl shook her head and crossed her hooves, “Nope. The last time I let you out…” she shuddered, holding herself tighter. “I’m not letting you out again.”

Madd snorted angrily, “My powers are too great for you, so long as you fight me. Embrace it. Embrace the anger, the rage, the mighty strength that makes your blood boil and your vision go red.” She smiled a wicked grin and slammed on the glass again. A couple pieces broke off and crumbled into dust “You can try to ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ for as long as you want, but you’ll have to use my powers again eventually. You think that little attack on you was just a coincidence? You’d be a fucking idiot to think it was.”

“It’s been so long since any monsters had even came to Ponyville…why did that thing attack me?"

“Because something big is coming, you idiot. And, they’re going to try and stop us before you stop being stupid and accept my power.” Madd slammed through the mirror, shrapnel digging deeply into her flesh. Her body pushed out the shards with ease, gripped the white Unicorn, and pulled her close,

“You’re starting to piss me out, disk jockey.” She snarled. “Instead of turning tables, how ‘bout you turn some heads. They would be far more useful than to be using them to create those stupid vibrations you call ‘beats’-”

“HEY!!”

“Oh, what, are you getting angry?” Madd questioned in a snarky tone. “You gonna do something about it?!”

Vinyl let out a few sharp snorts, then took a couple deep breaths. She gave Madd a cool smile,

“Nope. I’m not angry. You are, since you’re pent up in my mind.”

Madd let out a slew of curses, “Of course I’m angry, you shit head! I’m fucking-” she stopped, unable to get the rest of her sentence out. Vinyl raised a brow,

“Uh…you good?”

Madd didn’t respond. Instead, she shoved Vinyl back, and pulled her foreleg back into the glass.

“You’re going to embrace what you really are…eventually.” She started to turn away from her. “Or everything you’ve ever cared about, is going to be taken away from you.”

Vinyl felt herself getting angry, “Are you threatening me?!”

“I’m saying that shit as a promise. The others are starting to wake up, Vinyl Scratch.” She glanced over her shoulder, “You better do the same, before he comes.”

“Who the hell is ‘he’?!”

Madd didn’t respond. Instead, she walked off into the distance of the mirror, until she was nothing but a speck of white in a sea of darkness. Vinyl reached out, only to suddenly have the air snatched out of her lungs. Her eyes shut and she calmed herself to regain control of her breathing. She opened her eyes, and found herself reaching up at the ceiling. She let out a defeated sigh before dropping her foreleg onto her forehead. Madd hadn’t been so active in years, and with this most recent act on her, along with a string of a few other attacks as well, they had made her uneasy. Perhaps it was time to tell somepony about the things she sees, but who? It had to be somepony who wouldn’t think of her as a madpony. She could tell Octavia…and she knew she would listen, but that didn’t mean she still wouldn’t look at her funny after she told her. She sat and ponder of others to tell, until a name popped into her head.

“Duh, of course!” she grabbed her cell phone with her magic and punched in a number. It rang a few times before a mare’s voice answered on the other side of the line,

“Uh…hello??”

“Hey, I gotta talk to you, ASAP. Are you busy?”

“Nope!”

“Then I’m coming over!!”

                                                                                   -MLP-

Pinkie sat up in her bed. So tired, yet so wide awake. Today had been a very, very long day. Twisted screamed and whined at her to do bad things. Then, her voice was calm and soothing, telling her that it was okay for her to have those thoughts. That it was okay for her to want eat other ponies and not just candies. It was okay for her to want to spread pain, and not joy. The fact that those thoughts were becoming more and more dominant in her mindset was frightening to her. She rubbed her temples with her hooves, and let out a tired sigh. She just wanted to get a good night’s rest. She would need it for the massive party she had to coordinate tomorrow.

‘You know…if you just ate the birthday colt himself, you wouldn’t have to worry about this stupid little party.’

“Please…stop talking…” Pinkie softly begged. A throbbing began in her temples, causing her to rub harder. She suddenly froze when she heard the slight shuffling on the carpet in front of her bed. She squinted, though the moonlight shining through her window didn’t help as much as she hoped it would. There was a sharp hiss that came from the dark, yet nothing about the sound frightened Pinkie. No instincts screamed at her to get away from whatever was just beyond her sight, and Twisted was finally quiet. A pair of shining violet irises finally revealed themselves.

“Geez, you sure are taking your sweet ass time aren’t ya?” a charcoal shaded talon stepped out from the shadows. The voice was dark and smooth like chocolate. “When are you going to step your game up?”

Pinkie tilted her head in confusion, “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

Another talon soon followed, “Don’t play dumb with me, fat ass. You know what the fuck I’m talking about.”

Pinkie winced at the insult. She knew she didn’t have a slimming figure like Rarity’s, but she didn’t think she was fat. Her hurt, combined with the confusion in her gaze made the eyes widen in surprise,

“Wow…are you serious?” the voice let out a rich chuckle, “Oh, this is too perfect…” the source of the voice stepped out into the pillar of moonlight. It was a griffin, who stood taller than the steeds of Saddle Arabia. The feathers that surrounded his squared jaw, and thick neck were tinged with a periwinkle sheen, and his lion coat was a rich, bold shade of bossanova violet. His snow colored ears had violet tufts on the tips that billowed at the slightest breeze. His leered down at her, sneering as she pulled the sheets up higher,

“You’re fucking pathetic. You always have been, with your barbaric, boorish personality.” The griffin stated.

‘Shut that fucker up now, Pinkamina!’

“Hey, we’ve never even met before! Who are you to talk?!”

The griffin scoffed, “Never even met? Did you really just say that to me?! I am the greatest thing to have ever walked the planet, much less your presence. My glory surpasses that of those ‘things’ that the ponies worship.” He slinked up to the bed, “You’re lucky that I need you for a bigger purpose, or I’d slit your throat.”

‘Pinkamina, KILL HIM!!’

Pinkie felt something in her snap. She ground her teeth, and lunged at the chimera. They hit the wall with a loud thud, and the griffin slashed at her face. She staggered backwards, but her Earth Pony endurance, on top of her strange healing abilities, had made her barely even flinch. He leapt onto her, piercing his talons into her chest.

“You may not die from this…” he hissed as he gripped his talons around her heart, “But that doesn’t mean I can’t cause you a world of hurt!”

He squeezed, and Pinkie’s eyes went wide, as she felt pain unlike anything she had ever experienced in her life. She gasped, and every fiber in her body screamed at her to make the pain stop…

No matter the cost.

Pinkie let out a growl, and clamped down on the griffin’s arm. The warm blood filling her mouth brought a smile to her face.

‘Atta girl! Rip him to shreds!’

He slashed at her again, ripping the skin and a few chunks of muscle off of her face. She glared at him, black steam rising from her gashes. He let out an angry screech, and Pinkie’s eyes went wide as something dawned on her.

How had nopony heard them?

As if on cue, lights from neighboring houses started to come on, and residents stepped out into the chilly night. It wasn’t long before the string of lights reached the Carousel Boutique. The chimera pinned her against a wall and peeked outside. A stallion was talking to Rarity, pointing at Sugarcube Corner as he did. The griffin sneered and licked his beak,

“Maybe it’s a good thing you are an Element Bearer now…” his grin got wider. “I love it when dinner comes to me…”

Pinkie followed his gaze and saw Rarity bolting down the road. She would damned before she let anything happen to her! She raised her hoof, and brought it down on his arm with enough force to break it. She then coiled her legs and kicked him, sending him sprawling backwards, and her heart being ripped out and going with him. She slid to the floor, a trail of blood being smeared on the wall behind her. He gripped his chest. Ribs had been shattered, and one of them had speared his own heart. He hacked up blood.

“You fucking fat bitch! How dare you do this to me!”

Pinkie grinned at him, “You should’ve kept your eyes on me, bird brain…” her irises flashed pink for but a moment. “You have always been too full of yourself, Gasconade….”

Twisted had spoken out loud on her own. Pinkie would've been mortified, had the current situation she was in not taken place. The griffin’s eyes went wide, “You knew who I was…all this time?!” he rose to his feet, “Why you fat fuck!-”

Before he could attack her, a black mass tackled him back into the shadows. There was no sound of impact though. Nothing to show that her protector was successful. The world was silent for a few seconds, before a Unicorn stepped forward,

“Oh no, no, this wont do…” she reached out for Pinkie, but the Earth Pony shirked away from her.

“I do not intend to cause you harm.” The Unicorn gently spoke. Her sultry, light blue orbs spotted Pinkie. She knew she had seen those eyes before, though it was a very distant memory. Yet her name sat on her tongue, and Pinkie, being the lovable socialite she was, never forgot names.

“Silk?”

Silk smiled as she sized Pinkie up, “You must forgive Brother. He gets far too ahead of himself sometimes…” her horn glowed with a red light, “The black magic is healing you, but let’s help it along, shall we?”

Pinkie felt her body get warm and tingly. Her steaming wounds closed up almost instantly, though the blood spatters remained. The door downstairs opened with a bang, and there was a rush of muffled hoof steps before the bedroom door swung open. Rarity was in a fighting stance, chest heaving as she gasped for air, and her mane a frazzled mess. Her wild, sapphire orbs honed in on Silk, and her horn blazed with magic,

“Get away from her NOW!!”

Pinkie threw a hoof up, “Wait, she’s not hurting me!”

Silk smiled and slunk up to Rarity. “Bearer of Generosity…” she locked eyes with her, “I would love to see what you have to give…”

Rarity found herself stunned into silence, her face reddened by an all too obvious blush. The mare turned away from her, making sure she got a good look at her voluptuous curves and ample flank. She raised her tail just a bit, allowing Rarity a peak at her glistening slit,

“I’d be more than happy to give you something in return…”

She sauntered away from a frozen Rarity, and leaned back into Pinkie’s personal bubble,

“My little pony…I know that deep down, you are very hungry. But do not worry…your time to feed will come soon…”

Her voice made Pinkie’s previous terrors melt away, and she felt an explosion of warmth when their lips locked in a passionate kiss. Silk pulled away, and glanced over her shoulder at Rarity,

“And I’ll be seeing more of you later…”

She looked away, walked into the shadows, her hoof steps fading into silence. Pinkie struggled to her hooves, and stumbled over to Rarity, who was still too love struck to notice her.

“Rarity…snap out of it…”

Rarity blinked a few times, and her blush faded away. She looked down to see a collapsed Pinkie, who was quickly slipping into unconsciousness. She scooped up Pinkie into her hooves as the Ponyville Police stormed up the steps.

“Put your hooves where we can see them!” one of the officers boomed out.

Rarity rolled her eyes, and carefully placed Pinkie in her lap. She raised her hooves in the air, and the police swarmed her, yanking her up and letting Pinkie’s rag doll body crumple to the floor.

“Please, be careful! She’s injured and needs medical attention!!”

Her pleas did not go unheard, as they scooped her up and carried her off. The police started yanking  and tugging at her to get her outside, and thoroughly pissing her off.

“Officers, you need not worry. I can escort myself to wherever you need me to go without either of you getting physical.” She said as more of a warning than a statement.

The officers looked at one another, then rolled their eyes. They were far too tired to bicker with her, and shoved her outside of the room. She let out a tired and annoyed sigh.

This was going to be a long night.

                                                                                   -MLP-

Celestia shot up from her bed, beads of sweat streaming down her face and neck. Her stomach gurgled with little warning, before she spilled the contents of her dinner from earlier onto the white marble tiles. She dry heaved a few times in an attempt to regain her breathing, and quell the waves of nausea rolling through her. It wasn’t long before Luna burst into the room, and was at her side.

“Sister, are you injured?!”

Celestia covered her hoof with her mouth as she felt vomit tickle the back of her throat. Once she calmed the sea of sickness within her, she spoke up.

“I’ll be fine…I’m-” she burped. “-ill…but I’m not injured…”

Luna rubbed Celestia’s back soothingly, “Such horrific nightmares…” she shuddered. “Anypony else would be wrought with madness after seeing such things in their sleep…” she crawled into the bed beside Celestia. “I hath never seen such things before in my life...hath thou?”

Celestia shook her head, “No, I haven’t. I couldn’t understand what language the voice was speaking.  Yet…I feared it. It was as if my very soul was being devoured. Ponies wouldn’t have suffered from any mental illnesses. They would’ve died before they even awoke.”

“Those eyes…” Luna softly stated. “Such evil…All of our enemies pale in comparison to the thing that walked amongst thine dreams.”

“We must locate that evil, then deal with it. Swiftly and silently.”

“Agreed.” She rose from the bed, and nuzzled her sister’s cheek. “I must return to the Night Court. I will see if I can find that monster while walking the realm of the sleepi-”

She was cut off by the frantic beating of hooves on the doors.

“Princess! Please, we need to come in!” a stallion’s voice cried out.

“Enter!” Luna boomed out. A moment later, the doors burst open. Three guards rushed inside.

“My apologies, Princesses,” one of the guards wheezed out. “B-but there is somepony here who has made an urgent request for your audience.”

They both felt a sinking feeling within their stomach.  They hoped that the pony downstairs was not who they thought it was.

“We will be down there in a moment, Commander Brass. Thank you.” Celestia finally replied.

Brass nodded and bowed. The other two mirrored his movements, before following him out the door. Celestia slipped out of bed.

“Let us not worry ourselves. Perhaps it’s not her.” Celestia said with faux reassurance.

With that, she teleported out of the room. Luna let out a soft sigh before teleporting to where she knew her sister would be. She appeared before the grand entrance doors into in the castle and magicked the doors open. Their eyes fell upon a grey Pegasus mare with a blonde mane and tail, and their greatest fear had been confirmed. The mare stared up at them, her expression holding an eerie calmness.

“I pray that you are not here to give us unwanted news, Ditzy Do.” Celestia stated with hope, though feeble as it may be. Ditzy’s frown deepened, and her wheat gold orbs were flawlessly focusing on her,

“I’m afraid I’ve brought grave news indeed, Celestia.” Her voice was somber. Quiet. Yet, her tone spoke volumes. “The Holy Alliance requires your presence, immediately.”

“At this hour?” Luna protested. “Surely thoust jest.”

“I do not. And it would be unwise to not attend.”

It wasn’t a suggestion, but a direct order. Celstia and Luna knew that. They glanced at each other, worry flashing through their eyes. They focused back on Ditzy, giving her a plastic and polite smile,

“Thank you Ditzy. We will be there momentarily.”

Ditzy gave a silent nod, before shooting off into the night. It still amazed them how she used such an extremely alter ego to blend in amongst the mortals. Then again, Ditzy had been alive longer than either of them had been, and she would more than likely outlive them if she kept up the guise. The Alliance held ancient secrets, that could bring the modern world to it’s knees. For that reason alone, they didn’t want to have too many members, and would keep it’s precious few alive for as long as their loyalty lasted.

“This will never get any easier…” Luna stated softly. Celestia nodded in agreement. A twinge of fear chilled their blood, and they swallowed their throat lumps before teleported to answer the call of a power that was far greater than their own.