When Midnight returned from her hunt she was treated to a few surprises. First, was the news that Quiet Word had earned his cutie mark. The next was that Quiet Word now talked to animals and had a pet snake. The last was that Quiet Word had caught a fish. The first news was something she could be happy for him for, the second was interesting and a bit astonishing, the last was actually the part that made her happiest because it meant he could start getting food for himself which would lessen her work load. That might seem selfish, but hunting for more than just yourself was a whole different ordeal than hunting just for yourself.

Her best friend was trying to encourage her to tell a story as a reward to Quiet Word for his accomplishments on the day. She had no problem with that, she enjoyed telling the stories, and he certainly had earned it today. She just needed to get cleaned up and see to Dove first.

"Dove, honey, come and tell me about everything while I get cleaned up," she called to her daughter.

"Okay, Mama," Dove said and flew to follow her as she flew downstream away from where they drank.

By this point Dove was used to seeing her coated in her prey's blood. It didn't bother the filly and it no longer bothered her. Hunting was part of what she was and Dove accepted her mother's nature as much as she did herself. So now, when she was soaked in pig blood, it didn't phase either of them. This was just the way things were.

"So tell me all about what went on with Quiet Word today," Midnight said as she started washing herself in the stream.

"Well, first he spent a long while staring at the fish in the river, and I had to keep telling him that he was supposed to be trying to catch the fish," Dove began.

"You weren't being too pushy were you?" Midnight asked.

"I wasn't being pushy. I was just telling him that he needed to hurry up so we could go do something else instead," Dove insisted. Midnight rolled her eyes with exasperation that her daughter didn't seem to realize that this sounded very much like being pushy.

"We are going to define pushy better later on, but go on," Midnight prompted.

"Then Quiet went and hovered over the stream after I convinced him that there were some purple birds down the cliff that we could go look at," Dove continued gesturing off in one direction.

"Were there purple birds down the cliff?" Midnight said with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe.." Dove said with an embarrassed wiggle.

"Did you ever see purple birds down the cliff, Dove?" Midnight pressed her. She already knew the answer, but she was going to have Dove admit it.

"No, but there might have been some down there," Dove said sheepishly, knowing she had been caught in a lie.

"Dove, we have talked about lying. You should never lie. It makes ponies not want to trust you, and makes it so they might not believe you when you are actually telling the truth because they will think you are lying to them again. We are going to break you of this habit or you are going to have to start getting punished for it. Do I make myself clear?" Midnight said firmly. She tried to look her daughter in the eyes, but Dove refused to meet her gaze.

"Yes, Mama," Dove said with a strong hint of shame.

"We aren't going to dwell on it for right now, but the next lie you tell I will punish you for, and I will find out about it. There won't be any hiding the lie from me. You are halfway to being an adult and need to start behaving more responsibly. Right now you can continue with the story," Midnight said. She briefly ducked her head under the water to try to get any blood that might be on her head off, bringing it back up quickly with a splash.

"Yes, Mama," Dove said. Then she gave herself a shake to clear the shame away, and made to continue with her retelling of the day's events. "Well, eventually Quiet did go and bite a fish and threw it out onto the shore. We were all cheering for him; me, and Auntie Sweet Pea, and Water Shadow. Then he fell into the river and Auntie Sweet Pea pulled him out. He was really upset and I didn't know why. I asked Auntie Sweet Pea and she just said he was being emotional and needed to do something else to calm down. So I was going to go take him to see the birds."

"These same birds we have already established don't exist," Midnight said said in a flat tone.

"Um, yes, Mama," Dove said with lowered ears.

Midnight sighed. Sweet Pea said this was just a phase and it was a common one for foals. Midnight hoped it was going to be short. There was likely no returning to Ocid, and that meant it was exceedingly important Quiet Word actually like Dove. There were going to be no other males in Dove's life, and someday he was going to be the sole option for Dove's mate. The Alicorns had discussed ways Midnight and Sweet Pea were capable of still producing foals, but those seemed really strange, and they didn't dare trying them till they knew they were safe from the Mare of Shadows. Dove couldn't be lying to Quiet Word and lose his trust. That was a worry for if they survived leaving this world, but one she had to start preparing for now all the same.

"Please, don't ever lie to Quiet Word ever again, it is even more important than never lying to me or any of the other adults. Promise me you won't lie to him," Midnight said to her daughter with her wings raised high for emphasis.

"I promise, Mama," Dove said. The little filly looked confused. She likely was trying to understand why it was even more important not to lie to Quiet. Midnight hoped that the weight of the promise stuck.

"Good, now continue with the story," Midnight said as she relaxed her posture.

"So we flew off down the cliff and Quiet stopped us to talk. He was saying a lot of weird things, about fish talking, and how he heard them. It made me feel weird," Dove said as she shuffled her hooves.

Feel weird? That was an interesting response. She would have figured her daughter would have said something else. On impulse Midnight considered something that had never come up to ask her daughter about.

"Dove, have you ever heard voices too? Or hear anything else that you couldn't explain?" Midnight asked.

"I don't know," Dove said in a low voice. Not a yes, not a no, and that worried Midnight.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Midnight pressed.

"I..I sometimes think I hear something when you bring food back. Not all the time, just sometimes. I think I am just imagining things. I don't think it is really real," Dove explained. She seemed really uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable like she was lying, Midnight could tell the signs for that. Uncomfortable like Dove was thinking about things she didn't want to think about. It made Midnight feel a little guilty for pressing her daughter on the subject, but this seemed important.

Midnight sometimes felt like she could hear voices too. When she was telling stories it was like they were talking to her, telling her the story so she could tell it. It was to the point now that she was unsure anymore if she was telling a story from memory or it was coming from somewhere else. When she asked the alicorns about it they just said her power was growing and she was capable of doing things she never could before as a result. She didn't understand why it should be growing, and they didn't seem to be forthcoming with an answer.

She wished her growing power were directed into something that could better help her daughter survive. Sweet Pea was growing more powerful too. Her best friend was now capable of magic even stronger than what the alicorns could do back in Ocid. She was becoming a powerful magic caster like the unicorns of old. The alicorns were also growing stronger, and said they were now nearly as strong as they had been when Harmony still stood. Now Quiet Word could talk to animals apparently. All Midnight could do was tell stories. Well, that and hunt, but that didn't require magic power.

Dove's abilities still were just as much a mystery as the day she was born. She had figured out Dove was indeed capable of cloud walking like the pegasi of old. Discovering that had given her a panic when one day Dove flew up high and didn't come back down, only for Sunset to find the filly sitting contentedly on a cloud. She was also capable of some small scale weather manipulation just like they could too. Those were normal pegasus abilities though, not things that should get her a cutie mark on birth and have ancient demons wanting her dead. If Dove was hearing voices too it was best to figure out why.

"If you ever think you hear anything like that again tell me right away. Don't lie and say you have if you don't, but if you do make sure you tell an adult right away," She told her little pegasus.

"Yes, Mama," Dove said again.

"Would you be willing to come with me on my next hunt? I know it might be scary for you to see, but I want to see if you hear anything right after I make a kill. Do you think you can be a big brave filly and watch so you can let me know?" Midnight asked. She didn't want to have Dove watch her hunt, but if she was only hearing it sometimes then maybe it needed the body to be more freshly killed. It was a stretch, but they were all desperate to figure Dove's cutie mark out, and time was running out.

"I can really watch you hunt, Mama?" Dove said with wide eyes. She was far more excited about this than Midnight liked. She didn't want Dove to be afraid, but she didn't want her eager either.

"If you promise to behave yourself and not try anything of the sort yourself or get in my way. I am telling you now it can be scary. It is a side to me I really don't like the idea of you seeing, but this might be important," Midnight said.

"I can be a brave filly, Mama, don't be sad. I love you no matter what," Dove said, and the filly quickly flew over and tackled Midnight in a hug.

After giving her daughter a big hug she got the rest if the story out of Dove. Midnight took the time to praise her daughter for doing the right thing by going and getting an adult when the situation got to where she didn't know what to do anymore. It was as important to praise her daughter for doing the right things as it was to scold her for doing the wrong.

After getting Dove to help her make sure her mane was completely blood free they headed back to camp. Sunset had arrived back as well while Midnight had been bathing, and was getting the account of what had happened told to her by a much more animated than normal Quiet Word. The little colt was probably as happy to be getting the alicorns' attention as he was with getting his cutie mark and new companion. It wasn't really fair that he should be neglected in favor of Dove so often, but Dove was the priority. The two foals didn't understand what was going on, and she was dreading having to explain it to them. That date was rapidly approaching though. She didn't need any of her horned companions spells that could tell time to know that, she just had to look at the growing foals. Dove was now around nine years old according to Sweet Pea, that meant they had used up more than three quarters of their time.

She watched and waited for Quiet Word to finish telling Sunset all about his cutie mark story. Sunset was smiling as she listened and would intermittently ask a question, but there was a sad look in her eyes that Midnight wondered at. Water Shadow had the same look as well, and Midnight really wanted to ask them about it, but didn't want to interrupt Quiet Word's big moment with anything that would dampen the mood.

"I heard some pony did something to earn a story today," she said after it seemed he had finished. "I heard all about it, and am very proud of you too. What kind of story did you want to hear? Did you want to hear about Gusty the Great again? Or Patina and the Mirror? Or maybe the Tale of The Two Sisters?"

"Can you sing me an old song this time? I kind of want to learn a new song," Quiet said.

She looked at him with bemusement. Songs weren't part of her normal stories. The archives back in Ocid didn't really keep track of old songs. She of course knew a few simple lullabies that she had been sung in Foal Services when she was very young, and then there were some drinking songs that were sung in some less reputable areas of Ocid. Neither of those really seemed appropriate for what he would want.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I really don't know any old songs," she said sympathetically.

"Please, Mama, you know all the old things. You have to know a song too," Dove pleaded while griping Midnight's leg.

Midnight looked down at the two eager foals with lowered ears. She really didn't want to disappoint them, but this was beyond her knowledge.

"I don't think she knows any songs, little ones, but I am sure she could tell you a story you never heard before. Perhaps she could tell about Fluttershy and the dragon," Water Shadow said, coming to her rescue.

The two foals still looked very disappointed. It actually kind of broke her heart that she would fail them in this. It really shouldn't be a big deal, but she felt like the least important of the adults most of the time as it was. She wouldn't be able to do anything to help defend them against the Mare of Shadows or her abominations, telling these stories made her feel like she was providing something more for them. She would do this, she would sing them an old song, somehow.

"No, I can sing a song. Just sit quietly for a moment while I prepare," Midnight said. The two foals looked at her with excitement, the adults looked at her in confusion.

Midnight took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She needed to find those voices, she needed them for this. This was going to be completely coming from outside of her. She was just a conduit for old knowledge and the voices would give her the words. The power was there, it was growing every day. She had to be able to do this by now.

She felt a light breeze pick up and thought she could hear the beginnings of the sounds of music. That was almost certainly her imagination. She could feel the heat on her flank that meant her cutie mark was lighted up, and that told her that she was going to be able to do this.

She listened carefully to the distant sound of long forgotten music, and reached into herself to find the voices that would give her the words to give to the song. After a long moment she opened her eyes and began to sing.

"Simul autem cantabo
et audient in montibus nostram vocationem;
nostras voces ut
recordatus sum usque in sempiternum,
Terra Equest-Tria!"

The foals looked on with gazes of unabashed joy, the adults looked on with gazes of pure shock. Midnight was sure she could hear the music of long ago instruments with her actual ears now, and the wind was picking up more.

"Et erit in patria exultant lusibus
diem ac noctem et sint in;
pedes tenens nos conjunget
una mens, una anima mea
Terra Equest-Tria!"

The music was loud now, it was real, and all the ponies could hear it play in harmony with her singing. The wind she realized was radiating directly off her, and her cutie mark was so bright she could see its light even while looking forward. Still there was more song to sing, and she couldn't bring herself to stop. Something deep inside her compelled her to keep going and she had to obey.

"O, Luna's in clara stellarum in lumine
et luna lucet in terra deorsum
Celestia's aestate aetheres
dirige nos perducere
Terra Equest-Tria!"

The magic was so intense. She had never felt anything like this before, she couldn't imagine a pony holding so much magic at once. Her cutie mark now blazed like it was a sun of its own. Her whole body was glowing. Visible waves of magic drifted off her.

"Midnight, you have to stop this right now, you don't know what you are about to do!" Sunset shouted in fear.

"No! You must continue on! We need you to do this. For the good of your daughter. You must continue and claim this!" Water Shadow said with eagerness.

There wasn't really any choice involved between the two. She had to finish whether she wanted to or not. The magic compelled her and she was just the conduit for it. She had just one verse left and it would be finished.

"Nos iocundis interesse risus
de amore et fide, ut participes simus
et cognoscat mundus bonum tempora
gloria et honore coronasti
Terra Equest-Tria!"

With the final words of the song the light exploded out from her, the world went into a blinding white light, and she passed out.

[

"What were you thinking telling her to continue!" Sunset shouted at Water Shadow.

Water Shadow sat impassively as Sunset raged at her. She would let Sunset vent her anger out.

"You know why we put an end to that happening in our world, it is too dangerous. You of all ponies should have been the one trying to stop her!" Sunset continued to rage.

Midnight was still unconscious beside them in the shelter. She was unharmed, the complete opposite of unharmed, but her body and mind needed a little bit of time to adjust after what had just had happened.

"And what are we supposed to tell the others out there? What ideas will be planted once they realize what Midnight has done!" Sunset raged on as she gestured with a wing towards the door.

She and Sunset had moved quickly to get Midnight hidden away after the flash. Water Shadow didn't think that any of the others had seen her in the brief moment. They had all been too dazed by what had happened. There was now a force field and sound dampening spell up around this shelter. They had told the others that they were taking care of Midnight, but had given no details of me explanations.

"What do we do if one of the others does the same? This is a nightmare." Sunset said. She was a little quieter now.

"If one of the others does the same we will count our blessings that they did," Water Shadow finally spoke, having decided that Sunset was calm enough to reason with now. "We need this, Sunset, our world needs this."

"This could mean the death of our world," Sunset countered.

"Our world is dead if we do nothing. Are there dangers to this? Yes, most definitely. But sometimes you have to have to steer your ship into dangerous waters to escape the storm that will surely sink it," Water Shadow said calmly.

"How can you be so calm? You remember even better than I do what happened last time we let this occur," Sunset demanded.

"I remember it very well, but this is not the same as last time. We can make this work this time. Midnight will not be cast off trying to cope with this herself. The others before were left alone and given no support. It is no wonder that most went mad," she explained.

"That is no guarantee," Sunset said dismissively. "And if the same happens with Sweet Pea? Or one of the foals?"

"We will support them too," Water Shadow answered confidently.

"Why do you think support will be enough?" Sunset asked.

"Why? You of all ponies should know that answer to that. Who was it that supported me when I was ready to drown in madness and pulled me back up?" Water Shadow asked.

"It was me," Sunset said quietly.

"Then do you have no faith in it working again after you had success with it? What pulled you back from the madness when you succumbed for a brief time in that other world?" Water Shadow pressed on.

"Support from friends who cared about me," Sunset answered again quietly.

"And that is how we shall keep the madness from taking hold now. Don't forget that most of us that ascended in that century were not part of Twilight's inner circle like you were and we were left to deal with having to see loved ones pass away from old age as we remained unchanged and dealing with powers we didn't understand with absolutely no support whatsoever, there were simply too many of us," Water Shadow concluded with a hint of bitterness to her voice.

"I am just afraid. For the first time in seven thousand years I am looking on the face of a freshly ascended alicorn and all the memories of the Time of Madness are rushing back to me. There weren't supposed to be any more of us. We sealed the ascension so it wouldn't happen again. Not even Biblo could achieve it when she was filled with the full power of the Tree of Harmony," Sunset said as she looked down on Midnight's now horned head.

"That seal apparently doesn't work in other universes it seems," Water Shadow said.

"What are we going to tell her when she wakes? What are we going to tell the rest?" Sunset asked.

"The truth, Midnight ascended to Alicornhood, and now has power to fight back like you, me, and Sweet Pea to try to save our lives from the monsters waiting outside," Water Shadow replied.

"Should we be pushing Sweet Pea to do the same?" Sunset asked.

"If she does it then it will happen on its own. You know how this works. Her magic was far weaker than Midnight's when she first entered here. Now she is exceedingly powerful for a unicorn. If she ascends then she ascends, if she doesn't then she is still useful as an extremely powerful unicorn the likes our world hasn't seen in many a generation. We don't need to push anything."

"I just hope this doesn't go terribly wrong," Sunset whispered. "I have lost too many friends to madness."

"Some were pushed to it, don't forget that, most of them weren't even alicorns. Peridot can't be blamed for what goes on in her head, what she has to shoulder would drive any pony mad. That is why we cowardly didn't shoulder the responsibility for Ocid. We are at fault for her, and should admit to it. Biblo was pushed to madness by Pinkie Pie we eventually learned. We don't know what happened with Pinkie Pie, but I suspect the Elder Gods meddled in some way to push her off the edge too. Took us nearly two centuries after her death to even realize what she had done or that she had betrayed us," Water Shadow said sadly.

"Our friends now might be pushed to it as well," Sunset said.

"We all face that danger. The Mare of Shadows has demonstrated she can touch your dreams. That seems as good a place as can be to drive you mad. If she can do it to you I don't doubt she can do the same to me as well," Water Shadow lamented.

"Then let's agree to talk to one another about any strange dreams we might have so we can fight her influence together," Sunset said.

"We need to get back to Peridot if we survive. We know the necromancer touches her dreams too. We failed her miserably to this point, we need to try to help her too. She should never have had to bear the burden we left her with. It is time to start fixing our mistakes," Water Shadow said with a sigh.

"I am not sure there is any time left to fix them. If we return to Ocid we still have the threat of the undead horde coming down on it to get Dove. We have some idea how to survive a little while now, but these are just delaying tactics. We need to understand our enemy. She doesn't seem to actually want to destroy Ocid, and we need to know why. We are no closer to understanding her motivations than we when she first appeared seven centuries ago," Sunset said with a stomp of her hoof.

The hoof stomp was loud. The sound dampening spell would have blocked the sound from going outside, but the sound inside was enough to rouse Midnight. The newly minted alicorn stirred from her sleep with a groan and Water Shadow moved over to her to be ready to help her.

"What..happened?" Midnight said sleepily as she opened her eyes.

"You did a very impressive feat of magic. How are you feeling?" Water Shadow asked cheerfully as she could. Hoping that her pleasant tone would put the young alicorn at ease before Midnight had the shock of realization of what she had become.

"I remember singing. It was something ancient, really ancient. I was drawing so much power to make the words come," Midnight said, with a shake of her head to clear it.

"And how are you feeling after all of that?" Water Shadow reiterated.

"Actually I feel good. I can feel a lot of magic running through me now, but it doesn't hurt like it did when I was singing," Midnight said with her eyes going wide. "Where is every pony else?"

"They are all outside. We wanted to make sure you were well adjusted before they saw you. This will be a shock to both you and them," Water Shadow said pleasantly.

"That's an understatement," Sunset grumbled.

"Hush," Water Shadow hissed at the golden alicorn.

"Why would it be a shock?" Midnight asked. She got to her hooves and then froze as it finally registered to her that her body was different. Midnight turned and looked at her now black feathered wings and gasped.

"What happened to my wings?" Midnight shouted.

"Touch a hoof to your forehead, you have some other shocks in store for you," Sunset said to her in a nonchalant voice.

Midnight did as instructed and froze as her hoof touched her new horn, a long grey thing that matched her fur.

"Welcome to Club Alicorn," Sunset said.

Midnight shook a little and took a visible gulp as she lowered her hoof down to the ground.

"Okay, I can deal with this. I can deal with this," Midnight assured herself. Water Shadow didn't think the young alicorn really sounded that confident. Midnight seemed close to hyperventilating.

"It takes some getting used to, but I can assure you that it isn't that bad. Sunset and I have gotten along with it well enough these last seven thousand years," Water Shadow said calmly.

"Am I immortal now?" Midnight said shakily.

"Well, as immortal as you can be if you don't let the Mare of Shadows kill you," Water Shadow assured her. She hoped that if she kept treating this as the most natural thing in the world that Midnight would calm down.

"What about the others?" Midnight asked, her eyes crossed as she tried to gaze at her new body part.

"They are all outside just like you last saw them. They are likely all extremely worried about you. I am pretty sure I have felt Dove trying to beat her way through the shield to get in here to see you," Water Shadow said.

"She is okay? I didn't hurt her?" Midnight said.

"Other than being worried frantic about you she is fine," Water Shadow assured her.

"I need to see my daughter," Midnight said as she stopped looking at her horn.

"You can, as soon as we are sure you are calm and adjusted," Water Shadow insisted. "If you go out there too upset you might hurt some pony, including your daughter, by accident. You are a lot more powerful now, a lot stronger, and have magic at your command you know nothing about. I know this is hard, but you need to be able to sit down and compose yourself. Will you please just sit down and be calm and we will go get Dove to come see you."

"Okay, I'll get calm. Just please, let me see my daughter," Midnight begged.

Sunset rose to her hooves and went outside. Water Shadow was glad that Sunset was letting her take the lead in this. Sunset was a wonderful friend, but she could be a little harsh sometimes. This needed a gentle hoof.

After a brief moment Dove came rushing in with Sunset coming back in behind her. The filly skidded to a halt as she beheld her mother and just stared.

"Dove? It's okay, I'm okay," Midnight said as she looked at her daughter's wide eyed expression.

"Mama? You..you look different. What happened to you?" Dove asked as she looked her mother over uncertainly.

"Mama did a lot of big magic and turned into an alicorn, honey. I'm fine, I'm just getting used to this. I am actually a little scared to tell you the truth. Are..are you scared of me?" Midnight asked, trying to hold back a sob as she spoke.

Dove rushed over to her mother and embraced her and rubbed head passionately against her mother. Midnight broke down crying then as she embraced her filly back, wrapping her now feathered wings around Dove as she did, and nuzzling her with her head.

"I'm not scared of you Mama, I was just really scared something bad happened to you. There was all that light and other stuff I didn't understand. Sunset and Shadow were shouting, and then they took you in here and blocked us all out. I was really scared Mama. I thought..I thought.." Dove cried, unable to finish the sentence.

"It is okay. Everything will be okay. I can protect you better now. I always felt I couldn't protect you like I should. But I can do better now, this is a good thing, I think," Midnight looked up to Water Shadow and Sunset after saying this. The two nodded affirmation back. Midnight went back to nuzzling her filly after seeing it.

"I think I am going to go outside and prep Sweet Pea and Quiet for the shock," Sunset said. Water Shadow nodded to Sunset and the golden alicorn went back outside.

Water Shadow watched the mother and daughter embrace and show their love for one another. She thought about her own long dead pegasus filly, Sea Star, as she did. She couldn't help but do so, the parallels were too strong. She dearly hoped that it did not end the same way for these two as well.

This time will be different. I promise you both I will give my last dying breath if need be to make sure this time is different.

Hydia lounged on her ornate cushioned couch wishing to have a more trained slave at the moment. It was always a joy when she finally broke the will of one of the nobles, but it took time to train them to perform properly. She was in a bad mood and the poorly performing male hippogriff was not helping her mood. It would have to be endured for the moment. She would have one of the better trained ones follow this one up later.

The source of her bad mood was that disgusting Mare of Shadows. The bitch had gone and done a gambit that had weakened her influence within the royal family dramatically. She almost had the influence she wanted over the queen but all that was gone now after their victory over that undead attack. It was unlikely she would be able to get any further with this one now, which meant at least another generation before she had control of the throne here. So much time and effort wasted.

"Ow! Watch the beak, dearie. You are not supposed to actually eat me," she scolded the newest slave as he got too rough. There was no reason to get harsh with him yet, doing so too early on could break her hold on him.

"I'm sorry, I've never done this before," the teal hippogriff said.

"You are doing fine, just more tongue less beak. In a few minutes I will show you how much I am enjoying your attention," she said with a purr. She might have been enjoying it if not for her bad mood, so she definitely would make a good show of it.

She went back to her thoughts and let him get back to work on her personal areas. She was especially angry that there didn't seem to be much she could do to get back at that bitch of a pony. Her spy into the pony's lair was dead, she had felt the life go out of him. Nothing of use had been learned from that other than she sadistically kept trophies of her kills. Hydia preferred her living prizes herself, the dead didn't bring much pleasure normally. What was the point of anything if there was no pleasure involved?

She felt a small nagging at her thoughts and concentrated on it. She let off a sigh as she realized the old goat was trying to get in contact with her. Grogar somehow managed to stink even in dreams, which meant he had to do it on purpose since he shaped the dream. Truly one of the most disgusting creatures she had ever had the displeasure of knowing. What did the cretin want? This was going to mess with her training of her new slave to go to sleep now. She decided just to ignore the summons.

"Is something wrong?" the new slave asked as he paused in his attentions of her.

"Nothing is wrong. You are doing an excellent job. How about I.." he words were cut off as the world suddenly plunged into black.

Hydia was now in the dream world; she sat in a fabrication of the throne room of Tambelon, and before her sitting on his throne was Grogar. The vile goat had forcefully brought her into it! How dare he do such a thing to her! Still, she would have to hold her temper with him. If he brought her forcefully here that had a lot of not so good implications for her. She didn't think she was in any danger of losing her bell, but her recent setbacks might very well be frowned upon by her masters. She would need to be on her best behavior.

"My dear, you seemed to not be noticing when I summoned you. I decided to save us some time and just bring you here right away. There is business to attend to, and I need you to work quickly," Grogar said as he peered down at her.

"What tasks do you have of me, Lord Grogar?" she asked compliantly.

"The Mare of Shadows is likely going to be removed from our ranks, why that is happens to be none of your concern. I am already planning out her replacement. I need you to help make sure she ends up gone though. To that end I have a task for you," Grogar explained.

Getting back at the bitch of the pony? She didn't need to be ordered for this. Whatever Grogar wanted would likely cost her resources, but that was fine. She could recover no matter if it cost her everything; it was worth it to finally take that creature down.

"What do you want me to do, Lord Grogar?" Hydia said with an evil smile.

Author's Notes:

If you want to hear the clean version of Midnight's song here it is. Please support Evening Star who makes some pretty epic music for MLP.

https://youtu.be/8-TvjOfQI2w