Midnight Glow sat silently as the elevator slowly descended to the city street. Up until a few months ago she had never used the elevator to go down to the street, but pregnancy had caused her to start needing to use it rather than attempt to glide. Now the reason was she had a squirming foal in a special saddle bag meant for foals on her side. She could possibly carry Dove down in a glide like this, but Midnight was still working to get herself back into shape a few months after giving birth. She worried she would make a mistake in her glide in her current physical condition and end up hurting Dove.

Dove was happily cooing and giggling in the saddle bag, watching the sights of the city outside the window as they descended to the ground. Dove rarely cried, she had to do something to hurt herself to shed a tear. Her naturally happy disposition brought a smile to Midnight's face as her filly's joy at the world was infectious.

Midnight was tired though. She had to get up early every morning to make sure Dove's fur was properly dyed to hide her cutie mark. She also had to make sure her daughter's wings were properly concealed beneath a tiny smock that she had been provided by Sunset. Her white mane on white fur looked odd, and Midnight had been debating dying her daughter's mane some other color so she didn't stand out so much. It didn't matter much now, but it could eventually become an issue that could cause her problems.

The authorities were well aware of her daughter being a pegasus, but it was something she tried to keep secret from most ponies. Keeping it secret was going to get challenging when her foal reached the age she would begin schooling. Her registration would be known to the teachers, and she could just imagine her daughter's wings being revealed to other school-foals with ease. By then at least her having a cutie mark already might not be as shocking, as some foals did get them very young, just not before they were even able to talk.

Dove's cutie mark still was a completely unanswered question. Sunset claimed that she recognized the symbol, but couldn't remember what it meant, nor would she explain where she even saw the symbol before. She called it an ankh, which just sounded like a nonsense word to Midnight. Water Shadow was even less helpful, saying she was completely unfamiliar with the symbol altogether. Midnight had done her best to try to research the symbol herself, but the computer didn't have anything that remotely matched it. Dove had not yet demonstrated anything that indicated the nature of her mark.

Dove's future did seem to be predetermined though sadly. Peridot had made it explicitly clear that the second Dove turned seventeen she was getting suited up as a breeder. Any hope that they could return the pegasi tribe from extinction rested in Dove's uterus. Dove would be paid extra by the government, and treated especially well they assured Midnight, Dove was beyond simply extremely valuable after all. They even said they were open to letting Dove personally raise every pegasus foal she bore, instead of the normal one foal limit. No matter what though, Dove was going to breed and that was final.

Midnight was still making peace with this knowledge. It was the sensible thing to do, and what best served the greater good. Midnight had even gained increased respect for the breeders through her friendship with Sweet Pea. She just hated that her daughter had no hope of anything else for her life. She had resolved that she would make Dove better prepared for such a future than Sweet Pea's mother had left her foal.

Dove giggled loudly as the elevator came to a jarring stop at ground level. She did this each time they took this ride. The manner of how the elevator stopped each time had annoyed Midnight to no end before Dove was born, but the fact that her little filly took enjoyment from it each time had softened Midnight's feelings about the elevator's behavior, and even the choke inducing smell of piss within it was bearable. Not that Dove understood how terrible the smell was yet, it was all she had ever known.

"Okay my little giggle-butt," Midnight said to her foal. "It's time to take you to see your Auntie Sweet Pea. Mamma needs to start being able to go to work without you in tow, and we are going to start getting you used to being around the breeding center."

"Waa?" Dove answered her back. It sounded questioning to Midnight, she wasn't sure how much of anything Dove understood yet. She doubted that the little filly actually understood a word yet. She still took the time to explain things to Dove none the less.

"You'll like your Auntie Sweet Pea," Midnight assured her daughter. "And Auntie Sweet Pea will be happy to see you."

"Waba," Dove responded back, and then proceeded to start chewing, with a great deal of slobber, on the side of the saddle bag.

Midnight hoped that watching over Dove would improve Sweet Pea's mood as of late. Sweet Pea's first foal had been a Crystal Pony colt, and she had given him to Foal Services. The unicorn had been depressed since then. It was recommended to the unicorn breeders that they wait until there was a unicorn filly to keep the foal and to give all other foals till then to Foal Services. Giving the colt up had broken Sweet Pea's heart. Sweet Pea had just gotten pregnant again, only a week into it so far, hopefully this one would be a unicorn filly.

Midnight approached the breeding center that Sweet Pea where housed and employed. A few of the breeders who were standing around outside trying to attract in clients gave her a wave as she passed them, but made no attempt to try to lure her into bed. Midnight was a familiar face at this center, and they knew she wasn't here for sex. They kept a respectful distance from her so they didn't get any of the smoke from their burning lustwort near her. She didn't know any of their names, except Soiled Satin, but she had come to understand they were nice enough mares, most of the time anyway. She had seen them very aggressively use that lustwort smoke to get stallions into the brothel before.

When Midnight entered into the lobby she found Sweet Pea immediately. The green as her namesake unicorn was sitting in the corner watching several unicorn fillies of varying young ages. Sweet Pea looked up at Midnight as she entered and smiled. The boss sitting at the desk didn't do more than give Midnight a quick nod.

"It's good to see you," Sweet Pea said. She sounded a bit subdued, and her yellow eyes a red tinge to them, but the reply seemed honest. She lifted the saddle bag with Dove in it off of Midnight's back and floated the little filly over to herself, with Dove giggling happily all the while. "I haven't gotten to see much of you little one, I'm looking forward to having you for the day."

"Are you feeling okay today?" Midnight asked her friend. Sweet Pea looked like she was definitely having a rough time.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just dealing with lustwort withdrawal symptoms," Sweet Pea explained. "It isn't typically something that mares like you would get addicted to it with light use, but with how much we use it here addiction happens. Coming off it due to pregnancy can be a little rough. I went through this last time, but you were a little preoccupied with your own pregnancy and may not have realized."

"What does withdraw do to you?" Midnight asked. It wasn't just general concern for her friend that motivated the question, though she was definitely concerned for her; Dove would someday deal with these kinds of things as well, and Midnight wanted to be well informed about everything that her daughter would go through and what she should eventually teach Dove about.

"Different mares have different symptoms," Sweet Pea explained. "There's the intense craving for lustwort of course, but they keep it away from us when going through pregnancy. I get a little shaky sometimes. I'm really hungry, but I don't really have any appetite. I have to force myself to eat. I also have some trouble sleeping. It'll pass in another week or two, but will be miserable in the meantime"

"Will you be alright with Dove?" Midnight asked. "I don't want to overburden you if you aren't feeling well."

"I'll be fine," Sweet Pea assured her. "I'm on foal sitting duties right now anyway. If things get too much for me with the fillies I can always call on some of the fourteen or fifteen year old ones to give me aid."

"Why not the sixteen year olds?" Midnight asked. It seemed like the ones on the cusp of adulthood should be the ones helping out more.

"Those ones have to keep away from me when I am in withdrawal," Sweet Pea said with a forced laugh. "They start using lustwort at that age. They reek of it, and aren't responsible enough to be trusted not to try to slip me a lustwort joint if I pressure them. I'd like to say I wouldn't do such a thing, but I can't say that with confidence. They spend most of their time watching monitors showing feeds of breeders with clients. It's considered educational, gives them something to channel all that sexual energy from the lustwort into, and gives us a warning system if any mare is in danger of getting seriously hurt by one of her clients."

The breeders seemed like their own society into themselves. There was so much more involvement by ponies, even when not working a shift or officially old enough to be breeders yet. Their jobs dictated so much more of their lives than Midnight's did, but surprisingly made them do more to look out for one another. Midnight wondered if such a thing occurred with the farmers and factory workers who also had to endure things together. She felt a small pang of jealousy that her own job didn't foster such community with her fellow acolytes. They all worked separate shifts with only their Alicorn for company. After her initial training she spent more time with Water Shadow's acolytes than her fellow acolytes with Sunset Shimmer.

Midnight looked down at her foreleg and grunted, time for her shift was approaching quickly. She kissed her daughter on her head, which made Dove giggle again happily, and made towards the door.

"I need to hurry to my shift, I'll be back as soon as it's done," Midnight told her friend.

"She'll be here and waiting. If we aren't still in the lobby I'll have her in my room with me," Sweet Pea said, as she floated the happy filly onto her back. "Hurry up before you're late."

With a final wave of her wing, Midnight hurried out the door and towards the Crystal Spire.

Sunset stared at each of the monitors in her room that displayed the area beyond the Dome. Aside from farming there was no activity. The drones that circled out in a larger radius outside the Dome saw no activity whatsoever, and that was troubling. They should find some undead milling about somewhere, even if they weren't massing together for an attack, but the land was quiet. Where were they? Drones needed to be sent out further to find out, if they were massing further away from the Dome than normal it could indicate a much larger assault than normal was coming, one that Ocid's military would need to know the direction of attack. There was also the possibility of multiple fronts massing out of view, with other groups even farther back than whichever they found first. She had seen this tactic before from the Mare of Shadows; she would pull on her forces back, create a large mass of troops that would be found first, have the country commit too many forces to one place to meet the horde only to have even larger forces assault from other locations. The fact that Sunset knew this tactic helped guard against falling into that trap, but she still needed to know where all those forces were at right now. A mistake could mean the Dome being breached, once that happened Ocid would soon fall.

The other troubling thing was that the necromancer would be well aware that Sunset Shimmer, Water Shadow, and Peridot Glow had seen this type of tactic before, and would be preparing for it. That meant there had to be even more going on. What in Tartarus was the necromancer planning? They needed more information, and they needed it soon. The drones just weren't capable of surveying the area fast enough though. Something else would need to be done, they couldn't afford to be caught unaware.

She considered her options for finding out more. The best option she could think of was reckless, but the fact that it was spur of the moment and unexpected likely would give her protection. Shadow and Peridot wouldn't be too happy with her for doing it, but they needed more information. The only other problem was making sure she was still attended while doing it. She really didn't need acolytes hanging around her every second of her life, but they would get in trouble if they didn't.

"When you leave today, please go speak to Water Shadow and have her meet me here in three hours. I'll be preoccupied before then, but will need to speak with her right away at that point," Sunset addressed Moon Fury.

"Yes, mistress," Moon Fury replied in the normal monotone. The stallion was a puzzle for her at times. He clearly did care about things, but rarely asked any questions or had any visible emotional reaction. It made him a good servant, but a rather boring one to have about.

Just then the door opened to admit Midnight Glow. She saw Moon Fury give his typical acknowledgement of the other thestral, before departing himself.

"Midnight, I'll have you postpone your normal report for now if there isn't anything pressing in it," Sunset said as she looked at her youngest acolyte.

"There's nothing that's urgent right now, mistress," Midnight replied.

"I didn't expect there'd be," Sunset replied. "Follow with me, we're going to go up top today."

Midnight looked like she was trying to hide her excitement at this announcement. Sunset rarely went up the elevator to the outside of the Dome. She was planning to do more than just go outside the Dome today though. The poor little acolyte was going to likely be struggling to contain a heart attack from what Sunset planned.

"How is your friend doing? I see you dropped Dove off with her," Sunset said as the elevator rose.

"She says she's suffering from lustwort withdraw, I'm not sure if that's really it or not, she's been really down since she gave up her colt," Midnight replied with a frown.

"Drug withdrawal can be rough, but you're right, she likely is suffering more from depression. There's nothing easily gotten over when having to give up a foal," Sunset replied with her own frown. "How'd you do with giving her over to Sweet Pea today? This is your first day without her with you."

"I'm coping," Midnight said with a sigh. "I'm trying really hard to do right by her. I know she was just born two months ago, but I want to do everything I can to get her prepared for life. That means starting to make the breeding center her home away from home. She can get used to being at the place, and though she is young still she can get to be friends with the unicorn fillies she will eventually end up working with when she grows up. I hate that she has no hope for anything else, but I suppose there are worse places than the breeders to end up."

"I noticed you don't refer to it as a brothel anymore," Sunset replied back with a smirk, catching the change in her acolyte's language.

"It feels kind of rude to call it that, they do more than just have sex. I guess I just never really gave them proper respect before, but I'm trying to do better now. Having a best friend who is a breeder, and having my own daughter destined to be one, makes me have to re-examine how I look at things. I think I was unfair before," Midnight replied back in a thoughtful tone.

"I admit I've prejudices of my own with that profession," Sunset admitted. They would likely always be prostitutes in her mind, but perhaps that could change. "And you're right, they're likely unfair. I'm proud of you for moving on from those prejudices."

The reached the top and the elevator opened to fresh air and blue skies. There was a small area to walk around just outside the elevator. Sunset typically only came out here when she felt a desire to actually see the sky with her own eyes and feel the air outside the Dome. Living within Ocid was a claustrophobic and suffocating experience. She needed to get out once and a while, even if the outside was unsafe. This particular spot was at a point that an assault from anything was nearly impossible, but not completely impossible. Nothing could attack this spot without her being well aware of it coming well ahead of time at least.

Beside her Midnight was shielding her eyes wing one of her wings. Daylight was very different than the light that most ponies were used to. Artificial lights were nothing compared to the true light of the sun. Part of the adjustment period for the farmers was just getting them used to functioning in natural light. Ponies lived their whole lives without ever feeling the sun shine on their faces. This was one of the costs of survival.

Sunset wasn't up here simply to enjoy the day this time though. There was a task that needed doing. She gave the thestral time to adjust and enjoy herself for the moment though.

"I'm always so amazed by the sky out here," Midnight said breathlessly. "It seems like it goes on forever."

"Because it does," Sunset replied with a smile. "You can just keep going up and up, there won't ever be any ceiling to hit, and eventually you will get so high that there isn't any air left to breathe. If you were out here at night you would see the moon in the sky, which is so far away you could fly towards it for a week and still not reach it. You would also see the stars which are even farther away, so far away you could fly for a thousand lifetimes and still not get halfway to the closest one. And if you were to somehow manage to reach beyond those stars, to the very edge of the universe, even that is not the end. Beyond the edge is a great empty expanse where eventually you find other universes beyond."

"If they are so far away how do you know they're there?" Midnight asked with a tilt of her head.

"I've been to other universes," Sunset replied. "Or at least a reflection of them. It's funny, I have more clue what's out there in some of those universes than I do in our own. Your daughter's cutie mark is from one of those universes."

"Another universe?" Midnight gasped, an eager expression on her face. "How? What does that mean for her?"

"I honestly don't have an answer to those questions," Sunset said with a sigh. She recalled the old hurt of the deliberate destruction of that mirror by Twilight. "The gateway to that place was sealed long before even Harmony fell. I raged at the other alicorns for sealing it, and never really got over it. It was a home to me for a long time, but such gateways are dangerous. The Elder Gods touch our world from one of those gateways, some other universe than that one. It's best to keep some things sealed away."

"What was that universe like? The one Dove's cutie mark is from?" Midnight asked, sitting down and taking a position like a foal in a class.

"I only ever saw a small speck of it myself, but it was not so alien as you might think," Sunset said nostalgically. "Societies you could imagine existing here, they were kind of like the Klugians or the Neosapians in some ways, though clearly not the same things by any means. They had similar emotions, cared for their loved ones, capable of great good and great evil, not so different than us, despite our exterior differences. Our own computers are actually designed after theirs, based on my recollection of them. I learned alot about technology there. I wonder what that world is like now sometimes, it has been so long, but I'll never find out though. That is sealed away from us now."

"If our computers are based off theirs did we get the idea for the suits from them too?" Midnight asked, her ears lowered.

"No, those are our own terrible creations," Sunset sighed. "We can't pass the blame for their existence to others. I wish I had taken a greater stand against them before they became part of our society. It's one of many things I regret."

"Oh," Midnight replied. She didn't look as happy as she had when they first came up the elevator. Since Midnight's mood was spoiled anyway Sunset guessed it was time to do what she came out here for.

"I didn't bring us up here just for the sight and fresh air," Sunset said. "I need you to get on my back and hold on tight. I'm going to be taking a flight around. If you think you might lose your grip bite onto the back of my neck."

"A flight.." Midnight's eyes widened. She looked around in horror. "Won't I hurt you if I bite your neck, mistress?"

"You can't hurt an alicorn with your bite," Sunset replied. This was partially true. A bite from a thestral's fangs would no doubt be painful, and draw blood, but alicorn bodies were far too solidly built for a normal pony to do any serious injury to one. Sunset could deal with the pain, but she wasn't going to have Midnight fall off her. "I'm also incredibly strong, so I'll barely feel your weight. If you notice me bleed at all at a bite don't concern yourself, it isn't anything serious. You just do what you need to in order to stay on."

"Yes, mistress," Midnight said in a quiet voice. Sunset could see that her acolyte was shaking slightly. If she could have gotten away with leaving Midnight behind she would have, but the thestral would be punished if Sunset left her behind, not Sunset.

Midnight jumped into a brief hover and lowered herself down onto Sunset's back. The thestral then wrapped her legs and wings around Sunset's torso as best she could. The grip would be alright for a little while, but it was clear that at some point Midnight would be forced to bite to hang on.

"Keep yourself on me no matter what, and don't speak. I want you as completely focused on staying attached to my back as possible. Do I make myself clear?" Sunset could feel Midnight trembling, but she felt her nod back a yes. Midnight would be alright as long as she bit down when it came to it. It would take much more than Sunset's flying to dislodge a thestral once they had bit down on flesh. Those bites had over a ton of force in them.

Sunset jumped and flapped her wings, quickly gaining altitude. Midnight tensed up on her back, muscles too tense to even tremble. The alicorn did a circle in the air as she gained some momentum and picked a direction in which to go. Finally deciding to go in the direction the Dome ended soonest she took off at high speeds.

Sunset winced in pain as she felt Midnight bite down much sooner than she had anticipated. It did bloody damn hurt like Tartarus, but she could endure it. At least Midnight was now secure for sure. Knowing now that she wasn't going to be in danger of losing her passenger Sunset picked up her speed.

What she was doing was dangerous. If the Mare of Shadows was not far on the other side of the continent, as Sunset expected, then she was in big trouble. She was no match for the necromancer if she was engaged in battle, and it would end with there being only Water Shadow left among the alicorns. Sunset had faith that the necromancer was too far away for the time being, and that the unexpected nature of what she was doing now would be too much of a surprise to have the Mare respond quickly enough to get to her.

Sunset quickly cleared the Dome area and the farms that were just beyond then entered into the Dead Lands. She was moving at incredible speed that no mortal pony was capable of going, and was now only a few leagues north the ruins of Harmony. There was no sign of the undead hordes yet, even though this area should typically be crawling with them. She decided to turn her course so she would go just west of Harmony's ruins, avoiding the ruins themselves.

Remains of long dead towns and villages passed below her. Most were in such decay that only her knowledge that they were there let her eyes pick up the details indicating their existence. This land was once lush and green, now it was just dirt in brown, grey, and black. The air had a stale smell to it, like she was going into a tomb despite being outside. It brought tears to her eyes. She saw this all the time on the drone images, but being out here in the flesh made it all the more real.

As she moved far beyond the current radius of the drones she pulled herself to a quick halt as her heart dropped in her chest. In the distance she had found the undead, she didn't realize at first what she was seeing, and the reason for that was a thing of nightmares. There was a great grey mass and she realized it was the horde, packed densely and tightly going far off into the horizon. They were massed as they never had been before, there were hundreds of millions, perhaps billions. Nothing could withstand such an assault if they moved against it, not Klugia, not Ocid, and perhaps not all remaining life in the world.

Why were they not pressing forward now? They had the force to crush Ocid and Klugia quickly. With the full force of both nations she didn't think either would hold through a day against this never-ending tide. Two or three days before the Wall and Dome were completely overrun in the absolute best case scenario. If the necromancer had this kind of force what was she waiting for?

Sunset would not dare to get any closer. Whether the Mare of Shadows was present or not this many undead were far more than she could hope to combat if she were to be attacked. She might have been able to put up a decent fight centuries before when Harmony stood still, but now she wasn't much better in a fight than an adept unicorn. She needed to get back to Ocid now, and alert the others of what she had seen. She didn't know what they could possibly do to prepare for this, but the quicker the warning the more chance they might think of some final hope.

Sunset turned her flight back and flew like she had never flown before.

The Mare was bored, sitting around waiting for another to fall asleep left her sitting in the dream realm doing nothing. She could catch glances of a few points of light that indicated dreamers that she had some familiarity with, but her current quarry was not yet asleep. She just had to be patient, the alicorn had spent a great deal of energy on her little flight after a long period of being sedentary. Even with her rushing to alert her compatriots about the Mare's little surprise she would need to sleep soon to regather her strength. If she had more energy than expected it was still only going to be a matter of hours, and the necromancer had nothing else she needed to be doing at this moment.

She spotted another light pop into existence, again the wrong one, but one that she would need to note for later. Peridot was asleep now, and the immortal crystal pony would possibly be needed later if things didn't go according to plan. The Mare really didn't want to have to invade Peridot's dreams, but saw little other option if it came to it. It would be trying to get what she wanted out of Peridot or razing the Dome, neither were appealing options. Hopefully Sunset would behave as expected. She was still seething about Hydia attempting to subvert Ocid's leader to the Elder Gods.

A new flash of light appeared in the void which brought a smile to her face. The time to play her game was finally here. She entered into the point of light and formed up an appropriate dreamscape for this meeting. She sealed it so Sunset would not wake until either the necromancer left or she released Sunset from the dream herself. She wasn't actually aware of how much power Sunset had in the dream realm, but she had never seen this alicorn do any magic infused dreams, so it was likely she would be completely helpless. This wasn't going to be like trying to take on some of the stronger, now dead, dreamers such as Luna.

The golden alicorn was standing gazing at a fireplace that was in a large sitting room that could have been located anywhere in the Great Tree before it was pulled down. The room had some strange inversions, and the fireplace gave off shadows into what would be an otherwise brightly lit room instead of lighting a dark room. There wasn't much more need for showmareship with this dream.

"Aw Sunset, so glad to get a chance to sit down and talk to you," The Mare said as she entered into the room.

Sunset Shimmer went on the defensive, first attempting to teleport away, which of course failed. She next tried to wake herself realizing that she was asleep, something she should be proud to have realized as most ponies didn't realize they were in a dream right away, that of course failed too. The alicorn's next action was to try to blast her with a huge wave of magic. That kind of tactic would have cost the alicorn greatly in the waking world. The Mare simply let the blast hit her and ignored it.

"You can't escape this dream Sunset, I'm in control of it," The Mare said with a smile. "But if it makes you feel better we can't actually hurt each other while in this dream. I'm just here to have a friendly conversation, there isn't any need to be so hostile."

"There's nothing to talk about demon," Sunset snarled back, still with her front held low and wings high in an defensive stance.

"I think there is," The Mare replied back calmly. "Talking is always so much better than violence don't you think? By the way, did you enjoy your little sight seeing tour a little while ago? I was watching you. I'm sure it was quite the impressive view for you."

"Are you trying to get me to put on one of those infernal bell collars to save my life? I won't do it," Sunset growled before spitting.

"You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that actually. I have far too many other acolytes that I need to finish off in the future. Did you know that hag Hydia tried to get one on your Ponymother? Don't worry, Peridot refused it. I promise to make sure Hydia suffers when her time finally comes," The Mare laughed as she finished talking. Sunset looked visibly shaken at the news that Hydia had made an attempt to bring Peridot over as an acolyte for the Elder Gods. That was good to see, it would make her more amendable to doing one of the two things she wanted the alicorn to possibly do.

"So why are you speaking to me? It seems like all you need to do is have your armies come down on us and finish us off," Sunset said suspiciously. The alicorn still had not relaxed her position.

"As I said there's no need for violence, if I can get what I want. I'm content to let things continue as they are for now. Oh, don't mistake me, I will crush Ocid, eventually, but I can delay that for hundreds of years yet. Plenty of time for you all to keep doing that whole Ocid survives thing," She replied back with a smile.

"What do you want?" Sunset growled again.

"Nothing much, a very small thing really. You had a little pegasus filly born recently. I personally could care less, but my masters are insistent that the filly needs to be dealt with so I must comply. Give me the filly and I'll let you all just keep eating each other for the foreseeable future. She is just going to get murdered by your own kind in a few decades anyway and ground up as meal bars, what's the point of delaying it if turning her over to me will save you all now?" She conjured up a few of the Ocid meal bars and tossed them at Sunset to punctuate her point.

Sunset Shimmer just sat there glaring at her. She wasn't sure what the alicorn was thinking, she doubted that Sunset would comply, but there was a chance. It was one of the two possibilities that she was hoping would happen. The other seemed more likely. The final option that could happen was hopefully going to be avoided, that involved her actually having to take.

"If you don't feel up to doing it yourself, I'm sure that I can convince Peridot to do it for you. I'm certain she will do whatever it takes to see that her precious Ocid survives. I expect that filly to be outside the Dome by tomorrow morning at dawn for me to take, alive or dead, I don't care what state she is in. Please be prompt." The Mare finished. Without giving Sunset time to answer, or time to think further, she forced the alicorn out of the dream where she would no doubt wake up quickly.

The Mare of Shadows opened her own eyes and came back to the waking world in the Sanctuary Tomb. She didn't show it to the alicorn but she was tired. Raising an army of that size had been incredibly straining. Unfortunately there was still one last thing she needed to do that was going to strain her for tonight. She needed blood and death to bring her power back to normal, such was the curse of her corruption by the Elder Gods.

"Bring me every last pony that is currently in the pens, I need a lot of blood. Bring me three of the alicorn corpses as well to work with, I don't care which ones. If the guardian of the vaults comes after you tell her that I sent you for them, and then she will let you take them," she commanded her diamond dogs. She might have to sacrifice a few of her dogs as well. This was going to take a lot of power and she needed to be at her regular level still after this. She expected she had an alicorn to kill soon.