The Black Eyes of the Nightmare

Corvus, Luna, Edward, Celestia, Moon Fox, Jin, and Victor all struggle to wake up. They pass around yawns and lip-smacking. The nasty taste in their mouth all give them the same idea: rush to the bathroom. Corvus manages to get in there first.

"Aw, no!" moans Victor.

"I won't be long," says Corvus, giggling.

"Good morning, my comrades," says Jin as he's stretching.

"Did you all sleep well?" asks Celestia.

"Well, Sister, last night," says Luna, starting to feel nervous, "Jin taught me about the marvelous world of the Internet."

"What's an Internet?"

Jin sighs, then says, "The Internet is a link to all other computers in the world, giving the freedom of sharing images, videos, and documents."

"Yes," says Luna, nodding. "With this Internet, I found our creator."

"Creator?" says Celestia. She starts to stretch.

"The creator of the show, of course."

"Oh. Well, who is this creator?"

"She goes by the name Lauren Faust."

"Huh, I wonder what's on," says Victor as he grabs the remote. The moment the television turns on, a very familiar opening song starts loudly. "Oh, surprise, surprise. My Little Pony."

The last 3 words instantly get the two princesses' attention. They lock their eyes to the screen, along with Victor and Jin. "So they're gonna watch themselves," says Moon Fox, emotionless.

"Pretty much," answers Jin, not paying much attention.

"Don't take too long," says Edward, spreading his wings then tucking them back in. "We got yet another uneventful day ahead of us."

"I like this song," says Luna, bobbing her head to the beat. Victor and Jin laugh.

                                                                *                                *                               *

Meanwhile in Equestria, Rainbow Dash is taking a nap on a cloud. It's a windy day in Ponyville, and the blue pony's rainbow mane is blown to the side.

"Rainbow! RAINBOW DASH!"

Rainbow is shocked awake. She rolls off the cloud and drops to the ground, next to the source of the shouting: her friend Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes spin, seeing over four Twilight's.

"Rainbow, are you listening?" says Twilight, annoyed.

"Oh, hey, Twilight," says Rainbow. Her red eyes stop spinning. "You sound a little mad."

"You bet I am! A storm wasn't supposed to be scheduled today." Twilight uses her magic to turn Rainbow toward the sky. Rainbow sees it. To Ponyville and beyond, dark clouds are forming into a swirl.

"No. It was supposed to be sunny today, but I didn't do it."

"Then who?"

"I'm not sure, Twi. Maybe the pegasi got their schedule mixed up."

Twilight keeps looking at the swirling clouds, growing with concern. "I hope the Princess Celestia and Princess Luna come back soo. If they left Equestria, they must have had a good reason to."

"Did you see that arc thing in the forest? It's still glowing with all this freaky magic," says Rainbow. "If anything goes bad, we  can just call them back in a jiffy."

                                                                *                                *                               *

Equestria shares the same weather as Earth today: dark and cloudy, but no rain. Everyone takes their places in watching Manhattan. Edward is bored silly, sitting with and his head leaning on his own hand. Celestia keeps a watchful eye on the clouds, but Luna is fallen asleep. Victor and Jin try not to divert their attention toward the many stores near them. They don't usually like shopping, but it seems exciting at the moment.

The Moon Fox watches all the people. She notices a family. A mother, a father, and two hyperactive kids. She can ever hear their squeals of joy when they notice all the television screens of Times Square. She chuckles, finding it a little funny. Then she spots a group of teenagers just coming out of an Italian restaurant. They chatting, but Moon Fox can't make out what they're saying. Curiosity is taking her over, but if she gets closer, she would be visible to about a million people. This is how she spends her time as a lookout. She looks up at the sky with growing suspicion. The Moon Fox glares at it like it's a monster challenging her.

Corvus lands near Edward, noticing he's bored. "Y'know, it's a disappointment," she says.

"What is?" asks Edward.

"There's tons to do in this New York place, and we can't do a single thing but sightsee."

"I'd take the word for it if these humans would be scared if they saw me, but we can't stay hidden."

"You're right. When this disaster shows up, we'll have to reveal ourselves."

A blinding light flashes in the sky. It gives all of the lookouts a jolt. A stream of lightning warms the cool air, striking a building. Even with lightning rods, the building gets nearly cut in half by the powerful force. An explosion of debris blinds the people near the building. Some stare at it with confusion, while other run away screaming.

"Uh-oh," mutters Edward. One half of the building starts to lean, giving off a low, creaking sound that splits eardrums. It's leaning toward the street, about to hit a building on the other side. Celestia notices at and nudges Luna awake. Moon Fox also sees the cracked. They all take off, along with Edward and Corvus. Celestia, Luna, and Corvus use telekinetic powers to keep the building from leaning down further. It's really heavy for them, so they start to grunt and sweat. Victor then hatches an idea.

"FOX!" he calls from the ground. "Use your tails to pull it back!" Moon Fox does as told without hesitation. The seven tails wrap around the walls, helping further on pulling the building back in its place. It's also very heavy for her.

"What...nnnoooow?" says Corvus, struggling.

Victor then calls out to Edward, who's helping push the building back. "Edward! Melt the cracks back together!"

When the building is back in its place, he flies around and breaths a storm of fire on the parts the lightning bolt cut the building open. He melts the metals in the wall as he keeps breathing the stream of fire. Celestia, Luna, Moon Fox, and Corvus keep the building together, and then let go. It stays in place.

"I'm impressed, ponies," says Edward as he flies back to them. "As girly as you both look, you got some power in ya."

"Edward, just lay off," says Moon Fox.

"What? I'm just saying that they got power!"

"We have another problem now," says Corvus, looking around.

"What is it?" No one answers. Edward turns around and sees a large crowd of people staring all five of them, hovering in the air. "Oh..." Edward can hear indistinct chatter, and doesn't even need to take a guess that they're talking about the creatures that just showed up. Victor and Jin shove their way through the crowd and make it to the clearing the building would've collapsed into. Their friends hover down, touching the concrete.

"Oh, this is bad," says Corvus, putting her hands on her head. "Someone's gonna call the police."

"Hey! No, no," says Victor, grabbing Corvus by the shoulders and shaking her. "Lots of people would have died if you all hadn't done anything. This is why we're here."

"We might as well explain to the humans," suggests Moon Fox.

"I'll handle this," says Edward, smirking. He jumps into the air hovers, getting the massive crowd's attention. He starts to laugh nervously. "I'm gonna need a microphone or something."

"I'll handle this, dragon!" says Luna, feeling annoyed. She hovers over to Edward and pushes him aside. She turns to the crowd and clears her throat, initiating the Royal Canterlot voice. "CITIZENS OF-" she roars, but stops short of two words. She looks down at her friends. "What's this city called again?" she asks.

"New York," says Jin.

"NEW YORK!" roars Luna. "FEAR NOT, FOR WE COME IN PEACE!"

"Are you all aliens?" asks middle-aged man wearing a polo shirt.

"Hmm, in a way, YES, WE ARE! WE CAME HERE FROM OTHER WORLDS TO PREPARE OURSELVES FROM AN UPCOMING DISASTER!" Luna points at hoof to the building that they salvaged. "THIS IS ONLY A TASTE OF WHAT IS COME!"

"Oh my God, you guys! It's Luna!" shouts a teenage brony to his friends.

Luna starts to like the attention. "YES! TIS I, PRINCESS LUNA! AND THESE BE MY SISTER AND MY FRIENDS!" Luna points a hoof over where her friends and sister are. They all give a weak wave. "AGAIN, FEAR NOT! FROM NOW ON, WE SHALL BE THE GUARDIANS OF THINE FAIR CITY!"

"So here's the deal, New Yorkers," interrupts Moon Fox as she hovers over the crowd of people, crossing her arms. The crowd shifts their attention to her. "Something bad is about to happen, and we'll protect you from that. We can be friends, or we can be enemies. Your choice."

"Where are you from?" asks a young woman.

"And what are you going to do?" adds a portly man.

"That's none of your concern. And I know how you all act when you see something strange. You run away from it like it's the Boogieman hiding in your closet. It's such an infuriating reaction, and I do not want to see it happen. Yes, we are powerful, but we're responsible about it, too. I..." Moon Fox bites her lip. "...Pinkie promise that we will not harm the innocent."

"You gotta hold your pinky finger when you pinky promise," says a little boy holding hands with his mother.

"No, it's a Pinkie promise. It's like, a promise I'll regret breaking."

"But you didn't use your pinkie, Miss Glowy Dog."

"Never mind. I still promise anyway." The Moon Fox lands between Victor and Jin and points to them. "These two will vouch for us."

"Yeah. These guys are cool," says Victor.

"Indeed. They're great company."

"Thank you, boys," says Moon Fox. She returns to hovering in the air. "This lightning bolt incident was just a warning. I suggest evacuating, but I have a feeling this disaster is going to be beyond the city radius."

"Um, one question," says the brony with his hand up.

"Shoot away, kid." Moon Fox lands in front of him and his friends. They seem a bit startled.

"Why do you guys have two cartoon characters with you?"

Moon Fox approaches the teenager. He feels too paralyzed to even move away. "You probably think this is a weird dream." Moon Fox gives him a pinch, and the teenager gets a jolt. "It's kind of a funny story. You know that Equestria place? It's real. Don't ask me why, it just is. My two human friends watch the show, too, and since these two divine ponies are here, I bet we'll all get along well." She gives him a pat on the back and goes back to floating.

"How did you all get here?" asks the brony's friend.

"Inter-dimensional travel. And that's none of your business. We won't allow humanity to abuse this invention."

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh, Moon Fox?" says Celestia, flying right next to her. "They're just confused, is all."

"Humans don't listen to softies," answers Moon Fox.

"Yes, true. I personally would not like humans running around in Equestria. Not when they're not ready. The ponies..."

"Mommy, look at the pretty pony!" yells a little girl, pointing a tiny finger at Princess Celestia.

Celestia looks down at the little girl. "Aww," she says.

"Are you lost?"

Celestia smiles at the little girl. "No, my sweet. I'm right where I should be." Her words make the little girl drop her jaw, making the most hilarious face Celestia will ever see.

                                                                *                                *                               *

Later that day, specifically the afternoon, the group is back in their suite, watching the news. They're all over it. Celestia and Luna are both lying on their bed, along with Victor and Jin. Edward, Corvus, and Moon Fox take the other. They watch as the anchorman talks to the camera, with a picture of Princess Luna doing her speech earlier.

"Superheroes or menaces?" starts the anchorman, a man in his thirties with a photogenic face. "This is the question that's been buzzing around the city of New York. We now go to Han Johnson with a report of a sighting of these creatures.

The camera switches to a Han, a middle-aged man with white hair and a slightly thin body. "Thank you, Joe," he says through a microphone. "A few hours ago, a bolt of lightning sliced a building in half, coming from the swirling clouds that have been at the same place since this morning. One half of the building would have toppled over, but then a group of unknown beings showed up and pushed it back in place, potentially preventing what could have been a disaster. These beings include a yellow dragon, a blue fox, a purple raven, and what appear to be two flying horses. They've proven to have extraordinary powers for achieving the feat of moving that building. These creatures are linked to humans as well, named Victor and Jin. Here are the thoughts on the creatures from local New Yorkers."

The television plays footage of Han asking questions to bystanding citizens. Here are the answers.

"They're bizarre, but I'm glad they stopped that building from falling down."

"Gave me a fright, but I'm sure they mean no harm."

"Seems like the circus is in town."

"The fox lady is kinda scary."

"You do NOT wanna mess with that dragon."

"The ponies are so cute!"

"That raven girl. She looks nice."

"Luna sure knows how to make a speech!"

The Moon Fox turns off the television. "Well, everything went better than expected," she says.

"Oh, they love us!" says Corvus, bouncing a little on the bed. "We're like celebrities!"

"Now we can finally have some fun with this city," says Edward, thinking about what to do.

"Love it when things go as planned," says Victor, sporting a wise guy look.

"Wait," says Celestia. "You knew this would happen?"

"Well, I didn't predict much." Victor gets up. "You see, if you guys were to show yourselves the moment you arrived, mass panic would ensue. I needed something to happen. Something to make people like you. And who doesn't love a hero? Everyone but the villain." Victor starts to laugh nervously. "I didn't tell anyone, but I've been noticing little sparks of energy forming inside the clouds, and I knew something was gonna come down. So I...gave it a direction..."

"You WHAT?" says Moon Fox, getting off the bed, extremely shocked. She runs right up to Victor, glaring at him. Victor keeps laughing nervously. Everyone else shares the her reaction.

"Yes, it was a gamble, but I'm not the one who shot the lightning bolt. It was going to strike somewhere, so I directed it to a building."

"Why didn't you redirect it somewhere where it couldn't hurt anyone?"

"Because this was the chance I was waiting for, Fox. Everyone likes you now."

"So you threatened people's live just so we could get good publicity?" asks Moon Fox, melting Victor with her glare.

"Yes..."

By Victor's surprise. Moon Fox embraces him, but from anger, but with affection. "You're crazy, Victor," she says to him, smiling.

Victor returns the hug to the Moon Fox. "Well," he says, "all the crazy ones usually turn out to be the best people out there."