The world flashed around her; it was everything she knew, yet this was not Equestria as she remembered it. Everything was sapped of life and color, frozen in time. She looked up and saw the sun, she saw that it still shone down upon the earth; yet it brought no warmth nor did it chill.

When the world darkens and the sun yet shines, so shall come the spirit of the shrine.

There was no voice to speak to her, there was no sound, yet it still reverberated throughout her very being.

Be warned, Luna. The Barrier has fallen, and worlds are melding.

Luna gasped, leaping out of bed. Her heart beat faster than a rabbit’s, and her mind raced faster than a falling star. Having a nightmare was highly unusual, as she was the ruler of dreams.

Something very, very powerful must have influenced her. She shuddered- higher beings were unknowable and cryptic. This one seemed to want to help her, but with a prophecy that had been fulfilled?

Before she could go further with that line of thought, there was a knock at her door- whomever had knocked must have used a silencing spell, or Luna would have heard them before that. “Who goes?”

“I am a messenger from General Sharp Thought and Captain Metal Hoof,” the pony on the other side of the door replied, “And I apologize if I woke you, Princess, but the message was urgent.”

A paper slid under the door. “Please read this at your earliest convenience, Princess.”

Luna read it.

Princess Luna, you are needed at the statue garden immediately. Do not alert anypony, even Princess Celestia, unless necessary.

Luna read it again, and made haste to the statue garden. No lies or malicious intent could pass through that threshold.

“Thank you, Princess, for arriving so quickly,” greeted Sharp Thought, bowing.

“I presume that wolf is why you needed me?” Luna guessed, noting the sleeping wolf.

Sharp Thought smiled briefly. “It is no wolf. If I am correct, it is the ‘Spirit of the Shrine’, or at least a powerful spirit. Can you not see it is no ordinary wolf?”

Luna glanced, noting the intricate designs on the fur. “I can.”

“Most cannot,” Sharp replied, “And I think it is part of a prophecy.”

Luna inwardly groaned. This was going to be a very long day. “Which one?”

“When the world darkens and the sun yet shines, so shall come the spirit of the shrine,” he recited, “And thus one part has come to pass. If you recall the legend of Shiranui, who was fabled to look much like this wolf, manifested from a shrine.”

The dream had been a very apt and well-timed warning, without any cryptic attachments at all, now that she thought about it. “Then.... that means...”

“Something very bad is going to happen soon,” Sharp finished. “Metal Hoof is already readying the guard and sending messages to every military outpost. I, personally, think that the Foci needs to be reactivated before this wolf wakes. Something tells me that when it wakes up, the world will change.”

She was caught on one of his statements- the Foci. “The Foci!?”

The Foci was a large, pumpkin-sized emerald banded with electrum that operated by mimicking every ward applied to it or the city, bouncing them around within its multifaceted depths, then projecting them back out with increased power. The only reason that it was risky to use was that any ward projected through it lasted for a year and a day- no longer, no less.

If they made a mistake casting the wards or miscalculated the power of the resulting protections, it could trap everypony in Canterlot inside for a year and a day.

“Yes, the Foci. That is why I contacted you. I...” Sharp Thought coughed. “I’m very sorry, Princess, to disturb you or even try to order you around, but I am worried for the welfare of every single pony in Equestria- and if we don’t last through whatever is about to happen, I will not be able to save a single one of them before I...”

Luna caught Sharp Thought’s line of thought, but said nothing. Sharp was very old for a pegasus- most lived to see 60 or 70, but he had hidden signs of his impending death well. “Very well.”

“I must attend to other matters, Princess. Good luck.”

Luna cast the wards, grateful that her sister was not here. Celestia’s cautious attitude would have slowed down this process, and speed was of the essence. Silently, a wave of magic encased the city, and the emerald lifted upwards, refracting strange light around the Shield Room, where every ward placed on Canterlot was centered.

What Luna could not believe was that she hadn’t noticed Sharp Thought’s decaying health- even her sister had missed it. Sharp Thought was, Luna grimly thought, far too dedicated to his duty. He would protect Equestria until the very day his memories faded.

The wolf opened its eyes.

Far, far away, an ancient darkness awoke, and like a flood of shadow, it rolled across the plains of its new dominion- every bit unnatural. Lands permeated with Harmony darkened in only a few moments, and the Tree of Harmony barely halted the shadow at the entrance to its cavern.

The sun remained, yet the world was drained of color. There was no warmth, there was no sound; it was as if every living thing had been turned to stone.

And they were.

Author's Note

Sorry about the short chapter, but I couldn't resist having this cliffhanger. I'm very sorry if things seemed a bit abrupt or random, but I have my reasoning for at least half of them. Again, let me know what you think.