Dimensions

Canterlot greeted the Ponyville citizens as if they were royalty. They were shown to the castle, where they would all stay in guest rooms. Fillies were aloud to play in the halls and gardens, as long as an adult and a guard looked after them. There was an all-you-can-eat buffet held in the middle of the castle, and Princess Celestia and Luna made sure to watch over all of them.

Discord came to the party not long after, wondering what was going on. Once the Princesses explained what was happening, and telling him that they think they're here because of a Parasprite attack, he played along with the charade. He mainly played with the fillies, making sure that they wouldn't freak out, but eventually resorted to looking after Fluttershy's animals.

Not long after the arrival of Ponyville's citizens, Canterlot ponies started questioning what was going on. They were told before this that it was a Parasprite crisis, but they got suspicious after realising how they were being treated. Eventually, to avoid more questions and suspicion, Celestia opened the buffet for Canterlot ponies as well.

A day passed, and a letter appeared in Celestia's face. It had the same encryptions on it as Twilight's letter did when she received a letter from Midnight. Upon opening it, she read it carefully and studied the symbols on the paper. The letter commanded for Celestia and Luna to go to Ponyville. When the two Princesses saw who wrote it, they sighed and took to the air.

Twilight Sparkle was waiting in the middle of Ponyville, along side Starlight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike and Princess Cadence. The two alicorn Princesses landed next to the lavender alicorn, tilting their heads in confusion. Before they could speak, a spark glinted behind them, and Discord stepped forward, looking around.

"Did you get that letter, too?" Discord asked, standing next to Fluttershy.

"We did." Twilight nodded, then turned to Celestia. "What's going on?"

"I do not know." Celestia informed her. "But it was Midnight who wrote the letters, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Pinkie giggled. "Look! My paper's got funny drawings on it! She must be an artist!" Pinkie held up her letter.

"Tomorrow's the battle, isn't it?" Spike retorted. "That must be why she called us here."

"But it isn't till tomorrow, dear." Rarity kindly told him. "Why did she call us here now?"

Fluttershy looked off into the distance as they tried to figure out what was going on. In the blurry background of the village, she could see a white figure slowly trot towards them. She rubbed her eyes to see clearer, resulting in seeing the black cloak around the white figure. It was obvious that it was Midnight. This time, the cloak wasn't around her face. Rather, around the gash in her stomach.

"Look!" Fluttershy squeaked, pointing towards Midnight. They all turned their attention towards the figure. As it trotted closer, they saw who it was.

"Hey!" Dash yelled out to her. "What gives? The fight isn't till tomorrow!"

As Midnight came closer, they all saw that her cloak was wrapped around her stomach. She calmly walked into the middle of the huddled group, clearing her throat.

"I see you have gotten my message." Midnight said in a soothing, robotic voice. Her white eyes sparkled in the sunlight. No one really saw her in proper light, so when the sun reflected off of her mane, it almost blinded one of them.

"Yeah, we all did." Twilight sighed. "But what's wrong? Why are we here?"

"You did well." Midnight nodded. "You have cleared the town, and made way for the battle. Hopefully the battle will not change location. As of now? You need to stay with me until tomorrow. Prepare your weapons, raise your energy... I will also explain weak spots of Error Pinkie."

Luna rubbed her arm. "This... Is going to be a really big battle... Isn't it?"

"And bloody." Midnight added. "This will probably give you nightmares... If you survive."

"What do you mean, if?" Dash yelled.

"I told you that you didn't need to help me." Midnight explained. "Know that this is your choice, not mine. You can back out now, but tomorrow? No surrender."

"We understand that." Starlight coughed.

"Really?" Midnight snapped in a calm voice, turning to Starlight. "I don't think you do."

After a short minute of silence, Cadence broke it. "So, where do we start?"

Midnight saw Discord rubbing his arm and sweating. She smirked. "This way."

They walked out of Ponyville and into the Everfree. Following the white mare, they came upon the old shack again, this time, more beaten-up. Opening the small door, they entered into the bigger-on-the-inside house. After stepping in, Midnight quickly pulled herself towards the book shelf like a magnet.

Using her telekinesis, she levitated multiple books and chests from around the room, stacking them in a neat, orderly pile. She then huffed, sitting down and turned to Twilight.

"Where is the weapon that I gave you?" Midnight asked her.

Everyone swished their heads to Twilight, who replied. "In my room, under my bed."

"That's the safest place you put it?" Midnight smirked. "I have a trillion hidden compartments in my shack. Would it kill you to make one yourself?"

Twilight smiled, jokingly. "Heh..."

"Well go get it, then!" Midnight winked. Twilight nodded, spreading her wings and racing out of the shack. The others turned to Midnight in need of an explanation. "What? Do you think I'd let you know about that weapon? Half of you are thinking curse words about me."

Dash immediately flinched, knowing that one of the ponies was her. Midnight flashed a mischievous grin, then continued to stack books and chests neatly around the room.

Around ten minutes later, Twilight came back into the shack, carrying a box in her hooves. She set it down next to Midnight, then returned next to her friends. They were asking what was in the box, and why did Midnight give it to her. Unfortunately, she couldn't answer all of the questions at once.

Midnight stomped her hoof hard on the ground, gaining the attention of all of the ponies due to the loud rumble that she made. Midnight glanced down at the box. "It's a sword." Midnight explained. "It can paralyse Error. I gave it to her because I think she can get close enough to the bitch so I can destroy her once and for all."

Midnight trotted over to the stacks of equipment. Using her telekinesis, she opened a couple of chests and looked over her shoulder at the group of ponies. She then rotated her body around and pointed at the boxes. "Pick one or two."

Spike was the first to step forward. He quickly walked over to a box and peered inside. There were multiple metal bracelets in there. He picked one up and put it on his wrist. He then looked up at Midnight in confusion.

Midnight smiled softly at the dragon. "It will be useful for the battle. Error's can create strings that they can attach to you, and control you like a puppet. The bracelet will prevent the strings from attaching themselves to your body."

Everyone else quickly raced to the boxes, putting a bracelet on their wrists. Midnight chuckled as they were gathered around the box, walking back to her bookshelf. She then turned back around at the group, who had the bracelets on and now looking at her.

"Do you remember those gemstones attached to a string I gave you?" She asked.

Twilight nodded, levitating hers up, and the rest followed. Midnight then looked at Celestia, Luna and Cadence.

"I didn't give you one, did I?" Midnight realised.

"What are they for?" Cadence asked as Midnight levitated a small box and lifted three gemstones out of it. One was a dark blue, another was a creamy, sunlight colour, and the last one was a calming blue crystal. Midnight carefully attached them to a piece of string, then gave the three Princesses one each.

"Keep these as close to you as possible." Midnight coughed. "They prevent the Error from mind-controlling you."

"But we've got the bracelets..." Discord mentioned. "Why do we need the gemstones?"

"This is a different type of mind-control." Midnight explained. "Error's show you your deepest nightmares. The first stage is paralysis, the second stage is where you start seeing things in reverse. The bad become good and the good become bad. The third stage is insanity... Where you start going on a rampage and try to kill everything you see. The fourth stage? Suicide."

"That's.... Terrible..." Fluttershy murmured.

Midnight looked at Fluttershy, who was quivering on the floor. "The third stage lasts until you have killed at least three ponies. There will be time to get the gemstone to the pony before they suicide."

"Hopefully that doesn't happen to us!" Rarity gasped.

The words 'hopefully' echoed in Midnight's head. She turned to them again. "Like I said; keep them close. Don't drop them."

"We won't." Celestia reassured her, tucking the gem into her mane.

Pinkie looked down at the cloak covering Midnight's gash. "What happened there?" She asked, cheerfully.

Midnight looked at her injury. "It was bleeding a lot, I had to stop it." She lied.

As the day went on, Midnight taught the others about the Error's strengths and weaknesses, explaining as much as she could to them. When it was time for Luna to raise the moon, Midnight told them that it was time to sleep. They needed to raise as much energy as they could. She told them that she would watch over them, as she literally cannot sleep.

During the night, Midnight concentrated on the sleeping ponies, trying her hardest to see into their future. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see what would happen to them during the battle. Midnight sighed, hoping that everyone would be okay. Flicking her fringe, she began coughing. Her eyes lit up a little, and she stumbled. Putting her hoof to her head, she felt the pounding of her brain. Tomorrow will not be a good day.