For a second Alexander thought she was still awake. However, the surrounding area felt a little too fantastical to be real.

Alexander found herself standing on what she could only guess was a strange space observatory out of a game meant for younger audiences. It reminded her of a video game she played when she was younger in how everything felt. Yet nothing here was the same.

She found herself standing on a massive cog slowly turning in the middle of space. Her house sat in the center of the silver cog, surrounded by a circle of grass that ran almost to the cog’s edge. The cog’s indent was filled with water, creating a shallow mote around her home. A more cartoonish-looking observatory tower had been glued to the side of the building.

Piles of junk littered open spaces on the platform; all were things she was familiar with. Broken down cars, including the last one she had repaired at work. Some old computers, books, Isaac’s new giant Celestia plush, a puddle of starry liquid…

A few miniature planets hovered out in space not too far away. Most were just grass and rocks with the occasional splotch of water. Some however had other things, such as miniature versions of her friend’s houses, or Twilight Sparkle sitting at a table with a cup of tea while she studied some small object too far away to make out.

The Twilight Sparkle gave Alexander a wave with her hoof before going back to what she was doing.

“Is this the dream realm?” Alexander said out loud as she took in the scenery. It was a peaceful and tranquil setting, helping to calm her nerves after what she had been through. “Right… I’m stuck in Equestria now.”

Alexander sat down on the cool grass and rubbed both her eyes with her hands, closing them. “Just what was all that. A bunch of cultists looking to take over the world or something?” She thought back to what they had exactly said. Something about overthrowing a tyrannical government.

“What is this Equestria even going to be like? Oh god, I’m going to have people trying to kill me, aren’t I? Summoned and forced to overthrow a benevolent ruler. Unless this is one of those really bad versions of Equestria where everyone is screwed.”

Alexanders breathing speed up as she worried about everything that could happen, as well as the fact that she was pulled to another world against her will with everything she ever knew left behind.

Alexander felt water soak into her pants and fur. Opening her eyes she saw that the water was overflowing from the moat and falling off the edge of the cog, falling down into the void of space.

She lay back in the water, allowing it to soak into her back fur and feathered wings. Alexander took a few deep breaths, “panicking about it is not going to help me, I’m going to have to deal with the real world when I wake up.”

Still, she could not stop herself from crying for long. It was better than hyperventilating at least. The surrounding water reflected her emotions by flowing faster, and in the same way that letting it all out was relieving, the flowing water was soothing against her body.

Alexander was not sure how long she stayed like that, time felt both fast and slow at the same time. Eventually, she found herself back in the large bed she had gone to sleep in.

Her cheeks felt damp, Alexander dried them with her hands. She felt better after that as if she had been crying for a while. “Can I deal with things like grief in my dreams as if I’m awake?” It occurred to Alexander that for the first time since she had transformed she had found herself in the dream realm upon falling asleep. “I wonder what changed.”

Regardless, there was still that numb unsettling feeling in her stomach that persisted when you were upset.

Alexander sat up and looked around the room, finding it the same as it was last night. It was completely dark as well, yet she could still see. It was like someone had put a monochrome filter over everything and dimed it to about mid-day with full cloud cover. It made everything look a bit spooky. She had not paid much attention to this before, since some sort of light had always been present so far.

Alexander saw the candles on the dresser and wondered how she was going to light them. She then spotted a jar full of twisted sticks of paper with an old tinder box sitting beside it.

Getting out of bed she used the old-fashioned method of lighting a candle, using the flint and steel to light the paper, before using that on a candle wick. Colour bled into the room out from the source of warm light. There was a gradual transition from colour to greyscale radiating out of the candle. “Interesting.”

Alexander debated taking the candle with her or leaving it there. Eventually, she decided on leaving it since it should be day by now, and she was able to see fine enough in the dark.

Walking over to the door Alexander stopped in front of it, starring at the wooden double doors. “Beyond those doors are the rest on Equestria, and my first day on this world.” It was tempting to just go back to bed. Her dreams had been much more pleasant, but going back to them was not going to solve her problems.

Alexander took a deep breath and reached for the door handle.

Daylight flooded in from an open window down the hallway. The unicorn from last night was still standing sentinel beside the door. “His name was Night Ray if I remember correctly.” His robe was more loosely worn than it had been before, revealing what looked to be studded leather armour underneath. “That can’t be actual leather can it?”

Alexander just ended up staring at him awkwardly for a few moments. The stallion then bowed before standing back at attention. “Is there anything you need Mistress?” he asked neutrally and professionally.

“Um…” Alexander said, not sure how to respond to him. She did not know what she needed, well besides wanting to go home that is, but she doubted that would be an option. Regardless, she had to say something or this would just continue to be awkward. “…Breakfast?”

Night Ray nodded. “I’ll escort you to the dining room,” he said. He then started walking down the hallway, Alexander following behind him. He led her down the stairs back to the ground floor and along a hallway until they entered a decently large dining room.

Surprisingly there were already a few ponies sitting at the long table, which looked to be able to seat a dozen occupants. It looked a little like they were using it as a community lunch bench. They chattered amongst themselves happily, coming to a stop abruptly as they noticed Alexander enter.

They all stood and bowed to her. Alexander was left staring at them awkwardly as they just stood there. “um, you can sit and go back to what you were doing.” They then did just that; Night Ray taking a spot next to the door to seemingly stand guard.

“Ah, Mistress! So glad to see you are awake. If you don’t mind my forwardness please come sit,” called out a unicorn sitting near the head of the table. Alexander recognised her as Rime Rose, who she still assumed was the cult’s leader. “I hope you slept well?”

“I-… slept as well as I was able to.” Alexander slowly walked over and sat at the head of the table, having Rime Rose sitting to her left and another unicorn to her right, who she recognised as Mister Dare after a moment. She noticed they were eating some sort of soup, containing carrots, potato, and something green she could not identify.

“Just give us a moment to fetch something to eat for you Mistress. We are not quite sure if there was anything you have a preference for. If you need to eat at all?” Rime asked.

Alexander looked around the table. The chatter was still quietly occurring in the background, but everyone was still paying attention to her. “This feels strange.” “I can eat vegetables, fruit, and meat. I’m an omnivore. If you know what that is.”

Rime nodded. “Interesting, I was not sure a creature from the divine realm of dreams would consume the same sustenance as us. But I suppose it makes sense given the relationship you have with the material realm.” she looked to be lost in thought for a few seconds before waving away another unicorn sitting next to her. “Go retrieve the best food you can find for our Mistress.”

The unicorn nodded and quickly left the room to fulfil their task.

Not sure what to say now Alexander started tapping her fingers on the table. Others looked at her tapping but quickly looked away when they saw her looking back at them. She was still a bit frustrated with them for bringing her here in the first place, but she still needed to figure out what she could about this world. “So try to keep it friendly then. No way to know how many people will even be willing to interact with me on friendly terms. This could potentially be all I got.”

“So… do any of you mind telling me about where this is?” Alexander asked.

“Not at all Mistress Nightmare, we would be happy to fill you in on what we can,” Mister Dare said. “Was there anything in particular you wanted to know?”

“I imagine the physical plane is a lot different than the dream realm,” Rime Rose said.

Alexander looked between the two of them. “That’s one way to put it.” her gaze settled on the large window at the far end of the room. Outside was a bright blue sky, the sun no doubt shining high overhead. “What about starting with where we are?”

Mister Dare nodded. “Of course, we are currently in a town called Greennest, located in the eastern province of the kingdom of Unicornia, commonly referred to as the Unicorn Kingdom. To our west is the unicorn capital where the Platinum Palace and the Golden Arcane Citadel are located, the platinum line has ruled over the kingdom for generations. Each province surrounding the capital region has their own rulers as well.”

“To our east is a strip of ocean, and the northeast borders with the edge of Pegasus territory. The west side of the kingdom borders Earth Pony territory. And of course, to the north of us all is the Wall of the World mountain range.”

“I see.” “So this is pre-unification then by the sounds of it. Guess I won’t have to worry about them asking me to overthrow Equestria then. Though would that mean Celestia and Luna are around as children now?” Alexander thought. She was not quite sure if that news was supposed to be good or bad. “Can you elaborate on why you summoned me?”

Now it was Rime’s turn to speak. “As I told you last night Mistress, we were hoping you could help us overthrow the tyrannical Rulers of our world, and provide proper leadership. Our current rulers are more interested in their own power and wealth, backed by the supposed word of false gods. At the same time the Church of the Day puts on a nice face, but mercilessly persecutes anything they find aberrant to their views. Even if it’s just on suspicion alone.”

“Does not sound much different than how it was back in the medieval days.” Alexander had to wonder how skewed that viewpoint was from their perspective. A fanatical cult that attempted to summon a nightmare creature, “and I suppose they technically succeeded,” was most likely not the best source of accurate information.

The unicorn that had been sent off to fetch Alexander some food returned with a plate and cup of water. Setting it down, they stepped back and gave a short bow. “I hope this is to your liking, Mistress Nightmare Moon. This is the best we currently have available on hand…”

Alexander looked down at the meal in front of her. “That felt a bit fast.” There were slices of buttered bread and cooked potato with some sort of gravy. A few carrots were also present, but more importantly, was the cooked steak. Alexander noticed quite a few of the unicorns present were looking at the meat with uneasy expressions, many trying to keep their lunch down.

Rime turned to the unicorn that had brought the meal. “I am curious where you acquired the meat from?”

“One of the cows out back. I thought since they were not going to be put too much use anymore, they might serve a better purpose as sustenance for our Mistress.” She tilted her head a little nervously in Alexander’s direction.

“Wait, cows? Weren’t those sentient in the show to some extent?” She was not going to eat a sentient creature, even if it’s not considered cannibalism by being a different species. “I assume that is a simple livestock animal?” Alexander asked, trying not to look disturbed at the thought she had.

The unicorn adopted a slightly confused look. “Of course Mistress, why wouldn’t they be? If you don’t mind me asking!”

Alexander took a moment to respond as she tried to think of a good response to that. “From what I know different worlds can have very different rules from one another. So a sentient species in one world might be feral in another.” She tried her best to sound informative.

Everyone nodded along, listening a little more intently than Alexander had expected. Then again they were cultists with the object of their fascination sitting in front of them. With that in mind it was surprising they were being as calm about it as they were.

Alexander decided to just start eating before everything got cold. Nothing else was immediately coming to mind as a conversation topic anyway. The food was kind of as bland as she expected for a medieval society. The only thing that stood out was the bread, which tasted more sugary than bread normally should while also having a green tint to it.

When Alexander did not say anything else after a minute the others went back to what they were talking about before. Her immediate companions remained quiet, but the others continued to gossip. It was a little hard to pick out one voice over another; even known they were all loud enough to hear clearly.

Most mutterings seemed to be about the excitement of succeeding with their ritual and their first impressions of her. All glowing reviews obviously; Alexander doubted they would say something remotely negative even if they had any grievances. Not while they thought she could hear at least.

There were some other stranger things, however. Hoping the town was resting well for example or something about a blue moon and a blood moon.

As Alexander ate most of the unicorns slowly filtered out of the room as they finished eating, off to do whatever tasks they had. Two walked in and out as they cleaned up the table. Alexander was left with only the Ponies that had introduced themselves when she first arrived.

“So, what were you all planning to do now?” “Hopefully not ask me to go kill someone,” Alexander asked as she pushed her empty plate away. She leaned back in her chair, pressing her wings into its back. It made Alexander idly wonder how doing that was not uncomfortable.

“We were going to start packing up and move to a nearby town. After finishing the ritual to summon you we won’t have long until someone notices something is amiss. We should have a few days.” Rime said. “We were also hoping you could do something to bolster our forces before we leave. You can use our ritual chamber to help summon lesser shadows, which would provide a lot of help to our small force.”

Alexander just stared at her with the blankest face she could muster, before it broke down to an awkward look. “I’m not sure I will be able to do anything…”

“What, you can’t?” Rime said blinking in confusion. Her look was shared by Mister Dare. Night Ray even leaned in a bit to listen more closely from where he was standing.

“Fuck, think of something to say!” Alexander had no idea what they would do to her if they figured out she was basically useless to them. She remembered they said something about the physical and dream realm. Maybe she could use that. “W-well, it’s just that as you said the physical realm dream realm work differently. So I might have to relearn a few things, or just figure out what can be done here. I can do levitation at least!” to prove her point Alexander levitated a fork.

All three looked at the levitating fork before it was set down. Rime eventually adopted a thoughtful look as she contemplated that information. “That would prove problematic.” She then stood up and started pacing slowly as she thought. “But it’s something we can work around. Would it be ok if we tried teaching you what we know, Mistress?”

Alexander blinked. “I don’t see why not.” They were taking that bit of news better than she expected. A little disappointment and confusion, but they were taking it in stride as if they somewhat expected this. “How safe is being completely honest with them anyway?”

Rime nodded. “If you don’t mind me asking… how old are you Mistress?” that question got the other two to focus on Alexander more.

“…25?” Alexander said almost questioningly, not sure why that was exactly relevant.

Rime hummed. “That would explain a few things.” She bowed. “Please excuse me for a moment Mistress, I’ll go organise something that might help you figure out how to use your powers in our realm.”

Alexander just nodded. “Ok, you go do that,” she said. Rime then stood from her bow and left the room.

“I suppose I should be off to help organise our provisions as well, hmm… I believe the blacksmith had a few minor magic items in his shop.” Mister Dare said out loud. The second part seemed to be more to himself than anyone else. He stood up as well, giving a short bow. “If you will excuse me, Mistress.”

Alexander watched him walk towards the door. It crossed her mind that she had nothing to do. It sounded like he was going to walk across town, so getting out seemed like a good idea to pass the time. “Wait!” Alexander said getting up a bit too quickly.

Mister Dare flinched at the sudden order. “Y-yes Mistress?” he had been just about to walk out the door.

Alexander took a moment to clear her throat. A mild sweet smell hitting her nose for a moment. “If you do not mind, if you are going for a walk I would like to come with you. Seeing as I have nothing else to do.”

He noticeably relaxed after that and nodded. “Of course Mistress. Follow me if you don’t mind. Perhaps you will find something to your liking at the blacksmiths.”

He waited for Alexander at the door before heading to the front entrance of the building. Night Ray silently fell in behind them as the three of them walked.

Bright light shone down as they left the building. Alexander ducked to not hit her horn on the doorway and squinted her eyes at how bright the sun was. It looked like it was almost mid-day from its position. Then again that might not mean anything with how she assumed the sun and moon moved in this world.

While the mansion itself was large the rest of the houses were a lot more mundane. Made of wood, stone, and thatch, they looked to be built more for their practicality than anything else. The roads were simply dirt paths that lead in any direction that had regular traffic; with the only exception being the stone path leading up to the mansion.

Alexander lamented not having shoes on when she was summoned. The ground was soft at the very least.

It did not take long for Alexander to notice that the town was deserted. Apart from the wind, an occasional bird tweet, and their own footsteps, the entire town was dead quiet.

Alexander wondered if she should ask why no one was around despite it being day. Yet she felt a little too awkward to bring it up. She eventually did see someone walk past a building, but whether they were a member of the cult or not she had no idea.

After about twenty minutes of walking, they came to the blacksmith's place. Unlike the other buildings, it was almost purely stone. It looked like someone had built a house and then added two-thirds of another to the side while forgetting a wall. Through the open wall, Alexander could see a basic forge and anvil, along with a bench covered in tools and a bucket.

“Here we are Mistress. I believe the blacksmith should have his valuables inside.” Mister Dare said. He walked to the door of the main building, his horn glowing yellowy-orange for a brief second. There was a click from inside before Mister Dare pulled the door open and stepped inside.

“How can he just walk inside like that, is the blacksmith away? So are we robbing his house before skipping town then?” Alexander thought. They were a cult after all so it should not be surprising that they would just steal from someone. Still, she expected there to be more people around to see them.

Alexander ducked slightly again as she stepped inside and looked around; Night Ray coming in behind her and taking a spot next to the doorway. The interior had more stone furniture, but also a few wooden ones. It looked like a living room with a small kitchen on the side. Closed doors on the far side of the room lead to other rooms. One to the right would lead to the forge area.

“So… what were you looking for exactly? Magic items you said?” Alexander asked. She looked at a few blades that were hanging up on a wall next to an armour stand, which only had a helmet and chainmail shirt on it.

Mister Dare hummed and approached one of the far doors. “Yes, Mistress. While nothing spectacular any magic items he might have created would prove useful. He is the only one in town that had a licence to do so…”

The room Mister Dare opened looked like a small storage room. Alexander walked up to peek her head through the door. Most of the items were simple metal tools, pitchforks, hoes, etc. there were also a few basic spears, swords, and shields propped up along the wall as well. She also noticed some sort of greenish-looking leather armour.

“Is the armour enchanted?” Alexander asked curiously as she walked up to it.

Mister Dare looked back from a large chest he had stopped in front of. He looked at the armour for a second before responding. “No, why would you think it is?”

“It’s leather but it's green.” Alexander lightly brushed the smooth green leather with a finger curiously.

“Ah. That’s because it’s made out of hide plant. It a good source of leather-like material, without the need to get it from where more carnivorous species acquire it from.” he then turned back to the chest in front of him. His horn glowed again, resulting with a click from the lock. He opened the chest and had a look inside. “Ah! Looks like the old stallion was holding out on us after all.”

Alexander peaked over his shoulder to get a look in the chest. There were a few weapons, a long sword, two short swords, and a few different daggers. What also stood out was a pair of gloves and a bluish oval stone.

Mister Dare picked up the stone and examined it. He taped it twice on his arm, causing it to start glowing with white light. Tapping it twice again turned it off before he pocketed the stone.

Next, he picked up the gloves. “You know I always wanted a pair of these. It’s surprisingly difficult to buy them despite the spells themselves being quite simple.”

“What do they do?”

“They’re a set of gloves of cleanliness repair. They never get dirty themselves, and they have the ability to remove dirt, dust, and stains from a small area, as well as being able to fix small breaks and tears.” He put them on, examining how they fit. “I do know how to cast the respective spells the gloves contain. But the usefulness of magic items in general is being able to continue casting spells without spending your own magic to do so. Of course, there are exceptions.”

Alexander just nodded. They looked clean but otherwise plane. She wondered how he could tell they were magical. The only one that stood out was the longsword, which has a line of simple runes carved into the blade. “What about that one?” she asked, pointing to the longsword.

Mister Dare picked up the blade and examined it with a hum. “I’m not as knowledgeable as someone like Speaker Rime about all thing magic, but if I had to guess it’s a Flame tongue.” he held the blade away from himself.

Suddenly the blade caught fire. Alexander jumped in surprise, not knowing how he turned it on. No one seemed to notice her reaction.

“hmm.” Mister Dare waved his hand above the fire curiously. “The flame is a bit too weak to be effective, probably incomplete or the result of attempting something beyond his capabilities. However, it’s still an enchanted blade which will have its uses.” He stood back up and turned to Alexander. “Would you like it Mistress? I know it’s not as fitting as it should be, but it would be something to defend yourself with until we find something better.”

Not sure what to say Alexander gave a “sure.” She took the bade from Mister Dare after he had put it in its sheath. It came with a belt she could fit around her waist, which was a tight fit. “Oh come on I’m not that thick. Well not proportionally at least. I’m tall but that does not mean I’m a twig.” she sighed, walking back out of the room.

She left Mister Dare to collect the rest of the magic items. Night Ray was still where she last saw him by the blacksmith’s entrance.

Not sure what else to do while she waited, Alexander decided to explore the rest of the house. She moved to the next door that was unlocked. She opened it and had a look inside.

It was a bedroom; simple with a bed, cupboard, and table. The room also had its own chest which Alexander wondered what it contained. Yet as Alexander entered the room something felt off.

It took her a moment to realise there was a mildly off-putting smell in the air. More noticeably however was the lump in the bed. The unsettling feeling slow grew in Alexander’s stomach.

Hesitantly Alexander moved closer to the bed. “God I have a bad feeling about this.” Slowly she pulled back the blankets to reveal a brownish-grey unicorn.

He looked to be asleep, and Alexander would have assumed he was if it was not for the faint rotting smell she could now pick up and the glossy complexion his fur had. “If I remember correctly corpses release oils early on when they start decaying.”

Alexander shuddered and stepped back, feeling sick as she stared at the dead pony.

“Ah, I see you found the blacksmith.” Mister Dare said, looking in through the doorway. He seemed to have thrown most things into a bag while tying the larger weapons into a bundle.

“W-what h-happened to him?” Alexander asked, finally looking away from the body. Her voice was a lot shakier than she expected. Mister Dare looked at her with noticeable confusion, as if he was not sure why she was reacting that way.

“Well without a soul the body dies.” He gave her a concerned look. “Are you alright mistress?”

“How can I be alright? I-t’s a dead body, how did he even lose his soul? How would you even know that!?” Alexander’s breathing was starting to get faster, despite her best efforts to keep calm.

Mister Dare’s confused and concerned look persisted as he spoke. In hindsight, Alexander should have guessed what he was about to say much sooner.

“Well, a ritual of the calibre we commenced would require a sufficient offering be given to the summoned being, especially if we wanted a powerful one. I don’t understand why you are reacting this way. You accepted the intake of souls upon being summoned didn’t you?”

Accepted the intake of souls.

Alexander froze as she suddenly realised what the feeling that had flooded her body when she first arrived in this world truly was.

Author's Note

(I think you can see why i posted this and the next chapter at the same time)