A Conspiracy of Order

Luna stood outside her sister’s door, the Princess of the Moon frozen with her forehoof extended toward it. She wanted to knock, wanted to ask Celestia for help, but the same thing that stopped her every other day of the festival stopped her now. Just as she had done every other night after bringing the moon up, she dropped her hoof to the floor and walked away.

No proof. No proof.

It had been the same problem every night, and every night, it was only a problem for her. Anyone else would have thought that it just meant that things were normal, business as usual for the princess that ruled the night.

But she knew better.

You can’t have a nightmare if you never dream.

Turned out that ponies couldn’t have good dreams, either, and that was a problem. For days leading up to the festival, she had been all too aware of the dreams of pony-kind getting fewer and fewer, disappearing into the ether somehow, and she hadn’t been able to track down where they were disappearing to. She had followed the trail of dreams in the night, but not once had she been able to ferret out where they’d gone.

And the ponies had been sleeping. She knew that for a fact: she had even gone through the trouble to track a few of those that no longer dreamed. They were asleep, as fast asleep as they had ever been…but there was nothing in their heads at night.

No dreams.

No nightmares.

Nothing.

Luna lowered her head as she walked through the empty palace, remembering her fear at the time. She’d hoped to consult with Celestia once the festival was over, but something had happened partway through that made it worse.

She remembered going out to watch the dreams of Canterlot two nights into the festival, only to find far less dreams than there should have been. Guards, police ponies, and more were completely empty in the night, and they had been fine. The mysterious plague had made its way to Canterlot.

But what did that mean?

Where did it come from?

Luna stomped her forehoof in frustration, pulling her head back up with a resigned grunt. These mysteries could not be solved by sulking. One way or another, she would find proof of what was going on, and – once she did – she would bring that before her sister.

Or you could go to her now…

Luna hesitated, looking over her shoulder and staring back the way she’d come. Her sister was still asleep, but she would wake soon enough if Luna knocked on Celestia’s door. She knew that. They’d always been close, and had become closer still since her banishment to the moon had ended and they’d come together again.

But…

But at the same time, she knew that this was finicky, at best. Celestia had never been that powerful in the night, and her sister had made it clear that she was very happy to hand the dream duty back to her once everything had been sorted out. The last thing that she wanted to do was ruin her sister’s thoughts of her and make things awkward again.

And besides…no proof.

Missing dreams didn’t mean anything to anyone else, and she was afraid that Celestia would just brush it off as something that would fix itself, at worst. Luna wanted to believe that, but…

But dreams were important. Dreams were what allowed ponies to keep growing, to become more than they were. It allowed them to think of the impossible and embrace it, and inspired them to go further and further in their daylit-lives, chasing those dreams. It might never happen, but it gave them the strength to keep trying.

And if they lost that…

A shiver ran down her spine as she imagined what Equestria would become without dreams. In her mind, it was a very desolate place, indeed.

I won’t let that happen. I’ll figure this out. I will.

Luna reached the end of the hallway and stepped out onto a balcony. The night breeze welcomed her, fluttering her wings out and cooling her head. She breathed out slowly, letting the night take some of the fears away.

She’d always enjoyed the darkness of the moon-lit times. The day was too busy, too intense. At least in the dark, she could be calm, centered, collected. She had time to think that the presence of others didn’t give her.

Her horn glowed, opening the pathway to the dream world. Glittering stars shimmered at her from the other side of the portal, the familiar landscape calling to her with the same welcome that it always offered. She smiled despite herself and stepped through.

As soon as she set hoof on the other side, gravity became a non-issue. There was nothing pulling her down, and nothing pulling her up. It was empty space, meant for traversal by wings and will. She flapped hers, sending her flying through the star-studded landscape of the dream, and her eyes flitted about for the familiar glow of the dreams that she knew best.

She had expected the realm to be dark, dimmer than it should be, but tonight, the dreams were back…and they were back with a vengeance, more than she had seen in days.

But…why?

Had she imagined their disappearance?

No, no, that was impossible. She had been sure, and had triple-checked the numbers time and time again. They had disappeared, and there was something off about them now. They were all…

Dreams were supposed to be white, glowing with the silvery beauty of the stars. If there was a nightmare involved, then they would be dulled, but still silver, a sort of black and white glory to them that was missing in the daylight with all its vibrancy. Neither the brightness of a good dream or the sickly hue of a bad dream could be seen.

Instead, they were all…pink.

Her cheeks burned as one floated closer to her, revealing itself to be Blueblood’s dreams. Her eyes were caught by the sight of him pinned beneath Big Mac, his hindquarters raised and his shaft dropped between his legs.

Squelch.

Squelch.

Squelch.

The dream was loud enough for her to hear every lewd thrust, every soft smack of those heavy balls slapping against the noble pony’s hindquarters. His hole spread, his anus wide around that thick rod, and she couldn’t look away as he was…taken.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

The burning pink light shimmered over her, and she couldn’t help but stare as the lewd act continued. The way that Blueblood submitted to it was against everything that she had ever seen before. He had always been so…so arrogant, so above the common pony to the point where Celestia had had to have a talk with him about the way that he treated others. But this…

This was obscene.

This was utterly sexual. She had seen other, ‘wetter’ dreams before, of course. There was no getting around that with the way that ponies imagined things in the day. Their unleashed imagination at night ensured that they would continue thinking about such things, and in a more unhinged sort of way.

But this…

Her cheeks burned as hot as the pink light that spread across her face, and she could feel some hint of the dream spreading into her. She could almost feel the ghostly thrusts of Big Mac’s shaft under her tail, her holes clenching at the idea of someone doing that to her. The very idea was absurd, completely beneath her, but –

Squelch.

Squelch.

Squelch.

Neither pony had made a sound throughout the dream, but they were still rutting away. Blueblood thrust back against Big Mac’s thrusts, taking that…that thing deeper under his tail, and Big Mac kept thrusting away, hammering in, out, in, out. There was no mercy, no gentleness to their rut. There was only…

Only need.

Utter. Abject. Need.

Luna’s breath caught in her throat as the two ponies suddenly changed position. In a way that was only possible in a dream, Big Mac went from fucking Blueblood’s rump to rutting his face, thrusting down his throat and burying his shaft again and again. The way that the bigger stallion rammed his hips forward, the way that Blueblood clearly seemed to enjoy the big orbs slapping against his chin, and the clearly bestial way that they were…coupling…was bad enough, but –

She heard the squelching of the pair of them getting off, but she couldn’t see it. Well, not outside of the small bulges that Blueblood was rapidly swallowing down, at any rate. Her cheeks burned hotter still, and she finally managed to look away.

As the dream faded away from her, drifting off, she was finally able to catch her breath. The pink light of the wet dream likewise drifted off, and the heat that had started to spread through her cooled.

That…that was…

Luna didn’t know what that was. There had been times when she’d been…affected, she supposed, by another pony’s dreams, but this was the first time that it had overcome her like that. Something –

The Princess of the Moon shook her head, flicking her wings as if she could chase away the pink, horny thoughts with just a gesture. It worked enough to clear her head, but there was still…

She chose not to think about the moisture between her hind-legs, focusing instead on the many pink dreams around her. The first one had been bad enough, but it would have been understandable as single dream spread out through all the others. The fact that all of them were…pink…and lewd…

That shouldn’t have happened. Was there something in the water, perhaps? Or were the ponies particularly pent-up tonight?

She didn’t know, but the only way to find clues would be to look into the dreams and hope for the best. After the first one had affected her so much, though –

Luna stomped one forehoof, shaking her head. She was the Princess of the Moon, and the mistress of the world of dreams. One way or another, she would track down the source of this…shift. She would find out what had changed the ponies of Equestria.

And so, she spread her wings and flew, looking for a dream that might not affect her as much as the first. She considered her sister, but if Celestia had been altered in the same way, she could not bear to see her sister in such a state. It would scar her, and she needed to keep herself as sane and safe as possible.

But there had to be someone else, someone that was less lewd and less…unhinged.

Cirrus.

Yes, her guard. The mare would be better suited for this, someone that had a great deal of self-control. After all, Blueblood was somewhat selfish, and certainly far less disciplined than the rest of the family. Cadance would have been her other choice, but the Princess of Love had already gone back to her new land, and she didn’t want to touch on someone that might have…more love to give.

A shiver ran down her spine, but Luna did her best to ignore it. For now? For now, she would focus on finding out the truth.

Flick, flick, flick. She flew through the dreams until she felt the presence of her guard. Cirrus Wisp was sleeping, off-shift, and – yes, her dreams were pink, just as powerfully so as the others around her. Luna took a deep breath as she cast her attention and her magic upon it, calling the dream toward her in hopes of finding answers. The pink light surged, growing stronger as the alicorn pulled it from the wall of starry dreams, and she braced herself for the arousal that would come with it.

It hit her like a slap between her hind-legs, and Luna barely cut off the little hiss of pleasure that rattled through her. Shaking her head, she forced herself to focus on the dream instead, lowering her head and staring at the pink orb. It opened up, revealing itself more and more –

“Nnngh…ah…ah…”

This one, she could hear. This one was audible, and it was just as shocking to hear someone’s lust as it was to see it. The clouds of pink faded, revealing Cirrus Wisp on her back, her legs spread, and –

And a whole cluster of mares around her, each one looming taller than her. They were day-light ponies, earth ponies over her pegasus, and –

Thrust.

Squelch.

Thrust.

Squelch.

Cirrus Wisp arched her back as she was fucked by hooves. Not by cocks, but hooves, long lengths of a forehoof and front leg shoved inside of her before they were pulled free again. Her guard gaped from it, her pussy spread wider than any sane mare would ever allow, and she gasped for breath again and again as she was used.

Abused.

Molested.

The pink light made her feel echoes of the pleasure, the need settling in deeper as she watched with mouth agape. Cirrus showed no sign of pain, merely want. Her mouth hung open, tongue at her side, and her face burned a brighter pink than the orb around her.

“Please…please…”

“You want more?” one of the day-light mares chuckled. “Oh, you’ll get more. I bet you wish that this was Luna doing it to you, don’t you?”

“Nnngh…”

“Say it.”

“I…wish this was…this was Luna…”

Squelch.

Luna’s face burned all the hotter as she realized that her own sex had clenched down at Cirrus’s confession. Her wings shot out at her sides, and she bit her lips as she realized how…how intense that had felt to hear.

“Oh, you’re her little slut, aren’t you?” the mares around Cirrus said. “Look at that. Wetter than ever.”

“Look at that little pussy dripping at the thought.”

“I bet if she saw you, you’d cum on the spot.”

“Bitch.”

“Slut.”

“Cunt-licker.”

The words were bitter and sharp, but worst of all, they had to come from inside Cirrus’s own mind. That was the way of dreams: they were always from somewhere inside the dreamer. Without the inspiration in the dreamer’s mind, they couldn’t be made. Which meant…which meant all of this was true, at least to an extent.

She…fantasizes about me…and wishes for something like…

The pink light was stronger, she realized, stronger than it had been with Blueblood’s dream. It was pulling at her, and it was only as her hoof started to push against the orb that Luna realized it was going to pull her in if she wasn’t careful.

The alicorn princess pushed the sphere back with her magic, her horn glowing for a moment as she gasped for breath. She turned away from the dream-orb but didn’t banish it. Not yet. Not yet.

Instead, she gasped and wheezed, her eyes turned away as the pink light continued to pulse away. It matched her own heartbeat, throbbing through her, and she could feel every beat of her heart through the pulsing and clenching between her hind-legs. She shook her head again and again, trying to clear her thoughts.

This…this shouldn’t…be possible…

Dreams were powerful. She knew that, and more to the point, she used that to help inspire the ponies of Equestria by herding them from the bad ones and toward the better ones. She’d even taken some inspiration herself from the grander things that they dreamed from time to time.

But this…

I can’t…I can’t actually…

She didn’t want to think that she could be so affected by dreams, but the fact that she was this eager, this excited from seeing others going through such…experiences…told her that the dreams were more powerful than they had ever been before. Something had changed them, made the ponies dream something stronger than she had ever seen before. If she wasn’t careful, she could end up mastered by the dreams instead of the other way around.

She slowly pushed her head back up, glaring at Cirrus’s dream. With a flick of her head, she sent it back to the others. The overwhelming pleasure of the pink light faded, but the want that it had sparked remained. Not so strong, admittedly, but still there, and still affecting her more than she wanted to admit.

Focus…focus…

As Luna took a few deep breaths, she cast her eyes about the other dreams. There were so many, and each one in sight was the same pink as the other two. There had to be a dream or two somewhere in Equestria that wasn’t completely filthy, but she’d yet to find it. She could only hope that whatever had infected the dreams of these ponies was temporary, and that – much as she hated to lean on such an unlikely result – it might fix itself, in time. There were…moments…when such lust was more universal than usual, but this was the first time that she had seen it take root like this.

And the fact that it could affect her so strongly, too, threatening to pull her into a dream and make her part of it –

“No.”

She stomped her forehoof again, shaking her head.

“No, no, no. I am the mistress of this realm. I am the Princess of the Moon. I am Luna, and I will not be defeated by my own responsibilities.”

There was nobody there to hear her, but it encouraged her enough to make her take flight once more.

She would find another dream that she could analyze. She’d find somepony that would give her a clue. Sooner or later, she’d have to.

Luna flew through the dream-realm, her eyes darting from side to side in search of any dream that wasn’t tinted pink or something worse. Her hopes for somepony that was unaffected grew less and less, her heart falling with each wall of pink that she saw.

Then, something caught her eye.

It wasn’t the presence of light, but rather the absence of it against the dark-blue emptiness around the dreams. A single orb broke the pattern, so black and dark that she had thought that it was merely empty space. She twisted around, flying straight for it as her horn glimmered to life.

Yet, even as she reached for it to summon it close, it fought back. For a split-second, there was a tug-of-war between her and whichever pony the dream belonged to, only for it to vanish without a trace just as she was about to peer into it.

They woke up…

Despite her disappointment, Luna felt…vindicated, in a way. The dark orb had been completely unlike anything she’d ever seen in the dream-realm before. It was not the presence of something, but the presence of absence. A pony had never slept that way before, so empty of dreams and self as to make a black dream-orb. It should have been impossible.

But…

It told her that she was right that there was something happening. She felt vindicated, even though she knew that it wasn’t going to be enough to convince Celestia that things had gone wrong. It was enough to tell her that she wasn’t seeing things, however.

But what do I do with that? Luna wondered, floating in place as she stared at the emptiness where the black dream had been. I can’t just get help. I don’t even know what this means. Except that it’s wrong. But that’s not going to be enough for anyone else. Celestia is trusting me with this. My sister won’t know what to do if I don’t know what to ask her for. I need…I need…

She needed more.

And that meant that she needed to take a risk.

As much as she didn’t like the thought of it, getting sucked into one of the dreams might give her some insight into what had caused them. Even if it didn’t, there was nothing else to be gleaned from the dream-realm that she hadn’t already figured out, and the dreams themselves were the only thing that she had left. Even if it would mean exposing herself to the base indulgences of pony-kind, it was better than continuing to waste her time.

She braced herself with a few deep breaths, then looked around for another familiar orb. She didn’t want to test her luck with Princess Cadance – that one would have too great an imagination for her tastes – but her husband, Shining Armor…

Luna remembered him from his time in the capital. While not the most formal of ponies, he had been very respectful, and more than that, very dutiful. She doubted that he would host any dangerous dreams, and perhaps he might even –

The alicorn princess shook her head, realizing that she was still falling prey to the power of the pink light. A little fantasy of her own had nearly seized her, and that would have been embarrassing beyond belief. She rattled her head from side to side until she was no longer thinking of Shining Armor putting his tongue…there…and deliberately cast her power about herself.

In short order, one of the pink orbs came flying toward her from a far-off distance. She turned her attention to it, bracing herself again for the power of the pink light. Once more, the heat settled over her, lighting her from within, and she huffed as her insides clenched down on nothing. She pushed herself to endure it, to let it wash over her and fade away, and kept her eyes on the orb as it opened to her.

Unsurprisingly, it was a dream of Shining Armor with his love. The pair of them were in bed together, just touching each other, kissing. The image was almost chaste…

Or would have been, were it not for the changeling drones that were suckling at his dick from below.

Luna winced, but she knew that she had to do this. And this, too, was not so bad as she had seen with Cirrus. At least this was consensual enough, as far as she could tell. At least this was not so rough.

She stepped into the dream, and as she did, the various changelings turned their attention to her. Even the one that she had assumed was just Cadance shimmered with green light, turning from the Princess of Love to…

At first, she thought it was Queen Chrysalis, but the more that she looked, the more she realized that the black-scaled body was too…clean, for lack of a better word, to be the changeling queen. She had none of the holes that she’d had before, and the bug-like wings had been replaced with something else. An idealized version of her, or –

No.

No, it was –

It was herself.

Luna stared at the dark-furred, blue-maned imposter that rose from the bed, shimmering to look exactly like her. The other changelings burst into green flames, disappearing as the imposter Luna – no, imposter Nightmare Moon – trotted toward her.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here, Shining,” her old voice whispered to her. “Looks like the real Luna is here for some fun…”

The real –

Luna yelped as she was bumped forward by the other changelings, landing in Shining’s bed. He was on his side, his cock sticking out and pointed right at her, and –

And the pink light of the dream was already leaving her wet, dripping, needier than she was comfortable being. Her entire body felt like it was suddenly burning up from the inside, both of her holes clenching down and making the same lewd noises that the other mares in the dreams had been making preciously.

No…

Her cheeks burned all the hotter as one of her copies leaned under her tail and licked her sex. She gasped, her mouth hanging open as she felt that tongue slither on in. It was almost inside of her, almost as deep as a small shaft have gone, and her legs trembled. Her wings were stretched out as far as they could go, and her eyes were rolling back in their sockets as the pleasure was forced on her.

“Look at her. So eager to fall for you.”

This…this had to be another fantasy, one buried deep down in Shining’s mind. All that time with Chrysalis must have left him with fantasies of what she could do for him, to him, imitating all those others –

“Nnngh!”

She arched her back as the tongue flicked down over her clitoris, licking around it before pulling it past a pair of gentle lips. She could barely breathe as the dream-changelings forced the pleasure on her again, again, and again.

Think…think…

A hoof to the back of her head nudged her lips further down, stroking across the head of Shining Armor’s cock. It was so hot, so firm. She could taste the saltiness on it, the eagerness that must have been running through him. She – she –

“Go on. Give him what he deserves.”

“Nnngh…”

“Show him what a slut the Princess of the Moon is…”

“I…I will…not!”

With the last of her will, Luna flickered away –

Clack.

Her hooves tapped the marble floor of the palace balcony. Luna gasped for breath as the night wind blew cold air over her overheated body, and she barely managed to keep her balance as everything shook.

Clench.

Clench.

Clench.

Every breath went into calming herself down. The echoing influence of the lust-dreams lingered far longer than she would have liked, but bit by bit, the worst of the need between her hind-legs slackened off. The urge to touch herself, or grind on something, or – heavens forbid – find someone to sate her needs slowly faded away, replaced with the embarrassment that it had ever gotten as bad as it did.

One breath.

Two.

Three.

Finally, she was able to pull herself together, and she brought her head back up with what little dignity she had left. The puddle between her hind-legs dried in seconds as she flicked her wings to fan it away. She turned her head toward the palace, looking up toward her sister’s bedchamber.

For a moment, she was tempted to go straight to Celestia, traditions be damned, and ask her for help. Even though she was the one that was supposed to be responsible for dreams, even though this was her way of contributing to Equestria’s safety, she was afraid that she couldn’t handle this on her own. She needed help, and…and…

No. She wouldn’t go to Celestia yet. She needed proof of how bad it was. If she could find that, then she would be able to face her sister and not feel like a total failure.

Luna flapped her wings and took to the skies. Somewhere out there had to be an answer, or failing that, proof she could use.

Celestia-Drone opened her eyes with no sign of the tired flutter-flutter that would have inhibited an uninfested pony. The sight of Luna flying in front of the moon was easily tracked, supplemented by the information coursing up her spine from the Nest-Tree and the other infested ponies that watched the night princess soar. She did not have to lift her head to follow her sister’s trail; she got the information from the tendril in her rump.

Luna flying over the festival grounds.

Luna following the walls of Canterlot.

Luna going over the cliffs and flying away from the city.

Once Luna disappeared from all eyes connected to the Canterlot Nest-Tree, there was no point to continuing the charade of sleep. None of the infested needed sleep, though the hosts benefited from it to an extent. They merely slept at the Nest’s command, and woke when the Nest decided that it was time, each of them connected to a different root. Celestia-Drone was no exception. The root in her rump slithered out from under her sheets and disappeared into a hole in the floor, which in turn connected to the sewer system of the palace, which was, in turn, connected to the festival grounds through some creative burrowing and digging.

Celestia-Drone mechanically stepped out of bed as new orders flickered through her mind. Luna would keep busy for the rest of the night hours, which meant they had time to prepare for Luna’s breakfast in the morning, one that would be properly tainted to continue the effects of the dream-realm.

A pity that she hadn’t been properly ensnared in any of the dreams. If that had happened, then they would have had a chance to speed this along. Unfortunately, Celestia-Drone’s memories of Luna had been correct; she was more resistant to the lustful taint and corruption than Celestia-Drone had been, and she didn’t want to give in the way that many of the other (formerly) uninfested had.

But…they had time.

Celestia-Drone gathered herself and left her chambers, making her way down to the kitchen. She knew from the sleeping connection to the Nest-Tree that the kitchen would be staffed with several members of the Cake family, as well as other infested that had been brought in from the festival. They would be hard at work preparing breakfast, as well as tainting every ingredient that they could conceivably manage. Urine and sexual juices alike would be mixed into just about everything.

Not that any of the hosts would notice, but those that were uninfested would be rather…inebriated over the course of the day. Judging from the dream, it wouldn’t be enough to snare Luna just yet, but it would continue the work.

A few more nights, perhaps a week or two. The dreams formed by the Nest-Tree and enhanced with Twilight-Drone’s powers as well as her own would have a slow-building affect on Luna.

Perhaps she would break. Or perhaps she would beg. Either way, the Nest would be ready for her.