>You couldn't help but feel pleased at how things were shaping up.
>Whistling jovially to yourself, you bounced with every footstep.
>While you definitely counting your chickens before they hatched, you wanted to enjoy the moment for a little while longer.
 
>There were some outstanding issues that had to be addressed before you could go any further.
>Namely the Unsaveables.
>It was rather dangerous to try and slip your actions past them in their residence, but there weren't many other starting points you had.
>While your intentions were to spread the news, you had to take it account that at least one of the Unsaveables would end up hearing it and possibly investigating.
 
>Putting a hand to your chin, you lost most of the spring in your step.
 
>There was no way you could take action against them with your current strength, not openly at least.
>After all, these were the foul usurpers who were able to cast down your Lady from the heavens.
 
>A direct show of force was out of the question, but what about something with more subtly?
>Nightmare Moon surely should have something to keep them away from the ceremony long enough for you to fulfill your duty.
>Working entirely on muscle memory, you opened the door to your home without breaking your train of thought.
 
>What about the set up for the whole event in the first place?
>You'd need seating, the promised foodstuffs, a stage...
>Closing the door with your foot, you meandered to the bathroom.
 
>You should easily have more than enough money stashed away to afford rentals, but how long were you going to lead them on before springing the trap?
>Who knows how many ponies they would end up bringing with them, and what if some show up late?
>Too early and you don't catch enough of them, too late and they might start leaving.
 
>You also needed to keep them all there for the whole thing, as well as prevent any snoopers from seeing anything.
 
>What a hassle.
 
>Sliding open the drawer, you took up that orange bottle once again.
>Popping off the cap and shaking out a handful of pills, you caught a glimpse of yourself in the mirror.
>While you looked the same as usual, something about your own eyes started to bother you.
>The more you looked into them the more disquieted you felt.
>Faint pangs in your head threatened to bring on a headache.
 
>Quickly breaking eye contact with yourself, you tried your best to shrug off whatever strangeness you felt.
>Slamming the cap back on the bottle, you chucked it carelessly into the drawer and made your way up to your bedroom, not even bothering to close the door.
 
>Pushing away any invading thoughts, you swallowed the capsules as you reached the top.
>It'd take a while, but at least you' d be comfortable while you waited for them to work.
>Not bothering to undress, you flopped on top of your sheets and rested your head on the pillows.
 
>With nothing better to do, you continued to ponder on the upcoming sermon.
>Perhaps you should invest in some more work appropriate attire.
>There was no way you'd be able to make anything yourself, but there was quite the famous seamstress right here in town...
>Would it be wrong to work with an Unsaveable though?
>It was all in the name of your holy quest though, so perhaps it would be alright?
>The texts had all manner of warning about those demons though.
 
>Your mind started slipping as you grew increasingly tired.
>Everything seemed so much softer as you rolled to your side.
>The whole world started to darken as you drifted off.
 
>Your body wasn't enjoying the hard wooden surface of the pews nearly as much as your mattress.
>Groggily sitting up, you looked around a few times as you yawned loudly.
>Again you found there was nobody else here.
>Stretching your arms and yawning again, you wondered why you kept sleeping in the church.
>You weren't some vagrant who kept wandering through the doors during the day were you?
 
>You shook your head a few times.
>That was impossible, you were a holy man.
>It was only logical that you would seek respite in the house of the Lady.
 
>Speaking of her Holiness, how were you supposed to commune with her if she wasn't here to tend to her flock?
 
>Did one person constitute a flock?
 
>Again you shook your head.
>You really needed to stop asking such foolish questions.
 
>Walking all the way up to the altar, you looked around at the towering stained glass windows that surrounded you.
>They were, of course, all depictions of Her graceful form.
>Scattering the light that passed through them into a kaleidoscope of blues, blacks, purples, and silvers.
>Kneeling down in front of the marble structure, you looked up at the giant crescent moon and closed your eyes.
>Mentally speaking the rites, you pleaded to the heavens for your Lady to grace you with her deific presence.
>It felt like the words in your mind were caught in a light breeze, being lifted out of your head and carried off far away.
 
>You did not have to wait long before you could feel the familiar weight and pressure of the divine push against your mortal frame.
>Turning around, you kneeled once more at the sight of Her.
 
>Nightmare Moon looked rather perturbed at your presence here.
>She was looking at you like you were the strangest sight she had ever seen.
 
>"You're here..."
 
>You nodded once, grunting slightly to confirm her statement.
 
>"Again."
 
>You repeated your previous gesture.
 
>"How?"
 
"How?"
 
>Echoing her question back at her, you couldn't help but pause as you tried to grasp what exactly she was asking.
 
"I am always here, my grace. It is only proper that I spend my time in your home when I am not furthering your will."
 
>"..."
 
>Her lips were pressed tightly together as she gave you a scrutinizing look.
>Not wishing to draw her ire, you kept silent and continued to kneel.
>Clearly she operated in mysterious ways, it would be far too presumptuous to assume you knew any better than the divine.
>Keeping your eyes on the floor, you could hear her shuffling around a bit.
>The sound of a book being laid down drew your attention back up.
 
>"It should be close enough to begin mass. Would you join us, Anonymous?"
 
>Her head was turned toward you, a ghost of a smile tugging at her lips as she stood behind the pulpit.
>Looking around her, you could see all the pews were filled with the faceless mob of ponies.
>There was a light sound of incomprehensible chatter floating away from them, the service not having officially started yet.
 
>Clambering to your feet, you could only manage to nod a few times.
>The place sure did fill up quickly, didn't it?
 
>You could feel her stare as you walked down the aisle, finding an open spot in the exact same place you woke up from.
 
>When you were seated, Nightmare Moon cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.
>The chatter stopped unnaturally fast, casting the whole church into utter silence.
>From there everything progressed as it usually did.
>A few opening prayers, the passing of the donation box, and so on and so forth.
 
>The only thing different from last service was how often you'd catch Nightmare Moon staring at you directly as she read from the hallowed text.
>You weren't sure if you should sit up straighter or hide your unworthy visage behind a prayer book.
 
>It was also rather surprising how much you knew of the scriptures, barely even having to peek down at the book in your hands to know what she was going to say next.
>Strangely enough, whenever you did decide to read along, the pages always seemed to be blank at first.
>The next time you blinked, they would suddenly be full of whatever passage she was reading at the time.
 
>"Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our Goddess and the authority of her..."
 
>No matter how many pages you flipped ahead, the page number in the corner would always show the next page in sequence.
>This held true even if you went to an earlier section of the book.
>You did this a few times before you noticed your Lady giving you a strange look as she read.
>Sheepishly smiling back at her, you went back to solemnly staring at the pages.
 
>As sinful as it may be to not devote all of your attention to Her most gracious figure, you couldn't help but be distracted by the message you carried.
>You wanted to say something earlier before she started mass, but you did not dare to try and interrupt any of her machinations.
>Hopefully you would be able to ask of her to impart some wisdom on your next course of action.
>Batting away some text that floated near you, already having thorough knowledge of what it held, you waited for more to fly toward you.
>You might be here for a while.
 
>It was uncomfortable to admit you were relieved when mass was finally coming to a close.
>You had received Her blessing though, which made your heart soar in delight when she touched her almighty horn to your forehead.
>Sitting patiently for her to finish speaking, you let your mind run idle.
 
>When you finally snapped back to attention, the whole place was deserted once more.
 
>Impossible.
>Scrambling to stand up, you swiveled your head everywhere to try and find sight of any other members of the congregation.
>How could they have all left without you even noticing?
 
>Turning around again, you nearly ran into Nightmare Moon.
>Her sudden appearance beside you made you lose your balance and fall back into the pew.
>Your heart started beating faster than you would prefer, your breath coming in quick and shallow.
>Putting her front hooves on the sides of the pew, she leaned in uncomfortably close, trying to bore holes through your eyes with her stare.
 
>In your panicked state you tried to crawl away on your back, but the glow from her horn wrapped itself tightly around your waist and tugged to back where you were.
>You weren't too sure what was going on, but you definitely did not want any more part in this.
>As you tried to say something, her magic clamped down on your mouth as well, leaving a sharp tingling sensation where it touched your flesh.
 
>It was impossible not to shrink under the glare of your Goddess as she loomed over you, blocking out whatever light above and leaving only the aurora of her mane to guide you.
>Finally, after quickly burning the rest of your body with her eyes, she spoke in a highly demanding tone.
 
>"You are not one of mine."
 
>As much as you wanted to protest that statement, it was rather difficult with your mouth clamped shut.
 
>"I had my doubts at first, but now I am most certain. The realm of the sleeping is my domain, you will tell me how you have intruded without my knowledge."
 
>The pressure on your mouth was released.
 
"G-gracious Queen, I do not know what you speak of. I am but your humble servant, called here to execute your will across the land."
 
>She bared her fangs and pressed closer to you, eyes bright with fire.
>Her breath washed over you, making you flinch from the contact.
>Attempting to shield yourself with your arms only got them painfully slammed back down to the wood and shackled with more cyan magic.
 
"Please, your grace, I speak the truth! I only wish to serve you! I have already drawn in more of the ignorant that can be converted to your faithful!"
 
>Nightmare Moon leaned back, her scowl relaxing slightly as she gave you some room.
 
>"Oh? Do regale me with the details then."
 
>With a weak smile, you quickly launched into your explanation.
 
"I have charmed a group of unfaithful to come to a secluded area in three days. With all of them so isolated, you could come down from the heavens and show them the truth."
 
>You kept your voice as steady as possible, even moving your hands in various gestures despite them being chained down.
>There was a faint hope inside you as Nightmare Moon looked up thoughtfully.
>Despite being shackled to a pew and potentially having your soul threatened with damnation, you couldn't help but feel a little comfortable underneath her.
 
>Would that count as blasphemy?
>You were pretty sure that might be blasphemy, but you entertained the thought that it might not be.
>While she was busy thinking, you couldn't help but look up and down at her.
>Seeing and feeling her so up close, admiring her dusky form and how her mane flowed in ethereal winds.
 
>She was beau- heresy.
>It was heresy to think like that.
>Most likely it was against some tenant in the scriptures.
>Though maybe not... you couldn't recall anything overtly mentioning it.
 
>The chilling steel of her armored hoof pushed against your throat.
>Her eyes were narrowed dangerously as she scowled down at you.
 
>"Are you paying attention?"
 
>Nodding as fast as you could, she let you breathe properly.
 
>"Tell me, servant, where do you think you are right now?"
 
"Why, I am in your chur-"
 
>Nightmare Moon did not looked pleased with what you were going to say, so you quickly reversed.
 
"I do not know."
 
>Looking less annoyed at that response, she backed off from you and freed you from your bonds.
>Sitting up, you rubbed your wrists as she started walking to the altar.
>Not wishing to be reprimanded any further, you swiftly fell in line behind her.
 
>"You are in a dream, Anonymous. More specifically, you are in MY dream."
 
>She didn't look back as she launched into her long exposition.
 
>"It was unthinkable that someone could freely enter my domain without my express permission, but you seemed to have broken that expectation. I had suspicions you weren't something I merely dreamt up, but not vanishing with the rest of them gave me certainty."
 
>You felt that you should have been surprised that this was just a dream, but part of you already seemed to have known that.
>It all seemed so real though, it was difficult to recognize something was a dream until you woke from it.
>Was that why your mind was always so hazy?
 
"Then all the ponies that were here..."
 
>"Yes, they were merely figments and figures of my own creation."
 
>It was a difficult truth to accept, but since she said it, you had to trust it.
 
>"Tell me, Anonymous. Do you believe in the power of dreams?"
 
>Nightmare Moon stopped and turned toward you, eying you with a curious glint in her eyes.
 
"I do not understand, your grace."
 
>She scoffed and started walking again.
 
>"Hmph, tell me more about this plan you have arranged."
 
>Nightmare Moon went up the few steps to the altar and faced you, a difficult to read mask of indifference on her face.
>Not sure if you were supposed to step up with her, you opted to stay where you were.
 
"Well, your grace, I have sought some of the more malleable ponies to fill your divine ranks. I felt that if they could be shown your incandescent truth, they would all just fall to their knees in reverence of your most holy form."
 
>As you knelt down in a grandiose manner, you could hear her breath whistling through clenched teeth.
 
>"Are you mocking me?"
 
>It felt like you had been shot with a taser.
>How could she doubt your fidelity?
>Have you done something incorrectly?
>Looking at her with pleading eyes, you clasped your hands together.
 
"I would never question your absolute divinity, queen."
 
>She seemed rather taken aback at your sincerity.
>Raising a hoof as if to step back, but setting it right back down again.
 
>"Fascinating..."
 
>She paced back and forth a few times, her lips moving but never saying anything.
>Eventually she looked back at you.
 
>"I'll entertain this idea of yours, for now. If the results are... promising, then I think we might have something here."
 
>You couldn't help but beam with joy, bowing a few times in quick succession to show your gratitude.
 
"Thank you, most beneficent one, but there is one problem."
 
>Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow and motioned for you to continue.
 
"The Unsaveables, they might interfere with your holy word if they are not sufficiently indisposed."
 
>There was a short laugh from her.
>A small smirk jutted up from the corner of her mouth.
 
>"I will have that handled. Now, there is something I must teach you if you wish to serve effectively."
 
>Your soul was burning with resolution as you stared into her eyes.
 
"Anything for you."
 
>This earned another chuckle from your deity, along with a predatory grin.
 
>"Then I shall aide you in learning how to dream, even as you lie awake."