It had been a few days since my interview with Crystal Heart, and I had been using the time off to perform a few necessary tasks. Restock the groceries, pay the bills, get shitfaced with my friends... y'know, usual working-class pony things. It'd been a while since I was graced with a few days all to myself. It was nice.
I stretched out like a cat on my couch, the TV in front of me tuned to the Equestrian Daily news channel. Truth be told, I was only half listening. I only had it on to try and drown out the roar of the city outside while I tried to take a nap.
I was jolted out of my half-asleep state by the sound of my phone buzzing. After reaching over to the end table with a mighty struggle, I glanced at the screen. Dawn had texted me... but he should have been at work.
Dawn Star: Hey Evey, you able to meet up real quick? I've got something I need to talk to you about.
I tilted my head, not quite sure what to make of the message. Usually, he'd save important discussions for our weekly dates, or simply tell me about things upfront.
He never beat around the bush, especially not over text.
Evening Shade: Uhh, sure. You'll need to give me a bit to make myself look halfway decent, but I can meet you at the Nook in like... a half hour or so. Why? What's up?
Dawn Star: I just need to talk to you, and it's not something I'd feel comfortable texting you. I'll meet you there.
As I finished reading the message I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, and alarm bells were going off in my head. I immediately attempted to calm myself down. It could just be something normal, right? He could have changed jobs, a family member could have fallen ill... there were plenty of reasonable and rational conclusions I could jump to.
That still didn't silence any of the nagging doubts that had planted themselves inside of my head.
I quickly set to cleaning myself up a bit, rushing through the process as swiftly as possible. I may have still looked a bit scraggly by the end of it, but that wasn't my biggest concern at the moment. I leapt off of my balcony and down to the streets below, bounding across the cobblestone roads like a rabbit as I made my way over to the Nook.
The wind was particularly chilly today, forcing me to squint in order to be able to see. A storm was brewing in the sky, the dark gray clouds occasionally letting out an ominous boom, almost as if to remind me that they were there.
I arrived at the Nook just as the harsh rain began showering the city, and the wind had begun to pick up in speed, howling like an angry and rabid Timberwolf. I couldn't help but feel like a frog had lodged itself in my throat as I opened the door and trotted inside. I felt cold chills roll across my spine, and every inch of my fur stood on end as I spied Dawn sitting in our normal booth, the expression on his face a mixture of sorrow and grim resolve.
I walked over, taking the seat across from him. My eyes flashed between his phone, which sat on the table, and his face, which looked at me almost... almost with a sense of pity. "So uhh... What's wrong, Dawn? Why are we here right now?"
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Just... just read it," he said, unlocking his phone and shoving it towards me.
I picked it up tentatively, almost as if it was about to bite me. The screen burned my eyes as I scanned through each line of text, not quite believing what I was reading. “What?”
My heart pounded madly in my chest as a cold sweat dripped down my brow, my blood having been chilled like arctic ice. I looked to him more than once, until my eyes hurt from rapid movement. All he did was look at me, trying to gauge my reaction. With him just sitting there silently, I pressed for more.
“What do they mean you’re fired if we don't break up?!”
He took the phone out of my hooves, stuffing it inside a pocket in his jacket. "It's exactly as it says. If I don't stop seeing you, my career is over. That email came in yesterday. That is what we needed to talk about." He looked out the window, his eyes taking in the downpour outside. "Frankly, it puts me in a tight spot financially if I lose this job, and you know how the market is nowadays, especially here in Canterlot."
Just looking at the cold, hard expression he was giving me caused tears to well up in my eyes. I could tell that this was hurting him as much as it was hurting me. "W-What do you plan to do about it? We can get through this, can't we? We could move to somewhere like Filly! W-We could sue, this is clearly illegal! We've got options here!" At this point, I was frantic. Grasping at straws.
Desperate to keep one of the last good things in my life.
He took a deep breath. “Do you want a coffee or something?”
I felt about ready to cry. “No no no no! You always do this! We’re dealing with the problem, Dawn! We can’t just brush this off like everything else!”
He screwed his eyes shut, subtle shakes racking his body. In the end, I think we both knew how this was gonna go, no matter how much we may have wished otherwise. "Listen, Evey. I'm gonna level with you here. I like you, and we've been dating for a long time now," he said, crossing his hooves. "But I'm not about to risk my career, and for that matter, my entire future, over one mare. And if I'm being honest, I dislike this just as much as you do, and I really hate to see things end like this..." He slid out of the booth, trotting away from me. "But I'm sorry Evey, we're done. It was fun while it lasted, for what that's worth."
I sat there in shock for a few seconds, only jerking myself back to reality as I heard the door slam shut. I chased after him, sliding to a halt in the pouring rain as he walked away. "You can't bucking do this to me, Dawn! Not after everything we've been through!" I shouted at him, tears streaming down my face. "We can work through this! Don't leave me like this!" I held a hoof out towards him, almost as that would stop what was happening. "Please..."
He kept trotting away, his silhouette quickly disappearing into the storm, leaving me to stand alone in the street as I felt the rain stab into my skin like a thousand icy needles.
He didn't even have the dignity to look back at me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I didn't know how I'd gotten home, everything after what had happened at the Nook was a hazy smudge in my memory. All I remember is walking through my door in a daze before collapsing. I was soaking wet, cold, but more than anything else?
I felt defeated.
I dragged myself to the fridge, clumsily grabbing the bottle of hard cider I kept for special occasions. Every movement was forced, as if the world itself was dragging me down. I could hardly see through the tears that leaked from my eyes, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Maybe later. But not right now.
I roughly fell onto my couch, allowing most of my body to fall limp into the comforting cushions. They felt warm and inviting...
"Just like Dawn."
I have no idea how long I sat there for, blankly staring at the TV and occasionally taking a long swig directly from my bottle, the alcohol sending a soothing burn down my throat. It helped me to feel something, even if that something was only pain and discomfort. It wasn't even good cider...
I clumsily grabbed my phone and tried to text Dawn, but he was either ignoring me or had blocked my number already. That hurt me the most. That he didn't even want to try and remain friends, or even acquaintances in some form or another. He just... cut me out of his life like I was nothing. Like a paper bag to be tossed in the wind.
A while later, I heard my phone beep with the loud, grating noise I had chosen as my text tone, and I almost didn't even bother to look at it. Lazily flipping it over, I let out a pained chuckle as I read the message.
World Wide: Hello, Evening. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, but I am sure you will be able to intuit, I am being forced to terminate your employment with the Reality Network. I wish you luck in your future endeavors. Please do not contact this number again.
I couldn't force any more tears out than I already had. I felt a feeling of numbness wash over my entire body as I struggled to process everything that had happened today.
"Good Faust, I'm pathetic," I thought to myself, setting my bottle on the table and burying my head in my hooves, sobbing.
In the span of twenty-four hours, I had thoroughly pissed off the head of a corporate giant who was probably killing ponies who knew too much, lost my coltfriend who I had been dating for a year and considered the love of my life and loved with all my heart, as well as my well-paying job to a network I had been employed by for over a decade.
I didn't think much more could go wrong at that point, if I was being entirely honest with myself.
In the back of my mind, I felt my subconscious nag at me, trying to tell me that I'd get through this. That I had just enough money saved up to last me for a while. That I could always get a new job. That everything would be okay if I just calmed down.
But I knew that wasn't the case. I may have been a frugal pony, but Canterlot was still expensive to live in, even subsisting off the bare essentials. It was the sort of city that would bleed you dry the second it could, like a frenzied piranha just caught a whiff of blood in the water.
I sighed, getting up and walking over to my balcony and resting my head on the safety rails. I didn't know what to do. How could I? I'd just had my entire life thrown into a wood chipper, and then burned to ashes.
I couldn't sink much lower than that.
I must have sat there for a solid hour, just watching ponies go about the rest of their day, the streets abuzz with activity, the soft orange of the setting sun slowly but surely replaced with the glitz and glamour of the stars above.
I wondered how it'd feel to fall again. To just... let go. Let the wind and the air do what they will with me like they had before.
Maybe it'd feel better than this.
As I placed a hoof on the railing, my heart skipped a beat as I heard as I heard a voice. "What do we have here?"
I jumped back, whipping my head around to try and locate its origin. I didn't see anypony... "W-Who's there?!"
The voice chuckled, before I felt something caress my face. It felt strangely cold, yet inviting... like the water of a lake. "Another lost soul, another pony who's lost it all... another pony who desires to regain what has been stripped away from them. Would you like that? To take back all that you've lost? To make them feel your pain?"
My eyes widened as I fell into a fighting stance. I couldn't lie, that idea sounded appealing. "M-Mayb— shut up! Who the hay are you?!"
It laughed, the sound akin to that of a harp being strummed in an empty auditorium. "Somepony whom you've helped immensely, my dear. Somepony who is forever in your debt..." The voice was now speaking directly into my ear, barely even audible, sending shivers down my spine. "Somepony who only wants to help you. Do you accept my offer, lost soul?"
I had backed myself into a corner at this point, my front door now directly in front of me in case I needed to bolt. "I'm really thinking about it, but first thing's first, What the hay is your name?! I don't bucking like talking to ponies who I can't even see!"
Almost as if that were an order to be heeded, the voice obliged me. Fading into view, a spectral head gazed back at me, its nose almost touching my own. A spectral mane waved behind it, almost like somepony had ripped out a piece of the night sky and stuck it on the back of their head... a mane I recognized, only from myth and legend. Milky white eyes stared into my own, paralyzing me. "I... am Andromeda. And you, my little pony, have rendered a great service to me. One I am eager to return. Do you accept my offer?"
I would've been shaking in my boots, if I had any. "N-N-Nightma—"
A spectral hoof held itself up to my lips, silencing me. "No, no, no... none of that now. I will ask again. Do you accept my offer?"
My ear flicked at the sound of a vicious pounding at my door, the wood visibly deforming from the impacts of a meaty hoof. It sounded like somepony wanted in, and they wanted in now. I looked back at head and vigorously nodded, my eyes flicking between the apparition and the doorway.
The... thing let out a throaty chuckle and looked towards the noise, before placing a hoof underneath my chin and raising my head up. "Good... then do me a favor, and don't open that door."
And as if it were all a dream, the head and hoof disappeared. I looked towards the door, before deciding to bite the bullet and check through the peephole.
There was nopony out there.
"What the haaaaaay... was that?" I said to myself dumbly, rubbing at my eyes. "You're hallucinating Evey, just seeing things... alcohol does crazy things to your head, right?"
But as I took a step back from the door, my heart skipped a beat. If nopony was out there...
Then why was the door still dented?
Don't do it stupid.
9797220
Oh she doin it.
I guess I'll have to come back to fimfic to read this.
9797310
I'm both glad and sad to have brought you back to these fiery pits!
Congratulations. You've been featured once again!
9797314
The horses, they're burning my skin!
9797350
Somehow, yes!
9797366
FEEEEEEL THE PAIN, BROTHER!
nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold
9797418
I'm not too much of a fan of Avenged Sevenfold. More of a Sabaton guy myself.
If the main OCs in this story were voiced, what would they sound like?
9797431
Good question. I think Evening would have a bit of a Scottish accent, as I fancy Flammenwerfer's interpretation of thestrals, and she'd probably have a tomboy-ish kind of voice.
Andromeda... I think she'd have a sort of Chrysalis kind of voice, where it's dual-toned and very otherworldly.
Dawn would probably have your stereotypical Jock voice.
And Crystal Heart would have a very "fake" voice. The kind that lets you know they don't care about what you think.
Cuppa has a Jamaican accent if that wasn't already obvious
But yeah, that's how I have em sounding in my head.
i respect that
9797445
Glad that you do.
9797662
Shit. Didn't even realize...
Welp, here I go killin' again!
Jesus Christ, the way Dawn broke up with Evening was so fucked up! I get he was forced to do it, but he ended it was like, all those times they spent together were nothing more, but an act! Anyways, can't wait to finally see Nightmare Moon in action!
9797707
Exactly the effect I was going for! Dawn isn't quite out of the picture yet, but more will be revealed in time.
And yes, Andromeda/Nightmare Moon is finally taking center stage and entering the spotlight! I hope you will enjoy the next chapter, as it will be the first one with some actual action to it!
9797737
Yay! ... I'm yaying for the action part, not for Dawn
9797749
That's what I thought you meant, but wasn't quite sure
I really respect the slow build to the action as way to many fanfics just skip right to the action.
9797793
9797796
Ive honestly struggled with the pacing, and I'm glad that people enjoy the slower buildup as opposed to getting straight to the point from chapter 1!
9797798
9797820
You did have me nervous when she immediately got nightmare in her but then again that probably happened in the movie (I didn’t watch it) so it at least looks like it wasn’t completely without purpose.
9797821
Happened a bit later in, but with how I've shaped the plot for this story, and how I want Evening and Andromeda's relationship to play out, I decided to put it in right near the start.
9797824
I would just recommend for future stories you put in at least one prologue chapter to establish who what where why and how, before something as interesting as getting nightmare inside her happens.
That’s just me personally though.
9797827
I was honestly debating labeling Chapter One as the prologue, but I had decided against it. I find that most people actually skip over prologues and would thus lose out on that vital information, so I would rather use the first chapter to establish everything before I make more important developments later on that would require a reader to jump all the way back to understand just what the hell is going on.
9797828
Hmm. That’s actually good to know. I admit I tend to skim on stories that go a little overboard on detailing story but I also want them to be at least decently descriptive.
Hey would you mind if I PM you? Possibly talk shop? Compare notes or just chat?
9797831
That's fine. I will be hitting the hay here soon but I can chat for a bit.
You know, I think it would be better if Nightmare was more..."alien" in a way. What I didn't like in the venom movie was how human-like venom was, so having Nightmare speaking in a way that's indescriptible (like in one of the first chapter) would have been better, it would have added a sense of mystery that you couldn't just resolve by having the host simply talking with his symbiote.
Read through four chapters in a row this morning and I have to say, it was quite a ride! Evey is indeed more fleshed out as you have stated and so far, I cannot complain about not enjoying her character. (You didn't see the double negative, aye?) Your version of Equestria is nice as well, and with lots of details too, same goes for your work with pacing and atmosphere. The only thing that bothered me enough to take me out the story was the part with the cardiac arrest. Should it not have an impact on the plot, I'd have ignored it, but... yeah, I'm not a fan of characters performing a self-diagnosis like Evey did, especially not with such dubious and rather uncharacteristic signs. So, her guess turning into a major lead was a rather weak plot point for me. (Also, cardiac arrest and heart attack aren't the same thing by far. I just had to nitpick here, sorry.)
Also, regarding your question about the 'Narcotics' tag, I don't think it's necessary. As long as you are not going to show an excessive amount of stoned ponies scattered around dark alleyways, that is.
9798007
Potentially, but keep in mind that the Nightmares we see in Canon are very used to bonding with ponies. I think at some point they would do what they could to make themselves seem more approachable and friendly, thus strengthening their ability to get news hosts.
9798015
Weak writing on my part I will admit, but its something I plan to shed more light on in the future to help compensate for that.
This is really fucking good! So I've got three things to say to you, MISTER!
1) Stop being a better writer than me, dammit. But also continue being a better writer than me, dammit. This is really good.
2) I assume you've already confirmed this, but this is based somewhat off of the recent Venom movie, isn't it? Clearly not entirely, but somewhat.
3) ...I forgot. Yeah, that's about it.
9801394
1. I'm sure if you applied yourself you could do a lot better than me!
2. This is indeed based off of the recent Venom movie.
3. What were we talking about again?
Dawn, it's a clearly illegal move by the company and you have a reporter girl friend.
Also World Wide, You sent her after this company so why bow to pressure. She is clearly on to something.
I can get Dawn a bit but not Evening's boss
9801781
There is a wonderful thing in the world known as "Fuck You" money.
Crystal Heart may or may not possess that
9801803
Then Wide is a fool for again he forced Evening on to this.
Again I just find his action not justified
9802040
There's more at play than you have seen thus far. All will be revealed in time
9802051
Be careful with that. It can back fire
9802142
Oh believe me, I know that. But there is a very valid reason for World Wide to have cut Evening off.
9802190
We'll see. But i expect their relations damaged after this.
9802268
I'd think that would go without saying.
They could sue I mean evening is an investigate journalist and dawn seems to have a lot of money so they should be able to find a lawyer who is not bribed by gentec and sue them seeing as that letter would be extremely damning for dawns employer I'm sorry but this is a bit of a big plot hole
9802051
How comes you didn't stick with the name nightmares moon
9797737
Let me guess, they threatened to kill her if he didn't break her heart?