//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - The Forever Night // Story: The Shadow Stallion // by Ephraim Blue //------------------------------// Chapter 2 - The Forever Night Town Hall June 21st 4:28 AM The crowd made its way to the town hall in the center of town. It didn't take long to walk to, so Pitch found himself there in no time. When he entered the spacious building, he found it decorated with what seemed like some of the finest fabric Pitch had ever seen. They hung from the pillars and the platform the princess was supposed to raise the sun from. Oh no! he thought. Today is the Summer Sun Celebration! I completely forgot! I have to get out of here. He quickly turned to the doors, only to find that they were closed. He glanced at the clock on the wall. 4:29 it read. There was no time left. Once the princess raised the sun, he would disappear. He heard everypony gasp around him. He turned in the direction they were facing to see that the princess wasn't there. A dark mist formed onto the platform. It took the shape of a dark alicorn, laughing maniacally above them. The mayor ordered the guards to attack, only to see them swatted away like flies. The dark alicorn asked a question in a booming voice. "Do you fools know who I am?" "I know who you are," a single voice from the crowd spoke. All ponies there turned to her. What Pitch saw, was a purple unicorn standing in the middle of the floor. "Your the Mare in the Moon: Nightmare Moon!" Pitch looked at the moon in the sky. For the first time he had ever known, the face that was in the moon had left. He stared back at the unicorn with raw amazement. How had she known bout this alicorn's coming? "Well, it's nice to know that somepony knows who I am," Nightmare Moon stated. "I suppose you know why I am here as well?" "Your here to.." She looked around at all of the ponies staring at her. "To..." Nightmare Moon once again laughed, using her mane to flow toward the sky. Her alicorn magic had suddenly forced all the sunlight that was found in the sky to vanish. "The night, shall last forever!" Nightmare Moon yelled. Pitch could only stare at the events that were taking place. The night is going to last forever, he thought. This is probably the greatest thing that has ever happened to me! Pitch immediately ran outside. The night sky seemed even better than before. He was glad for there to be everlasting night. He never had to hide from the sun again. Ponyville Streets June 21st 4:30 AM It was still 4:30. Its been that way for about 2 hours now. Ever since Nightmare Moon prevented the sunrise, the clocks stopped working. The clocks have a special magical effect that tells them where the sun is. The time changes when the sun moves. Since the sun wasn't moving anywhere, they couldn't tell time anymore. Pitch didn't mind. He liked how the time never changed. It allowed him to stay outside for however long he wished. He had to remember to thank Nightmare Moon for what she had done the next time he saw her. Thinking about Nightmare Moon made Pitch think about that purple unicorn. He had never seen her in town before. Granted, he never really saw anypony around town, but he had heard of them, and his friends got pictures of them for him. He had never seen that unicorn before this day. Now that he thought about it, was that the pony who was supposed to be staying at the library? Curious, he walked to the old place. He unlocked the door and stepped inside. He found party supplies everywhere. Not just on the floor, but also on the ceiling as well. How did that happen? Simple answer. Pinkie Pie. He shrugged off the work that he would save for later and walked upstairs. The curtains on the window were open, which said that if somepony was up here earlier, they looked out the window for a reason. He found that the pillow on the bed was certainly disturbed. This meant that the pony who was supposed to come, did certainly come earlier. However, he never found a single clue on who was actually staying here. He shrugged it off and looked out the window once again. Unexpectedly, he saw the light of the sun come over the horizon. Fear overtook him. He was afraid of what was going to happen. He certainly didn't want it to happen either. Out of fear, he bolted for the stairs. He had just reached the top of the stairs when the sun reached him. What?! he thought. The sun is not supposed to rise that quickly! Please don't make me disappear! But as fate would have it, he did disappear. Ponyville Library June 21st 7:30 PM Pitch reappeared in the same spot he vanished. Unfortunately, that happened to be the top of the stairs. He was unexpectedly thrown down the stairs at amazing speeds. He was about to hit the final step when he stopped in midair. He slowly opened his eyes. The floor of the library was right in front of him. He reached his hoof out to set it on the floor. once he did, the force that was keeping him in the air let him drop. he caught himself and prevented any pain by flapping his wings slightly. Curiously, he turned in all directions to see what caught him. His eyes soon fell upon the purple unicorn from earlier. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" she asked.