//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: MLP: Darkest Night // by kurusagi16 //------------------------------// Chapter 7 The Garden of Shadows had grown out of control, fueled by the Tenebris' influence. It had now become a labyrinth of sorts, filled with vile plants and the remains of their once proud kingdom, Oblivionis, that were starting to rise up to the surface from below. Nightshade had been supervising over the Tenebris, as was his duty as one of the four elite royal guard to the king. Head of the guard and the king's right-hoofed stallion, he saw it as his duty to ensure that all went smoothly. He wouldn't tolerate any mishaps that could get in the way with the resurrection of the king and of casting the dreamers into an endless nightmare. He'd assigned different Tenebris to specific duties, each was tasked with either recovering their kingdom, guarding over the Nightmare village and castle (which had once been called Concordiae before they were banished and Amalthea changed it, proclaiming all of Aestas as her domain), or gathering power to feed to their once great king. Yes, with the king revived, there would be nothing left to stand in their way. Nightshade looked up to see the rest of the guard blowing the dreamers into their territory. "Looks like everything is coming together nicely." he said smugly. Erebus and Pseudea manifested behind him from their smoke forms, and were kneeling at his hooves. "Task completed." said Erebus. "Good." said Nightshade. "And I trust there were no problems." Erebus shot a look at Pseudea. "I'm afraid that Pseudea here, went and did something that you did not authorize." he said. Nightshade's ear twitched a little, his back was turned so the two couldn't see what his expression was. "Oh?" he asked in a dangerously calm voice. "And what was it that he did?" "He pulled in a dream from the portal, one that hadn't traveled with the others. We have her locked away for now, awaiting your orders on what to do with her." There was an uncomfortable silence, chills went down Pseudea's spine when Nightshade said his name. "Y-yes...Master Nightshade?" stammered Pseudea. "What was the dreamer's name?" "Um, I don't know, I didn't ask." "Well, what sort of pony was she?" Pseudea gulped and did his best to decribe the pony. Not knowing whether Nightshade was angry at him or not made him all the more nervous. "It was a mare, a pegasus mare! She had a pale yellow coat and a long pale pink mane. She looked quite delicate, and graceful." "Did you happen to see her cutie mark?" "Yes! It was of three pink butterflies." Nightshade turned, a devilish smile on his face. "It seems you've brought me the dreamer I've actually been planning to use." he said. Erebus and Pseudea both blinked in disbelief. "Really?" they both asked at once. "Yes, she proved to be a useful piece in manipulating that Nightmare, now we may be able to use her once more." "What are you're orders?" asked Erebus. "Put the mare in the garden with the other dreamers, and await further instructions. Pseudea." "Y-yes?" "For once you manage to do something right, for that you won't be punished." Pseudea breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you Master Nightshade." he said. "However, don't think that means you can go around doing things without my authorization. If you should do something like that again, or disobey my orders..." Nightshade lifted Pseudea's head so that their eye's met. A cold fire burned in Nightshade's dark eyes. "...you won't live long to see how furious I can get. Are we clear?" "Crystal, sir." "Good. Now go, and greet our visitors." Pseudea stumbled after doing another low bow and hurried away to do as he was told. Nightshade looked toward the garden, and grinned evilly. "Let the fun begin." he said. "Why didn't you hold onto Eve?!" Twilight asked, upset by the Draconequus she was now stuck with. "I told you, I didn't want you or those other two to end up getting sucked up as well." "Liar, you did it because you still have a grudge against her!" "You have no proof that that's true." Twilight gritted her teeth. "I may not have any proof, but I know that because of you, we're now cut off from the others. And for what? Some petty jealousy?" "Jealous?" Discord laughed. "Why would I have to be jealous? In case you've forgotten, that Nightmare is the jealous one." Twilight shook her head. "Whatever, let's just go and find where they are." said Twilight. Thus, the two started walking deeper into the dense garden. 'I can't believe I got captured.' thought Fluttershy. 'I'm so useless! I need to get out of here and warn the girls about the danger they're in.' She hesitantly reached out a hoof to the barbed thorns that made up her prison. She drew back her hoof and winced, seeing that it was pricked and a bead of blood had welled up in the cut. "Ouch!" she said, sucking on the cut. Her ears perked, hearing something approach. She had to act quickly, even if it was going to hurt, it would hurt only temporarily. She put out both hooves and pushed away the the thorns, slipping through the gap she'd created. The barbs scrapped through her mane and her coat, leaving thin, shallow cuts. At that moment, the pegasus Tenebris had reappeared. "Alright miss, time to...hey!" Fluttershy gasped in fright and made a run with it. "Hey! Stop!" shouted the Tenebris. But Fluttershy didn't stop. She just galloped away for her life. The Tenebris transformed back into his smoke form and ganged up close behind her. The shrubs and trees brushed against her, but did nothing to divert the Tenebris away. He was going to catch her! What was she going to do?! She closed her eyes and just kept on running. After a while, she noticed that the Tenebris hadn't tried to catch her. She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. The cloudy form had stopped and was fading away. This greatly surprised, as well as confused Fluttershy. Why had the Tenebris stopped chasing her? Well, she soon got her answer. She slowed down and saw that she'd galloped into the Garden of Shadows. The garden was different from how she remembered it though. It was still dark, but it wasn't the pitch black dark it had once been. She could still see clearly, but that didn't make her surroundings any less scary. She shivered and shook a little, not sure whether to go forward or back to where the Tenebris was. 'My friends are in here. And they need to be warned.' Fluttershy collected herself and went further into the forest. Not knowing where her friends were or even if they had already fallen victim to the Tenebris' sinister plan. "Hello?! Anypony?!" Eve called out. She was all alone in the garden and was seeing if any of the others were nearby. "Twilight?! Discord?! Sunset! Starlight?! Where are you?!" Eve sighed in defeat, it didn't seem like it was working. She'd need to go out and look for the others herself. Eve shivered, feeling an icy chill all around her, it never got cold in Aestas, though with the Tenebris things were bound to change. She looked up at the tall trees and the vines that seemed to be reaching out to her. Maybe they were reaching out, wanting to drag her in and be captured like all the other Nightmares. There was a rustling sound. Eve squealed and whirled around. "W-who's there?" she asked timidly. Rising up from the bushes came a pony-shaped figure. Eve relaxed a little. But as the figure stepped out into better viewing, she saw that this pony was not one of her friends. It was a Unicorn stallion with a white mane and a dark purple coat. "Finally, I found somepony." he said with a relieved smile. Eve drew back cautiously. "Who are you?" "I was about to ask you the same thing." he said, holding out his hoof. "I'm Nightshade." Eve didn't take his hoof immediately, but rather looked at it warily before giving it a lightning quick shake. "I'm Moonlight Eve." she said. "What are you doing here?" "Not sure exactly. I went to the castle in Ponyville, as one of the royal guards I wanted to speak to Princess Luna on a matter that couldn't wait. She was about to close some portal right as I walked in, and these black tendrils shot out and grabbed me. They pulled me and another pegasus into the portal and into this place. Whatever it is." Eve looked at him suspiciously, not quite trusting him. Then she wondered if his story really was true. A thought occurred to her and she asked Nightshade, "What was the pegasus' name?" "Let's see." he said tapping his chin. "I think it was Fluttershy. Yes, that's it! Why do you ask?" Eve's eyes widened. "Fluttershy is here?! Oh no, this isn't good. I need to find her fast!" "Whoa, hold on." said Nightshade, grabbing onto Eve's hoof. "Let me go. My friend is in danger!" "Stop and think for a minute." said Nightshade calmly. I might not know about this place, but you can't just go blindly rushing in without a strategy." Eve stopped struggling and looked down at the ground. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. "You're right. But if I don't find her soon, who knows what'll happen?" "Then let me help." Eve's gray eyes looked into his dark eyes. "Y-you'll help me?" she asked. Nightshade shrugged. "Anything for to help a nice mare like you." he said. Eve blushed and looked away. "Well," Eve thought about it. She couldn't just leave this pony alone in the Garden of Shadows could she? She didn't really trust him, but what other option did she have? She sighed in defeat. "It wouldn't hurt I suppose. You can come if you want."Nightshade smiled. "Great! Let's get a move on shall we?" Eve led the way, not seeing the horrible expression on Nightshade's face while her back was turned to him. 'Everything is turning out perfectly.' Erebus, Moros, and Pseudea were floating high above the treetops, watching as the ponies (and Draconequus) were traveling through the Garden of Shadows to find each other. "Looks like Nightshade has chosen his victim." said Erebus, pointing at the Tenebris in question being led by Eve. "They all look so interesting!" gushed Pseudea. "But which one should I picked." Moros' dull eyes looked down and saw Fluttershy heading in the direction of Twilight and Discord. "Seems that one of the dreamers has found her friends already." he said in a depressing tone. "What? Already?" asked Erebus. "We'll need to make things more difficult. I'll take the two unicorns, you two get the rest." Moros sighed. "Fine." "On it!" said Pseudea. Erebus disappeared, heading into the direction of Sunset and Starlight. Pseudea rubbed his hooves together as a plan came together. "Say Moros, what do you say to a little team up huh?" "I don't care." he said flatly. "Good! I have a way of bringing quite a bit of misery, and you are just the Tenebris for the job." "I guess." "So, here's the plan." Pseudea whispered it quickly to Moros, a grin on his face. Moros still frowned and said, "Okay, if I have to." "Then let's get to it!" The two Tenebris snaked down to the garden to spread some misery and strife.