Chapter 8
The air felt thick and and gave Eve an uneasy feel. She wished the other girls were with her. Nightshade was okay company at best, but she still felt uncomfortable in this unfamiliar place that had once been her home. The twisted plants, shadows and rubble looked more and more like horrid beasts or claws that were beckoning here to come closer. Wanting to snatch her up.
"You okay?" asked Nightshade with what seemed to be genuine concern. Eve looked at him from over her shoulder and put on a collected expression to show she was alright.
"Just fine. Though, this place does give me the creeps." she said. "Everything's changed so much."
"So, do you live here?"
"I did, but now..." Her voice caught in her throat, and she couldn't finish what she was going to say.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." said Nightshade.
"No. You didn't do anything, I'm....I'm just going through the motion. But I'll be okay. Once I find my friends and get to the castle, the queen can help get rid of the Tenebris and everything will go back to how it was."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Huh?" Eve stopped to look at him, wondering what he was trying to say.
"Surely you realize that not everything will be how it was. There are sure to be some changes to the ponies and the land. This doesn't seem like the kind of thing a pony could easily forget. Some ponies might even be left traumatized over this whole ordeal, and wonder what could've happened to cause such a thing to occur." Eve gulped. Her breathing quickened a little as she thought of all the miserable Nightmares and how their lives wouldn't be the same again. They'd talk about this for generations. If they were to find out she was the cause of all this, how would they react? Would they turn into an angry mob and go after her? Probably.
"Of course." added Nightshade. "They might end up okay, once they receive closer. I can't imagine what would happen to the pony responsible for all this and the punishment they'd get." Eve's hoof quickly flew to her throat, thinking about the queen actually giving her a cruel punishment this time. Like decapitation, or torture, or worse!
"W-we should keep moving." Eve said shakily. "Never know, the Tenebris could be nearby so it's best if we get going before they catch up."
"You're right, lead on." They two went on, delving ever deeper into the Garden of Shadows. Icy chills ran down Eve's spine, making her shutter. She didn't see the looks Nightshade was giving her, truly twisted expressions as he plotted out his next move. 'This is much easier than I expected! With a little more work, her suffering will reach its peak and be ready for the taking.' Eve looked over her shoulder once more after getting another set of chills, only to see Nightshade innocently gazing at the scenery. Eve shook her head, it was probably all in her head.
"I should've just used my magic to catch Eve instead of jumping." said Sunset Shimmer. She and Starlight were pushing tree branches out of the way. "Then maybe we wouldn't have gotten lost."
"Hey, I chose to jump too, so you're not entirely at fault." said Starlight.
"I just hope we find Twilight and the others soon, this place is making me feel really uneasy."
"Not only, that, but I think there's some kind of enchantment in this place. I tried using a teleportation spell, but my horn wouldn't so much as spark."
"You mean, we can't use our magic?"
"Not exactly. I can still cast spells, but they're more basic and simple. Anything more complicated is restricted. Or at least that's what I could gather. If we come across the Tenebris, we should be okay for a bit with some shield and attack spells."
"Guess the Tenebris don't want us to beat them that easily."
"Hmph! Only makes it better for when we show them that it'll take more than limiting our magic to stop us." Sunset stopped and put out her arm to stop Starlight from going any further.
"I hear something." she said quietly. Sure enough, their ears picked up the sound of rustling from nearby. Without any warning, there was a blast that sent the unicorns flying into the air and crash down hard on the ground.
"What the hay?!" screamed Sunset Shimmer. From the rising smoke of the blast, stepped a dark unicorn stallion.
"Who are you?! Are you one of the Tenebris?!" asked Starlight. The unicorn stallion smirked slightly.
"So what if I am?" he asked. "It shouldn't matter, seeing as how you're not going to last long enough to best me." Sunset and Starlight narrowed their eyes at him.
"Why you..." growled Sunset. The Tenebris Unicorn blasted at them once more, Starlight and Sunset readily cast a barrier spell that protected them. But with their magic being limited, Sunset and Starlight were straining to hold up the barrier. Then, it began to weaken and broke through, blasting both the unicorns and rendering them unconscious on the ground. The Tenebris, Erebus, trotted to their bodies, showing no concern for them as they groaned from the aches and pains of his spell.
"Now to wait for you two to wake up." said Erebus. "Hopefully you two won't destroy each other before your negative energy reaches its peak."