//------------------------------// // Chapter 16 // Story: MLP: Darkest Night // by kurusagi16 //------------------------------// Chapter 16 Eve cracked her eyes open, only to have them widen in horror at what she saw standing over her. Nightshade, with his blade piercing through Queen Amalthea, who had jumped in at the last second to take the blow for Eve. "Queen!" cried out Eve. The queen smiled sadly and collapsed onto the ground. Nightshade pulled his blade from Queen Amalthea and focused back on the seal, which was now receiving the collected energy. Eve gently lifted the queen's head, tears pouring down her face. "Why?" she asked. "Why did you save me?!" Queen Amalthea coughed, struggling to get out her words. "I have... lived a long life..." rasped Amalthea. "...during which, I've done many things, and made many mistakes along the way. The Tenebris...and their king...are one of my more regretful mistakes. You still have a long life ahead of you, and I know that you won't fail like I have." "I don't understand. What are you--" "I leave the rest to you, Moonlight Eve. Protect the dreamers....save our world!" With a gasp for breath, Queen Amalthea became limp and her eyes stared out, unblinking and empty. "No." said Eve in a barely audible whisper. Her tears fell onto the queen's body. "Queen Amalthea!" Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight watched with equally saddened and horrified expressions. The Queen of the Nightmares, was now dead. The only one who could've stopped the Tenebris, was gone. It was all over. Twilight gritted her eyes. "No, it's not over." said Twilight. "Not if I can help it." "But what can we do?" asked Sunset Shimmer. "What else? We fight them, and seal them away once and for all." answered Twilight. Her horn glowed with a brilliant light, the light intensified until she launched it at the royal guards. Starlight and Sunset looked at each other, both nodded in agreement and joined Twilight to continue the fight. Eve carefully closed the queen's eyelids, making it look as though she were resting peacefully. Her expression was grim, and her eyes were covered by her bangs and shadow. She slowly stood up and faced Nightshade, whose back was turned to her. "You..." she muttered bitterly. Nightshade glanced at her as she looked him in the eye. Her lint-gray eyes burned with anger toward him. "YOU UNFORGIVABLE WRETCH!!" she screamed as she charged him, taking him by surprise. Eve head butted him, and punched him whenever she got the chance. Tears continued to spill from her anger-filled eyes. "Why do you care so much about her?" asked Nightshade, acting as though he didn't care that Eve was upset or that he'd just killed the queen. "All she's ever done was look down on you and work you to the bone. So why do you care so much that she's dead?" "Someone as heartless as you wouldn't understand!" Eve punched him right in the face. "Queen Amalthea was cold at times, but she cared about all Nightmares, she gave up her own life to protect mine. While I don't know the exact reason why she did it, I do know one thing." Eve tackled Nightshade onto the ground, pinning his shoulder down and raising her hoof to throw in a good punch. "I know that if you Tenebris have your way, everything else we love will be destroyed, and I won't let that happen." Before she could land another hit on him, the was a loud cracking sound. Everypony turned their attention to the seal, which was starting to break. Nightshade laughed maliciously. "It seems you've failed, Moonlight Eve." he said, slipping into his true form and escaping Eve's grasp. "The real nightmare, is about to begin!" The darkened sky seemed even darker and started to warp, the ground shook violently, and from where the seal lay came a wisp of pure black shadow in the form of stallion. He was just as tall as Queen Amalthea, his presence was almost overwhelming. The Tenebris bowed to him, including the royal guard who positioned them selves at the king's hooves. "King Morpheus, we've long awaited your return." said Nightshade respectfully. King Morpheus spoke, his voice colder than ice and sharper than steel. "Nightshade...my most loyal and trusted warrior...you've served me well..." he said. He looked up at the dead body of the queen, and then at the girls, looking mildly amused by what he saw. "Mmmm, I see you've taken it upon yourself to not only defeat our great nemesis, but to also bring me some scrumptious-looking morsels." Eve shook with fear, while Twilight and her friends stood their ground. "My powers are still quite weak...I must have more if we are ever to complete our mission..." "Rest assured my king, we've already captured the Nightmares and have been continuously draining them of their energy, even as we speak." said Nightshade. "And with Queen Amalthea out of the way, we can collect the negative power and energy from the dreamers." "Excellent..." King Morpheus stepped toward the girls. "Now...time to dig in..." "You'll have to defeat us first." said Twilight. The royal guards were about to attack, but the king motioned for them to stay back, so he could deal with them himself. Together, they combined their magic, and launched the beam at the king, but it didn't seem to have much affect on him. In truth, he seemed bored by it. "Is this really your pitiful attempt at stopping me?" he asked. The king sent out a shock wave that knocked the girls to the ground. "Dreamers like you could never hope to defeat me!" Without warning, the king was pelted by banana cream pies from the sky. The Tenebris gasped in fear and surprise, wondering who could possibly have the audacity to do such a thing to their fearsome king. They soon got their answer, as Discord himself landed down with Fluttershy in tow. "Girls!" Fluttershy cried, rushing to her friends. "Are you alright? What happened?" "We're fine, Fluttershy." said Starlight. "The Tenebris king has been freed, and Queen Amalthea...she's been...she's been..." Sunset stepped in and took over the conversation. "The Tenebris and their king need to be stopped." she said. "We're gonna need all the help we can get." "Consider yourselves helped." said Discord as he flashed into a general's uniform and got ready to unleash another attack. The king wiped off the remains of the pies and glared down at Discord. Discord made a bevy of cannons appear, aimed and at the ready. "Fire!" cried Discord, as he pulled a cord. Powerful bursts of magic were launched at the king, and managed to push him back a bit, but it mostly hit the Tenebris and sent them flying into the air. Fluttershy went over to Eve while Discord and the others fought. "Eve?" she asked in her tiny voice. "Are you alright?" Eve looked up at Fluttershy and then threw her arms around her friend's neck. "Oh Fluttershy, it was so horrible!" cried Eve, more tears flowing from her face. She tried to talk as she sobbed and choked. "Queen Amalthea...she...it's because of me...and Nightshade...it's over now! The Tenebris won...we can't do anything...the world is doomed!" Fluttershy patted her friend on the back, trying to comfort her. "Shh. There, there Eve." said Fluttershy. "I can tell you've been through a lot, but right now, we both need to be strong. For our friends." "B-but how?! The Tenebris--" "Haven't won yet. We still have a chance, but only if we work together." Eve looked to the others, seeing how much effort and magic they were putting in to stop King Morpheus. To save Equestria, to save Aestas. Eve wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. "I'll try." she said. "But I don't know what you or I can do to help." Meanwhile, King Morpheus had become bored by the antics of the dreamers, and decided it was time to put an end to their attempts. While he was still weak, he had enough power in him to subdue Discord, Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight. All of them were struggling to get free from the grip of his magic. Eve and Fluttershy gasped. They had to do something now. But what? 'Queen Amalthea, if only...you were still with us.' thought Eve. Moonlight Eve... 'Huh?! Queen?' Yes...don't lose heart Moonlight Eve, you have the power in you to stop this. 'But how?! What do I do?!' Look within yourself, consentrate on all your strength, and say these words aloud...... Draw on the strength of your friends, and you shall succeed. Eve listened, and gave a solemn nod. 'I won't fail, your majesty.' Eve took Fluttershy's hoof and stepped up to the king, her eyes narrowed on him. "What's this now?[/i]" "King Morpheus, in the name of Queen Amalthea and all of Aestas, I won't let you succeed!" Eve spoke with a boldness she didn't even know she had. The king laughed a cold and horrible laugh. "A dreamer and a little Nightmare? As if you even stand a chance." "Do you trust me?" whispered Eve. "I do." "Then follow my lead, and don't let go." Eve did as the queen had instructed and focused on her strength inside her. Then she recited the words she was told to say, over and over again. "Tenebrae dispello...tenebrae dispello....tenebrae dispello...tenebrae dispello..." The king looked unimpressed, seeing how nothing seemed to be happening. But as Fluttershy joined in with Eve's chanting, he could sense something foreboding coming from the Nightmare. She called upon the power within her and within her friends. The king let go of the other and focused his attack on Eve and Fluttershy. But his attack was deflected by a force field protecting them, and it grew stronger with each chant. "No, I won't be defeat that easily!" shouted King Morpheus. "...tenebrae dispello...tenebrae dispello...tenebrae dispello!" A powerful force of magic that had been generated spanned out from Eve and the others, sending a large wave over all of Aestas and making the Tenebris disappear in wisps of smoke. The king narrowed his eyes on Eve, and for a moment, saw Queen Amalthea's spirit alongside her, giving her strength to help get rid of him. "Curse you Amalthea," he muttered. "Curse you and all your Nightmares." And with that, the king and the Tenebris were gone and all was silent. Eve exhaled with relief. "It's over. It's all over." "I wouldn't say that just yet." said Discord, his eyes trained on where the king had been standing. "They may not be here right now, but they certainly aren't vanquished." "You mean they ran away?" asked Sunset. "Precisely." "What now?" asked Starlight. "What else?" asked Twilight. "We go home, and report this to Princess Luna at once." Eve's relief was now gone, replaced by a looming worry. The fight was far from over, and this wouldn't be the last she'd seen of King Morpheus and Nightshade.