//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: MLP: As Evening Falls 
// by kurusagi16 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 3


Once Princess Luna had been informed that Twilight and Eve were ready to leave, she sent a portal to them, as she'd promised in the library of the friendship castle. 

"You ready?" Twilight asked Eve, getting ready to step through.

Eve cracked a nervous smile. "As ready as I'll ever be." she replied.

"Then let's get going." 

Starlight, Sunset, and Spike, who were also in the library, were waving goodbye and wishing them well. 

"See you guys soon." said Sunset.

"Good luck!" said Spike.

"Take care!" said Starlight. 

With a final little wave to their friends, Twilight and Eve passed through the portal, and headed for Aestas. The travel between the two realms was nothing short of fantastical. It felt as though you were plunging into refreshing water and yet you remained dry, and then, it felt like you were whooshing through silk as you passed through light and shadow. It didn't take too long for the girls to reach their destination, stepping out of the portal and now finding themselves in the throne room of Aestas' castle. And there, standing before them to greet them, was Princess Luna.

"Princess Twilight, Moonlight Eve, it's good to see the two of you once again." said Luna graciously. 

"You said you found a way to stop the Tenebris." prompted Twilight. 

Luna nodded. "Yes, of course. I'd been going through all the information that was available, when I found something quite interesting from Amalthea's old personal collection." she said. "Apparently, she'd been working on a spell to help weaken the Tenebris and return them to their original forms."

Eve blinked in surprise. "Original forms? What does that mean?" she asked.

"I don't know, that's all she wrote on the page where I found the information. But my best guess is that the Tenebris and the forms we've encountered them in isn't what they truly are. If we take away their excess power, they should revert to their original and true forms, from before they rebelled and sought to overthrow Aestas."

"Not their true forms, huh?" Mused Twilight to herself. "If that's the case, then I wonder what they really look like."

Eve wondered that as well. The Tenebris had been gone for so long, and the only images of them that were available were the ones depicting them as the terrifying creatures they were now. But now it seems that they hadn't always been that way.

'What could've happened to make them like that?' Eve asked herself silently.

"So, if we use this spell on the Tenebris, and return them to their original forms..." began Twilight.

"Then they shall no longer pose a threat to either Aestas or Equestria, and can be dealt with accordingly." concluded Luna. "However, I'm afraid it won't be quite that simple." 

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Eve.

"The spell in question is very complicated, and requires a lot of magical energy need to power it. If a normal Unicorn were to try to cast it, it would leave them severely and completely drained of all their magic, and if an Alicorn were to cast it, they would be critically weak but their magic should return to them over time."

"I see, so it's that powerful is it." said Twilight. "Then what do you propose we do?" 

"If this should be cast by more than one Alicorn, then it should not only prove to be more effective, but it should also lessen the repercussions of the side effects." answered Luna. "As such, I'll need you, Princess Cadence, and my sister to help me in casting this spell." 

"If it'll help stop the Nightmares for good, I'll gladly do anything I can to help." said Twilight.

Luna smiled at her. "Thank you, Twilight."

"Um, Princess Luna?" piped up Eve. The two Alicorns turned to her. "What about me? What do I do?" 

"Ah yes, Moonlight Eve. Since I'll be busy with the preparations for the spell, I need you to help me keep everything in order here at the castle."

"You want me to...what?" 

"Is there a problem?"

"No, not at all, well, it's just that, I don't think I'm exactly the kind of pony or Nightmare you want for the job."

"And why not?"

"Uh, well, because there's plenty of others who are much more qualified than I am. Like Twilight! She's already a princess after all." Eve pointed a hoof at Twilight as she said this. "I mean, what if I mess up and make a mistake? What then?"

Luna smiled and chuckled lightly at Eve. "There's no reason for you to worry Eve. I have the utmost confidence that everything will be fine in your care."

While those words might've been meant to comfort Eve, all they did was make things even worse. Her pupils shrunk as she imagined the entire Nightmare kingdom falling into a panic because of her. She'd already messed up quite a few times already, and chances were that she'd do it again.

"So, are you up to the task?' Luna asked her.

Eve gulped. "I...I'll do my best, princess." answered Eve shakily.

"Good." Luna turned to Twilight and said, "We must go over the spell and give a copy to Celestia and Cadence, hopefully we'll have it all prepared by the time the Tenebris are located."

"Right!" 

Eve remained firmly in place as she watched Princess Luna and Princess Twilight head off to get the spell. Her first day back in Aestas, and already she was given a tough assignment, one she couldn't fail at any costs.

Eve grimly thought to herself, 'What have I just gotten myself into?'





In the secret location...


In the secret location of the Tenebris, Nightshade was going over the final stages of the ritual they would soon be using for when they unleashed their attack. 

"Erebus! Are the sunstone and moonstone in place?" asked Nightshade. 

Erebus nodded. "Yes, everything is set and ready to be set into motion." he said. 

"Good, King Morpheus will be most pleased." 

Moros then went up to the two of them, giving them his report. "I've just received word that Princess Twilight and the Nightmare Moonlight Eve have gone to Aestas, apparently, they were summoned by Princess Luna."

"I'll inform King Morpheus of this at once." replied Nightshade. He returned his attention to Erebus and asked, "Are the cages ready?" 

"Yes, all four of them are nice and secure. I even had them tested to make sure that no one will be able to escape from them."

"Everything is going smoothly." said Nightshade with a smirk. "If this keeps up, we'll be able to execute our plan by tomorrow evening as planned." 

"Oh, there's one other thing." added Moros. "Princess Celestia has the Draconequus, Discord, joining the search for our base."

"Hmph. Let him search all he wants." said Nightshade, clearly not afraid. "If he does get close, we'll simply have to provide a little distraction to keep him busy for the time being. Tell Pseudea about this immediately and to whip up a trap that that Draconequus won't be able to break."

Moros sighed and moaned. "Okay, if I have to." And off he drifted to go and find Pseudea. 

Nightshade continued to grin, feeling very pleased with himself. The tables had turned, and very soon, the Tenebris kingdom would become victorious. 

'At long last, Queen Almathea, the reign of your kingdom and your Nightmares will come to an end.'