Chapter 8
The Tenebris were running rampant through the streets of Ponyville, terrorizing every helpless creature that they came across. Sunset and Starlight had their hooves full as they attempted to deal with them, and Spike did his best to help them out, despite not being able to do much to ward the Tenebris off.
"There's no end to them!" said Sunset annoyed.
"At his rate, they're gonna overtake Ponyville in no time." said Starlight.
"I hate to say it, but I think they already have." said Spike.
Sure enough, that was pretty much how it appeared, seeing as how the swarms of Tenebris filled the skies, and no matter how much Sunset or Starlight attempted to fend them off, their efforts had little effect on the invader's attacks.
"Look out!" cried Spike, as one of the Tenebris launched a ball of dark energy at them. Luckily, the three of them managed to dodge just in the nick of time.
"Uh, I think now would be a good time to look for some cover." said Sunset.
"But what about the rest of the townsponies?" asked Starlight. "We can't just leave them here to fend for themselves!"
"Oh! I know!" said Spike. "Twilight set up an emergency around the castle a while back, it'd be a good place to lay low for now."
Sunset and Starlight stared at Spike for a moment in disbelief.
"And you didn't mention this before, why?" asked Starlight.
"You didn't ask." answered Spike.
Sunset and Starlight groaned and rolled their eyes.
"Alright, we'll go to the castle to use as a shelter, and along the way we can try to round up as many ponies as we can to stay with us until we can figure out more of what's going on and what we should do next." said Sunset.
Meanwhile, not too far away from them, Eve had arrived in town, and was weaving her way through the panicked streets, searching for the rest of Fluttershy's friends, a task that proved to be more than difficult with everypony running away and the Tenebris attacking without restraint. Eve silently scolded herself for just rushing in without thinking out a plan for what to do once she got to town. As she tried to think up of what she should do next, Eve spotted a group of ponies, led by Starlight Glimmer, heading in the direction of the Castle of Friendship. With no other ideas of what she should do, Eve decided to follow after the group, hoping that maybe the rest of Fluttershy's friends would be there, and that maybe she could tell Starlight and Sunset about what had happened back in Aestas and with the princesses.
'Maybe they can help me figure out a way to find the princesses.' Eve thought to herself hopefully. And so, she quickly galloped after the group of ponies.
Sunset and Starlight helped to fend off the Tenebris along the way as they hurried for the castle, once they all got safely inside, Spike got the crowd's attention as Starlight addressed them.
"Alright, everypony! We should be safe here for now." she said.
As soon as she spoke, a barrage of questions came at Starlight, asking her what was going on and how the monster would be stopped, etc, etc.
Sunset interjected and told the crowd, "We don't know exactly what's going on ourselves. However, the best thing for us to do in a situation like this is to remain calm, and to lay low until it's safe."
This seemed to placate the crowd enough, as Starlight continued to assure them that they had nothing to worry about, and that they all were now safe inside the castle. Eve wove her way through the crowd, heading toward Sunset and Starlight. Lucky for her, she was easy enough to spot among the crowd. Once they finished addressing everypony, Sunset and Starlight grabbed Eve, and took her out into one of the many hallways to have a talk in private.
"Eve! You're back!" said Sunset. "Is Twilight with you?"
"Do you know exactly what's going on? Why are the Tenebris attacking all of a sudden?" asked Starlight.
Eve took a deep breath, as she began to explain to the two Unicorns about the invasion in Aestas, how Princess Luna and Princess Twilight were captured, and now the Tenebris were moving on with their plans to conquer not only Aestas, but the dream world and real world as well.
"I came to town to see if Fluttershy's friends were alright, and to try and find a way to help save Twilight and Luna too." said Eve. "Do you know if they're all right."
Sunset shrugged. "We're not sure, but they're probably okay. I mean, they're used to this kind of stuff before, so I think it's safe to say that they'll be able to handle things if they get out of hand, er, hoof."
"Yeah, but not for long." said Starlight. "Unless we can figure out some kind of plan to stop the Tenebris, I don't think the girls or Equestria stand a chance against them."
Eve tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, there might be a way, but..."
"What? What is it?"
"Princess Luna did find a spell that could stop the Tenebris once and for all, she talked about how it required a lot of power, and how she'd need the help of the other princesses in order to complete it."
"Great!" said Sunset. "All we have to do is find the other princesses and have them do the spell."
"I don't think it'll be as easy as that." said Starlight doubtfully.
"Why do you say that?" asked Sunset.
"Think about it, if the Tenebris kidnapped Twilight and Luna, who's to say they haven't captured the other princesses as well?"
"Hmm...you make a good point."
"Then we'll have to find them." said Eve.
"How?" asked Starlight. "They could be anywhere. It'd taken months to search for their hideout and still nopony's found it. Looking for the princesses would be just as difficult."
"Not if you know where to look." said Eve.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," said Eve as she began to explain. "The Tenebris are kinda like Nightmares, they need power from dreams or in the very least, the life energy of Aestas in order to help stay alive."
"So? How does that help?" asked Sunset.
"The Tenebris are using a lot of power right now in order to open all these rifts and to cause all this damage, if we can somehow track the source of this power..."
"We'll be able to find their hideout!" finished Starlight.
"Exactly."
"But wait, how are we supposed to do that?" asked Sunset. "We could try a tracking spell, but with all these rifts between realms, it could cause interference with it."
"Oh." said Eve, hanging her head.
"What about you Eve? Can't you do it?" asked Starlight. "I mean, you're a Nightmare, so shouldn't you be able to sense the source?"
Eve shook her head. "Unfortunately, no. Nightmares can sense disturbances relating to dream magic and the like, but to be able to sense something as immense as this, you'd need a Nightmare with skills and powers far greater than mine." Immediately, Eve thought of Queen Almathea, which made her frown deepen at the sad thought. "So unless we can find someone who can sense disturbances or magical imbalances, I don't know how else we can--"
"Wait, of course!" Sunset and Starlight cried out in unison.
"How did we not think of it before?" said Sunset.
"It's so obvious!" said Starlight.
"What are you two talking about?" asked Eve.
Starlight turned to Eve and grinned. "We'll explain in a sec, but first, we gotta get ready to head out and search for the princesses." she said.
"And make sure that the ponies here are safe and protected while we're away." added Sunset.
"I can help with that." said Spike, suddenly appearing in the hallway.
"Spike!" cried Starlight. "Were you eavesdropping?"
Spike's pupils shrank. "Uhhhh, maybe?" he said. "But that's not the point, if you need someone to bravely look after some innocent bystanders during a crisis, then I'm your dragon." He puffed up his chest and grinned.
Starlight's narrow gaze on him lightened a bit at his willingness to help. She turned to Eve and Sunset who both gave nods of approval. "Alright, Spike. Just make sure that nopony leaves the castle until we get back, and if the Tenebris try to break in, find some way to stop or stall them for as long as you can. Got it?"
"You can count on me!" Spike said with a salute.
"Okay, now that that's settled, would you two mind telling me what your plan is?" asked Eve.
Sunset and Starlight grinned at one another before turning to Eve.
"Well, it just so happens that we know someone who can sense magical imbalances, and is more than capable enough to come and help us on our mission." said Starlight.
Eve cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Really? Who?"