//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 
// Story: MLP: As Evening Falls 
// by kurusagi16 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 11



Eve was glad that she was able to help her friends escape so that they could go help Fluttershy and Discord, but now she had a bigger problem to deal with, that being the throng of Tenebris that were currently chasing her through the streets of Ponyville. Whenever she could, she made sure to make as many swerves and sharp turns as possible to try and throw them off, but for the most part, Eve was trying to think up a plan for a way to get rid of them, so that she could try to regroup with the girls, and tell them of the vision she'd been sent. But how? Her mind raced. Helplessly thinking up of a solution, when very quickly, she began to feel faint. 

'Oh no, not now!' she thought. While Eve had managed some recuperation during her very short return to Aestas, she unfortunately hadn't reclaimed her full strength, and what with having traveled back to Equestria, helped out Starlight and Sunset get ponies to cover, and running from Tenebris soldiers, Eve was starting to feel weak. Her legs wobbled a little, as if they were about to collapse. 'No, I can't stop now.' She told herself. Thus, Eve pushed herself to continue running, not wanting to allow them to catch her and do Celestia knows what. But, after a few moments, Eve felt as though the heavy presence had disappeared, and instead had been replaced by a different, and somewhat familiar one. A presence that felt dark and ice cold. Eve slowed her running, and glimpsed over her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that most of the soldiers had stopped their chase and had went to resume their previous acts of rampage, while a few stayed behind and circled around their master who floated before them. It was none other than Nightshade, in his pony form, looking down at Eve with an almost unreadable expression.

"You." Eve cried out, swerving on her hoof to stop and face the dark general. As she looked up at him with a hard, narrowed expression, Nightshade simply smirked at her, as if finding her somewhat mildly amusing.

"Moonlight Eve, at last." he replied. "You've been quite resistant to our control, but now I think it's time to put an end to that." Eve took a step backward, but found that the soldiers moved behind her, to block her escape. "There's nowhere to run now, so I suggest you surrender nice and quietly."

Eve however, stood her ground. "Yeah right, like I'd just let myself surrender to the likes of you." she snapped.

"Very well then." he said, lowering himself back down to the ground. "If that's the way you want it, then so be it." Without any warning, Nightshade charged at her. Eve quickly braced herself as Nightshade collided with her, but unfortunately, she wasn't able to stop him from knocking her down to the ground. 

Nightshade scoffed. "Pitiful. I was expecting more from you...but it seems I may have overestimated your abilities. A shame, and here I was, actually looking forward to our meeting, thinking that you'd put up more resistance than this, but, it seems you've proven me wrong."

Eve gritted her teeth and lunged again at Nightshade, hoping to punch him, or do something that would cause him some kind of pain. But Nightshade grabbed hold of her arm, and with great ease and strength, he threw her over his shoulder and onto the ground. This action caused all the wind to be knocked out of Eve, leaving her gasping for air. As she tried to breathe, Nightshade pinned her down to the ground, firmly pressing his hoof against her chest. 

Nightshade looked at her, tilting his head to the side and having an expression that could only be described as a mix of morbid curiosity and amusement. "Such a weak and fragile thing you are." he said. "And yet you even have the nerve to believe otherwise, that you have any possible chance whatsoever in defeating us." Nightshade let out a dark, cruel laugh, in which the soldiers soon joined in. 

Eve felt her anger broiling within her, but as much as she wanted to hurt them, they did have a point. Right now, she was weak and vulnerable, without  her full strength, she had no hope of ever stopping the Tenebris, or gain vengeance for Queen Almathea's murder. There was nothing she could do. 

Then, just as she was about to fall into despair, and just as Nightshade was about to knock her out and return her to the base, a blast of confetti shot at Nightshade right in the face from nowhere, taking him completely by surprise. Eve, like the other Tenebris, was equally shocked by this sudden and crazy occurrence, but she quickly recovered and used this as her chance to escape. Nightshade spit out some of the confetti that had got into his mouth and growled, spotting Eve as she was making her get away. "Don't just stand there, after her you fools!" he ordered.

The soldiers obeyed, and quickly gave chase. But unlike last time, when the Tenebris got close, a barrage of confetti would explode in their faces, slowing them down enough for Eve to gain more distance away from them. Eve glanced around over her shoulder, wondering what could be causing all this confetti bombing, when she spotted the source. The source of course, was none other than Pinkie Pie, hopping from rooftop to rooftop, and lugging her deluxe party cannon with her. She smiled widely and waved over at Eve. 

"Hey, Evie!" she called out happily. "Hope you don't mind, but it looked like you could use some help." 

Eve grinned at her in reply. "Thanks Pinkie, you're the best!"

"I know." She waved goodbye to Eve, watching her head off on her way to Fluttershy's. A few of the Tenebris then  began to surround Pinkie, in an attempt to stop her. But she merely gave a determined face and smiled, turning her deluxe party cannon up to maximum level. "Say hello, to my little friend!" 

Behind Eve, she could hear a loud Boom, almost like there was an explosion. She peered over her shoulder again and saw a giant mushroom cloud  of confetti rise up from where she had left Pinkie and the Tenebris behind. And while she hoped that Pinkie would be alright, she couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight. And thus, off she went, hurrying as fast as she could to warn her friends of what the princess had told her.





Nightshade's hooves crushed the confetti that littered the ground, as he walked up to his soldiers, who also laid out sprawled onto the ground. His face was set into that of unadulterated anger and irritation. 

"YOU INCOMPETENT MORONS!" he seethed. "YOU'RE USELESS! NOT ONLY DID YOU FAIL TO RECAPTURE THE NIGHTMARE AND ALLOWED HER TO ESCAPE, BUT YOU ALSO ALLOWED YOURSELVES TO BE THWARTED BY A MERE PONY WHO HAS ALSO ESCAPED!!!" The soldiers all cowered in fear, their master's eyes burning with icy flames. Using his magic, he lifted the soldiers up from the ground, and used his magical grasp to crush them, making them cry out in pain and had them begging for mercy.

"Please, master Nightshade, please forgive us!"

"Yes, we promise, we'll do better next time."

"We'll work twice as hard even, to make up for our failure."

"Forgive us, master!"

Nightshade sighed with irritation, and let the soldiers drop to the ground with a loud thud. "Very well, you are aloud one last chance." he said, his gaze firm and cold. "And I do mean, last. If you once again fail, you shall not only be reported to his highness, but I shall personally see to your punishment. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes sir!"

"Oh, thank you, master!"

"You can count on us, we won't fail you or King Morpheus." 

And with that, the soldiers flew away, to engage in their new mission and hopefully not screw up again. Nightshade let out another sigh and rubbed the bridge of his muzzle. "While our forces have grown in power, it seems that they still lack some much needed competence." He lowered his hoof (which he had used to pin down Eve), and looked at it with narrowed eyes. 'Moonlight Eve...still you continue to make a fool of me and resist our forces.' His hoof tightened into a fist. 'Enjoy your precious and fleeting freedom while you can.'