//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Life After // Story: Kamen rider Eternal night // by New Lunar Principality //------------------------------// It is said that heroes are born from great tragedy…. Flames lit up the night sky as a people ran screaming and dragging their love ones to safety as the apartment building burnt like a funeral pyre to anyone who saw the tragic event take place. But one person did not run or hide but instead ran head first into the burning building ignoring the alarmed cries of the other survivors around her. “Wait!! Kid don’t go in there!! You won't last a minute in there!” screamed an injured employee of the burning building as he desperately tried to run after the child who was surely running to her own death. But the young child paid no heed as she ran past the flames and debris and looked at every angle, desperately looking for something but the smoke was not just making it hard to see but also suffocating her as well. “COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! M-mom!? Dad!? Where are you!? Screamed a young 9 year old lavender skinned girl with Dark indigo hair that had a pink and purple highlight. “MOMMY! DADY! Where are you!” screamed the young girls as her purple eyes shed even more tears as the possibility of her parents death was becoming more likely by the second. “cough… twilight? I-is that you?”wheezed out a male voice. Which drew the now named twilight attention to a far off corner of the main entrance hall which held the sight of a middle aged man being pinned down by some burning debris with an unconscious woman next to him. “DAD!! You're here! Oh my god is mom ok!?” yelled a very frightened twilight as the sight of her unmoving mother filled her with dread, but she shook it off and was about to run to her parents but her stride was stopped as the building started to shake violently. “Forget about us twilight! You have to get out of here and take this with you!”ordered her father as he pulled out a black case from under him and slid it to his daughter's feet, who then grab it but did not move from her spot and just stared at her parents, not knowing what to do. “W-what are you talking about!? I need to get you out of there!” screamed twilight in protest as she was about to run to her parent but a quick glare from her father stopped her in her tracks. “Twilight please lisind to me! What's in the briefcase is more important than anything else right now you need to be a brave girl and do this…. Please sweetheart, for us.” begged her father as more and more flaming debris fell on top of him and his deceased wife’s bodys. Twilight with tears in her eyes tried to run towards her father even as she started to choke on the smoke of the burning building. “Don’t do it!” Twilight turned around her eyes widened with newfound hope as she saw a figure move through the flames effortlessly a glowing blue “A” shaped looking towards her. “Stay still i’m coming!” “No get mommy and da-” Twilight looked up as she heard the breaking and snapping of wood above her head. She stood there frozen in fear as the roof started to collapse right before her eye. TRIAL!!! A blue flash occurred and before she knew it she was grabbed by blue armored arms and the world turned into a blur her hair flying as she was carried outside the burning building by the now blinding fast hero. The masked man stared solemnly at the young girl with his now orange visor. “You forgot mommy and daddy!” Twilight pounded her little fists into the man's chest. “It's too late.” The roof of the building had already caved in and the the second floor was crumbling as they spoke. The little girl escaped his grasp and started to run towards the building again. “They're gonna die!” Her saviour had picked her up by the waist and held her. “Don’t!” he yelled holding her tightly as his voice became more solemn. “Don’t.....that goal is only despair.” “NOOOOO!!!! daddy ! mommy!!” screamed twilight as her whole world turned white. But the same can be said about the most terrifying of villains... The bright early morning rays shined through the window and slowly filling the dark room with it’s gentle glow. Some of the light’s rays hit directly onto the sleeping face of a much older Twilight sparkle causing her to stir and awaken with a few small mumble of complaint. “Mmm… stupid sun, why does it always have to wake me up before my alarm does?” mumbled the young teen as she slowly removed herself out of bed with the same motivation of a sloth and started her track to her bathroom to get her daily morning routine started. ‘Well i can't really complain this time, it did wake me up from that stupid nightmare.’Twilight thought bitterly as she stepped into her bathroom, she then preceded to turn on her shower, and while she waited for the water to heat up she started to remove her old article of clothes and toss them into the clothes hamper.’i just wish i could go one night without having to worry about waking up Shining and Cadence.”she thought as she stepped into the warm shower. She released a soft moan of pleasure as the the warm water slowly washed away both the physical and emotional stress she was suffering from and allowing her mind to clear. ‘Thankfully i've gotten better at handling them unlike last year where i would wake up screaming so loud i’d end up causing shining to burst into my room with his gun.’ she thought humorously as memories of her brother started popping up. Like the one time he scared off some bullies by pretending he was going to put them under arrest or the time him and his wife cadence threw a big birthday party for her.After finishing up in the bathroom Twilight quickly put on her school uniform and grabbing her glasses, she quickly made her way downstairs where the soft aroma of breakfast greeted her. “Oh! Your up early today twilight, sit down and breakfast will be done in a moment.” said a loving voice belonging to one Mi Amore Cadenza or just Cadence to those close to her. She was a stunning beauty of a woman with her soft pink skin and her beautiful hair which was made up of three different colors of Purple, Magenta, and Yellow. Topped off with her purple eyes that held nothing but love and warmth. She was the star in a lot of people's eye’s and she was someone that made twilight thankful that she was so lucky to have her as a sister-in-law. “Thanks cadence, breakfast smells wonderful as always.” twilight said as she quickly took her seat at the table with glee from the prospect of eating a good meal made by her sister who thankfully could cook unlike the other two residence of the house, twilight being one of those unlucky two who couldn't cook to save a life. “Oh twilight! You're making me blush, my foods not that good.” said a blushing and giggling Cadence as she waved off the complement in favor of making sure the food didn’t burn.Twilight could only smirk amusement at her flustered sister all ways enjoying how simple compliments always put her into a stuttering mess. After finishing breakfast the two headed to the car, after settling in cadence started the car and began the small drive to school, both enjoying the peaceful quiet, but cadence would send twilight some worried glances every few moments much to twilight's growing concern that something was wrong. After a few minutes of the same thing, twilight could not help it anymore and she turned to cadence then asked. “Is something wrong Cadence? You've been staring at me more then you SHOULD be staring at the road.” stressed twilight as she was getting worried not just about the possibility of there something wrong but also the high chance of a car wreck. That seem to grab her attention because as soon as twilight asked her question, cadence seemed to snap out of her own thought and couldn't help but blush on how she got caught red handed by her little sister no less. “O-oh um… heh sorry twilight i didn't mean to worry you… it’s just i wanted to ask you a question but i was trying to think on the proper way to ask you.” admitted a sheepish cadence as she went back to focusing on the road. This confused twilight, what could be so hard to ask her that even made her own sister uncomfortable asking? “Well? What was it you wanted to ask?” questioned the lavender skinned teen, wondering what the big deal was. After a few moments of awkward silence cadence released a tired sigh and turn to twilight with sad filled eye’s. “I… i wanted to ask you if you had THAT dream again.” admitted cadence now looking a stunned twilight as she focused her eye straight on the shocked teen as if to dare her to say anything but the truth, and poor twilight could only stare at her sister like a deer caught in the headlights.but after a short few seconds she was able to shake off the shock and give her older sister a blank stare. “I don’t really see the big deal is about me having the same dumb nightmare i've been having for the past few years.”muttered an irritated twilight who just wanted this old same conversation to just end but sadly cadence was not willing to drop the conversation so easily. “It is a big deal twily!!” she yelled.”having the same dream every day for five YEARS is not something that should be brushed aside like it’s nothing!” she continued to the ever growing frustration of one twilight sparkle. Until she could no longer take it and she glared up at her sister. “Do you think i like having the same dream haunt me every time i close my eye’s!?” the young teen screamed at the now stunned cadence, who tried to shake out of her her little spell and tried to get a word in but sadly twilight was on a tole now. “I mean there isn't a day wear i could have a peaceful sleep or the fact i HAD to grow used to sleeping in small burst before that stupid dream will wake me up!”yelled an irate twilight. As she took a few breaths to calm herself she took one glance at her older sister and quickly realised she went to far with her little outburst. “Cadence i…. Look i’m sorry for snapping at you like that, it’s just that i've grown so used to the whole thing and I-”started Twilight before cadence put a gentle finger against her lip, silencing her. Twilight looked up to her sister in law and saw that cadence was giving her a gentle smile. “It’s ok twilight i understand, and i'm also sorry for trying to push you into talking about it.” said her big sister gently trying to hold back some tears reminding twilight that she was not the only one still hurting even to this day.the two went back to a gentle silence as they made their way to their destination. “Well seems like we made it, and hey we also have a few minutes to spare too.” noted cadence as she quickly found and parking spot and after parking her car she took a quick glance at twilight and smiled. ”twilight i know you've grown used to living with the pain and have dealt with it on your own, but i want to let you know you don’t have to carry that burden on your own, me and Shining are here for you and will always be here for you because your family and we love you.” she proclaimed as they both got out of the car. Twilight stared at her sister silently, until she gave her a small smile. “Thanks cadence i appreciate what you and shining do for me and i want to let you know you don’t have to worry about me so much, i’ve been dealing with the whole thing just fine.” said twilight. Satisfied with the answer, cadence gave her one last smile and then proceeded to walk ahead to school. Onc she was a safe distance away, the smile on twilight face fell as she slowly pulled out a strange object. “Don't you worry at all cadence i've been dealing with this pain for the last 5 years.”she muttered as she looked down at the object in her hand. An over sized memory drive that was pure white with no outstanding features. (Meanwhile in equestria) ”Finally we are strong.” A small doll size pony made of shadow stepped out one of the many shadows in Twilight's castle along with several clones of it. ”Sending merely a fraction of us may have set us back but ensured our escape from luna.” The shadow creatures gloated silently. They started to form in mass as they headed towards the library. “We’ve wasted so much time on her, the fool thought remaking us into the Tantibus would stop us.” The doll sized ponies formed into one large shadow it smiled at its reflection in the magic mirror/ ”But nothing can stop the nightmare!.”