MLP: Darkest Night

by kurusagi16

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The room had become silent when the mysterious pony staggered in and whispered for help, the silence was broken as somepony called out the mare's name.

"Eve!" Fluttershy flew off the bench she'd been sitting at and straight to her dear friend's side. Eve was in a terrible state! She looked battered up, and her back hoof looked sore and swollen, her breathing was slow and rigid. Fluttershy didn't dare touch her, for fear that she'd put the Nightmare in more pain than she already appeared to be in. Her eyes watered. It was so sad to see her fillyhood friend like this.

"Oh Eve, what happened to you?"

"Everypony! Clear the way, give her some space!" said Twilight, calling for the guests to give her some room as she made her way to Eve. She knelt down next to Fluttershy. "Don't worry Fluttershy, we'll take care of Eve, and figure out what happened to her." said Twilight. Fluttershy sniffed, not wanting to cry, but finding it becoming more and more difficult.

"Thanks Twilight." she mumbled. Twilight to the crowd behind her, point to each of her friends and asking for their help.

"Applejack, Rainbow Dash, I need your help clearing everypony out. Pinkie Pie and Rarity, you can help with the clean up."

"What about us?" asked Sunset Shimmer, she and Starlight trotted up to Twilight.

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Starlight.

"You two can carry her to the second guest room, make sure she's taken care of while we calm things down." The unicorns gave a nod.

"On it." they said in unison.

"I'll go with them." said Fluttershy. "Eve might want me nearby if she wakes up." Twilight gave an understanding nod at Fluttershy. The Pegasus followed Sunset and Starlight as they lifted Eve up with their magic, carrying her to the guest room."

"Alright everypony, the party's over. Nothing to see here." said Applejack. Everypony groaned (including Pinkie Pie). Discord glowered from the shadows as he watched the ponies being led out of the castle. Then he turned his attention to Eve as she was carried out to the guest room. He was close, so close, and then Eve had to barge in and ruin everything! He'd leave for now, and return once things had cooled down a bit, but Eve would feel his wrath. 'She did it on purpose! I bet she injured herself or something to draw away Fluttershy's attention before I could confess! Well, she'll learn it's not wise to interfere with the master of chaos.'

---

Eve was gently laid upon the guest bed, an aura of magic surrounded her as Starlight Glimmer cast a healing spell over her. Fluttershy hovered over the bedside, fretful of Eve's condition.

"Poor Eve." Mourned Fluttershy. "She'll be okay, right?"

"The spell should help, but she'll still need plenty of rest." said Starlight, concentrating on healing up Eve's sprained hoof.

"Thank goodness." Fluttershy sighed in relief.

"I've never seen a pony like her before." said Sunset. Cocking her head as she looked at Eve intently. Starlight also couldn't help but notice how she didn't have a cutie mark.

"Her name is Moonlight Eve, she's a Nightmare." explained Fluttershy.

"A Nightmare? I thought they were only things made up in old ponytales." said Sunset, looking at Eve now with disbelief. She remembered reading a few passages about them, like poems or brief mentions in old books from the Canterlot library. But this was the first time she'd ever seen one them.

"They're real alright, and Eve is one of them."said Fluttershy. The aura of magic dissipated from Eve, who seemed to relax a little more, her breathing no longer shallow.

"I did all I can for her." said Starlight. "Now all we have to do is wait."

"Thank you both, you can go if you want, I'll stay with Eve." said Fluttershy. The unicorns each laid a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"We're staying with you too." said Starlight.

"Yeah, no sense in leaving you all alone. It'd be good to have somepony else to talk to while you wait." said Sunset. Fluttershy smiled up at them, her heart feeling light at how nice her friends were, and how they were willing to help Eve.

"Girls...thank you."

---

When Nightmares sleep, they enter an empty void, where all they have is their thoughts. In Eve's case, her mind was thinking about what the Tenebris told her. How she'd given them the power to attack the Nightmares. She'd left them behind, the queen was defending them on her own. She imagined the dark cloud of the Tenebris tearing up the land, causing it to quake and rip itself apart. While a lot of the Nightmares weren't nice to her (ever), she didn't think they deserved this. All of Aestas was suffering, because of her. 'Why? Why?! Why did I listen to him? Why did I accept his power?' Eve wanted to wake up, her eyes shot open and looked wildly about at her surroundings.

"Eve, you're alright!" Fluttershy wrapped her arms around Eve and hugged her tightly. She pulled away, her face full of concern."I was so worried. What happened?" Eve sat herself up wincing at the small aches and pains as she moved.

"I'm fine Fluttershy, I just had a little trouble in the portal when I was coming here, that's all." said Eve, putting on a brave face for her friend.

"You seem to be doing fine." Eve turned to see the two unicorns also standing near her bedside who'd talked to her.

"Um...and you two are...?" she asked. Fluttershy helped to make the introductions.

"This is Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, they helped bring you up here and healed you." Eve looked from one unicorn to the other, both giving her friendly smiles.

"Nice to meet you." said Eve, she then became very serious. "I need to find Princess Luna, and tell her-ugh!" Eve had tried to get up and out of the bed, only to cry out in pain from straining herself.

"Eve, you need to rest." said Fluttershy, setting her friend back down and pulling the covers up over her. Eve tried to protest though, needing to follow the queen's orders to find the princess.

"But the princess! I need to find her, and warn her."

"Warn her about what?" asked Sunset.

"Aestas, it's under attack! The creatures of bad dreams, the Tenebris, they've returned and are laying waste to everything!"

"The Tenebris?" asked Starlight, who was just as confused as the others.

"We need help, Queen Amalthea sent me to get Princess Luna, I need to-"

"You need to rest." Starlight insisted. "We'll get Princess Luna for you. You're in no shape to help anypony, so sit tight while we handle everything."

"B-but...!"

"Please Eve, do as she says. I don't want you to hurt yourself." Fluttershy's eyes pleaded with Eve, she sighed and obliged, lying down on the bed in defeat.

"Alright, but please hurry!"

"We will, you can count on us." Sunset and Starlight left the room, and Eve looked upward at the ceiling, guilt gnawing at the back of her mind.

"Don't worry Eve, everything will be fine."

"It's all my fault." Fluttershy tilted her head, sure that Eve said something, but couldn't quite catch what it was.

"Something wrong Eve?"

"No, uh, I was wondering if you could get me something to eat. If it's not too much trouble, I haven't eaten for a while and I'm kinda hungry."

"Of course, I go and fix you up something special." Fluttershy trotted out to get some food, while Eve turned over onto her side. That Tenebris had threatened to harm Fluttershy, if anything happened to her, it'd be her fault. She'd already caused enough pain and trouble for her friend, and now she was only making things worse. 'I have no right to have Fluttershy as a friend. I've messed up so much, and yet she stays. I'm a burden, doing nothing but weighing her down. I never should've been friends with her in the first place, then maybe, I wouldn't have gone into the garden and none of this would be happening.' Her eyes glistened with tears. The queen, everypony, they were probably suffering while she's resting in the comfort and safety of Equestria. She didn't deserve this. She wished she could take back what she'd done, but that was sadly impossible.

---

"The Tenebris you say?!" Sunset and Starlight had told Twilight about Eve's warning and the three of them had issued an urgent message for Princess Luna's help. She'd arrived quickly and listened as the girls explained the situation.

"That's what Eve said."

"But they were supposed to be sealed away, never to return." said Luna, overcome with shock.

"Princess Luna, just who, or what are the Tenebris?" asked Starlight.

"I suppose I must tell you. Sit down and I'll tell you the tale told to me by Queen Amalthea." The three of them sat down in the empty thrones around the map, as Princess Luna recalled the story.

"Long ago, when Aestas was young, there were two kingdoms. The kingdom of good dreams ruled by Amalthea, and then the kingdom of bad dreams ruled by the Tenebris. The Tenebris are like living shadows, they feed off dark power, and consume the 'nightmares' of dreamers. This brought a balance to both Aestas and the dream world. But, that peace was broken, when the ruler of the Tenebris accused the Nightmares of taking away their food. That by removing all the bad dreams, they were leaving them weak and powerless.

"He wanted to control all of Aestas, but Amalthea wouldn't have it. Warning that it would disrupted the balance. So, he concocted a plan, and sent out his four strongest and greatest warriors to execute it. They would trap every dreamer in a nightmare, where they would experiance only horrible dreams and never wake up again. That way, they could eat as much as they wanted. It'd be an endless supply of bad dreams for them."

"So, what happened?"

"Queen Amalthea found a spell that would seal away the Tenebris forever, and banish their kingdom underground. She'd conserved a lot of power, never needing to use it until that moment. As for their ruler, she had to fight her way to the heart of the kingdom and place an unbreakable seal on him to keep him from ever trying to revive himself or his subjects."

"Well, they're back now, so I don't think it was too strong a seal." said Sunset.

"Something must've happened then, something that must've stirred them awake."

"I think I might know." said Twilight. "Eve went to the garden, and was granted dark magic while there. Maybe they fed off Eve and used her to return." Luna thought it over carefully.

"You could be right. I'd like to have a word with Eve, there might be something that she's seen or knows that could be of help."

"She's in the guest room, I'll show you where she is." said Twilight, leading the princess to where Eve was. Sunset and Starlight were still seated at the table. Both were silenced by the story they'd just heard. They looked at each other, concern in their eyes. Though she didn't say it aloud, they could tell what Princess Luna meant. Eve was responsible for freeing the Tenebris, and she may just be one of the few ponies that could stop it.

---

Eve petted Lumen, as he napped on her lap. She felt comfort in stroking him and holding him close. It helped to take her mind off of her horrible crime, even if for just a moment. Yet the guilt still weighed on her. There was a knock, as Princess Twilight and Princess Luna trotted in.

"Princess Luna!" Eve jumped off the bed and rushed to her. "Did Sunset and Starlight tell you? Can you help us?!"

"I'll do what I can, but first, I must know exactly what happened when the Tenebris attacked." Eve took a deep breath and told the whole story from what she could remember (leaving out the part with her talking to the Tenebris).

"And as I was going through the portal, I felt some king of shock wave or something bump into me."

"That must've been Amalthea's spell. You didn't get all the way through the portal and thus were hit by the spell."

"Does that mean we can't get to Aestas?" asked Twilight. Luna shook her head.

"No, the spell is meant to keep anypony from leaving, it will have no problem with us entering."

"Whew! That's good."

"Not necessarily. Once you enter, you can't go back until the Tenebris have been taken care of, not to mention helping all the Nightmares that have been captured."

"What do you think they'll try to do?"

"Most likely, they'll find some way of getting into Equestria to cast it into an endless nightmare. They'd have plenty of power and would never grow hungry. They'd rule not just Aestas but Equestria as well." Eve cast her eyes downward, her bangs shadowing her face and it's expression from proper view.

"We can't let that happen!" said Twilight.

"And we won't. We'll need to assemble a small team to send to Aestas, once there, you'll need to find Amalthea. She'll know best how to seal them away again."

"I'll go." said Eve quietly. She raised her head, showing determination. "I'll help you on this mission, it's the least I can do."

"Eve-" Twilight tried to say.

"Queen Amalthea sent me to bring help, and I intend to do so. I'll help lead the team and rescue the queen." Twilight didn't know how to respond, luckily Princess Luna stepped forward and spoke.

"It won't be easy, there is sure to be many perils along the way." Eve stood taller.

"I don't care! I want to save Aestas, it's my home, and I won't let the Tenebris ruin it!" Luna smiled.

"Very well Moonlight Eve, you may go." She turned to Twilight. "You'll be in charge of her."

"Me?"

"You are one of her friends, and she'll need some guidance on your journey." Twilight was hesitant at first, but she smiled and puffed out her chest.

"We won't fail Princess Luna."

"Good. I'll make preparations for your departure." said Luna. The girls watched as she left out of sight.

"You don't need to come Eve." said Twilight. "If you want to stay..."

"No! I mean, I want to go. I don't need to stay behind." Twilight was still skeptical but shrugged and said, "Well okay. If you're sure." Said Twilight, even though she could tell that something was on Eve's mind. 'I'm sure she'll tell me. When the time is right.' she thought.

---

Twilight had called her friends, telling them about how there was trouble in Aestas and about how it could threaten the peace of Equestria.

"I can hardly believe how many times somepony tries to take over this place." said Discord, popping in uninvited. "And most of the time, it seems like you princesses practically set yourselves up to be defeated and conquered." Applejack adjusted her stentson hat.

"Why are you here again?" she asked.

"To offer my assistance of course. With my powers, those Tene-whatever you call them, will be taken out as if they were nothing." Discord said, leaning forward in midair, his chin resting on his paw and claw. A large grin on his face. Applejack rolled her eyes along with Twilight.

"Thank you for your offer Discord." said Twilight. "Now as I was saying, Princess Luna entrusted me to round up a team to go to Aestas."

"You can count on us Twi, we'll handle the Tenebris no problem." said Rainbow Dash.

"Sorry Rainbow, but, I hand other plans in mind."

"Huh?!" everypony (except Discord) cried out in confusion.

"There's a chance that we might not make it back, and I don't want you girls to get hurt." said Twilight. She looked away, her face full of worry.

"I've asked Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, they said yes, and Eve is also coming with me. We're leaving as soon as all preparations have been taken care of."

"Twilight darling, you can't be serious." said Rarity. "You'll need all the help you can get."

"It'll be better if we travel with fewer ponies. It'll attract less attention that way."

"Aw! But it'll be no fun if you guys get to go on the adventure without us." complained Pinkie Pie.

"I'm sorry girls, but from what Princess Luna says, the Tenebris are much stronger, and much crueler than anypony else we've gone up against."

"Are you sure you girls will be okay?" asked Fluttershy softly. Twilight nodded.

"We'll be okay, and we'll be back before you know it." she said. Her friends weren't so sure, but they understood what would happen if they didn't come back, or if they got hurt. And besides, Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight were three of the most powerful magic users, they'd stand a much better fighting chance against the Tenebris than them. With everything settled, Twilight dismissed her friends and left to help with preparations. Discord and Fluttershy were the only two who stayed behind.

"Something you want to talk about Fluttershy?" he asked. Fluttershy didn't look up to meet his gaze.

"Those Tenebris sound horrible. What if, they're too much for you and Twilight, and the others to face?" Discord scoffed.

"Really my dear, you should know by now that I'm not one that can be taken down so easily."

"Still, you'll be careful, right? Promise me you'll be careful!" Discord smiled and rested his claw on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, I promise I'll be careful. No need to worry your little head over me." Fluttershy gave a small smile, her teal eyes meeting his red ones.

"Somepony has to." she said quietly. Discord chuckled.

"Thank you my dear, I appreciate it."

Author's Note:

Next chapter, we go to the twisted world of Aestas.

Comments

[Mythic Eithne 597]

So is Discord going too? Or is just that Twilight doesn't know he's tagging along until he does? Sorry that just wasn't really clear to be honest.
And I'm predicting another fight between Discord and Eve in the future Seriously she walks in injured and he thinks she hurt herself deliberately to stop him from confessing to Fluttershy? What made him think she knows he had romantic feelings for her?
I like where this is going though and you have Starlight going so , her op unicorn magic will be useful! I'm glad she's in this story, she has become one of my favourite ponies now!

[kurusagi16]

6822855

Yes, Discord is going, sorry for the confusion. And the reason is for his irrational thoughts about Eve getting between him and Fluttershy is: 1. He's Discord+jealous, a potent combination as seen in Make New Friends But Keep Discord. 2. He's still not forgiven Eve and is using this as an excuse to fuel his distaste for her. And 3. Discord's leap is supposed to be similar to What About Discord where Twilight assumes her friends are under a spell (not a bad accusation but still a bit of a leap). Please continue with the comments.

[Mythic Eithne 597]

6823492
Ok that makes sense thanks!

[Redrose99875]

Oh boy,Eve and Discord, on the same mission? yikes