MLP: As Evening Falls

by kurusagi16

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"What should we do?" Sunset asked Starlight, looking up from Eve's now fallen body.

"First things first, we should probably set her someplace to lie down, probably one of the guest rooms." said Starlight. Using her levitation magic, she carried Eve into one of the nearby guest rooms, gently setting her down on the bed.

Sunset trotted to the bed, looking down at the unconscious Nightmare with concern. "What the heck happened to her?"

"I'm not sure." Starlight replied. "Maybe it has something to do with the Tenebris or maybe she just felt weak from the travel from Aestas. Either way, its best to leave her here for now while we hurry and get Discord."

Sunset sighed. "You're right, but, we should double back to see if she's alright before we ask Discord to help us track down the Tenebris' location, that way we'll know if this is anything we should be worried about."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's move."

Without another word, the two Unicorns left the castle, and headed for Fluttershy's cottage, hoping that Discord would be able to help them put a stop to all this craziness.

---

In Eve's mind...

"W-what's going on?" Eve asked in a panic, finding herself surrounded in some kind of void. "Where am I?"

It was then, that a soft ball of light appeared before Eve. Her eyes widened with surprise and curiosity as she beheld the strange, ethereal orb. And just as quickly as it appeared, the orb changed shape, and took on the form of Princess Luna.

"Princess Luna?" Eve cried out. "What are you doing here? What is all this?"

Princess Luna said nothing, seeming to look through Eve as though she wasn't really there, and then, she spoke. "To whom it may concern, this is a message sent out to the bearers of harmony. Due to the conditions that I and my fellow princesses are enduring, there's only so much I can say, and I have no control over who receives the message, which is why have done my best to concentrate it on the Castle of Friendship. So please, listen carefully to what I have to say."

"Alright." said Eve, opening up her ears to what Luna had to say.

"As you undoubtedly know, the Tenebris have commenced their plans and have invaded the realms of both Equestria, Aestas, and the dream realm. At this moment, their king is planning on collecting enough dark power to cast a spell that will create an eternal nightmare for all beings within the realms. However, there is a way to put a stop to this. There is a spell that can return the Tenebris to their original form, and strip them of the excess power that they've so far accumulated. Before our capture, I sent two copies of the spell to Princesses Celestia and Cadence. If those spells can be retrieved, then they should be able to give Equestria a fighting chance in averting this nightmare. Of course, such a spell requires immense power and skill, something only we princesses possess, and it is with great disappointment that I tell you that we ourselves do not know where we are being held. However, I am sure that no matter what, we shall escape, and the realms shall be saved."

Luna's form then began to fade away slowly. "That is all I have to say, I wish you all, on behalf of me and my fellow princesses, the best of luck."

"Princess, wait, don't go!" Eve shouted, reaching out to the fading image. But by then it was too late. The princess was gone, and Eve plunged into the void, which caused her to wake up in an almost panicked state, crying out, "No!" Eve found herself sitting in a bed in one of the castle's rooms. Her breathing was still a little heavy, but she quickly shook it off, and looked around for any sign of Starlight and Sunset.

"They must've went off without me." said Eve to herself. "Looks like I'm gonna have to catch up." She then hopped out of bed, and rushed out of the room, through the hallways, and out of the castle, wanting to catch up to the girls as quickly as possible to tell them of what she'd seen and heard.

---

A little ways outside the Tenebris' base...

Nightshade had finished up most of his duties, and was now setting off to find Moonlight Eve. As he flew in the direction of Ponyville, he thought about the little Nightmare, and how she'd been an interesting little thing in regards to his plans. When he first encountered her, it had been in the Garden of Shadows, where after so long, he had been awoken by her dark and bitter feelings, which helped to provide him with sustenance and power, enough so to slowly revive his comrades and begin their plot to take over and finish what they had started all those thousands of years ago. She had proven to be quite useful, but after the Tenebris had been freed, there wasn't really much need of her anymore. Well, nothing except for power and food of course. But then, if that was the case, why didn't Nightshade do that when he had the chance? When Eve and her little friends had returned to try and stop them, he had an ample opportunity to deliver the blow and imprison her like he had with the other Nightmares. And yet, he didn't. And it baffled him completely. It seemed that every time he was close to taking care of her once and for all, something interfered and caused her to escape time and again from his grasp.

'Well, not this time.' he thought to himself as he smirked sinisterly. 'This time, there will be nothing to stand in the way of me capturing Moonlight Eve, and putting a stop to whatever petty interference she might try to launch against us.'

And of course, Nightshade was very serious about these thoughts. He'd come so far in carrying out the will of his king, and Eve had ended up being right there with him, trying to foil him and King Morpheus. No matter what, he couldn't risk even the slightest chance of interference. At all costs, she and anyone else who wanted to stop them, had to be eliminated. 'No matter what.'

---

On the way to Fluttershy's...

Getting to Fluttershy's cottage proved to be a not so easy feat, as Sunset and Starlight did their best to fight off the massive swarms of Tenebris that attacked them from every direction. That said, the two Unicorns were making slow progress in reaching the cottage, even though they had some very powerful magic on their side.

"Is it just me, or have these things gotten a lot tougher since the last time?" asked Sunset, remarking on how it seemed to be a little more difficult to take out just one of them.

"There's no doubt, something has made these things stronger." replied Starlight. "Pretty soon, they might end up being impossible to take down on our own."

"All the more reason we need to hurry and stop these creeps."

"Agreed, but right now, that's easier said than done." said Starlight tiredly. She'd been trying to focus most of her energy on keeping the beasts at bay, but seeing as how they just kept coming back up, she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to keep it up.

Just as they were wondering what they should try to do, a voice rose up and diverted the Tenebris' attention away from Sunset and Starlight.

"Hey, Tenebris, over here!" shouted Eve.

"Eve?" the Unicorns cried in surprise. "What are you--"

"No time, just run for it. I'll try to catch up with you later, now go!" Eve made taunting motions at the Tenebris, angering the Tenebris and causing them to give chase and give the girls a chance to escape.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" wondered Sunset.

"I hope so." said Starlight with uncertainty. Taking one last glance over her shoulder at Eve, as she ran in the opposite direction of them. To herself she thought, 'Thanks, Eve, be safe.'