MLP: As Evening Falls

by kurusagi16

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Eve felt like she was going to be sick. Because the portal had been incomplete and she jumped into it recklessly, the travel through it went not quite as smoothly as it would have under normal circumstances. In this case, Eve was spiraling and spinning, almost as though she were going on an extreme roller coaster at incredible speeds. just as she wondered how much longer before she arrived in Equestria, Eve was spat out of the portal and plopped down onto the ground with a loud oomph! Shakily getting up to her hooves, and shaking her head to clear her disoriented vision, Eve's eyes adjusted to her surroundings, it didn't take her too long to recognize where exactly she was.

"This is...the Everfree Forest!" she said to herself.

And sure enough, Eve was in the Everfree Forest, surrounded on all sides by dense, dark foliage. She let out a relieved sigh.

"I made it." said Eve. "Not exactly the place I had in mind, but, not too bad." Her eyes glanced around, searching for familiars markers to use to help navigate through the wood. "Now then, where do I go to get to Fluttershy's place?" And so, Eve began to head further inward into the Everfree Forest, searching for a way to find her friend, and warn the others of the immediate danger that was to befall Equestria.

'I just hope I'm not too late.' she thought.

---

Fluttershy gaped at the view she saw outside her window with wide eyes. It all looked, like something from out of a twisted nightmare. Everything looked darker, as if cast under some kind of heavy shadow. Crystals, like the kind that had been used to capture the Nightmares back when the Tenebris had been released, now grew up all around, each carrying a sinister glow to it. What's more, with each passing minute, the surrounding area continued to become more warped and much darker. Slowly, Fluttershy backed away from the window and firmly closed the shutters before turning to Discord with a shocked expression on her face.

"T-the Tenebris...d-did that?!" she asked.

"It would seem so." answered Discord, glancing at the now closed window. "I can hardly believe it myself, that they were able to do something as immense as ripping holes between realms and such."

"Ripping...holes?"

Discord nodded. "Those big gaping holes in the sky? They lead directly to the dreamscape, and beyond that, there's another hole that leads to another realm, which I can only assume is Aestas."

"Then...that means..." Fluttershy's eyes widened with realization. She let out a gasp. "Eve and the Nightmares, their in trouble! We have to do something!"

"I'm afraid it's a little late for that." said Discord.

"What do you mean?"

"From what I could gather before I was so rudely attacked, the rips behind the dreamscape were the first to be opened, meaning that Aestas is probably in an even worse state than how Ponyville is now."

Fluttershy's eyes widened as she thought about such a horrible thing actually happening, it made her shudder. "Eve..."

Discord frowned, seeing that his words had only served to worsen Fluttershy's mood, so in an attempt to make her feel better, he added, "Of course, I wouldn't worry too much. After all, Eve has proven to be too stubborn to go down without a fight."

"You think so?"

"Yes."

This made Fluttershy feel the teeniest bit better, but it didn't help to relieve most of the worry she was already currently feeling.

"Oh dear, I wonder what's happening to her right now, and if she's alright." she said to herself.

At that exact moment, there was a knock on the door.

"Now who could that be?' wondered Discord aloud.

Fluttershy opened the door and let out a gasp when she saw Eve.

"Eve!' she cried, pulling the Nightmare into a big embrace. "I was so worried about you!"

Eve smirked. "Hey, those Tenebris may be tough, but they don't know that I don't go down easily without a fight."

"Hmph! Told you so." said Discord.

Eve looked over Fluttershy's shoulder at Discord, her eyes widening as she saw him in his condition. "Whoa! What happened to you? You look like a mess."

"I'm well aware of that, thank you very much." he said. "But if you must know, I had a little run in with the Tenebris and nearly ended up in quite a perilous situation." He puffed up his chest proudly and said, "However, despite their little tricks, they were no match for my quick thinking and ingenuity."

"Yeah, right." said Eve, arching a skeptic eyebrow at him. She knew how Discord could tend to exaggerate, and this felt like one of those times. She then turned serious as she looked at Fluttershy. "I came to warn you and your friends about the Tenebris, but it seems like it's a little late for that."

"It's just awful! Everything's changed! And there were all these scary, horrible monsters attacking everypony."

Eve looked down at the ground, a regretful look appearing in her eyes. "I'm afraid that those monsters, were the Nightmares from Aestas." she said.

"What?! But...but how?" asked Fluttershy.

"The Tenebris used some kind of spell, no doubt they got it from that king of theirs."

"I could've told you that much." said Discord, butting in.

Eve ignored him. "What's more, they somehow managed to make Princess Luna and Twilight disappear!"

"Disappear?!" Fluttershy's eyes filled with even more worry and fear than before. "What happened to them? Are they alright? Please tell me if they're alright!"

"I...I don't know." said Eve, upset that she couldn't come up with a good answer for her friend. She could see how upset she was, and things only seemed to be getting worse and worse. So she said, "But I'm gonna find out!"

"You...you are?"

Eve nodded. "You can just leave it to me. I'll find out what happened to the princesses, and then they can help to defeat the Tenebris and their King once and for all."

"You make it sound like it's easy." commented Discord, who was starting to get miffed at being ignored.

"I never said it was." said Eve. "Princess Luna found an old spell left behind by Queen Almathea. She and Twilight were working up a plan so that they could use it against the Tenebris. Which means that there is a way to fix all of this and return things back to normal."

"Even so, there's an entire army out there, and their powerful king who seems to have a spell for every occasion up his sleeve." pointed out Discord. "So unless you're some how able to face up to all of that on you own, then I don't think you're gonna get very far."

Eve's ears drooped as she lowered her head. "I, guess you're right." she said, a little depressed.

"But you don't have to go alone." piped up Fluttershy. Eve and Discord looked at her as she said to Eve, "You have Sunset, Starlight, and the rest of the girls. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to help you out." Fluttershy gave her a big smile as she finished her sentence.

"What about you?" asked Eve.

"Well, I would like to help you, but with Discord in the condition he's in, it's best if I stay here to take care of him until he recovers." she said, Looking over at Discord before returning her attention to Eve. "But I'll do my best to try and help you anyway I can!"

"You mean it?"

"Of course! That's what friends do after all."

The two ponies hugged once more, while Discord rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, this is all very heartwarming, but I think you might want to get a move on before the Tenebris finish up their takeover." he said.

"Right." said Eve, turning to leave. "I'll send you word soon, wish me luck!"

"Goodbye!" called Fluttershy, waving as Eve hurried off.

With the door once again firmly closed, Fluttershy sighed and said to herself, "And good luck." She spun around and faced Discord. "Now then, if you'll please lie down, I'll make you some tea to drink while I treat to your injuries."

Discord happily obliged, and laid back onto the sofa. While Fluttershy went into the kitchen, he cracked the shutter open by just a hair and caught a glimpse of Eve as she galloped off toward Ponyville, preparing to gather up the help she would surely need.

---

In the hidden base of the Tenebris, the princesses were all in a weak and helpless state. The cages that held them prisoner were siphoning off their power and their strength, and was being used to fuel King Morpheus and his four generals. Because of this, the princesses laid upon the ground of the cages, unable to get up, and unable to fight against the enchantment. Twilight willed her eyes to open up, she could just barely see one of the generals, Nightshade, standing nearby and watching her with a somewhat amused expression.

"The attack has gone better than anticipated." said Nightshade, smiling smugly. "We've moved from Aestas, to Ponyville, and are quickly beginning to spread outward across this world. It's only a matter of time before we begin with the next phase."

"Next phase?' questioned Twilight.

"Oh, so you still have enough strength to speak I see." remarked Nightshade. "Yes, the phase of our plan that will further cement our victory over Nightmares and Dreamers alike."

Twilight gritted her teeth, as she strained to retain her consciousness as she looked at Nightshade. "What is it that you hope to gain exactly? Just what do you plan to do?"

Nightshade chuckled and smirked at Twilight. "Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? You'll have to wait and find out for yourself I'm afraid, but I assure you, you won't be disappointed." He turned, and disappeared into the shadows.

"Wait!" Twilight managed to cry out. But it was too late. He was gone, and Twilight was unable to hold out any longer, and slipped into exhausted unconsciousness.

Nightshade took a quick glance over his shoulder, stealing one last look at the helpless princesses who were now at their mercy.

To himself he muttered, "Yes, dear princess, I'm afraid you and the rest of your fellow monarchs will be unable to defeat us as you hoped. Soon, you and that Nightmare, Moonlight Eve, shall watch as the world you once knew fades away, and fall into utter despair." With those words said, he went off, heading for the king's chamber, to report on the progress, and receive his further instructions.

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! Sorry I haven't been updating or chatting much. I was away at an art program, so I was pretty busy. But now I'm back! And I'm ready to try and move the story along.