> MLP: Darkest Night
>  by kurusagi16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1



There is a dark spot in Aestas, where no sunlight, moonlight, or even starlight ever shines, known as the Garden of Shadows. A forest of black, near dead trees and innumerable thickets of thorns, intertwining with one another to keep the light from passing through. It was once a part of an ancient kingdom of bad dreams, until it and its inhabitants vanished without a trace. All that had remained was that forest, and no sign of any other creatures. That is, until now, after all these centuries, when they finally resurfaced. Within the garden's bowels, their voices echoing through the dead silence, but their bodies still weak, remained beneath it. One by one, they began to wake up.

Yawn! That was some nap, right Moros?

How long have we been out?

Long enough I think, I've grown quite famished.

I want to eat now! Can we, can we eat them all?!

Patience you fools! There are plenty of succulent morsels, waiting to be eaten by us, but wait a bit longer.

No fair! You already got to eat when that Nightmare arrived!

You left us nothing left but your scraps after taking all the good stuff!

I'm sick of waiting!

I'm so hungry!

Yeah! I want to eat and eat and eat!

SILENCE! We shall wait, until the new moon rises, and under its shadow we shall arise. And bring vengeance down upon the queen. She who thought she could thwart our plans. Well, the time shall come soon. So dream little dreamers...while you still can. The true nightmare is coming for you yet.





In the large crystal structure that was the friendship castle of Ponyville, Princess Twilight Sparkle had finished reading one of the numerous new books she'd gotten, and was placing it on the shelf of her library. 

"There's nothing better than curling up with a good book." she said blissfully to herself. The story had been very good, it had kept her guessing on the what ending would be like , and what a provocative ending it was. Spike, her #1 assistant and a baby dragon, came in with a new Power Ponies comic book under his arm.

"Hey Twilight! You finished reading that already?" Twilight nodded, turning to him as he addressed her.

"It was so good, I couldn't put it down! The only problem now is, what to do for the rest of the afternoon." The purple Alicorn tapped her chin with her hoof, thinking thoughtfully.

"Maybe you can reorganize the books like you always do." suggested Spike, plopping down to read his comic. 

"I already did that last week, no I need something different to do. But I can't really think of anything off the top of my head." Twilight had, for lack of a better word, become bored, and was itching for a little bit of excitement. Though nothing short of her princess duties had arisen lately, and even then she was free for the next few days. She could read the rest of her new books, but she didn't want to finish them off as quickly as she had the last one. 'What to do? What to do?' she mused in her head. Spike however was flipping through his comic, feeling that Twilight was stressing over nothing like she tended to do now and then.

"It's not like something interesting is just gonna suddenly appear." Spike said, showing little interest and instead reading about the Mane-iac's latest dastardly deed. Very suddenly, there was a white flash from the far corner of the library, that was obscured by one of the book shelves, and there was a distinct sound of magic being activated. Twilight was baffled as to what was going on and raced to that end of the library to see what was happening. The light was coming from the special mirror that served as a gateway to another world. Through it stepped a unicorn mare with an amber coat, light cyan eyes, a yellow and red sun-shaped cutie mark and a slightly curled yellow and crimson mane. Twilight broke into a smile.

"Sunset Shimmer!" she said joyously. The unicorn returned the smile and the two shared a quick hug. Sunset Shimmer had been Princess Celestia's old student before Twilight, and had left through the mirror to the other world. It was there that Twilight showed her the power of what friendship could bring, cementing the two of them as friends. She'd even saved the other world a couple of times (the first being against Sunset, but that's a different story). 

"I can't believe it, what are you doing here?"  Twilight asked. While it was good to see her friend, she hoped that there wasn't any trouble. Then again, if there were, Sunset would've written to her about it. The two pulled away from their hug and Sunset explained the reason for her appearance.

"Well, it's summer vacation and I thought it would be nice to spend the next three months here in Equestria. I was going to write to you, but thought it would be better to surprise you." said Sunset. 

"I'm glad you decided to visit, you can stay here in my castle during your stay if you'd like." Sunset looked around, taking in the large room, and the crystal surfaces.

"Whoa, nice castle." she said.

"Thanks. I can't wait to tell the girls about this, I know you'll all get along just fine." Sunset Shimmer cracked a nervous smile.

"Do you think, Princess Celestia would mind if I paid her a visit? There are some things I need to get off my chest." Sunset said anxiously. It had been a while since she last spoke to her old mentor.

"I don't think she'd mind at all." Twilight said. "In fact, I think she'd be quite pleased." 

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"What's going on back here?" asked Spike, checking to see what was taking Twilight so long to check out the disturbance. "Oh, hey Sunset." He said nonchalantly. Sunset waved at Spike.

"Hey Spike, good to see you." 

"Spike, do you mind showing Sunset Shimmer to one of the guest rooms?" asked Twilight. Spike gave a little salute.

"No problem Twilight." he said, leading Sunset to her room. Twilight was thrilled to see her friend again, and she knew that her friends would come to like her just as much as the others at Canterlot High School. She needed to tell her friends about this right away, so that they could help to make Sunset feel right at home. 

"I better get a list going of things we'll need to get done." said Twilight, levitating a piece of parchment and a quill, and began writing down her list. She'd make her friend's visit as memorable as possible.





At a cottage outside Ponyville, Fluttershy was watering the many flowers that bloomed around her home. She stopped for a moment to smell their sweet fragrance. A fat honey bee landed on one of the flowers.

"Why hello there, and how are you?" she asked it kindly. The pale yellow pegasus was friend to animals of all types and sizes, having a few furry friends herself that she took to caring for in her cottage. The bee looked up at her and then flew off to find a new flower.

"Take care!" Fluttershy called after it. She couldn't help but sigh at how peaceful everything seemed to be around here, especially after what had happened four months ago. When her fillyhood friend, a Nightmare named Moonlight Eve, had kidnapped her and taken her to the Kingdom of Nightmares in the land of Aestas. It was there that Eve had tried to force Fluttershy to be hers and hers alone, living in an illusion for the rest of her life. Of course she'd forgiven Eve, who'd only acted out of loneliness and jealousy. She and Eve hadn't spoken in the entire four months, and she began to wonder how Eve was doing. 'She must be very busy with all those chores Queen Amalthea has set her up with. I think I'll ask Princess Luna to send a letter from me to her. She might like that.' 

Just as Fluttershy moved the watering can over a particularly dry patch of daisies, something sprang out of the ground startled her, making her drop her watering can and ducking down in fright.

"Good day my dear, I hope I didn't give you too big a scare." trilled a familiar voice. Fluttershy lifted her head, no longer afraid. She turned around and smiled at the tall figure that stood in the middle of the soil as if he'd bloomed from it like her flowers. A grin on his face.

"Discord! What brings you here?" she asked happily. Her Draconequus friend floated a few inches out of the flower bed and said, "I just thought I'd pop by and pay a visit to my favorite pegasus, to see how she's been." He handed her a flower that had somehow gotten onto his shoulder, which she gratefully accepted. Fluttershy's smile grew, he could be such a sweetheart sometimes, she only wished her friends could also see this side of him. 

"I've been doing well, it's been so quiet and peaceful here. And what about you? How have you been Discord?"

"Oh you know, the usual. Princess Celestia sending me out on her ever boring assignments from time to time. I needed to get a way for a little while, do something far more interesting to liven things a bit. Like tomorrow's tea, I've been looking forward to that all week. We're still on for it, correct?"

"I'd never miss one of our tea parties." Discord flashed a toothy grin at Fluttershy.

"I'll bring the sandwiches if you bring the tea cakes." he said. He waved his eagle claw with a flourish and said before vanishing, "Ta-ta my dear! Until next we meet." Fluttershy giggled. Discord certainly had a flair for dramatics, kind of like her friend Rarity (though Discord would argue that the unicorn was much more of a drama queen than him. And that he was simply keeping things from getting too boring in the world). When she was first asked to reform Discord, she'd been a bit unsure of him and how things would turn out, but now, she was proud to call him her friend. 'He's also been a big help around here lately.' Fluttershy thought, thinking to how he'd helped her out with her chores and her animals, and just being there when she needed somepony to talk to. 'I ought to do something nice for him, to show him my thanks. But what?' Spike came running up the path to Fluttershy's cottage, a small scroll in claw, he appeared to be panting frantically as he ran.

"Are you alright Spike?" she asked him with concern. Spike stopped to catch his breath, holding out a single claw to tell her to give a minute before answering.

"I'm....fine." he wheezed. "Just...been going....all over....Ponyville."

"Why don't you come inside and rest for a bit?" Spike shook his head.

"No, I'm good, besides I still have to deliver a message to Rainbow." He handed the small scroll to Fluttershy, and ran off to find Rainbow Dash. "See you later Fluttershy!" Fluttershy waved goodbye to the little dragon and opened up the scroll. 


Girls,

There's some important news I'd like to share with you at the friendship castle. I would tell you now, but it'd be better if I show you. You're all in for a great surprise! Please come as soon as possible. Your friend,

-Twilight Sparkle.

Fluttershy was curious, what could it be that Twilight wanted to tell them? The only way to find out was to head on over to the castle and see for herself. Setting the watering can neatly on the ground, Fluttershy began to trot down to her friend's residence. 





The girls were gathered in the cutie map room, sitting on their thrones around the large round table. All were wondering why Twilight had called them there. The room door opened halfway and in entered Spike while Twilight stood in the door way. 

"Hey girls, I'm glad you could make it." she said.

"What's this about Twi? Is something wrong?" asked Applejack.

"Is it another monster attack?" asked Pinkie Pie.

"I hope not." shuddered Fluttershy. Twilight shook her head.

"No, it's none of that. There's somepony here I wanted to properly introduce you to." Twilight's horn light up and the door opened all the way to reveal Sunset Shimmer standing next to her. "You all remember Sunset, right?" The girls nodded and talked over one another.

"She's here visiting, and will be staying here in the castle for the next three months until she goes back.I was hoping that you girls could help me make her feel right at home." Applejack tipped her hat to Sunset and offered a friendly smile.

"Good to meet you Sunset." she said. 

"I love your mane, it has a nice curl to it." Rarity complemented, stroking her own deep purple curled mane. Rainbow Dash just did a small wave and said, "What's up?" Fluttershy smiled a small, timid smile at Sunset.

"Welcome.' she said shyly. Pinkie Pie jumped out of her seat and wildly shook Sunset's hooves.

"Welcome to Ponyville Sunset!" she exclaimed. The she gasped and said, "This call for one of my welcome parties. I threw one for Twilight and everypony else, and now it's your turn." Sunset Shimmer smiled, feeling more relaxed now that introductions were out of the way.

"Thanks Pinkie, I'd like that a lot. I already feel like I know all of you." Sunset said. Spike whispered under his breath to Twilight, "She kinda does already know them." Twilight just smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. 

"Alright then, Pinkie can have the party here at say... tomorrow evening?" she said. Pinkie Pie nodded, her poofy magenta mane flying as her head moved. 

"It'll give me enough time to get everything planned and to make up the guest list." Pinkie said. Twilight leaned over to Sunset while the other girls were caught up in discussing the party, and whispered, "Well, what do you think?" Sunset smiled. No longer feeling stressed about whether or not she'd get along with Twilight's friends from Equestria.

"I think I'm gonna like it here just fine." she whispered back.

		
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

In Aestas...

"Lumen no! I told you once, I told you a thousand times, not to nap on the request forms!" In the counsel room of the Nightmare queen's castle, Eve was trying to shoo her little pet dust bunny off the stack of request forms he'd been using as a bed. The Nightmare's face showed a disapproving frown.  

"Now it's all dirty." she said, looking sternly at the dust bunny who was yawning. "You need to start behaving or else I'll keep you locked up in the bedroom." Lumen looked up at Eve with those cute button eyes and pouted, Eve's frown melted away. She couldn't stay mad at him for long.

"Alright, I'll let it slide. But just this once! And I mean it this time." she said. The living dust ball hopped up to Eve and she set him down to nap in the chair next to her, then turned back to the pile of forms she still had left to sift through. She heaved a sigh and blew the bangs of her pale, pastel green mane to keep them out of her eyes. There was a lot to get through, and now was not a time to stop and take a break. As punishment for kidnapping Fluttershy, and disobeying Queen Amalthea's orders (twice), she was sentenced to do hard labor around the castle, along with assisting the queen with royal paperwork. Most of which consisted of request forms sent in by the Nightmare subjects. After traversing into the dreams of dreamers, the Nightmares became inspired by what they'd seen, and wanted to have some of the same luxuries that dreamers had. The demands had turned into forms to fill out to cut back on the visitations to the castle. 

The requests varied out between Nightmares, asking for theaters, bookstores, boutiques, parks, bakeries, one even requested their own personal statue (that one was Starla's request). All the reasonable requests were placed in the approved pile where they waited to be sent out for commission.  The others that were unreasonable were thrown into the trash. After the paperwork, she'd have to finish off the last few chores the queen had assigned to her, which included scrubbing out the grime from the large cooking pots that hadn't been cleaned in weeks, and polishing all the castle floors. Needless to say, Eve scarcely had a moment to herself to relax. But as far as punishments go, there were worse she could've been given. 

At some point, Eve looked up to see Queen Amalthea had entered the room without making a sound, how long she had been standing there, she couldn't say. 

"Uh, can I help you your majesty?" Eve asked. The Nightmare queen was statuesque, her mere presence commanded respect and obedience from all Nightmares who beheld her. Not only that, but she was quite beautiful, her floor-length mane the color of pure gold and those golden eyes practically gleamed against her pitch black coat. A kind of Nightmare that everypony wished they could be (minus her cold demeanor). The queen remained where she stood, not needing to move as she said, "Come with me Moonlight Eve, there's something I want to talk to you about." Eve didn't ask for a reason why, but rather dropped what she was doing and followed Queen Amalthea out of the room. 

It wasn't unusual for Eve to be summoned by the queen like this, over the course of the past few months, Queen Amalthea would check on Eve to see how things were coming along with her assignments and would on a few occasions have discussions with her. She wasn't exactly sure why the queen would want to talk about anything with the likes of her, then again the queen could be mysterious about her reasons why. Maybe she just wanted somepony other than Princess Luna to talk to or something. The first discussion had been on what Eve had learned while in the Garden of Shadows, and had nearly lost her friend as well as her true self. 

The discussion after that had been what it meant to be a Nightmare and the duty they had to dreamers. 'While we may not posses dreams as they do, we still have a responsibility to see that their dreams are peaceful and not overtaken by fear,' the queen had said. 'What could she want to talk to me about this time?' Eve wondered as she followed the queen down the corridors to the balcony of the castle's highest tower. Once they reached the top, Eve couldn't help but sigh happily looking up the night and evening colored sky. It was always a breath taking sight to see, but up here on the high balcony, she felt closer to the twinkling stars that shined. 

"I thought this would be an appropriate place for our discussion." said Queen Amalthea. Eve turned her gaze from the sky to find that she could see all of Aestas. The queen pointed a hoof out at the black smudge over the northern hillside that was, the Garden of Shadows. Eve couldn't help but gulp at the sight of it, too many guilty and terrible memories had been left there. Memories she'd rather forget.

"What do you think of when you think of shadows?" Queen Amalthea asked her. Eve thought for a moment and answered, "I used to be afraid of shadows, because as a filly I was scared of the dark. I always felt like there were things watching me and waiting to jump out and get me." Eve shivered, thinking back on those sleepless nights as a filly, having a candle always lit by her bed side. It had taken her forever to work up the nerve to face her fear, and even then she would still get the creeps from time to time. The queen gave a curt nod.

"The darkness and the shadows can be frightening things indeed, similar to the bad dreams that are plagued upon dreamers." she said. Eve tried her best to understand, but wasn't sure where the queen was going with this. "We push them away, afraid of what horrors they may bring if we let them near. But there is a trick to overcoming that fear." Eve listened carefully, wanting to know what the trick was. 

"The trick, is knowing that the darkness is a part of life. Light and darkness, neither can be without the other. Does that make sense?" Eve scrunched her nose up and shook her head.

"Not really. What does that even mean?" Eve asked. But instead of answering, the queen looked off into the distance at the Garden of Shadows.

"You'll understand what it means one day. Until then, think about what I've said while you continue with those duties of yours." said Queen Amalthea. Eve sighed, why did the queen feel the need to be so cryptic and instead give a straight answer for once?  She looked back up the sky and couldn't help but wonder what Fluttershy (and her newest friend Twilight) were up to. She hoped that they'd come by for a visit soon, goodness knows that she'd like other ponies to talk to besides the queen and Lumen. 'They're probably having so much fun together in Equestria. Having the best time of their lives.'





"This is the worst moment of my life." said Twilight, unhappily. 

"Come on Twilight, it can't be the worst." said Sunset Shimmer. Twilight had been trying to project some of the spells from one of her books to show Sunset some of the new magic she'd learned since becoming a princess. But the spell had backfired in the worst possible way, causing a tremendous explosion of curds to shoot up from the book and cover her entire library, as well as her beloved books. 

"I don't know Sunset, this is turning out to be a close second." Twilight said, feeling as if she was about to explode like the curds. "What I want to know is how that even happened! I mean, it doesn't make sense!" Sunset Shimmer inspected the book, and found a note tucked away in the back of it. She lifted it up with her magic.

"What's this?" she asked. Twilight took the note with her own magic and read it aloud.




Dear Princess Twilight,


Should you happen to find this, know that I borrowed your princess book from Princess Celestia, I was curious as to what sort of  things might be in it. Unfortunately it's just as dry and boring as Celestia. I would have asked to read it, of course, but you just so happened to be out and I took the liberty of borrowing it any way. I knew you wouldn't mind, since we are friends. Just thought I ought to warn you, that it may have soaked up a little chaos magic while in my humble abode in Chaosville. Thanks again for letting me read it. 

Yours in chaos, Discord. 


Twilight crumpled up the note and let out a groan of frustration.

"Wait...the pony who wrote that is named Discord?" asked Sunset. 

"In case you're wondering, yes, it is the same Discord, spirit of chaos and all." 

"And you're...friends with him?"

"I try to be, but he seems to use it as an excuse for doing whatever he pleases. Well almost everything, but that's beside the point. He just does what he wants for his own amusement, and now I've had enough. I'm putting my hoof down!" she stomped her hoof for emphasis.  Sunset Shimmer conjured up a broom and a dust pan.

"We should get this cleaned up before it ruins the books." Sunset said. At the mention of her books being ruined, Twilight frantically got to work with Sunset to clean it up. Together they used their magic to wipe every bit of the curds away until the room was as clean as it had been before the explosion.

"Thanks for the help Sunset." said Twilight gratefully. She keenly examined the books to see if there were any curds they had missed. "When I see Discord again, we're gonna have a long talk about this."

"Hey, we managed to get it cleaned up, and he did leave that note to warn you." said Sunset, doing her best to lighten up Twilight's mood. Sadly it didn't work. 

"It's nice of you to say that Sunset, but Discord is just as troublesome as he was before he was reformed, though for some reason I keep on getting the backlash of all his antics." said Twilight almost bitterly. She was willing to forgive and to maintain her friendship with the Draconequus, but he needed to learn when enough was enough, and when a joke had gone too far. 

"How about we do something else? Preferably something less stressful on you." suggested Sunset Shimmer, putting a supportive hoof on the Alicorn's shoulder. Twilight wearily smiled.

"Alright." she said. "How about I give you a proper tour of Ponyville? The day's not over yet and there's still a lot to see." 

"Sure, sounds great."






Sunset Shimmer had almost forgotten how beautiful and peaceful Equestria was, and it felt good to be using her old magic again. While she'd never been to Ponyville before, she wish she had come here sooner. There were so many nice and friendly ponies to meet! Of course, a lot of them weren't unlike the students back at Canterlot High School, so in a way it felt like seeing familiar faces. 

Twilight had begun the tour at Sweet Apple Acres, then they went to Carousel Boutique, the Town Hall, the Schoolhouse, the Hayburger place (where Twilight had a hearty helping of lunch), and were now heading down to Sugarcube Corner. 

"I should come by more often." said Sunset Shimmer, waving to a passing pony. "This place seems great."

"It is a great place to live, but there can be an occasional monster attack, so you might want to avoid visiting on those days." Sunset laughed.

"I'll try." When they got to Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was there to jump out and greet them the only way she knew how. 

"Hi guys!" she shouted, a smile on her face. "Here for anything special?" Twilight shook her head.

"I was just showing Sunset around and were just passing by." said Twilight. Pinkie Pie looked to Sunset Shimmer and asked with her brand of enthusiasm, "You wanna see my welcome wagon? I use it to welcome all sorts of new folks that come into Ponyville." Sunset Shimmer smiled.

"Why not?" she said.

"Yippee! Wait right here while I get it." In a millisecond, Pinkie was suddenly behind them with her welcome wagon. "Sorry it took so long, had to make sure I didn't put the confetti in the oven again." Sunset gave Twilight a look that asked, How does she do that? To which she merely shrugged. It was best not to think too hard of how or why Pinkie Pie does what she does. Pinkie started up the welcome wagon, and it began playing music, the pink earth pony broke out into a jig as she sang with the music.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome! I fine Welcome to you! Welcome, welcome, welcome. I say, how do you do? Welcome, welcome, welcome. A fine hip, hip hooray! Welcome, welcome, welcome to Ponyville today!" Pinkie Pie finished by sliding on her knees stopping a few inches away from Twilight and Sunset. "Wait for it..." she said. Suddenly, in a blast the welcome wagon shot out confetti and a cake shot out, landing in Pinkie's hooves. She held it out to the girls.

"Want some?" she asked. "It may not be frosted, but it's still got that cakey goodness!" The girls shook their heads. 

"Thanks Pinkie, but we just ate, maybe some other time." said Sunset. Pinkie Pie shrugged.

"Oh well, more for me!" She stuffed the cake into her mouth, her cheeks bulging as she chewed. Twilight and Sunset couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight of it.

"Wha?!" asked Pinkie through her stuffed mouth. 

"It's nothing Pinkie." said Twilight. "We'll leave you be."

"Enjoy that cake!" said Sunset. Pinkie waved goodbye, watching as the girls left to continue their tour of Ponyville.






Somewhere, in the abode of the spirit of chaos himself, Discord was cursing himself. Why? For acting like such an idiot in front of Fluttershy. He must of sounded like such a fool when he talked to her! Normally he didn't care much for other ponies' opinions, but Fluttershy was of a different case. Not only was the lovely pegasus his first and best friend, but he also....kind of...l-lov....liked her. A lot. He slapped the palm of his eagle talon to his forehead. If he had this much unnecessary  difficulty saying the word to himself, what chance did he have of saying it to Fluttershy? He wasn't exactly sure when these feelings came into being, but he had only recently realized that he had a much stronger liking of the sweet, timid pegasus than regular friendship.

It wasn't like he wanted to shower her with all the mushy romantic crud that ponies seemed to go nuts for. He wasn't exactly a romantic type, due to the fact that he'd never really cared for anypony as much as he did Fluttershy. And ever since he'd come to his realization, he'd begun to notice all sorts of things he hadn't noticed about Fluttershy. Each time he saw her, she seemed to become even lovelier, both inside and out. Perhaps it was merely a part of his imagination, or that's the kind of thing that happens to those who are caught in the beginnings of love. 

"Blech! At this rate I'll be spewing nothing but poetry and all that other gooey nonsense." said Discord. "I've put up with this long enough, it's about time I finally tell." Discord started pacing on the ceiling. There'd been a few times he'd wanted to just come clean, and tell Fluttershy about his feelings toward her. Except two things stopped him. One, he also wasn't one to sit down and have a talk about his feelings. He left that business to Twilight Sparkle and her fellow princesses. And two, what would Fluttershy's reply be when he finally does manage to spit it out? He'd gone over countless scenarios of what might happen. She'd laugh at how ridiculous it'd be. She'd reject him. She's just want to stay friends. She'd faint. She wouldn't want anything to do with him after that. 

One the very very slimmest chance that she would take the news well, what would happen to their friendship? Their relationship already was pretty close, and they had some pretty good times together. And he'd done little things to show how much he valued their friendship. He'd even battled against that crazed Nightmare Eve to rescue her and bring her back home (which he'd debated with himself over being an act of friendship or love).

'It's not as if I want to marry her.' he thought. 'As far as I know, I don't want to. What to do? What to do?' There never really seemed to be a good time to pop in the three words that had been waiting to get out of him. How did one go about telling their best friend that they love them? 

"This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed. "And I should know, I'm practically invented ridiculousness. It's only a few words. It shouldn't be that hard. In fact, I'll tell them to her at our tea party tomorrow. Get it out of the way, and things can go on." It seemed like a good plan. But love wasn't always an easy thing to confess, as he'd see just how difficult it can be.

		
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3




The tea parties at Fluttershy's cottage were never of the grand, high society kind, rather, they were peaceful little moments between two good friends. Well, as peaceful as you can get when you have Discord as your guest. The tea party had started out nicely, the two conversing as they ate tea cakes and cucumber sandwiches with their tea. Fluttershy had told him about the arrival of Sunset Shimmer, which he showed little interest in, making a snide remark on how now there'd be two Twilight Sparkles running around, when one was enough. Fluttershy swiftly scolded him, telling him not to be so rude when Sunset seemed like a nice pony who just wanted to fit in. Discord had rolled his eyes and bit into one of the sandwiches. At some point, Fluttershy found her mind start to drift to other things, mostly concerning Eve. Tonight was Sunset's welcoming party, and it seemed a shame not to invite her Nightmare friend, but she didn't want to tell her last minute, especially with all the work Eve had to do in the castle. 

"Something troubling you my dear?" Fluttershy's head raised, Discord had noticed how she seemed to be spacing in and out through their tea. 

"Oh,um, no. It's nothing really, you don't have to worry about me." she said anxiously, not wanting to bother Discord with any of her troubles or worries.

"Come now, whatever it is, you can always tell me. We are friends afters all." Fluttershy relaxed her shoulders a little, taking in a quick breath as she said what was on her mind.

"Well, it's about Eve." At the mention of her name, Discord's whole body stiffened. He nearly spit out the tea he'd been drinking but managed to get it down in a hard swallow. His eyes narrowed a fraction and his snaggletooth jutted out as he frowned. Discord and Eve hadn't really gotten along, and what happened in Aestas didn't do anything to help improve the matter, or at least in Discord's case. Eve had no problem anymore with Fluttershy's friends, and had accepted her having more than one. While Discord showed his distaste for her every chance he got, wanting to make it clear to everypony that he hadn't forgotten nor forgiven what Eve had done. Fluttershy looked down into her teacup, and continued talking.

"I feel bad that she'll be missing Sunset's party tonight, and I wish she could come. But she has work and responsibilities that need to be done, and I don't want to make her feel left out." said Fluttershy morosely. 

"Then simply don't tell her." said Discord, making it sound like the obvious solution. "Just go out and have fun with the rest of your friends. It's not like there won't be any other occasions that she'll miss out on." 

"I guess, but I'd feel guilty having so much fun without her and not telling her about it. Maybe I should just stay at home tonight."

"Nonsense Fluttershy! You shouldn't worry about upsetting that pony by going out and enjoying yourself. Though I hate to say this, but she'd probably want you to have fun and enjoy the evening." Fluttershy's eyes looked back at her own reflection, still a little unsure about going. All her other friends would be there, and Twilight wanted them to try and make Sunset Shimmer feel right at home during her stay. 'I'm sure Eve would understand, but how can I know that without accidentally hurting her feelings and making her feel left out?'  Discord gave an exasperated sigh.

"Why don't I accompany you to the party in her stead, would that make you feel better?" he asked.

"I guess." Fluttershy said quietly.

"Then it's settled." Discord said. "Tonight, the two of us will go out and have a good time, as friends of course." He said the last part a little too quickly, sipping his tea to try and cover it up. A nervous look came into his eye as he tried to get out something else he was trying to say. 

"There's something else I wanted to tell you." he said.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to tell you...that I love, y-your tea. Really, this brew is some of your best so far."

"It's nothing special really." Fluttershy said modestly. Discord cracked nervous smile, trying to drink from his already empty cup. He looked down and quickly refilled it, hoping that Fluttershy hadn't noticed his behavior, and if she did, that she didn't give it too much thought. 'Smooth, real smooth.' Discord thought to himself. 'Just my luck that I choke just as I'm about to tell her.' He'd have to try again later, maybe at the party, that would provide the perfect opportunity to tell her. And if worse comes to wear, the loud music might drown out whatever ridiculous thing that could spill out of his mouth and avoid making himself look like a fool in front of Fluttershy. This time for sure, he'd tell her. And there'd be no interruptions this time!







Sunset Shimmer was nothing but a bundle of nerves as she rode the Friendship Express with Twilight to Canterlot. She was going to the castle to see her old mentor, and apologize for how she abandoned her studies and ran away to the other world. What would she say? 'Hello Princess Celestia, I'm sorry I ran away and made plans to take over Equestria? Yeah, that's really going to put her in a good mood.' she thought with a wince. Nothing awkward about that at all. She'd insisted to Twilight to go to Canterlot to talk things out with Princess Celestia once and for all. Only now was she starting to regret doing it only on the second day since coming back to Equestria. Maybe she should have waited a little longer. 

"Are you okay?" asked Twilight, seeing how distressed Sunset Shimmer was. 

"I'm fine, just nervous."

"Don't be, I told Princess Celestia about how you've been learning about friendship at Canterlot High, and she seemed really pleased to hear how well you've been doing."

"But what am I supposed to say to her? I mean, we haven't talked or seen each other in a while, so how do I address her?"

"You're almost as bad as me when I get stressed and worried." Sunset let out a small giggle and seemed more at ease.

"Fair enough, maybe I am overreacting a little." 

"Just remember, she's still the same Celestia who took you under her wing as her student." 

"Thanks Twilight." Sunset said. "You're a good friend."

"I gotta be if I ended up being the princess of it." Twilight said, in an almost joking manner.



When they arrived in Canterlot, it was just as Sunset Shimmer remembered. The same streets, the same buildings (though a few new ones had popped up). And the castle, it was like she never left. Everything was in its familiar place, with the same feel and smells about it, that left Sunset at ease. In her mind, she could clearly picture Celestia welcoming her back warmly with open hooves, and banishing all the silly worries she'd had. 'Twilight's told me how well you've been progressing, I'm quite proud of you Sunset Shimmer.' Sunset got an almost dreamy look in her eye as she thought of her mentor's praise. Not holding onto the baggage of what she'd done in the past. Call her a hopeless optimist, but as she trotted down the waxed castle floors, she became more confident about seeing the princess. As they headed in search of Princess Celestia, they ran into Princess Luna in the foyer.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle, what brings you here?"

"We're looking for Princess Celestia, have you seen her?"

"I'm terribly sorry, but my sister is away on business in Maretonia, and won't be back for a while." Sunset felt disappointed, just as she was staring to relax and get the nerve to talk to her, Princess Celestia happens to be away. Maybe it was for the best, it'd give her more time to better compose herself and figure out what to say to her. 

"Oh, well, thank you for telling us princess." said Twilight with a quick bow of her head. "So sorry to have bothered you." 

"It's no bother, I'm happy to help. But if you don't mind my asking, what business do you have with Celestia?"

"It's nothing, it can wait until she gets back." said Sunset Shimmer, cutting into the conversation. She cracked a nervous smile. Luna looked from her to Twilight before saying, "I'll inform my sister when she gets back that you wanted to speak with her. Good day to you both."

"Good day Princess Luna." said the girls in unison. When Luna was out of sight, Sunset Shimmer sighed and hung her head.

"I guess I wasn't meant to see her today." she said.

"Don't say that! It's just a coincidence, that's all." 'Yeah, some coincidence.' Sunset thought to herself. 

"Why don't we head back? We wouldn't want you to miss your own party after all."

"Alright, I guess."

"Hey, cheer up, it wasn't a total bust. I mean, you go to see the castle and your old town again. So it's not too bad." Sunset could see that Twilight was trying to help, but her efforts weren't really doing anything to improve upon her mood. If anything, they only made her visit feel like even more of a waste. But she put on a smile, and did her best not to appear depressed. 

"I can't wait for you to meet some of the ponies me and Pinkie invited. This'll be great!" Sunset just smiled and nodded, agreeing with Twilight. With any luck, the party would help to take her mind off of things. 
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4




There was something...ominous in the air that night. Though most ponies didn't sense it, it had a strong presence among the Nightmares in Aestas. It hung like a thick fog, giving them unease. All of them discounted this of course, blaming it on how dark the sky seemed tonight, making them foolishly believe that something was wrong. In Aestas, the sky shines the colors of the evening and the night, and shifts in accordance with the lunar phases. During a full moon, the sky would shine as bright and vibrant as the northern lights. But this was the night of the new moon, so the sky was darkened, even the constellations had been dimmed so as to appear barely visible. None of them could know what this new moon was bring, it's shadow cast onto the Garden of Shadows, the interwoven canopy of trees moved on their own accord, opening upon to let in the new moon. The Tenebris could feel it, and began to soak up the darkness. The Garden of Shadows began to shake and quiver, the ground opened up, creating a large chasm. 

The Tenebris shot forth from the chasm, revitalized by the new moon. Their form was that of wispy smoke clouds, their eyes were two little balls of fire. 

"Feel that night air!" cried one of them, spinning around in a circle. "I can't remember the last time I felt such a cold and refreshing breeze."

"Ugh! I see you haven't changed a bit Momus, still as big a dolt as ever."

"Why are you always so mean to me Somnus?" blubbered Momus. 

"He's only telling the truth, it's quite pitiful really. And to think you call yourself a Tenebris."

"You too Moros?! You're all cruel!" 

"That's the idea." Four of the Tenebris gathered together and called for attention. Their leader, Nightshade, floated forward, and shouted out as loud as he could for all to hear.

"Fellow Tenebris! We've sat by, letting the Nightmares protect their precious dreamers and keeping us away from our meals." Nightshade's blue flame eyes flared up as he continued to speak. "Tonight we strike, follow me, as we take our rightful place." There were cheers and howls of agreement. The Tenebris joined together, forming into a large black cloud, swirling and spiraling up into the air and past the tops of the garden. Nightshade led them as they descended toward the kingdom.  

The Nightmares immediately saw the looming cloud and fell into a state of panic. They had never seen such a threat before, and knew not what to do in order to stop it. Every Nightmare trotted for their lives, locking themselves away in their houses. The Tenebris tore up the ground, making it hard and lifeless, they seeped into the houses, through the chimneys and the cracks, while the Nightmares still outside felt the full force of the attack. Nopony could see what was happening to the Nightmares that were consumed by the Tenebris, the last they heard from them were ear-piercing screams.

The screams of terror could be heard from the castle. Queen Amalthea rushed out to see what was going on and was shocked by what she saw.

"No, it can't be." she whispered. "The seal should have held,  what could've..." Realization filled her eyes, she whipped back into the castle, and called out, "Eve!" The queen had to hurry, she had to find her, there wasn't any time left to spare. 

"Eve!" She found her at last, she'd been re-shelving the books in the library when she heard the screams from outside, and was about to go and see what was causing it.

"Thank goodness." said Queen Amalthea.  

"Is something wrong?"

"There's no time to explain, you must leave now!"

"What, why?!"

"We're under attack."

"WHAT?!!" Eve couldn't believe it. Under attack?! Who'd want to attack them?! Queen Amalthea grabbed her by the hoof and dragged her along, Lumen hopped onto Eve's back, holding on tight. As the queen pulled Eve, she glimpsed out of one of the windows to see the black cloud. 

"What the heck is that thing?!"

"The Tenebris, they've returned."

"The Tenebris?! You can't be serious!!" The expression on the queen's face was one she'd never seen before, a mix of dread and fear. 

"Where are we going?" Eve asked. 

"Someplace safe, where you can open up a portal to Equestria and get help from Princess Luna. You must be quick about it. Once you're through, I'll cast a spell to prevent the Tenebris from getting through."

"But, what about you?"

"A queen must stand to protect her subjects, I'll stay behind and fend them off for as long as I can." There was a sound of a loud crash. Queen Amalthea and Eve stopped and turned slowly behind them, a loud rumbling sound was working its way toward them. The two Nightmares galloped with all their might, ending up in the throne room. Eve bolted up the door and panted, trying to catch her breath. 

"That won't hold them for long, create the portal now!" Queen Amalthea stood tall before the door, she began to mutter a chant under her breath. There was thunderous pound on the door, from underneath it, wisps of smoky tendrils were coming through. In seeped four of the Tenebris, their flame eyes flickering at the the Nightmares. They shot out toward the queen, but were pushed back by an invisible barrier. Queen Amalthea was chanting a spell to keep them at bay. Three of the four made continuous attacks to break through it, while  the fourth faced Eve, who despite the queen's orders, was frozen to the spot with fear. 

"So we meet again, little Nightmare." he trilled. Eve's eyes widened, recognizing the voice. 

"You're the voice that spoke to me in the garden!"

"Ah, so you remember me, I'm touched, really I am." Eve stared into his blue flame eyes, unable to look away. "I really should thank you, you know. It was dreadful being sealed away in that forest, when who should come around but you, a tasty little dish just waiting to be made and eaten."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" 

"Oh don't you?"

"Eve! Don't listen to him!" shouted the queen, the Tenebris almost broke through so she had to quickly resume chanting.

"Stay out of this Amalthea, this is a private matter after all." Eve knew she had to run, but she couldn't seem to move, and she couldn't help but listen as the Tenebris spoke in a smooth, silky tone. 

"We've been trapped in that lovely garden for countless centuries, when 1,000 years ago, an Alicorn came lurking around. The darkness growing inside her is what woke me, the others weren't as strong as I was and remained under the seal. I managed to regain my strength, but only enough to whisper my influence. I gave her, a little push to do what she wanted to do to her sister. Deep down it was her wish."

"Then, you're the one who corrupted Princess Luna!"

"As much as I'd love to take credit, she found corruption else where. There were other creatures of the night that roamed about, though now I hear word that they are no longer the vicious beasts they once were. Such a shame too. I'd been hoping that the princess would come back, that she'd been full power and negativity for me to consume. But as you must know that was not meant to be. That honor was bestowed on you."

"M-me?! I did no such thing!"

"You went into the Garden of Shadows, listened to my advice, accepted the gifts of power I gave you, and in turn you provided a tasty meal that I and my fellow Tenebris used to awaken and we have you to thank for it."

"You're lying! I-I'd never..." The Tenebris let out a maniacal laugh. 

"So precious, you truly believe that you're innocent?"

"Eve..."

"The reason for me telling you this, little Nightmare, is because when all of Aestas and Equestria are doomed to fall because of us, you have the right to know that it's all. Your, Fault."

"Eve!"

"There's a feast awaiting us in Equestria. Now what was the name of that pegasus friend? Fluttershy was it? She'll be sure to be just as sumptuous a dish as you were."

"EVE!!" Queen Amalthea knocked Eve hard onto the ground, breaking contact from her and the Tenebris, her chatting beacame much faster, as exerted her strength. Eve came back to her senses, but was still shaken up by the Tenebris' words. But there was no time to think about that, she needed to get out now and get Princess Luna. A small portal was quickly created, it would send Eve to Ponyville, the only place she'd been and could think of on such short notice. She looked back at the queen with sorrowful yes.

"I'm sorry..." She jumped into the portal and it closed swiftly behind her. The queen needed to say the spell now.

"Dispergimini malae tenebrae!!" Yelled Queen Amalthea. A shock wave rippled from her, spreading out over Aestas. She got down onto the floor, feeling drained. The spell would keep anypony from leave Aestas, though there was telling how long it would last. At least Equestria would be safe enough to prepare for the Tenebris. But the fight was not over. She glared up at the Tenebris who'd been talking to Eve.

"I won't let it end like this. I won't lose to the likes of you Nightshade!"

"Let's see how you fair, my queen." The Tenebris attacked her all at once, she pawed at them, and drove them away with her incantations, but she wasn't up to full strength to seal them again. 

"This hardly seems like a fight, let's change things up a little." Amalthea gasped as the Tenebris took on physical forms. There was one Pegasus, one pony and two unicorns. Nightshade, now a Unicorn with a deep purple coat and a white mane, smirked evilly at the queen and her shocked expression. Lances were conjured up for each of them.

"En guarde!" Once more, they attacked at once from all sides. Whenever they saw an opening, they'd lunge, and Amalthea would need to act quickly in order to deflect it. The lances sang as the metal clacked and clanged against each other. The Pegasus did an aerial attack, dive-bombing on Amalthea to stab her in the back. Amalthea ducked so that he'd crash into the pony, narrowly missing the lance's tip.

"Tend to those two idiots, I want a little one on one with her majesty." said Nightshade, sneering as he said 'her majesty'. The two fought with skill, a couple times Nightshade would catch her off guard and would come close to hitting her.  

"You're out of practice." he remarked. "Surely you've come up with some plan in the event that we should return."

"I would've thought you'd come much later, when I was gone, but it seems that wasn't meant to be."

"Indeed, though, you hardly seem like a worthy queen. Protecting yourself instead of your dear subjects."

"Silence! My Nightmares can hold on without me, besides, we both know you won't kill them. They're of no use to you dead."

"Perhaps, but why go to all the trouble of helping that little Nightmare escape? What is she to you?"

"I could ask the same thing, but neither of us will get the answer we want. It's time to end this."

"Agreed." Amalthea and Nightshade put in their best skills into the next few moves, lunging, deflecting, looking for openings to disarm. Their eyes like daggers pointed at one another, not afraid to kill their opponent. Amalthea saw a perfect opening, she lunged, but Nightshade vanished, her eyes widened in confusion. 

"Too slow." he whispered. A pain shot through her shoulder as the lance pierced into it, Nightshade sent her flying into the wall. She fell to the floor in a heap and didn't get up.

"A shame, I was beginning to enjoy it, and I almost believed for a second that you had a chance." Nightshade gloated. He turned to the others. "Chain her up and send her to the dungeon, I'll deal with her later."

"What about the Nightmare that escaped?" 

"Leave her for now, she may think she's escaped, but we'll be in Equestria soon enough. And then shall we begin the endless feast!"





Traveling through the portal from Aestas to Equestria is perfectly safe and harmless. To travelers, it's like passing through silk or plunging into cold water. But as Eve and Lumen went through, they felt the shock wave of Amalthea's spell hit them. The air with in the portal felt abrasive, like it was tearing them apart as they were forced out. Eve landed on the ground with a thud, outside of Fluttershy's cottage. 

"Are you okay?" she asked Lumen. The dust bunny smiled and nodded. "Thank goodness." She turned her head toward the cottage of her best friend and hurriedly pounded on the door.

"Fluttershy?! Are you home?! I need your help! Fluttershy?!" No matter how much she called out, there was no answer from inside. "Darn, she's not home. Maybe Twilight can help." Eve set Lumen on her back, and galloped toward Ponyville. Her mind turned to the Tenebris, how one of them had told her that she was responsible for them attacking everypony. 'It was your fault.' She wasn't paying attention and accidently tripped, scrapping against the path. When she got up, she cried in pain, she'd sprained her back leg. She winced as she continued to gallop on it. 'Must get help! I need to find help!' 





Sunset Shimmer's welcome party was in full swing at Twilight's castle. There was plenty of snack and drinks, and the music was dealt out by none other than DJ Pon3. The bass of the music swayed the crowd into a dancing mood. The mane six were enjoying the night, but the pony the party was thrown for was still looking a bit gloomy. 

"Hey, Sunset, I'd like you to meet somepony." Sunset Shimmer turned to Twilight, trotting by her was a pale lavender-pink Unicorn with a slightly curled purple mane with pale aquamarine streaks. Twilight introduced them to each other.

"Sunset Shimmer, this is Starlight Glimmer. Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer." 

"Hey they rhyme!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed with a giggle, as she literally jumped into the conversation. Wrapping her arms around the unicorns' necks and bringing them closer together.

"Pinkie, do you mind going to the snack table and making sure we have plenty of, uh, punch?" asked Twilight.

"Okiee dokie! Be back in a jiffy!" Pinkie Pie then bounced off to the refreshment table in the next room.

"Sorry about that, you know how excited Pinkie can be." said Twilight.

"It's okay." said Starlight smiling. She turned to Sunset. "It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Both shook each others hooves.

"I thought it'd be good for the two of you to meet each other." said Twilight. "After all, the both f you are learning about the magic of friendship." There was a sound of breaking glass. "I'll just leave you two to talk while I go make sure that Pinkie Pie doesn't accidentally break anything. Another shatter sounded as Twilight rushed to the other room. The two unicorns smiled awkwardly at each other. 

"So..."

"So..."

"Twilight told me a bit about you actually, the last time she visited me." said Sunset.

"Oh, really? What did she say?" asked Starlight.

"Only that you were having problems making new friends which sent her on an adventure through time and alternate realities, and in the end she got you to open up." Starlight Glimmer laughed nervously.

"She's just being nice. I did far worse to her, and her friends, and the ponies in my village."

"If it makes you feel any better, I had a bad experience with Twilight too." 

"It can't be as bad as mine." Starlight said, guilt in her voice.

"I turned into a raging she-demon and was going to invade Equestria with an army of zombie teenagers." 

"I took away their cutie marks and attempted to brainwash them into following my ideals. And I tried to change the past to get back at them." Both looked each other in the eye and laughed.

"That's pretty bad." they said in unison. 

"I've moved on from that though, and made a lot of good friends at CHS." said Sunset, thinking of them fondly.

"Me too, Twilight has been really nice to me, and it's nice to have new friends. Especially after what happened between me and Sunburst." Twilight poked her head from the doorway and smiled as she saw Sunset and Starlight chatting and laughing with one another. She knew they'd get along. 

"What was it like being Princess Celestia's Student?" asked Starlight. "I know Twilight was one of her students, but what did you do?" Before Sunset could answer, a voice spoke up for her.

"I can only imagine how boring it'd be, being taught by Celestia." The unicorns turned to see floating a few inches behind them was Discord. "You must be Sunset something or other." he said addressing Sunset."

"It's Sunset Shimmer."

"Whatever." he waved a dismissive claw. "And you'd be?"

"Um, Starlight Glimmer. Mr...?"

"How rude of me not to introduce myself." He pulled out a card from an invisible pocket and handed it to them. "My card." It read:


Discord 
Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony and mischief maker extraordinaire

Both the unicorns raised an eyebrow at the Draconequus. 

"You're Discord?"

"Yes, as you can clearly read from the card." The card disappeared in a small flash of light. "It seems the number of Twilight clones has grown, I was expecting one but now I find two. It's like you're part of some mass production line." The girls felt insulted by his comment.

"Did you need something? If not, then let us get back to our conversation." said Starlight. 

"Oh yes, you haven't seen Fluttershy around by any chance? I turned my back for a minute and next thing I know she's disappeared." Sunset and Starlight didn't mind the idea of disappearing from him.

"We haven't seen her."

"Drat, I'll have to look elsewhere. Ta-ta ladies!" He vanished out of thin air. 

"He was certainly odd." said Starlight.

"Of course, he's Discord for Celestia's sake."

"Well, with him out of the way, you were saying about being Celestia's student."






Fluttershy felt a bit flustered with the loud music and the crowd of ponies, so she left to someplace more quiet to relax from all the excitement. It wasn't long after when Discord popped next to her.

"Finally, this is where you trotted off to." he said.

"Sorry, I told you I needed some air, but a guess you didn't hear me." 

"No need to explain yourself my dear." He smiled reassuringly. "On another note, I ran into that Sunset mare, and next to her was another Twilight look alike. Star something I think."

"Starlight Glimmer?"

"That's it!"

"That's wonderful! It'd be good for Starlight to make friends with Sunset."

"Yes, wonderful." he said sarcastically. "I can imagine it now, those two conspiring with Twilight to do Celestia knows what."

"Discord..."

"I'm just joking Fluttershy, for the most part." Fluttershy sighed and shook her head.

"What am I going to do with you?" she asked teasingly. Discord conjured a bench and sat down on it, and Fluttershy saw no harm in sitting beside him. 

"Have you been enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, I still seem to get so nervous though around so many ponies. It's embarrassing that I still haven't gotten over it."

"You will my dear, with a little time." Discord shifted on the bench and cleared his throat. "There's, actually something, I've been meaning to tell you."

"Yes!"

"I'm glad that, we became friends, truthfully, I'd never in a million years, maybe more, imagine myself having any of our tea parties together or our talks."

"That was the old you though, since then, you've changed for the better."

"Yes, well, I might've been changing, a little too much."

"Huh?"

"What I mean to say is, that I value our friendship, and I don't want anything to change it."

"You don't have to worry about that Discord, what could possibly change?"

"You see, Fluttershy, I..." Before he could finish, there was a tremendous pounding on the castle door. 

"My goodness, who could that be?" As the door opened, in staggered a pony, her breathing was erratic. The music screeched to a halt by the mare's sudden appearance. 

"Help..." She whispered weakly, and collapsed onto the floor unconscious. Fluttershy's eyes widened as she saw who it was, and cried out her name.

"Eve!"


> 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."
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6




Nightshade had taken control of the castle, and the Nightmares had all been taken care of. The throne room had been remodeled with dark magic to suit their needs and specifications. He turned to his three comrades, Erebus, Moros, and Pseudea, they were all in pony form. 

"Has Amalthea been taken care of?" Nightshade asked. He paced in front of them as they stood before him in a line. Erebus, who had the form of a Unicorn with a black mane and a midnight blue hide, gave a curt nod.

"We've chained her in the lowest level of the dungeons." he said. 

"Excellent. Moros, report on our progress." Moros had the form of a pony stallion, the color of slate gray.

"All Nightmares are imprisoned and accounted for. The other Tenebris are filling up before they head out to continue with the plan." said Moros. "With a bit more power, we'll be able to remove the seal on the king."

"Good. Pseudea, has there been any disturbances?" Pseudea was a pegasus stallion with a long, dark blue mane and a black hide, gave a playful smile. 

"There's somepony trying to sneak there way in." he said in a sing-song voice. "Coming to rescue the queen no doubt, the portal is going to open." 

"Really, then we should prepare a proper greeting for them, shouldn't we?" asked Nightshade deviously. "It only seems like the right thing to do. We'll even give them the personal tour." 

"Do you think it's wise Nightshade?" asked Erebus. "Shouldn't we just cast a spell on them like we did with the Nightmares?"

"You're no fun Erebus!" whined Pseudea. "It's been millennia since we had any fun, or terrorized anypony. Let us enjoy ourselves before we get to the serious business. Right Master Nightshade?"  Nightshade gave a nod.

"Something like that, but in truth, I want to kill two birds with one stone." he said. The others were befuddled, trying to figure out what Nightshade meant. Nightshade sighed, seeing that he'd have to explain it to them. 

"Look, we need more power if we are to ever break that accursed seal, why these Nightmares provide sustenance, they don't give off the same filling kind of energy as dreamer. So, we'll turn the dreamers against one another, placing them in their darkest dreams and eat up their nightmares. We'll have disposed of the interference,  eaten a good meal, and come up with the needed power to free our king."  The Tenebris agreed with this plan.

"Oh, you're so brilliant Master Nightshade!" cooed Pseudea. "Rest assured that I won't fail!"

"I'll make sure that these idiots don't fail." said Erebus. Moros and Pseudea glared at him.

"Hey!" they shouted in unison. Nightshade grinned wickedly. 

"Alright, Erebus, you'll be in charge of those two."

"What? Master Nightshade, you can't leave us with this guy!" cried Pseudea, having a fit. Moros on the other hoof was indifferent. 

"I'll do it, though I will most likely fail." he said in a flat monotone. 

"Get ready for their arrival, split them up so that it'll be easier to pick them off one by one." said Nightshade. The Tenebris bowed to him, then left to begin their task. Everything was coming together perfectly, and victory was fast approaching. 






The girls had packed essentials into saddle bags (Discord didn't bring anything because with his power he didn't need to), and had assembled in Twilight's castle library, where Princess Luna was ready to perform the spell and open up the portal.

"Be careful," said Luna. "This will be a very different Aestas, one that is twisted and under the Tenebris' control. While there, their illusions will be strong, not unlike the solid illusion from the Garden of Shadows. Be on your guard, no matter what."

"Yes, yes, I think we all get the picture Luna." said Discord nonchalantly. Twilight shot Discord a look and said to Princess Luna, 
"We'll be careful princess." Luna gave a nod, her horn lit up and grew brighter as she opened up a portal. 

"Wait!" cried a voice. Everypony turned to see Fluttershy running toward them.

"Fluttershy, what are you-?" But Discord was interrupted, by a sudden hug. Fluttershy and looked up at him.

"I wanted to say good bye, and wish you all good luck." said Fluttershy. She pulled away from Discord and went to each of the girls. She exchanged brief words with Sunset Shimmer and Starlight Glimmer, and gave Twilight a hug like the one she gave Discord. She then looked to Eve and hugged her as well.

"Take care of yourself." she whispered in Eve's ear. Eve smiled.

"I will." she said. Discord frowned and folded his arms, thinking that Eve was hugging Fluttershy for too long. He used his magic to pull Eve away and placed an arm around her.

"Thank you for your gracious good byes my dear, but we really must be going." said Discord. 

"Oh, I understand, I didn't mean to take up your time." said Fluttershy. She stood back as one by one the girls got into the portal. Discord actually tossed Eve in before smiling sweetly at Fluttershy.

"Be back in a bit!" he called, and ducked into the portal. Luna's horn stopped glowing and the portal was starting to close, when something shot out of it. Black tendrils that forced the portal open and shot out of it. Two tendrils restrained Luna and kept her from defending herself. The rest shot out at Fluttershy. She let out a scream as the tendrils pulled her through the portal, which snapped shut behind them. The tendrils around Luna dissipated, the spell had weakened them, but they had enough strength to drag somepony back. Luna looked at where the portal had been with worry and fear.  

"This is not good." said Princess Luna gravely. Which was a bit of an understatement.






There was no trouble going through the portal, Twilight, Sunset, Starlight, Eve and Discord landed in Aestas. There was a drastic, and noticeable change to it. The sky was like a black void that could swallow them up like the mouth of a titanic beast. The once lush and soft grass was dead and almost barren. Thorns (like the ones Discord had made) were scattered around like weeds. Eve let out a strangled gasp when she saw her old village and the castle. Gaping holes had been blown into the roofs and some of the houses, dark crystals could be seen as well. 

"No...." whispered Eve. She galloped toward the town without waiting for the others. 

"Eve, wait!" called Twilight, following after her. Starlight and Sunset went too, leaving Discord to heave a sigh and go with them. Eve sped down, faster and faster, she needed to see if there were any survivors, and if they were alright. Her pace slowed down, as she trotted through the quiet and desolate ruins of the town. When she got near one of the crystals, she stopped and was horrified by it. Inside was a Nightmare, lying unconscious. She could see wisps of something coming out of it, making the crystal even stronger. 

"What is that?" asked Twilight warily, the others approached behind her. Eve's throat tightened as she said what it was doing.

"I-it's a prison....for the Nightmares, it's draining away their essence. What gives them their own abilities and gives them life." Eve felt her face begin to pale as she recognized each and every Nightmare that was trapped. Calypso, Coal, Starburst, and even Starla. While Eve didn't like the mean mare that much, she'd never want her to suffer something as horrible as this. Starlight Glimmer drew closer to one of the crystals, looking through it.

"I can't believe the Tenebris managed to do all of this." she said. Sunset looked to Discord.

"Can't you free them with your magic?" she asked. 

"I would," said Discord, "But there wouldn't be much point. If I freed them now, they'd only end up captured again. I'm afraid they're gonna have to wait a little while before we rescue them."

"Let's try going to the castle." said Twilight. "They might be holding the queen there, she'll know what to do." Eve was barely listening, unable to look away from her fellow Nightmares. What had she done?! If this was the fate of the Nightmares, then what would it be like for the dreamers?

"Hey, Eve, are you coming?" asked Sunset Shimmer. Eve lifted her head, and saw that the other had already moved ahead of her.

"I'm coming." she said. She looked back at the the crystals one last time and then headed for the castle.





"You idiot!" yelled Erebus. He was directing his rage on Pseudea. "What possessed you to bring that...that dreamer here!" He pointed a hoof at Fluttershy, who was coiled up by the black tendrils emanating from Pseudea's mane. The Tenebris pegasus pouted.

"Don't get all huffy with me Erebus, it took a lot out of me to bring this Pegasus here, I'm feeling faint from even holding her like this." he said, putting a dramatic hoof to his head. "And besides, this little thing is a gift to Master Nightshade. When he sees the dreamer I caught just for him, he'll be so pleased with me, he'll make me his closest comrade." A dreamy look took over his eyes, while Erebus and Moros remained unamused. 

"That'll never happen." said Moros glumly. 

"What are we supposed to do with this dreamer anyway?" asked Erebus. "Wait until Nightshade comes and deliver her to him?"

"When you say it like that, it sounds almost foolish." said Pseudea.

"That's because it was foolish to begin with." said Moros. 

"Ugh! I never!"

"Both of you, shut up!" yelled Erebus. He appeared to be in a meditative state, his eyes flashing as he snapped out of it. "They have arrived, the other dreamers." Fluttershy was filled with fear, looking back and forth between the Tenebris, what were they going to do to her and her friends?

"My, that was quick, what should we do?"

"We'll follow on Nightshade's plan. Intercept them, and break them away from each other." said Erebus.

"What about the pegasus?" asked Moros, tilting his head to Fluttershy. She let out a muffled cry.

"Leave her here for now, after we complete our assignment we'll hand her over to Nightshade. I'm sure he'll figure out what to do with her." The tendrils loosened around Fluttershy, only to toss her to the ground. Thorns shot up, trapping her in a dome. She watched as the Tenebris turned back into their smoke forms and disappeared. 

"Hello?!" she called out as loudly as she could. "Can anypony hear me?! Somepony, help!" Sadly however, her cries were in vain, nopony was around to be able to hear her. Fluttershy was all alone.





Sunset and Starlight noticed how Eve was lagging behind the group, her head hung low. They could see the guilt and regret that weighed down on her, and knew she needed some help. Both slowed their pace down a bit, so that they could walk alongside Eve. 

"Feeling okay?" asked Sunset. Eve didn't answer, or look up to acknowledge that she heard her. Starlight tried to get through to her instead.

"You know, if something is on your mind, you can always tell us." she said. But Eve remained silent, she didn't feel like talking. How could she? It felt better to keep it all inside, to punish herself for everything.

"Eve-" 

"Finally, we're here." said Discord. Sunset wasn't able to say what she wanted, as they'd gotten to the tall castle. The splendor and high polished shine it once had had faded, becoming as dull as rock. There was no sound except for the band of five that traveled through. Their own steps echoing in the deathly silence. A light breeze blew through, circling and sweeping across the ground. 

"Remember, there could be Tenebris lurking around, so be on your guard." said Twilight. The wind picked up a little, playing with the girls' manes. 

"There's nopony in sight, hard to believe nopony noticed us." said Sunset Shimmer. The wind blew a bit more violently, circling the ponies.

"We've already noticed you." said a disembodied voice.

"It's a trap!" shouted Discord in a white space uniform. Twilight gave a look.

"Really?!" she cried. 

"What? I've always wanted to do that. Maybe not always, but you know what I mean." he said popping out of the outfit. The wind became faster and faster, resulting in a cyclone that started to pull them up into the air.  Discord however, able to defy logic, remained firmly on the ground and acted as if the wind was nothing more than a minor inconvenience. He stretched out his arms to hold onto the tails of Sunset, Starlight and Twilight.

"Wait! What about Eve?!" cried Twilight. Eve was spinning round and round, flying higher and higher up and screaming all the way. 

"Sorry princess, but if I let go to get her, you or your doppelgangers will end up flying away too." said Discord. Sunset looked up at Eve, her pale blue eyes narrowed.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take." said Sunset. She pulled her tail free, and went up after Eve. 

"Sunset!" cried Starlight, who also freed herself and tried to get Sunset.

"Girls!" Twilight cried, but Discord put Twilight under his arm. "Hey, let me go!"

"So sorry Twilight, but I think it's best if you stay close." said Discord. The wind started to die down, and the girls were long out of sight. When it cleared, Twilight and Discord were no longer at the castle, but instead some kind of forest. It looked like a larger version of the Garden of Shadow. 

"Twilight, I don't think we're in Aestas anymore." said Discord. Twilight frowned, her eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Oh, be quiet."
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7




The Garden of Shadows had grown out of control, fueled by the Tenebris' influence. It had now become a labyrinth of sorts, filled with vile plants and the remains of their once proud kingdom, Oblivionis, that were starting to rise up to the surface from below. Nightshade had been supervising over the Tenebris, as was his duty as one of the four elite royal guard to the king. Head of the guard and the king's right-hoofed stallion, he saw it as his duty to ensure that all went smoothly. He wouldn't tolerate any mishaps that could get in the way with the resurrection of the king and of casting the dreamers into an endless nightmare. He'd assigned different Tenebris to specific duties, each was tasked with either recovering their kingdom, guarding over the Nightmare village and castle (which had once been called Concordiae before they were banished and Amalthea changed it, proclaiming all of Aestas as her domain), or gathering power to feed to their once great king. 

Yes, with the king revived, there would be nothing left to stand in their way. Nightshade looked up to see the rest of the guard blowing the dreamers into their territory. 

"Looks like everything is coming together nicely." he said smugly. Erebus and Pseudea manifested behind him from their smoke forms, and were kneeling at his hooves.

"Task completed." said Erebus.

"Good." said Nightshade. "And I trust there were no problems." Erebus shot a look at Pseudea. 

"I'm afraid that Pseudea here, went and did something that you did not authorize." he said. Nightshade's ear twitched a little, his back was turned so the two couldn't see what his expression was.

"Oh?" he asked in a dangerously calm voice. "And what was it that he did?"

"He pulled in a dream from the portal, one that hadn't traveled with the others. We have her locked away for now, awaiting your orders on what to do with her." There was an uncomfortable silence, chills went down Pseudea's spine when Nightshade said his name.

"Y-yes...Master Nightshade?" stammered Pseudea.

"What was the dreamer's name?"

"Um, I don't know, I didn't ask."

"Well, what sort of pony was she?" Pseudea gulped and did his best to decribe the pony. Not knowing whether Nightshade was angry at him or not made him all the more nervous. 

"It was a mare, a pegasus mare! She had a pale yellow coat and a long pale pink mane. She looked quite delicate, and graceful."

"Did you happen to see her cutie mark?"

"Yes! It was of three pink butterflies." Nightshade turned, a devilish smile on his face.

"It seems you've brought me the dreamer I've actually been planning to use." he said. Erebus and Pseudea both blinked in disbelief.

"Really?" they both asked at once.

"Yes, she proved to be a useful piece in manipulating that Nightmare, now we may be able to use her once more."

"What are you're orders?" asked Erebus. 

"Put the mare in the garden with the other dreamers, and await further instructions. Pseudea."

"Y-yes?"

"For once you manage to do something right, for that you won't be punished." Pseudea breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank you Master Nightshade." he said.

"However, don't think that means you can go around doing things without my authorization. If you should do something like that again, or disobey my orders..." Nightshade lifted Pseudea's head so that their eye's met. A cold fire burned in Nightshade's dark eyes. "...you won't live long to see how furious I can get. Are we clear?"

"Crystal, sir."

"Good. Now go, and greet our visitors." Pseudea stumbled after doing another low bow and hurried away to do as he was told. Nightshade looked toward the garden, and grinned evilly.

"Let the fun begin." he said.





"Why didn't you hold onto Eve?!" Twilight asked, upset by the Draconequus she was now stuck with. 

"I told you, I didn't want you or those other two to end up getting sucked up as well."

"Liar, you did it because you still have a grudge against her!" 

"You have no proof that that's true." Twilight gritted her teeth. 

"I may not have any proof, but I know that because of you, we're now cut off from the others. And for what? Some petty jealousy?"

"Jealous?" Discord laughed. "Why would I have to be jealous? In case you've forgotten, that Nightmare is the jealous one." Twilight shook her head. 

"Whatever, let's just go and find where they are." said Twilight. Thus, the two started walking deeper into the dense garden.






'I can't believe I got captured.' thought Fluttershy. 'I'm so useless! I need to get out of here and warn the girls about the danger they're in.' She hesitantly reached out a hoof to the barbed thorns that made up her prison. She drew back her hoof and winced, seeing that it was pricked and a bead of blood had welled up in the cut. 

"Ouch!" she said, sucking on the cut. Her ears perked, hearing something approach. She had to act quickly, even if it was going to hurt, it would hurt only temporarily. She put out both hooves and pushed away the the thorns, slipping through the gap she'd created. The barbs scrapped through her mane and her coat, leaving thin, shallow cuts. At that moment, the pegasus Tenebris had reappeared. 

"Alright miss, time to...hey!" Fluttershy gasped in fright and made a run with it.

"Hey! Stop!" shouted the Tenebris. But Fluttershy didn't stop. She just galloped away for her life. The Tenebris transformed back into his smoke form and ganged up close behind her. The shrubs and trees brushed against her, but did nothing to divert the Tenebris away. He was going to catch her! What was she going to do?! She closed her eyes and just kept on running. After a while, she noticed that the Tenebris hadn't tried to catch her. She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder. The cloudy form had stopped and was fading away. This greatly surprised, as well as confused Fluttershy. Why had the Tenebris stopped chasing her? Well, she soon got her answer. She slowed down and saw that she'd galloped into the Garden of Shadows. The garden was different from how she remembered it though. It was still dark, but it wasn't the pitch black dark it had once been. She could still see clearly, but that didn't make her surroundings any less scary. 

She shivered and shook a little, not sure whether to go forward or back to where the Tenebris was. 'My friends are in here. And they need to be warned.' Fluttershy collected herself and went further into the forest. Not knowing where her friends were or even if they had already fallen victim to the Tenebris' sinister plan. 







"Hello?! Anypony?!" Eve called out. She was all alone in the garden and was seeing if any of the others were nearby.

"Twilight?! Discord?! Sunset! Starlight?! Where are you?!" Eve sighed in defeat, it didn't seem like it was working. She'd need to go out and look for the others herself. Eve shivered, feeling an icy chill all around her, it never got cold in Aestas, though with the Tenebris things were bound to change. She looked up at the tall trees and the vines that seemed to be reaching out to her. Maybe they were reaching out, wanting to drag her in and be captured like all the other Nightmares. There was a rustling sound. Eve squealed and whirled around.

"W-who's there?" she asked timidly. Rising up from the bushes came a pony-shaped figure. Eve relaxed a little. But as the figure stepped out into better viewing, she saw that this pony was not one of her friends. It was a Unicorn stallion with a white mane and a dark purple coat. 

"Finally, I found somepony." he said with a relieved smile. Eve drew back cautiously.

"Who are you?" 

"I was about to ask you the same thing." he said, holding out his hoof. "I'm Nightshade." Eve didn't take his hoof immediately, but rather looked at it warily before giving it a lightning quick shake. 

"I'm Moonlight Eve." she said. "What are you doing here?"

"Not sure exactly. I went to the castle in Ponyville, as one of the royal guards I wanted to speak to Princess Luna on a matter that couldn't wait. She was about to close some portal right as I walked in, and these black tendrils shot out and grabbed me. They pulled me and another pegasus into the portal and into this place. Whatever it is." Eve looked at him suspiciously, not quite trusting him. Then she wondered if his story really was true. A thought occurred to her and she asked Nightshade, "What was the pegasus' name?"

"Let's see." he said tapping his chin. "I think it was Fluttershy. Yes, that's it! Why do you ask?" Eve's eyes widened.

"Fluttershy is here?! Oh no, this isn't good. I need to find her fast!"

"Whoa, hold on." said Nightshade, grabbing onto Eve's hoof.

"Let me go. My friend is in danger!"

"Stop and think for a minute." said Nightshade calmly. I might not know about this place, but you can't just go blindly rushing in without a strategy." Eve stopped struggling and looked down at the ground. As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point.

"You're right. But if I don't find her soon, who knows what'll happen?"

"Then let me help." Eve's gray eyes looked into his dark eyes.

"Y-you'll help me?" she asked. Nightshade shrugged.

"Anything for to help a nice mare like you." he said. Eve blushed and looked away.

"Well," Eve thought about it. She couldn't just leave this pony alone in the Garden of Shadows could she? She didn't really trust him, but what other option did she have? She sighed in defeat. "It wouldn't hurt I suppose. You can come if you want."Nightshade smiled.

"Great! Let's get a move on shall we?" Eve led the way, not seeing the horrible expression on Nightshade's face while her back was turned to him. 'Everything is turning out perfectly.'





Erebus, Moros, and Pseudea were floating high above the treetops, watching as the ponies (and Draconequus) were traveling through the Garden of Shadows to find each other. 

"Looks like Nightshade has chosen his victim." said Erebus, pointing at the Tenebris in question being led by Eve. 

"They all look so interesting!" gushed Pseudea. "But which one should I picked." Moros' dull eyes looked down and saw Fluttershy heading in the direction of Twilight and Discord.

"Seems that one of the dreamers has found her friends already." he said in a depressing tone. 

"What? Already?" asked Erebus. "We'll need to make things more difficult. I'll take the two unicorns, you two get the rest." Moros sighed.

"Fine." 

"On it!" said Pseudea. Erebus disappeared, heading into the direction of Sunset and Starlight. Pseudea rubbed his hooves together as a plan came together. 

"Say Moros, what do you say to a little team up huh?"

"I don't care." he said flatly. 

"Good! I have a way of bringing quite a bit of misery, and you are just the Tenebris for the job."

"I guess." 

"So, here's the plan." Pseudea whispered it quickly to Moros, a grin on his face. Moros still frowned and said, "Okay, if I have to." 

"Then let's get to it!" The two Tenebris snaked down to the garden to spread some misery and strife.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8



The air felt thick and and gave Eve an uneasy feel. She wished the other girls were with her. Nightshade was okay company at best, but she still felt uncomfortable in this unfamiliar place that had once been her home. The twisted plants, shadows and rubble looked more and more like horrid beasts or claws that were beckoning here to come closer. Wanting to snatch her up. 

"You okay?" asked Nightshade with what seemed to be genuine concern. Eve looked at him from over her shoulder and put on a collected expression to show she was alright.

"Just fine. Though, this place does give me the creeps." she said. "Everything's changed so much."

"So, do you live here?"

"I did, but now..." Her voice caught in her throat, and she couldn't finish what she was going to say.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." said Nightshade.

"No. You didn't do anything, I'm....I'm just going through the motion. But I'll be okay. Once I find my friends and get to the castle, the queen can help get rid of the Tenebris and everything will go back to how it was."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Huh?" Eve stopped to look at him, wondering what he was trying to say.

"Surely you realize that not everything will be how it was. There are sure to be some changes to the ponies and the land. This doesn't seem like the kind of thing a pony could easily forget. Some ponies might even be left traumatized over this whole ordeal, and wonder what could've happened to cause such a thing to occur." Eve gulped. Her breathing quickened a little as she thought of all the miserable Nightmares and how their lives wouldn't be the same again. They'd talk about this for generations. If they were to find out she was the cause of all this, how would they react? Would they turn into an angry mob and go after her? Probably. 

"Of course." added Nightshade. "They might end up okay, once they receive closer. I can't imagine what would happen to the pony responsible for all this and the punishment they'd get." Eve's hoof quickly flew to her throat, thinking about the queen actually giving her a cruel punishment this time. Like decapitation, or torture, or worse! 

"W-we should keep moving." Eve said shakily. "Never know, the Tenebris could be nearby so it's best if we get going before they catch up."

"You're right, lead on." They two went on, delving ever deeper into the Garden of Shadows. Icy chills ran down Eve's spine, making her shutter. She didn't see the looks Nightshade was giving her, truly twisted expressions as he plotted out his next move. 'This is much easier than I expected! With a little more work, her suffering will reach its peak and be ready for the taking.' Eve looked over her shoulder once more after getting another set of chills, only to see Nightshade innocently gazing at the scenery. Eve shook her head, it was probably all in her head.






"I should've just used my magic to catch Eve instead of jumping." said Sunset Shimmer. She and Starlight were pushing tree branches out of the way. "Then maybe we wouldn't have gotten lost."

"Hey, I chose to jump too, so you're not entirely at fault." said Starlight. 

"I just hope we find Twilight and the others soon, this place is making me feel really uneasy."

"Not only, that, but I think there's some kind of enchantment in this place. I tried using a teleportation spell, but my horn wouldn't so much as spark."

"You mean, we can't use our magic?"

"Not exactly. I can still cast spells, but they're more basic and simple. Anything more complicated is restricted. Or at least that's what I could gather. If we come across the Tenebris, we should be okay for a bit with some shield and attack spells."

"Guess the Tenebris don't want us to beat them that easily."

"Hmph! Only makes it better for when we show them that it'll take more than limiting our magic to stop us." Sunset stopped and put out her arm to stop Starlight from going any further. 

"I hear something." she said quietly. Sure enough, their ears picked up the sound of rustling from nearby. Without any warning, there was a blast that sent the unicorns flying into the air and crash down hard on the ground.

"What the hay?!" screamed Sunset Shimmer. From the rising smoke of the blast, stepped a dark unicorn stallion. 

"Who are you?! Are you one of the Tenebris?!" asked Starlight. The unicorn stallion smirked slightly. 

"So what if I am?" he asked. "It shouldn't matter, seeing as how you're not going to last long enough to best me." Sunset and Starlight narrowed their eyes at him. 

"Why you..." growled Sunset. The Tenebris Unicorn blasted at them once more, Starlight and Sunset readily cast a barrier spell that protected them. But with their magic being limited, Sunset and Starlight were straining to hold up the barrier. Then, it began to weaken and broke through, blasting both the unicorns and rendering them unconscious on the ground. The Tenebris, Erebus, trotted to their bodies, showing no concern for them as they groaned from the aches and pains of his spell.

"Now to wait for you two to wake up." said Erebus. "Hopefully you two won't destroy each other before your negative energy reaches its peak."
> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 9



Fluttershy felt like she was about to collapse from exhaustion at any moment. How long had she been roaming this forest? What if she never found her friends? Or what if the Tenebris already got them?! 'No, I can't think such hopeless thoughts.' Fluttershy told herself. 'You just need to keep going and you'll find them eventually.' Fluttershy stopped, she squinted into the distance at two figures heading in her direction. Could they be? With what little stamina she had left, she galloped in the direction of the figures. She wanted to call out, but she needed to save her breath so that she could keep moving with out stopping. The figures noticed her coming toward them. The smaller figure flashed a light, and was aiming it at Fluttershy. Fluttershy skidded to a stop. Had she been wrong? Had she run into the Tenebris again? She cowered down and put her arms over her head.

"Don't hurt me!" she cried. The figure hesitated and carefully stepped toward Fluttershy. Fluttershy shut her eyes, waiting for the figure's attack. 

"Fluttershy? Is that you?" asked a familiar voice. Fluttershy opened one eye and saw who the figures were, none other than Twilight and Discord. 

"Twilight...Discord...at last." Fluttershy finally passed out, causing distress for a certain Draconequus. 

"Fluttershy!" He snapped himself into a doctor's outfit with a stethoscope and everything. Though it was for show, he carefully examined Fluttershy's injuries and used his magic to heal them. "So many scratches. What caused this Fluttershy? Was this the Tenebris' doing?" Fluttershy didn't answer, too tired to get anything out.

"It's best that she gets some rest now." said Twilight. 

"Like I couldn't see that for myself." said Discord. He picked up Fluttershy and gently carried her. 

"We should also look for a good place to set up camp before so we can rest."

"Again, I could figure that out on my own." Now with Fluttershy in their group, Twilight and Discord continued onward until they found a good spot to set up camp. Twilight used her magic to create a barrier around the clearing, just in case. Fluttershy started to stir, regaining consciousness. 

"Fluttershy, how do you feel?" asked Twilight.

"Tired." said Fluttershy tiredly. "But other than that, I think I'm okay."

"How did you even get here?" asked Discord quizzically. 

"Well, I was in Twilight's library, when these black tentacle things shot out of the portal and grabbed me, pulling me inside. I think they were the Tenebris Eve warned about." Fluttershy's eyes widened when she realized something and asked, "Where's Eve?" 

"We got separated from her and Sunset and Starlight when the Tenebris first showed up." said Twilight. She then shot a quick look at Discord. "Which wouldn't have happened if somepony had put aside whatever petty jealousy they have against her and helped her before she was blown away."

"Well excuse me princess, not everypony can be as forgiving as you. Besides, in case you've forgotten, your unicorn friends jumped on their own. It's their own fault for getting themselves lost." snapped Discord.

"Grr!"

"Both of you, stop it!" said Fluttershy, standing between the two. She looked at them sternly before saying, "Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to find Eve, Sunset and Starlight before the Tenebris do, we need to warn them."

"Warn them? About what?" asked Twilight. 

"I overheard the Tenebris planning something, they want to have us fighting against each other. Whatever they have planned, it requires all of you to be angry and upset." 

"Twilight's been doing an excellent job at that without the Tenebris' help." said Discord. 

"Discord, I might not fully know what's going on with you to put you in such a foul mood, but for the sake of stopping the Tenebris and helping to free Aestas, you're going to need to put aside your differences until later." Fluttershy looked him calmly in the eye. "Do you think you can do that?" Discord said nothing for a few moments before nodding.

"I can swallow my pride for a little while, I suppose." he said. Fluttershy then turned to Twilight.

"Twilight, I know how Discord can easily annoy you, but he's still our friend. Try to be more patient with him, and don't hold his mistakes over his head. It's no good for him." said Fluttershy. Twilight breathed in.

"I'm...sorry...Discord." she said. Discord.

"Apology accepted. Though, I was expecting you to say it sooner." he said. 

"You need to apologize too Discord." said Fluttershy. Discord folded his arms but he still said, "I'm sorry." But in his head he thought, 'That you don't understand my reasonable dislike for Eve.' Fluttershy clapped her hooves.

"Now that everypony has made up, we can get back on track." she said. Twilight and Discord mumbled under their breath, thought Fluttershy couldn't make put what they were saying. She dismissed it and instead, sat down comfortably on the ground as Twilight took out the rations of food she'd brought. 

"Do you suppose they're all okay?" Fluttershy asked Twilight. Twilight did her best to give a reassuring smile. 

"I'm sure they're fine." she said. Though honestly, she had a feeling inside that they were in great danger.





"....Ugh! My head!" Moaned Sunset Shimmer. The unicorn rubbed the temple of her forehead with her hoof. A splitting headache was pounding, and making her eyes feel like they were throbbing. "That guy did a real number on us didn't he?" There was no answer. Sunset Shimmer got up, there was nothing but darkness all around her. Where was she know? Did that unicorn/Tenebris have something to do with it? Probably. An aura of magic formed around Sunset's Shimmer, as she cast a light to get a better idea of where she was. But even then, nothing changed. There was still darkness. And nothing more. 

"Starlight!" she shouted. There was no answer. "Starlight!!" Then, Sunset heard a low growl. Her pupils shrank as she slowly turned to the sound, her horn still lit, she looked into the face of a horrible monster. Covered in thick fur, with massive claws, and had an unnerving look in its eye.

"Who are you?! Where's Starlight?!" asked Sunset. The monster attack her with break neck speed. Sunset quickly cast a barrier spell to avoid getting any further attacks. 'What is this thing?! Did it do something to Starlight?' The magical aura of Sunset's horn grew brighter as she shot a ball of energy at the monster, sending it onto its back. But it got back up and jumped onto Sunset. 

"Grr! Get off!" yelled Sunset, fighting to get the monster off of her. She levitated the monster off and got back on her hooves. She pawed her hoof on what served as the ground and charged at the beast, head butting it. She'd need to defeat this thing, and find Starlight...wherever she was.






Starlight Glimmer was lost in darkness, she lit up her horn to try and find Sunset. That's when she heard a loud roar. 

"What was that?" she asked herself. She turned and found a grotesque monster. The beast roared at her loudly. Starlight immediately took action and shot a beam at the monster from her horn. The monster's arm stretched out and knocked Starlight onto her back. She jumped back up and onto the monster. The monster let loose another roar and used its appendages to get Starlight off it. The monster pawed what served as the ground and  head butted her. Starlight had to win! She wouldn't lose to this thing. She'd defeat it, find Sunset, and get out of wherever this place was.






Erebus watched, entertained by the spectacle of the two unicorns fighting each other. Casting spells or using physical attacks. He wondered just how far they'd go before one triumphed over the other. Or if they'd take each other out. Either way, it was quite a show. He wanted to stay longer, but he needed to check on the progress of Moros and Pseudea so that he could report back to Nightshade. He shifted into his normal, Tenebris form and flew away, leaving the unicorns in their fight. Not caring what happens to either of them. 
> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 10



"Maybe we should rest for a bit." said Nightshade. "You look tired." Eve shook her head.

"No! We need to keep going. The castle's just a little bit farther. I can feel it." she said.

"Come on. Be reasonable. You look exhausted, and I don't think you'll be of much use to anypony if you're about ready to collapse."

"Sigh! Okay. But just for a few minutes!" The two stopped, sitting themselves onto the ground. Relaxing their tired limbs from all that trotting.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this whole mess." said Eve, feeling responsible for him ending up here somehow.

"There's no need to be sorry." said Nightshade "Besides, you look like you could use all the help you can get."

"Yeah. I think I'm pretty much hopeless on my own."

"So, those friends of yours, what are they like?" Eve gave him a curious look, Nightshade looked away.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked such a straightforward question. I was just curious, forget I said anything. You don't need to tell me." he said. 

"No, no. There's no need to be ashamed of a question." said Eve. She didn't see Nightshade's smirk. The conversation was steering in his favor. "My friends, well, only two or three of them are my friends."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I've never really been very social with the other Nightmares. So, I had only one friend, a dreamer named Fluttershy."

"The pegasus who got pulled in with me?"

"That's the one. Because I had no pony else, I got selfish and wanted all of her attention for myself. But, Princess Twilight and Fluttershy helped show me the bond between friends, and were willing to forgive me and accepted me as a friend."

"They sound delightful." Eve smiled warmly at the thought and nodded.

"They are. I hope they're okay." she said. 

"Come on, what could happen?" asked Nightshade. "I'm sure they're fine and are hurrying to you right now to find you." 

"I suppose you're right." 

"Though, if you don't mind me saying, I wonder if your friends really forgave you." Eve was confused by this.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"It's just that, can somepony completely forgive another after what they've done? Surely they'll never forget it, and will keep it mind the next time a similar event arises." Eve was silent. What could she say to that.

"Then again, I wasn't there. So I wouldn't know the situation. But, if it was something really really really bad, then it would be nearly impossible for me to forgive them." said Nightshade. "I might make the attempt sure, but that doesn't change what they did. Now does it?" Eve's throat felt dry and cracked, she averted her eyes from Nightshade.

"I am speaking hypothetically of course. I'm sure your friends forgive you regardless." Nightshade hid a smile as he saw that it had worked, he'd wormed doubt into the Nightmare. And all that was left was to work it into her core. To make her mistrust her dear sweet friends completely. It would make her suffering all the better.

"What about you?" Nightshade shifted his attention back to Eve when she spoke.

"Huh?" he said.

"What about you? What are your friends like?"

"I don't really have friends...per say, more acquaintances. Only one of them I have a bit of respect for, the other two are annoying beyond all definition."

"They can't be that bad."

"They are, trust me. One is a depressed pessimist, and the other is an obnoxious weirdo. Though I can't discount his loyalty to me I suppose." 

"What about the friend, er acquaintance that you kind of respect?"

"He helps keep the other two in check when I'm not around. He gets the job done, and doesn't disregard the established boundaries." Nightshade stopped himself from saying anymore. Why did he say all that? What possessed him to talk to the Nightmare like that? He looked at Eve, as she smiled happily at him. No, she was smiling because...she was happy for him.

"They must be nice ponies, in their own way. I'd like to meet them." said Eve.

"Oh, you will eventually." said Nightshade. 'You will.' Eve looked up into the sky, unable to tell how late it was.

"We should keep moving." she said. "We'll find a place to camp for a bit and then move on from there." 

"Lead the way." said Nightshade."







Pseudea and Moros crept around the camp of Twilight, Fluttershy and Discord. 

"What are you two up to?" Pseudea jumped and almost screamed from fright by Erebus' sudden appearance. Moros remained indifferent.

"Oh. Hello Erebus. When did you get here?" asked Moros. 

"That's not of consequence, what is, is what you two are doing with those three over there." 

"If you must know Erebus, we're observing them, getting a good idea of how to get into their heads. You know how powerful my lies can be and Moros' doom can bring down a dreamer. But in order for this go as smoothly as Master Nightshade requires, we need to try and get inside the dreamers' heads." said Pseudea. A smug smile formed when he could see that Erebus was mildly impressed with their plan. 

"You may continue with your plan." said Erebus. "But don't get too caught up and forget our mission." Pseueda bowed his head.

"I would never lose sight of a mission. Especially one issued by Master Nightshade." he said. Erebus vanished in smoke, and the two Tenebris went back to spying on the camp. "Now then, what sort of strife should we cause?" They'd seen the Alicorn, Twilight, and the...other one, Discord, argue with one another until the Pegasus showed up to smooth things over. Nightshade had already made it clear to split the dreamers up, which wouldn't be too difficult for the first two dreamers, but the third one was a different story. She didn't display any reason or traits that would make her dislike-able in the eyes of her friends. 

"How do we handle the Pegasus?" asked Pseudea to himself. Moros said nothing. Pseudea rolled his eyes, wishing that his partner would help contribute some ideas. Then, something caught his eye. He couldn't believe it at first, but he could see it.

"Well I'll be." he said. He watched Discord, and noticed all the little gestures, the passing glances, and the words he used. He was in love, with the little Pegasus. But the Pegasus seemed to be misreading the signs. Could it be a one sided love? "Oh, how lovely!" Finally, something he could use to break them down. But of course, he needed to get closer to hear more of the conversation. 

"And that's how Twilight and I ended up separated from the others." said Discord.

"How awful." said Fluttershy. Her eyes shined with concern for her friends. "Nothing else happened to you two, right?" Discord chuckled.

"You're concern is charming my dear, but no. We made it out unscathed, though I'm not sure about those other three."

"Starlight and Sunset are supposed to really powerful unicorns, according to Twilight, but Eve. She must be so lost and alone right now." Discord dug his talon into the ground , clawing the surface.

"She was able to do just fine in the Garden of Shadows before, right? I'm sure she's doing well on her own."

"Even if she knows her way or not, how can Eve defend herself? What'll happen to her if...if..." Fluttershy couldn't bring herself to say it. 

"You seem to care a lot for that Nightmare." Discord said bitterly. Fluttershy could hear the twinge of jealousy on his tongue and knew she had to quell it.

"Eve is my friend, like you and Twilight, and everypony else back home. If you were in a similar position as her, I'd still be worried. I'd be worried if anything were to happen to any of you." Discord's tension slacked. Fluttershy sighed.

"I wish you wouldn't get so jealous of my friends." she said. "I can't understand why you get jealous in the first place. I mean, I could with Treehugger and Eve when she was Dream Catcher, but this is...why are you so jealous?" Discord didn't say a word, avoiding looking into Fluttershy's face, lest the truth slipped out. Sure, he'd been wanting to tell her, but now wasn't a good time. Fluttershy gave an exasperated sigh.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But when you're ready to come out and say it, I'll be ready to listen. She took hold of his lion paw and locked onto his gaze. "I want you to move past this. Otherwise, it'll continue to interfere with our friendship." Fluttershy trotted away, to leave Discord alone with his thoughts. Discord propped his chin in his talons, and thought over what she'd said. 

"Hmm...." said Pseudea, having listened to the conversation. "This just might work out. Oh yes. Nothing like a lover's quarrel to really mic things up. And that, Discord fellow, is perfect for what I have in mind." 
> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 11




Both Sunset and Starlight were tiring out, it seemed as though they were on the verge of passing out, but they didn't want to give up, believing that they were fighting a horrible monster and were on the verge of victory. Erebus arrived on the scene, pleased with how well things had been progressing. It was just about the time to cast the spell upon them, but he needed to wait for them to give out. Starlight and Sunset head-butted each other, leaving them a bit discombobulated. They breathed heavily, and at long last, gave in to exhaustion and fell to the ground. Erebus lowered down to the ground, taking on his unicorn form and cast the spell onto the unicorns. They groaned as it hit them, their groaning turned to mumbling as the unicorns became trapped within a bad dream. A black aura surrounded them, the aura flowed into Erebus and filled his stomach, giving him power. As filling as it was, he knew he had to stop, this energy would be needed to free the king. 

"Time to report my success to Master Nightshade, and see what the next step shall be." Erebus reverted to cloud form and took to the air, soaring above the treeline. But as he was heading toward Nightshade's position, he ran into Petra, who seemed a bit frantic.

"Master Erebus." she said. "We have a bit of a problem." 

"What kind of problem?" asked Erebus. He couldn't have any sort of interference with the plan, not when things were progressing so nicely. 

"Well, we were casting the spell that Master Nightshade told us to use on the thorns, but something went wrong! The thorns attacked some of the Tenebris who were in their disguises."

"It doesn't sound like too serious a problem, have it fixed and tell all the Tenebris to stay out of their disguises until it's corrected."

"Yes, Master Erebus." Petra flew back in the direction she had come from, and Erebus continued on his way to find Nightshade. He'd inform him of this minor inconvenience after reporting his progress to him. He couldn't help but scoff to himself. It was things like that that made Erebus regret having to work around a bunch of idiots. Just how do you mess up a spell to attack Tenebris when they're in...

"Oh no." he said with realization. Erebus picked up the pace, flying faster, needing to find Nightshade as soon as possible.






The thorns of the Garden of Shadow curled and uncurled as they inched toward the Nightmare and Unicorn. Nightshade got a feeling that something was following them, at first assuming that it was one of his fellow Tenebris looking for an opportunity to report to him. But then, one of the thorny vines lashed out and lifted him off the ground. He let out a cry of surprise. Eve craned her neck to see what caused him to scream, he eyes widening with shock and fear.

"Nightshade!" she cried. The vines acted line a giant python, curling around Nightshade, the air being squeezed out of him. And if that wasn't bad enough, the razor sharp thorns cut into him, forcing themselves in deeper with each tightening squeeze. For just the faintest of moments, Nightshade was afraid. Afraid that this would be the end of him. Nightshade felt light-headed, his vision became cloudy as he was about to pass out. Until he felt something jump onto the vines, pulling at them and attempting to free them. Nightshade squinted and saw Eve, desperately trying to rescue him.

"I'm gonna get you out of this." she said as she strained to pull him free. "I promise." The vines snapped and the two fell. More vines were starting to gather toward them. Eve placed Nightshade onto her back and galloped fast, trying to escape from them. As Nightshade rode on Eve's back, he passed out. 'It's for the best.' thought Eve. She looked every which way while concentrating on avoiding the vines, which led to her almost tripping on her own hooves a couple times. Luckily, she spotted cover made out of two giant rocks slanting toward each other. Eve kicked up a large dust cloud behind her and slid into the cover. The dust managed to confuse the thorn vines, like they were actual creatures, and they retreated into the denser confines of the garden. Eve was glad to be able to catch her breath, as she set Nightshade carefully onto his back. Who knew how long they'd be hiding out here? And what dangers would come after them. 'I hope the others are alright.'






It was time to spring the plan into action. Moros was to take care of the first two dreamers, while Pseudea would handle the one the called Discord. Simple enough. They wasted no time in surprising them. There were cries of confusion as a fog came out of nowhere, thicker than pea soup and separating everypony from one another. Drowning out their voices so they could only hear themselves and the Tenebris. Twilight was the first to be attacked by Moros. When Twilight saw him in his pony form, she cautiously backed away.

"Who are you?" she asked warily. 

"I'm Moros." Moros answered dully. 

"What are you up to?"

"Sigh! Nothing really. I don't care either way. Seeing as how everything is so meaningless." Twilight was befuddled by his words. What was with this guy? Was he trying to psych her out?

"Whatever you're trying to do, it won't work! My friends and I will stop your plans and free Aestas." she said confidently.

"How?" asked Moros indifferently. "It's very well impossible. It's better to give up. Think about it. You're in a forest with no way of knowing where you are. You could wander here for all eternity, and never find a way out. And what'll happen when you do get out? We're collecting quite a bit of energy for our king, and Amalthea is so weak she doesn't have much longer. She was you're hope for finding a solution, right? What'll happen then? You can't do it. Why even try? I've accepted it. Why don't you accept it too? There's no point in trying. You'll only suffer. All of you are better just accepting that there's no meaning in this world, give in. Give up."

With each word, Twilight felt it ooze into her, bringing forth all her negative and depressing thoughts. Every bad or sad memory, thought, or emotion she ever had came to the surface. Twilight sat on the ground, her head lowered so that her bangs covered her eyes. She started mumbling to herself a gray, dark aura surrounded her, turning her gray as well. 

"...Pointless...Why bother?...I'm a failure...so much better...give up...I can't do anything right...not worthy of being a princess...can't do anything useful...pathetic...useless...it's hopeless..."

"Hmm. You've given up. Whatever." said Moros, honestly not caring if he succeeded.


Discord had his paw and claw primed and at the ready to use against whatever or whoever thought they could best him. There was a flapping of wings, and from the fog came Pseudea. Discord frowned in disappointment, having hoped for something more challenging. 

"You must be kidding." he said. Pseudea didn't say anything, having only a knowing smile plastered on his face. He then spoke, his words coated with his own special spell, a spell that had succeeded countless times before.

"Poor little thing, tell me your troubles." Discord looked at him, not understanding.

"What troubles?" asked Discord.

"Why, your love troubles of course. It's as plain as that Alicorn's face,that you're in love with the pegasus dreamer. I will admit, she is a fine specimen, though personally she's not nearly as grand as Master Nightshade."

"If you're trying to convince me of something, try looking someplace else. I learned my lesson with Tirek, and I'm not going to listen to one of the minions of a little upstart." Pseudea kept his little smile, playing around with the fog. 

"She doesn't even know. It must be agonizing. Loving somepony, but unable to tell them your deepest feelings."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Pseudea looked into Discord's eyes, looking into the emotions inside. He could see the love he had, but it was still small. A strong desire to protect, but it was boringly pitiful. His heart was only beginning to accept this emotion, there wasn't enough...spark. Yes! A spark was needed, to force this creature to feel the full force of love and all of its pain. It was a key part of his plan. Discord was a tad weirded out that the Tenebris had been staring at him silently for the past few minutes. He waved a claw in front of his face.

"Hello? Earth to weirdo here." said Discord. Pseudea was pulled back and knew just what to say. 

"I can see right through you, you know." said Pseudea. "If you listen to your heart, you'll know it to be true. You love that pegasus more than anything. You'd do anything for her. You'd sacrifice lives for her if it meant making her happy or protecting her from harm." 

Discord was wondering what kind of junk this guy was spewing, until, he felt as though something had enclosed itself in his chest. Pseudea could see that his spell was working. As the master of lies, he had a way of altering perception, making things seem like they're one way when they're actually another. He just needed to keep talking.

"Deep down, she loves you too. But she's afraid like you to express her feelings. If only she didn't have distractions around to keep the two of you apart. Ponies who get in the way of the undying bliss the two of you so richly deserve. You know it in your heart to be true. Why else would you get jealous? Those ponies who do nothing but try and steal her away from you. Those friends of hers, especially Moonlight Eve, they're nothing more than an obstacle in your way." 

Discord put his claw to his heart, feeling it tug inside of him. What was this Tenebris trying to do? Pseudea could see that Discord was resisting him and was in the verge of breaking through the spell. He was getting worried that he might fail, until he noticed, that Discord gave in a little when he mentioned jealousy and Moonlight Eve. At last, a weak spot he could work through.

"Fluttershy wishes for you to move past your jealousy, saying that you can't move forward if you don't abandon it. But jealousy is a natural emotion, like love. You can't have one without the other. You have every right to be jealous. After what Moonlight Eve did, taking away your true love from you, trying to turn her against you, conspiring to come out unpunished for her crime."

Discord gritted his teeth, he'd considered what Fluttershy had said and was actually willing to give Eve an actual chance, but his already existing jealousy coupled with Pseudea's poisoned words, made him give into the spell without him even realizing it. By giving in, he allowed the Tenebris' control to take affect. His heart and mind began filling up with twisted truths about his real thoughts and feelings. Pseudea grinned. 'Love, next to lies, is a powerful poison. One that shall not only destroy you, but the pegasus too. Oh Master Nightshade, how pleased you'd be!'



The only pony left was Fluttershy, who timidly wandered through the fog, calling out in vain to Twilight and Discord.

"No pony can hear you, you know." said somepony in monotone. Fluttershy let out a little cry of surprise when Moros suddenly appeared. "No pony will come to save you." Fluttershy shivered with fear but tried to appear brave.

"Then I'll save myself." she said. 

"How will you save yourself? A weak and helpless pegasus like you, there's nothing you can do. Your world as you know it is doomed." 

"I'm not strong, true, but I won't give up."

"It's better to give up. When you give up, you don't need to care what happens. When you don't care, less is expected of you. If you don't do anything, you won't have to pointlessly fight." Fluttershy heard Moros' words, but didn't let them get her down.

"You're right. All you've said is true." said Fluttershy.

"So, you're going to give up?"

"No. While there is truth to what you say, there are things that you are forgetting, things that contradict your words."

"Really? What?"

"A pony can choose whether or not they want to give up. Giving up may be easy, and I don't like fighting, but there are things, precious things, that make me overlook all that. My home, my friends, everypony near and dear to my heart. So long as I have them or something to live for, nothing is pointless or meaningless." 

Moros, for the first time since his long existence, was stunned. He showed...interest, curiosity in what Fluttershy had said to him. He forgot about the spell he was supposed to be putting on her, and instead, asked her questions.

"Why are your friends so important?"

"They make me warm and happy inside."

"Warm...happy...?"

"Yes. Don't you have somepony like that?"

"Do...I...?" Moros thought about his comrades, Nightshade, Erebus, even Pseudea, who'd been with him since as long as he could remember. They cracked snide remarks at one another, been through thick and thin.

"My...comrades...they..." But before Moros could finish, Pseudea appeared to check on his progress. He was shocked to see Fluttershy not under the spell.

"Moros, what do you think you're doing?!" asked Pseudea. Moros retained his usual glum frown and said, "Nothing much. This dreamer doesn't want to give up." 

"That's why you're supposed to make her give up! That's what you're supposed to do! I've already done my part and it wasn't easy."

"Sorry."

"Sigh! Never mind, let's just get this over and done with so we can..." Pseudea stopped in the middle of his sentence, he'd been so distracted that he hadn't seen Fluttershy slip away. Or noticed that he accidentally left an opening in the fog for which she can escape.

"Aw crud!" he said. He turned into his Tenebris form and went through the opening, Moros followed suit. The opening went to where Pseudea had previously been, which was outside of the thick fog. Fear and worry started to fill up in Pseudea. What would Master Nightshade do, or say if he found out how careless he'd been?! 

"Pseudea. Moros." said Erebus as he landed next to the two. He looked at the thick fog, then back at his comrades. 

"Have you completed your task?" he asked.

"Yes, we've done swimmingly. Everything is taken care of and no pony got away from us." said Pseudea with a false calmness. "Isn't that right Moros?"

"Sure."

Erebus gave an approving nod. "All that remains is that Nightmare, Moonlight Eve. Master Nightshade should have her all ready to be drained by now. We'll find him and wait for his signal to strike." Erebus flew away as Pseudea and Moros waved goodbye to him.

"You're dead." said Moros. 

"I know." said Pseudea hanging his head. "When they find out, I'm gonna be toast."

"Some pretty dense fog, I doubt they'd notice." said Moros. This made Pseudea feel a touch relieved at Moros' point, but he still didn't want to disappoint master Nightshade. 

"We'll need to keep an eye out of the last dreamer. Wherever she is, she won't get away from us." Pseudea and Moros flew away from the fog bank, not noticing that from behind a tree, they were being spied on by the very pegasus they were talking about. She felt dread looking into the fog bank. What was happening to her friends? 'I have to save them! Somehow. But first, I need to find Eve. It sounded like she's the only pony left unaffected...yet.' Fluttershy galloped into the forest, desperately hoping that she'd find her friend, and they could escape and end the coming Nightmare, together.






Nightshade's mind felt...foggy. As he regained conscious little by little, he found himself in a shelter with Eve, who had been staying awake by his side until she dozed off. He then remembered what happened with the vines. He'd need to inquire about that when he got back, but there was another thing he wanted to inquire about. Why did this Nightmare save him? She had ample chance to run away, but instead she chose to save him. Why? Was there something she wanted to gain? If so, what?

"Huh? Oh, you're awake." said Eve tiredly as she woke up to see Nightshade was well. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, all things considered." he replied. 

"I'm glad. You had me worried there for a while." Nightshade tried to stand up, but felt pain in his physical disguise, forcing him to stay down on the ground. 

"Are you okay?" asked Eve with concern.

"Just a flesh wound." he said. "I can trot it off."

"Oh no you don't. You need to wait until those wounds have closed up. Then you can start moving around however you like." Eve emphasized this with a serious look. As much as he hated it, he listened to her and remained still. He was close to bringing the final blow on the Nightmare, only to have all his efforts snatched away. He'd need to try again later, but for now, his pony form required rest. He'd also need to wait for Eve to go to sleep again, so he could shift into his Tenebris form, so he'd be able to heal himself faster. Right now though, he found himself almost, enjoying himself, just sitting there resting with Eve to make sure he was tended to. 'Just what is happening to me? Is this a kind of spell that Nightmares have or something? I can't give in! I can't lose sight of the mission. The king must be revived, and the Tenebris shall rule.' 

"Why?" he asked. Eve was at first confused by his question until he elaborated. "Why did you save me, when you could've just saved yourself?" Eve appeared stunned, then in thought, and then she answered.

"You were in trouble." she said simply. "When I was little, my friend showed kindness to me by being my friend. She could've left me alone, could've rejected having me as a friend. But she chose to be my friend. If somepony needed me or my help, I'd gladly give it to them." Nightshade looked away, feeling a pull in him. No doubt it was the Nightmare's spell, making him want to be drawn to her. He resisted this and went back to sleep. Eve smiled, believing him to just be as worn out as she was. And she too, rested her eyes, and went to sleep. 






In the fog, Pseudea's power had created an illusion, one that stayed within the parameters of the immense fog bank, and subconsciously compelled those inside not to stray outside. Within that bank, Discord was experiencing an elaborate lie. A lie that involved him believe that his love for stronger than it actually was. And to help fuel that lie, Pseudea had also created a fake Fluttershy(he'd debated with himself on what name to give her, like Pseudoshy or PseudoFluttershy). The illusion showed the most tranquil and serene vale imaginable, set in an endless summer feel. The air was calming and warm, making one feel lethargic and sleepy. A paradise, an Eden, from which there was no escape. Pseudoshy was making a chain out of the wild daisies that grew around her. She let out a gasp of surprise when somepony covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" asked the pony behind her in a gentle and loving whisper. Pseudoshy smiled and pretended to think about it.

"Is it you, Discord?" she asked. She let out a cry that turned into laughter when she was suddenly picked up and spun around a few times. 

"Right answer, my dear." Discord stroked Pseudoshy's mane and gazed at her lovingly. Pseudoshy giggled and batted a hoof. She looked up at him with innocent eyes and asked nicely, "Does that mean, I win a kiss from you?"

"If that's what you want." he said, kissing her forehead. Pseudoshy contained her disappointment, having thought he'd give her a more romantic kiss. She'd been instructed to make Discord give her his love, for the plan he had in mind to work. But it seemed some part of him was still resisting, knowing full well she wasn't the real Fluttershy. She'd have to be patient. With each romantic gesture, he'd fall further and further into the lies Pseudea had created. Pseudoshy smiled sweetly up at Discord, pouring feelings of false love into him. She put a hoof to his chest.

"Would you care to help me with my daisy chain?" she asked. "I want to make into something very special."

"Anything for you, my dear." said Discord, sitting beside Pseudoshy and helping her string the daisies. Pseudoshy took a quick glance at Discord. It was only a matter of time. She'd do as Master Pseudea instructed, as she too was curious as to how his plan would work.
> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 12




After regaining their strength, and checking to see if the coast was clear, Nightshade and Eve continued on their journey. Eve was beginning to despair a little, that all their journeying was pointless. They could both be stuck wandering the Garden of Shadows for all they knew! And if that was true, what was the point of continuing. Then she thought of the girls, her friends were here too, and they were probably looking for her too. She couldn't just give up now! She needed to keep going! After all...she was responsible for all of this. She looked up ahead and spotted something. A large mass of some sort.

"What...what is that?!" she asked in shock. She galloped toward the mass.

"Hey, wait up!" called Nightshade as he followed after her. Eve let out a horrified gasp as she drew closer. The mass was a horrible cloud that surrounded the forms of Starlight and Sunset, giving them each bad dreams. Their faces contorted and they groaned as each faced their most horrible fears.

"The Tenebris must've gotten to them." said Eve. "We have to help them!" 

"But what can we do?" asked Nightshade. "They're already trapped under a spell, how are we supposed to break it?" Eve's shoulder's slumped and she lowered her head.

"Sigh! You're right. But I can't just leave them here like this!" Eve felt so useless and helpless. She'd been searching for the girls, and now that she found them, they were stuck in such an awful state. 'What should I do? None of this wouldn't have happened if I...' 

"Eve?! Is that you?!" Eve lifted her head toward the familiar voice. She couldn't help but break into a relieved smile as Fluttershy came bounding toward her. The girls threw their arms around one another.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" they both said in unison. Eve pulled away.

"You won't believe all that we've been through." said Eve. She looked over her shoulder to introduce Nightshade to Fluttershy, only o find that he'd mysteriously disappeared. 

"Oh my! What happened to Starlight and Sunset?!" asked Fluttershy worriedly. She was about to reach out to them when Eve smacked her hoof away.

"Don't touch them! You might end up affected too." she warned. 

"Can't you help them?" asked Fluttershy. "Nightmares are supposed to get rid of bad dreams, right? Isn't there some way you could help?" Eve looked down at them, there was one way...

"I could try entering their dreams, but I don't know if it'll work. It's been so long..."

"You have to at least try." pleaded Fluttershy. Eve took a deep breath.

"Alright. But don't be too disappointed if it doesn't work." she said. She concentrated and turned her body into a soft light. She then let her light form penetrate the dark mass and entered into Starlight and Sunset's thoughts. 






Sunset and Starlight had been reduced down to tears, as they both confronted their worst fears. Sunset's new friends at CHS no longer wanted to be friends with her, all they saw when they looked at her was the she-demon she'd turned into.

"NO! Girls, listen, that's not me!" cried out Sunset. Her friends were leaving her, she was all alone.

"You brought this upon yourself Sunset." Sunset whirled around to see her old Mentor, Princess Celestia, standing over her.

"Princess...I..."

"You've been a big disappointment. No matter, Twilight has proven to be a much better student than you ever were. She's far superior in every way." Celestia said cruelly.

"Princess Celestia...sob...why are you saying all this...?" asked Sunset tearfully.

"Because, you need to be punished for what you've done. You don't deserve forgiveness from anypony." said Celestia as she turned her back on Sunset. 

"Celestia! Wait! I can change!" Sunset pleaded.

"Change? Into what? An even more horrible demon than you already are? I don't have time for the likes of you. There are ponies who aren't you that are more worthy of my attention." Sunset continued to cry out, to Celestia, to her friends, asking them to come back. To see she'd changed. 

Starlight was no better. She found herself faced to face with a disgusted Twilight.

"After everything you did to me and my friends, after you nearly tore apart all of Equestria, you expect me to call you, much less consider you a friend?" asked Twilight. "Well sorry to disappoint, but I want nothing to do with somepony as evil or as cruel as you." Starlight reached out as Twilight turned her back and trotted away.

"Twilight! Wait! Don't go!"

"You've been really busy, haven't you?" Starlight gasped when she heard the familiar voice. She turned, and saw her old friend, now older.

"Sunburst!" Starlight cried, somewhat happy to see him. But Sunburst didn't look happy in the slightest. 

"What kind of friend are you?" he asked with a sneer. Starlight frowned.

"W-what do you mean?" she asked.

"You called us friends, but after I got my cutie mark, you abandoned me." he said coldly. Starlight shook her head violently.

"No! You don't understand!"

"Oh, I understand. You never made any attempt of contacting me, of writing to me from school. You didn't even ask my family about me. No, instead, you blamed it all on cutie marks of all things. You tried to brainwash ponies with your half-baked philosophy on equality, and took away what made them special." Starlight was silent, trying to fumble around for the words she wanted to say.

"But you didn't stop there did you? Oh no, you decided to take away everypony's happiness from them, doomed the world to Tartarus dozens of times over. And what did you blame it on? Cutie marks. But that's what you fooled yourself into thinking, because the truth you've been trying to blot out of your mind is..."

"Sunburst, please!"

"It was all because of you! It was your fault! You abandoned me, jealous because I'd found something special that I could do, and you couldn't stand it. You were so jealous that you turned yourself away from me, stopped being my friend, and left me all alone to make new friends."

"No! I...I..."

"I'm actually glad that we're no longer friends. Because I don't think I could ever be friends with such a jealous, selfish little pony like you, who didn't think of what would happen to the ponies around here. You don't deserve my friendship. Or any for that matter." Sunburst then started to fade away into oblivion, saying one last word that jabbed into Starlight's heart.

"I hate you."

Starlight put a hoof to her chest and collapsed into tears.

"Sunburst...no! I didn't...I didn't want...I just wanted us..to be friends again." 

Then, something pierced through the darkness. A shaft of pale light, like a star in the heavens. Sunset and Starlight looked up, part of the illusion had been broken and they could see them selves.

"Sunset!"

"Starlight!"

From the light, floated down Eve, she landed firmly one what could be considered the ground of this nightmare realm and looked between the two Unicorns.

"Eve!" they cried in unison.

"I came to get you out of here." said Eve. "You've fallen into one of the Tenebris' traps, your negative feelings and nightmares are being sucked up and are what's keeping you here."

"Then what's the point in leaving?" asked Sunset.

"This is our punishment." said Starlight, her head hung low. "We deserve this."

"No, you don't." said Eve. "I've heard and seen the illusions you've been shown. I'm sure you've done some awful things in the past, but you're no longer the same ponies you used to be. You've already learned your lessons, you've been punished enough."

"And how would you know?!" asked Starlight Glimmer through upset tears.

"Yeah! What have you ever done that makes you think you understand us?!" asked Sunset. 

"Because it's my fault!" cried Eve. Sunset and Starlight were silent. Eve sighed.

"The reason the Tenebris are free, is because of me. I went into the Garden of Shadows, where they fed off of me, and in doing so, I gave them the power to return. It's my fault that the Nightmares are in danger, that your lives are in danger. Because I was so selfish and stupid." Eve's eyes watered and she looked down at the ground.

"Eve." said Sunset. 

"But, that isn't what's important anymore. You two have reminded me of something important that I almost forgotten." said Eve, wiping the tears from her eyes. "After all we've done, we still have our friends. Those who forgive us despite our misdeeds, who give us a second chance. That is what's important." 

Sunset and Starlight were stunned at first, and then they nodded, understanding what Eve was saying. They then remembered what their new friends, especially Twilight, had shown them. The power of friendship, and how she'd shown them this warm and comforting power, reaching out to them when they needed it most. Eve rose up from the ground, holding out her hooves to them.

"Let's go back." she said. "And save our friends." Sunset and Starlight each took Eve's hooves, and were carried upward, toward the light and out of the darkness. 







Fluttershy had waited patiently, watching and waiting for Eve to return. What was going on inside of their heads? Were they alright? Then, the black mass faded off of Sunset and Starlight, a light came out of both of them, and reformed into Eve. Eve smiled at them, as the Unicorns regained consciousness. They smiled gratefully at Eve.

"Thank you Eve." said Sunset. 

"You're a real life saver." said Starlight. Eve batted a hoof like it was nothing.

"Just doing what Nightmares do." she said. 

"Girls!" cried Fluttershy, as she tackled them in a group hug. "You're alright!" 

"Fluttershy? What are you doing here?" asked Sunset.

"When you went through the portal, one of the Tenebris managed to pull me in. But that doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that Twilight and Discord need your help."

"What happened?!" asked Sunset, jumping to her hooves.

"Two Tenebris attacked us, they used some kind of fog to trap them in an illusion." said Fluttershy. "I managed to get away and went looking for you girls." 

"Do you remember where it was?" asked Starlight. Fluttershy nodded.

"Then let's go and rescue them!" said Sunset. "Those Tenebris are going to pay for what they've done."

"Lead the way Fluttershy." said Starlight. As the girls followed Fluttershy, Eve couldn't help but be plagued by a few questions. What happened to Nightshade? Where did he go? Did he even exist? What's more, just what would happen to Eve and her friends next? 'Hang on Twilight, Discord, we're coming to help you.'
> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 13



Nightshade returned to his fellow Tenebris, near the site of where their once great king was sealed away, and where they were all awaiting him.

"Welcome back Master Nightshade!" said Pseudea in an irritatingly chipper voice. "I trust it was all a success? Oh, what am I talking about? You always succeed in these mission."

"I'm afraid that we have a bit of a situation." said Nightshade.

"What kind of situation?" asked Erebus.

"It seems that the Pegasus, Fluttershy, had somehow managed to escape and find Eve, and those two Unicorns. No doubt they're working on a way to save them and the rest of their little friends." said Nightshade. Nightshade noticed Pseudea flinch and immediately turned his attention to him.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" he asked. Pseudea flinched again.

"U-um, w-well you see..." stammered Pseudea.

"Pseudea let her get away." said Moros bluntly. 

"Ergh! Why did you tell him that?!!" screeched Pseudea. He was close to strangling Moros.

"It is your fault. You brought her here and were in charge of keeping an eye of her. And you failed miserably." said Moros. Pseudea cringed at those words and slowly turned back to Nightshade, afraid to look him in the eye.

"M-m-master Nightshade...?" he asked nervously. Nightshade said nothing, a shadow covering his face and obscuring his expression, though the tone of his voice as he spoke made chill runs down Pseudea's spine.

"I've been very patient thus far with you Pseudea. You're an excellent warrior yet your tactics are still something that's left to be desired. For this, I'm willing to hear whatever sorry excuse you have to this before I bestow your punishment." he said. Pseudea shivered, and fumbled with his words as he tried to think of what to say to him.

"You have five minutes." said Nightshade coldly. Pseudea gulped.

"I-I....I managed to capture that unusual creature that was travelling with the dreamers." he said.

"And your actions have led to the rest of them being freed." said Nightshade.

"B-but...it's a really good trap! Ingenious even. I swear!" cried Pseudea in defense. 

"Exactly how is it ingenious?" asked Nightshade, ready to bestow punishment regardless of what Pseudea said.

"I've trapped him in a fantasy of love." answered Pseudea. 

"Love?!" scoffed Erebus. "What good will that do?"

"Matters of the heart are often a tricky and complicated thing." explained Pseudea. "To experience such blissful and immense feelings, only to have it all taken away, would send anypony into the depths of despair and depression. It's all a matter of how well you do it and how deeply in love the poor fellow is." 

Pseudea relaxed a little as he saw that Nightshade wasn't throttling him senseless, so he kept going on, elaborating on what he had planned for the creature. 

"Once his heart is completely filled with the feelings of love, my little puppet of his beloved will shatter his heart, and the puppet will make it look as if the one he loved was brutally killed. All those twisted and negative feelings are sure to rise to the surface and make him excellent prey." 

There was a long awkward silence before Nightshade spoke once more. 

"Is that all you have to say?" he asked. Pseudea gulped.

"Y-yes."

"Hmm. You're punishment has been lessened...to some extent. You are to work with the others in digging out the seal and monitoring the imprisoned Nightmares." said Nightshade. "Further more, you won't receive any nourishment whatsoever from the bad dreams or Nightmares until I see fit. Is this clear?" 

"Crystal." said Pseudea.

"How are things coming along with the king? Are we gathering sufficient power?" asked Nightshade.

"Everything is going as planned, with the Nightmares continuously giving their essence and the power we've gathered from the dreamers, we're close to revving him." said Erebus.

"But not close enough." said Nightshade. "We need more. And we need to make sure that no further mishaps interfere with the plan."

"Understood." they all said in unison, giving a salute. 

"Then I shouldn't need to tell you what to do next. Report back to me on any further progress or occurrences."

"Yes sir." The Tenebris headed off to carry out their objectives. While Nightshade stayed behind in thought. His plan had come close to unraveling. He couldn't let his guard down, he needed to be ready to eliminate any interference. For the king. For the rightful place of all Tenebris.







Fluttershy led the group to the fog bank she'd escaped from. Along the way, Sunset, Starlight and Eve started to talk to one another in hushed tones.

"Are you guys okay?" Eve asked them.

"We're fine." said Sunset.

"What about you?" asked Starlight. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." said Eve, looking down at the ground anxiously.

"So, what you said back there, about you helping the Tenebris, was all that true?" asked Sunset.

"Sigh! Yes. I-I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted my old friend back, but I guess I ended up playing into the Tenebris' hooves."

"It's not all your fault." said Starlight. "I mean, you might have helped them, but that's only because they tricked you. And from what we've seen so far, those Tenebris seem to be good at tricking a lot of ponies."

"And you're doing what you can to stop them." added Sunset. "And we'll be right here to help you." Eve gave a sad smile at Sunset and Starlight.

"Thank you girls. I...I needed that." said Eve.

"Don't thank us just yet." said Sunset. "We still need to rescue our friends and get to the castle, don't we?" Eve gave a nod.

"Yeah." she said.

"We're here!" called Fluttershy. The large, dark fog bank was still as thick as ever and emitted an ominous aura. 

"Oh my stars!" said Eve. "This is a very impressive illusion."

"Any idea what we should do now?" asked Fluttershy.

"Nothing much else for us to do but go in and try to break whatever spell Twilight and Discord are under." said Eve. 

"Let's try to stay together this time, okay?" said Starlight.

"Okay." they all said, and together they headed into the fog bank.



		

The fog bank seemed to be pushing back on the girls as they pushed through it. It was nearly impossible to make anything out through the inky murk of the fog. They all called out as loud as they could for their friends.

"Twilight!"

"Discord!"

"Can you hear us?!"

"Twilight?!"

"Where are you?!"

No matter how loud or how many times they called, nopony answered back. 

"Dang it!" said Eve through gritted teeth. "If only there was a way to find them, then we could get out of here sooner."

"Maybe Sunset or Starlight could use a tracking spell." said Fluttershy.

"That might not work out so well." said Sunset.

"The Tenebris have limited the potency of our magic. We might be able to use a good tracking spell on them." said Starlight. 

"What if you worked together?" asked Fluttershy. "If you combine your powers, it might be strong enough to create a powerful enough spell." Sunset and Starlight thought it over and then looked at each other.

"It might work." they said at once. 

"Let's give it a try." said Sunset. She and Starlight placed their horns together and concentrated. With a fizz and a spark, a small ball of light, mixed with both their magical auras, floated before them. 

"This should lead us to which ever one of them is closest." said Sunset. The ball of light floated ahead of them, leading to where one of their friends. The girls followed it closely, deep into the fog. The fog started to lift into a little clearing, at its center was Twilight.

"Twilight!" called Fluttershy, Sunset and Starlight and unison as they rushed to Twilight's side. Twilight was still slumped in depression, muttering to herself and giving off a dark aura. Sunset shook Twilight by the shoulders in an attempt to wake her up from the spell. 

"Twilight! Come on, wake up!" she yelled. But Twilight didn't seem to be able to hear her at all and continued muttering to herself.

"Twilight! You've got to snap out of it!" shouted Starlight. Fluttershy turned to Eve.

"Eve, we need your help." she said. Eve got closer to Twilight and looked at the dark aura. 

"Despite how it looks, the aura around Twilight isn't too serious." said Eve. "I should be able to dispel it long enough for you girls to try and reach her." Eve rested her hooves on Twilight's shoulders and began to give off a luminescent glow. Some of the dark aura around Twilight dispelled from her.

"You better hurry." said Eve. 

"Twilight, can you hear us?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight stopped muttering and lifted her head a little toward Fluttershy's direction.

"Fluttershy...is that you...?" she asked. Fluttershy nodded.

"Yes, it's me." said Fluttershy. "Sunset, Starlight and Eve are here too."

"We're here for you Twilight." said Sunset.

"I see...how pitiful...for me...." said Twilight.

"What are you talking about?" asked Starlight.

"I'm a princess...and I allowed myself to be defeated by the enemy so easily." answered Twilight in a depressed tone. "...I see the truth now...I don't deserve to be a princess....or given these powers. I'm better off as an ordinary Unicorn. I can't do anything right." The dark aura's intensity grew like flames. Eve took control and continued to quell the darkness so they could keep getting through to Twilight.

"That's ridiculous!" cried Sunset. 

"She's right Twilight." said Fluttershy. "Think about all the great things you've done. You've helped bring back Princess Luna, defeated an Ursa Minor, helped stop Queen Chrysalis, Tirek, and so much more."

"You gave me another chance and showed me the true magic of friendship." said Sunset.

"You showed me that I could make new friends and be happy." said Starlight.

"Please Twilight." said Eve. "Try to remember. Remember who you are. Remember the good times, the times you've shown your true strength."

Twilight listened to them, and tried to recall her memories. The memories that until now had been locked in the back of her mind. All those times she was happy with her family and friends, when she became stronger in order to help the ponies of Equestria and defeat the enemies that threatened them. With each memory, the dark aura disappeared little by little until it was completely gone. Twilight looked up at the girls and blinked out of her daze.

"W-what happened?" she asked. Eve removed her hooves from Twilight's shoulders and let out a relieved sigh.

"Twilight!" the other girls cried. They helped Twilight stand up.

"Ugh! My head." said Twilight, putting a hoof to her head. 

"You were under the control of the Tenebris." said Sunset. 

"But you should be alright now." said Starlight. 

"Where's Discord?" asked Twilight. 

"We haven't found him yet." said Starlight. Fluttershy looked down at the ground with worry.

"Poor Discord." she said. "I can't imagine what horrible thing the Tenebris are putting him through." 

"Don't worry, Fluttershy." said Eve. "Now that we've got Twilight and the rest of the girls with us, helping Discord and stopping the Tenebris will be a piece of cake."

"I hope you're right." said Fluttershy sadly, looking toward the thick fog, wondering what was happening to her dear friend at that moment.







Pseudoshy had finished her daisy chain and had weaved it into a long and lovely veil. She placed it onto her head like a crown and spun around for Discord to look at her from every angle.

"Hee! Hee! What do you think?" she asked in a cute giggle. 

"Wonderful as always." he replied. "But what's the occasion for such a lovely veil?"

"Oh, I just thought it'd be nice to wear one." said Pseudoshy with syrupy sweet innocence. "I'd like to wear one just like this for whenever or if ever I get married." Pseudoshy then looked away and blushed as if embarrassed at the thought. 

"Of course, it's probably silly of me to think I'll ever be married." she said. She stole a glance at Discord's eyes, which had become murky and glazed over. Discord reached out and took Pseudoshy's hoof and turned her so that they could face each other. Pseudoshy looked up at Discord's face with surprise. 'Yes, this is going well according to Master Pseudea's plan.'

"Discord?" she asked shyly. "What is it?"

"I've been meaning to tell you this for a long while now, and I feel like this is the right time to come out and tell you." said Discord. 

"What is it?" she asked.

"I...I love you." he said.

"Really?" asked Pseudoshy. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"With all your heart?"

"With all my heart." 

"I'm so glad." said Pseudoshy with a pretty smile. "Would you mind...if it's not too much trouble, if you could show me your love, with a kiss?" 

"But of course, my love." he said, his voice staring to sound emotionless and monotone. Discord and Pseudoshy leaned toward each other. Their lips merely a few inches away from each other's touch.
> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 14



The couple were close to kissing, when all of a sudden, a soft voice cried out as loud as it could and made them turn their heads toward its direction. Seeming to have come from out of nowhere, the real Fluttershy was galloping toward Discord, a mixture of worry and happy on her face as she saw him. Pseudoshy narrowed her eyes but made sure Discord didn't see. Master Pseudea had planned for something like this, and his illusion magic acted accordingly. 

Fluttershy stopped before Discord, a little out of breath. She'd went ahead of the others, unable to wait anymore and hurried to help Discord. The illusion she was in certainly wasn't what she was expecting. And it was very odd to see a copy of her in Discord's arms, but she was too happy to see that he was alright to think much of those other things. 

"Oh Discord, you're safe!" she said. "Come on, we need to get out of here." But Discord showed no recognition and frowned at her.

"And who do you are, telling me what to do?" asked Discord sharply. Fluttershy as a little taken aback by this.

"I'm your friend, Fluttershy." she said. "Remember?" Discord scoffed at Fluttershy and turned his head to face Pseudoshy.

"You are a terrible liar." he said. "You're far from being Fluttershy, and besides, my Fluttershy is right here." He lifted Pseudoshy closer to him for emphasis. Fluttershy's eyes widened in shock and she put a hoof over her mouth. What had the Tenebris done to him? Well, she wasn't going to give up so easily. 

"Please Discord, it's me." Fluttershy insisted. The rest of our friends have been looking for you. They'll be here soon, and then we can all help Eve and go home." Pseudoshy saw that she'd need to deal with this little pest and fast. If she actually managed to get the fool to snap out of it, everything would've been for nothing! Silently, she used a special spell on the illusion world that Master Pseudea had given her just in case. It would help to block anymore intruders from trying to get in and disrupt the fantasy. Next, she hugged herself close to Discord and played the damsel in distress.

"Discord, I'm afraid!" said Pseudoshy in a timid voice. She then looked up at him with big doe eyes and batted her lashes a little. "Don't go with her, please. Don't leave me." Discord smiled and tenderly stroked Pseudoshy's cheek.

"Don't worry, my dear. I'm not going anywhere." said Discord gently. Then he gave a piercing glare at Fluttershy. "That intruder however, will be."

"Oh, thank you Discord." cooed Pseudoshy. Discord carefully set Pseudoshy down and turned to Fluttershy. 

"Now then, let's get down to business!" he said. With a flick of his wrist, Fluttershy was whammed by an invisible force, and skidded across the ground. Fluttershy got back on her hooves and looked Discord in the eye.

"Discord, you need to wake up from this illusion." said Fluttershy. "Can't you see you're being used?" Discord didn't listen though and whammed Fluttershy again without even touching her. Still, Fluttershy got back up and pleaded with her friend. 

"Discord, please remember. Remember the truth." said Fluttershy. 

"The truth? Ha! What do you know about the truth?" sneered Discord. "You don't know anything about we!" Fluttershy was spun around in the air before suddenly falling onto the ground. All these hits were starting to be too much for her. She slowly stood up and looked into Discord's face. Discord was about to attack again, when he stopped himself. That look she gave him, was one of pity. Her eyes were wet and on the verge of tears. She held out a hoof to Discord and plead once more in a soft voice.

"Discord, come back to us, come back to me." she said. Something snapped in Discord, seeing Fluttershy in such a battered up state. As Fluttershy started to collapse, Discord was instantly at her side and helped keep her from falling. Pseudoshy watched in disbelief. He'd snapped out of the spell! Because of that little Pegasus! 

"Fluttershy, are you alright?" asked Discord with concern. Fluttershy smiled kindly at him.

"I am now. Welcome back." she said. 

"I'm...I'm sorry." said Discord, rubbing the back of his head. "I hope you didn't get too hurt."

"I'll be fine." said Fluttershy.

"You..." Discord and Fluttershy looked to see Pseudoshy seething with rage, her face now twisted and horrifying.

"You ruined EVERYTHING!!" she screamed and zipped toward Fluttershy and Discord. Discord was prepared to deflect Pseudoshy's body, but was shocked when near the last minute, she changed into a bolt of black lightning. Discord in his shock, didn't have time to react. But Fluttershy knew what to do. She got in front of Discord and wrapped her arms around his waist, just as the bolt struck. Fluttershy let out a pained scream from the hit. The black lightning coiled around her and shot pain through her body. When the lightning was gone, Fluttershy fell backward and was caught by Discord. 

"Fluttershy!" he cried. Fluttershy squinted as she looked at him, a weak smile on her face. "Why?! Why would you do something so foolish?!" 

"Because." said Fluttershy in a whisper. Discord strained his ears in order to hear the next part she said. "You're my friend, and I care about you." Fluttershy then passed out, and the illusion world cracked like a broken mirror. The plants withered and died, the sky turned a sickly gray, and everything around them disappeared. Discord was now kneeling in the middle of an open space, with Fluttershy's unconscious form in his grasp. The dark fog bank evaporated, and the girls came running toward them. They all gasped when they saw Fluttershy. 

"What happened?" asked Eve. Discord said nothing. He was too shaken to speak. Twilight drew close and checked to see how serious of a condition Fluttershy was in. 

"She'll be fine." said Twilight reassuringly. "Just a little battered and bruised, but with a little rest, she'll be fine again in no time."

"Thank goodness." said Eve, the rest of the girls let out sighs of relief. 

"Now that we're all together again, we need to find a way of getting back to the castle." said Twilight. "Which isn't going to be easy with our magic use being limited." 

"What if we all combine our powers?" asked Sunset.

"Yeah." said Starlight. "We managed to make a good tracking spell to find you and Discord, maybe we might be able to do the same thing with a teleportation spell."

"It's worth a shot." said Twilight. "We're gonna need your help Discord." Discord still said nothing, but gave a small nod. Twilight was little distressed to say the least by this. It wasn't like Discord to be so quiet. She wanted to ask him what had happened, but figured that it was best to wait until he was ready. 

Everypony gathered around into a circle, each activating the teleportation spell, and combining it with the magical aura that was beginning to build up. It was getting bigger and bigger until finally, they let go, and the light consumed them. The place they'd been in was now empty, as they traveled to the castle.






The group had successfully transported themselves outside the castle, which looked to be in even worse condition than it had been in before. 

"Queen Amalthea must be in the dungeon." said Eve. "I know a way to get in, but we'll need to be careful not to get caught." 

"What about Fluttershy?" asked Starlight. "She's in no condition to come with us."

"I'll stay with her." Discord said, setting her down on the ground and sitting beside her. Twilight gave an understanding nod. 

"Alright then, we'll try to get back as soon as we can when we find the queen." she said. Twilight turned to Eve. "Lead the way, Eve." Eve and the girls stood close to the shadows as they made their way to the back of the castle.

"There should be a secret passage to the dungeons through the cellar." said Eve. "With any luck, it'll be unguarded." Carefully, they managed to sneak unseen to the cellar doors, where Eve ushered them inside, making sure nopony was around to spot them.

From there, things went smoothly as they descended into the cellar and were led to the far back corner where it looked like nopony had touched in years. It was covered in layers of dust and cobwebs. Eve felt around the large stone bricks, and said as she did this, "It should be right around here." Then, her hoof pressed one of the bricks inward and a passageway opened up.

"Well, there' no turning back now." said Eve. "Follow me."






Queen Amalthea tried once more for over the hundredth time to break free from her prison, and for the hundredth time her attempted failed. Amalthea slumped down to rest before she tried again. She was weak and wounded, bounded by heavy chains bolted into the prison cell's wall. 

"Damn them." she cursed under her breath. "They shall suffer for imprisoning me!" Amalthea got back up and continued to pull against the chains, doing everything in her power to pull them free from the wall, or in the very least, snap the chains from the collars. 

"Queen Amalthea!" The queen froze, hearing her name being called. She listened carefully to see if it really was somepony calling her or just a figment of her imagination. Sure enough, a voice echoed off the walls, calling out for her.

"Queen Amalthea! Can you hear us?!" 

"Yes! I'm here!" Amalthea cried out. There was a sound of hoofsteps coming towards her, getting louder and louder. In almost no time, the faces of Eve, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and two unfamiliar Unicorns appeared. 

"You're majesty!" cried Eve with relief. "We've come to get you out of here."

"Thank you, dear Eve." said Amalthea gratefully. Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight worked together to undo the locks of the prison door and the dozens of shackles on the queen. 

"Tell me," said the queen. "How are things fairing out there? What have the Tenebris done?"

"They've trapped all the Nightmares in these crystals and are draining them of their essence. The Tenebris separated us when we arrived and trapped us in various illusions to steal power from us." said Eve. She then cast her eyes downward and bowed lowly to the queen.

"Queen Amalthea, I ask for your forgiveness." said Eve. "It's my fault for unleashing the Tenebris, and it's because of my stupid mistakes that you've ended up imprisoned here." When the queen was free of her shackles, she stepped out of the cell and looked thoughtfully at Eve. She then gently rested a hoof on Eve's shoulder. 

"Rise, Eve. You needn't apologize for anything." said Amalthea. "I can tell you've been through a lot already. The fact that you're here now and are willing to make up for your mistakes, shows how far you've come." Eve lifted her head and looked into the queen's eyes.

"Queen..."

"Now, there are more pressing matters that we all must deal with." said Amalthea in a serious and sharp tone. "Though I am weakened now, I still have enough power and strength to do what must be done. The Tenebris mustn't get away with imprisoning me or harming my Nightmare. They mustn't revive their king and complete their plan."

"We know." said Twilight. "That's why we want to help you."

"Thank you all." said the queen. Her eyes narrowed as she went in front of the group. "We must leave this place, and prepare to face the Tenebris. They shall know my wrath after what they've done."
> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 15



Queen Amalthea was glad to be out of that dismal dungeon, but it still pained her to see the sorry state her kingdom was in. The queen and the rest of the girls headed to where Discord, and a still unconscious Fluttershy were awaiting them.

"Ah, Discord, and Fluttershy too." said Amalthea. "It's a shame we had to meet each other again under such circumstances." 

"Queen Amalthea," said Eve. "Fluttershy was attacked by one of the Tenebris' illusions and rendered unconscious. Could you please have a look at her and see if she's OK?" Amalthea gave an nod and trotted to Fluttershy, carefully eyeing the Pegasus before she turned to the Eve.

"She's been through quite a bit, but she should be fine." she said. "Though, I don't think it wise to bring her along where we're going."

"But what can we do? We can't just leave her here!" said Twilight. 

"One of you will have to stay behind and look after her." 

"I'll do it." said Sunset.

"No, I will." said Starlight.

"I will." said Discord. Everyone looked at him after he spoke.

"You're sure Discord?" asked Twilight.

"I'll make sure she's safe until you all return."

"Thank you, Discord." said Eve gratefully. For the first time, Discord's mouth curved slightly at Eve. The barest of smiles. 

"I suggest you all get going." he said. "No telling what maniacal things the Tenebris are up to."

"Indeed." said Amalthea. "We must leave immediately." 

"How?" asked Starlight.

"Simple. I still have magic left in me. And now it's time to put it to use."

A glow came off of Amalthea, in the form of glittering dust. It lifted her, Twilight, Eve, Sunset, and Starlight into the air. The girls tried to keep themselves upright as the glittering cloud of dust carried them in the direction of the Garden of Shadows.

"Wait, we have to go back there?" asked Starlight.

"But of course." answered Amalthea. "That is where they are most likely to be gathering after all. They wish to free their king, and even if they manage to break the seal, the king will still be too weak to cause any real damage. We must strike before the king has a chance to feed and regain his powers." 

"And how are we gonna do that?" asked Eve.

"Just leave that to me." said Amalthea. "The rest of you can take care of the royal guards. The king's trusted and most powerful warriors."

"Will do." said Twilight. 

And so, they were carried away to the Garden of shadows, to face their enemy.







The Tenebris, in their smoke and cloud forms, gathered around the spot their king was sealed within. They'd worked long and hard in order to dig down to the stone tablet that served as a means of marking and sealing the site. It was here that they would begin the reign of Tenebris and the eternal nightmares that would consume every single dreamer. The four royal guards, still retaining their pony forms, formed their own circle that was closer to the seal.

"This is it." said Nightshade. "At last we shall commence our grand plan." He turned to look at the rest of the Tenebris. "Now, give all the collected power to our great ruler, and bring forth his resurrection!!" 

"Halt right there!"

Heads turned to the voice, as Amalthea and the girls descended from the sky and prepare themselves to fight the Tenebris. When Eve touched down on the ground, her eyes widened in shock at seeing Nightshade.

"N-nightshade?!" she cried. "What are you doing here?"

"You know him?" asked Twilight.

"He traveled with me wile I was searching for you girls."

"Hmph. Looks like there's no point in fooling you any longer." said Nightshade with a sinister smirk. "Allow me to properly introduce myself." Nightshade transformed into a dark, billowing cloud and hovered high above them.

"I am Nightshade, leader of the royal Tenebris guard, and the one who shall defeat you for our great ruler." he said. 

"No. I-I don't believe it." said Eve in horrified whisper. She'd been tricked once again.

"Be on your guard." said Amalthea. "Don't pay any mind to what they say." 

"Tenebris!" shouted Nightshade. "Give your power to our leader, do not hesitate no matter what!!" The Tenebris in the outer circle obeyed as the royal guard attacked the girls head on. All reverting to their true forms. Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight used their magic to ward off the Tenebris, trying to find some way of defeating them. But the incorporeal forms didn't seem to be affected much by their magic. In the very least, they were keeping them at bay. Meanwhile, Amalthea headed for the tablet, and used her magic to block the flow of power and energy the other Tenebris were releasing. Nightshade reverted back to his pony form and faced Eve.

"A shame we must fight." said Nightshade, his tone saying that he was not at all sorry. "But you understand how it is, don't you?"

"I can't believe I fell for your tricks again." said Eve bitterly. "You were right there and I didn't notice!" 

"Yes, in fact, it was much easier than I would've thought. But enough prattling aside. It's time to battle." Two swords were conjured in front of Nightshade and Eve, from Nightshade's magic. 

"Lady's first." he simpered. Eve gritted her teeth, angry at him for tricking her. She took the sword and the two lunged at one another.

Unfortunately, unlike Nightshade, Eve had never used a sword before and thus was very inexperienced. As a result, She spent more time trying to dodge and defend herself than doing any actual attacking. Nightshade could easily kill her if he wanted to, but that would've ended the fun too quickly. So instead he continued to toy with her, and inflicted many cuts upon her body. Queen Amalthea watched as Eve struggled to fight, wishing she too could help in some way, but she couldn't risk letting the king of the Tenebris be freed. Nightshade took notice of this, seeing how badly the queen wanted to fight and defend her dear little Nightmare, and decided to use it to his advantage. 

With a skillful slice, Nightshade injured Eve's legs, making her collapse onto the ground. 

"Eve!" cried Twilight, about to rush in to help her. But the royal guards swarmed around her, Sunset, and Starlight, shocks of black lightning sparking from them, threatening to hit them if they tried to interfere with their leader. Nightshade poised his sword to deliver the deathblow. 

"Goodbye, Moonlight Eve." Eve shut her eyes tight as the sword came down and pierced through the soft flesh. Blood spattered. The girls gasped at the horrible and sad sight they saw.






Back near the castle, Fluttershy started to wake up, she turned to her side and looked to see Discord hovering over her. 

"Discord...thank goodness you're alright." she said in a tired whisper. What happened next took Fluttershy by surprise. Discord pulled her into his embrace and hugged her tightly.

"Fluttershy," he said. "I'm sorry. It's because of me that..." Fluttershy placed a hoof onto his chest and looked him in the eye as she smiled sweetly. That kept him good and quiet. 

"I understand, it wasn't your fault." she said. "You've been through enough, there's nothing else you need to say."

"Then...then you forgive me?"

"I already have." giggled Fluttershy. She noticed then that they were someplace different, and that the rest of the girls were nowhere to be seen. "Where are we? Where is everypony?"

"We're near the castle. And to answer your second question, the queen took Twilight, Eve and the others with her to stop the Tenebris from freeing their king."

"Oh my! We need to do something." said Fluttershy, trying to get up. But Discord gently laid her back down.

"It's too soon." warned Discord. "You still need to rest."

"But we need to do something." insisted Fluttershy.

"Since when did you get to be so brave? Don't you know what'll happen if we go and try to help them? I won't let you endanger yourself, even if it is for your friends!"

"Sigh! I know that there's a lot of really bad things that could happen. I'm scared of those Tenebris and what they might be doing to everyone. But, if there's a chance that I can somehow help them, then I'm willing to put aside my fear for now and try to do what I can to help.I can't bear the thought of them getting hurt, or worse!" 

"Discord was silent. Fluttershy was speaking to him with such boldness and seriousness, he could sense how strongly she cared about her friends and wanted to help them in their fight. He exhaled.

"Alright, Fluttershy. Let's go." he said, standing up. "So long as you let me do all the fighting."

"You mean it?"

"You risked your life for me, so I suppose it's only fair that I do the same for them." 'Especially after how decent and tolerable Eve now seems to be.'

Fluttershy smiled and stood herself up and said, "Then let's hurry." Discord picked Fluttershy up.

"Now hold on tight." he said, and in a flash of light, the two of them teleported away to where everypony else was. Unaware of the tragic occurrence that had just transpired.
> Chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 16



Eve cracked her eyes open, only to have them widen in horror at what she saw standing over her. Nightshade, with his blade piercing through Queen Amalthea, who had jumped in at the last second to take the blow for Eve. 

"Queen!" cried out Eve. The queen smiled sadly and collapsed onto the ground. Nightshade pulled his blade from Queen Amalthea and focused back on the seal, which was now receiving the collected energy. Eve gently lifted the queen's head, tears pouring down her face.

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you save me?!" Queen Amalthea coughed, struggling to get out her words. 

"I have... lived a long life..." rasped Amalthea. "...during which, I've done many things, and made many mistakes along the way. The Tenebris...and their king...are one of my more regretful mistakes. You still have a long life ahead of you, and I know that you won't fail like I have."

"I don't understand. What are you--" 

"I leave the rest to you, Moonlight Eve. Protect the dreamers....save our world!" With a gasp for breath, Queen Amalthea became limp and her eyes stared out, unblinking and empty. 

"No." said Eve in a barely audible whisper. Her tears fell onto the queen's body. "Queen Amalthea!" Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight watched with equally saddened and horrified expressions. The Queen of the Nightmares, was now dead. The only one who could've stopped the Tenebris, was gone. It was all over. Twilight gritted her eyes. 

"No, it's not over." said Twilight. "Not if I can help it." 

"But what can we do?" asked Sunset Shimmer. 

"What else? We fight them, and seal them away once and for all." answered Twilight. Her horn glowed with a brilliant light, the light intensified until she launched it at the royal guards. Starlight and Sunset looked at each other, both nodded in agreement and joined Twilight to continue the fight. Eve carefully closed the queen's eyelids, making it look as though she were resting peacefully. Her expression was grim, and her eyes were covered by her bangs and shadow. She slowly stood up and faced Nightshade, whose back was turned to her. 

"You..." she muttered bitterly. Nightshade glanced at her as she looked him in the eye. Her lint-gray eyes burned with anger toward him. "YOU UNFORGIVABLE WRETCH!!" she screamed as she charged him, taking him by surprise.  Eve head butted him, and punched him whenever she got the chance. Tears continued to spill from her anger-filled eyes. 

"Why do you care so much about her?" asked Nightshade, acting as though he didn't care that Eve was upset or that he'd just killed the queen. "All she's ever done was look down on you and work you to the bone. So why do you care so much that she's dead?" 

"Someone as heartless as you wouldn't understand!" Eve punched him right in the face. "Queen Amalthea was cold at times, but she cared about all Nightmares, she gave up her own life to protect mine. While I don't know the exact reason why she did it, I do know one thing." Eve tackled Nightshade onto the ground, pinning his shoulder down and raising her hoof to throw in a good punch. 

"I know that if you Tenebris have your way, everything else we love will be destroyed, and I won't let that happen." Before she could land another hit on him, the was a loud cracking sound. Everypony turned their attention to the seal, which was starting to break. Nightshade laughed maliciously. 

"It seems you've failed, Moonlight Eve." he said, slipping into his true form and escaping Eve's grasp. "The real nightmare, is about to begin!" The darkened sky seemed even darker and started to warp, the ground shook violently, and from where the seal lay came a wisp of pure black shadow in the form of stallion. He was just as tall as Queen Amalthea, his presence was almost overwhelming. The Tenebris bowed to him, including the royal guard who positioned them selves at the king's hooves.

"King Morpheus, we've long awaited your return." said Nightshade respectfully. King Morpheus spoke, his voice colder than ice and sharper than steel. 

"Nightshade...my most loyal and trusted warrior...you've served me well..." he said. He looked up at the dead body of the queen, and then at the girls, looking mildly amused by what he saw. 

"Mmmm, I see you've taken it upon yourself to not only defeat our great nemesis, but to also bring me some scrumptious-looking morsels." Eve shook with fear, while Twilight and her friends stood their ground. "My powers are still quite weak...I must have more if we are ever to complete our mission..."

"Rest assured my king, we've already captured the Nightmares and have been continuously draining them of their energy, even as we speak." said Nightshade. "And with Queen Amalthea out of the way, we can collect the negative power and energy from the dreamers."

"Excellent..." King Morpheus stepped toward the girls. "Now...time to dig in..."

"You'll have to defeat us first." said Twilight. The royal guards were about to attack, but the king motioned for them to stay back, so he could deal with them himself. Together, they combined their magic, and launched the beam at the king, but it didn't seem to have much affect on him. In truth, he seemed bored by it.

"Is this really your pitiful attempt at stopping me?" he asked. The king sent out a shock wave that knocked the girls to the ground. "Dreamers like you could never hope to defeat me!" Without warning, the king was pelted by banana cream pies from the sky. The Tenebris gasped in fear and surprise, wondering who could possibly have the audacity to do such a thing to their fearsome king. They soon got their answer, as Discord himself landed down with Fluttershy in tow. 

"Girls!" Fluttershy cried, rushing to her friends. "Are you alright? What happened?" 

"We're fine, Fluttershy." said Starlight. "The Tenebris king has been freed, and Queen Amalthea...she's been...she's been..." Sunset stepped in and took over the conversation. 

"The Tenebris and their king need to be stopped." she said. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Consider yourselves helped." said Discord as he flashed into a general's uniform and got ready to unleash another attack. The king wiped off the remains of the pies and glared down at Discord. Discord made a bevy of cannons appear, aimed and at the ready.

"Fire!" cried Discord, as he pulled a cord. Powerful bursts of magic were launched at the king, and managed to push him back a bit, but it mostly hit the Tenebris and sent them flying into the air. Fluttershy went over to Eve while Discord and the others fought.

"Eve?" she asked in her tiny voice. "Are you alright?" Eve looked up at Fluttershy and then threw her arms around her friend's neck.

"Oh Fluttershy, it was so horrible!" cried Eve, more tears flowing from her face. She tried to talk as she sobbed and choked. "Queen Amalthea...she...it's because of me...and Nightshade...it's over now! The Tenebris won...we can't do anything...the world is doomed!" Fluttershy patted her friend on the back, trying to comfort her. 

"Shh. There, there Eve." said Fluttershy. "I can tell you've been through a lot, but right now, we both need to be strong. For our friends."

"B-but how?! The Tenebris--" 

"Haven't won yet. We still have a chance, but only if we work together." Eve looked to the others, seeing how much effort and magic they were putting in to stop King Morpheus. To save Equestria, to save Aestas. Eve wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. 

"I'll try." she said. "But I don't know what you or I can do to help." Meanwhile, King Morpheus had become bored by the antics of the dreamers, and decided it was time to put an end to their attempts. While he was still weak, he had enough power in him to subdue Discord, Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight. All of them were struggling to get free from the grip of his magic. Eve and Fluttershy gasped. They had to do something now. But what? 'Queen Amalthea, if only...you were still with us.' thought Eve.

Moonlight Eve...

'Huh?! Queen?'

Yes...don't lose heart Moonlight Eve, you have the power in you to stop this.

'But how?! What do I do?!'

Look within yourself, consentrate on all your strength, and say these words aloud...... Draw on the strength of your friends, and you shall succeed.

Eve listened, and gave a solemn nod. 'I won't fail, your majesty.' Eve took Fluttershy's hoof and stepped up to the king, her eyes narrowed on him.

"What's this now?[/i]" 

"King Morpheus, in the name of Queen Amalthea and all of Aestas, I won't let you succeed!" Eve spoke with a boldness she didn't even know she had. The king laughed a cold and horrible laugh.

"A dreamer and a little Nightmare? As if you even stand a chance."

"Do you trust me?" whispered Eve.

"I do."

"Then follow my lead, and don't let go." Eve did as the queen had instructed and focused on her strength inside her. Then she recited the words she was told to say, over and over again.

"Tenebrae dispello...tenebrae dispello....tenebrae dispello...tenebrae dispello..." The king looked unimpressed, seeing how nothing seemed to be happening. But as Fluttershy joined in with Eve's chanting, he could sense something foreboding coming from the Nightmare. She called upon the power within her and within her friends. The king let go of the other and focused his attack on Eve and Fluttershy. But his attack was deflected by a force field protecting them, and it grew stronger with each chant. 

"No, I won't be defeat that easily!" shouted King Morpheus. 

"...tenebrae dispello...tenebrae dispello...tenebrae dispello!" A powerful force of magic that had been generated spanned out from Eve and the others, sending a large wave over all of Aestas and making the Tenebris disappear in wisps of smoke. The king narrowed his eyes on Eve, and for a moment, saw Queen Amalthea's spirit alongside her, giving her strength to help get rid of him. 

"Curse you Amalthea," he muttered. "Curse you and all your Nightmares." And with that, the king and the Tenebris were gone and all was silent. Eve exhaled with relief.

"It's over. It's all over."

"I wouldn't say that just yet." said Discord, his eyes trained on where the king had been standing. "They may not be here right now, but they certainly aren't vanquished."

"You mean they ran away?" asked Sunset. 

"Precisely." 

"What now?" asked Starlight. 

"What else?" asked Twilight. "We go home, and report this to Princess Luna at once." Eve's relief was now gone, replaced by a looming worry. The fight was far from over, and this wouldn't be the last she'd seen of King Morpheus and Nightshade.
> Chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 17




As the group headed back to the castle (again), Aestas little by little began to restore itself. The twisted dark structures shrunk back, like shadows running from the light, and the Garden of Shadows returned to its own dormant-like state. When they reached the village, the houses were still in need of repair, but the crystals that had trapped the Nightmares had disappeared, and the Nightmares were waking up. At first, they were happy that the Tenebris appeared to be gone and that all was right again, until they saw Twilight, Sunset, and Starlight gently levitating Queen Amalthea's dead body with them. The Nightmares began to crowd around, while also making a path for the group. Some remained silent, too shocked to speak. Some lowered their heads somberly, and with respect. And some even wept. Their great queen was gone. Who would rule over them and protect them now? 

Eve stole a few glances, her insides twisting around with sorrow at seeing her fellow Nightmares like this. She also couldn't believe it when she saw Starla, the mare who always seemed to mean and petty (especially toward Eve), was trying to hold back her own tears with little success. Eve looked down at the ground, no longer able to look at the Nightmares in their faces anymore. Fluttershy had told her it wasn't her fault, but right now, it looked to her like it was entirely her fault. She'd allowed the Tenebris to use her, helped their escape, and it was because of her that the queen decided to save her from Nightshade's fatal blow. A storm of emotions swirled around inside of Eve, as she wished she could undo everything. Undo it all and fix her mistakes. 

When they finally entered the castle, Princess Luna appeared through a portal, looking very concerned. 

"Is everypony alright? I felt the shield on the portal being lifted and..." Luna stopped when she saw Amalthea. Twilight and the others explained what had happened. When they finished, Luna's frown deepened and she let out a sad sigh. 

"This is most troubling." she said. "With the Tenebris and their king freed, they could be anywhere." Luna stepped toward Amalthea and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Amalthea has fought hard and valiantly, I'll see to it myself that she's properly laid to rest."

"But what about the Nightmares?" asked Twilight. "What happens to them?" 

"Until a worthy ruler is found, I shall rule in Amalthea's place. I'll tell my sister of the situation as soon as possible." 

As the group headed toward the throne room to head back home, Eve stayed behind. Fluttershy and Twilight noticed this, and both stopped momentarily. 

"You go on ahead, I'll talk to Eve." said Twilight. Fluttershy gave a nod and continued following the others. Twilight slowly approached Eve and asked gently, "Eve, are you okay?" Eve looked up at Twilight, her face looked tired and miserable from all the crying she'd been doing along the way back. 

"Twilight..." Eve choked out. "I'm sorry. For everything."

"I know."

"No! You don't know! You don't know how it feels, knowing that you're responsible for causing so much destruction, for endangering everypony, for getting somepony killed! You don't know anything at all!!" Twilight had listened calmly to Eve as she continued to sob, letting out all her sadness and grief. 

"You're right, I don't know exactly what you're feeling. But I do know that if I was in your position, if I caused something so horrible to happen that it endangered my friends or even hurt my dear mentor, I wouldn't know how to live with myself." Twilight looked Eve right in the eye, giving her a look of sympathy. "But that's okay." Eve's vision started to blur as she tried to look through her tears. 

"How can it be okay?!" demanded Eve. "How can it ever be okay?!" 

"Because you're not alone. You've got me, Fluttershy, Sunset, Starlight, even Discord here to get you through it. We'll do everything we can to make sure that the Tenebris won't get away with what they did, and seal them away for good." Eve rubbed her now warm cheeks, wondering why. Why was she still being so nice to her? 

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked. 

"Because we're friends, and that's what friends do." answered Twilight. 

"Then I guess that makes me a lousy friend. I do nothing but bring trouble and mess everything up." 

"That's not true! You helped us when we were under the Tenebris' spells, you helped us free Queen Amalthea and go to stop the Tenebris and their plan, and you managed to send them away in fear. You've done everything you could to help us and to fix your mistakes. You're anything but a lousy friend." 

"Twilight..." Eve was at a loss for words. She felt a teeny bit better, but still sad nonetheless. "...Thank you, you better hurry to the others, they'll be wondering what's keeping you."

"Alright, just know, if there's anything you need or if you just want to talk, all you have to do is send word and we'll be here before you know it." said Twilight warmly. 

"And Twilight."

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind, I think I might head to Equestria again soon. You know, to get away from it all and give me some time to think about things." Twilight gave an understanding smile.

"Of course." And with that, Twilight hurried down the corridor and to the throne room, looking over her shoulder to see Eve waving goodbye, with a very, very slight smile on her face. 







After everything had been explained when the group got back, everypony felt exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to rest their weary bodies and minds. A few days passed, and life seemed to continue on as normal...well, as normal as it could possibly get. Fluttershy was working on a special care package she planned to send to Eve, after hearing that she planned to come to Equestria for a little while, she wanted to welcome her old friend as well as cheer her up and help her get through the motions. She'd already filled it with fresh baked goodies (from Pinkie Pie), some beauty care products (from Rarity), some ripe apples (from Applejack), a couple of books and a comic (from Twilight and Spike), a couple tickets to a Wonderbolts show (from Rainbow Dash), and a comfy quilt for her and Lumen (which Fluttershy managed to stitch together). It all looked nice, and was sure to help Eve feel better. All that was left was to take it down to Twilight's castle and wait for Eve to arrive. 

But just as she headed out the door, Discord appeared in Fluttershy's path. He looked a little...nervous. 

"Good day, Discord." said Fluttershy brightly.

"Good day, Fluttershy." Discord replied. "How are things?"

"Everything's fine. I was just on my way to Twilight's to deliver this care package to Eve."

"Would you mind if...I accompany you?" Fluttershy blinked. 

"I don't see why not." she said. Just like that, the two of them were walking side by side down the dirt pathway into Ponyville. Fluttershy was a bit worried about Discord as they walked, noticing how quiet he seemed to be. 'I can't blame him.' she thought. 'Everypony has been through so much recently.' Then, Discord finally spoke. 

"Fluttershy?"

"Yes?"

"...There's something I've been meaning to tell you...for a while now."

"What is it?" 

"I...I kinda, sorta..." Discord scrunched his face, concentrating on getting it out. "Iloveyou!" he said really fast. He looked down at Fluttershy wondering what her reaction would be. First she blushed, then she looked down at the ground as she walked. 

"I see." she said, not sure of what else to say.

"I'd think you'd be more surprised to hear my big confession." said Discord, surprised that Fluttershy didn't seem as shocked as he expected her to be.

"I think deep down I could tell, that you liked me. You always got jealous and protective, but I didn't think that it was possible. I didn't think that we were anything more than friends." she said. 

"I still consider you my friend." said Discord. "I mean, I only found out about these feelings after the first time we got back from Aestas. After that, I was trying to find a way to tell you." 

"Then, in the illusion, with that fake me..."

"That was mostly the Tenebris' doing. But...he did take advantage of my, feelings toward you. But in honesty, I've never really experienced love before. I'm not exactly sure where to go from here." A silence fell between them, until Fluttershy rested a hoof on Discord's paw and said sweetly, "Why don't we take things slowly, and see where it goes from there? Whatever happens, happens, and we face it together. As friends." Discord's face curved into a smile.

"Sounds like and excellent plan to me." he said. 

"I'm glad you told me." said Fluttershy. "Though, I wish you'd told me sooner."

"What did you expect? I'd been trying to find an opening, but every time something seemed to be stopping me from telling you." 

"Or maybe you were just too afraid." Fluttershy teased. Discord's face went a light red and he looked away. He and Fluttershy continued their joking banter and talked along the way to Twilight's castle, each wondering and seeing what laid in store for them next. 







Eve had collected all her things, and was ready to head over to Equestria, but nod before she said her farewells to Princess Luna. Over the past few days, Luna had been going back and forth between Aestas and the other world, making sure that the Nightmares were recovering from their ordeal. Eve herself was still in the process of overcoming her own ordeals. She was beginning to come to grips with everything, especially Queen Amalthea's death. When she approached the large throne room doors, Eve solemnly entered and bowed low to the princess.

"Your highness, I wanted to say good bye before I take my leave." she said. Luna went toward her and motioned for her to rise. 

"I never got a chance to properly thank you Eve, for dispelling the Tenebris and their control on Aestas. I'm sure that Amalthea would be very proud of you." said Luna. Eve looked down. 

"I doubt that." she sighed. 

"Moonlight Eve, you mustn't forget that the Tenebris are crafty beings. They've manipulated not only you, but me as well. Making both of do things that we regret." Luna's gaze became momentarily distant before she continued. "The point is, that you should not burden yourself with all the blame of what has transpired. From what Twilight and the other have told me, it seems Amalthea had a choice. She could've let you die and held off the power from the seal a little linger, or she could've saved you and risk her own life in the process. She knew what was at stake and accepted the consequences."

"But why? Why did she save me?"

"I cannot tell you the exact reason behind Amalthea's choice, but I can tell that she saw something in you worth saving. You should be grateful."

"I am! I am grateful, but..." Luna brushed her wing on Eve's shoulder. 

"There's nothing more you need to say. For now, think over what has transpired. When you feel that you're ready, I'd like your assistance in tracking down the Tenebris, that is if you wish to help." Eve gave a firm nod.

"I will. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it." 'For the queen...for my friends...' Luna smiled. 

"I shall look forward to seeing you again then, Moonlight Eve." she said. A portal opened up, Eve looked back at Luna as she went through it and said softly, "See you soon."






King Morpheus could feel himself loosing his strength. This place he was in. It wasn't like Aestas, but he could sense the many dreamers that awaited him. Dreamers with which he could feast upon till he was satisfied. Nightshade appeared at his side.

"Nightshade, report." he hissed. 

"The perimeter has been secured, and troops have been sent out to collect more power for you." 

"Excellent. That Nightmare may have caused a minor set back, but with a little time, I shall return to my former glory and conquer this pitiful realm." Nightshade was dismissed, and sent to over see the other preparations. Yet on the way, he found his mind strangely drifting to the Nightmare, Moonlight Eve. In his chest, he felt a foreign emotion. He felt...guilt. Guilt? Why would he feel guilt? He shook his head and banished those thoughts from his mind.

"Hmph! No use thinking about worthless feelings, especially toward Nightmares. Right now, there are other things that are worth my time." Despite his words though, he still imagined Eve, at the very back of his mind, and the short but sweet times they'd spent together.