Eternal Night

“I need to show you something.” Her voice came from the doorway where I saw a light purple mare. I sat up, eyes wide. Her mane was indigo with streaks of magenta and purple twisted into a tight bun. Wire rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of her nose, glinting in the candlelight.

“A-all right,” I choked out, getting out of the bed. As I got closer, I could see her cutie mark: a magenta star in front of a book.

As we walked quietly down the stairs, I could see Fluttershy curled up on the lime green couch with Layla on her shoulder. I flinched as my hoof stepped onto a creaky plank, causing Layla to stir.

The unicorn's horn glowed briefly and the little white mouse settled down, her tail tucked tightly to her small body. “Alright, this way.” She whispered harshly, turning sharply into a room I’ve never been in. She shut the door and the lights flickered on. The room itself was painted white with steel tables lining the walls which had stacks of papers and books. A shelf held several vials containing dark red liquid and another table had a chemistry set with more liquid bubbling and hissing inside its glass tubes.

The unicorn adjusted her glasses, pulled out two chairs, and sat down. She motioned for me to sit on the other one.

“Ruby Night, former daughter of Jewel Cut, the jeweler, and Black Sky, the night guard?” The mare peered over her glasses.

“Uh… Yes?” I looked at the polished wood floor and tapped my hooves nervously on the chair.

The strange mare jotted something down in a notebook hovering nearby and extended a hoof. “Twilight Sparkle, former head of Research and Development in the Canterlot Archives.” She set the notepad down.

I shook her hoof. “Former?” I questioned, looking away from her intense purple gaze.

She wrinkled her muzzle. “I quit a couple of years ago in pursuit of the Nightmare Project, as I like to call it.” She rolled her eyes. “Moondancer, my superior, believed it was all just a foal’s tale. However, she didn’t see what I saw.”

Was it just me, or was her mane beginning to get frazzled?

She leaned closer, taking on a conspiratorial tone of voice. “Celestia was the Elder Sister! It took a little research, but she used to have a younger sister by the name of Luna, who disappeared a thousand years ago!”

I blinked. “A younger sister?”

Twilight got up, and pulled on her lab coat. “Yeah. Anyways, the thing I needed to show you.” Her horn glowed and she twisted a few knobs on the chemistry set allowing the liquid to pour out into a small container the size of a pill bottle. She grabbed a dropper, took out a small amount, and set it onto a slide. I felt a prick in my front left leg and I saw a needle float away from me.

She set the two slides into different microscopes and beckoned me closer. “Take a look at your blood sample, my blood sample, and the little experiment I’ve been working on.”

I peered into each of the microscopes and drew my head back, surprised. “Two of them look exactly alike, but one of them is kinda blackish.”

She nodded in satisfaction. “Now, drink this.” She had a small vial hovering in her magic. I took a small sip, identifying it as pony blood.

I cringed a little, setting it down. “Okay?”

She wrote something down. “Now, drink this!” I saw the small vial from the chemistry set and sipped that. It tasted like pony blood, but there was something… off. I drained the container and licked my fangs with satisfaction.

“It was like the first stuff, but… sweeter.” I said slowly, inspecting the vial.

Twilight nodded. “The first ‘stuff’ was a small sample of my blood. The second was a mixture of some herbs, chemicals, and iron. Essentially, I’m attempting a blood substitute, now that my original project is complete. Fluttershy’s been helping me out!”

I tilted my head. “Huh?”

Twilight set the vials down. “Fluttershy’s a Thestral, just like you.”

Heh, not surprising actually. “So…”

Twilight chuckled. “That demonic bunny of hers, Angel, is the one that provided her with blood the first time around. Ever since then, she drains a little blood from her animals using one of these needles,” She held one up. “So she doesn’t have to bite them. They do it willingly, too!” She looked at me closely. “You seem like you need to talk to someone.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess…” I admitted.

“I’m listening.” She stated and sat down.

“Well… My friends…” I swallowed the guilt down.

Twilight looked concerned. “Rainbow Dash took them, didn’t she?”

“Well ye- Wait, how did you know?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Fluttershy. Now, I think we should go rescue your friends, shall we? They’re rather important for defeating Nightmare.”

The spell made me feel cold, inside and out. I watched with interest as the color of my coat lightened into a greyish white, my wings turned into real ones, and my mane turned into a light blue. A glance in the bedside mirror showed my eyes were now a light green. The thin magical vapor around Twilight’s horn faded away, her expression deadly serious.

“If you get caught…” She cautioned.

I smiled faintly. “We’ve been over this a dozen times. If my disguise wears off, I’ll take out as many guards as I can and I’ll rescue the Crusader’s as fast as I can. Don’t doubt me.”

Twilight nodded before she blurted out,“Wait- how old are you? Because, I’m twenty-three...”

I bit my lip. That certainly came out of nowhere... “Well, my twenty-second birthday is just in a couple of weeks.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “And you hang out with fillies?”

My ears flattened. “Twilight, I never got along with the fillies and colts my age. I met them when I was sixteen, and they liked me well enough, ‘cause of the flank and all. Now, I gotta go do my mission thingy, okay?” That last remark must’ve been a little harsher than I wanted, since Twilight backed up a little.

“Okay. Be safe.”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. Why’re you so worried?”

Her eyes were focused on the ground. “N-no reason. Just go already!”

That was a bit odd. I shrugged it off and opened the window before flying out silently. I skimmed around the edge of the Everfree forest, soaking in the feeling of having feathers again before plunging into it’s depths…

… And coming into a wide clearing, surrounding a majestic castle.

I hovered in place for a moment, my eyes wide with shock. I had been told that it was all ruins, not the castle like you’d find in Canterlot! I dropped to the ground and walked forward, my ears pricked all the way up. Seeing a guard about to pass, I stepped out, legs stiff.

The guard looked at me with a quizzical expression and bought a pair of hoofcuffs out of his saddlebags. “What’s a pretty mare like you doing out in the Everfree?” He seemed casual enough. I laughed nervously and ducked my head, hopefully looking bashful. “I just went for a walk and got a bit lost…”

The guard finished attaching the cuffs to my hooves and poked me with a sword. “Move it!” He barked and I looked back at him, confused. He blushed slightly and whispered, “I’ve just always wanted to do that.” I shrugged in response.

I tried to look like I was about to cry. “Wh-why are you taking me in? I-I didn’t mean to come here!” I forced myself to cry and looked up at him with a hopefully heartbroken gaze.

The guard shifted nervously, glancing away. “It’s protocol. Nightmare doesn’t trust anyone, so unless they’re coming to request for a job,” At this, he rolled his eyes. “‘Off to the dungeon!’”

I peered into his yellow eyes, feeling like there was something familiar about them… I widened my eyes and glanced away in a hurry, biting my lower lip.

“Hey now,” His voice was soft. I felt a hoof underneath my chin. I looked up at him, though not without noting that his wings were flat and leathery. “It’s alright.” I felt a little confused as he pulled me into a hug. My mouth dropped open in shock as he pulled away with a little grin. He walked in front of me and whispered, “I’ll make sure you’re not treated too badly. I’ll put you in that cell with those three fillies we got a few days back.” I followed him warily, unsure of what was going on.

He stopped. “Wait, I think you’re supposed to be in front of me?” He glanced back, making sure I was still there. “I guess you didn’t run off.” He stepped behind me and we started walking again. He ‘shoved’ me into a door on the side of the building and we walked along a dark hallway. We stepped out into a large throne room, guards flanking the walls and throne.

He whispered, “Don’t be a damsel-in-distress, act like somepony trying to murder the queen, ‘kay?”

I wrinkled my muzzle, glaring at him. “Why?” I whispered harshly and his eyes widened.

“Well, you’re trying to sneak into the castle, aren’t you?”

“How did you-”

“-I’ll explain later, now move!”

I grumbled and placed my face into a mask of rage, thrashing my hooves. I tried biting the first guard we passed before he whispered that I should ‘tone it down, don’t be a mad mare.’

I growled lowly in my throat, looking up at the throne with defiance. From the shadows, a shape shifted and Nightmare came into focus.

“Well, well, well…” She muttered, looking at me with disdain. “Tsk, tsk, another one. Put her in with the others!”

Just like that? Huh.

The guard prodded me in the back, forcing me forward. We walked down some stairs in a spiral fashion and into a dark hallway. The torches flared to life and I could see several ponies in individual cells, looking out with dark and hopeless eyes. The guard unlocked a cell at the very end and pushed me in gently. “I’ll be here tomorrow morning,” He glanced around the cell, locating the fillies. “Then we’ll get out of here!”

The cell door clanged shut and the Crusaders looked up at me, eyes gleaming yellow and red.