An Eternal Night To Remember

The air in the alleyway was cool and dank, the tall brick buildings having hidden it in shadow. I moved quietly on my tiptoes, sticking to the shadows with my back pressed up against a wall. The alley was filled with trash and refuse; the stench of rotten apple cores and week old coffee grinds filled my nose. I had to be sure that I wouldn’t be seen by anyone. Being the only human I regularly attracted attention, and I had to make sure that Lily wouldn’t know that I was around until I could put my plan into action.

It was a simple plan, really. Sneak through some alleys, find my way to the side street where Lily was, and kidnap her. I honestly had no idea what I would do after that. Probably tell her that her secret admirer is waiting at someplace for her, then do the same with Minty. I like to improvise as I go. Nothing I have ever planned out in advance has ever worked out, so I thought it best to adjust as the situation changes.

I came to a space where the alley branched off into three other directions. The ones to the front and left of me were dark, while the one to my right led back out onto the street, but not near enough to where Lily and the vendor had been haggling. My entire plan relied on the fact that Lily was incredibly stubborn when it came to shopping, and wouldn’t ever adjust her offer for a certain item. I hoped that luck would smile upon me and that she and the vendor would still be going at it by the time I found my way to the correct street.

You would think that it would be straightforward to follow an alley. In most places yes, but Unicornia had a weird layout. It had been built from the castle outwards, and the streets had been added haphazardly. There wasn’t any uniform or geometric organization to the streets, so many lead to completely different places than you would think, which was why I was having such trouble choosing whether I should head straight or left.

I decided to go straight, hoping that the alley wouldn’t lead to a dead end or turn towards a completely different direction than what I wanted. I didn’t have to keep to the shadows now, as there was nobody around to possibly see me. The apartments that made up the buildings around me were either empty or their occupants were sleeping, lessening that chance that one would happen to look out their window and see a strange biped sneaking around.

My walk was uneventful, though I once had to duck down because I saw a light in one of the windows in the top of the buildings turn on, but luckily I wasn’t seen. It was about a minute after this that I heard hoofsteps. I stopped briefly and listened but didn’t hear anything. I resumed my pace, though I kept my attention focused on the sounds around me. It was difficult to make out any nearby noises with the sounds of the Celebration coming from across the buildings, but I finally heard it again. A soft clip-clop was coming from behind me; my guess was about fifty paces. I glanced back without fully turning my head, but I could only see ten or so feet through the pitch.

I quickened my walk only slightly and heard the hoofsteps quicken as well. Okay, I thought, I’m being followed by something, most likely a pony. I can’t see very well so I don’t know what kind. If it was a unicorn that might explain how they seem to be able to see in the dark, though the glow of their horn would be visible if they were using a night vision spell. They may have some enchanted device that lets them see, though there’s always the possibility that they’re following through sound alone. If it was a pegasus they’d just fly or hover after me instead of walking. I’ll take a guess and say that it’s an earth pony. I hope that I’m right.

I stopped walking and turned around, staring into the darkness. “All right, I know that you’ve been following me. If you’re just curious about me you could just talk to me, but if you’re attempting to mug me I don’t have anything of value except a few bits. If you want them I’ll throw the bag to you and you can be on your way.”

What? I don’t like fighting. I’m probably the biggest coward that you’ll ever meet. If I can avoid confrontation, I’ll do it.

There was a pause before a deep, raspy voice cut through the shadows. “It’s your life I’m after, not your bits.”

Shit.

The sound of hooves became louder and a pony burst from the shadows, a cloak wrapped around its body. I saw a glint of something silvery on one of its forelegs as the stallion charged. I jumped to the side and dodged a swinging hoof, the silver glint revealing itself to be a knife attached by a hoof ring to his right foreleg. Acting fast I took a few steps back and squared my feet, taking a fighting stance. My assailant turned back towards me and I got a better look at him.

He was an earth pony of a moderate size. The cloak he wore was black and covered his entire body with the exception of his head. What little of his coat I could see was black, and his mane was a deep blue. It was odd to see a pony with such a dark coloring, but what made me do a double-take were his eyes. They were bright yellow and were reminiscent of cat or reptilian eyes, the pupil being slitted to the point it seemed like a straight line. Whatever he had had done to them was probably why he could see in the dark.

The stallion charged again, throwing a left hook before bringing the right towards my throat. I blocked the first strike and twisted to the right, shifting my feet into a side stance. I grabbed ahold of his cloak and shifted once more, throwing him over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He hit the ground with a muffled thud, like a heavy weight falling on wet cement. I sat down on his chest and pinned his right foreleg with my left hand. I placed my left elbow into his jugular, just hard enough to keep him from speaking.

The stallion continued to struggle, attempting to buck me off of him, but my weight was enough to hold him.

“So, why do you want to kill me? Are you planning on skinning me and mounting my head on your wall, or is there another reason? If you try to escape I’ll just crush your throat and be done with you. How about it, my creepy little friend?”

I slowly lifted my elbow from his throat, but kept it still lightly pressed on his jugular. He stared at me with narrowed eyes filled with hate. I waited a few moments before he spoke, a mocking tone to his voice.

“I don’t care if you kill me; I don’t plan on telling you anything. Even though I’ve failed, others will come after you, and you can’t run and hide forever, and you definitely can’t fight us.”

“Oh, there are more of you? How many are in your little club, and why would they want to kill me? I don’t remember wronging some group of rejected Nightmare Night monsters,” I said.

Turns out it was a bad idea to say what I just said. The stallion began struggling even more, thrashing around like he was mad, which he probably was. I had to use all of my strength to keep him from breaking free. It took a full minute before he stopped struggling, but when he finally did his entire demeanor had changed. The aura of hatred had changed, becoming much darker. Either this stallion hated Nightmare Night with a passion, which I found unlikely, or he had something for Nightmare Moon.

The story of Nightmare Moon was something that every foal knew. One thousand or so years ago, back when the unicorns still had a royal family, an alicorn was born to them, a pony born with both a horn and wings, something that happens only once every hundred generations or so. She was loved by the populace, but she became corrupted by power, or went insane. The sources don’t say. She ended up renaming herself Nightmare Moon, raising an army, and using incredible magical power to lock the moon in the sky. All sentient beings fought against her, culminating in a week-long battle that killed many and turned large swaths of land into nothing but sterile dirt, the modern wastelands of today. So much history and records were lost during the conflict that all that was left about history before the war was made up of rumors and folktales. Many scholars didn’t think that Nightmare Moon had ever existed and that it was some freak magical event. Whatever the case the story stuck, giving us the holiday of Nightmare Night.

In all probability he was a member of some extremist group that planned on taking Equestria for themselves, and the leader was hiding behind the image and name of a famous pony. I didn’t know if he was a follower of Nightmare Moon, but I knew how to find out.

“Nightmare Moon’s a whore.”

The stallion’s eyes widened and he struggled even harder than he had before, but I still managed to keep a firm grip on him. It was kind of fun watching him squirm, actually. Wait, what was I doing? Oh, right.

I lifted my left arm from his neck and balled my hand into a fist. I drove my fist into his solar plexus, placing all of my body weight behind the blow. My fist sank into the soft flesh and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. He’d be stunned for a good while, just enough time for me to find a guard and report the weirdo. It was likely that he was working with others, and they probably had something planned for the Summer Sun Celebration. Hefting the stallion onto my shoulders I turned back the way I had come.

***

I stepped out of the alley and into the light of the street lamps. The crowd of ponies had grown even larger than it had been, and I was noticed fairly quickly. Ponies stopped and gawked at me, which made sense. It isn’t every day that an ape walks out of a dark alley carrying an unconscious stallion on his back.

Come to think of it, it doesn’t seem like a good idea to be seen doing something like this. Anyway, better find a guard.

I scanned the jostling group of bodies until I spotted the shiny, golden surface of a guard helmet. The guard stallion stood near the intersection of the v-street, flirting with a mare and not doing his damned job. I pushed through the ponies that had gathered around me and were whispering to themselves about what I was doing.

“Hey! Guard! Quit flirting with that mare and get over here! This stallion tried to kill me!”

That certainly got his attention. His head turned quickly and his eyes grew large, scanning me up and down before he galloped over, shouting “Make way! Make way!”

The ponies did make way, parting like the Red Sea to let the guard through. He skidded to a halt and looked up at me.

“What do you mean that stallion tried to kill you? What’re you talking about?” he yelled. It was clear that he hadn’t been in the guard long. He looked young and his knees were shaking. Poor guy. This was probably the first time he had actually encountered something beyond a rowdy drunk.

“You heard me. This stallion attempted to kill me, but that isn’t that important of an issue. I’m pretty sure that this stallion is part of a group that is planning a coup against the Council, probably tonight. I need to find the acting captain and spread the word of what’s going on,” I said, probably much too casually.

The guard’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he stammered a reply. “A-all right then. Come with me and I’ll lead you to the castle.”

By this point a large crowd of ponies had gathered around us, muttering to themselves and staring at me. The guard and I began to make our way through the street, trying to make haste. I looked behind me to the v-street in an attempt to spot Minty or Lily Lightly, but didn’t see either of them. They might’ve run into each other and left, but it was most likely that they had wandered off farther down their respective streets. I just hoped they were safe. If there was some strange group after me, they might be after my friends, too.

“Stay safe, you guys,” I whispered.

I apologize that it took so long to get this chapter out, and that it isn't as long as the others. My life has been hectic with school and work, so I haven't had much time or inspiration for the story. This chapter seemed very awkward, so I apologize if it isn't up to par with the others.