When Darkness Falls

I slowly began to open my eyes, seeing a thin line of bright light which soon expanded into a blurry room-like area. I am in a hospital from the looks of it. I motioned to try to sit up but soon fell straight back to where I was, sorely reminded of why I was here in the first place. "Sunny, thank goodness your awake." I slowly turned my head to see that Celestia was bedridden as well. Her injuries didn't seem severe, but the bruising and bandages located on her from head to toe showed that she didn't walk away unscathed either. "Where are we?" I knew we weren't in the kingdom anymore, most of the city had been turned into a barren piece of land from what I could recall. "After the city was completely evacuated, some of the guards came back to see if they could help in some way. Fortunately they had come just moments after Nightmare Moon had left. And they brought us to Canterlot where all the citizens were taken as well. How are you feeling?", she asked trying not to sound worried. "I've seen some better days. How long have I been out?" "Two days...", she said flatly. Whats the damage report?", I asked referring to the extent of my own injuries. "It isn't pretty. The doctor said that you had suffered several broken ribs and your right wing was broken as well. When you were thrown the second time, a tree branch ripped through your side. He said you were very lucky that you didn't die from bleeding out.", she said keeping her head down and avoiding eye contact. "That bad? I guess living in the castle for the last 12 years made me soft, hehe." I jolted in horrible pain, "Nope, don't laugh, that hurts." She jerked her head up and then spoke in a serious tone, "I'm just glad your still alive after all that happened, she could have killed you." While training to maintain my breathing I managed to say something serious myself: "She would have killed you if I didn't intervene when I did. I couldn't just stand by and let that happen." She put her head down once more, she knew what I said was true. She was the ruler of Equestria and without her then there was no hope of ever seeing the light of day again. "So what now?", I said breaking the temporary silence between us. She picked her head back up and look at me as if I was clueless, "Now? You sit back and you get some rest." "I can't, I've got to do something.", I said trying once again to get up. I fell back as before in even more pain, now that I could feel my ribs and the stitches holding the wound in my side closed. Celestia then rose from her bed and hurried over to mine, putting her hoof on my shoulder. "Sunny, your in no shape to do anything. You can't help Equestria if your dead, now sit back and rest. I've already lost Luna, I can't bear to lose you as well." I turned my head to look elsewhere, admitting defeat. "OK, you win. I'll try to rest." "Good. I've got to go. I need to see how bad things have gotten and see if there's some way that we can stop Nightmare Moon. I'll keep you updated." "OK, just please...be careful. Remember what Nightmare Moon told us...", I said putting my own hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. And I can assure that if she does, all of Equestria will not make it easy for her." She then left, leaving me to re-cooperate.

As I laid there, I began speaking with the attending nurses as well as the doctor. The unicorns gave the citizens refuge as soon as they had received word of the battle. From what reports had said, the old kingdom was more damaged than previously anticipated. To the point that there was nothing left in the city that was salvageable. When all that was happening was over with, the Unicorns promised to help us rebuild the kingdom. But the damage was more permanent than we thought. Celestia had kept her promise. Over the next two weeks, she told me everything that was known. Everything that she said would happen in eternal darkness was coming true. Crops were dying all over the land and creatures were rampaging in different areas of Equestria. All the magic that was used that night in the old kingdom had taken a turn for the worse. The remnants of magic had caused the plantation to accelerate and grow at a large scale. It had also made the weather uncontrollable. The clouds would develop on their own and harsh storms would rage, all without any influence from the pegasi. What left of the city had soon been rendered nothing more than a forest that had the ability to survive all on its own. The time that I was forced to spend just laying around in a hospital bed, felt as if I had been there for a whole lifetime. I had never felt more helpless in my entire life. But I had finally had enough, I couldn't take it anymore. While I am laying there sleeping and eating not having to worry about anything, while the world falls into a dark oblivion? I had enough. I had healed enough to where I could move around somewhat but I still couldn't gallop or fly at all. I got up the best I could, and grabbed the nearest paper and quill I could find to write down a note. I carefully snuck out of the hospital and began heading to the one place where I knew without a shadow of a doubt that nopony would be around for what I was going to do...the old kingdom. My plan was to call out Nightmare Moon, and try coming to an agreement of some kind. I knew it was in vein, but I couldn't just stand by and let Equestria slowly fade away into a wasteland. The note that I had left read the following:

Celestia, by the time you get this message I will be long gone. I'm going to find Nightmare Moon and bring an end to this. I know that I can't defeat her, but I am going to do my best to talk to her. You know as well as I do that we have no other option at this point in time. And I'm not going to lie, it isn't certain what will become of me. But I'll be glad to die knowing that even in the face of death I never ceased to protect Equestria and you. You and Luna both meant more to me than anything else in this world. If I should not return then I want you to know that you and Luna have played a very big part of my life, and I will never forget all that both of you have done for me. Nothing I can do will ever come close to paying you back for what you have given me. If I should not return from this ordeal, then I shall be waiting to see you again in the afterlife. If Luna may be there, then I will tell her that even all that has happened you still love her and that nothing will be able to hinder our friendship. It has truly been an honor, your highness.

Your best friend in this life and the next,
Sunny Night

I made my way to the forest that now stood where the old kingdom once did. I had no prior knowledge to just how bad the plantation had gotten, nor what wild life may be living here. I could see from far off that it had indeed grown faster than any forest in Equestria, but I did not realize how bad it truly was until I had gotten to the wood line. The wind whistled through the trees, adding on to the unsettling fear that the forest brought upon all who entered. Hearing the sounds of crows cawing and the insects making their eerie sounds didn't help either. I took a deep breath and began trotting toward where the city used to be. As I made my way through the thick trees, trying to stay focused on the task at hoof. I tried thinking ahead of what I was going to say if Nightmare Moon answered my call. Nothing in particular came to mind, and it made my chances of coming back alive looking less and less likely. Ultimately I decided that I would just have to wing it out, and cross that bridge when I came to it. I had then arrived at the gates to the city, what was left of them anyway. The walls were falling apart from the plants forcing their way through the thick stone, trying to grow even more larger. What remained of the half-mangled open gate was wrapped in long thick vines that looked as if they could keep a bear bound. I very carefully squeezed through the now disassembled gate, careful not to get stuck or cause pressure on my still healing ribs. I continued on threw the once populated main strip of the former Kingdom of the Alicorn Sisters. I came to a very large and wide clearing, marking the spot where the town square and surrounding residents used to be. The square was covered in rubble and slightly unaffected by the growth, although it seemed that its resistance wouldn't last another year at best. I trotted across the large clearing and examined the very large pile of rubble that decorated the now destroyed monument of Celestia and Luna. As I stood starring at this broken piece of concrete, I began having flashbacks of the destruction that had proved to be the beginning of the first tragedy since the days of Discord. I began hearing all the screaming of hysterical and frightened ponies, trying to get away from all the carnage that had ravaged their once peaceful and happy home. I can never forget that day, as I believed anypony that was here shall never forget it either. If the world still resides when this is all said and done, stories of this horrible tragedy will withstand the test of time and shall truly never be forgotten. I slowly turned around and up towards the bright moon, feeling as though it had eyes that were staying into the depths of my soul. "NIGHTMARE!? I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! SHOW YOURSELF!", I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying desperately to show no fear and no pain from the effects my still broken bones were causing me. When nothing happened I yelled once more, "I KNOW YOUR LISTENING! GET OUT HERE YOU COWARD!" All of the sudden I felt the wind violently start to pick up speed. I planted my feet and made myself stationary, trying to withstand the force of the wind. Clouds began to gather above, bringing even more darkness. Lighting began to flash, and thunder struck from the clouds. An evil goth looking carriage suddenly began to fall from the sky, being pulled by Luna's guards now turned servants under Nightmare Moon. Riding in the carriage was none other than Nightmare Moon herself, bearing the same sick grin she always carried. As the carriage came to a sudden violent stop, Nightmare Moon stepped down. The size difference between us was incontestable. I may have stood only 4 1/2, maybe 5 feet at best. But this monster that stood before me, towered at heights reaching at least 8 or 9 feet tall! She slowly trotted up in front of me staring me down with large black emotionless eyes. "Come to surrender have we?", she said in an evil mockery. "No, I've come to talk." "There is nothing that thou can say. You all brought this upon yourselves.", she replied maintaining that sadistic tone. "No pony on the face of the earth deserves to live this way. How can you just do this to us? Everypony was as grateful to you just as much as they were Celestia!" "Ah, but that is where you are wrong! They never gave me the praise that I so rightfully deserved! They never embellished themselves in the beauty that I brought to Equestria, they ignored it and took advantage of it! They deserve far worse than what they are currently receiving!", she thundered losing the arrogance and trading it for frustration and anger. "Luna...this isn't you... Something has changed you...into...this... Don't you see what you have become?", I pleaded in my last ditch effort at stopping all of this. "Your precious so called 'princess' is no longer here you mortal whelp. Only Nightmare Moon reigns now", she said with the same sick grin and cold glare in her eyes. "Did you really think that you could convince Nightmare Moon that this is wrong?! HAHA! You have only shown me how much more ignorant you embissels truly are!" At that very moment I knew, that there was no possible way that this would be resolved peacefully. I knew that if pony kind stood any chance of surviving this darkness, then the only outcome would be a war...a war that could never be replicated. A war for the millennia... I sharpened my gaze, obliterating all fear that resided within me and said: "Be warned. Equestria will not just lay down and die. We will fight you...and we will defeat you." "What makes thou think you can stop darkness everlasting?!", Nightmare Moon thundered bearing just as much arrogance as before. "I don't know how but I swear to you, that we will not give up our homeland. We will stop you, and we will live to tell about it.", I responded showing that I believed it to be true. "Oh you are a strong willed one, very strong. You would make an excellent addition to my army.", she said placing a hoof under my chin starring eye to eye with me. "I will never serve scum like you!", I yelled, violently pushing her hoof away. I suddenly felt her magic levitate me from the ground and hold me in the air. "DID YOU REALLY THINK I WAS ASKING??!!", she screamed as her horn lit up bearing a dark aura of magic. I suddenly felt a strong force surge through my body. I felt my ribs snapping back into place causing me to let out a blood curdling scream that would send chills down the spine of an executioner. I could feel my bones starting to enlarge, feeling as though they were about to break through my skin. My muscles began to grow, becoming larger and larger with every bit of magic being shot through me. The darkness is falling...I can feel it taking me... My eyes stayed clinched shut in pain, keeping me from seeing what is becoming of me. I forced my eyes open to see darkness overlapping my vision little by little, taking away my sight. Everything disappearing from view.....and then there was nothing... No sounds. No feeling. Sunny Night...was no more.

**************

"...and that's when I woke up in this....place.", I said speaking to Purgatory in his fire-lit chamber. "Your memory is intact, good. Saves me the trouble of telling it myself.", Purgatory said flatly showing little emotion. "What happened to me?" "The evil that was hidden deep within you took control of your physical body. He became known as Nightfall, the leader of Nightmare Moon's army and her second in command. When Nightfall swore his allegiance to Nightmare Moon, she declared war on all of Equestria." "But how can that be? I'm not evil, there is no shred of evil in me.", I claimed, not wanting to accept what was just told to me. "Every living being in the universe has evil. Some just choose to ignore it, as you did. And with you gone, your body was nothing but a host for whatever was left of you. That is where Nightfall came in. With Nightfall in command, he has now taken control of most of the land. Burning cities to the ground and sparing no lives. In his eyes there is no living thing on the face of the earth that deserves to have life. Even those he commands, he sees them as nothing more than just blights on the face of the earth that deserve to be morbidly executed. He is the exact opposite of you. Nightmare Moon and her army are at Canterlot's doorstep, ready to make the final push." "We've got to stop her!", I said becoming more anxious by the second. "It is not my place to help either side, for I am only the keeper of the dead. But that is why I have pulled you aside, only you can bring an end to this. But for now, the only thing we are capable of doing is watching how this will unfold. For the time being." "But how am I going to end this? I'm....dead. And on top of that I am only a pegasus, I have no magic of any kind.", I pointed out. "There are some magics that you do not need a horn to perform. I am going to give you the ability to see through the eyes of another, Clairvoyance. It is a magic that is executed with the mind, and cannot be done with a horn." As Purgatory continued to explain what our plan of action was, I knew that I needed to be ready for whatever I may see through the eyes of Nightfall. This monster, that came from inside my own well being has control of my body. And I never could have even imagined just how sinister and truly evil this part of me really was....

END OF PART 2