//------------------------------//
// [Side Chapter]Midnight 
// Story: Reaper Tales 
// by aapur 
//------------------------------//

Director Cut sat outside, looking at the night sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight, and there were aurora lights flowing high up over them. They were a rare sight, and amazing whenever they came. He had been admiring then for five hours straight, so it was time to get some sleep.

The alarm clock rang 10:00 am, and Director poked his head out to see the valley bathing in the sun. This was not the case. The moon was still high up, and the aurora lights still dancing in the sky.
"What the…" He yawned and shook his head. This didn't make any sense at all. 
He walked out and looked around. Behind him were the others waking up and exiting he cart, getting just as surprised as him.
"Have we been sleeping for too long?" Haze looked confused. "It's nighttime already, and I don't remember seeing the day yet."
Director sighed. "We should talk with Death. It's almost noon and the moon is still up."
The others nodded and Director went inside, fetching his box. He returned and set it up, opening it. The screen in the lid woke up.
"I'm almost not surprised to see that you four are calling." Death appeared on the screen in all his glory.
"What do you mean?" Director looked at him, and at the others.
"You should know." Death looked at them. "The night. Someone have frozen the moon and sun, making Celestia and Luna unable to change between night and day."
The four looked at each other, confused.
"It's true." Death sighed. "I was asked to get in contact with you four, as this is the kind of mission they know you are good at."
Mintie looked at the sky. "Can the aurora lights have something to do with this?"
Blue nodded in agreement. "I was wondering the same. They are all ending at the exact same location."
"Good observation girls." Death nodded. "That's all I have for you all for now. Time to start the mission." The screen went black.
"Alright." Director turned, just to see that the others had changed already. "Looks like you're all waiting for me… let me just…" he vanished into the wagon quickly and changed into Horror Movie. Then he got out.
"So what do we do?" Stormy looked at the others. "We can't just leave the camp. It might get looted."
Horror grinned. "Don't worry about that." He pointed at a camera that was running. "That camera creates a Perception Filter around the whole cliff here. It's like the cliff never was here, and yet ponies will avoid it at all cost, not knowing why, like it's natural."
Miasmic narrowed his eyes. "Then why can we see it?"
Horror just laughed. "This won't affect reapers. Not my version at least."
Darth just sighed. "Alright. Let's just get on with this. We have to stop this before it's too late."
The other three nodded, and then they took flight, flying in a diamond formation.

The sight that met them was rather surprising. On the top of the highest mountain in the region was it built a huge metal tower, which was breaking the upper air layers and it was from there it harvested the aurora lights. Huge cogs were spinning halfway on the outside and large pipes were pumping up water, and another had obviously been drilled deep into the ground and was harvesting heat. Steam was rising from the tower, and the sound of large machines was easy to hear, disturbing the air. It was scary.
There was one entrance, and it was located far down on the tower. Steam was flowing from it, and the sound of massive boilers was heard. The four reapers landed inside, seeing that the path split in two, both leading up. There were pipes leading through both corridors, some leaking steam, others lighting up the hallway with lava through glass. It was quite warm inside.
"Now what." Miasmic looked around.
Stormy pointed to the right. "You two can go up there, and I'll go to the left here with Darth. Deal?"
Miasmic growled, but Stormy replied with a cold stare, making him agree against his will.
The two mares giggled a bit as the Horror and Miasmic walked up the right path, already in a heavy discussion.
Darth shook her head. "Geez. Miasmic is more trouble than help at times."
"But yet he's a sexy beast." Stormy grinned widely.
Darth laughed. "He's nothing compared to Horror."
Stormy growled. "In your dreams!"
Darth was about to reply when Horror's voice was heard. "Now don't start fighting, you two! We have a mission to do!"
They both sighed and started walking up the left hallway.

Darth and Stormy used several hours to check every room on their way up. There was laboratories, factories, power plants and also large rooms with stuff they never had seen before, like one containing huge stacks of these black boxes with red, orange and green lights and wires running from them, and also rooms with large blue screens that were floating and without glass. 
As they kept climbing the tower was there a new sound getting more and more noticeable. It was the sound of classic music. It was coming from even higher up, planting itself through the whole structure.
"What is that…" Darth looked up.
Stormy listened, carefully. "Music. Classic too."
"Indeed. We should move along then, and catch this villain before he does anything bad." Darth sighed and then they both started galloping upwards, following the music. They soon faced two massive steel doors. The doors were at least twenty meters tall and ten meters wide, and it was clear that they were locked.
"Now what…" Stormy growled.
Darth studied the doors. "Maybe a magic word is needed, like…" She took a deep breath and then yelled as loud as she could, trying to mimic the Royal Canterlot Voice. "I COMMAND THY TO OPEN!"
The whole tower started shaking as the sound of unlocking locks filled the room. The doors the started sliding open, slowly, making a sharp and deep grinding sound. The room inside was dark, except for the light from a device, revealing something that looked like an extractor. The shocking bit was that Horror Movie was strapped too it.
They started galloping in to try to help him, but as soon as they were inside was the doors shut behind them, filling the room with the sound of locking locks. Then music started playing. Classic music.
Then the laugh came. It was cold as ice, and heartless. Panels in the ceiling opened, revealing the aurora collector and the power override module overhead. Lights came on, revealing the madman behind it all.
It was an alicorn. He was grinning with a grin that revealed a set if really sharp fangs. He had a ring connected to his horn, which from there was connected to a rig that always was located over him. He was pitch black, with a mane like flaring fire, and his cutiemark was a pentagram in a circle.
Darth was the first to react. "No. Bucking. Way."
The alicorn grinned. "Oh hello my dearies. I didn't expect to see you all here."
Stormy growled. "How do you even exist?! We erased you from reality! We destroyed you!"
"Calm down, kids." He laughed. "You wouldn't understand what I had to go through to even be here. I lost almost all my magic powers when I escaped. I'm too weak to fight."
"He's lying!" Miasmic yelled from inside a cage. "That ring he have amplifies his magic! That's how he got us!"
The alicorn growled and pressed a button. A hatch opened under the cage, suspending it from a wire over one of the boilers. "Shut your trap or you'll be undone!"
Miasmic hissed in return, but chose to remain silent after that.
"So how did you do it, Blood. How did you escape your own removal?" Stormy wasn't looking pleased.
"Easy." Blood grinned. "I ran over to this new timeline as it was forming. As it wasn't done yet as I escaped wasn't it touched by the erase spell. I did loose most of my powers because of it, but thanks to the creation of this tower will I now restore them."
Darth growled. "Why would you even try…"
"Two reasons." Blood smirked. "I want to take over Equestria and become supreme dictator. And I also want to kidnap Octavia and marry her." He blushed.
All the reapers, except Horror who was out cold, stared at him. This came as a shock.
Blood looked at them. "What's the problem…"
Stormy growled. "Your wild fantasies. You really think you're going to get your powers restored? How do you even plan to do it? And kidnap a famous musician? You sicken me."
Blood growled. "How do you dare…" his horn sparked with the colors of the aurora, his whole expression changing. "I already have it all rigged. Just need to get enough aurora power." A gauge was showing the stored power. It was at 95% and rising slowly. "But aurora isn't enough. I have to fuse it with something to make it compatible with me, and that's why your friend over there is strapped to a soul extractor. I'll be using him to get the aurora primed and prepared for me." A wild grin appeared. "Now. You three should now prepare to die, starting with that loud-mouthed show-off in the cage over there." He pressed a button and the wire snapped, sending the cage into the tank of boiling water. Stormy didn't even hesitate. She cast herself into the tank, after the cage.
Blood laughed. "Was he even that much worth?"
Darth growled, preparing to cast a spell. "He's more worth than you'll ever be."
"Don't you dare!" Blood hissed like a snake.
Darth grinned. "Reaper spell number XXIV…"
A bolt of aurora shot from Blood's horn, exploding as it hit Darth. She was tossed into the wall higher up, and then collapsed on the floor. "Ouch. Looks like I was faster." He grinned as the gauge reached 100% and an alarm rang. "There we go. Nothing can go wring now." He powered up the extractor.
Darth growled and got up. She could barely stand as blood was leaking from several wounds. She turned to face Blood as he turned the extractor on. It charged up and…
The whole tower shook violently and sparks flew everywhere as several panels exploded. The extractor was knocked sideways, missing Horror and hitting another panel instead. The sound of several exploding tubes was heard and the sound of grinding metal, as the tower slowly started tilting, stopping at a 5% tilt. 
Darth rushed to rescue Horror, but blood got in her way. "You're not going anywhere!" He was furious, his whole mane now flaring with the colors of the aurora.
Darth hissed. "Get lost, fool!" she kicked him, hard, smashing the ring and sending him into the panel that had been hit by the soul extractor, getting him into the extracting beam. He screamed in pain as his body was shredded to dust and his soul sucked away.
Darth growled and galloped over to Horror, flinging him upon her back and galloping out of the massive doors that now was falling out, hitting the outer wall. The impact shook the tower, and it started tilting again. The doors had now shredded an opening in the outer tower walls too, so she flew out and away from the tower, landing on a mountaintop a few kilometers away.  She sighed and turned to see as the tower kept tilting. Several of the large pipes under it had been broken, spewing out lava at a high rate. The heat from the lava made the last support of the tower so soft that they bent, letting the tower fall. 

It looked like it took ages. The tower was almost in air for over a minute before it hit the ground, collapsing as it did. Then the aurora broke free. First came the light. A blinding white fireball that was probably seen from all around Equestria. Then the sound came. It started as a deep boom, followed by a shredding-like explosion sound and then the loud boom that shook the snow from the mountains. Then the last thing came. The pressure wave. It was like being hit by hurricane-force winds, blowing the wastes clean for snow. Then it went silent, and the tower ruin was the only thing remaining, burning and flooded with lava. 
Darth closed her eyes. She was sure that she never would see Miasmic and Stormy again now. She shed a tear.
"Why so sad?" It was Stormy's voice.
Darth turned to face her. "How did you survive? You both went into the boiler."
Stormy grinned. "I stopped the cage and broke him out. We then escaped and started breaking things down bellow."
Miasmic landed. "And looks like it worked. What happened to Blood?"
"Well…" Darth laughed. "I gave him a taste of his own things. The soul extractor to be more accurate."
Miasmic looked at Horror. "What about this one?"
Darth smiled. "Let him stay down for now. He'll recover soon. For now should we head for Canterlot. I think we might have some explaining to do soon."
"Let us get going then." Darth picked up Horror and took flight.
Miasmic and Stormy followed. Miasmic stopped. "One thing… where the heck did we park the wagon…
Darth and Stormy looked at each other. Then they all sighed before heading into the night, spending it to look for the wagon.