Twilight found herself near the top of the mountain on which the city of Canterlot had been built. She’d taken a moment to rest; she wasn’t sure how long due to the fact that she couldn’t make out the Canterlot clock tower anymore. The sun wasn’t much help either, mostly because it wasn’t there.
The unicorn burst into a flash of lilac, reappearing slightly farther up the mountain. She still hadn’t fully recovered her magic; it was getting difficult to use even the simplest of spells. She tried to flare the last of her magic to teleport one more time, but only made it a couple paces I front of where she was before.
Her head started to spin from exhaustion, and she had just woken up. Odds were that she hadn’t slept more than a few minutes. She stumbled forward like anypony else would. One hoof at a time. Balancing was proving to be a feat in and of itself, but she couldn’t let something so simple stop her from saving her friends.
“I wish I… had a scarf…” Twilight shivered as the snow rushed against her body.
This was not a place that she was expecting to go, the snowy peaks of a mountain. The trek was made even creepy by the look of the snow as it reflected the darkness of the orb, much like it reflected the light of the sun.
“There it is!” Twilight shouted, feeling a rush of energy as she saw the highest peak on the mountain.
“Would you like some help there?” cawed a voice above her.
Twilight looked up and saw a griffon flying above her.
“Yes… Please. I need to get to the top so I can figure out how to stop the darkness.” Twilight said, making it sound urgent.
The griffon nodded. He glided down at the ground and grasped her with his front two claws. He lifted her from the rocky mountain with ease and flew her up to the peak in only a couple minutes.
“What’s a little pony like yourself doing up here?” the griffon asked.
“I’m trying to save my friends. The Heartless took them.” she answered.
“Back in my home, there were books that mentioned them. How are you planning to fight such a force?” the griffon cleared his throat.
“I have a Keyblade.” Twilight called her Keyblade and held it beside her with her magic.
“That is the Dawn Star.” the griffon said in a whisper.
“Is that what this Keyblade is called?” Twilight asked.
“Every Key has a name. That Key in specific is linked to the Elements of Harmony. The one that I was to watch over until I found their wielder is called the Griffon’s Wing.” the griffon stated, landing next to Twilight. “I think that it should go with you.”
“You mean… you’re giving it to me?” Twilight stuttered back.
“Yes. My village has no wielders, and so no one is capable of wielding the weapon. Something else to help you on your quest, I know of a unicorn who lives out in the mountains who knows how to manipulate fire with his magic.” the griffon explained.
“I’ll have to stop by there, and maybe your village after I look into this stupid orb.” Twilight grunt, shooting a beam of magic at the sphere.
“Well, I’ll be looking forward to seeing you then. When you get there, try to find me, my name is South Wind.” the griffon stated.
“I’m-” Twilight started but was interrupted.
“Twilight Sparkle. I know. Your accomplishments with the Elements of Harmony and the Chrystal Empire are well known in my home village.” South Wind explained. “Even so, you being a Keyblade wielder on top of everything else caught me off guard.”
South Wind shot upward and started gliding away from the mountain. Twilight was once again alone on her quest, alone with the-
“Bucking orb!” Twilight shouted in frustration, flaring her nostrils. “What the hay are you!”
As if answering her shout, the orb let out a flare of darkness, whipping the mountain and causing the cliff to crumble. Twilight started to fall but managed to get a hoof on another ledge. She slowly pulled herself up with an angry grunt.
“Sorry about that.” said a mare who was standing a couple of meters above her on another ledge.
The mare was wearing a dark brown robe that was bunched up on her legs and her stomach. Twilight was unable to make up any of the mare’s physical features aside from the fact that her muzzle was a very dark grey. She could also make out a slight smirk.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Miss Librarian.” the mare said in a calm voice that seemed to lack any form of empathy.
“Who are you?” Twilight scratched a hoof against the ground.
“I could have been a librarian, if I had chosen not to seek knowledge. How do you feel, knowing that you are the result of nyctophobia? How does it feel to fear the darkness, and more importantly, what lurks within?” the mare asked, ignoring Twilight’s question.
“I wouldn’t know? How’s it feel to be scared of the light?” Twilight growled back.
“I wouldn’t worry about your friends, that dragon on the other hoof… Well, he’s been trying our patience.” the mare laughed quietly to herself before dropping down a small wad of multicolored hair.
“Rainbow Dash…” Twilight gasped as the rainbow of hair fell only inches before her. “What did you say about Spike?” Twilight shouted, bounding up toward the other mare.
“Well, right now, he should be fixing up the library. If he isn’t, then…” the mare began to leap backwards with a grace that not even Rarity would be able to match. “Well, it’s best we just avoid that circumstance.”
“If you dare hurt any of them…” Twilight shouted, launching a quick beam of purple light at the mare.
A light blue shield appeared before the other mare, reflecting Twilight’s own attack back down at her, making her lose her grip and tumble down the mountain side. Twilight used the last of her magic, teleporting herself a little closer to the mountain. She fell into a deep blanket of snow back first. Her hooves were nearly an inch from the top when her legs were fully stretched.
“Do you need some help?” the mare asked, a cocky tone dominating her otherwise cold voice.
Twilight grunted as she weakly tried to turn herself over.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Twilight felt something fall onto her stomach and she tried to angle her head to see it.
“The… Alicorn Amulet?” Twilight grunted, her head starting to throb in pain from exhaustion. “I thought Zecora hid it…”
“Oh, it was hidden. Just not well enough to keep it away from a good scrying spell.” In a flash of light, the robed mare appeared next to Twilight. “Don’t worry; I’ve removed the negative effects. It won’t make you lose yourself; I trust that you’ll do that to yourself on your own time.”
“No…” Twilight whispered back.
“No?” The mare was now standing at an angle that allowed for her to see her eyes, they were a glowing green.
“Dark magic?” Twilight said as she let out a deep breath.
“Perfected dark magic, actually. A form of it so pure, that it can change the physical appearance of the caster more than just a slight warping of the horn and a red glow. Regardless, I’m going to take you with me.” As she finished talking the mare shot a bolt of light blue magic at Twilight.
The purple unicorn was slammed into the rock that the snow was resting on; she could feel it crack beneath her. She could feel the grip of magic, lifting her out of the snow and to eye level with the mysterious mare.
“I was honestly expecting more from you than that.” the mare said, shaking her head in disappointment. “I wasn’t planning on leaving yet, but maybe one of your friends will entertain me a little more than you seem to be capable of.”
The mare turned around and started to walk away, her horn lighting up for a teleportation spell. Twilight felt a burst of energy as she summoned her Keyblade, the Dawn Star. She felt like she her magic was rejuvenated.
Using her newfound strength, she teleported up to the mare and tackled her with everything that she could muster up. At the moment that she made contact with her, the mare teleported, taking Twilight with her to the middle of a plain in the tundra. It was probably relatively close to the Crystal Empire if she had to guess from the environmental factors.
“How did you teleport so far?” Twilight demanded. As far as she knew, the only way to teleport was within eyesight or a location that you could see in your mind perfectly, but clearly, that was not the case.
“Someday, maybe you’ll be able to do it too. Just follow the path that you are set on.” the mare replied.
Twilight stood before the other mare, trying to think. Something about this strange pony was very familiar. But blue magic, strong blue magic… Twilight thought. There were only a few ponies that she could think of. I’m certain that this wouldn’t be Rarity, and I can only think of a few ponies that could be strong enough to cast spells like that with blue magic.
“No, I’m not any of those ponies either.” she stated calmly.
“Wha- what are you talking about?” Twilight asked.
“I am aware that you were running through the possibilities of who I could be. To put it simply, I am somepony that knows you very well, and thus, I hate you.” the mare stated. “For now, you can just call me Vim.”
“Vim?” Twilight asked back. “Your name doesn’t sound familiar.”
“It should. A being’s enthusiasm, its vim, is also called something else.” Vim said slowly as she crept toward Twilight. “For now though, I will give you yet another setback for your quest. You’ll be in need of some downtime to recover from the injuries that you will soon suffer.”
Vim shot a dark blue bolt at Twilight, but it was stopped when the Dawn Star appeared before the unicorn. Twilight flared her nostrils, angered by both the fact that Vim was keeping her from her friends, and that she was so arrogant. She knew some powerful spells, but that didn’t make her any better than anypony else.
Twilight used her magic to slash at Vim with her Keyblade, but Vim dodged with a grace that only Rarity could match and speed that rivaled Rainbow Dash’s.
“Enough foaling around.” Vim said, her voice dramatically darker than before. “Now I’m going to end this little game.”
The space right in front of Vim lit up in a swirling purple and blue, and a Keyblade appeared before her. The Keyblade’s handle had a guard that looked like a pair of pegasus wings that were surrounding a light blue rod. The blade itself was as long as Twilight’s Dawn Star but instead of the star at the end, it had a black, crystal like structure.
“Now the Dawn Star and the Corrupt Crystal shall clash again. After all these years, soon, victory shall be ours.” Vim said as she aimed the tip of her Keyblade at Twilight.
Their blades clashed it a flurry of movements. Twilight was starting to feel as if she was doing a little better, learning how to use the Keyblade right. As she started to gain this confidence, she felt the Corrupt Crystal scratched across her right side.
“You aren’t going to win this fight. You haven’t even had any training.” Vim smirked as Twilight stumbled from the hit.
Twilight inhaled, glaring at the unicorn opposite her. “Tell me Vim, do you have any friends?”
“I could have, but I chose power. Friends are worthless distractions.” Vim said smugly, proud of that fact about herself. “They are extensions of the heart, a feeble concept if you ask me. The heart is weak and so is the light. Darkness is the only thing that holds true power.”
“And that’s why I can’t lose to you. The heart can be weak, easily broken at betrayal. That’s true, but it can also be strong, incredibly so if you have something to fight for. Each of my friends are extensions of me, and I am to them. They give me their collective strength and their will.” Twilight smiled confidently and a bright light surrounded her, healing her wounds.
“Well, it’ll be too bad when they’re no longer around to lend you that strength. Who will I end first though, the farm mare, or maybe the dramatic one. Oh wait,” Vim said in a smooth and icy tone, “that little dragon.”
The Dawn Star struck Vim in the side, slamming her to the ground. Vim looked up at Twilight, who was standing over top of her. Twilight’s eyes had a purple smoke radiating from them.
A second Keyblade appeared by the Dawn Star, the Griffon’s Wing. Twilight pressed Vim to the ground with both Keyblades.
“Don’t ever threaten any of my friends.” Twilight growled.
“What was that… about the light… being stronger?” Vim gasped out.
Twilight let up with the Keyblades, starting to notice a strange feeling. Strange, but familiar. It was dark magic, the same kind that she saw Princess Celestia use to show her what King Sombra was capable of.
Twilight dropped her Keyblades, realizing that her anger had pushed her to use dark magic. As they Keyblades hit the now covered ground, Vim climbed back onto her hooves. A dark smile was visible beneath the hood of her robe.
“You might also want to check in with these fillies. I have a sneaking suspicion that they are on the move. But what else could you expect; they want to save those who are important to them, just… like… you.” Vim vanished into a flash of blue.
“Those Crusaders… they never listen.” Twilight muttered to herself.
She cast the spell that would let her talk to the trio through the crystal ball. When she was able to see, she let out an agitated groan. She was looking at a crudely drawn picture of them standing in the library.
“Hey, donch ya’ll think that maybe, we shoulda taken that ball?” Apple Bloom asked her friends. “What happens if we get inta trouble?”
“Nah.” Scootaloo dismissed. “We’ll be fine. Those monsters went away hours ago.”
“All right!” Sweetie Belle squeaked. “Let’s hope that the train is still running.”
The youthful trio trotted confidently toward the train station. There was a dim light coming from the sky of Ponyville. It had been there for a few hours, ever since some pegasus had broken through the thick layer of cloud cover. It was still taking effort to keep the clouds in their parted form. Those pegasus who weren’t taken by the creatures, were all that could keep the creatures out of the town.
A pony had noticed that the shadow monsters would avoid any light source at any cost. With that in mind the pegasus group in Ponyville cleared the sky to keep the monsters out. The Crusaders too that as a chance to try and get to a position where they could try to save everypony.
“Hey, do you think that maybe we could get out cutie marks in rescuing ponies?” Scootaloo suggested.
“Scoots! This is serious! If we don’t do somethin’…” Apple Bloom trailed off swallowing hard.
“I’m sorry.” Scootaloo said back quietly.
“Girls! The train! It’s coming!” Sweetie Belle shouted out excitedly as she ran ahead of her friends to reach the train.
“Wait! Somethin’s wrong.” Apple Bloom called back.
It was too late though; Sweetie was already standing on the platform and waiting for the train doors to slide open. The unicorn filly let out a gasp as a pony in the train revealed themselves.
“Is that you?” Sweetie asked before silently falling to the pavement. A light blue magical aura ensnared the filly and lifted her onto the train.
“Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shouted together.
“Come on girls.” called a dark voice from the train. “You don’t want your friend to get hurt now, do you? You never know what could happen when you’re all alone.”
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo slowly started walking toward the train. Something about the voice led them to believe that they would be safe; there was something familiar about it. Upon reaching the train, they were pulled inside.
“Relax, you have nothing to fear, young fillies.” the robed pony stated. “That is, unless you resist.”
The ride was a blur to the Crusaders; they could remember none of it. Eventually, they felt the train stop and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo found themselves in a dark castle. They remembered getting inside the train, but they didn’t remember getting off of it, nor did they remember entering the terrifying building.
“Good evening, young fillies. Do not worry for your young unicorn friend, Sweetie Belle I believe, she is fine.”