Light and Darkness – The Shadow of Midnight

by Rakoon1

The Forest of Lost Talents

At a dead forest where a mist covered the ground, Rara was lying on the ground. She woke up and stood up, while looking around. She gave a few steps, but soon she noticed three shadows approaching and gaining corporeal forms. Scared of them, Rara started to run away as fast as she could, with the shadow creatures chasing after her.

Rara hid behind a tree, hoping the creatures would simply pass by. She recognized them as the ones who had brought her to that place, so Rara knew she had to stay away from them. She saw as the shadows returned to crawl over surfaces. Fortunately, the shadow creatures moved away, what allowed Rara to breathe again, but barely.

At the beach of that forest, was Sweetie Belle. She advanced to the sea, where she looked at her reflection. Suddenly, when a waved passed, her reflection turned into Rara’s. That caught Sweetie Belle by surprise and then she looked around. Seeing the dead forest, she advanced to it, starting to penetrate it.

After walking for a few moments, she started to see something she wasn’t expecting: all the foals and young ponies that had been abducted by the Talent Thief. She tried to reach them, but then somepony reached her. Sweetie Belle turned around and saw Rara.

“Rara, are you all right?” Sweetie asked. “I’ve been worry about you.”

“My earing…” Rara said, motioning to the only earing she was wearing.

That confused Sweetie Belle, but there was no time for Rara to explain more, as she saw something behind Sweetie that scared her. She turned and saw that something was coming, something that caused Rara to run away.

“Rara!” Sweetie Belle called, starting to follow her. “Rara, wait!”

But the dead branches started to grab Sweetie Belle, preventing her from keep moving forward. The young unicorn tried to get free, but she couldn’t.

“Rara!” she shouted.

At that moment, Sweetie Belle woke up, in her bed at her hotel room that she was sharing with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. It was morning and the other two were already awake. Seeing her friend waking up like that, they went to her side.

“Relax, sugarcube” Apple Bloom said, while caressing Sweetie Belle. “Ya were havin’ a bad dream.”

“I was?” she asked.

“Yeah, we saw you squirming and moaning” Scootaloo told. “We were worried.”

“Here, have some apple leaf tea” Apple Bloom said, while handing a tea cup full of tea to Sweetie Belle. “It will calm ya down.”

“Thank you, Apple Bloom” Sweetie Belle thanked, while taking the cup with her magic. “I don’t think it was just a bad dream. I saw Rara and she was trying to tell me something.”

“Was she okay?” Scootaloo asked.

“She needs our help” Sweetie Belle told. “She’s trap in a forest.”

“A forest?” Apple Bloom asked. “Like tha Enchant’d Forest?”

“No, I don’t think so” Sweetie Belle replied. “It was like a dead forest.”

“Creepy…” Scootaloo commented.

Apple Bloom thought for a moment and then had an idea.

“Wait, there is a pony that can help us” she said.

They then called Mirror Coat who, after hearing Sweetie Belle, said:

“It is possible that you may have connected with that Rara through your dream. After all, you connected with her because of your prodigy’s power.”

“Yes, but… everything is very cloudy” Sweetie Belle told. “I can’t remember that many details.”

“That’s normal” Mirror Coat replied. “Dreams can be very confusing, especially after we wake up. But that’s why I’m here. I’ll help you remember. Just lay down and relax.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and so laid down on her bed, taking a deep breath to relax and closing her eyes. Mirror Coat charged his horn with magic that then passed to his hoof. He put it on her forehead and it was then that Sweetie Belle started to remember the dream she had. She could see the beach and the forest and also the abducted ponies and then… Rara. She seemed really scared, as if something was after her. It was then Sweetie saw her pointing to her the only earring she was. It was at that moment that they heard the movement that caused Rara to run away. Sweetie Belle tried to run after her, but was caught by the dead branches and at that moment, she woke up again.

“It’s okay” Mirror Coat said, trying to calm Sweetie Belle. “You’re back, Sweetie Belle. You’re not in your dream anymore.”

“So, Sweetie, what did ya see?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Rara… she was pointing to her… earring” Sweetie Belle told.

That caused Apple Bloom and Scootaloo to share a confused look and the latter asked:

“Her earring?”

“She only had one” Sweetie Belle said. “Perhaps that’s where we should start looking.”

“Well, my work here is done” Mirror Coat said. “I have other things to do.”

“Thank ya fer comin’, Mirror Coat” Apple Bloom thanked.

“I’m committed with this mission of yours” Mirror Coat replied. “Besides, I could get some information myself.”

“Really?” Scootaloo asked. “Like what?”

Mirror Coat just looked at her and then replied:

“Keep digging until you found out. Sometimes, too much information can be… distractive. Just focus on what you have now. That will be enough.”

And having said that, Mirror Coat teleported away.

“Okay, that guy really has to be more open” Scootaloo commented.

“But he is right ‘bout us havin’ tah focus on what we have on hooves” Apple Bloom said. “Don’t worry, Scoots, when he have tah know, he will tell us.”

“Now we have to think about this clue we have” Sweetie Belle said, using her magic to take a quill and a parchment that was close and starting to draw. “And that clue is this.”

And she show a draw of the earring Rara was using.

“I swear I already saw this earring…” Sweetie Belle started, remembering then. “That’s it! Rarity gave me this pair of earrings at my birthday two years ago. They weren’t quite my style, but they were totally Rara’s, so I borrowed them at the night of her premiere.”

“But ya said she was only usin’ one when ya saw her, right?” Apple Bloom asked. “So, where’s tha other one?”

It didn’t take the Cutie Mark Crusaders to realize where the other earring should be.

“The dressing room!” they said at the same time.

At the Mirrored Library, Mirror Coat found Purple Smoke reading an art book at the center.

“I have news about the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ mission” the General of Knowledge said.

“Goodie” Purple Smoke said, putting the book aside. “I was starting to think that after that encounter with that mysterious stallion in Leafgreen we wouldn’t have any development.”

“Well, it’s more of a confirmation of we already know” Mirror Coat said, going to the Tree of Crisis and looking to the dark sphere that had glowed when he tried to determinate where the threat was coming from. “The abductions of all these ponies have really the hoof of neverlanders.”

“Are you sure?” Purple Smoke asked, with his serious look.

“Sweetie Belle went to Neverland in her dreams” Mirror Coat replied. “You know that the Dream World can serve as a bridge to get in Neverland. She saw the abducting victims roaming there, lost in the woods.”

“But… how’s that possible?” Purple Smoke asked. “I was the one to seal Neverland after she went rogue and started to corrupt the all place. When we seal a realm, we make sure all the connections are severed.”

“Except for one little crack we leave open so the magic can still flow normally” Mirror Coat remembered.

“Yeah, but we’re constantly watching all the cracks we leave” Purple Smoke told. “I bet this is Heartbeat’s fault. She’s always crossing over to sealed realms.”

“Brother, please, stop blaming Heartbeat” Mirror Coat said. “She may do whatever she wants and break all the rules, but she is not that reckless to jump in and out of a sealing realm without making sure she is not followed. You know very well that all the sealing spells have a tendency to get weaker. And with her trying so desperately to bring her darkness outside Neverland, it wouldn’t surprise me that she found a way to cross over. That would explain why Sweetie Belle went to Neverland in her dreams. The seal is weaker and her connection with the last victim allowed to reach her in Neverland.”

“And that also explains the dust we found and we thought that was fair dust. It’s actually pixie dust. The neverlanders may be using it to bring their victims to Neverland. Did you tell the girls about this?”

“No, I don’t want to give them information that may distract them. It’s for the best they pick up the pieces they need by their own pace. This is their mission. Our role is to put them in the right direction.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing” Purple Smoke said. “Remember that they are best talent scouts and Princess Twilight’s friend’s sisters.”

“I know that” Mirror Coat replied. “Don’t worry. If the Tree of Crisis chose them for this, they can do it.”

There was a pause and then Purple Smoke said:

“You know, I just noticed something. If we do this in the right way, we may as well save a sealed realm. You know what that means, right?”

“That this reality will be one step closer of being relatively freed from the Lord of Chaos’ influence” Mirror Coat replied. “Yes, I know that. But we can’t be hasty. We have to focus on the mission first.”

“Ah, you’re such a killer-joy!” Purple Smoke confessed.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders went back to the resort, where they went to the dressing room where Rara was before disappearing.

“Okay, gals, start lookin’” Apple Bloom said. “We have tah find that earring.”

She and Scootaloo started to look, but Sweetie Belle felt she needed to look differently if she wanted to find the earring. The young unicorn decided to put herself in Rara’s place. She advanced to the vanity mirror and imagined what she would have done after her great premiere. She would have felt extremely happy. But then, while getting ready for her fans, the earring must have fell. She bent to reach it, until she found the one thing that abducted her. It was then that she got it. Noticing the trash can under the vanity table, Sweetie Belle moved it away and found the missing earring.

“I found it!” she exclaimed.

“Great!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exclaimed at the same time, while approaching Sweetie Belle.

She went to get the earring, when she noticed the golden dust they have seen before.

“Hey, there’s some dust over here” she said. “It looks just like the dust left by the Talent Thief.”

She took some with her magic and, after looking closely (and thanks to the skills she had acquire from her sister to notice the little details), she declared:

“Yes, it is the same.”

Suddenly, a pinkish portal appeared at the middle of the room. The Cutie Mark Crusaders couldn’t believe what have just happened, even less when they were caught up by the portal and taken into it. The portal then closed and reopened in Neverland, at the beach, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were tossed from the portal.

When they recovered from the fall, they noticed that they were wearing strange hood cloaks made of sparkling fabric. Apple Bloom’s was red and decorated with golden lines forming apples with a heart, Scootaloo’s was blue and decorated with bronze lines forming wings with a lightning and Sweetie Belle’s was pink and decorated with silver lines forming stars with a musical note.

“But… what are these?!” Apple Bloom asked, while looking at the cloaks.

“I don’t know, but they look gorgeous!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed. “I bet Rarity would love them!”

Scootaloo flapped her wings to fly and she couldn’t believe how weightless she was.

“Wow, girls, look!” she exclaimed. “It’s like I don’t weight nothing. I bet like these I can fly even faster!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle also felt the same feeling and they jumped, only to reach further heights, before they could fall slowly.

“These cloaks…” Apple Bloom started. “They… are magical.”

“Sweet!” Scootaloo exclaimed. “This is perfect! I wonder if they can do more…”

She tried to focus, while flapping her wings even faster. It was then that her cloak started to generate lightning, what startled Scootaloo who lost focus and then released the lightning as an attack, hitting the sand, very close to where her friends were.

“Hey, watch it, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom admonished.

“Sorry” Scootaloo apologized, landing. “I wasn’t expecting that. But where these came from.”

“It’s like…” Sweetie Belle said. “They seem to irradiate the same kind of energy we felt when we helped Rara have her dream come true. Perhaps, it’s some kind of… manifestation of our inner power.”

“Well, Ah don’t know what that may be, but one thin’ is for sure” Apple Bloom said. “These cloaks really came in handy, havin’ in count that we jest appeared in the middle of some strange place.”

“Yeah, about that” Scootaloo said. “Where did that portal come from? And where are we?”

Looking around, Sweetie Belle quickly recognized the place.

“This is the same beach from my dream” she said. “Let’s save the rest of the questions for later.”

The three of them head to the forest. There, Sweetie Belle started to have a much clear sense, as her cloak started to glow.

“I can sense Rara” she said. “In that direction.”

“Me too” Scootaloo replied, with her cloak also glowing.

“Ya know, gals, this feeling is the same one we felt when Rara performed” Apple Bloom said, with her cloak also glowing. “Like if this force links us together.”

They continued their way, with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sometimes giving big jumps to keep up with Scootaloo. Eventually, they saw Rara.

“Rara!” Sweetie Belle called.

She turned and got surprised for seeing the Cutie Mark Crusaders. For a moment, she seemed scared, but then she noticed who they were and that caused her to smile and approach while exclaiming and hugging Sweetie Belle:

“Cutie Mark Crusaders! I’m so happy to see you!”

“If I’m not wrong, this is yours” Sweetie Belle said, holding the earring she had found.

“But… the earrings were yours” Rara said.

“Well, they look better on you” Sweetie Belle replied, while giving it to Rara. “Trust me in that. I bet my sister would agree with me and she is a fashion designer.”

Rara smiled and nodded, while putting the earring.

“Now, it’s time to save you” Scootaloo said.

“But how are you going to do that?” Rara asked. “Wait, how did you get here in the first place?”

“That’s pretty unclear tah us too” Apple Bloom replied. “A portal jest appear’d and we got into it. But who opened it?”

That was a very good question, but it looked like they wouldn’t have time to think of it, as Scootaloo noticed something approaching.

“We have company” she said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders placed themselves around Rara in order to protect her and Sweetie Belle said:

“Whoever is here wants us to remain here.”

“Let’s go then” Apple Bloom said. “Tha portal is in that way.”

It was then that her shadow that was on a tree in front of her turned into a shadow creature and then regained a corporeal form, appearing to have a pony form with claws instead of hooves.

“Mah shadow…” she said.

All the others got shocked by what happened, but Apple Bloom, remembering what Scootaloo had done with her cloak, decided to try the same thing.

“Let’s see what else these cloaks can do” Apple Bloom said, raising a hoof.

Her cloak got a reddish glow that passed to her hoof. It was then that roots came out from the ground, grabbed the shadow creature and threw it away. That caused the creature to move away. But soon two more creatures appeared to face Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

“There’s more shadows attacking us” the latter said.

Focusing, they accessed to the powers of their cloaks, with Scootaloo casting lightning (this time more efficiently) and Sweetie Belle casting a powerful wind. They started to run away, but, as they did it, more shadow creatures started to appear even more. The Cutie Mark Crusaders did what they could to keep them away, but the shadow creatures just kept appearing.

Eventually, they arrived to the beach, were the portal was.

“We’re there!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

Scootaloo arrived there first and decided to pass through to ensure it was safe. Before doing it, she turned to Rara and told her:

“You go next, Rara.”

And Scootaloo crossed the portal. After she did it, Rara tried to pass it, but when she tried it, the portal just repelled her. She tried it again, but the portal repelled her again.

“Something is stopping me” she said.

“How did you pass through it on the way here?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“The last thing I remember is this sand that made me so sleepy and then I was here” Rara told.

The shadow creatures started to approach them. Seeing that, Apple Bloom made roots appeared and then used them to lasso the shadows, trying to hold them. Taking advantage of that, Sweetie Belle took the golden dust she had collected, saying:

“The dust… Let’s use it.”

And she poured Rara with the dust.

“Now try” Sweetie Belle said.

Rara approached the portal, while Apple Bloom kept holding the shadow creatures. Rara started to cross the portal, but then something pulled her out, holding her in air, and an aura surrounded her, making her disappear. That force was so great that it pushed Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle through the portal that closed behind them. The mysterious cloaks disappeared soon after.

“Tha portal… it’s gone” Apple Bloom said.

Sweetie Belle advanced to where it was and noticed it really was gone.

“And so is Rara” she said.