Cutie Mark Crusader Cardcaptors

by Hotspot the 626th

Draw 2

Emptiness

Darkness

Nothingness

It all gave way to a scene of a clear night sky with millions of stars shining. The large and bright moon shined upon a depilated castle surrounded by a forest. Outside the gate, a unicorn filly stood ready in a pink and yellow outfit with a cape. She held in her magic aura a staff with a birdlike head. Next to her was a small plushie creature like a lion without a mane with wings. It floated next to the pony as cards began falling listlessly like flower petals. Neither one seemed to mind the display, especially the girl.

"I'm ready…" spoke the filly.

The creature looked at her but did not say a word.

At the tallest point of the ruined castle, something heard the little pony's declaration. While being able to see the body, two large white wings unfolded and scattered feathers. The plumage began surrounding the castle in a whirlwind as if protecting the place.

Regardless, the filly stepped forward. Tiny magical wings sprouted suddenly around the pony's hooves before stopping in front of the gorge. The little unicorn then closed their eyes before falling forward fearlessly.

Then…

"Sakura…"

"Sakura..."

Inside a pink room, the plushie from the dream hovered by the same filly, attempting to wake her up. The little creature even tried jostling her out of her sleep, but the little pony would not rise. Finally, a more drastic measure was needed.

"Wake up, Sakura!" the plushie creature shouted.

It did the trick; the filly awoke with a frightened scream. The plushie creature had avoided colliding with the pony and soon informed the pony of the situation. "You're gonna be late for school if you don't get a move on…"

The filly, Sakura, tiredly rubbed her eyes. She let out a whine, "I hate morning wake-ups…"

---

Without a Shadow of a Doubt

---

Hello! My name is Sakura Kinomoto. I'm attending Ms. Cheerilee's class…

Quickly, Sakura began preparing herself for the day. A quick come of her mane and tying two small side ponytails with a red bead band. She then topped her appearance with a white sailor hat with black trim.

I hate math, but I like music and P.E., so I guess you could say I'm the peppy type…

"Don't forget your bag," Kero said as he carried a backpack.

Sakura grabbed the pack. "Thanks, Kero!" she said gratefully and quickly.

This is Kero-chan!

A-hem. It's Cerberus.
But it's too long, and Kero-chan is cuter.
But it's not cool at all!

He may look like a stuffed animal, but he's really alive! He's a…

"Oh no!" shouted Sakura as she noticed the clock. "I'm going to be late!"

As the filly rushed off, taking he saddle bag as advised, the floating plushie waved her off. "Good luck out there, kid," he chirped quickly.

The little pony rushed out of her room and down the stairs, making a lot of noise doing so. Once she reached the ground level, she ran to the kitchen but pumped into someone. It was an older male Earth pony with a tan coat and darker brown mane cut short with it parting left. Unlike the filly, he had a cutie mark; it was a yellow hard hat. The stallion had a mug in his hoof that nearly spilled its content on him when Sakura ran into him.

"On a rampage already?" spoke the stallion teasingly. "Pretty early for a little monster to be stomping around."

The comment made Sakura instantly peeved. "I'm not a monster!"

This meanie is my big brother, Touya. He's already at working-age and has a lot of jobs. I don't know if it's 'cause he's older, but I've never won a fight against him, Agghh—It drives me crazy! One day, I'm gonna win for sure!

While the two siblings skirmished, another pony appeared from the kitchen. Older than the first stallion, he was a light purple unicorn with a short light-brown mane. His own cutie mark was a pointed amphora vase (a type of Greek vase). Using his soft gold-colored magic, the stallion was carrying a tray with three bowls of freshly made oatmeal and two drinks. As he noticed his children, he was amused by their interaction.

"It looks like you two are close this morning."

Upon hearing the stallion, the two siblings ceased bickering. Despite their previous animosity, both ponies sat at the table with the older one. All three then enjoyed breakfast together.

That's my father, Fujitaka. He's an archeology professor at a university in Canterlot. He's very nice, not to mention a whiz at cooking and sewing. I love him.

In a short time, the family of three finished eating. Everyone quickly cleaned up together and prepared to head out. Before any member left, Sakura approached a credenza in the living room. There was a picture frame with a photo of an Earth pony mare with a white snow fur coat and a long wavy mane of lavender. As she gazed at the display, the little unicorn began to smile fondly before giving it a greeting.

"See you later, Mom. Please continue to watch over me and Dad and Touya."

That's my mom. She died when I was little. I don't remember much about her, but I'm always told she loved me dearly.

Despite that, I'm not lonely. I have my dad and my brother, even if he is a jerk sometimes. And I have Kero-chan…

It's Cerberus!

And I also have…

Once the daily ritual of family breakfast was over, the Kinomoto family left their house. Fujitaka gave his love to Sakura, affectionately, and Touya, more reserved, before sending them both off before turning to go his way. Both siblings trotted along together, Sakura often trying to overtake her brother's pace. Sibling rivalry could be why, but the two siblings were actually trying to be the first to meet a particular pony. Just down the street, a white earth pony stallion with a short light grey mane was happily waving to the two siblings.

"Good morning."

Touya arrived first. "Yo," he said coolly.

The white pony then addressed the young filly. "Good morning, Sakura. You're up early."

Tired and blushing profusely, Sakura replied, "Y-Yup!"

"You should have seen the little monster eating its breakfast—"

As Touya was attempted to tease and embarrass her, Sakura sent a swift jab to her brother's side. It instantly silenced the stallion's tongue, which the other pony found amusing.

Yukito Tsukishiro. I can't believe he's best friends with brother the barbarian. Such a sweet, beautiful person.

Now joined by Yukito, the three ponies now walked together in relative peace. It was not long when the group of three soon came close to Ponyville Schoolhouse. From there, Sakura had to say goodbye to Yukito and join the other fillies and colts going to school. Just before leaving, the young stallion tossed a piece of candy to the filly as a present. It made the pink unicorn blissful, so much so that she did not realize some ponies approaching her from behind.

"Would you look at that..."

"Yukito is so dreamy."

"Cool! You got some candy.

"Hey there, Sakura!"

Of course, I also have my friends!

Broken out of her daze, Sakura turned around to find four fillies around her age greeting her. There was one Pegasus who had an orange coat and a short purple mane. Next, a unicorn with a light grey coat and a grayish mulberry mane with pale, light grayish rose streaks. After was the Earth pony that had a light-yellow coat with a bright red mane tied in a light crimson bow. Lastly, another Earth pony had a soft black coat and long grey-violet mane with the same hat as Sakura. She, unlike the other three, also had a cutie mark. It was a blue octagonal-square topaz. All of them were looking cheerful and happy.

Sakura replied joyfully, "Good morning!"

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and my best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji. Together, we're a group called the 'Cutie Mark Crusader.' Even though Tomoyo already has hers, she's still helping us find our talents!

Together, the friends joined the rest of their classmates as they entered the schoolhouse. As time went by, it was eventually time for both recess and lunch. Having once been restrained by the curriculum, the fillies and colts were now free to play and unwind until lessons came again an hour or so later. Many of the yearlings took to the playground, having had quick lunches or not hungry. Others gathered in small groups and had mini picnics around the area. One of those groups was the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a bit more separated from the rest. They were having a conversation of a more private nature.

"Did every pony get back home without getting caught?" asked Tomoyo inquisitively.

Scootaloo responded first. "Yeah! My aunts don't wake up for anything unless it's the sun."

"Same for my parents," stated Sweetie Belle.

"Getting around Granny and Big Mac is easy. It's keeping Winona from waking everyone up is the hard part, but if you give her a few treats, she'll stay quiet," explained Apple Bloom.

The little Earth pony then added, "It would've been harder if my sister was here, but you know."

"You guys are lucky." Sakura said exasperatedly, "The noise Kero-chan made nearly got me caught by my big brother."

Tomoyo let out a little giggle. "Sounds like everything went well in the end."

"Barely…"

"I wouldn't say it was all well." Scootaloo then looked to her flank, still bare. "We've captured three cards, and no cutie mark capturing Clow cards."

Apple Bloom also added, "Or forestry."

"Or catching animals," Sweetie Belle further included to the list.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Kero-chan did say they were a lot of cards. Maybe we have to collect them all?"

"I hope the next card then is something like 'The Cutie Mark' card," said Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. "Yeah, because someone great like this Clow Reed guy would need to make a card like that."

"He made one called 'The Jump!'"

"Have you ever seen a pony jump that high?"

As an argument was about form, Sakura swiftly interjected herself to calm everyone down. "H-Hey! Every new card is a new opportunity to get a cutie mark, right? So, every card is like a potential 'The Cutie Mark' card."

Both fillies were swayed by their mutual friend's reasoning. Apple Bloom silently thanked Sakura for ending another potential argument among the group. For Tomoyo, she expected nothing less and was proud of her dear friend. The group then returned their picnic and enjoying their break.

"Ahhh!"

A unison of screams suddenly disturbed the peace of the playground. Every pony, the Cutie Mark Crusaders especially, came galloping to the source. It was Snips and Snails, two unicorn friends, and the pair had been spooked by their shadows. The two dim colts swore that they saw their projections begin to move and frighteningly change shape. Not many of their peers believed them, and were soon back to their usual routine. Those that did were none other than the Cutie Mark Crusaders. While not sure what their two classmates saw, they did promise to do what they could to alleviate their fears.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders…Inspectors!" announced the group enthusiastically.

Unfortunately, there came two condescending voices spoke aloud. "Typical. The Blank Flank Brigade believe in their crazy story."

"It's so sad what ponies will do for their cutie marks."

All the Cutie Mark Crusaders frowned and turned to see their aggravators. It was a pair of Earth pony fillies, one with a pale magenta coat and the other gray. The first had pale, light grayish violet mane with white streaks, and the other had two shades of light gray. A tiara was adorned the first and was also her cutie mark while the other had a silver spoon and wore glasses and green pearls. Both wore arrogant smirks as they approached the group.

"Well, we think there's something to be investigated here," said Apple Bloom matter-of-factly.

Scootaloo quickly came to back her friend up. "Yeah! So, butt out, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon!"

"Pathetic." Diamond Tiara then looked over to Tomoyo, who remained neutral in appearance. She spoke more formally, "You know, Tomoyo, you're still always welcomed to join us. Hang out with a cooler group of friends."

"Why you…!" Scootaloo was about to pounce and attack the filly but was stopped by Tomoyo herself.

"Once again, no, thank you." Tomoyo stated calmly and clearly, "I am very happy with my friends."

Diamond Tiara shrugged at first, behaving unusually proper. "Suit yourself, but when you're finally tired of hanging with the rabble, you know where to find us."

Apple Bloom shouted irately, "Just get out of here already!"

The two snotty fillies left, doing so in a standoffish manner. It helped to peeve off most of the Cutie Mark Crusaders as an attempt to persuade the collected Tomoyo. Of course, nothing changed for the filly as she watched the snobbish ponies leave out of their sight. Even with those mean mares gone, however, the group was still simmering mad.

"What is wrong with those guys," Sakura said mad.

"All they ever seem to do is pick on us. And just for not having cutie marks! It's not like they've had there's for long."

"They're just stuck up," stated Sweetie Belle, upset. "Being rich does that to…"

Sweetie Belle immediately shut her mouth and glanced over at Tomoyo, who appeared happily content. The white unicorn, though, quickly apologized, "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that all rich ponies are like them."

Tomoyo was not offended. She politely told her friend, "It is okay, Sweetie Belle. But you should never judge a book by its cover."

Suddenly, joint screams echoed out, "Ahhhh!" And once again, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were at the scene.

This time it was Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon who had seen something relating to their shadows. It would have been easy to taunt the two for their previous offense. However, Sakura reigned in the personalities of her fellow Crusaders. Afterward, the group attempted to procure any information or detail about this strange phenomenon for the rest of the school session. Many of their peers confessed to having encountered the spook but kept quiet out of fear of being ridiculed. Now everyone but the Cutie Mark Crusaders had come across the apparition. Unfortunately, in searching on their own for it, they were unable to spot it.

Once school was over, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had it set to come back to investigate further. They would meet back up once their families were asleep. It would also give them time to prepare in the case of Tomoyo. The sun now sets, and the moon rises, and night's shroud settled over the land to provide the cover for the young fillies. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo arrived first at outside their school and waited for their friends. When the others arrived, they came with Kero-chan, and both the plushie and Sakura were dressed up for the occasion.

Sakura wore a long-sleeved, navy blue leotard with a white vest-tailcoat with gold lining worn over it. A red cape with four long tails is worn over the first ensemble pinned with a red bow. Topping it all, the unicorn filly had a red beret hat. Cerberus had a much simpler, only wearing a red ribbon with a triangular gold buckle. All three of the original Cutie Mark Crusaders were impressed.

"Nice getups, Tomoyo!" Apple Bloom said amazedly.

From out of seemingly nowhere, Tomoyo pulled out a garment rack with three other costumes in the wait. She then told her three friends, enthusiastically, "I, of course, have outfits for all of you as well."

A quick outfit change later, the original Cutie Mark Crusaders were now donned in garb. The three fillies wore outfits like Sakura's own. Each wore a white tailcoat like their friend with their trims green, sky blue, and light purple. They all also wore red beret hats though smaller. It was nice, but all three took notice of a theme.

"I guess we're supporting Sakura again," Sweetie Belle said curiously.

"Well, she is the only one I chose to capture the Clow Cards," stated Kero. He then encouragingly told the group, "But hey, looking pretty slick, guys."

The Clow Cards…

Kero-chan told us that they are powerful artifacts made by a powerful unicorn known as Clow Reed. If they aren't captured, a disaster will befall the town. He also made Kero, to protect them.

But a few things happened…

Tomoyo then pulled out her pink Video Transponder Snail. She awakened the snail before telling her friends, "Cherry Blossom and I are ready. Let's go capture that card."

"Alright!"

Carefully, the group entered the area and began their search. In their first few minutes of looking around, most of the group felt frightened by their surroundings. Despite knowing their school was nice and warm appearing in the day, it was like it transformed into a haunting place at night. Nothing was like it was when they were here, and it made many of them on edge. Sakura was incredibly scared as she had a fear of ghosts.

"It's weird that you're afraid of spooks when we're after these Clow Cards that do all sorts of magic and such," replied Apple Bloom.

Sakura, surprisingly, wore a determined expression when answering back. "But its magic, so it can be explained. But ghosts…"

Tomoyo whispered to the other two Crusaders, "Her brother used to tell her ghost stories and play pranks on involving ghost…"

"Ah," responded the two fillies.

"I don't know about ghosts," spoke Kero as he floated around, "but I am definitely feeling something here…"

Suddenly, there came a sound like a creaking metal. It surprised the fillies who turned to see that it was the swings shifting to and fro. The only problem was there was no wind to move the objects. A sight that scared most of the group. Then, the rocking bugs begin to sway as well, making the group more on edge. Not long after, the trees started rustling along with bushes all around the group. The group gathered defensively in wait of whatever was causing the ruckus. Everyone was getting nervous, but Tomoyo was catching it everything with her Cameko.

"Guys…" Sakura said worriedly.

"This is definitely the work of a Clow Card," Kero stated concernedly.

"You sure?!" said Sweetie Belle panicking.

The school bell soon began to ring, shocking the group. As they all looked over at the belfry, no one saw something forming behind them from a puddle of a black substance. It rose from the much and looked like a beast of darkness, resembling a giant jaguar. Once finally up, it stepped forward with a loud thud that gained the attention of the group. They immediately freaked.

"A monster!"

Quickly, the group separated with Scootaloo, Tomoyo, and Kero sticking together. The tactic, though unplanned, helped confuse the monster for a moment. It, however, soon settled upon the largest group and stalked towards them. Both Kero and Scootaloo were freaking out while the Earth pony kept the Cameko on the beast unafraid. Sakura quickly acted in seeing her friends I trouble.

"Scootaloo!" The pink filly then picked out a card. "Here!"

Launching the card, it was caught by the Pegasus filly. She looked at the front quickly and nodded. "Fly Card!" Scootaloo shouted.

Instantly, a glow came over the card. The magic then responded with the desire of its user. It attached its power to the most noticeable spot, her wings. It grew the filly's normal appendages to become many times large and made them majestically white. A fantastic sight, but there was no time to marvel at them. Scootaloo immediately took hold of Tomoyo and Kero before flying for the sky.

"Whoa-ho-ho!" shouted the little Pegasus ecstatically. "I'm…flying!"

Kero soon freed himself from the filly's hold. He floated next to her and told her, "Good save Scoots."

Unaffected, and still focusing the Cameko on the scene, Tomoyo asked curiously, "What is that?"

The little plushie creature looked down upon the beast. It had seen where its prey had fled to and was continuing its stalking of them. Kero soon noticed another aspect of the creature. Despite its massive form, it produced no shadow of its own, merely walking in a moving field of blackness. It was clear to the flying plushie of the identity of the creature.

"The Shadow Card!" Kero then shouted an explanation, "It's the one messing with all those kids! And doing all the creepy stuff earlier."

Hearing her friend, Sakura understood that it was time to act. She immediately pulled out a little key with a bird head fob. "Key which hides the powers of the dark. Reveal your true form before me. I, Sakura Kinomoto, command you under our contract."

"Release!" A glow appeared around the object. It began to float before spinning within the sphere until stopping. Imbued with magic, the item grew and enlarged until it became a staff.

Using her magic aura, Sakura took ahold of the newly formed staff. With a card already in mind, the filly held it up with her hoof. She began another incantation, "Creation of Clow, lend your power to my key!"

Sakura spun the card from her hoof, and it began to float in the air before her. She twirled her staff before tapping its birdlike head onto the card's picture. "Bestow your power unto my key!"

"Windy!"

Through the card, a being of magic and wind was summoned forth. Windy, a beautiful mare like a spirit, commanded the winds and soared towards the shadow beast. However, the creature was unafraid as when the ethereal being came at it, she passed through with little resistance. Everyone watching gasped with surprise.

"Why didn't Windy work?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"That's not its real body," explained Kero. "It is being empowered by the shadows! We need to disperse them if we want its real body to appear."

Apple Bloom asked, "How do we shrink a shadow?"

Sakura thought quickly and answered, "With light! But I don't know how since its nighttime…"

"If we could get into the schoolhouse…" suggested Apple Bloom.

Flying in low, Scootaloo stated, "But it's locked."

Tomoyo immediately had a suggestion. "What about Ms. Twilight's Library?"

The proposal was an instant good idea. Together, the fillies worked to draw the beast's attention, bringing it away from the school and into town. All except Tomoyo, safely recording their antics, had the Shadow chase after them through the streets of Ponyville. They were careful in leading it, making sure not to disturb any pony's home or business. And they were especially cautious if anyone was out. Through skill and luck, the group was able to bring it to Golden Oaks Library.

Quickly, Scootaloo and Tomoyo, being the first to reach it, opened the door to remove the obstacle. The others dashed inside the dark, and the Shadow followed in after them. Despite being large, it was able to shift through the opening like a cat. It prowled through the room in search of its prey, but the only source of light – the open door – was suddenly closed. Before it could react, the lights came on instantly. Each member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders was by a switch or candle, standing firmly. The beast began to both figuratively and literally shrink from being illuminated. As it became smaller, its form changed to become less threatening and beastly. From a once fearsome jaguar beast, the Shadow was now only a black cat.

"Aww~" uttered both Sweetie Belle and Tomoyo adoringly.

Sakura immediately asked confusedly, "Is that Shadow's real form?"

"Yep!" said Kero affirmatively. "Cute little guy, ain't he?"

Despite having been behaving so savagely, the Shadow appeared almost coy or indifferent to its previous actions. It only began licking its forelimb as if to clean itself.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" said Scootaloo impatiently, "Capture it, Sakura!"

"Oh, right!" Immediately, Sakura brought up her staff. She then aimed it on the cat.

"Return to the form you were meant to be in…" A circle formed with symbols of a sun, moon, and a dodecagon star polygon from around the black cat. Sakura then lifted her staff and then lowered over the creature where an opaque, card-shaped object formed.

The filly then announced, "Clow Card!"

Immediately, the shadow cat began flowing into the object. As its magical being was absorbed, the item became filled until the creature was gone entirely. Now complete, the card now had an image of the cat and a title below it, "the Shadow." It then floated over to Sakura, who took ahold of it in awe.

"Another card down!" cheered Apple Bloom.

"Great work, everyone," said Tomoyo, finally putting down her Transponder Snail. She then looked over at Sakura, smiling proudly.

"And an especially good job to you, Sakura."

"Thanks, Tomoyo," said Sakura relievedly.

When I joined my friends to look after this library, I found the Book of Clow and accidentally released all the Clow Cards.

It wouldn't have happened if Kero wasn't sleeping.
Hey! I've been guarding those cards for nearly a thousand years! I deserve a nap every now and then.
Do you always decide that when a bunch of precocious scamps are running around looking through books?
…I kinda overslept…
And then you roped us into finding all those cards you lost.
You all agreed!

Anyway, now it's our mission to not only find our cutie marks but also search and capture all the escaped Clow Cards!

Or a disaster will befall the whole town!

Y-Yeah…

To Be Continued…

Author's Note:

I really liked writing this one.
Especially since I could use the color feature!

...Don't worry, it's only for this chapter (probably).

Comments

[Roboman3000]

Go, Crusaders!

[Hotspot the 626th]

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