Path to the Truth

Chapters

New Beginnings
Into the Room
Old Friendships Made New
Bearing the Truth
The Abyss of Deceit
The Magician's Illusion
Revealing the Truth
The Darkness of Fame
More Steps Taken, More Lives Risked
The Iron Maiden

New Beginnings

It had been over a month since Crimson had merged with Bleeding Heart. His life had begun to settle down. A few days after they united, Crimson went around town, explaining what went on to his friends. Some understood him and accepted his apologies. Others however were a little less understanding. Lately, Crimson felt that it was time to move on. He was thinking of returning to Canterlot, but decided that it was still too soon. He didn't feel ready to face all the ponies back there. He remembered that he spent a brief period of time in Ponyville while looking for his parents. With that in mind, he prepared to move once more. He spoke to a couple of friends who agreed to run his store for him. Crimson felt it was better to keep the store running than to just sell the building. He spent the night, thinking of what he should do and eventually fell asleep while lost in his thoughts.

Crimson opened his eyes to find that he was surrounded by fog. Looking down, he saw that he was standing on a path made by red blocks. Everything else was hidden from his view. Crimson turned to his side to see Bleeding Heart standing next to him, in flesh. "Bleeding Heart? What are you doing here?"

"I don't know if you realise this, but we are in your dreams right now. Being called here, is not a good sign." he said with a serious expression locked onto his face.

"Should we keep moving? I don't see any way to leave, and I don't think I'm able to wake up right now." Crimson said as he looked down at the blocks, floating in the fog. "I don't even know where we are. I've never been here before."

"That doesn't suprise me. Anyway, yes we need to keep moving." he said, taking a few steps forward while signalling Crimson to follow him. "I know this place only because I am a Shadow. The fact that I am here with you now, makes me wonder if we were brought here because of what happened a month ago."

"A month ago? You mean when I faced myself and you became one with me?"

"Exactly. You see, normally when a host accepts their Shadow, it becomes a Persona. I however did not. This makes me think we were summoned here in your dreams, for that exact reason."

"What exactly is a Persona? Is it a good kind of Shadow? I don't understand." Crimson began to look confused and felt worried that he didn't know as much as Bleeding Heart seemed to.

"A Persona is an extension of oneself, which acts as a mask when faced with hardship. They are like Shadows, except Personas are tame. Most Shadows are wild and malevolent as they often have no control over their actions. I'm not like that, mostly due to the fact that my power was locked in the journal. That being the case, the power never corrupted me, allowing me to keep a level head while completing my task."

"So does that mean you're a Persona instead of a Shadow?" Crimson asked curiously while still walking through the dense fog.

"That is something even I don't know. I would imagine that we are here to find that out. Those that are called to this place are often seeking truth. There are still many things you wish to know, about your family and yourself. I also wish to know about myself, in a sense of finding what I really am." Bleeding Heart continued his explanation of the world they were in, until they reached a giant red gate. A voice could be heard on the other side.

"If you seek truth, pass through the gate and approach me." the mysterious voice said to the pair of them. Crimson had never heard this voice before, but felt that it was being truthful.

"We have to go through. I want to know the truth." Crimson said, determined to keep moving. He was tired of looking back.

"I won't let you go in there alone. I also seek answers, but I must also protect you. It is my duty." Bleeding Heart nodded and stepped forward through the gate, sticking by Crimson's side.

As they walked through, the fog began to thicken quite rapidly. Crimson was suprised by this and started to worry that the fog was going to become too thick. Bleeding Heart stood by his side, not faltering by the thickness of the fog. Neither of them could see, but Bleeding Heart knew that all they had to do right now was listen. The mysterious voice began to speak to them again as a strange entity appeared before them in the fog.

"I see you are both strong enough to brave the fog. One day soon, you shall both recieve the answers you are looking for. However, there is one thing I must tell you now. Bleeding Heart, you are the reason Crimson Breeze was called here."

"I'm the reason? Would you care to elaborate on that, or just leave me in the dark with no more answers?" he said, while staring at the presence in front of him.

"You are a Shadow, yet you have been united with your host. You are tame, yet you are not a Persona. The reason behind this, is that there is a deeper Shadow that must be conquered. Bleeding Heart, you are incomplete."

"Incomplete? What do you mean? Is there part of me that exists elsewhere? Tell me what is going on!" As Bleeding Heart finished what he was saying, both he and Crimson began to feel faint. The fog around them deepened further, until they both fell unconscious.

Crimson woke up the next morning, with Bleeding Heart pacing across the bedroom floor, once again in his spiritual form. "Oh good, you're awake." he said while still pacing around.

"What in Equestria happened last night? Also, why are you pacing around like there is something majorly wrong?" Crimson said as he hopped out of bed and headed downstairs to his kitchen.

Bleeding Heart followed him down, still thinking about the events last night in Crimson's dreams. "Its what happened in your dreams. That voice said I was incomplete. It just feels wierd to hear something like that. Think its true?"

"It could be, but even if it is, its not like we're going to find out. That dream may have said we could find answers, but I have no idea where to look. I think we should just move on with life the way we planned. I'm due to move to Ponyville tomorrow. All my stuff is packed and the moving truck will be here to collect it all this afternoon. Lets go out into town and say our goodbyes. It will help take your mind off of things." Crimson grabbed his bag and headed out the door, waiting for Bleeding Heart to join him.

They went down into town and spent the morning visiting Crimson's friends. Crimson said each of his goodbyes one after the other, which didn't feel as bad as he assumed it would. Bleeding Heart stuck by his side, wondering if Crimson was right about moving on. There wasn't much Bleeding Heart could do anyway. Crimson was right about them having no idea where to look for answers. With this in mind, Bleeding Heart slowly accepted the fact that he was not going to solve anything for the time being, and simply enjoyed the rest of the morning.

They came back in the afternoon and waited for the moving truck to arrive. About half an hour after they got back, there was a knock at the door. Crimson answered it to find a rather robust pegasus pony standing in front of him.

"You're Crimson Breeze, right?" After he nodded in response, the grey pegasus walked inside and introduced himself. "I'm Ernie. My bud out in the truck is Al. We're kinda short-staffed today. Mind helpin' us move your stuff onto the truck?"

"I don't mind. It is my stuff after all." Crimson smiled and proceeded to pick up a few boxes with his telekinesis.

After all the boxes were all packed away, Ernie wondered how Crimson was getting all the way to Ponyville. "Hey Crimson. You got a ride to Ponyville all sorted out yet?"

"Sadly no. Somepony did say they would help me out, but they told me they had to take care of family business at the last minute." Crimson sighed and looked down.

"Well we got space in the truck since Pete didn't show up for work. Wanna tag along with us?" Ernie said, hoping it would cheer him up.

"Thanks. Thats a big help." Crimson said as he hopped into the truck and Al carried them off towards Ponyville.

He arrived in the evening and decided that it would be best just to have his bed unpacked. Ernie and Al helped get his bed taken up to his new bedroom, while Crimson unloaded some of the boxes into the living room. When everything was taken off of the truck, Crimson said his goodbyes to the two pegasi and they flew off. Crimson went up to his room and decided to head to bed early so he could take care of the unpacking the next day.

Into the Room

Crimson awoke to find that he was not in his bedroom. Instead he saw that he was sitting in what appeared to be a spacious carriage. He looked to his left and saw that out of the window, was nothing but fog. He thought he was dreaming again and his assumptions were confirmed when he looked to his right to see Bleeding Heart sitting next to him. Right in front of both of them, sat a pale white unicorn with a peculiar grin on his face and a card in the shape of a tarot card on his flank.

"Welcome, to the Velvet Room. My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. Would you care to introduce yourself?"

"I'm Crimson Breeze and this is Bleeding Heart, my Shadow." He felt that it seemed right to inform Igor of Bleeding Heart's identity. It was as if any dreams he had now were all going to be about the pair of them and their search for truth.

"A Shadow you say? This is very interesting. You see, Shadows are not welcome here." Before Igor could finish, Bleeding Heart interrupted him.

"So I should leave then? I cannot leave Crimson on his own in a place like this. It is my duty to protect him."

Igor smiled again, which really confused Bleeding Heart. "I wouldn't think about leaving just yet. There are still tasks that both of you must complete. Your presence here tells me that you are an invited guest in the Velvet Room. Only those who are bound by a contract may enter, which tells me that very soon you will both enter into a contract and return here once again."

"Well at least that explains that. Is there anything else you wanted to tell us?" Crimson said, thinking it was soon time to leave.

"Well that depends. Do you believe in fortune telling?" The instant Igor said that, a deck of tarot cards appeared on the table in front of them and began to lay out on the table in a spread that Crimson knew all too well.

"The Celtic Cross. Am I correct?" Crimson smirked. When he was younger, he had delved into the art of divination. His grandmother was a diviner and when she passed away, he inherited her most cherished tarot deck. He often spent many evenings, studying the deck and attempting to do readings for himself.

"It seems you know of these already. Well then, care to perform the reading yourself? All you need to do is turn over the cards. I trust you will know what they mean." Igor moved his hooves off of the table, allowing Crimson to take over.

Crimson had never performed a successful reading before, but his last one was many years ago. He hoped his skills with the tarot had enhanced with his age. Igor seemed to feel that he was capable, so he trusted the strange unicorn's judgement. He turned over the first card, representing his current situation.

"The upright Fool. It represents unexpected opportunities and major choices." He moved onto the second card, representing himself, only to find that the card was blank, except for its number at the top. "Number 21 is the World. It represents triumph, achievement, success and overall happiness. Why is it blank?"

Igor looked at the card for a moment and looked up at Crimson. "Just continue the reading. All should become clear as the cards reveal themselves."

The cards continued to spell out his future. The upright Chariot, the upright Moon, the upright Death, the upright High Priestess, the upright Tower, the upright Magician, the upright Hierophant, the inverted Sun and the upright Judgement. "I understand it all now. I can read these cards."

"Would you like to explain what the cards have told you?" Igor asked, smiling.

"Right now, I am faced with the opportunity to make a choice and discover the truth, should I make the right one. The card that represents me is blank, therefore it shows me that I am not ready to see myself. This makes sense when I found that Bleeding Heart is not my complete Shadow. Also, my crossing will be faced with difficulties that will require strength to overcome. The foundation for all of this is uncertainty and illusion, represented by the fog that keeps surrounding me. My past was filled with major change, in the form of Bleeding Heart. He was created and then merged with me after I faced myself, allowing my life to change dramatically from what it was. My present life will contain secrets to be revealed and unexplored potential. This can be in myself and also in those around me. My future will involve the destruction of something in my life that was created by lies. Although the Tower is seen to be a bad card, I do not believe this. The card that represents how I see myself is the Magician, revealing that I feel I have the ability to succeed as well as master my potential. My environment contains an individual who is wise that can guide me. Bleeding Heart is that individual. My fears are a lack of success and major depression. The outcome of my future will involve renewal, revival and rewards for past efforts. Does that seem accurate to you, Igor?

"It seems you were able to read the cards better than I in this case. I congratulate you for this display of knowledge. As you can see now, the near future is going to be another turning point in your life. In the coming days, you will be returning here once again. I will be here to assist you in making sure that your future is not lost forever. Oh that reminds me, I have neglected to introduce you to my assistant. Margaret, would you like to meet our new guests?"

A dark blue unicorn appeared from what seemed to be out of nowhere. Her cutie mark clearly depicted a tarot card, but unlike Igor's, her's was of a specific card, the Empress. "My name is Margaret. I am here to accompany you on your journey. As Igor has said, we are here to ensure that you do not lose sight of your future. Over time, your true potential will be realised and one day, your world will be complete. Until then, we will guide you along the path through the fog, assisting you when faced with difficulties that you would not be able to manage on your own."

Crimson nodded to show that he understood what Margaret was saying. He realised that he was being given the chance to find out everything he wanted to know. It was not going to be easy for either of them, but both Crimson and Bleeding Heart knew that it was necessary.

"Well then, now that our business is settled, I bid you farewell. When you wake up, you will be back in your bedroom. I will eagerly await your return." As Igor said goodbye to the pair of them, they began to feel drowsy. They almost instantly lost sight of the Velvet Room as they passed out.

They woke up in Crimson's bedroom once again, just as Igor had said. He climbed out of bed and noticed a box next to his bed. After picking it up, he noticed it was from Igor. Crimson opened it up and found a letter and a smaller box containing a deck of tarot cards. He opened up the letter and browsed through it.

"For one who has a gift at divination, it seems only fitting that they have a medium to channel these gifts. They may not be your grandmother's cards, but I hope you enjoy using them. Let the cards be your guide through this heavy fog."

Crimson did not know how Igor knew of his grandmother's life as a diviner, but at this point, he did not care. He willingly accepted the deck, knowing that he would need it. He went downstairs to get some breakfast and made plans to head out into town for the day.

Old Friendships Made New

Crimson decided that it would be wise for him to visit the ponies he remembered from when he stayed in Ponyville last time. After grabbing his bag and putting the journal and tarot cards into it, he head out into town, Bleeding Heart following along behind him. Crimson had begun to accept Bleeding Heart's protective nature, but sometimes wished that he wouldn't make him seem so helpless. Regardless, Crimson discarded these thoughts, knowing it wouldn't help him to keep thinking such things. After a fairly long walk, Crimson arrived at Ponyville's library. He knocked on the door and a lavender unicorn answered it a few seconds later.

"Hi there Twilight. Remember me?" Crimson asked with a smile.

"Crimson? Crimson Breeze, is that you?" she looked rather shocked when he nodded in response. "You look so different. Its only been a couple of years. What brings you back here anyway? She had a load of questions for Crimson, but refrained from asking them all at once.

"I decided to move back here. Something happened down at the valley and I wanted to leave. I would have gone to Canterlot but I don't feel like I'm ready to." Crimson sighed.

"Well you should never do something you're not feeling up to, especially something that important. Just take your time." Twilight said in an attempt to comfort Crimson a little.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just gonna enjoy life here in Ponyville until I'm ready. For now though, I'm gonna head out and see the others. I think they're probably gonna be happy to see me again." Crimson started to smile again, knowing he still had friends who cared about him.

"Mind if I join you? I just finished my studying and I was going to go and see Applejack for a little while." She already had her saddlebag on, so she assumed Crimson wouldn't say no.

"I don't see why not. It gives us a little time to catch up." Crimson started walking towards Sweet Apple Acres, with Twilight walking at his side.

Since they had a long distance to walk, Twilight thought it would be a good time to ask Crimson a few things. "So what happened at the valley that made you want to leave?"

Crimson was rather shocked when he heard her ask that. He didn't have a reason to hide anything anymore, but he didn't think she would believe him if he told her about the journal and the existence of Shadows. "Well I don't know if you will believe me, but I will tell you if you want me to."

"I'm pretty open-minded. Plus, I can't think of a reason why you would lie to me." Twilight said with a smile. She did trust Crimson. She was just worried that he didn't trust her.

"Well alright. The truth is that while I was living in the valley, I was using my journal to write down all my deepest secrets and hidden feelings. Eventually these feelings manifested themselves as a pony who looked almost exactly like me. He called himself a Shadow and he told me that he was the result of my magic and my emotions being poured into the pages of my journal. His intentions were to reveal the things I had been hiding to the other ponies living in town. Even though I managed to stop him after a little self-realisation, I eventually confessed on my own. Some accepted it. Others did not. So after a little time to reflect on it, I decided to move." Crimson looked at Twilight to see that she was very confused, which didn't suprise him in the slightest.

"That was a lot to take in, but I do believe you. Mind if I ask a few more questions about this? There are still some things I want to understand." She gave him a sincere smile, showing that she really did care about what he had to say. Crimson was happy to see that she understood him, which would make it easier to tell her everything she wanted to know.

"Go ahead Twilight. I have nothing to hide anymore." Crimson took his journal out of his bag, just in case Twilight wanted to see it.

"I assume thats your journal that the Shadow came out of." Twilight walked closer to him to try and get a look at it. Crimson opened it up and let Twilight look inside.

"Inside that journal, is everything I have been hiding from everypony for years." Crimson said as Twilight flicked through the pages, while still walking alongside him.

"You really feel this way sometimes? I had no idea. Crimson, why didn't you tell anypony?" Crimson was majorly suprised to hear her reaction, but he knew it was genuine. Since he didn't know what to say, he just stayed silent and looked down. "Everypony has a side to them like this. We all have things we don't want others to know. We even have things we hide from ourselves. You just need to remember that true friends will understand if you tell them the truth."

Crimson had nothing to say at this point. He knew everything Twilight said was true. He had learned it all first hand because of Bleeding Heart. To show that he understood her, Crimson faced Twilight, smiled and nodded. It wasn't much, but it said enough.

"I'm glad you understand Crimson. This journal answers most of my questions. Although I do have one other question for you. What happened to your Shadow?"

Crimson didn't say a word. He felt it was better if Bleeding Heart answered that question. Although he was no longer in flesh, Bleeding Heart could reveal himself to anyone he wished. Suddenly, Twilight saw a blood red pony standing next to Crimson, looking right at Twilight. "I am Bleeding Heart, Crimson's Shadow."

Twilight instantly jumped back. She wasn't scared, but he did catch her by suprise. "You were telling the truth all along. Now I'm just even more confused."

"Do not let the confusion get to you. Consider me a part of Crimson, since that is exactly what I am." Bleeding Heart did not want Twilight to get too involved in their endeavours. After all, anyone who got involved could end up in serious danger. Bleeding Heart knew there was something in that journal. He just didn't know what.

"If you say so. Just remember that you can always talk to me about problems like this. I am your friend after all." Twilight smiled as they approached the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. Bleeding Heart vanished once more as they walked through the gate to go and find Applejack.

Bearing the Truth

Crimson and Twilight walked through the huge orchard, looking for Applejack. They heard a rather loud banging noise that seemed to repeat itself. Twilight started running towards it and Crimson followed. When they found the cause of the noise, what they saw was an orange earth pony with a blonde mane that was tied back and covered by a brown cowboy hat. "Hey there Applejack." Twilight said with a smile as she walked over. Crimson decided to go and re-introduce himself.

Before he could say anything, Applejack spoke first. "Well howdy Crimson. 'Aint seen ya in a while. How come your back here in Ponyville anyhow?"

"Long story short, my life in the valley got a little complicated. I'd tell you more, but it would be a lot to take in." Crimson said, trying to avoid telling everyone about Bleeding Heart at once. Twilight nodded in agreement, since she could tell Crimson wasn't too willing to tell his story more than once today.

"Well its mighty nice to see ya back here. Ah was just gonna head over to Sugarcube Corner since ah'm done with the apple buckin'. Ya'll wanna come with me?"

"We would be happy to. The more the merrier after all." Twilight seemed very cheerful. Crimson wasn't sure why, but he was also feeling a little happier. He considered if it was actually him being around more friends that made things seem better. He soon discarded these thoughts and started talking to the others as they walked.

"Hey Crimson, ah got a question for ya. Mind if ah ask?" Applejack asked, curiously staring at him.

"Only if you promise to stop staring at me. Its a little freaky." Crimson chuckled a little, causing Twilight to do the same.

"Alright, alright. Anyway, ya seem mighty different from how ya used to be a couple years back. What happened out in the valley?" Applejack seemed pretty serious with her question. Crimson began to wonder if he really had changed that much.

"Well I'm gonna keep this cut short. We're almost at Sugarcube Corner anyway. When I was in the valley, I was hiding a lot of things from the ponies I lived around. I was writing a lot of things in the journal in my bag. I suppose you could say I was hiding a part of myself." Crimson took the journal out and showed it to Applejack. She took the journal and began reading through it. "I eventually told them what I had been hiding and as I expected, not everyone was so accepting and forgiving. I decided I needed to move on again, so I returned to Ponyville."

"This is how ya really feel Crimson? Ah'm kinda suprised. Ya never acted this way around us. Why did ya hide all this?" Applejack stopped for a moment and put her hoof around him. "Ya don't need to hide things like that from friends. We're all the same. Everypony's got somethin' they wanna hide. Its just a part of who ya are. Promise that ya won't hide anythin' from me, please."

"I promise. My days of living behind a mask have ended. I won't hide anything from you Applejack. You have my word." Crimson smiled and hugged her and she hugged back. Crimson knew that they were going to be great friends.

They let go of each other and started heading towards Sugarcube Corner once again. The rest of the walk was filled with light conversation. Crimson felt a little guilty about promising to hide nothing from Applejack, yet concealing Bleeding Heart's existence from her. Despite this guilt, he knew it was better that way. Once they arrived, Applejack opened the door and walked in first, the other two following behind. As soon as Crimson walked in, he saw a pink blur and then found himself lying on the ground, a cheerful pink earth pony staring at him with her sparkly blue eyes.

"I remember you. You're Crimson, right? Of course I'm right. I know everypony in Ponyville. I remember the first time I saw you and because I didn't recognise you, I was really suprised. Then I found out who you were and I threw you that huge welcome party so you could make loads of new friends. I got really sad when you left but now that you're back I'm super happy again. I think I should throw you a party to welcome you back. Won't that be fun?" The pony looked like she was going to explode from excitement, but Crimson already knew of her rather eccentric behaviour.

"Its nice to see you too Pinkie Pie. Would you mind helping me up?" Crimson chuckled and held his hoof out, waiting for Pinkie give him some assistance. She helped him up and then walked over to one of the tables near the back. "Anypony want any cupcakes? I just made a fresh batch." She passed a cupcake to each of them.

Applejack ate her's in one bite. "Great as always Pinkie Pie. What's your secret?" She knew Pinkie wouldn't tell anyone what secret ingredients she puts into her cupcakes, but she always found it funny to hear her random responses.

"Well if you really must know, I always put in a dash of love. Thats the real secret to making great cupcakes." Pinkie chuckled, knowing Applejack wouldn't believe her.

Twilight and Crimson ate their cupcakes as well. Twilight enjoyed the taste, but Crimson acted as though it was the best thing he had ever had in his life. "This cupcake is fantastic. Its been so long since I've eaten anything this good. Got any more?"

The rest of them laughed while Pinkie got him another cupcake. Crimson grabbed it and wolfed it down. Twilight and Applejack couldn't stop laughing. Pinkie decided to grab the tray and put it in front of Crimson. "Go ahead and have the rest. I can make up a fresh batch in no time anyway. Its great to see that you still love my baking." Pinkie was really pleased to see Crimson again. A huge smile lit up her face and it was clear that it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Oh yeah. Mind if I ask you something Crimson?" Pinkie seemed curious about something and Crimson was pretty sure what it was. He nodded, while still munching on her cupcakes. "How come you're back here in Ponyville anyway? I thought you had a new life somewhere else. Not that I don't like it that you're back here. I'm just wondering."

Crimson raised a hoof at her, letting her know that he understood and that she could stop talking. He then looked at Twilight and pointed to his bag, in an attempt to ask her to explain his situation. He didn't think it was wise to talk with a mouth full of baked goods.

Twilight grabbed the journal from his bag and walked up to Pinkie. "Ooh what kind of book is that? It looks really important." Pinkie took the journal and started reading through it randomly.

"That book is Crimson's journal. While he was living in the valley, he hid all of his true feelings in that book. Eventually the guilt of hiding it got to him and he decided to confess to the ponies living there. Some accepted and forgave him. Others didn't. He then decided that it would be best if he just left the valley and went somewhere else. He came back here because he still knew a few ponies and thought it would be better that way."

Crimson nodded, letting them know that Twilight was correct in her explanation, while still eating the last couple of cupcakes on the tray. Pinkie continued to read through the journal and when she had finished, she dropped it and walked over to Crimson. He looked up and she instantly hugged him. "Its alright Crimson. I don't care about how you really feel. What matters is that you are still my friend. I know you care about us. Otherwise you wouldn't have come back to Ponyville. Please promise me you'll stay this time."

Crimson nodded faster, his face turning blue from how tight she was hugging him. As soon as she let go, he started gasping for breath. "Not so tight next time Pinkie. I almost fainted." She apologised and took the tray back into the kitchen.

Twilight looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was already 3pm. "Sorry everypony, but I need to get going. Spike is coming back from Canterlot soon and I promised to be there when he arrives." She waved to the others as she left Sugarcube Corner.

Applejack then decided that it was time for her to leave too. "Ah'm sorry Crimson but if ah don't get back to the farm soon, Big Macintosh is not gonna be happy. Ah promised to fix up the inside of the barn this afternoon. See ya'll later." She then left and started running back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Crimson walked into the kitchen to see Pinkie Pie mixing up another batch of cupcakes. "Sorry to leave so suddenly, but I need to get going. I still have to take care of a few things around town."

She smiled at him after putting her batch in the oven. "Okie dokie lokie. I'm still throwing you that party by the way. Its gonna be so much fun. I'll be sure to invite everypony."

"I'm looking forward to it. Anyway, I'll see you later Pinkie. It was nice seeing you again." He grabbed his bag and left Sugarcube Corner. Crimson decided that it was probably best for him to go and find Rarity next. Luckily, the Carousel Boutique was only a short distance away.

As he was walking, Bleeding Heart appeared to talk to Crimson. "Do you really think it was wise for me to appear in front of Twilight and not the others?" Crimson continued walking, saying nothing at all. "Well I don't know what you were thinking, but I hope you know that if they get involved with our business, it will put them in danger."

"What could possibly happen to them? Its not like they are going to be going into my journal anytime soon. You're the only one who can bring anypony in there." Crimson tried to assure him that it was alright, but Bleeding Heart was still concerned.

"I hope you're right about this Crimson. I really do. This is something even I know very little about, which is really worrying me." Bleeding Heart faded away as they arrived at the Carousel Boutique.

Crimson wandered inside to see a white unicorn standing next to a blue pegasus pony in an elegant dress who seemed to be trying to escape. "Um, am I interrupting something here?" Crimson shyly walked up towards them.

The unicorn turned to see Crimson walking towards them. "Crimson, darling. I haven't seen you in such a long time. We should spend some time to catch up, but would you mind helping me something first?" She pointed at the pegasus pony who looked like she was about to tear her own mane out.

"Rarity, I don't think I want to help you torture Rainbow Dash. She looks like she's about to go berserk." Crimson chuckled a little, while watching Rainbow Dash almost rip the dress in half.

"Rainbow Dash! Don't you even think about ripping that dress. It took me hours to create." Rarity's anger was enough to stop Rainbow Dash from actually doing anything, apart from just sitting there. "If you don't like the dress, you should just tell me."

"I did, several times. You know I don't wanna look pretty. If I have to wear a dress, I want it to be as cool as I am. Now can I get out of this thing?" Rainbow Dash didn't wait for Rarity to answer her and just took the dress off straight away.

Rarity sighed, thinking that she was never going to be able to make Rainbow Dash look pretty. "Lets just move on shall we? So Crimson my dear, you never said why you were back in Ponyville. Did you miss me that much?" Rarity had a huge grin on her face, thinking that was the real reason he came back.

"Don't jump to conclusions Rarity. I did miss you guys, but that isn't the only reason I came back. Truth is, my life in the valley started getting pretty hectic about a month ago." Crimson attempted to continue to explain, but Rainbow Dash interrupted him.

"What happened? It must have been pretty bad to make you leave." Rainbow Dash looked as curious as Applejack, and gave him a similar stare.

"Rainbow Dash, do you think you could stop staring at me? Its freaking me out a little." Crimson tried to avoid looking at her.

"Sorry Crimson. I'm just really curious. You are okay with telling us, aren't you?" She looked genuinely sorry. Crimson noticed that everyone he met seemed to care about what happened in the valley. He assumed that they really did care about him.

Once again he grabbed the journal out of his bag and showed it to both of them. "I don't have any problem with showing you. Keeping things hidden from my friends is how I ended up in this situation. I hid all of those things I wrote down from my friends. The things in that journal are all my true feelings, or at least some of the darker ones. I realised that I needed to start telling the truth to my friends. When I did, there were quite a few who did not understand. After a while, I realised that I needed to move on. I hope you guys understand that I'm not completely dark on the inside."

Both of them finished reading the journal and Rarity decided to speak her mind first. "Darling, its alright. I know what its like to hide parts of who you are. I understand why you did it. You don't need to hide anything from me. Promise that you won't ever try to run away from your friends over things like this again."

Rainbow Dash interjected before Crimson could respond. "So you're a little dark inside. Big deal. You still care about your friends. I know it. I mean, you cared enough to come back to Ponyville to see us. If the stuff in that journal was all true, then you wouldn't be standing there talking to us. Promise me that you won't change. I like the real you, not the you thats inside that book."

Crimson smiled. He could tell that they really did care. He was glad to be back around ponies that truly understood him. "Thanks guys. I promise that I won't go back to the way things were before. Ever since I realised that secrets only made things worse, I have changed a lot. From now on, I'm going to leave my dark thoughts behind. I don't need them anymore."

"Glad to hear it. So how long are you gonna be here in Ponyville anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked after handing him back his journal.

"Until I feel ready to return to Canterlot and face everypony I left behind when I got seperated. It could be years though. I don't really want to go back." Crimson put the book back in his bag and looked down. He felt like he had to go back, even if he didn't want to.

"If you don't want to go back, then don't." Rarity looked Crimson right in the eyes. "Darling, don't let anypony control your life. You always were a free spirit. Its who you are. Don't go back just because your parents may have expected you to. Its your life. Live it how you want." Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement.

"Thanks again Rarity. Anyway, I should get going. I still need to find Fluttershy." Crimson said his goodbyes and head out.

He started heading home so he could drop off his bag. Crimson didn't want Fluttershy reading the journal. Although she was very understanding, she was also very sensitive. As his home came into view, he saw a yellow pegasus pony sitting outside his house. He walked up to her and when she noticed Crimson standing there, she looked up and smiled faintly. "Hi Fluttershy. Its nice to see you again." Crimson smiled as he sat down next to her.

"I-its nice to see you too C-Crimson." Fluttershy looked down. Crimson was majorly different and she felt uneasy around him, but she didn't know why.

"Is something wrong? He tried to look at her, but she kept looking away.

"No. I-I'm fine. Its just... n-nothing." Fluttershy clearly had something she wanted to say and Crimson wanted her to say it.

"Fluttershy, you know you can tell me anything. I'm your friend." Crimson smiled in an attempt to console her without making her too afraid.

"Y-you're right. Sorry. Its just that when Twilight said that you came back, I couldn't wait to see you. Then she said you'd changed and it made me worry." Crimson put his hoof around her before she said anything else.

"Its alright Fluttershy. The only change I've gone through, is that I improved my life. You don't need to worry about anything." Crimson smiled. He didn't want to worry Fluttershy with the contents of his journal. He didn't like hiding it, but he knew it was for the best.

The two of them spent the rest of the evening talking with each other. Although Crimson was good friends with all of them, he felt that he was closest with Fluttershy. Even though Fluttershy was always so timid, Crimson always seemed to be able to relax her very easily. He always looked out for Fluttershy and he would never do anything that would upset her. They continued to keep each other company until Fluttershy decided to head home. Crimson then went inside and saw that he still hadn't unpacked. He spent the rest of the evening sorting out all of his things and then went to bed, hoping that the next day would be as pleasant as this one.

The Abyss of Deceit

Crimson woke up in total darkness. The only thing he could see was himself, barely. This time Bleeding Heart was not with him, but he knew it was a dream. He started walking through the darkness, knowing that he could face anything within it. A voice began to call out to him.

"Please somepony. Help me. Its so dark. I can't see anything. Where am I?!"

Crimson thought for a moment and recognised that it was Twilight's voice. He started following her voice, running as fast as he could through the darkness. He was getting closer. He could tell. The only problem was that he still couldn't see her. He tried calling out to her to see if that would help him find her.

"Twilight! Can you hear me?!" He shouted at the top of his voice, hoping Twilight could hear her.

"Crimson? Is that you? Please, help me. I'm scared. What's happening?" Twilight was close to bursting into tears. She was terrified.

Another voice emerged in the darkness, but neither of them recognised it. "Aww poor Crimson. Unable to help one of his friends, even though she is right there in front of him. This is going to be fun. Here is a warning to you Crimson. You think that Bleeding Heart merging with you was enough to end your suffering and get rid of your Shadow. Well guess what? You're wrong." The mysterious voice began to laugh maniacally, almost as if it was taunting Crimson.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this to Twilight?!" Crimson was starting to get angry, but was still able to prevent himself lashing out aimlessly.

"You'll find out eventually. I would recommend trying to save your friend Twilight first. After all, if you don't save her soon, she could die."

"Die?! Please! Don't do this to me! Crimson! Help me!" Twilight began screaming and her voice began to fade, as if she was disappearing.

"What did you do to Twilight?! Bring her back here and let her go!" Crimson was clenching his teeth, much to the delight of the creature looking down at him.

"She isn't going anywhere, at least not yet. I took her to a place that was created from the truth within her heart. If you don't find and save her in time, I'm afraid her own darkness is going to kill your precious friend." It began to chuckle.

"What is going on here?! Why are you doing this?!"

"Consider this a test. If you really consider these ponies as your friends, then surely you will be willing to risk your own life to save theirs."

"What's the real reason?" Crimson wasn't going to fall for a lie as pathetic as that.

"Its fun. I enjoy watching others suffer. After all, it makes me stronger. I feed on hate. I feed on anger. I feed on sadness. All of these negative emotions fuel me, making me more and more powerful."

"I'll never let you get away with this! I'm going to save her!" Crimson started running, looking for a way out of this horrible nightmare.

The entity looked at him struggle to find an exit. "Fine. I'll help you out. Oh and before I forget, you have two days to save her. Good luck Crimson." It cackled as Crimson began to sink into the darkness beneath him. It seemed to swallow him whole and Crimson started to scream before he blacked out.

Before he knew it, he woke up in his bed, flailing his legs in a panic. Bleeding Heart appeared and calmed him down.

"What happened in that dream Crimson? I tried to enter your dreams but something stopped me."

"Twilight. She's in danger. If I don't save her in two days, she's going to die." Crimson looked down. He was the only one who could save her, but didn't even know what to do.

Bleeding Heart recoiled a little. "Its just as I feared. Crimson, I think your true Shadow is behind this."

"What? My true Shadow? That doesn't make any sense. It said in my dream that it loved seeing others suffer. I have never felt that way in my life." Crimson put his hoof under his chin and started to think.

"Its because your Shadow has had too long to grow. It originally manifested as a Shadow that had a personality comprised of your hidden feelings. However, as a Shadow grows, its personality becomes warped. Shadows grow by feeding on other Shadows. They merge together, combining their strength and their minds. This means that your Shadow has absorbed so many others, that now all it has, is a taste for blood. Therefore it is likely, that it is using your friends as a means to increase its own strength, while mentally breaking you." Bleeding Heart looked out the window, trying to think about this more as he looked at the sun rising on the horizon.

"So we may be dealing with something that has far more power than we could handle?" Crimson looked deeply concerned. He had to save Twilight, but didn't know if he could handle it.

"Sadly yes. However, we must press on regardless. We may or may not encounter your Shadow while saving her. That is a chance we have to take. All we need to do now is find her. Do you have any idea where she might be?"

Crimson thought for a moment. "My Shadow said that she was taken to a place that was created from the truth within her heart. Does that mean anything?"

"It is likely that she was taken somewhere in the Shadow's world. However, we cannot determine where in that world she is. You see, there are multiple entrances. We could enter through the journal, but we may or may not be anywhere near her when we arrive. We could try to find the entrace that was used to pull her in, but we may not find it quickly enough. I will leave the decision to you. Should we enter through the journal, or look for the other entrance?" Bleeding Heart looked straight at Crimson, waiting for him to announce their plan.

"It said we have two days to save her. Do you think we should use today to look for an entrance, and if it doesn't work out, use the journal tomorrow?" Crimson felt that this was an ideal suggestion. It was risky, but so was any other plan he could have made. Twilight's life was on the line. He didn't want to make any mistakes.

"That seems acceptable to me. We should head over to the library later. That is the only location I can think of that the entrance would appear." Bleeding Heart started to walk downstairs, with Crimson slowly following behind.

Crimson ate his breakfast as quickly as possible then they proceeded to run down to the library. If they were going to save Twilight, they knew they had to act as quickly as possible.

The Magician's Illusion

Crimson arrived at the library within a few minutes and started gasping for breath. He pushed his limit to get there as soon as he could, but didn't care that he was in pain. Twilight was in danger and Crimson was the only one who could save her. He walked up to the door and went inside, only to find a purple dragon with green round scales panicking in the corner. Crimson walked up to him and tapped him on the back.

"Who's there?! Hey I remember you. You're Crimson, right?" Crimson nodded in response and let the dragon continue. "I'm glad you're here. Twilight's gone missing! Have you seen her?!" He started to panic again.

"No Spike, I haven't. However, I do know where she is. Before you ask anymore questions, I need to know that you trust me to explain everything first." Spike nodded while biting his claws. "Twilight has been taken into another world and is currently in danger. I have reason to believe that I can follow her in through a vortex that is somewhere in this library. It is likely to have appeared in something that Twilight is emotionally connected to, like a journal. Do you have any ideas where it may be?"

Spike looked extremely confused, but tried to help anyway. "Well all Twilight's personal stuff is in her room. Its upstairs if you want to take a look."

Crimson started to walk upstairs and Spike followed along behind. As soon as Crimson walked into her room, he found something out of the ordinary. A huge book was opened up on a pedestal. Crimson approached it and noticed that the pages it was open at were blank. "Spike, what book is this?" he asked while still staring at the book's worn pages.

"Its Twilight's biggest encyclopedia. She told me it contains every single bit of Equestrian history. Its her most precious possession, at least thats what she said." Spike was curious as to why Crimson was so focussed on that one book.

Crimson touched the page and to his suprise, it rippled, sending a wave across the pages, much like a water drop would ripple in a pond. Bleeding Heart appeared at Crimson's side and examined the encyclopedia in front of them.

"Crimson, this is it. This book is emitting a dark aura and the pages rippling like that confirmed my suspicions. A Shadow has been in contact with this book." Bleeding Heart stood there, looking at Crimson, waiting for the next order.

"If this is our way in, we need to go now." Crimson looked at Bleeding Heart and nodded, then turned to face Spike. "We are going in after Twilight. Stay here and do not let anypony into this library for any reason."

"We? Who are you going with?" Spike rubbed his head in confusion. A moment later, Bleeding Heart revealed himself to Spike, causing him to jump back and fall to the floor. "What just happened?! Who are you?!"

"I am Bleeding Heart. All you need to know is that I am a part of Crimson. Trust our words and remain here. We will return with Twilight as soon as we can."

With that, Crimson and Bleeding Heart began to place their hooves into the book, slowly entering it completely and transporting themselves to the world of the Shadows. When they arrived, they saw themselves in a dark library. No windows could be seen. The bookshelves were all old and dusty, the books themselves even more worn. Crimson walked over to one of the bookshelves and took one of the books. The cover was torn and the spine was split. He opened the book and the pages were all the same. Each only had one word written on it.

"Alone. That's all each page has on it. What do you think this means?" Crimson picked up more books, only to find that they too, only had the word 'alone' written on each page.

"I guess this means we've found Twilight's inner library. I'm not sure how to interpret our surroundings, but its best if we don't. Come on. Twilight is probably nearby, we need to keep moving and find here as soon as we can." Bleeding Heart began moving towards the back of the library and Crimson followed him.

When they reached the back, they found a doorway. However, instead of a door, there was a red and black vortex standing in front of them. Voices could be heard through the vortex, but neither of them could figure our what was being said. They proceeded through, Crimson's resolve overpowering his fear of what lies ahead.

The two found themselves standing in a round room. It was almost pitch black. The only source of light was a small swinging lamp dangling from the dark ceiling in the centre of the room. All Crimson and Bleeding Heart could see was a table and chair in the centre. A lavender unicorn was sitting on the chair with her head hanging down.

"Twilight!" Crimson ran straight towards her. He knew it could be no other pony. She looked up at him and she had tears in her eyes.

"Crimson. Please, help me. Get me out of this horrible place." Her voice was faint and she was genuinely terrified. She held Crimson tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Its ok Twilight. Lets get out of here. Bleeding Heart can help us leave." They started to walk back to Bleeding Heart, when they heard a voice. It was very similar to Twilight's, but was more ominous.

"Finally, somepony came to save me. I didn't think I was ever going to leave this scary place. Why can't I ever take care of myself?" another lavender pony emerged from the darkness, surrounded by a dark blue aura. She looked exactly like Twilight, the only difference being this pony's yellow eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight stood close to Crimson. She was curious and somewhat scared of this pony that appeared out of nowhere.

"You think you can't do anything by yourself anymore. You feel like you depend on your friends so much, its impacted your ability to stand on your own four hooves. You don't want to lose your friends yet you don't want to be around them? Twilight, you are so pathetic. Why don't you take a good look at yourself? Go on. I'm standing right here." The other pony walked towards Twilight and Crimson and stopped right in front of the pair of them.

"What are you saying? Who are you?" Twilight's voice was still faint and her head was still hanging. She didn't want to look up.

"I believe I just told you that. I am you. You are me. We're both one and the same. Thats why I know all about you and what's really inside that heart of yours." The other Twilight started laughing maniacally.

"No. I can't accept that. You're nothing like me. Its not true." Twilight tried to continue, but Crimson stopped her before she could say another word.

"Twilight listen to me. This thing in front of us is your Shadow. If you reject it, it will grow in power and try to take your life. You have to accept it." He kept her close, hoping she would listen to him.

"Sorry Crimson, but I can't accept what isn't true. That thing isn't me and it never will be!" Twilight shouted and as she did, she saw the Shadow in front of her begin to grow.

"You're right. I'm not you, yet. Although when I'm done, I'm going to be the only Twilight Sparkle left standing. Say goodbye!" The pony in front of them started to transform into a more powerful entity, as lesser Shadows throughout the library began to merge with it. Soon enough, Twilight's Shadow had become completely black. A huge hole now appeared in her chest, revealing how empty Twilight's Shadow truly was.

"I am a Shadow, the true self. I'll never lose my solitude and I'll kill anypony who gets in my way!" Twilight's Shadow immediately charged at Twilight and Crimson. Her horn began to glow and increase in size.

Bleeding Heart appeared right in front of them and blocked the attack with his own horn. "You wanna play with darkness? Then I'll do the same!" His horn began to glow and a dark barrier surrounded Twilight. She began to worry but Bleeding Heart began to speak through the shadows. "Do not worry Twilight. You are safe within that barrier. Crimson and I will handle this."

Crimson's horn started glowing as he charged at Twilight's Shadow. She charged at him and their horns clashed. They each began to struggle for control and Bleeding Heart took this opportunity to change the rules. Two Shadows rose out of the ground and merged with him, causing two black wings to form on his back. He rose into the air and unleashed a wave of fire at the pair of them. Crimson saw the flames out of the corner of his eye and leaped back. Before she could do the same, Twilight's Shadow was trapped in the fire, unable to move and slowly taking damage from the flames.

"You think this is enough to stop me?! Think again you troublesome foals!" She unleashed a wave of dark energy, which extinguished the flames in one single strike. She then charged at Crimson, knocking him to the ground.

"You just made a big mistake. It is my duty to protect Crimson." Bleeding Heart immediately charged at her from the air. She stood her ground, causing the two to clash. Due to his advantage of height, Bleeding Heart was able to ram Twilight's Shadow into the ground. While she was down, Bleeding Heart created a vortex in the ground. A black hand emerged from that vortex which then plunged into Twilight's Shadow. As it did, the hand began to drain the darkness out of her, returning her to her original form. After Bleeding Heart was sure it was safe, he lowered the barrier around Twilight. She got up and walked over to Bleeding Heart. Crimson then followed suit and stood up. He limped over to the others, realising it was time for Twilight to face herself.

Twilight's Shadow then stood up weakly and looked at Twilight, saying nothing at all. Crimson gently nudged Twilight, indicating that she needed to do what he said earlier. She looked at him, nodded and then turned back to her Shadow. "I didn't want to accept it, but I can't hide the truth forever. I really do feel that way sometimes. I just didn't want my friends to think that I didn't want them around anymore, but at the same time I didn't want to depend on them too much. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I understand now. You really are me, or at least part of me anyway."

At that moment, Twilight's Shadow began to glow. Her form was transforming once again, but this time it was different. Her coat changed from lavender to bright white, her horn grew larger and a small book of spells appeared on a chain around her neck, the larger equivalent appearing at her side. She then began to speak.

"Twilight Sparkle, you have demonstrated the strength of heart needed to face oneself. For this, you have unlocked the facade to overcome life's hardships. I am Shining Star." She then faded away and in her place, a tarot card appeared in front of Twilight.

She grabbed it and showed it to Crimson. "Crimson, do you know what this card is for?" She handed the card to him. He looked at it and saw that it was the magician arcana card.

"This card represents your Persona. Since you were able to face yourself and overcome your Shadow, it changed into your Persona, Shining Star. She now resides within that card. If the time ever comes, you will know how to realease it. Trust me." Crimson smiled at her, supporting her as they began to walk out of the room and back into the main library.

"You seem to know a lot about this. Is it because of Bleeding Heart?" She looked at Crimson, who nodded. He didn't have anything else to say about it. All he wanted to do was leave this world as soon as possible.

They walked back to where they entered and found that the door to the library was rippling, much like the pages of the encyclopedia they used to enter it. Crimson didn't hesitate to walk through the doorway with Twilight and Bleeding Heart. When they reached the end of the path, they found themselves back in Twilight's real library.

Spike saw them come back with Twilight and was glad to see them return. "Oh thank Celestia you saved her. Is she gonna be alright?"

Crimson nodded. "She will be fine. She just needs rest." He helped Twilight to her bed and laid her down. Within a minute she was sound asleep. Crimson walked back over to Spike. "Don't let her do anything stressful for the next two or three days. She needs to stay in bed and relax." Spike nodded and saw Crimson out before going to clean up the mess in Twilight's room.

Crimson then headed back home and decided to go straight to bed. He was exhausted from being inside the Shadow's world for so long. He went up to his bedroom, climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep as quickly as Twilight did.

Revealing the Truth

Crimson woke up to find himself in a familiar place. He looked around, and realised that he was back in the Velvet Room, with Bleeding Heart sitting by his side. He turned to face Igor, who began to speak.

"Welcome once again, my interesting guests. It seems that you have both progressed on your path to the truth. I have brought you back here, because it is time for your contracts to become acknowledged." Igor turned to face Margaret, who took over in their explanation.

"Bleeding Heart. Your contract is with Crimson. You have vowed to protect him in his endeavours, which ties you to his journey. I am aware that you are bound by the fact that you are parts of the same soul, however, a contract was still formed." Bleeding Heart nodded and looked at Crimson.

"What about my contract? I don't remember making a contract with anypony." He rubbed his head in confusion.

"Your contract lies in the bond that you have made with your new friends in Ponyville. You made a promise to each one of them, Twilight Sparkle in particular. You promised to save her when she was confronted by her Shadow. Although you may have already rescued Twilight, others will be put in danger in the same way."

"I think I understand. Its a little confusing though." Crimson kept rubbing his head.

"There is no need to concern yourself with the minor details. What is important, is that you keep moving along your path to the truth. Look down at the cards on the table. Each one represents somepony close to you. The card in the centre represents yourself. Notice how only one of them is complete."

Crimson looked down at the table and saw seven cards arranged on it. There were six laid out in a hexagon pattern and one in the middle. The one in the centre was the world, but it was still blank. The only card on the table that wasn't was blank, was the magician. What suprised Crimson the most, was that instead of the normal image he saw on it before, there was now a picture of Twilight on it.

"This is Twilight. How did she get on this card?" Crimson picked it up and stared at it, examining the image.

"It is as I said. That card represents a close friend of yours. This deck has connected with your soul, meaning that the cards, are manipulated by you. Your soul and the souls of those that you bond with, will connect to the cards, changing their images. They also act as a home for each Persona. Didn't you notice when your friend's Persona took the form of a card?"

"Alright. I get it now. This also explains why my card is still blank. Its because I haven't yet found my Persona."

"Exactly. Your card and the cards connected to your friends will fill with an image when a Persona is there to form it. Now that we have everything covered, I believe it is time for you to awaken. Farewell." Crimson's vision became blurry and he soon lost consciousness as his dream came to an end.

Crimson awoke the next morning to the sun shining down on his face. He climbed out of bed and walked towards the window. Looking out at the morning sky, he felt a glimmer of hope. He remembered that he was able to save Twilight and took solace in the fact that she was not killed by her Shadow. He walked downstairs to find Bleeding Heart reading a letter in the living room. "Who's the letter from?" he asked while trying to peek at the letter.

"No sense trying to peek. It is addressed to you after all." Bleeding Heart passed him the letter and continued to speak. "I don't know who its from. Judging by its content, its not from any ponies around here."

Crimson began reading the note aloud. "Well well Crimson. Looks like you're not as pathetic as I thought you were. Watching you and your Shadow will be very entertaining. Just because you saved Twilight does not mean the game is over. Care to know the next player's identity? I'll give you a hint. The answer lies at the end of the rainbow. See you in the Shadow's world." Despair could be seen all over Crimson's face. He knew who was next and he knew who wrote the letter.

"Any ideas, Crimson?" Bleeding Heart walked towards the window and just stood there staring outside. "I have a feeling we are dealing with a force more powerful than anything we could ever imagine."

"I know who sent this. It was that thing watching us when we first saw Twilight in that dream. I don't know what it is exactly, but we can probably assume that it is a Shadow. If it is, I don't know whose Shadow it could be." Crimson began pacing across the room, thinking of what to do next. "I suppose we need to go and make sure Rainbow Dash is okay. After all, it was fairly obvious that the hint was talking about her."

"Good idea. If she is still around, we need to warn her. If she isn't, then we will need to go into the world through the journal. After all, her posessions will all be in Cloudsdale, which we cannot access without taking too much time." Bleeding Heart opened the door, and walked out, waiting for Crimson to follow.

The pair of them walked around Ponyville for a while looking for Rainbow Dash. They asked a few of the other ponies that they found in town, but none of them had seen her. They asked a couple of pegasus ponies coming down from Cloudsdale, but even they hadn't seen her.

Crimson looked down and his ears dropped. "She's already been taken, hasn't she?"

"We don't know that for certain. Rainbow Dash could still be around here. I remember that she was involved in a competition with Applejack. Perhaps its worth going to Sweet Apple Acres." Bleeding Heart put his hoof on Crimson's back to try and console him.

"Alright. I hope she's actually there." He started walking towards Sweet Apple Acres, while praying that Rainbow Dash would be there. As he came closer to the orchard, Crimson heard a rather large amount of shouting. He started running because he recognised that one of the ponies that was raising their voice was Rainbow Dash.

Crimson ran through the gates and immediately smiled when he saw Rainbow Dash standing there, yelling at Applejack. "Rainbow Dash! You don't know how glad I am to see you!" Crimson said as he started panting before he fell to the floor.

"What in tarnation? Crimson, why are ya so happy to see Rainbow Dash anyhow?" Applejack said as she helped him up.

Bleeding Heart walked through the gate and took over for Crimson. "Allow me to explain. Last night, Twilight was put in mortal danger. As you both know by now, I am Crimson's Shadow, an extension of his personality. Well, Twilight was attacked by her Shadow. We were able to assist her and as a result, save her life. We don't know who is responsible for what happened, but we do know that he is targeting more ponies. His next pony of choice, is you Rainbow Dash."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash could see that he was being serious, but they couldn't believe a word he was saying. "I'm sorry guys, but that sounds too wierd for me to believe it." Rainbow Dash said, looking rather confused.

"I'm with Rainbow Dash on this one. I know ya'll are two kind hearted ponies and ya wouldn't lie to us, but we just can't believe this. Unless ya have some proof that it happened." Applejack wanted to believe them, so she decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and hand them an opportunity to prove that they were telling the truth.

"Very well. Crimson, shall we take them to the library?" Bleeding Heart was ready to make a move, but he wanted Crimson's approval first.

"Yeah. The proof will be there. Twilight is probably still bedridden and the book will still be out. I told Spike not to move it." Crimson started walking towards the library, with Bleeding Heart, Applejack and Rainbow Dash following them.

On the way there, they passed Sugarcube Corner and Pinkie Pie called out to the four of them. "Hey everypony! Don't forget about the party tomorrow. I made a huge cake!" She ran out of the door with a smile on her face.

"Pinkie, there isn't going to be a party. Not for a while." Crimson looked down, knowing that disappointing Pinkie was a risky thing to do.

"What do you mean no party?" Pinkie tried to keep herself calm and give him time to explain.

"Everything will be clear when we get to the library. Twilight and Spike are there now and we need to go and see them." Crimson didn't want to keep Pinkie out of the loop, so he explained the situation as they continued to walk.

By the time they arrived, Pinkie was extremely confused. "So, let me get this straight. Twilight got sucked into a giant encyclopedia and wound up in a giant spooky library. You guys went in after her after seeing her in a dream the night before. You then found her in a really dark room where another Twilight appeared and started trying to kill the real one. You beat it and then it turned into a white unicorn which then turned into a card and vanished. That sound right?"

"Well, yeah. Thats pretty much what happened." Crimson looked a bit concerned, thinking that Pinkie wouldn't believe it.

"Well I'm surprised, but I know you wouldn't lie to me. I believe you, Crimson." Pinkie smiled as she followed the others into the library.

Crimson immediately started walking up to Twilight's room and the others went up with him. He walked over to Twilight's bed to see her lying there, resting. "Its good to see you Twilight. How are you feeling?"

"I've felt better. I'm just glad I'm alive. I never got to thank you for saving me yesterday. Thank you Crimson, from the bottom of my heart." Twilight's voice was faint, but she was recovering.

"Twilight?! What happened to you?!" Rainbow Dash was shocked and a little worried. After all, Crimson had told her that she was going to suffer the same fate.

Twilight raised her hoof slowly and pointed at the encyclopedia, still sitting there on the pedestal, open to the same page it was before. "I was dragged into that book. I wound up in a dark library. I felt empty. I saw horrible things inside. I walked into a room in the back. I sat down and started to panic. Eventually, Crimson and Bleeding Heart showed up. Another version of me appeared. It tried to kill me. These two managed to fight it off and save me. The rest is a blur. All I remember after that is waking up here." She put her hoof back down and closed her eyes. "I think I should get some more sleep."

"Okay Twilight. We'll leave you with Spike. Don't worry about a thing, okay?" Crimson held her hoof for a moment, in an attempt to comfort her.

"Wait. One more question before you all go. Is this going to happen again?" She held onto his hoof fairly tight. Crimson could tell she was worried.

"Yes. I found out that there will be others. The next is, Rainbow Dash." Crimson's ears dropped when he said that. He didn't want to tell Twilight, but he knew that she shouldn't be lied to about this.

"Then promise me that you will save her when the time comes. As soon as she is taken, please come and get me. I want to help. I know I can." Twilight opened her eyes for a moment to reveal a look of true determination.

"Alright, but only if you are well enough to go back inside there. Its dangerous." Crimson didn't want to put anyone else in danger, but he knew he would need help.

Bleeding Heart cleared his throat to get the attention of the others. "I assume that now, after seeing this, you believe what we were saying." Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie all nodded, waiting for him to continue. He looked at Rainbow Dash and continued to speak. "Since we do not know when you will be taken, I will have to ask you not to return to Cloudsdale. We need to know where you are. There is a spare room in our home. You can stay there for the time being."

"Right. Anything else I need to know?" Rainbow Dash was a little worried, but didn't show it.

"When you get taken into the Shadow's world, do not let the things you see get to you. If you see another version of yourself, do not reject it." Bleeding Heart was adamant at this point and everyone could see how serious he was.

At that point, Twilight had fallen back to sleep, so they decided that it would be wise if they left. They walked outside and closed the door behind them. Applejack went back to Sweet Apple Acres and Pinkie Pie returned to Sugarcube Corner. "So, what should we do now?" Rainbow Dash asked, completely clueless.

"Is there anything you need to get from Cloudsdale?" Crimson asked curiously.

"Well I do want to get something from there if thats okay." Rainbow Dash flew up off of the ground, assuming that they would let her.

"Alright. Just make sure you are at our house within twenty minutes. We don't want you getting taken while we can't keep an eye on you." Crimson said as he started walking back to his home, Bleeding Heart following along behind.

"What do you think she went to go and get?" Bleeding Heart asked, trying to catch up with Crimson.

"Hopefully she went to go and get her most precious possession. After all, any item that she has a close bond with could be used as a portal to take her into the Shadow's world." Crimson started to wonder if she had anything like that.

After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived back home. They walked inside and not ten seconds later, Rainbow Dash was at the door. They let her in and Crimson noticed that she had a bag with her. "What did you bring with you?"

Rainbow Dash took off her bag, reached inside and pulled out a golden circlet. "I got this when I won the best young flier competition a few months ago. I wanted to have it with me. Its kind of a good luck charm." She set it down on the table next to them and continued. "So where am I sleeping tonight?"

"Follow me." Crimson started heading upstairs. Rainbow Dash grabbed her things and followed him up to the guest room. "Well, here's the guest room. I will be just down the hall if you need me during the night."

Rainbow Dash set the circlet down on the bedside table and put her bag next to it. "I'll be fine, but thanks for letting me stay here." She smiled and sat down on the bed. "I'm guessing we should get some sleep. It is pretty late."

Crimson looked out up at the clock and noticed that she was right. "Sounds like a good idea. Remember, I'm just down the hall. Anyway, goodnight Rainbow Dash."

"Goodnight Crimson." She closed the door after he left the room, climbed into bed, stared at her circlet for a little while and slowly fell asleep.

Crimson walked down to his room and also climbed into bed and fell asleep. Bleeding Heart then went up to Crimson's room and vanished, merging with Crimson's body.

The next three days passed by quickly. Each morning, Rainbow Dash woke up safe and sound. The three of them went to visit Twilight and then spent the rest of the day as a group. Things seemed to be calming down. Twilight was almost fully recovered and Rainbow Dash had yet to be captured. They all started wondering if she was going to be taken at all. That night, the three of them went to bed as they did before, but each of them woke up to something they did not want to see.

The Darkness of Fame

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes to find that she wasn't in her bed. Instead, she found herself in a complete darkness, unable to see a thing. All she heard was an ominous voice. "Well well. Looks like we finally meet, Rainbow Dash."

"Who are you?! Where am I?! Let me out of here!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that someone would hear her.

"You foolish filly. You may as well quit wasting your breath. Nopony will be able to save you now. Not even your little hero, Crimson." The voice began to cackle as Rainbow Dash became more and more aggitated.

"What do you mean, hero?! I don't need a hero!" She lashed out, hoping to hit whatever it was that was taunting her, but to no avail.

"Now now. Trying to stop me already? That's not how this game works. I'll tell you your part so you don't get confused. You're about to go and meet your true self. The aim of the game, is to reject it as much as possible." The voice's cackle turned into a maniacal laugh.

"Nice try! Bleeding Heart already told me everything. I know that you're just trying to get me killed!" Her pulse began to rise. Rainbow Dash did not know exactly what would happen, but she refused to let her fear get the best of her.

"Killed is such a nasty way to say it. I see it more as, I'm giving you an opportunity. You see my dear, everypony has a side to them that they don't want to admit to. They live thier lives, hiding who they really are. I'm simply helping you to stop living a lie. Is that so wrong?" The voice grew silent as a vortex slowly opened up beneath Rainbow Dash's feet.

"Of course its wrong! Twilight almost died because of you!" Before she could finish what she was saying, she began to sink into the vortex. "No. Not now. Please, not now. Crimson! Bleeding Heart! Anypony! Help me!"

Crimson and Bleeding Heart were still lost within the darkness. By the time they had found where she was, Rainbow Dash had already been taken to her Shadow's domain. The only one there to greet them, was the mysterious voice that had just sent Rainbow Dash to face her Shadow. "Where is Rainbow Dash!?" Crimson had only one thing on his mind, and was slowly losing his composure because of it.

"You do realise that you're too late to join this game, right? You're going to have to wait until tomorrow if you want to play." The voice cackled again, as if to taunt the two ponies standing in front of it.

"This is not a game. What you are doing is killing innocent ponies. Why are doing all of this?!" Bleeding Heart was infuriated. He couldn't stand to see anyone else suffer.

"Why? Simple. I'm doing this because I find it entertaining. These pathetic ponies aren't worthy of the lives they have, so I'm helping them prove their worth. They either stop living a lie, or they die by the hooves of their Shadow. I give them a chance. Its their fault if they make the wrong choice." The voice went silent once more as another vortex opened up beneath Crimson's feet.

"You will never get away with this. We will save Rainbow Dash!" Crimson noticed he was falling through the vortex, but did not resist it. He knew where it would lead him. He began to lose consciousness as the last of his body fell through.

He woke up in his room, Bleeding Heart looking straight at him. "You know exactly what must be done, don't you Crimson?" Bleeding Heart looked more serious than usual.

"Yes. We need to go and find Twilight first. I promised that she would get to assist us." Crimson climbed out of bed and ran downstairs, Bleeding Heart following him closely. Crimson then grabbed his bag and ran out of the door. Bleeding Heart ran alongside him and they headed for the library at top speed.

Once they arrived, they instantly barged in to find Twilight already wearing her bag. "I'm glad you're here. I saw Rainbow Dash in my dream last night. She was calling out for help, but I couldn't reach her. I assume this means she has been taken."

They both nodded in silence and walked out of the library, Twilight following behind. They then ran back to Crimson's home and as soon as they arrived, went straight into the guest room. They saw Rainbow Dash's circlet laying on the floor, with a colourless vortex floating above it. "Are you ready, Twilight? This is going to be very dangerous. You can still turn back if you want." Crimson asked, still worried about her safety.

"I'm ready. You both saved me. I want to help. If I have a Persona, it means that I need to be there alongside you two." Twilight stood strong, her resolve matching Crimson's. Crimson and Bleeding Heart both nodded and they walked through the vortex.

They arrived in what looked like a giant arena. Twilight felt like she recognised it. "This looks an awful lot like the Cloudiseum, but its so dark. All the clouds are grey. Wait, how are we able to walk on these clouds? We aren't pegasus ponies." Twilight felt like she was going to fall, but was suprised that she didn't move an inch.

"We are in the Shadow's world. Normal physics do not apply here, Twilight. These are not real clouds. They are simply an illusion, created by Rainbow Dash's heart." Bleeding Heart began to walk towards the centre of the Cloudiseum, passing over what looked like nothing but air. Twilight was even more surprised to see Bleeding Heart literally walking on air. "It is as I said. This world has its own physics. This gaping hole in the clouds is merely an illusion."

Crimson followed Bleeding Heart across the clouds and then over the air to the centre of the Cloudiseum. Twilight then slowly walked up to the edge of the clouds. She placed a single hoof over the hole and saw that she really could not fall through. After spending a brief moment to adapt to the world's physics, she walked across the air and joined the others.

"Now, we need to find Rainbow Dash. She is here somewhere." Bleeding Heart, looked up to see a pegasus pony flying above them. "Rainbow Dash! Down here!" He called out to her and she looked down to see the three of them standing there.

She instantly flew down to greet them. "I am so glad to see you guys. I tried flying out of here, but there's something at the top stopping me. Its like I'm trapped. I tried using that vortex that brought me here, but its like something is stopping anything going through it."

"Well, we're here now. I also know what is keeping you here, or rather, who is keeping you here." Bleeding Heart looked around again and soon turned back to the others.

"Wait. What is keeping us here? Is it the same thing that was stopping me from leaving?" Twilight looked really curious and was struggling to understand everything about the world they were in.

"That would be me." A familiar voice could be heard by the four of them. They all looked up at the judge's cloud and saw Rainbow Dash, except this one had bright yellow eyes. "Yeah thats right. Admire me, ponies. You're looking at the number one flier in all of Equestria, Rainbow Dash!"

"Rainbow Dash, stand back. That's your Shadow. Twilight, get next to us now and help us protect her." Bleeding Heart stood in the middle as Crimson and Twilight stood by his side, with Rainbow Dash behind them.

"Aww, what's the matter? Not brave enough to come out and fight me on your own? I thought you were cool, but I guess I was wrong." Her Shadow began taunting her and Rainbow Dash couldn't help but retailiate.

"Did you just say I'm uncool?! Nopony calls me uncool!" She flew above the others, landing in front of them, ready to attack the other Rainbow Dash floating on the cloud in front of her. "I'm the coolest pony in all of Equestria!"

"Exactly. I'm the coolest pony that will ever live. The Wonderbolts are nothing compared to me. I should be the one running the show, not that pathetic Spitfire. As for my friends, who needs them? I don't need those guys slowing me down. If I didn't have those dead weight friends, my life would be so much cooler, not to mention faster. Speed is what its all about, and I'm gonna keep going faster and faster until everypony in Equestria is chanting my name!" Her Shadow began laughing.

Rainbow Dash stood back, confused by what the other Rainbow Dash had just said. "What? Who are you anyway?" She already had a very good idea of who that pony was, but she wanted to hear it straight from her mouth.

"You really are quite clueless aren't you? I'm you, and you're me. I know everything about you, Rainbow Dash, including how you really feel." She smirked, knowing that Rainbow Dash would not be able to last much longer.

"No. Its not true. I would never leave my friends!" Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and looked away, trying to ignore what her Shadow was saying.

"There's no sense trying to lie to me. It won't work. You've been lying to yourself for far too long. You only care about being the coolest and fastest pony in Equestria. Admit it, Rainbow Dash! You don't care about anypony but yourself." The smirk turned into an evil grin. She knew Rainbow Dash was at the end of her tether.

"No! You're..." Before she could finish, Crimson stopped her.

"No, Rainbow Dash! Don't say it!" Crimson was hoping she didn't continue, but he knew his hopes were short lived.

"Its not true guys. I'm not like her. She's not like me." Rainbow Dash was close to tears.

"Please, don't reject her. If you do, it will only make things worse." Bleeding Heart said in an attempt to reason with her.

"Well, Rainbow Dash. What's it gonna be? You gonna admit that I'm you, or are you gonna deny it and let me have some more fun?" She jumped down from the cloud and landed in front of them.

"I can't do it guys. I'm sorry." She turned to face her Shadow once more. "I refuse to believe that you're meant to be me. Its not true. You're... not me!"

At that moment, her Shadow began to laugh. Her form slowly changing as Shadows from all over the Cloudiseum began to merge with her. "This feels good. Thanks Rainbow Dash. I'll repay your rejection, with death!" A dark cloud covered the Shadow as her power started growing more and more.

Rainbow Dash flew back to the others. "I'm guessing this is what you guys wanted me to avoid. Well I'll fight alongside you."

"Oh no you won't." Bleeding Heart said as a dark barrier formed around Rainbow Dash. "You have no way of fighting a Shadow. Without a Persona, you will be killed almost instantly."

"Then why is Twilight here?!" As soon as Rainbow Dash asked that question, Twilight's Persona, Shining Star appeared next to her.

"I am Shining Star, Twilight's Persona. Twilight, are you sure you are prepared to face a Shadow?" She floated next to Twilight, ready to tackle whatever was within that cloud of Shadows.

"I'm ready. I know I can help and I am not letting the gift of a Persona go to waste." Twilight stood strong, focussing on the upcoming battle.

The clouds concealing Rainbow Dash's Shadow vanished. They could now see that her coat was now black, her mane and tail were now red and she was clad in a Shadowbolts uniform. "What do you think of me now!? Much cooler than I used to be! Now its time to get rid of yesterday's news." She looked at the three ponies standing there in front of her and floated up into the air. "I am a Shadow, the true self. I bet you can't keep up with my speed!" As soon as she said that, she vanished and appeared next to Bleeding Heart, kicking him in the side and knocking him into the wall of the Cloudiseum.

"What the...?!" Crimson tried stunning her with his magic, but she instantly vanished again.

She reappeared next to Twilight and tried the same thing again. However, before Twilight was sent flying, Shining Star cast a barrier around her to absorb the blow before it vanished, allowing Twilight to run.

"You guys will never be able to catch me." She vanished once more, appearing on top of the judge's cloud.

Bleeding Heart got up and looked straight up at her. "I won't let myself be beaten by another Shadow!" Two dark vortexes appeared in the ground, causing Shadows to emerge and unite with him. A pair of pitch black wings formed on his back and he rose up into the air. "If you want to play with Shadows, then so will I!" He charged straight at Rainbow Dash's Shadow, who just stood there, smirking. Before Bleeding Heart could make contact, she vanished, leaving him floating in the air, wondering where she went.

She then reappeared next to Bleeding Heart and began to taunt him. "Don't you realise that you're never going to beat me. None of your tricks are even cool enough to touch me, let alone hurt me. You are such a waste of time. I should kill you here and now!" She started to fly around him at great speed, which began to form a tornado. Crimson saw that she was focussed on Bleeding Heart, so he aimed carefully and used his magic to launch a huge fireball straight at her. The fire knocked her back and burned a lot of her uniform. "What a cheap shot. You'll pay for that!" She vanished and reappeared next to Crimson. As she tried to launch him into the wall, he used his magic to teleport over to Twilight.

"Twilight. Shining Star. Listen to me. She may be extremely fast, but I figured out her weakness. She can't focus on all three of us. So when she uses that tornado trick on one of us, the others need to attack her." Twilight nodded, ready to act out Crimson's plan. Crimson then ran towards Bleeding Heart to tell him what the plan was, but he was stopped by Rainbow Dash's Shadow. She appeared in front of him, launched him backwards and then vanished once more.

"You can't get away from me that easily!" She appeared next to Crimson as he lied there on his side. "You're not gonna even try to get up? I should just finish you off!" She started to spin around him, forming a tornado once more.

Twilight saw this as the opportunity to strike, so she ran behind Rainbow Dash's Shadow and called Shining Star over to her. They both concentrated and unleashed a huge beam of light upon her. The force of the magic was so powerful, it knocked her through the wall of the Cloudiseum, leaving a gaping hole in it.

"You think that's enough to stop me?" She climbed back through the hole, her uniform burned to cinders and her coat covered in burn marks and blood. She was about to attack once more, when the real Rainbow Dash shouted out.

"Enough! Stop it now!" She shouted and Bleeding Heart had a feeling he knew what she wanted to do. He walked up to Rainbow Dash and lowered the barrier around her. She then started walking towards her limping Shadow. "Stop the fighting. I have something I need to say." Her Shadow looked up at her, saying nothing at all. "I admit that I feel like the fastest and coolest pony in Equestria. I admit that I sometimes feel like I'm better than the Wonderbolts. I admit that sometimes my friends feel like dead weights, but I won't ever leave them behind. I guess what I'm saying is, you weren't wrong when you said all of those things before. I think I understand things a lot better now. You really are me."

The Shadow in front of her started glowing, the remains of her Shadowbolt uniform vanished into thin air. Her coat changed from pitch black, to a bright yellow. Her mane and tail changed from a deep red to a shining white. She then began to speak. "Rainbow Dash, you have shown the strength of heart required to face oneself. Your courage has unlocked the facade used to face life's hardships. I am Lightning Storm." At that moment, Lightning Storm vanished, a card appearing in her place.

Rainbow Dash picked it up and handed it to Crimson. "What is this thing, Crimson?"

"This is your Persona in the form of the Chariot card." Crimson smiled and handed the card back to her.

"You mean, I have a Persona now, just like Twilight?" She smiled a little. Rainbow Dash was pleased, but something was causing her to feel rather drained.

"Exactly. Now come on. We need to get you out of here. Now that there isn't a Shadow keeping the vortex closed, we can leave this place." Crimson supported her as the four of them started walking back towards the exit. One by one they went through and they arrived back in Crimson's guest room.

After the vortex closed, Rainbow Dash picked up her circlet and held it close to her. "I don't know how to thank you guys. All three of you saved my life."

"You don't need to thank us. Just get some rest. Being in that world for too long without a Persona can really drain you." Crimson helped her into bed and put her circlet on the bedside table.

"I'm glad you're alright, Rainbow Dash. Just do what Crimson says until you've fully recovered." Twilight smiled, while looking at Crimson.

"Today was hard on all of us, but we need to remember that this is far from over. If Crimson and I are correct in our assumptions, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy will all be taken into the Shadow's world eventually. We need to keep a close eye on all of them." Bleeding Heart looked out the window for a moment and tried to focus his thoughts.

The others all nodded in agreement. Twilight decided to stay with them until it started getting late. She said her goodbyes and returned to the library. Crimson decided that it would be best if they all went to bed a little early. The two of them left Rainbow Dash to get some rest and went to get some sleep of their own.

More Steps Taken, More Lives Risked

Crimson woke up to find himself in the Velvet Room once again. He looked to his side and found Bleeding Heart looking straight at Igor. Crimson then turned to face the mysterious unicorn as he began to lay out some familiar tarot cards on the table.

"Welcome. Its so nice to see you back here once again. It seems you are another step closer to reaching the truth." Igor smirked as he examined the cards on the table.

"How exactly have we gotten closer?" Bleeding Heart was clearly displeased with Igor's positive disposition. "All we have done is rescue Twilight and Rainbow Dash. How is that progress?"

Igor waved his hoof over the cards on the table. "See for yourself." As the pair of them looked at the cards on the table, they could see that the Chariot card was no longer blank. Instead, it had a clear image of Rainbow Dash on it. "With each Persona that is unlocked, you get closer and closer to the truth. The power of your friendship will be able to release the truth contained within your card."

Crimson moved his head back and looked up at Igor. "So you're saying that if we keep saving our friends, my Persona will eventually become visible?" His head tilted to the side just a little.

Igor smiled and nodded for a brief moment. "That's right. The truth contained in the hearts of your friends is enough to awaken the truth within you. However, they must face their Shadows and conquer their true selves to allow the truth in their hearts to shine. That is why four of the six cards surrounding yours, are still blank." Igor then waved his hoof over the table once more and a small blue key appeared, floating over Crimson's card. A white light enveloped the key as it floated over to Crimson.

He picked it up and examined it. It looked like a normal key, aside from one simple detail. At the end of the key, it was completely plain. No grooves. No teeth. It looked like a blue rod with a key's bow attached to it. "What in Equestria does this key open? Its just a rod." Crimson scratched his head since neither him or Bleeding Heart had any idea what Igor had just given him.

"That is a key for this room." Igor chuckled. "If you focus your energy into that key, a door shall appear. Touch the door with that key, and you will be able to enter the Velvet Room whenever you wish." Igor smiled as both Crimson and Bleeding Heart began to feel faint. "This is the last time I will call you here. From now on, you will enter this room when you wish to. Farewell."

The pair of them soon fell unconscious and Crimson woke up in his bed as usual. He walked downstairs to see Bleeding Heart sitting in the living room, laying out tarot cards on the table in front of him. "Performing a reading?" Crimson walked over and sat down opposite him.

"You could say that. I'm trying to use the cards to find out who will be the next one to be captured." He concentrated and turned over another card, which made him think for a brief moment. "The Queen of Pentacles. It represents a mare with a generous nature that is socially poised and often wears very regal clothing." They both looked at each other, smiled and nodded.

"Its Rarity isn't it?" Crimson sighed. He was happy that the cards were so informative, but wasn't too cheerful about having another of his friends taken into the Shadow's world.

"Well as long as these cards are correct, it looks that way." Bleeding Heart packed the cards away and put them back in the wooden box next to him.

"They couldn't be wrong. The cards were far too accurate. We need to make sure Rarity is safe." Crimson said as he used his magic to lift up the box and put it on the bookshelf next to the stairs. As he did, he could see Rainbow Dash, walking downstairs. "Rainbow Dash. Shouldn't you still be in bed? I told you to rest."

"I'm not even tired! If you guys are gonna go and find Rarity, then I'm coming too!" She was far too adamant for Crimson to even try and say no.

"Fine, but no flying. You need to take it easy. We only just rescued you, so Rarity should still be around." Crimson knew she wouldn't let him refuse. He decided that it would be okay, since they weren't going to do anything dangerous. The fact that she could even stand up impressed him, especially since she was only saved yesterday.

"No problem. I just don't wanna be stuck in bed all day. Talk about boring. So, when are we gonna go?" Rainbow Dash sat down next to Crimson.

"Why don't we have some breakfast first? We'll go straight after that." Crimson got up and walked into the kitchen, coming back after a few minutes with three plates of daisy salad sandwiches. "Here you go, you two." he said as he placed the plates down on the table, before sitting down next to Rainbow Dash.

The three of them ate their sandwiches and as soon as they were done eating, they head out towards the Carousel Boutique. The walk there was fairly quiet. The three of them were all focussed on getting to Rarity. When they arrived, Crimson walked in. Rarity heard the bell above the door as it sounded. "Just a minute." She called out to them before walking out of the back room, wearing her signature red glasses. "Crimson, darling. How lovely it is to see you and your, twin?"

"She doesn't know yet?" Rainbow Dash whispered to Crimson, to which he responded by lightly shaking his head.

Bleeding Heart then stood forward. "I am not Crimson's twin. Do you remember, when Crimson showed you his journal?" She nodded and allowed him to continue. "Well, the contents of that journal allowed me to manifest. To put it simply, I am Crimson's Shadow. I am another side to him. My name, is Bleeding Heart."

"Well that explains a few things. However, there are still two things I am wondering right now. Firstly, why does Rainbow Dash seem so exhausted this early in the morning? Secondly, why are you here? I'm rather busy on a project and I need to..."

"Rarity!" Crimson shouted, silencing rarity so Bleeding Heart could continue.

"Rainbow Dash is exhausted because she recently encountered her own Shadow. As for why we are here. We are here to warn you." Bleeding Heart walked a little closer to Rarity. "You are in danger of being taken to face your Shadow. It has happened to Twilight and Rainbow Dash already."

"What? You can't possibly be serious. Why would something like that happen to me? Who would do that?" Rarity was very confused. She didn't completely believe what they were saying, but was still afraid of what might happen.

Crimson continued the explanation. "We are not sure who is doing it as of yet, but they are capturing each of you and they claim it is because they enjoy it. Don't worry. When you are taken into the Shadow's world, we will save you."

Rainbow Dash then took over for Crimson. "They're telling the truth, Rarity. It already happened to me, like they said. Just stay calm. We promise that we'll help you when the time comes."

"Alright. I trust you. Do you know when exactly I'm going to be ponynapped? I want to at least prepare for it. After all, I can't go anywhere without the right accessories to make me look..."

"Rarity!" Crimson shouted once more. Rarity glared at him for a moment. "We don't know exactly when you'll be taken, but we do know its likely to occur within the next seven days."

"Thank you, my dear. Well, if that's all you needed to tell me, I must get back to my work. These dresses need to be finished by tomorrow night. See you all again soon." She turned around and walked back to her work room, closing the door behind her.

The three of them walked out and started heading back to Crimson's home. There was no point disturbing Rarity when she was busy working. Crimson was surprised that she spared even a minute of her time. Once they got back, they spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing. Bleeding Heart decided to try and read the tarot cards again. Rainbow Dash was out in the garden, trying to get her strength back with some well needed exercise. Crimson was up in his study, watching over Rainbow Dash while at the same time, reading through one of his divination books.

Time went by as usual. Rainbow Dash kept up her training to get back to her old, energetic self. Three days later, Twilight came to see the three of them. They all decided to head up to the study, so they could plan their next move. They walked inside and sat down at the table in the centre of the room.

"Do you three know who the next pony is going to be?" Twilight asked, not knowing of the events that took place three days before.

"Well we are not one hundred percent certain, but we have reason to believe that it is Rarity." Crimson answered her, before Bleeding Heart motioned that he wished to say something in addition.

"Before you ask, we have already approached Rarity and informed her of the situation. She knows that we are going to save her as soon as we know she has been taken into the Shadow's world." Bleeding Heart then got up and walked towards the window. "We still do not know who it is we are dealing with. We assume that it is a Shadow, but we cannot be certain of who's Shadow it is. We also do not know when anypony will be ponynapped. There is not a lot of information we have to go on, but I feel that we can overcome this."

"Of course we can!" Rainbow Dash stood up and slammed her hooves on the table. "No Shadow is gonna stop us from saving our friends! We're gonna save all of 'em! Who's with me?"

"Calm down, Rainbow Dash." Twilight sighed and waved her hoof, signalling Rainbow Dash to sit back down. After she retook her seat, Twilight continued. "I think it is possible for us to achieve our goal of saving our friends, despite these unfair limitations that have been placed on us. As long as we act quickly, we should be successful." She looked at Crimson with a confident smile on her face.

"Twilight is right. We just need to keep acting as quickly as before. Not to mention, there are four of us now. Things can only get better from now on." Crimson smiled back at Twilight and then turned to Bleeding Heart.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Do not forget that there are still four other ponies that have yet to be taken into the Shadow's world. This is only the beginning. I can tell." Bleeding Heart turned away from the window and faced the others. "Eventually we will have to confront the one behind all this. When that time comes, you will all need to be ready, so I must ask you this. Will you fight through to the end? Will you risk your lives to save the lives of your friends and possibly everypony else in Ponyville?" Bleeding Heart looked at each of them, waiting for their answers.

"I'll do whatever it takes!" Rainbow Dash said as she stood up, full of confidence.

"If its to save my friends, I'll do anything." Twilight said as she too stood up.

"You should already know my answer. I'm in this for the long haul. I have truths to find and ponies to save." Crimson got to his feet and stood next to Bleeding Heart. "From this point on, we need to stay strong. As a team, we can save the others. For now, we must wait for Rarity's capture. As soon as it happens, we will all need to act quickly."

The others nodded in response and then they concluded their meeting. After getting back downstairs, Twilight decided to head back to the library for some dinner and evening studies. After she left, Crimson, Bleeding Heart and Rainbow Dash decided to have some dinner of their own. After having some fresh tomato soup, they spent the rest of the evening doing a range of things to keep their minds occupied. Eventually as night came, the three of them agreed on getting some sleep. They went up to their rooms and went to bed.

The Iron Maiden

Rarity had completely forgotten about the advice the others had given her. She was too focussed on her dresses. It had been six days since they had visited her with that warning. That night, she put down her red glasses, locked up her back room and went to bed. She expected to wake up in her bed, so she could resume her dress making. Instead, she woke up in complete darkness, a loud cackle echoing all around her.

"Where am I? What's going on? Somepony help me!" Rarity screamed. She had completely forgotten that this would happen to her. As she tried to figure out where she was, she could feel something was standing in front of her. She just didn't know what it was.

"Oh Rarity, such noise isn't becoming of a mare like you now is it?" The voice chuckled. He enjoyed tormenting ponies and he felt that Rarity was an easy target.

"How dare you! I am a sophisticated mare and I expect to be treated as such." She glared at whatever was in front of her, which only made it chuckle even louder.

"You honestly think that, don't you? That you're the perfect lady. So well-mannered. So poised. So generous. Well you'll soon have to face the cold hard truth. I think I'm going to enjoy this." He stopped laughing as a vortex opened up beneath Rarity's hooves.

She started to feel herself sinking and screamed, only for her mouth to be covered by a phantasmal hoof. "No need to scream. Everything will be alright, after you face your true self. That is, if you survive." He laughed manaically as the last of Rarity's body sank through the vortex, sending her to her own Shadow's domain.

Crimson and Bleeding Heart finally managed to arrive, but all they were greeted by, was the same entity that had welcomed them twice before. "You two really enjoy being late, don't you?" The mysterious creature began to float in circles around the pair of them.

"That's not important. Tell us what you did with Rarity!" Crimson shouted out, not knowing what direction to look in.

"Seriously? Are you that dense?" He laughed at Crimson, trying to cause him to lash out. "Surely you know what I did. I simply led Rarity to her Shadow. She's now going to encounter the truth within that heart of her's. Maybe she'll live. Maybe not."

"How can you be entertained by this?! You're nothing but a monster!" Bleeding Heart shouted. Even he was beginning to lose his composure.

"A monster? Well perhaps I am, but what does that make you, Bleeding Heart? Have you not yet considered who I am?"

"I know you're a Shadow, but that doesn't mean you're anything like me. I'm not a cold-hearted psychopath. Not anymore." He stood strong, not wanting to let the Shadow in front of him bring him down.

"Oh, if only you knew the truth." He laughed again and another vortex opened up in the floor.

The pair of them began to fall through, not bothering to resist anymore. They knew that he had information, but wasn't going to tell them that easily. The two of them lost consciousness as the last of their bodies passed through the vortex.

Crimson woke up to see his room empty. He climbed out of bed and went to go and look for Bleeding Heart. Walking down the hallway, he heard a noise coming from the study. It sounded like the rustling of a page. He opened the door to see Bleeding Heart looking through the journal. "Why are you looking in there?"

Bleeding Heart did not move and continued looking through the pages of memories. "There's something about what he said to us. If we only knew the truth. I have a feeling, I know what he meant, but the answer must lie in here somewhere." He continued to flick through the pages, looking for any possible answer, only to find nothing that stood out.

"That isn't important right now. We need to go and save Rarity!" Crimson smacked him round the face with the journal, trying to knock some sense into him. "Now come on. Lets wake up Rainbow Dash, find Twilight and get over to the Carousel Boutique as soon as we can."

Bleeding Heart stood up and walked out the door, Crimson walking behind him. "You're right, Crimson. Lets go!" He knocked on the guest bedroom door only to see Rainbow Dash charge out of it.

"You heard Rarity in your dream too? Come on. She's in danger!" She flew downstairs and waited by the front door. The pair of them nodded at each other and followed her downstairs.

Once they all knew what the plan was, they ran to Twilight's library. After a few minutes of running, they arrived at the door, only to see a note written on it, addressed to Crimson. He looked at it and read it out loud. "Went to Carousel Boutique. Meet me there." The three of them didn't waste any time and continued running to the Carousel Boutique.

As soon as they arrived, they saw that the door was wide open, they ran in and found Twilight standing there. "I'm glad you're here. I assume you all had the same dream as I did." The three of them nodded and let her continue. "Well I got here about fifteen minutes ago and found the vortex. Its in Rarity's back room." Twilight then led them into the back room and found the vortex in the middle of the floor. It was coming out of Rarity's glasses, much like what happened with Rainbow Dash's circlet.

Crimson stood out in front of the other three, facing them with his back to the vortex. "Are you all ready for this? We don't know what to expect, so we need to all be willing to face whatever we find." The others nodded and with that, Crimson turned to face the vortex, slowly passing through it. The others then followed along behind him.

They arrived in what looked like a large fashion studio. The entrance behind them was sealed, much like before. They looked around to see that there were mannequins placed all around the edges of the room. In front of them stood a large runway and at the back two deep red curtains were drawn, hiding what was behind it. At the end of the runway, a white unicorn was sitting down, holding her head in her hooves.

"Rarity!" Twilight called out to her and ran up to see if she was alright, the others following a moment later.

"Twilight! Please, get me out of this horrible place. I'm hearing voices and its starting to get very frightening." She held onto Twilight as another voice could be heard around them.

"Oh look. More ponies here to serve me. This pleases me so." The curtains started to divide to reveal another Rarity, with bright yellow eyes, sitting down on what looked like a jewel encrusted throne. "So, which one of you wants to serve me first?" She cackled and stared at Crimson. "You look like an obedient little colt. Get over here and massage my hooves."

"Not gonna happen. We're here to get rid of you, not cater to your every whim." Crimson glared at her, standing his ground.

"You mean you don't want to serve me? Even after all I did for you!? I give you all so much, yet I never recieve anything in return. You are all so greedy. When will you ever learn how important it is to give and take. I've given, so its time for me to take back what I deserve! Isn't that right, me?" She smirked and stared at Rarity, who was now avoiding eye contact with her Shadow.

"No. Its not. I'm not like that. I don't feel that way at all. Its not right for a mare like me to be so greedy. I would never treat my friends like common slaves!" Rarity stood up, looking at each of her friends, to find that their attention was focussed on her Shadow.

"Oh? Well what about Rainbow Dash? You force her to wear your dresses even though you know how much she hates it. You're me. Accept it. You're not a Canterlot lady. You're just a Ponyville commoner who can't accept her lifestyle." She laughed, while still sat upon her throne, looking down at the five of them.

"No! None of that is true! You are nothing like me and you never will be!" Rarity stood back as the imitation of her began to change.

"Oh you are going to regret those words, you pathetic mare." Shadows began to surround and merge with her. While she was transforming, Bleeding Heart moved Rarity back and created a barrier around her. Rarity nodded, putting her trust in them completely.

The darkness surrounding Rarity's Shadow began to fade, revealing the effects of the transformation. Although her coat had not changed, her mane and tail had grown longer, became straight instead of curled and had also changed from purple to black. The most notable change was the huge black dress that now enveloped her body. She remained sat on her throne as if she didn't wish to fight, but her facial expression showed differently.

"I am a Shadow, the true self. You will all bow down to me, or die in resistance!" She waved her hoof as a taunt, to which Rainbow Dash immediately responded.

"I'm not gonna bow down to a Shadow like you!" She charged straight at Rarity, only to be stopped by a wall of mannequins that appeared around her, which caused her to stop for a moment. In that split second while Rainbow Dash had her guard down, one of the mannequins knocked her back a fair distance and she hit the ground with a thud in front of the others.

Rarity's Shadow laughed. "Did you honestly think I would let an unsophisticated mare like you get anywhere near my beautiful dress? You troublesome foals! Lets see what you do now!" The mannequins moved almost instantly and surrounded the four of them, each ready to attack. "You hit them, and they will hit you twice as hard. Good luck getting to me." She laughed maniacally as she watched the battle unfold.

"No more pain. I've had enough! I'm not letting anypony else suffer because of me!" Bleeding Heart's horn began to glow and all of the mannequins all flew back and smashed against the wall, breaking into several pieces. "If you want to fight, do it on your own!" He stared at the Shadow who stood up from her throne.

"A lady never fights. She always has somepony fight for her. Now you get to meet your opponent." Her horn began to glow as the mannequin pieces all floated towards her and began to merge together with surrounding Shadows, forming a large pony statue, covered in steel armour. The statue then began to move its head and looked down at them.

"What in Equestria is that?!" Twilight shouted as Shining Star appeared next to her.

"It is essentially a giant Shadow. We will not be able to defeat it by normal means." Shining Star looked up at the giant statue.

"How do we beat it then?! If its too strong, then what are we gonna do?" Rainbow Dash looked at Shining Star, only to have Crimson speak up with the answer instead.

"Its not gonna be easy, but I know how to stop it. Look at Rarity's Shadow. Her horn is glowing which means she is making it move using her magic. If we can stop her, we stop the statue." Crimson turned to the others and they all nodded in approval.

Suddenly, they heard the statue move as it attempted to crush them with one of its hooves. They all leaped out of the way, which left a huge hole in the ground. Lightning Storm then appeared next to Rainbow Dash. "Come on Rainbow Dash! Lets keep that big bully busy!" The pair of them flew up and began circling around the giant statue, which began to capture its attention.

The others began to rush towards Rarity's Shadow, but before they could reach her, the statue moved one of its back hooves and kicked them all towards the wall. Crimson stood up and shook his head. "Looks like that statue can divide its attention. We won't be able to trick them that way."

Twilight then got up and whispered something to Shining Star. She then approached Crimson and Bleeding Heart. "I have an idea. Just wait for our signal. You'll know what to do." She smiled and ran towards the statue, Shining Star next to her.

Bleeding Heart and Crimson both stood there and watched as the two of them ran to either side of the statue and began to use their magic to attack it. They both wondered what they were planning. After all, Shining Star had said that attacking the statue would be useless. The statue began to attack the pair of them, however Twilight and Shining Star were easily dodging the attacks. When Rainbow Dash and Lightning Storm saw an opening, they also followed suit and attacked, redirecting the statue's attention once more.

"I think I get it now. I know what they were planning and I know what we're meant to do." Crimson smiled and looked at Bleeding Heart, who returned the smile with one of his own. They both stood there, waiting for Twilight's signal. After a little while, Twilight stood back and used her magic to create a giant flash, which blinded both the statue and Rarity's Shadow. Bleeding Heart realised that the flash was the signal and started running towards the blind Shadow. Crimson also started charging at her and the collision caused Rarity's Shadow to be sent flying towards her throne. She smashed into it so quickly, that the throne was knocked over, leaving Rarity's Shadow unconscious and unable to control the statue. Without her magic to animate it, the statue then began to break down and fall to the ground, shattering upon impact.

Rainbow Dash and Lightning Storm both floated down to the ground. "Is it over?" Rainbow Dashed asked, looking at the remains of the statue that almost killed them.

"Not just yet." Bleeding Heart said as he lowered the barrier around Rarity. He walked up to Rarity and led her to the collapsed throne. Her Shadow then woke up and slowly got up, revealing her mane had turned back to its original state and her dress had been badly torn. "You have to accept her, Rarity. Its the only way."

Rarity looked at the Shadow standing in front of her. She didn't want to accept it, but she knew that Bleeding Heart was right. It truly was the only way. "I guess my generous nature does sometimes make me feel a little underappreciated. Sometimes I do wish that somepony, anypony would give me a little something back. I can't really deny that I sometimes feel this way, but I wouldn't ever be as forceful as that. So, what I'm saying is, you really are me, despite the gothic fashion sense."

At that moment, the Shadow in front of her began to change. Her torn, black dress began to change into a white, elegant ball gown. A diamond then appeared on her head, which then transformed into a golden tiara which was encrusted with various jewels. She then began to speak to Rarity. "Rarity, you have shown the strength of heart required to face oneself. You have unlocked the facade used to overcome life's hardships. I am Queen Diamond." She then began to glow and then vanished, a card appearing in her place.

Rarity picked it up and handed it to Crimson. "Is this, for me?" She asked curiously as she looked at him.

"Yes. This card, the Empress, contains the Persona that you just obtained. You managed to face yourself and conquer your Shadow, just like the rest of us." He handed the card back to her, as they proceeded to walk towards the vortex that would take them home.

When they arrived in the Carousel Boutique, the vortex behind them closed and Rarity picked up her glasses. "I'm sorry I put you all in such danger. I shouldn't have rejected who I really am. Can you ever forgive me.

The four of them nodded and then Crimson spoke up. "Its not surprising that you rejected it. Nopony wants to accept their Shadow. We all have things we want to hide away. I'm just glad we were there to save you."

"Exactly. You're our friend, Rarity. We would do anything to help you. After all, you always do the same for us." Twilight smiled and looked at Rainbow Dash, who was looking down at the floor. Twilight gave her a little nudge to encourage her to say something.

"Yeah, Rarity. We may have our fights, but we're still friends. I'm not gonna let some nasty Shadow take one of my friends away." She looked back at Twilight, who gave her a gentle nod.

"Well, Rarity. I think its time you got some rest. I expect you to avoid doing anything strenuous for a few days. That includes making your dresses." Bleeding Heart stood forward.

"What? You can't be serious, darling. I need to keep making my dresses. Its my job after all." Rarity felt a little weak, but wasn't too willing to give up work, even for a few days.

"Well for now, the Carousel Boutique is closed. I'm serious, Rarity. I can see that you're struggling to even stand up. Come on, lets get you to bed so you can rest up." Bleeding Heart, along with the others, led Rarity to her bedroom. They helped her into bed and then Bleeding Heart turned to Twilight. "Twilight, can you make sure that Rarity gets her rest? We can't take any chances."

"Of course. Spike can watch the library for a few days. Would you mind letting him know on your way back?" She sat down beside Rarity and smiled. The three of them walked out of the Carousel Boutique and headed towards the library.

After delivering Spike the message to keep an eye on the library, Crimson, Bleeding Heart and Rainbow Dash returned to Crimson's home once more. Since she didn't need to stay there anymore, Rainbow Dash packed her things and went back home to Cloudsdale. Crimson decided that it would be a wise idea to get some extra sleep tonight, so he went up to his bedroom and climbed into his bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Bleeding Heart however had other plans. He returned to the study and began to read through the journal again, analysing every single word and continued to read all night long.