Author's Note

Start of Season 7

Welcome Back to The Midnight Stage

*Applejack’s POV*

The next morning, all of us participating dancers and singers from this universe visited the productions and practiced for a bit before heading ta find Kanami as we soon found her in a shooting. Karei made sure that Kaze and Teddie to not make a scene since they’re fanboys of Kanamin Kitchen. But as we were gonna talk to her, Ms. Ochimizu approached us.

Ochimizu asks "Karei Shinai. What is the meaning of this? Are you on some sightseeing trip with that group of yours? If it’s a field trip you’re interested in, could you take it elsewhere?"

Karei spoke "Oh crap…! It’s Ms. Ochimizu!"

Kanji (Rai) asks "Who’s this nasty hag?

Seiko spoke "She’s the general producer of the festival we’re performing in. Her name is Ms. Ochimizu."

Kaze asks "*Bead of sweat* Dude, are you serious…!? The general producer of the Love Meets Bonds Festival is Kyoka “The Empress” Ochimizu!?"

Seiko asks "You know about her, Kaze?"

Kaze spoke "Of course I do! She’s always on TV… She’s this super scary female changeling who has no problem making other celebrities cry!"

Goryuu spoke "Yeesh…"

Kanji (Rai) spoke "I don’t get it, but it sounds like she’s sorta important."

A pterolycus-alicorn hybrid female wingslaps Rai.

the hybrid barks "You're a bigger idiot than that dumbass unicorn!"

Rainbow spoke "And here I thought pre-reformed Chrysalis was a total bitch... Uh, no offense to the Diamond dogs!"

Wings flapping, Rising Sun snaps "THAT IS FAR ENOUGH OCHIMIZU! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT YOUR CHOICE OF WORDS STARTING TO PISS OFF THE NINE TAILED TERROR AND THE OTHER ALICORNS?"

Occhimizu spoke "Honestly… we’ve had enough complications already. I don’t need any more cropping up. Perhaps I should demand extra payment from Takura Productions for having to deal with these rude children."

Kanji (Rai) asks "The hell’d you say!?"

Kaze asks "Woah, hold it, Kanji! Gimme a break! Dude-wait, do you hear something…?"

An eerie song started playing.

Emerald asks "Aaaaaack! What is this!? Where’s it coming from!?"

Heifa asks "How should I know?!?"

Teddie asks "Hrmmm… Hey, sound techs! What’s going on!?"

No, it couldn’t be…!

Seiko spoke "It’s that song we heard yesterday right before we fell into the Midnight Stage…!"

Sunao spoke "Senpai, look!"

A purple rift appeared on the ceiling.

Kanami asks "*Curiously* Whoaaa… What is this? Could this be a close encounter of some kind?"

Sunao asks "This doesn’t make sense… It’s not midnight! What’s going on!?"

Karei spoke "There’s no time for that! Kanami’s gonna get taken!"

Ochimizu asks "Kanami is what…!?"

Karei spoke "Ms. Ochimizu, please move aside!"

Shima spoke "Excuse us!"

Karei and Shima rushed pass Ochimizu.

Teddie spoke "Wow! My babies are surprisingly bold!"

We followed the two.

Ochimizu spoke "Wait! I said wait!"

Karei spoke "Kanami…! Get away from that light!"

Kanami asks "Huh? Karei-senpai…?"

But then ribbons erupted, diving right for Kanami as we tried to shield her when suddenly…

Karei spoke "Ms. Ochimizu…!"

Ochimizu got to Kanami faster than any of us at normal runnin’ speed and pushed her out of the way, getting herself caught by the ribbons instead.

Ochimizu asks "Hmph… how troublesome. Don’t I always tell you not to space out like that!?"

Kanami asks "Ms… Ochimizu…?"

Ochimizu spoke "Listen, if something happens to me, go to Ido. The festival must-aah!"

Ochimizu was pulled into the rift.

EmeraldShe got dragged in! Wh-What’re we gonna do…!?"

Seiko spoke "We follow her! Come on, everyone!"

All of us followed Seiko as we jumped into the rift, causing everything to go white, then black.

We soon landed and found ourselves in an area, but Ochimizu wasn’t around.

Sunao spoke "…Looks like we made it."

Emerald spoke "Ow… I fell right on my butt."

Hehe, looks like Teddie and Rai landed right on Kaze.

Kanji (Rai) spoke "Owwww… Well, at least we made it in one piece."

Teddie spoke "That took a while! I was worried I might get separated from everyone and be one lonely bear."

Ah then noticed all of us bein’ in anthro forms and complete outfits.

Shima spoke "You know, I remember something like this happening before. Haha… that takes me back."

Kaze asks "C-Can you guys chat after you get off of me…?"

Kanji (Rai) asks "The hell are you doing, Kaze-senpai?"

Kaze spoke "What’s with that tone!? I’m the victim here!"

Danyelle and Redux Danyelle stayed behind to get Kanami to Ido.

OC-verse Danyelle spoke "Since we're two cats short, we're gonna have to rely on my keen ears to find that stubborn Changeling."

Emerald asks "Alright, no fighting! Hmm… is this the Midnight Stage?"

We looked around, definitely see the place and the split path. Definitely the Midnight Stage.

Seiko spoke "Yeah, but this place looks different from where we were before."

Sunao spoke "Last time, that voice seemed keen on capturing Karei-san. It invited us directly to a prepared stage. Perhaps we’re being treated differently this time because we forced our way in."

OC-verse Danyelle spoke "But we should keep our guard up just in case."

But then we all felt the atmosphere change.

The eerie voice laughs "Haha…"

Emerald asks "Wh-What is that voice…?"

Seiko spoke "It’s the master of the Midnight Stage… and probably the culprit behind this."

Twilight asks "What?!?"

The eerie voice asks "Didn’t I say this place is off-limits to unauthorized personnel? Or… do you want to connect with us after all?"

The voice echoed from every direction, making it difficult, even fer OC-Verse Danyelle to tell where it’s comin’ from.

Karei spoke "Enough with these games…! Who are you!? Release Tomoe and the others right now, and Ms. Ochimizu too!"

Eerie Voice taunts "Release them…? Haha… That wouldn’t be right. Can’t you see? They’re happier here."

Kaze asks "*Bead of sweat* H-Happy!? Is it serious?"

Kiko asks "*Bead of sweat* It’s gotta be a joke, right?"

Kaze spoke "They’re locked up here by force! There’s no way they’re happy about that!"

The eerie voice spoke "…Do I see new faces here? Good, you can connect with us too.

Sunao spoke "You’re not willing to listen, huh? Then we’ll have to do it the hard way."

The eerie voice spoke Do what you want. You’ll understand eventually…"

The eerie voice faded away as the atmosphere was normal again.

Sunset spoke "I feel like I can breathe easier now."

Shima asks "The atmosphere seems different… Is it gone?"

Seiko spoke "Yeah, I think so. I’m just glad we weren’t cast out like last time."

OC-verse Danyelle spoke "Regardless, we should proceed with caution. Even I don't know what can jump out at us."

A fluffy Mewtwo from the Redux-verse nods in agreement.

Teddie spoke "That aside… I really don’t like how this place feels. It looks fun and all, but it totally doesn’t feel that way."

Pinkie spoke "I feel that too."

Teddie spoke "It’s kinda like my world… And I can smell some familiar scents from way off… But it doesn’t feel connected to my world."

Kanji (Rai) asks "You mean the TV world?"

Teddie spoke "Yeah… It might be in the same neighborhood, but I don’t think there are any ways to go back and forth."

Seiko spoke "So this Midnight Stage is a world all its own…"

Emerald spoke "By the way, is that the entrance? It branches off in two different paths…"

We looked, definitely seein’ a fork in the road.

Karei spoke "Hold on, let me search around. Come, Himiko…!"

Kanji (Rai) asks "*As Karei summoned her persona* Whoa… I know you told us already, but we really can summon our Personas here. But we can’t use ‘em to fight with, right?"

Goryuu asks "Hehe, you didn’t believe it at first, little bro?"

Seiko spoke "We tried, but what the voice said was true. No acts of aggression worked, whether it was using my Persona or Sunao’s firearm."

OC-Verse Danyelle spoke "And even if we do land a hit, they’ll only just fully regenerate."

Seiko spoke “No one hurts or gets hurt… That must be the rule here."

Kaze spoke "No one gets hurt, huh…? That sounds fishy already… It’s way too good to be real."

Sunao spoke "Indeed. Also, that voice used bizarre ribbon-like objects it referred to as “eternal bonds”…"

Kochuu spoke "Yeah, you told us that before, and it sounds like they’re keeping the Shadows in the Midnight Stage."

Sunao spoke "When Spottedleaf, Other Danyelle and I were caught by one ourselves, we could clearly tell it wasn’t any true bond, but outright brainwashing. No one should be allowed to force someone to discard their true self just for the sake of another’s desires."

Seiko spoke "That’s why we need to show them how we feel with our dancing…!"

The fluffy Mewtwo asks "Would singing work as well?"

Adagio spoke "It does help the effects of the dance get stronger."

Karei spoke "Hey, I found them! *To one direction* Tamami is through here… And Tomoe is further in the back. *To the other direction* I’m sensing Sumomo and Nozomi down the other path… Guess we were right about all four of them being over here. But Tomoe’s reading is much weaker than yesterday… The others seem pretty weak, too. We need to get them out of here."

Kaze spoke "I was hoping this wouldn’t be the case… We’d better hurry."

Shima spoke "Then why don’t we split up into two teams? That way, each team can save two of the girls."

Karei spoke "Hmm, there are two forks to the path here, but it seems like they come together again further down. If we do like Shima-senpai says, we should be able to meet up there."

OC-verse Danyelle spoke "Oi vei... I've seen enough Scooby Doo episodes to know that splitting the group up is never a good idea."

“Hey, given the situation we’re in, we don’t have a choice.” Ah pointed out.

Kaze spoke "That takes care of that. Okay, Karei’s a pro, and Seiko’s already won once with his dancing, so they should be on different teams."

Kanji (Rai) asks "In that case, me, Sunao, Kochuu and Heifa’ll go with Karei. Might as well just split up by year we’re in, yeah?"

Sonata spoke "Same with me, Danyelle, Twilight, Sunset, AJ, Rarity and Adagio."

Kaze spoke "Uh, I guess that’s fine… I just wasn’t expecting that from you."

Kanji (Rai) asks "Heh, we’ve actually been talkin’. Like, we can’t keep relyin’ on our senpai forever, y’know?"

Sunao spoke "That’s correct. We thought we should find our own way of working that suits us. I hadn’t expected to put it to test here, but it would be a good opportunity… I’ll support Kanji-kun’s proposal as well."

Emerald asks "Whoa… You guys have been thinking about this a lot, huh?"

Karei spoke "Haha, I bet you guys never knew we talked about stuff like that. If you keep treating us like kids, we’ll surpass you before you know it!"

Seiko spoke "That sounds like a great idea. I’m with Kanji on this one too."

Emerald spoke "Alright! Let’s make it a competition? We’ll see which team can rescue these girls faster! Bring it on!"

Teddie asks "Heeey, what about me? Which team am I on?"

Karei spoke "You’re coming with us!"

Teddie spoke "Hnnngh, I’m getting fired up! The time has come for me to overcome the great wall that is Sensei, and fly out into the vast world beyond!"

Kaze asks "Fly away from Junes first, will ya…?"

OC-verse Danyelle snarls loudly at the others in annoyance.

Twirama spoke "My universe's Danyelle has a point though, we're safer together."

Rainbow Dash asks "Really? Do you think we could take both paths and save ALL the girls in one group?"

OC-Verse Danyelle tried to argue, but couldn't find the words. "N-No..."

Twilight spoke "Listen, we appreciate you trying to keep us safe, but we're on a deadline here. Not only will going together in one group take more time, but it'll also put us and the girls in more danger."

OC-verse Danyelle spoke "I've faced worse shit than you guys have!"

OC-verse Danyelle flew off down one path, blocking it with Chaos Barrier.

Deep Lilac spoke "Well, you all just pissed her off."

Karei spoke "She's trying to do this on her own... But she'll only get herself caught that way!"

Twirama spoke "It's more than that, Danyelle once told me and my friends about the war in her world."

Through the use of magic, Twirama shows the others one of OC-verse Danyelle's memories from when she was a normal human.

Twirama spoke "Before she came to Equestria, Danyelle wasn't much of a fighter. Knuckles often kept her out of the fights because she had no powers."

Teddie asks "Hrm?"

Twirama spoke "Sonic told me about it though."

Kanji (Rai) asks "Whaddya think we are? A couple o’ morons?"

Twirama asks "*Confused* Huh?"

Kanji (Rai) spoke "We know she ain’t weak, but that doesn’t mean she has to do everything on her own!"

*Meanwhile with OC-verse Danyelle,*

The nekomata Mobini teleported with Chaos Control to dodge the ribbons as she sang various songs loud and clear, causing the shadows to not snare her.

The eerie voice taunts "Hahaha… What’s wrong? Are you yearning to bond with us?"

OC-verse Danyelle spoke "Fuck you! I will never yield!"

OC-verse Danyelle soon had pink-blue armor on her body.

MegaDanyoll spoke "Show yourself you damn coward!"

The eerie voice laughs "Hahaha, why should I do that? Is it because you know you’re weak without your powers?"

MegaDanyoll growls "YOU DON'T KNOW ME AT ALL!!!"

Eerie Voice taunts "Oh? Then what about that war? Hahaha…"

That froze MegaDanyoll.

OC-verse Eggman, OC-verse Chrysalis, OC-verse Adagio, OC-verse Aria, OC-verse Sonata, OC-verse Starlight, OC-verse Discord, OC-verse Luna and OC-verse Gilda arrive via magic.

OC-verse Gilda growls "You leave my friend alone!"

The other former baddies that OC-verse Danyelle had reformed agree with OC-verse Gilda.

OC-verse Danyelle stammers "H-How did you-"

OC-Verse Discord spoke "I powered up the Warp Rings, though we only got a minute before we’re zapped back."

OC-verse Roll spoke "You're all a bunch of morons! You all got yourselves into this mess and thus unable to get out until the problem's solved!"

OC-verse Discord spoke "No, seriously, look."

The Draconequus held an affected warp ring as it showed a timer of 1 minute counting down.

OC-verse Chrysalis spoke "Good grief Discord, you're a bigger idiot than Ein is!"

The OC-verse Dazzlings snarl suddenly since a random ribbon had grabbed the warp ring and destroyed it.

OC-Verse Danyelle spoke "*Facepalms* Grr! I can’t believe I’m about to do this, but… *Snaps fingers once*"

*Back with us…*

The Chaos Barrier suddenly vanished, opening the path.

Twirama and Deep Lilac ask "What the!?"

Miran spoke "Even though she thinks she can do this on her own, her heart knows otherwise and she subconsciously lowered it."

Twirama spoke "No, she lowered it on her own."

Karei spoke "Anyway, we'll each rescue two girls, then meet up at the rendezvous point, okay? I'll make sure to keep an eye on you guys, and if anything happens on our end, I'll let you know with my Persona."

Sunao spoke "I hope you don't mind us going on ahead. We'll see you in a bit."

Kanji (Rai) spoke "Senpai, you better not let your guard down and get your asses handed to you by some weird thing!"

Karei's group and Ah went on ahead and went down the path that used to have the Chaos Barrier as Twirama followed them.

*Rainbow Dash's POV*

Wow, there they go.

Kaze asks "*Surprised* Did they just totally steal the spotlight...?"

Shima spoke "Wow, they've all grown up before we knew it... I felt like I was watching them leave the nest for the first time."

Emerald spoke "*Bead of sweat* Shima, you sound like my mom..."

Seiko spoke "We should hurry too. We need to save Tomoe-san and Tamami-san as fast as we can."

Kaze asks "Alright then! Third Year Investigation Team and crew, you guys ready to go!?"

The rest of us agreed as we went down the other path as Deep Lilac followed us.

Deep Lilac spoke "*Sigh* I can't believe this..."

End