The streets of Ponyville were packed with ponies in the afternoon sun. The fog now cleared, the Guards and detectives were gathered at two locations. One was more standard, being the jail, while the other caught the interest of many ponies. The second gathering site was the sight of the Ponyville Post Office. More commonly known as the residence of one Derpy Hooves. Lines of crime scene tape were strung about the area, isolating the scene from the rest of Ponyville.

“It’s quite a shame to see that two more have been attacked in this manner,” the red-coated detective sighed. “If my magic is correct, this was the work of a really powerful unicorn. The spell was a combination of Dream-Invasion and Dream-Reality spells, and was done by the same pony that did this to Carrot Top last night.”

“But we already arrested that Darq suspect,” a Guard commented. “And he couldn’t have broken out of prison.”

“That doesn’t mean that he couldn’t have slipped out of the Magic Dampener. It is possible,” the detective countered.

The detective was interrupted by the sound of a pony arriving behind him. He turned to see Twilight standing behind him, a slight scowl of contempt aimed towards him. “It wasn’t him.”

The detective sighed. His gut told him that Darq was indeed the character that was assaulting these innocent ponies. “My gut tell—”

“Your gut is wrong. My science says otherwise. Whatever it is that attacked these ponies was definitely not Darq,” she interrupted.

“Durmstrang got a clear look at the attacker,” the detective countered. “He described the attacker as a pitch black unicorn.”

“And Darq was in prison the entire time,” Twilight rebuked. “Something is telling me that this is a bigger problem than we know. And if my gut is right, Darq knows how to help.”

“That may be, Miss Sparkle, but he’s headed to Canterlot for his hearing. We have his magic signature all over the three scenes,” he said. He pushed his glasses back up his nose.

Twilight growled at the detective. He leaves me no choice. If what Darq has been saying is true, then I need him to tell me what the hay is going on so I can do something. Twilight groaned with exasperation. She wanted nothing more than to buck this detective’s face in, but that wouldn’t exactly help the situation. “Then let me at least speak to him. I have a few questions to ask him.”

“I can arrange that,” the detective said with a cocky smile.

“Good. Take me to him. Time is of the essence on this one,” she growled, ready to bite his head off.

*

The room was damp and gray. It was plain as stone, simply by the fact that it was made of stone. A metal table and two metal chairs were all that the room had to offer. Darq was chained to the table, smirking, ‘staring’ in her direction. His demeanor of apathy confused her, but then again, she had gotten used to it rather quickly.

“Good afternoon, Miss Sparkle,” Darq greeted. “Tell me, what questions do you have for me?”

“Creepy how you knew, but how you knew isn’t why I’m here,” she replied.

“Naturally. I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re here to ask about my knowledge of what attacked those two ponies today,” he responded with a chuckle. “One of them being my good pal, Durmstrang.”

“Once again, creepy how you already know,” she sighed.

“It’s my job to know some strange things,” he laughed. “Anyway. When I was just a colt, I lived in a tiny settlement on the other side of the Everfree. I was… Well… I guess you could say I was a bit violent. I had problems with certain classmates, and I often resorted to magic to fix those problems. But there was a time when I was just a few years younger than you are now, and a weird mass of fog rolled in. At first we didn’t really care, and just left it be. That was mistake number one.”

“After a few days in the fog, some ponies started going insane. Paranoia. It spread like wildfire. A few ponies ended up waking up with nightmares of dark figures attacking them. The weird part was that they were injured when they woke up. All we did was treat the wounded and ignore the paranoid. That was mistake number two.”

“On the new moon after the fog rolled in, our town was attacked,” Darq sighed. “We only had enough time to name our enemy before most everypony was either dead or heavily wounded. I escaped, but one of them landed a spell on me as I fled into the Everfree. That’s why I can’t open my eyes.”

“What were they?” Twilight asked, curious at the explanation.

“We called them Shadows. We tried using fire to kill them, but they burned like pitch, bright and slow. That only made the fog’s effects worse,” Darq answered.

“What’s the deal with the fog?” she inquired, not noticing how close her head was getting to him.

“The fog is a poison. A sort of fear gas. It’s meant to make you much more prone to full-blown panic attacks. The Light Crystal is the result of my research in the Everfree. The Shadows can’t approach it,” he responded, leaning back. “If you want to save your town, you need to prepare for a war. There is a way to kill them easily, though. The beasts are allergic to iron, and they dislike loud noises and bright light.”

“Full out war?” Twilight gasped in disbelief. “Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“You and your other unicorn friend,” he started, pausing.

“Rarity,” she offered.

Darq smiled, “Aye. You and Miss Rarity. I can see that both of you have a significant amount of magic at your hooves. If you can make enough Light Crystals to surround your town, you might be able to keep them out long enough for them to starve.”

“Starve?” she inquired.

“That’s why the Shadows are here. They’re here to feed. And what is their prey? Fear. They feed upon fear. You’ll find the spells you need in the Everfree Forest,” he said, standing up. “Guard, I do believe it is time for my nap. Could you escort me back to my cell?”

“One last question. How do you see without your eyes?” she asked as he walked towards the door.

“If we’re not all dead by the dawn after the new moon, I’ll teach you a thing or two,” he offered. He flashed his signature gold-fanged-grin, “All in due time, Miss Sparkle.”

Author's Note

I couldn't agree more with Darq's statement there. All shall be revealed in due time. Just let the story flow, and it shall eventually unravel itself. My entire writing goal for this story is to have everything explained within the story, so I don't have to do any outside explaining. Whether or not I have characters explain it outright, that's a different goal for a different story.