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. Next Chapter: The Iron Maiden Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes