Authors Note: A little while back I held a contest. It was for my readers to help me choose a name for the badguy in this arc. Sadly I only had two entries, both by the same person. However I chose one of his selections which also made me alter my storyline to wrap around the characters name. Props to shadownamesto for choosing the name Shadowhunter as the badguys name. The name you chose is in this chapter as well as future chapters. Hope you like the story arc, its going to be a long one.

Rarity awoke feeling a little drained this morning. After last nights fiasco with Midnight and his nerf assault, she had been so hyped up on adrenaline that sleep nary found her until the wee hours of the morning. She gave a tired yawn sliding from her bed, heading downstairs to make some morning coffee. As she turned from the stairs toward the kitchen she noticed Midnight on the couch. Upside down with his forelegs pull to his chest. His head hanging off the edge and a cute snore escaping his lips as he slept.

She gave a smile seeing how cute he was coming over to lift him properly back onto the couch. That is until she noticed movement from a lump beside him under the covers. She gently lifted the overs to see what the movement was and gasped softly seeing her sister laying curled up next to Midnight.

"SWEETIEBELLE! MIDNIGHT!" Rarity shouted causing the two to give a loud whinny of surprise, Sweetiebelle jumping from the couch in a hurry.

"AAAAAAHH! What the hell!?" Midnight shouted flipping off the couch in a panic, landing squarely on his head with an audible thump. "Ow......."

He turned over onto his hooves rubbing the back of his head as he looked up to see a furious looking ivory mare in front of him.

"What is this?!" Rarity shouted causing the two to recoil.

"Nothing, it isn't what it looks like." Midnight began to plead before Rarity interrupted.

"I don't want to hear you're excuses." She then looked to her sister. "Explain yourself." She demanded.

"I was cold, you keep the heat to low and it's still winter. All of those covers didn't help either. I came downstairs and slept next to Uncle Midnight. He was really warm and I couldn't help but snuggle up to him." She whined pressing up next to him again.

Rarity facehoofed rubbing gently between her eyes. "Is that all that happened?"

"YES!" they both answered in unison.

"Fine, fine. Just. Next time please let me know before this happens again. I don't want to end up having to call my fiance Uncle anytime soon." She sighed heading into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Midnight and Sweetie looked at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Heh, Rarity calling me Uncle. That would be hilarious." He smirked as his youthful body came awake rather quickly.

"Yea, so you wanna go play today? I'm sure the girls are planning something to get our cutiemarks."

"I really don't have anything else to do except be a tiny pony." He laughed sticking his tongue out playfully.

Sweetiebelle smiled as she looked back to the kitchen where her sister was.

"I'm going out, Uncle Midnight is coming with me."

"Alright Sweetie, do be careful." Rarity replied from the kitchen.

The two smiled to each other as they headed out the door to find their friends and crusade for the day.

"Finally!" Hazel gave a sigh of relief as her mother and father left for Canterlot. She had been waiting for what seemed like hours that morning trying to convince them that she would remain home for the day and stay inside as part of her punishment, even if her father followed her mother to Canterlot for the day.

They had left early that morning around ten. Hazel waited for about an hour to make sure that they were truly gone so that she could begin her plan.

She traverse the house and into her mothers study. Being sure not to disturb anything that would signal her intrusion into her mothers study.

After making her way to the desk in the far corner of the room she rolled the top up just enough to see the locked drawer that she would need to get into. Hazel gave a smirk pulling an enchanted skeleton key hidden in her mane. "Thanks for the key Sky, I'll have to remember to thank you in person when we meet again." She smiled giving the key a gentle kiss before pressing it into the key slot on the desk.

She turned the key hearing the drawer unlock. Gently she pulled it open revealing a small blue book, worn on the edges and a smooth leather feel to it. She picked it up gently with her magic examining it closely. The cover and spine seemed to be made of an odd material that she could only guess was dried skin. She gave a shudder thinking of the poor creature that the hide had came from. After looking the cover over she opened it slowly but stopped mid way as whispers filled the room. She gasped dropping the book closing it.

"Hello?" She asked aloud. No response.

She quietly began to pull the book open again, this time all the way. Whispers began to fill the room again. She recoiled away from the desk looking around to try and find the source but could not. After a few seconds the whispers became a single soft voice. A sinister deep voice that had a slight echo to it. (much like Queen Chrysalis, only male)

"Don't be afraid child, we are here to help you." The voice whispered.

Hazel looked around the room in a panic. "Who's there? Where are you? Show yourself!" She shouted turning back and forth searching for the voice.

"We have many names, yes. Many names indeed. But if you must call us by a name, please, call us Shadowhunter."

Hazel moved slowly back to the book which was slowly flipping pages by itself on the desk. She stood up looking at it as it flipped page by page.

"How...........?" She began but was interrupted as the book stopped on a spell page, and the voice began to speak again.

"Ah, here we are. The spell you seek lies within these few pages." The voice cooed in an icy tone.

Hazel looked over the page, her eyes widening slightly as she read. "This spell summons a shadow spirit to the caster. But what are all of these smudged words?" She asked straining her vision to look at them, attempting to see what they had once said.

"Ah, those are merely a warning as to how powerful the spell is. Controlling a shadow beast is a power that even the strongest of enemies fear." It hissed happily.

Hazel smiled as she looked over the spell, talking to the voice at the same time. "You said my enemies will fear this spell. Does that include Alicorns?" She gave an evil grin to the book.

"Yesssssss, as I said. Even the most powerful of enemies. Alicorns are quite powerful. But a shadow beast is much stronger. And with this spell. You summon the creature, becoming its master for as long as you need it." It began to laugh softly sending a chill up Hazel's spine. She looked one last time over the spell, it was rather simple and required no ingredients. It seemed as if there were no drawbacks to the spell. She smiled one last time as her horn began to glow brightly.

"Very well then, Shadowhunter, I summon thee to my aid." She shouted as her horn erupted in a bright green flurry of magic. Quickly swirling toward the book, she gasped as it hit the book releasing a dark shadow from within the pages. The shadow jumped from the pages quickly encircling the small filly in its blackness. She shut her eyes as the magic dissipated and the shadow disappeared. She opened her eyes looking around the room searching for the shadow in the morning light.

"Where are you Shadow?" she asked looking around.

"I am right here." the voice whispered as one of her forelegs lifted into the air by itself pointing to her own shadow.

"H-how did you do that?" She asked, recoiling in fear for a moment.

"You mean this?" It cackled lifting her foreleg again and giving it a wiggle causing her to gasp with a nod.

"The spell you used summoned me to you. I am now part of your own shadow in the light. I will be passive though until you need me. All you need to do is think of what you want me to do, and it shall be done. Please remember this though. If what you need done requires any magic, I will need to assume control over your magic so that it can be done. I do not posses magic of my own. Only physical strength." It cooed softly causing her to smile.

"So if I think of you slicing that door in half." She smirked at the door but gasped as a black streak ran across it horizontally from each corner to the other, a small creak sounded as the door split into two pieces. One piece falling to the floor, the other swinging on its hinges.

"OH CRAP!" She shouted, automatically thinking of the door repairing itself. She gave a slight grunt as her horn lit up floating the broken piece of the door back to its other half, the entire door glowed for a moment before becoming whole again.

She almost fell to her haunches as she breathed hard for a moment at the sudden consumption of magic.

"That was rather intense." she spoke breathlessly, quickly regaining her strength.

"If you think that was intense, please turn out the lights and you will feel my power." The shadow cackled causing her to smile as her horn flicked the light switch to the room. As the light faded quickly and the blackness engulfed the room, she could feel the adrenaline rush through her.

"I feel it." She smiled wickedly as her vision adjusted to the darkness quickly. Her world fading into black and white. As if she was looking through the darkness and seeing everything as it was without the aid of light.

"Your power will amplify during the night. The more darkness there is, the more power you have. You can even meld into the darkness to become one with it so that you can move quickly from place to place." The shadow grinned.

"Then if I think about going into my room I can.........." She stopped as she saw light envelope her vision, she blinked seeing that she was under her bed. She quickly pulled herself from under the bed giving a smile.

"Remember this. If you use that ability, the place you appear in can only occur if there is a shadow within that area. Please use this ability wisely. As you will return to your original location if there is no safe spot for you to appear through. During the night however, darkness consumes the land, so you may travel without worry."

Hazel smiled as she reappeared in her mother study. She replaced the book into its drawer and locked it shut. She turned with a wicked smile across her face. "Now it's time for some payback."

Midnight and Sweetiebelle had made their way toward Sweet Apple Acres to meet up with Applebloom and Scootaloo at the farmhouse. The would bring snacks and drinks with them to the treehouse.

As the two walked onto the porch they could hear arguing inside.

"That doesn't sound good." Midnight sighed as he walked toward the door. It flying open, barely missing him as two little fillies crashed into him knocking all three of them down the steps and onto the ground below.

"Get back here ya varmints!" AJ shouted as she rushed out the door jumping from the porch to in front of the fallen three looking forward and around trying to locate them. She stamped the ground giving a snort.

"Why those little....." She stopped as she turned around, her foreleg gently hitting something making her stop. She looked down to see three dazed ponies laying in a heap at her hooves. She gave a grin seeing the two bowled over fillies but stopped as she noticed the black lump underneath them.

"Ow!" Midnight groaned pulling himself from the pile. Sweetiebelle giggling at him as he did so.

"Hey AJ." He smiled as he dusted himself off. climbing to his hooves.

AJ immediately noticed the similarities of the small Alicorn to a much larger one she knew.

"Midnight?" She asked in a shocked tone.

"Eeyup." He smirked helping the other fillies to their hooves.

"What in tarnation?" She began, but stopped as Midnight raised a hoof.

"Twilight." was all he said causing AJ to chuckle.

"Ah swear, the mare has you pegged don't she?" AJ chuckled.

"Apparently so." He laughed.

AJ turned her attention back to the two fillies that she was chasing. "Now for you two." She snorted causing them to freeze up looking at her.

After a few firm words from AJ, Scootaloo and Applebloom were free to go. Midnight and Sweetiebelle were at their sides.

"So what happened back there?" Midnight asked nodding back to the farm house.

"Me an Scoots snatched a few cookies for our get tagether tehday. Figured we might as well have a few sweets." AB smirked.

"Yea, but AJ caught us before we could get out of the kitchen. She chased us all over the house before we finally got enough room to run to the front door. Then we crashed into you." Scootaloo smirked giving Midnight a playful nudge.

"Good thing she let us keep the cookies. Even if they were crushed when we crashed into ya." AB giggled.

"Yea, I love crushed cookies." Midnight smiled causing the three fillies to stop.

"Why would you like crushed cookies?" Sweetie asked cocking a brow.

"Because you can add them to other stuff to make something awesome." He smirked.

The three fillies looked at each other for a moment before Scootaloo spoke up.

"What kind of stuff?" she asked.

"Let's get to the club house, I can show you there." Midnight smiled flapping his wings once tossing himself backwards toward the treehouse.

They group quickly made way into the clubhouse, Midnight taking the bag of crushed cookies and placing them on the floor. her began crushing the rest of the larger chunks of cookies causing the girls to gasp in horror.

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!" They shouted staring at the crumbled bag of cookies. Tears welling up in their eyes. They stopped looking at the bag to turn their sights to the colt in front of them, giving him an icy glare and pouting lip.

"Easy girls, What I'm about to do will make you smile again." He spoke nervously as he pulled a small jar of peanut butter from Sweetiebelles saddlebags.

Using his magic he pulled a small quarter sized chunk of peanut butter from the jar, using his magic further to cool it so that it would turn a little harder but still be sticky. He tossed it in the cookie bag quickly shaking it up so that the cookie bits would attach to it. He did this three more times giving each of the girls, and himself one. They all looked at the peanut butter cookie ball questionably before midnight tossed his into his mouth munching away happily.

The girls shrugged doing the same, their eyes almost bugging out as their expression turn to pure bliss as they munched on the treat happily as well. After taking a quick drink from a juice box Scootaloo piped up.

"Wow, that was awesome!" She smiled flapping her wings once happily.

"Yea, how come ah never new about that lil trick?" AB asked pressing a hoof to her chin in thought.

"You'd have to know a few tricks growing up like I did. A friend actually showed me that when I was very young. Ever so often he would come over to my house and bring a bowl full of those with him. We'd sit back and talk about the old days while enjoying the treats. It was great." Midnight smiled thinking back to his friend on earth.

"You'll have to show Pinkie Pie that little trick. She might explode from being so happy." Sweeitebelle giggle, emphasizing the explosion by throwing her hooves out and falling backwards causing them to giggle.

"With all the recipe books I gave her I'd be surprised if she hadn't already come across that specific recipe." he laughed.

They sat talking for a few minutes more until the topic of the day came up.

"So what are we doing to get our Cutiemarks today?" Scootaloo asked fluttering her wings in anticipation.

"Well, ah was thinking maybe we could go to Zecora's and talk to her about potion mixing again. This time though we gotta read the books." AB smirked seeing the other two fillies groan.

"Isn't Zecora in the Everfree forest?" Midnight asked casting a slight glare at AB.

"Y-yea, but you're with us today, so we'll be ok right girls?" Ab retorted with a smile, the other two fillies nodding and smiling in agreement.

Midnight groaned facehoofing. "Girl's you know, as well as I do that the Everfree forest is dangerous. Do you really want to go in there?" He looked up to see them pouting and teary eyed. Midnight sighed in defeat.

"Fine, let's get this over with." He groaned as they all jumped forth hugging him.

"YEAH!!!!!!"

Authors notes: ending the chapter here so you guys can have it and I can rest for the day to think about tomorrows chapter. Hope you like this one. Also, its not as dark as I had planned but as the story progresses it will become darker.