Hello, ModernDayBard here! If you couldn't guess, most of this fic will be the actual CosmiColts story that Twilight's adapting, so it will feature more oc's than show characters, but I hope you like it anyway! Of course, I don't own MLP or its associated characters, just my OC's and plot idea.

With the story now fixed in her mind, Twilight Sparkle began to levitate the quill, starting slowly at first, but writing faster and faster as she remembered the story more and more, getting caught up in the adventure even as she wrote it out.

In the darkness of a warehouse in a district of the city long-thought abandoned, a screen flickered to life, then another, and another; until six monitors—powered by the dark unicorn's magic—glowed with flickering images. Each screen was devoted to a young hero, the scenes jumping from fight to fight to ordinary life. The solitary unicorn leaned forward, drinking in the information.

"Hm. My obstacles seem so much more...manageable now..."

"...Snow?" Rock Solid, a brown-furred earth pony and the leader of the CosmiColts, hesitated outside of the closed door, hoping their...chilly comrade was in a good mood. "A-Are you coming?"

His question was answered by a musical tinkling sound, like a thousand tiny icicles hitting the ground. That was actually the most likely scenario—after all; this was Snowstorm he was talking to. After another moment, her door opened slightly, and one sharp silver eye peered out at him. "Do I have to?"

The earth-powered earth-pony almost flinched at her practically emotionless tone, but he had heard the uncertainty underneath it. The team was only a few weeks old, and he knew that several of the others were still on edge around her, but he found himself able to understand her fears at times, and he felt he could let his guard down around her more than some of the others. He let his shoulders slump, and a weary smile broke through his carefully guarded expression. "No, but the others are waiting in the main room. I-I'm just trying to make this team more like a family."

Snow glanced down, then stepped outside, shutting the door behind her so quickly, Rock couldn't see her room at all. The silver-furred pegasus stood half a head shorter than he did, built lithe and lean, like a gymnast, her white cloak matching the white streaks in her dark-gray mane and tail. Her forelock fell straight, but the rest of her wavy mane was pulled back, and she kept her tail short. She adjusted the white cloak, not meeting her leader's gaze as she muttered, "I'll come."

Rock took a moment to reconstruct his guard before the others saw him, trying to appear the 'confident leader' as the two walked side-by-side to the main 'common room' of the CosmiColts' HQ/living quarters. The four other members of the team looked up as they entered.

There was Herbal Remedy, Snow's twin sister, who was nearly identical to the ice-powered mare in build and mane/tail style, though her coat was tan, not silver, her eyes were brown instead of silver, her mane was green-and-dark brown, and her cape was a deep green. She had powers, but was even more reluctant to use them than her sister, so she tended to stick to healing herbs, or amulets, potions and the like if she had to go into the field.

The only CosmiColt that went into the field less was Jinx, the group's other earth-pony. His coat was a darker shade of grey than Snowstorm's, though his windswept mane and tail were a lighter shade of silver very similar to the pegasus' coat. Behind his thick-rimmed glasses, his keen eyes were a light blue. As a non-combat member, he shunned any kind of 'costume', sticking to a black-and-grey striped vest. He didn't exactly have powers, but he was the smartest by far, and in charge of the upkeep and use of all the CosmiColts' magi-tech.

Next to Jinx was Tele-pony, a lavender-furred unicorn with the gifts of telekinesis and telepathy. Her black mane and tail were as wavy as the pegasus twins', but Tel kept hers longer in an elegant style, usually with an indigo flower tucked behind one ear that perfectly matched her eyes and the bracelets she always wore. Her indigo eyes were filled with their usual smugness, but she never quite crossed the line into arrogance.

Off to one side—almost lurking in a corner—was Shade, the other unicorn and Rock's oldest friend. Rock Solid had known the black unicorn before the CosmiColts had formed, and he still hadn't been able to make his friend comfortable around more than one or two other ponies. It didn't help that most ponies saw the tall, lean unicorn, with his midnight black coat, mane, and tail, (not to mention deep pink eyes that were almost red) and were at least a little intimidated, if not out rightly frightened.

*Even more so when they find out that his powers allow him to control darkness and shadows as a physical entity,* Rock mused bitterly. He had to resist the urge to run a hoof nervously through his short, grey mane or adjust his grey vest as his forest-green eyes swept over the motley menagerie that was staring at him expectantly. He glanced from face to face, then mustered a smile. "So," he began, "game night."

For a first attempt at game night, things seemed to go relatively smoothly, the few quarrels being mostly tongue-in-cheek, or due to the ultra-competitive mindset of some of the players. Of course, it hadn't been perfect—the team still seemed a bit on edge around the two quieter members, Snow herself never seemed completely comfortable, and while Shade tried to pretend he was having fun, Rock knew his friend well enough to see that his mind hadn't been completely taken off of his worries.

*Still,* The earth pony mused, *it's a start. And anyway, we've been so busy lately—we needed a reminder that we're still young. We needed this break.*

As the alarm siren wailed, four figures burst out of the bank, ready to make their getaway, only to find themselves confronted by the four 'field members' of the CosmiColts. The four robbers skidded to a halt, and the orange earth pony in the lead focused on the earth-powered hero in front of her. "Rock Solid," she spat with utter loathing.

"The Elementals," came the response. "You just can't help yourselves, can you? Take them down!"

The two groups of ponies surged towards each other. Rock sidestepped the Elemental's leader, Forest Fire, as fire was his weakness, but he stopped in front of Rock Slide and the two earth-wielders squared off. Snowstorm faced off against Tidal Wave. Snowstorm froze the blue-furred pegasus' attacks as they came before finally trapping the other mare in ice. Tele-pony felt nervous as she took on Windstorm—as a telepath with telekinesis, she was weak to elemental attacks—but the other unicorn went down quickly. That left Shade to take on Forest Fire, and the two went at it: Shade solidifying the shadows around her fires, extinguishing them. Then he switched to offensive tactics, charging her, but the thief stood ready, lobbing a fireball his way. The black-furred unicorn managed to dodge it, but as he blinked the smoke from his eyes, the orange-furred earth pony had taken off, running.

Tele-pony started to pursue, but Shade saw the fear behind her determination and spoke up. "Do't bother—I'll get her. You guys wrap up; I'll meet you back at base."

As his friends subdued the other three thieves, Shade stepped back, melting into the shadows.

He re-materialized right in front of his target, and wasted no more time, using the shadows to bind her tight. Shade heard the wail of the police sirens approaching their location, so he felt comfortable leaving the mare trussed up and shadow-traveling directly to the CosmiColts' base. He stepped back into the dark alley, starting to picture where exactly in their HQ he wanted to arrive—he had to concentrate, as long distances were hard.

"Well done—you resisted the urge to smother her...this time. Finally getting a handle on the inner villain, are we?"

The dark unicorn spun around but the disembodied voice was just that—disembodied. There was no one he could see, and he could feel the shadows pressing all the way to the walls, concealing no lurking figures. Shade wanted to ask 'who's there?' or better yet, demand 'show yourself!' but the fact that the voice had verbalized some self-doubts that Shade had held but never admitted led him to instead ask: "Wh-What are you talking about?" with much less defiance than he'd have liked.

"Come now, Utter Darkness: The powers of darkness, ink scrying, and the control of pain of pain you've told no one about—you're a born villain trying to play the hero. And you know as well as I do that it's an imperfect charade."

Fear and anger boiled together in his gut. Whoever was speaking knew him better than his family, than the CosmiColts, and knew things even his two closest friends—Rock Solid and Snowstorm—were not privy to. "How do you know my real name? My powers?" Shade tried to manipulate the darkness near him so that he could attack at the first sign of a target, but as his panic grew, his power slipped from his grasp and control.

There was an impact behind him as someone jumped down forma ledge above the shadows. The young colt cursed himself for not looking up, but before he could confront his attacker, a strong foreleg clamped across his throat, cutting off his breath and shouts. The previously disembodied voice hissed in his ear: "Your fears—your very self—is your weakness, you cannot hide your weaknesses from me."

Shade felt himself blacking out from lack of oxygen, is struggles getting weaker and less effective, The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was the voice gloating with a hint of a laugh, "Isn't ventriloquism a useful skill?"

Hours later, Rock Solid was frantically pacing the common room, confronting Herbal Remedy's worried face at one turn, and Jinx's desperate typing at the other. "Well?" He demanded at last.

"His locator's been scrambled!" The genius behind their magi-tech blurted out. "It's broadcasting from five different locations simultaneously. I highly doubt any of them are accurate, but I'm trying to triangulate a likely location. But really, it's just an educated guess—Shade could be anywhere."

Tele-pony laid a hoof on Jinx's tense shoulders. "How many potential locations do you have?"

"As many as you want, but some are far less likely than others."

"Well, let's take the top three—" Tele-pony glanced at Herbal Remedy's determined face and amended her count. "Er—four most likely, split up, and search them. If nothing turns up, we'll rendezvous and get a new set of targets. If someone finds him, contact the others. It may not be quick, but if we're thorough it should work."

Somehow, her little pep-talk wasn't all that encouraging, but since her plan was the only one they had, they put it to work.

Snowstorm paused on the roof of a warehouse overlooking the docks, the third location she'd been given to search. Like the other two before, there appeared to be no sign of Shade. The silver-furred pegasus scanned the area, noting several buildings and structures that could conceal their missing comrade, wondering in the back of her mind if the dark unicorn was hiding or being hidden.

Snow mentally ranked the possible locations for the missing CosmiColt and pinpointed the ones to search first. Before she even spread her wings to descend to the dock area proper, someone called out to her: "Ice Queen!"

The young mare stiffened at the sound of the hated, long-buried nickname, and as her oldest fear rose up in her, a circle of frost spread out form her hooves across the warehouse roof. She noticed after a heartbeat and tried to calm herself, muttering, "Keep it together, Snow. That's over and behind you now..."

"Is it?" The voice hissed again, almost in her ear. The ice-wielder spun round, but all she saw was the faintest flicker of movement in the now-empty shadows.

"Shade, if that's you—"

Her threat was cut off as she found herself seized by magic—no, not magic...darkness: shadows!—pinning her wings to her side. Her attacker materialized from the shadows in much the same way that Shade usually did, but it wasn't their missing comrade. There were some similarities, as the figure before her was also a black-coated unicorn, but he was older. His build was stronger and he stood taller, his scraggly red mane that matched his tail and cape not quite obscuring his penetrating, storm-grey eyes. His satisfied smile at her predicament screamed 'villain'; an observation further confirmed as he kept speaking.

"It's 'over and behind you,' is it? I wonder if your team—your precious 'CosmiColts'—would say the same, if you ever let them see inside your 'ice palace'—see what happens when you just 'let it go'. You present such a façade of being in control, and you keep your distance so that emotion doesn't overwhelm you, but that's not enough, is it?" The strange unicorn's smile grew even more chilling, more predatory as Snow struggled in his shadowy grasp. "Your fear and guilt are your weaknesses, and how loudly they scream at me! I can see it so clearly: You shut them out, slam the door and weather the storm because you aren't in control!"

"STOP IT!" the hoarse cry tore itself from Snow in a pitch and intensity that she hadn't reached since learning to control her powers. She felt all her old panic returning, clawing at her throat, loosening her death-grip on the storm within.

The temperature at the docks dropped and the wind began to howl, but her assailant only laughed. With a sudden motion, he slammed her sideways, against a wall; the jarring impact making Snowstorm lose consciousness.

Tele-pony was the first to make it to the third rendezvous point. She stood, expecting Snow to join her soon, followed after a longer while by Rock Solid and Herbal Remedy. *Not that Snow and I aren't searching thoroughly, but...well, those two were—are—the closest to Shade.*

After a lengthy delay though, it was a weary Rock who approached. Her saw her, then looked around. "Where are the others?"

"I'm right here," came Remedy's exhausted voice.

Tel shrugged. "And I haven't seen Snow since we last split up."

Rock frowned, his already-evident worry deepening, but whatever he was going to say was cut off as Jinx contacted them. "Guys...is Snow with you? Her locator just went crazy—seven different locations simultaneously."

"No," the brown earth pony muttered, and just for a moment the others could see his worry, his fear. His guard was swiftly reconstructed, and their leader returned. "It's clear now: we are under direct attack.

Herbal Remedy and Tele-pony stiffened, but they couldn't ignore the obvious signs. The telepath spoke up first. "We should get back to the base."

The tan pegasus whirled on her friend, green eyes flashing. "What are you talking about? Shade and my sister are in trouble—we have to help them!"

"We can't help them if we're taken down, too! The base is an easy position to defend. Besides..." The lavender unicorn didn't want to say it, but her rational mind demanded she finish the thought. "...we can't be sure that—that they're even alive..." her voice trailed off and she couldn't meet her teammate's eyes.

Herbal Remedy gasped in disbelief, at first unable to form a coherent retort. Several moments later, she turned her back on her friend, muttering, "Some teammate you are, Tel."

Rock looked from one mare to the other, feeling the weight of responsibility pulling him down. As the leader of the CosmiColts, it fell to him to ensure the safety of his friends by preventing their unknown assailant from attacking his three remaining comrades, but as a friend to both Shade and Snowstorm, not to mention as their leader, it was arguably his job to find and rescue them. He sighed, knowing there was only one choice he could make.

"Fall back to base."

Remedy whirled, a look of betrayal on her face, but Rock held up a hoof to cut her off. "You two fall back to base and begin defensive preparations. I'll continue to look for them and radio you guys when I've found them."

The tension between the two mares hadn't been dissipated, but the firmness in his voice at least shoved the argument and spurred them into action—for the moment. As the pegasus and the unicorn prepared to leave, Herbal Remedy hesitated, looking back. "Be careful, Rock. We don't know what we're up against." With that, she turned to follow Tele-pony, leaving their leader to listen to the lists of possible search locations Jinx was giving him.

Twilight sat back as Owlowicious pecked at her hoof. When she realized how late—or early—it was, she carefully stacked the now-drying parchment in the drawer of the writing desk before standing up and casting a light spell. The owl hopped onto the alicorn's shoulder, and together the two made their way out of the library. Owlowicious flew off after a bit, but Twilight kept dragging herself to her bedroom, knowing that this was only the first in a series of late nights.

So, yeah. Now we've met the CosmiColts and they're already in trouble—that doesn't make me cruel, does it? Well, anyway: if you like it, or see something I can fix, don't hesitate to leave a review letting me know!