~~~~~~Canterlot Castle, that evening.~~~~~~

"Nopony can know."

Whispered Cadence, as the gold and jewel encrusted chest was closed slowly before her eyes. Shining Armor had laid a hoof on her shoulder, and was doing a fantastic job of hiding his own tears. The single royal guard had nodded at them, and then departed a moment later. Shiny nodded himself, many minutes later - tightly, and in pain. "You're right. Nopony can know." He said softly, taking in a deep shuddering breath. "We have to trust Celestia."

Cadence nodded once, and then they turned as one to walk back out of the hallway. The royal guard who stood at the entrance way turned to them stoically, Shining Armor speaking softly. "Nothing is to change. Double the guard, but let nopony near the chest." The stallion nodded once, and saluted sharply as the couple turned into a more private hall and continued walking.

As they walked away, Shining spoke in a low voice. "Spitfire believes we've sussed out any Shadow infiltrators within the command structure. It hasn't been easy, and she lost some agent's to it, but we have names. She's already moving to have them removed..." He paused a little. "I have the feeling she intends to get awful violent about it. We're going to need more troops, Cadey. What we've got here in Canterlot is not even remotely enough. Celestia never was fond of keeping a standing army around in one spot." He said, his voice firm and professional. He was in his capacity as a Guard Commander, and that was enough.

Cadence spoke next, her voice a little louder. "We'll need to send messengers to the Crystal Empire. We're going to need every available lance, every pony who is willing to fight. We'll have to send the rest of the civilians somewhere, though." It was amazing how calm one could be, when faced with things you could do nothing about. "Stalliongrad is close enough, I think. They have truly superb defenses, as well - even against magical attack." Her tone was even, emotionless. It was utterly unlike Cadence, but it was all she could do to keep herself from dissolving into an emotional wreck as it was. "As for other troops, we can't risk panicking the countryside. We'll need to recruit what we can in Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus, and as many of the unicorns as we can manage. Mercenaries too, we'll have to lean heavily on them until things degrade enough for us to call the draft of the earth ponies. We can't afford to strip away the guard-posts, too many ponies will notice." She sighed heavily, her head lowered slightly.

Shining Armor was feeling all too much the same, his words heavy with grief - but resolute all the same. "Tactically, that's as sound a plan as we can manage under these circumstances.. We'll have one of the Wonderbolts carry the messages. We'll ask what General Invictus thinks we can rope in from the guard outposts, too." Their hoofsteps took them into the throne room, echoingly empty at this hour. "Captain Lancelot is recalling all royal guards - former and current, who can reach Canterlot quickly. It's not much, but... " He said quietly, his mien serious as Cadence pushed open the old wooden door at the back of the throne room, and the pair began to descend the staircase.

Cadence nodded once, in acceptance of this little nugget of news. "The Royal Unicorn Academy has already begun preparing the outer defenses. It's not a perfect solution, but I think we have enough time to get some solid shields up before things get bad." Hoofsteps echoed in the ancient stairwell, and for a time neither of them spoke - then Cadence broke the silence as they reached the ancient steel door. Emotion had begun to bubble through that outer shell of resolve - for here, at least she did not need to fear anypony noticing. "Shiny... Was there anything we could have done?" She asked in quiet desperation - wishing, hoping for some kind of answer that would make sense.

Shining Armor sighed. "I don't know Cadey. Maybe if we had brought her here, to Canterlot but... Even then, it couldn't have been certain. Given what she's probably done, it probably would have ended worse." It was not comfortable for Shining Armor to consider his sister in that light, but there it was. He had now come to the conclusion that whatever dark spirit had come to inhabit Twilight's body, it was much in the same mold as Nightmare Moon had been. If Luna - a veritable goddess - could not resist its control, his Sister had never stood a chance.

So. Shining thought, with a certain grim determination. Now we must find a way to free her, as she once freed Luna. There were ways, of course. There was always a way. The question was the price they'd have to pay for it. The steel door swung open at Cadence's touch, and the two marched into the princesses’ private armory. Looking around at the two prominently displayed suits of armor - one for a stallion, one for an Alicorn - The boxes of ancient, powerful magical weaponry and devices, Shining Armor felt a stubborn emotion in his chest settle into resolve.

Whatever the price, they would pay it. They would save Twilight, and the rest of the world could go to Tartarus if it had to. He wasn't going to let his Twily down.

~~~~Twilight City~~~~

Two figures were sitting on opposite sides of a two-toned room. White and black, thestral and pegasus, the calm and the passionate. They were both packing saddlebags, embroidered with cutie marks. Made by each other’s hooves - a hearts and hooves day present from a long time ago. Dancer finished first of course, she'd always been much quicker as a packer of things. The ability to actually see the objects had that effect. She snapped her bags shut and ensured they were tight, before turning her eyes over to Moon.

Moon herself was still deliberately packing the other bag - though not with the same precision. Neatness was not her forte, but rather a slapdash sort of system that worked for her. Whereas Dancer had packed the practical things, Moon was packing the impractical. A memory album, filled with pictures and mementos. A box of trinkets. A journal... no. Two. Dancer looked down at the white and black books she'd stacked in there and said softly. "I can't take that, Moon.." Dancer shook her head slowly, and Moon smiled, shooing Dancer's hooves away as she laid a picture frame with a dried rose pressed in the glass alongside them. "Moon, stop this, please." Dancer's voice begged softly.

Moon shook her head firmly. "You must go to them. They will need what you know." She insisted, adding a few other oddments, before closing the bag. "You might never be able to come back here to retrieve these things, so you must take them with you." A pause in her brisk professionalism, and the extraction of a small black box from under the pillow. "And.." She hesitated, almost not wanting to say it - or reveal it. Or anything, as though the very act would set them down paths unavoidable.

Dancer - bless her soul - did not have any such doubts or notions. She tipped open the box, still in Moon's hoof and extracted the two tiny gold ear-rings, each with a small stylized feather trinket upon it. "Moon..." Dancer said softly. "How long have you been holding on to these?" She held them up in her hooves, biting back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her.

Moon had frozen, then smiled a little sadly. "Since... well, since Tantalus passed. I just..." She shook her head, plopping her rump down on the edge of the bed. "I never could find the words." She whispered softly, her head lowering. She closed her eyes and tried to fight back her own tears. "I wasn't sure... There's no telling how long we'll be parted. I didn't want to..." Her words were cut short, as she felt the cool touch of metal upon her ear, and then the subtle weight of the ring.

Shadow Dancer fixed the other to her ear, and then leaned in to kiss her softly. "We will be together again. I'm not going to lose you, Moon. I don't care what it takes, or who I have to kill, or what I have to do." Her words came out in a rush, filled with a prideful sort of conviction. "Nothing is going to stand in my way back to you, Moon." She spoke finally. Moon opened her mouth slowly and Dancer pressed her hoof to it softly. "Nothing." She enunciated slowly, in a voice that brooked no argument.

Moon shook her head, tears rolling slowly and steadily down her cheeks. "I love you, Dancer. Be safe." She spoke in the softest of whispers. "You need to go. Fate weaves itself about our necks like a bridle, and there is little time to spare." She reached out and touched the thestrals' cheek, aching for just one last touch.

Dancer's voice came a moment later. "I love you, Moon. I will see you soon. I promise." She leant into the touch, and then was gone in a powerful wave of shadow energy - only the wet feel of her tears remaining upon Silent Moon's hoof. There was no recalling her now, that special spell taking her to that special place so very far away. Moon rubbed the last of those tears upon her cheeks, brushing the moisture into her coat so that there might be a tiny piece of Dancer still worth her for as long as she could manage.

Silent Moon stood up, brushing her own hoof across the tinkling little earring and smiling through the unstoppable tears. She began to walk towards Fate, her head held high. Mistress would not be much longer, and she had preparations to make.

~~~~~The White Tail Woods~~~~~

Scootaloo stood alone on a little ridge of stone overlooking the vast forests in the valley below. Zecora had sworn this place was full of good spirits of protection, whatever that meant. Scootaloo didn't know anything about spirits, or magic or the like. She just knew her mission, even if she wasn't sure how she was going to carry it out. Behind her, in the little nook they'd scurried into after a day of hard travel, a little camp was coming together. She hitched up the bright red hood Bon Bon had attached to her cloak, and pulled it a little closer over her head. The soft titter of laughter reached her ears - Dinky and Pina, chasing one another around the camp playfully. They had no concept of what they were running from - or even that they were running at all.

A cheerful fire burned in the midst of the camp, carefully built by Zecora and now watched over by a solemn looking Bon Bon. Lyra sat next to her, slowly plucking out a gentle tune that wafted across the camp on her signature instrument. Zecora, Time Turner and Ditzy were all in the big tent, talking. Scootaloo wanted to be there, but they wanted a lookout in case the deerfolk came to visit them. Scoots took the job, slinging her newly painted shield over her shoulder and mounting the highest point she could find for lookout.

The little steel shield had been painted an eye-catching red, with a crude Cutiemark Crusader coat of arms over that. On the back of the shield was still bare steel, save for a few words painted on in black. "Remember Sweetie Belle. Remember Applebloom." they said, and Scoots would see those words every time she brought that shield to bear. A reminder, and a promise.

Scoots casually brushed away the few errant tears that she threatened to shed and kept scanning around the camp - even for a young pegasus, her eyesight was still vastly superior than those of earth ponies or unicorns. She also had superb night vision, something she'd always found handy when sneaking out for a snack in the middle of the night. So it was a bit surprising that she didn't see the tall, white coated deer slip up next to her.

The deer folded her legs and sat down, until Scoot caught her bright blue eyes watching her curiously. Scoots fought down a scream of surprise, and instead only backed up a step - her hooves combined with her wings had the shield out and in front of her in a matter of moments. To this, the doe only smiled at Scootaloo - in the darkness, it was difficult to see more of her form other than it was sleek and actually quite beautiful. "Hello, little pony." She spoke softly, in a voice that reminded Scootaloo powerfully of Cheeralee's motherly tones. "What an odd sight it is to see so many different little ponies in these woods. Tell me little pony, who sent you into the care of my trees? " She chirruped, and Scootaloo was surprised at the odd beauty of her words, like the soft rushing waters of a stream - they flowed from her lips to Scootaloo's ears.

Scootaloo steeled herself, pulling the hood of her cloak back a little. She settled the edge of the shield down on the ground and lifted her head high. She spoke as calmly as she could, keeping her tone respectful - as Zecora had said she should. "The Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has guaranteed us safe passage." She recited carefully, remembering the words she'd been coached on. She struggled a bit to extract the little parchment scroll from her saddle bags, but produced it if a touch rumpled a moment later. "We um..." She paused. Crap, what was the next line? Oh buck it. "We have permission. I'm pretty sure." She did her best to keep her tone confident, in spite of the unnerving feeling that this doe could see right into her soul.

The doe extended a delicate hoof and grasped the document - weighing it for a moment before gently blowing upon the paper... and it disintegrated, slowly scattering upon the winds and rushing through into the trees. Scootaloo gawped at this clear display of magic, with no unicorn glow to speak of. The doe cocked her ear to the wind and smiled slowly. "So you do. You seek the sanctuary of my woods, but from what? What grave threat is so great that you cannot shelter beneath the wings of Áine?"

Scootaloo shuffled a little in place, and looked down and away. "Some kind of... dark thing that was controlling my friends. It was controlling my friend Twilight Sparkle too, and we think maybe other ponies." She looked away. "I saw some kind of dark fire in my friend’s eyes, and I ran. I didn't know what else to do, so I told Zecora and she said we'd be safe here." Scootaloo kept her voice low, her tone free of bitterness. The pain still sang in her heart, but she would not show this stranger her tears.

The doe's eyes slowly began to widen. "Ariahnrod's Bane. Mab." She whispered softly, as though her voice was the wind itself. "Umbra." She hissed out, as if in great anger. Then she turned her gaze upon Scootaloo and her eyes brightened with unshed tears as she moved across the grass nimbly. Scootaloo's eyes widened, but she did not give ground as the Doe spoke, her voice filled with sympathy. "Oh, my poor child." She gently leaned down and opened her hooves up. "Such a curse to be placed upon a heart so young. You need not hold your sadness behind steel and silk. Come here." She gently commanded, and Scootaloo could not help herself - the voice sounded so much like that of a mother, and she hurled herself into those gentle hooves.

Scootaloo felt the tears torrent out of her eyes, though she did not sob or weep. "I couldn't save them then.." She whispered, as a gentle touch so utterly unlike anything Scootaloo had known before embraced her. She felt like nothing bad could happen, so long as this strange creature was around. "But I'm going to. I'm going to get stronger, and find a way to beat whatever the buck this is and get my friends back. I m-made a p-p-promise..." her words began to dissolve into stutters, and then stopped. The doe was holding her so gently, so lovingly - Scootaloo wanted nothing more than to stay in that embrace forever.

The doe cooed softly, and a soft wind blew out of the east - ruffling through Scootaloo's hair and drying the tears from her eyes. "Yes... I can see that, little pony. There is a great strength within you, and a powerful will to fight. You will need both if you intend to fight the Mistress of the Dark." She turned her head up quickly, as though she had scented something. "I must go investigate this on my own. Let your fellow ponies know you will have to full run of these trees, and shall be protected " She stood up in one smooth motion and smiled softly down at Scoots before speaking again, "Fret not little one. I shall return, and hold council with you and yours."

"W-wait!" Scootaloo cried out, scrambling back to her hooves. "Y-you know how to fight this thing, don't you? T-teach me how!" She proclaimed, her voice rising quite a bit through the stutter of nerves. She didn't know who the heck this strange deer was, or anything about her. But she knew the name of the thing that had taken her friends, and that was enough. More than enough.

The soft eyed doe paused in her step, regarding Scootaloo with a curious eye and a slow sort of smile. "A shield you bear, but no weapon." She turned fully towards Scootaloo, and leaned down - and plucked a short, shining blade from the air itself with her teeth. The blade was short and curved slightly, and gave off a very faint golden light. Its haft was wrapped in tough cloth, just the right size for a little filly. A blow of whispering leaves blinded Scootaloo for a moment, and when she looked back - the Doe was gone. But the blade was wrapped in a sheath of some kind of strange materiel. "I cannot teach you to fight, but I can give you the means to wreak havoc upon the Shadow..." Whispered the Doe's voice upon the wind. "I shall return soon, and we shall speak again little one. You fascinate me." It finished, and the voice was gone as though the wind itself carried it away.

Scootaloo blinked at the little dagger, and the straps attached to the sheath. It took a few minutes to remove her cloak and strap the weapon on - surprisingly, it fit snugly between her shoulder blades and her wing joints. All she would need to do, even wearing the cloak, would be to turn her head and bite firmly down on the grip to draw it forth. Once her cloak and shield were back on, she felt... calm. Calmer than she had since she'd discovered the darkness holding her friends against their will.

Scootaloo hitched the hood of her cloak back up over her head, and wondered why the tears no longer threatened to come with every breath she took. Perhaps now - with weapon, with shield, and with purpose - she had no more reason to cry. She wondered if any of the ponies in camp knew how to fight with the dagger. She turned and trotted towards the camp, confident that one of them would - they needed to know about the doe anyway.

Funny, Scootaloo had never even thought to ask her for her name.

~~~~~Ponyville~~~~~

The Ponyville Spa and Relaxation company was one of the most surprisingly popular destinations in the town. It was a well-known fact that the Spa attracted considerable tourism bits, and that the Spa rarely had days when the proprietors, Aloe and Lotus, were not busy from open to close with a steady stream of customers both local and otherwise. What was less well known was the Spa had other services than the beautification and relaxation of ponies.

For those in the know - which was to say, those who had been taught the secret menu by another customer, or the Twins themselves - the Spa also offered a remarkable array of more intimate services for the discerning buyer. Although sex was not strictly on the menu, per sè - it still happened with rather shocking regularity. Since this side business was rather strictly unofficial, (and Mayor Mare was one of its foremost customers,) nopony bothered the pair about it.

Today was a quieter day than normal, and so Aloe and Lotus worked on the many little things that needed doing in the shop - replacing steam-room stones, mixing up herbal bath packets, and the thousand-and-one little tasks that often fell by the wayside. All of this was quickly discarded when the gentle chimes of the front door rang, and the voice of their star customer rang through the shop. "Darlings!" it singsonged. "It's been quite the week, and I've need of those marvelous hooves of yours!" Rarity's voice penetrated even the thickest wooden doors when she had the mind, and both earth pony sisters were downstairs in a flash.

What they found there though, filled them with awe and a childlike delight. Rarity was as beautiful as she ever was, of course - but Fluttershy, who was often her spa buddy... "Zut Alors!" proclaimed Aloe, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. "Miss Fluttershy! Those wings!" She said brightly, as the shy pony smiled broadly at the both of them - The wings were not precisely massive but they were considerably larger than a normal set of pegasus wings. Also (fortunately for Fluttershy) they were very flexible, and wrapped around her body easily when not, well... Fluttering as they were right now. "So beautiful." Aloe whispered, her eyes sparkling brightly at the thought of getting to work with such works of art.

Rarity smiled softly, a smoky sort of smile to her face. "Good to see you too, darlings. We've come for something a little different than the usual, you see. We'd like to order from the Red Menu today." She spoke softly, but firmly - and both Aloe sisters exchanged a momentary look of surprise. They'd never have assumed demure Fluttershy to be interested in such exercise but... That look of surprise quickly turned to one of anticipation. Pass up this kind of opportunity? Never.

Rarity simply smiled with a slow sensual fire, and Fluttershy did the same - and neither of the twins noticed the darkened shadows within their eyes...

~~~~~~~~

"I'm Hooo-ooooome~!" Singsonged Pinkie Pie as she burst through the doors of Sugarcube Corner... only to find a quiet and serious looking Mr. Cake sitting at the counter. It was only then that Pinkie saw the shelves bare of their normal treats, the shop quiet and lacking patrons at this, what should have been the busiest time of the day. Even amidst the sexy feeling of the Shadow, Pinkie Pie's eyes widened. Something bad had happened here, she just knew it. Mr. Cake looked like he'd just lost his very last friend, and Pinkie could hear no sign of Ms. Cake or the foals. "M..Mister Cake?" She whispered, trotting up to the counter.

He looked up and his eyes brightened - just a little - at the sight of her. "Oh, Pinkie!" He exclaimed, and pulled her across the counter in a fierce hug. "You're okay." He said softly, and Pinkie threw her hooves around him in return. "I was beginning to get worried when I didn't hear from you..." He mumbled into her fluffy pink mane, and squeezed her once more in purely platonic love.

Pinkie felt a soft giggle coming on, and let it out a little bit. "Silly. I'm always okay!" She proclaimed, obliviously ignoring all of the times she had very blatantly not been okay. "Where's the missus and the kids?" She looked around, her mane whipping to-and-fro in the process. "And why is the place all empty and lacking frosting?" She lamented, as though the lack of frosting was the worst part of the situation.

Mr. Cake winced and looked away, his eyes darkening again. "They... they had to leave, Pinkie." He said after a few moments of silence. How could he tell her that her very best friends were under the spell of some dark creature? How could he tell her that he'd sent his wife out of the city so she would be safe from it, along with his precious foals?

Pinkie shook her head slowly, interpreting those words in an entirely different way. She'd worried, although very little, that the birth of the cake twins might awaken some suspicion in Mr. Cake's heart. Apparently, in her absence those suspicions had born poison fruit. Pinkie Pie felt her heart break for the poor pony, and that criminal lack of smile on his face. No wonder the shop was empty, he had no joy in his soul to bake a cupcake with. And a cupcake baked without joy was no cupcake at all.

Pinkie felt the dark power resonate within her. She had to bring Mr. Cake's smile back. She felt her tone slip into that sultry voice, her tail slowly starting to swish back and forth as she turned his head back towards her. "Well, I'm still here, Carrot Cake..." She whispered softly, and giggled a little at the feel of the Shadow in her voice. It might not have been as fun without Ms. Cake here, but it was certainly going to be a party...

~~~~The Twilight Hall~~~~~

Twilight Shadow melted out of the shadows that stretched from the columns next to her front door. Her hooves carried her around to the door, and she looked up at it with a soft gaze. Within lay her destiny, she knew that now. But what was that destiny, and what did it have to do with Silent Moon? She did not know, and did not care. She would proceed, with all of the dedication and courage she had always had when facing the unknown.

The doors opened without as much as a word or brush of magic from her. She could quite literally feel the very presence of her Shadowbolts now, all through the city. More, she could feel the tiny flames of shadow that were burning in the hearts of so many of her citizens. She knew, without knowing how she knew, that a simple thought and a touch of her power would make them utterly obedient to her. They would carry out any command in her name, they would bow and scrape, and worship her. As was proper, of course. She could have any of them in her bed within a moment’s notice, and they would respond with the same lust for her that they would for any other lover.

It was an intoxicating feeling. Fluttershy had not been the only one to emerge from that cocoon changed. Twilight no longer feared her power, no longer feared the control it gave her. Who better to have that control? Nopony she knew was as good at dominating the space around her. She could keep things neat, tidy and well organized better than anypony in Equestria. It would be foalsplay to apply those same principals to governance. Everything in its place, everything working together in perfect... Harmony.

The very word brought a little smile to her face, as she walked with a slow, deliberate gait inside of her home. It was time to birth the new world.

~~~~~The Obsidian Temple, The Ki Lin Kingdoms.~~~~~~

Luna and Celestia stood silently outside the black-stone building, every surface of it covered in intricate silver designs. Sigils of magic, geometric designs, and other symbolism covered the entire surface of the building, and even much of the pathway leading up to it. It was the work of five lifetimes, the culmination of centuries of magical research. The whole place was one immense, magical battery and focus circle. All of it designed for one purpose, and one purpose only - to cast a single dedicated spell upon a single, very specific target.

Such was obvious to the two sisters, each of them steeped in centuries of magical theory and application. Yet even the obvious held them in awe as they looked upon it. Only a genius - or perhaps, several geniuses - could ever have conceived of the project. Only an army of dedicated craftsman could have built it. The sheer cost of it was staggering to the mind.

Celestia shook the awe off though. There were torches already lit at the entrance, cheerfully burning with a bright blue flame. "Somepony is waiting for us." She observed in a gentle tone of voice, and began to walk through the cavernous doorways of the black temple. "Let's not keep them waiting."

Author's Notes:

Deer mythology /culture is borrowed heavily from the Celts , as well as the old concept of the Faerie. This is relevant, or It wouldn't be here in the big build up.

Oh, and bonuses if you can figure out the white doe's name before I tell you. For once, I haven't made it terribly obvious and you've got quite a bit of time to figure it out. The only clue is she's not a normal deer, by any stretch of the imagination...

Oh yes, and Im presuming the Spa Ponies are french, since I am not trying to decipher the show accent further than that.