~~~~~~~The Sealed Archive~~~~~~~

Luna's horn flared, and dozens of candles burst into life a moment later. The Archival room was just as Celestia had left it - neat and tidy. Luna was glad for that - it would make finding what she was looking for easier. She laid the thick obsidian box upon the empty desk and paused as she slowly turned around in the room. Been a long time. she thought softly, gently running her hoof along the thick wood of the desk.A Very long time. She sighed mentally, and then briskly turned to one of the bookshelves.

Celestia is probably still afraid to even look at the thing. But Luna had no such fears. The night, and darkness were her domain. She had no fear of the creatures that lived in it, no matter what sort of foolish name they had taken for themselves. 'The Shadow' indeed. When she finally tracked this foul demon down, she would teach it the meaning of darkness. For now though, at least she had a lead. Her hoof reached up to tilt the thick tome off the shelf, pulling it carefully down with only her physical limbs - No use of magic on this thing. There was no predicting what the Dark Book might react to, or not.

She laid it down on the desk, remembering when Star Swirl had presented it to her so very long ago. The old, brilliant fool. If only he had come to us sooner. But he had never fully trusted them while he lived. He had only known that no other soul could be trusted with the book in the first place. Luna laid a hoof upon the thick black cover, and when she lifted it the shining silver rune of a crescent moon still glowed upon its cover. Good to see those old protection spells still hold up. Of course, nopony had likely touched the thing in more than a thousand years. That had probably helped.

Luna Inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled - filling her mind and body with the power of the night. The Dark Book could be treacherous indeed to one who was unaware. Her eyes slowly opened, revealing the slim almond shaped pupils against a field of dark blues and blacks. Now, let us see what sorts of secrets you have been hiding, little tome. She growled in her mind as her hooves pushed open the cover.

The Dark Book was older than Equestria. It was, near as Luna could tell - older than herself or Celestia. Much older. Nopony alive, no creature alive knew its true age. That was why its name had devolved to three simple syllables over countless ages. It was indestructible, incorruptible, and impossible to predict. Of course, that only made it more exciting.

The pages turned slowly under her hooves. The one and only warning Star Swirl had had for her, was never to use magic directly upon the book. It would react in violent and unpredictable ways. The only time he had done so, he'd said it had nearly taken out an entire ritual circle by itself. So, hooves. The going was slow, but Luna was prepared for that. Discord had told her sister that something had locked this shadow creature away in this book.

Still. Not using magic directly on it was one thing. But if perhaps, it had other kinds of magic indirectly affecting it that would be another. And I, thought Luna with no small amount of smugness, have power over a kind of magic that Star Swirl could not even have dreamed of. Her horn began to glow a soft misty white, then far brighter as she channeled the light of the moon down onto the pages as she turned them - and sure enough, new text came to life under its soft glow. Now, let us see what you have been hiding.

~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight Hall's kitchens were dead quiet at this time of night, excepting of course those ponies that snuck in for a late night snack. One such pony was Rainbow Dash, who was munching through her third carrot and spinach salad with relish. She'd used up a lot of calories today, and she was probably going to use up more than a few before morning stretching out the stuff muscles. The beautiful thestral had declined to share in the meal, but had been nibbling lightly on an orange while Dash stuffed her face.

Dash had to admit, this girl was alright. A little on the weird side, but Dash figured that most of the ponies who were gathering around Mistress Twi (Her brain had given up trying to stop her from shortening the name) were going to be a little weird. That didn't mean weird couldn't be cool. Pinkie Pie was pretty weird when it came right down to it. Dash grinned at that thought for a moment, then munched on the last carrot in the bowl. "Mm! You say they keep these things around, readymade?"

The thestral giggled a little, toying with a slice of orange in her hooves. "Oh yes. They're good for when one of the Shadowbolts needs a more.... conventional snack." There was a soft, sly smile on her face as Dash nodded vigorously then paused. Dash's thoughts were not always quick on the mark, but once they got there they went like wildfire. Ribbon smiled softly, and leaned in ever-so-close. "Of course, some of us prefer a more... unusual fare."

Dash's mind was off like a shot. The Shadowbolts? That was a myth! A trick by Nightmare Moon! But... then how did this pony know about them? Only Rainbow Dash had seen that image, and she hadn't told anypony but her closest friends about them! And yeah, okay so I made that fake uniform for Nightmare Night but big deal! Dash was getting paranoid now. She got even more paranoid when she saw a hungry look in Ribbon's eyes. Those strange gold and dragon-pupil eyes... "Um... You sure you don't want a bite to eat?" Dash asked a little nervously, wondering why she wasn't already heading for the door.

Ribbon laughed gently. "Oh you are cute, Captain Winterlight didn't tell me that part." Dash froze in her chair, that name rattled around Dash's skull like a pair of dice, as the sleek bodied thestral slipped off her stool. "Oh don't look so shocked. I know you've learned your pegasus history, Rainbow Dash." She whispered softly, leaning in to breath hotly against Dash's neck. Dash wanted to move, and couldn't. She wanted to run, to fly as fast as she possibly could - but she couldn't. "And I know you've been wearing our uniform when no one has been looking. It's nothing to feel bad about. We're actually quite flattered, you know."

Dash tried to talk, and found she could not speak. Some power had gripped onto her and held her to the chair like magic. Ribbon giggled softly. 'Would you like to know my special gift, Rainbow Dash?" The thestral crawled up into the chair with the cyan pegasus, straddling her waist. "I can restrain ponies with nothing more than my gaze.." She whispered in a soft, sexy voice. Dash felt the thrill of fear and then clamped down upon it.

Ribbon smiled widely, showing off those cute little fangs which seemed awfully sharp right about now. "Oh you're such a strong pegasus. Don't worry. We want that in you. Your bravery, your courage and strength. This is just a little... welcoming gift from your new brothers and sisters." her voice had gone breathy, and Dash could feel the drag of those teeth along her coat for a moment.

Ribbon gave a soft giggle, and Dash felt the muscles in her neck and head slowly loosen up a little. Ribbon spoke again, gently. "Are you scared, little Dashie?" Dash swallowed visibly, and slowly shook her head. She didn't know why, but she wasn't. Somehow, she felt... safe. Ribbon smiled softly, and stroked her cheek with a gentle hoof. "I knew it. You will fit in just fine."

Dash felt confused for a moment, but then that same sexy voice whispered into her ear. "After all, you're a Shadowbolt now. Just like me." There was brief moment of pain, and then a rush of the most powerful pleasure Dash had experienced in all of her life as the fangs sunk into her vein, and her mouth opened in a wordless scream that echoed off the kitchen walls.

~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~

Luna slunk out of the room, her obsidian box stuffed into a saddle bag as she walked wearily out of the room. Celestia had raised the sun already, and lowered the moon at that. For once, Luna was grateful. It had been a long night, a wearying night of doing battle with the Dark Book - yet it had been a fruitful one as well. They would be far better prepared come weeks end.

She slipped away from the doors of the sealed archive and began to make her own slow, steady path up to her bed chambers. A single night guard awaited her there, and she floated the box over to him. "Take this to my sister at once." She wearily ordered. "Inform her that I am to be awoken midafternoon. I also wish to be informed when Commander Blade returns."

Luna slammed shut the door to her room, as the guard hurriedly carried the sealed black box down the hallways of Canterlot Castle. By the time he reached Celestia, Luna was already fast asleep in her bed. The guard laid the box next to Celestia, then quickly scarpered out of the room. After all, no one in the castle wanted to interrupt a meeting with Discord.

~~~~~~~

Celestia arched an eyebrow at the box, then returned her attention to the brown scholarly pony sitting across from her Sometimes, she thought this new quirk of his was actually his attempt at 'blending in'. And other times, when she was perhaps a bit too enthusiastic with the salt, she had begun to think he was actually developing a crush on young Fluttershy. Absurd of course, but that's what salt did to you.

Today, he was being remarkably... dare she say it? Normal. Calm. As though he'd decided that wackiness was firmly off the menu until their conversation concluded. "So, as I was saying..." he continued, lifting his teacup daintily. " That's how they beat him the last few times, but neither of those methods will work again. You'll need a new method." He sipped the liquid slowly, smiling. "Chaos magic would undoubtedly be your best bet, but I know how you feel about that sort of thing Celly."

Celestia smiled slightly at him. "Sorry, Discord. I have no intention of becoming like you." Celestia spoke lightly, and was lying out of her teeth. Not unless I have no other choice. her mind whispered. Best not to think about that right now. "Still, that does tell me where not to look for a solution." She sipped her own tea slowly, eyeing the strangely calm pony-creature before her. "Anything else you think I ought to know?" she prodded gently - he really had been especially helpful already. What had driven him to do so, she wasn't quite sure - but she had a theory.

Discord was afraid of this Shadow thing. More importantly, he was afraid of what it might do with Twilight Sparkle in charge of it. Given his legendary independence and the fact that this Shadow apparently had the power to brainwash those it came into contact with, Celestia was not at all surprised.

Discord spoke a moment later, those sly golden eyes watching her carefully. "Yes, actually. Just one thing." He jabbed a hoof at her. "Don't underestimate it. Presume it already has agents everywhere, and act accordingly." He finished sipping at his tea, then took a large bite out of his teacup - crunching joyfully for a few moments. "Mm, I do so love good porcelain. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got somepony to go see."

Celestia watched him chomp down the rest of his teacup, and then vanish in a small explosion of cotton candy - which she was ready for this time, seizing it out of the air with her magic, bundling the sugar up and plopping down on a table. I don't know what's more terrifying. That I've gotten good at catching that, or that it doesn't bother me anymore. She mused, with a half-smile on her face. Now, let’s see what Luna has for me.

The box lifted open with a thought, and a very, very thick stack of notes was lifted out of it. The first page was enough to tell Celestia why, too.

Dearest sister,

Star Swirl the Bearded was even cannier than I had originally thought. He hid many of his research notes within the Dark Book itself. I know you are wary of any knowledge obtained from it, yet I cannot see us having any other choice. Although I highly recommend you read through the entirety of my notes, I have provided you with a condensed summary of those points which are immediately relevant.

1.) The Shadow power has only one weakness that never changes - direct sunlight. This is encouraging, but not very helpful. That is because of the second point.

2.) The Shadow power hides itself deep within its victim's bodies. - This is the source of its greatest strength. It uses those that are sworn to its power to perpetuate itself. The only way to truly purge the shadow from a body completely without other esoteric methods, is to kill the host and then expose the core of power to sunlight. This is obviously not an option in the case of Twilight Sparkle, but may be necessary for us to know.

3.) We will therefore need some method to pull the shadow out of the victim's body. This is where things get complex, as Star Swirl could not determine what kind of power the Shadow precisely was. I propose this be our foremost avenue of research in the days to come. With the tools at our disposal, this may be our best chance at victory.

4.) We cannot wait for Shining Armor or Cadence to handle things at home. The shadow is not known for sitting around idly. I propose we declare an emergency powers situation, and recall them to Canterlot immediately. They will not be pleased with us, but they will be even less pleased if we do nothing.

5.) We must immediately task Silent Service to rooting out any agents of the shadow within Canterlot, and anywhere else we can possibly manage. I have included a special section of papers for Silent Service. There are definitive signs we can use to spot those who are called 'The Touched'.

6.) Finally, I am now forced to agree with your original proposal as to our course of action. As much as it pains me greatly, we must seek aid from other sources - and only a very few sources possess the power to aid us in this fight. I urge you to reconsider your first option however, as I will explain to you over dinner this evening.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the reading I have provided, I will speak to you soon

-Luna

Celestia sighed softly and carefully tucked the first piece of parchment next to her - then proceeded to the next page, her violet eyes flying across the text. She needed to read this as quickly as she can, and then handle her duties for the day. She would need the extra time to arrange for their trip.

~~~~~~~

The sun hung gloriously over Twilight City as a new day began for its citizens. The work of the day before continued into today, and once again Captain Winterlight was at the center of the madness. But something was different about her today, even as she continued to deal with the newly arriving citizens and constant questions about resource. Her usual drill-sergeant manner was more subdued today, and she had been far more patient with matters she previously would have been very short with. No one was really complaining - as it seemed like she was also getting a lot more work done in a much shorter period of time.

Winterlight wasn't forthcoming as to why either - then again, she wasn't about to admit what activities she'd been up to last night with the Mistress. So she kept on working, fighting to keep down that afterglow smile. She's a little unrefined of course, but by the shadow... Captain Winterlight couldn't repress the shiver she felt then, and allowed herself a small smile. She will be glorious when she fully accepts what she is. Soon, the morning's work was done - and in half the usual time to boot! She ought to break the rules more often.

The Captain stretched out and contemplated a little treat for herself when the sound of two sets of wings beating behind her caused her to turn. Two figured touched down on the ground in full uniform - the deep purple and gold flight suit, those trademark goggles. One of the figures she knew quite well. The other, well - she was new.

The coquettish thestral on the right saluted with a slight smile. "First Lieutenant Ribbon, presenting Private Dash for inspection, Captain." Winterlight smirked at Ribbon, glad to see she had already carried out her orders from the previous evening. But her eyes focused on Rainbow Dash, who stood with a surprising amount of attention and seriousness. Given her reputation as a wild rabble rouser, Winterlight had expected that to translate to a discipline problem.

But there Dash was, standing at loose attention. She had put on the flight suit properly - there wasn't a seam or crease out of place. Her goggles were bright and shiny in the way that only a properly treated pair of flight goggles was. Her hair was wild, but Winterlight didn't give two bucks about that sort of trash. Dash had a rep, and she had earned a little bit of leeway when it came to her grooming habits so long as everything else was in place. Still, she couldn't let her get off completely scott free.

The Captain stalked around the cyan mare, glowering in her best 'Captain Ripper' attitude, as the ranks called it. She examined every flank and every inch of Dash's body. Damn, she's in good shape. I can’t wait to have a turn with her. she grinned to herself, continuing her inch by inch inspection. To her credit, Rainbow Dash didn't look to the side to follow Winterlight's progress more than once. Hmm. Perfect. Not that I'm going to tell her that. She chuckled quietly, then returned to her original position. "Acceptable, Private. Welcome to the Shadowbolts." She pointed her hoof at the thestral. "Lieutenant Ribbon here will be your senior officer until you've earned the right to go up a rank. She'll explain the details. Now get your flanks back to work!"

Both of the mares saluted her, and took off up into the skies. Winterlight nodded once in satisfaction. Hm. She'll do. She smiled broadly for the first time in months and even allowed herself a bright laugh. Hah! In your face, Blunderbolts! She even let herself do a little victory dance, at least while nopony was looking.

~~~~~

The road into town was busy of course, but the earth pony had expected that! Just because it was busy didn't mean she couldn't enjoy herself on the trip! She bounced along as the cart pulled unerringly behind her, humming one of her favorite tunes and waving to the passersby. Of course, nearly all of them smiled back at her! Which means I've already done a super-duper good job today!

The small wooden cart had been painted her favorite color - Pink of course! And had the words "Sugarcube Corner" written in a fancy script over a beautiful little picture of a muffin and a donut being friends. Pinkie Pie loved the cart, and she especially loved when she could fill it up with goodies and deliver it to her closest friend in the whole wide world! She wasn't allowed to have one though. Not unless TwiTwi said it was alright. Not that she wouldn't, Pinkie knew - Twilight was always generous whenever she got a big order of sweets.

There were lots of ponies from Ponyville on the road today, too! "Hi Octi! Hi Scratchy!" She waved at the musical duo, who were riding a larger cart filled with more musical equipment than you could shake a cupcake at. They waved back with a smile of their own, with Scratchy doing that head-nod thing that always looked so cool. Oh! And there was Mr. Quills, with a cart full of his famous sofas. "Morning!" She chirruped at him, and he grinned and waved a hello back at her.

Pinkie Pie was excited today. She hadn't had a chance to spend a lot of time in this new town! There were so many new ponies for her to make friends with there! And now she had three whole days! She was so super excited, she was going to burst! Or maybe not. She stopped for a minute being a traffic jamup to check all of the treats in the covered cart - making sure none of the special candies on top of them had rolled loose. They looked strange for candies, but they did look tasty. She reaaaaaally wanted to try one, but she'd promised Mr. and Ms. Cake she wouldn't unless the buyer said it was okay!

After a few more minutes, the traffic cleared up and Pinkie bounced on through, still humming that tune she'd come up with back with Cranky Doodle. And then, suddenly! Wait! Itchy flank? She blinked and sure enough, her rightmost flank was itching! Somepony was watching her from hiding! Actually, it had to be lots of someponies, because it was reaaaally itchy! But who could it be? She couldn't see anypony. Well, not anypony obviously trying to watch her from hiding. Though that might defeat the point.

Pinkie kept peering around the road, and then up into the trees as she bounced along. "Oh!" She exclaimed, her face suddenly brightening up. Just a buncha pegasus and batponies in weird uniforms. She giggled to herself, the itching going away immediately. Funny, those suits look kinda like Dashie's Nightmare Night costume. I wonder if they're some kind of club? She'd have to ask Dashie later, Pinkie Pie loved joining new clubs! Even if she wasn't technically allowed to join them sometimes.

It didn't take her much longer to reach the city gates, bouncing through the crowd with agility and speed. Not a single cupcake out of place either! Okay Pinkie. You gotta find this Captain Wintersomething and let her know I've come with the delivery! She's supposed to be in the town square someplace. Pinkie trotted her cart through the open air market, her nose twitching with the delightful smells of a booming marketplace. Many a curious onlooker watched her trot by, and she waved cheerfully to them all. Some of them even waved back, a little bemused by the bouncing pink pony. Yep! She thought, brightly. Lots of new ponies to make friends with!

She made it to the town square - a vast open plain of flagstones and a massive fountain in the middle, which currently looked like it was lacking a proper statue to sit on it. Right next to it, she saw a serious looking pegasus in that weird flight suit - though the headpiece was off, and she wasn't wearing the goggles. Hmm! That's got to be her! She smiled her best and brightest Alright Pinkie! Put on your best cheeriness and let's get started making new friends!

The Pegasus blinked at her as she approached with her brightest smile. She stopped with one last bounce and stuck out her hoof. "Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie! I've got a special order of treats for Twilight Sparkle from Sugarcube Corner!" She grabbed Winterlight's hoof and shook it enthusiastically. The Captain looked a little rattled, but there was something immensely pleased by the way she was looking at Pinkie. Pinkie pie, of course - took this to mean instant friendship. "I can already tell we're gonna be bestest friends!" She squeed, bouncing up and down in excitement.

This is gonna be the best day ever! she thought, happily.