The Shadow Bolts: Glory to Luna!

This is Chapter 2 of The Shadow Bolt Series.

The Shadows are Planning and Plotting be wary Young Pony!

The Regal Alabaster Alicorn decided not to wait any longer, she used her magic to lower the moon for the second night in a row.

Celestia had started to worry about her sister's disappearance after she didn't show up last night to raise the moon.

She also noticed that General Thunder Strike and Colonels Stealth Light and Defiant Flame had also gone missing.

She turned to address her task force she put together whose command staff consisting of Captain Frost a medium sized ice blue pegasi with an alternating blue and ice blue mane. Her sister Corporal Dawn an extremely tall dark blue unicorn with a solid ice blue mane. They would lead a contingent of Specialist Pegasi and Unicorns to find Luna and her missing staff.

"Captain Frost you have been briefed by Lieutenant General Steadfast Watch on your task have you not?" "Yes Princess Celestia we have been fully briefed on the situation!" "Good then you also understand the importance and the level of secrecy that must be kept during this mission?" Captain Frost thought back to the General's exact words "If you don't come back then we will have your existence to Equestria erased!" She was jolted back into the present by the Princess's statement. "So do you understand the risks you are taking Captain?" "Yes Princess we understand all of the risks involved!" Frost had hoped not to ever have to participate in a "No-Return Scenario" mission. The Princess gave them all an encouraging smile before she sent them out. "Good Luck My Little Ponies and return Safely with My Sister." Captain Frost turned to exit the Princess's Throne room with her sister close behind. As soon as they were out of ear shot of the Princess the sisters began to talk about their plans and where to search. "I think we should search the City first!" "Excellent Idea Dawn take your Unicorn Squad to the Western Business District and I will take my Pegasi Squad to the Market!"  The sisters exited the Castle with their respective squads and headed for their assigned areas.

Oblivious to the two sets of eyes watching them. The two crept out of their hiding spots to get a better view of the situation. The moonlight was barely enough to illuminate both of the Stallions. Who were there to carry out their master's bidding.

They both bore the same cutie mark of a skull with two wings coming out of its head.Their uniforms exactly alike except for their different manes.

They were Unyielding Inferno's second and third in command. Commander Defiance turned to address his comrade Sub-Commander Retribution.

"Sub-Commander Retribution You shall take the Unicorn Squad and bring them to Unyielding Inferno!" Retribution answered with a simple nod then disappeared back into the shadows. Defiance watched as the Unicorns marched out of the castle gates in standard parade formation with an abnormally tall unicorn at its lead. Soon enough he spotted Retribution moving like a specter from one shadow to the next. He knew Retribution would be successful because if he wasn't he would never make it to Celestia's Dungeon. Defiance returned his attention to the now airborne Pegasi Squad which was in a V-Formation being led by a small ice-blue Pegasi. Deciding the time was right for him to start his part of the mission. Defiance retreated farther back into the shadows before launching himself into the night sky. He ascended to cloud level and found a nice dark cloud that he could use to shadow the Pegasi. The Pegasi flew towards the Market area which would make it harder for Defiance to capture the Pegasi in public.

The V-formation slowed and landed in front of a large apple stand they split up into groups of two to search for their target. Frost told all of the Pegasi to meet here by the apple stand when they finished. Frost decided that since they were in a public place so she wouldn't need a full escort. So she chose Lieutenant Crescent Moon and Corporal Quick Thought. Both were very easy to be around and well disciplined. She decided to check by the New Age Art stands since Luna loved art..................

After a while of searching Frost decided to head back to gather up her Pegasi to check the next area. As neared the meeting point she noticed that all the nearby stands were closed and there wasn't a Pegasi Guard in sight. "Corporal Quick thought what do you think happened here?" The Egg Head soldier examined the scenery with a very scrutinizing eye then came to a conclusion. "Captain it looks like there was some sort of struggle and it looks as if the rest of the Squad was on the losing side." Frost began to think of all the possible enemies that would attack a Royal Contingent in the Capital City.

When Suddenly a pony dressed in a black Wonderbolts uniform with a Silver mane approached the trio. Crescent Moon stepped in front of him blocking his path to the Captain. The pony simple swatted the Lieutenant out of the way with one hoof. Crescent went flying like he had been hit by a bull into a nearby stand. Quick Thought decided against such a direct route. "Halt you have assaulted a member of Celestia's Royal Guard and you must pay the consequences!" The Pony stopped and turned towards Quick Thought. "You dare address me servant of that solar monster!" The Pony summoned a black magic aura around Quick Thought "You shall now know the Power of The Shadow Bolt Legion!" Before Quick Thought could even utter a word the aura crushed his body into nothingness. The pony turned towards Frost. "I am Commander Defiance and You and that Oaf who tried to stop me shall be coming with me!" All Frost could think of was at that moment. "What have you done with the rest of my Squad!" "Your Pegasi will be brought around to our side of thinking Captain, now stop stalling and come along quietly!" Defiance turned towards Crescent Moon and grasped him with a black aura that would keep him incapacitated. Frost decided there was nothing she could do so she had to listen to him. "Fine you Win I Surrender." He grasped her with the same aura and walked out of the market towards a larger black magic aura that held the rest of her Squad. He merged both aura's so he could carry them back to his Commander. Frost hoped her sister was alright with her Unicorn Squad. Defiance picked up the aura and decided to see if Retribution was successful with his task. He hoisted the aura into the air as he took off in the direction that Retribution should have been.

Retribution stalked the Unicorns for the past hour making sure to keep out of the range of their magic detection spells.

The tallest Unicorn told the Squad to split up into groups of two. This would make Retribution's job much easier. He started with the low ranked ponies first making sure not to fatally wound any of his captives. Once he had incapacitated the rest of the Squad he finally approached the tall unicorn and her guard. Her guard charged him which was foolish on his part. Retribution sidestepped him then gave a quick uppercut to his face which knocked the foolish guard on his back. The tall Unicorn used her magic to try and restrain him but he simply waved her magic grasp off. He used his black magic to teleport in front of her which surprised her enough so that she lost her concentration. Which he took full advantage of by grabbing her horn and overloading it with his magic. The sudden surge of magic into her horn. caused her to collapse like a sack of apples. She looked at him before passing out. "Who are You?" He sneered at her. "I am the Retribution for all the crimes your Tyrannical Leader has caused upon this land!" Her eyes went wide as she heard what drove his madness. She passed out after this revelation leaving Retribution to collect his prize. Retribution gathered up the rest of the unconscious Unicorn Squad and placed them in a special magical aura that would keep them from using their magical abilities. When he finished he felt the approach of Defiance and turned to talk to his commander. "Commander Defiance I have completed my mission and have captured all of the Unicorn Squad!" The Commander landed next to Retribution. "Good work Retribution you and I are to return to the base with the captives and bring them before Unyielding Inferno." "Yes Commander but what shall we do if somepony comes to look for these Squads?" "That was already accounted for, these ponies were on a secret mission to find Luna."

"No one will know that these ponies have been take besides the Princess and her most trusted advisers!" "Now no more questions we must return to base before dawn!" At this both took off leaving the destruction behind for Celestia to clean up.

The Two Shadow Bolts flew out of Canterlot without even a single alarm being raised. They were using a special spell that masked their magic footprint, rendering any attempt at finding them useless. They were soon out of the city and nearing the edge of one of the outlying towns. As they flew some of their captives had begun to wake up and had begun to attack the magical aura surrounding them to no avail. The Shadow Bolts simply increased their speed so that the commotion wouldn't draw any unwanted attention. They were at the edge of the Everfree forest in a matter of minutes, their new bodies had allowed them to fly faster than anypony who had ever lived. Soon a giant dome of the black magical aura appeared and opened for the group to enter without any hesitation both of the Shadow Bolts darted inside the dome. Before them stood a castle made of obsidian with stone walls surrounding it. The captives all looked like they had seen a specter. For before them stood the mythical "Castle of Obsidian Tears". It was called this because of all the conquerors who tried to take this castle each ended up as a part of the obsidian castle to be used as a warning to any enemy that dared to attack. All of Equestria thought the castle lost during the Invasion of the Gryphon Empire in the year 512. Its previous Owner was a Nightmarish Mare that went by the name of "Death's Kiss". She terrorized the nearby towns for 10 long years until she was defeated when Celestia and Luna found her secret castle. The new owner Nightmare Moon had turned the place into the Shadow Bolts Headquarters and her Capital form where she would spread her "Night Eternal" The Two Shadow Bolts landed in the courtyard of the castle where Supreme Commander Unyielding Inferno awaited their return. They set the defeated ponies down and removed the magic that bound them. Inferno walked in front of them and each of them was forced to bow for him. "All of you have forgotten your true leader and have chosen that Solar Tyrant to rule!" A sly grin appeared on his lips, making the ponies tremble with fear at what he had planned. "For these actions against your true Queen you shall become members of The Shadow Bolts and serve your true leader Nightmare Moon!" When he said this they all shared the same look of fear and shock on their faces. He motioned towards Defiance and magical chains bound each of the ponies.   Captain Frost decided to speak up. "You can't make us serve anyone you....you foul snake!" He looked amused at her defiance to him. "Since you have decided to oppose me you shall be the first of many to become a Shadow Bolt Captain Frost!" She stood her ground and didn't move even when he came closer to her. Then he stopped and raised a hoof at her. Black magic began to cover her body as she screamed for Mercy. "Ah what an excellent idea Captain!" When the screaming stopped and the cloud dissipated the new Frost stepped out and she wore the same uniform and cutie mark as the others. Her mane was the same design as the others also except it was still an ice-blue with blue streaks in it. Inferno came closer to address his new recruit. "You shall now be known as Captain Merciful Splendor of the Shadow Bolt Legion!" She bowed to Inferno and then she asked he had in mind for the rest of the Ponies. "The rest of these ponies shall become Loyal members of the Shadow Bolt Legions!" Dawn looked at her sister in horror, she had become a Shadow Bolt but the same fate wouldn't befall her. With a surge of magical energy she broke free of her captors and attacked Unyielding Inferno. She launched a volley of magic fire balls at him. Which he quickly blocked and then he sent a small cloud of black magic at her.

She launched a blast of pure magic at the cloud, suprisingly it dissipated. This made Inferno mad, but he quickly returned to his evil smirk. "Merciful Splendor in order to solidify your postion in the Legion you must kill this Servant of Celestia!" Merciful Splendor didn't give the command a second thought. She turned towards her sister and sped towards her at full speed. Splendor knocked her sister down and pinned her.  Dawn couldn't bring herself to attack her sister even if she was being controlled by Inferno's magic. "Any last words you treacherous sister of mine?" Dawn began to tear up as she knew her sister was going to surely kill her. "I will always love you Frost." At this Splendor raised her hoof over Dawn's head. Dawn accepted her fate and smiled as the hoof was brought down on her head. The blow to her head was enough to cave in her skull ending Dawn's life. Splendor stood back up and wiped her hoof on Dawn's corpse, not even caring that she had killed her sister. Inferno walked forward to congratulate his new Captain. "I am glad to see I can trust my soldiers with any task I give them." Splendor turned towards him and had a smile on her face as she was being complemented for killing her sister in cold blood. The others saw this and were mortified as their last hope died with Dawn's last breath. Inferno turned back to the others and summoned another cloud big enough to enclose the two squads. Their screams of agony were muffled when the cloud covered them. When it was done the cloud dissipated into the air, revealing the newest of the Legions Recruits. Inferno motioned towards Defiance, and the chains that had previously bound them were gone with a single motion. The two groups of Shadow Bolts bowed to Inferno their new commander. He now had one squad of 31 Unicorns and one squad of 32 Pegasi which would bolster the legions numbers. "Captain Merciful Splendor you shall have command over the Pegasi squad *"Shadow Flight"** and you shall report to me from now on!"* She looked at him and gave her own evil grin. "Thank you Commander I shall not disappointment you!" "You and your squad are to patrol the forest surrounding the castle for anymore *"Recruits"** that can be found!"* Splendor and her squad took off immediately exiting the magic barrier that covered the castle. Inferno turned to the Unicorns he walked through them looking for the strongest stallion. Finally he stopped in front of a large Unicorn stallion. He was a brown stallion with broad shoulders and very sturdy legs to carry his body, even with such a young and strong body his mind was being torn apart by what he had seen.  The stallion tried to back away from Inferno, but his chains wouldn't even budge. "Tell me prisoner what is your name?" The Unicorn looked fearfully at Inferno, but finally decided to speak up. "I..I..I am Staff Sergeant Bronze Shield." Inferno had that grin on his face again. "Well Bronze Shield how would you like to be a part of the Shadow Bolts?" Bronze Shield's eyes shrank back into his skull as he was being offered a position in the Shadow Bolts. "Do I have a choice?" "No not really I just wanted to see how you would react." As he said those words the cloud returned and covered all the unicorns. The first to emerge was Bronze Shield with his new uniform and his brown mane, the only sign of what he used to look like. The cloud dissipated and revealed the new Shadow Bolt Unicorn squad. "Bronze Shield You will be known as Captain Iron Hammer of the Unicorn squad *"Magic's Wrath"** do not disappoint me Captain!"* Iron Hammer bowed to the commander and the rest of the Unicorns did the same. "What is our first mission Supreme Commander?" There was a delightfully evil twinkle in Inferno's eyes. "Remain here for now and bolster our defensive capabilities!" Iron bowed once again to his commander. "As you wish." Iron turned and left with his squad to reinforce the walls and add some more defensive capabilities. Inferno felt very satisfied he had already gained more soldiers for his master's war with Celestia.

Soon they would be able to begin recruiting publicly and he wouldn't have to keep brainwashing the ponies. Commander Defiance came forwards with another pony that was unconscious. "Sir what should we do with this one?" Inferno tired from converting the others decided this pony could wait. "Throw him in the Dungeon I will get to him later!" Defiance flew off with Crescent Moon who would be getting an extended "Vacation".  Retribution approached him next. "Supreme Commander the Queen of the Night has commanded your presence in her Throne Room!" Inferno thought that she would be giving him a congratulation for gathering the first of many soldiers. "Did she say what it was about?" Retribution looked scared by his question. "I dare not question the Queen she could have me killed with a single thought!" "Very well then I am going to meet the Queen." Inferno took off and flew towards the center tower. It was the most dominant feature of the castle with its solid obsidian exterior and huge windows that oversaw everything. The center tower was designed as a bunker for anypony who had lived there. Now it was the Center of Nightmare Moon's power and the Shadow Bolts Headquarters. Inferno entered the main doors constructed of the finest iron and gold that Equestria could offer. He used a teleportation spell to get to the throne room quickly as he didn't want to keep his Queen waiting. He appeared in her throne room which had her banners hanging from the ceiling and the walls. She sat on her throne constructed of a rare black obsidian found only in the belly of dead volcanoes. She noticed his approach and gave her best smile that a Queen of the night could give. He stopped in front of the throne and bowed to her. "Rise from your feet our loyal servant!" He raised himself up and stood at attention. "Why has my Queen requested my presence?" "We have a mission for you Unyielding Inferno, it is about time that our Enemy knew of our Empire of the Night!

Princess Celestia tried to rest on her throne for the first time today. She had been hard at work trying to uncover the reason for Luna's sudden disappearance. "Why would my sister leave without saying something first?" "Did I do something to make her leave?" "Where were Thunder Strike and his Colonels?" "Had they all left together, or had someone taken them?"  Theses answers were lost to such a wise and experienced Alicorn.

When Celestia heard from Steadfast that both Squads had been taken she knew something or somepony was causing all this mess. She had lost her two best squads to some unknown enemy. The only trace left was the crushed body of a Corporal Quick thought that she was able to pull out of a black magical aura but she had been too late. He had been dead for over 5 hours so the Perpetrators would have been long gone. She had her assistant send out a letter to the family to inform them of his death. She would have to close the market so the Royal Engineer Corps could get to work fixing the damage. The Royal Military branches had also voted to put Canterlot under Martial-Law for an undetermined amount of time. She of course said "Yes" but told them to be careful not to anger any of the Citizens. The Royal Equestrian Army was given full control over the city at Celestia's behest. They would begin Enforcing Martial Law in a few hours. So She would have to make a Public Announcement explaining why she authorized such an action. As she thought about these problems some strange feeling began creeping down her spine like she was being watched. She rose from her throne and walked around looking for anypony that was snooping around her throne room. But nopony was even close to her besides her personal guards. Still the feeling persisted, she finally decided it was just her sleep deprived mind playing games with her. She walked over to the main chamber doors and addressed the guard on duty which happened to be Captain Straight Arrow "Captain Straight Arrow I am going to lay down for awhile will you please direct anyone who needs my help to my or Luna's assistants."  "Yes Ma,am!"  She turned and used her magic to open the doors out into the main hallway. She walked to her room, on the way she passed many of the Royal Army personnel setting up their operations center in the nearby Conference chambers. None of them noticed their Princess passing as they were too busy with their tasks. She continued down the hallway until she reached her corridor. She opened her chamber doors and walked inside. Once inside she felt like all the worries in Equestria didn't matter until she got some sleep. She removed all of her Royal armor and laid them on her dresser. She examined her Solar Inspired room for anypony that was watching her. She once again found nopony in sight. Finally satisfied she walked over to her bed and pulled back the Sunny Sheets. She got into her bed and began to drift off into a well needed sleep. As soon as she was asleep a black magic cloud appeared and a pony walked through it before it disappeared once again. The Golden maned Unyielding Inferno had stalked the Princess using the powers granted by his Queen. Now he was to do as Nightmare Moon had commanded and reveal themselves to Celestia and her servants.

He used a spell that Nightmare Moon had taught him, It would temporarily make Celestia's magic useless on him until he was finished. Then he approached his Queen's hated enemy who was fast asleep. He could have quickly ended this whole thing with a simple strike to her temple, but that would as his Queen had said "A Sly and Cowardly way to end the conflict!"

He removed his uniform and donned the clothes of his former identity of General Thunder Strike so as not to startle her too much. Then he nudged the Princess until she awoke. She rolled out of bed and opened her sleepy eyes to see the General. She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw him. Then she quickly hugged him and began her flood of questions for him. "Where were you General?" Where are your Colonels?" "Why is Luna missing?" He raised his hoof to stop her. "Princess Celestia I am only here to tell you of recent actions against you that you can't possibly understand!" She looked confused at his tone at her, but she listened to him. "Only a few days ago I learned the truth about Luna." "She told me the ways you had humiliated her and tortured her already fragile psyche!" Celestia looked hurt at his revelation, but she let him keep going.

"Luna then revealed her inner self Nightmare Moon and her task to destroy you and all that you stand for!"

"That night Nightmare Moon offered me a place by her side as Supreme Commander of her Shadow Bolts!" Celestia began to power up her magic and was about to restrain him. "Oh don't try any magic I have a spell that protects me while I am here, and Besides I am just here to deliver this information." She sat back down so he could finish his message, but kept her magic ready just in case. "She gave me new powers to accomplish any task, I was given the new name of Unyielding Inferno and before I could assume my position I was tasked with re-appropriating the two Colonels for our cause." "They were also given new powers and places of power in the new Empire." "The two squads you sent out to find Luna were ambushed by the Colonels and brought back to our base." "Nightmare Moon has tasked me with giving you this information so that you know what is going to happen to you and your servants!" He decided now was a good time to remove the disguise, so he donned his uniform again. "She also wanted you to know that Luna is a part of her now!" He turned to exit the bed chamber. "How do you plan to accomplish this revolution with only two squads and one Alicorn against a whole nation?" "As we speak a squad of Pegasi is out gathering recruits for the Shadow Bolts from your loyal citizens!" He turned to face her. "Thank you for your time Princess." He gave her an evil smile then a black cloud swallowed him up and he had vanished. "How could this happen I thought the rumors of her having an evil streak were just that rumors!" Celestia sat back in her chair she now had to prepare for a war against her sister and her Shadow Bolts. "Guards!" A Wonderbolt Guard peeked in to see what was wrong. "Guard get me the Heads of the Military and the Wonderbolts Commander!" "Yes ma, am I will do so at once!" The guard left immediately to get together the requested people. Celestia went to put on her Royal armor so she could appear before her subjects. "How could I have not seen this coming?" "Was I too Embroiled in my Royal duties to notice Luna's strange behavior?" This day was just full of questions that she couldn't answer. She brushed her celestial mane and walked out into the hallway so she could get her response to this Nightmare Moon threat ready.

As Unyielding Inferno had said their was a squad of Pegasi known as "Shadow Flight" scouring for new recruits.

The squad had hit the outlying villages that were closest to the forest. Each village yielded between 50-100 new recruits that were to be taken back to be Indoctrinated. Once the outlying villages had been raided Defiance would put together a squad of 10 Shadow Bolts to reoccupy the village. This method of capture and occupation gained the Legion 5 village outposts in as few as 3 hours. Defiance had decided to visit each of the new outposts personally to asses their defensive and offensive capabilities. He left the castle barrier and flew out into the night towards the closest village he was accompanied by his escort of 4 Shadow Bolt Corporals. He flew quickly to avoid any air patrols Celestia would surely be sending. When he got to the first outpost he landed near the town center. The Shadow Bolts stationed here were busy preparing the outpost for more personnel and weaponry. He was approached by a Unicorn Captain they appeared to be in charge at this outpost. "Commander Defiance welcome to Outpost 1 I am Captain Accurate Shot!" He gave Defiance a welcoming smile. "Captain tell me what are the defensive capabilities of this outpost so far?" "Well Commander we haven't had long to work but we have set up some weapons emplacements." "What about the rest of the town Captain?" "We have converted two buildings into barracks and the school house is serving as the command center here." Defiance was pleased at this ponies work in only a few hours. "Very good Captain make sure you have the outpost ready by tomorrow because your reinforcements will be coming tomorrow!" "Yes Commander we will have everything ready for the new reinforcements!" Defiance satisfied with this Outpost took off for the next on his list. The next outpost happened be a small guards post which gave them some well needed weapons, and some more guards to recruit. When he reached the guards post he was greeted with a firefight. He saw that the squad of Shadow Bolts sent here to secure this post were pinned down inside the barracks. The attackers were a patrol of 2 Pegasi and 3 Unicorns. Defiance landed behind the patrol and sent some magic fireballs at the Unicorns while his Pegasi escort had a dogfight with the other Pegasi. Only one Unicorn turned to return fire at Defiance so the others could keep the squad inside the barracks pinned down. Defiance decided to summon some backup so he could end this fight quickly. While behind cover he activated a teleportation spell that summoned "Magic's Wrath". He turned to Captain Iron Hammer and pointed to the group of guards. Hammer knew what he meant and positioned his squad to overwhelm the group. They quickly began firing on the guards, killing the three Unicorns in a frenzy of fireballs. The squad then began firing on the 2 Pegasi in the sky. The Pegasi seeing their ground support reduced to ashes decided to retreat. Defiance let them go so that they could spread word of the Shadow Bolts victory over the guards. He turned to Iron and his squad. "Iron Hammer you and your squad are to protect all the villages under Shadow Bolt control in this area!" "We will do as you command Commander Defiance!" He then left with his squad to secure the 3 villages that surrounded the post.

As soon as he left Defiance was going to order another push forward to the nearest town which would have been PonyVille.

He gathered up his escort and was about to return to the base when one of the Shadow Bolts that was in the barracks came galloping up to him. "Commander wait the Supreme Commander has a message for you!" Defiance halted his exit so he could receive the message. "Supreme Commander Unyielding Inferno has ordered the halt of any Offensive maneuvers and instead ordered all outposts to focus on fortifications and establishing extensice supply routes!" Defiance was deeply annoyed by his commanders unwillingness to continue the assault while they clearly had they the advantage. "Thank you for telling me this, you are free to return to your duties." The Shadow Bolt returned to his duties. Since there would be no more Offensive maneuvers Defiance decided to head back to the castle. Once there he would confront Inferno about his order to halt the advance.

Unyielding Inferno had returned from his mission and had reported the results to Nightmare Moon. His Queen was pleased with Celestia's reaction so much that she burst out into a fit of evil laughter. Once she was done she congratulated him on his successful mission. Then she ordered an immediate halt on all Offensive maneuvers being conducted. He asked her why but she dismissed him from her presence. He walked out to the communications center that had been constructed to communicate to the outposts. He entered the structure and was greeted by a young mare. "Hello Supreme Commander how may I help you?" He looked at the mare and handed her the written order of Nightmare Moon. "Send this message out to all Field units immediately!" She looked the letter over and began sending it via the magic mail system. "It should be reaching the nearest outpost in a few minutes, Sir!" He turned and walked out of the communications building to oversee the castle retrofit. The Queen had ordered five artillery cannons to be placed in the courtyard. She also wanted MG nests placed onto the inner and outer walls. He walked over to the Chief Engineer Design Flaw. "Engineer Design Flaw tell me how goes the retrofit?" Design Flaw wasn't affected by Inferno's unexpected visit, but he gave  he gave the report on the progress to Inferno while he was still face deep in his work. "Well the first cannon has been installed but the second.....................

When Crescent moon awoke he was in a dark room made of some sort of purple stone. On closer Inspection he realized he was in a cell. Then he remembered the events leading up to his capture. He felt the fear for Frost welling up inside his heart.

Had that Shadow Bolt killed her or had something worse happened to her and Quick Thought? Soon he heard hoofsteps approaching his cell. "Hello who's there!" He saw a figure walk up to his cell but he couldn't see their face. "Welcome to the Dungeon Lieutenant Crescent Moon!" Moon looked around once again and saw the bones of other ponies who had been locked up here so long ago. "What have you done with Captain Frost and Corporal Quick Thought!" The figure turned away and light a magical torch and then turned back towards him. He was shocked by the sight. "I am just fine Lieutenant, sadly Quick Thought didn't see eye to eye with my Commander!" He shrank back as his world began to collapse, he had lost both of his good friends and there was nothing he could have done to stop it. "Do not worry, for soon you too shall be part of the Shadow Bolt Legion!" He tried not to cry in front of her but a few tears managed to escape. He turned towards her with seething rage in his eyes. "I'll never join you and your sick twisted masters!" She burst into laughter barely able to keep from falling over. "You have no choice in the matter, you will join us whether you want to or not!" She then extinguished the torch. "The next we meet Crescent Moon it shall be as comrades once again." He turned his back on her and refused to play along with her sick game. She left him there in his cold cell all alone, where he would await the inevitable indoctrination. He began to cry over his lost friends Frost and Quick Thought. He eventually fell asleep in his dark cell deep within the bowels of the castle.

Nightmare Moon pondered on all of tonight's accomplishments. "What a wonderful Night, we have captured a few our sisters villages and a guards post!" "The Shadow Bolts numbers have risen from three to over five-hundred in as little as four hours, what will the next attacks bring for us!" She decided that it was best to wait for each outpost to be fully secured before she pushed on without strong defenses and supply routes. She surveyed the throne room which had her banner's hanging from the ceiling and some of "Death's Kiss's" old paintings still hanging on the walls every few feet stood one of her personal guards The newly created "Dread Knights" each one was a force to be reckoned with. They stood taller than most ponies except Inferno. They were all Pegasi with a red mane and solid black coats. Even though they were Pegasi they had two demonic horns sprouting form their skulls. Their bodies were mountains of muscles, they had to be big enough to stop any threat to their Queen. Each Knight was handpicked by Nightmare Moon herself. She examined the rest of the room and felt the power that her throne room commanded from anypony who entered it. "Guards leave us for we wish to plot in privacy!" The guards left the room without as much as a grunt. She turned towards the main window behind her throne. She could clearly see the Moon going throught its rotation for the night. It was source of all her power and what would allow her to bring about  Night Eternal. "I am so close to the power that I can taste it!" "Just a few more nights and I shall have enough power to bring about Night Eternal!" "Our sister can do nothing to stop us from conquering her precious ponies!" She let out an evil cackle that would have made any stallion sole himself. "Equestria shall no longer have their precious Sunlight to protect them from me!" "I shall rule Equestria as Queen over all with nothing to challenge my power!"

Authors Note:

This took way longer than expected. It was meant for Thursday but that didn't work so I released it on Sunday.

I have to give a big thanks to TheWizard for the use of his characters Dawn and Frost.

(Sorry Dawn had to Die)

I am still accepting any OC's that people wish to be added to the story. Just give them a rank thats lower than captain since I already have a bunch of captains, and what side you want them to be on.

The next chapter will probably be out the same time next week if nothing comes up.

Be warned there are only going to be two more chapters till the next Shadow Bolt Book begins!

If you notice anything wrong with the Story please feel free to message me.

Criticism is always wanted and accepted.

Proofreading is for BABY MEN!

As always a Big Thanks to BrambleBerry for the use of Defiance and his Inspirational story "Sunsets's Last Glow"