The group had accepted Cinder’s offer to go out for a few drinks before returning to their ship with their crew. While Glitch seemed to have instantly been interested in Cinder joining their ranks, Twilight Sparkle wasn’t as sure. Instead, she kept her eyes open and her thoughts on the dragon to herself while she probed for information.

Purposefully when they arrived at the place of beer and spirits, Twilight chose not to sit close to Cinder, and instead among the few subordinate dragons that seemed to orbit her. From her satellites, Twilight hoped to learn exactly what kind of dragon Cinder truly was and what her personal interest in this war was. It was a winning strategy to fully understand as many of your key player’s motivation as possible, and Twilight was all about winning strategies at this point; with so much on the line now, she had to make sure they were taking as few chances as possible.

She chose a simple light beer while she drank with two dragons named Tail and Fang, both of which crude and immature in their own way, but both carried a deep respect for Cinder for whatever reason. Twilight knew she would have to drink with them to gain their respect and thus their trust, but she didn’t want to become too inebriated, and thus lose focus or possibly become incoherent.

Looking over at the table where Glitch, Aria, and Sonata sat, she frowned, wondering if Glitch had a strategy at all for how they were going to probe Cinder for why they wanted to help them, but she thought better of it and knew it wasn’t wise to question Glitch’s methods this late in the game. Sighing, Twilight resigned herself to the fact that she’d have to trust Glitch no matter what.

Looking to Tail, he clenched a tall glass that smelled of cheap vodka in his green scaly claw before downing half of it by dumping it straight into his open maw, not even sipping the glass. He swallowed with a harsh motion and shook his head to try and get the swill to stay down. Twilight wasn’t much of a drinker, but even she could tell by his expression that it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Tail was tall and slender, and while he sported some more impressive muscles on him than Cinder had, there was something about Cinder’s appearance that was just a little bit more intimidating.

Tail as his name implied had a long snakelike tail, longer than the average dragon, and it came to a thin narrow end which he likely could whip people with if he chose. He smirked at Twilight as he drowned himself in the second half of his drink and Twilight gave him an approving nod before sipping from the beer she had been poured, feigning a smile to the creature.

He nudged her shoulder in a sportsmanlike manner before grunting. “How’re ya’ liking our local ale?”

Twilight looked down at the mug and then shrugged as she looked back up. “I’m not much of a drinker myself, so I couldn’t tell you a good beer from a bad one if I’m entirely honest...”

“Yeah, you seemed the stuck up type,” Fang chimed in with a smirk.

Fang had a similar build to his friend, but was far broader, and was of the bladed tail variety of dragon. One of his more defining features, however, was how he was snaggletoothed. His front left fang was missing, likely from a fight or something, but it oddly made him seem more intimidating that way; you knew that mighty jaw had seen some action before.

“I was Princess of Friendship, I didn’t exactly have the luxury of sitting around getting drunk, I had responsibilities to uphold.” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Looks like that did you a lot of good!” Fang added before the two chuckled together and shook their heads.

“If I had to do that shit, I’d be shit faced every damn day! If not to just take the edge off, though I’m sure detailing with the little bastards that come your way to bitch about problems would be more than enough to drive me to drink if I hadn’t already...” Tail explained, shuddering at the thought of having to listen to ponies complain to him about problems that he didn’t care about.

Twilight shrugged, unsure of how to respond to that statement. While the appeal of being drunk all the time was tantalizing, as it would mean she would have far less stress to deal with, she did quickly remember that she actually didn’t mind being a princess during the good days. When all was well and war was not brought to the soil of Equestria, Twilight actually found herself enjoying solving the problems of others. On some occasions it would be stressful, she had to remind herself of all the times it wasn’t.

What was getting to her the most right at that moment though was that she lacked the support network of her friends by her side. In the past, she could solve any problem thrown at her because she had her friends at her side. Without them, the entire situation seemed far more daunting.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds...” Twilight finally replied.

“Still, I would hate having to do things in Equestria. Too much talking, not enough fighting.” Tail stuck out his long tongue to imply that he was making a fake gagging gesture.

“How do you do things in the Dragon Lands?” Twilight asked.

Fang shook his head. “It's a lot more politics than we used to have, but a healthy dose of fighting when you need it.”

Seeing an opportunity to move the conversation to Cinder, Twilight took her chance. “So Cinder helps Ember rule then?”

Tail and Fang looked at each other and laughed as they shook their heads. “No way kid, Cinder’s a bodyguard and elite warrior more than anything else. She isn’t from the Dragon Lands originally, her homeland is Dragon Scar where she was raised, that’s what makes her such a badass warrior.”

“I’ve heard of Dragon Scar, but is it really that bad there? The stories make it sound dreadful” Twilight asked as she took another sip.

Fang nodded as he downed a drink. “Sure is, it's actually probably a lot worse than the stories make it sound. Most dragons from there are too rough even for the Dragon Lands. Cinder’s about as tough as they come too. Her clan was one of the oldest and toughest out there. She’s the last survivor of said clan, and she’s never lost a single fight.”

Tail joined in on the storytelling. “She earned the name ‘The Blade of Dragon Scar’ because of how mighty she is. I’ve only seen her fight a clawful of times, but she’s an artist with a sword. There ain’t a dragon alive that can beat her. She's the best there is, kid and I say definitively. I heard stories that even the dragons of Dragon Scar used to tremble before her clan members, and Cinder is no exception.”

“That tough huh? Why does she fight though?” Twilight asked.

Tail shrugged. “Don’t know. She was trained as a kid, but she doesn’t talk much about her past. She rambles on sometimes about fighting spirits or whatever, but I’m not exactly sure what motivates her.”

“She seems particularly interested in Serenade, know why?” Twilight asked.

Both Fang and Tail shrugged this time. “Got us.” Fang said.

“Never heard the name until now. What’s this Serenade like? I’ve seen sirens before, they aren’t really much to look at... How did a siren take over all of Equestria? Don't they just sing mostly to use their powers? I mean some of the older ones tend to be a lot stronger, but usually, they aren't into fighting that much,” Tail asked.

Twilight frowned. “It’s more complicated than that. Serenade isn’t just a siren, she’s a demon too. She seems to have the power to absorb magic from others and make herself stronger. Her abilities seem to just get more and more...”

“Sounds like it’ll be a hell of a great fight then!” Tail exclaimed excitedly as he held his drink up in his claw.

Twilight wished she shared his enthusiasm, but then again he was ignorant of how strong Serenade really was. He hadn’t seen the destructive force of her tremendous power in action.

“She’s a monster...” Twilight nearly whispered.

Fang inched closer and wrapped a claw around Twilight, pulling her in with a grin on his face. “Hey, don’t worry! You have us and Cinder Deathclaw on your team now. Serenade doesn’t stand a chance, Cinder’s never lost a fight and she looks more determined than ever; we got this in the bag.”

Twilight peered over at Cinder as she sat conversing with Glitch, Sonata, and Aria. She sighed and closed her eyes. “I hope you’re right.”

There at the table with a pink dragon sat Glitch, Sonata Dusk, and Aria Blaze. Glitch’s entourage and the mysterious dragon who worked as some kind of bodyguard for the dragon lord. Cinder Deathclaw was a relatively soft-spoken creature with a raspy voice. There was a seriousness to her tone, but it was difficult to scratch the surface of what went on inside her head.

Aria drank from a glass of vile vodka, while Sonata sipped a beer. The girl was a lightweight, and she didn’t want to make a fool of herself when they had just met with this new ally.

Glitch was the only one without a drink, as they didn’t want to remove their helmet and present their true face to Cinder. There was no telling what kind of person she was just yet, and Glitch wasn’t about to take any chances, thus why they needed to find out more about this katana-wielding dragon.

Sitting next to Cinder, Glitch spoke up. “So... Cinder Deathclaw is it?”

Cinder gave Glitch a smirk from the side of her mouth, her fangs looking extra impressive. “Actually, Deathclaw is just a nickname that folks gave me. I never endorsed it, but it’s what people call me. My real name is Cinder Razorclaw, of the Razorclaw family.”

“So why do people call you Deathclaw then?” Aria blinked, “Razorclaw already sounds pretty brutal.”

Cinder shrugged as she downed another beer. “One of my first fights here in the Dragon Lands was against a hydra. I crushed its skull in my bad claw...” She raised her metal arm and wiggled her mechanical digits to demonstrate. Every single one of her artificial talons was fiercely sharp and looked as though they could slice through the skin with ease.

“Ever since then, people were calling me Cinder Deathclaw. Can’t say it’s a name that I would have chosen, but you don’t get to pick your nicknames, right?” Cinder shrugged.

Her mention of her arm had Glitch curious. Was it rude to ask about? Glitch decided they didn’t care and spoke up. “About your arm... Is that just armor over it or...”

Placing her arm upon the table, Cinder dug her claws into the wood, demonstrating just how tight her grip could be. “I lost my arm a long time ago. Completely sliced off... I thought I was going to have to live the rest of my life without it...”

“Until you got this?” Glitch asked, looking down at the mechanical arm.

Cinder nodded. “Yeah, Gifted the Wise... He found me, he built me a new arm, and taught me how to use it.”

“That sounds like a mage...” Glitch guessed.

“You catch on quick, yeah he was a unicorn. Old and wise, he had left home to study in Dragon Scar. This was a long time ago though, and he’s long passed. He was my sensei for a while, but as the old saying goes ‘Geth mig’ dugor’,” Cinder explained.

Glitch didn’t have a clue what that saying meant. “Excuse me?”

“Oh right, you don’t speak Draconian. I forget that a lot of these old sayings probably only apply to a clawful of creatures these days...” Cinder laughed.

She could speak Draconian, that suggested how old her clan must have been to Glitch. It was a language that at one point was taught to all dragons, but now only reserved for the elite or at least clans with an ancient lineage. The Razorclaws likely dated back far, and that meant that Cinder Razorclaw came from an old bloodline.

“Afraid not, though I’m impressed that you know it... Not a lot of dragons know that language...” Glitch stated.

Cinder grinned at that comment. “I was taught by my parents. They were the ones who showed me how to use a blade too. They were impressive warriors, and they taught me the way of the warrior as well.”

“Where are they now?” Glitch asked.

A frown came to the pink dragon’s face. “Dead. Long gone.”

“I’m sorry to hear...” Glitch lowered their head.

Cinder held out a claw and shook her head. “Don’t be. It’s in the past now, there’s no bringing them back, so the only thing left to do is honor them.”

“Fair enough.” Glitch shrugged.

“Now it’s my turn...” Cinder said as she leaned in with interest.

Sonata and Aria had more or less tuned out the conversation as they sat there drinking.

Glitch tilted their head. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve asked a lot of questions, do I not get to ask some of my own?” Cinder raised a suspicious brow.

Her face was soft, yet intimidating in the right light. She had a unique quality about her to where she could strike confidence and fear into those she gazed at. Glitch almost admired it.

“Sure, I guess...” Glitch shrugged.

“What’s with the suit?” Cinder eyed Glitch up and down, admiring their armor.

Glitch knew that question was coming. “It’s a very unique piece of armor. It protects me from Serenade’s energy-draining, and helps channel and focus my magic, increasing its potency.”

“Not bad... Why wear it to this peaceful meeting though?” Cinder raised a brow.

“I never take it off. You can’t be too careful,” Glitch responded.

Cinder nodded in agreement. “That’s a good mentality. You’re a true warrior. A warrior always watches their back, never leave anything to chance. Carry your weapon with you wherever you go.”

“I guess, though I wasn’t always a warrior like you...” Glitch replied.

Cinder laughed. “Yeah, I suppose that’s true. I started when I was just a kid. By the time I was eight, I was moving boulders eight times my size with my bare claws.”

She said claws, that meant she had both of them when she was eight, didn’t it? Glitch wondered.

There was a short silence between the two followed by Cinder asking another question. “Do you think you can take Serenade?”

Glitch paused and had to chew the question for a few minutes. That was a difficult thing to answer. The reality was that Serenade was in another league. She was powerful enough to where Glitch wasn’t even sure the suit would make a difference, but she had no choice at this point. With over a year of investment, the only direction to go was forward.

If Glitch died at the hooves of Serenade, at least she could say she gave it her best effort, more than most could say.

“I... I don’t know. In a head-on fight? No way in hell. However, I intend to outsmart her, find weak points and exploit those. A creature that strong has to have some kind of weakness, right?” Glitch asked.

Leaning back in her seat, Cinder’s wings extended and then curled back up as she sighed. “Your attitude is right, but sometimes I wonder that myself... A creature that strong... Is there any way to kill it? I’ve heard stories of a siren that took over Equestria, but the news out here is often vague. I believed it was Serenade, but I couldn’t be sure until you confirmed it. Ember keeps a lot of shit to herself, so I didn’t hear it from her either...”

Glitch leaned in and placed a hoof atop of Cinder’s metal claw, a gentle clank sound happened as the armored hoof touched the metallic appendage. “Why do you hate Serenade?” Glitch asked.

There was silence, followed by Cinder shaking her head. “That is a story best left for another day. Just let it be assured in your head that I will do whatever it takes to bring that creature down.”

“That’s reassuring, and from what your followers tell me, your blade work is the best around... Some even said you were the greatest blade that ever lived...” Glitch said, recalling their chat with the dragons that seemed to orbit around Cinder on their way over.

Cinder just shook her head in disagreement. “I think my brother Ash was probably closer to the greatest blade that ever lived, but even then I wouldn’t say such a thing.”

“Modest, I see...” Glitch leaned back.

Finishing a drink, Cinder shook her head once more. “No, modesty has nothing to do with it. One of the teachings of the TorXel clan is that cockiness often leads to carelessness. No matter how good you are... There is always someone better.”

“Truer words have never been spoken, I think I like the TorXel clan.” Glitch laughed.

“Stick around, we’ll see if that continues...” Cinder laughed back as she beckoned for another drink from the bartender.

The bartender obliged her request and brought another drink, this time a beer. Cinder took a sip before looking over at Glitch, studying their unique armor. “So... Who built that suit for you?”

Glitch shook their head. “Can’t tell you that.”

“Why not?” Cinder raised a brow. “We’re allies now, aren’t we?”

“Even so, we just met and I don’t know enough about you. Not to mention, a true tactician never reveals all their secrets,” Glitch responded.

“You’re saying you don’t trust me?” Cinder asked.

“Not in so many words, but yes. Your sudden interest in taking down Serenade with us definitely has me skeptical if I’m being honest.” Glitch sat up straight.

Cinder pondered what Glitch was saying, but began to piece it together in her own head. She was starting to understand where the pony was coming from. “So you’re saying that I could just be working with Serenade to sabotage your operation from the inside?”

“That’s definitely a possibility.” Glitch nodded.

“If that is the case, isn’t telling me you’re onto me detrimental to sniffing me out?” Cinder asked.

Glitch shook their head. “Not at all. The way I see it, it makes no difference if you know I’m suspicious of you or not, because if you were actually working for Serenade, then you were already going to be cautious about getting caught anyway. Serenade would never entrust someone so careless after all.”

Drinking from her beer, Cinder grew a light smile. “Well, I would be insulted for you suggesting that I’d ever work for that vile creature, but I am mostly impressed with how thorough you are. You’d make a great warrior in my clan, Glitch.”

“Thank you.” Glitch nodded.

Cinder leaned over the table and rested her head on her claw as she looked Glitch over. “So... Why the mask? Why not show everyone the stallion under that suit?”

“This may come as a surprise to you, but I’m actually female...” Glitch responded.

Cinder’s eyes raised. “Well that is a bit of a surprise, but I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised by it. After all, for us dragons, a lot of warriors are women.”

“Evidenced by yourself.” Glitch gestured to her.

She nodded. “Yeah, still I have to wonder about the mask. What are you trying to hide under there? Is your mug that ugly or something?”

Glitch paused for a moment, internalizing the suggestion, and wondering how the mare under the helmet looked in contrast to others. Sunset was told she was attractive all the time in the human world, but in Equestria she had only had been told by a small number of creatures that she was cute.

Shaking their head, Glitch returned to the forefront of the pony’s mind and they donned the persona once more, shaking thoughts of vanity out of their head. “It has nothing to do with my appearance...”

“Why wear it then? Enlighten me.” Cinder gestured.

“Glitch is a symbol. If nopony knows who is under this mask, Glitch can be anypony, and that means even if something happens to me, somepony else can put this suit on and keep fighting, they’ll never know if the symbol they believe in has truly fallen and they’ll keep fighting...” Glitch explained.

“Ah yes, symbolism... It’s a powerful force that can drive warriors to fight, isn’t it?” Cinder chuckled.

“Sometimes hope is all we have.” Glitch shrugged.

Cinder leaned closer and wrapped a claw around Glitch. She squeezed tightly for a side hug and grinned at the pony. “The fighting spirit is strong with you. You’re going to be quite a deadly foe for Serenade.”

“You think so?” Glitch asked.

“You’ve got all the makings of a powerful warrior, I’m certain of it.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.” Glitch shrugged.

Glitch had continued to elude her, and it was making Serenade less and less patient. This armored pony was supposed to be only a temporary annoyance, but he had quickly turned into a constant pain in her side. None of her warriors seemed competent enough to take down the rebellion leader, and he always seemed to be a step ahead of Serenade.

A few times she had tried to intercept him, but he always managed to avoid her. It was clear that he feared her power, and he knew that a direct fight would be his end. He was smart at least.

With every victory, Glitch’s rebellion grew. Before she knew it, Serenade was stomping out rebel groups in her occupied cities left and right, and putting ponies in prisons in record numbers. When her prisons got too full, she just opted to execute any traitors who dared to wave Glitch’s flag. She had hoped the public display of brutality would silence any attempts to start more rebel groups, but they seemed to have the opposite effect.

While these uprisings were annoying, they were far from a threat to Serenade’s rule. She had enough power and slaves to ensure that any attempt wouldn’t make it far, but she still had to contest with Glitch’s army which was growing every day. How that pony in a tin can managed to inspire any to stand up and be struck down by Serenade’s might was beyond her. Her power put her on a level of near godhood, so standing against her was surely suicide, yet all these ponies were volunteering to do it. What was Glitch’s secret?

Perhaps the pony had made fake displays of his own power, convincing them that he was stronger than he truly was and thus they believed they actually stood a fighting chance.

No, that wasn’t feasible, Serenade knew that everyone had seen how strong she was, even if it was just a fraction of her full power, there was no way that Glitch could show them anything even remotely close that would instill any kind of faith in them.

She was annoyed, but she couldn’t let Glitch get under her skin. His plan was obvious, he would continue to find ways to throw Serenade off his scent and poke at her. He wanted her to get sloppy, to lose focus, and she wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. Serenade needed to stay ahead of him, and that meant constantly checking where Glitch was, and figuring out where he would go next.

Looking over a map that had marks on every place that Glitch had hit in the past, Serenade was trying to determine where the pony would go next. As her eyes scanned it, she was certain that Glitch had picked off all of the smaller settlements at this point, she had to make a power move now if she hoped to win.

She decided to change her perspective and consider her larger strongholds. Which of them was the most difficult to defend? Which had the most weaknesses to exploit?

Only one came to mind, Manehatten. It’s large size meant guarding its entire perimeter was a full-time job, and it had many tunnels under it that led into the city. To make matters worse, it was on a waterfront, meaning coming in from the sea was possible too. It’s tall skyscrapers created great cover to hide in for infiltrations.

She nodded, certain she should be preparing the city for some kind of attack from Glitch.

Tapping a communication orb on her desk, she spoke directly to Arax. “Arax, send in the new kid.”

“Sure, gimme a sec...” Arax’s voice exited the orb.

She nodded and sat still for a moment as she lounged in her comfortable chair. Celestia’s former study was proving an excellent room for her to focus herself and create battle plans.

The door opened and in stepped a young-looking pegasus with a cool light turquoise coat which was mostly covered by the signature cloaks that all of Serenade’s elites wore. Her brilliant amber and gold mane was slicked back with a small fray in the front as she bowed her head and grinned while she slowly approached Serenade.

She was the newest of Serenade’s disciples, but also one of the most eager. Freshly gifted with new powers from Serenade herself, the girl was eager to cause some damage and show her abilities.

“Good afternoon, Master Serenade.” She bowed.

Serenade gave a dismissive hoof gesture. “On your hooves, Lightning Dust.”

Lightning nodded and straightened herself out. “Fair enough, so what did you want to see me for?”

“I have a job for you...” Serenade gestured for the mare to come closer.

Saluting first, Lightning Dust made her approach. “I won’t let you down, ma’am. What’s the job?”

“Glitch and his little army are possibly going to make an attempt on taking Manehatten from me. I have a pretty good hunch he will attack there eventually. However, I think if I show up there, he’ll know about it and avoid going. So I need you to lead the charge there and capture the little shit stain,” Serenade instructed.

“Capture?” Lightning tilted her head in confusion.

“I want to kill him myself, is that understood?” Serenade raised a brow.

“Crystal clear, ma’am. This is a pretty big job for my first assignment...” Lightning responded.

“All the more reason not to fuck it up, Lightning. Don’t give me a reason to dispose of you...” Serenade stated.

“I will do everything in my power to ensure success, master.” Lightning bowed.

Serenade nodded and dismissed her. “Good, now get out of my sight and get moving. I expect you to reach Manehatten by tomorrow morning.”

Lightning gave another salute. “Yes, ma’am!”

After her salute, the pegasus flapped her wings and took off out the door, already making her way to her newest assignment.

Serenade sat quietly as a smile appeared on her face. “Let’s see how what you do next, Glitch. You haven’t won just yet...”

Weeks of trudging across the wilderness and avoiding major civilized areas had made Eclipse hardy but tired at the same time. He was using his knowledge of survival to its fullest and picking up new tricks along the way. At this point, he could probably rough it with the best of them and he was somewhat proud of himself for it.

Nightfall had come, and he had spent most of his night at his campfire just outside the cliffs of Griffonstone. He had finally made it, the last stop on her journey to find Galeal. Somewhere in that city, he was waiting.

It felt like the two had been separated for decades, and Eclipse was starting to feel a bit nervous about the entire ordeal, but he calmed himself with some cold water from a canteen he had stolen.

His body was covered with a fur coat that had been soaked in mud and grass so he could blend into his surroundings. Many tools and supplies were strapped to his side via belts, and while he was normally a very clean and proper stallion, Eclipse’s face was covered in dirt.

He watched from his fire down off the cliffside to Griffonstone below. A few guards surrounded the entrance, making getting in that way almost impossible. From every angle he looked at the city, he was confident that it was an impenetrable fortress, except one: the east wall.

The east wall was a possibility, but there was one problem; it was a cliffside. To get in that way, Eclipse would have to scale the cliff and sneak in over the wall. It was a tall order as Eclipse wasn’t exactly a mountain climber and he didn’t exactly have any training in that field either.

It didn’t matter though, he needed to get into the city, and the east wall was his best option.

He sighed before coming to a stand and looking up at the sky. The stars suggested it was approaching 8 PM, and that meant the guards would switch shifts soon. He had camped out for days observing the city, surveying it for entry points and in turn keeping an eye on the guard rotations so he could find the best opportunity to gain entry.

After days of observation though, it was time to do or die. He needed to get in, and it was clear that the guard pattern of rotation was rock solid, not a crack in their formation that would allow him through. If he attempted to brute force his way in, he would be slaughtered in seconds. He considered himself tougher than he was, but Eclipse was still a frail thing that stood no chance against trained guards with weapons.

Bracing himself, he closed his eyes and tried to build his confidence. He opened them and told himself that he would scale the cliff and gain entry to the city.

He took his canteen and poured it out over the fire, putting it out before racing down the cliff he was camping on at top speed. His hoofwork made light of the journey and before he knew it, he was at the bottom of the hill and making his way to the crevice that looped around the east wall of Griffonstone.

The cover of night aided him as he reached into his bag and retrieved some hoof-mounted climbing hooks that he began to fasten onto his hooves. He debated on leaving his gear behind as the extra weight would make the climb much more challenging, however, he knew that having the supplies was better than not having them.

Sighing, the stallion crawled down the crevice and stabbed his hooks into the rock as he began to shimmy his way across, slowly making his way to the east side wall where he would then ascend. He prayed that the rock or his strength didn’t give out as he made his way across.

Grunting, he worked his way across with sweat already on his brow. In his entire life, he never imagined he would scale cliffs, let alone for Galeal, but there he was.

His thoughts were on the wellbeing of the griffon as he made his way across, trying to keep his mind off of the climb or the potential fall should his gear fail him. If he were a pegasus, he could simply fly up to the wall and hop over, but sadly he was just a unicorn with no magic.

He missed being able to cast spells, as he was certain there was likely one that would have made the climb far easier. Serenade taking magic from a unicorn was almost like taking their identity from them. Magic was a huge part of a unicorn’s life, it was almost part of who they were even. Eclipse never really considered that fact until he was in a position where he could no longer use it.

He wondered how Galeal would react to seeing him again. Would the griffon drop his tough-guy act long enough to act excited, or would he play it off like it was no big deal like he always did? It brought a gentle smile to Eclipse’s face just to think he would see his face again. He owed him a big kiss, that was for sure, and perhaps much more if the griffon proved he deserved it.

Making it to just under the wall, Eclipse began to make his way upward, hooking into the rock with great force to ensure his hooks stayed as he ascended. Eventually, the hook on his right hoof pierced through the rock of the wall itself and he speedily scaled up, reaching the top. Quickly, before he was seen, he hopped off the wall and rolled as he hit the ground to reduce the impact of the fall.

The stallion let out a breath and a sigh, thankful the part of his journey where he could fall to his death was behind him. The next order of business was finding Galeal, but with such a large city, that process could take some time, especially given that he stood out among the crowd. It would be near impossible to comb the city for one creature without raising suspicion. He was a pony in a city of griffons.

The only other ponies were the guards that patrolled the area, but that gave Eclipse an interesting idea. He placed a hoof upon his chin and thought it over. If he could steal one of the guard’s armor, he could pose as one of them and wander about the city unquestioned.

It was a risky move, but it had to be done. The only catch was, he had to ensure that said guard would not be able to tell anypony that Eclipse was an imposter, and that meant killing him.

Eclipse had never killed before, but it had to be done. He composed himself and came to a stand as he kept low, moving through the back alleyways, searching for a target that was close to his size (a difficult task given how small he was). When he found a suitable guard standing at a post with another guard, he made his choice. This one would be his mark, he just needed to wait until he could get him alone.

Patiently, Eclipse waited in the shadows, watching as the two stood there conversing.

“Can you believe this shit? They got us standing here in bird land just doing fuck all nothing. My talents are being wasted...” The larger of the two said.

The smaller one that Eclipse was eying rolled his eyes at his co-worker. “Don’t complain, it’s better than some of the other jobs Serenade could have put us on. I got a friend who was sent to some backwater place in the swamp, place smells like a horse’s ass.”

“I guess you’re right... Why did we sign up for this, again?” The larger one asked.

“It was either this or getting rounded up into one of those camps. I prefer to stay on the winning team...” The small one shrugged.

“We could have joined the rebels. Glitch’s army seems to be getting stronger every day.” The large one suggested.

Eclipse had heard talk of Glitch’s army before, but apparently, they had been growing at record speeds over the past few months. There wasn’t a town in Equestria now where whispers of the mysterious armored pony and their rebellion weren’t spoken. Eclipse wondered how well the actual pony stacked up to the stories.

The small one shook his head before removing his helmet to adjust his golden mane. “The rebels are fucking morons. We’ve seen how strong Serenade is, an entire army of Equestria soldiers couldn’t defeat her, and I’m pretty confident a bunch of ragtag morons with no combat training can either.”

“I guess you’re right...” The large one frowned, clearly liking the idea.

“Don’t talk like that, anyway. If anypony catches wind of you even talking about joining the rebels, Serenade will have you executed...” The small one said.

The large pony gulped and shook his head. “Y-you’re right... Sorry...”

The small one shrugged. “Let’s just forget we ever talked about this, it’s time for us to do our rounds anyway.”

“Right, I’ll take the west side, you take the east side this time? Change it up a little?” The large one suggested.

“Works for me, I guess.” The small one shrugged.

After those words, the two broke formation to head in opposite directions. Eclipse saw his opportunity and began to stalk the smaller one from afar as he wandered down the street checking the houses to make sure all the citizens of the city were tucked away inside, not violating curfew.

As the stallion wandered, he could have sworn he saw something behind him and turned his head, only to be greeted by nothing. Blinking, he peered around and focused his attention forward once more. He shrugged and continued his patrol, assured that nothing was amiss.

Eclipse had managed to elude the stallion’s gaze and continued his approach. As the guard flashed his light into an alleyway he squinted as he sensed something behind him. He didn’t even get a chance to turn around before a set of hooves grabbed his head and twisted quickly. A sharp snap was heard as the guard’s body became lifeless.

Resting the corpse to the ground carefully, Eclipse dragged it into the alleyway where no one would see him. He began to remove the armor that he wore and slip it onto himself. It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it would work. Once he had the helmet on as the last piece, he looked at the dead stallion and frowned.

He needed to dispose of the body somehow, at least long enough to get far away from the crime scene.

Looking around, he noticed a dumpster. He sighed as he dragged the stallion toward it and with the strongest throw he could muster, he managed to get the stallion inside of it with a loud clank as he hit the bottom. The dumpster looked fairly unused, so it would likely be some time before anyone found him, which was a good thing for Eclipse.

Sighing, he adjusted his fresh new armor and brushed off some of the dirt that had gotten on it from dragging the stallion.

He stepped out of the alleyway and began to walk casually, in case any other guards saw him, he didn’t want to come off as suspicious.

Now he needed to find Galeal, and he already knew exactly how to do it. Every city under Serenade’s control had a registry that documented every citizen she sent to that city, and it was bound to have Galeal’s address in it. With his new disguise, gaining access to it would likely be far easier as well.

He composed himself and thought out loud. “I’m coming for you, Galeal...”

Sitting at home after a long day of classes, Twilight Shimmer sighed and rested her tired head. She had spent the evening playing with her daughter and then finally getting her to bed. The woman was exhausted after such a long day, and it had occurred to her that she was so busy she had neglected to shower all day. She chuckled to herself realizing that was probably why people were sitting away from her at the cafeteria.

She debated on whether or not she wanted to make the effort to shower at that moment or just put it off until tomorrow morning. After some thought, the idea of hot water sounded pretty good to her. Standing to go and head to the bathroom, she was stopped when her phone rang.

Sighing, she picked up the phone and answered it. “Hello?”

“Miss Shimmer, good evening...” A male voice spoke.

“Who is this?” She raised a brow as she stood with her hand on her hip.

“This is Snatcher,” the voice replied

“How did you even get my number?” Twilight asked.

“Police have it on file, standard procedure.” He chuckled.

Twilight narrowed her eyes as she listened to him. Something about his voice was extra unsettling, he seemed far too calm, far too collected. “I thought you were kicked off the police force, Snatcher?”

“That just means this investigation is 100% personal now and 0% professional.” He laughed.

Twilight didn’t like the sound of that. “This is harassment, I’m calling the police.”

“Before you do that, I think you should meet me near Camp Everfree,” he said.

Twilight let a laugh escape her. “That sounds like a terrible idea, why the hell would I do that?”

“I think it would be in your best interest to do so, Twilight Shimmer.” His voice was breathy and menacing.

Biting her lip, Twilight attempted to probe some more. “Or else what?”

“If you don’t show up, you will find out, and I’m quite positive you don’t want that to happen...” He threatened.

She hadn’t a clue what he was up to, but she knew that there was a chance he wasn’t bluffing. The man seemed unhinged, capable of virtually anything, and because of that, Twilight couldn’t take any chances.

Gulping, Twilight spoke softly into the phone. “W-what time?”

“Midnight, tonight.”

“I’ll be there.” Twilight nodded.

“See to it that you are...”

When he hung up, Twilight almost dropped her phone. Her hands were trembling. She didn’t know what was going on, but she knew one thing: she wished Sunset were there to make it all better.

The city registry proved easy to get into. The guards didn’t even question Eclipse as he entered their headquarters in his disguise and looked over the book. To his good fortune, Galeal hadn’t been relocated and was still there in Griffonstone after all the time that had passed.

The registry placed him at a small house on the south side of the city, living with his aunt and uncle who had been in the city prior to Serenade’s takeover. Eclipse assumed they just moved the family back together for space conservation. Either way, it worked out in his favor as that meant he knew where Galeal was.

After leaving the guard headquarters, he made his way down the street toward the south side of town, keeping his eyes peeled for house number 88 on the south side.

Griffonstone wasn’t much to look at and while it’s architecture had been improved in the past few years, it was still consisting of mostly simple structures hardly worthy of note.

With his eyes on the house numbers, Eclipse finally came to the one in question and stood quietly in front of it. He blinked a few times trying to make sure he wasn’t asleep and that he was actually standing in front of the house where Galeal actually was.

He adjusted himself and cleared his throat as he approached the door, tapping upon it.

A young female opened the door to greet Eclipse. She blinked and grew a nervous expression as she saw him there in the guard armor. “I-is there a p-problem, sir?”

Her voice was soft and very effeminate, more so than Eclipse’s even. She had a fair face and pretty eyes.

Eclipse cleared his throat again and attempted to sound as authoritative as he could. “Miss, is there a Galeal living here?”

She blinked. “He didn’t do anything, sir, I swear! Don’t hurt him!”

“May he come out here so I can speak with him?” Eclipse asked.

“S-sure! One second...” She gulped.

“Sweetie, a guard is here to talk to you!” She called.

Eclipse blinked and found her nickname for him odd, but tried to think nothing of it until she looked at him and frowned. “Please, he’s my boyfriend, we don’t want any trouble, okay?”

Boyfriend!? Eclipse thought. That wasn’t possible, as Eclipse had already filled that role, hadn’t he?

“Send him out and step aside ma’am...” Eclipse stated, trying to keep in character.

She nodded and stepped aside as Galeal came to the door, his feathers had grown a bit, but his face was still recognizable. He had grown a bit since the last time they had seen each other, and he was even more desirable than before. Eclipse could hardly contain himself as he looked at the griffon, but it was overshadowed by his annoyance and confusion by the earlier comments.

Stepping outside, Galeal shut the door behind him and looked over at Eclipse. It took him a moment to realize that the pony under that helmet had familiar eyes. Once the face of the pony in the armor registered in his brain, Galeal’s eyes widened. “E-Eclipse? Is that you?”

Eclipse removed his helmet and shook his head. His long silky mane flicked and flowed as he moved his head, before resting his annoyed eyes upon Galeal. “Holy shit, it is you!” Galeal blinked.

“Yes... It’s me...” Eclipse nodded.

“I can’t believe you came here, how’d you get here?” Galeal asked.

Eclipse shook his head. “I had to steal a guard’s spear, risk my life in the sewers against a pack of maulers, my friend died to save me, and after killing a guard here and taking his armor to finally reach you... I come to your door and I’m met with your girlfriend?”

Galeal frowned and rubbed his neck as he looked away from the stallion. “Oh, about that...”

“What the fuck, Galeal!?” Eclipse hissed but kept his tone down so as to not attract attention.

“It’s a front, man. Shit isn’t real.” Galeal shook his head.

“What do you mean?” Eclipse blinked in confusion.

“I’m not really intimate with her or anything like that. We don’t even kiss, she just thinks she’s my girlfriend and stuff...” Galeal explained.

“Why the hell would she think that?” Eclipse asked.

“Well, my folks... They’re... Well...”

Eclipse blinked as it all connected to him. “You haven’t told them you’re gay, have you?”

Galeal was silent.

His silence spoke volumes. “Holy fucking shit... I came all this way and you are faking being straight for your family? Are you fucking serious?”

“Griffon’s aren’t exactly as understanding about this stuff as ponies are. I have to live with these guys, you know...” Galeal explained. “It’s easier if they think me and her are a thing, you know?”

“Yeah? It’s going to be very confusing to the poor girl when you try to explain all those times I sucked your dick isn’t it!?” Eclipse growled.

“Dude, keep it down...” Galeal waved his claws in a downward motion.

“Why? You’re ashamed of being gay?” Eclipse raised a brow.

“What? No...” Galeal looked away, a small blush forming on his face.

“Say it then. Say that you’re gay.” Eclipse leaned in.

“Dude, I don’t like saying that kind of stuff, you know that...” Galeal responded.

Eclipse had never seen him so bashful; it annoyed him.

“Fuck you, man. I thought you were different, Galeal. I thought you were like me in that you didn’t care what others thought... I guess I was wrong...” Eclipse looked away, tears forming in his eyes.

“Dude, it’s not like that!” Galeal reached for him, but Eclipse moved out of the way.

“Save it for someone who cares! Enjoy your girlfriend, Galeal...” Eclipse responded before turning away and taking a step in the opposite direction. He scooped up his helmet and placed it back upon his head.

“Eclipse...” Galeal began, but the stallion cut him off.

“Get back in your home, or I’m going to call the other guards...” Eclipse threatened.

“Dude...” Galeal shook his head.

“Now, Galeal!” Eclipse hissed.

Deciding it was best not to try his luck, Galeal stepped backward with his claw raised. He retreated to his door and opened it. “Look, I’m going inside, okay? Why don’t you come back tomorrow when you calm down and we can talk, alright?”

“Inside, now!” Eclipse barked.

Galeal gulped and nodded as he closed the door slowly. Once Eclipse heard it click, he began to walk away, tears streaming down his face. Galeal was ashamed of him, he was ashamed of being gay, he was ashamed of their relationship. The emotions that Eclipse felt were more intense than anything he had felt before, but he had to leave, he knew that.

If he stayed, he was risking his life for no reason now. Galeal was gone, that was that now he had to move onto his primary goal: killing Serenade Dazzle.

Wiping his eyes, Eclipse set his sights on leaving the city to go seek out Glitch’s Rebels that he had heard so much about. He could now fight Serenade with one less distraction at least.

With their group finally ready to leave, Princess Twilight Sparkle decided to do one last attempt at probing for information about their new allies, this time from the Dragon Lord herself.

Standing at the doorframe to Ember’s bedroom chamber, Twilight watched the dragon lounge about as she spoke. “So, can you tell me anything about Cinder before we head out?”

Ember blinked and raised a brow. “Don’t trust your new ally, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight shook her head. “More like, I prefer to know exactly what I’m getting into before I do so, and I don’t like leaving anything to chance, you know?”

“I guess so...” Ember shrugged before plopping down on a rather shabby bed. The Dragon Lands seemed to offer little in the way of luxuries, even for the Dragon Lord it seemed. Their idea of luxury was food and drink.

Twilight stepped into the room proper and gestured with her hoof. “So, what do you know?”

“Not much. Sorry if that disappoints you, but she doesn’t talk about herself too much. I know she came from Dragon Scar, and she is a member of the TorXel clan, more specifically, she is the last surviving member of said clan...” Ember stated.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Why is she so interested in fighting Serenade though?”

Ember shrugged again. “Who knows. Cinder does what Cinder wants and doesn’t explain why; I’ve learned it’s better not to ask questions that you’ll never get the answer to. The girl is a mystery to me even, but that’s the way I like it really. She doesn’t ask questions and I don’t ask her any, she just does what she needs to do.”

“Can she be trusted though? This is the fate of the entire nation we’re talking about here, so I need to know if I can trust her...” Twilight frowned.

Ember grinned and finally nodded. “Oh yeah. You can trust Cinder with your life. I don’t understand her motivations, but I do know she’s bound by honor. When she makes a pact, she keeps it. With her on your side, Serenade should be running scared.”

“Apparently you’ve never seen Serenade’s power before... I came at her with all I had and couldn’t even scratch her...” Twilight frowned.

Ember chuckled. “With Cinder it’s different... You’ll see...”

Arriving at Camp Everfree, Twilight parked her car and eyed up the old pile of metal that Snatcher was calling a vehicle. She knew police officers didn’t make that much, but at that moment she didn’t feel sorry for him if anything she was actually thankful for his misery.

She wanted to get the entire encounter over with, she hoped whatever nonsense he was intending to waste her time with could be completed in a few minutes.

Stepping out of the car, she caught a good look at the former officer smoking a cigarette as he leaned against the side of his car. He grinned as he saw Twilight approaching. It was interesting to see him in plain jeans and a tight black shirt rather than a suit and tie, but such was the life of an unemployed man.

Twilight came a good eight feet from him and crossed her arms as she stood perplexed. “Snatcher.” She nodded.

Reaching into the pocket of his jeans, he produced a pack of cigarettes with only a few cancer sticks remaining and offered her one. Twilight shook her head. “I don’t smoke.”

“Wise choice, it’s a dirty habit.” He grinned.

“I’m aware, but I’m assuming we didn’t come here for you to tell me things that virtually everyone already knows.” Twilight raised a brow.

He laughed as he took a long drag and exhaled. “You’re smart, I’ll give you that, hell you’ve thrown me off your scent a few times even. You’re a crafty one for sure.”

“So we came here for you to give me fake compliments then?” Twilight grinned.

“Not quite, see we came here to discuss the fact that now I know the truth, and what that means for you...” Snatcher smirked.

“Truth about what?” Twilight asked.

“About your wife. I know why you never reported her missing, I know why your friends didn’t either, it all makes perfect sense now...” He closed his eyes and allowed himself to savor his victory.

“You don’t have anything on me and you know it.” Twilight grunted.

Snatcher shook his head and wagged his finger at her. “That’s where you are horribly, horribly mistake my dear.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight squinted.

“I know your family’s big secret...”

“What secret is that?” Twilight blinked.

“I know that Sunset Shimmer isn’t human.”

So a lot going on this chapter!

We get to properly learn more about Cinder, Lightning Dust is revealed as a disciple of Serenade, and Galeal and Eclipse have a big blow out.

We're getting closer to the big showdown of Act VI!