Alone in Glitch’s quarters stood the armored leader of the rebellion and Glitch’s newest asset to their forces, the dragon known to many as “Cinder Deathclaw”, though Glitch had come to learn her real name was actually Cinder Razorclaw. Glitch had probed around and heard many stories about the dragon, but they weren’t certain which ones were true and which ones were fiction.

Glitch had spent the last eight hours bringing the dragon completely up to speed on where they stood, leaving out no details, starting from Twilight’s training and ending with the day prior to their ship landing in the Dragon Lands. Cinder would ask a question or two or make a comment, but for the most part, she was quiet and a silent listener.

After the story was over, Glitch placed both of their protected hooves onto the table that separated the two. “And there you have it...”

Cinder seemed intrigued by the entire ordeal, as she leaned back and closed her eyes. “I never would have thought Serenade could be that powerful. I had heard she was strong, but that sounds almost unreal... She’s almost at a level that puts her near a goddess...”

Glitch nodded. “That’s exactly the problem. Every advantage we can get over her now is necessary. While I’ve heard tales of your fighting prowess and I don’t doubt them, are you certain you wish to get involved with this? Serenade is in a league of her own...”

The dragon nodded without hesitation. “I’ll serve until my last breath, dragon’s honor.”

Her loyalty struck Glitch as odd. They had just met, and she had no reason to show such devotion to Glitch’s cause, especially when most dragons were relatively indifferent toward the fate of Equestria.

“I appreciate that, but why are you so determined to fight with us, Cinder? What aren’t you telling me?” Glitch questioned.

Cinder smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“You can tell me. I promise it’ll stay between us.” Glitch placed a hoof upon their heart to show their sincerity.

A sigh escaped the dragon as her orange eyes drifted to her metallic arm. She closed her eyes as she spoke. “Serenade is the reason I lost this arm...”

“I’m sorry to hear...” Glitch replied.

Cinder just kept her eyes closed and nodded quietly.

“I’m going to guess she’s also why your clan is now gone?” Glitch questioned.

Cinder’s eyes opened and glared at Glitch, really studying the pony for a few moments before answering. “Let’s just say the stories of Serenade slaying dragons are true...”

Glitch wasn’t expecting to hear that. If Cinder truly was this amazing warrior that the other dragons made her out to be, and Serenade was able to best her and her entire family, that was a reason to be worried for sure. Glitch had never seen the full scope of Serenade’s abilities, and the more they heard about them, the more they started to wonder if defeating her was even possible.

Still, this dragon had faith in Glitch, and that was a reason to show strength so that she didn’t feel her trust was misplaced.

Glitch decided at that moment that what this dragon truly needed was a demonstration of true trust. Tapping their suit in a specific spot on the chest, the helmet of the suit vanished quickly, revealing the long wavy red and yellow mane underneath it.

Cinder blinked as she got a look at the face of the pony under the mask. She was beautiful, young, and fair faced. Her vibrant red mane reminded Cinder of the rare fire flowers that grew only for a period of eight weeks back in Dragon Scar. Her eyes were an interestingly vibrant color as well.

The mare under the mask spoke. “My real name is Sunset Shimmer...”

Tilting her head, Cinder responded. “Why are you showing me your true self?”

“I wanted to show you that you can trust me. I felt this was the best way. You are now one of four creatures who know the true name and face of Glitch. I trust you completely to protect this information.” Sunset smiled.

A laugh came out of Cinder as she sat up straight. “Just when I think I have this all figured out, you surprise me, Glitch...”

“You sound a lot like my wife now...” Sunset rolled her eyes.

“Ah, so you’re married then?” Cinder asked.

Sunset looked away, a bit ashamed to admit that fact at the moment as memories of how she left Twilight began to rush through her head. “Yeah... I am...”

“Any kids?” Cinder asked.

“One, I haven’t seen her in some time now...”

“How old is she?” Cinder tilted her head in interest.

“She was only a few days old when I left to come here and fight,” Sunset explained.

Cinder whistled and nodded. “So you’re a new mom then. You put your life on hold to come and fight, that’s pretty noble of you.”

“My arm was twisted so it wasn’t entirely noble, but there wasn’t any way that I was going to allow Equestria to burn when I could do something about it anyway...” Sunset frowned.

Cinder stepped forward and placed a claw on the mare’s shoulder, still protected by the armor of her suit. “A warrior has to make sacrifices sometimes, but that makes them more determined.”

“My family doesn’t even know I’m here...” Sunset admitted.

“Then just think about that moment when you can see them again if that’s what it takes to get you through this.” Cinder nodded.

“I sort of dread that actually, they’re going to be furious at me...” Sunset shook her head.

Cinder’s grip tightened as she shook the mare lightly to reassure her. “You’ll be coming back a hero. Don’t think about the bad, just think about that moment when you get to hold your daughter again.”

Sunset blinked and took the dragon’s words in. She missed her daughter, she missed Twilight as well. There was nothing she’d like more than to hold both of them again than to kiss her wife and tell her she wasn’t going to go anywhere ever again. She longed to apologize to both of them for leaving and for not telling her where she was going.

The meeting between all of them no doubt would be challenging at first, but Sunset hoped it would pass, she hoped that they could move past her disappearance and continue their lives as usual after some time had passed. It would be rough, but she just wanted to see her wife and daughter again.

“You’re right... Thank you.” Sunset smiled.

“As Glitch you have a persona that you have to maintain, so I imagine you don’t get to talk about your problems as Sunset Shimmer very much.” Cinder shrugged.

Sunset nodded before looking up at the dragon with confused eyes. “They said you were some kind of deadly warrior, and yet you seem so kind to me...”

“A warrior carries the honor of her fellow warriors, therefore it would be ridiculous of me to not care about the woes of my allies.” She smirked.

This dragon was clearly wiser than she appeared, but there was a sweetness about her as well. She had come from Dragon Scar, a place that makes the hardest of dragons, and yet she was well mannered, sweet, and caring. At the same time though, Sunset could sense a deadly force in her; skill and ability that could dice even the mightiest of foes.

“It’s a pleasure to fight alongside you, Cinder.” Sunset bowed.

“The pleasure is mine, Sunset Shimmer. Now, shall we meet with the others to discuss when we are to seek out our prey?” Cinder asked.

Tapping her chest, the helmet reappeared over Sunset’s face, donning the persona of Glitch once more as she nodded. “Yes, that sounds like a wise idea.”

A solid month had passed since Cinder joined their ranks, and her skills had already proven exceptionally valuable on the battlefield. Within weeks, she had assisted in eight successful missions that strengthened the size of their army. Their numbers were growing at a more than healthy rate thanks to her.

With her abilities and trustworthiness proven, it wasn’t long before Glitch invited her to the war room where all of their plans were concocted. Applejack objected at first, as always, but she submitted when Glitch informed her that it wasn’t negotiable. She hummed and grumbled a bit about it, but accepted it when she realized that the matter wasn’t up for debate.

Sure enough, the next war meeting consisted of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Aria Blaze, Sonata Dusk, Applejack, Discord, Glitch, and Cinder Razorclaw. Cinder was the last to arrived turning a few heads as she stepped into the room and took her spot directly next to Glitch on the opposite side of Princess Twilight. The alicorn eyed her up but said nothing as the dragon stood tall with her claws placed on the edge of the large map in front of them.

The room was dark with few lights, and all of them focused on the center of the room creating a harsh contrast. Whenever a meeting was going on in the said room, Glitch had the door locked and none of the crew were permitted entry.

Cinder peered around the room and noticed all eyes were upon her, but the fierce green eyes of the farm pony across from her seemed to be studying her harder than the rest. Out of the gate, Applejack didn’t seem to like her too much, but Cinder assumed that was because of her appearance. Not only was she a dragon from Dragon Scar, which was more than enough reason to be skeptical of her, but she also had a spiked metal arm. If suspicious had a look, it would probably look something like Cinder Razorclaw.

Regardless, she played nice with Applejack, knowing that the farmer was going to give her a hard time no matter what she did, Glitch even warned her of such. It brought her some comfort at least to know that Applejack shared the same skepticism about Glitch themself.

After several uncomfortable moments, Glitch spoke up in their computerized voice to the group. “Alright, everyone. As many of you know, one of our primary goals is going to be to get into Manehatten. We take that stronghold, we stand a good chance of recruiting enough to make an assault on Canterlot.”

Aria was the first to speak up. “We don’t have the kind of forces necessary to take a place as big as Manehatten though.”

Glitch nodded. “I know, that’s why we’re taking a little detour first.”

“Detour? Where?” Twilight asked with a scrunched brow.

“Cloudsdale,” Glitch pointed to a space on the map.

Aria seemed confused by the gesture as well. She leaned in and examined the map with intrigue. “What are we hoping to get there?”

“Rainbow Dash.” Glitch nodded.

Discord scratched his chin and stroked his beard as he thought it over. “And you’re hoping that Rainbow Dash’s... Personality will help ignite the troops so to speak?”

Glitch chuckled. “Something like that, but she also can convince a lot of the pegasi in Cloudsdale to join our cause. With enough pegasi, we can perform an aerial assault on Manehatten...”

“And that would give us the edge we need to overwhelm them!” Twilight smacked her front two hooves together in her moment of discovery.

“Precisely, glad to see everyone is on the same page.” Glitch nodded.

Sonata looked at the map and a problem with the plan just occurred to her. “How exactly are we going to break Rainbow Dash out of the prison there though? Only pegasi can walk on clouds...”

Glitch tapped their horn. “I can cast a cloud-walking spell for a small group and that should be enough for us to get a few of us up there to perform the operation.”

Applejack raised a hoof. “Put me on the list of volunteers.”

Glitch nodded. “Very well, any other takers?”

Cinder raised a talon on her good claw. “I’ll go.”

“Rainbow is my best friend, ain’t no way am ‘Ah trustin’ a creature like her to help rescue her!” Applejack crossed her hooves and pouted.

Cinder cleared her throat. “Unlike all of you, I won’t need a cloud-walking spell. I can already fly, and essentially any creature with wings has the ability to walk on clouds. Also, unlike a lot of you, I have been trained in stealth combat. Not to mention, I can carry Applejack over here up there.”

Glitch placed a hoof on their chin and nodded. “She does have a good point. Cinder probably could take this entire operation herself with her skills...”

“Ain’t no way we should let her go alone!” Applejack protested.

Shrugging, Cinder gestured to Applejack. “If it pleases the farmer, I will gladly allow her to accompany me. There is strength in alliances after all.”

“Alright, then the two of you will go and I’ll accompany you both, as you’ll likely need my magic to unlock any magic barrier that is keeping Rainbow Dash imprisoned. Knowing Serenade, I doubt she’d leave her in a prison that any normal pony could unlock, she doesn’t seem like the risk-taking type...” Glitch stated.

“How can y’all just trust this dragon? She’s from Dragon Scar! Ain’t y’all heard the kind of stories ‘bout that place that circle ‘round?” Applejack asked the group.

Most of them stayed silent until Twilight Sparkle spoke up. “Applejack, while we appreciate how cautious you are, Cinder has proven her loyalty already. She’s helped us a lot in the past few weeks, we shouldn’t judge her based upon where she’s from.”

“Yeah but she ain’t answered a lot of basic questions yet. How come she’s so interested in Serenade? Why won’t she tell us that?” Applejack pointed a hoof at Cinder in accusation.

“Applejack!” Twilight hissed.

Cinder shook her head. “It’s fine, Twilight Sparkle. I actually can appreciate Applejack’s skepticism. A true warrior always analyzes every angle of a situation and asks questions. If Applejack is not yet satisfied with my status as an ally then I owe it to her to continue proving myself.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. For the gruff exterior that the dragon had, she was incredibly reasonable and understanding. “That’s... Very mature and noble of you actually...”

“I do not see a point in arguing. I intend to leave no shred of doubt toward my loyalty to this cause. I joined your ranks knowing I’d be under heavier scrutiny, it’s nothing I’m not used to.” Cinder shrugged.

Applejack almost felt bad after seeing how maturely Cinder responded to her accusations. A part of her wished she had snapped back at her so she could feel at least somewhat justified in being suspicious. Still, she wasn’t comfortable with a dragon who had no real reason to be interested in their cause suddenly joining without explaining why. Applejack wanted to know what the story between her and Serenade was, and she was confident that Cinder wasn’t about to talk about it any time soon.

“Fine, we’ll go together, but ‘Ah still don’t like the idea...” Applejack huffed.

While Glitch was initially annoyed by Applejack’s constant skepticism, it had actually somewhat grown on them. Applejack wouldn’t be Applejack if she wasn’t always looking out for the well being of the operation by being overly skeptical. In a way, it balanced them out. If anything, Applejack was the perfect test for their recruits in a way; if they could win Applejack’s trust, then they could all safely assume they were the real deal.

“Fortunately for us, you enjoying yourself isn’t a requirement.” Glitch joked.

The joke made Sonata and Twilight both snicker, but Applejack just rolled her eyes and kept quiet.

“This Rainbow Dash... Will she really be enough to convince others to aid us?” Cinder asked.

“Definitely, Rainbow is respected heavily among those in Cloudsdale. Not to mention us breaking her from Serenade’s prison will show everypony how mighty our rebellion is,” Glitch answered.

Cinder smiled and nodded, her fangs prominent as she grinned. “And people rally behind strength.”

“Precisely, and Rainbow Dash knows how to rally the troops so to speak,” Glitch explained.

Cinder crossed her arms and tapped her metal arm with a talon as she thought it over. “A pretty impressive plan, Glitch.”

“If we can pull this off and then our assault on Manehatten... Our chances of winning against Serenade are still fairly low, but better than before,” Twilight stated.

“So long as there is a 1% chance, we are going to take it. It’s better to die trying than to roll over and let Serenade win,” Glitch stated.

“Even ‘Ah can agree with that...” Applejack smirked.

“So it’s decided then, Applejack, Cinder and I will all go to Cloudsdale and break Rainbow Dash out of the prison she’s being kept in there. Our intel tells us that she’s likely being held on the top floor, so it’s going to require a lot of finesse to get through there without being seen...” Glitch said.

Cinder drew one of her katanas and held the ornate blade out for all to see as she grinned. “We kill any guards in our way before they see us, and the rest we just have to kill before they call for help should be easy.”

“Can’t say that ‘Ah approve of such a barbaric strategy, but ‘Ah ain’t got nothin’ better...” Applejack crossed her hooves.

“It’s a plan at least.” Glitch shrugged.

Putting her blade away, Cinder looked over at Applejack with a smile. “I look forward to seeing your abilities in action, Applejack.”

Applejack grimaced but nodded. She had already seen what Cinder could do in a fight, and while Applejack was strong, she was certain she wouldn’t hold a candle to Cinder’s ability with a sword. In a contest of brute strength, the two would probably be fairly evenly matched, but when it came to technique, Cinder would win every time.

“Sure...” Applejack replied.

“May our victory be a glorious one!” Cinder called out.

“You at least have to admire her enthusiasm.” Twilight chuckled.

Once again, Arax found himself up past midnight going over paperwork and details on Serenade’s behalf. While he was glad she trusted him to take care of these kinds of things, he also wondered why she didn’t take some of the responsibility herself, considering she was always complaining that everypony sucked at tasks she had assigned them and insisted she could always do a better job.

It would give him a chance to rest if Serenade actually took care of some of the duties that were necessary for running the empire she had built rather than drop all the work on her subordinates, but none of them were in a position to do much about it, given that Serenade held the power and she wasn’t very open to criticism of her leadership.

He sighed as he went over Lightning Dust’s report on her security details for Manehatten along with her suggestions for improvements. While she didn’t seem like much when he met her, he had to admit her reports over the past month after her assignment were thorough. The girl had the drive at the very least which was a quality that Arax could appreciate.

He peered over her recommendations, her biggest request was for more pegasi guards to patrol the points of entry that were harder to defend. It sounded like a sensible solution, and she was requesting about eighty to get the job done. It seemed reasonable, so he scratched in a signature of approval and filed the paper into a bin to be mailed in the morning.

A yawn escaped him as he continued to go over her report. So far, no attacks or uprisings were taking place in Manehatten which made him wonder if their assumption that Glitch would go after the city next was a mistake. Then again, it was possible that Glitch was biding their time before making the assault.

He set the report aside and grumbled as he looked at the stack of paperwork that still awaited him. At this rate, he would be there until eight in the morning.

His thoughts were interrupted however, at the sound of the large door to his office opening. There standing in front of him in a lacy nightgown that he had given to her was his slave, Starlight Glimmer. Her big blue eyes were filled with concern as she looked him over, examining his haggard state.

“You’re still awake?” She asked.

He nodded as he grabbed another paper to look over, tapping his quill against his desk as he leaned to his side with a bored expression. “Yeah, I have a lot of paperwork still to do...”

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” Starlight asked.

He shook his head at the girl. “No, Serenade doesn’t sleep, so she forgets that us mortals do and expects us to act like we don’t.”

“It’s hard to believe that that creature hasn’t slept in hundreds of years...” Starlight remarked.

“With how cranky she is all the time? I could believe it.” Arax joked.

Starlight found herself giggling at Arax’s musing and nodded in agreement. “I suppose that’s true. Still, you won’t be any use to her if you don’t get some rest, you should come to bed.”

He raised a brow and grew a smirk on his face as he looked over at her with his bright red eyes. “What are you? My mate?”

Starlight looked away with a frown as she sat on her haunches and crossed her forehooves. “I think something like that would require you to actually have your way with me, wouldn’t you?”

He blinked, a bit confused at her frustration. She was a slave, yet she seemed to long intimacy with him, though it likely was the pheromones that made her want that.

“Don’t say such stupid things...” Arax shook his head.

“I don’t understand you...” Starlight looked incredulous as she huffed up.

“What do you mean?” Arax’s brow rose.

“You take me in as your slave, you tell me that I’m your property to do what you please with, and yet you don’t seem to really use that power in any normal way. Anypony else would have been treating me like dirt or using me as a sex slave. What gives with you? Why am I even here? Am I just some eye candy? I don’t understand why you bothered capturing me!” Starlight grunted.

Arax grimaced and bit his lip before answering. “It’s a complicated ordeal, perhaps best left for another time...”

“Am I not attractive enough for you? What is it?” Starlight pouted.

He laughed and shook his head. “You’re plenty attractive, trust me. I could sink my teeth into you and make you quiver all night.”

“And yet, you seem reluctant to even touch me...” Starlight rolled her eyes.

“If I were to do something like that... I don’t know if I could control myself. I’d probably scare you...” He admitted with a frown.

Starlight blinked at that revelation. He had been protecting her from himself? That was what it sounded like.

“You can’t scare me, I went into this telling myself I would never be afraid and I intend to keep it that way,” Starlight reassured.

“Maybe you’re right, but I don’t want to take the chance.” Arax shook his head.

Starlight sighed and shook her head. “I know this is going to sound stupid but... I care about you, Arax... Maybe it’s all the time we’ve spent together, maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome, or maybe it’s the pheromones, but I worry about you sometimes and I guess that means I have feelings for you...”

Arax rubbed his neck awkwardly. “Yeah, well... I appreciate that, but it would never work between us, Starlight. For starters, you’re a slave and I’m your master, and then there’s the fact that I’m a changeling and you’re... Well, you’re a unicorn.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Starlight shook her head.

“What would ponies think if they saw you with a monster like me?” Arax asked.

“I wouldn’t care!” Starlight insisted.

“You’re too kind, far too kind for someone like me...” Arax frowned.

“You’re far kinder than you let on, I know it.” Starlight stepped forward.

“It doesn’t matter, Starlight. I’m Serenade’s second-in-command and that’s a fact that neither of us will be able to get past. My loyalty belongs to her, and there’s no way she’d allow you to be more to me than a slave.” Arax shook his head once more.

“Why not!?” Starlight growled. “What does she care?”

“She doesn’t think I need such distractions for starters, that and it’s just how she is; hell it’s probably how she’s always been even.” He shrugged.

“What about what you want, Arax?” Starlight frowned.

“It doesn’t matter what I want...” Arax sighed.

“Doesn’t matter!? You’ve been serving her faithfully! You’ve done all she’s asked and made what she wants a reality, how is it fair that she doesn’t care about what you want?” Starlight stepped forward.

Arax turned away. “I was already given my end of the deal, Starlight...”

“What does that mean?” Starlight pouted.

“It’s none of your business is what it means.” Arax scowled.

She hated when he kept secrets from her, but this time it was different, this secret was a big one and she knew it. She hated it more because she could tell he was hurting from something, but he wouldn’t let her inside.

There wasn’t a point on dwelling on it though, once Arax made his mind up he seldom changed it.

Changing the subject, Starlight looked at all the paperwork on his desk. “So... Is Glitch still advancing alarmingly fast?”

Arax blinked, a bit taken back by the sudden subject change. He nodded and sighed. “That pony is crafty, he moves quickly and he manages to get things done before it’s brought to my attention. I’ve increased my communication avenues, but they still don’t seem to be enough to keep me informed on that armored pony’s movements. I’ll give him this, he’s good at being a constant pain in the ass.”

“I expected no less from a pony that Twilight enlisted...” Starlight bit her lip.

Placing his head in his hooves, Arax nodded in agreement. He couldn’t deny that the Princess had proven to be exceptional at picking champions it seemed. He didn’t want to admit it, but currently, Glitch was getting the better of him.

“Arax...” Starlight began, placing her hoof upon her chest.

“Hm?” He replied, not even looking at her.

“Is it possible... That Glitch could defeat Serenade?” Starlight finished her thought.

Looking up at her, Arax saw her eyes were filled with genuine intrigue. She legitimately believed there was a possibility that this Glitch would slay Serenade. Such an idea was preposterous, naturally.

He shook his head at her. “Impossible. Glitch has quite a few tricks up his sleeve, sure, but he’s still daydreaming if he thinks he can match strength with Serenade. Even with his little army, he won’t be strong enough to beat her. I wouldn’t bank on any chance of Serenade falling to him if anything he’s just ensuring his death will be long and drawn out.”

“I guess so... I just wanted to hear your opinion on the matter...” Starlight shuffled her hoof on the floor.

He had to admit, he had his doubts. Serenade was strong, but this Glitch seemed to at least be smarter than she was. Were brains enough to beat her? No, it was still impossible, Serenade’s pure power was enough to split the planet in half if she wanted; there was nothing that could match up against that.

“I wouldn’t worry about such things, now why don’t you head back to bed?” He smiled at her.

She crossed her hooves and shook her head as she stared him down. “I’m not going without you.”

“I’ll be fine.” Arax lied.

“No, you won’t. You’ll collapse if you keep working yourself this hard, now come to bed.” She demanded.

“For a slave, you sure are barking a lot of orders.” Arax chuckled.

“One of my duties as a slave is to ensure the well being of my master, is it not?” Starlight snarkily responded.

He rolled his eyes as he came to a stand, accepting his defeat. “I suppose you got me there.”

With their entourage finally arriving at the outskirts of Equestria, Golden longed for proper lodging, and civilization, though she knew that after the recent takeover, Equestria would be far more difficult to navigate freely. Still, she was at least somewhat excited to be out of the wilderness that they had trudged through on hoof for so long.

The group stood at the border looking to the country that housed their final destination. They had spent a bit over a year getting there and were approaching the second year very quickly. Golden was tired and ready for the journey to be over, but she knew they still had a ways to go.

Abyss sat there in thought as she looked onto the plains of Equestria, wondering where in the country they would ultimately go. She had never left Ectra before and had never even seen pictures of Equestria. All she knew was from stories.

Golden, on the other hand, was very familiar with the region. Her work as a scholar meant she studied the whole world, and Equestria was no exception. She must have read at least eight books on the subjects, so she was at least familiar enough with the country, perhaps that was why her majesty had invited her?

Looking over to their ruler, the gorgeous mare sat there staring into the horizon with an innocent smile upon her face. The wind calmed and the mare’s wild partially dreaded mane stood still.

“So what now?” Golden asked.

“It’s up to her majesty...” Abyss responded, not even bothering to look in Golden’s direction.

As their journey went on, Abyss seemed to become somewhat aloof toward Golden and stopped caring so much about any acts of indiscretion, likely out of exhaustion. It was a full-time job to complain about Golden, after all.

Golden looked to their ruler and questioned her. “Well, your highness? What now?”

The elegant mare looked briefly at Golden before smiling and reaching forward to tap Golden’s nose with her hoof. Golden blinked as she watched the mare step forward and gesture for the other two to follow her.

Abyss sighed. “I guess a break is too much to ask...”

After the pain that Galeal had put him through back in Griffonstone, Eclipse had set out to find a new purpose. He resigned himself to focusing entirely on killing Serenade now, and for some time he was uncertain on how to accomplish that. Weeks passed and before he knew it, he found himself seeking out the aid of Glitch’s Rebellion.

They were after the same thing he was after, and without anything else distracting him, Eclipse felt it was the only logical choice to make at this point. The door with Galeal had been closed, as much as it pained him, so he had to look to the future and joining Glitch’s rebellion was that future.

It took some time to track down the method to join, but eventually, after traveling he was able to overhear talk in passing that sounded promising. After jumping through some hoops, talking with some shady looking ponies and pulling a few favors, he was introduced to a pony that could recruit him into Glitch’s ranks.

Now he stood for the first time aboard the sister airship to their primary one. That meant that Glitch himself wasn’t on board, but it didn’t matter, Eclipse was in.

Dropping his bag at his side, he stared off into the distance at the crew that was wandering the ship. Only a hoofful looked like they were actually working to keep the ship going, the rest were either training their combat skills, chatting or playing cards it seemed. It was a different crowd than Eclipse was used to, that was for sure.

He gulped as he approached a group playing cards. They were a group of earth ponies, all rather large looking, and certainly many sizes larger than Eclipse himself. He smiled sheepishly as he waved to them. “H-hey, how’s it going?”

A dark brown one with golden mane looked up at him and nodded. “Sup, never seen you around here...”

Eclipse rubbed his neck. “Yeah, well I’m new. I just got here today.”

The brown one looked over at his three friends and they all grew smirks as the eyed Eclipse up and down. “Ain’t you a little young to be fighting in a war?” A yellow one that sat the furthest away asked curiously.

“Yeah, well there wasn’t an age requirement on the form I signed.” Eclipse joked.

“I see...” The brown one nodded as he stood up. His other friends all stood with him and before Eclipse knew it, he was surrounded by the burly stallions who circled him.

“Uh...” Eclipse gulped.

“You’re fresh meat and you know what that means...” The brown one nodded to his three friends.

“W-what?” Eclipse gulped.

“It’s time for a little game of uncle!” The yellow one stated.

Before Eclipse knew it, the big brown one had locked him in a headlock and was giving him the noogie of a lifetime. Eclipse squirmed and complained as he tried to break loose but it only made the stallion’s grip tighter around him.

“C’mon! You’re messing up my mane!” Eclipse grunted.

“Hear that boys? The kid cares about his mane!” The brown one laughed as he continued tormenting the boy. “What are ya? Some kinda’ mare?”

“Knock it off!” Eclipse growled.

“Come on, kid you can handle it, can’t ya?” The yellow one laughed.

“I think that’s enough boys...” A raspy feminine voiced called to the group.

The entire group, Eclipse included peered in the direction of the voice to see a pink dragon standing tall her arms crossed and her left arm gripped a metal right arm. At her sides were a set of katanas that looked expertly made judging by the hilts.

The brown pony bowed his head. “We were just playin’, honest! Right guys?”

“Yeah, totally just playing!” The yellow one echoed.

The dragon smirked and smiled. “That’s all fine and good, but the kid looks like he’s nervous, perhaps you should take it easy on him?”

“Y-you’re right, Cinder! Our bad...” The brown one bowed his head.

Cinder gestured with her claw. “Run along you guys, and leave the rookie to me.”

“You got it!” The brown one saluted. He looked over at Eclipse and grinned. “Consider yourself honored; Cinder Deathclaw is going to show you the ropes!”

Eclipse blinked, unsure what any of that meant but the group scurried off before he could even ask. He looked back at the pink dragon a surmised that this must have been Cinder Deathclaw.

“Cinder Deathclaw, I presume?” He asked curiously.

The girl smiled and shook her head. “You can just call me Cinder. It’s actually Cinder Razorclaw.”

“Why do they call you Cinder Deathclaw then?” Eclipse tilted his head in confusion.

She waved a dismissing claw at him. “It’s a long story, not really worth telling right now.”

“I see...” Eclipse said quietly.

“So, what’s your name, kid?” She asked.

“Eclipse...” He responded.

“Eclipse huh? Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, welcome to the war effort, it’s great to have you aboard. Glitch can use all the bodies that they can get.” Cinder nodded.

“Glitch... You’ve met him before?” Eclipse asked.

Cinder blinked but nodded. “Yeah, he recruited me personally.”

“Really? What’s he like?” Eclipse blinked.

Chuckling, Cinder shook her head and placed her claw on the pony’s shoulder. “Easy there, kid, don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Is it true he wears a mask everywhere?” Eclipse tilted his head.

Cinder realized quickly that this kid’s curiosity wouldn’t be satisfied so easily. “Yeah, it’s true.”

“What’s he look like under the mask?” Eclipse leaned in with interest.

Biting her lip, Cinder stepped back and crossed her arms. “I can’t tell you that, besides it’s best not to worry about mysteries that will solve themselves in due time, right? I’m sure if it’s necessary, Glitch will reveal themselves when the moment is right.”

Eclipse was certain that Cinder had seen him without his mask now. Her demeanor about it suggested she knew something for sure.

“I guess so...” Eclipse shrugged.

“Now, why don’t you tell me about yourself, Eclipse? Why did you join our rebellion?” Cinder smiled.

Eclipse frowned as he remembered what had happened to him in the past few months. The only friend he had made was killed trying to get him out of Canterlot, he had to live in the wilderness for weeks and then after all of that, he had found out that Galeal was ashamed of him. It wasn’t exactly a happy story or one he wanted to tell over. Instead, he looked up at Cinder and shrugged. “It’s a long story.”

“We all have our own stories, don’t we?” Cinder nodded.

“I guess so, what about you?” He reversed the question on her.

Cinder’s muzzle contorted to a look of anguish. She chewed her thoughts for a few minutes before she responded. “I have some unfinished business, let’s leave it at that?”

That sounded somewhat ominous, but Eclipse wasn’t particularly interested in digging deeper. Either way, he was still curious. “I see... So, I guess we’re allies then?”

Her face changed back to a more positive expression. “Yes we are, so why do you fight, Eclipse?”

“Huh?” Eclipse blinked, unsure of what she meant by the question.

“Everyone has a reason for fighting, what makes a warrior strong is having the right reason,” Cinder explained.

Eclipse sat there and thought it over. Why was he fighting? He didn’t know anymore. Sure, Serenade killed his parents and he wanted to avenge them, but in reality, his parents hardly ever gave him the time of day anyway. Still, they were blood, right? That means he had to avenge them.

“I... I don’t really know to be perfectly honest...” Eclipse frowned.

Cinder laughed. “If you fight without purpose, you’ll be struck down, and that’s a fact.”

“That doesn’t sound good...” Eclipse shuddered at the thought.

“Don’t worry, you’ll find your reason, I’m sure.” Cinder reassured.

“All I know is that I am here to help kill Serenade Dazzle at any costs...” Eclipse stated.

Cinder grinned at that response and placed her claw back upon his shoulder. “Then you and I share a common goal.”

“Is that so?” Eclipse blinked.

She nodded and nudged his shoulder. “How would you like for me to take you under my wing? I can teach you how to fight and I can help you find the reason you fight if you like.”

Eclipse was stunned. He wasn’t expecting such kindness from a dragon of all creatures. He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, sure. It’s probably better to be prepared, right?”

“A warrior is always prepared.” Cinder winked.

“I guess I’m learning already.” Eclipse grinned.

“That you are.” Cinder chuckled at him.

Lightning Dust spun around in her office chair that had been provided for her at the top of the city hall building that overlooked most of Manehatten. She giggled and laughed as she entertained herself in front of her guest, Blaze.

Blaze was another one of Serenade’s disciples that Lightning didn’t much care for, but given how new she was to Serenade’s order, it was customary that she be checked upon periodically to see how she was doing and it was Blaze’s turn to do that this time.

“Check it out! I get my own spinning chair, and I have a view of the whole city! This must be what it’s like to be the mayor or something!” Lightning chuckled excitedly.

Blaze sighed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, just give me the details for my report so I can get it over with, get it back to Serenade so I can go back to burning stuff...” The unicorn groaned.

Lightning rolled her eyes and stopped her rotating chair for a moment before placing her back hooves onto the desk in front of her while she leaned back. “Seriously, you need to have more fun in life, you know that?”

“Burning shit is how I have fun...” Blaze rolled his eyes.

“Sounds like you have a problem, have you considered jerking off? Great way to relieve tension, I hear.” Lightning smirked.

“Will you just give me your damn report?” Blaze grunted.

“See, that’s the kind of tension that I’m talking about.” Lightning said as she removed her hooves from the desk and reached into a drawer for some papers. She passed them to him unceremoniously and shrugged. “Not much to report anyway, my security is pretty top-notch, there isn’t even room to gossip about Serenade in this city with the watch crew I’ve got prowling about. I’ve got these ponies scared out of their minds.”

Blaze looked over the report and nodded as he flipped through pages using his magic. He shrugged as he tossed the report in his saddlebag that he kept under his cloak. “Good work, though a bit too organized for my liking. I prefer a lot more chaos, and a lot more killing ponies to show them your power.”

“I haven’t had to kill a soul since taking over, sometimes it’s not necessary to keep ponies in line.” Lightning shrugged.

“Sounds boring.” Blaze yawned.

“Seriously, you should give that masturbation thing a try...” Lightning joked.

“Is that all, Lightning?” Blaze raised a brow.

“Well, I was wondering when I should expect Glitch’s army. I’ve been itching to try some battle tactics, but it’s been weeks and the bastard hasn’t shown up. What’s Serenade and Arax’s word on that?” Lightning asked.

Blaze shrugged. “Dunno, but you better be ready regardless or Serenade will have your ass.”

Lightning waved him off. “Pffft, I got this.”

“Whatever, now if you excuse me, I have some shit to go burn after I hand this report in.” Blaze walked toward the door.

Lightning just rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah yeah, go burn your garbage.”

She looked out her window from her chair and smirked as she looked into the distance at the city that was now her’s. “Let’s see what you can do, Glitch. Come get me.”

Twilight Shimmer couldn’t believe what was transpiring. Snatcher claimed he knew Sunset wasn’t human but was that even possible? Was he bluffing? She couldn’t tell right away that was for sure.

To play it safe, she feigned ignorance at first. “What are you even talking about? Not human?”

He smirked and nodded as he held a paper in his hand that he waved at her. “This DNA test proves it. There’s a lot of abnormalities about her genetic profile, hell she has the same blood type as a horse, mind explaining that one?”

“There’s no way to even prove that’s her DNA...” Twilight rolled her eyes, hoping that would be enough to throw him off, though she knew deep down that it wouldn’t be; Snatcher was too determined to be detoured that easily.

“Nice try, but the sample came from her hair and I’m sure I could convince authorities to let me get another to compare it to since this DNA profile is incredibly unique. This is alien in origin.” He smirked.

He had clearly thought this through.

“No one will believe you, you sound crazy...” Twilight looked away.

“Oh I’m sure they will, and I’m also sure that the government will be very interested in this... They’ll want to examine Sunset, probably dissect her, hell there’s no telling what they’ll do...” He grinned.

Twilight crossed her arms and smirked back at him. “She’s not around, remember? How do you propose they are going to do that?”

“She has to come back eventually, or they could just take her daughter who I’m sure shares the same alien DNA...” Snatcher raised his brow in confidence.

Twilight gulped, he clearly had a plan for everything, exactly what she was afraid of.

“You would involve a little girl in all of this? She’s just a child...” Twilight frowned, trying to hide the trembling of her hands.

He shrugged at her, his expression unchanged. “Well whether or not she gets involved is going to be entirely up to you, Ms. Shimmer.”

“What’re you talking about?” Twilight squinted, not liking the direction this was taking already. She sensed sinister plans in store.

“I’m willing to keep your little family secret...” He spoke.

Twilight already figure out what he’d say next and finished his thought for him. “But for a price, right?”

“Just as smart as your reputation suggests... You cost me my job, and I think I’m owed a little compensation for that, right?” He grinned.

She gulped but realized she wasn’t in a position to argue. At this point, her daughter’s life was potentially on the line. If she didn’t play ball, he was going to release the information he had and it would only be a matter of time before people came knocking on her door to verify it. A simple blood sample would no doubt ensure that the truth would come out.

Twilight didn’t know what to do, she wished Sunset were there to handle the situation, she always seemed to know what to do, but alas, she wasn’t. All she had was herself and that meant she had to make a decision there and then.

“How much do you want?” Twilight raised a brow.

He grinned and leaned back against his car as he crossed his arms. “Ten million sounds fair, right? I know how much your family owns, so I think ten million for now, and a million every year from here on for the rest of my life. I think that’s a small price to pay for keeping your secret, don’t you?”

“You’re sick...” Twilight grunted as she looked away in disgust.

“Be thankful I didn’t make you suck my dick while you’re at it because I’m in a position where I can do anything I want to you.” He smirked.

The very thought made Twilight gag. “It takes a real trash human to blackmail a single mother, you know that?”

“Talk is cheap. You think I give a shit?” He laughed.

“How do I know you’re not just going to squeal after I give you the money?” Twilight asked.

“That’s what the million a year is for. That way you know I’m not going to say anything because that would stop my revenue stream.” He laughed.

“Good luck explaining this influx of money to the IRS.” Twilight grinned.

“You let me worry about that,” Snatcher replied.

Fuck, he’s good. Twilight cursed internally. There were no avenues for her to take beyond placating him. Snatcher was going to get his money no matter what she did. He either was going to get it, or her entire life was going to crash and burn. Her future was in his greedy hands.

“Fine, I’ll pay. How are we transferring the money?” Twilight asked.

“You write me a check, we go together to deposit it, and you insist it’s a gift so the IRS doesn’t ask questions, got it?” He raised a brow.

“Sure, whatever...” Twilight shrugged.

“Then every year at the start of the year, you meet up with me to do it again for the rest of my life, got it?” He smirked.

“It’ll be hard to stomach a meeting with a pig that often, but sure...” Twilight sighed.

He grunted and stood up tall. “Know what, I changed my mind... You gotta suck my dick too while you’re at it.”

“Fuck you.” Twilight barked in disgust at him.

“This isn’t a fucking negotiation, bitch. I’m calling the shots, you do what I say, when I say, got it?” He stepped forward and slapped her across the face, leaving behind a stinging sensation.

Recovering from the slap, Twilight rubbed her cheek and sighed. “I’ve never even done that before...”

“Well then it’s time to learn isn’t it, bitch?” He pointed to the ground gesturing for her to comply.

Sighing, Twilight got down on her knees and looked up at him waiting for instruction. She felt dirty just thinking about the fact that she was about to do something so vile with such a deplorable man, but she had no choice if she wanted to protect Horizon. Sunset wasn’t around and that meant her daughter’s safety was entirely in her hands now; she would do what she needed to to keep Horizon safe.

He gestured for her to continue and she reached forward and undid his belt, already trying to empty her mind so she could go somewhere else mentally. She couldn’t bear to think about what she was about to do.

She pulled his pants down and could see a bulge in his boxers that made her want to throw up. “Hurry up and get sucking, whore,” Snatcher commanded her.

Closing her eyes, Twilight reached to the waistline of his boxers to pull them down. She hesitated but stopped as a sharp vibration came from his body, followed by a liquid splattering over her head. Looking up she saw a hole was pierced through his skull and blood spurted out, soaking her in it.

His body stood there for a brief moment before falling over to the ground lifelessly.

Twilight fell backward in shock as she looked at his limp corpse. He had been shot with a fairly high powered rifle, judging by the size of the hole through his forehead. The bullet had clearly come from behind him, going directly through his skull and coming out between his eyes. The marksman who had pulled the trigger clearly was an excellent shot.

Looking around, Twilight quickly ducked down, expecting more bullets to start coming, but found herself calmed when no more were fired. She sat up and looked around once more to see a tree rustle and then something moving in the tree.

From that tree, a woman jumped down from the branches. She was covered in some kind of grass camouflage suit that made her hard to spot. In her hands was a sophisticated sniper rifle.

Letting the rifle rest to one side in her right hand, she reached forward with her left to help Twilight up from the ground. “You alright?” The woman asked.

Instantly, Twilight recognized her deeper voice. She gasped in surprise at who had come to her rescue.

Panting, Twilight placed a hand on her fast beating heart as she was helped up. “I... I can’t believe it’s you...”

Snatcher is a douche canoe isn’t he? Good thing he’s dead now; but who is his mysterious shooter?

Also Eclipse is such a cutie!

Also sorry that this chapter is a few hours late, some stuff came up and I forgot to hit that publish button!