Sunset and Glitch removed their hoof and claw (respectively) from the stone and blinked a few times. Sunset panted lightly as she took in what the two of them had just witnessed, confused as to why they had just been shown such a thing. What was that all? Twilight and her friends, all dead, eight years had passed? Had they really spent eight years in this place?

It had occurred to her that her concept of time was completely shot in this place. It was hard to tell when the day ended and night began, and their poor sleep schedule meant that it became ever more challenging to discern the two. Was it feasible that they had actually somehow let eight years slip away?

“What the hell was that?” Sunset asked.

Cinder seemed to manage to keep her cool (as always), and she squinted as she stared down the stone. “Some kind of vision, I think.”

“Could we really have spent eight years here? Is it even possible?” Sunset questioned.

Cinder shrugged. “This place is strange. It’s very possible that time moves faster in here than outside, but it’s also possible that we’ve lost all concept of time considering I don’t think either of us ever remembers getting here, do we?”

Sunset looked up in thought as she rubbed her chin with her hoof. Cinder was correct, neither of them had any memory of arriving, and both were bound when they woke up. For all Sunset knew, they could have been bound there for years. Did that mean that they had just witnessed the world outside of hell? Did Serenade really become that powerful?

“So you think that was showing us the war outside?” Sunset asked.

Not quite convinced herself, Cinder shook her head and smiled at Sunset. “I wouldn’t say that. This place is evil, nothing here can be trusted, so I wouldn’t put much truth into that vision. If anything, I believe it’s intended to show us what will happen if we fail to escape this place.

“So a future that could be, but not one that is?” Sunset tilted her head.

“Something like that. Even if that is the reality outside of this place, we still need to focus all of our efforts on getting out of here. We can’t do anything from inside this place, so there’s no sense in worrying about if that thing was real or not.” Cinder lectured.

She had an excellent point. What difference did it make if the outside world really was in such a state? She would still need to escape and fight Serenade either way.

“So, this place is trying to play tricks on us, you think?” Sunset asked.

Cinder scoffed and nodded. “I don’t think, I know. This place wants to get into our heads, try to twist what we think and know to get us to fail. We have to stay focused and determined so we don’t stray off the path to getting out of here.”

The thought had crossed Sunset’s mind before that Cinder should have been a motivational speaker, but there were other pressing matters to think about.

“What should we do from here then?” Sunset asked.

Cinder bit her lip and her fang caressed it carefully as she thought about it. “The way out is still a good distance away. We should focus on getting there and not being misled by bogus visions. I have a strong feeling that this place is going to try and keep us here as long as it can...”

“I get the same impression actually...” Sunset admitted.

“Then we can’t let this place distract us, come on.” Cinder gestured for them to go.

There was actually another thing that Sunset felt that she wasn’t being forthcoming with. Since she arrived at this place, a strange feeling had overtaken her. A feeling of familiarity, like she had been to this place before, or that this place was home somehow. Was it possible that she could have come to such a dreadful place and not even remember it? She hoped not.

Serenade had done it, she had removed the dragon that had threatened the city that she had taken refuge in, the entirety of the town had seen her use her siren’s voice to gain control of it, and then will it elsewhere. Most watched in silence with their jaws agape, but all now knew of her abilities.

It felt lethargic to actually unleash her power rather than hold it in as she had been doing. For a siren to hold in her abilities, it was almost like trying to hold in a scream when one hurt themselves severely. A siren’s first instinct is to use her powers as frequently as often. If a situation arose that they could see a use for their powers, they would use them, that was how it went.

Serenade couldn’t remember the last time she actually got the chance to utilize her powers, but it had been long enough.

As the dragon disappeared over the horizon, she let out a sigh and turned back to the city that all stared at her. Clearing her throat, she raised her soft voice for them all to hear. “Your dragon is no more!”

There was silence, uncomfortable silence. The faces and expressions left on the city folk didn’t exactly set Serenade at ease. They had looks of concern and distrust about them.

Once the silence was broken, however, Serenade wished for the silence back instead. “Demon!” One called from the back.

“A siren!” Another called.

Before she knew it, the entire city was screaming for her with familiar chants of “burn the monster!” And “don’t let her escape!”

Quickly realizing the situation had grown out of control, she turned tail and ran. She could hear the city folk behind her trying to give chase, but Serenade’s young and energetic body was enough to carry her farther than any mortal could run. Her endurance was far greater than their’s and after a good hour of running, she was far enough away to where she was certain they couldn’t follow.

She had retreated to the safety of a cave far off in the distance and once she was certain she was alone, she slumped against the wall and sighed. The entire ordeal had exhausted her, and she was thankful that she was at the very least safe at that moment.

Her mind fell back onto Baler and the others, she wondered what he thought about her. She had run so fast that she never bothered to look back at the group to see how they had reacted to her powers. Why did she care though?

I don’t. She rationalized. There was no reason to care after all; Baler was just some pony and his friends were as well. There was no reason for her to be curious about their thoughts on the matter. Case closed, no reason to even waste energy on this pointless subject.

Still, she couldn’t shake it entirely from her mind. The time she had spent with Baler and his friends at the very least made her curious as to what they thought of her. Would they actually stand up to the deranged townsfolk and tell them if they wanted to kill her they would have to go through them? No, it wasn’t possible. They were mortals after all, and like all mortals, they would throw her to the flames to spare themselves the fire, just like her dreadful father.

Serenade clenched her teeth just thinking about that coward. He had lied and said her mother had controlled him so that they didn’t burn him as well for being intimate with a siren. What a pathetic waste of life he was.

Why did she even care what Baler and the others said? Even if they sided with her on the whole ordeal, it didn’t matter. There wouldn’t be much of a way for her to continue being in their presence, as the entire settlement knew who she was and would be looking for her.

Strangely though, she felt compelled to know what Baler thought about the matter. After all, she had been the one to say she could deal with the dragon and she had kept her word. So what if she was a siren? That shouldn’t have mattered to him, right?

In an odd way, she supposed she wanted to know if he would still consider her a friend after knowing what he did now. She couldn’t stand not knowing, and that was why she waited a few hours for the chase for her to die down so that she could magic a hood onto her head and conceal her face and mane.

The mare quickly tied her long tail into a bun and tucked it under a cloak as she made her way back to town. By that time it was already nightfall, and she had the cover of darkness to aid her. As she peered back to the silent town, she noted that while a few more armed guards were prowling, the town seemed to have moved on from chasing the elusive siren.

That was so like mortals though, they often gave up on things if they took too long, which was understandable. Mortals only lived so long, after all, so they often didn’t want to waste any of their time on things that they deemed “meaningless”, despite their entire existence being meaningless to Serenade. She wondered how they could ever find joy knowing they would only be on this earth for such a short period of time.

When Serenade got close enough to the city she slipped over a wall and found her way back inside. As she landed upon her hooves she wondered to herself why she was even bothering to do this; Baler and her were not friends after all, and that boy wouldn’t care to see her and she knew that, yet for some perplexing reason she still felt the desire to get his thoughts on what he saw from her.

After all, while her powers were odd to ponies, she did just use them to save the entire town from a dragon; single-handedly and without a single casualty, yet all she seemed to get for it was looks of fear and disgust.

The mare navigated the maze-like inner streets, avoiding any and all guards lurking about. Chances are they wouldn’t even notice her, but she wasn’t taking any chances, so she kept low and out of sight.

She had been to Baler’s place so many times that she knew how to get there even if she were blindfolded. She recalled the smell of fresh bread every time she was there as he was across the street from a bakery and they would often be there in the early morning hours when the bakery would begin to prepare their wares for the day. She recalled commenting on how delicious it smelled.

Those memories of spending time at Baler’s home now all just seemed like distant ones, like it had been so long ago rather than just a few days prior.

The twists and turns of the city streets would confuse most, but not Serenade as she had a great sense of direction. Years of traveling all over the country would do that to a mare though. Serenade had seen so much of Equestria in her time that she could recall in vivid detail even the smallest of towns she had stayed in.

She would find herself at the backside of his home where his father and he lived. The stallion’s room was on the second floor which meant some climbing would be involved. Serenade took a deep breath and began to scale the wall, making her way to the top with only thoughts of what she would say to Baler when she saw him.

A part of her wanted to be snarky and sarcastic in saying “you’re welcome for saving your home”, but another part just felt it might be better to remain silent. She’d likely meet somewhere in the middle in the end.

Once she made it to the top, she slipped into his window and braced herself for whatever was to come.

Baler had been asleep in his own bed, turning as he did so. Serenade wondered if his nightmares had to do with her. If they did, she imagined it was likely either of him fearing her or of him feeling guilty that he did nothing to stop the mob that chased her. She didn’t really know what was worse though; if she was being perfectly honest with herself, that is.

Fast asleep, she noted how much weaker and fragile he looked over the side of himself he chose to show to others. She knew he was a more charismatic listening type.

Rolling her eyes, Serenade trotted over to his bed and gave it a swift kick. The vibrations of said kick caused the stallion to stir and finally wake. “H-huh!? Wha-?”

Serenade cleared her throat and stood there staring him down. The stallion blinked a few times to wipe the sleep out of his eyes as he looked up at her with surprise. His expression suggested that he was more than shocked to see her.

He crawled backward a few inches and opened his mouth to scream before Serenade reached forward and covered his mouth. “Don’t scream,” she stated, though her voice made it sound more like a command than a request. Baler couldn’t figure out what it was supposed to mean.

Ultimately, he just nodded and the mare removed her hoof as she kept still. The two stared at each other in silence for a few moments. Him with his naturally charming face (which now had a hint of concern and shock upon it) and her with her neutral scowl.

The silence was broken with a question. “What’re you doing back here?”

“I lived here prior to the events earlier.” Serenade retorted.

“Everypony ran you off though. You shouldn’t be here, the whole city wants you dead! Why would you come back here?” He questioned.

“It wouldn’t be the first time, so I’m not concerned.” She shrugged.

“You should leave...” The stallion pointed toward the window. “Out, just like the way you came in.”

The siren hissed at him in anger. “You don’t even know what I am, and you’re passing judgment!?”

“You’re a siren. That’s all I need to know.” He shook his head.

What a sniveling coward! Serenade thought. It was far from atypical though, as most mortals would give into common fear-mongering after all.

“You’re not even curious as to what a siren really is? You’d rather just believe the lies you’ve likely been told your entire life?” I asked.

“I don’t want any trouble, Serenade. We can’t be friends anymore, I’m sorry,” he responded. His usual confident voice was now filled with fear and Serenade could even sense that fear and insecurity. It was almost disgusting to see him like this; to see him in such a weak state.

Squinting, Serenade shook her head. “No, you’re right. We can’t be friends because we were never friends in the first place. I can’t be friends with mortals because all your kind does is treat anything you don’t understand like it’s garbage.”

“You’re a monster, Serenade. What you are is unnatural,” he defended.

Serenade stepped forward and swatted at a cup sitting on a small table in the room, knocking it into the wall and shattering it into a few dozen small ceramic pieces. Her eyes were fire as she stared down the obviously intimidated pony. He didn’t hide his fear too well, but she didn’t care at that point.

“Your kind are the true monsters, though more like nasty cockroaches really...” Serenade thought about it out loud as pondered the matter. “You infest everything you fucking touch and then you leave or get your asses killed, but a thousand more of your kind are already there to take the places of those gone; ready to roll in the shit.”

He didn’t even give her the dignity of a response; instead, he just stared at her waiting for her to finish talking, so he could tell her off.

“I don’t really even fully understand what you are, Serenade, but your kind are designed to feed off of the innocent. You’re demons, and we’re doing you a kindness by putting you all out of your misery...” He tried to defend himself.

It was clear he was just repeating whatever dribble that ponies told each other when they were murdering creatures that they didn’t understand. It made sense that they needed to lie to themselves to justify the murder they partook in. True murderers often believed what they were doing was a service to those that they killed.

“Is that what you really believe? Is that the lie you’ve been told your entire life to keep you believing in the nonsense that your kind calls ‘justice’?” Serenade asked, her teeth grinding at the thought.

“Is it not true that your kind feeds on the energy of mortals?” He asked in retort.

Serenade growled at the audacity of his inquiry. “You called yourself my friend, but the moment you find out what I really am that all just goes away doesn’t it?”

“Friends are honest with each other. You never told us all what you really were, that’s deception at its finest right there,” he said.

If she had told him what she really was, he likely would have avoided her from the start, which might have actually been better in the long run. She could have avoided all the headache that the town was causing her and merely left when that dragon began attacking.

“It’s a good thing that I was never your friend. I could never be friends with a worthless mortal anyway,” Serenade retorted.

“You used your powers to manipulate us, didn’t you?” He asked.

Serenade grunted and scoffed at the idea. “No. I wouldn’t waste my power on such worthless weaklings like you all.”

He frowned as he began to realize that the danger he thought he was in might have been somewhat exaggerated. Serenade was giving harsh responses, sure, but she was not attacking him or resorting to using her powers to manipulate him, or worse, kill him.

“Look, I appreciate you saving our city from the dragon, but there’s no place for you here, Serenade...” He grimaced.

She looked away, and from the corner of his eye, he could detect an emotion he had never seen on her before. It was faint and it only lasted a second, but he was positive that it was there. It was sadness. It had dawned on Baler that he had made a horrible mistake.

Leaning forward and coming a bit closer, he cleared his throat. “Hey... You... You didn’t use your powers on us after all, did you?”

Serenade shook her head and continued to look away in silence.

“You’re telling the truth,” he concluded.

Nodding, Serenade remained quiet.

“So all this time, that stuff was real? You weren’t just playing a part to gain our trust?” He blinked, still surprised by all of this.

She shrugged. “What would I even have to gain? There’s no benefit in it for me to trick you like that. I don’t make friends because eventually this always happens; ponies find out what I am and I have to leave...”

“How many times has this happened to you?” He tilted his head.

“More than I can count,” Serenade replied.

Baler inched closer to get a better look at her. She truly was beautiful despite what she was, but perhaps all sirens were like that? Truthfully he had never seen one in person before.

“You’re older than you said you were then aren’t you?” He asked.

Serenade nodded and glanced at him. “I’m old enough to be your mother, let’s put it that way.”

“So sirens really don’t age then?” His mouth hung open in awe.

“No, we don’t. Once we hit maturity and reach adulthood we will stay young forever so long as we keep feeding,” she explained.

“And if you don’t feed?” He asked.

“We will grow old and die,” she replied.

He winced at the thought. “So you’re supposed to be immortal then? Something that never dies?”

She smirked at him. “And what do you think happens to a creature that was never intended to die if it dies?”

Baler placed a hoof on his chin and thought the question over. What did happen if an immortal creature died? Was there an afterlife for something that was never intended to die? Or did they simply cease to exist after that? Either way, he’d hate to be in that predicament.

“I... I don’t know...” He finally answered.

“Exactly.” Serenade nodded.

“So you aren’t trying to really possess anyone or suck their life out at all then?” He blinked.

“No. I’m just trying to survive and find my sister. We got separated years ago after we went on the run,” Serenade explained.

He had heard her mention a sister before but she had never gone into detail. That likely meant her sister was a siren as well.

“What were you running from?” He asked.

She gave him a look of disgust, a look that made him feel shamefully guilty. “Your kind. They burned our mother at the stake after our worthless father gave her to them to save his own hide.”

All his life, Baler had been taught that the burning of sirens, changelings, and all unnatural creatures was merely cleansing the world of imperfections, a service to inferior beings. By the sound of it though, they had been being fed lies. Now it sounded like nothing more than trying to justify genocide.

“I... I’m sorry... I didn’t know...” Baler frowned.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. It can’t be changed and it can’t be helped. This is how it is, and this is how it’ll stay. Ponies won’t ever change.”

“Why’d you help us then? You stopped the dragon when you didn't have to...” He asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe I just wanted to see what it felt like to do something good for a change?” She shrugged.

“How did it feel?” Baler smiled at her.

“Empty. I don’t feel anything.” Serenade shrugged.

Those very words brought sadness to Baler. “Well, I wish you could stay...”

“But there’s nothing you can do.” Serenade finished his thought out loud.

“I’m sorry...” His voice got quieter.

Standing up, Serenade shook her head. “Don’t be.”

“Why not?” He tilted his head.

“Because I’m not sorry,” Serenade said as she came over to his bedside and paused for a brief moment.

“Not sorry for what?” Baler squinted trying to make sense of her statement.

“This.” She said before grabbing his head in her hooves, a single hoof on each side and with one swift motion, she twisted it until a crack was heard.

When his body went limp, she allowed him to drop back onto the bed, admiring her handiwork. The motion was quick and he was dead, that much she was sure of. A necessary course of action, as she had learned in her time. Even though he had appeared to be starting to understand that his kind had brainwashed him into thinking a certain way, it didn’t matter.

The reality is that she saved his city from certain doom, and when he had the chance to stand up for her, to tell the townsfolk that she wasn’t some kind of monster, he chose to do nothing. That is betrayal, and Serenade couldn’t forgive betrayal. It didn’t matter anyway; all mortals were the same and they all couldn’t be trusted. She had been wasting her time with him and his friends anyway.

Looking at herself in the mirror he had by his dresser, Serenade sighed and cracked the mirror with her hoof in annoyance.

As she looked at her fractured reflection, she pondered what it was that ponies actually saw when they looked at her. When they thought her a mere pony like them, many saw her as a sex object, a prize to be won and bedded if they could convince her. However, when they knew the truth of what she was, she went from a desirable item to a monster in their eyes. Why were ponies like this?

It didn’t matter though. She wasn’t going to sit there and cry about it. Her entire life, despite all she had been through, Serenade had never allowed herself to cry about anything, not once and she wasn’t about to start now.

All she knew is she had to hunt down the rest of her “friends” before daylight broke, so she could at least leave with no unfinished business. If the ponies of the city wanted a monster, she’d give them one.

The journey through the underworld was a challenging one. Time always seemed to escape Sunset and Cinder, as it was nearly impossible to tell how much time had passed at any given moment. As Sunset wandered toward their destination, she wondered if it was possible that eight years had passed already. Maybe time moved faster in this place? It was possible, wasn’t it? After all, when the portal to the human world was unstable she had skipped a good few years of Equestrian time as it had sent her slightly to the future.

The difference though was that the portal after stabilizing remained consistent and it was clear that time in the two worlds moved at the same speed. She supposed it didn’t really matter though, as either way she knew they had lost some time to this place, at the very least a week or so. The plains of the underworld seemed endless after all.

Cinder had come off as far more bothered than she had before, and the more they walked, the more it was evident that something was on her mind. Even her fighting with the various demons they encountered seemed to be far more swift and focused than usual. She was dicing up demons without so much as blinking and her form was in top shape despite how tired and malnourished the two were.

The poor food sources available were becoming a problem for sure. Sunset could already tell she had lost a good dozen pounds or so, and Cinder probably lost a few herself. If they stayed for too long, even Cinder’s impressive muscle mass would go away with enough time.

Looking over at Cinder, Sunset wondered how much exercise she had to do to maintain such a powerful physique. She was in incredible shape herself with her rigorous exercise routine she had put in place for herself when taking on Adagio, but it was nothing compared to Cinder. Curiously, Sunset wondered what she’d look like as a human, but imagined a very broad and stern-looking girl that could match up with the boys in terms of brute strength.

Walking closer to their ultimate destination, Sunset broke the silence and spoke up.

“Cinder, you still haven’t fully told me how Serenade and you know each other...” Sunset said.

Cinder’s face remained strained as it had been, either implying that the subject got on her nerves, or she was attempting to keep herself appearing neutral so as to not arouse any further questioning on the matter.

“It doesn’t matter. I want her beaten, just as you do. That should be more than a sufficient answer.”

Sunset didn’t exactly appreciate the dismissive nature that she was exuding. “How can you expect ponies to keep trusting you if you don’t tell them why you’re even committed to this in the first place? What reason does anyone have to not question your motivation?”

A glance was caught from Cinder by Sunset and Cinder looked back to straight ahead and her tone became more hushed and less aggressive. “I’m not looking for approval. I have proven that I am dedicated to the siren’s demise by joining your rebellion and feeling the bodies of our enemies snapped by my blades.”

She had a point there. If there was ever a question of loyalty when it came to Cinder, Sunset at least knew she had no trouble in that area. That same loyalty also could explain much more in her life.

“I mean yeah, I don’t distrust you, but you could but heads with Applejack a lot less if you at least told us all why you are so committed,” Sunset explained.

Cinder let out a light chuckle at the very idea. “Applejack will cause problems for anyone who tries to run this operation, and I believe you know that as well. That’s merely her personality.”

Ain’t that the truth.

“You got me there...” Sunset admitted; Applejack was pretty frustrating after all, even Sunset had a hard time with her. Her human counterpart could equally be a handful.

Cinder smiled at Sunset briefly before looking back ahead. “Don’t worry, I promise my intentions are not sinister. While I have no reason to lie to you, Sunset Shimmer, I also don’t really want to think too deeply about the past...”

That was definitely something she could relate to. “I guess that makes sense, I actually can relate. Sorry for bringing it up.”

“You were merely doing what you felt was best as a leader. A good leader is cautious after all; if I were in your position, I would likely be the same way.” Cinder winked.

How did this girl get to be so mature, Sunset wondered. Cinder was almost a walking monolith of duality. Calm yet fierce, a warrior’s heart, yet gentle when she needed to be.

Sunset wanted to ask her how she got this way but knew it was probably not in good taste to ask such a thing, especially at that moment.

The two were silent for a bit longer until they arrived at what they assumed to be their destination. A large door encased in black vines and tendrils locking it up, holding it tightly closed. Sunset identified it by the symbol they saw on some of the stones that spoke of it, etched into its odd onyx-appearing face.

The two gazed in awe at the large structure that seemed to lead into some kind of giant dome, also covered in tendrils and vines.

“Impressive architecture for this place...” Cinder commented.

“Who built it though?” Sunset squinted in question as she examined the door.

A question she was certain neither of them would ever get an answer to, as it was obvious that not even the demons who lived here knew who built such a structure. Everything in this world was fantastical after all.

“Whoever did clearly didn’t want just anyone using it...” Cinder spoke as she placed a claw upon the door.

Merely touching the door made the markings upon it light up and like the other stones, text appeared in their native tongue before the two once more.

Ye’ who wishes to advance past these doors,

A trial awaits you.

Take the vines into your mind and face your greatest fears. Only when you conquer yourself may you pass through this door. Be warned though, perception is your reality and as such perceived death is true death.

You will not know these nightmares from reality either. Turn back now if you lack the courage. Proceed if you have the might to overcome your greatest fears.

Sunset blinked a few times. “What does it all mean?”

Cinder looked over at a set of strange throne-like seats situated all in front of the doors. Next to them were vine-like tendrils that seemed to sway with a life of their own. Thinking over what the door said, she put two and two together. “We have to sit down and put one of those into our body, I think. It’s supposed to make us hallucinate...”

“What? Why?” Sunset tilted her head.

“We have to face our greatest fears... I think it uses our minds to create them...” Cinder explained.

“So it’s a simulation or something then?” Sunset blinked as she looked at the tendrils, not exactly eager to put one inside of her.

Cinder nodded. “The only catch it... Simulated death will become real death. We’re likely going to feel all the pain too.”

“How is that even possible?” Sunset asked curiously. It was a pointless question though, as this entire realm was full of impossible things that seemed to exist beyond all imagination.

Cinder shrugged. “Hard to say, but I don’t think we’re going to get out of it. This door looks too powerful for you to move it with your magic, and even too much for my strength to push it... Whoever built it clearly wanted to ensure no one would be able to bypass their trials. We have to play by their rules.”

Sighing, Sunset looked over at one of the chairs on the left side. After staring for a good eight seconds she walked over and sat down. “Let’s get this over with then?”

Cinder nodded as she casually walked over to a chair on the other side directly across from Sunset and sat down. She gave a thumbs-up before grabbing one of the tendrils in her good claw.

Sunset copied the motion and gripped a moving tendril in her hoof. She could feel it slithering and moving even in her grip. She sighed as she watched Cinder take the tendril and insert it directly into her ear. The moment it entered she huffed out a breath that sounded like a gasp as her eyes rolled back and then closed. Her claws rested on the arms of the throne-like chair.

Gulping, Sunset decided it was best to do it quickly and inserted the thing into her ear. She could feel eight quick pulses from it before letting out a strained breath and her body went limp.

Sunset’s eyes open and she could see nothing more than a fabric-like material obstructing her vision. After eight long seconds, she realized it was her own pillow. She was sleeping in her own bed. She blinked a few times wondering how she got there, trying to remember anything from the night prior. She couldn’t remember a thing though. All she knew was that Twilight had kissed her goodnight last night and now she was here.

Reaching to rub her temple, she saw her hand and blinked a few times. For some odd reason she could have sworn she was a pony prior to falling asleep, but that must not have been true, for how could it? She was asleep in her own bed in her human form after all. She must have been dreaming and the dream felt so real that she believed it to be reality.

Pulling the covers off of herself, she could see she was in her underwear. Black laces decorated her panties as she looked down and decided it was best to get dressed. Hobbling over to the vanity, she quickly brushed her hair and allowed it to rest in its usual semi-messy state of slight curls. Her hair had been getting longer for years now, but she liked how it looked, so it remained. Twilight seemed to enjoy it as well, so that was an added bonus.

Quickly throwing on a simple white blouse and a black skirt to match it, she slipped into a pair of tall black leather boots and stood in front of the mirror admiring herself. A smile came to her face as she realized how attractive she still was despite having gone through marriage and childbirth. Most people couldn’t consider themselves so lucky.

She turned to get a side view of herself and when she was satisfied she let out a little giggle. “Twilight will love it...” She commented out loud.

Confident in how sexy she was, she checked the time, seeing it was 8:08 AM and made her way downstairs to greet her wife. Strolling down the hallway and then eventually down the large staircase toward the east wing kitchen of her home and saw her wife standing near a window staring out of it into the courtyard of the building.

Sunset blinked as she watched the woman standing there in her tight leggings and a sweater. She hadn’t even bothered to put shoes on which was odd given that the weather was getting colder.

“Twilight?” Sunset blinked as she stepped toward her wife, reaching a hand forward and placing it upon her shoulder.

The girl turned around to face Sunset, her eyes narrowed and missing her signature glasses. She lifted her head up and met Sunset’s eyes with her own and she could see the anger in them. “So, you finally came back then?” Twilight spoke in a low tone.

Sunset blinked and stepped back, removing her hand from her wife’s shoulder. “H-huh? What do you mean?”

“You’ve been gone for over three years, what gives you the right to walk back in here and act like everything is fine?” Twilight growled.

Sunset was dumbfounded. “I don’t understand...”

Twilight’s eyes had slowly changed color to a deep red as her pupils disappeared. Before Sunset knew it, her wife’s eyes were nothing more than two glowing red orbs. “You abandoned me three years ago...”

Sunset recalled leaving to save Equestria, but the situation was complex. “I-I didn’t mean to! I never wanted to leave you behind, Twilight, you have to believe me!”

Twilight shook her head. “You never think about how what you do affects those around you, do you? Everything is all about Sunset Shimmer and no one else. You went off to go play hero and left me to care for your daughter by myself.”

“That’s not what happened!” Sunset protested, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

“Liar.” Twilight shook her head before she began to float off of the ground, her hands at her sides which began to fill up with black energy that Sunset recognized as demonic energy. She had seen it a few times with Serenade’s subordinates.

Sunset took a step back and watched as Twilight’s hair began to sway and move in a way that made it appear as though it were underwater.

As Twilight levitated, the energy in her hands formed a set of black energy balls as the girl called out to Sunset. “And now, you can die.”

Not wasting another second, Twilight hurled the two blasts at Sunset, who jumped out of the way and rolled, dodging eight more. She made her way out of the kitchen and into the dining room where she quickly flipped the table up onto its side and ducked down under it. The barricade proved inadequate protection, however, as another blast turned it into a bunch of splinters.

Looking back as Sunset made her next maneuver to get out of the way of another blast, Twilight’s body began to emanate a black mist, giving an eerie and unsettling look to the girl.

She had to find a way to get Twilight to listen to her, but how?

“Twilight, you’re not thinking clearly, please...” Sunset pleaded.

Her begging was a waste of time as Twilight made a beam come from her right hand and blast in Sunset’s direction, which the girl just narrowly dodged. Twilight shot another eight times, each being dodged by Sunset, but the last one just barely tore off a small fragment of her skirt.

“Please listen to me, Twilight!” Sunset called out as she made her way into the next room.

Twilight didn’t answer, and instead continued her barrage of attacks.

Sunset had managed to get to the other wing of the house and bolted down the stairwell to the basement floors. Her brain was on auto-pilot when she entered her armory and retrieved a machete with a fully loaded 1911 colt 45. Brandishing the gun, she stared at it for a few seconds as she thought over what she was actually doing.

She had been running on adrenaline, but she actually reached for a gun. Was she really prepared to kill Twilight if she didn’t stop? Did she have it in her?

No. She thought. There was no way in hell she could bring herself to kill Twilight, no matter what. Right?

Twilight, of course, didn’t take long to find the girl making her way back up the stairs to meet her at the top of the stairwell that led to the basement. The two froze for a second before Sunset retrieved her machete and held it tightly in her right hand as the two stared at each other.

“Please, Twilight... Don’t make me do this...” Sunset begged.

Unsurprisingly, her pleas were met with more dark energy balls being tossed her way; Sunset moving out of the way in time to dodge them.

“There’s no point in begging, Sunset. I’ve given into the darkness inside of me, and I’m not going back. You betrayed me when you left and now you’ll pay the price!” Twilight’s right hand made a black sword made of dark energy form that she swung at Sunset.

The redhead swiftly moved, avoiding the blow only for another swing to come her way from the opposite direction. This one was harder to dodge, so she wielded her machete and blocked the strike.

The two blades locked for a brief second before the machete ended up the victor, as Twilight pulled her sword back ready for another blow.

The two danced with each other, clashing swords back and forth. Sunset stepped back after about eight strikes and wiped her forehead to clear the sweat away. She panted but held her weapon strongly in her hand as she never took her eyes off of her attacker. “Twilight, please listen to me. Demons have clouded your judgment! This isn’t you!”

“Words can not undo what you have done, Sunset.” Twilight barked as she took a few more swings at the young woman.

Natural instincts began to kick in, and Sunset began to treat the machete as a mere extension of her arm; remembering all of her sword practice. She had trained and prepared herself for months when Adagio killed her younger sister, and as a result, she had a fairly good grasp on weaponry.

She blocked a few of the hits, but got out of the way for the rest, avoiding any and all damage. Her defense was skilled and masterful, but she knew that she couldn’t block and dodge forever, eventually, she would be forced into an attack. She’d have no choice but to raise her weapon in more than defense if this continued. It didn’t appear as though Twilight cared, however.

With block after block, Sunset knew the moment was drawing closer to where she would need to attack.

Sunset finally took a swing at Twilight, who moved out of the way just barely, making Sunset catch only a strand or two of her long hair with her blade.

“Twilight, I don’t want to fight you.” Sunset attempted one last time to reason with her wife.

Her words fell upon deaf ears, as Twilight retaliated, taking the blackened blade she had crafted, she gave a few thrusts toward Sunset, trying to stab the girl with the sword. Sunset, of course, deflected each one and swung her machete, hitting Twilight in the arm just above her wrist.

As Twilight gripped the wound which was oozing blood, Sunset sliced once more, hacking the girl’s wrist and hand off. The hand tumbled to the floor as Twilight leaned down in agony, gripping the new wound. Between screams, she shot a few blasts at Sunset which she dodged (though the eighth shot almost got her) skillfully.

With Twilight down Sunset kicked her in the face, causing her to grip her nose. The woman dragged herself back to get out of Sunset’s attack range, but her efforts were futile as Sunset struck again with the machete leaving a fresh new cut on Twilight’s leg.

Crawling to get away, Twilight looked up at Sunset to see the woman standing above her, machete in hand.

“Y-you’d kill me?” Twilight whimpered.

Sunset wasted no time answering that question. With a mighty strike, she drove the sharp end of her machete through Twilight’s skull. After a good eight seconds, the woman stopped moving and Twilight’s body fell limp to the ground. Sunset whimpered as she tried to take in what she just had to do. How could Twilight turn to the darkness so easily? Her wife had turned into a demon, and now she had to put her down.

Tears ran down Sunset’s face. “I’m sorry, Twilight... I failed you... I couldn’t keep the darkness away...” She felt to her knees and scooped up Twilight’s body, holding it tightly to her, allowing the black blood dripping out of her to stain her body.

“I’m sorry... I’m sorry...” Sunset kept repeating herself as she held the girl.

Her sobs were cut short however as she heard a sound that made her blink and lift her head. It was the sound of a child’s laughter, but there was something off about it. “No...” She shook her head as she turned around hesitantly. She didn’t want to see what was there but knew she had to look.

There floating above the floor was a child, no older than three, a child that Sunset recognized all too well, it was her own. Her hair had turned black and floated in the air unnaturally.

The glowing red eyes in her head pierced Sunset’s soul. She couldn’t bear to look, but her eyes somehow were glued to them. “No... Please...” Sunset shook her head slowly as she whimpered again.

“Hello, mommy...” Horizon’s distorted voice echoed through Sunset’s ears and made her cringe in mental pain.

“Not my daughter...” Sunset replied quietly, still shaking her head in denial. She refused to believe it.

“You disappeared, mommy,” Horizon said as she floated closer.

“I never wanted to go, sweetie...” Sunset came to a stand, her hand hesitantly gripping the machete from before. Killing Twilight was one thing, but could she really raise the same blade to her own daughter? It was clear that she too had become a demon as well, and that meant there was a high probability.

“Mommies as bad as you need to be punished...” Horizon’s voice echoed.

Sunset wiped her eyes and conjured up all of her courage. She had to turn off all emotion, she needed to be ready to defend herself. She didn’t know why, but a strong sense of determination had come over her.

“Mommy should have been around, Horizon... I’m sorry that I wasn’t...” Sunset spoke solemnly.

Horizon’s tiny toddler hands lit up with blue fire as she prepared an attack. The moment that Sunset saw the blue glow, she knew that trying to avoid a fight was a pointless venture. Horizon would try and kill her just as Twilight had. Her entire family had been turned to demons and she needed to accept that reality quickly or she would die.

With her free hand, Sunset opened her fingers and concentrated. Magic began to course through her body, coming down to her fingertips. Magic in the human world always felt strange, alien, and nowhere near as natural as it had to her in Equestria, but she needed it.

A ball of light formed at her fingertips as she stared down the demon toddler. “All I can do to make it right now is save you from an eternity as a demon... I’m sorry...”

Horizon hurled a series of fireballs at Sunset which she deflected with her machete which she had now pushed some of her magic into so that it could deflect magic attacks. With the light energy in her other hand, she charged it more, knowing she would need enough power to destroy the child before she threw it.

A few more exchanges of blasts from Horizon and parries from Sunset and the orb was ready.

Sunset timed her shot right after another blast was hurled from Horizon so she wouldn’t have a chance to dodge in time.

It was a direct hit. The blast grew and absorbed the girl, leaving nothing behind but smoke. Sunset dropped her machete and fell to her knees. She was exhausted both physically and emotionally. She had actually done it, she had killed her only daughter only minutes after killing her wife. Why though? Why was she not more distraught over it?

Sunset found herself oddly not as upset as she felt she should have been. Perhaps she had finally gone mad.

As she sat there she could hear the sound of clapping. Turning her head, she noticed a figure walk in from behind her. A figure that was slender but curvy in all the right places. Full legs decorated in fishnet leggings and expensive shoes connected to a body that was busty and concealed by an expensive-looking dress.

The more she looked, the more familiar it was, but when she came to the face, she could see something different about it. Instead of the loving face of her sister that she expected, she only got half of it. On one side, was the face of Shimmer, but the other was black with dark energy glowing off of it along with a bright glowing teal eye without pupils that watched Sunset carefully.

She continued clapping as she stood there. “Not bad, sister...”

Like Twilight and Horizon before her, she too had a distorted voice.

Coming to a stand, Sunset lifted the machete off the ground and faced her sister with confused eyes. “Shimmer... Why though? How could you of all people become a demon?”

“Have you forgotten how easy it can be to fall to darkness? After you let Adagio kill me, my heart became engulfed with bitter anger... That same anger can turn just about anyone into a demon if it is strong enough...” Shimmer explained.

Sunset shook her head. “I’m sorry that I couldn’t protect you, Shimmer, but it wasn’t my fault. Adagio is to blame for your death, not me. It’s taken me years to accept that.”

Shimmer chuckled before removing her glasses and tossed them aside. The spectacles shattered as they hit the floor. “Adagio was emboldened when you came here. Without the magic you brought from Equestria, she would have never even met me.”

Sunset growled. “You were in love with her!”

“Yet we’d have never met without your involvement,” Shimmer retorted.

“I don’t care. I’m not going to keep taking the blame for things that are not my fault. I’ll cleanse your soul of all darkness if that’s what it takes, sister.” Sunset raised her blade, ready to fight.

Shimmer laughed and conjured a sword from dark energy in her left hand.

“A battle between the two Sunsets. Which one will come out victorious? Which one of us deserves to be the only Sunset?” Shimmer questioned as she tilted her head with a devious grin.

Sunset readied her blade and grinned back at her. “You can’t stop me. I’m not about to give in that easily.”

Moving quickly, Sunset decided it was best for her to make the first strike. She moved quick and swung low, hoping to get her off guard.

Shimmer moved just quick enough to block the strike and return fire with a swing of her own, which Sunset deflected. The two clashed blades over and over until Shimmer pulled another blade out by conjuring it in her right hand and swung it at Sunset.

Sunset ducked to avoid the right-handed blade and blocked the left one. She rolled past her opponent and flipped her weapon in her hand and pushed it behind her, stabbing Shimmer in the back.

The machete pushed through the flesh and out the other side causing a spurt of black blood to exit Shimmer’s body. She coughed and froze in place, lowering her blades to her sides as she looked over her shoulder. “Heh... Not bad...”

“Fuck you.” Sunset hissed before pushing the blade up and making more blood pour out before pulling the blade out.

Shimmer hacked up blood and nodded. “It seems you’ve passed the trial after all...”

“Huh?” Sunset blinked.

Shimmer winked before her body began to dissolve into black smoke before Sunset's very eyes.

Sunset’s eyes shot open quickly as she gasped for air. Blinking a few times, she realized she was back in the demon world. Reaching up to her ear, she could feel the tendril she had inserted prior still there. Gripping it, she pulled it out and gasped.

“Fuck...” She whispered to herself as she looked at the door which now had half of it glowing green. It must have been some kind of acknowledgment that part of the trial was completed. The door’s mechanisms still mystified Sunset. Could Serenade really endure such challenges?

Rubbing her head, she realized how real the illusion truly was. While it was happening she had completely forgotten how she even got there. How long was she out though?

Looking across from her, she could see Cinder was still asleep with the tendril still in her ear. It was clear she was still going through whatever the trial had set for her. Her body was twitching as her face contorted to one of discomfort.

Sunset trotted over to the dragon and sat at her side. She reached over and placed a hoof upon her claw, stroking it gently. All she could do now was be there when Cinder woke up, hoping she came out of what she was going through relatively unscathed.

“The rest is up to you, Cinder...” Sunset whispered with a smile upon her face.

Long time between chapters, I'm sorry! My life outside of this place has been crazy.