The Royal Training Ground, a place reserved only for the royal family or those with great connections with them. It was at this place that many of the greatest mages in all of Equestrian history trained and became the legends that they were today. Starswirl himself trained at this place when he was a young stallion, though back then it wasn’t in possession of the royal family.

Nowadays, very few came to this place, though Luna had a brief visit when she returned from her moon imprisonment to refine her skills after being gone so long. Other than that, the training ground was kept closed off, used only when given the authority from the royal family to do so.

From the observation deck in the higher rung, Starlight looked down at the center of the main training area. A small field decorated immaculately, frozen in a state of perpetual spring. It was hard to imagine that everything she was seeing was nothing more than a projection of the inside of the mare's mind. Ordinarily, the inside of the room was nothing more than empty white space. A blank white room with nothing of interest except a door to enter and leave.

There, sitting in the center was Twilight Sparkle, sitting in meditation, centering herself, trying her best to maintain the environment she was projecting around her through vigorous concentration.

It had been eight days since she entered, and as expected, Twilight hadn’t come out once for a break. She was determined to complete this training within record time, stressing the urgency of finishing as early as possible.

Standing next to Starlight on the observation deck was a familiar purple reptilian assistant to the princess, staring past the glass with eyes of concern as he watched the mare that he would call mother focus.

“She’s been at it for days…” He commented.

Starlight nodded in agreement. “Yeah… I guess she was serious about going all out…”

“Won’t she starve in there?” Spike asked.

Starlight shook her head. “Nope, this place was uniquely enchanted. Inside of here, time stays still… Well not exactly anyway… Time still advances but our bodies remain in a state where they are more or less frozen in time kind of… Only partially though. In other words, no matter how long any of us stay here, we won’t get hungry or thirsty. Hunger and thirst and even the need to sleep are given pause in this place.”

“That’s… Pretty nifty… Who designed this place?” Spike asked.

Starlight chuckled at the fact that she was taking on Twilight’s role and giving Spike a history lesson. “The building itself was commissioned by Celestia, but no one really knows where this training ground originated from. It’s been here long before the royal family and its magical properties have been documented long before that… It’s possible that it simply existed in nature like this, or that another severely powerful pony created in like this…”

“Strange… Couldn’t we just reverse engineer the magic cast on this place to find out?” Spike asked.

Starlight shook her head. “It’s been attempted, hundreds of times actually, all resulting in failure. Whatever secrets this place has… It’s not about to reveal them to us so easily…”

“Sounds crazy… So why is Twilight training here? I don’t get it…” Spike frowned.

A sigh escaped Starlight as she looked back down at Twilight and shook her head. “I… I don’t know… Twilight has been acting strangely for some time now, and she just sort of came here without an explanation. She insisted that she needed to drastically improve her abilities, but she won’t tell me why…”

“She definitely has been acting strange for a while now…” Spike agreed.

“Sometimes I wish I could tell what was going on in her head, but she always keeps me in the dark about this kind of stuff…” Starlight frowned.

Spike looked over to the girl, sensing how hurt she was for being kept out of the loop. He approached and placed a claw on her shoulder. “It’s okay… You’re not the only one being kept on the outside after all…”

She smiled and nodded at the dragon, thankful for his support. “Thank you, Spike. Still, I wish we knew what was going on… Why this sudden desire to train so intensely? Why the need to push herself so hard?”

“You know how Twilight is, once she’s set on doing something, she always gives it 110%,” Spike reminded.

That much was true. Seldom did Twilight half-ass anything. It was perhaps one of the mare’s most admirable traits, her inability to not leave anything up to chance if she could have a role in determining the outcome and her inability to leave things partially completed. Some would call it obsessive compulsive, but Starlight would call it very “Twilight”.

She recalled how her mentor never gave up on her, how she saw something in Starlight, that Starlight didn’t even see in herself. She could have just left her to her own devices, she could have thrown Starlight in a correctional facility and let her be the state’s problem for two years or so, but she didn’t. Starlight recalled asking her why, and she remembered her mentor’s answer so vividly.

Some things are better handled personally. When I see something that I know I can do something about, I always get involved personally rather than pan it off onto someone else. That’s what being a princess is about, that’s what being a good friend is about too.

Starlight found herself smiling at the memory before coming back to reality, looking over at Spike who was staring at her with confusion, perhaps wondering where she just spaced out to.

“Do you think Twilight knows something we don’t?” Spike asked.

“To be honest… I don’t think it… I’m certain of it…” Starlight stated.

Spike looked back through the glass at his mother sitting there in meditation with a frown. “Isn’t it great how she keeps us in the dark all the time?”

Starlight grinned and nudged the dragon’s shoulder. “It’s better than throwing us headfirst into danger all the time, isn’t it?”

“You got me there…” Spike grinned back.

The two chuckled but their laughter subsided quickly as Spike looked back into the glass, Starlight doing the same. After another short pause, he spoke again. “Hey… Do you think something bad is going to happen, Starlight? I sort of feel like something bad is going to happen…”

She would be lying if she said she didn’t. There was a certain negative aura that seemed to follow them around lately, and Twilight’s behavior certainly wasn’t helping. She chose straightforward honesty with the dragon.

“Maybe… Though one thing is certain…” Starlight said.

“What’s that?” Spike raised a brow as he looked in her direction, his claw still on the glass.

Starlight’s eyes squinted as she observed Twilight down below. “Whatever is going to happen, be it good or bad… With Twilight on our side, we’ll come out on top… I know it…”

Spike smiled and nodded in agreement. “Damn right.”

After the prison break at Dusty Gate, many of the convicts that had chosen to side with the mysterious changeling who had granted them freedom via his very tactful plan. They had agreed to not only follow him but do virtually everything he instructed them to do. At this point, he had led them to an underground keep, an old transport system used in the old days by villages to move important ponies out of war zones without being seen. Now, however, it remained abandoned and virtually unknown.

Cutter, a convict who had been sprung from Dusty Gate only a few days prior was starting to grow impatient with their new changeling “leader”. He seldom spoke, and he seldom gave orders either. On top of this, he wouldn’t even tell anyone that was present his name and chose instead to be frustratingly mysterious and cryptic. Two qualities that Cutter wasn’t a fan of, then again virtually every stallion in the room wasn’t a fan of such antics.

The group had grown restless over the past few days, the anticipation of what they were to do in order to get revenge on the kingdom that had imprisoned them was growing. To say that the room was filled with murderous rage and over excitement was an understatement.

“You think this changeling is being legit? I mean he hasn’t had us do anything since he sprung us free… I think he’s just pulling our hooves, he ain’t got no plan to get back at Equestria… Otherwise, he'd have set it into motion by now...” One of the stallions in the room stated as he leaned up against the stone wall in the dimly lit place.

“Yeah, I bet that sack of shit was just winging it the whole time… Should have known, never trust a bug!” Another chimed in.

“What difference does it make?” Cutter grinned, causing attention to come his way. Both of the conversing criminals looked Cutter over and shot him looks with raised eyebrows and confusion.

“How do you figure?” The bigger one of the two asked.

Cutter merely shrugged and smirked. “It won’t make a difference if he has one or not, we’re free… And if he ends up being a pathetic waste of time… We can squash him like the bug he is, right?”

The other criminal blinked but ended up nodding in agreement. “That’s a fair point… He got us out, so I guess it doesn’t matter what happens from here… I’m only sticking around to see what his so-called master plan is… Some revenge on Equestria sounds good… I want to bend that Princess Celestia over a table and fuck her stupid while she begs me to stop!”

“You and me both!” Another one chimed in.

Before they knew it, they had an uproar on their hooves, criminals left and right cheering with delight, but eventually the cheers turned into chaos and tension was starting to rise in the room. The combination of these types of ponies not exactly being the most agreeable, and the long period of sitting around doing nothing was starting to bring things to a boil.

Finally, a hoof stomp from the south side of the room came. Every single stallion in the room turned to face the face of the changeling that had granted them their freedom in the first place.

He stood there in his fine yellow and blue cloak with a mighty stance despite his small size. He was probably a few hairs shorter than the average stallion, and certainly shorter than virtually every buff and in shape stallion that stood before him. Despite this though, he had conviction about him, confidence, though it might have simply been arrogance depending on who you asked.

The changeling cleared his throat and decided that now was the time to inform his unruly mob of what they would be doing next.

“If you’re standing in this room… It’s because you chose to serve a greater cause… For that… Congratulations… You’re about to be a part of something far bigger than yourself…” The changeling began.

The room remained silent as everyone hung on every word he said.

“That being said… for us to achieve our goals, our numbers must grow still… At this moment, we are nothing more than a fledgling uprising… A rebellion attempt ready to be thwarted by the royal guard, the moment we make our move…” He continued.

The audience stayed still as they listened, clearly wanting to know where he was going with this.

“That is why we must initiate phase two of our plan…”

Murmurs and whispers began to flood the room as ponies wondered aloud what he was referring to.

“We are going to do another prison break!” The changeling commanded.

This decision was met with instant approval, as hooves rose into the air, cheering and whooping as he spoke their language. The idea of breaking even more out of the prisons was an almost universally approved concept for the room full of convicts.

“Of the Canterlot Royal Prison…” He finished.

The cheers quickly turned to hushed whispers of concern and mockery before a few of them began flat out laughing. Cutter deciding to be the spokesperson for the heckling group. “You’re joking, right? No one can break into Canterlot Royal Prison! It’s a fortress!”

“I was able to break into Dusty gate with only myself and my whits…” The changeling squinted and sneered in Cutter’s direction as he reminded him.

Cutter shrugged. “Big deal, that’s different. Canterlot Royal Prison is protected far more hardcore! You can’t even do magic in there, and I’m pretty sure your little transformation trick counts as that… So what are you going to do, Mr. Bigshot?”

The changeling stared in Cutter’s direction as he repeated himself in a plain tone, not a shred of emotion. “We’re going to break into Canterlot Royal Prison…”

“And how are you going to do that?” Cutter grinned.

“Leave those details to me and my master… They have a plan, one fitting of a genius such as themselves…” The changeling assured.

Cutter shook his head in disapproval. “So you have a master? I thought you were pulling the strings around here?”

The changeling shook his head. “No, I never said nor implied such. My master is the one running things around here…”

“Oh yeah? Where are they then?” Cutter asked.

Yawning, the changeling shook his head once more at the stallion. “You’re wasting my time… My master will show themselves when the time is right… For now, they need to test your loyalty. This… Organization only has room for those who are one hundred percent dedicated.”

“So we’re just supposed to go along with some nameless faceless master of yours!? We don’t even get to know who they are or what they are doing? This is bullshit! We're the ones that are going to be risking our lives!” Cutter yelled.

His outburst was met with approval from the entire room as soon tons of criminals were chanting along with him for this mysterious “master” to reveal himself.

The changeling that had been delivering his master’s will up to this point merely shrugged. “Anypony who has objections with our arrangement may leave now… We have no use for disloyal subjects in this operation. Our plan is to break into Canterlot Royal Prison, anypony who is not on board with that should leave immediately.”

Silence fell over the room as he said those words. “I don’t need anypony who isn’t committed slowing us down.” He added.

Even Cutter thought it over, despite not seeing the face of this mysterious “master”, one thing was certain, they broke him out of prison and wanted to stick it to Equestria. So while he could barely trust the fact that he couldn’t see their face, he could at least take some comfort in knowing their goals were the same.

Cutter then decided to be the voice for the crowd. “Alright, bug. We’re with you… What’s your plan?”

The changeling grinned and nodded. “I’m glad you asked… Here’s what we’re going to do…”

Twilight had finally chosen to leave the Royal Training Ground after days of being locked inside meditating. Starlight was eager to speak with her, but she was forced to wait as Twilight stated the importance of going right to Princess Celestia to speak of an important matter.

A full day had passed and after long periods of waiting, Twilight had returned to the Royal Training Ground where Starlight and Spike awaited. The moment Twilight set hoof back into the observation deck, Spike and Starlight quickly crowded the alicorn badgering her with questions.

“What did Celestia say?” Starlight asked.

“Why have you been training so much?” Spike quickly tossed in a question before Twilight was even able to answer the first one.

“What’s happening, Twilight?” Starlight asked.

Twilight took a step back and held up a hoof to silence the two of them. Her gesture proved effective as both of them stopped talking, took a quick glance at each other and then back at Twilight. There was silence for a brief moment before Starlight cleared her throat and decided to take it one question at a time.

“So… What is going on, Twilight?” Starlight tilted her head slightly.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Something big… Something very big…”

“What do you mean?” Spike chimed in.

Twilight looked out the window onto the training field and closed her eyes. “The past few weeks have been troubling to me…”

“Why’s that?” Starlight raised a brow.

“I’ve been having nightmares… Very… Specific nightmares…” Twilight began.

Spike shrugged. “We all have those…”

“It’s different for me, Spike. At first, I thought they were just merely dreams created from my self-doubts, but it came to my attention that my abilities as an Alicorn occasionally will grant me an acute sense with nature and the world… I can sometimes sense things before they happen… Vaguely anyway… Celestia and Luna are the same…” Twilight replied.

Starlight bit her lip, not wanting to bring it up, but she decided it was worth mentioning. “Yeah… If that’s the case how come Celestia and Luna seldom manage to predict disaster before it happens?”

Twilight glanced over at her and smiled. “Sometimes the predictions are so vague that you don’t even realize they are predictions… Sometimes it fails to happen at all… But most of the time it’s something that seems to be connected to darkness… We princesses are bastions of light in Equestria. As a result, we can detect when great amounts of darkness are nearby…”

“Darkness?” Spike tilted his head.

Twilight nodded as she gestured for the two to sit down for a lesson in magic. “It’s time I told you two about another type of magic… A type that is seldom spoken of… A forbidden magic…”

“Dark magic? I’ve only heard of it a few times… Not many books on the subject exist…” Starlight replied.

A grin came to Twilight’s face as she marveling in knowing something that others did not. “Yes, that is because all research on dark magic was forbidden centuries ago. It is a powerful force, one that could level entire cities in the wrong hooves. It does not work like regular magic, and it slowly consumes the one who uses it until…” Twilight paused.

“Until what?” Spike asked.

“Until they become a demon,” Twilight stated.

“A demon?” Starlight blinked.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Essentially demons are those who have been corrupted by dark magic. Usually, it transforms them into… Something else entirely…”

Starlight squinted and remembered something she was told regarding the Crystal Empire. “So Sombra would be considered a demon?”

Twilight nodded, thankful that her student was as quick as she was, that meant less time explaining simple concepts to her. “Yes, however demons come in two classes, pure and impure.”

“What’s the difference?” Spike asked.

Closing her eyes, Twilight tried to recall all the various texts she had read on the subject, most of them were restricted to the royal family only. “Pure demons are those who allow darkness to envelop their heart completely. They embrace darkness fully, and they maintain cognizance for a period of time… Eventually, they will, however, turn into Specters…”

“Specters?” Starlight tilted her head, trying to follow all of this.

“Indeed, though Specter is merely the name we’ve given them. Technically they have no proper name. Eventually, the dark energy in a demon will devour them and they will become puppets that do as the darkness inside them tells them to do.” Twilight explained.

“What about impure demons then?” Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head. “We don’t know much about them really. They’re harder to come by, but essentially they are demons that more or less don’t allow darkness into their hearts, but borrowed the power of darkness. Since we rarely see them, we don’t really know much more than that.”

“So what you’re saying is you believe one of these pure demons is coming to Equestria?” Starlight asked, hoping she was piecing this together correctly.

Nodded. “Precisely.”

“And that’s why you've been training up? To face it when it comes?” Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head. “Not exactly, Spike… See on top of pure and impure demons, there are many varieties of demons… I have no idea what type of demon would be coming to Equestria, or if one is even coming at all and I’m just being paranoid… As a result, I can’t take any chances…”

“I don’t like where this is going…” Spike admitted.

“I am going to undergo a very rare and prestigious magical training, ascension…” Twilight said.

“Ascension… Isn’t that like… Something that is normally only reserved for mages who have had nearly a century of magic study?” Starlight raised a brow, only vaguely familiar with the practice. It was a subject that was only briefly covered in magic school, and only a hoofful of ponies actually succeeded at it.

“Yes.” Twilight nodded.

Spike stepped forward and raised his concern. “So… Doesn’t that mean it’s extremely dangerous to attempt?”

“Probably, yes…” Twilight bit her lip and looked away while she rubbed her neck awkwardly.

“This is insane then! You’re not ready for something like that!” Spike protested, crossing his arms.

While Twilight admired how concerned he was for her well being, she couldn’t allow Spike’s protectiveness stand in her way. She had a duty as a princess to fulfill and if this training would make a difference in the long run, she knew she needed to do it.

“I’m sorry, Spike, but this is important, the fate of Equestria could be at stake…” Twilight dismissed his concern, but the dragon refused to back down.

“I won’t allow this! You’re going to get yourself killed!” Spike growled.

“If I may interject?” A deep familiar voice rang in Spike, Twilight and Starlight’s ears. A voice that they all had come to know and resent just a little bit.

Before them, a creature without any rhyme or reason appeared. The head of a horse, the foot of a lizard on one left, a hooved foot on the other. His wings were far too small for his body to be lifted by gravity, but that didn’t stop him from floating about without much effort.

His taloned left hand wrapped itself around Twilight’s shoulder as his long snakelike body hovered around her, almost as if trying to ensnare her as he spoke. His single fang protruding from his jaw moving quite interestingly as he talked.

“She’ll be in good hands… With me that is…” He said.

“Discord? What are you talking about? And how did you get here?” Starlight asked, stomping her foot in annoyance at the draconequus.

He raised his lion’s paw defensively. “Twilight invited me, it was necessary… For her training that is.”

“Necessary? I don’t follow?” Starlight asked.

“You see… Ascension can be a great way to amplify a pony’s natural abilities… However, Celestia saw it fitting to add… a little flair to the idea…” Discord explained.

Starlight shook her head. “I am definitely not liking where this is going…”

“I swear you ponies are always so suspicious of me…” Discord sighed.

“Probably because you’re usually up to something?” Spike chimed in and pointed out.

Even Twilight had to internally admit that Discord was usually up to no good, even when he seemed helpful. His help usually came at the price of being a major annoyance to everyone who was involved with him.

“Well, I assure you that this time you have nothing to worry about. I am legitimate.” Discord placed his paw on his heart, or at least where the others thought his heart would be.

“What exactly are you going to be doing?” Spike asked with a raised brow, refusing to uncross his arms.

“It’s simple… See, I am going to teach Twilight chaos magic before she ascends. It will give her a very… Unique edge,” Discord spoke with a bit of passion in his voice like he was talking about creating the finest sculpture that Equestria had ever seen. It was to be expected, however, his love of creating disorder was very well known.

“No way! You’re trying to make Twilight like you!” Spike protested.

“It’s alright, Spike…” Twilight replied on Discord’s behalf.

“Twilight! You can’t be serious! This guy is just trying to-“ Spike got cut off as Twilight placed a hoof over his mouth.

“He’s trying to help potentially save Equestria… Discord offered to do this as a way to teach me to think outside the box when it comes to magic… It may be just what I need to go beyond what ascension alone could teach me…” Twilight explained.

Once she removed her hoof from Spike’s mouth, the dragon finally allowed his arms to fall to his sides, but his expression of concern did not seem to falter. “Y-you’re sure about this then?”

Twilight nodded. “It’s been decided already… Discord will go in with me, and I’ll begin the training…”

“How long will this take?” Spike asked.

Starlight stepped forward with a raised hoof. “The process can take several months, all the way up to eight years.”

“Eight years!?” Spike exclaimed. “You’re kidding!”

Starlight shook her head and frowned. “I’m afraid not… The fastest anypony has recorded ever completing this training is around… three years…”

“Twilight… Are you sure about this?” Spike whimpered.

Twilight smiled and reached forward, petting the dragon’s head. “Don’t worry, Spike. I intend to be as efficient as possible. I intend to complete the entire thing… In a matter of months…”

“That’s a bold claim…” Starlight responded.

Discord slithered out from around Twilight and floated proudly in front of Spike and Starlight, puffing his chest out. “Fear not! For I shall make sure that Twilight is able to push herself as much as she can to finish in record time!”

“Not exactly reassuring coming from you…” Spike grumbled.

Discord chuckled and reached down, pinching Spike’s cheek, only for the dragon to swat him away.

“This is a dangerous move that you’re making, Twilight…” Starlight said, “there’s no way to even be sure that you will be finished in time for this demon to arrive…”

Twilight nodded. “I know, that’s why I intend to train as fast as I can. I might not be there when they arrive, but I intend to be ready in time to turn the tide of the fight if necessary…”

“Do you really believe this demon is that strong?” Starlight questioned.

She had her doubts. A creature that strong? Simply ignoring Equestria until now? Why would it wait so long to attack if it had the kind of power that even made Twilight Sparkle nervous?

Twilight looked back toward the training area down below through the window. “I… I don’t know… I sense… The amount of evil in them… It’s greater than anything we’ve ever faced before… Greater than Sombra, greater than Chrysalis… This creature… It’s pure evil.”

“Why hasn’t it attacked until now then?” Spike asked curiously.

Twilight shrugged. “Maybe it never had the motivation to do so until now…”

Starlight squinted as she analyzed those words. “What could be motivating it now?”

“I don’t know… What I do know though is that it’s up to us to stop it. To do that, we’ll need to be ready to fight it.” Twilight insisted.

Sighing, Spike looked over at Starlight then back at Discord and Twilight. “Alright… I’m not going to like this plan though…”

“Don’t worry, Spike… I’ll be done before you know it… As I said, I’ll work as quickly as I can, it’s going to be up to you two to make sure I don’t get interrupted and to make sure this training ground stays safe while I’m in there…” Twilight informed. “Oh on top of taking care of some of my regular duties that is… Celestia already agreed to take over a hoofful of them.”

“So this is it then…?” Starlight asked curiously.

Twilight nodded. “I think so… Let’s pray this works…”

“We’re rooting for you, Twilight,” Spike reassured.

She reached forward and hugged the dragon, knowing that there was a possibility it could be the last time if she didn’t make it out in time. Twilight had no idea what this demon was, what it wanted, or how powerful it was, but she knew that it couldn’t be coming to Equestria for any good reason.

Looking over at Starlight, Twilight smiled and reached out to hug the girl as well. Starlight accepted her hug and spoke quietly into Twilight’s ear. “Good luck, Twilight…”

“I’ll be fine…” Twilight reassured as she strokes Starlight’s mane.

Breaking the hug she took a few steps back and stood there with Discord. She smiled at her two friends and nodded in their direction. Regardless of what happened, Twilight knew she was truly blessed to have two friends who cared so much about her. Equestria was in good hooves, and claws in this case. She gave one last salute in their direction before Discord led the two down the stairwell.

After a few moments, Spike and Starlight looked through the windows in the observation deck only to see the entire room turn orange. Discord cast some kind of spell that put an orange bubble around Twilight and him, blocking any chance of viewing them.

Spike frowned as he discovered they would not be able to watch Twilight train. Starlight placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Maybe Celestia preferred to keep this kind of training a secret? In case anypony actually stumbles onto this place, you know?”

Spike sighed and nodded, figuring that was a good enough excuse. “I suppose that makes sense…”

“You’re worried about her…” Starlight stated.

Spike nodded. “Yeah… Very…”

“Twilight knows what she’s doing… If anyone can do this in record time, it’s Twilight Sparkle. She’s about as efficient as they come.” Starlight reminded.

Spike chuckled and nodded in agreement. “You got me there… I just hope she can tolerate being stuck with Discord for so long. Worst case scenario she’ll come out like a miniature version of him.”

“I doubt that’ll happen… No one can really be Discord but Discord. His personality is… Unique…” Starlight giggled.

“That’s an interesting way to say annoying.” Spike grinned.

The two friends broke into a fit of laughter, laughter that was used to suppress their concern for what was going on below. It was hard to say what would happen, but they both knew they would have to be strong for Twilight’s sake.

Celestia marched through Canterlot Royal Prison after receiving intel that it would be the next target for a prison break. At first, she thought it was a mere prank as no pony would be foolish enough to try and break into the most protected prison in all of Equestria. Canterlot Royal Prison served as a place for the lowest of the low, prisoners that Celestia felt that the royal family should keep a personal eye upon. While it wasn’t exactly the fullest of prisons, housing less than 50 inmates, it was essential that it remained safeguarded.

Originally she would have thought they would seek out the other of the three major prisons after breaking into Dusty Gate, but whoever was leading their charge was bold enough to head straight for the crown jewel if her intel was to be believed. A part of her was a bit concerned at how confident they must have been, but another part rationalized that they were likely merely overconfident, as was the case with most criminals that the princess had encountered in her time.

“There’s no way they’re getting in here…” Celestia thought out loud as she marched through the halls barking orders.

“Alright, listen up everypony… Supposedly the same group that broke into Dusty Gate has set their sights on this prison to spring as many inmates as they can. As you all know, we never caught the mastermind behind Dusty Gate, but be on your guard for anyone suspicious. This mastermind is clever, cunning and clearly knows the ins and outs of our prison system. I want everyone to be on high alert!” Celestia commanded.

Every guard in the hallway with her gave a salute before Celestia nodded to dismiss them. “I want guards on every cell from here on out. Not a single cell is without a guard. I also want the entrance protected as well.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Another group of guards chanted as they raised their hooves in a salute.

“With the magic jammer here, only I should be able to use magic… That means our culprit will need to rely on whit and cunningness,” Celestia thought out loud once more.

“Alright, break! Everyone to your posts!” Celestia commanded.

With those words, the entire group sped off toward their assigned stations to follow the orders they had been given.

At first, she was a tad concerned, but the more time that passed, the more she found herself at ease. She had the best security team in the world; the Canterlot Royal Guard were the finest that Equestria had to offer, and with her there personally, it would likely scare off any would-be prison breakers, or at the very least they would be giving themselves right to her.

Celestia decided it was time to go speak with the pony in charge of the prison. Making her way down several halls and then finally up a flight or two of stairs, she came to an office with a name etched on the door: Warden Shift Lockup.

Nodding, Celestia pushed the door open to go and meet with the warden. The middle-aged mare peeked from the corner of her eye to see the Princess enter, but their attention remained out the window of their office, looking down at their guards working their rounds down below.

Warden Shift Lockup was always known for being a stern pony, one who lacked much in the way of manners or people skills, but she had a strong sense of justice and extreme diligence which made her the perfect candidate to lead the most secure prison in all of Equestria. Celestia often found herself feeling awkward whenever the two did have to meet, but she knew that Shift always meant well. What she lacked in social etiquette she made up for in results.

“Your majesty,” Shift responded, not even turning to face the Princess.

Celestia examined the mare’s grey coat and shining yellow mane tied up in a messy bun with a set of pencils held in it. It was difficult to tell how old Shift actually was, due to her job putting much stress on her, she looked far older. If Celestia had to guess she’d say she was in her 80s or so, which was a moderately considerable age for a pegasus.

“Ms. Lockup, it’s a pleasure as always.” Celestia bowed.

The mare waved a dismissive hoof. “Please, it’s Warden here. No offense, your highness, but I need my men to all see me as the warden even with you here, so I insist that everyone call me Warden.”

Celestia blinked, she had forgotten how “all business”, Shift was.

“Right… Of course…”

“I apologize if I come off as disrespectful… Politeness was never my forte…” Shift stated, finally turning to face the princess with a smile on her face.

Celestia nodded as her eyes were drawn to the small scar on the mare’s lower lip. It was a tiny cut that she had obtained sometime back in her days as a royal guard. Celestia recalled she mentioned that the one who gave it to her got far worse. After that, she was always too nervous to ask any further. Despite being just a pegasus, Shift Lockup was scary even to an alicorn like Celestia.

“It’s alright… You’re married to your work, I know… Though it may not kill you to get a coltfriend…” Celestia chuckled.

Shift’s expression returned to one of seriousness. “Are you assigning me one, ma’am?”

Celestia blinked. “Huh? Oh… No… Of course not…”

Shift nodded in approval. “Should you decide that is in my mission plan, I will gladly accept.”

“You’re free to choose your own coltfriend, Warden.” Celestia giggled.

The Warden nodded. “Thank you, truthfully, I wouldn’t even know what to do with one anyway…”

“Evidently…” Celestia smirked.

“So, preparations have been made. The prison is secure, there isn’t a criminal in Equestria dumb enough to try and break into here… I would say you can return to your duties in the castle, your majesty,” Shift informed as she sat down at her desk.

Celestia bit her lip and shook her head. “No, I shall be staying here until we catch the culprit… There is… A unique possibility that I have to know for sure…”

“Unique possibility?” Shift raised a brow and leaned in with intrigue. “Go on…”

Letting out a sigh, Celestia decided it was best to let the warden in on what she knew. “Yes… Well… There is apparently a possibility that this mastermind behind the first prison break… Is working for a demon…”

“A demon, you say? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in person…” The Warden admitted.

Celestia shook her head. “And pray that you don’t. They’re awful creatures, capable of mass destruction wherever they go, and very difficult to defeat… If it really is a demon… You’re going to need me here…”

“The magic suppression field should make their powers useless…” The Warden countered.

“I’m afraid not, Warden. Demons use dark magic, which isn’t affected by our suppression field. They will be able to march right in…” Celestia informed.

“I guess that just means we’ll have to be extra cautious… Not that I’m not all the time anyway that is…” Shift grinned, taking pride in her extreme paranoia.

Celestia rolled her eyes but breathed a few times to try and calm herself. If a demon truly was among their midst, she needed to be on her guard. She had only encountered demons a few times, technically her sister was one at one point, but they were able to push most of the darkness out of her. Sadly though, once one let darkness into them, there was no known way to completely erase it.

Fortunately, Celestia knew that so long as one never gave back into the dark energy in them, they would be fine, however, she understood it was a powerful lure.

The entire matter was complex, and most of it even she didn’t understand, but she knew that demons were dangerous.

“Your highness… What exactly can a demon do? I think it would be wise to tell me so that I know what to prepare my men for…” The Warden cleared her throat.

A frown came to Celestia’s face as she shook her head. “Unfortunately… I don’t know… All demons are different and there are many varieties… Predicting what kind of abilities they have is… Next to impossible. The study of dark magic was outlawed long ago due to the risks involved. Many magic scientists began to become obsessed with dark magic when they studied it, to the point where many were considering trying to harness its power for themselves…”

“The fiends…” Shift shook her head in disgust.

Celestia nodded in agreement. “For the sake of Equestria, we put an outlaw on all study of dark magic and it has remained in effect since then… I had hoped the reduced exposure to it would limit its spread…”

“An admirable effort, your majesty. However, what should we do if this demon proves too strong for even you?” The Warden asked, raising the question that both of them wanted the answer to.

Gulping, Celestia shook her head. “I doubt they will be that strong, but if they are… As we speak, I am preparing for that possible scenario… I can’t tell you, or anypony for that matter, but rest assured… I have a backup plan.”

The Warden smiled and came to a stand. “If the words are leaving your mouth, I have no fear. You have always been a fine tactician, your majesty. I am confident that with you leading us, we will be more than okay.”

“Thank you for the vote of confidence, Warden… I think I needed it right now… I’m feeling… a bit worried, that’s all…” Celestia admitted.

Shift shook her head and smiled. “You needn’t worry your majesty, the best of the best are on the job.”

Almost as if on cue, a banging on the Warden’s door began, causing Shift’s expression to quickly return to her “all business” demeanor. “Come in!” She commanded.

The door opened and a young guard stood there frantically panting before raising his hoof in a salute which the Warden returned. “Ma’am, we have a situation… Eight of the prisoners have escaped!”

“What!? That’s impossible! Where are they?” The Warden cursed as she marched in his direction.

The guard shook his head. “We don’t know ma’am, they vanished from their cells when I came to make my run. The guards watching them were still standing there!”

“How do eight prisoners just randomly disappear with guards watching their every move? I want those guards brought to this office right now!” Shift commanded with a stomp of her front hoof.

The guard frowned and looked away with a sheepish look on his face. “Well… That is to say…”

“Spit it out, soldier!” She grunted as she came inches from him.

“Ma’am… When I came back around after looking for the escaped inmates… The guards that were supposed to be watching them were gone too… Nopony has been able to find them either…” He informed.

“Damn it!” Shift cursed before looking back at the Princess bowing. “My apologies for using such language…”

“It’s fine… So we have a situation then?” Celestia asked.

“It would appear so…” Shift admitted.

“Well there’s no time to waste then, I’ll get down to the ground level and help sniff out what’s going on.” Celestia stood up.

Shift nodded in agreement. “I couldn’t agree more… Let’s both get down there and find those missing guard and inmates, and maybe find our demon…”

Celestia chuckled as she followed Shift out of the office. “It sounds like you’re excited…” She admitted.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen action, but a part of you never truly dies even when you get into a desk job like me…” She grinned.

“Let’s hope for the demon’s sake you don’t find them before I do…” Celestia smirked.

“There won’t be anything left to find if that happens…” The Warden informed.

Celestia and Warden Shift Lockup managed to make it down to the cells where criminals were held in the basement floor with relative ease. The prison had been designed so that even if criminals managed to get out, they would still have to ascend upward to get out, making escape nearly impossible unless they could overpower every guard that would be waiting for them on the way up.

Somehow though, those who were once caged managed to make it out without so much as a trace, and the guards that were supposed to be guarding them were nowhere to be found.

Reaching the cells, Celestia blinked and paused as she noticed something odd. “Warden… Where are your men?”

The warden blinked as she noticed that every single guard she had placed down in the cells was missing, there wasn’t a soul in the room guarding the prisoners. “That’s not the only problem… All of the inmates are gone…” The Warden pointed out.

It was true, every single cell was open, and the only ponies down in the basement were Celestia and the Warden.

Celestia trotted up to one of the cages and examined it closely. “That’s odd…” She blinked.

“What?” The Warden asked with a puzzled look as she too stepped closer.

“These cells… They’ve been opened… And not by force… Somepony just put the key in and unlocked them…” Celestia explained.

“A mutiny then!” The Warden hissed. “How dare they! They will regret double crossing Shift Lockup!” She growled.

“Come on! We can probably still catch them if we hurry!” She gestured up to the staircase as she bolted ahead of Celestia, racing up the stairs in record time.

Following behind at a slower pace, Celestia paused at the top step of the stairs, thinking for a moment before her brain clicked with what might be going on. Hastily she ran up and shouted after the Warden. “Warden! Stop it might be a-“

There at the top of the steps was Warden Shift Lockup standing with glowing red eyes, an empty expression on her face as the rest of the guards started to surround the staircase that Celestia was standing on, each of them having the same blank expression, the same glowing red eyes.

Celestia blinked and peered around until a cloaked pony stepped out from the crowd, the group moving out of the way to allow them to stand before Celestia. The pony was perhaps only a hair shorter than average height, but their white hooves reached up and removed their hood to reveal golden yellow wild curly mane. It was so long that it draped on the floor when her hood was removed.

The mane had reddened tips and was perhaps the most full and thick mane she had ever seen. With that mane was a pair of vivid amaranth eyes shining back at the Princess.

She had a soft face, one that was youthful and attractive that went along well with the glowing red amulet around her neck.

Celestia blinked as she realized what she was. “Y-you’re… A siren…”

The girl nodded. “Very good, but that’s not all I am…” She grinned as black shadowy tendrils extended from her shadow on the floor, looming over Celestia until they wrapped around her body and held her in place. Struggle as she might, it was no use.

“You’re a demon too…” She managed to get out between grunts.

The young mare nodded once more. “Very good… You’re on fire today… My name is Serenade Dazzle… You killed my sister… And now I’ve come to repay you all for that…”

Say hello to our big bad.