Celestia walked carefully as the rattling of chains echoed through the halls of her own castle. Chains that were now attached to her own hooves, chains that were limiting her mobility as she was marched along with a group of eight royal guards, unable to hear or obey a word she commanded. She had tried to persuade them to listen to her and release her, but it was no use; the demon siren’s influence over them was far too strong.

Serenade Dazzle had placed a magic jamming ring upon Celestia’s horn and ordered the guards under her control to hold her in a cell in the basement of the castle until she sent for them after they broke all of the inmates out of the prison. They were able to take over the castle in only a matter of minutes after that. Celestia would spend the next eight hours locked in that very cell until another guard appeared with orders directly from Serenade to bring her to the throne room, and to make sure she was guarded on all sides.

Celestia looked around the group around her seeing if there was some kind of opening where she could make a break for it. Even without magic, she was still more than a match for a few guards. One of them looked over at her and shook his head as they walked, clearly already figuring out what she was planning.

“I wouldn’t even try that if I were you…” He stated.

“Try what?” Celestia feigned innocence.

The guard grew a sinister look on his face. “Our orders were if you make a break for it or try anything funny, or you do not make it to the throne room in the next for minutes to kill everyone in this castle.”

Celestia blinked. “Leave them alone! It’s me you want, leave them all out of it!”

“Orders are orders, Master Serenade demands we do it, and we will obey…” He replied, his tone reeking of brainwashing.

Celestia ordinarily would have called the bluff, but she had dealt with demons before. They often were not the best to test as they usually held true to their threats. Mass murder was not beneath them, and they weren’t exactly the best at getting an upper hoof in negotiations with. Their threats being retracted usually came at a great price, and there was little doubt in Celestia’s mind that that was what Serenade wished to speak with her in the throne room about.

Of all the ponies in Equestria, Celestia knew the most about demons, but Twilight Sparkle knew more about sirens due to her first hoof experience with them. The problem with demons, however, was there were so many types of them. It was difficult to tell what type of demon Serenade even was, so Celestia had no way to know what she was up against.

Dark magic manifested in every creature differently. It usually reflected what their inner most desires were, or rather what negative quality usually made them become a demon in the first place, so it was hard to tell what kind of demon or powers Serenade would have.

The walk to the throne room felt like it took eons, Every step rattled the chains on Celestia’s hooves, every step made anxiety in her build up. Eventually, they came to the doors that normally would bring her to her throne room, but this time, upon opening them, Celestia would see golden curly mane with red tips and a pristine white coat sitting in her normal spot, piercing amaranth eyes staring at Celestia from across the room.

The mare cleared her throat and gestured with her head to the guards. “Come closer…”

They saluted her and began the trek down the carpet of the throne room, eventually stopping and bowing before the mare seated in the elegant looking throne. For Celestia, it felt like she was being violated, watching this demon sit in her throne. She refused to bow, she stood in defiance.

“So, you refuse to bow to me then?” Serenade raised a brow, her scowl still harsh on her face as she did so.

“I’d never bow to the likes of you…” Celestia responded.

“Defiant… Admirable, but… Mistaken…” Serenade smirked before a black shadowy tendril came out of her back, reaching forward and grabbing Celestia by the throat, lifting her off the ground.

The chains on her hooves prevented her from being able to remove the tendril which held her there and squeezed her windpipe. The Princess gasped and kicked as she struggled to breathe before the tendril dropped her onto the floor where she began a coughing fit.

“My advice to you… Don’t anger me… My mind is full of ideas… Ideas that would be far worse fates than death itself… Care to try one?” Serenade tilted her head.

When Celestia composed herself, she could sense something from when the tendril and her body made contact. She could sense just how much anger and hatred this mare possessed. If anything, she knew that she was not one to bluff by that motion alone.

“Perish the thought… What brings a siren to my kingdom?” Celestia asked.

“Straight to business then? Very well… As I said… I am the sister of Adagio Dazzle, a siren that your kind murdered.” She hissed and stressed that last word to make sure the point came across.

Celestia shook her head. “Murdered? I’m afraid there has been some kind of mistake… She was executed for murder…”

“The murder of a mortal, right?” Serenade asked.

“Yes…?” Celestia raised a brow wondering how she knew about any of this.

“I read the entire file that your Princess Twilight Sparkle prepared… In great detail too, I might add… There is no murder here…” Serenade shook her head in disagreement.

“How do you figure that?” Celestia asked.

Serenade grinned a sinister grin. “The life of a mortal is worthless. Taking their life is no loss of value, naturally…”

“So you think it’s okay to kill anypony then?” Celestia asked, a bit of tenseness in her voice.

Serenade nodded as she stood up. “I already have. When I came to take this castle, I gave your guards a choice… Willfully submit to my power… Or die… The good majority of them chose death…”

“You didn’t!” Celestia shook her head.

“They’re being loaded into a pile to be cremated right now… I have no use for those weaklings anyway…” Serenade shrugged.

“You’re a monster!” Celestia hissed.

Serenade stood from her throne and thrust forward with lightning speed, her tendrils grew out of nowhere from her back and tangled Celestia’s body in their mighty grip, squeezing tightly. “Call me that again… And you shall join them… Do we understand each other?”

“Drop dead…” Celestia replied, “you don’t scare me.”

“I don’t?” Serenade asked curiously.

“Not one bit…” Celestia spoke.

Serenade nodded and let the mare down onto the ground. “That’s good… It’ll make breaking you more fun…”

The siren slowly trotted back to the throne and lifted herself up via her tendrils which all then began to recede back into her body and vanished from sight. It was actually relatively remarkable. When she wasn’t using them, there wasn’t even a sign that they were there. The appendages appeared to be made out of pure shadow itself, translucent, but somehow capable of touching and holding things. Were they not turned against her, Celestia would be fascinated and she knew that Celestia would have a field day studying them, granted dark magic study was forbidden.

“What is your end goal with this, Serenade? You know you can’t get away with this…” Celestia informed.

Serenade chuckled and shook her head. “Actually… I probably will. I have a plan after all…”

“And what is that plan?” Celestia raised a brow.

“Like I’d tell you all the details, I’m far from that stupid, but the end goal is to take over Equestria…” She smirked.

“It’ll never work… What do you hope to gain by taking control of Equestria?” Celestia growled.

Serenade shook her head. “So many questions… For a Princess, you’re not that smart. See, I plan on establishing a new world order. A world where mortals finally pay for their crimes… Where mortals finally get the punishments they so deserve for all the chaos and destruction they’ve wrought. As for me… I will be the one who delivers that justice…”

“Why though?” Celestia asked.

“You didn’t think your time would be forever, did you? That you could lord over the world and treat those of us who are different like we’re nothing but trash to be thrown away for all time? No… Sorry, but the world is changing… I am bringing about that change…” Serenade explained confidently.

Celestia chuckled at her mad quest, shaking her head.

“And what is so funny?” Serenade asked.

“You may have been able to overpower me and take me by surprise, but you’ll never defeat the other Princesses…” Celestia mocked.

Serenade came to a stand and gestured with her hoof for the guards to disperse. Bowing their heads, they did as they were instructed as quickly as they could comply while Serenade approached Celestia, he expression turning darker and more sinister than before. She had a look in her eye that screamed of pure contempt, like just looking at Celestia made the anger in her boil hotter than before. There was no doubt about it, this mare despised mortals.

“That is where you’re wrong…” Serenade spoke in an almost whisper tone as she came to Celestia’s ear.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Celestia mocked.

“With your magic…” Serenade grinned.

“You’ll never be able to control me…” Celestia shook her head as she grew a confident grin.

“I don’t need to…” Serenade whispered as she stepped backward and a tendril came out of her back.

“W-what!?” Celestia blinked.

Serenade stood as the tendril reached over and gripped Celestia’s horn tightly. She could feel it squeezing down on the appendage tightly. There was a certain feeling of being violated that came with being touched by the dark magic that emitted from the thing, a feeling of wrongness just from it being so close to one’s body. She could sense its sinister intent, she could sense how much worse damage it wished it was permitted to do like the thing had a life of its own and was only obeying its master.

“You see… I’m not just any demon… I’m an absorber. Meaning… I can take magic from anyone I so choose… Including you,” Serenade explained.

“Serenade… You’re sick… Very sick… Please, let us help you…” Celestia tried to coax the girl.

Serenade growled and shook her head. “I don’t accept help from disgusting mortals… Besides, you’re the one who looks like they’re in dire need of help right now…”

After she said those words a sharp pain went through Celestia’s body as she could feel the energy being sucked out of her. The experience was both exhausting and painful, causing her to scream in agony as the magic exited through her horn and was sucked into Serenade’s body through her dark tendril.

“Ahhhhh!” Celestia screamed as the final bit was pulled out of her, collapsing as she was finished being drained.

Serenade laughed as she returned to her throne. “I feel stronger already… Once I have the other Princesses’ magic… I can begin draining all of Equestria… Soon there won’t be an ounce of magic that doesn’t belong to me… I will gain all the magic in Equestria, and then I shall use it to make mortals pay…”

Celestia coughed and struggled to stand, but found herself surrounded by guards. “But don’t worry, Celestia… I don’t intend to leave any loose ends… You’re going to be kept in a place where no one can find you. A place where you won’t be able to help anyone… I would kill you, but you may serve some use to me alive, therefore I won’t kill you for now… Guards… Take her away!” Serenade commanded with a stomp of her hoof.

They saluted and began to follow the order, pulling Celestia up, despite her body’s protest. She looked back at the mare who had stolen her throne. Only one thought going through her mind.

Twilight… I pray you finish your training soon…

A meeting with Starlight Glimmer was arranged on Twilight’s behalf by Princess Luna. The two were to meet at Twilight’s Castle in Ponyville in the war room. Luna had returned from a trip to Fillydalphia where she was away seeing to royal matters while Celestia spent her time protecting the Royal Canterlot Prison. To everyone’s surprise, however, that plan didn’t exactly go as well as they had hoped.

The news that her sister had been kidnapped by some kind of demon siren reached Luna the next morning, and right away she called for a meeting with Starlight Glimmer to discuss the situation. She also gave the order to send Starlight all the information they had available at the time so she was up to speed.

A quick flight and eight hours later, the two were walking through the halls of Twilight’s castle, making their way to the war room, sitting down with each other as they looked across the table, Starlight organizing some papers she had brought with her.

“I appreciate you meeting me on such short notice, Starlight Glimmer… I understand these are trying times indeed…” Luna began.

Starlight raised a hoof and shook it. “Don’t mention it. The moment I heard what had happened, I dropped everything I was doing and came right here. You caught me before I left to attend to a matter if Trottingham, so you got lucky.”

“I wouldn’t consider anything regarding our current situation, lucky, Ms. Glimmer…” Luna frowned.

Starlight slumped a bit in her seat and nodded. “Yes… Of course… I was just trying to…”

“Count our blessings where they may be.” Luna finished her sentence for her, “admirable quality, Ms. Glimmer. One that my sister is very fond of as well…”

That statement perked Starlight back up just a little.

“So, let’s get down to business then, shall we?” Starlight smiled.

Luna nodded in agreement as she placed her hooves on the table. “Yes, let’s.”

“So, I spent the last few hours gathering intel and looking over what we already knew. I had a few ponies over in Canterlot who managed to get some additional information for me without being caught. It turns out our siren friend is named Serenade Dazzle…” Starlight began.

Luna blinked in disbelief. “You mean…”

Starlight nodded. “Yes, the sister of Adagio Dazzle… I would put my money on that she isn’t exactly very happy that her sister was put to death either…”

“Who would have ever guessed she would show her face…” Luna looked away, a bit ashamed of herself for not considering the possibility when the trial went down. At the time, they never considered anyone would want to avenge a siren.

“Unfortunately, as suspected… This siren is also a demon… A powerful one at that…” Starlight informed.

Luna turned back to face Starlight. “What kind of abilities does this creature have?”

Starlight flipped through some notes in front of her and looked for the information being asked of her before reciting something written in her notes. “According to this… She can absorb magic, and drain it right from a pony at will…”

“It’s like a siren on steroids then…” Luna shook her head.

“I have a good suspicion that Celestia has likely already been drained then…” Starlight said before blushing and correcting her wording. “I mean… I’m sorry… I shouldn’t talk like that regarding your sister…”

Luna dismissed her with the wave of her hoof. “The situation is dire, there is no need to dress things up in pleasantries and tip-toe around one’s feelings. We must address the matter as leaders, others will be looking toward us for guidance from here on out, and they expect sternness from us.”

Starlight had to admit, she was a bit jealous of how Luna could manage to keep her cool when she knew that her sister could be in a dungeon somewhere, suffering at the hooves on Serenade. Then again, she could merely be the type who bottles all her emotions up so as to not break the illusion of the strong princess that ponies had come to expect from her.

“Yes… Of course…” Starlight nodded. “We don’t know much about demons, and unfortunately that means we are unsure of what kind of tools Serenade has at her disposal… Not to mention with Celestia as a hostage, that makes the matter far more complicated…”

“I doubt she would stay in Canterlot anyway…” Luna said.

Starlight tilted her head in confusion. “Huh? Why not? Wouldn’t she want to protect her hostage, thus her leverage from being taken back?”

Luna shook her head. “If she already has Celestia’s magic, she isn’t useful to her as a hostage anymore… Not to mention if you had that kind of power at your disposal, you are not going to let your henchmen do all the work for you… You will begin a frontal assault yourself…”

“You think so?” Starlight blinked.

“In war, one who does not care about casualties or damage would be best served to use their deadliest weapons as early and as frequently as possible… Given the report showing how many were killed in her attack… Serenade doesn’t care if she has to kill half the population to get what she wants…” Luna sighed.

That sadly made sense. Starlight recalled how many of the royal guards at the palace were killed, along with reports that others under Serenade’s control burned their bodies out in the open. After that, it was only a matter of hours before she controlled all of Canterlot.

Once she had established control over the city, she put up a barrier and a strict no one in, no one out policy. They had tried to shut down the barrier, but there was nothing that could tamper with its demonic energy. From that point onward, all intel ceased, and there was no information on what was happening to the citizens, though Starlight could hazard a few guesses, all unpleasant.

“Unfortunately, Serenade doesn’t have to play by the rules… And that gives her a distinct advantage… She doesn’t have to worry about things like morale, or casualties… She can force any to serve her if she wants…” Luna shook her head.

“She doesn’t have a large army though, Equestria does. We still outnumber her!” Starlight stated.

Luna sighed and closed her eyes. “For now…”

“What do you mean?” Starlight raised a brow.

Luna chuckled as she shook her head. “It’s obvious what Serenade’s plan is… She intends to get all the power of all the Princesses and likely all of Equestria… With Celestia’s power already in her hooves, her influence will only grow. As we speak she is likely turning more to her will… We can not simply attack them either, they are citizens being controlled against their will… She knows this, and she knows we wouldn’t slaughter our own innocent civilians…”

“She intends to defeat us using our morals…?” Starlight questioned.

Luna nodded. “Indeed. If it comes to it, we will defend ourselves, but the decision to kill citizens that are not even serving Serenade of their own free will won’t be a popular one…”

Starlight sighed and nodded. “So we’re on the defense then?”

“Yes, but maybe we can get lucky here…” Luna placed a hoof on her chin and rubbed as a plan started brewing in her mind.

“Ma’am?” Starlight asked.

Luna allowed the idea to stew for a moment before the details all started to become clear to her. She could feel it start to make sense in her mind, and when she had it, she nodded and began to explain.

“If we can anticipate her next move… We can catch her ourselves… If we can ensnare her then…”

“Then we can avoid killing the majority under her control!” Starlight followed with a nod.

Luna nodded back at her friend. “Exactly… Cut the head off and the body will fall too… If we can stop Serenade then we can break the control over her minions… Assuming this plan works…”

“It has to work!” Starlight banged her hooves on the table.

Luna gestured for her to settle down. “The problem is… With as many as the population of Canterlot under her control… Serenade already has a sizable army at her disposal. While I know she will keep many back to protect her stronghold in Canterlot, she still has many who she can send elsewhere… If she manages to take control of another city… She will slowly begin to break up our military forces… She can also smash morale… Words are already traveling about an immortal demon siren through Equestria… It won’t be long before many are too afraid to serve… Some may even begin to follow Serenade willingly…”

“No one would ever do that!” Starlight defended, wanting to believe the ponies of Equestria were better than that; that they would never serve such a monster willingly.

Luna shook her head. “Fear can do many things. When ponies wish for the safety of themselves and their loved ones… They will side with whoever they feel the victor will be… That is why we must clean this mess up as quickly as possible.”

“And if we don’t?” Starlight gulped, not really wanting to hear the answer.

Luna shook her head. “I pray we don’t have to consider that possibility… We must keep our heads up high and keep focused. We can overcome this if we are diligent… Our strength will come from our unwavering passion for victory… Serenade will see that.”

Her determination was admirable to Starlight. With Luna on their side, Starlight knew they stood a formidable chance against even a demon siren. She was strong willed and calculating. While Celestia was always stern when she needed to be, Luna was clearly the expert when it came to tactics and protecting Equestria. Celestia was the face of Equestria, and Luna was the sword and shield.

That meant that Starlight had to do her part as well.

“By the way… Twilight Sparkle… Where is she in her training? I mean… How far along is she that is?” Luna changed the subject.

Starlight blinked. “Oh… Well, she started about eight weeks ago, but I imagine it’s progressing along just fine… No signs of anything going wrong yet… So all is going according to plan thus far…”

“Who is observing her training area right now?” Luna raised a brow.

“That matter is on Spike at the moment. Only a select few know where the training ground is, and thus we can’t exactly put guards there. We’ve kept it secret mostly by letting as few as possible know about it. While some documents in the Castle mention it, it is never spoken where its actual location is, that information is passed only by word of mouth, naturally… But you already knew that…” Starlight blushed as she realized she was reciting royal secrets to a member of royalty that was already privy to them.

Luna nodded. “I am tasking the both of you with keeping her safe… We will need Twilight in the coming days more than likely… Her newfound abilities would certainly prove useful in this upcoming fight. I pray we won’t need her, but we may need every advantage at our disposal now… This demon looks like she is not going to rest until she has taken all of Equestria… Her power is tremendous, and therefore we can’t take any chances…”

“Twilight won’t let us down… I know she won’t…” Starlight smiled, confident in her mentor’s abilities. When Twilight said she was going to do something, she gave it her all. There wasn’t anything in the world that Twilight only gave 80% on.

Luna smiled back and nodded. “She is not known for letting others down, that is for sure…”

Coming to a stand, Luna adjusted herself and bowed. “I shall take my leave then…”

“Where are you going?” Starlight blinked.

“The Crystal Empire… I shall meet with Cadence and Shining Armor and then I am off to Manehatten…” She explained.

“Manehatten? Why?” Starlight asked.

“Serenade wants to build an army, she will attack the most populated areas first as they hold more ponies to ‘recruit’ so to speak. I intend to make it difficult for her… Plus we will need a new stronghold now that Canterlot has fallen to her influence…” Luna explained.

It was about what Starlight expected from a tactician such as Luna. She stood and bowed. “Good luck, your highness.”

Luna nodded. “Thank you, I am certain I’ll need all the luck I can get… Let us hope that Twilight comes back to us soon…”

“I’ll do everything in my power to make sure her training goes uninterrupted.” Starlight bowed again.

“See to it that you do, Starlight Glimmer,” Luna replied. “For all of our sakes…”

Sitting on her throne, Serenade flipped through some books she had stolen from the Canterlot Royal Archives, learning all she could before she made her next move. She knew that she would need to be clever, and prepared for anything that the rest of the royal family would throw at her. She needed to know how much of her powers they understood and what counter-measures they had put in place. Not to mention, she was taking some time to savor the fact that she could now do whatever she pleased and she wasn’t restricted by the fact she was a siren.

She felt empowered, bold, and fierce as she sat there in Princess Celestia’s throne, which now belonged to her. Though the more she looked at it, the more she felt it was not a throne befitting a queen such as herself. She made a mental note that when she was finished with her plan that she would have the entire castle redecorated to her liking. After all, a queen did not serve with hand-me-downs from the previous ruler.

Looking around the room, she could already see herself in stained glass windows that at the moment were tacky and decorated with portraits of the other princesses and the supposed “elements of harmony”. All of it would have to go.

Much to her pleasure, it looked like there wasn’t much research being done on dark magic or demons thanks to it being outlawed some time ago. Apparently, Equestria feared the temptation that researching dark magic would bring, which meant that the defenses for it likely were minimal. They were only prepared to fight demons in their infancy stages, or ones who were foolhardy enough to fall for obvious tricks.

Serenade, however, she was far more powerful than that. She had spent decades harnessing her powers, and after 80 years, she was confident that she was more than a match for most unicorns. With Celestia’s power on her side now though, she knew she was even stronger than before. The odds of even the other princesses being able to take her were slim to none.

Still, the entire matter required proper planning, tact, and clever thinking. Celestia may have walked right into her trap, but Serenade wasn’t foolish enough to believe that the other princesses would do the same so easily. She needed their magic, and it was likely that by now they were all aware of this fact, so they were taking extra precautions to prevent her from advancing from her current position.

She smiled as she thought of it all as just one big game of chess. She had taken down a powerful piece, but she had many more to topple over before she could assume her victory. It was far too early to get cocky. She knew what happened to sirens who got too greedy too quickly, and Serenade was not about to end up like them. She knew she would need to be on her guard at all times and assume everything that came to her too easily was not by accident.

Her eyes focused back on the documents before her as she continued to examine them. Interestingly enough, she found an entry from Clover the Clever that piqued her interest, one regarding demons.

Recently a ban on demonic research and all research of dark magic has come into effect. However, I believe this will be Equestria’s undoing. While a few have fallen victim to the temptation of dark magic and had to be taken care of, I believe this is merely a knee-jerk reaction to ban all research on the subject. I had met with the royal family many times and proposed a different solution: a vetting process and strict guidelines for handling and researching dark magic and demons. Sadly, my proposal has been met with denial many times over, but I remain hopeful that they will eventually see how important this research is for Equestria. If not… I am forced to comply with their ruling.

I am going to put the basics of my finding in this document along with my old research notes in the hopes that eventually they will see the importance of this work and need to go back to it.

Dark Magic appears to hold some kind of power over those who give into it. It creates two base classes of demons, pure and impure. Pure demons are those who welcome darkness directly into their heart, they give in fully and completely. Interestingly enough they seem to retain their original shape for the most part, albeit they often can change the shape of their body using their newfound powers. I’ve never gotten the opportunity to study one for very long, so I am uncertain of what the longterm effects of being a pure demon are.

As far as I can tell, they are impervious to most forms of conventional attacks, they can not age, nor can they die of disease or illness. Their body seems to be revitalized by darkness, giving them extended life, though I am not sure if this makes them completely immortal or just long-lived.

These creatures seem to be capable of feats that would ordinarily be impossible by conventional magic, and they seem to be able to do them with ease. Teleportation, for example, is normally a type of magic that would take nearly a decade of practice and training to achieve, yet some demons apparently can travel instantaneously without any effort at all, though not all of them as their abilities seem to vary from demon to demon.

Then there is impure demons. As far as I know, it is possible to become a demon without fully accepting darkness into one’s heart. This results in an impure demon being formed, and while I have not had any first-hoof experience with this kind of demonification, I have interviewed many who claim to have witnessed it. I am not even entirely sure it’s a real thing as I have no documented evidence of it that proves it, only accounts with bits of information. No photographs, no live specimens, nothing. I suppose it becomes somewhat a matter of faith… How much does one believe these old accounts?

All I can be certain of with impure demons is there is no real way to know what kind of powers they have or what they are capable of in comparison to pure demons. Their origins remain a mystery, along with their abilities. I am not even confident that their lifespans are extended as all evidence that I have been able to find on them would suggest the exact opposite. They remain elusive creatures, but I suspect they live among us in secret. It is very possible that they have learned ways to hide their powers and for whatever reason regret their transformation so they suppress their abilities and try to continue to live normal lives; it’s a theory, anyway.

If the order of the royal family is to cease all research, then I pray that this note and these records survive. My mentor, Starswirl, he has been gone for many decades now, and I too have grown old. As I write this, I am approaching death’s door, so it’s not as if I would have the time to continue this research on my own anyway. I leave this along with the remainder of my research, all I have accomplished in my life so that maybe one day it could serve to benefit the ponies of Equestria. I hope my efforts are not in vain. I hope that Equestria will reconsider if that is the case. Don’t let this dying pony’s wish be lost in the sands of time.

Starswirl… If I ever see you again… If you ever read this, I’m sorry. I did my best to continue our work. I did all I could to dedicate the remainder of my life to advancing magic and understanding the universe… I hope it was enough. I hope it has some benefit to the world.

Clover the Clever

Serenade rolled her eyes at how sappy the last two paragraphs came off, but did find interest in flipping through the notes attached. While Clover’s documentation was detailed and lengthy, it seemed as though, as Serenade expected, he didn’t know much about demons. It was all rudimentary stuff, certainly nothing that would give Equestria any kind of edge over her.

She smiled and set the notes aside with a grin as she ran a hoof through her mane and brushed it against her horn. Her unicorn form had been fitting for her takeover of Equestria, it made it far easier to slip around without being detected, and truthfully she had come to prefer this form as time went on, after all, she spent a majority of her time in this form.

Clearing her throat, she yelled loudly through the halls. “ARAX!? WHERE ARE YOU!?”

Like clockwork, a young cloaked changeling ran down the halls to stand before her. Upon seeing her, he bowed as she offered her hoof. He took it in his own and planted a kiss upon it before looking up at her.

“Yes, master?” He asked with a plain expression, waiting for his master’s instructions.

For as long as Serenade knew him, Arax was far from the most emotive changeling she had ever met.

“Have you prepared all the prisoners in the dungeon to be drained of their magic, Arax?” She asked with a raised brow.

He nodded. “Yes, every magic user in Canterlot has been rounded up and placed in the dungeon down below. It took some time to find all the stragglers, but I’m confident we got every single one… They are ready to be drained whenever you are ready, ma’am.”

Serenade’s expression returned to one of eagerness and delight. “Excellent work… I knew I made the right choice in making you my right hoof. As always, I am impressed by your diligence… Keep it up and you will certainly be the first to reap the ultimate reward… In fact, your actions bring us just a small step closer to it being in all of our grasps…”

He bowed respectfully at his master. “Thank you, ma’am. It is an honor to hear you say that. Shall I take you to the ponies in the dungeon to be drained of their magic right away then?”

She nodded and offered her hoof. “You read my mind; lead the way.”

Arax took the mare’s hoof carefully and gently guided her down the halls, striking up a conversation as he did. “So, what is the point of draining these weak ponies? None of them are on a level with the princesses…”

“It’s called strategy, Arax… Pay attention long enough and you may learn it, in war, one must make sure they stack the deck in their favor as much as possible, even when the odds are already in your favor,” Serenade replied plainly as they walked.

“I’m… Not sure I follow…” He admitted.

Serenade sighed, realizing she would have to explain everything to her henchmen. “It’s simple really… I’m killing two birds with one stone…”

“Ma’am?” Arax asked.

“I will have an even bigger competitive edge over the other princesses this way. They assume I will only be coming with my own power and Celestia’s… When in reality I’m adding the entire population of Canterlot into that mixture…” Serenade explained.

“And the second benefit?” Arax raised a brow.

She shook her head. “You really need to focus, Arax. Think about it… With all the magic in the city drained… I’m ensuring that no one is going to challenge me, no one would be so foolish after this. Once all the magic in the whole world is mine…”

“You’ll be unstoppable, master.” Arax smiled.

“Precisely… Now you’re catching on, my pet…” She reached over and ran a hoof along his jawline. Arax simply nodded in agreement as he continued to lead his master to the basement where magic was ready for gathering.

Rainbow Dash stood with Spike and Starlight looking own at the Royal Training area, putting her face up to the glass, trying to see through the thick black fog down below, but to no avail.

“So there’s no way we can even get in there?” Rainbow asked, still trying in vain to see what was happening.

Starlight shook her head. “No. The door is sealed by magic, and even if we could get in there, it’d probably be dangerous… Right now Twilight is undergoing one of the most precise and dangerous training methods known to our kind. It’s a delicate procedure and if she messed up she would have to either start all over again, or…”

“Or what?” Rainbow raised a brow, finally taking her face off of the thick glass.

“She could die…” Starlight finished that sentence with a frown.

Unfazed, Rainbow nodded and looked back through the window.

“I can’t believe she’s down there with Discord of all people… I mean she’s spent over two months in there with him… I’d go crazy after fifteen minutes with the guy…” Rainbow shook her head.

“Twilight knows what she’s doing, and training with Discord could give her a bit of an edge. Serenade is a calculating and manipulative creature… She is counting on exploiting every weakness we have to conquer Equestria… We have to throw her a curve-ball, and that means Twilight will need a few lessons in… Unpredictability…” Starlight nodded as she recalled what Twilight had told her.

Rainbow paused and looked back at Starlight and Spike. “Hey… Is it true… That she turned all of Canterlot into her slaves…?”

Spike frowned as he joined in the conversation. “We don’t know for sure but… It’s a safe bet… There’s a good possibility that a lot of ponies were killed in the process too…”

“What a piece of shit…” Rainbow scoffed. “Killing innocent ponies like that… That’s a coward’s move…”

“Or a good tactician…” Starlight replied.

Rainbow blinked and stepped forward, standing tall as to intimidate Starlight. “You’re not actually praising this lunatic are you!?”

“Calm down, Rainbow… I’m merely assessing the situation like Twilight taught me… If we are to defeat something we have to acknowledge its strengths… The reality is… Serenade is an excellent tactician… She planned a flawless ambush that nabbed her not only a princess but an entire city to enslave. Within a matter of hours, she had herself an army that would follow her every command… An army that we can not just blatantly fight back against because they are our own ponies… It’s actually an extremely clever move…” Starlight placed a hoof on her chin, a part of her was still trying to figure out how they would get past that.

“Basically… We’re screwed then… We can’t fight back…” Rainbow had an annoyed look on her face.

“For the time being… There might be a way to break her hold on them though… We just have to focus and think our way out of our current situation…” Starlight explained.

“Right…” Rainbow nodded. “So… You think Twilight’s training is going to make a big difference then?”

Starlight nodded. “I’m confident that it will. Twilight is bringing something new and unpredictable to the table, exactly what we need to defeat Serenade. She needs to be met with something she isn’t prepared for.”

“It has to work…” Spike added. “It might be our last card that we can play…”

Starlight nodded in agreement with the dragon. “Sadly… He could be right… If Serenade gains too much ground, Twilight may be the ace up our sleeve here… That’s why it’s important that nothing interrupts this training… At all costs…”

“So… if Twilight manages to finish this training, we stand a good chance of beating Serenade then?” Rainbow asked curiously.

Starlight wanted so badly to simply say “yes” and to tell Rainbow that their odds would be over the top in taking down the demon siren, but in reality, she knew she couldn’t do that. As much as they wanted to surprise Serenade, Serenade had already surprised them. They never anticipated she would be able to take the magic of a princess, let alone conquer all of Canterlot and potentially drain it of its magic.

Serenade already had a sizable army of ponies who would serve blindly without so much as a question, and to boot, they were Equestrian citizens, innocents that they couldn’t even justify attacking outside of defending themselves. Serenade had them on the ropes, they were sitting ducks just waiting for Serenade to launch an attack so they could try and counter it. Her barrier over Canterlot made things more complicated still, as that meant infiltration was out of the question as well.

“I… I hope…” Starlight spoke quietly.

Rainbow blinked and stepped forward. “What do you mean ‘you hope’? We’re in a really bad bind here, we need more faith than that…”

Starlight shook her head. “I don’t doubt Twilight for a second, but the reality is… I’m not sure how much stronger it will make her, or if it’ll be enough. Serenade is already far stronger than we imagined and she likely will only continue to grow in power in the coming weeks… The more magic she gains access to, the stronger she is going to become…”

Rainbow stood tall, defending her friend. “Twilight can beat her! I know she can!”

Starlight sighed and looked away. “If she finishes in time…”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow squinted.

“This process… It can take years to complete sometimes…” Starlight admitted.

“Years!? How many!?” Rainbow blinked.

Starlight winced away as Rainbow’s voice raised and she came closer. “Possibly… up to eight?”

“EIGHT YEARS!? We don’t have that long to wait!” Rainbow stomped forward.

“Rainbow Dash, Twilight is working as quickly as she can, but it’s a process that she can’t rush if she’s not ready… She could die if she tries to push herself too much too soon…” Starlight explained.

That was a fact that Starlight herself was hung up on. The idea that Twilight could die from this training. It was a possibility she didn’t even want to entertain, but being a realist forced her to calculate it in. If Twilight did die from the process, they could kiss their advantage over Serenade goodbye, that and everyone would be devastated. They wouldn’t even have time to mourn though, as the hit to the morale would be just the opening that Serenade would need to make a big push.

Shaking her head, Starlight tried to keep her mind clear of such negative thinking. She had to believe that Twilight was going to be okay. It was Twilight, after all, her mentor, and one of the best mages that Starlight knew. She would come out of this training unscathed, and Starlight had to force herself to be reminded of that.

“Shit though… That would be bad if either of those scenarios played out… Taking eight years or… Twilight…” Rainbow stopped, not wanting to even finish that thought as she closed her eyes.

Stepping forward, Starlight placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Don’t worry… That’s not going to happen… Twilight will live, and if anyone can finish this kind of training early… It’s Twilight Sparkle…”

Rainbow chuckled and nodded. “Yeah… You got that right… Now the only question is… How early…?”

“We’ll have to wait patiently and see…” Starlight smiled.

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing her again very soon…” Rainbow assured.

“I’m sure you’re right.” Starlight giggled.

The clock was ticking. They needed Twilight Sparkle’s guidance, but only time would tell if they would receive it with enough time to make a difference. With Serenade’s plot to conquer Equestria moving forward, they had to remain hopeful, hopeful that Twilight would show up in just the nick of time to change the tide of the fight.

No matter what though, Starlight knew she couldn’t lose hope. She had to remain strong in Twilight’s absence.

Twilight, please hurry… She thought.

The plot of Serenade unfolds.