Serenade and her changeling consort arrived a good mile or so outside of the walls that had been magically erected around Manehatten, the new crown jewel of Equestria, Luna’s final stronghold, the last bastion of hope that Equestria had. If she could take down Luna and claim Manehatten then she would shake the morale of all of Equestria. The entire population would begin to see how pointless it was to resist. It wasn’t going to be an easy task though, on top of her walls, Luna had put up a magical barrier, specifically engineered to lock out dark magic. That meant that Serenade herself or any of her disciples could not enter. It didn’t, however, prevent her controlled army whose dark energy was so low that they would be able to slip through the barrier with ease, a compromise that Luna had to make to keep the most dangerous threats out.

Still, that left the wall to contend with, and the top of the wall was protected heavily by both pegasi in the sky, and earth ponies on the wall itself ready to take out any trying to chip away at its foundation. Serenade’s plan of attack would need to be cunning and complex enough to outwit her foe. Luna was strong, years of paranoia had made her into a worthy foe, but with the power of Celestia, Shining Armor, Cadence and every other unicorn she had drained, Luna was no match.

Serenade could already feel the power that would soon belong to her. She could already sense the abilities that would become available to her once she acquired Luna’s magic to add to her collection. She was strong, but Luna was not tireless, eventually, she would crack. Serenade merely had to wear her down, and with an army of slaves that did exactly as she said without question and did not require sleep, she could put enough pressure on the Princess of the Night to make her slip up.

Arax stood next to his master as the two were silent, the only sound was wind blowing their cloaks along.

He knew that Serenade could take Luna, he knew that their plan was nearing completion, it just needed a bit more pushing to get Luna to give in, then they could finish the task of conquering Equestria. With that under their belt, they were well on their way to achieving their ultimate goals.

“Arax… What do you see?” Serenade asked as she continued to stare into the distance, her eyes locked on Manehatten’s walls in the distance.

Blinking, first, he looked at his master but then in the direction she was facing. His eyes squinted as he observed. “I see… Manehatten… The last stronghold we need to conquer before Equestria will belong to us…”

“Wrong…” Serenade replied quietly.

Blinking, he looked back at her with confusion. “Ma’am?”

“I see a new future… A future where mortals bow down to the immortals… Where their disgusting reign on this planet has come to an end… Where the glorious age of immortals has begun… What a world it will be…” She smiled as she savored the thought. She could almost taste it.

“I see… So how are we going to do it, master? How shall Luna fall?” Arax grinned.

“Patience… Luna will fall before the day is over, I am certain…” Serenade smiled as she looked over at the horizon, watching the sun rise slowly. “Luna’s powers are weaker in the day… Meaning that if we attack before nightfall we will have the upperhoof.”

“Clever… How do we deal with the walls though?” Arax asked curiously.

She reached over and placed a hoof on his head, petting him gently. “You leave that part to me, my pet. I have yet to give you any reason to doubt my abilities, haven’t I?”

He shook his head vehemently. “No master, never.”

“Then trust your master… She will lead you to glory…” Serenade smiled before looking back at Manehatten. It all seemed so surreal, her goal was so close, it was within her reach, she only had a few minor obstacles now, and one of them was Princess Luna.

“She’s just a bug… Waiting to be squashed…” Serenade said to herself before turning back to Arax.

“Prepare our troops… We will go the moment the Sun is completely in the sky!” Serenade commanded.

Arax bowed his head and made a hasty run toward the encampment where they had left all of Serenade’s mind slaves.

Once her subordinate was gone, Serenade looked back at the city that she wished to make her own. She had remembered this city from her past, it was a place of high society, but a creature like Serenade? She was expected to beg for money or food. She refused to reduce herself to such, instead, she stole and manipulated her way through life during the years she lived there.

She had seen it when it was just a fledgling town on a map, to see it all grown up now almost made her feel gleeful. Gleeful to know that the city that once shunned her would now bow before her and beg her for mercy. Would she show it to them though? Undoubtably not. She would start by draining every last bit of magic from the city, and then she would turn it into a work colony where she would send slaves to go and do the heavy lifting that her empire would require to become great. She’d work them to exhaustion, she’d work them until they collapsed, she’d work them until they were dead.

It was all part of her great vision. She would convert Equestria into the image she felt was more fitting of it. Where mortals paid the price for their previous actions and finally met atonement. In a way she was doing these creatures a favor, she was cleansing them of their past, making them work for the salvation of their ancestors. In the end, they would see that they were wrong, that what their kind had done was unforgivable. They would beg her to show them the error of their ways.

Of course, that would be after many many years of servitude. She’d figure out what to do from there. One thing was positive though, Serenade intended to rule over her new empire for all eternity and no one was going to stop that.

Smirking, she spoke her thoughts aloud. “Rest while you can, Luna… You will soon be mine…”

Canterlot had become a completely different place almost overnight. What once was a city dedicated to nobles, aristocrats, upper, and middle-class families had been turned into a colony dedicated to the new overlord, Serenade Dazzle. The first order of business for the demon siren was to drain every unicorn of their magic. The second order was to find those who were the most fit for her army. Anyone left after that was nothing more than a work force to do the various tasks she needed done to build the foundation of her empire.

Eclipse was now an adolescent approaching adulthood, trying to live his relatively average life in Canterlot when Serenade attacked. Her might allowed her to capture the city so swiftly that most of the citizens didn’t even know what was happening.

Within hours of waking up, he was told that the city now belonged to Serenade Dazzle and he was to have his magic drained by the demon. As much as he tried to resist, his ability was far too little at his young age to pose any real threat to Serenade’s guards who forced him to comply.

The siren had come personally to force his hoof, and in her ruthlessness to send a message to the pony, she made him watch as she impaled his parents with a black tendril that came out of her body. It pierced through their heads, splattering blood in every direction. She waved them about violently like rag dolls before dropping the corpses haphazardly onto the ground and smirked at the teen.

He could only watch in horror as he saw blood drip out of the bodies of his parents and then meet Serenade’s face. He would never forget her words. “Are you scared, little boy?”

That was eight days ago now, and Eclipse had not forgotten. That image was still burned into his memory, he doubted he would ever forget it. It was a vision that would haunt him for years to come, without a doubt.

Now, he had been meeting with Galeal to try and calm his nerves. The griffon wasn’t exactly the best as consoling, but Eclipse could at least feel some amount of effort coming from him, even if Galeal wasn’t good at subjects that involved emotions or feelings.

“That bites, man…” Galeal stated.

“Yeah… I couldn’t do shit about it… I’m too weak… Weaker now that Serenade took my magic away…” Eclipse replied, closing his eyes to think.

He felt a wing wrap around him causing him to open his eyes and look over at the griffin who was avoiding eye contact, but a blush was present on his face. “Look… I uh… I’m not good at this shit so like…”

Eclipse nodded. “It’s cool, I get it…”

“Yeah…” Galeal nodded back.

“What do you think is going to happen now that Serenade is in charge of the city?” Eclipse asked, trying to change the subject.

Galeal shrugged. “Dunno… Probably bad shit no doubt… I think I overheard someone talking about how ponies are being shipped out to campsites outside of the city limits or within the city itself to work on shit… Sounds like Serenade is putting together workforces to build monuments to her or something…”

Eclipse closed his eyes once more as he realized their situation was grim. “With Celestia defeated… It’s only a matter of time before she conquers the rest of Equestria…”

“Probably…” Galeal replied solemnly.

While Galeal’s lack of tact might make other ponies feel more depressed about the current situation, Eclipse appreciated the brutal honesty. Part of the griffon’s charm was that he didn’t waste your time feeding you bullshit, instead, he just told it like it was and you were forced to accept the current situation.

“I know one thing… I’m going to kill her one day… I don’t know how… But I’m going to… She murdered my parents right in front of me… Just for fun…” Eclipse growled.

Galeal reached over and placed a claw on the pony’s shoulder. “I know you will, dude. You’re…” He paused before delivering the compliment, looking away awkwardly and blushing. “The toughest guy, I know…”

“So long as you don’t count yourself right?” Eclipse smirked as he looked over at his friend.

“Well… Yeah… I’m definitely tougher than you…” Galeal grinned from the corner of his mouth.

“Prove it,” Eclipse encouraged.

Turning to face the unicorn, Galeal raised a brow. “How?”

“Wrestle, right now. First to get pinned loses, fair?” Eclipse proposed.

Another shrug came from the griffon before he stood up and stretched his arms and prepared himself. Seeing him rise to the challenge caused Eclipse to stand and do the same as the two young men prepared for this battle for supremacy.

“Fair enough… So what do I win when I cream you?” Galeal asked, confidence ringing in his voice.

“If you win, I’ll make out with you…” Eclipse replied.

Galeal rolled his eyes. “That’s fucking gay.”

“You’ll accept it anyway…” Eclipse smirked.

The griffon sighed and shook his head in disapproval. “I’m only doing this on the principle that I enjoy reminding you which of us is stronger…”

“We’ll see…” Eclipse replied as he focused on Galeal, trying to predict his movement. Galeal had size over him, sure, but he wasn’t very fast despite being a griffon, Eclipse could use that to his advantage.

The two circled each other until one of them dared strike. Galeal made the first move and darted toward the unicorn who only narrowly dodged the attack, however, Galeal had anticipated that move and already pivoted on his hind foot and prepared a second attack in which Eclipse tried to block with his hooves only for the two to lock both hoof and claw in a struggle.

Eclipse groaned as he tried to hold the powerful griffon back, but Galeal chuckled under his breath as he could feel Eclipse’s strength start to give out.

Once Galeal had the upper-hand he easily pulled the unicorn down and pinned him, his claws holding both of his front hooves down as he looked down at the stallion. “You are so weak…” He smirked.

“Maybe I let you win…” Eclipse looked away bashfully.

“Yeah right, you’re just a wuss, admit it…” Galeal replied.

“Fine… I guess you should collect your reward then?” Eclipse looked back at the griffon who stood there dumbfounded.

“Oh come on, you weren’t serious about that shit were you?” Galeal raised a brow.

“Just shut up and kiss me.” Eclipse chuckled.

Shrugging, Galeal closed his eyes and leaned in, allowing their mouths to lock. They didn’t know what the future held for them, and under Serenade’s rule over Canterlot, it was safe to say that things were looking somewhat grim, but as long as they had each other they could face it. At least, they hoped.

The halls of Manehatten’s underground shelter were busy with unicorns and pegasi running back and forth at the orders of Princess Luna. Fortifying the city was a twenty-four hour a day job and making sure this fortress that they had established underground stayed safe was their second top priority. Nothing could go wrong, everything had to be flawless, the risks for mistakes were just too high.

With the state of the world and the fabric that held their civilization together about to shatter, Luna was beyond stressed. Everything rested on her shoulders, she needed to protect the last known stronghold in Equestria and prevent the power hungry demon siren from taking what was left, on top of that she needed to devise a plan to take her out for good as she couldn’t win if she only defended. Without her sister’s guidance though, Luna was lost.

She was usually excellent at strategies, but mostly because her sister was there to back her up in the off chance that something had gone wrong, and at this current moment, everything was wrong, hell she was certain that at this point nothing had gone right.

Luna was a walking ball of stress, she found it difficult to even sleep. Periodically she would wake up in the night anyway to reapply the barrier around the city. It was the only thing keeping Serenade from storming the gates herself. She could handle her minions, but not the demon herself in a head on fight.

She had picked up a trick or two for fighting dark magic in her time, and this barrier was one of the said tricks. Potent enough to block the strongest of dark energies, but it would still allow weaker ones through, it was a necessary drawback.

The Princess of the Night needed a plan, but she was far too drained to think of one, not to mention she didn’t see any feasible way to defeat such an overpowered foe. Serenade was strong, beyond strong. Her powers were almost at the level of Demi-god, she could crush Luna in a matter of seconds in a direct confrontation.

The mare sighed as she made her way to her quarters and sat down at the desk she had been given. Looking at the mess of scrolls she had in front of her, she could see many of her half finished ideas jotted down. Most of them seemed pretty rudimentary and not a single one stood out to her as a feasible way to overcome the current predicament. She’d have to return to the drawing board if she wanted a plan worthy of stopping Serenade Dazzle.

She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them to notice a photo on her desk. It was a simple one of her and her sister together. They had taken it during a celebration for Luna’s return to Equestria after being banished for a thousand years. While the memory of being gone for so long still stung, that celebration brought her joy. Her sister was not mad at her in the slightest, she was ready to forgive and forget and she held to her word. Celestia was the type to not throw suspicion in Luna’s direction even if her past warranted it.

That was part of why what she was going through right now was so difficult; her sister was counting on her and she sat there feeling like she was letting her down.

Taking a pen with her magic, she began to jot down a few ideas, starting with going over what she knew.

Serenade had taken Canterlot and many of the neighboring towns. Within a few short weeks, she had managed to conquer eighty percent of all known established towns and cities in Equestria. Fillydalphia had fallen just a day or so ago, and Los Pegasus just that morning. While Luna was strong, she couldn’t be everywhere at once, her efforts had to be centralized, even if that meant more cities would fall before it was all over, she simply couldn’t spare the ponies needed to protect those areas. As much as it pained her, most of Equestria was on their own, she only prayed they would forgive her.

With Serenade’s army growing, it was only a matter of time before she would eventually take Manehatten as well. Luna could only stall while she contemplated how to turn the tables. She needed some kind of secret weapon, something that even Serenade would not expect.

With her mind twisted around the current situation, Luna didn’t even hear the door to her quarters open. Into the room trotted two familiar unicorns, one with a shining off-white coat and elegant purple curls in her mane, and the other with persian blue eyes and a concerned smile upon her face.

The two wandered inside and examined the room before them. A bed was fashioned in the corner of the room where Luna spent a good chunk of the day trying to get any kind of rest that she could to keep her strength up whenever she could, but it clearly looked very lightly used. Luna had not been taking very good care of herself.

Once Luna noticed the two mares, she blinked and faced them and gave a weak smile. “Rarity, Starlight Glimmer, it is good to see you two again, what brings you here?” Luna asked with a raised brow.

Rarity froze for a moment unsure of how to word the reason for their arrival, but Starlight seemed to step in right away. “Princess Luna, we’re concerned about your well being… You can’t keep this barrier up for much longer in your condition… You’ll exhaust yourself…”

Luna laughed and shook her head. “As if I had a choice in the matter? Serenade grows stronger every day… This barrier is all that keeps her from storming the gates and wiping out our way of life. If I must suffer to keep such an important piece of protection in place, so be it… I will gladly serve that role…”

Starlight sighed. “Princess…” She began.

Rarity stepped forward and chimed in quickly. “Princess Luna, the situation would not be well served if you were to collapse and find yourself unable to get back up…”

Luna came to a stand. “That won’t happen…”

“Princess, with all due respect… Even you have your limits… You can’t push yourself so hard that you burn out…” Starlight frowned.

She wanted to argue with the mare, she wanted to tell her that she could take whatever was thrown at her, but there was some truth to what Starlight was saying. Luna could feel herself slipping, if she didn’t get some proper rest soon the barrier might fall.

“What do you two propose then?” Luna asked curiously.

Starlight and Rarity looked at each other and smiled before looking back at the elegant Princess of the Night. “The two of us can take over maintaining the barrier in the daytime. With our combined magic, it should be enough to keep it active during the day while you sleep… Since your power is stronger at night you can keep it up when you’re at your strongest. That should buy us some time,” Starlight explained.

Luna had her doubts. While she knew both of them were potent with magic, it was quite a task to keep a barrier the size of a city active. Sure it required less energy to keep the barrier going than it did to conjure a new one, but it was still a daunting task for two ordinary unicorns to handle. However, Starlight and Rarity were far from ordinary in many respects.

Deciding it was best to merely agree to the plan, Luna nodded and smiled. “Alright, well that at least takes care of that problem, but what are we to do about our problem of defeating Serenade? This plan will only buy us time, but it won’t buy us a strategy for defeating the demon once and for all…”

Starlight sighed and spoke the only plan she had at that moment. “We wait for Twilight…”

“Twilight Sparkle? Her training could take years to finish…” Luna pointed out.

“I’m confident that Twilight will finish early… She’s dedicated enough…” Starlight stated.

Nodding, Luna sat back down. “Yes… I suppose you’re correct there… Twilight Sparkle is extraordinary… If there is a pony alive that could complete that training in a short time it would be her…”

“I have faith in Twilight as well, she’s never let us down in the past…” Rarity reminded.

Through all of the things that they had been through, Twilight always saw to it that they were equipped to handle them. She was always there watching over every situation, ensuring that success was within their grasp. Twilight always refused to give in even when the odds were stacked against them and when they needed a trump card, she always had one ready to go. Rarity and Starlight were both confident that this situation would be no different. Defeating Serenade Dazzle was perhaps the biggest challenge they had ever faced, bigger than Tirek, bigger than Discord, bigger than Nightmare Moon, but they knew that Twilight was just the mare for the job.

“Twilight may be the ace in the hole that we need… Let us pray she finishes her training before it’s too late for her to make a difference…” Luna spoke quietly.

Starlight took a triumphant step toward Luna’s desk and placed her hooves upon the table. “We will hold out as long as it takes… Together we can keep the city safe while Twilight is training… We’ll be here in time for her to come out.”

Luna nodded, hoping that they were right.

Within the coming days, Eclipse found himself rounded up into a group of other ponies waiting to be told what was heading their way. Serenade’s minions had made light work of gathering large groups together for some kind of special assignment, Eclipse being one of those ponies gathered. Everypony had been given a standard dark grey jumpsuit to wear which suggested there likely was going to be some kind of work involved.

Eclipse, approaching adulthood wasn’t exactly the most experienced worker, nor was he much to look at. He was a scrawny effeminate boy with little to no work experience. If anything his school work wasn’t even that impressive.

He glanced around the crowd looking for one face, in particular, he scanned what seemed to be a good mile of ponies, griffons, and other creatures, seeing nothing but the unfamiliar in an ocean of the unknown.

Deciding to take initiative, he began to move and sift through the crowd, excusing himself lightly as he moved and gently shoved others aside all of which were just as confused as he was. There was no word on what was happening, but on his way through the crowd, Eclipse could hear whispers of theories of why they were gathered.

I heard we are going to be sent to some kind of underground lair where we’ll be subjected to unspeakable horrors.

Well I heard they are going to turn a bunch of us into super soldiers for Serenade’s army.

I heard that we’re all going to be turned into demons.

There was so much chatter that it was difficult to drown it out or even hear himself think as Eclipse tried to focus on the task at hand. He needed to find Galeal, he didn’t want the two of them to get separated, and he had a feeling he was in this crowd somewhere.

Moving frantically, he could still hear whisper after whisper about the reasons they were all there.

I heard that she was bringing all the males back to her castle to service her and all the women to be her slaves.

It was all bullshit. None of it mattered anyway, not until he found Galeal, they needed to stay together, no matter the costs.

It almost felt hopeless until he heard a faint sound that seemed somewhat familiar.

“Eclipse…”

Blinking, he tried to sharpen his senses through mental concentration. If he could focus on the origin of the sound. He opened his mouth and called out as loud as his effeminate voice could carry. “Galeal!?”

He stopped for a second to hear again and heard the voice get louder this time. “Eclipse!”

Heading in the direction of the call, he could see a claw in the air and quickly bolted through the crowd to get to the griffon. Once he was in sight, Eclipse let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding in. The two stood there awkwardly and examined the jumpsuit of the other one.

“You look fucking stupid…” Galeal commented.

“You don’t look much better…” Eclipse rolled his eyes.

“At least I don’t look like a queer…” Galeal looked away with a small smirk.

Eclipse sighed and shook his head. “Seem pretty fucking queer to me…”

“You would know, after all, you’re an expert on being a fag…” Galeal retorted.

There was a short silence before Galeal glanced over at his friend with an empty expression, clearly trying to suppress his true feelings. “So… Any idea what any of this is about?”

Eclipse shrugged. “I’ve heard at least a dozen things, but all of them sound like bullshit to me… Stuff like Serenade turning us into demons and shit like that…”

Galeal chuckled lightly at that thought as he shook his head. “Yeah right… Cuntface won’t give us any kind of power we could use against her… If anything we were rounded up here to scope out who will be her best new minions… Let’s hope you’re girly enough to be too wimpy for her liking…”

“Then you better act like me to get the same treatment…” Eclipse replied sarcastically.

“Good one…” Galeal said as his eyes focused on a stage that was before the crowd. If he had to guess, he would have wagered there were about eight thousand lives standing there in the crowd surrounded by numerous armed guards to keep all of them in place.

“Still, this feels like a bit of overkill don’t you think?” Galeal asked.

“Yeah… It’s weird…” Eclipse commented.

As if to answer all of their questions the echoing voice of a changeling from the stage called out to the crowd. “SILENCE! EVERYONE LISTEN UP!”

The murmurs and chatter of the crowd quickly turned to a whisper and then eventually to perfect silence as everyone in the crowd looked up at the decorated changeling, eager to hear why they were all gathered there. The changeling’s nice silk cloak fluttered in the light wind as he cleared his throat and spoke.

“Hello to all of you, my name is Arax… I am Serenade’s right hoof… Orders from me come directly from her… In other words, I am in charge of you shit stains while Serenade is not present…” He began as he wandered back and forth on the stage. “As we speak, Master Serenade is fighting to conquer Manehatten; she hopes to take the city by nightfall.”

There were whispers of worry and concern echoing through the audience until Arax banged his hoof onto the stage. “SILENCE!”

As he yelled, his wish was granted instantly as every soul standing out there fell quiet. Eclipse rolled his eyes and brushed his long mane out of his face.

“Soon Master Serenade will rule all of Equestria… To commemorate this occasion, you are all being split into work groups where you will be sent to nearby towns to assist in building monuments in her likeness. Any who refuse will be put to death… There is no room for disloyalty in Serenade’s kingdom…” Arax announced.

Naturally, this all resulted in more murmurs and whispers to which Arax banged once again on the stage. “I trust this arrangement is agreeable to everyone here?”

Not a soul dared to speak against the changeling.

Nodding, Arax smiled. “Excellent, split up into four groups and we will begin the process of sending you out…”

Galeal grabbed Eclipse’s hoof with his claw causing the unicorn to look over at him. “Let’s stick together, okay?”

Eclipse nodded. “Yeah…”

The battle at Manehatten had drawn on longer than Serenade had anticipated. The barrier which she expected to weaken by the end of the day had held strong, stronger than it should have. Something was wrong, there was something that they had not anticipated going on.

Growling she looked onto the city from the hill in the distance with a few of her subordinates. “Shield! Get over here!” She commanded.

The unicorn blinked and came to a stand as he left a series of scrolls that he was examining to strategize their battle. Approaching his master he bowed. “Yes, Master Serenade?”

Serenade grabbed him and pulled him closer. “Tell me, Shield… Why am I still looking at a Manehatten that does not belong to me despite it being nightfall?”

Shield blinked and looked over their battle plans once more and then back at his master. “It seems that Luna was able to hold the barrier up longer than we anticipated…”

She released him from her grip and grunted. “Something is wrong… She was supposed to be weak by now… The city should have fallen hours ago…”

As if on cue, a young member of her following was racing up the hill to greet the group. The young mare gave a sloppy salute before catching her breath. “M-ma’am…” She began.

“Out with it, my time is valuable…” Serenade grunted.

She bowed and came back to a proper stand. “I understand ma’am, this will only take a second… It seems as though Luna has enlisted some help to keep the barrier up… Two young unicorns, one a student of Princess Twilight Sparkle and the other an element of harmony…”

“I see… So They are using these backup ponies to keep their precious barrier active while Luna regains her strength… Clever…” Serenade nodded in understanding. “Excellent work, scout. See what else you can find out for me and then report back right away…”

Shield gulped as he sensed this news was not beneficial to their cause and that was viable to make his master angry. “Master…?” He asked.

Serenade giggled and ran a hoof through her long mane. “It’s no matter…”

“Ma’am?” He blinked in confusion.

“A temporary set back… After all, how much of a difference can two ponies make in the long term?” Serenade asked.

Gulping once more, Shield decided it was wise to speak up. “Ma’am, I don’t mean to alarm you, but if Luna can rest for half of the day her powers will remain sufficient for some time… They can keep the process of cycling between the group to keep the barrier up… Even with as many soldiers as we have, we won’t break that wall any time soon…”

“I said it was no matter, Shield. Take a hint on when to shut the fuck up, alright?” Serenade barked.

Shield silenced himself and waited for her to explain.

“This strategy will only buy them time, but it’s not as if they can do anything while they’re doing it, right?” Serenade grinned.

“I… Suppose not?” Shield stated.

Nodding, Serenade chuckled. “That means while they are occupied with this project, I can focus on just keeping the pressure on them while I complete the dark magic amplifier that that lab rat designed…”

Shield recalled the very invention in question. Doctor Chem Spill had come up with the idea some time ago but the resources necessary to build such a thing were said to take some time. It would still need testing after that as well. They estimated it would take months before such a device was operational, but the results would be devastating to any foes of Serenade. It could take her dark energies, focus them and amplify their power eight times over.

“You mean…” Shield blinked.

Serenade nodded once more. “Yes, with that kind of power my abilities would be more than enough to crack that barrier…”

“Ma’am that could take months…” Shield pointed out.

She shrugged in response. “Who cares? It’s not like we have anything better to do. Our prey is trapped, all it can do is defend… We have the time, plus new toys are always fun… Tell Chem that he can have his research team and we will build his device… Just make sure he knows what will happen if he fails me…”

Shield blinked at the suggestion. “Ma’am… Are we sure we can trust him with such a big task? He’s not exactly the most mentally stable…”

“That’s my order, Shield… See to it that it is carried out. I want Chem working full time on my amplifier and I want it finished as soon as possible.” Serenade barked.

Realizing he had no choice but to comply, Shield bowed his head in respect. “I shall see to it that it is done, Master.”

“Good, after all, if you can’t follow orders or feel the need to question my judgment then I am sure I can find others who will gladly fill your position… Just don’t forget that I make the rules around here and what I say is law…” Serenade reminded.

“Of course, master…” He nodded.

The demon siren giggled and winked at him as she took her leave. “As always update me if anything… Interesting happens…”

The first few days at the construction site of Serenade’s new monument went relatively uneventful. Ponies and creatures alike were dropped off at the site which was protected by armed guards to begin the process. Those who had experience in building were given priority and turned into master builders, those who did not were given training for their task.

Eclipse got lucky in that his physique was pathetic and scrawny so he was given a task of measuring pieces and helping convey how scaffolding would need to go. He had gotten even luckier in that Galeal managed to fake how weak he was and received an equally cushy job right beside him as his assistant. Eclipse was thanking himself that he had actually paid attention in a few classes now, otherwise, he would be out mining stone or moving heavy pieces.

With magic, they were to forge pieces together, but the process would still take a few months before the monument was finished as Serenade wanted it as large as a skyscraper, she wanted ponies to be able to see it for miles, potentially outer space (not that ponies had even achieved space travel).

Eclipse jotted down a few revisions to his template and wiped his brow as he looked outside of the tent that he and Galeal shared. “Think this will help speed the process along? I extended the top layer scaffolding a good eight feet. I figure this should allow more ponies on it to chisel at the rock at the same time…”

Galeal squinted but then tapped the bars holding the scaffolding up on the diagram. “The only problem is that these bars do have a weight limit… So we’d need to double up on those if we want your idea to work, we’d need to reinforce them…”

Blinking, Eclipse realized he was right and nodded before jotting down a note regarding that problem.

“Good eye,” he added.

“I’m part eagle, what can I say?” Galeal grinned.

“And all cute…” Eclipse winked.

Galeal blushed and looked away. “D-don’t say stuff like that…”

“I have never met someone in such denial of their feminine side… It’s adorable when you pretend you’re not a raging homo…” Eclipse giggled.

“A-am not…” Galeal stammered.

Eclipse decided that was enough teasing for one morning. They both had a long day ahead of them submitting their designs to the master builders who were supervising the entire project.

Outside the two heard a familiar sound, the sound of somepony collapsing in the dirt and then not getting back up. They turned to that direction and watched as the pony laying there simply stopped moving, only breathing lightly as they refused to get back up.

That was the eighth one this week. Ponies would occasionally collapse from exhaustion, unable to get back up after a few days out in the sun. Some of them would get a drink of water from another and find themselves back to work just as quickly, others would lay there until they were nothing more than a memory and the guards would come and drag the corpse away.

Now and then a few were selected to bury the corpses to get rid of the smell. Serenade’s Equestria was a nightmarish one. It was an Equestria with no concern for who lived and who died and not a single concern over treating the dead with any modicum of respect. Corpses were treated as little more than inconveniences as they were thrown into unmarked holes, not even qualifying as graves.

Food was given out sparingly and everyone in the fields received two meals a day.

Serenade would call these little sites “work camps”, but Eclipse knew the truth after seeing them, they were death camps. There was no end in sight. These ponies would be forced to work until they all dropped dead. When this project was finished, another would begin and so on and so forth.

“You think Serenade will be defeated eventually?” Galeal asked as he watched the pony in the dirt struggle to breathe.

Eclipse wanted to say yes. He wanted to say a miracle would happen, but he had reached the point where he didn’t believe in miracles anymore. “I think we’re looking at our immediate future right now… I’d love to slit that cunt’s throat, but sadly… I’m here and she’s out there somewhere and that’s how it’s going to stay for the time being…”

“Time being?” Galeal blinked and raised a brow. “Do you expect this scenario to change?”

“I don’t know how… I don’t even know when… But I’m going to kill Serenade… It’s the reason I’m still alive… It’s the reason why I will endure all of this… I’ll survive long enough to put a blade through her…” Eclipse explained.

“Bold words, but they won’t do us much good out here… You should get your mind back on this work… Less we both get in trouble…” Galeal reminded.

Nodding, Eclipse averted his eyes from the pony in the dirt struggling to hang onto dear life and returned his attention back to the work that the two were engaged in. His anger toward Serenade still burned inside of him, but it was anger he would have to contain for now. For now he had no means to do anything, but eventually, he would have a solution.

Serenade Dazzle would die eventually… And he promised he would be a part of that death.

Sneaking out of Manehatten was far from easy, but Starlight needed to check on Twilight and her progress. She needed to know her mentor and friend were still alright, she needed to know that the pony they were betting so much on was making out okay. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Discord (though she definitely wasn’t the fondest of him) it was more that she was unsure of how much time they had left. While her assistance in keeping the barrier over Manehatten would buy them time, she knew it was only a temporary plan; Twilight was the permanent plan.

The journey back to the Royal Training Grounds was a difficult one as she had to make sure she did so without being seen. She knew that her trips to this place would have to be limited from here on, she simply couldn’t risk Serenade discovering this place. Spike would have to watch over it for the time being, as much as it pained her to put that responsibility on the young dragon.

Making her way up the stairwell she saw a familiar purple dragon sleeping in a chair in the observation deck. She smiled and approached, stopping first to look down at the training area. As expected she could still see nothing. She wondered what kind of things Twilight and Discord were doing down there. It was difficult to say, but Starlight was hopeful that what he was teaching was helpful to her and hopefully all of Equestria.

“I hope you’re doing okay, Twilight…” Starlight commented as she placed a hoof on the glass. “We really need you right now…”

The sound of a stirring dragon came from behind Starlight, causing her to turn around and see Spike starting to rise with a yawn. Once he noticed Starlight he came to a stand. “Starlight! When’d you get here?”

Starlight smiled at the dragon. “Just a little bit ago… I’ve been busy at Manehatten, so it was difficult for me to get out here…”

“What’s the situation going on there?” Spike asked.

A frown came to Starlight. “The situation is not good for sure… Manehatten is the last stronghold holding out against Serenade… Luna is struggling to keep the barrier that keeps the demon out up, but Rarity and I are helping, that should buy us some more time…”

“But?” Spike asked with a gulp, clearly sensing bad news coming.

“But… The barrier won’t hold out forever… It’s only a temporary solution…” Starlight replied.

“So the barrier will eventually fall?” Spike asked.

Deciding to give it to him straight, Starlight faced him and nodded. “Yes… The barrier will fall eventually and Manehatten will belong to Serenade within a few hours after that… I don’t know how long it’ll take, but it will happen…”

“So what do we do?” Spike blinked.

Starlight looked back through the glass and sighed. “Our entire future may be in Twilight’s hooves. She may be our last hope…”

A part of her felt guilty putting that kind of pressure on Twilight, but she knew that it was part of her duty as a princess to take on difficult situations like this. Her guilt subsided slightly when she remembered that if she could count on anyone it was Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship.

“Twilight is our ace in the hole then?” Spike asked as he stepped forward to look through the glass with his friend.

“Seems that way…” Starlight said.

She closed her eyes and remembered everything that Twilight had taught her about friendship, a few lessons, in particular, came to mind.

Friends have to remain strong for each other. When your friend is in a tight spot they will count on your strength to help pull them through, so long as you believe in each other anything is possible.

She could almost hear it in Twilight’s voice in her mind. It felt like a lifetime ago when she heard Twilight’s voice. She hoped she would hear it again soon.

“So this is it then… We wait until Twilight comes out of there and hope it’s in time?” Spike asked.

Starlight nodded. “It seems that may be our only choice… We wait until we have Twilight on our side again and hope she can make a plan that can defeat this demon…”

Spike bit his lip but spoke. “Have you… Seen this demon yourself?”

Starlight shook her head. “No… I’ve heard stories, but I have yet to meet her face to face… I hear she has a young face, a beautiful one… But with eyes of evil and hatred… Eyes that bear into one’s soul… I heard that you can feel her hatred when she looks at you… She is a creature of pure anger.”

“She sounds horrible…” Spike frowned.

“She is… She’s already taking ponies that she has captured and sending them to work camps to build monuments to her vanity… Working them to death…” Starlight closed her eyes, not even wanting to think about it.

“Twilight… You can’t finish soon enough…” Spike replied.

That was an understatement.

It's all coming together.

Also, Galeal is so gay.