Weeks had passed and Twilight’s plan was nearing completion. Within a short time, she would soon be able to execute her trap and ensnare the demon that was destroying Equestria in it. It was a risky move, and there was a chance that it wouldn’t work, but she needed to keep faith in herself. She needed this plan to go smoothly, or Equestria was going to be in a far worse spot than it already was. All around, ponies were suffering, some in slave labor camps, others in prisons. Then there were the few unfortunate few who were under the mind control of the demon siren herself, forced to fight and die for her mad quest for power and domination. It made Twilight sick just thinking about it.

These ponies were her subjects. They counted on her to protect them and she had let them down. Sure, she was training to get strong enough to take on the threat, but it wasn’t an excuse for not being strong enough to stop it before it began. She had grown careless, and it wasn’t something she was about to forgive herself so easily for. Twilight Sparkle would only forgive herself when the job was done and Serenade was no more.

Serenade was like nothing that Twilight had ever faced before, she was unrealistically powerful, and her power was only growing with every day. Furthermore, she was unpredictable. While she had fought the likes of Tirek, a powerful magic absorber before, he paled in comparison to this creature.

Serenade was a demon, and that meant the scope of her abilities hadn’t been realized yet. There was no telling how strong she could inevitably become, and unlike many of Twilight’s previous foes, she was willing to murder anyone who stood in her way. There was no such thing as honor to a creature like that.

While Twilight’s newfound abilities would certainly change the game a little, they were playing by Serenade’s rules now, a creature that operated only in extremes. Serenade was willing to kill to get what she wanted. Was Twilight prepared to put Serenade down? Was she prepared to end the siren’s life just like her sister’s? Surely, there wasn’t going to be another choice. Serenade’s crimes were too great, she had to be ended, but then again, ending the life of the other siren is what had caused all of this in the first place. It was a conundrum for Twilight Sparkle.

The mare allowed her fur to soak in the hot water of the bathtub while her head rested on the edge, staring at the ceiling in contemplation.

“The irony… I’ve made my own greatest enemy now…” Twilight thought out loud.

Leaning over the edge of the tub, she sighed. “I wonder what Rainbow Dash would do in a situation like this?”

She chuckled as she envisioned her friend’s voice ringing through her ear with that smug, oh-so-lovable look on her face. “I’d go in there and kick some flank!” Twilight imitated in her best impression of the tomcolt.

Giggling, the mare sighed and returned her gaze to the ceiling. How foolish she had been.

She needed to get thoughts of her stupid crush on Rainbow Dash out of her mind. It wasn’t meant to be, and that was that. Twilight hated how she had a bad habit of falling for whom she could not have, or sometimes shouldn’t have. Rainbow Dash was merely another pony in a line of forgotten conquests. Romance escaped Princess Twilight Sparkle, and it was bound to continue.

She recalled her brief crush on Flash Sentry, but knew that had to be called off due to existing in different universes. She couldn’t just abandon her responsibilities in Equestria to go run off with some boy that she admittedly hardly knew. Even if he was sweet to her, and clearly liked her back.

Twilight recognized that when she became a princess that meant that certain things were going to be off the table for her. Her responsibilities as Princess of Friendship came first and they also meant that she would be put into situations that forced her to do things which would make her unpopular.

The mare silently blew bubbles under the water as she contemplated what she was to do about the current situation. Her plan was progressing smoothly thus far, but it felt almost too smooth like something was bound to go wrong. Admittedly that may have just been the skeptic in her mind talking and not how she actually felt.

The consequences of what could happen if she screwed this one up were weighing down heavy on the alicorn. In the past, if she failed she had her friends to fall back on, but here if she screwed up, there might not even be an Equestria after that. Serenade would kill anypony who stood in her way, and that meant that Twilight was putting herself in harm’s way to even execute this plan. If Serenade managed to kill her, then there was a good chance she would make light work of Twilight’s friends. As tough as her group was, they were no match against a creature like Serenade, they didn’t feel the evil emanating from her as Twilight did.

From that siren, Twilight could sense tremendous power, a power that had yet to even be tapped into. The reality was they were only seeing a fraction of the mare’s true strength thus far, and Twilight knew that. She could sense a great power and a great hatred within Serenade.

Sighing, Twilight wished for the old days where the possibility of reforming someone was on the table. A talk about friendship, an offering of forgiveness and they would be on the right path in no time, but not with Serenade. Serenade had already crossed lines that one could not be forgiven for. She had enslaved and murdered, she had watched others suffer while she took pleasure. To top all of that off, Twilight could feel her hatred. For whatever reason, this siren hated their kind and nothing was going to convince her otherwise.

“Someone’s feeling blue…” A familiar deep male voice echoed in the room. Twilight looked about to notice a small rubber duck that previously was not present in her bath. She sighed as the duck turned into a miniature version of a familiar annoying draconequus.

“Hello, Discord… I guess the concept of bathroom etiquette is lost on you, isn’t it?” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Nonsense! I know that you scrub behind your ears! Which by the way, have you been doing? You seem a bit past due in that department.” Discord faked a wince as he made his comment.

“I’m not in the mood, Discord…” Twilight sighed.

The creature snapped his finger and was returned to his normal size as he floated above the tub with a curious look on his snaggletoothed face. “What’s got you down? If anything you should be ecstatic! You’re now the Princess in charge! The big cheese, the regal leader, the all mighty ruler!”

Twilight just rolled her eyes. “There’s a lot more to being princess than being in charge, Discord…”

“Ah yes, pesky responsibilities… How I loathe them…” He grew a frown and a scowl at just the thought of being forced to partake in things that he didn’t care for.

There were times that Twilight wished she could be as carefree as he was. While he had shared the secret to his magic with her, she had yet to figure out the secret to his odd personality, that must have been something that just took a tremendous amount of time to understand. More time than Twilight had, and more than she was willing to commit.

“I can’t argue with you there, I’m not exactly a fan of them myself… Especially in these trying times…” Twilight frowned.

“What’s bothering you?” Discord asked, poofing in a chair to sit on, and a pair of glasses onto his face with a clipboard in his paw while he played the role of a therapist.

Ordinarily, she would criticize his theatrics, but Twilight lacked the mental energy. Instead, she decided there was no harm in merely going along with his little charade. “Everypony is counting on me…” Twilight admitted.

“I see… Go on…” Discord nodded thoughtfully as he made scribbles on his clipboard.

“I mean in the past, I knew that I needed to deliver or things would go bad, but I always knew that even if I messed up… My friends could bail me out… Now though… If this plan doesn’t work… I’m not so sure… We could all die because of me…” Twilight frowned.

Discord nodded before tossing the clipboard and glasses aside, offering a paw to Twilight that he placed on her shoulder as he leaned over the tub. “Consider this: Luna is still fighting hard. You’re not alone right now, so even if you falter, Luna is there to help pick up the pieces…”

Twilight grimaced at the way he worded that statement. She didn’t like the thought of being told there was even a chance that Luna would have to swoop in to save her, but then again she never knew Discord to be a very comforting friend who told her what she wanted to hear.

“Gee… Thanks…” Twilight frowned.

“I’m a realist, however, I will say… Your plan… Is quite genius…” Discord smirked.

Twilight blinked, not expecting to hear such a thing from him. “Really? You think so?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. I’ve definitely taught you to think outside of the box. I mean using your enemies flaws against her… That’s pretty underhanded… I taught you well, and the intricacy of the spell you’re preparing? That’s very bold stuff, I’d imagine even Starswirl himself would be proud of such resourcefulness.”

Twilight blinked once more at what constituted high praise from the spirit of chaos. “T-thank you… Discord… That’s actually… Very thoughtful of you to say…”

He nodded and grinned. “We’re in this together, if you fail then I have failed as a mentor and that is completely unacceptable. We shall overcome. This demon won’t even know what hit her.”

“I’m glad you’re with me then… I definitely need all the motivation that I can get my hooves on… It’s going to take every bit of my ability to defeat Serenade… Even if my trap works, I’m still going to need just as much whit, charisma, and skill to pull off defeating her… I will need to focus everything I have…” Twilight closed her eyes.

Discord playfully splashed the bathwater at Twilight causing her eyes to shoot open with an annoyed expression plastered to her face. “You and focus are clearly best friends. It shouldn’t be even a minor problem for a mare such as you. You’re exceptional at focusing too much on things, after all. If I had an award for overthinking things, you'd be the reigning champion.”

Twilight chuckled as she admitted the truth in his words. “I suppose that you’re correct there… Still… It feels like an insane challenge doesn’t it? Beating a demon siren?”

Discord shrugged. “You’ve faced off against worse, you should be used to this kind of thing by now…”

He had a point. “Yeah but… In the past… Seldom did my enemies aim to kill us… Serenade looks like she will kill anyone that gets in her way… What if… One of my friends gets killed and I’m not there to save them? What if I am the cause of it? Serenade isn’t above using them as hostages to get to me, obviously… What if…”

Discord reached forward and slapped her with his claw, causing Twilight to cough before turning to face him with shocked eyes. His expression turned more serious than usual as he brushed off his claw. “Sorry, you needed a reality check… Twilight Sparkle, we’re not going to allow anything bad to happen. We’re going to defeat this demon, restore order to Equestria, as much as I hate order, and then you’re going to have a big celebration after and go on about the nonsense of friendship. That is what you do.”

It was strange to see Discord believing so much in her, but Twilight supposed that he didn’t want to even consider the possibility that his first and so far only student would miss the mark after all the time they spent training. He had faith in her, and Twilight needed to carry the same faith in herself. She had grown so much in the past few months; become so much stronger than she had ever been, but she also had her greatest test before her.

This upcoming test had stakes that Twilight could not afford to lose on. Everything was residing on her shoulders, she had to come through for Equestria, she had to make sure everything worked out. Failure wasn’t an option.

“Thank you, Discord… I guess I really did need a reality check… This is bigger than the two of us, and I can’t lose faith in myself now… I’m glad you’re here, thank you for training me, I’ll make sure to put what I’ve learned to good use.” She smiled at the creature.

Discord nodded and smirked. “And if we lose, I suppose we have promising careers as demons, right?”

“I could only imagine…” Twilight rolled her eyes. Even in the most trying of times, Discord found an excuse to be inappropriate, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. His oddities were a sign that he was confident in both of them.

The road ahead was definitely unknown. Would the Princess of Friendship save all of Equestria? Or would the demon conquer the remains? Only time would tell.

With her eyes set on their prize, Twilight met with Starlight, her most trusted student to go over the specifics of her plan. It would take a good few hours to go over it all with her, and she then became aware of the nitty gritty details of how exactly Princess Twilight Sparkle intended to get one over on the crafty Serenade.

Twilight’s plan was complex to a degree but simple at the same time. She intended to exploit Serenade’s arrogance to her advantage.

Starlight blinked as Twilight finished the final details waiting and waited for Starlight’s questions. Sure enough, she had plenty, as she had been taught to always clear up any uncertainties. Twilight was proud of herself for teaching the mare so well.

“So, how exactly do you intend to lure her in though? You haven’t made that part clear...” Starlight asked curiously.

Twilight smirked at her own brilliance. “That’s the best part... I’m merely going to issue her a challenge using the radio towers...”

Starlight blinked, half expecting a far more elaborate plan. She was a bit disappointed that what she was being pitched was far less exciting than her own expectations. A part of her was hoping for something that was really thinking outside the box. This plan, however, made Starlight question if Twilight’s time with Discord was truly well spent.

“A challenge? Isn’t that a bit... Obvious?” Starlight spoke, pausing for a second to choose the correct wording.

Twilight nodded. “Yup, and that’s exactly what I want.”

“I don’t follow...” Starlight tilted her head in confusion.

Twilight sighed as she realized she would have to explain it to her companion. “It’s quite simple really... Serenade will think I’m being arrogant by challenging her. By getting her thinking that way, I can get her to ignore her own arrogance. Serenade will think I’m being overconfident so it’ll never occur to her that she’s actually the one who is allowing her ego to sabotage her.”

Starlight opened her mouth forming an “o” as she nodded. Her face contorted to a smile as it all came together. “Ahhhh, I get it, the old reverse psychology...”

Twilight grinned as her student was beginning to understand. “Exactly, we get her by letting her get herself.”

“Then all we have to do is get her in the right place at the right time...” Starlight finished Twilight’s thought.

“Precisely. From there it’s a matter of just springing our trap and ensnaring her in it!” Twilight explained.

Starlight nodded once more but could sense there was another reason why she was telling all of this to her, a reason that Starlight partially did not want to hear. Regardless though, she gritted herself and asked the true question on her mind. “I’m assuming there is a reason you’re telling me before the others, Twilight?”

It was as if Starlight had said the secret password and unlocked something. Twilight’s face contorted to a more unappealing one and her time became far more serious as she responded. Starlight could see the strain in the mare, the fear of what was to come that she was suppressing. There was determination masking it, but the seed of fear could not be truly covered up.

“In the event that this does not work...” Twilight began.

“Yeah?” Starlight could feel a bead of sweat roll down her neck, the tension in the room far too much for the mare to handle.

“I will need you to take my place... and kill Serenade,” Twilight responded.

The two mares locked stares for several uncomfortable seconds as blue eyes tried to study a lavender mare standing before her. After several more seconds, Starlight spoke up. “Kill? Are you sure?”

The alicorn princess nodded. “It must be done, Serenade cannot be reformed... This isn’t the same as other situations of the past, this creature has given into darkness, there is no coming back from being the kind of demon she is. She has done too much to be forgiven anyway.”

Starlight frowned, not liking this side of Twilight. “Wasn’t killing Adagio what caused all of this to begin with?”

Striking a chord, Twilight stomped her hoof on the ground in anger, her temper flaring up as her volume rose. “THAT WAS-“

She cut herself off and blushed as she calmed herself down. “That was... a different scenario...”

Starlight had been suspicious for some time regarding Twilight’s conversations with Adagio Dazzle. Every time the subject came up, Twilight was always so secretive and dismissive of the subject. She wouldn’t share what she had learned to anypony, even if it didn’t really matter.

“Twilight... What exactly happened between you and Adagio? You’ve been acting strange since that night.” Starlight pointed out.

Again it was as if Starlight had said the words necessary to activate a personality change in Twilight. The mare shifted and stood up, trotting over to the window that overlooked the training area. She stared through the glass at the small garden down below with thoughtful eyes as she carefully planned her words, chewing her thoughts, not wanting to say too much.

“Something very complicated, Starlight... However, it doesn’t concern you, or anypony else for that matter. It’s my cross to bear now...” Twilight’s tone was hushed and reeked of disappointment. There obviously was more to be discovered on the subject, if Starlight could just pry it out of the alicorn.

“It doesn’t have to be... You can tell me, Twilight...” Starlight stepped forward trying to reassure the mare.

Starlight’s attempts, of course, were a waste as Twilight did not give an inch. Her stance remained firm and unwavering. “It’s not something we should be talking about, Starlight.” Her tone suggested she was warning her friend to back off, however, it didn’t seem to work as Starlight pushed the issue further.

“What was up with that kiss, Twilight?” Starlight asked.

“Drop it, Starlight...” Twilight warned.

Starlight stepped forward with a grunt. “Tell me what’s going on, Twilight! Why did you kiss her?”

Twilight squinted and looked away. “I don’t want to talk about it, Starlight, it’s in the past now. It’s my burden to carry...”

“You spent an entire night in a cell alone with her... She told you things, I know she did, and then at her execution, you kissed her... Tell me what’s going on, Twilight... If you know something that could help us here, you should tell me...” Starlight calmed her tone down, hoping it would convince Twilight to give something up, but the alicorn held strong in her stance.

Twilight stomped a hoof on the ground once more and shouted at the highest decibel level she could muster, her voice booming through the entire facility. “I SAID LEAVE IT THE FUCK ALONE, STARLIGHT!”

A blush came to Twilight as she cleared her throat and shook her head. After adjusting herself she approached cautiously, as Starlight winced away at Twilight’s first step.

“Look... I’m sorry for yelling at you... it’s just... it’s a very long story and I really don’t want to get into it at the moment... I’d rather leave it there for now... I promise though... When this is all done and when the time is right... I’ll tell you everything, but right now I need you to focus on the matter at hoof, okay?” Twilight smiled sheepishly as she came closer to her friend. Starlight allowed the advance and eventually allowed Twilight’s hoof to rest on her shoulder.

She looked at Twilight’s hoof and then met her innocent eyes. Whatever secrets she had regarding Adagio Dazzle could wait. They had a demon to defeat, and that had to take priority.

“Alright, Twilight... You can count on me...” Starlight returned the smile.

Twilight nodded and gestured for the mare to go. “I have some things I need to take care of, I’ll meet you at the briefing before we execute this plan...”

Starlight frowned as she met her mentor with concerned eyes. “Are you positive that you’ll be okay?”

The alicorn bit her lip but gave a convincing enough nod. “I’ll be fine. I just need some time alone... Like I said, soon I’ll tell you everything.”

While not fully at ease, Starlight was appeased by Twilight’s reply. She turned and made haste to leave the mare be. After her exit, Twilight stood in thought.

Adagio...

Her thoughts were interrupted almost immediately however, as a male voice rang in her ear. “Twilight... What did happen with Adagio?”

She turned her head and there at the entrance to the small dining area where Twilight was standing was a purple drake with a concerned expression. His brow was raised, and his reptilian eyes were wide.

Sighing, Twilight shook her head as she approached. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Nearly all of it,” Spike admitted.

Nodding, Twilight came up to him and sat down on the floor before him. She raised her front hooves and placed them on his small shoulders. “Spike... Adagio was...”

She paused, chewing her words before finishing that sentence. “She wasn’t like you or I... There were things that happened that I can’t talk about. Secrets that I can’t really tell you about... Hell, I can’t tell anyone about them... Not yet anyway... Either way... Adagio is in the past... She’s dead now and we all need to move on. Focusing on her won’t stop Serenade.”

“I understand, but... You can tell me, Twilight...” Spike frowned once more.

Twilight shook her head. “Let’s focus on what’s going on now, Spike. I need to keep my head in the game...” Twilight said.

What choice did the drake have? While he didn’t enjoy seeing her suffer, he couldn’t get her to open up if she didn’t want to. He nodded and decided it was best to focus on the present.

“Alright, then let’s get ready for your briefing with the others in a few hours...” Spike smiled weakly.

Twilight returned his smile, glad that the subject was finally dropped.

“Good idea.”

Rainbow Dash tried to find her seat in the oddly small room that she and her friends had been summoned to. The table looked like it was designed to only fit about two ponies, not the eight members currently present at it.

She found her seat next to Applejack, squeezing in, causing the farmer to grunt in annoyance as she shoved her way in. “Hey, watch it...” Applejack complained.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “It’s not my fault! This room is freakin’ tiny!”

Applejack returned the eye roll as she tried to scoot over as much as she could giving the pegasus as much room as she could. Her movement, however, only brought her closer to Rarity seated next to her, who grumbled slightly at her personal space being invaded. Applejack turned to her with an apologetic expression. “Sorry, sugar cube.”

Rarity nodded before trying to give herself some breathing room. “Yes, well I’d prefer a larger meeting room myself, but these are the accommodations we’ve been granted, so let’s try and make them as comfortable as we can, shall we, darling?”

The farmer found herself blushing as she agreed. “R-right... Sorry. Anyhoo, Ah’m hopin’ Twilight’s plan really is the whole kit’n kaboodle.”

Across the table on the other side scrunched up uncomfortably close to Spike was a characteristically excited Pinkie Pie. “Should be a doozie! Twilight’s all supercharged now! She’s been trained by Discord and she’s all extra powerful now!”

“Overconfidence is the first step toward defeat, darling…” Rarity kindly reminded.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No way! Twilight is pretty much invincible! After this training she’s probably at least ten times more badass than before, you’ll see!”

“She’s been back for some time now and we haven’t seen her do anything out of the ordinary…” Fluttershy reminded.

Rainbow grumbled. “Are you suggesting that Twilight is not totally all supercharged and badass?”

The meek pegasus shrunk in her seat and shook her head. “O-of course not… It’s just… I don’t think we should get too ahead of ourselves is all…”

“Fluttershy does make an excellent point, darling… Since Twilight’s return she hasn’t really shown her face much, nor done much in the way of mounting a counterattack on Serenade and it’s been months since her return… I don’t know how much longer Starlight, Luna and I can keep Manehatten protected…” Rarity reminded.

Rainbow crossed her hooves and sat back in her seat, not enjoying the negative atmosphere but unable to make a counterpoint against the naysayers. It was true, Twilight hadn’t really done too much since she had returned and she had made herself exceptionally scarce with the exception of meeting with Starlight now and then.

“Starlight has been the only one who really has talked to her much…” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Speak of the devil…” Applejack pointed toward the entrance to the room where a rather organized Starlight entered, bowing her head slightly as she levitated a clipboard with her and circled the table, giving a nod toward her friends before standing next to the head chair which was still empty.

“Thank you all for coming here…” Starlight stated.

“Why so formal?” Applejack raised a confused brow.

Starlight shrugged in response. “Just trying to keep things official for when Twilight arrives… She has a lot to go over, so we should all listen carefully…”

“Where is she though?” Rainbow asked, sitting up a bit and placing both of her hooves onto the table.

“I’m already here…” A voice echoed through the entire room.

Every pony present looked around to try and find the origin of Twilight’s disembodied voice, but could not see anything that resembled the mare. Rarity finally noticed a tapestry that hung on the wall behind the vacant chair and pointed with her hoof. “Look!”

The design on the tapestry which bore the mark of Twilight’s cutie mark shifted shapes until the face of the mare herself appeared on it and carefully pulled out of the fabric before an entire body was formed and snaked down to the empty chair. In a matter of seconds, it would take on the familiar lean body shape of the Princess of Friendship, though she had clearly lost some weight from her training.

Her training with Discord was evident, but her new appearance startled the group.

Twilight’s hooves were adorned with onyx cuffs and plated horseshoes with white trimmings, jagged in shape, but it matched the rest of her ensemble. Her body was strapped with a similar armor with points and spikes sticking out of it, covering her back and the upper part of her stomach, leaving her soft belly exposed.

Around her neck was an amulet bearing an emblem which resembled a circle with arrows pointing out of it in eight different directions. Rarity recognized it as the symbol that represented chaos and assumed it was representative of her recent teacher, Discord.

The biggest change, however, was her mane which had been clipped down to a messy boy cut. Gone were her blunt bangs, replaced with asymmetrical locks that hung freely without much to style them. Her tail seemed to share a similar look as it had been clipped down as well. It was a "messy" look for sure but seemed to suit her.

The entire room was silent as they all took in her new appearance.

Clearing her throat, Twilight gave a quick smile before her face returned to a serious expression. “Sorry for keeping you all…”

Pinkie Pie blinked and then rubbed her eyes, wondering if they were playing tricks on her, an action that Rarity copied. Once both mares were certain that was was before them was indeed the real deal they looked at each other, stared for a brief second before looking back at Twilight. “Darling… What’s with the… Err… makeover?” Rarity spoke, carefully choosing her words.

Twilight smirked from the corner of her mouth. “Practicality. I may have to fight Serenade, so my mane could have gotten in the way, on top of that, this new armor should help me deflect some of her dark magic. Discord had it crafted for me.”

“Are you sure it’ll work then? Discord ain’t exactly the most trustworthy…” Applejack frowned, not liking the idea of putting her faith in the draconequus.

Twilight shook her head, dismissing the doubt cast by the farm mare. “Discord is on our side, I’d know; I spent months locked in a room with him. He’s already proven his dedication to me.”

Applejack opened her mouth to object but couldn’t find any words to argue with such sound logic. In their entire time knowing Discord, this was the furthest he had gone for Equestria, the most he had ever done. Admittedly some expressed concern that he had ulterior motives, but when Twilight emerged with newfound power, it was obvious that the creature had held true to his word in teaching her.

“Discord means well…” Fluttershy defended.

Deciding it was best to leave the subject alone, Applejack nodded. “Fair enough, so why did y’all gather us here? I’m assumin’ there’s a point?”

Twilight nodded before raising her head, causing her horn to glow with a brilliant aura, far more vibrant and powerful feeling than her usual one (which was already quite potent). Unicorns in the room could sense her newfound abilities in just her aura, it was eerie almost to see how strong Twilight had become in such a short time. Starlight contemplated what a few months in the same training facility would do for her before clearing her mind to listen to Twilight.

Before the group was a magical projection of a piece of landscape. Rarity leaned in and recognized it instantly. “Hey, that is outside of Manehatten, it’s a small valley that leads to the city. I’ve gone through it a few times on my way there.”

Twilight grinned at her friend’s memory. “Correct, this will be the centerpiece to our plan. The valley is low and narrow, meaning it’s the perfect place to snare our prey.”

“Now this is the part I like! How do we get her, Twilight!?” Rainbow leaned over the table excitedly, shoving Applejack out of the way and into Rarity, causing a grunt and grumble from the farmer before Rarity scooted over to make room for her friend.

“It won’t be easy… With the kind of power that Serenade has, everything has to be carefully planned out…” Twilight frowned.

“How can we fight something so strong? I’ve only heard stories about Serenade’s power, but it sounds absolutely dreadful…” Rarity shuddered at the mere thought of having to face Serenade head on. The kind of power that Serenade possessed could split a mare in half with just the flick of one of her hooves.

Twilight shook her head. “A head-on fight with her would be suicide… So we have to be a bit more tactful…” She pointed to the center of the projection in front of them, into the valley itself. “We are going to have to lure her into this valley where I have prepared a very powerful snare spell…”

On the map before them, a small purple shining ball appeared and floated to the spot in question. “It is comprised of concentrated magic that I have harnessed over the past few months and stored in this magic crystal. A spell this powerful took a tremendous amount of time and energy to create… It should turn her dark magic against her.”

“Whoa! You can do that!?” Rainbow blinked in amazement.

Twilight blushed and nodded. “Yeah… But it’s not exactly an easy thing to do… As I said, it took months to create this spell, at least in a powerful enough form to go against somepony as powerful as Serenade.”

Rainbow was beyond impressed as she nodded. “I knew we could count on you, Twilight!”

Clearing her throat, Twilight pointed back at the map. “There’s only one problem… We need to get Serenade into this valley. It’s going to take all of us to do it. Each of us will lure her down. A calculated effort to bring her down to this point will be necessary to get her.”

“Tell us where you want us!” Applejack grinned.

Twilight pointed once more. “Applejack, you and Rarity will be at the forefront. At the top of the hill, you two will pull her down. Fluttershy and Rainbow will fly in and keep her heading in that direction as well, they can swoop in and pick the both of you up and carry you out of the valley before Serenade arrives.” Twilight then gestured toward Starlight. “Pinkie and Starlight will then run toward where I’ll be waiting to trap her, Starlight, you will need to teleport Pinkie out before it’s too late, then I’ll trigger the spell.”

Applejack paused and rubbed her chin. “Wait jus’ a minute… How are we suppose’t get her to go that way? Ain’t like she’ll be interested in chasin’ us.”

Grinning, Twilight chuckled. “That’s why we use bait.”

“What kind of bait would lure a demon siren our way?” Rarity asked curiously.

Twilight stood up from her seat and stood proud. “You’re looking at it.”

“Y-yourself?” Rarity blinked.

Twilight nodded as she placed a hoof on the table. “The lure of my magic should be enough for Serenade. She craves the power of all of Equestria, especially the Princesses, so my newfound power should be far too difficult for the demon to resist.”

“True, but isn’t it dangerous to put yourself so close to the enemy?” Rarity pointed out.

Twilight shrugged. “I have to try. The risk may be high, but if we don’t do anything the situation is going to get far worse.”

Rainbow chimed in instantly. “That’s my girl! Twilight Danger Sparkle!”

“Ah’ll admit… It’s a sound plan… But pretty bold… If’n we slip up even the slightest, Serenade could get ‘yer magic and that could be a problem…” Applejack added.

“She could get all of our magic… All of the remaining unicorns outside of Manehatten will all be in one place… Starlight, Twilight and myself…” Rarity replied.

She had a point. While this plan did create a lure that was too great for even Serenade to resist, it also put every one of them in a vulnerable position. Serenade could swipe all of their magic in a single move if she played her cards right. Everything fell on the dependability of Twilight’s plan, and how much faith everyone had in it.

“It’s a risk, I’ll admit… However, it’s the only option we have, if we can’t lure her out, then our chances of stopping her are slim to none… We have to take some risks to make this happen…” Twilight explained.

“‘Ah don’t know how ‘Ah feel ‘bout that, but Ah’ll put mah’ faith in y’all, Twilight,” Applejack replied, a small smile forming on her face.

Applejack’s nod of confidence gave Twilight a small smile in return before nodding to the group. “I want everypony to focus so that we can execute this plan, I need everypony to have their mind in the right place when we go out there… One slip up could ruin everything… You may have noticed that at this place we don’t need to eat or sleep, so there’s plenty of time to focus yourselves.”

The Royal Training Ground had some unique properties to it, but it worked to their advantage. Time still flowed, but the effects of time were partially nullified to an extent.

There was silence after those words, no one dared question those words. Twilight nodded before dismissing the group. “You may all go then… I have to check on the progress of the spell, see how it’s coming along…”

The entire group nodded as they all began to leave the cramped room, many of them chitchatting with each other as they exited, leaving Twilight by herself with a sigh as she ran a hoof through her short mane. A raspy voice startled her, causing her to turn around.

“Hey, Twilight.”

Standing there before here was a prismatically maned pegasus with a vibrant grin across her face. Twilight blinked and adjusted herself before bowing her head gently before her friend who had decided to stay behind to converse with her.

“Rainbow, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash blinked in confusion. “Why so formal? We’re friends.”

Twilight rubbed her neck nervously as she averted her eyes, blushing with a tinge of embarrassment. “Yeah, right. Sorry, I’ve been away for so long that I’ve grown used to no social etiquette. Discord isn’t exactly one for conversation or manners, so I guess I’m still readjusting to the outside world.”

Rainbow sat down in front of Twilight and raised a hoof curiously. “I can’t believe you managed to spend so many months locked up with him, that’s insane. I’d have lost my mind.”

Twilight just shrugged. “He’s not so bad when you get used to him. Given the circumstances, I had plenty of time to get used to him.”

Nodding, Rainbow reached forward and placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Hey, not to change the subject but I like the new look… You look like a badass.”

The blush on Twilight’s cheeks only grew at those words “Y-you think so?”

“Totally,” Rainbow responded.

“Yes, well… Thank you.” Twilight nodded, trying to not seem so flustered.

“Hey, I get that you’re nervous; we all are. This whole thing has everyone twisted up, even Applejack, though she’ll never admit it. We aren’t just playing around here, our entire home is at stake. I get that you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but just know that I believe in you, Twilight. You’ve never lead us wrong,” Rainbow explained.

It was all true. The pressure to succeed was overwhelming. The fate of Equestria itself was in Twilight’s hooves and a part of her wondered what would happen if she failed. She calculated her odds at victory at 80% should her plan work, but what would happen if she happened to be in that 20%? Was there anyone left to take Serenade down? Discord, perhaps, but would he be able to?

“Thank you, Rainbow. I appreciate it…” Twilight said quietly.

Patting Twilight’s shoulder, Rainbow nodded and winked. “Anyway, I better get caught up with the others. Try and not stress too much, Twilight.”

“I won’t,” Twilight replied with a nod.

When Rainbow made her way out of the room, Twilight sighed and sat down in a chair and closed her eyes. Everything was going to be on the line soon, she needed to be at the top of her game.

Twilight’s meeting had left a lot on Rarity’s mind, but somehow she was able to make it back to her room without much effort, but once inside, she closed the door behind herself and sighed. The idea of Serenade was terrifying to her; an all-powerful demon that half the fate of Equestria in her hoof without any concern for the lives of any around them. One wrong move and they could all end up dead.

She leaned against the door and tried to take Twilight’s advice to heart, not allowing the situation to stress her out too much. Truthfully, Rarity was a fashion designer, not a world guardian. While she and her friends had defeated evil many times before, each time felt more taxing than the last and each time she feared the next opponent would be worse than the previous one; sure enough, she was right once more. Serenade was a monster like they had never seen before, and the sad part was that Rarity hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the siren. She was told that she was gorgeous in appearance, but had the face of one who cared little about the well being of others.

Serenade was on the verge of becoming the most powerful creature to walk Equestria shy of the old legends that spoke of the Goddesses walking the earth with mortals. Could Serenade become stronger than a goddess though? It was certainly within the realm of possibility now.

She loved Twilight as a friend, but she had to admit she wished for simpler times, times where her day consisted of constructing new outfits rather than saving the world. She wasn’t built for combat, and as a lady, she wasn’t suited for fighting demons.

Rarity allowed herself to touch the floor as she exhaled and tried to center herself. She wondered how this place made it so that ponies did not need to eat or sleep. Ordinarily, under these circumstances, she would be exhausted by now just thinking about it.

Her eyes popped open the moment she heard a set of hooves in the same room as her. Blinking, she called out to the other side of her room which lacked a bed for obvious reasons. “A-Applejack? Is that you?”

There was no response.

Standing up, she began to wander toward the back of the room, looking toward the small storage room connected to the room. “Applejack? You know it’s not good manners to enter a lady’s room without knocking?”

Finding her way to the room, there standing with their back turned to Rarity was a pony with long orange golden mane. Her coat was a proper yellow, and her body was covered in some kind of belted stealth suit.

Rarity took a gentle step backward as the pony turned their head and faced Rarity. Their vibrant red tinted eyes shined as they met Rarity, causing her to flinch. From their body, a black aura radiated from them, with minor purple tints thrown in. Turning around completely, the creature smirked as it took a step closer.

“Who are you?” Rarity asked hesitantly.

“Everything you’re doing is futile…” The pony who appeared to be female said in a distorted voice.

“What?” Rarity squinted.

“Darkness will envelop the world… You won’t stop Serenade…” They replied.

“Are you a demon too?” Rarity asked.

“I am an echo of the past… A fragment of what once was…” They responded before lunging forward, causing Rarity to scream.

Rarity jumped out of the way of the attack, and after a few seconds, the door to her room burst open, Twilight at the ready, blasting the pony with her horn, causing her to disintegrate into a black and purple mist that faded out of existence in a matter of seconds.

Stepping forward, Twilight bowed and smiled to her friend. “Are you alright, Rarity?”

Rarity caught her breath and nodded. “I’m fine darling… What was that?”

Twilight frowned as she looked to where the creature once was. “They’re starting to become more rampant…”

“What are? Fill me in, Twilight, dear.” Rarity blinked.

Looking back at Rarity with a frown, Twilight offered her hoof to help the mare up. Rarity accepted and came to a proper stand.

“They’re called Adagio shades. They’re an after effect of destroying Adagio. I’m not sure why they were created, but they started appearing before me after her execution,” Twilight explained.

Rarity put a hoof to her chin. “Then why are they appearing before me?”

Twilight thought it over for a moment before arriving at a conclusion. “I think they start appearing before anyone connected to Adagio, and then sort of spread to anypony capable of magic; they haven’t appeared to Spike, but they have appeared to Starlight before. They must have something to do with magic, that’s why they’re only appearing to unicorns.”

The theory made sense, but Twilight wasn’t entirely sure. At that moment though, it was all she had to go on though.

“So anypony who is associated with you and now Starlight can see them?” Rarity asked, blinking.

Twilight nodded. “And now you, I suppose… These things are spreading like a virus almost… I don’t really know why, but so far they’ve been more or less harmless… I’d advise you to keep it to yourself, alright?”

Rarity didn’t like the idea of keeping such an encounter to herself, but her trust in Twilight won out as she nodded. “Alright… We’ll keep this between us… Do you think these things will stop when you defeat Serenade?”

Twilight shrugged, she wished she had a proper answer to that question. “Only time will tell… I hope, but it’s difficult to say, I don’t know too much about these things.”

Nodding, Rarity placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “I suppose we really do have our work cut out for us, don’t we?”

Serenade marched down the halls of her repurposed castle at the center of Canterlot at the behest of her most trusted subordinate, Arax. He had insisted she come to see this specific thing directly in person rather than have the information relayed.

Making her way down to the mentioned area next to her second-in-command, she grumbled as they came closer and closer. “This better be important, Arax; I’m not a fan of wasting my time on matters that can be handled by underlings.”

Arax nodded as he walked at his master’s side, certain that he was correct in contacting her directly to handle this matter. “Yes, ma’am, I’m certain you will want to see this yourself.”

Arriving at the main hall near the entrance to the castle, a group of ponies were gathered around a spherical object in the center of the room. It shined like a giant pearl and seemed to be glass-like in appearance. Serenade raised a curious brow as she approached and tried to make sense of the object. “What is it?” She asked.

Arax cleared his throat as he answered his master. “It’s a comm orb. It’s used to send messages over long distances via magic. It was sent here with your name attached to it. There’s likely a message to be relayed to you...”

Nodding, Serenade tapped her hoof onto the marble floor. “Play it then.”

Gulping, Arax took a step back and closed his eyes, focusing his magic to his changeling horn and channeling it to eventually reach the sphere. Once his magic made contact and unlocked the spell holding the message in, the sphere began to glow and levitate into the air.

Within seconds, a projection of a gruff looking purple alicorn adorned in some kind of battle armor appeared before the group. The entire room fell silent as that projected mare began to speak directly to Serenade.

“Serenade Dazzle, I had hoped our first communication would have been face to face, but that will come soon enough.” The projection said.

Serenade squinted as she eyed up the mare. “Twilight Sparkle...” the siren nearly whispered.

“You’ve caused quite a bit of destruction in such a short time. I apologize for not being around to stop you earlier, but I was indisposed with training.” Twilight’s shade spoke.

The demon growled at the fake mare before her. “Arrogant, aren’t you?”

“My training is complete now, however. With the kind of power I have acquired, I’m more than a match for the likes of you,” Twilight continued.

Those words made Serenade’s eye twitch with annoyance. Who did this princess think she was fooling? There was no way that simply training for a few months had put her even close to being on par with Serenade’s might, and the siren knew that. Twilight was bluffing, but she spoke with enough conviction that one would almost believe she was being sincere.

“Then why aren’t you here yourself, Twilight Sparkle?” Serenade chuckled as she composed herself. “Why are you sending a threatening message rather than simply storming my front door?”

“You likely are wondering why I am bothering to message you first,” the pre-recorded message suggested.

It was as if she had anticipated exactly what Serenade would say, which pissed her off slightly. Grinding her teeth, Serenade listened.

“I wanted to give you a chance to surrender before I destroyed you,” Twilight said so plainly.

Serenade laughed at the obvious lie. “Cute,” she responded and rolled her eyes.

“Just like I destroyed your sister...” Twilight’s face contorted to a grin.

Blinking, Serenade leaned in and stepped closer. “What did you say?”

Twilight just went on. “I was the one who sentenced your sister to death, and I was there helping deliver the magic that was necessary for her execution. I witnessed her final moments, and I participated in ending her life.”

Growling Serenade stomped her hoof hard into the marble floor, cracking it under the pressure. “Shut up!”

Naturally, Serenade’s words didn’t do anything to the message. “I watched her draw her last breaths, I watched her suffer as she died, I got to enjoy the satisfaction of knowing her reign of evil ended at my hooves.”

Twilight’s voice was filled with satisfaction and smugness as she rattled off about Serenade’s deceased sister. Every single word only made Serenade’s anger bubble up more and more, her temper flaring as she listened to Twilight disgrace her dead sibling. It frustrated her more that she couldn’t do anything about it either. “SHUT UP, I SAID!”

The smug look on Twilight’s face only continued. “It’s a feeling that I am expecting to experience again when I watch you die.”

“OH!? YOU THINK YOU CAN MANAGE THAT, CUNT!? I’LL FUCKING RIP YOUR THROAT OUT! I’LL MAKE YOUR FUCKING FAMILY WATCH AS I PULL YOUR ENTRAILS OUT AND STRANGLE YOU WITH THEM YOU FUCKING SHIT STAIN! I’LL MAKE YOU BEG FOR DEATH WHEN I AM THROUGH WITH YOU!” Serenade shouted at the maximum volume that her voice could muster. The entire group in the room stepped backward, including Arax. Not a soul present wanted to be in the path of the angry demon’s wrath.

Serenade’s body pulsed as the black demonic tendrils that she was known for protruded outward and lifted her from the ground. Floating there watching the projection of Twilight, she continued her rant of fury.

“WHEN I CATCH YOU, TWILIGHT SPARKLE, I WILL LET EVERY ONE OF MY PUPPETS RAVAGE THAT CUNT OF YOURS UNTIL YOU ARE BLEEDING! YOU WILL DIE LOOKING ME IN THE EYE AS YOU CHOKE TO DEATH ON YOUR OWN VOMIT YOU FUCKING WHORE!” Serenade’s voice became distorted as her eyes started to glow.

Twilight’s magical hologram just stood there before speaking once more. “Attached to this orb is a letter with a date. On that date, I shall be waiting for you at the location marked on it. If you are brave enough to face me, then I shall fight you there. You will have your chance to avenge your dead sister if you are brave enough to show up.”

Serenade hissed as one of her tendrils involuntarily swatted at the transparent alicorn princess before her. “FUCK YOU!”

“Show me your strength, Serenade. I’ll be waiting for you...” Twilight said before her projection vanished in time for Serenade to swat at the orb itself, knocking it to the floor with a shattering noise.

Growling and panting, the siren came slowly to the ground as she calmed herself down slightly, her eyes eventually ceasing to glow.

Arax carefully stepped forward and tried to get his master to control herself. He could see that she was seething with anger as the tendrils on her body whipped and flailed about wildly, without purpose. “Ma’am?”

Serenade hissed but didn’t turn to face him. “Arax, you’re in charge around here for the time being.”

“Ma’am?” He raised a brow.

“I am going hunting for Twilight Sparkle,” Serenade replied.

He decided it was best not to say anything to those words.

Breathing harshly through her teeth, Serenade stared at the shattered orb on the ground. “My sister will be avenged soon. Twilight Sparkle will die soon, and her power will be mine.”

“Ma’am, if I may-“ Arax tried to step forward only for Serenade’s tendril to whip his hoof away, scratching it in the process.

With fire filled eyes, she turned to face him and growled. “Don’t you dare fucking question me on this. Defy me and I will kill you, Arax. Don’t forget that even if you are my preferred servant, you are still just a servant.”

The changeling nodded and stepped backward before bowing his head. “Yes, of course, master.” Arax knew better than to question the girl when she was this angry; she couldn’t be reasoned with while in this state, he once saw her kill a pony just for looking at her funny when she was this filled with that level of rage; ripped them in half and watched their blood drip out of their carcass while she seethed.

“This cunt will regret ever fucking with me...” Serenade hissed.

Arax wished he could interject, but there wasn’t a thing he could do. Serenade would walk into whatever trap Twilight Sparkle was planning and she wouldn’t hear a word otherwise. He at least was comforted in knowing that the boost of power she received via her temper made her more than a match for Twilight Sparkle. In a way, Arax almost felt bad for the mare; knowing the retribution that was about to rain down upon her.

As Serenade stormed off, her temper not cooling even a single degree, Arax grinned as he thought out loud. “Good luck, Princess Twilight... Your last day is coming up soon...”

The day of Twilight’s grand scheme was upon them, and Twilight had become confident in her abilities. All the training she had done, all the preparations, everything had lead up to this moment.

All the pieces were in place, Serenade was to arrive very soon, and Twilight was waiting for her. Everything was about to go down, every detail of her plan had been meticulously plotted for this exact moment. Today, Serenade Dazzle would go down, and her reign over Equestria would come to an abrupt, unceremonious end.

Standing in a deep valley between some sizable rock formations, Twilight paced back and forth as she examined the sedimentary rocks around her. Soon her challenge to Serenade would be met.

Approaching the mare was, of course, her most trusted student, her greatest ally and perhaps her closest friend after all they had been through together, Starlight Glimmer.

Starlight stopped only a few feet before Twilight and gave her a reassuring smile. “So, this is it, huh?”

Nodding in response, Twilight continued her pacing. “Everything is playing out how I wanted. Now I just need her to show up on time and then the spell will be ready.”

Tilting her head in confusion, Starlight blinked. “How are you so certain that Serenade will fall for this? I mean no offense but this seems like an obvious trap...”

Grinning, Twilight had hoped that Starlight would question the brilliance of her plan. “A combination of arrogance and blind fury.”

“I don’t follow.” Starlight deadpanned.

Rolling her eyes, Twilight turned to face her friend properly. “It’s simple really. Serenade doesn’t believe anypony has the power to fight her. She doesn’t believe I’m capable of any kind of trick that could cause her harm. On top of this, she knows I was the one who sentenced her sister to death. That means she’s going to allow that to blind her into doing anything to get close enough to kill me.”

“I suppose she does seem to have a temper... Though to be fair, few of us have ever actually seen her, only heard stories,” Starlight pointed out.

Twilight nodded. “Either way, once she’s trapped we can figure out how to undo the damage she’s done.”

“Agreed.” Starlight smiled at her mentor.

Before the two ponies could discuss the matter any further, however, a whistle could be heard in the distance, a familiar whistle that Twilight had ordered be executed when Serenade was spotted.

“Shit... She’s early...” Starlight stated as she looked to the sun in the sky.

“I guess we’ll just have to stall her long enough for the spell to be ready. Get yourself to safety, Starlight,” Twilight commanded.

Starlight shook her head and stamped her hoof in the dirt. “What about you? If she gets here before that spell is ready then-“

Twilight cut her off. “I can hold her off if need be. Now get out of here!”

Sighing, Starlight realized there wasn’t much time to argue and it was likely pointless. Twilight had made up her mind, and Starlight, as strong as she was, was outclassed.

“Kick her ass, Twilight.” Starlight raised a hoof in support before making a dash to get out of the enclosed area, leaving a lone Twilight Sparkle to stand there in her lonesome.

Twilight chuckled as she looked to the black crystal that had been placed in the wall of the canyon, the same crystal that had been charging her spell all this time. It was only a short time away from completion, but even a few seconds could make a drastic difference in a fight with Serenade. Twilight had no idea how strong the mare truly was, but she was ready.

Bracing herself and taking a deep breath, Twilight took a stance and awaited her foe. “Alright, Serenade, let’s see how strong you really are.”

Next Chapter: Act V - Chapter LXXII: Collision Estimated time remaining: 44 Hours, 21 Minutes