Twilight Sparkle stood strong, confident and ready for her trap to ensnare the mightiest demon who ever stepped hoof in Equestria. Her confidence would, in turn, rub off on her friends who stood equally as convinced in her abilities and the certainty that her plan would work and that by the end of the day, Twilight Sparkle would come out triumphant over the demon siren.

That confidence trickled down and reached Applejack and Rarity who stood their positions ready to perform the duty that they swore to on Twilight’s behalf. Their job simple, but essential. They were to send the signal that Serenade was on her way and to pull her down to where they needed her to be caught in their trap.

Standing in wait, the two mares filled the time with idle conversation, eventually arriving at the current topic of discussion.

“So, do you think Twilight’s new look suits her?” Rarity asked curiously, her mind floating around with ideas of different wardrobes that would suit her shorter mane.

Applejack blinked and peeked at Rarity from the corner of her eye. “Don’t really know, don’t really care.”

Rarity let out a gentle whine as she turned away with her nose in the air. “Some of us care about how to compliment our friend’s sudden change in outward appearance.”

“No offense, Rarity, but is that really what we should be talkin’ ‘bout?” Applejack raised a brow, now turning to face the mare proper.

Scoffing and blowing a small raspberry, Rarity conceded with the blunt farmer. “I suppose not. Still, it is quite a drastic change.”

“Don’t get me wrong; ‘Ah was a little shocked at it myself. Guess Discord musta’ put her up to it, so ‘Ah definitely don’t know how ‘Ah feel ‘bout that,” Applejack admitted. She wouldn’t say so in front of the others, but she knew she could trust Rarity not to say anything. Oddly enough, the two were able to gossip without much worry or concern. Applejack’s overbearing honesty made it so she always felt the need to confess how she truly felt about things, even if it was just to a single pony. So long as her secrets were revealed with somepony, she felt at ease. It was just convenient that Rarity was willing to be that somepony.

“Still not that trusting of him, darling?” Rarity questioned as she sat down on a nearby rock and checked over her hooves, levitating a file to them.

Applejack shook her head. “Not to sound like a debbie-downer or anythin’, but he ain’t exactly the most reliable. How are we sure we can depend on him?”

Rarity shrugged as she looked over her hoofwork, but kept the conversation going with Applejack. “Regardless, Twilight trusts him and that means something to me.”

Biting her lip, Applejack couldn’t find a way to argue with that. She trusted Twilight, but she did question if her time with the draconequus had warped her perception. Time would tell, but there was at least a seed of doubt in Applejack’s mind, but she recognized it was unsubstantiated.

“‘Suppose yer’ right.” Applejack chuckled.

“Aren’t I always?” Rarity asked as she poofed the file out of existence with a bit of magic, a small smirk playing her lips as she peered at the farmer from the corner of her eye, but mostly still focused on her hoof.

“Sure, we’ll go with that.” Applejack rolled her eyes and stood up to stretch her hooves. “So, y’all have seen Serenade before?” Applejack changed the subject.

Rarity shook her head. “Not up close, but I’ve seen her from a great distance.”

“What’s she look like?” Applejack asked, curiously.

Rarity shuddered as she recalled seeing the creature in the distance from Manehatten. That monster still haunted her dreams.

“She has an appearance like no other. Black tendrils that whip about violently without rest come out of her back, but when they aren’t in use, they vanish into thin air...” Rarity closed her eyes as it all started to come back to her. Her memories were vivid.

“I remember long mane and a white coat. I didn’t get a good look at her, but I remember those parts,” Rarity explained.

Applejack blinked as her eyes peered into the distance. “Ya’ mean like that?”

With her front hoof, she pointed off into the distance where far away, maybe a good two miles a figure was approaching. It was all alone, but the two girls could see a speck of white surrounded by long black waving lines all around it that reached a good dozen feet into the sky. They waved and flailed about without any rhyme or reason, just swatting at thin air as they approached slowly.

The creature was not going faster than a casual walk, but as Applejack lifted a pair of binoculars to get a better look, she could see the demon in clearer detail.

Her glowing red eyes were narrowed into slits, and Applejack could feel the violent volatile anger within them. She walked with determination in her step, stomping as she moved; her entire body almost autonomous as it marched to exact its mission upon Twilight Sparkle.

Rarity reached a hoof out to request the binoculars which Applejack obliged and offered them to the mare.

Taking the device in her hoof, Rarity gulped and peeked through them to get a better look at the siren. Up close, Rarity was stunned by a simple fact: Serenade was absolutely gorgeous. Her silky beautiful golden locks with the red-tinted tips bounced so flawlessly as she stepped, complimented by her powerful red eyes and soft young looking face. How could such an image of beauty be committed to such horrid atrocities? It was another crime to add to a growing list against Serenade.

“There’s no mistaking it, that’s her... I didn’t expect her to be so beautiful though...” Rarity found herself still staring.

“Rarity!” Applejack grunted.

Blushing, Rarity lowered the binoculars as her ears flopped down and pressed to her head in shame. “Sorry, darling but she is! I mean she is a seductress, so it only makes sense.”

“‘Ah think there are more important things to worry about than how attractive she is?” Applejack raised a brow as she scolded her friend.

“R-right, isn’t she early?” Rarity snapped back to reality and recalled something about Twilight saying she should arrive a good half hour later than the current time.

Applejack tried to recall the exact time that Twilight had told them to expect her, and it took her a good eight tries before she finally remembered. “Shoot, yer’ right. We gotta warn Twilight right away!”

Nodding in agreement, Rarity retrieved a set of whistles from a nearby bag that the two had brought and tossed one weakly to Applejack, who caught it between her teeth and quickly gave it a long puff, making it scream its call into the air. The gesture was quickly followed by Rarity doing much of the same and blowing through the tool as hard as she could, causing its sound to echo into the air with Applejack’s.

Once the two had blown a few times, they looked to each other, with Applejack pulling the whistle out of her mouth. “So, what exactly do we do now?”

Rarity allowed the whistle to fall from between her lips into the dirt as her mouth opened and stayed ajar. “I... Hadn’t thought of that. She’s early, Twilight’s spell isn’t quite ready just yet.”

Applejack rubbed her temple with her hoof and looked back toward the demon siren that was getting closer and closer by the second. “All we can do now is carry out our job. Lure her into the valley, hope that Rainbow and them have it under control.”

“What about Twilight? Eventually, Serenade will reach her and her spell isn’t ready yet,” Rarity pointed out with a raised hoof.

“She had all that trainin’ guess it’s time to put it to use. She’ll have to hold off Serenade for a bit, now come on, if we wait here any longer she’s gonna make applesauce outta’ the two of us!” Applejack instructed.

Rarity could find nothing to argue that back with as she agreed with the sentiment. Though she knew it was dangerous to bring the demon to Twilight before the spell was ready, they were in a position where they had no real choice. Serenade was coming their way whether they liked it or not. Gulping, Rarity nodded as she looked back at the demon before galloping behind Applejack.

“Good luck, Twilight...” She spoke under her breath.

The sound of a whistle caused Rainbow Dash to jump nearly a foot in the air out of the tree she was napping in. “Huh!? Wha!?” She blinked a few times before she heard another whistle.

“How long was I out, Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked her friend who had agreed to keep watch while Rainbow took a nap before they were to be needed. She had been certain they had a good forty minutes or so before she was needed.

“Only eight minutes, I counted...” Fluttershy replied as she peered into the distance.

“Then Applejack and Rarity are blowing false alarms! Not cool!” Rainbow grumbled.

“Actually, I am pretty sure they are legitimate. I see something in the distance.” Fluttershy pointed as she flapped her wings and floated in the air.

Sighing, Rainbow Dash flew down from the tree she was resting in and grabbed the pair of binoculars around Fluttershy’s neck and removed them. Fluttershy blushed as she had forgotten she had them.

Rolling her eyes, Rainbow lifted the binoculars to her face and decided to take a look at what was going on. Down below she could see Applejack not running at her usual top speed in order to allow Rarity to keep up with her. The two ponies were frantically racing forward to the agreed upon point, which meant that it would soon be time for Fluttershy and her to swoop in and pull the two out of the canyon they were approaching and quickly take their place.

Refocusing her gaze behind them, Rainbow focused on what was making the two mares bolt at top speed from their post.

“Damn, I never expected Serenade to be hot...” Rainbow whistled thoughtfully.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy scolded.

Lowering the binoculars, Rainbow offered them to Fluttershy. “No joke, she’s a babe. Damn shame, really.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy crossed her hooves.

Nodding, Rainbow tossed the binoculars aside. “Yeah, you’re right. My bad, this isn’t the time or place. Let’s save Applejack and Rarity and get this bitch to Twilight, shall we?”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement and the two pegasi dashed down toward their friends at maximum speed (though Rainbow going significantly faster).

Arriving right in front of an exhausted farmer and even more exhausted seamstress, Rainbow blinked. She had never seen Rarity all tired and sweaty, so it was a bit of a shocking sight, to say the least.

“So that thing out there is Serenade, I take it?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack nodded as she caught her breath. “Yeah... That’s her...”

“I thought she wasn’t supposed to arrive until a bit later?” Fluttershy asked.

Rarity shook her head. “It looks like she’s impatient. I suppose Twilight taunting her wasn’t the wisest of ideas.”

“Shit, this isn’t good. Maybe we can stall her some to try and buy Twilight some time,” Rainbow suggested.

“I’ll volunteer fer’ that job.” Applejack nodded.

“What’s the plan then?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack turned toward Serenade who was approaching from the distance, still a good few minutes from reaching them. Applejack gritted her teeth and sighed looking back at Rainbow. “Get Rarity outta’ here, Ah’ll see if I can do anythin’ and y’all come back for me, alright? Even if ‘Ah can only buy us a lil’ time, it’s better than nothin’.”

“Applejack, she could kill you,” Fluttershy pointed out.

Rarity stepped forward in objection. “Fluttershy is right, dear.”

“She could kill us all. Gotta do what we gotta do, right?” Applejack grinned.

It didn’t take long for Rarity to realize how futile arguing with the mare was. She nodded and placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Good luck, darling. Please... Come back alive, though?”

Applejack smiled at the gesture and removed her hat, placing it atop of Rarity’s head. “Sure thing. Be sure to hold onto this fer’ me.”

With one final nod, Rarity stepped away and was lifted into the air by Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to be taken out of the canyon. Applejack was alone now, she turned to face Serenade and started walking in the demon’s direction, hoping that maybe her confidence alone would be enough to get Serenade to halt with intrigue.

The two mares walked closer and closer to each other until Applejack was only a good eight feet from the demon siren. Up close, she had to admit that Rarity had a point, Serenade was a gorgeous creature with a perfect coat, along with brilliantly styled and attractive mane that shined like silk in the sunlight.

Her stance reeked of confidence, but her face had a permanent scowl plastered to it. For a brief second, Applejack wondered what a genuine smile looked like on this girl, or if she had ever smiled in her life for a reason that didn’t involve the suffering of others.

“Well, we meet at last...” Applejack began as the two stood still.

“Out of my way, hick.” Serenade barked.

“Harsh, was hopin’ we could talk.” Applejack grinned deviously.

Serenade’s expression remained a negative one, she didn’t give an inch to the farmer. “I have nothing to discuss with a worthless cousin-fucking hillbilly.”

“Ain’t no need for name callin’.” Applejack shook her head.

“Harsh words are going to be the least of your problems today, cuntface, if you don’t get the fuck out of my way,” Serenade threatened.

Her tone was so simple like she was commanding a dog to do a trick that wasn’t listening. Applejack could already tell she intended to make good on her threats, though he never doubted her in the first place. Serenade didn’t exactly seem like the mare who made empty threats or wrote checks that she couldn’t cash.

“What ‘Ah don’t understand, is why a siren, like yourself, comes along and starts killin’ ponies and then tries to take over Equestria. Maybe we can work with ya’ and find out what is goin’ on with y’all and work something out?” Applejack offered, knowing it was in vain, but realistically was just trying to buy as much time as her little ploy could offer.

Serenade stamped her hoof in the dirt and grunted. “I’m not stupid enough to think you’ll just overlook the ponies I murdered if I agree to cooperate with you. Secondly, there is nothing I wish to discuss with a worthless dirt farmer such as yourself. I hate your kind, I despise all worthless mortals such as you. To me you are less than piss, you’re less than dirt, you’re less than trash. There is nothing to work out, I want every last one of you dead...”

“Why though?” Applejack raised a brow.

“You ask a lot of stupid questions, and my patience is already wearing thin. Step aside, or face the consequences.” Serenade took a powerful step forward, clearly getting annoyed.

“Why can’t we co-exist?” Applejack offered.

Another step forward and Serenade growled with an annoyed tone. “Alright, shit-for-brains. You want to understand me so badly? I’ll help you do just that...”

Blinking, Applejack stood her ground, despite a bead of sweat running down her neck. Here she was challenging perhaps the most powerful creature in all of Equestria by herself, and she had not even the slightest inkling of what that creature’s massive power was capable of.

With lightning speed, two of the black tendrils whipping about violently lunged forward and gripped Applejack’s temples. They squeezed sharply before releasing the mare and dropping her to the ground.

A smile of victory came to Serenade as she moved forward unchallenged and stepped over Applejack’s unconscious body laying there in the dirt. She looked back at the farmer and then toward the direction she was supposed to head to claim her prize, Twilight’s life.

“Sleep well, hick. I hope you like the present I gave you for wasting my time...” Serenade commented as she trekked forward.

Applejack found herself back in Canterlot as she rose from a bed with a light gasp. She couldn’t remember how she had gotten there. Looking down at her hooves, she examined them and then flipped the sheet off of her body and trotted over to the nearby window at top speed, eager to see the land down below.

Much to her shock, Canterlot seemed to have returned to its normal state almost overnight. Ponies were wandering about conversing, shopping, loitering and just engaging in general city life. The upper-class city seemed to have been restored to its former self during Applejack’s slumber. This raised so many questions; how long had she been out? How did Twilight’s battle with Serenade go? Where was the demon now?

Returning to her bedside, Applejack rubbed her head before the sound of the door creaking open caused her to flinch and jolt her head in that direction.

There at the door was a small dragon, smiling as he saw her there. “Oh, you’re finally awake. Good, you really had us worried there.”

“Spike, y’all look like ‘yer doin’ well. How’d ‘Ah get here in Canterlot?” Applejack questioned.

Spike obviously anticipated this question so he rattled off the answers to a few expected follow up questions in his response. “We carried you here after Twilight’s fight with Serenade. You were out for about eight days, but it’s good to see you’re doing better.”

“What happened to Serenade? Did Twilight win?” Applejack blinked, eager to know if Twilight’s plan had worked.

Spike gestured for the farmer to follow him with his claw as he turned to exit the room. Wasting no time, Applejack found her legs moving rhythmically with the dragon’s step as she stayed at his side as the two made their way down the castle halls. Applejack was somewhat familiar with the building and knew they were headed toward Celestia’s throne room if they continued on the path they were on.

The small dragon had a serious expression on his face as he kept his focus forward. “Twilight managed to defeat Serenade. It was quite the show, Discord’s power combined with her own... What a sight.”

Applejack frowned over having missed it, she really would have liked to see Twilight’s new abilities during such a spectacle, especially being used to slay the greatest enemy of Equestria.

“What happened to Serenade then?” Applejack kept her eyes on Spike as they walked.

“Dead. Twilight didn’t even hesitate to end her after that. Serenade was more or less no match for Twilight’s new powers.” Spike nodded as he replied.

This caused Applejack to blink once more. Twilight had actually ended Serenade’s life, without a second thought at that. It was giving Applejack mixed feelings about Twilight for that moment, but she conceded that Serenade needed to die in order for Equestria to be safe.

“Damn, that musta’ been rough on her...” Applejack frowned.

Spike turned toward the final part of the hallway that would take the two to Celestia’s throne. “She wasn’t really that shaken up about it. Twilight’s gotten much harder over the years, and she was prepared for the idea of completely removing the threat of Serenade ever returning. If it’s a threat to Equestria, Twilight is content in putting it out of its misery.”

Twilight Sparkle, killing others? The image just didn’t sit well in Applejack’s head. While Twilight was a resourceful mare and a clever one too, whose biggest joy was reading her dusty old tomes, she wasn’t the type to end the lives of others, if anything she was more for making the lives of others better, it was just what she was meant to do in the world. Still, Applejack had to remind herself that Twilight was a Princess and that meant she would often be forced to do things that she didn’t enjoy doing that much.

“The duties of a princess...” Applejack replied quietly as she stepped with the dragon.

Spike nodded. “Indeed, but Twilight can handle it.”

Applejack doubted that. Deep down, she was certain that Twilight would need therapy to get past what she had done, as she had been off even after putting Adagio to death. Applejack wasn’t there for the execution, but it was obvious that it had messed with Twilight mentally.

“So, ‘Ah take it she wants to see me?” Applejack asked.

Peeking at her from the corner of his eye, Spike grinned. “Well, you did nearly get yourself killed just to help her out. She’s been worried sick since you’ve been out, you know?”

Applejack felt a small sense of accomplishment and pride at that statement. While she was unable to do any kind of actual damage to Serenade, her tactic at least bought Twilight enough time to finish the demon siren off with relative ease. A part of her was actually worried that Serenade would reach Twilight long before her spell was ready and the results would be catastrophic.

“That’s good to hear,” Applejack said.

Reaching the door to the throne room, Applejack found a smile across her face as she saw the faces of Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Shining, and Twilight smiling at her as they sat around the two thrones in the room. Celestia as regal as ever seemed to be in good form despite being held hostage by Serenade for some time, as did Cadance and Shining.

It was good to see them all in that throne room, their rightful place. She let out a sigh of relief as she took a few steps forward but paused as she noticed everything around her froze. Mid-movement, every pony and creature in the room stood perfectly still, like statues almost. None of them moved an inch.

Applejack found herself blinking and waving a hoof in front of a frozen Spike who had stopped mid-step, his small foot still lifted in the air. She tried to shake him to move but her hoof went right through him.

“What the?” Applejack examined her hoof with curiosity.

Applejack.

The mare flinched and pivoted on her hind hooves to look for the source of the voice she had just heard. There was no one behind her. She bolted her attention forward and saw no one once again, the entire group around the throne were still perfectly still.

I think now is a good time for us to have a little chat.

“Who are you!? Where are you!?” Applejack barked as she kept turning her head, trying to see if she could locate the owner of the voice that seemed to come from nowhere, not wanting them to get a jump on her.

You’re so naive.

Applejack growled as she took a fighting stance. “Show yerself!”

It was as if those words had been a secret password because a black mist started to fill the room. Applejack turned her gaze toward where the mist originated and saw the familiar fit figure of Serenade step out of the dark mist, flicking her long lavish mane as she focused her eyes on Applejack with a smirk on her lips. She wore the same annoying expression that many had come to know her for, one of arrogance.

“Serenade... ‘Ah thought Twilight killed y’all.” Applejack raised a brow and remained in a defensive stance, ready to attack if she needed.

“Killing me is impossible, I have many ways of cheating death. With the powers available to me, I can survive through ponies like yourself...” Serenade spoke quietly as she slowly circled Applejack, black mist trailing behind her as she did, eventually surrounding Applejack.

“‘Ah’d never help you,” Applejack asserted.

Serenade laughed. “I don’t think you get it. I’m already in your head, Applejack. It only takes a small flex of my power to gain control of you...”

Standing her ground, Applejack’s eyes followed the siren. “It’ll take more than that to get me.”

Shaking her head, Serenade approached and ran a gentle hoof along Applejack’s powerful jawline. Her scent filled Applejack’s nostrils as she came close and flicked her tail at the farmer. There was a scent of roses that seemed to radiant from her, but Applejack focused herself on ignoring such details.

The siren giggled as she came around Applejack’s backside. “You know, Applejack, you’re wasting your potential right now.”

“How do ya’ figure?” Applejack raised a brow.

Serenade laughed once more and came up next to Applejack wrapping a hoof around her neck. “With your strength? You’d make an excellent demon.”

“There ain’t no way ‘Ah’d ever become a demon!” Applejack hissed swatting the mare’s hoof away.

Serenade shook her head and clicked with her tongue in a disappointed gesture. “You apparently can’t see your own potential. I’ll be glad to show it to you though.”

Applejack blinked as Serenade tapped the ground with her hoof and from the shadows a second Applejack formed before both of them. It was a perfect copy, an exact replica right down to the hat. Her doppelgänger smirked as it moved and took position next to the frozen Spike.

“What is this!?” Applejack asked.

Serenade chuckled as she vanished into a cloud of dark mist. “Your potential...”

Time unfroze and without hesitation, the alternate Applejack grabbed Spike by the head in her hooves. With a quick twist, she twirled his head and a “snap” was heard before the mare dropped his limp body to the ground.

Applejack gasped and reached forward, but found her hoof go right through the mare.

She tried to call to Twilight and the other princesses, but none seemed to hear her words. Before the princesses even had a chance to react to the death of Spike, the other Applejack stomped her hoof onto the ground causing dark spikes of black shining rock to rise out of the ground going in a straight line toward the thrones before ripping through Celestia’s, and impaling the mare.

Another stomp sent one in Twilight’s direction, who jumped out of the way. Before she had a chance to retaliate though, the dark Applejack jumped into the air and came down with an impressive stomp that rattled the entire building. Doing it a second time caused a quake that made marble fall from the ceiling and the sound of cracking and crumbling all around them began to fill Applejack’s ears.

The pristine looking castle was falling apart all around them, and her evil counterpart did another jump that brought down huge chunks of rock and debris.

Within a matter of seconds, the entire castle fell into a pile of rubble, burying all inside under the fallen architect.

Applejack had shielded her eyes but noted that the rocks had gone right through her, leaving her completely unharmed.

Opening her eyes, she saw that where the castle stood there was now a bunch of debris. Her dark counterpart had effectively reduced Canterlot castle to a pile of useless rocks in a matter of seconds, burying Twilight and the princesses in the process. Applejack didn’t even get enough time to say anything as out from the rubble a familiar orange tinted hoof popped out and then another followed it.

Both the hooves reached up and pulled an entire body out of the rubble, unharmed, and perfectly ready to perform such a horrid action a second time. When the doppelgänger Applejack climbed out of the debris, it looked down to the rest of the city before leaping from the tall platform that held the castle down to the streets below.

Applejack called out to the unsuspecting citizens below, but none could hear her before the dark version of herself hit the pavement with such force it caused a shockwave that rocked the earth itself. With another mighty stomp of her hoof, more black demonic looking spikes jumped out of the ground impaling any who stood in the line that they traveled in, knocking down buildings and ripping up asphalt with ease.

By that point, ponies were running and screaming and Applejack could only watch, unable to do anything.

“Stop it!” She screamed as loud as she could, but not a single pony even acknowledged that she was there.

Without much more time to waste, Applejack jumped down to the city below to face her dark self, not harboring much care if the fall would harm her or not. Predicting a hard fall, Applejack curled her body and rolled as she hit the pavement of one of the many streets in Canterlot. It was painful, and she got scuffed up a little, but nothing that wouldn’t heal in a day’s time at best.

Applejack forced herself to keep it together as she feigned being in no pain. Racing over to her doppelgänger, she called out to the mare causing destruction left and right. At that specific moment, the evil mare had knocked over streetlights and started fires which were spreading fast.

“Hey! ‘Ah said stop it!” Applejack screamed louder, hoping that somepony would notice she was yelling.

To her surprise, only one pony did, her doppelgänger. It turned to face her with eyes that had a black mist radiating from them it seemed as if the dark energy was coming off of her eyes themselves.

“What’s wrong, Applejack? See a ghost?” The creature spoke in a distorted version of Applejack’s own voice.

“Somethin’ like that... What exactly are you?” Applejack asked since she at least had the creature’s attention and she wasn’t going to attack so long as Applejack was wasting her time with questions after all.

The other Applejack smirked at the question. “Y’all already know what ‘Ah am, AJ...”

“Guess ‘Ah musta’ forgot, why not enlighten me?” Applejack raised a brow.

The creature nodded as it looked at its hoof that it raised to its face. Stamping the hoof in the ground she smiled before speaking. “Why, ‘Ah’m just potential is all.”

This only confused Applejack more as she kept her eyes on the dark version of herself. “What kinda’ potential?”

“Your potential, Applejack,” it replied sternly.

“Mine? What do ya’ mean?” Applejack asked.

The dark Applejack lifted its hoof again and a familiar dark mist swirled around the appendage. The mist moved similar to a snake, almost like it had a life of its own. Applejack found herself mesmerized as she watched the other’s power circle her hoof as she stood there.

“All ponies have a darker side, AJ... ‘Ah’m yours. ‘Ah’m everything you could be if you were so inclined...” it explained to the farmer.

Applejack scoffed and looked away. “Yeah, right. No way ‘Ah’d ever turn into y’all.”

“You’re only a smidgen away, really,” it replied.

“That’s a lie!” Applejack growled and stomped her hoof in anger.

“See that? Yer’ anger... That is what could bring y’all down the path that leads to me. See, it don’t take much, all you need is that anger and a small seed of darkness from Serenade. If that happens, it won’t be long before ya’ give into the darkness.” The other Applejack grinned as she stepped closer.

Applejack shook her head as she stepped backward to put more distance between the two of them. “Ain’t no way that’ll happen!”

“Why not? Y’all would be far stronger if you let yourself become me…” The other said.

“You ain’t nothin’ but an illusion…” Applejack spoke, though her words came off as more to assure herself than the other her standing before her, as the mare seemed unfazed by Applejack’s words.

“That’s what y’all so desperately wish is true, ain’t it?” The other Applejack spoke as she began to circle the mare. “But the reality is, a part of ya’ knows that you an’ me are one in the same. It wouldn’t take much…”

“Shut up…” Applejack breathed harshly as she spoke, her heart rate began to increase at every word that came out of this phony’s mouth.

“That’s it… There’s that anger that y’all are so good at…” The fake chuckled.

“Enough talkin’, ‘Ah’m tired of ya’ tryin’ to get into mah’ head. Let’s just do this, alright?” Applejack shook her head and took a battle stance, ready to deliver a mighty kick if need be. The farmer didn’t care how much stronger Serenade’s magic made this copy-cat, she knew she was strong enough to take on anything thrown at her.

The other Applejack smiled and took a similar stance. “Are y’all certain that ya’ wish those to be yer’ last words?”

“Actually, nah. Here’s some new last words fer’ ya’; I think even you can understand ‘em: fuck you.” Applejack growled.

“Gimme yer’ best shot,” the other goaded.

Charging as fast as her legs would carry her, Applejack bolted toward the demon version of herself and spun around via her front hooves and took a swing with her trusted back kick. While they made no attempted to dodge the attack, the demon Applejack lifted a front hoof and stopped Applejack’s hind leg with it, gripping it tightly as she did, a smug grin on her face.

“‘Spose it’s mah’ turn then?” They asked.

With that taunt, they lifted Applejack off of the ground via the back hoof they held and tossed her a good eight feet. The mare tumbled but managed to roll herself back into an upright position, a bit stunned at how much strength the mare possessed. Applejack knew her back kick to be nearly unstoppable for most, yet this fake Applejack blocked it and countered without even breaking a sweat.

Applejack composed herself and prepared for a second attack, but the demon stomped the ground causing more of her dreaded black stalagmites to pierce out of the ground in a straight line, forcing Applejack to jump out of the way. When the mare landed, the demon quickly did another strike sending more in that direction as well. Applejack was quick enough to dodge the second one but landed a bit wobbly.

“Come on, Applejack, hit me.” The demon taunted.

“She’s really startin’ to tick me off…” Applejack grumbled to herself out loud.

“If y’all can stop me in the next eight minutes, maybe ‘Ah won’t go to Sweet Apple Acres and take out yer’ whole family…” They grinned.

Those words sparked a fire in Applejack that she had been trying to keep from growing too much, they ignited a passion in her that she reserved only for the most dire of circumstances.

“Leave them outta’ this! They ain’t got nothin’ to do with us!” Applejack demanded.

The demon didn’t seem even the slightest bit intimidated by Applejack’s demands. “They’re holdin’ y’all back. Ya’ could be so much stronger if y’all just ditched those rejects and gave into the darkness…”

“SHUT UP!” Applejack hissed as she charged forward, only to be stopped by another set of black spikes piercing from the ground. Fortunately, Applejack screeched to a halt just in time to stop herself from being harmed by them.

The rocks them shattered into small shards in a gust of spiked horror as they all flew in Applejack’s direction. She covered her face with her hooves, but the small shards slashed past her, cutting and scraping her skin as they did so, leaving her with a body full of fresh bleeding wounds.

Applejack flicked some blood off of her hoof but held strong as she came back to a stand after being pushed back by the attack. She was hurt, but she could ignore the pain, the anger inside of her definitely acting as fuel to keep her mind off of the pain.

“‘Ah can’t even touch her…” She thought out loud.

“Time’s tickin’ Applejack… Yer’ family will be dead soon if y’all don’t do somethin’… Or maybe you lack the strength?” The demon spoke with her usual smugness.

“I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Applejack growled at maximum volume, her eyes beginning to emit a bright glow as they turned red in color. Around her hooves a familiar black mist began to form as she charged forward, blocked again by another set of stalagmites that burst through the ground, but this time the rocks proved no problem for the farmer, who jumped and bashed her shoulder through the rocks, causing them to shatter.

Applejack found herself in a blind fury taking kick after kick at the mare who kept dodging but laughing as she did so.

“That’s it! Feel that anger, Applejack! Give into it! Let the darkness consume you! Feel the power it gives you!” The demon laughed.

Those words caused something to snap in Applejack, she realized what she was doing and stopped attacking. Looking at her hooves, she could see the darkness shrouding them. She gasped as she fell back on her haunches looking at her hooves. “What have ‘Ah…” She spoke softly.

“Ya’ see, AJ… It doesn’t take much to turn ya’, does it?” The demon asked.

“‘Ah’ll never become you!” Applejack protested.

The demon laughed. “Whatever helps ya’ sleep at night… The reality is, all it takes is just a pinch o’ Serenade’s magic… An’ you and ‘Ah will be one in the same…”

“No…” Applejack shook her head.

“Live in denial all ya’ like… Eventually, though, you will become me.” The demon spoke with conviction.

Applejack had been taken out of commission by Serenade and Starlight had to inform Twilight before the demon arrived at her location. She had decided it was best to poof the others away sooner rather than later and sent for Rainbow to retrieve Applejack who laid in the dirt, relatively unharmed at the very least, but that still left the matter of Serenade was going to arrive a bit too early at Twilight’s location.

Starlight panted as she reached the armored mare standing in front of a dead end in the canyon patiently waiting. Twilight didn’t seem tremendously worried, but instead wore a look of determination on her face. Starlight was a bit impressed at how much Twilight had conquered her bad habit of assuming the worst case scenario and panicking. Her time with Discord had allowed her to grow in more ways than one.

Twilight looked to Starlight and gave a gentle smile before the unicorn bowed to her Alicorn mentor. “Twilight, Serenade is here early!” Starlight informed.

Nodding in agreement, Twilight seemed unaffected by this news. “Yes, I know. I heard the signal.”

“Well, on top of that, Serenade put Applejack out of commission,” Starlight added.

This bit of news made Twilight’s ear twitch and her eyes grow as they opened wider. “Is she alright? What happened to her? Did Serenade kill her?”

Starlight winced as she sensed worry on Twilight’s voice. “She’s fine now, just unconscious, I had her taken back to the Royal Training Ground. We can examine her later when we get there, but I think she’s alright, just knocked out is all.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Twilight nodded. “Alright, I’ll look at her personally when we get back then.”

“What now? Serenade is coming this way and the spell needs more time…” Starlight frowned and dropped as she asked the question she personally didn’t even want an answer to.

Looking toward the horizon, Twilight narrowed her gaze and focused on what was to come. For a brief few seconds, she said nothing as she tried to find her thoughts, but ultimately decided that there was only one real option available to her, an option she hoped to avoid.

“I suppose, I’ll have to fight her,” Twilight replied very plainly.

Starlight stepped forward in protest. “Twilight, you haven’t see what she can do like I have-“

Twilight held up a hoof cutting her friend off. “Leave me, Starlight. I’ll take her on myself, I know what I’m doing.”

“Twilight, listen to me! I have seen her power myself, she’s way too strong to-“ Starlight was stopped once more.

“I need you on the sideline ready to take over if something happens to me. I’m going to do what needs to be done, Starlight.” Twilight growled sternly.

It didn’t take long before Starlight realized that Twilight was serious. Sighing, Starlight nodded. “Alright…”

“I’m not going to do anything reckless, Starlight. You can trust me on that; I can’t afford to die today.” Twilight grinned from the corner of her mouth and eyed her friend.

That glance gave Starlight just a hint of confidence in the mare. She nodded and smiled back with a salute. “Alright, good hunting then, Twilight. I’ll be rooting for you.”

“Thanks, I’ll likely need it.” Twilight nodded but kept her gaze forward.

With the flick of her head, Starlight teleported herself out of the canyon and just onto the overhang to watch the action from a relatively safe distance. She couldn’t bring herself to completely look away or just go back to their headquarters and assume all went according to plan. Starlight was a curious mare who needed to see things with her own eyes; she wouldn’t rest until she saw Serenade go down herself.

Twilight stood in wait until several minutes passed and there standing a good eighty feet from herself was the vision of everything that had destroyed her beloved home.

Long golden locks with red tips fluttered in the breeze as the two stared each other down. From fierce red eyes, Serenade examined the image of the princess that was far different than the one sent to her via the communication orb. This mare had cut her mane down to a messy mop and adorned herself with an odd set of armor that didn’t exactly seem befitting of a Princess of Friendship. Serenade had seen this look before thanks to the message that Twilight had sent, but Serenade had seen pictures and paintings of the mare prior and this look was in stark contrast to the mare she once was.

The vibrant cloak covering Serenade’s body blew gently and rippled in the wind as she studied Twilight Sparkle, her sister’s executor. She didn’t look like much, certainly not as tough as Celestia, but there was a certain demeanor about her, one that suggested under her less than impressive exterior was something far more impressive. There was a passion inside of her, waiting to get out, waiting to strike at Serenade, and the siren could feel it.

Twilight had heard stories that sirens were always beautiful, but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t just a little surprised that the face of the mare who had brought Equestria to its knees was so young and attractive looking. She was the definition of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Both mares stood still, watching the other, but neither daring to move. It remained this way for several painfully anxious minutes before Serenade broke the vow of silence between the two.

“So, you are Twilight Sparkle then? I expected a little more, to be honest.”

“Ironically, I expected much less,” Twilight replied plainly, her emotion not showing in her voice.

Serenade ignored the comment and continued. “So, you’re the mare who killed my sister, then?”

Twilight nodded. “I gave the judgment, and I was with her for her final hours as well.”

“Final hours?” Serenade raised a brow.

Twilight nodded once more. “I spent her last hours with her before we executed her. She told me many things, many secrets as well.”

Serenade scowled at those words. “I am not interested in your lies, I only came to ask you a simple question before we do this.”

Twilight raised a curious brow. “And that would be?”

“What would you like on your tombstone?” Serenade smirked.

“Overconfidence is the first step toward failure,” Twilight pointed out.

“Let’s not debate it. I’ll be generous and give you the first attack, Twilight Sparkle. After that, I intend to make you suffer like you made my sister suffer. I’ll make you beg for the release of death when I’m done with you,” Serenade lectured.

The alicorn princess didn’t respond, instead, she stood silently in concentration, ready for what was to transpire. In her mind, she questioned herself on how much more time she needed before her spell would be ready. By her mental estimate, it was a good eight minutes or so before it would be ready to utilize. She had sped the process up as much as she could before Serenade’s arrival, but she would still need to buy herself just a fraction more time.

This was it, she would need to stand her ground here, she would need to stop Serenade before things went any further.

Inhaling and exhaling, Twilight closed her eyes and opened them again before preparing to attack.

Moving quickly, Twilight bolted to try and circle around Serenade, blasting might purple beams from her horn at the siren as she did. Each blast, however, was blocked by a black tendril that came out of the siren’s back and lashed at each blast, stopping them flawlessly without the mare having to move or even turn to face Twilight.

The distraction of the blasts allowed Twilight to get behind Serenade with ease, and initiate a far stronger attack that she had hoped would take the mare by surprise. Charging for a brief second, Twilight gritted her hooves into the dirt and allowed her horn to unleash a far more amplified blast that caused Twilight to be pushed back slightly from the force that it gave off.

As before, the black tendril, now joined by several others acted as a shield to the mare who wasn’t even facing Twilight and banded together to block the attack.

Serenade merely looked over her own shoulder with a smirk on her face back at Twilight. “That’s a cute little attack there, but maybe you should fight for real now?”

The purple alicorn had only been testing the water at this point to see what Serenade’s abilities would allow her to deflect. It was clear that the stories were true and that the demon had grown strong enough to stop even a blast that would have turned most unicorns into nothing more than a pile of dust. Twilight could sense only a fragment of Celestia’s magic within the mare, but the powers being used to block her attacks were different, they seemed unique, with an energy signal all their own.

“I suppose that I should break out the good stuff then?” Twilight asked.

The blonde siren nodded contently. “Yes, that would be wise.”

Twilight nodded back but abruptly ended the gesture as she brought her body up into the air and then back down into the ground. Her entire body submerged directly through the dirt itself and vanished from sight.

Serenade didn’t bother moving or trying to find where the princess was hiding, instead, she stood with a disinterested look plastered across her face as she let out a long exasperated yawn, obviously exaggerated for the purpose of insulting Twilight.

Twilight eventually burst out of the ground only a good foot away from Serenade with her hoof in the air ready to clout the white pony, but just like before, a long black tendril whipped at her and knocked Twilight a good eight feet back.

The Princess of Friendship caught her own fall and skid across the dirt before locking eyes with Serenade.

From the distance, a nervous Starlight gulped as she watched. “Everything Twilight does, she manages to block.” Starlight thought out loud.

“So, you’re a lot tougher than I thought you’d be...” Twilight admitted.

“You’re about as weak as I thought you’d be. Disgusting that such a pathetic creature could kill my sister...” Serenade scoffed.

“You’re angry,” Twilight stated plainly.

“I’m always angry,” Serenade replied.

“Because of your mother...” Twilight said.

“How do you-“

“I know everything, Serenade. Your sister told me about your mother, what those ponies did to her, all of it...” Twilight explained.

Serenade remained silent.

“I can’t imagine the sadness you felt...” Twilight offered.

“So you think you’ve got me figured out, do you?” Serenade raised a brow. “You don’t even know the first thing about me... I’m not sad, I’m angry. I’ve been angry for a long time. I’m angry because I hate your kind. I hate everything about you. I won’t sleep until every last mortal is either dead or my slave. I’ve never cried in my entire life, Twilight Sparkle, and I don’t intend to start now.”

“Maybe crying would have stopped you from becoming what you are now?” Twilight suggested.

“And turn me into a weakling like you? I like what I am, and I wouldn’t change it,” Serenade retorted.

Twilight shook her head in disappointment. “You went through a lot, I get it. What happened to you should never have happened, but it doesn’t give you the right to do what you’re doing. Thousands of innocent ponies died before of you.”

“There’s no such thing as an innocent mortal, Twilight Sparkle; being a princess, you should know that. Everypony has skeletons in their closet.” Serenade chuckled.

“It’s too bad you couldn’t be reasoned with before all of this... Maybe then you could have lived,” Twilight said before her horn glowed causing her body to shift shapes into a long snakelike creature made of what appeared to be purple energy.

In her new energy-based form, Twilight attempted to dive at Serenade from multiple angles, only for the mare’s tendrils to swat Twilight back and then she would dive again for the same result. She would launch a good few dozen attempts to penetrate Serenade’s defenses before Twilight would return to the ground and take her original shape back.

“You’re beginning to bore me, Twilight.” Serenade mocked.

Even with her newfound power, she needed a boost to put Serenade in her place. Twilight closed her eyes for a moment and allowed her thoughts to carry through a magic connection that she had formed over the past few months.

Discord, I need you.

On cue, the draconequus arrived, bursting through the dirt as he took a form made of pure dark blue energy. Twilight hopped forward onto the newly formed energy dragon-like creature’s back, aiming the charge.

Twilight had only seen this form of Discord twice before during their training and only understood a fraction of its power, but she had faith in her new mentor. “Fire!” Twilight commanded with a hoof pointed at Serenade as the two rose to the clouds.

Opening his mighty maw, the dragon unleashed a beam so bright that it blinded even Starlight in the distance. Once the blast was administered, the two wasted no time in heading in, bolting in Serenade’s direction before the blinding light wore off, hoping to score a direct hit, only for something to block the two of them and push them back.

When the light finally died down, the two paused as they saw the familiar tendrils had blocked both attacks.

Starlight gasped as she regained her vision. “Incredible...”

Discord and Twilight pulled back and Discord returned to his traditional form as her floated next to Twilight. The two observed their target from a safer distance as they assessed the situation.

“No way... We didn’t even scratch her...” Twilight blinked in astonishment.

“Those tendrils seem to act on their own. They will move to protect her if we get too close or launch attacks at her. It’s virtually the perfect defense system really, I should consider installing those in my home, really.” Discord mused.

“How do we hurt her if those things will block every attack we do?” Twilight asked.

Discord grinned at his student. “We don’t need to.”

“I beg your pardon?” Twilight raised a brow.

“Have you forgotten why we’re here?” Discord asked.

It had dawned on Twilight that in her amazement at Serenade’s power she had indeed forgotten why she led her to this specific location.

The trap spell.

It was certain to be ready now. All she needed to do was cast a spell to spring it. Looking at Discord, Twilight nodded at him. Though no words were spoken, it was clear that he understood what to do. He nodded in agreement before the two bolted at Serenade at the same time.

A confused Serenade watched as the two split paths several feet before reaching her and ran in two directions. She followed Discord with her eyes as Twilight managed to get behind her toward the back wall of the canyon.

With a grin on her face, Twilight flicked her head and her horn glowed which cased a black shining crystal to reveal itself hidden behind a pile of rocks. Everything she had prepared, everything she had built up to was stored inside this gemstone. In it was their hope for defeating the demon. It held a spell powerful enough to ensnare her, and she’d never see it coming.

Willing her horn to activate the spell, Twilight levitated the gem into the air and unleashed its power. A black blast headed toward Serenade from the crystal as her back was turned to Twilight.

Seconds before the hit though, Serenade turned around with a sinister grin before exclaiming, “Gotcha!”

Before Twilight could react, Serenade cast a spell of her own and deflected the attack back at Twilight. Unable to do anything to escape, Twilight yelped before the black blast hit her dead on, causing her entire body to lock up in pain she had never felt before. She screamed in agony as she found herself immobilized, unable to do anything.

Serenade laughed as she gently trotted toward Twilight shaking her head. “Did you really think I’d be stupid enough to walk into such an obvious trap? Hubris got the best of you, didn’t it, Twilight?”

Twilight could do nothing to respond, only groan in pain as the magic of her own spell unleashed painful irony through her entire body.

“And now... You’re mine to drain...” Serenade smiled.

With everything she had, Twilight tried to break free of the spell but found there was nothing she could do. It couldn’t end like this, Serenade couldn’t have her power.

Try as she might though, there was little that the princess could do. A single tendril from Serenade extruded and gripped Twilight’s horn. “Now... Your magic, please,” Serenade said.

Twilight could feel her magic quickly being drained from her body. Serenade had bested her, she had managed to get her to step into her own trap and now she was stealing her power. It was like being in a nightmare that she couldn’t wake from.

Seconds passed and Twilight felt most of her power had already left her. She closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

Months had passed since Sunset and Twilight’s marriage. The two had been on their honeymoon and back, though Sunset spent most of the time sitting down and resting. Much of their time as a newlywed couple was spent with Sunset complaining about the annoyances of being pregnant, but Twilight didn’t seem to mind if anything she enjoyed being there for her wife.

Sunset had been excited for being a mom for some time, and Twilight was ready herself to be a parent at this point as well. Now that the initial worry of how well they would do had passed, the two women found themselves gaining more and more confidence by the minute.

It all had lead up to this moment though, months of reading parenting books and looking online about how to raise children, and the two were ready. Twilight was all too excited to meet their child, that is once Sunset was able to give birth to her.

The past eight hours had been hell. Sunset going through contraction after contraction screaming bloody murder and Twilight there holding her hand, getting her fingers crushed from the girl’s extraordinary grip.

“Oh fuck, here comes another one...” Sunset winced before squeezing Twilight’s hand with all her strength.

Twilight yelped and shrunk from the pain of Sunset’s grip but held on.

“FUCK!” Sunset screamed.

The nurse in the room blinked which caused Sunset to blush. “I promise I’m not normally this vulgar...” Sunset offered.

The nurse shook her head and gave a dismissive hand gesture. “It’s fine, I’m used to it.”

Sunset sighed as the pain subsided for a brief few seconds. “Fuck me... Will you just come out already? Not even born and you’re already a pain in my ass...”

Twilight smiled and patted Sunset’s hand. “I’m going to go check on Shining and Cadance in the lobby, okay? I’m sure they want an update.”

“Tell Shining to go raid the evidence locker at work and bring me back some drugs!” Sunset called after her wife as she left the room.

Twilight merely rolled her eyes before passing her way down the hall toward the waiting area. A few doctors gave the young woman a nod as they had recognized her from her stay over the past few hours. Sunset had paid top dollar to ensure that they would have medical professionals who wouldn’t speak a word of Sunset’s lack of medical history to anyone. While it was disheartening that anyone, even doctors could be bought into doing shady activities, it at least served their needs.

Sighing, Twilight shook her head and dispelled those thoughts as she made her way to the lobby.

Poking her head through the door, Shining Armor was reading a story to his daughter for probably the eighth time.

Cadance noticed Twilight’s appearance and blinked before nudging her husband. Once Cadance had gotten his attention, Shining looked over at his sister with a smile. “Twily! How’s it going in there?”

Stepping into the waiting room, Twilight shrugged. “Still cursing up a storm and demanding drugs.”

“A usual pregnancy then.” Cadance raised a finger.

“Glad it’s not me then...” Twilight gulped.

“You’d be such a wimp about it and I know it.” Shining smirked.

Twilight scoffed and gave a half-hearted swat at her brother’s bicep. He laughed harder at her attempt and grinned. “You know it’s true.”

“How so?” Twilight huffed.

“Sunset’s tougher than you, without a doubt!” Shining snickered.

“He’s right, you know?” Cadance added.

Twilight blinked and frowned at her sister-in-law. “You’re supposed to be on my side, Cadance!”

“Sorry, sweetie, but Shining has a point. I’ve seen your pain tolerance.” Cadance found herself snickering now too.

Twilight sighed as she realized that her family must have been put on the earth for the sole purpose of annoying her.

The trio conversed for some time, losing track of how much time had passed before a doctor burst through the door calling for Twilight. “Miss Shimmer! Your wife is about to give birth!”

Blinking, Twilight looked over at her family who nodded for her to go. “Go be the hero, Twilight.” Shining gave her a thumbs up.

Nodding back, Twilight raced into the room and followed the doctor at top speed back to Sunset’s bedside.

Several more minutes of allowing Sunset to give Twilight her mightiest death grip and losing some feeling in her hand, followed by more curse words than Twilight had ever heard at one time in her life, and the final few seconds were upon them.

“Almost there!” The doctor kneeling in front of Sunset said.

“FUCK YOU! YOU SAID THAT THE LAST EIGHT TIMES YOU BASTARD!” Sunset screeched.

“One more push!” He ignored her statement and remained professional as expected.

With one last scream of agony, soon the room was filled with silence followed by the gentle sounds of an infant crying. Sunset let out a sigh of relief that the pain was now over.

The doctor examined the child and smiled. “Congratulations, it’s a girl.”

After cutting the umbilical cord, and wrapping the child up they offered her to Sunset who took the baby in her arms gently. All she had been through, the one moment she didn’t even know how to prepare herself for was this one, those first few seconds with her child in her arms.

She was frozen at first, unsure of what to say or do, but when she looked down at the fussing baby, Sunset found a sensation in her that she had never felt before. A feeling that couldn’t be described with words, but a sense of feeling elated beyond anything she had ever felt before.

“Hey there...” She nearly whispered as she ran a finger along the child’s cheek. “I’m your mom...”

Twilight leaned in to get a closer look, causing Sunset to smile as she took Twilight’s hand. “And this woman here... Is the most important person in both of our lives now... Twilight and I are going to take good care of you...”

The doctor removed his face mask and smiled at the young family. “Do you have a name?” He asked.

Twilight and Sunset looked at each other and nodded on the name they had agreed upon if it was a girl. “Horizon. Horizon Shimmer.”

Wow, this was a long chapter.

I actually had to take part of the last chapter and make it a part of this chapter and then take part of this chapter and pull it into next chapter because there was so much going on! The last few chapters of Act V are kind of busy, sorry!

I promise that we are not going to suddenly be seeing these huge chapters every single week!

This is technically the longest chapter in the story to date.