With her eyes downcast to the floor below her, a young unicorn groaned and moved her head at the sound of hoofsteps. Dangling from a large set of chains that held her hooves in place as she was held in suspension had made her tired. Blood had run down in her body, and after hours of being subjected to such treatment, she could barely feel her upper limbs.

She tried to remember how long it had been since she was first chained up by Serenade. The demon had drained her magic swiftly and left her in this state of anguish for what felt like weeks but was likely closer to only eight hours. Her mind was drifting, she was attempting to keep it off of how much her front hooves hurt from being used to hold her entire body up. She was thankful that she had kept her weight down as she promised herself she would do.

The mare opened and closed her eyes as she tried to keep herself from losing her sanity.

The sounds of the hoofsteps came back to her mind as she heard them once more. None had come to see her since her imprisonment and Serenade had taken her magic from her. Was it possible that Twilight managed to find a way to break her out already? She was a resourceful mare after all.

Her wishful thinking was stomped out, however, when the door to her room opened and there standing in the doorway with a bag at his side was a cloaked changeling, one she remembered well. He was the same changeling that had bested her in battle, the same that had turned her into Serenade, and the same that had assisted in putting her in the current predicament she found herself in. Somehow though, she was only filled with fascination when he arrived rather than annoyance.

He approached casually with the bag and set it down before looking up at her with a toothy grin. “How’s it hanging?” He asked.

The mare smirked at him, though her grin lacked its usual sheen. “You have quite the idea of foreplay, but I think after all these hours, I’m warmed up now.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Chains aren’t my thing. Master Serenade insists on them, but they aren’t my style.”

“Not into the kinky stuff, huh?” She teased.

He found himself smirking back at her. “I didn’t say that.”

“What do you want, Arax?” She finally asked.

He appreciated that she wanted to cut to the chase, but truthfully he had started to grow fond of their little back and forth banter. “Well, Starlight, I did some deliberating with Master Serenade...”

“I’m so happy for you, what does that have to do with me?” Starlight asked with a raised brow.

He smirked and reached into the bag retrieving an object. With his horn glowing, he levitated the object in front of her. She could see it was some kind of collar, except she could see no way for it to snap on as it was a perfect disk shape with no clasp. On the font was some kind of black gem that appeared to have roots coming out of it. Under that, however, was a metal tag with her name etched into it.

“I’ve convinced Master Serenade to allow me to make good on my threat,” he explained.

Watching carefully, Starlight felt a strange sensation as the collar appeared around her neck, tightening enough to turn more into a choker than anything else. She couldn’t see a way to get it off, but she looked back at him with confused eyes.

“Remember what I said? You were going to be my pet from now on; It’s only fitting that a pet is given a proper collar.” He grinned.

Starlight found herself remaining as overconfident as always even with the odds so horrendously out of her favor. “Now you’re giving me jewelry? You really are trying to butter me up, aren’t you?”

He shrugged as he cast a spell that unlocked her chains abruptly, causing Starlight to crash to the floor with an audible THUD. She grunted and slowly picked herself up before meeting his eyes.

“You will do every little thing that pops into my head and without complaint, do you understand?” He pointed with his hoof at her.

“And if I don’t?” She raised a brow.

He grinned and pointed to the collar. “That’s no ordinary stone. It’s a demon onyx. At any time, under any circumstance, if I will it to do so, it will strangle you until you die. It only takes my thoughts to do so. There is no distance you can run to escape it either, and you can’t take it off.”

She reached up and touched the collar before looking back at him. “I guess you are into kinky stuff after all!”

He chuckled. “Only the best for you, my pet, now let’s get going. From this day on, you belong to me.”

“So, is this what you wanted? Is this the world you envisioned, Twilight Sparkle?” Serenade spoke as she took a triumphant step forward. “Is this the way you expected your end to come? The way you expected to die?”

Twilight groaned in agony as she laid helpless, unable to do anything as Serenade stepped over several fresh dead bodies to reach the mare, taking her time, savoring the moment, savoring the victory that she had so longed for. With everything else out of the way, she could claim her prize that she had wanted for so long, the prize that had eluded her. Twilight had cheated her so many times. Originally, all she wanted was her power, but now that wasn’t good enough, this mare had to pay for humiliating her, for wasting her time and taunting her.

Saying nothing, Twilight gripped her side, a fresh wound dripping blood, she gripped it tightly to stop the bleeding. Her magic was limited, she contemplated using it to sear the wound and close it, but that wouldn’t help her get away in time from Serenade.

Taking another confident step forward, Serenade chuckled and found herself only a few feet away from Twilight. “I never would have imagined your arrogance would make you believe you actually could walk into an obvious trap thinking you could overcome it... I never imagined you’d just deliver yourself to me.”

Trying to pull herself away, Twilight crawled carefully before realizing it was moot. Serenade could easily do whatever she needed to close the distance between the two, and Twilight was in no position to get away. She couldn’t fly, she couldn’t teleport, she was a sitting duck, completely at Serenade’s mercy.

“It’s funny how these things work out, isn’t it? No one can save you now. Your friends all belong to me now, and there isn’t a soul alive who would dare challenge my power now... You, mortals, are always so pathetic, clinging desperately to life, even though you’re all destined to die... Your only purpose in this world is to meet death, and yet you resist it so much.” Serenade laughed.

“You’re pure evil...” Twilight commented between pants.

A tendril reached forward and touched Twilight’s nose, caressing it gently. Twilight remained perfectly still.

“Is it evil to believe that the vermin of the world who have conquered it don’t deserve their throne? That rats shouldn’t rule the planet? Or is your idea of evil just anyone who doesn’t conform to your views? Anyone who sees the world differently than the pile of trash your kind have created?” Serenade questioned.

Twilight didn’t answer, she didn't even want to give the siren the satisfaction of a response.

“No, child. I am just the reckoning. I am your destiny, but I’ve come early. Why wait for your kind to die off or wipe itself out? Since death is your ultimate fate... I may as well end your misery now, right? Get it out of the way. After all, you’re all going to die regardless of what I do, it’s the fate of mortals!” Serenade explained.

“There is a difference between waiting for death and running from it... a difference that I’m pretty sure you don’t understand, given that you’re just another creature. You don't know what it's like to face death and walk willing toward it, to do something so noble... Have you ever done a noble thing in your pathetic life?” Twilight groaned.

Serenade shook her head. “I am merely the reaper, carrying out the job that needs to be done. For a new shining empire to be built, the trash must be cleared out of the way first. The strong conquer and the weak get tossed aside, that’s how the world works...”

“You’re wrong... In our world, we protect the weak...” Twilight managed to get out.

“Such a waste of time and power.” Serenade shook her head.

“The only waste of time and power here is you,” Twilight retorted.

Serenade squinted in annoyance at her words. “You talk a big talk, but no one can save you now, Twilight Sparkle. You die right here, right now.”

Final intermission before Act VI.

Next chapter begins the sixth act. Sorry for such a short intermission, but next week we get back to the main story. Get ready for a roller coaster.