Glitch’s master plan of stealing an airship sounded impossible to Applejack, but Glitch assured her that it was in fact very doable, and she just needed to go over how they would pull it off. The very next day, they were gathered to do exactly that. Glitch wasn’t wasting time, which was to be expected, as he didn’t exactly strike Applejack as the waiting type, he seemed to want to strike while the iron was hot, which was fine by the farmer; she hated waiting around for something to do.

This time around, Applejack knew what to expect and arrived at the war room early, noticing that Aria and Sonata were sitting down chatting as she entered. Applejack nodded to the two girls but kept herself quiet as she took the same seat she had occupied the last time she had entered this room. Quietly she closed her eyes and resigned herself to just relaxing for the few minutes before Glitch and Twilight would arrive.

Her mind fell back upon Twilight. She wasn’t one to take chances, usually, she was only the type to bet on sure things. Discord clearly had corrupted her slightly, which Applejack had to admit wasn’t inherently a bad thing as much as she didn’t want to accept that. Twilight’s willingness to try something different and “out there” is what produced this Glitch character after all along with their consorts Aria and Sonata.

Applejack blinked and recalled that she hadn’t a clue where these two girls came from either. She paid close attention to the conversation the two mares were conducting, curious if they even remembered she was in the room. Not that it mattered.

“Glitch seems pretty sure of this plan...” Aria crossed her hooves and leaned back in her chair. The latex stealth suit she was sporting scrunched around her form, showing off her tight and slender figure as she did. Applejack briefly wondered how warm those things were.

Sonata shrugged at Aria’s comment. “Aren’t you?”

Aria’s usual face of disdain and doubt seemed unchanged, Applejack was starting to gather part of her personality was having an almost permanent scowl.

“It’s not that, it just seems too out there... Trottingham is a pretty far distance to travel to walk away empty-hooved, you know?” Aria reminded.

That was actually an excellent point. They had no certainty that they could pull off something as extravagant as an airship raid, and if they moved all the way out to Trottingham and failed they would be out in the open, there was no easy way to retreat back to their current location. They were playing with fire really.

Applejack wondered how confident Glitch really was in his plan. Was he confident enough to risk everything they had on it? Then again, she didn’t know what his plan was. He seemed confident enough, but she wondered if he was overconfident.

“Glitch has it under control, you know that, Aria. We can count on them...” Sonata eyed Applejack, which made Applejack curious as to why, but knew that she likely wouldn’t tell.

“I guess, you’re right. Glitch has beaten a siren before, after all.” Aria smirked.

That part definitely caught Applejack’s attention, enough to speak up. “Glitch has beaten sirens before?”

“Smooth, Sonata...” Aria reached over and hit the young mare’s shoulder, causing her to wince and rub the spot.

“Owwie! You didn’t have to hit me!” Sonata frowned, a tear forming in her eye.

“You’re fine, stop complaining.” Aria rolled her eyes.

“So what was that ‘bout Glitch beatin’ sirens before?” Applejack ignored the bickering between the two.

Aria looked over at Applejack, her eyes suggested she was studying the farmer, trying to determine what she thought about her, but opened her mouth to answer. “Yeah, they have.”

“When was that?” Applejack asked.

“None of your business, that’s when.” Aria grunted.

“Beg yer’ pardon?” Applejack leaned in with a hiss.

“I said, mind your own business. We’re not telling you jack shit about Glitch,” Aria replied.

“What’s yer’ problem?” Applejack stood up.

“My problem is you should mind your own business. We’re on strict orders to not tell anypony who isn’t authorized about Glitch, so probing us for info won’t get you anywhere.” Aria shook her head.

“Can’t say that ‘Ah appreciate yer’ attitude...” Applejack said.

Sonata reached over and placed a hoof on Aria’s shoulder, trying to calm the girl. “Calm down, Aria. She’s not our enemy...”

Applejack found herself slightly calmed as well by Sonata’s words. The girl had such a soft voice. “Yeah, listen to her. ‘Ah ain’t against ya’ I’m on yer’ side.”

“I guess so...” Aria sighed and relaxed herself as well.

“Been meanin’ to ask though... Who are you two?” Applejack changed the subject.

The two mares looked at each other and then back at Applejack, pausing for several long uncomfortable seconds before Sonata opened her mouth and closed it. Aria would ultimately be the one to step up and answer.

“We’re... Allies of Glitch’s, that’s all you really need to know,” Aria responded, her voice less hostile this time, implying she wasn’t trying to hide things but that there was something else preventing her from speaking more.

“They’re sirens.” A familiar computerized voice echoed through the room.

All heads turned and there standing at the door was the armored pony, standing tall next to the messy maned Twilight Sparkle. While their armor didn’t match, both of them seemed to be suited for war. Applejack still didn’t much approve of the spiked armor that Twilight wore bearing Discord’s emblems, but she bit her tongue, lest she bring up more sore subjects between the two.

Aria’s eyes widened at Glitch’s statement before she looked back over at Applejack. “You’re just going to tell her that!?” Aria asked.

Applejack finally processed what she had just been told and stood up, pushing herself away from the table. “These two are sirens!? An’ we’re lettin’ ‘em work with us!?”

“Yes, do you have a problem with that?” Glitch asked.

The pony’s computerized voice made it difficult to get a proper read on him, and Applejack wasn’t sure if his question was sarcasm or not, but she pressed on regardless. “Yeah, ‘Ah got a problem with that. We’re fightin’ a siren and y’all got two right here!? What if they betray us for Serenade!?”

“That won’t happen, these two have no powers anymore. Their amulets were destroyed long ago, they’re as mortal as you or I now,” Glitch responded.

Applejack shook her head. “They could turn on us to get Serenade to fix their amulets then!”

“That’s stupid, would you listen to yourself?” Glitch shook their head.

Taking offense, Applejack banged her hoof on the table. “How is it stupid!?”

“Let’s say that they would even think to do such a thing, they would not do it through Serenade.” Glitch laughed.

“Why not?” Applejack squinted.

Glitch gestured at the two sirens. “You think Serenade would have any interest in helping them? If you have studied our foe, you’d realize she is only interested in helping herself. There is no benefit in her assisting two sirens, and I think both Aria and Sonata are smart enough to know that. Serenade would toss them aside the moment she was done with them.”

“Still, they’re sirens like her!” Applejack countered.

Glitch stepped further into the room. “Yes, but our foe is more than a siren, she’s a demon. You’d do wise to remember that.”

Applejack opened her mouth to retort, but Twilight stopped her. “Let it go, Applejack. Glitch knows what they are talking about. We can trust Aria and Sonata, they’ve already proven their loyalty to us.”

Sighing, Applejack conceded and sat back down. “Fine, but ‘Ah’m tired of all the secrets.”

“You’ll know things when it is important for you to know, for now, we need you to listen,” Glitch commanded.

The armored pony’s attitude didn’t sit right with Applejack. She hated even more that Twilight was allowing them to be in charge, but there was nary a thing she could do. Glitch had produced results and that meant that they had more room to give orders than Applejack did. Grumbling, Applejack decided to let it go.

“Fine, so what’s our next move? Y’all said we were stealin’ an airship, how’re we gonna pull that off?” Applejack raised a brow.

Glitch tapped their helmet before nodding. “Now you have your head in the game. The plan is fairly simple but will require proper timing and teamwork.”

“Run us through it, Glitch,” Twilight encouraged as she sat down with a smile. Glitch looked in her direction and there was silence for a moment. Applejack detected some ire between the two; she supposed it meant they weren’t on as perfect terms as they portrayed.

“Trottingham is an old city, it’s been around longer than most cities in Equestria...” Glitch began before retrieving a map from a nearby bag that they had kept in the room. Laying the map on the table, they levitated a quill and circled the city.

“Because of its age, it still has a pretty outdated sewer system, one that spans most of the city, even the airship yard. I’m willing to bet that Serenade’s guard captain there never took the sewer into account, so we should be able to sneak a small team in through the sewer system here.” Glitch circled another spot on the map.

Looking it over, Twilight squinted. “That’s a good 800 meters away though. We’ll never sneak an army through there at a reasonable speed...”

“That’s why we aren’t,” Glitch replied.

“Now you lost me...” Twilight scratched her head.

Shaking their head, Glitch pointed again at the map. “This armor suit has a cloaking device that should camouflage me long enough to sneak in and take out the captain of the S.S. Wyvern. It’s a new airship that should put the rest of their ships to shame. If we time it right, I can do so right during the test flight which means they won’t be any wiser.”

“Then what? You can’t pilot an entire ship yourself!” Twilight shook her head.

Glitch tapped their head once more. “I won’t have to. They will have the engines going full blast already. So long as I kill the captain and take the wheel, I only need to turn the ship slightly to go over this entrance to the sewer.” Glitch tapped the map.

Twilight was starting to understand what they were implying. Slowly she was piecing the plan together in her head. “And then we slip our crew on through a rope ladder quickly and take out the remaining crew...”

Glitch nodded in agreement. “Then we just have to move it out of the city quickly before they realize they’ve been had. If we’re lucky this new ship’s speed should put us out of the city before they notice. It also should take them some time to mobilize, that gives us a good few precious minutes to get out of there before things get too hairy.”

“That’s a bold move, Glitch...” Twilight conceded.

“You don’t win by playing it safe the whole game...” Glitch replied.

Frustratingly true. Applejack thought.

“That ship isn’t scheduled to take off for a good three weeks though, what do we do in the meantime?” Twilight asked.

Glitch placed both of their armored hooves upon the table as they looked across the room. “We wait. Right now that’s our best course of action, so we have to wait for the opportunity to appear to us. In the meantime, it would be wise for everypony to sharpen their skills, practice with some weapons and prepare for combat.”

“Combat?” Applejack asked.

Glitch glared in her direction with a nod. “Surely you don’t think we can win by just being a thorn in Serenade’s side forever? Eventually, we will be forced into a full attack. This is war, after all.”

Applejack knew it was war, but it strange to hear it out loud. Her entire life she knew her homeland to be a peaceful country. While a military existed, it had never dawned on her that they would actually have to draw their blades to end the lives of others.

The farmer wanted to do her part, but she wasn’t sure that she was ready to face Serenade face to face once more. Glitch and Applejack didn’t see eye to eye, but at that point, the old farm mare had no choice but to put her faith in the mysterious masked pony. She prayed she wasn’t making a mistake.

As if sensing Applejack’s hesitation, Glitch spoke up, goading her on. “I know you already backed down once, Applejack...”

Those words quickly caught the blonde mare’s attention. “And what is that supposed t’ mean?”

Glitch remained still, their demeanor remaining stern as they replied. “Twilight told me that you ran away before.”

“Glitch that’s-“ Twilight began but Glitch held out a hoof to silence the princess.

“Y’all best not bring things up that ya’ don’t know anything about...” Applejack stood up, glaring at the armored pony. “What’re ya’ drivin’ at, Glitch?”

“I’m just curious on if you intend to run away again,” Glitch said plainly.

Banging her hooves on the table, Applejack growled. “What’d you say!?”

Glitch shrugged. “I’m just saying that if you intend to run away again, then you can leave now. I don’t need anyone on this operation that will leave us high and dry when the moment is critical. So are you committed, or not?”

Applejack walked around the table and came inches from Glitch, staring the pony’s visor down, wishing that she could see the pony behind it so she could spit in their face at that moment.

As if they knew exactly how to push Applejack’s buttons, Glitch raised a question. “What will you do, Applejack?”

“Bet y’all think ‘Ah’m stupid, don’t ya’?” Applejack asked.

“I haven’t decided on that front yet.” Glitch spoke, though they may have been being sarcastic, Applejack couldn’t tell.

“Well, here’s some words that ‘Ah do know...” She paused for a second before finishing that sentence. “Fuck you.”

Grunting, Applejack turned around and exited the room, slamming the door behind her.

The moment they were all alone, Twilight raised her objection once more. “Glitch that was completely unnecessary!”

Glitch shook their head and waved a dismissive hoof before returning to circling spots on her map. “All a necessary part of the plan, Twilight. Applejack is frightened, she needs the motivation to get back into the fight.”

“All you did was piss her off!” Twilight stomped her hoof.

Glitch ignored Twilight’s annoyance. “Applejack will come around, trust me. Her little rivalry with me is too much for her to give in. She’ll come back if not just to prove me wrong, and if that’s what it takes, so be it. We need her at 100%, Twilight.”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. She couldn’t say that she agreed with Glitch’s methods, but she wasn’t in a position to judge, given how she recruited them in the first place.

With a Diet Coke in her hand, Angel Song sat down across from her best friend, Starlight Glimmer. Starlight had been chowing down on a salad that she had purchased from a nearby McDonalds in the food court of the mall they were seated in. The young half-Asian woman chewed her food carefully as she nodded at Angel to acknowledge her arrival.

“Sup?” Starlight spoke, food still in her mouth.

Angel winced at the gesture and looked away in disgust. “You know this could explain why you still don’t have a boyfriend? Your table manners are atrocious.”

Starlight shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Speaking of which...”

Angel sighed and braced herself for another story from Starlight about how she intended to find a suitable suitor for herself, and likely only end up accomplishing making a fool of herself.

“Let me guess, we’re going to try and pick up a guy here in the mall for you and you want me to try and play wingman again?” Angel asked with a raised brow.

Swallowing the morsel of food, Starlight shook her head once more and grinned. “No no, nothing like that! I actually have some exciting news!”

“Define ‘exciting’ for me?” Angel smirked.

“Haha, just listen, okay?” Starlight rolled her eyes.

Angel shrugged and leaned in with interest.

“I used to go to school with this guy named Sunburst. He lived down the street from me for like ever, and we’ve known each other since we were kids,” Starlight began.

“Okay?” Angel raised a brow, not sure where this was going.

“Well, he moved away to Colorado to a town called Valenter,” Starlight continued.

“Still now seeing why this is relevant yet...” Angel grinned.

“Just shut up and let me finish, okay?” Starlight sighed.

Angel did just that and piped down so that her friend could finish explaining, though she suspected it might still be a huge waste of time.

“Well, I just got a message from him saying he’s moving back here, and he’s gotten super cute!” Starlight practically squealed at that last part.

“And let me guess...” Angel grinned, already knowing where this was going.

“I am going to ask him out.” Starlight nodded, already reading her friend’s mind.

Angel sighed but smiled at the same time. She was genuinely happy for her friend. “Well, at least the groundwork is done for you, right? He already knows you and you’ve known each other long enough to where he should know your... Quirks by now.”

“No risk of me saying anything stupid to scare him away too!” Starlight winked.

“Thus your never-ending foot-in-mouth syndrome won’t screw you over this time...” Angel teased.

“Exactly!” Starlight pointed at Angel with her fork and grinned, showing off her pearly white teeth.

“Well, I’m happy for you, nonetheless. Hopefully, it all goes according to plan...” Angel smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, I intend to make sure it happens. I am going to wear that really cute underwear I got from Victoria’s Secret and you’re going to build me up to him.” Starlight stabbed her salad’s leafy greens with her fork as she instructed.

Angel lifted a brow. “And how am I going to do that?”

“Just like, when he’s around remind him how hot I am, and how I have a great ass, all that stuff.” Starlight took another bite of her meal.

Sighing, Angel found herself rolling her eyes once more. “You realize it’ll look totally weird if I’m complimenting your butt to him, right?”

“Just say you’re a lesbian or something,” Starlight suggested.

“Gee thanks, make me a lesbian... And how long would I have to keep up that charade?” Angel asked, already knowing the answer was likely to be incredibly stupid.

Starlight shrugged and swallowed a bite of her salad. “Dunno, probably until we get married so I’m sure it’s in the bag.”

“I’m not going to pretend to be a lesbian for you...” Angel replied.

“Weak. I’d do it for you!” Starlight complained.

“No you wouldn’t, you won’t even kiss a girl on the cheek...” Angel smirked.

Starlight frowned and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right, strictly cock for this girl. Vaginas are nasty.”

“Thus I am right, you wouldn’t do that for me.” Angel goaded.

Starlight pointed once more with her fork at the slender girl. “Yeah, but you wouldn’t need me to. You got that cute adorable innocent thing going on to where guys flock over you. You wouldn’t have any trouble getting a date if you just said yes to offers.”

Angel blushed and twirled a strand of her long messy hair in her finger. “Yeah, well it’s not like I have the time to date anyway...”

“Just make sure you’re not all cute and adorable when Sunburst is around, I need him to notice how hot I am, alright?” Starlight grinned.

“He’s all yours, I’m not even remotely interested. Now can we please go over our notes? I’d much rather do that than talk about how you’re sexually frustrated some more, I feel we’ve exhausted that topic,” Angel asked.

Sighing, Starlight nodded and reached down next to her chair. Her hand snaked its way into a small messenger bag and produced a blue notebook that the two had been using to keep track of the information they gathered. Periodically, they would transfer the notes to a computer and create backups.

The notebook itself had seen some abuse and was a testament to how poorly Starlight kept her bad. It was battered, beaten and worn, but neither of the two seemed to mind so long as it served its purpose.

Flipping it open, Starlight shuffled through pages until she located one and began to recite it in bits and pieces. “Alright, so here is what we know so far.”

Scanning the pages, Starlight began to sum up their notes. “We’ve made some pretty great progress over the past few months. We’ve determined that Applejack is connected to the group of friends that you saw in your dream.”

“Can we even still call it a dream if it came true? Wouldn’t that be like a premonition or something?” Angel asked.

Starlight shrugged. “Who cares? Point is that we’ve determined the connection. Applejack ended up getting married to some fashion designer named Rarity and they reside in some small city in Maryland called Canterlot.”

Angel paused and had a thoughtful look on her face which caused Starlight to raise a brow. “Sound familiar?”

“Not really, no. Keep going.” Angel gestured to continue.

Looking back down at the notebook, Starlight nodded. “Right, so Rainbow Dash and her were childhood rivals. She ended up joining the army and marrying their other friend, Fluttershy. No idea where they are now, but they used to live in the same town.”

“It’s amazing what you can find by prowling Facebook...” Angel grinned.

“No kidding.” Starlight nodded in agreement.

“So then we have their friend Pinkie Pie, who I guess is off to college somewhere...” Starlight shrugged.

“Not much to go on there...” Angel shrugged back at her.

There was a short pause before Starlight looked up from the notebook with serious eyes. “And then there’s Twilight Sparkle. She ended up marrying their friend Sunset Shimmer...”

“And Sunset Shimmer is the heir to the Shimmer Estate there in Canterlot right?” Angel asked for a reminder.

“Yup, her twin sister died a few years back, supposedly was a murder but all the details are sealed to the public. This girl reappears after years and coincidentally her adopted parents gave her the same name...” Starlight explained.

“Seems odd...” Angel placed a finger and a thumb upon her chin.

“Definitely. Insanely convenient if you ask me. Definitely, something being covered up there,” Starlight said.

“Didn’t Sunset go missing though?” Angel asked.

Starlight nodded. “Yeah, about three years ago. Up and vanishes leaves her wife and kid behind without a trace. No one filed her missing, not even her wife. People say she just couldn’t take the pressure of being a mom or something.”

Angel shook her head, rejecting that theory. “That doesn’t make sense. She had enough money to where it feels like if she wanted a fresh start she would have taken a lot of it with her.”

“I guess you’re right there... If I didn’t have to work anymore, I totally wouldn’t either.” Starlight leaned back in her seat with a chuckle.

“You hardly work now.” Angel smirked.

“Hey! Sometimes I just need a break!” Starlight protested.

“A twenty-minute break.” Angel snickered.

Starlight rolled her eyes and Angel sat there giggling at her for a few moments before they returned to the topic at hand.

“I don’t really see how any of this is connected to us, but if I had to pick out the most suspicious element, I’d say it’s Sunset Shimmer. I mean there are too many abnormalities there to ignore...” Angel admitted.

Starlight sat back against the table and stabbed her salad once more, feeling a little peckish still. “Very true.”

Angel ignored her friend’s rude table manners and continued. “The only problem is we can’t just go up and ask around with these girls, they will probably clam up the moment we start poking our nose in their business.”

Chewing a bite, Starlight nodded, talking with her mouth full once more. “Definitely.”

“And we can’t exactly find a missing girl that even the police can’t locate... And with no girl there to investigate, there’s nothing we can learn...” Angel sighed.

Starlight swallowed her bite and tapped the notebook. “So we should look into the dead girl.”

“Beg your pardon?” Angel raised a brow.

Wiping her mouth, Starlight turned the notebook to Angel and tapped the name “Sunset Shimmer” which was circled. “There were two Sunset Shimmers at one point, I say we should take a look into the dead one, find out what kind of person she was, she may be connected to all of this.”

“Not a bad idea...” Angel concurred.

“There’s bound to be a public record of where she’s buried, from there we can find anyone who knew her. We can say we were old friends since she’s dead no one can call bullshit, right?” Starlight suggested.

It was a sneaky plan, but they didn’t have anything to lose, and sneaky was part of Starlight’s nature after all. “Sounds like a good move. We should make some phone calls.”

“Yeah, let’s just hope we don’t have to dig up a grave or anything.” Starlight joked.

“You’re not serious, right?” Angel blinked, concern filling her eyes.

“Hey, maybe the missing Sunset is actually like the ghost of the original one, and we have to salt and burn the bones to make her go away?” Starlight smirked.

“You are joking...” Angel sighed in relief.

“Hey, it works in Supernatural.” Starlight shrugged.

“You have a dark sense of humor, has anyone ever told you that?” Angel winced just at the thought.

“Says you and all the therapists I’ve ever seen.” Starlight smirked.

After finishing her mane, Starlight Glimmer looked herself in the mirror and sighed. While her situation was less than ideal, she had to admit, she found the dinner dress she had been instructed to wear very sexy. Expensive new earrings, a new black cocktail dress and silver hoof bracelets, and she was looking ready for a night on the town.

The only unfortunate part about it was that she would not be heading out, or even leaving the castle. The collar on her neck ensured that she would instead be spending the evening at the dinner table with Arax, the changeling she called master.

She wondered why he always had her dress up and wear expensive jewelry; not that she minded, but it seemed odd behavior for a master to treat his slave so much like a doting wife rather than a piece of meat.

That was the other part about him that was odd. Starlight challenged him all the time, trying to prove she was too tough for him to break her. She offered to sleep in his bed and claimed she could handle anything he threw at her, but he never did. Arax seemed to have virtually no interest in her on a sexual level. It was odd, he dressed her up as a sex object, but never violated her. She had told herself going into this that she wouldn’t show weakness and that meant she had to endure whatever torment he threw at her, but it had been surprisingly easy. If anything, she was treated as just a trophy wife.

What was going on in the mind of Arax, she wondered? Did he have the hots for Serenade instead? Was Starlight just a clever plot to make her jealous? She couldn’t imagine anyone seeking the eye of that creature, but she did have to admit she was at least attractive. Could beauty alone convince one to forget what a dreadful creature she was? She was a siren, perhaps he was under her spell?

It boggled her mind, but it didn’t matter. The reality was that she was his slave and he was her master and that was the nature of their relationship, even if it was not a typical slave situation. Then again, she wasn’t exactly sure what a typical slave situation was like either.

With her attractive dress, Starlight exhaled and stepped out of the room to head to the dining room where her master awaited. The walk was a decent one, and it reminded Starlight of how much free reign she was given. While she was forbidden from running away, she could explore all of Canterlot and was permitted to go where she liked when Arax didn’t request her somewhere. For a captive, she had a tremendous amount of freedom which bothered her. She was beginning to suspect that it was all somehow part of a trick by Arax.

Starlight was prepared for abuse, torture, rape even. She had told herself that she needed to be strong, so she could survive whatever he threw at her, but she was finding it to be easier than she had imagined.

Arax never raised a hoof to her, never locked her up, and certainly never even touched her inappropriately. Now and then he would rub under her chin or pet her head, but that was the extent of it.

Arriving at the dining room, Starlight bowed gently as she took note of the cloaked changeling at the table. He smiled at her, his fang ridden mouth looking as sinister as ever. In front of him was a mixture of papers and files that he must have been working on prior to Starlight’s entry.

He gestured for her to come closer which she did and bowed slightly to him. He gestured for her to present her hoof which she did. Carefully, he planted a kiss upon the hoof and then released it. Starlight blushed gently before sitting across from him, a plate of food already prepared for her.

A fresh dinner of arugula, steamed vegetables and white wine it seemed. Arax’s meal seemed relatively untouched, but half of his glass of wine was already downed. His red eyes focused entirely on the papers in front of him.

Starlight coughed and spoke up. “Why not take a break from all of that?”

He shook his head. “Serenade wants this stuff done, therefore I have to get it done.”

Sighing, Starlight gripped a fork in her right hoof. She decided to rephrase the question. “How about you just tell her you’re exhausted?”

He glared over at her with a squinted eye. “You must not have been paying close attention when you met her. Serenade isn’t one for excuses...”

That was an understatement. The creature ripped a young colt’s tongue out and let him bleed to death in front of his mother. Many words would describe Serenade, ruthless would be one, merciful would not.

“How did she get like that?” Starlight asked.

He looked up from his paperwork again with a squared eye. “Like what? A vicious bitch who is willing to murder anyone who gets in her way?”

“I was going to be more tactful than that, but yes.” Starlight rolled her eyes.

Arax shrugged and returned to the papers in front of him. “She’s always been like that, as long as I’ve known her.”

“How long have you worked with her?” Starlight asked.

“About five years now. I met her sometime before her plans to conquer Equestria. The mare I met though was just as vicious and evil as the one you know now though, so if you’re hoping to gain some insight on what goes on in that girl’s mind, you’re asking the wrong pony.” He smirked.

Arax could see right through her plan, but somehow he didn’t seem upset. For a creature that was the right hoof of an evil overlord, he was surprisingly a very agreeable guy. She could tell that he had a temper, but he always kept it under control.

“Can I ask you a personal question, Arax?” Starlight began.

“Master Arax,” he corrected with a raised hoof.

“Right, sorry... Master Arax... May I ask you a personal question?” She tried again.

“Go ahead.” He nodded.

“Do you not find me attractive or something?” Starlight asked.

He looked up from his papers, and that same confused look was stuck to his face. “What is this about?”

She blushed and looked away bashfully. “It’s just that you make me dress up in these outfits, parade me around, make me call you master, and yet you won’t even touch me. It’s pretty odd for someone that you are calling your slave to be treated with such... respect. What’s your aim here? What are you hoping to accomplish?”

He blinked but chewed his thoughts for a moment. “Not every pony takes in a slave with such lustrous intention, Starlight.”

“I get that, but you’re not making me do hard labor either, I don’t get it. You literally benefit nothing from this, so why bother?” She asked.

He shrugged. “Maybe I just enjoy your company.”

“Do you though?”

A smirk played his lips. “Why not wait to find out for yourself?”

Starlight’s mouth contorted to help form a face of pure confusion. She understood this changeling even less than she did moments ago.

His smirk turned into a genuine smile, however, and his next words surprised her. “You’re gorgeous though if that makes you feel better. Absolutely ravage-worthy.”

She blushed again and brushed at her cheek with her hoof. “Dinner and a movie first.” She winked.

“Trust me on this, you don’t want me to do anything like that,” Arax stated plainly.

“You think you’d break me? I’m stronger than that.” Starlight scowled.

He shook his head. “No, I’m more worried that I wouldn’t break you. A girl like you? I’d have to keep going rougher and rougher to break you... I don’t intend to hurt you if I don’t have to.”

“Then why am I here? Explain that to me.” Starlight squinted, his motivation was less clear.

He looked away. “I can’t tell you that, sorry. Just know you’re here for a good reason.”

Starlight came to a stand and pranced over to his side of the table. She took her hoof and shoved his paperwork away causing him to look up at her with a confused expression. The mare pushed his chair back and climbed atop of him, pressing her forehead to his.

The two were silent for eight awkward seconds before Starlight spoke. “You can’t break me. Whatever strange reason you keep me here doesn’t matter.”

“You clearly have something to prove,” Arax replied.

“Maybe I’m stronger than you?” Starlight grinned.

His hooves reached forward gripping her waist tightly. Starlight could feel the strength in his front hooves. While he didn’t look that impressive, his strength likely was more than the eye perceived.

Snaking a hoof down her back, he landed on her rear and gripped. Starlight blushed but kept her eyes locked with his.

“You’re my plaything and I can do with you as I see fit. You’d be wise to remember that...” He gave her a serious look.

His words suggested he was trying to show dominance over her, but she couldn’t bring herself to believe him. Even with his current actions, she still felt he was far too polite about it all.

Taking advantage of the situation, Starlight decided to exert just a little power over him using her feminine charm. Leaning in, she planted a kiss upon his lips. To her surprise, however, he not only allowed it to happen, he opened his mouth to intensify it. His snakelike tongue wrapped around her own, causing an excitement that Starlight had never known before. She was kissing a changeling, and one that had held her prisoner at that.

With his fangs, he nipped her lip gently as he squeezed her rear before breaking the kiss. Without warning he took his other hoof and pulled her in where he bit down hard on her neck, piercing the flesh with his fangs. She yelped but somehow the pain went away quickly, it was instead replaced with a euphoric feeling. She moaned in delight as he sucked.

She could feel the energy leaving her body, but she didn’t care. It was as if some kind of drug had been injected into her. After a few seconds, he released her. She shuddered in delight as her hoof reached up and touched her neck, feeling the fresh blood. “W-wow... That was...”

“Go shower and head to bed,” Arax commanded.

Nodding she hopped off of his lap. She was a bit dizzy, but she felt great like nothing mattered anymore. Was this the power of a changeling? He had fed off of her, but somehow she didn’t care, she wanted more. She had read somewhere that changelings could feed in this manner as well, but often didn’t because the experience was more intense, more intimate and left them more vulnerable.

Now, however, she was certain that some kind of chemical was released through their fangs into their prey because instead of pain, she felt pleasure. If he wanted to, he could have drained her to nothing, and she would have begged him to do so. It made sense now why he never bothered exerting authority over her; with just the nip of his fangs, he would have her willing to die at his command. His power over her was absolute in a way that didn’t require him to prove it. Something that Starlight had never considered.

She hobbled a bit, which caused Arax to sigh and step down from his seat and offer his hoof to guide her. She took it and allowed herself to be guided by him to the bathroom. The effects of his bite still strong on her mind, as even at that moment she could feel a slight tinge inside of her which made her want to beg him for more.

Her power play over him completely backfired and instead, she was now finding herself more at his mercy than when she began. She had to admit, it was a well-played move.

When they reached the bathroom, he guided her in and let her sit on the floor while he started a bath for her, deciding that she probably wasn’t in a condition to stand for the shower. As the water ran, he looked at her and noticed she was watching him carefully.

“You... You just enjoy toying with me, don’t you?” She asked, slowly coming down off of the high he had given her.

“You think that’s my reasoning?” He raised a brow.

“What other reasoning could there be?” She asked.

“If that were a case, I wouldn’t have waited for you to try that little stunt before showing you what I can do, would I? It would also hardly make the collar necessary, wouldn’t it?” He suggested.

She pieced it together in her own mind and repeated her thoughts out loud. “Because one bite would make it so I’d come running back to you against my will... The craving to be fed upon won’t stop, will it?”

He nodded. “Once you are bitten once, it’s like an addiction. You’ll always crave the bite of the one who bit you now and then.”

“Meaning that even if I ran away, I would come running back...” Starlight nodded.

“Exactly.” He smirked.

“And I’m guessing that you’re smart enough to know that Twilight would have figured out that you bit me and would never let me close enough to where she is so that I’d reveal their plans to you...” Starlight thought out loud.

“I know Twilight Sparkle is likely the paranoid type. If you suddenly showed back up, she would treat you with suspicion, maybe even lock you up to prevent you from getting back to me... She strikes me as calculating enough to not leave something like that to chance...” Arax agreed.

He was far smarter than he looked, perhaps even smarter than Serenade was. Was it possible that this changeling was the brains behind her operations? Serenade seemed more of the kill-first-ask-questions-later type after all.

“So why take me as your slave? What do you hope to benefit from that?” Starlight asked.

“Maybe you’ll figure it out in time, but for now, get cleaned up and head to bed, understand?” He pointed to the tub with a serious face.

Starlight clearly couldn’t hope to understand this creature just yet. Whatever secrets Arax had weren’t going to reveal themselves so easily.

Carefully looking over a chessboard, Glitch levitated a knight on the board and moved it, knocking a pawn away and setting it aside. The armored pony looked up at Twilight with a nod. “Your move, Princess,” they spoke.

Twilight observed their move carefully, taking note of how aggressive Glitch was playing. At first, she assumed that they would bide their time, but it seemed as though they were going right for the attack, an odd strategy.

“That’s a bit of an aggressive playstyle don’t you think?” Twilight asked with a raised brow as she moved her next piece.

Glitch watched the board and moved accordingly. “One cannot win on the defensive forever, sometimes you need to attack and overwhelm your opponent. Attacks on top of other attacks, making focus impossible. In war, it is about outsmarting your enemy by not only anticipating their moves but anticipating their expectations of yourself.”

“Subverting expectation and then subverting those subversions... Clever indeed...” Twilight nodded, appreciating how cunning Glitch was being, it reminded her a bit of Discord’s line of thinking.

Stepping into the room was the orange tinted hooves of a familiar farmer, her hat removed from her golden blonde mane and pressed against her chest as she stepped inside with her head bowed. She approached Glitch from behind and cleared her throat. “Ahem...”

Glitch didn’t even turn to face her, instead, they kept their vision focused on the chessboard. “Welcome back, Applejack. Are you done with your tantrum?”

The farmer winced but held in her annoyance with Glitch’s badgering. She had earned that insult, and she knew it, even if it was difficult to admit.

“Yeah... ‘Ah’m sorry for how ‘Ah acted...” Applejack nodded.

“Apology accepted, now why are you here?” Glitch asked.

Applejack would be lying if she said the fact that Glitch wouldn’t even turn around and face her when she spoke didn’t piss her off, but she bit her tongue so hard she might have bitten it off if she applied any more pressure.

After she had calmed herself, she answered the question. “Well, ‘Ah wanted to let y’all know that ‘Ah’m still behind ya’. ‘Ah’ll do whatever y’all need me to, even if I’m not exactly keen on ya’.”

Glitch shrugged before levitating another piece on the board, taking another on Twilight’s pawns.

“What inspired this change?” Glitch questioned.

“If Twilight has faith in y’all, then ‘Ah need to put my faith in ya’ too.” Applejack stood up tall, trying to regain some of her pride.

Glitch lifted her queen and made a bold forward move with it, causing Twilight to give them a look of confusion as to why they would risk their queen so easily.

“Some of my methods are going to be disagreeable, Applejack. I can’t promise you’re going to like how I conduct business, but I do it the way I do to get results. I understand our enemy, I know how sirens tend to operate, and I have a bit of knowledge on demons, so you’ll have to trust my methods and not stand in the way, do we have an understanding?” Glitch questioned.

Applejack composed herself and nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly. “Yeah, we understand each other.”

Finally, Glitch turned around and faced the mare, Applejack’s reflection looking back at her from the pony’s visor. She was still curious as to what they looked like under that thing but knew that she likely wouldn’t find out.

“I don’t actually believe you mean that 100%, you know?” Glitch said. Applejack wasn’t a terrific fiber, and while there was some truth in her words, Glitch could tell that there was still a seed of doubt in her. It was to be expected though, after all, Glitch doubted the two would ever see eye to eye on everything.

Applejack grimaced and shrugged. “Either way, ‘Ah’ll do my best.”

Nodding Glitch returned to her game. “That’s good enough for me.”

“So am ‘Ah back to bein’ in on the plans?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, but as I said before, you’re still on a need-to-know basis just like everypony else.” Glitch took out one of Twilight’s knights.

“Can’t say ‘Ah enjoy that, but ‘Ah ain’t got no choice in the matter, so ‘Ah’ll make due,” Applejack replied.

“I suppose you will.”

Princess Twilight had retired to her quarters for some privacy. While sleep was not necessary at the facility, alone time was mandatory to keep one’s sanity at times. Her room was the only place where she would be certain she wouldn’t be bothered, and that was how she liked it.

With a quill in hoof, she scribbled in a diary. She missed magic, as her penmanship with her hoof was nowhere near as elegant, but her writing was more than legible.

Discord,

I feel like such a failure honestly. I’m relying on every trick I know just to stay in the fight, but I’d be lying if I said that Glitch didn’t play a huge role in our victory at Appleloosa. Without them, I was certain to fail. It’s a harsh truth that I feel as though I’m contributing little to this resistance effort beyond supplying the pony who would ultimately lead it.

Glitch’s ability to adapt to the situation far surpasses my own, and I suppose I’m a bit jealous.

Somewhere out there, you’re locked away being subjected to Celestia knows what by that fiend, Serenade and I’m sitting here waiting for a miracle it seems. I wish I could be more proactive, but all I can do is bide my time and wait for Glitch’s plans to come together.

There’s so much that I am not allowed to say even in a diary that I only intend for myself to read due to the rules we set in place when Glitch first arrived, but there’s so much I wish I could say. I feel wrong keeping secrets, but it’s what I must do.

It’s clear that Applejack doesn’t approve of Glitch that much, and that will likely continue to cause tension between the two.

I wish you were here, Celestia and you both.

Setting her quill down, Twilight read over her letter to herself in her diary and nodded. While she wished she could voice her feelings out loud, sometimes just writing them down was enough.

The sound of her door opening and closing caused the mare to jump and flinch as she attempted to hide her dairy in haste, but it was too late. Sunset Shimmer had entered her room and shut the door behind her before removing the helmet of her suit.

It was a strange thing to Twilight, when Glitch would turn into Sunset Shimmer when they entered a private area, but she would turn back into Glitch the moment she left.

Sunset smirked and levitated the dairy out of Twilight’s reach, causing the mare to lift her hooves in the air attempting to grab it back, only to fail.

The book floated over to Sunset who flipped it open and spent a few seconds reading over Twilight’s latest entry. The Princess of Friendship merely sat still and waited for Sunset to return the book, knowing that attempting to make her cease reading it was pointless.

After she finished the page, Sunset tossed the book back to the Princess, who caught it.

“You could have told me you felt that way, you know?” Sunset asked.

Twilight looked away bashfully before setting the book on the desk she was sitting at. “It’s not an easy subject to broach. Besides, sometimes I just write feelings down to deal with them internally. It just feels good sometimes to let things out even if it’s to a piece of paper.”

“I know the feeling for sure...” Sunset rubbed her neck, a bit uncomfortable as she recalled plenty of times where she probably should have written her feelings down instead of letting those feelings consume her.

“Still, you should have said something.” Sunset frowned.

“We’re not exactly on the most friendly terms right now, in case you’ve forgotten...” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“No, we’re not. However, I’m not a heartless bitch, Twilight. I hate what you’ve forced me to do, but we’re here now and I don’t intend to spend this entire time hating your guts. I’ve got enough problems to deal with, like how to get that farmpony off my ass.” Sunset gave the Princess a serious glare.

Twilight somehow already knew that the logical part of Sunset was in control at this point and that she likely wouldn’t confront the emotional part of herself that despised Twilight until after Serenade was beaten. For now, they would work together until Equestria was saved, then they likely would end up hating each other when it was all over. Twilight could accept that outcome though, she had made peace with it.

“Maybe not, but don’t think I enjoyed what I did, Sunset. Maybe if I had the guidance at the time I might have done something different, but I didn’t...” Twilight drooped a bit.

“Discord, right? You were talking to him in your little letter there.” Sunset pointed to the dairy.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, he was a mentor to me after Celestia. He taught me all he knew about chaos magic and how to think outside the box.”

“Sounds like you care about him a lot?” Sunset asked as she sat down.

Twilight nodded once more. She missed his guidance for sure. “I wish he was here to guide me. I spent a long time locked in the training area of this facility with him. He taught me so much, and I guess you could say we finally became friends. I learned to get past his oddities, such as his inability to take anything seriously.”

“Sounds like a frustrating guy to be around.” Sunset smirked.

“He is at times, but he means well.” Twilight smiled, never imagining in her life she would be defending Discord. “That’s why I wear his emblem because he taught me things that Celestia could not. I just wish I could save him from Serenade, he gave himself up to protect me,” Twilight explained.

Sunset let out a sigh before coming to a stand and nodding. “I’ll see what I can do, Princess.”

“Huh? What?” Twilight blinked.

“You’re no good to me when you’re demotivated as you are; I need you operating at full steam.” Sunset grinned.

Twilight hadn’t a clue what she was about to do, but somehow she suspected it was going to make things a lot more complicated.

Finally, we get to compare the two Starlights!

So, as you may notice their personalities differ slightly. The pony Starlight has a lot more confidence, likely boosted by the support network around her. She knows she’s an attractive girl, and that she’s smart to boot. Her human counterpart seems to lack confidence in both of these areas due to her social awkwardness getting the better of her at times. She’s far from an ugly girl, but she lets her mouth get her into trouble.

Writing dialogue between Arax and Starlight is insanely amusing, but often times I don’t think people understand it. While it certainly comes off as “flirting” at first glance it’s more of bravado. The two of them puff out their chests and try to show the other one who is tougher or bolder. It’s sort of their way of interacting that only they understand.