Detective Snatcher had been tailing Twilight Shimmer for weeks now, despite the orders of his superior officer. He hadn’t been convinced that the situation was merely circumstantial. The facts all seemed too convenient for Twilight Shimmer. Her daughter’s mother just up and vanished months ago without so much as a trace, leaving behind a girl that was barely more than a week old. Something smelled, and he needed to know what it was.

This all meant that Twilight Shimmer was now the heir to the family fortune, worth millions. Things like that just didn’t happen in real life without foul play being involved. There were a number of scenarios that could have happened; Twilight offed the girl and ditched the body somewhere, she threatened her into hiding, or she was covering up something bigger, possibly through blackmail. No matter which way he sliced it, something smelled. Sunset Shimmer just vanished out of nowhere and no one seemed that concerned about it. Protocol be damned, he couldn't leave it alone.

There was also the matter of a lot of Sunset’s story didn’t make sense to him. While she had a birth certificate, a social security card, and even proper IDs, he couldn’t find a single soul that was present for her birth, or anyone who remembered her at the social security offices. He would imagine a girl like that was a face that stuck with people. On top of that, she was the twin sister of a woman who was wealthy beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, surely after the fiasco with Shimmer’s parents' death, people would have noticed the two look the same, wouldn’t they? Then again, a lot of people didn’t even know what Shimmer looked like due to years of seclusion. Sure her picture was on TV, but who remembered a glimpse of a girl from years ago on a TV?

That was another odd thing: Shimmer’s parents were murdered and the murder remained unsolved to that day, and the case files for it were all sealed. Detective Snatcher was denied entry into the file under the pretense that the case was classified to higher-ups only due to the family’s deep connection to all the big cheeses of the city. Snatcher didn’t buy it, he assumed the chief was even bought out, or threatened by the people that were bought out who all stood higher than him.

It wasn’t only that, but then Shimmer herself was murdered, and that case was pretty open and close which was pretty strange in and of itself, along with a lot of the details being sealed as well.

Snatcher’s curiosity was only made worse though, when he saw the name of the detective assigned to the case: Shining Armor, the older brother of Twilight Shimmer, when she was still Twilight Sparkle and not romantically involved with the sister of the deceased. It was all too convenient.

Something was going on, and he knew that all of them had to be in on it, but at the center was Twilight Shimmer, the girl who has the most to gain from it. With Sunset gone, she was now one of the richest women in the state.

He had finally gotten a break and managed to get his hands on Shimmer’s case files from when her parents were murdered, but only had gotten the chance to read them now as he sat in his unmarked car keeping an eye on the Shimmer estate.

The detective sipped from a travel cup of coffee and yawned as he opened the tan colored folder and slipped the contents out.

The photographs were pretty run of the mill for murder scenes, blood everywhere, but there was one oddity; the bodies were almost completely destroyed, little in the way of bones even left after whatever attacked them.

Could it have been an explosion? That didn’t seem possible as nothing else was damaged. What kind of bomb could blow up only the people in the room and nothing else? Was such a thing even possible? No, it wasn’t, scientifically speaking, even if a bomb was placed inside of a human, there would be shrapnel, debris, other kinds of damage.

He read over the crime scene notes from the head detective at the time.

Bodies appear to have been blown up, however, there are no signs of any kind of explosive device at the scene. No detection of shrapnel, and no disturbance to any of the furniture or room outside of the bodies. The innards of the corpses showed no explosive devices inside of them as well.

Cause of Death: Undetermined

So he wasn’t the only one who noticed it seemed. Scrolling through the document, he blinked as he came to a section that caught his attention.

One Witness.

He blinked and looked at the name of the witness.

Sunset Shimmer.

Now he had no choice but to read her personal account of the events.

The child was found hiding in a cupboard only a room away from the corpses. She was trembling and claims she had been hiding there for many hours before police arrived.

When interviewed, the child insisted on delusions that she had produced some kind of light blast from the palm of her hand that was responsible for the killings. We naturally had the girl evaluated and the conclusion is that she clearly is suffering from some form of post-traumatic stress syndrome causing her mind to block out the events of what actually happened.

He blinked, wondering why such a pointless detail such as the whimsy of a child was included in a police report but found it odder when he saw that the case was marked still as “unsolved” and that no leads had been found in the decade or so since its opening. The file was more or less treated as if the case were already closed.

Setting the file down, Snatcher shook his head and leaned back in the seat of his cheap Chevy Caprice. With his eyes on the Shimmer estate, he wondered how all of this connected. There was no doubt in his mind that all of it was somehow related to the disappearance of Sunset Shimmer.

“What do you know, Twilight?” He asked himself out loud before sipping from his cup.

Reaching into the seat next to himself, he retrieved a pair of binoculars and tried to see if he could get a better look inside the building.

No such luck, but he wasn’t going to give up that easily. He would wait as long as he needed to for Twilight to show him some kind of clue.

“You will reveal your secrets to me, Twilight Shimmer...” He grinned as he spoke to himself.

Golden and Abyss had become exhausted from the excessive amount of walking. After being flown past Dragon Scar by the aid of her majesty’s dragon friend, the three mares had arrived at the Frozen North on the same continent that Equestria was located. Flying through Dragon Scar was often a process that took weeks, and the Frozen North was not easy to navigate on hoof either. They had been at it for several weeks, and both the gruff advisor and the confidence-lacking scholar were ready to take a long needed break, provided they could find proper lodging or accommodations first.

Golden had taken to complaining the entire journey, while Abyss seemed to have naturally fallen into the role of telling Golden to cease her incessant whining and be proud that they are permitted to make such a journey alongside her excellency.

Instead, Golden just huffed to herself and internally lamented how she’d much prefer a library with a good scroll to read rather than an arduous journey to deliver a bladed spear to who-knows-where. That was the part that still had her baffled, she knew they were on their way to deliver this weapon somewhere or utilize it at some place, but Golden didn’t have a clue where that was or why. If Abyss knew, she was keeping quiet, but Golden estimated that Abyss likely was just as clueless as she was regarding the matter.

Her Excellency didn’t seem to give any hints in her body language, and the mare’s gorgeous face didn’t seem to change expressions from a neutral smiling face very often. She said nothing, instead, she had made the entire journey in silence, no commands necessary for her to keep order. Abyss called the shots, but her excellency seemed to be the one actually in control.

Golden was curious if the fair mare even spoke ponish, the common tongue of their language, though a few of their kind also spoke German thanks to Ectra being located just off the Germanic Isles, one of which was Dragon Scar, where the two most common languages were German and Ponish, though a small number of dragons could still speak Draconian, an ancient tongue only taught by the oldest of clans. It was considered an honor to learn such a language by their kind.

Only having met a few dragons, Golden had only met a single one who spoke all three, and he was a very old merchant who had seen better days. The creature was close to his death bed when she had met him, but somehow the will to keep fighting and causing trouble burned within him eternally. Perhaps that was just the way of dragons; to drink, fuck and cause trouble.

Adjusting her cloak, Golden shivered from the frigid winds that buffeted the group. She groaned in complaint, and looked over to her ruler, who seemed unfazed by the icy winds, instead, she wore her usual casual smile upon her face. She wondered how such a thing was even possible.

“Your Excellency, may we perhaps stop somewhere to rest for the night?” Golden asked.

Abyss growled at Golden with a sneer upon her face. “How dare you speak directly to her Excellency!?”

“Relax, we’re the only ones here, so it’s not like I have anyone else to talk to, considering you’re such divine company...” Golden rolled her eyes.

“You hush your tongue, peasant. As far as I’m concerned a freshman council member is still in the ranks of the lower class, you have no right to speak to her Excellency...” Abyss stopped in her tracks and stamped her hoof in the snow as she approached Golden.

Sighing, Golden shook her head. “Look, I get that you are obsessed with your whole class and order thing, but in case you haven’t noticed, we’re not in Ectra anymore, we’re in the middle of nowhere freezing our behinds off and we’re doing so with a leader who has been silent for the past few months that we’ve traveled with her. I don’t know about you, but I’m not really content being silently commanded, I at least feel that after traveling this far we have a right to ask for a campsite or at the very least to be told what exactly we’re doing.”

Abyss’ face had turned red with anger. She grunted and looked at Golden with disgust at her insolence. “You will be told when it is necessary to tell you. Do your duty as a citizen of Ectra and serve your ruler without question, do you understand, peasant?”

“Whatever, I never even asked to go on this journey, and thus far my abilities have been a big waste of time, as there has been nothing worthy of note. My journal of this quest so far is a series of conversations with a dragon who apparently really has a thing for nice tails...” Golden said as she recalled the long flight over Dragon Scar.

“I could care less about your historian nonsense, but the orders you were given was to document this journey, and that is what you’ll do, do you understand?” Abyss raised a brow.

“Sure, fine, but that means I’ll have some questions along the way...” Golden looked away, already annoyed with the white-maned mare.

Her eyes fell once again on their ruler, the petite mare with the slender figure. Her mane was an interesting mess that had been partially tamed with the partial dreads and free-flowing mane combination, all wrapped up in a messy ponytail.

The blue and red gemstones that decorated her mane reminded Golden of some old paintings she had seen of tribal ponies, which her excellency resembled slightly.

It was common for their kind to wear earrings, Golden even had a set of diamond studs herself, but her majesty’s eight silver hoops were interesting, along with the chain cuff on her left ear.

What she really wanted to know though was how the mare’s makeup seemed to remain flawless regardless of what happened. How such a thing was possible was beyond her, but she couldn’t deny that the mare’s eyeliner was immaculate.

“Direct your questions to me then,” Abyss commanded.

Golden had a feeling that was going to be her reply, but she shrugged it off. “Fine, what are we doing? Where exactly in Equestria are we going?”

Abyss shrugged. “How should I know? That information is above me.”

“So no one around here knows anything, and she’s a mute.” Golden gestured to their leader who just looked over at her and smiled before sitting down in the snow as the other two mares argued it out.

“She isn’t a mute!” Abyss hissed.

“How do you know? Have you ever heard her talk?” Golden replied.

Abyss paused and bit her lip, chewing her thoughts for a moment. “Well... No... But that’s because only speakers are permitted to hear and speak for her Excellency.”

“Well that does us a lot of good because none of those are here with us, so we’re walking blind here...” Golden sighed.

Their leader stood back up and gestured with her hoof for the two mares to follow. The moment she made the gesture, both hushed their voices and followed without question. Within moments the group approached a cave where they all took shelter, their leader’s horn glowing casting a spell that transformed the entire cavern.

Within seconds, proper lighting appeared, and a series of beds, a vanity, and even a fire in the center. Golden and Abyss stared in awe at the display of magic by their competent leader. Such level of transmogrify usually would take the most skilled of mages decades to master, as it was clear she had transformed normal rocks into what they saw before them. With any other mage, they would be completely exhausted after casting such a high-level spell.

Golden blinked as she watched their leader smile at her, her face filled with radiance, causing the mare to blush. She was gorgeous, her lavender eyes shining brilliantly in the light.

She reached forward and ran a gentle hoof across Golden’s cheek. Golden blushed as she observed the mare. The two locked eyes, and there was something about her stare that mesmerized Golden.

The two remained silent until their leader turned toward one of the beds and levitated the spear mounted to her back onto the floor next to it before climbing in and pulling the covers over herself. Both Abyss and Golden remained silent until they could hear gentle breathing signifying that her excellency was asleep.

After a few moments of silence, Golden finally spoke up in a hushed tone to Abyss. “What an odd girl...”

Abyss wanted to argue, but even she found it hard to disagree. “I must admit her excellency has some odd tendencies...”

“What do you think is going on in her head?” Golden asked.

“You’ve got me... She doesn’t seem to let on whatever’s going on up there...” Abyss admitted.

Golden sighed and looked to the beds that were provided for them. “I guess we should get some rest, it’s still a long way to Equestria.”

“Agreed...” Abyss replied.

Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst waited patiently for Angel Song to get off of work with Starlight thumbing her phone to pass the time. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see her red-headed boyfriend smiling at her as he looked down. At that moment she really appreciated that he was tall, as a taller girl like her seldom met men who were an impressive enough height to make her feel small.

She smiled back and placed her hand atop of his and pet it gently before giving it a gentle squeeze and released it. She looked back down at her phone, checking the time as she waited anxiously for Angel to be finished.

Sure enough, it wouldn’t take long before the skinny girl walked out of the restaurant where the two of them worked, a long purse hanging off of her scrawny shoulder. Starlight giggled as she saw her friend and opened her arms to receive her.

Taking the cue, Angel stepped forward with arms extended and gripped Starlight in an embrace. Starlight was clearly the more powerful hugger of the two, but Angel always gave such soft and effeminate hugs that Starlight didn’t care if what she did was the equivalent of being strangled by a bear. Hugging Angel Song always made one want to squeeze her tightly as she was too adorable not to.

After the embrace, Starlight giggled and stared at her friend. Angel instantly noticed that her cheeks had become rosy and her fair complexion only accentuated that fact. “Someone’s in a good mood.” Angel observed.

Starlight nodded and looked back at Sunburst. “Sunburst, I’d like you to meet my best friend in the whole world, Angel Song.”

Angel looked past Starlight to get a good look at the guy she had been telling her about. While she had seen pictures of him, he was far better put together in person. She imagined he just wasn’t a good picture taker. His hair had been clipped to a semi-short length and done in a messy style, and he was sporting an attractive blue button up short sleeve. His scruffy facial hair completed the look with his black-framed glasses.

Angel stepped away from Starlight and offered her dainty hand. “It’s a pleasure, I’ve heard so much about you, Sunburst.”

He nodded and took her hand gently. Instinctually he was about to squeeze hard but remembered she was female and gave her a much less firm handshake, but one that was still far above anything that Angel could produce.

“The pleasure is all mine, I’ve actually heard a great deal about you, Angel Song. Starlight tells me that you’re something special...” He smiled.

Angel blushed and looked away. “Well... I wouldn’t say that... More like a never-ending burden...”

“She’s modest too, I forgot to mention.” Starlight grinned as she chimed in.

“More like honest, I’ve been nothing but trouble for you since we met.” Angel looked away again bashfully and played with her long curled hair.

“So it’s true then... You really can do some kind of magic?” Sunburst asked.

Angel looked over at Starlight with a raised brow but then back to Sunburst. “So, I guess she told you, huh?”

He nodded. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”

“I appreciate that, and I’m sorry you got roped into this too...” Angel frowned.

Sunburst shook his head and pulled Starlight close to him, wrapping his arm around her waist and placing a hand upon her stomach. “No worries, since I’m already in this for the long haul now that we have a kid on the way.”

“I’m so happy that you’re not going to leave Starlight over that.” Angel’s frown flipped into a smile.

He blinked and held Starlight closer. “No way! Starlight and I have been friends for so long, I’ve loved her for such a long time that this is the most exciting thing ever. I kind of wish I told her how I felt about her a long time ago, but this sort of makes up for that.”

Starlight blushed and rubbed her neck. “I sort of fell for you a long time ago as well, but I kind of have a bad habit of saying the wrong things, so I held off...”

“I’m glad you did, so we get to share this together.” He winked.

Angel felt her stomach fill with butterflies as she placed her hands upon her heart and smiled. “I’m so happy for you two, you’re going to make exceptional parents.”

“Thanks, Angel, I’m glad you can be a part of all of this.” Starlight nodded.

Angel found herself frowning once more. “Yeah, but that means that you guys are now going to have your baby roped into the nonsense we’re involved in...”

Starlight shook her head. “That just means we’ll be doing this as a family. We can’t turn back now, we have these powers for a reason and I intend to find out why don’t you? I mean we can’t just give up now, right?”

Angel wiped her eyes, feeling tears begin to appear but nodded. “Yeah, thanks, you guys... It means a lot to me that you’re willing to still do this... Chasing down the origins of magic powers isn’t exactly the environment that most people would want to raise a child...”

“We’re far from most people, aren’t we?” Starlight grinned.

A laugh escaped Angel. “That we are.”

Twilight found herself pacing in her living room late at night. Her daughter had been put to bed, and she had spent the last eighty minutes bringing her friend Rainbow Dash up to speed on her situation.

“So basically, this detective really thinks you had something to do with Sunset’s disappearance, huh?” Rainbow asked as she sipped from a soda, her legs dangling over the edge of the couch as she sat on the arm of the seat rather than on the cushion itself. Twilight recalled the girl always had an odd way of sitting and seldom made exceptions.

“More or less, but I can’t seem to shake him, I feel like he’s following me everywhere, trying to see if I’ll do anything that clues him in...” Twilight rubbed her neck, wiping the sweat from it. She hadn’t been able to calm down since the detective first started asking questions. It had been weeks now, and she knew he didn’t give up just because his chief had told him that they had no case; he didn’t seem the type after all.

Rainbow nodded and leaned back, taking a long slurp from the can of Diet Coke. “Well, what does he know so far?”

Twilight shrugged. “I don’t know, but I fear he may find out too much.”

“How so?” Rainbow raised a brow.

“If he digs around enough, he might uncover the fact that Sunset isn’t human and that...” Twilight bit her lip.

“Would be very bad...” Rainbow finished her sentence and nodded.

“Correct...” Twilight sighed.

Rainbow finished off the can and continued. “Not just for you, but Horizon as well. Hell, it could be bad for everyone, they might find out about our powers... Who knows what will happen from there, FBI investigations, some real X-Files shit... It could even lead to them trying to find Equestria, possibly shit that could lead to the end of the human race. Scary shit.”

“Exactly...” Twilight shuddered just thinking about those outcomes. She knew there was a risk for her and Twilight, but Rainbow had illustrated even greater threats that she had yet to consider, but now those threats were fresh in her mind and not going away any time soon. The fact that the entire human race could be at risk only added to the pressure.

“Shimmer took care of that stuff though, she got documents made for Sunset, shit is set,” Rainbow reminded.

Twilight gripped the fabric of her skirt and closed her eyes. “Shimmer isn’t flawless, even she can’t explain away how Sunset didn’t exist on paper before this. Someone who looks into it deeply enough can likely find out that no one at the hospital her birth is listed as remembers her being born there, or that no one recognizes her prior to the age of thirteen. Not to mention there are likely other holes that even Shimmer couldn’t cover up...”

Rainbow placed a hand upon her chin and thought about it. Twilight had a point, while paper can definitely explain away most to the unsuspecting, those with a deeper interest in the matter might be able to discern more. The solution, however, in her mind was to inject more paper and documents into the mix. “Either way, hard evidence is better evidence and most people will agree there. A bunch of people saying they had never seen her before the age of thirteen isn’t going to mean anything if the paperwork is there. I can probably pull some strings and get some new paperwork made to help create more of a backstory for the girl if you’d like.”

Twilight blinked and looked up in surprise. “You can do that?”

Rainbow nodded. “Sure, being in the army means I have access to a few government facilities, some officially headed government papers, I can just pop in some details, make a few fake phone calls, and we can have an entire life for this girl made up.”

“That’s a huge risk, Rainbow... You’re risking your job, what if you get caught?” Twilight asked, concern showing in her voice.

Rainbow shrugged. “I won’t get caught, I’m too crafty for that, plus I can do it in a way to where I can destroy all evidence leading back to me. Even if I do get caught somehow, this is for a greater cause; if this guy finds out Sunset’s secret who knows what kind of disaster it’ll bring. The stakes are higher than just my job.”

“If you do get in trouble, I’ll bail you out. Even if I have to spend our entire fortune, I promise!” Twilight pleaded.

Rainbow shook her head and laughed. “It won’t come to that, but I am curious though... Where is Sunset? We’ve never really talked about it.”

Looking away, Twilight frowned. “I... I don’t know if I’m honest with you...”

“Did she go to Equestria, maybe?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight shrugged. “I tried writing to the Princess, no response. I also went to the portal, it’s closed for some reason. I’ve checked periodically, and no change. I can’t even sense the portal is there anymore, so if she did go, she has no way of getting back.”

“Why would she leave though?” Rainbow asked.

Looking at the floor, Twilight didn’t like to hear the answer out loud, but she forced herself to speak. “Probably because of me... Maybe she just didn’t want to be a mom and she decided that it was better to start over...”

Rainbow stood up and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder shaking her head. “That definitely can’t be it. I saw how that girl looked at you, how she almost cried at your wedding... She’s crazy about you, Twilight. While I’m not a fan of her current actions, there’s no doubt in my mind that that hasn’t changed. Sunset would do anything for you.”

She wanted to believe Rainbow, she wanted to believe that there was some kind of logical explanation for everything and that Sunset would return like nothing happened and their lives would continue, but she was losing hope. It was sinking in that Sunset may never come back. “What if she doesn’t come back?”

“She will, Twilight.” Rainbow reassured.

“But what if-“ Twilight was cut off.

Giving her shoulder a stern squeeze, Rainbow smiled at her. “It’s times like these that you have to be your strongest. Right now, Horizon needs you, so you need to be strong for her. Focus on that, and leave the rest to me. I’ll get rid of this guy for you, and we’ll keep things together for when Sunset gets back.”

“But-“ Twilight started.

“When she gets back, Twilight. Have some faith.” Rainbow nudged the girl’s cheek with the back of her hand.

“It’s hard, Rainbow... When someone vanishes on you without a single word... It’s hard to believe that they’ll come back, I’m not sure if you know what that’s like...” Twilight frowned.

Rainbow returned her frown and shook her head. “No, I can’t say that I do, but I can say that I know what it’s like to be a mom, and I’m pretty sure Sunset went through a similar feeling when she had Horizon, so I’m pretty sure she will come back.”

“Well... I appreciate you saying so, I guess sometimes it’s better to hear it from someone else so that it’s easier to believe for one’s self.” Twilight shrugged.

“If you need anything, Twilight, you can always come and find me, I’ll always be there for you.” Rainbow smiled.

“Thanks, I may have to take you up on that offer, sometime.” Twilight grinned.

It was only minutes after the announcement that an enemy airship was on their tail, and the distance between the two ships was closing fast. Glitch stood in silence for a long painful eight minutes with Princess Twilight, Aria and Sonata at her side, contemplating the matter.

“Glitch...” Twilight began, but Glitch raised a hoof and cut her off.

Looking out the window that overhung the deck below, Glitch could see the enemy airship preparing to send its crew to board their ship. Glitch’s army below was already readying their weapons, preparing for a bloodbath to protect their prize.

There was no other option, they would need to fight to keep their investment. Everything rode on them retaining the airship. Should it be lost, everything would fall apart. Glitch had prepared for the worst, but they didn’t consider how bad things could really get.

As grappling hooks shot onto the deck, ponies from the enemy ship quickly propelled themselves on deck, a few being taken out before they ever reached, falling to the oblivion down below, but a handful managed to get on board and begin fighting instantly. The battle had begun, and now was the time to make a move.

Closing their eyes, Glitch took a breath in and tapped their chest, making the suit around them vanish and return back to its crystal form. The other three mares in the room stared in confusion at Sunset Shimmer who looked back at them and took the crystal off of her neck and passed it to Princess Twilight.

“What are you doing?” Twilight raised a brow.

Sunset reached over and snagged the cloak off of Aria. The siren didn’t put up much of a fight but instead allowed Sunset to simply have it. Once she had it in her grasp, she quickly fastened it on, and pulled the hood up, covering her mane and concealing part of her face.

She gestured to Aria’s right hoof suggesting she wanted the hoof mounted blade that she had been given. Aria hesitated for a moment but handed it over, watching Sunset fasten it quickly to her hoof.

“Twilight, you hold onto the suit for now,” Sunset instructed as she made the blade extend and gave it a few test swings.

“What the hell is going on?” Twilight demanded to know.

“If I don’t come back, then you have to take over as Glitch. The ponies below need Glitch, so you have to assume the role if I die down there...” Sunset explained.

“Die!? What are you going to do!?” Twilight gulped.

Sunset shook her head. “Everything rides on this... We lose this airship, it’s all over.”

“You can’t be serious!” Twilight blinked.

“I am. Do not let them take this airship, at any cost.” Sunset grunted.

Twilight watched as Sunset approached the door to leave and head down the stairs, calling to her as she stood at the doorway. “Where are you going!?”

Sunset turned back and smirked at Twilight. “I’m going to go and even the odds.”

Serenade had just finally slipped into her bath, ready to enjoy her night. She knew a report from Arax was on its way, but she had made it very clear that she expected results from him, so she had little concern that he wouldn’t deliver, and thus was able to calm herself as she allowed her body to be wrapped in the soothing feeling of the soapy hot water.

Despite not needing to sleep or eat, Serenade did still enjoy being clean. While she seldom got dirty, the feeling of a bath was just something she enjoyed. It was relaxing, soothing, and perhaps one of the few things could take her blood boiling anger and reduce it to a simmer.

She recalled the old days where she used to use her voice to manipulate the owners of bathhouses in the old times to close up shop and allow her to spend the day there uninterrupted. In a way, she missed the old days, while ponies still treated her kind like trash, it was a simpler time. The world now was so drastically different, and Serenade didn’t like it. Wearing togas and silk garments was a feeling she could get behind, but the garb that ponies would wear now was odd.

The thought crossed her mind of dismantling all modern inventions and such and forcing the population to revert to the old ways, but she dismissed the idea as it sounded like far too much work to enforce.

Given that her kind could breathe underwater, Serenade lowered her entire body and submerged her head under the bath water to soak her mane. She stayed there for a brief moment and closed her eyes, remembering how it would feel at times to take upon her siren form and swim through the ocean.

Years ago, she used to head to the beach and tempt beachgoers by luring them toward her so she could drain them of their energy. With her best “come hither” look, it would always make the stallions bend over backward for her, she seldom even needed to use her actual powers to manipulate. Serenade was an attractive mare, and she knew it. Stallions dreamed of a chance at her touch, to possibly kiss her lips or even a look at her flank, but none would ever get close.

It was mandatory that a siren refrained from intimacy with mortals and as a result, Serenade followed those rules. The thought of intimacy with mortals also disgusted her anyway.

She opened her eyes as she heard the door to the bathroom open and sighed as she popped out of the water, her head coming above water as she was greeted by a familiar red-eyed changeling who nodded to acknowledge her presence. Serenade returned the nod.

“Arax...” She said.

He sighed and took a seat as he levitated a clipboard in front of himself. “Enjoying your bath?”

“Hopefully... That depends on what you have for me...” Serenade raised a brow.

“You know, you shouldn’t base your happiness on others, it’s not a healthy habit,” Arax sarcastically remarked.

“Are you hoping to analyze me, Arax?” Serenade asked.

He shook his head. “That would take way too long, hell I’m sure the best doctors in Equestria would still take centuries to figure out what’s wrong with you.”

“The same could be said about you, bug-boy.” Serenade rolled her eyes.

“True, I mean I waste my time hanging around you, so that’s a fair assessment.” He chuckled.

“Get to the point, Arax...” Serenade moved her hoof in a manner that suggested he speed it up.

“Well, I have my report on this Glitch character for you as promised...” He rolled his eyes, hoping that they could continue their banter instead, as he was actually getting more enjoyment out of that instead of discussing Glitch.

“What do you have?” Serenade asked.

“Not much, but that suit of his is pretty interesting...” He said as he looked over his clipboard.

“Do you know who built it?” Serenade raised a brow, levitating a wine bottle toward herself and poured herself a glass of wine which she took in her hoof and sipped gently. While she was far from lady-like, she still seemed to prefer having some manners rather than act like a barbarian all the time.

“No, but I can at least determine it’s not of dragon origin. It’s a unique build, and it doesn’t use anything that Equestria has ever seen before. It must have been made by someone currently unknown. The design does not appear to have any inspiration from other armor designs that I’ve looked up...” He explained.

“It’s magic-powered, right?” Serenade blinked.

He nodded. “Yes, but not entirely. The readings we got when Glitch was in your proximity suggest that it can store magic as some kind of reserve power system. It’s safe to say that it likely can amplify their magic and that the readings we get from it might actually be lower than the reality of Glitch’s true power.”

Serenade leaned back and sipped from her wine glass before speaking. “So what? Even if Glitch is stronger than his power suggests he’s still no match for you or I. I am impressed you at least were able to find out about his suit, did you find out who is inside the suit though?”

He shook his head and frowned. “No, whoever is inside that suit isn’t going to reveal themselves that easily, however, we at least now have an understanding of his capabilities.”

“I suppose that is good enough for now...” Serenade paused and downed the rest of the glass before looking over at him. “Find me the weak points of that suit, and track his every move, understand?”

He nodded. “Sure, whatever.”

She sighed before the door to the bathroom opened once more and a guard stepped inside and gave a salute. Serenade growled at him and raised a brow. “What have I told all of you about disturbing me when I am in the bath?”

“Ma’am, that we should only do so if it’s an absolute emergency.” He stood at attention.

Serenade smirked, proud that he had memorized her instructions. “Then for your sake, you best hope what you’re about to tell me is very important or you’ll be spending the rest of your days without testicles.”

He gulped and adjusted himself as he felt his genitals twitch just at the sounds of her threat. “M-ma’am, there was an airship stolen in Trottingham, subjects there state they spotted Twilight Sparkle...”

Serenade blinked and stood up, water running off her body as she stared him down. “Was Glitch spotted there!?”

He hesitated and shook his head slowly. “I d-don’t know, ma’am...”

“If Sparkle is there, Glitch is sure to be close by...” Arax pointed out.

Serenade couldn’t deny that, wherever Twilight went, she was sure to bring Glitch as, without magic, Twilight was virtually useless. It was a smart move to keep her strongest asset close by at all times, but also risky as Serenade would have more opportunities to capture Twilight’s prize.

The siren wondered if Twilight actually allowed the newcomer to call the shots or if Glitch was just a figurehead. Either way, without knowing who was under the mask, they couldn’t even be certain that they ever could kill Glitch even if they were successful in doing so. He could pass the suit off to anyone and they would be chasing him forever that way. Admittedly, Serenade realized it was an ingenious strategy, but that was to be expected from Twilight Sparkle, possibly the smartest mare in Equestria.

“That’s true... What are they doing in Trottingham though? I would have imagined Glitch would have struck closer to try and piss me off...” Serenade placed a hoof upon her own chin.

“Ma’am, it seems Twilight and her crew have stolen an airship...” The guard informed.

Serenade slapped her hooves together as it all started to make sense to her. “Of course... Glitch wants mobility. An airship really would give him more of an advantage in a fight, wouldn’t it?”

Arax nodded in agreement. “So he steals it when our backs are turned and tries to make a getaway.”

“Are we chasing him?” Serenade looked at the guard.

He saluted her once more and nodded. “Yes ma’am, our soldiers are attempting to take back the airship as we speak!”

Serenade nodded and shook her head to get some of the water out of her mane. Levitating an elegant looking towel over her body and another to wrap her mane in, she gestured for Arax to follow her. “Come, to the observatory. I wish to check our scrying orbs to watch this battle for myself. We have an orb just on the edge of Trottingham that I am sure we can at least catch a glimpse of the battle from.”

“Right behind you...” Arax frowned. He had hoped that his part of the job was complete, but it looked like he would be pulling some overtime before he could finally retire to his quarters and relax. Duty came first after all, but truthfully, he was also curious on if Glitch was aboard the ship and if he could actually take it.

Outside of the captain’s chamber, Sunset could see how fierce the battle had become in only a matter of minutes. Serenade’s soldiers fought with reckless abandon; they didn’t care if they died, they would line up to be slaughtered at Serenade’s command. She supposed that either they were being controlled by her dark influence or a death at the hooves of Glitch’s army was a far more pleasant prospect than whatever happened to those who disobeyed Serenade. Her money was on the latter.

Readying herself mentally, Sunset prepared for the worst as she rushed out onto the deck. Within seconds she was met with one of the crew members of the enemy ship who came at her without much form. Her training and prowess gave her a significant advantage and she was able to dodge his first attack, parry the second and jab him in the chest with her blade.

It would only take one solid stab for him to go down, bleeding out on the deck as she laid him down. She reminded herself that they would need to clean the ship before they took it out again, but that was assuming they managed to keep it from Serenade’s clutches.

Sunset’s mind returned to the battle at hand and found herself somewhat calmed by the fact that her crew seemed to be holding their own even against the savage minions of the demon siren. She could at least rest easy knowing that they weren’t going to simply lay down and allow Serenade to kill them.

Shaking her head, she focused back on her mission, she needed to get the airship that was opposing them off of their tail, and fast. There was no telling how much more her crew could take or how much longer they could hold the airship from being taken back.

Taking a deep breath, Sunset made her way to the edge of the ship. She looked over the deck and could see that the enemy ship was flying a good eight feet lower than they were. By her math, her odds were good that she could utilize one of the few hook shots on the boat to gain her access to the enemy ship. It was a risky move, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

Without wasting another second, Sunset made her way to the center of the ship and opened a storage area that was reserved for equipment and retrieved one of four hook shots. She had never used one before but prayed that she was a fast enough learner for the device.

Making her way back to the railing that overlooked the edge of the ship, Sunset aimed the device and fired directly into the deck of the attacking ship. It was a direct hit, which caused her to smirk.

She couldn’t afford to waste any precious seconds, so she quickly jumped onto the rope and slid down, leaping off at the last second to land on the enemy deck, surrounded by Serenade’s minions, all of which observing her with bloodlust in their eyes. While they didn’t know that the red-headed unicorn was Glitch, they had still seen her face; they couldn’t be left alive now.

With a smirk, Sunset glanced at her blade, ready to perform. Not wasting even a second, she gave a quick slash, slitting the throats of two of her would-be attackers, downing them instantly.

Another came from behind her, but her reflexes proved more than enough for the stallion as she sidestepped his attack and pierced his side with her sword, puncturing right between a set of his ribs, causing him to keel over gripping the now bleeding side.

Her assault was proving fruitful right away as she made light work of a good eight of them, the last of which she had to take down by strangling with a nearby rope until he ceased movement, but she utilized his body as a shield while she prevented air from entering his lungs, providing ample protection against sword slashes or spear attacks while she ended him.

It wouldn’t take long before Sunset fought her way to the wooden grate over the cargo hold below. With a flick of her horn, she ignited the wood blocking her entrance and jumped as high as her hooves would allow, coming down with a stomp, breaking through and falling to the cargo hold below.

Given that she had anticipated it, Sunset landed on her hooves and gritted her teeth as she took notice of the ponies down below who were taken by surprise from her entrance. She smirked and quickly started casting fire spells, igniting everything (and every pony) in sight until the interior of the ship was completely doused in flames.

She took note of the few rum barrels in the cargo hold and took extra care to make sure they didn’t get caught in the direct flames, along with the barrels of gunpowder for the cannons.

Sunset knew she wouldn’t have long though before those flames eventually spread and touched those barrels and the entire ship became one giant firework and a distant memory. If she didn’t hurry, she would join it in its unfortunate fate.

With haste, she fought her way back up onto the upper deck and readjusted her hood. She had killed a few enemy crew members on her way up and stabbed one in front of an equipment chest before pilfering through it to find another hook shot. Finessing her way to the side of the ship, she shot the device until the hull of her own ship and jumped over the edge of the airship, gripping the hook shot tightly.

Almost like one of those action movies she had seen in the human world, the flames inside the ship caught the gunpowder at the moment that Sunset had hopped off and an explosion left a sizable hole in the ship’s hull, which was followed by a second an then third explosion as other gunpowder barrels caught fire. The rum seemed to assist in spreading the flames as well, and before Sunset knew it, the enemy airship was crumbling and falling out of the sky in a ball of flames.

Screaming and calls for help could be heard as the ship exited the sky, turning to ash as it came to the ground, and another few explosions would accompany its fall.

She sighed and shook her head as she looked up the rope that held her in the air. Dangling from the ship, Sunset adjusted her hood and began the ascent back up onto the craft.

Managing to avoid being seen, Sunset made her way back to the captain’s chamber and snuck in before removing her hood. Sonata quickly bolted toward her and pulled her into a tight hug, practically squeezing the air out of her. “Sunset! You did it!”

“Thanks, Sonata... Can I breathe now?” Sunset wheezed.

Blushing, Sonata released her and shuffled her hoof in embarrassment.

“I can’t believe it, you actually took out their ship, there’s no way any of them survived that...” Twilight looked out the window impressed.

Sunset shrugged, not really wanting to talk about all the death she had just caused. “Either way, the problem is resolved, right?”

“I suppose so...” Twilight replied, sensing Sunset’s unease. Without waiting a moment longer, Twilight removed the crystal that housed the suit and returned it to Sunset, who quickly activated it and donned her second skin that turned her into the pony known only as Glitch.

The process was quick and seamless almost, which fascinated Twilight. Moondancer struck her as a practical girl, so it seemed odd that she would design something so elegant.

“With the enemy airship gone, we need to set our course to our next safe zone, and we need to kick the engines into high gear before another airship is sent after us. Given that we’re a good distance out now, I am doubting that Serenade will give chase, and even if she does, we have enough of a head start to keep away from her.” Glitch informed.

Aria and Sonata gave a salute to their leader which Twilight reluctantly followed. “Yes, sir!”

Aria and Sonata then bolted out the door to inform the crew of Glitch’s instructions, Twilight, however, stayed behind to talk with her friend. “Sunset...” She began.

“It’s Glitch now...” Glitch reminded her.

“Right... Glitch, sorry... I just wanted to say that I feel like what happened on that ship seems to have affected you...” Twilight frowned.

“When I killed in Appleloosa I had to turn myself off to emotions... I was Glitch, and I wore the suit, but this time... It was just Sunset Shimmer who did the killing, and I listened as they screamed and burned...” Glitch replied.

Reaching forward, Twilight placed a hoof upon Glitch’s shoulder. Glitch looked over to see concerned eyes looking in their direction. “It’s alright, this is war. We all will be forced to do things that we don’t want to, but that’s part of why we’re at war in the first place, you know?”

“I guess I should be used to it... Humans have had far greater wars than we could imagine, some of the biggest blood baths you’ve ever seen, and I had to learn about them in history class, but I suppose I never really considered what it’s like to live through it...” Glitch said.

“You aren’t alone. We’re all being affected by this, but we’re going to come out on top, I promise. All this bloodshed won’t be for nothing, I promise.” Twilight comforted.

Her words somehow soothed Glitch. While Sunset and Twilight were not on the best terms thanks to the stunt that put Sunset here in the first place, it was at least comforting to know that they had each other’s backs, even if their friendship was on the rocks at that moment.

War was hell, but Sunset had made a promise that she would do everything in her power to return home to a little girl named Horizon, a little girl who needed her mom.

“We have a war to win, right, Twilight?” Glitch straightened themselves up and stood tall.

A smile came to the Princess of Friendship’s lips as she nodded. “That we do, lead the way.”

I think it's time to talk about our three friends on their journey with this spear they are taking. Who are they? I can't say yet. What are they doing? Well that's a bit more complicated, but I actually do love the dynamic of Golden, Abyss and their leader. Golden is the realist and scholar of the group and Abyss is sort of like the nagging nanny. She bitches and moans, but she has loyalty to a fault to her leader.

Their leader? Oh how I wish I could talk more about her, but all I can say so far is that she's a gorgeous lady.

Also: Applety would love feedback on the new art style being used. She recently switched to digital.