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The King, the Dark Goddess, and the Curator

by CelestialKnight79

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Shadow Thief

One thousand years before Princess Luna became the wicked Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon, Iscariat Faust was her court magician. Those were happier times for Iscariat, when all that mattered to him were the cheers and laughter of his Princess and patron. However, when that god awful day came, when the sweet and innocent Luna was corrupted by envy and jealousy that was the day his life came to an end, and a new being took his place. For only hours before Luna's fall, the two Princesses of Sun and Moon, as well as Iscariat's long time mentor, Sorca the Mystic, approached the confused young stallion, and informed him that he was "chosen." At first, Iscariat laughed at their choice of words saying, "What could a bare flank be chosen for?"; which was a reasonable question, for of all his friends and class mates he alone had yet to receive his cutie mark.

Together the three mares explained to him that he was chosen for this task the moment Sorca chose him to be her apprentice, "Cutie mark or not, you got a spark in you kid. A spark that would rival Star Swirl himself and you can quote me on that," Sorca said poking Iscariat's chest. Princess Luna went on to say that only an elite few are ever awarded this important charge, "Thou shouldst feel honored and proud!" she roared in the royal Canterlot voice. According to the three mares he was to be made Sorca's replacement as curator of the Arch-Library, the supreme repository of all Equestrian knowledge; Iscariat almost had a heart attack. Using her magic to slow his heart rhythm, Princess Celestia assured Iscariat that he wasn't given something beyond his abilities, and that Sorca would be by his side until he could manage on his own. Iscariat was relieved to hear those words, but it was not to be, for when Nightmare Moon was born Sorca went to confront her in an attempt to bring Luna back from her madness; she died almost on sight.

Completely alone, Iscariat had to spend the next thousand years learning the ins and outs of the Arch-Library, never taking a moments rest, except to sleep, only to resume his never ending work. After both Princess Luna and Sorca were wrenched from his life, on the most important day of his life, Iscariat lost his joyous spirit. No longer did he seek to make the masses laugh, or partake in the company of others, instead he allowed his work to consume him, making him cold and distant. Even the manifestation of his cutie mark, nor the welcome return of Princess Luna, seemed to alter his disposition towards others. Iscariat has known nothing but the task of collecting and cataloging all the information of Equestria in the Arch Library, and he was good at it having amassed enough information to fill five hundred shelves, in three separate wings respectively.

Sitting behind his desk, Iscariat was just finishing writing down over one thousand new spells that newly crowned; Princess Twilight Sparkle had forward him after she developed them, two days ago. The sheer complexity of each spell was apparent in the fact that every step was broken down in the greatest of detail, and even footnotes were added to each one. Though Iscariat admired the Princess' eye for detail, he really wished she would shorten her explanations; "Like right here," he said to himself, using his quill to point at a very length expository. "She could have easily replaced this whole paragraph, and footnote, with one word," Iscariat grumbled, as he jotted down the last three pages, and then shut the massive tome he wrote in. Using his magic to envelope the heavy tome in a grey aura, Iscariat gently levitated it up the shelf behind him, and carefully placed it in the middle of the highest row.

His scribing now completed, Iscariat rose from his haunches stretching his limbs, the library's great grandfather clock rung eleven bells throughout the entire structure, and shaking many of the shelves. “Confounded clock, three seconds slow again!" Iscariat bellowed as he examined his own, silver, pocket watch as a comparison, before stuffing it back in his black vest pocket. Absolutely livid at the old relic's inaccuracy, Iscariat thrust opened his desk's upper left drawer, and extracted a tiny brass key with his mouth. Bucking the drawer shut, Iscariat shuffled his way to the great grandfather clock, located at the library's center, and thus visible from anywhere. Clenching the brass key like a vice, Iscariat couldn't help but recall the last time he had to adjust that infernal eye sore, "Damn clock isn't even worth its weight in scrap. Were it not the first clock ever made I'd have shown it the hoof a long time ago," Iscariat said, while menacingly waving his left hoof.

Five feet from the clock's door, Iscariat magically turns the knob then walks up the twenty flights of stairs to the machine's inner mechanism. Taking a deep breath, Iscariat used the key to open a panel at the clock's center, then using time magic he slowed the clock's master gear, and thus halted the device cold. Next came the part he hated the most, while maintaining his time spell, he had to delicately adjust the clock's hands with telekinesis so they match the position his pocket watch's hands would be, and then he had to wait for the exact second to dispel his temporal magic. Everything was set as his pocket watch's second hand approached the sixty second mark, and just as he was about to let go a loud crash broke his concentration one second too early.

"A hay seeds, if there is one thing I hate more than being three seconds off, it's one second off!" Iscariat shouted at the top of his lungs, kicking the panel shut, and thrusting both the key and pocket watch into his pockets respectively.

Believing it best to leave the clock alone, until he had cooled down a tad, Iscariat went back down the stairs to take out his anger on whatever caused the ruckus. Hoofing the door open, Iscariat's emotions did a one eighty, because sticking out from beneath a mound of books, with two shelves on top, was the powder blue tail of his assistant, Tabitha the ferret. His pupils dilating, and body shivering, Iscariat soon found himself digging into the book pile with hoof and magic, while shouting out Tabitha's name, and taking great care no to damage any of the books in the process. After sixteen minutes, though the clock's hands were still at the fifteen minute mark, Iscariat held his assistant before him in a magical field that kept her off the ground.

Laying Tabitha down upon a table, Iscariat saw her body littered with bruises of various severities, "Probably from the shelves dumping their contents on her," he said to himself, his mind instantly thinking of several likely events that could have caused this. However, what really caught his attention was a small, jagged, crystal embedded in Tabitha's left side causing a steady stream of blood to pour out. Iscariat hoped that what he was looking at wasn't what he thought it was, but in any event he had to extract it to heal Tabitha's wound. Biting down on his lips, Iscariat used his magic to quickly pull out the crystal, and restrain Tabitha as he mended her skin, as well as removed any lingering fragments; it took half an hour. With the operation completed, Iscariat laid Tabitha upon her tiny bed, that he teleported to him from his room, and then focused his undivided attention to the black crystal upon the table, Tabitha's blood still lingered on it.

"Not possible," Iscariat said, comparing the crystal to an artistic interpretation he found in a history tome concerning the Crystal Empire. According to the tome, this crystal before him was concentrated dark magic, the type of magic only King Sombra was capable of conjuring; an impossibility because King Sombra was vanquished by the combined efforts of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and the young dragon Spike. "There is just no way, but still...How do I explain this?" Iscariat asked himself, glaring at the crystal shard with a puzzled expression. Feeling a slight pain in the pit of his stomach, Iscariat closed the history tome, and instead sought guidance from the only section in the Arch-Library that predated even Princess Celestia; the Alpha Wing. Located in the oldest portion of the Library, behind a door that only the current curator can open, the Alpha Wing housed within its walls six scrolls, reputed to have been written by the first curator; a mare or stallion that lived on Equestria before even Princess Celestia.

Iscariat has only entered this wing once before, a thousand years ago, at the behest of Princess Celestia, for it was through the knowledge contained within that he was able to instruct the Princess on how to use the Elements of Harmony on her own; a feat once thought impossible, and that was just from one of the scrolls. It was after that event that Iscariat received his cutie mark, as well as closed himself off to the rest of Equestria, and hoped never to have to set hoof in that wing again. Taking a deep breath, Iscariat pulled from under his vest a clear decahedron crystal, that he kept tied around his neck, the faceted stone glowed with a faint white light reminiscent to a heartbeat. Levitating the crystal into a small indent on the door before him, a series of locks and gears whirled about clicking and clanking as they unlocked themselves, and allowed the door to swing open. Placing the crystal beneath his vest, Iscariat crossed the threshold into a dark, cobblestone, chamber lite only by twelve sconces, and at the far end of the chamber, mounted on the wall like holy artifacts, were the six scrolls, each contained within its own brass, cylindrical, container.

Iscariat took a moment to prepare, shaking off some unpleasant memories before using his magic to grasp the first scroll. However, as his grey aura enshrouded the brass container a cold sensation passed over him, and without warning the sixth scroll exploded out of its container and zoomed past him. Wasting no time, Iscariat sealed the door behind him, as he rushed after the one of a kind and extremely dangerous, scroll. He didn't have to run far, for just as he picked up speed the scroll came to a stop only a few feet from the great grandfather clock, and standing before it, with a triumphant grin on his muzzle, was King Sombra.

"You should be dead," Iscariat said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated," King Sombra replied, placing the scroll beneath his regal cape. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm checking this out."

"Sorry, but one cannot check out referencing materials. However, I do believe that I have a copy of Daring Do you can borrow," Iscariat said through gritted teeth, his horn glowing with a strong grey aura.

“Very cute, seriously though, I'm taking this with or without your consent, curator," King Sombra said, giving Iscariat but a taste of his dark powers by crushing his charged up magic with a simple zap of his horn.

"I'll say this only once. Give. Me. The scroll," Iscariat said his whole body now encompassed by a perfect magical grey sphere. His eyes scowling at King Sombra, as he then shot a spark of magical energy that slashed across Sombra's muzzle.

"Okay, youngster. I'm game if you are," King Sombra said as a violet-black, jagged, aura flowed around him, his crimson horn crackling with violet lightning, and his eyes glowing in a darker shade of green.

The two stallions called forth to them enough magic to distort the air between them, and cause gravity itself to warp around them, levitating them and other objects. These phenomena were only temporary, and when gravity had restored itself, they both teleported right at each other crossing horns, and blasting magical beams at on another. King Sombra casted circles around Iscariat, using his dark magic to assume a shadow form that absorbed all of Iscariat's spells, and feed the pure energy to Sombra maintaining his vitality. The duel barely lasted two minutes before Sombra up staged Iscariat by not only binding his legs together, but imprisoning him inside an inverted, spherical, shield, then inhibiting his magic with the same spell he used on Shining Armor, and all of it done simultaneously. Iscariat was beside himself, he screwed up royal this time, allowing his anger to get the better of him, engaging King Sombra of all ponies to a magical duel when he knew of his exploits and worse yet choosing the wrong battlefield.

With an evil snicker, King Sombra turned to make his way out, only to be blocked by Tabitha; the poor thing could barely stand on her own feet, but she was staring Sombra down like a fierce tiger. King Sombra couldn't help but laugh at the tiny creature's audacity, to think that such a meek beast would dare stand up to a being of Sombra's status. Raising his hoof as if to crush Tabitha, Sombra was dumb struck when a blinding flash shot out from Tabitha, followed by a loud bang that knocked him to the ground. Shaking his head to restore the focus in his vision, King Sombra turned towards Tabitha with an angry grin, his horn charging up to unleash a devastating spell that would smite the bothersome ferret, however what he now gazed at wasn't Tabitha, and all colored faded from Sombra's face. Towering before him, at twenty feet, was the dog dragon, Marduk; guardian of the Arch-Library since its creation, and reputed god among all magical creatures.

Taking a step back from the formidable creature, King Sombra could feel the all too familiar grasp of fear clenching over him as he peered into Marduk's imposing visage. With both canine and dragon fangs protruding from its long snout, a dog nose with two long mustache whiskers flanking its sides, a well-toned body with dragon scales adorning it an a trail of fur running down its back towards the tip of its serpent like tail, four pawed feet with sharp talons, and a pair of pointed dog ears made Marduk a true sight to behold as well as fear. Paralyzed by Marduk's stature, King Sombra received the first strike, being side swiped by Marduk's serpent tail; the abrasive scales scraping his tough stallion hide. Smashing into a sturdy oak table, King Sombra felt one of his fore legs, his right it seemed, become dislocated after that "light" tap Marduk hit him with. Groaning in pain, King Sombra forced himself to his feet; his breathing was heavy and full of irritation.

"No one strikes me!" he bellowed at Marduk.

Marduk did not tremble before King Sombra as it unleashed a blaze of emerald green fire, that scorched the very stone floor King Sombra stood upon, but not Sombra himself. Using his dark magic to shield himself from the blaze, King Sombra then pushed the flames back to its source causing a small explosion that blacked Marduk's face in soot and brimstone. Seizing his chance, King Sombra shot a larger form of the black crystal he stabbed Tabitha with, piercing Marduk's only visible weak spot; its eyes. The black crystal tore into Marduk's right eye, tearing it apart with each tiny movement made, as well as embedding tiny fragments deep into Marduk's cornea, resulting in even more pain. Unable to assist, Iscariat could only watch King Sombra limp past the thrashing Marduk, and then out the library doors into the darkness of night.

Eventually, Marduk extracted the jagged shard, tiny pieces still clung to its inner eye, but at least the pain was manageable, though it could not compare to the anguish it felt at failing in its most sacred duty. Iscariat gazed at his assistant through his spherical prison, "We both failed," he said to himself, spontaneously smashing his head, repeatedly, against his prison's wall. It took fifteen minutes for the spells on Iscariat to dissipate, and once they did he proceeded in carefully removing each and every crystal fragment still embedded in Marduk's right eye. Once the eye was cleansed of all shards, Iscariat used healing magic to, at the very least, mended the eye's skin together to prevent any infection; he doubted the eye would ever see anything again. The time was three o'clock at night when Iscariat was at last able to sit down behind his desk, Marduk, back in its ferret form, resting beside him, and gazing at him through its one good eye.

Petting his assistance's head very gingerly, one of the few times Iscariat ever shows any affection, he waited till Tabitha slipped off into dream land, her head resting on his left, fore,  leg, before turning to the matter at hoof. Extracting a piece of paper from his desk, Iscariat formulated a letter to Princess Celestia, explaining exactly what just occurred, as well as attaching a formal apology that in a way read like a letter of resignation. Reviewing his work for any grammatical or punctuation errors, he then reached into his desk's lower right drawer, and retrieves a small cauldron; that he instantly sets ablaze with sapphire blue fire from the tip of his horn. With the cauldron lite, Iscariat drops both letters into the fire, then watches as the flames consume the parchments, and then shoot out like a comet across the night sky, making its way to Canterlot as it was enchanted to.

“I guess my involvement in this is over," Iscariat said, cracking his neck to relieve its stiffness, and then almost instinctively glared at the great grandfather clock. “Don’t think I have forgotten about you. As Celestia is my witness, I will have you running on time."

Rising to his feet, though careful not awake Tabitha, Iscariat ran full tilt towards the annoying time keeper, determined to have it running as efficiently as his pocket watch.    

Chapter 2: I Don't Hate You

Iscariat had just fallen asleep after fighting for five hours with the great grandfather clock, and at last it was operating appropriately; ringing ever hour on the hour. However, his well-deserved rest was put on hold when a loud chime rang throughout the library, which meant one thing; "Visitors," he said with a sigh. Removing his covers, Iscariat first went to his washroom to brush his mane, teeth, and splash some water on his face; the chime rang again. Examining himself in the mirror, Iscariat brushed his light grey mane nine times and his sage green coat five times as always. Next he carefully filed his horn down without using magic, then using an abrasive brush and some special gel; he removed the dark stains from his cutie mark: an open scroll with a quill and bottle of ink flanking the scroll's left side.

Now presentable, Iscariat shuffled over to the Arch-Library's only entrance, a pair of white oak doors, and with Tabitha resting on his back he undid the latch and swung open the left door. Due to the number of chimes, Iscariat felt confident it wasn't Princess Celesta or Princess Luna, "Perhaps just a messenger or a steward from one of the royal courts," Iscariat said to himself, still kind of groggy from lack of sleep.

"Just so long as it isn't Princess Twilight Sparkles' steward. Great and Powerful Trixie, huh? More like Great and Powerful halfwit. Even an earth pony would know never to cross a lightning spell with a water spell. Does no one teach the basics anymore?" Iscariat grumbled, recalling the aggravating event. An event that resulted in fifty books from the Clover the Clever section to spontaneously combust, which not only earned Trixie a six month suspension from the library, but forced Iscariat to replace every single tome with a period correct replica done by him; a task he is still working on.

However, he proved to be wrong on all accounts because standing behind the Arch-Library's ivory gates, just below the fifty steps that lead to the white oak doors was Princess Twilight Sparkle and the other five Elements of Harmony. Somewhat stunned by the large group Princess Celestia sent to his "door step", and so quickly too, that Iscariat had a sinking feeling he was, in some way, going to get collared into this mess. In any event, protocol had to be observed and making sure to lock the door behind him, Iscariat trotted down to the ivory gates to greet and inspect his guests.

"Good morning, my little ponies, and good morning, your highness," Iscariat said as he gave a respectful bow to Princess Twilight; who just blushed as she still wasn't use to this sort of thing yet.

"As you were, Curator Iscariat, and I have already told you that 'Twilight' would suffice," Princess Twilight replied.

"I'm sorry, your highness, but that would be impossible. I have been taught to always uphold to the niceties, especially when addressing royalty such as you. No exceptions," Iscariat said in a slightly more defensive tone than was prudent. "In any event, protocol now dictates that I scan you for any anomalies. Rest assured it will be quick and painless. Please refrain from any movement during the procedure."

Channeling a large quantity of magic to the tip of his horn, Iscariat gently enveloped each mare in a grey curtain of magic that came and went just as quickly. Satisfied with the results of his scan, Iscariat parted the gates with a spell known only to him, and once on the other side the ivory gates immediately snapped shut. Gazing at each of the young mares in turn, he directed them towards a table size tree stump, just to the left of the ivory gates. Though perplexed, the six mares complied, each taking a seat around the stump with Iscariat and Princess Twilight seating across from each other, and the rest flanking their left and right in a three-two split. Bowing his head once more in respect, Iscariat humbly allowed Princess Twilight to "have the floor", as it were.

"Well Curator Iscariat, first the Princess wishes to express her relief that you survived your encounter with King Sombra," Princess Twilight said, happily smiling at Iscariat, who just nodded in response, his expression blank. "However, the item in question that was pilfered has the Princess worried. To that end, she has sent us along with three palace guards, and a Captain of the Royal Guard, to escort you to Canterlot. She wishes to have a face to face discussion about the event."

"What? Excuse me, your highness, but I just sent a detailed report of what occurred. Not to mention I just had a serious breach of security. Protocol will not allow me to leave the library grounds so soon, and on such short notice," Iscariat said, his eyes wide in disbelief at the request presented. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you must inform Princess Celestia that if she requires speaking with me, then she may contact me through astral projection. Otherwise, I simply cannot comply with her request, you highness."

"Princess Celestia didn't send us," Princess Twilight replied, a confused look on her face.

"Beg pardon, your highness?" Iscariat retorted, matching Princess Twilight's puzzled gaze.

"She's right," Rainbow Dash interjected, unable to maintain her silence any longer. "In fact, I haven't seen Princess Celestia for a few weeks."

"That is because she has been away dealing with a land dispute between two old pony families. Remember, darling?" Rarity said as she brushed her long mane to the side to reveal more of her gorgeous visage, though Iscariat did not pay it much attention.

"Then who, if you don't mind my asking, has been replying to my recent reports?" Iscariat asked, the gears in his head pondering over the problem.

"Isn't it obvious?" Princess Twilight asked with a giggle, but then went straight face when Iscariat shook his head. "Princess Luna, silly. Who else?"

"Princess Luna?" Iscariat responded Princess Luna's name carrying a great weight as it passed through his mouth. "Not to offend her highness, but Princess Luna has been gone for a thousand years, how could she be left in charge of my reports after such a laps in time?"

"You mean you didn't know? The Princess has been responsible for your reports for almost a year now," Princess Twilight replied, rather shocked by this revelation.

"A whole year?" Iscariat said his eyes wide open as he shook his head. "Regardless of who requires my assistance, leaving for Canterlot just won't be possible. I have so much to do, and I still haven't had a decent night’s sleep."

"I understand your work is very demanding, and if the Princess could, she would have come personally, but please try and reconsider. Princess Luna seems very on edge to talk face to face," Princess Twilight said, her concern for her fellow alicorn was apparent, as too was her understanding of Iscariat's obligations.

"Ah," Iscariat sighed, as he rubbed his left temple to calm himself down. Closing his eyes in deep thought, recalling the unfortunate day that would forever estrange him to Princess Luna, Iscariat felt the need to bash his hoof straight into the side of his head. The blow resonated through his cranium, the sudden pain emanating from the self-inflicted strike shattered the memory, but it was only temporary, as he knew it would return when he least expect it. However, though he did not need to worry about the memory, now he had the unpleasant experience of being gawked at by Princess Twilight and her friends. Each of the six mares stared at him with a stunned expression; Iscariat bowed his head in shame then smashed his left hoof into the stump leaving a perfect impression on its surf; though that didn't help his case, and instead served only to frighten the young mares further.

"Um...well, yes. Perhaps it would be in your best interest to take some time off. I mean, me of all ponies should know that all work and no play isn't really as healthy as it might seem," Princess Twilight said, chuckling nervously as she rubbed her hooves back and forth.

"Ah," Iscariat sighed again, his eyes unable to meet any of the other mares. "I'm sorry, to all of you. You didn't need to see that, and I will make no excuse for it. However, in spite of my quarks, I cannot go gallivanting like some young colt. I have strict rules to follow not just for my own sake, but for all ponies. So, I respectfully disincline to acquiesce to Princess Luna's request, you highness."

A long silence preceded, never have the mares met such an adamant pony, for normally when a Princess makes a request no pony ever refuses, but Iscariat has just refused two simultaneously. Completely beside herself, Princess Twilight couldn't help but recall Princess Luna's body language as she made her request to Twilight of fetching Iscariat. Princess Luna seemed so sad when she spoke of him, each word weighed down by some explainable guilt, and after talking to the stallion himself she saw an almost mirrored result. "Both are clearly weighed down by some guilt from their past, and until it is settled neither will ever move on," Princess Twilight mumbled to herself, a sense of nausea forming in the pit of her stomach. Taking one final look at Iscariat, his head still bowed in shame, Twilight knew she would have to take more draconian methods, and so clenching her eyes to make a scowling expression she took hold of Iscariat with her magic and dragged him on to the stump so their eyes could meet.

"Listen carefully, Iscariat. I won't pretend to know what your history with Luna is, but I promised her I would get you to Canterlot, and I don't let my friends down. So, if we have to drag you there like a little foal we will. Your choice," Princess Twilight said, hoping that such a statement would surely change Iscariat's mind. However, to her surprise the stallion's expression quickly hardened to a furious glare that caused her to cringe.

"How vulgar, your highness. I don't take kindly to threats. Especially from those who have nothing better to do than encroach on another pony's business, your majesty," Iscariat harshly said, his anger clearly reaching its boiling point, and kept in check only by his stern need to follow protocol.

"Now you see here, Mr. Iscariat, there is no need to..." Rarity started to say, as she placed her hooves on the stump to raise her a tad, but was quickly quieted by Iscariat shooting her an evil glare.

"No, you listen," Iscariat said, using his magic to shatter Twilight's hold on him, then stood at his full height so he could look each mare in the eye. "I've given you my answer, so I politely ask you to leave. Your highness."

Preforming a final bow, Iscariat walked off the stump, opened the ivory gate, climbed up the stairs, and then entered the library locking its doors behind him. Too scared to so much as blink, the six mares waited for five minutes, and when they were sure it was safe they one by one walked through the invisible wall that separated the Arch-Library from the rest of Equestria. Taking a deep breath, Princess Twilight peered into a small dish of water positioned in the center of her royal stage coach. Channeling her magic into the dish so the water would absorb its mystic properties, then with the command, "Show me Luna," a silvery light emanated from the water, and on its surface a tiny version of the Princess stood. Princess Twilight explained the situation, embarrassed at her failure she was surprised when Princess Luna instructed her to simply let Iscariat be.

"I should not have put you or him in such a situation," Princess Luna said, her eyes unable to meet Twilight's. "Return immediately. We must connive with my sister and Princess Cadence if we are to combat this threat."

"But Princess Luna, surely we will require his expertise," Princess Twilight stated.

"We said no, Princess Sparkle," Princess Luna exclaimed, her level of frustration measurable by her sudden us of the royal we. "Return at once, that is all."

Acknowledging her orders, Princess Twilight beckoned to her friends that they were leaving; however each one of them refused stating that Princess Luna only commanded Twilight to return. Smiling at her friends cleverness, Princess Twilight allowed this, and as further assistance she left Captain Stone Brow; a Captain who was instructed to follow Twilight's orders, and no others. When her royal stage coach was out of sight, Twilight's friends passed through the dividing wall, leaving Captain Stone Brow outside so as not to intimidate Iscariat, and then rang the library's chime once more. Iscariat peered through the doors, an as he expected his now unwelcome guests had refused to take the hint, though oddly enough Princess Twilight was not among their numbers. Waving a white flag that Pinkie Pie had somehow produced, Iscariat realized that they were not leaving, and so with reluctance he descended the steps to meet them; this time he did not pass through the gate.

"We're powerfully sorry about Twilight threatening your person like that," Applejack said, removing her Stetson hat as a show of her sincerity.

"Is that all? I don't have all day to humor you," Iscariat said, his mood hardly improved after a ten minute cool down.

"Hey listen bub, we're trying to apologize, so ease up," Rainbow Dash said, her eyes squinted tight as she hovered above the ground in a fit.

"You're not fooling me. You didn't come back to apologize, you came back to change my mind. Well save your breath, because you can't and won't," Iscariat coldly said, his piercing gaze causing the mares to back up a tad.

"Come on, don't be glum. I'm sure we can be the best of friends if you give us a chance," Pinkie Pie said, a big wide smile on her face.

"No," Iscariat flatly responded, then turned to leave, but was halted when Rarity glued his hooves to the ground with her magic. "You're trying my patience. Not very wise."

"Please, Mr. Iscariat, the Princess only wants a moment of your time. The change of scenery and fresh air might do you some good," Fluttershy said in her timid voice.

"Yeah! We could totally have a party! I'm sure that would cheer you up. After all who doesn't like parties?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, while she threw confetti and blew party horns of various shapes and sizes.

"Enough!" Iscariat bellowed, unleashing a wave of raw magic that not only freed his hooves, but vaporized the confetti and party horns. "Equestria is in mortal peril, and instead of acting upon it her champions are instead wasting time by bothering me, and talking about parties! Are you all clinically insane?!"

The five mares huddled together in fear, their eyes suddenly spilling over with tears at the sight of the terrifying monster that now towered before them, his body cloaked by a fierce grey aura that seemed to want to gobble them up should they dare utter another word. Looking at each mare with blood shot eyes, Iscariat came to the obvious conclusion that this would not end until he gave in, and in truth he was feed up with their torrent of undiluted idiocy. Taking a deep breath, he conjured up his saddle bags, as well as informed Tabitha telepathically on his decision, as he opened the gates and trotted past the five sobbing mares saying, "Well are you going to be all day about it." Collecting themselves, Applejack and the others followed Iscariat out of the library's pocket dimension, ensuring that they were at least twenty paces away, as they made their way to Canterlot. The journey would take half a day, and since it was already past noon and they were on foot, Iscariat estimated they would arrive close to, if not at, sunset.

Many moons have passed since Iscariat walked the streets of Canterlot, but while the capital's visage may have changed since Nightmare Moon's time, its role as the City of Magic has never been more personified; a fact that he always detested. In his youth, Iscariat learned that while Canterlot served as the capital of Equestria, the ugly truth was that the city and its citizens were bias towards all but unicorns; "City of Magic indeed," Iscariat would mumble whenever he saw Canterlot. Everything about the city screamed magic, from its architecture to the way ponies lived out their lives, and it made Iscariat sick to know that the so called elites, the high echelon, encouraged this. There were no worse offenders than his parents, he was glad to have severed ties with them when he became of age, and in some ways he was glad they were dead. As the city grew closer in the distant, Iscariat could not help cast a nasty grin at the famous settlement, "Nothing good happens in this city. An I'll be dead before I spend a night here," Iscariat said to himself as the city gates were upon them.

The Sun had set over the horizon ushering forth the black curtain of night when Iscariat and his escort had reached the palace, which awarded them a front row seat to Princess Luna raising her glamorous moon. From atop the highest balcony, Princess Luna used her alicorn magic to gently guide her moon over the eastern horizon to begin its path across the starry sky; just as she did one thousand years ago. As if sensing his presence, Princess Luna peered down from the balcony to see Iscariat down by the main palace gate, and as if possessed by an unseen force Princess Luna found herself instantly teleporting down there. For the first time in one thousand years, Princess Luna and Iscariat were at last face to face, so to speak, because at the moment neither of them was making eye contact. Understanding that they would get in the way, Captain Brow returned to his proper post, while the Elements of Harmony thought it best to get back to Twilight and fill her in.

Now alone the two, former, acquaintances measured up one another, Iscariat had it on good authority that Princess Luna sought nothing more than friendship and acceptance, and he believed it. However, he himself personally was not interested, and he hoped Princess Luna would understand this soon; otherwise their conversation would end on a sour note. In any event, neither were interested in talking in the open like this, so Princess Luna took them to a private audience chamber in the North Wing of the palace. The room was no longer than an average palace suite; there was a couch, a small table, and a tiny minibar with all matter of drinks from all across Equestria to entertain any guest. Since neither were the drinking type, so they each just helped themselves to a bottle of carbonated water, and then sat across from each other at the circular maple table.

Taking small sips to settle his queasy stomach, Iscariat couldn't help but hyperventilate, his stress level reaching its peak as he tried everything he could think of to avoid looking Princess Luna in the eyes. Princess Luna could sense his anxiety, which made her feel awful because she just knew in some way she was the cause; "It’s just like with every pony else. Though I had hoped since he knew me before he would be more comfortable around me," Princess Luna said to herself, a sad sigh escaping her. Hearing her sigh broke whatever pity Iscariat felt for himself, "You damn wanker! Now look what you did! Haven't you done enough?! Say something damn you!" shouted a loud voice chastising Iscariat for his ignorance.

"So, your highness requested my presence? To what end may I assist?" Iscariat asked his line of sight angled just enough to look at the Princess without making eye contact.

"Yes, of course," Princess Luna said snapping out of her daze, and regaining her composure as a ruler of Equestria. "Now I'm well aware of the serious danger King Sombra poses so long as he has one of the scrolls in his possession. However, if Canterlot is to mount an effective defense, then you must divulge all you know about the scroll in question regardless if I have the authorization to know."

"As a Princess of the realm you have unlimited access, Princess Twilight and Mi Amore Cadenza being the only exceptions due in no small part to their insufficient age," Iscariat said, taking another sip from his water, and then following with a long sigh. "Unfortunately there is little to nothing I can tell you that will assist in aiding the troops. Not to say that I couldn't have, but a certain flock of ponies made that task almost impossible with their interruptions."

"And I apologize on their behalf," Princess Luna said bowing her head to Iscariat as a show of it. "However the seriousness of the situation forced my hooves. Even now my sister, Princess Cadence and Discord are making their way to Canterlot so that we may combat this threat. I was also hoping, on a personal note, that you would consider staying as our adviser. It would only be a few days, and I'm certain the Canterlot Library would have all the reference material you need."

"Your highness, pardon my bluntness, but just what is this about?" Iscariat asked the tone of his voice a tad harsher than he intended, but time was of the essence.

"I don't understand your question," Princess Luna said, her face making a sheepish expression as she took a large sip of water from her silver goblet.

"Your highness, please there is no time for me to beat around the bush. Kindly speak your mind or forever hold your peace," Iscariat said, as he finished off his water, and then appeared to be getting ready to leave.

"Wait, don't go just yet," Princess Luna pleaded reaching out to grab his right saddle bag, and pulling him back down to his seat. "I admit to have summoned you on false pretenses, but I saw no other way of meeting you."

"Ah, your highness, there are a multitude of different ways to seek an audience with me. The simplest being is through astral projection. In that way I can continue my work, and you, your highness, may speak to me of what you will," Iscariat said, his agitation now full blown and bare for all to see. "An while we are on the subject, your highness, why was I not informed that you received all my monthly reports?"

"Oh...well, you see I didn't feel it necessary. I mean what difference does it make who it is addressed to, so long as it is received?" Princess Luna replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Your highness, this is a matter of trust, if you can't even inform me of this how can I be certain they are even reaching you?" Iscariat asked, his eyes finally meeting Luna's, but with a serious expression.

"I understand you're upset, but please hear me out. The truth is I wanted to make amends," Princess Luna said as her horn shot a beam of magic in front of Iscariat, and out of the blast materialized a medium sized box wrapped in purple wrapping paper.

"What is this?" Iscariat asked viewing the gift with a perplexed eye.

"Open it. I know that this won't wipe the slate clean, but I hope it helps," Princess Luna responded, a few drops of sweat running down her face.

"No, it is not in my nature to accept a gift, your highness," Iscariat said lifting the present with a levitation spell, and placing it on Luna's side of the table.

"But I insist," Princess Luna said with a cheery smile, kicking back the present. "Consider it a token of my friendship."

"I said no, your highness," Iscariat replied, and this time instead of gently returning the gift he flung it into the wall behind Princess Luna; an angry scowl now adorning his face.

"I see now that I was right," Princess Luna said lowering her head, a stream of tears flowing from her watery eyes. "You hate me for the crimes I committed as Nightmare Moon, and I don't blame you."

“What? No! Goddess almighty, no!" Iscariat shouted smashing his front hooves into the table, the vibrations spilling Princess Luna's goblet, and splashing water everywhere. "I would never hate you, your highness. You who took me in, when no one else would. You for without whom I would never have met my mentor. You were the one light in my darkness, how could I do anything but admire you, your highness?"

Astonished by this revelation, Princess Luna's face blushed with embarrassment, she never knew Iscariat held her in such high regards, and yet if that were the case she wondered why he was so irritable. Feeling like a buffoon, Iscariat dropped his saddle bags, then rummaged through the left one until he found a pale cloth, and without using magic he cleaned up the spilled water. When the water was cleaned up, Iscariat put away his now damp rag, and took his seat again staring at the table as if examining his work. For some time they sat in silence, neither one able to gaze at the other, Iscariat soon felt queasy again, and so to settle himself he took out his book of spells an commenced to brush up on his astral projection magic. After twenty minutes passed, Princess Luna went for broke and tried to have Iscariat accept her gift again, but just as before he denied her time and again.

"Just take it please," Princess Luna begged, using her magic to push the gift towards him as he pushed it back in a reversed tug of war.

"It wouldn't be professional," Iscariat groaned his stamina nearly depleted from pushing against Luna's god like magic.

"Quit being so stubborn and accept already. It won't kill you," Princes Luna said, while secretly impressed with Iscariat's commitment to his code of conduct.

"I don't have time for this!" Iscariat shouted using the last of his magic he kept in reserve to thrust back the gift and Luna into the back wall. "I'm sorry, your highness, but I have slacked off long enough for one day. Now with the utmost respect I bid you good evening, your highness."

Before Princess Luna could protest, Iscariat tucked away his book, rose to his feet, and walked out the door without looking back. By the time Princess Luna got on her feet, Iscariat was nowhere to be seen, and she could not sense his presence within the city walls. Letting out a sad sigh, Princess Luna collected Iscariat's gift with her teeth, and then shuffled off to her bed chamber while wiping some tears with the tips of her wings. Opening her chamber door, Princess Luna placed Iscariat's gift on top of the night stand beside her bed, and then proceeded to her balcony. Her beautiful moon had yet to make half its journey across her equally lovely night sky, but the scenery, however imperfect, still served to lighten her mood.

The solace of the night always seemed to take her pain away, no matter how deep, and this night was no different. Breathing in the cool air, as the wind brushed against her hide, Princess Luna sensed a strange feeling over take her. Without warning she suddenly felt weary, her eyes felt like bits of lead as she tried in vain to keep them open and both her legs and wings became limp and woozy throwing off her balance. Princess Luna rushed back into her bed chamber, toppling over a chair placed before her vanity mirror in a mad dash for the chamber door. The world was spinning before her dreary eyes as she made one more attempt to reach the door and call for help.

Just as she struggled to open the door, some pony else on the other side opened it first, and to her relief it was one of her trusted body guards. Apparently drawn to the ruckus occurring in her bed chamber, this lone unicorn stallion rushed to his Princess' aid, "Wait, unicorn? I thought all my guards were pegasi," Princess Luna slurred out, her vision blurring as she instantly passed out. Catching her just in time, the body guard slung the Princess upon his back, and surprisingly carried her back into her bed chamber instead of the infirmary. Closing the door behind him the stallion dropped the Princess on her bed, then with a wicked grin his eyes became an emerald green, and his horn gave off a crimson aura. In a sudden burst of black fire the form of the body guard melted away to reveal the sinister King Sombra in his place and Princess Luna was none the wiser.  

"Oh poor Princess, you should watch what you drink. Never know when a sleeping potion might get mixed in," King Sombra gloated, as he enshrouded his captive in a cloak of shadow, and then with another burst of black fire both ponies vanished into the darkness.

  

 

 

 

                    

  

 

        

Chapter 3: Curator Made Champion

To say that Canterlot was in an uproar would be a colossal understatement, it was pure chaos, "And not the good kind," Discord would say. The whole affair started when Princess Celestia returned to the castle to find that her sister's bed was empty, and when no one could tell her where she had gone off to, not even her faithful student, the Princess got a bit hot under the collar. Not since her battle with Discord has Princess Celestia ever been this miffed, it was like the flood gate that held back all her less desirable emotions suddenly buckled and spilled over. Even behind its dimension splitting barrier, the Arch-Library was not safe from Princess Celestia's torrential wave of raw magical energy cascading across Equestria; which brought about earthquakes, floods and super storms. Were it not for the combined efforts of Princess Twilight, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Discord, Princess Celestia may have well destroyed all of Equestria by accident.

After the trembling had subsided, Iscariat let out a long yawn, rubbed his eyes, took a sip from his home made hot chocolate, and then buried his muzzle back in the scroll spread upon his desk. As he read the third scroll, Iscariat couldn't help but recall the face Princess Luna made when she left the audience chamber. She was shedding tears like birds molt their feathers, "Why didn't you just take her gift? You had to make her cry, didn't you?!" the chastising voice exclaimed. The worst of it, the part that tormented his dreams last night, was that he let her go, he could have dispelled his invisibility spell and apologized, but no he just turned around and walked away. Finding it impossible to rest, Iscariat burned the midnight oil reading the first two scrolls, and now he was just about done with the third.

Though his meeting with Princess Luna still weighed heavily on his mind, Iscariat never the less stuck to his guns, and learned quite a deal about the scrolls that he overlooked a thousand years ago. From what he could surmise after examining the first three, each scroll was not as unique as he first thought, but instead more like an expansion to the one before; not unlike to a dictionary, or more accurately an encyclopedia. This revelation became more and more apparent as he went on to the fourth scroll, which Iscariat now dubbed the fourth volume. It was in this volume that Iscariat learned the secret of how to use the Elements of Harmony by one's self, and then a shocking realization dawned on him; "If the first curator wrote this in the fourth installment, then what could be written in the sixth," he pondered to himself, the ramifications weighing heavily on his mind. Another thing he noticed was that at the top left corner of each volume was a roman numeral that seemed to bear no purpose because it didn't match the number printed in the volumes title; the fourth volume had the number twenty-one branded on its surface.

Taking another sip from his hot chocolate, Iscariat felt his eyes get heavy from his sleep deprivation, and as much as he fought it the more exhausted he became. Eventually he lost the fight and passed out on his desk, and Tabitha, already prepared, pulled a soft aqua-blue bed sheet over her master, and then cuddled up by his head drifting off to dream land herself. As they slept, unaware to the waking world, two golden rings manifested around Iscariat, desk and all, and then like a gyroscope both rings spun around giving off a soothing tone that did not wake Iscariat or Tabitha. Faster and faster the rings spun, emitting a soft white light as they completed each rotation, as well as a comforting warmth akin to being embraced by a cherished love one. At the apex of their rotation the two golden rings unleashed a blinding light that lasted but a moment, and when it subsided Tabitha was the first to awake and realize that both she and Iscariat were in the middle of Princess Celestia's throne room with several guards staring at them.

Dispelling her massive teleportation spell, Princess Celestia descended from her throne to address Iscariat, not fully aware that he still slumbered. Refusing to allow anyone to disturb her master's respite, Tabitha assumed her Marduk form and brandished its teeth at the Princess; almost daring her to take another step forward. The Princess' royal guards all stood at the ready, brandishing their spears at the dog dragon, and ready to give their own lives if need be. A soft smile donning Princess Celestia's face, she ordered her guards to stay their spears, then approaching Marduk she touched the beast with her horn, and telepathically conveyed her intentions; stating she meant no harm. Pondering the Princess' words, Marduk became Tabitha again, and with a watchful eye allowed Princess Celestia to approach; though her guard was still at the ready as were the Princess' guards.

Gazing at Iscariat hunched over his desk with scrolls, quills, bottles of ink, and scraps of note paper scattered about, Princess Celestia let out a sigh and said, "A thank less job, and yet you pour all of your being into it." Beckoning one of her guards to carry Iscariat, while two others handled his desk and papers, Princess Celestia ushered them to one of the castle suites where they laid the sleeping stallion on the soft prince sized bed, and positioned his desk against an adjacent wall. Though she was in a hurry to speak with Iscariat, Princess Celestia understood that if he was to operate at his finest, then he had to be alert and well rested, and with the task she has in store for him she doubt he would get another chance to sleep for a long time. Sleeping half the day away, Iscariat awoke amazingly invigorated and boasting with vitality, Tabitha caressed his chest, pleases to see her master in such a pleasant state, and he in turn stroked her back just how she liked it. Taking in his surroundings, Iscariat was aware that he was in a royal Canterlot suite; "Somepony must have teleported me here, most likely Princess Celestia due to the warm sensation radiating from my body. She always did put a bit of herself in every spell she casts," Iscariat said aloud.

"I trust you are well rested, and if so I hope you brought your appetite," Rarity said as she came through the door levitating a silver platter over her head filled with a smorgasbord of food.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Rarity. However it is unnecessary, for I do not require food for sustenance," Iscariat explained rising from the bed, only to be pushed back on it by Rarity's magic aura.

"Now, now, I will have none of that. It is simply not proper to go through the day without eating something. Which is why I took the liberty to prepare this," Rarity said placing the platter on a small tray stand beside the bed, and then tying a large white napkin around Iscariat's neck.

"Ah, very well, I'm not the type to waste food, and you did go out of your way to make it," Iscariat said using his magic to lift a fork and partake on some of the omelette on the platter. His eyes opened wide at the very moment the omelette hit his taste buds, the sheer volume of flavor packed within the tiny bite was just incalculable. Though that was only the beginning, for there were two other dishes laid out before him; a stack of blueberry flapjacks, and some french toast with blackberry jam. Never had Iscariat experienced such a bounty of flavor, and the fresh squeezed cup of apple juice really hit the sweet spot driving his taste buds over the edge. Unable to find the proper words to convey his pure elation, Iscariat merely preformed a ceremonial bow normally reserved for those of noble descent; Rarity blushed in response as she collected the platter.

Feeling better than he has in one thousand years, Iscariat waited for Tabitha to jump on his back before he made for the throne to find out just why he was "summoned" this time. On his way there Iscariat's thoughts constantly drifted back to yesterday's unfortunate meeting with Princess Luna, and they ate away at his now fading happy demeanor. "Why do I always do this to myself?" Iscariat asked no one in particular, his moment of elation deflated, and his head hung low in shame at his inexcusable conduct from the night before. Stomping his left fore hoof in frustration, Iscariat came to a full stop; "I can't let this stand, am I not a stallion?! I will make amends post haste. It is the least she deserves," Iscariat spoke out, his mind finally made. Turning down a side corridor he trotted as fast as he could down the halls and up the stairs until he reached Princess Luna's bed chamber, and then a moment of pause overcame him before he ponied up and knocked on the door.

To his surprise the chamber door jutted open at his touch, a strange feeling came over him as he heard the soft moaning of somepony weeping in the darkness of the Princess' bed chamber. Igniting his horn with a grey light, Iscariat peered through the threshold only to be met with another shocking surprise. Laying against Princess Luna's bed, in a puddle of tears, was Princess Celestia, her mane draped over her face in total disarray, her wings spread out across the ground as if unable to support their own weight, and her crown was cast aside behind the door with the rest of her regal attire. Only once before had Iscariat seen Princess Celestia in such a broken state, and as before he did the only thing that seemed sensible; he left her alone. However, this time the Princess caught sight of him, and using her powerful magic she teleported him into the room then sealed the door.

"Your highness, perhaps now isn't the best time to talk," Iscariat said, making sure he chose each word carefully.

"On the contrary, I have been meaning to talk with you all day," Princess Celestia said as she fixed her mane, and wiped some lingering tears with the tips of her wings. "I'm in need of help, and only you have the skills required."

"If it is within my powers, I will gladly lend you my aid, you highness," Iscariat said with a bow.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much I appreciate this," Princess Celestia said, a warm smile on her face.

"Just what has saddened you so, your highness?" Iscariat asked.

"Princess Luna, my dear sister, has disappeared," Princess Celestia replied more tears ran down her cheeks.

"What?" Iscariat said a startled expression on his face.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but in no way is this your fault, " Princess Celestia said as she levitated Iscariat's gift in her golden aura, and stared at him sternly while still shedding tears. "She told me of her plans to make amends. I even suggested what gift to get you, and truthfully I thought everything would go off without a hitch."

"Your highness, as I told Princess Luna..." Iscariat said, but Princess Celestia placed her right fore hoof over his mouth quieting him.

"There is no need to explain yourself, Iscariat. Unlike my sister and I, you are not an immortal alicorn; I can't expect you to perceive time as we do. Were it not for Sorca's training I doubt your mind would be even this well-adjusted," Princess Celestia said, her tears at last stopping, and a smile returning.

"You're right, your highness," Iscariat said, unable to make eye contact with the Princess. "In any event, how can I help?"

"Well we need to know what transpired, and I'm certain it happened in this room," Princess Celestia said, dropping Iscariat's gift back on the night stand, and then giving him a serious look again. "I need you to cast the Bygone Spell. "

Bygone and spell were two words Iscariat never wanted to hear in the same sentence, his heart almost stopped at their utterance, and his breathing became erratic. A spell created by his mentor, Sorca the Mystic during her early years as Clover the Clever's apprentice, served to cement her future position as curator of the Arch-Library. A top tier temporal spell, the Bygone Spell allowed the caster to turn back time to view anything that they may or may not have witnessed; a useful tool when properly mastered. However it has its draw backs and risks, most are negligible, but one is not so lightly ignored, for a price must be paid to know such secrets, and a costly one it is. For Iscariat to cast the spell he must surrender five years of his life, regardless of how far back he would be viewing, and unknown to Princess Celestia he has casted this spell once before.

"I wouldn't be asking if time wasn't against us, but we must know if Sombra is connected to this. We cannot afford to be wrong, and end up with two foes on two fronts," Princess Celestia said, knowing full well what she was asking of him.

"Were it for anypony else, I don't think I would go this far," Iscariat said as he gestured to Tabitha to go stand by Princess Celestia.

Conjuring his desk, Iscariat removed all obstructions from its surface to reveal an inscribed pentagon no bigger than a pony's hoof, and pressed down until a small click was heard, and the desk's top flipped open slightly. Asking the Princess to close her eyes as he rummaged through the secret compartment, Iscariat extracted two vials of very fine copper colored powder, and proceeded to use them to make a circle in the middle of the room. Closing the desk's lid, Iscariat told the Princess it was okay to look, just as he sat up straight on the ground, and began drawing in a large amount of magic to the tip of his horn. The magic was in such a large quantity that it actually materialized in the form of five grey strings that glowed brightly like the ocean's surface when struck by sun light. After five minutes of mana pooling, Iscariat focused on the enormous amount of magic compressed tightly at the tip of his horn, and then with great precision he instantly dispersed the magic in the form of seven bolts of energy that struck one side of the circle respectively, with Iscariat at its center like a maypole.

His eyes glowing a pure white, Iscariat felt as a dark grey aura twisted around the seven bolts of energy creating a cortical screw pattern, and as it did a few hairs in his mane became a bleach bone white as his heart actually skipped a few beats until ,at last, the dark grey aura ceased to flow. Now that the activation cost has been paid, Iscariat commanded the seven bolts to spin around him like the spokes on a wheel, faster and faster they spun till eventually he was blurred from sight, and the faster they went the more energy they created that struck at Iscariat altering his very molecular composition. The spinning soon reached the apex of its speed, time itself seemed to slow as the bolts surpassed the speed of light, and then suddenly all the accumulated power collided with Iscariat appearing to have vaporized him, but in truth he had now become a shade; a being that is neither living nor dead, and now freed of his connection to the present, Iscariat was able to travel through the time stream to any when he desired in the past. Following the now visible river of time, he arrived at the moment past him left Princess Luna in tears, and as he watched her enter her bed chamber depressed and grief stricken, Iscariat wanted nothing more than to cry out an apologize; though he knew that was not possible, "This is only a shadow from the past. Nothing more," Iscariat tried to remind himself.

For a time nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then he saw the Princess succumb to the effects of the sleep potion Sombra had slipped into her water, and then he saw the blighter himself make his appearance. Iscariat felt a great anger build up inside himself, and it only grew when he saw that bastard dare lay his filthy hooves on Princess Luna.

"Jealous are we?" King Sombra asked staring straight at Iscariat, who was completely astonished by this impossible development. When he did not respond to his question, Sombra felt to push the issue by devilishly grinning at Princess Luna, now being covered by the blanket of darkness, quite slowly this time around, and paying special attention to how the blanket captured every curve on the Princess' body. "Though I can hardly blame you, she is rather captivating, so to speak. Wouldn't you agree curator?"

"How can you see me? This spell allows one to view only, not be viewed much less heard. Just what the hell are you?" Iscariat retorted with an inquisition of his own.

"I’m darkness itself. Did you honestly think I could not see a shade?" King Sombra gloated with pride at his very unique abilities. "You can no more hide from me, than you can from yourself."

"I don't know what kind of game you are playing, but you will fail. Princess Celestia will see to that," Iscariat said.

"Celestia?! Don't make me laugh. Even the combined powers of the alicorn sisters could not defeat me, and they were at their prime back then. No, Princess Celestia is just out of her depth on this one, as are you," King Sombra said with a sneer and a grin.

"You underestimate me, a fatal mistake, your majesty," Iscariat said rather boldly only to be met by a black shadow clenching his throat for his bold statement.

"Arrogant foal!" King Sombra yelled tightening the noose around Iscariat's neck. "You're nothing to me! I should end you for such insolence, but that would be ending your suffering too easy. No, I will first break you, destroy your very spirit, and then when there is nothing left only then will I end your pitiful existence. Until that time, ponder upon this...Enjoy the view."

Not understanding what King Sombra meant, Iscariat sensed a drastic change in the flow of magic around him, and then everything went dark as if he were struck by blindness. Bolts of magical energy struck at him causing much pain, his horn pulsed as more and more energy coursed through his body, and his brain ached from the sudden over flow of mana it now had to regulate. Iscariat went over the chain of events three times, each time reaching the same conclusion; King Sombra had triggered a Magical Backlash. This was the absolute worst possible scenario any unicorn, or alicorn, could land themselves in, for once started a Magical Backlash cannot be stopped, and can be fatal depending on the casted spell. A Magical Backlash, in the simplest of terms, takes all the magic used to cast the spell and redirects it back into the caster causing their horn to discharge erratically which can result in cracks or possible severing of the appendage.

In Iscariat's case the Bygone Spell was a tier one spell, highest category there is, and while he is confident there won't be any horn snapping he is certain this will not be pleasant. His horn finally reaching well beyond capacity, Iscariat heard the telltale crack as a great pain over took him, and a rush of magical energies flooded around him propelling him through time. Princess Celestia saw as a distortion in space formed in the center of the room where Iscariat had disappeared, and bolts of lightning erupted from it. A sudden rush of wind was pulled towards the distortion, Princess Celestia used her magic to grasp Tabitha just as the little ferret was almost pulled into the maelstrom of magic, and at the moment she herself began to get pulled in, the distortion exploded ejecting somepony from its center. Iscariat was shot out of the distortion as quick as a flash, but it was not on the floor where he landed; no his propulsion was too great, and trajectory far too high.

A startled expression on her face, Princess Celestia saw Iscariat smash through the balcony door, knocking down the opaque curtains and blinding them all with her sun's brilliant light. Clearing the balcony in one shot, Iscariat gazed at the captivating view before him, for unlike Princess Celestia, whose bed room window glimpsed out at the Canterlot Royal Gardens, Princess Luna's room boasted a stunning field of vision with a lovey meadow filled with tall oak and pine trees, as well as a dense brier some twenty feet beyond the balcony, and a beautiful mountain range in the distant. Even as he came crashing down into the thorny thick brier, his hide being pierced not only by the dread thorns, but from the glass shards of the balcony door he smashed through, Iscariat couldn't help but acknowledge that Sombra was correct; he did enjoy the view, short lived as it was. Coming to a stop half way through the brier, blood pooling around him from his shredded hide, Iscariat, fading in an out of consciousness, looked up at the now far away balcony, and saw a blazing white star fly towards him. The star carefully burned away all of the thorns around Iscariat as it came to land beside him, then using a gentle touch the star lifted him onto its back, and the last thing he remembered just as the darkness took him was the sound of wind as they took flight back towards the castle.

Three days passed, though to Iscariat it might have well been one, for he did not regain consciousness until the third sunrise, and even then his wounds had only started to heal. Iscariat awoke on a Monday morning to the sound of a heart monitor, his hooves, body and horn all covered in bandages, his left profile felt like somepony took a cheese grater to it, and certain parts of his scalp had bumps and contusions. Unable to sit up straight from the pain, Iscariat laid back on his hospital bed as he took in the room, instantly noticing Tabitha curled up on a small pillow to the left of his bed. Iscariat's head was so fuzzy, all he could remember was King Sombra back-lashing his spell on him, and then nothing. Letting out a sigh, Iscariat just couldn't figure out why after one thousand years of peace did life suddenly rear its ugly head, and throw a barrage of curve balls, sinkers, sidewinders, and sliders at the same time.

"Sometimes I wonder if I should just resign," Iscariat said, his mood quite low.

"I'm not sure Twilight would enjoy that," Princess Celestia said walking into Iscariat's recovery room, with a fresh bouquet of daises to replace the wilted ones on a stand next to his bed. "She does appreciate your work, and seeks to aspire not only to the level of Starswirl, but to your level as well."

"Nonsense," Iscariat replied averting his eyes at the Princess' statement.

"I'm sorry," Princess Celestia said removing the old flowers with the new, a few tears running down her face. "I'm so sorry, Iscariat, and I'm even more sorry for what I'm about to say. I probed your mind."

"You did what, your highness?!" Iscariat exclaimed looking at Princess Celestia in a different light.

"Time was of the essence, for obvious reasons I couldn't wait for you to wake up," Princess Celestia said her face meeting Iscariat's stern gaze with one of her own.

"So now we both know that Sombra is behind this," Iscariat said, deciding to ignore his clear violation of privacy. "What I don't understand is how the pilfered scroll and the kidnapping of Princess Luna link together."

"If anypony can discover the link it is you. It is my belief that you will end Sombra's evil machinations," Princess Celestia said confidently; though Iscariat did not like her choice of words. "To that end I have asked Princess Twilight and her friends to accompany you on your quest."

"Quest?" Iscariat asked, his heart missing a beat or two at the utterance of that word. "I'm not a warrior, your highness."

"Is that so?"  Princess Celestia retorted with a raised brow, as if she were hinting at something though would not say. "In any event at the moment it is your superior mind we require, and not your apparent nonexistent fighting prowess."

"Were it not imperative to retrieve the scroll I might tell you to seek out another pony," Iscariat said, lying to the Princess like it was easy. "Very well, you highness. I give you my word that I will do all in my power to stop Sombra. No matter what it takes."

"I trust you to do what is right," Princess Celestia said nodding her head with a smiling grin, and then turning to leave. "Now I will leave you to your rest, and I will have a guard posted so you are not disturbed."

Once the Princess was gone, Iscariat instantly conjured his saddle bag, and rummaged through it till he found a cylindrical container with the number five etched on its surface. Opening the container, Iscariat extracted the fifth scroll or fifth volume as he referred, and rapidly skimmed through its content. Half way from the top, Iscariat found what he sought; it was the instructions on how to cast a potent healing spell. Iscariat loathed using the knowledge of the scrolls for something so trivial, a few more days and his body could take care of itself, but he already lost three days for being unconscious. "Time is always against me," Iscariat said to himself as he casted the spell just as the scroll instructed.

Iscariat could feel the spell taking effect; however he would still require a day and half for his body to adjust to such a rapid rate of recovery. Putting the scroll back in its container, Iscariat teleported his saddle bag back to his desk, and then casted a sleeping spell on himself. Thanks to his clever spell casting, Iscariat was discharged from the infirmary at noon the following day, and waiting for him in the sitting room was Twilight and her friends. Respectively bowing to Princess Twilight, Iscariat was informed that the mares were packed and ready to depart at a moment’s notice. However to the mares’ surprise, Iscariat felt it prudent to remain in Canterlot till morning's first light the following day.

"Time is never our ally, but this quest may prove longer than any of us may expect, and I need a few hours to pack my necessary materials," Iscariat said, Tabitha stroking his left hoof. "Not to mention teleporting Tabitha home, as well as setting up a massive telepathic link so we can stay in touch. Ah, there is just so much to do."

"Well count us in," Princess Twilight said using her magic to remove her Princess attire, and handing it over to Captain Stone Brow; who stood at attention by the exit. "Please place those in my chamber, Captain."

"Yes, your highness," Captain Stone Brow saluted, and then marched off.

"I would welcome the assistance," Iscariat replied, shocking the mares for a second time.

"Oh, then afterward we can have a party!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, confetti raining down from nowhere.

"No," Iscariat deadpanned, a sigh of relief coming from the other five mares, thankful that he did not break character thrice.

"Oh, please. Please, please, please, please! Just think of how much fun you'll miss out on if we don't have a party, and if you don't have fun then you won't be happy, and if you're not happy then you'll be sad, and if you're sad then..." Pinkie Pie said continuing to ramble none stop till Iscariat thrust his left fore hoof into her muzzle.

"Does she ever shut up?" Iscariat asked, his eyes wide open and twitching like crazy, but the other five mares shook their heads making him frown. "Bloody fridge, fine! You may throw you little soiree, but only after my work is done, okay?"

"Okie-dokie-lokie," Pinkie Pie said, after Iscariat removed his hoof.

For the remainder of the day, Iscariat and the others worked hard to get everything ready for tomorrow, and before he knew it the work was done. Immediately following the end of their day's labors, Pinkie Pie lead everyone to the castle grounds where the party was already set to go; Iscariat wondered how she accomplished this when she was with them all afternoon. Iscariat never really liked parties, they just made no sense to him, it also didn't help that he had no one to share the experience with. However, when he was a member of Princess Luna's court things were different, he was different, but then Nightmare Moon took his Princess' place and things changed back. Yet in spite of his grief, Iscariat found himself enjoying the party a tad more than he anticipated, and before he knew it he was laughing uncontrollably after watching Princess Twilight's unique dance style.

One hour into the party Iscariat recalled a task he over looked, a silly thing really, he just had to notarize Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's application for tier three library access, and the form was magically inscribed in his personal ledger. Having already read the document, all he need do is place his signature, but there were two problems, one being that the ledger is magic proof to prevent any tampering; so he couldn't just teleport it to himself. The second problem is that he can't step out to fetch it because Pinkie Pie asked Captain Stone Brow to keep Iscariat from leaving, and he did so faithfully; even to the extreme of threatening to place an inhibitor ring on Iscariat's horn should he try to leave before Princess Twilight. The task wasn't that life threatening, but this wasn't the first time he over looked it ever since it appeared in his ledger a month ago, and with this quest before him, Iscariat felt it best to have his in box empty; "No clue when I'll get back to my normal duties, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has waited patiently," Iscariat mumbled to himself. With very few options, Iscariat grabbed the closets pony next to him, who in this case was Rarity.

"Ms. Rarity, may I ask a favor of you?" Iscariat asked holding Rarity quite close so the others wouldn't over hear; Rarity blushed at the awkward situation.

"I...I...I suppose that would be fine," Rarity replied, a little unsure of Iscariat's intentions.

"Smashing, now this is what I need you to do. Go to my room and fetch me my ledger, it should be in my desk, top left drawer. Oh, and get me a quill and bottle of ink also. Those should be in my desk's center drawer," Iscariat said shaking Rarity's hoof with gratitude, before he was pulled away by Princess Twilight who wished to discuss with him the practical applications of illusion magic.

Recomposing herself, Rarity shuffled off to Iscariat's castle suite to fetch the items he requested. In his room she found his desk against the far wall in the back, beside the bed, and as Iscariat said each item was precisely where he described. Using her magic to levitate the book, quill and ink, Rarity was just about to take her leave when her hoof accidentally pressed the pentagon switch on top of the desk. Upon hitting the switch the desk's secret compartment jutted open, instantly attracting Rarity's devious curiosity, a smiling grin creeping up her face.

"No, Rarity, this isn't your sister's saddle bag. You could definitely get in a lot of trouble," Rarity said to herself, as she peered into the secret compartment regardless. Inside she saw all kinds of bottles of various sizes, each containing a liquid of a different color and consistency, but what drew her attention was a sparkling silver, hooded, cloak. "Oh, my! What a magnificent cloak! And what is this?! Is that a silver sapphire for a brooch! I've only seen these on Princess Luna's most regal gown."

Rarity literally fell in love with the cloak, to such an extent that she just had to try it on. The moment she draped it over her back, Rarity could feel a warmth radiating from the fabric itself, the material was so soft and smooth like high quality silk, and yet strong like canvas. Everything about the cloak just screamed master tailor, there was not a single imperfection detectable, and she knew from the sowing style, as well as from the cloak's overall design, that it was old; "A few hundred at least," she said out loud. Rarity was so drawn in by the cloak that she lost track of time, and before she knew it the party was over. When at last the true purpose for her being there dawned on her, Iscariat had already returned, and he was beyond crossed at the sight he was bearing witness to.

"Oh! Mr. Iscariat," Rarity said a nervous expression on her face, as she quickly presented the items he requested, while still wearing his cloak. "Here you are, sir. I'm sorry that I didn't get it to you when you asked me to, but..."

"Get out," Iscariat deadpanned, using his magic to pull his cloak off of Rarity, and then cast it to the other side of the room like a soiled cloth.

"I didn't mean to..." Rarity tried to explain, but was instantly rendered silent by Iscariat's blazing magic aura.

"I said, get out! " Iscariat shouted stomping his left hoof, causing a small indentation in the stone floor, which made Rarity book it out of Iscariat's room as fast as lightning. Slamming the door shut, Iscariat walked over to his cloak, gingerly dusting it off with magic, and then proceeding to fold it neatly; following that he placed it inside his saddle bag. Before going to bed he made sure to notarize Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's form, then taking one last look at the saddle bag that held his cloak, he crawled into bed and fell into a dream less slumber.

 

              

                              

        

Chapter 4: Recalled and Omitted

Silence; the one thing that reigned unopposed during Princess Luna's banishment was silence, and now it had crept back into her life again. There was nothing to be seen or heard from within her cell, her eyes were blindfolded and mouth gagged, her wings were tied down with heavy chains clapped around her torso, and her horn had a slew of black crystals growing from it. Unable to do anything, Princess Luna lay down on the cold stone floor, and just wept in shame. As she rested upon the ground, Princess Luna's mind wandered about, thousands of years of memories scampered in and out as they pleased; each triggering another in a never ending cycle. Most were rather unpleasant befitting her current predicament, the majority of those were focused around her time as Nightmare Moon, though there were a few honorable mentions, such as the time she rose the Moon so fast she caused the coast to flood, and how could she forget about that one incident two thousand years ago involving her, Celestia, some cake, and a Changeling; "And that Thursday started off so well," Princess Luna thought to herself as she recalled the terrible affair.

However not all of her memories were full of sorrow, for there were just as many joyous moments in her life, and all of them were of her sister and new found friends, as well as some mentionable accomplishments; for example when she raised the Moon on her own with her family watching. The more she focused on these memories the chipper her spirit became, and though her current state looked mighty bleak, the friendship and love she has experienced served to sustain her; even in her darkest hour. All her happy memories seemed to emit a light of their own, a warm, soothing light brighter than the brightest star, and while they all shinned brightest together one among them proved brighter still. At the center of this gallery of light was Princess Luna's happiest memory, a moment in time she wished could repeat itself, for this was the memory of the day she met, and befriended Iscariat. Princess Luna could still remember it, Iscariat was nineteen years old at the time, but one year prior he left his parents' dwelling, acquired an apartment and job, and he also volunteered in programs that assisted non-unicorn ponies to adjust to Canterlot life; he made quite an impression on every pony he came in contact with that when word reached the Castle, Princess Luna felt inclined to meet him.

Unable to meet him during the day, due to her nocturnal nature, Princess Luna arrived at Iscariat's apartment just an hour after she raised the Moon. Taking a moment’s pause to collect herself, Princess Luna knocked on the door, and waited patiently for a response. In no time at all the door swung inward revealing a stunned Iscariat, completely caught off guard by the young Princess standing on his door step somewhat casually.

"Your highness," Iscariat said dropping to all fours as is proper. "To what do I owe to the honor of being in the presence of thy royal grace?"

"Calm thy self, noble Iscariat. We have come to congratulate thee for thy thoughtful deeds," Princess Luna said beckoning Iscariat to rise.

"I'm thankful to see that my work has not gone unnoticed, but I do this naught for prizes or fame, you highness," Iscariat replied.

"Which is all the reason more we wish to commend thee, so please take this as a show of our gratitude for all the good work you do around Canterlot," Princess Luna said as her horn glowed a midnight blue, and she bowed her head to rest it on Iscariat's fore head. A silvery liquid poured from the tip of the Princess' horn enveloping Iscariat like a sheet, the liquid soon hardened then loosened into the form of a hooded cloak, silvery like the Moon and sparkling like the stars in the sky, and serving as the cloak's broach was a mythic rare silver sapphire.

"What is this?" Iscariat asked marveled at the cloak's brilliance, then suddenly over taken by an over flow of magical energy that vitalized his very being allowing him to view the world before him as he never had before; for now he could see the streams of magic coursing around like a spider's web connecting everything and every pony together as one entity. Seeing him be over whelmed, Princess Luna drew back his hood, and thus returned him to normalcy.

"We apologize for our shortsightedness. We sometimes forget how different ponies are too we alicorns," Princess Luna said a slight blush creeping up her face.

"Just what was that I saw?" Iscariat asked rather curious of the whole thing.

"What thou have just experienced is one of the powers contained within the Mythos; an artifact so ancient it predates Equestria's founding," Princess Luna said with a smile that quickly became a sad frown. "It belonged to our father."

"No, your highness, I cannot accept this," Iscariat said shaking his head in disapproval. "This is a family heirloom, how can I take this from thy royal family?"

"Our father may have bequeathed the Mythos to us, but it is we who decide the pony that shall receive it, and we believe there could be no better candidate," Princess Luna said cracking a smile.

"Very well, your highness, I accept your most generous gift, and promise to use it in only the most dire of circumstances," Iscariat said bowing once more to the Princess.

From that night onward, Princess Luna visited Iscariat whenever she could, and eventually a solid friendship was forged; though Iscariat made sure to always address the Princess with the proper niceties. This ritual continued for five years, both had gotten quite comfortable around the other enough to speak about almost anything, and both had definitely improved what the other was lacking. At the age of twenty-five, Iscariat enrolled in the Royal Magic Academy, and with Princess Luna's glowing recommendation he was accepted without delay. She kept tabs on his progress, which was nothing but excellent, his high marks in every class, student council president for three years, and marked on the Dean's list. When Iscariat graduated, he not only graduated with honors, but was named valedictorian, as well as offered the position of Night Court Magician along with his diploma; Princess Luna was so over joyed when he accepted that she couldn't help but leap from her seat on the stage and give Iscariat a hug.

Recalling all these memories brought Princess Luna much happiness, and at the same time great sorrow for what she has lost due to her becoming Nightmare Moon. Weeping once more, Princess Luna longed for her sister to just show up and save her from this nightmare. Just then she heard a set of hoofs echoing down the hall, and making way towards her cell due to the increase in volume from the echoes. Holding out hope that perhaps somepony had to come to her aid at last, Princess Luna's aspirations were crushed when a deep voice came from behind her cell door.

"I do hope you are in a better mood, your highness," King Sombra said, though his voice was not muffled by the closed door before him. "For I desire to speak to you, so that you may understand I mean you no harm."

"You have a funny way of showing it," Princess Luna said the blindfold and gags no longer restraining her sight and speech.

"I apologize for binding you so, but I give you my word that there will be no more of it. Let me prove it," King Sombra said, his horn poking through the cell door as it melted to slag on the floor, then with a gentle touch from his crimson aura the chains restraining the Princess' wings and the crystals on her horn vanished.

Free from her restraints, Princess Luna caught King Sombra by surprise by blasting him into the hallway with a beam of concentrated magic, and while he was still dazed she pinned him to the floor with her right fore hoof. Unable to move, King Sombra glared up to see Princess Luna pointing her horn at his chest, its tip blazing with a midnight blue aura, and her eyes were cold like a killer.

"I should kill you," Princess Luna deadpanned.

"But you won't," King Sombra stated, the Princess' horn now mere inches from his heart.

"Are you sure? I've done many things I never thought I was capable of, what is one more dead body among the foundation?" Princess Luna said her expression stone hard.

"I know you won't because you're not that mare anymore, and that is why I brought you to my stronghold. I need your help," King Sombra said, his face softening as he slowly turned away from the Princess' gaze.

"What did you say?" Princess Luna asked her horn still hovering over Sombra's chest.

"I need your help. I want to change," King Sombra said now locking eyes with the Princess, causing her to retract a bit.

"How do I know this isn't another trick, just a ploy to lower my defense?" Princess Luna asked her horn's glow fading as she pulled it back.

"I can give you no guarantee, but if you let me explain then perhaps you will understand," King Sombra said.

"One chance, and if I so much as suspect you are lying," Princess Luna said shooting an emerald flame from the tip of her horn right at her cell, which promptly consumed its walls and floor leaving nothing but a gaping hole and molten stone. "There will be naught but ashes left, even your immortal spirit will burn and evaporate."

"Noted," King Sombra said rising to his feet, and beckoning Princess Luna to follow. "I have a chamber just down the hall, we may talk there."

"Just where are we?" Princess Luna asked surprising herself as she willingly followed Sombra.

"My ancestral home, built long ago by my earliest ancestor," King Sombra said as they trotted down the hall.

The farther down the hall they went the stronger the sweet smell of roasting maple became, "Perhaps he had some kind of hearth nearby," Princess Luna though. They wandered in silence for five minutes till a large steel door obstructed their movement; it was an odd door with no lock or door knob visible, and only the etching of an octagon inscribed in its center. King Sombra stepped before the door, laid his horn upon the octagon, and then uttered the words, "When in darkness let this be my light." The octagon glowed a brilliant white, then commenced to expand until it consumed the door, and part of the wall. Once it finished expanding, the octagon lost its white glow to reveal a chamber beyond its gaping maw, and with King Sombra ushering her in, Princess Luna's eyes were captivated by the quaint, and cozy, study before her.

The portal used to enter this room quickly vanished causing the Princess to become suspicious, but King Sombra explained that the door was designed to do so, and that if she wished to leave then she may teleport back to Canterlot; "I promise not to stop you," he added with a sincere expression. Trusting his words, for now, Princess Luna turned her attention back to the impeccable study, there were three book cases against the north wall with tomes and volumes embroidered in gold leaf, and above that an ancient Pegasus tower shield made of pure mythril. Looking to her left, Princess Luna saw an impressive collection of magical crystals, each containing within its pristine facets a swirling mass of energy that felt almost alive to her.

"Fascinating, are they not?" King Sombra said tracing the Princess' line of sight.

"Very, what are they if I may ask?" Princess Luna asked genuinely curious.

"To truly explain them would take several life times, even for one such as you. What I will say is that they are a form of life energy, crystallized by magic and gravity, and though their true purpose is a mystery they can be used as magical batteries or amplifiers," King Sombra replied.

Captivated by the stones' unique properties, Princess Luna couldn't help but trot around the room inquiring on the other magical artifacts, such as a collection of wands and staffs that were once used by unicorns before they learned to channel magic through their horns. There was also an ancient map framed on the west wall that depicted Equestria long before the empire was founded, so many of the common land marks did not exist; in fact very few towns were posted at all, and the EverFree Forest's borders reached both coasts almost cutting the nation in half. Princess Luna never pictured King Sombra as the history type, and yet he had more than several eras’ worth of artifacts and tomes; most predating even her. In the center of the room her eyes rested on a mahogany desk with one item on top that returned her to the present, and reminded her just who she was spending a pleasant time with. Upon the desk was the unmistakable parchment that was the Arch-Library's six scroll, and oddly enough its seal remained intact.  

"If you want my aid, then tell me the truth," Princess Luna said pointing at the stolen scroll.

"Understand that I have every intention of returning this treasure, after I have made use of it," King Sombra said gazing right into her eyes with nothing to hide.

"And just what is your plan? What machinations have you set in motion?" Princess Luna inquired staring right back, curious at what his response will be.

"Contained in this heavily encrypted text is a ritual that awakens one's fullest potential. However, if properly modified it can also alter one's very alignment, I would no longer be evil," King Sombra said a hopeful smile riding up his face, and the Princess believed it.

"Let's say I believe you, how do I play into this?" Princess Luna asked pacing around the tyrant.

"For the ritual to work the Moon must be rising just as the Sun is setting, and I also need one exceptionally skilled in circle magic to create the array," King Sombra said, Princess Luna blushing a little at his last remark.

"Only Iscariat and my sister have ever called me exceptional," Princess Luna said rather embarrassed.

"I know your pain, for I have endured it for centuries," King Sombra said laying a hoof on the Princess' shoulder. "Help me purge this darkness, and I will help you. I promise that every pony in Equestria will know the real you, and not just as Princess Celestia's long lost sister."

"I've only ever wanted my subjects to treat me as they treat my sister, is that too much to ask?" Princess Luna said a single tear running down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away, and then turned towards King Sombra. "I believe that every pony deserves a second chance, and you are no exception. Let's get to work."

"Thank you, your highness, I just knew you would help," King Sombra said using his magic to unseal and unroll the scroll upon the desk. "First we must crack the cipher, and then the real work will start. Now would you kindly fetch me a tome from the middle bookcase titled, Equestrian Codex?"

Nodding her head, Princess Luna rushed to the shelf and procured the required text, as well as three more that King Sombra felt he would need after glancing at the scroll. For many hours they toiled over the tomes, using them and their collective knowledge of old dead languages to slowly decipher each line of text one by one; Princess Luna rather enjoyed herself. Meanwhile on the road, the Sun already half way across the sky, Iscariat and the Elements of Harmony were making their way to a very special location; the Font of Memories. Once reputed as a myth all of three hours ago by Princess Twilight and Celestial respectively, both were dumbstruck when Iscariat said they were wrong, and that that was where their quest would first take them. Princess Twilight was positively leaping with excitement, for as a young filly she has read all kinds of fairy tales, and the Font of Memories was one of her favorites; a mystical grove with a basin of water that would allow one to access any memory they have created in their life time, even forgotten ones.

Iscariat was not too keen on bringing this many ponies to the Font of Memories; "This isn't a field trip. You all will be treading on sacred ground, and I want no funny business, that means you Pinkie Pie," Iscariat had said the moment they set out from Canterlot. Realizing that Iscariat's current mood was mostly her fault, Rarity tried everything she could think of to make amends, but Iscariat would not even look at her, and if he did have to speak to her he kept it short and to the point. The strain between Iscariat and Rarity was not lost to the other mares, it was clear as day that something happened after the party or at the very least early this morning, but none of them wanted to risk infuriating the millennium old stallion; "Rarity's on her own this time," Rainbow Dash said from high in the sky with a slight chuckle. For the most part they walked in silence, Iscariat kept to himself by focusing all his attention on the fifth and final scroll in his possession. As he had predicted the fifth scroll offered no in sight as to what might be contained in the sixth, the information was too random with large gaps in level of power; "Though that would depend on the reader," Iscariat mumbled because he still believed the ability to use the Elements of Harmony by oneself trumped anything he has read thus far.  

"So, is that one of the legendary scrolls Princess Celestia spoke of?" Princess Twilight asked eyeing the scroll with an itch to read it.

"Yes," Iscariat deadpanned, his attention still focused on the scroll.

"Are you sure you should be carrying something so valuable on an open road?" Princess Twilight asked concerning herself with her question.

"Not to worry, your highness, with the exception of myself, Princess' Celestia, Luna, Mi Amore Cadenza, yourself, Discord, King Sombra, the Griffon King, and the Changeling Queen, as well as your friends I suppose, no pony else knows of their existence," Iscariat replied rolling up the scroll, then tucking it away in his saddle bag.

"Chrysalis is aware of the Arch-Library's existence?" Princess Twilight said bewildered by his statement.

"Knows of it?" Iscariat retorted with a surprising chuckle. "She contributes to it, the Arch-Library has always been neutral ground, and the curator has been seen as an ambassador of sorts. The three great kingdoms of Ponies, Changelings and Griffons acknowledge the library's importance, and thus have a long standing agreement to protect and add to it. As a matter of fact, Queen Chrysalis and Princess Celestia held a peace conference in the Arch-Library several months after that dreadful Canterlot Wedding incident."

"Really, how did it fare?" Princess Twilight inquired.

"It could have gone better, but the two kingdoms have had a long history of turmoil, and both monarchs have their personal grudges towards the other," Iscariat replied so immersed in the conversation that his mood was improving.

"What is your take on this? I for one believe that these creatures should just stay out of Equestria," Princess Twilight said not even trying to hide her prejudice towards Changeling.

"Don't be too quick to condemn an entire species, your highness," Iscariat said staring at Twilight from the corner of his eye. "I have spoken to Queen Chrysalis on many occasions over the last thousand years, and I have made many journeys to the Changeling Capital in my youth. All these experiences have taught me never to judge one without knowing them, and I can say that the Changelings would make excellent allies. Why the advances in communication alone would make carrier ponies obsolete."

"You've been to the Changeling Capital? They allowed you past the border?" Princess Twilight said her friends, who were listening in, all had bewildered expressions.

"That is awesome!" Rainbow Dash shouted, now hovering three feet above them, totally enveloped in their conversation.

"I reckon y'all got all kinds of tales to tell," Applejack said positively excited at the possibilities.

"Oh my, you're quite the exotic stallion, Mr. Iscariat," Rarity said intrigued by Iscariat's worldly knowledge.

"As curator I have access to anywhere I please, and no law enforcer may impede me either. Of course I do my best to know when to exercise my authority," Iscariat said tad embarrassed, because he usually avoids talking this much about himself.

"Your job sounds very demanding; don't you ever take some time off for yourself?" Fluttershy asked albeit rather timidly and from behind the pack.

"No, even when I go aboard it is strictly business; not that I don't enjoy my work. Personally though I do miss the old days, back then Princess Luna and I shared quite a few laughs, as well as a few nights," Iscariat said smiling as he reminisced about his past.

Princess Twilight and her friends came to a sudden stop, after Iscariat's statement, indescribable expressions were on their faces as they all stared at Iscariat; who was so caught up in his memories did not notice the mares stopping or starring. Allowing Iscariat to wander on ahead, the six mares huddled together to discuss what they just heard. Princess Twilight was baffled at this predicament, she was aware Princess Luna and Iscariat were friends a thousand years ago, but she never would have guessed that there was more to their relationship; "This requires further investigation," she said to her friends. All six mares were determined to know the full meaning behind Iscariat's words, though Rarity mentioned, without too many details, that she would have to play more of an advisory role, and couldn't ask Iscariat out right. Striking at the iron while it was still hot, Rainbow Dash skillfully started a conversation about famous Equestrian flyers that perfectly lead back to a Luna and Iscariat conversation, "An so the game is a hoof," Princess Twilight said as she watched the two ponies talk.

More than half way to their destination the Sun had set, and they just reached the outskirts of the EverFree Forest; "Ain't no way I'm setting a hoof in there after dark," Applejack said genuinely afraid. Iscariat tried to convince them that the EverFree Forest is no more dangerous at night than the day, but the mares were simply adamant, and so they made camp for the night. Having been informed by Rainbow Dash, who also was the local Weather Team Captain, that no showers or storms were scheduled for another three days the ponies chose not to pitch up tents, and instead sleep under the night sky. Being a light sleeper at best, Iscariat opted to do some star gazing at the far end of the campsite, as the six mares huddled by a roaring fire resting their legs for tomorrow's last ten mile hike. Having lived for a thousand years, Iscariat could instantly tell which sister had set the night sky; Princess Celestia had clearly taken Princess Luna's role tonight for as always the Moon was off center by three degrees, and some of the constellations were either missing stars or on the wrong side of the sky.

"Ah, one thousand years of practice, and she still gets it wrong; she'll never learn," Iscariat said with a chuckle, until a scroll magically appeared in front of his face with the words, I HEARD THAT, written in big, bold, letters; he laughed louder this time. Caught off guard by Iscariat's sudden outburst, Fluttershy leaped into the air, and then became as stiff as a board falling sideways upon the ground. "Oh, sorry dear, I didn't notice you. Fluttershy, is it?"

"Yes, sir," Fluttershy said timidly rising to her feet.

"I assume you want to ask me something," Iscariat said placing his telescope, constellation sheets, and Princess Celestia's message in his saddle bags, then turning his full attention to the nervous yellow Pegasus.

"If it isn't too much trouble," Fluttershy said cringing a tad.

"Speak your mind young one and I will answer," Iscariat replied sitting down on his haunches, and inviting Fluttershy to do the same; the other mares secretly listened thanks to a little eavesdropping spell Princess Twilight knew.  

"Okay, well...um...I was wondering, if it is not too intrusive that is, if I could ask if...if...Are you in love with Princess Luna?!" Fluttershy blurted out, several faces hoofs could be heard from the other side of the campsite, followed by a very loud, Are you kidding me! To every pony’s surprise, Iscariat broke out into a fit of laughter that lasted for ten whole minutes, and we're talking rolling on the ground with his hooves flailing around laughter.

"I'm sorry, but that was the funniest thing I've heard in three hundred years," Iscariat said wiping his tears and regaining his composure. "To answer your question, no I don't love Princess Luna. I mean I had a crush on her once as a colt, but I came to realize that a relationship of that caliber would be impossible; she is after all a Princess of the realm. I do, however, admire her, and respect everything she stands for; there is nothing more to say."

"Okay," Fluttershy said unable to formulate any other words.

Taking this as a sign that she had no more to say, Iscariat collected his saddle bags, and then bid every pony a good evening as he made for a patch of grass facing the EverFree Forest. Wrapping himself in an old, weather stained, grey sheet, Iscariat laid his head upon the ground and fell into a deep sleep. At mornings first light, Iscariat awoke as did the others and after a light breakfast they wasted no time in setting off into the EverFree Forest. Following the ancient stallion through the dense brush of the EverFree Forest, the six mares huddled together as a way of dispersing the fear, despite Iscariat already stating that nothing was going to happen. Though wild and untamed, the EverFree Forest housed its own beauty and wonder, in his youth, Iscariat would explore the forest without end, collecting flora samples for his alchemic experiments, and sometimes resting under the cool shade of the trees studying for his next exam.

Traveling past a babbling brook, through a meadow of blooming tulips, and down a steep hill the seven ponies were only a few yards from their destination when they came to a halt. Obstructing their path was a strange crystal formation that almost seemed to have grown from one side to the other, its jagged crystals pierced every tree it had grown around, but the flora did not seem to be bothered by it since leaves still crowned their branches. Iscariat examined the crystal growth, noting each second the crystals would pulsate with chromatic energy, and then discharge a small electrical charge that slightly ionized the air. Completely immersed in his examination, Iscariat failed to notice that Rarity had approached the crystal growth in hopes of extracting a few of the marvelous stones far her new Fall line.

"I can't believe it grew back so soon, and it got so big. Oh well, this shouldn't take too long, so long as...What are you doing?!" Iscariat exclaimed, wide eyed expression erupting forth as he saw Rarity using her magic to chisel at the crystals.

"Oh don't mind me; I just wanted to take some of these gorgeous crystals to use in this new dress I'm designing. You see, I run..." but Rarity was cut off when Iscariat head butted her away from the crystal growth just as a powerful bolt of lightning shot forth, and struck Iscariat instead. "Mr. Iscariat, are you alright? Twilight quick, I think he is really hurt!"

"I'm fine, you idiot," Iscariat groaned, his coat slightly singed by the lightning. "Just don't use any magic on the Ward, which applies to you as well, your highness."

"What is that thing?" Princess Twilight asked as Rainbow and Applejack helped Iscariat to his feet.

"That is a Ward, it is a defense the forest naturally produces to prevent travel to certain areas," Iscariat explained taking a sip of water from his jug. "There are hundreds of different types, but the one before us is one of the most common, and easiest to get by if one knows how. Now I cannot stress this enough, no magic must come in contact with this Ward."

"Then how do we get by it?" Rainbow Dash interjected.

"We break it," Iscariat replied taking another swing of water. "All we have to do is strike the Ward just right and it will shatter like a stain glass window. Of course we must take great care to not..."

A loud kick came from behind them interrupting Iscariat, and upon turning around they saw Applejack bucking the Ward something fierce. She struck the crystal dead center over and over until a loud crack was heard, and several crystal shards fell to the ground. Examining her progress, Applejack was perplexed to see that the crack was purely superficial; a light electrical charge ran along the surface out of the tiny cracks. A little disappointed that she didn't shatter the Ward, Applejack never the less opted to try again, but before she could Iscariat created an energy rope to pull her away from the Ward, and none too soon because a powerful discharge erupted forth expanding the crystal a whole foot.  

"What in tarnation was that?!" Applejack asked as Iscariat helped her to her feet.

"Feedback, see if the Ward is cracked instead of shattered a powerful discharge is released, and then the Ward increase in size and density," Iscariat said taking a deep breath, and one more sip of water. "Alright, before anypony tries anything else, I just want to say that Applejack had the right idea, but executed it poorly."

"Yeah, AJ, this isn't an apple tree, you can't just strike it head on," Rainbow Dash said with a confident grin.

"That's right," Iscariat said happy that somepony finally understood.

"What you have to do is strike it at an angle from the sky," Rainbow Dash said adorning her flight goggles, and then shot off into the air at an incredible speed.

"That's not right!" Iscariat bellowed but it was too late.

Rainbow Dash soared high into the sky, ascending to almost ten thousand feet before she performed an elegant cork screw, and made a rapid descent. Faster and faster she descended, the air rushed passed her encompassing her body in a thick cushion, in moments she broke the sound barrier, and reached terminal velocity; there was no turning back now. Mere feet from her target she positioned her fore hooves to strike the crystal growth with all the momentum she accumulated, and when at last the collision occurred a legendary sonic rainboom sprung forth blinding everything in a colorful flash. When their eye sight returned to normal every pony was bedazzled to see that the Ward was shattered into three pieces, and yet the three pieces were still connected; albeit only more inches of connective crystal. Rainbow Dash, unaware of the minute connection, was already warming up for a victory dance when Iscariat teleported her next to the others and then quickly conjured a force field just as the Ward erupted a colossal wave of electrical energy.

The wave of energy collided with the force field, warping and bending it about forcing Iscariat to constantly adjust the field’s strength and overall density. When it was all over, Iscariat lowered the field so they could all see what Rainbow Dash had wrought. The Ward had now doubled in size and thickness, Iscariat shot an intimidating glare at Rainbow Dash, who tried to hide her shame by boasting that only she could have performed such a feat of power and strength. Shaking his head, Iscariat told every pony to stay back as he approached the Ward, wandering around, and tap tapping every inch of its surface. Eventually he stopped at a portion between the center and connective joint on the left side, and with a grin he cocked back his hoof and planted a powerful punch that easily permeated the dense crystal.

Iscariat's one strike caused the whole Ward to shatter into tiny bits that then evaporated into an ethereal smoke. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both beside themselves after what they just saw; "I don't believe it, showed up not once, but twice by an egg head," Rainbow Dash said her eyes wide open, and her mouth hanging loose.

"Not just any egg head, but one that's as strong as Big Mac," Applejack said a little embarrassed that she only now noticed the fairly obvious muscles tones along Iscariat's body.

"A thousand years of wandering aboard will do that to a pony," Iscariat said as he urged every pony to follow him down the now clear path.

Following Iscariat through the path they traversed the last few yards and arrived in a small grove with a shimmering basin at its center. The grove is one of the few areas in the EverFree Forest that is open to the sky, the Sun's light shined brightly through the opening illuminating the basin's surface in a silvery-white. Beneath the surface were thousands of goblets of various sizes and material; some were clay, others metal, and some were glass.

"Impressive, wouldn't you agree?" Iscariat said to no pony in specific.

"Is this the Font?" Princess Twilight asked a puzzled expression on her face.

"Yes, every memory that is and every will be is recorded here," Iscariat replied with excitement. "I'm certain you all noticed the goblets; I mean how couldn't you? Anyway one of those serves to channel the Font's awesome power, and thus would allow us to access it. However only one of them is the control matrix and only one can be taken out at any given time; thankfully I..."

"Are you serious?!" Rainbow Dash interjected looking at the basin's base stuffed to the brim with goblets. "How are we going to find one cup among all these?!"

"Well as I was saying..." Iscariat tried to continue, but was interrupted again.

"Not to worry, surly something that powerful is giving off some magic," Princess Twilight said trotting to the water's edge, pointing her horn towards the center of the goblet mass, and then tried to encompass the whole mass in her magical aura. "This simple scan should reveal the correct...What's going on?"

Before her spell could divine the goblet's location the basin became murky until all the goblets were hidden, and then the water gushed out in the form of a large wave that shoved Twilight into Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. The four mares were soaked to the marrow as the tidal wave washed over them, and then quickly receding back into the basin. Iscariat shook his head at the circus unfolding before him, "I don't have time for this nonsense," he said to himself, as he walked over to Fluttershy; the only mare, he hoped would listen to him.

"Well that was a bust," Princess Twilight said as she shook herself dry.

"Hey, why don't we just swim down there, and start pulling at cups? Maybe one of them will...oh I don't know give off some magic energy thingy," Rainbow said rubbing her temples after thinking so much.

"Nope, that won't work," Pinkie Pie said as she walked out of the basin dressed in a swimsuit, scuba gear and flippers. "I tried to pull at one of them but it wouldn't budge. Somepony must have glued them or something."

"Must be a petrification spell, a really powerful one to be able to fuse different minerals," Princess Twilight replied pondering on their next move.

"What are we to do? Surely we haven't the time to tug at every one of those goblets and hope the one we need isn't stuck as well. And what of Princess Luna? Who knows what kind of evil that ruffian, King Sombra is unleashing upon her? This is, without a doubt, the...worst...possible...thing!" Rarity rambled as she used her magic to drag a Victorian era fainting couch towards her, and then laid herself upon it.

"How'd you get that thing here?" Applejack asked poking at the couch to make sure it's real.

"Girls focus! There is an answer to every problem. All we have to do is put our heads together," Princess Twilight said, but just then she heard a clang that made her turn her head.

"Well done, Fluttershy," Iscariat said as he untied the rope around a rusty, iron goblet. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Oh, you're just saying that," Fluttershy said blushing at his statement.

"No really, damn thing is a little on the heavy side, even for me. So, thank you," Iscariat said levitating the goblet over his head, then walking over to the others.

"I don't understand," Princess Twilight said confused.

"Well, Mr. Iscariat said that he comes here every fifty years or so. So much so that he tied a rope around the correct goblet so he could just pull it out whenever he stops by," Fluttershy explained in her trade mark timid voice.

"So, you knew which one it was all along?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed hovering inches from Iscariat’s muzzle an angry scowl on her face.

"No pony would listen to me, except for Miss Fluttershy here, and I would appreciate it if you get out of my face," Iscariat said returning Rainbow's scowl in kind; though his was far more intimidating. "Now, please, just sit back and watch the magic."

Dipping the goblet back in the water to fill it up, Iscariat then proceeded to drink all of its contents in one gulp. Nothing happened right away, but the mares could definitely feel something had changed in the area. Suddenly a soft hum could be heard coming from the rusty goblet, as a sweet wind blew through the trees, then spun inside the basin pushing back the water to form a six foot ring, and exposing the thousands of goblets. With the goblets in earnest to the Sun's light they began to emanate a light of their own, and from the goblets' mouths silvery bubbles blossomed forth. Each bubble seemed to contain an image of Iscariat, and these were no mere still art images, but moving and vocal ones complete with color and scenery.

One by one, Iscariat skimmed through each bubble, particularly the duller ones, since the brighter the ambient glow the more recent the memory. Princess Twilight couldn't help but inquirer as to the mechanics behind the Font, but since Iscariat didn't have the time to explain he directed her to one of the bubbles on the far left side of the basin; "That one contains all the relevant information you thirst for. Delve to your heart’s content," Iscariat said barely making eye contact. A few hours passed an Iscariat was still no closer to finding what he sought, and eventually the six mares, Rainbow Dash chief among them, grew bored at just watching him skim through each memory. Realizing that if he did not find something to occupy their time they would soon start bothering him, and so, despite better judgment, he granted them permission to browse his memories as he searched. A little excited to know more of the mysterious stallion, the six mares wandered around the basin examining each bubble, discussing among themselves on which one they should watch first, and after ten minutes their eyes caught a glimpse of Princess Luna in one of the bubbles.

"Did you all see that?" Rarity asked with excitement as the other mares nodded their heads in response. "Quick Twilight lets grab it before it floats away."

Using their combined magic, Twilight and Rarity dragged the bubble in so Pinkie Pie could grab it and carry it over to a nice spot under a shady tree, where they all sat down around it. After watching Iscariat's technique, they knew that to access the memory all they had to do was touch it, then channel some magic into it; which Twilight covered. With Twilight's magic sparking the reaction the six mares found themselves drifting into a dream state as Iscariat's memory poured into them. The year was thirty-four ninety-five of the second era, the day the fifth of October, and the place was the Canterlot Royal Throne Room at eleven twenty-five pm. Standing in front of them, gazing up at Princess Luna, who sat on her throne, dressed in a blue satin cloak and black button down vest was a slightly younger Iscariat; who actually had some black streaks in his mane and tail.

"Your highness, please, we have discussed this before," Iscariat said some genuine concern in his voice. "No pony is shunning you; they merely rest during the night so as to be renewed for the next day."

"We understand that, but that doesn't mean Equestria has to come to a grinding halt every time our sister's Sun sets," Princess Luna replied a slight bitterness to her voice.

"Perhaps your highness could hold an event to display the beauty that is the night," Iscariat said smiling after seeing the twinkle in the Princess' eyes. "And I have just the thing in mind. Remember that idea your highness had about arranging the stars in intricate patterns? Well maybe this is your highness' moment to unveil it."

"That is a wonderful idea, we will need some time to make the arrangements, not to mention plan out the array," Princess Luna said all the bitterness having left her. "Can we leave it to you to spread the word, and file all the necessary paper work?"

"Consider it done, your highness," Iscariat said already writing the first of many posters.

"We are certain our subjects will enjoy this," Princess Luna said giggling like a little school filly.

Suddenly everything dimmed around the mares as time, apparently, moved forward; evident by the ice crystals forming above Princess Luna's private balcony. The setting had changed to Princess Luna's bed chamber, out on the balcony; it was well after midnight as the Princess was setting the Moon to make way for the dawn. Iscariat stood by Princess Luna's side, her head just resting on his shoulders as she wept uncontrollably; Rarity was particularly interested in this moment, so much in fact that she was basically standing right next to them.

"I'm sorry, your highness," Iscariat said as he glanced at the broken creature beside him. "There was no way of knowing the Pegasus ponies had a blizzard set for that week. I'm sure they merely misplaced your request for clear skies."

"Oh they knew," Princess Luna said with weepy eyes and between cries. "They knew, but didn't care. They sought to make a fool of us, and we know our sister played a hoof in this. We just know it."

"Your highness, I suggest thou refrain from making such accusations," Iscariat said rather surprised at the Princess' words; as were the other mares. "Thy sister loves thee more than anything in Equestria. Her highness, Princess Celestia, would never wish to make a fool of thee."

"Perhaps thou are correct," Princess Luna said raising her head, and drying her tears. "We thank thee for staying with us till Sun rise; thou are excused to thy own service. Do as thou will."

"Thank ye, your highness," Iscariat said with a bow before turning to take his leave, but only to be halted by the Princess stepping on his cloak. "Something else, your highness?"

"Tis nothing, we were just curious if perhaps sometime in the near future thou and us could spend another evening like this; well without the weeping," Princess Luna said with a smiling grin, but before Iscariat could reply the memory faded away, and time moved forward again.

"No, no! An just as it was getting juicy," Rarity said depressed to have been left with such a cliff hanger.

"I don't know what yer talking about, Rarity. Twas clear to me that they're nothing more than good friends," Applejack said.

"Are you crazy?! Princess Luna is so into him she may as well have put a royal claim on him," Pinkie Pie said standing beside Rarity, holding up a sign with the letters L and I, capitalized, and inside a red heart; no pony knows where she got the sign from.

"I have to agree with Applejack on this one, the evidence is too circumstantial to call it any more than a platonic friendship," Princess Twilight said taking her stand next to Applejack, and then turned to Rainbow Dash. "What are your thoughts, Rainbow? Rainbow? Rainbow Dash, wake up?!"

"Huh...Well of course I'll accept your invitation to join the Wonderbolts, Spitfire," Rainbow Dash blurted out as her eyes tried to focus in the dim light.

"Were you asleep this whole time?" Princess Twilight asked with a pout.

"Maybe," Rainbow Dash said kind of childishly.

"Argh, I can't believe you," Princess Twilight said exasperated with the Pegasus.

"Um, girls, I think another memory is coming up," Fluttershy said pointing at the light growing in the center of the darkness.

The light washed over them changing their surroundings to the Canterlot castle grounds where Iscariat and another pony the mares have not met were preparing for some kind of conflict. Gazing up at the sky, Twilight knew what moment in time this was, it was the night Nightmare Moon first came into being, for it was an hour or so until dawn and the Moon was in the center of sky.

"Now pay attention, Iscariat because we only have one shot at this," the unknown pony said grasping a scroll with her right fore hoof.

"Yes, Master Sorca, but do we really have to? I mean, perhaps there is another way," Iscariat said.

"I know you want to save her, but we don't have that luxury. If we don't do it now, then all of Equestria is doomed, so buck up and take it like a stallion, and don't forget that cloak she gave you. I want you wearing it, just in case," Sorca said her grip tightening on the scroll.

"Yes, ma'am," Iscariat said extracting a dazzling silver cloak that caused Rarity to cry out, and then instantly shut her mouth.

"Okay let’s go," Sorca said leading the way into the castle.

"Princess Luna, I'm so sorry," were Iscariat's last words as this memory too faded into nothingness.

Once again time progressed forward, except this time it was by a grander factor evident by Iscariat's complete grey mane and tail, but even more so by the image engraved on the Moon's surface. Gazing from the castle's battlement, Princess Celestia and Iscariat stood in silence staring at the Moon, the tension between them was so intense it could be cut with a knife.

"I know you feel guilty, but the blame is mine to bear," Princess Celestia said breaking the silence.

"If I only had a little more time," Iscariat said unable to look the Princess in the eye.

"Sometimes the answer isn't always the one we want," Princess Celestia said resting a hoof on his shoulders, which he instantly swiped off.

"Don't try to sugar coat this! This was nothing but a disaster, and it all could have been avoided if you actually cared!" Iscariat bellowed at the Princess, Twilight and the others were shocked at what they just heard.

"You're angry, I get that, but if you let it consume you then you will know nothing but a life of bitterness and despair, and you shall live for a long time," Princess Celestia said.

"I'm leaving," Iscariat said as he turned towards the door on the far left of the battlement.

"Where will you go? You're still the curator, and have much work to do, are you just going to abandon it?" Princess Celestia asked rather concerned, for something like this has never happened before.

"I would never abandon my responsibilities," Iscariat said his head dropping a little. "I just need some time to think, and quite frankly I think it will do me some good to travel abroad."

"Perhaps you are right; it has only been a hundred years. Your mind still requires time to adjust, but always remember that I will be here should you ever require somepony to talk to," Princess Celestia said as she bid Iscariat farewell.

"I will return, your highness," Iscariat said, and then left.

With those last words, the six mares were back in the real world, the Sun had long since set, and Iscariat still had not found the memory he sought. Together the six mares placed the memory bubble back with its brother, and then they sat down back at the spot under the tree, and conversed on what just occurred. Well into the night Iscariat dug through every memory he could find, and got nothing but lemons for all his hard work; "Either some pony really hates me, or I'm overlooking something," Iscariat said to himself after going through another useless memory bubble. Several more hours of this lack of progress, and Iscariat just punched his hooves into the ground in frustration awakening Princess Twilight in the process. Sensing his agitation, Princess Twilight got to her feet and sought to try and ascertain the reason for his rage.

"Are you okay, Iscariat?" Princess Twilight asked.

"No, no I'm not okay. I just feel so useless," Iscariat said glaring with anger at the memory bubble.

"You're not useless," Princess Twilight said laying a hoof on his shoulder. "You will figure it out; I mean it's not like its encrypted or something."

"That's it, of course!" Iscariat bellowed as he rushed towards the bubbles and held them in front of his crystal necklace.

"What is it? What did you figure out?" Princess Twilight asked.

"The Six Scrolls are immensely powerful objects, even in the abstract form of a memory their power is undeniable, but this crystal can help decipher their cryptic illusions, and...Yes, here it is!" Iscariat said triumphantly holding the memory he has sought after. "Thank you, your highness, I could not have done it without...Did you feel that just now?

A loud rumble could be heard in the distant; Iscariat stared off into the darkness of the trees trying to spot what it was that was making the noise. Closer and closer the rumble came, the sound of trees snapping soon followed, and still nothing could be seen. Focusing his senses with his magic, Iscariat scanned deep into the tree line viewing all matter of beast fleeing from something truly terrifying. With his amplified senses it wasn't long till Iscariat found the source of the rumbles, and he could have sworn his heart stopped for a minute.

"Impossible, there is just no way this can be real," Iscariat said his face stunned with fright.

"What is it? What do you see?" Princess Twilight asked squinting her eyes to try and focus on the tree line, but it wasn't working.

"A Rorschach," Iscariat said with a grim voice, as a loud roar ringed throughout the forest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

              

Chapter 5.1: d1Q

"A what?!" Princess Twilight shrieked as another roar came forth.

"It is a monster from ancient times; I thought we killed them all five hundred years ago. Guess we missed one," Iscariat said focusing heavily on the memory, as he rapidly skimmed through it.

"What should we do?" Princess Twilight asked, her friends huddling beside her in terror.

"Run, run as far as you can, as fast as you can, and don't look back. If you reach a river cross it, and if you can’t jump in it; Rorschachs are weak against water, it literally hurts them," Iscariat explained.

"And what about you?" Fluttershy asked cringing behind Rainbow Dash.

"I still have to get what we came for, but don't wait for me run! I can handle myself, but this foe is beyond any of you," Iscariat said skimming through his memories on over drive.

"But we..." Princess Twilight tried to protest, but Applejack stepped forward and merely nodded her head; Twilight lowered her head and sighed. "Okay, we'll meet you in Ponyville, at my house. Let's go girls."

Iscariat let out a sigh of relief, for it would have been impossible for him to protect himself and them from a fully mature Rorschach let alone find the damn memory; which seemed to be at the bottom of this bubble due to how many memories he has skimmed through. "Looks like I'm going to have to kick this up a notch," Iscariat said to himself, as his horn made a crisp crackling sound, then shot a powerful beam that uncoiled the memories in the bubble, and maintained them as small holographic projections that hovered around him. The tremors grew stronger with each passing moment as he rushed from one memory to the next, until at long last he found it, and with a light speed skim he acquired the information just as a black mass crashed through the tree line. Not even pausing to look, Iscariat kicked the rusty iron goblet back into the basin, restoring it to normal, and with his saddle bags already secured he galloped out of the grove faster than a bat out of hell. Leaping over the Font, the Rorschach gave chase with its six legs propelling it at an incredible speed forcing Iscariat to go off the path and into the dense brush in hopes of losing it by crisscrossing through the tree line.

Were the Rorschach any other beast this tactic would have prevailed, but its corrosive skin made any way it went through a straight and narrow path; "Bloody fridge, I forgot, Rorschachs created all the forest paths," Iscariat said chastising himself for overlooking such an important detail. Running for his very life, Iscariat contemplated his situation, and then calculated his odds, and with some very generous rounding he concluded he had a one in five hundred chance of escaping but only if he made the right moves. Feeling the Rorschach closing in, Iscariat pushed his leg to their limits just enough to dodge the Rorschach's sweeping claws, and jump through the tree line into another grove; though this one was about the size of the Canterlot Royal Maze. Catching his breath, Iscariat teleported a few yards back as the Rorschach crashed through the tree line, sending whole trees into the air that landed a few feet short of Iscariat's two hundred yard distance.

In the light of the Moon Iscariat gazed at his foe; now a Rorschach, in its purest form has no defined shape, but rather appears how its prey sees it, and in Iscariat's case it was a six legged, serpentine dragon with razor sharp claws, a forked tongue, ram horns, and spikes running down its back. Wasting no time, Iscariat used his pyromancy to scorch the grass beneath him to draw out a complex array; however the Rorschach wasn't just going to stand there like a lemon, and commenced to charge at him. Iscariat was not fazed by this, for he had chosen this particular area not only for its size, but what lay beneath, and with a crackle from his horn he sprung his surprise. Erupting in front of the Rorschach was a huge lava geyser that obstructed its straight charge, but obstructed does not mean halted, for the Rorschach merely side swiped it and pressed onward. Iscariat hoped the Rorschach would take the bait, because just as it went around the geyser another one, and then another sprung up in succession.

For a normal Unicorn such spell casting would place tremendous strain on the caster, but Iscariat has spent the last one thousand years honing his skills; not to say that he is without flaws, as that would be impossible. The Rorschach, though large, was not without grace, for in this serpent like form the beast easily slinked its way around every geyser Iscariat triggered.  Iscariat was so close to completing his array, but the Rorschach proved more adept at his little gauntlet than he anticipated, and so he pushed things to the nth degree by creating a wall of lava. Triggering a slew of geysers at once, Iscariat conjured a literal wall of lava that forced the Rorschach to halt, but only for a second, as the beast made to side swipe this obstacle as well. However, Iscariat had the wall curve and grow at a rate that made getting around it difficult, and yet the Rorschach, defying logical predication yet again, did just that.

"Dragon! I had to see dragon!" Iscariat bellowed as the Rorschach leaped at him with its razor claws, but it didn't matter, because his array was complete, and with a crackle from his horn the array came to life.

The Rorschach brought down its claws hard, seeking to filet Iscariat in a single stroke, yet before the claws could connect a stone fist came out of the ground and caught it. Rising from the earth were four, fully armored, humanoid constructs each bearing a sword and shield made of solid steel. The construct grasping the Rorschach's front right leg lifted the beast over its head, and then tossed it into the still burning lava wall. The Rorschach cried out as its body was scorched by the lava's flames, however the injury was cosmetic at best due to its natural tough skin, and dragon scale augmentation. Telepathically controlling all four constructs, Iscariat prepared to unleash a relentless barrage of attacks at the monstrous Rorschach; "I grieve for you, Rorschach: the last of your kind from a bygone era, but one of use has to fall, and I swear it won't be me," Iscariat said gazing at the beast with a mixture of pity and anger, before ordering his constructs to attack.

Attacking as a single unit, the four constructs brought down their swords hard upon the Rorschach, but the creatures malleable skin proved difficult to slash, and so the strikes were little more than paper cuts. Working around this natural defense was hardly a challenge for Iscariat, who commanded the constructs to focus solely on piercing attacks; which proved far more effect due to the skins design to simply conform to any strike. The Rorschach suffered notable damage, though it was far from out, for while piercing attacks were its kryptonite the shear difference in speed between slashing and piercing made it easier to dodge any critical injury. However, the pace of the battle quickly changed when Iscariat had his constructs chain magic spells that Iscariat channeled through them, into their sword strikes. The Rorschach was knocked completely off balanced by this unorthodox fighting style; unable to read whether a thrust or a spell was coming at it.

In a matter of minutes the Rorschach was severely injured, its body littered with holes from the constant thrusts, and other parts scorched by the streams of fire the constructs would chain into their thrusting attacks. And yet, despite the head way, Iscariat was the most worn out due to the incredible tax of commanding the constructs, and casting the slew of pyro spells he had them use. The Rorschach was furious, though with the mindset of a lesser beast this fury was not the embodiment of emotion but pure inbreed instinct. The instinct to not back down before prey and always maintain a position of strength was what fueled the Rorschach's rage, and in this state another instinct was awaken; the instinct of absolute. In this state of being a Rorschach's body is released of all limitations, allowing access to its absolute maximum everything, from strength to stamina; though with its limiters removed a Rorschach can easily kill itself should its body surpass even this absolute cap.

Preparing for their apparent final strike, the constructs completely missed the Rorschach, because upon its instinct of absolute kicking in it easily leaped over their heads, and actually thrust a claw fist through a constructs back; armor and all. Iscariat groaned as the construct's pain was channeled into him, clutching his heart he nearly toppled but recomposed himself at the last minute, and before his construct shattered he had it cast its blade to one of its brethren. Striking while Iscariat was still off balance, the Rorschach used its powerful tail to shatter the legs of two other constructs, permanently incapacitating them, and thus leaving one; the Rorschach's one and only mistake. Though wreaked with pain, the Rorschach preformed an unexpected favor to Iscariat, for with only one construct left mobile Iscariat could have it preform nth level attacks, and that is exactly what he did. Matching the Rorschach in speed, the construct came down hard with a slew of sword strikes, chained together with a wide array of elemental spells from fire to lightning that completely overwhelmed the Rorschach pushing it to the danger zone of the instinct of absolute.  

In a final set of fluid motions, Iscariat had the constructs use all the swords at once to impale the Rorschach onto the ground, and then with the assistance of its two handicapped brothers, the three constructs blasted a combined, ear piercing, sound wave that was amplified by the impaled steel swords. For good measure, Iscariat had one more geyser go off, only this one was the largest and most pent up, and , per his end game, was positioned right under the Rorschach. Pushed to the border of its limits and beyond, the Rorschach knew in its heart that it could not win, and so rather than dying a pointless death it drew upon the last of its strength to break free of the steel sword, and then ran back into the forest defeated and famished. Safe for the moment, Iscariat thanked the three constructs before dispelling the array, and thus returning them to the earth from whence they came. Alone now, Iscariat collapsed on his haunches, completely drained just as the sun peeked over the horizon, unable to move much he rummaged through his saddle bags and extracted a long smoke pipe made of rare red wood.

"Hello, old friend, time to make my troubles melt away," Iscariat said to the pipe, as he filled it with pipe weed, and then indulged in his favorite pass time.

Iscariat gazed deeply at his pipe, a treasured gift from his great grandfather, a simple, yet elegant, little thing with a long shaft that curved slightly at the tip, a decorative etching of filigrees ran along its left and right sides, and around the tobacco chambers rim was a ring of pure silver. Rings of smoke billowed over his hand as he dragged deeply on the pipe, soaking in the smooth flavor of the tobacco as he rolled it around in his mouth before allowing it to billow out of his mouth as either perfect rings or a small cloud. After an hour or two of just resting and indulging one of life's pleasant comforts, Iscariat cleaned out his pipe of ash, carefully placed it back in his saddle bag, and then trotted off to Ponyville. It was midday when Iscariat arrived at the Great Oak, its burgundy door coming into view, then suddenly opening as Pinkie Pie came gallivanting out, and leaping onto him causing them both to fall onto the ground hard. The bliss his pipe brought upon him naught but a few hours ago was instantly destroyed by this shear act of stupidity and revelry, his head ached from the fall, and his still tender limbs now throbbed uncontrollably.

"Oh my gosh, you're okay! Not that I assumed you weren't okay, but after getting an eye flutter, twitchy tail, wobbling knees, and whole body shake, I just knew something big was going to go down. I'm talking epic show down big with fire, swords, golems and dragons, and when I told the others they didn't believe me, but now you're here and can tell them I was right. So go ahead, tell them!" Pinkie Pie rambled while still sitting upon Iscariat.

"I have three words for you; Get! Off! Me!" Iscariat shouted pushing the young mare to the side and into a pile of hay. "Honestly, there is no time for this."

"Curator Iscariat, I demand you calm yourself. Pinkie Pie was just expressing her relief at your safe return, albeit she could have dialed it down a little," Princess Twilight said with a stern expression, her shadow seeming to tower over Iscariat.

"Yes, your highness," Iscariat said with a solemn bow. "I'm sorry for my outburst, as well as shoving your friend, it was most uncalled for."

"It's okay, takes a lot to get under my skin," Pinkie Pie said, a smile for miles brandishing her face.

"Right then, may I enter, your highness?" Iscariat asked, not daring to cross without verbal permission.

"By all means, make yourself at home," Princess Twilight said stepping to the side to allow Iscariat access, and once inside he placed a large scroll upon the small table to the far left of the room. "What is that?"

"Just a blank scroll, your highness," Iscariat said laying down an inkwell as he opened the scroll, and dipped a quill in the ink. "But give me a few hours and I assure you it will be much more."

"I understand, we'll get out of your mane for a while longer, but I'll leave my number one assistant, Spike, in case you need some help. Oh Spike, can you come in here?!" Princess Twilight shouted as a stout, and short, purple and green scaled dragon came out of the kitchen; a half-eaten black opal in his right claw.

"What do you need?" Spike asked munching on the opal with great delight.

"Me and the others are stepping out for a spell, this is Iscariat Faust, the curator I told you about. Can you be a dear and help him with whatever he needs?" Princess Twilight asked.

"Sure, no problem," Spike happily replied finishing his opal snack with one big crunch.

"Great, we'll be back at sun down. Come on every pony, let's give Iscariat some peace and quiet," Princess Twilight said as they all exited the library with Spike closing the door, and placing a "Sorry, but we're closed," sign outside.

"So...need anything?" Spike asked picking up some books that needed shelving.

"Not really," Iscariat replied barely making eye contact as his full attention was devoted to his quickly filling scroll. "Though I will be running out of room to write soon, would it be okay if I could use some of your blank scrolls?"

"Not at all, how many do you need? One? Three? Nine?" Spike asked as he shuffled to the supply closet.

"About twenty-seven should do," Iscariat dead panned, Spike almost had a heart attack.

"Tw...Twenty-seven blank scrolls? What are you writing, a novel?" Spike asked, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"I understand it is absurd to request twenty-seven scrolls, but it is essential for my task," Iscariat said finished with his first scroll, and then moving on to the next Spike was kind enough to unfurl and lay out in front of him. "Thank you."

"So, just what are you writing?" Spike inquired as he piled up all the necessary scroll, and then propped up a chair next to Iscariat for himself.

"Long story short, I'm writing from memory close to a ten hundred thousand word, volume, while translating it into modern Equestrian; for convenience," Iscariat explained.

"From memory? Wow, that is amazing! Not even Twilight can do that, or at least not that many words," Spike exclaimed in astonishment.

"Well I have an unfair advantage," Iscariat chuckled laying down the quill for a sec as he grabbed a random book from the closest shelf, and then skimmed a random page for less than a second before handing the open book to Spike. "Ahem...In the year twenty-four fifty-five of the first era, the town of Trottingham was established by the Earth Pony, Sir Buckly of Crine as a way to get away from the politics and Unicorn dominated cities, and in time grew to be a prosperous region in its own right. For more than five generations, Trottingham has known nothing but peace and bliss while the rest of Equestria either fell into turmoil or suffered struggles of a different sort; from abroad. To this day no army, domestic or foreign, has ever set foot in Trottingham, and while the citizens now consist of all three tribes Earth Ponies are still the more dominate and as such most of the town is tailored to Earth Pony specifications. Magic is only frowned upon when used during time honored traditions, even the Pegasi are not recommended to use their wings during such times. In all, Trottingham is a rich town of history that should not be over looked simply because of its ruralness or somewhat backwards way of thinking. Did I get it right?"

"Word for word, how did you do that?" Spike asked closing the book as Iscariat returned it to the shelf; without his magic oddly enough.

"It is a special skill I attained when I received my cutie mark," Iscariat said sitting back down beside Spike. "Put simply, I just need to take one good glance at any written literature, and it becomes imprinted in my mind for seven days. After seven days, if I have not committed it to true memory then I simply forget."

"That is awesome," Spike said handing Iscariat another scroll.

"I like to believe so, though it is highly specialized, and thus useful in a very limited field," Iscariat said completely yet another scroll.

Over the next two hours Iscariat wrote up a storm with Spike replacing his scrolls, quill and ink when needed, as well as asking the stallion tons of questions; to which Iscariat gladly supplied answers to. At three o'clock in the afternoon, Iscariat had succeeded in creating a fully translated, though extremely long copy, of the Sixth Scroll, and while he was pleased with his head way, the time to rest was not yet upon him; for now he had to reread, in fine detail, everything he has just written. Realizing what was laying ahead for Iscariat, Spike went into the kitchen, and set a big kettle of coffee to boil, then presenting the first of many cups along with a small platter of donuts; mostly plain since the sprinkled ones contained bits of sapphire and rubies. Pouring himself into every word, Iscariat found nothing too interesting, so far the Sixth Scroll proved quite a letdown; "If this is the most dangerous volume of all, then I'm a snail, because there is nothing all that deadly about some of these spells," Iscariat said, and Spike couldn't help but agree after reading some of the passages himself. Though a tad disappointed with the lack of any forgotten spells that warranted the level of caution he was taught to award these scrolls, Iscariat chose to remain skeptical as nothing in this life was ever what it appeared to be; he was proof of that.

"So, what kind of magic do you specialize in?" Spike asked, kind of bored of just reading.

"As curator, I'm more of a jack of all trades," Iscariat replied setting aside one scroll to compare to another, thinking that perhaps the spell in one was linked to the other; they weren't.

"Sounds like Twilight, but surely you have one you prefer to use. Your go to branch of magic," Spike said taking a bit from one of the gem sprinkled donuts.

"If it is based on preference, then it is undoubtedly this," Iscariat said as he read a scroll, and then, without even turning to face Spike, his horn shot a grey beam a few feet from the young dragon. When the grey beam collided with the library floor, a circular array, with runes inscribed around it, manifested, and from its center rose a humanoid creature made of wood. The wooden creature stood at seven feet, its arms stretched all the way down to the ground, some stray branches stuck out of its rough, bark, body, a bush of spiky leaves formed a beard upon the creature's face, and for eyes it had a pair of polished, black, stones. "The magic of conjuration; the art of summoning everything and anything to your aid."

"What is it?" Spike asked pointing at the wooden creature.

"He is a forest sprite; an ancient spirit, that has all the powers of a forest at his command," Iscariat replied reaching for another scroll. "I can summon even adult dragons if the need is great, though I refrain from doing so, due to some dragons being more trouble than they are worth."

"Conjuration magic sounds very practical, wonder why Twilight never tried it?" Spike said, his attention turned back to the scrolls as the forest sprite vanished from whence it came.

"It may be practical, but it takes years of training and study to conjure even the simplest of things," Iscariat explained.

"Hey, I think I found something," Spike said beckoning Iscariat over to him.

"Figures it would be in the last scroll," Iscariat said grasping the scroll in his magic, and holding it up so both he and Spike could read it. "Okay...hmm...Awakening Array? Well it's the only thing here that can easily lead to problems, but Sombra would incapable of using it."

"Why is that?" Spike asked confused.

"Because Sombra, unlike other ponies, was not born but made using the same black crystals he himself uses; he is a kin to the crystal ponies except he is hollow," Iscariat said. "Due to this he is already at his full potential, so to use an array that awakens just that would be asinine for him."

"But look here, it says the Sun and the Moon must share the sky for this array to work," Spike said pointing at the line of text.

"That explains why he kidnapped the Princess, but still..." Iscariat was not convinced, King Sombra had an end game, and this array was the key; yet how everything fits still alluded him. "I'm almost positive this array will not be used in its purest form, or proper manner. Never the less the amount of magic needed to activate it is unattainable, even if every Unicorn and Alicorn contributed."

"I know, the only thing that can output this much would be a Leyline," Spike scuffed with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but you would need more than one. It would take at least twenty, which would be about five Ley-Gates; each one containing four Leylines, and they would have to be connected somehow into a circle, otherwise they are just points," Iscariat said rubbing his chin, when it finally hit him like a sack of hammers. "Bloody fridge, he wouldn't?! I have to be sure. Spike!"

"Yes, Iscariat," Spike said snapping to attention.

"Do you have a map of Equestria? A modern one would be preferable," Iscariat asked, his worried expression unnerving the young dragon as he pointed to a wall to the left of the stairs.

Dashing towards the map, Iscariat took out his faceted gem and placed it over his left eye, like a monocle, and then gazed deeply at the map with only his left eye. Peering through his gem, Iscariat could see tiny, thin, lines of crushed diamonds that passed through every section of the map; these are Equestria's Leylines, the source of all magic. Each Leyline contains a finite, but tremendous, amount of magical energy, however, as Iscariat stated, even if Sombra were to use all its energy it would only be one twentieth of the total amount needed, and so a Ley-Gate must be used. A Ley-Gate is when several Leylines cross over each other, combining their power; which can cause random effects such as turning a desert into fertile land, or causing a lake to suddenly dry up. Since neither Leylines or Ley-Gates can be moved by any known craft, Iscariat merely had to locate five Ley-Gates that could form a powerful circle, and as he predicted only one area fits the bill. To the far north of Canterlot, beyond the mountains, was Magma Valley, a land composed of hundreds of volcanoes, and at its center was Mt. Smog; the largest volcano in Equestria, and the only place Sombra could activate his array.

"Spike, I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia," Iscariat requested taking the gem off his eye and sitting down before the table. Quickly scrawling a missive on a blank scroll, he handed it to Spike who then used his dragon fire to wisp the letter off to the Princess. "Thank you, now please fetch Princess Twilight, while I sort out this mess."

"Be back in ten seconds flat," Spike said, then left out the door.

Now alone, Iscariat, once again neglecting his magic, cleaned up the mess of scrolls by burning all but the one concerning the Awakening Array, and placed the dirty dishes in the sink; "I hate leaving a job half finished, but I don't have time to clean them," Iscariat said, hating himself for not washing the cups and plate. Donning his saddle bags, Iscariat took out his quill and quickly scribbled a strange symbol on the top door frame, and then with a slight pause he walked out the door. A few minutes after he left, Spike returned with the others in tow, but were surprised to find the library vacant.

"Um, Spike, where is Iscariat?" Princess Twilight asked perplexed at the empty room.

"I don't understand, he was just here," Spike said as he shut the door and triggered the symbol Iscariat scribbled on the door frame. Upon activation a holographic version of Iscariat appeared in front of the closed door, and startling everyone.

"Twilight, what is that?" Applejack asked as she held a broom out in front of her for defense.

"It's an imprinted message! I've only read about these things, they're so archaic, but very intricate for its time. Sadly it's a lost art, even Princess' Celestia and Luna cannot perform this elegant form of symbol magic. Iscariat must be the only one," Princess Twilight explained as she soaked in everything about the imprinted message's mechanics, from the size and position of the focusing symbol to the overall magical output; she even took the door frames material as a factor.

"I would say at this time Princess Twilight has already given you all a run down on imprinted messages, so I will waste no more time and get right down to the heart of the matter," Iscariat's imprinted self said. "Simply put, none of you have the overall power required to face King Sombra, and while your victories in the past serve you well they just don't compare to this crisis. This is why I have set off to confront him without you, I’m sorry, but I will not knowingly put you against a force your Elemental powers have no hope of matching."

"An what makes you think we can't go the distant?!" Rainbow Dash bellowed at Iscariat's face.

"Rainbow, this is an imprinted message, it can't actually answer you," Princess Twilight said.

"Rainbow Dash, I understand you frustration, but Sombra is playing for keeps this time around, and I have already suffered the loss of..." Iscariat could not finish his sentence before his emotions overcame him, and a lone tear dripped from his left eye. "Don't make me watch another blood bath, don't make me watch you die."

"How did he know Rainbow Dash would ask him a question?" Spike asked, but his question was over looked.

"I had no idea he cared about us that much," Rarity said as Iscariat's imprinted self-faded away; its task now complete.

"He has come to the understanding that he may not come back, and though he is ready to sacrifice himself he can't expect you six to make that kind of tribute. Such is the way of the old," Princess Celestia said from the top of the stairs.

"Princess Celestia? What are you doing here?" Princess Twilight asked.

"Iscariat sent me a letter stating his plan, I thought I could catch him before he set out, but it seems I'm too late," Princess Celestia replied, levitating a letter before them.

"What should we do?" Princess Twilight asked after skimming the letter.

"I agree with Iscariat, the fate of Equestria is in his hooves now," Princess Celestia said with a heavy heart.

"We can't just let him do this alone!" Rainbow Dash snapped out, her element of loyalty shining brightly around her neck.

"He won't be alone. Come, I wish to show all of you something," Princess Celestia said using her magic to open the door, and then ushered them outside.

The Sun was just setting under the horizon, ponies were either closing up shop or heading home after a long day of shopping, however to the northeast, just near the border of the EverFree Forest, there was a column of pale blue light. Never have the mares gazed upon such a sight, but they just knew it had to be Iscariat's doing, "For what purpose though?" was a question that buzzed between them. As if to answer their query, two streaks of white light, from the South and East respectively, dashed through the sky with impeccable speed; a speed that made Rainbow Dash green with envy as only her eyes could see the hundreds of Sonic Rainbooms micro bursting from the lights' tails with every passing second. The two lights met at the pale blue column, and in perfect synchronization, spiraled gracefully around it until they touched the ground, and faded from sight.

"What was that?" Princess Twilight asked her mentor.

"What you have just witnessed were the two greatest sorceresses of this age. The one from the East is a Changeling named Fyee, a master of not only illusion, but of transmutation; the magic of altering form and attributes. As for the one from the South, she is as old as me, and so goes by many names, but you may know her as Grandmaster Areyela," Princess Celestia said, and just as she predicted, Twilight went total fan girl; frantically leaping around asking a variety of questions, it was invigorating to say the least. "Now Twilight, I know you are excited, but please calm down."

"Calm down? How can I calm down when one of the literal pillars of magic, Star Swirls's own mentor, has just arrived in Equestria for the first time in...Hold on a minute," Princess Twilight said dashing into the library to fetch her abacus. "Okay, plus five, carry the two, divide it by nine, and we arrive at a total of five thousand, six hundred forty-two years; give or take ten years."

No pony had a response to that, even Princess Celestia was lost for words after what she just saw and heard; "Am I really that old?" Princess Celestia mused to herself, for the first time, in a long time, starting to acknowledge her age. Whilst Princess Twilight went off on a tangent about how legendary Grandmaster Areyela is, and how her research changes the very way magic is viewed and applied, Iscariat was just getting whaled on by said woman. To say Grandmaster Areyela was "miffed" would be a serious understatement, she was positively furious at Iscariat not calling her in sooner, and she expressed her fury by beating the tar out of him with her magic staff, healing him, and then going another round. Fyee the Changeling, though not anger at Iscariat, refused to lift a hoof in his defense, and instead was videotaping the whole thing; "Wow, I did not know a pony's hooves could bend that way. Come on Grandmaster, go for the record! Go for the record! He dodged it, he deliberately dodged it!" Fyee would bellow as she got into a comfortable position to enjoy the smack down. Eventually Grandmaster Areyela calm down to hear Iscariat, much to Fyee's disappointment, and once the situation was made clear, the two sorceresses’ whole heartedly pledged themselves to his cause.

Wasting no time the three masters focused on drawing in an immense amount of magic, so much that they all began to glow a respective color, Iscariat was grey, Fyee was sage green, and Grandmaster Areyela was pure gold. Forming a triangle around the pale blue light column, the three magic users casted their spell, Comet's Flight; a top tier spell that literally converts one's body into photon energy, while still maintaining their consciousness, and thus allowing one to travel as fast as light itself. Using the pale blue column of light as a focusing lens the three mages channeled their very essence into the column, then in a titanic explosion that destroyed the column, as well as unleashing three conjoined Sonic Rainbooms, Iscariat, Fyee and Grandmaster Areyela took to the sky as three streaks of white light. Soaring through the sky the three mages blazed over Ponyville, zoomed past Canterlot, and traversed the mountain range separating the rest of Equestria from Magma Valley; all in the blink of an eye. Being made of pure light no obstruction could deny them, or so they thought when they found themselves stuck in place almost ten miles from Mt. Smog; a perplexing puzzle if there ever was one.

Unable to bypass the strange barrier, the three spell casters descended to the glassy, volcanic, surface below, and taking great care to not fall into the blazing inferno only a few feet beneath them. Watching their footing very carefully they examined the barrier before them, and it soon became obvious that Sombra knew they would use Comet's Flight an so erected a barrier with a negative charge to deflect their positive charge. Fortunately that is all the barrier was meant to repel for in their physical forms they could easily just walk through the obstruction. With ten miles left to traverse, over unstable ground, the trio wasted no time and took off through the magma fields in synchronized unity; of course Fyee opted to fly as oppose to walk with the other two. It has been more than three hundred years since Iscariat had to rely solely on his physical strength, but as he displayed with the destruction of the Ward in the EverFree Forest, this would not slow him down at all.

As they made their way to Mt. Smog, Iscariat couldn't help but notice that neither of his colleagues had changed much over the many years they have been apart. Fyee was always a peculiar Changeling with an aquamarine carpus as oppose to her brethren pitch black ones, her eyes too were different being a light shade of purple, and lastly her wings resembled those of a dragonfly allowing for superior maneuverability and feats of agility. Grandmaster Areyela was an ancient dragon roughly as tall as Princess Celestia, she was so old her scales true color had all but faded to a pale white with dozens of cracks covering them; though she kept most of them hidden under her mage's robes. The ten mile troop took them half the night to complete, but that was the easy part, for Mt. Smog itself was as labyrinthine as an object could get with tunnels that lead to nowhere, and some that form an infinite loop. Before they were able to enter the mountain the three spell casters huddled together to devise a plan to navigate the endless passages within.

"So, Bones, what should we do?" Fyee asked Iscariat as she used pyromancy to play around with a small flame upon the ground, making it grow and shrink.

"Why do you call me that Master Fyee?" Iscariat asked as he used his magic for something more practical; such as coating himself in a fire resistant shell that gave his fur a slight orange hue.

"That is why right there, Master Fyee? Are you kidding me? We're both Masters, I think we are entitled to act a little casual around ourselves," Fyee explained as her control over the flame waned the more emotional she became. "Seriously Iscariat, stop whittling everything down to the gems, and enjoy your near immortal life."

"Now isn't the time or place to critique my mannerisms, Master Fyee," Iscariat said using his serious tone. "Grandmaster Areyela, do you have any suggestions?"

"Concur do I with Fyee, learn to relax you must, Bones," Grandmaster Areyela said with a chuckle, resulting in Iscariat to make a frown. "But if it is the knowledge of which path to take, you seek, then the answer is obvious. Let the Leylines guide your path."

"Sombra would have to be in the center of all five Ley-Gates, mathematically speaking of course, but how can the Leylines guide us to him? It's not like they lead to him, they would be flowing around the mountain," Iscariat said trying to decipher the Grandmaster's cryptic statement.

"Calm yourself, Iscariat, for only when one is calmed can their mind see the answer before its eyes," Grandmaster Areyela said lifting her magic staff; which Iscariat for the first time noticed had a tiny teal opal embedded at the very tip of the staff's curved head. Turning her staff upside down, so the opal touched the ground, Grandmaster Areyela instantly blasted an enormous amount of magic through it, into the opal, and from the opal into the ground. After this display of rapid magic dispersion a zigzag crack started to form from where the staff struck, and it only continued to grow heading off into the cave; a bluish-white light emanating from the crack lightning the way. "The path is set, our way clear, and our enemy awaits. Let us not keep him."

Taking a deep breath, as well as gazing into the eyes of his colleagues as if it were the last time, Iscariat lead them all into the jaws of oblivion itself, unaware if they would survive to see the end. Following the crack through the cave system the three spell casters encountered little defenses or obstructions, magical or otherwise. The shear ease they navigated through Mt. Smog without so much a rock dropping from the ceiling made it ominously clear, "Sombra wants us to reach him," Iscariat said grimly. Mt. Smog was like a large city, every tunnel stretched for miles on end, with intricate stone bridges that were wither over bottomless pits or magma rivers, and the temperature extremes were absurd. Time passed by like water over a waterfall, every hour felt like minutes in the dimly lit tunnels, and were it not for Iscariat's perfectly maintained pocket watch, they wouldn't even know that it was already well past noon time.

After two more hours of following the crack, the three spell casters came to a fork in the tunnel, and oddly enough the crack split down the middle, and went up both branches. Stepping forward, Grandmaster Areyela informed Iscariat that his oath was to the left, while hers was to the right.

"No, Grandmaster, we will only prevail united," Iscariat protested.

"The trial before me is mine, and mine alone. Abandon your mission you must not," Grandmaster Areyela replied, her voice leveled and position strong.

"Sombra is down that way is he not? Please Grandmaster, let us help you. You need not die in vain," Iscariat begged the ancient dragon, who merely shook her head solemnly.

"If I die, rejoice my union with the Leylines you should. Moron me do not, miss me do not, for I have lived and experienced a life one can only dream of. Besides, I must do this, it is my fate and destiny to confront Sombra one last time," Grandmaster Areyela said as she commenced to walk down the right tunnel. "Follow me do not, save the Princess, retrieve your scroll, and then flee. Buy you time, I shall; as much as I ‘am able. Goodbye Masters Iscariat and Fyee, may we meet again on the other side."

"Bloody fridge!" Iscariat cursed stomping his hooves upon the rock floor.

Unable to deny the Grandmaster's logic, Iscariat and Fyee raced down the left passage, and hopefully to Princess Luna. Grandmaster Areyela did not even try to hide her presence, the moment she was alone she let her true power be known, and it shook the entire tunnel she walked through. At the very end of the tunnel, within a giant dead end cavern, sitting upon a black throne, a confident grin upon his face was King Sombra. The two avatars of their respective alignments gazed at each other with such intensity that they could bore a hole into one another's soul.

"Welcome Grandmaster Areyela, it has been a long time," King Sombra said with a devilish grin.

"So it has my once, and former, apprentice, but it will be the last for one of us," Grandmaster Areyela said pointing her staff at Sombra, an electrical charge sparking around its head.

"Pity, and here I have nothing to give you, save an unmarked grave," King Sombra said rising from his throne, his eyes glowing a dark green, as a black mass seeped from his body, and inched ever closer to the wizen dragon.

"I just have one question, how did you survive," Grandmaster Areyela asked.

"I presume you mean after my second attempt to conquer the Crystal Empire," King Sombra retorted, then confirmed by Areyela nodding in response. "Well that is quite a tale..."  

 

                          

Chapter 5.2: d1Q

   Death; a five letter word that carries with it more power than any army or magic spell, and a word King Sombra was quite intimate with. After his annihilation at the hooves and hands of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and a baby dragon no less, King Sombra's horn, the one and only scrap of his body to survive his destruction, and only remaining vessel for his soul was quickly recovered by a white mist. In the cold of the mist King Sombra's spirit wandered about for what seemed like an eternity, until he was found by a blinding white light.

"Greetings, King Sombra, I have been waiting for you," the light spoke with a sweet feminine voice.

"What is this place? Am I one with the Leylines, as my mentor would say?" King Sombra inquired.

"You are dead, for the moment," the light said quite casually. "I have a task for you, and I assure you it pays well."

"What do I get out of it?" King Sombra asked rather skeptically.

"For starters, a new lease on life, as well as more power than you could ever imagine," the light said playing to his ego. "An in exchange all I ask is that you set up a little array with knowledge from the Arch-Library itself; simplicity itself really."

"I have no love for that place, you have a deal," King Sombra said without a moment’s hesitation.

"I just knew you were the reasonable sort," the light said gleefully as it gave him the details, and then faded away into the mist.

The mist surrounding King Sombra slowly faded away, revealing his very own horn, floating in a void of nothingness, as was he. To most this abyss would be a frightening thing, but Sombra never felt more at home, and his horn reflected it with its crimson glow. Brighter and brighter his severed appendage gleamed in the darkness, bathing everything in its devilish light, and in this light Sombra felt a sudden pull that beckoned him towards his horn. Feeling drawn towards it, King Sombra was lifted off what passed for ground in this infinite void, and then was sucked into his horn becoming one once more. Once body and spirit were whole, the very void around him was drawn into the horn as well, reconstructing the spirit vessel from the skeletal infrastructure to the muscular tendons, organs, and finally the canvas of skin that housed it all.

Whole once more, King Sombra awoke to find himself somewhere in the EverFree forest, his power just itching for a test drive, and a task that was ominously clear. An now, only a few months hence his resurrection, King Sombra was about to fulfill his pledge, and all that stood in his way was an old newt that had a foot in the grave already. Both mages gazed deeply at one another, Grandmaster Areyela sat crossed legged upon the ground drawing in power from the Leylines through a meditative state she developed, and has since refined over the long years. Not content to let his former master take the first move, King Sombra shot a powerful bolt of lightning infused with black magic at the Grandmaster, without even moving, Grandmaster Areyela erected a barrier that absorbed the lighting, and then safely dispersed it through the cavern floor.

Seizing the opening, Grandmaster Areyela had the floor beneath Sombra turn to glass, destroying his sure footing, and in conjunction she had the rest of the ground around the glass lose its stability, and form a small pit. Forced to divide his focus between footing and spell casting, Sombra found it next to impossible to mount any form of offense, and defensive spells were not only expensive for him to cast, due to his shear lack of practice with them, but he only had the bare bone basic shields; nothing with the wall stopping power required to defend against his former master. Unable to hold his own, Sombra was easily knocked off his feet and into the pit; which Grandmaster Areyela quickly flooded with light to prevent any funny business from Sombra.

"Much to learn, you still have," Grandmaster Areyela said disappointed at her easy victory.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, you old gecko!" King Sombra shouted as he cringed from the light. "This is nothing more than a small set back."  

"So much darkness is within you. Allow you to live, I cannot, “Grandmaster Areyela said lifting her staff, and then thrusting it in a forward motion so it would point above the pit Sombra lay trapped. Channeling the power of the Leylines through her and, concurrently, into her staff, she conjured forth a sphere of compressed elemental magic; a Nature Bomb , as she has dubbed it.

"That won't be enough," King Sombra said with a chuckle.

"Goodbye, Sombra, I wish you peace," Grandmaster Areyela said, releasing her hold on the sphere, and watching it descended into the pit.

"Save you pity for the weak," King Sombra said, just as the bomb came upon him.

To the Grandmaster's surprise nothing happened, the bomb and Sombra simply vanished from his senses, without a trace. Strengthening her barrier, Grandmaster Areyela patiently waited for Sombra to make his move, though she did not wait long for coming straight down from the ceiling was her own Nature Bomb; except it was tainted with darkness and shadow. Colliding hard with her barrier, the sphere threatened to smash right through due to a much harder denser structure, but that was not all, for from every dark cover of the cavern several volleys of black, jagged, crystal spears struck her barrier, and many pierced through further weakening the barrier's integrity. Now it was Grandmaster Areyela who was on the ropes, or so it would appear to King Sombra, who foolishly came out of his perfect cover so as to view his former master's final movements. With her foe once more in the open, Grandmaster Areyela quit playing possum and demonstrated her full power by not only restoring her barriers strength, but also extracting all the impaled crystal spears, as well as instantly halting all incoming ones in midair, and then redirecting every single one back at Sombra.

Facing a dense wall of incoming spears, King Sombra opted to meet force with force, and so had the tainted Nature Bomb collide and explode within the center of the spear wall. The explosion annihilated every single spear to a dark powder that blanketed the two mages vision but only for a moment, and the exact instant Sombra could see he breathed a black fire that enveloped Areyela's barrier. Sombra's black fire breath was so intense it was actually melting the Grandmaster's reinforced barrier, and its heat was enough to make her, a dragon, sweat. Grandmaster Areyela was completely without a counter measure to this situation, for in all of Equestria black fire was the one thing impervious to any form of magic, and without any practical solution she merely opened a hole in her barrier large enough to leap out. Outside of the protective yoke of her barrier, Grandmaster Areyela was at a disadvantage, but hardly would one consider her helpless, and Sombra was aware of this all too well.

With Grandmaster Areyela out of her defensive bubble, King Sombra seized this moment by breathing forth a colossal stream of black fire at her. However, while black fire is impervious to magic, dragon's fire isn't magic, and with a simple puff of her own, Grandmaster Areyela not only countered Sombra's flames, but completely overwhelmed them. Before King Sombra could retaliate, Grandmaster Areyela smashed his skull into the embrace of the solid granite floor with a powerful strike from her magic staff, and then followed through with an equally powerful push consisting of an intense downward draft that further cemented him into the stone. Grasping him by his mane, Grandmaster Areyela hurled him into his own black throne, and used another air push to pulverize the throne to pieces and embed him into the wall behind it. Breathing heavily from such exertion, Grandmaster Areyela leaned against her staff, barely able to stand, and clutching her heart dearly as it suddenly became erratic and very painful.

"What's wrong Grandmaster? Has your age finally caught up with you?" King Sombra said with a mocking tone, as he dislodged himself from the wall, and then healed himself. "Growing old must be so awful, fortunately I'll never have to experience such moments of frailty and weakness."

"I have no shame in my aging body, for unlike you I have lived a life to be proud of," Grandmaster Areyela said regaining her composure, and gazing at Sombra with a crestfallen expression. "Fallen far you have, and pity you, I do."

"After all I have displayed, and still you look down upon me. Everything I have ever done was to make you proud, but only Star Swirl seemed worthy of your attention!" King Sombra shouted, as he unleashed more black fire; which the Grandmaster easily dodged, despite her deteriorating condition. "Tell me how proud you are, Grandmaster Areyela. Tell me. Tell me!"

Clenching her left hand, Grandmaster Areyela used her telekinesis to grasp Sombra's collar, and fling him towards her feet. While upon the cavern floor, dazed and confused, King Sombra suddenly felt a sharp pain in the small of his back from the Grandmaster thrusting her staff there, and then he felt himself being flung again; this time towards an adjacent wall. Regaining some control, King Sombra healed his injuries once more, then in mid tumble he corrected his body position so he would land on his feet, and as he did he discharged a powerful bolt of lightning from the tip of his horn. The lightning snaked its way towards the Grandmaster, who met it with a bolt of her own, conjured from the tip of her thrust staff. The two bolts struggled for dominance, arcs of excess electricity branching off, and striking in all directions; portions of some of the walls were atomized, and whole sections of the ceiling came crashing down around them.

For a time both mages were deadlocked, however something had to give, and while Grandmaster Areyela was the superior spell caster, she had one disadvantage Sombra did not share in; her staff was not designed to maintain a spell for so long. Eventually the telltale sound of a very loud crack rang throughout the cavern, and then Areyela's staff was no more, it snapped in two, releasing all its stored magic, and knocked the Grandmaster onto her back.

"I told you, did I not, that that archaic piece of junk was useless in this modern era," King Sombra gloated, but in truth he was more exhausted than he appeared, for had Areyela's staff lasted but a moment longer it would have been she who would be standing, and not him.

"I have failed you Sombra, that much is apparent," Grandmaster Areyela said willing herself to her feet, only to drop down to one knee. "But you were wrong, proud I have always been of you. Now...Then...And always..."

The last of her strength gone, Grandmaster Areyela's eyes faded to a pitch black, her body cracked then crumpled, and then a golden orb rose from the ash pile for but a moment before it too faded away; Grandmaster Areyela was at last one with the Leylines, her children as she would refer to them. For the first time in his existence, King Sombra felt invigorated, joyous even, while contrariwise, Iscariat and Fyee were in emotional, and to a lesser extent physical, pain. Spell casters, especially the more powerful ones, have a deep connection to other magic users, so deep that when one dies a sudden pain courses through all other mages nearby, as if they themselves were dying. One never gets use to it, it's impossible to bear such pain casually, and for those like Iscariat, those who live to an advance age, the emotional trauma resulting from it can lead either to madness or the subject devolving into a sociopath. Iscariat could see the maddening glare in Fyee's eyes, for him this death was painful, but for her it was excruciating, she and the Grandmaster were quite close, each bolstering the other, supporting one another, and in a matter of minutes that deep connection was gone; she was completely alone, just like in her childhood years.

"I can't...I can't, Iscariat," Fyee said beginning to panic, her normally confident persona ripped from her like one rips the covers off another early in the morning.

"Master Fyee, control yourself, you are not alone," Iscariat said reaching out with his left fore hoof to grasp her shoulder. "I ‘am with you, and I will standby you for as long as you need me."

"Do you really mean that?" Fyee asked, her eyes gleaming as if lite by starlight.

"Of course, we are colleagues, are we not," Iscariat said with a charismatic smile, Fyee felt a strange sensation pass over her, and her cheeks started to blush. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great," Fyee said rather loopy and embarrassed, hiding her face behind her hooves.

With Fyee once again restored to her cheery self, the two mages continued down the long corridor towards their goal, but instead of some closure, only confusion and shock did they find. Princess Luna was not just unbound, but actually drawing Sombra's array, as well as making preparations to set the Moon in proper alignment, while all the while humming a cheery ditty. What in the hay is going on here?! would sum up Iscariat and Fyee's reaction quite nicely, however that is neither the words they used nor the tone they used to convey their confusion.

"Pardon me, your highness," Iscariat said making his presence known, and startling the Princess.

"Iscariat?" Princess Luna said blinking twice to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, and once she was sure her heart leaped with joy as she flew at Iscariat, and gave him a huge; though he used his magic to stop her in mid-air.

"Sorry, your highness, boundaries and all that," Iscariat said calmly, as he gently lowered the Princess.

"If there was any doubt it is gone, for only Iscariat could maintain his mannerisms, even in a place like this," Princess Luna said with a smile, as her gaze shifted to Fyee, and her smile doubled. "Master Fyee Chrysendia, it is a pleasure to be in your presence once more, how is your mother doing?"

"Still absolutely livid since the last time she was in Equestria, but that bottle of Ebonmeir Wine did ease her tension, if not lightened her mood," Fyee said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, Queen Chrysalis always was a sucker for rare and fine wine vintages," Iscariat said letting out a decently strong laugh, which made Fyee blush and join in the mirth.

"Well, what have we here?" Princess Luna said with a devilish grin, instantly recognizing this particular bond that while too young to even be dubbed newborn, was forming between these two mages. "Seems to me like a certain stallion won't be on the market for much longer."

"What?! Don't be ridiculous, your highness," Iscariat said feigning a chuckle, while he nervously exchanged glances with the two ladies, and tried to think of a way to change the subject. Looking around the room frantically, his eyes soon fell on the array, and suddenly something very serious caught his full attention; a rune, just one of the hundreds etched upon the ground, but this particular one told him almost everything he needed to know, and all due to the fact that it was upside down. "Master Fyee, look at this rune, please tell me my eyes are deceiving me."

"No, an inverted transmutation rune, this is not good," Fyee said with a stunned expression.

"I don't understand, so the rune is upside down, what of it?" Princess Luna inquired, her grasp on runic magic having waned a bit over the years.

"Upside down transmutation runes are only used when Dark Magic is being implemented on a massive scale," Iscariat explained as he ushered the Princess towards the exit. "I don't know Sombra's plan, but we are not staying to find out."

"Iscariat! The tunnel...it is gone!" Fyee exclaimed pointing at a bare wall where the tunnel use to be.

"Impossible," Iscariat said as he poked and prodded the wall, but to no avail; it was solid, and in no way an illusion.

"Look here, it’s a transmogrification seal," Fyee said now pointing at a partially obscured rune that seemed to go under the new wall.

"Bloody fridge, we walked right over it. How did this happen, we're smarter than this!" Iscariat said kicking the wall with enough force to shake their circular prison, but not knock it down.

"So, what do we do now?" Fyee asked dropping to her haunches, feeling defeated.

"Now we wait for the show to start," King Sombra said manifesting himself through the darkest corner of the room in the far back.

"Sombra, you will pay for killing the Grandmaster," Fyee said shooting up to her feet as fast as lightning.

"You little foal, I did not kill her, she died of old age," King Sombra said gritting his teeth at the last part of his sentence. "Just another thing she has denied me, but now that is all over, and this time she won't be able to save you, any of you!"

"So, all this time you were lying through your teeth, and using me to fulfill your own ends. And I like an idiot believed you," Princess Luna said tears gushing from her eyes.

"Oh, but I had a good reason to, your highness," King Sombra said as he used his magic to teleport the Princess into the array, just as the Moon entered into position. "If I told you the truth, I never could get your guard low enough to move you into the array."

"What are you doing, Sombra?!" Iscariat shouted as his magical aura flared up around him, and Fyee followed suit.

"I'm doing just what I promised. I'm a stallion of my word, not that you'll live long enough to see it through," King Sombra said discarding his regal cape, and then leaping from the back of the cavern to land between them and Princess Luna. "You want to stop me, you'll have to destroy the array, and you better do it quickly, because in five minutes the energy required will complete the circuit. After that, it's the point of no return."

For a pony who normally always reaches a dead line, no matter how short, five minutes was a stretch, even for Iscariat, but he had to try. Together, Fyee and Iscariat, tested Sombra's defenses with a combined sonic shock wave; the sonic vibrations tore asunder the very ground, and if Sombra should dodge the array would be broken. However nothing is that easy, and not only did Sombra not dodge, but he bored right through it with a volley of opposing vibration spears. The jet black spears vibrated at an opposite frequency, thus screwing up the natural sound waves of the cavern, and when the two collided they created white noise; effectively neutralizing the spell. Shifting gears, Fyee took to the sky above Sombra, while Iscariat struck from the ground, each mage casted a different spell; Iscariat struck with a volley of bone crushing iron balls, and Fyee used her illusion mastery to alter Sombra's sense of perception so as to make believe Iscariat was attacking from behind.

Sombra appeared to have been fooled, as he side stepped to avoid the non-existent attack, lining himself up for Iscariat's true attack. It was all a ploy, for Sombra had secretly deflected Fyee's spell on to Iscariat, and when the unsuspecting fool thought he moved, Sombra instead had shot another volley of black spears. Quickly realizing what had just happened, Fyee zoomed in an scooped up Iscariat just in time, and then reversed her spell on Iscariat. Now it was Sombra's turn to attack in earnest, using his dark magic Sombra blasted at the two mages with infamous black lightning; a lightning that as has the unique ability to use patches of darkness and shadows to lash out at its target without a definitive end, thus making this spell almost impossible to dodge in dark areas, such as a cave. To make things even more difficult, Sombra used his black fire to completely limit their number of moves available, and to top it all off they had only sixty seconds left to destroy the array.

Extremely limited on options, and time, Fyee proposed that while she distracted Sombra, Iscariat, whilst cloaked with invisibility, would try to save the Princess. In a nutshell this plan was desperate, stupid, and had no guarantee for success, but in the end they had no choice, and so put it into effect. Cloaking Iscariat in invisibility was child's play for Fyee, though fooling Sombra that she still had him on her back, whilst dodging his attacks proved more challenging; challenging, but not impossible for a master. Once upon the ground, Iscariat rushed towards the array, however with only precious seconds left he heard Fyee cry out, and when he turned to look he saw that Sombra had managed to clip one of her wings with his black fire, and to make matters worse the black lightning was crackling towards her. Fyee or Princess Luna, he didn't have time to save both; "Damn it all! I'm not God, I shouldn't have to make this kind of decision! It's just not fair!" Iscariat said damning himself, his emotions, and most of all damning his own inadequacies for the choice he has just made.

With a heavy heart, Iscariat teleported in front of Fyee and took the lightning bolt head on, and by some fluke it didn't hit him directly, but instead struck his faceted stone under his vest; however that wasn't a good thing either. Iscariat's faceted stone was no ordinary gem, it was constructed by Starswirl the Bearded and Princess Platinum, so Clover the Clever and her future successors could perform their curator duties without worrying about growing old; for simply put the gem absorbs all the aging effects they would experience, so long as it was worn upon their person at all times. Normally when removed the curator's body would resume to age at a natural rate, however things get infinitely more complex should the gem ever be broken. Upon its destruction, a large explosion propelled both Iscariat and Fyee into an adjacent wall, Sombra remained unfazed by the blast. From the shattered remains of the gem, three wisps of temporal energy buzzed around, spontaneously aging anything they touched, two of the wisps were insatiably drawn towards the array, and being absorbed into it; while the remaining wisp homed in on Iscariat and melded with him in a blinding display.

"Iscariat, you idiot! Why did you do that?! I was more than willing to die so you could have an opening!" Fyee exclaimed, her anger tempered by her singed wing.

"I don't know, I was compelled to not let you die. Something overrode my normal logic," Iscariat said unable to stare Fyee in the eyes.

"Of course you were compelled, I willed you to, with a little help from this spell," King Sombra said holding the Sixth Scroll in front of himself, and pointing at a specific section.

"The Red Fate, but that is impossible, that spell can only effect lovers," Iscariat said skimming the spell's text in his memory archive.

"Not just lovers, but any ponies that have a strong emotional attachment," King Sombra said tossing the scroll at Iscariat's feet, and Iscariat quickly scooped it up before Sombra could change his mind. "And now at last, I have amassed all the energy I require to commence my grand scheme, and crowning achievement!"

"Just what is all this?" Iscariat asked wobbling to his feet, his body unusually sore.

"Still don't understand, do you? What a pity, but then I expected as much," King Sombra said as a loud rumble shook the whole cavern, the array gave off electrical discharges, and Princess Luna was quite nervous.

"Sombra stop this!" Princess Luna said as the array began to channel the electrical arcs into her very body, causing her discomfort and raising the hairs on her coat.

"I realize there is some mild pain, but trust me that in the end it will all be worth it, and you might even thank me," King Sombra casually said positioning himself once more between her and Iscariat.

"Enough, I say, release her!" Iscariat shouted regaining his strong composure.

"You dare make demands of me, fool! You are nothing to me, and your inability to deduce my plan is proof of not only your incompetence, but your failure as a Wizard! Yet you still use that pompous tone with me!" King Sombra bellowed having just about enough of Iscariat's presence.

After hearing those words, Iscariat realized that Sombra was correct, for all his posturing and intellect, deep down he knew that he was a failure. His greatest failure of all, the burden he has carried for one thousand years, was once more unfolding before his eyes; his inability to save Princess Luna has haunted him, even till now, but to have to watch it happen again. Peering at the array, Iscariat could see the Princess suffering, as her body was being altered or deconstructed, or whatever it was Sombra intended for his custom array to do to her.

"Why are you just standing there gawking?! Do something already!" Fyee exclaimed shaking Iscariat in an attempt to snap him out of his daze.

"I can't...There is nothing...I have nothing. No counter measure, no backup plan, nothing," Iscariat deadpanned.

"But you always have a plan," Fyee said surprised at Iscariat's words.

"I took a gamble, I thought I had a strong hand, but I screwed up, and now...and now...and now..." Iscariat could not finish his sentence, tears flowed from his eyes, and his body shook violently. "I'm sorry, your highness. Twice now, I have failed you."

"No, Iscariat, and don't you ever think that again!" Princess Luna bellowed with the last of her strength, as her legs buckled, and her head made a loud thump sound when it struck the ground.

"You killed her," Fyee said in disbelief. "You monster, you killed her!"

"Hardly, she still breaths, idiot," King Sombra said pointing at the Princess' rising and falling chest. "Besides, why kill such a rare flower, when I can have her bloom instead, and restore all that was taken from her."

Iscariat had a bad feeling when Sombra used those exact words, a sensation from an old wound located three inches to the right of his heart; from his perspective. Inside the array Princess Luna's body began to grow in size, her coat changing from a midnight blue to a pitch black, and seeping out of her skin was a kind of indigo mist that quickly blotted her from sight. For a time nothing seemed to happen, a chilling silence reigned over them till at last it was broken when a crackling of energy arced from the array's runic symbols, striking into its center, and out of the indigo mist shot out a column of midnight blue magical energy. A howling wail emanated from the column, random bolts of white lightning struck out from its sides, and at its base a winged figure could be seen rising to its feet; draconian, emerald green, eyes peering through the thick veil of energy. Iscariat's scar prickled with a sudden jolt of pain, not unlike a migraine one would receive after an excessive amount of shouting, it even gave off a light glow of midnight blue, but the most shocking thing of all was that it reshaped itself from a simple stab wound to a crescent moon.

King Sombra eagerly stepped to the side, so as to allow a clear line of sight for his adversaries, and also to ensure the winged figure had ample room to stretch her somewhat rigid body. Placing it's silver horseshoed hoof out of the array, Iscariat's heart sank at the emerging figure, adorned in new silvery armor, as oppose to her previous pale blue attire, was none other than..."No! I refuse to believe this, she was purged, and purified," Iscariat shouted in his head.

"And yet I stand before you, Curator Iscariat Faust," spoke an even tempered, and undeniably sweet, voice within the confines of Iscariat's mind.

"Allow me to introduce her imperial majesty, her grace, her eminence, her highest honor, Princess Nightmare Moon!" King Sombra proclaimed, Nightmare Moon gracefully stepping out of the column of magic, just as it faded from existence, and the array shattered like a glass bottle; its task now complete.

"I must say it feels good to have movement again, though I feel different than before," Nightmare Moon idly said flapping her wings, and examining her legs.

"Yes, you will find yourself infinitely superior to what you once were," King Sombra said approaching Nightmare Moon without her permission. "I imagine your powers have risen tenfold, if not more."

"By a factor of ten, you say, then that means I can do this," Nightmare Moon said as she simply tapped the floor with her left hoof, and in response four small, midnight blue, arrays manifested around Sombra, and then from their centers shot four spear tipped chains that impaled Sombra's legs.

"Argh!" King Sombra screamed out in agony, as the chains then retracted, forcing him to the ground, and causing more tearing to his tendons.

"Oh, I know it hurts, but trust me it will be over soon enough," Nightmare Moon said leaning close to Sombra, so she could speak in his ear.

"I don't understand," King Sombra said completely confused by this turn of events.

"The Great Wizard King Sombra doesn't know what is going on, well surly life on Equestria is coming to an end," Nightmare Moon said sarcastically, and then took on a harsh glare. "You little foal! You dare to lie to me, use me and manipulate me, and worse yet you have the arrogance to claim that you are more competent a Wizard than Iscariat Faust. Don't make me laugh!"

"Please, I meant no disrespect, your majesty," King Sombra said genuinely terrified by the imposing creature before him, this living nightmare.

"Silence!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed in the Royal Canterlot voice, and then slapped him across the face with her left wing. "Luna already gave you a second chance, and you wasted it. I ‘am not so forgiving, and so by the powers invested in me, as a Princess of Equestria, I hereby sentence you to death, by molten incineration. To be carried out immediately."

"Please don't, I beg you! Don't kill me!" King Sombra cried pitifully groveling for his life.

"My decision is final. Court adjourned!" Nightmare Moon said in the Royal Canterlot voice yet again, and with one tap of her left hoof a volcanic shaft opened beneath Sombra, and then with another the chains snapped dropping him to the fiery pit below; though he turned to ashes long before he ever reached it, due to the extreme heat of the vapors above the flames. With Sombra now gone, Nightmare Moon let out a deep breath, and then instantly materialized a scroll with a check list already prepared. "Now that that annoyance has been done away with, let me check off my list. Item number one; Is it night time?"

Using her godly powers, Nightmare Moon caused part of the ceiling to become see through, allowing for a magnificent view of the night sky; in spite of all the smog that usually choked the skies in Magma Valley. Checking it off with gusto, Nightmare Moon then moved on to the next item; Am I omnipotent? Sort of chuckling at this item, she never the less went through with the test, and with a thrusting of her left fore hoof she caused a powerful gust of air to suddenly manifest, and actually recreate the tunnel that was transfigured by Sombra's transmogrification seal; she doubled checked item number two. Last item on the list was, Have I dealt with all potential rivals?; at first she was hesitant to check it off, because truthfully she didn't really consider Sombra a rival, but since Queen Chrysalis was now sort of an ally, and Discord was reformed, there wasn't any pony else who would try to steal her shtick of world domination, and so checked off the box.

"Now then," Nightmare Moon said as she teleported away the check list, and then turning to gaze at Iscariat and Fyee. "As for you two..."

"You won't take us without a fight, you hear me mon..." Fyee said getting ready for a rumble, before Iscariat literally zipped her lip.

"It is so important for your continued existence that you don't finish that sentence," Iscariat said glaring at Fyee for a moment, and then turning to Nightmare Moon; a great fear over taking him as he stared into her eyes. "Please forgive my colleague's sharp tongue, your highness."

"Finally, some pony who knows their place, but you need not stand on ceremony, Iscariat," Nightmare Moon said a shocking smile on her face. "Unlike the rest of the ponies throughout Equestria, I respect you, and because of that I wish to broker a deal of sorts."

"What kind of deal?" Iscariat asked raising his brow.

"In due time, but first I want you to come with me so we may converse in private. What say you?" Nightmare Moon asked, though Iscariat knew she never asks.

"As you wish, your highness," Iscariat said bowing in respect, and then walked towards the dark goddess.

"Iscariat, no, don't go with her," Fyee said having broken Iscariat's silence spell.

"Sorry, Master Fyee, but I must do this," Iscariat said now standing by the tall Alicorn's side, her left wing draped over him; a devilish grin glaring back at Fyee.

"Shall we be off," Nightmare Moon said as her ethereal mane whirlwind around them, and when it cleared they were both gone.

"Damn it, Iscariat. Why do you always shoulder all the burden yourself?" Fyee asked herself, and without the means to follow she rushed out through the reconstructed tunnel, and rushed through the mountain as quickly as she could. When she reached the exit she instantly took to the skies and made for Canterlot as fast as her injured wing could take her. "I hope Equestria's Princess' can think of something, because this will only escalate."    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6: Would You Care to Know the Real Iscariat Faust?

Time heals all wounds; a simple phrase really, one that is used by all ponies, and for the most part it holds merit, that is if one is less than a hundred. The concept that the passing of time can make one forgo their pain and trauma is a crock, more time only allows the wounds to fester, one may find a way to ignore it for a time, but no matter how much one tries it will always be there, and surface from the bowels eventually. Iscariat knew this to be true, a breathing example was walking beside him; Nightmare Moon, his greatest failure, resurrected as if by some pony's sick way of tormenting him further. Under the clear starry skies, with the light of the full Moon bathing the land, Iscariat and Nightmare Moon walked side by side up a secluded coast near Filly Delphia. The deserted coast was flanked on one side by a jagged cliff, spanning over twenty miles, fifty feet high, serving as natural wave breaker, and nesting ground for native seagulls, as well as the occasional pelican.

The air was dry and salty, with a frigid wind gusting out to sea, blowing sand across Iscariat and Nightmare Moon's faces. After his battle with King Sombra, Iscariat's vest was in tatters, held together by only the top button, as the rest was vaporized by Sombra's black lightning bolt. Noticing Iscariat's discomfort, Nightmare Moon cloaked him beneath her left wing, drawing him closer to her side so as to be warmed by her body heat; Iscariat was unsure if she was doing this out of kindness, or she just wanted to prevent any escape attempt.

"So that Changeling, are you fond of her?" Nightmare Moon asked smirking fiendishly at Iscariat's facial expression.

"Humph, don't be absurd, your highness. I have lived without a partner all my life, why would I seek one now?" Iscariat retorted his poker face adorning his visage.

"You can lie to yourself as much as you want, but never to me," Nightmare Moon said with a chortle, her eyes flashing a pale blue for a second. "For to me, your mind is not unlike an archive, everything perfectly organized and shelved. A most useful trait for your trade, I imagine, but against a master psychokinetic, such as myself, it makes it all the easier for me to read."

"Well, your highness does have the unfair advantage of being a Goddess," Iscariat said though in truth he purposefully lowered his mental barriers, knowing full well how she enjoys to invade the minds of others, and how irate she can become if denied access.

"Too true," Nightmare Moon said snickering at Iscariat's words, which in turn weakened her concentration, allowing Iscariat to carefully conceal some sensitive information within the recesses of his mind. "So, how much further, I do want to get this conversation under way."

"Not much further, your highness. It is just up ahead," Iscariat said pointing with his horn to the very end of the beach, where the cliff wall curves outward towards the sea.

Reaching the jagged cliff, Iscariat walked from under Nightmare Moon's wing, assaulted by the brutal cold once more, and then commenced shining a light, from the tip of his horn, upon the cliff wall in sections. Slowly dragging the faint light across the wall, Iscariat tapped at certain points, until he heard a harmonic ring, not unlike a tuning fork, resonate from the apparent rocky surface. Nodding his head towards Nightmare Moon, Iscariat stood to the side as the Moon Goddess moved the celestial body just enough so its pale light gleamed upon the spot Iscariat had designated. The Moon light caused a certain change on the wall, as its rocky surface faded away like a mist, revealing a door made of pure silver, and embroidered on its surface were several flawless diamonds arranged to resemble the Horse Head Nebula. Rummaging in his left saddle bag, Iscariat extracted a tiny fragment of a once whole, and equally small, silver sapphire; Nightmare Moon followed suite, though her piece was hidden within the folds of her right wing.

Together, both Alicorn and Unicorn, placed their respective piece in a small indent on the door, at its very center, and almost instantly they heard the high pitch sound of pressurized air rushing out of the thousand year old seal. Reclaiming their respective gem fragments, Iscariat opened the door with a slight push, and then with a flick of his horn he shot a fireball that dashed around igniting all the sconces that flanked the long passage. Allowing Nightmare Moon to enter first, as is proper, Iscariat followed behind, magicking the door shut, and then proceeded to walk beside her again. The passage way was comprised of marble bricks, with a navy blue velvet rug lining the floor, and between every fifth sconces was a black silk tapestry with white stars each one sown to depict on of the many constellations visible only during the winter months. At the end of the passage was a deep dark circular chamber, but with one flick of Nightmare Moon's horn all five hundred thousand, two hundred, nineteen floating foxfire candles were simultaneously lite.

Iscariat took one solemn glance at the circular chamber, even after one thousand years of abandonment, not a single object was out of place, or speck of dust visible, and oddly enough even the food was still edible; albeit it was just a small bowl of fruit, yet still impressive never the less. Stargazer's Sanctum was the chamber's name, created, designed and equipped by Iscariat himself for Princess Luna as a retreat of sorts; though despite his best efforts, the Princess insisted that he use it as well. The chamber was a perfect circle, approximately the same size as the Moon's shadow during an eclipse, it boasted a tall ceiling, seventy-five feet up, complete with a polished, clear, opal that served as a stunning replica of the Moon, and upon its cylindrical walls were shelves stocked not only with rare first edition, Star Swirl originals, but also various apparatus' from geocentric models to telescopes, even hoof drawn maps of the night sky, depicting everything from star alignment to distances between celestial bodies. In the center of the chamber were two tables, one equipped with all matter of tools required for a proper stargazer such as compasses and sextants, while on the other table were charts, and even graphs that revealed that stars ranged in size and color, and how even the Sun itself was a star. Lastly, just to the left of the two tables was a third table made of mahogany, with two navy blue silk cushions respectively on each side, and engraved upon the table in silver leaf was an intricate, and very detailed, carving of the night sky with shooting stars and comets blazing across like fireworks.

Iscariat has forged many memories in this one place, and all of them suddenly overwhelmed him to the point that his magic got away from him, causing some to materialize around him and Nightmare Moon. Before their eyes, two grayish white apparitions of Princess Luna and Iscariat manifested, both were swelling with joy, and gazing around at their surroundings, taking in everything with unbearable excitement.

"Thou did all this by thy self?" a much younger Princess Luna inquired taking great care not to damage anything.

"With my own four hooves, who knows maybe this is my calling," Iscariat jested gazing at his bare flank.

"Thou have no short on skill that is for sure," Princess Luna said now admiring the engraving on the mahogany table. "Pray tell though, why is thou showing us this? Not that we do not admire thy hard work, but still..."

"For nearly a decade thy royal highness has assisted me, and while I can never truly repay thee I wish to make this gift of thee," Iscariat said raising his fore hooves to encompass the whole chamber. "I offer thee all this as a show of my gratitude for all thy kindness."

Princess Luna was positively speechless, taking a glance at the chamber in earnest, absorbing every fine detail, she brought to light something she had previously over look; "It is tailored to our taste," she said to herself, embarrassed she did not make the connection sooner.

"Does it not please thee, your highness?" Iscariat asked the zoned out Princess.

"Huh, beg pardon?" Princess Luna said snapping out of her daze. "Forgive us, Iscariat, it is just so much, and we don't know if we should accept."

"Please your highness, think nothing of it. It is the least I could do for thee," Iscariat said gently bowing in respect.

"Seeing how much effort thou have put into this, we cannot refuse," Princess Luna said reaching out to embrace Iscariat in a huge, and tears flowing from her eyes. "However, we insist that thou make use of this space as well, and we will not take no for an answer."

"As you wish, your highness," Iscariat said for the first and only time embracing the Princess in kind.

"STOP IT,STOP IT! I SAID, ENOUGH!" the real Iscariat yelled at his horn, as he grasped one of the thick tomes with a levitation spell, and smashed himself along the side of his head, desperately trying to make the memory go away, while all the while balling his eyes out with tears.

"Iscariat!" Nightmare Moon exclaimed leaping over to him, knocking the book to the side, and quickly embracing him in an attempt to calm him down. "It is okay there is no need to hurt yourself. None of this is your fault, Luna said so herself, remember? So  let’s just calm down, and take a deep breath."

"I failed her twice, how is this not my fault?" Iscariat retorted, his horn still manifesting memories, but they paid them no mind. "I'm useless, incompetent, and a danger to all around me. If you only knew the great crime that I committed, if any pony knew, I have no doubt I would be executed."

"Enough of this self-hate Iscariat. You are anything but useless, and do you think I have forgotten how you always came to visit Luna every night during our banishment," Nightmare Moon said her words surprisingly soothing Iscariat, as she then used her powerful magic to cease the manifestation of memories, and then delicately restored his magic levels to normal. "Now you have had a long day, so I think it is best if you get some rest, and then we can discuss all of this at a later time."

Though a part of him was still aware that this thing before him was the enemy and harbinger of death, the part that was in control was too tried to listen, and so complies with Nightmare Moon. Allowing Nightmare Moon to guide him as if he were some foal, Iscariat found himself resting by the mahogany table, his head laying upon one of the cushions, and Nightmare Moon's left wing draped over him like a sheet. Iscariat was so confused, nothing ever seemed to go as it should, and his constant manic episodes weren't helping in the least. However none of that matters now, for the mantel of sleep came over him, his mind slowed down, and all his organized thoughts and memories mixed and mashed together in one big mass. Eventually Iscariat was in a deep, dreamless, sleep, Nightmare Moon watching over him like a hawk watches her young; "A truly tortured soul, I almost feel bad about what I did to him one thousand years ago," Nightmare Moon said turning him over for a moment, so as to peer at the crescent wound upon his chest, her eyes glowing a pale blue then instantly fading back to normal.

"I wonder how Celestia is taking the news of my return," Nightmare Moon spoke aloud with a hardy laugh. "That Changeling should have reached Canterlot by now. If I know her all I have to do is give off a small presence, and she'll come a running. And when she does, I'll be waiting, but for now I will allow the ponies to bathe in the Sun one final time, and then the fun starts."

As Nightmare Moon lowered her head down beside Iscariat's, and then slipped off into a deep sleep as well, events were unfolding in Canterlot Castle. Princess Celestia of Equestria, first born of King Quazar and Queen Aurora, Lady of Light, Goddess of the Sun, Mistress of Magic, all of these things she is known by, but now she has a new title, Last of the True Alicorns, and this title she did not wear with pride. Sitting upon her throne, Princess Celestia was gazing down at Fyee with Discord and Princess Twilight Sparkle flanking her left and right respectively. Princess Celestia found it rather odd to be receiving a Situational Report from a Changeling of all individuals, but stranger things have happened over the course of merely a year; from Discord's reformation to Queen Chrysalis sort of becoming an alley to Equestria. However nothing could have prepared her for what Fyee had to say, to learn of Grandmaster Areyela's passing was painful, but to hear that her sister has become Nightmare Moon again was indescribable, and then to know that Iscariat left with that monster willingly was just the straw that broke the zebra's back.

"And he told you nothing?" Princess Celestia inquired having finished hearing Fyee's report.

"Not a thing," Fyee replied rubbing her damaged wing to sooth the pain it radiated. "If I may, I don't like this. Iscariat may not always ask for help, and I don't blame him given the problems he faces on occasion, but this...this doesn't feel right."

"I agree, there is indeed a change in the winds," Princess Celestia said as she gazed upon the stained glass window prophesying Nightmare Moon's defeat, now boasting a subtle, yet predominant, crack across its surface.

"I sense it too, it is almost as if some powerful force, not necessarily Nightmare Moon, is manipulating the Hands of Fate," Discord said in an uncharacteristic serious tone, Princess Celestia could sense his concerns, and so laid a comforting hoof on his right arm.

"This is very serious. Princess Celestia, should I assemble my friends?" Princess Twilight asked turning to Celestia, who shook her head in decline.

"Not just yet. I do not wish to risk you or the other Elements," Princess Celestia said rising from her throne, and walking down towards Fyee. "You have my thanks for informing me on this situation. Seems Iscariat's trust in you is well founded."

"I maybe Chrysalis' daughter, but I'm nothing like her," Fyee said as she turned to go, the pain in her wing was too unbearable, and had to be attended to.

"Wait, you need not leave. You are most welcome here, I can have a room made vacant, and have your injury tended to," Princess Celestia said beckoning Princess Twilight to her. "Twilight, please escort our guest to one of the vacant East Tower rooms, while I fetch a healer."

"Sure thing, Princess," Princess Twilight happily said leading Fyee, who was too tired to argue. "So, you are a Master of Magic I've been told. Does that mean you know every spell there is to learn?"

"That would be impossible," Fyee deadpanned walking up a flight of stairs to the left of the main hallway. "To be labeled a Master, simply means one is versed in all aspects of whatever it is they have mastered. In my case, I have mastered Illusion and Alteration respectively; so even if I may not know the spell, if it falls into either of these two categories then I could analyze, and counter it if need be. Of course my knowledge branches beyond Illusion and Alteration, it is simply that these two are my specialties, as well as my bread and butter."

"You make money off that?" Princess Twilight asked, they went down a right wing after the stairs.

"But of course she does, if the Great and Powerful Trixie could then surely a mere Changeling should have no problem; albeit not as spectacular," Steward Trixie said materializing to the right of Fyee, though the Changeling did not flinch unlike Princess Twilight, who almost had a heart attack.

"Trixie, were you eavesdropping?!" Princess Twilight said her voice rather loud.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie would never spy on her patron," Steward Trixie said with a sidewards glance, and a subtle smirk. "No, the Great and Powerful Trixie heard that a famous Master Illusionist was in the Castle, and Trixie wanted to see how her invisibility spell would stack up against this apparent Master. Trixie must say she is rather disappointed at how easy it was to fool your sight, Master."

Fyee instantly came to a stop, she lowered her head, then vanished without a trace, nothing could be heard save the sound of the mares' respective heart beats, and breathing.

"This is invisibility," Fyee's voice spoke as if from everywhere, and yet nowhere. "This is illusion at its peak, neither of you can detect my presence, nor hear my footsteps. I 'am perfectly masked, and you dare question my Mastery. A Mastery that took me five centuries to achieve, and refine to its highest level. I suggest you mind whom you insult, magician, because when it comes to illusionists you never know how, when or where they will strike. It could be above, below, the left, the right, or the FRONT!"

"Argh!" Steward Trixie screamed at the top of her lungs, for towering before her was a dreaded Ursa Major, its gaping maw was primed and ready to gobble Trixie in one bite; she immediately passed out from shock, and her frightful memory of facing an Ursa Minor.

"I understand she disrespected you, but don't you think that was a little mean?" Princess Twilight asked as the Ursa transformed into Fyee.

"Pardon me if I don't beg for your forgiveness, but right now I'm tired, irate, my wing feels like it will snap off, and my oldest living colleague is out there alone with that monster! So I 'am in no mood to be bucked with right now!" Fyee shouted grasping her wing once more as another wave of pain washed over her.

Feeling the pure emotion in Fyee's voice, Princess Twilight felt it prudent to drop the issue, and after all Trixie was kind of asking for it; "She's luck all Fyee did was scare her, for she could have done some seriously traumatic things if she wanted," Princess Twilight spoke softly to herself as she gazed at her unconscious Steward. After some guards carried Trixie away to her quarters to recuperate, Fyee and Princess Twilight continued onward, and after turning left one more time they arrived at the castle suite four thousand, three hundred, and fifteen. A luxurious suite comprising of a princess size bed in the far left corner, two sofas and a love seat placed in the center of the suite, a plush wall to wall carpet made of pure sheep's wool; "There was even a bathroom! A complete bathroom with a shower, bath tub, sink, and toilet," Fyee mumbled to herself completely taken in by the room's splendor. Now as the daughter of Queen Chrysalis, Fyee is no stranger to this kind of setup, however even as a young child Fyee displayed an almost unheard of level of modesty; which got her in trouble from time to time with not only her instructors and mother, but classmates, friends and subjects as well, and at certain points it called for physical discipline. In spite of all she went through growing up, Fyee retained her modesty, and it has served her well, allowing her to secure funds while traveling aboard so as not to resort to sleeping in the streets like a rat, and also it allowed her to wander about in her Changeling form unhindered.

Unable to manage the pain, Fyee unceremoniously dropped herself on the bed, and then proceeded to examine her injured wing in greater detail. One solid glance told the tale, her left fore wing was shot, the micro thin membrane that kept it together was slowly peeling back like a banana, the outward tip was gone, completely incinerated by Sombra's black fire, and due to the amount of drag her wing now produced it was beginning to slowly tear from her back. Fyee couldn't help but shed a tear for next to her magical skills her wings were her pride and joy, as a kid she loved the speed and maneuverability not awarded to her more common brethren, and as an adult they granted her the means to out run any threat be it a beast or a sentient being. Seeing her discomfort, Princess Twilight prepared for her an ice bag, which Fyee gladly accepted, and using her levitation spell she carefully placed the ice bag upon the wing's connection joint while also placing some pillows under Fyee's fore hooves so as to make her more comfortable.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but why are you being so nice to me?" Fyee asked feeling slightly better as the ice served to numb the pain a tad.

"What do you mean by that?" Princess Twilight retorted confused by the phrasing of the question.

"Don't play coy, I know what my mother did to your family, it was uncalled for, and nothing was achieved. So why are you being so kind to the daughter of a hated foe?" Fyee said making her previous statement clear.

"Well I suppose you can thank Iscariat for that," Princess Twilight said causing Fyee to lift her head, now peeked with curiosity. "A few days ago we had a conversation that made me ponder about my feelings towards Changelings. True enough I still held my reservations, but then you showed up, one of the greatest sorceresses of our era, and Chrysalis' own daughter to boot. All logic says that you shouldn't even be here and yet you are, and not only that but you flew here on an injured wing knowing you might be killed by the guards just because of what you are. Your tenacity is inspiring, and I only wish I could do more for one that has such kindness in their soul and heart."

"Not to worry Twilight, I got you covered," came a sweet voice from the door way; it was Princess Cadence with Princess Celestia covering the rear.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" Fyee said stunned to believe that this was the healer Princess Celestia went to fetch.

"Oh no, don't tell me Iscariat got to you," Princess Cadence said with a sigh using her magic to move the love seat closer to the bed so she and Twilight could sit next to each other; Princess Celestia opted to sit on a couch cushion to the right of the bed.

"Beg pardon, isn't that your name?" Fyee asked now completely confused.

"Well yes, but it is such a mouthful, so please call me Cadence," Princess Cadence said with a smile.

"I take it Iscariat, being the uptight, and yet lovable stallion he is, simply refuses to call you anything less than, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," Fyee said with a chuckle, though unaware of the underlying statement she just made; the other mares, Princess Celestia chief among them, were not so absent minded.

"Well let's take a look at that wing," Princess Cadence said taking a thorough look at Fyee's wing. Taking a deep breath and gritting her teeth, when she saw just how damaged the appendage was, the Princess got to work at once. "I promise you that when I'm done your wing will be better than ever, though you may want to stay off it until tomorrow."

"I appreciate your help, and for what it's worth I apologize on my mother's behalf. She had no right to ruin your special day," Fyee said sincerely her pain slowly ebbing away as Cadence's crystal blue aura enveloped her wing, and began repairing the damage Sombra's black fire had done.  

"That means a lot, but Auntie Celestia told me you weren't even involved in that affair," Princess Cadence said her eyes fixed on Fyee's wing, but still gave the Changeling her undivided attention.

"I might have been, but ever since I became one of Iscariat's colleagues things were different, I saw the world in a different light. Besides if I had thrown my hat into the fray, Iscariat's hooves would have been forced, and I have no doubt that even together, mother and I would have a hard time battling him in a serious fight," Fyee said her tone showing nothing but respect for the millennium old curator. "It would be difficult for him, but I'm certain he would prove our end, fortunately it is not his way to kill. Not that I need to tell any of you that, you all have the good fortune to interact with him at the drop of a hat. Equestria is truly blessed to have such a selfless stallion as a citizen."

"I notice you hold him in high regards, even by colleague standards. Is there something more to all this?" Princess Celestia said trying her best to maintain her composure outside, but inside she was as giddy as a school filly, and both Twilight and Cadence were no different.

"I'm not the type to lie, but truthfully I don't know what I really feel towards Iscariat Faust, and it's not from a lack of trying or denial," Fyee said confidently though at the same time unsure if she should even be talking about her inner most feelings with, for all intents and purposes, total strangers.

"There is no need to be bashful, I was the same way with Shining Armor, and now look at us; happily married and ruling over our kingdom," Princess Cadence said having just reconstructed Fyee's charred wing tip, and now focusing on the tearing wing joint.  

"I will admit that perhaps I yearn something more than a mundane work relationship," Fyee said with a smiling grin which quickly turned to a frown. "However he has such a heavy burden, I cannot add more on his shoulders."

"Don't see it like you would be adding to his suffering," Princess Celestia said the wisdom in her voice ringing out with each word spoken. "Think of it as helping him carry some of the load, and perhaps even relieving some of it."

"Besides you can't know how he will react unless you ask him," Princess Cadence said still focused on the wing joint.

"I may have to disagree with you there Cadence, Iscariat isn't really that hard to predict," Princess Twilight said manifesting a scroll she has been writing that delves in great detail about Iscariat; Fyee was dumbstruck, Cadence was a little disturbed, and only Celestia could describe how she felt about this. "According to the information I've manage to obtain, which was not easy by the way, he is very practical, extremely proper, has many a violent outburst, and does everything in his power to keep his emotions in check. Under normal circumstance not really the first, third or even seventh choice for a colt friend, however when you factor in his tragic past with Princess Luna, most of his negative qualities are canceled out because they originate from a perfectly understandable source. Taking all that into account you are now left with a devoted, strong willed, and highly knowledgeable stallion. In other words, from a personality stand point, he is predictable because of his practical and proper traits, but at the same time he has his moments, albeit they are few and far between, and when you average all this out you find out he is not such a bad choice as originally predicted."

"Very...informative, my faithful student," Princess Celestia said with a nervous chuckle making Twilight raise her head with pride. "In any event, the best advice any pony can give you is to be yourself and see if the feelings are mutual."

"But there in lies my conundrum," Fyee said grimly. "Iscariat can be such a blank slate at times, and the few times he does display emotion it can be quite volatile or depressing. What I'm trying to say is, how can I convey my emotions towards one who doesn't understand them?"

"I will answer your question with a question of my own," Princess Celestia retorted leaning her face forward so she and Fyee were literally face to face. "Would you care to know the real Iscariat Faust?"

Fyee was completely blown away by this development, words escaped her as she contemplated on her response, and in the end she simply nodded to convey her answer. Princess Celestia smiled at Fyee, then pulling her head back she closed her eyes and focused, drawing in magic to her horn, and with a sharp crackle all in the room were enshrouded in the Princess' magic. It was an odd sensation, Fyee felt as if her mind and body were no longer one entity, she could now view herself from a first person and third person perspective; "It is almost like a dream," Fyee mentally and physically noted. This peculiar phenomenon was short lived however, as all the minds in the room were drawn away from their respective body, and instead found a temporary home within Celestia's mind. For a time all was black, but eventually light encompassed them in its warm embrace, and while all appeared normal they soon realized that instead of sitting in a castle suite they were now standing in the throne room.

As a master spell caster Fyee, and to a much lesser extent Cadence and Twilight, understood that this was a memory of Princess Celestia, and as such no other pony could see or hear them; which was great because at the moment the throne was hosting a magic act, and they were smack in the middle. Gathering them together, Princess Celestia directed their attention towards the magician hosting the show, and Fyee could hardly believe her eyes. Standing in the center of the room, performing extraordinary feats was Iscariat, and he was smiling; a full blown, I'm loving life, smile. Fyee was astonished that practical Iscariat was at the moment performing spells that for all intent and purposes severed no purpose, and he was enjoying it like if it was the only natural thing to do. Princess Celestia could see the confusion in Fyee's eyes, but she wasn't done with the Changeling yet; "When I'm through she won't be able to distinguish black from white," Princess Celestia softly mumbled laughing at just how mischievous she can truly be.

After what felt like an hour of watching Iscariat levitate pillars, juggle ponies, and make little fillies appear and disappear, Princess Celestia had time appear to move forward; though in truth she was shuffling through her memories. When she came to a stop, they were now in the castle gardens at the crack of dawn, Iscariat and Princess Luna were watching the Sun rise, unaware that Princess Celestia's past self was spying on them from a drifting cloud above. Princess Luna was upset about something, and when she started to cry Fyee watched in shock as Iscariat seemed to walk away. Forgetting that this was a memory, Fyee prepared to run over there and slug the jerk for just walking away, and oddly enough the Celestia on the cloud seemed to be considering the same thing; though she was on fire with glowing white eyes. However their anger proved immature because Iscariat wasn't leaving, instead he walked over to the nearby Nightshade bush, plucked a few flowers, manually sowed them together into a crown, and then presented it to Princess Luna.

Princess Luna instantly forgot about what she was crying about, accepted the thoughtful gift, and with a joy in her heart she flew off towards the castle to show off her new accessory. When asked by past Celestia how did he know that would cheer her sister up, Iscariat replied, "I didn't I just thought she deserved something for that beautiful comet she created last night." Fyee could hardly contain herself, she just didn't understand how a clearly emotional stallion in the past could become the stone wall, bare bones, recluse that exists in the present. The more memories they viewed, the more complex Iscariat became to Fyee, and the greater her feelings towards him grew. Eventually their memory surfing came to an end, and they had reached the final link in the chain; the one Celestia said, "Shows Iscariat in his truest form. The pinnacle of his character and personality."

They stood within the ruins of an ancient fortress within the EverFree forest, past Celestia and Iscariat with the Elements of Harmony around them, awaited the arrival of another, and it wasn't long till their guest made herself known. Gliding down through the collapsed ceiling, as if out of a nightmare, adorned in her old pale blue armor, and brandishing a wicked vampiric smile was none other than Nightmare Moon. Instantly taking a spot between the two sisters, Iscariat addressed Nightmare Moon, pleading that she agree to an armistice, and that she lower the curtain of night to make way for the dawn. Nightmare Moon, regretfully, would have none of it, and so a great battled ensued between the two goddesses. Princess Celestia with the power of the Elements at her command dominated the battle, holding her sister back, but her power over them waned ever so slightly with each passing moment, and eventually the pace changed in Nightmare's favor.

Princess Celestia was so close to victory, but Nightmare's will was just too powerful, and just as Nightmare Moon went for her killing stroke, Iscariat intervened and took the spell intended for Celestia only three inches from his heart. Iscariat fell limp upon the ground, his eyes shut and chest still, Princess Celestia assumed the worst, and her eyes flooded with tears. Nightmare Moon, oddly enough, also seemed effected by Iscariat's apparent death, and in those moments Princess Luna retained control, though she felt it quickly slipping. Princess Celestia wanted nothing more than to embrace her sister after these one hundred years of separation, and yet she knew she couldn't, so with great pain she unleashed the full power of the elements upon her own flesh and blood. The unbridled power of the Elements of Harmony consumed Nightmare Moon, casting her from the planets very surface, and then sealing her very essence upon the Moon itself; an abstract image of her visage appeared upon the Moon's surface soon after.

Nightmare Moon, and her sister, were gone and imprisoned, Celestia had won the day, but at a cost; the magic Iscariat used to allow the Princess to wield the six elements greatly taxed their own magical essences, and so were forced to go into a dormant state until such a time that they could recuperate. However, by some act of fate, Princess Celestia was relieved to find that Iscariat had not died; his Mythos absorbed the magical effects of the spell, which means all he received was the blunt force behind it, though it did leave a wound that would never fully heal.

"I'm so glad you did not die," Princess Celestia said tears of joy dripped down her cheeks. "But why did you do that? You know that spell means death for all stricken by it."

"Yes, I know," Iscariat said dropping his head low as he lamented ever creating that spell. "As to why I did what I did, the answer is elementary. I didn't want Princess Luna to have to bear the weight of having killed her sister that was not an option, and nor would I stand for it."

After Iscariat's response the real Princess Celestia returned them all to their respective body, and once conscious the three mares stared at Fyee; who just sat on the bed with her head looking at the floor. Fyee had no idea what to think, she always thought Iscariat was a simple one to read, but after this experience she couldn't confidently standby her statement anymore.

"I see now you understand," Princess Celestia said using her empathy to accurately predict Fyee's train of thought.

"I understand that I knew less than I thought I knew. Iscariat is such a head case with so much baggage," Fyee said still fixing her sight upon the floor, as well as drawing imaginary circles with her right hoof just above the bed sheet.

"But ask yourself this," Princess Celestia said with a pleasant smile. "Has your feelings towards him changed?"

"No, never, I...I...Ah, I can't say it. Not yet, not until I tell him and I can see his reaction," Fyee said adamantly raising her head too look at each mare in the eye. "On a personal note, I would consider it a favor if you all kept this to yourselves."

"Dear, you are confiding in three immortals, and one of them is the embodiment of love. I can confidently state that your secret is safe," Princess Celestia said boasting a smiling grin.

"Finished, your wing is perfect," Princess Cadence said laying back a little in the love seat until her head stopped spinning from the strain of healing an entire appendage in half a night.

"Thank you Princess Cadence, it feels just like before," Fyee said lightly flapping her wing to test its delicate mechanics. "You have no idea how much this means to me, if you ever need anything do not hesitate to ask."

"That is sweet, but not necessary, and you can drop the Princess title, Cadence will suffice," Princess Cadence said happy to see Fyee so elated.

"Well I must take my leave to bring about the dawn," Princess Celestia said rising to her feet, and placing the cushion back on the couch.

"Princess wait!" Fyee said leaping off the bed and rushing over to the Princess.

"Yes, something more you wish to convey to me?" Princess Celestia asked turning her head to the side to lock eyes with Fyee.

"I have a request, when Nightmare Moon contacts you, and I know she will, I wish to accompany you when you go to meet her," Fyee said.

"If you choose to follow I will not stop you, but I ask you not to interfere should a battle ensue. Do we have an understanding?" Princess Celestia retorted her voice a tad stern than normal.

"Whatever quarrel you have with her is not my business," Fyee said accepting the Princess' terms.

"Well spoken, now I must be off, but if you require to speak later just seek out one of my guards, and they will inform me," Princess Celestia said as she then took her leave out the door.

"Thank you, your highness," Fyee replied and then walked back to Princess Twilight and Cadence to start yet another conversation; this one concerning Twilight's love life.      

 

 

 

    

 

              

  

Chapter 7: Nightmare's Proposition

Dreams; silly little things really, Iscariat never was the type to dabble in oneirology, even though he has experienced the dream plane first hand with Princess Luna. To Iscariat dreams were chaos, there was no logic or sense, the impossible was possible, and reality was made a mockery; it made Iscariat sick just thinking about it. However while Iscariat may not care for dreams on a personal level, he does understand their importance, and how truly influential their power can be; "One dream can shape the world a billion times over," Princess Luna would constantly state whenever she and he would wander the dream lands in search of nightmares to dispel. Normally Iscariat would cast a dream suppression spell upon himself before going to sleep, but due to his exhaustion he failed to do so, and thus his mind entered the dream world where Nightmare Moon laid waiting. To his surprise Nightmare Moon did not say or do much of anything, instead she kept her distant and merely watched Iscariat wander about his dream land unhindered.

In his dream Iscariat was walking through Canterlot, though not alone, for to his right was Fyee, and both were slightly closer than Iscariat would usually be comfortable with in the real world. Together the couple walked, a truly wondrous feeling coursed through their hearts, and even though they walked against the flow of traffic nothing could part them. For a time all was good, they shopped, they dined, and they had a lovely tea party with Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Shining Armor, Princess Twilight and Princess Celestia. An just when things couldn't get any better, Iscariat and Fyee found themselves at a wedding ceremony, and they were the couple to be wed. Princess Cadence served as the master of ceremony, Spike was the ring bearer, and when the magical moment Iscariat believed was forever beyond his reach blossomed forth, reality stepped in and crushed the bud before it could bloom.

Everything faded into utter blackness, Iscariat was now alone on a barren plateau with nothing but a grave stone to keep him company. Upon the marble surface read the words, "Here in lies Iscariat Faust;" it was his grave he stood before, and while a normal pony would freak out he did not for this dream was only relaying a fact he already knew. Yes, it is true, Iscariat was not longed for this world, and nothing he could do would change that.

"This need not come to pass," Nightmare Moon said now finished with watching, and approached Iscariat. "If you ask it of me, I could undo the fate's design."

"You're powerful, your highness, but not that powerful," Iscariat deadpanned his eyes still on the grave stone.

"You under estimate me," Nightmare Moon said spreading her wings out in a grand display, and then kicking off the ground. Once in the air, Nightmare Moon assumed the same pose Princess Celestia assumes during the Summer Sun Celebration; she first positioned her body so it stood straight at one hundred eighty degrees, next she splayed her fore hooves upward parallel to her wings, and lastly her hind hooves were placed together with her knees touching. A powerful navy blue shock wave emanated from Nightmare Moon's body, causing the whole area to tremble under its power, and then to Iscariat's surprise the grave and plateau were gone, replaced by a field of nightshade bathed under the Moon's brilliant light.

"How can this be? Princess Luna, herself, said that to manipulate another's dream is impossible," Iscariat said shocked by this unprecedented revelation, as well as jotting down everything he could deduce of Nightmare Moon's technique; for the historical record.

"It only seemed impossible because Luna's powers were still developing, given time she would have learned that dreams have stress points, and if agitated properly the dream can be molded into anything from a pleasure to a nightmare," Nightmare Moon explained as she gently descended beside Iscariat, and took a glance at the notes he was currently writing. "Um, you misspelled agitated that e is actually an i."

"Not to worry, this is merely a rough draft, I don't put it on the shelves until me and Tabitha properly edit it two or three times," Iscariat said his worries all but cast aside as he performed his sacred duty, however once he was finished writing the flood gates opened, and reality gave him a cold slap in the face. "So, your highness wished to make a deal with me, is it here that we shall discuss it, or was your highness merely wishing to display her awaken powers?"

"A little of both," Nightmare Moon teased brushing her tail across Iscariat's right side, and then sat down a few feet away to smell the blooming nightshade. "I love the smell of nightshade, don't you?"

"Its alchemic properties were more interesting to me than its odor," Iscariat deadpanned still standing a moderate distance from Nightmare Moon, his body tense from the awkwardness of the situation, and his mind's inability to fully process just what was going on. "In any event we have business to discuss, do we not. So may we get on with it, your highness?"

"Always straight to the matter at hoof, ah Iscariat? I admire that quality of yours," Nightmare Moon said with a warm smile, her sparkling mane and tail enhanced by the Moon light. "Luna did as well. One could say she was more than fond of it."

"I don't want to talk about Princess Luna, your highness," Iscariat said his head dropping down and his eyes glistening with faint traces of tears.

"Drop the formalities will you, and sit down already," Nightmare Moon said as she patted the ground beside her, indicating for Iscariat to sit next to her.

"What do you want from me?" Iscariat asked unable to maintain his composure any longer.

"Nothing, I want nothing from you," Nightmare Moon said turning over on to her back, her fore hooves pointed towards the heavens, and with the aid of her magic she altered the stars above into fantastic designs with simple gestures from her fore legs. Iscariat looked up to see the new constellations, and his heart nearly skipped a beat. For the constellations were not unknown to him; one was of Princess Luna and Celestia as young foals playing in a small stream, the second was of the Princess' seated upon their respective thrones with the Sun and Moon eclipsing above them, and the third depicted Luna raising the Moon while Iscariat archived the event. "You like? Bet you never thought to see these constellations again."

"How do you know of these?" Iscariat asked his emotions tipping his hand, and revealing to Nightmare just how much this affected him.

"Luna maybe gone, but her memories live on inside of me, as does a small fragment of her spirit," Nightmare Moon said motioning once again for Iscariat to sit beside her; he refused. "She loved you, did you know that? She wanted nothing more than to share a life time with you, even if your flame would burn out long before hers."

" Stop it! Do you so enjoy tormenting me?!" Iscariat bellowed his face now laid bare, his eyes over flowing with tears, and his legs wobbling about as if they forgot their own strength. "Yes, I knew, I always knew, one would have to be an idiot not to notice, and I 'am no idiot!"    

"Then why not act upon it? More than twenty years, and nothing, why?" Nightmare Moon asked rolling back on to her belly.

"Because it would not be proper!" Iscariat shouted then stomped his left for hoof on to the ground in frustration. "She was a Princess, and I a mere plebeian, there was no conceivable way we could be together. Besides life isn't a fairy tale, the young stallion doesn't always get the mare of his dreams, and sometimes a broken heart is all that waits."

"You're too superficial Iscariat," Nightmare Moon said rising to her feet, and walking over to him. "However, I sense there is more to your grief than what has happen to Luna, something equally traumatic, and yet more personal."

"Stop babbling nonsense and let’s get this over with," Iscariat said his emotions lashing out without control.

"Not just yet," Nightmare Moon said shaking her head, then embraced him in a hug with her hooves and wings, and then laid her horn upon his. "I want to know what happened to you."

When their horns touched Nightmare Moon used her magic to open the latch sealing Iscariat's mind, and while Iscariat could have resisted he did no such thing and allowed her to progress unhindered. Wandering through the corridors of Iscariat's mind, Nightmare Moon peered into the volumes of information contained neatly upon the walls in thick tomes. Each book held over ten thousand words, every detail perfectly captured, and transcribed for easy comprehension. Peeling back the layers of his mind, Nightmare Moon at last found the memories she sought; bound within a black and white tome, dating back two hundred years, were the memories of when Iscariat took on an apprentice. Nightmare Moon was stunned by this revelation, so much so that she was not content with merely reading the events, but instead used her magic to transport herself directly into the tome.

Nightmare Moon was no longer in a corridor filled with books, the setting was now a grassy plain with massive cliffs, and rock formations, few trees, humid air, and a blazing sun above. The foreign land before her was known to her only from Princess Luna's recent memories, this was the ancestral home of the zebras, and while it appeared harsh and barren, Nightmare acknowledged that it held a certain beauty not unlike Equestria. Looking around the landscape, Nightmare Moon saw Iscariat, draped in the Mythos, walking towards a small village of zebras, and once there four spear wielding male zebras halted his progress. The four warriors held firm until Iscariat presented a small medallion shaped like a mask, which made the zebras bow their heads in reverence, and then make way. Walking into the village, Iscariat strolled towards the Shaman's Hut, and inside was the Shaman or Leader of the Tribe, the Wise Woman also referred to as Seer, and a little zebra filly.

The Shaman gracefully welcomed Iscariat to his home and village, as is custom, and then introduced him to the Wise Woman, Nalife, and the young filly, Magarua. Iscariat nodded at Nalife, but it was Magarua that received his full attention, the little filly was so nervous that she tried to hide behind Nalife, but the Seer just smiled, and gently pushed her back into Iscariat's line of sight. Sensing the filly's discomfort, Iscariat thought it prudent to appear less intimidating; lowering his hood, he conjured forth from the tip of his horn a luminous nightingale that illuminated the hut, and sung a lovely melody. In the light emanating from the nightingale, Nightmare Moon could see the little filly in greater detail; she had two golden earrings piercing each ear respectively, her two fore legs boasted a set of three gold bracelets, a necklace made of elephant ivory hung around her neck, and lastly her eyes were an uncommon bright orange. Magarua smiled gleefully as she watched the construct perform a series of dives and loop de loops, until it landed at her feet, and then with a few pops and crackles it vanished in a display similar to a fire cracker.

After this delightful display of sorcery, Magarua was stomping happily asking for more, and with her attention now achieved Iscariat asked her if she had considered his previous offer. Magarua explained, in a very mature manner, that while she was not born into the tribe, but rather adopted by the tribe as a whole, she still acknowledged them as her family, and it did not sit right with her to just abandon them. Admiring her commitment, Iscariat reiterated that he would not force her to make a choice, and if she chose to go with him he promised her that he would guarantee her safety just as her family would. In the end, Magarua agreed to become Iscariat's apprentice, and after the traditional week long goodbye ceremony both Iscariat and Magarua set off to begin her training.

"Are you sure I can do this, Master Iscariat?" Magarua asked just as the village went out of sight.

"As my master would say, 'You have the spark', a radiant light that if properly nurtured will guide you along the path to greatness," Iscariat replied with a warm smile. "However the path will not be easy, and only with impeccable will shall you achieve your full potential. An that is why I will stand by your side every step of the way, until a day comes when you can stand not only alongside me, but stand beyond me. For I have seen such a day, and you will do great things; spectacular and extraordinary things."

"I will not fail you, Master. I promise that I will make you proud," Magarua said smiling brightly as she skipped along, anxious to start her training.

Twenty-one years passed before Nightmare Moon's eyes, and in those blinding moments she saw Iscariat tirelessly training Magarua; passing down everything he knew to the young mare until at last she was a master in her own right, and then officially claiming the title of Master by the twenty first year. Magarua was now twenty-eight years old, her magical abilities highly advance for her age and almost on par with Iscariat's, but despite this there was still much Iscariat had to teach her. One day Iscariat and Magarua were experimenting on a sealing spell in hopes of replacing its requirement for a five hundred year recharge to a more permanent self-replenishing energy supply. Nightmare could almost feel the synergy between the two masters as they wrote down theories, tested on small scales with artificial constructs, which Magarua proved to excel in proficiently, and most impressively harmonies their magic flawlessly without the need of a metronome. The hours passed by with no real breakthrough arising, and eventually Iscariat felt it prudent to take a rest and then return with a fresher pair eyes.

Iscariat slept for about three hours when a large explosion shook the whole of the Arch-Library, and violently awoke him from his slumber. Sensing something amiss, Iscariat teleported to the library's laboratory to find it in complete disarray with books scorched to ashes, blackboards impaled into the walls, shelves reduced to rubble, test tubes and beakers smashed to pieces across the floor, and cauldrons cleaved in twain, their contents littering the floor. Fire and smoke was scattered about, magic spells zipped around of their own accord in utter chaos, but it was only until Iscariat found Magarua lying upon the ground, a black chained book beneath her hooves, did he suddenly panic. In a display that show cased Iscariat's mastery over magic, he raised his left hoof into the air and bellowed out, in a deep mighty voice akin to the Royal Canterlot Voice, the words, "Be Still!", and by his command everything froze in place. His eyes glowing a pale grey, Iscariat turned his attention to his apprentice, and gently enveloping her in his levitation magic he carried her and the book out of the lab before he instantly set the lab back in order with a flick of his horn.

"Magarua, are you okay?" Iscariat asked frantically shaking his apprentice in an attempt to wake her. "Please open your eyes, tell me you are fine."

"I'm sorry, Master, I ruined everything," Magarua said her eyes barely open, and her voice so weak.

"Don't worry about that, just tell me what happened. What did you do?" Iscariat asked looking at the black book, and then back at Magarua; the tension in his voice rather apparent.

"I thought that I could use the perfect stability of that spell to form the foundation for the sealing spell's perpetual energy, but when I tried the spells rebounded on me," Magarua replied groaning as a fresh wave of pain coursed out from her chest.

"The two spells have bipolar frequencies, it is impossible to splice them. You couldn't have known, the subtleties are so minuscule even the Princesses would not have noticed at first glance," Iscariat said tears dripping from his eyes.

"Master...I feel cold," Magarua said shivering uncontrollably.

"It’s okay, Magarua, I can fix this just stay with me," Iscariat said, but when he took a closer look at Magarua with his magic vision he could see the threads that hold her soul and body together fading away. Unable to think of a permanent fix, Iscariat casted his most powerful healing spells in hopes of buying time, but even that barely slowed the process.

"Master, I'm so sorry, I should have told you first," Magarua said still shivering and now starting to cry. "I want you to know that I enjoyed our time together, and that I hope you are able to free your friend. I wish I could have met her, she sounds just like you; strong, wise, and caring."

"Don't talk like that, you're not gone yet. I know I can help you...I just...I just need...the Scrolls! That is it, they can fix anything, come on!" Iscariat said a glimmer of hope in his eyes as he slung Magarua's left hoof over his shoulder, and lead her towards the chamber behind the Great Grandfather Clock.

"Master, I can't keep this up," Magarua said her legs about to give way, and her mind began to spin blurring her vision.

"Just hold on, I know the Scrolls can help, they have to," Iscariat said trying to quicken the pace, but it was no use.

"I failed you, Master, and I'm sorr..."Magarua said her eyes completely shutting, and her body going limp.

"Magarua!" Iscariat shouted out, but it was too late, she was gone.

Iscariat, Tabitha and Princess Celestia mourned Magarua's passing for nine days and nights, and on the tenth day they entombed her deep within the library's catacombs; the resting place of every curator from first to last, there was no greater honor. Magarua's body was placed in a one of a kind coffin made of stain glass, not unlike the windows of prophecy in the Canterlot throne room, and like the windows the coffin is nearly indestructible and ensured the body would never decay no matter how many centuries pass. Having seen enough, Nightmare Moon returned to her body, and once out of Iscariat's mind she suddenly embraced Iscariat in a heartfelt hug; both of them were shedding tears.

"I had no idea, and all this time..." Nightmare Moon said brushing her tears aside, and then starring into Iscariat's eyes. "It doesn't matter now, all you need to know is that I can help you cope with the pain, but only if you let me in."

"Princess Celestia couldn't help me, what makes you think you can?" Iscariat asked still trying to keep his head on the matter at hand.

"Celestia doesn't give a flying feather about you. To her you are nothing but a quill to be used and then discarded," Nightmare Moon snapped out, her face contorting as she spoke of Princess Celestia, and then quickly softens when she spoke again. "I do not see you as a tool but as a living being, and unlike her I can and will help you overcome these inner demons. However I can do nothing until you let me in."

Iscariat could not ignore the ring of truth in Nightmare's words, Princess Celestia never once spoke with such confidence when she offered to aid him in dealing with his mental trauma, nor did she ever try to reach out to him at any time between Princess Luna's banishment and now. He just didn't know what to believe anymore, normally in a situation like this he would weigh every option carefully, and contemplate every possible outcome within his capacity to comprehend. However in his current state he was lucky to have a train of thought period, he was so tried, so confused, but most of all he was scared. Yes scared of just what will become of him if he should pass on with this much trauma, scared of the fate his immortal soul is destined to face if he dies without properly putting the past behind him; "Will I be forced to remain, weighed down by my unsettled past?" was a question that constantly popped in his noggin. All these thoughts made it impossible for Iscariat to function how he normally would, his sharp intellect was dulled by his fears and emotions, and in the end, with all these conflicting forces straining for control, Iscariat's response contradicted everything he devoted his entire life to uphold; an yet to his fractured mind it seemed the most pertinent.

"Alright...I can deny you no longer. If you can rid me of my pain, I will do whatever you ask," Iscariat said his mind set now in disarray, and unfocused.

For that one moment Nightmare Moon felt an indescribable feeling, she had achieved what was once thought improbable, in a single night no less, and yet on some level she despised what she did; though she refused to allow that tiny feeling to stop her now.

"Well done, Iscariat, you will find that you made the right choice, for only through me will you escape your grim fate," Nightmare Moon said pecking Iscariat on the cheek, and then helping him to his feet while draping her left wing over him. "I give you my word that I will do all in my power to assist you in moving beyond your grief. You may never again be who you were a thousand years ago, but you can become more than what you are now, and in exchange I ask that you stand by me as an equal. What say you?"

"As you wish," Iscariat deadpanned, the wound on his chest glowing brightly as he swore allegiance to Nightmare Moon.

"Good, now let us return to the waking world, I believe the time is nigh to inform Celestia. She and I have a score to settle, and then the Element of Magic will have her turn," Nightmare Moon said a devilish smile claiming her face, and then with a flick of her horn they returned to the real world.

 

 

 

  

Chapter 8: The Cross Roads

Princess Celestia sat upon her throne with Discord standing on her left side yet again; together they held a closed court with Princess Cadence for the majority of the day, and now with twilight fast approaching, they were at last able to take a break from the concerns of the evil that marshaled against Equestria. For more than five thousand years Princess Celestia has experienced many perils from natural disasters to massive plagues that wiped out thousands, and yet none of it compares to the state of emergency before her. As the Sun set under the horizon, Princess Celestia and Discord were about to retire for the evening when a sudden chill nipped at their ear tips, and then the windows frosted over. A dark presence washed over the two ancients, the malicious intent it radiated was suffocating, and without warning the cracked stain glass window of Nightmare Moon's, supposed, final defeat shattered inward. Glass sprayed all over the floor, tiny shards littered the carpet, an just as the last glimpse of Sunlight vanished a midnight blue mist flew into the room like a comet across the night sky.

The mist flew around snuffing out all the magical torches that ignite during the evening, and then dimmed the elegant, dragon's fire, chandelier so the throne room was almost dark. With the light dim, the midnight blue mist snaked itself to where the remains of the shattered window rested, and once there it grew and condensed then began to spin like a cyclone. The cyclone spun faster and faster, black lightning ushered forth from the funnel, a cackling voice could be heard as well, then from the center of the maelstrom a pair of draconic green eyes peered through, and eventually, in all her elegance and grace, Nightmare Moon walked out as the cyclone faded away.

"Hello sister, it is so good to be back home," Nightmare Moon said, as she ran her left hoof through her mane all playfully like Luna would. "I hope you didn't mind, but I just love making a grand entrance. Now be honest, was the black lightning a bit gaudy?"

"You are unwelcome in my presence, please leave my Castle," Princess Celestia replied sternly, her gaze uncharacteristically hard.

"Oh Celestia," Nightmare Moon said, her wings splaying outward, and her shadow encompassing the whole of the throne room in its darkness."Of all the ponies in Equestria, I 'am the only one you cannot command!"

"We don't have to do this, Nightmare," Princess Celestia said, her voice now soft once more.

"You know, I'm inclined to agree with you," Nightmare Moon said, retracting her shadow, and folding her wings. "You see I'm in such a good mood that I will make this one time offer. Step down as Princess, and leave Equestria with your little pet project, or I'll kill you both and take the throne anyway."

"Nightmare, please you can't expect me to accept those terms," Princess Celestia said, shaking her head. "Please, I'm almost certain there is some good in you, otherwise the Elements would have destroyed you. So now I ask, as Iscariat did all those years ago, join us in our quest of maintaining peace and justice throughout Equestria, there need be no war."

"Well now this is unexpected, you really mean it," Nightmare Moon said, a tad surprised by Celestia's approach. "Unfortunately that ship sailed a thousand years ago, so either agree to my generous offer or..."

"This is boring!" Discord interrupted making his way towards Nightmare Moon, a sphere of chaotic energy in his loin's paw.

"Discord, no let me handle this," Princess Celestia said, but he was not listening.

"It is obvious that we cannot resolve this diplomatically. So I'm taking matters into my own hands," Discord said ready to unleash the full fury of the chaotic sphere.

"You interrupted me," Nightmare Moon said, her wings slowly unfurling, her eyes becoming a brilliant white, and black lightning discharging from her horn. In the blink of an eye, Nightmare erupted a torrential blast of black, cosmic, energy; it was as if she conjured the night sky itself in the form of a condensed beam. The force unleashed easily consumed Discord in its black mantle, and when she at last regained control, Nightmare was levitating a tiny snow globe before her. The snow globe contained a miniature replica of Canterlot, as well as a miniature Discord; who despite his best endeavors, could not escape. "No one interrupts me, got it?!"

"What have you done to him?" Princess Celestia said, watching Nightmare violently shake the snow globe.

"Nothing compared to what I'm going to do to you," Nightmare Moon retorted, discarding the novelty item out the shattered window without a second thought.  

"It seems like nothing could have prevented this out come," Princess Celestia said rising to her feet, her horn emanating a golden aura.  

"Oh Celestia, you get more pathetic by the second!" Nightmare Moon said, instantly closing the distance, and clashing horns with the Princess.

The amount of magic the two Alicorns radiated caused all the air to be pushed out of the room through the doors and windows of prophecy; destroying each object respectively. However that was only the tip of the ice berg, for soon after the Castle's very foundation trembled, cracks formed on every wall and floor, and then the whole of Canterlot was effected. Within the city limits Earth Ponies spontaneously passed out, Pegasi plummeted from the sky; their wings unable to support them, and Unicorn's suffered from magic surges which caused their horns to cast spells uncontrollably. The in flux of magic was so intense gravity itself was displaced; objects not bolted securely were found floating like clouds, and even ponies were levitated. Even a sorceress of Fyee's caliber found it strenuous to repel these magical phenomena from her own person let alone from the six Elements of Harmony, and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza; all alone mind you.

Every breath felt like a burden, her chest seemed to burn with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns as she maintained the complex spell that filtered out the warped magical field. Princess Twilight complemented Fyee on her astounding skill, but the Changeling could not afford to be distracted by such a rare comment that she regretfully snapped at the young Princess not to make such a statement again. Slowly they progressed to the throne room, avoiding floating objects, collapsing ceilings, and exploding windows. Fyee nearly passed out a few times on the way to their destination, her mind and body equally ached from the strain, and yet something deep inside her very core kept her vitality just strong enough to press forward. It was not long till they stood before the busted entrance, Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon were still in a horn lock, the magic pouring out of their bodies illuminated the room in a pale grey light, and in ten second intervals powerful shock waves would blast out from the tips of their horns, shrieking in deep sonic booms.

"This is a private show!" Nightmare Moon shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, turning sightly towards Fyee and the others.

"I'll handle this," said a voice from behind them, and to Fyee's surprise the owner of the voice was Iscariat.

"What did he say?" Rainbow Dash asked, a little nervous at what she thought she heard.

"Yes, by all means. Just remember not to thrash Twilight about too much, I still have business with her," Nightmare Moon said, shooting Princess Twilight an intimidating glare that sent a shiver up the young mare's spine.

As quick as a flash, Iscariat and the interlopers teleported away, allowing Nightmare to resume focus with Princess Celestia.

"What is wrong sister, didn't you recognize your former pawn?" Nightmare Moon snickered at Celestia; the alabaster Alicorn losing her cool.

"What did you do to him?" Princess Celestia asked, pushing harder against Nightmare's horn.

"What you never could, I showed him what he needed to know," Nightmare Moon said triumphantly.

"This is between us, leave Iscariat out of this," Princess Celestia said, her tone hardening.

"You have some nerve saying that, since it was you who brought him into this one thousand years ago," Nightmare Moon said, reminding Celestia that she did press Iscariat into action, be it on the battlefield, or off it. "You used his devotion to his Nation to your advantage, didn't you? You shoe horned him into service, and then discarded him aside when his immediate usefulness was exhausted. Admit it, you never cared for him or Luna, they were just pawns in your sick games."

"How dare you?!" Princess Celestia shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, as she pushed Nightmare, hard, against a back wall. "I loved my sister! She was the world to me!"

"An yet you still let her become me, twice; only this time it is for keeps," Nightmare Moon retorted, Celestia still pinning her to the wall. "Oh, and lets not forget the one thousand years of banishment. After all nothing says, 'I love you,' more than sealing your own sister in a cold, lifeless, rock in space. Well at least you found time to visit...Oh no wait, you didn't, Iscariat did."

"He did what?" Princess Celestia asked, completely caught off guard, but still held Nightmare firmly in place.

"I knew it, you weren't even watching," Nightmare Moon said letting out a long held snicker. "Well, for your information, Iscariat visited us everyday without fail after you sealed us away. We couldn't talk back, but it gave Luna some much needed comfort to hear his voice. She loved him so much, I could tell given how she over powered me when she thought I killed him; and on some level he loved her in turn."

"He never told me this," Princess Celestia retorted, not wanting to believe Nightmare's words.

"He shouldn't have had to, you were her sister. You should have been by her side from the beginning," Nightmare Moon said, a little more stern towards the end.

Princess Celestia was unable to control herself, it was like something finally snapped in her, and without warning she commenced to unleash all her pent up fury on Nightmare Moon. Mean while, in the Castle Gardens, things were equally out of place, for Iscariat was not only engaging his former comrades in battle, but contrary to his usual modus operandi, he held very few of his spells in reserve. Only exceptional skilled fighters were able to keep up with Iscariat's tempo, so Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were the first to be placed in restraining spells. Fluttershy's restraint was no more than a simple ball and chain clamped to her back right leg, while Pinkie Pie's was far more elaborate. Four chains, anchored to the ground, arrested her legs, a heavy chest plate weighted her down, restricting her movement, and lastly an iron mask kept her from talking.

Powerful gales were conjured forth, Fyee did her best to protect Applejack and Rarity from being blown away, while Princess Twilight, Princess Cadence and Rainbow Dash fought against the wind in an almost vain attempt to reach Iscariat. The force behind the gales was so strong that even Rainbow Dash had a hard time staying on point, but press on they all did; inch by inch they battled the conjured winds, and all the while Iscariat glared at them as if disgusted. Drawing on all her strength, Rainbow Dash plowed through the wind like a hot knife through butter, her eyes were fixed on Iscariat as she cocked back her right hoof to knock some sense into him. Rainbow Dash was fast...no, Rainbow Dash was supersonic, her trail barely a blur, and even a hundred ten mile per hour wind could not halt this freight train; however, in spite of her top notch aerodynamic skills, Iscariat still proved the better by not only dodging, but doing so a whole thirty seconds before she even reached him. To Rainbow Dash it didn't appear like he moved at all, more like she passed right through him, and when Iscariat struck back with a cross wind she was caught completely off guard; she lost all control and crashed into one of the garden statue slipping out of consciousness.

Gazing at the others inscrutably, Iscariat used his magic to conjure forth several heavy chains that latched on to Rainbow Dash and secured her to the statue she crashed into. Blood coursed down from Rainbow Dash's fore head; beneath her mane, along the bridge of her nose, and then dripping from the base of her chin. Seeing their friend in such a state, Applejack and Rarity conjured forth all their strength, and with Twilight's assistance, they broke through the wind, and reached Iscariat. With perfect synergy, Rarity and Applejack both unleashed powerful kicks and punches on Iscariat's body. The flurry of attacks was so fluid that a break in sequences was difficult, even for Iscariat, to detect, and as a result the strong wind he was maintaining died down.

Once the wind subsided Fyee, Princess Cadence and Princess Twilight ran as fast as they could to Rainbow Dash, however their path was quickly obstructed by a steel construct in the shape of a pony size wolf. The massive wolf snarled menacingly at Princess Cadence and the others, its razor sharp fangs and claws were itching to sink into pony flesh. Paralyzed by fear, Princesses Cadence and Twilight could do little more than huddle together and yell out as the wolf lunged at them. Not one to be easily intimidated, Fyee took the steel construct head on, clutching the beast in a tight bear hug, and then just as they struck the ground she turned the fall into a somersault and hurled the wolf into an adjacent gazebo; smashing the structure to tooth picks. Rising from the ruble, the wolf shook off the two hundred pounds of wood like if they were made of rubber, and then leaped at Fyee, flaying its claws at her neck and legs.

Holding her ground, Fyee blasted the wolf with a flaming bolt that charred its outer layer, but did little else against its super dense skin; "Damn steel and its high melting point," Fyee groaned to herself. The wolf, baring its teeth, zigged and zagged about trying to side swipe Fyee, and go for the more vulnerable Princesses Twilight and Cadence. The plan didn't work because Fyee countered it by catching the beast in her levitation field, and then bashed it around like a paddle ball. Being made of metal physical attacks caused more damage to the garden than the wolf itself, but it gave Fyee time to think, as well as vent her frustration on something that could take it, and she had a lot to vent. After five or so minutes, Fyee dropped the wolf in a small pond behind her, making sure to soak the construct totally, and once she was confident the water had permeated every joint and socket, Fyee blasted the wolf with a large magnitude of wind, which combined with the water created a new substance; rust.

"Piece of tin," Fyee said dropping the rusted wreck, and watching it crumble to dust as it struck the ground.

"Are you okay?" Princess Cadence asked, she and Twilight now free of their fear.

"I'll live," Fyee said still staring at the dust. "So, what now?"

"We have to help Auntie Celestia, but first we have to get past Iscariat," Princess Cadence said, but before they could think of a plan Rarity and Applejack's bodies flew by them into the nearby hedge. The two mares each had a black eye, Rarity's was on her right, and Applejack's was on the left, and just like Rainbow Dash, both were unconscious.  

"By Celestia, no!" Princess Twilight shouted, tears leaving her eyes as she watched her two best friends becoming entangled into the hedge.

"Is all this really necessary!" Fyee snapped, appalled by her colleagues actions.

"I understand you find it difficult to see reason in my actions, but trust me that it all serves a greater purpose," Iscariat said as grey chains of magic manifested around him, each link jingling like a dull bell. "Now, I ask only once, will you yield or must I..."

Taking her chance whilst his guard was down, Fyee tackled Iscariat into the Castle wall, and then blasted him further into the stone's embrace with powerful strike  of a lightning bolt conjured forth from Fyee's horn. This, however, served little more than to drain Fyee of her precious reserve, for even when Iscariat lets his guard down he is not without protection in the form of a low level magic shield that cushions his body, and reduces all damage by one eighth.

"My goodness, Fyee! Are you alright?" Princess Twilight said, her fore hooves covering her mouth, and her eyes in a wide expression.

"Fools! Get to Celestia, I will hold him," Fyee said, Iscariat pushing hard against her horn to free himself from the wall.

"No, not again. I abandoned Iscariat, I won't do that to you!" Princess Twilight firmly stated.

"You must, I can't protect you and fight him," Fyee said, groaning as Iscariat slowly pushed her back.

"Twilight, she is right. This is bigger than all of us. If Nightmare isn't stopped many more are at risk," Princess Cadence said, though her facial expression revealed that she didn't want to leave Fyee anymore than Twilight.

"Pony feathers!" Princess Twilight said stomping the ground.

With Princess Cadence's support, Princess Twilight and her flew off towards the busted throne room, and with them gone Fyee was ready to handle Iscariat. Teleporting a few feet back, Fyee quickly calculated just how much stored magic she has left before she has to rely totally on slower Leyline magic; the results were not good. Iscariat, in direct contrast, has barely touched his reserves, in fact even he can't remember the last time he resorted to top casting with Leyline magic. Fyee understood that her spells were just as potent as Iscariat's, the only thing that distinguished these two Master spell casters was their choice of spells. Iscariat, having sampled spells from all thirteen tiers, has chosen spells the third tier, which are powerful though not as flashy or expensive as thous of tiers one and two; an almost exact opposite to Fyee, for she does employ tier one and two spells in her repertoire.

Both mages composed themselves, drawing on their reserves, and choosing their next spell as if it would be their last. After a tense sixty seconds Iscariat and Fyee, simultaneously, casted the same spell; a tier three ice ray spell. The two rays clashed in mid-air, deflecting and pushing one another, random streaks would be repulsed freezing anything they collided with. At the center of the epicenter the air grew cold, the ground froze beneath, water molecules hardened and turned to tiny snowflakes creating a miniature winter wonderland. Fyee could see this was going nowhere, so taking advantage of her superior mobility, she broke the connection, and fluidly dodged Iscariat's ray while taking flight.  

Once in the air, Fyee demonstrated a magic art she spent the latter part of the past three hundred years developing; an archetype never seen before, not even by Iscariat; Sky Runes. Channeling her magic through her hooves, instead of her horn, Fyee drew out intricate arrays using nothing more than the very air molecules, and what made this truly unique was that she was not limited to strictly wind magic; as she demonstrated by shooting a flaming meteor from the array she drew. Caught completely unprepared, Iscariat reacted the only way he could think of, by rapidly channeling a large quantity of magic to the tip of his horn, Iscariat conjured forth the most powerful barrier spell at his disposal; Aegis. Unlike most barriers, the Aegis was in a category all of its own, for it is one of the Escutcheon Trio; three powerful shield spells that shun everything but the absolute mightiest of attacks. Blossoming from the tip of his horn, in succession, were five lotus pods, each a dull grey, each opening their petals and over lapping the other forming a solid wall of sorts.

The meteor smashed into the Aegis, its flames cascaded about, scorching some of the petals, and roasting the rest to cinders. Iscariat strained to keep the shield up, though the weight of the meteor made that an uphill battle. For what seemed like an eternity the two opposing forces were dead locked, but something had to give, and to both mages' surprise, Fyee's flaming meteor failed to penetrate Iscariat's Aegis. Due to the Aegis' legendary resilience and density, Fyee's meteor did not possess the proper elements to over come it; albeit the margin of victory could have gone either way. The meteor dropped to the ground dead, now nothing more than over glorified rock, its massive weight caused an indent on the ground, smashing the tiled path beneath, and in that brief moment both mages had deduced their next plan of attack.

Fyee had all but used up her reserves with that meteor stunt, it was plainly apparent that she had no chance in a pure magic dual; at least not when she is running on empty. Cursing under her breath that it had to come to this, Fyee soared higher into the sky, well above the cloud line, and with the last of her reserves she constructed her final Sky Rune; using the very cloud line to form the array. Fyee molded the cumulus into the body of the array, the stratus formed the lines that contained each mystic symbol that would instruct the array on what to do, and lastly the cirrus were twisted by hoof to form the mystic symbols required. Her preparations complete, Fyee placed her hooves upon the rune, the last of her reserves were drained into the white clouds turning them black, thunder and lightning roared across the sky line. Iscariat didn't know what Fyee was conjuring, but the ominous swirling of the clouds within the array, as well as the tremendous amount of energy accumulating at the center did not bode well.

Gazing at the swirling thunder cloud mass, Fyee took a deep breath, her muscles tightened, adrenalin flowed through her veins, and after a slight pause she dive bombed into the very heart of the clouds. The air rushed past her like water washes upon stone, tiny static bolts hacked away at her body at random intervals as she made towards the energy infused core. Pushing her cherished wings to their absolute limit Fyee battled the strong winds just as the viridian flashing center came into view, and with her hooves thrust forward she plowed through an out the other side; however, once on the other side, Iscariat could see something clenched in her two front hooves, something that drew the whole cloud mass with her in a cyclone fashion. Focusing his sights on Fyee's hooves, Iscariat saw the shape of some kind of hilt, made of storm clouds with a viridian hue emanating from within it, the other clouds swirly from its tip were also emitting the same viridian hue as they condensed and hardened into a singular blade. The amount of energy pulsating from the black sword Fyee now bore almost dwarfed the magical force Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon ushered forth from their initial clash, and it was that detail that terrified Iscariat.

Positioning the sword parallel to her neck, both fore hooves clutching the hilt, Fyee came down fast and hard, and in one stroke she broke through the Aegis. All five lotus pods were cleaved in twain, an electrical charge lingered in the air, ionizing it, making it hard to breath, but Iscariat didn't have time to register any of this because as soon as Fyee cut through she turned the blade outward and performed a horizontal slash at his left side. Fyee's sword swing was so fast that even though Iscariat dodged serious injury by teleporting away, her blade still managed to graze his skin, and clip a few strands of his mane. It has been more than three hundred years since Iscariat has seen his own blood, but what really made him tremble was not the black blade wielded by his oldest, living, colleague, yet more rather her piercing stare. Refusing to let his mind descend into doubt and madness, Iscariat pressed on by summoning a water golem; his natural counter to whenever forced to combat melee fighters, due to the golem's unique ability to absorb and prevent any physical attack.  

"Against the Cloudcluster Sword, nothing beneath the Heavens is its equal," Fyee stated, demonstrating her point with a single slash that utterly destroyed Iscariat's golem; no contest.

"So, it is true, the Cloudcluster Sword has chosen a new master," Iscariat said as he analyzed the all too familiar blade, for eight hundred years ago he had the privileged of fighting beside the sword's former owner; she was a mare with a burgundy coat, a black mane and tail, brown eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a long sword crossed over an escutcheon shaped like a Fleur-de-lis. The Cloudcluster Sword was a two handed weapon, boasting a seven foot blade, a cross shaped cross guard, and almost exclusively black with only a slight viridian hue gracing its edge. Iscariat never considered he would be staring down the business end of this legendary weapon, however, even against such an absolute force, he refused to stand down.

"I can read your train of thought, Iscariat, but I beg you not to continue," Fyee said, though positioning her blade in an attack ready stance.

"I can't do that Fyee," Iscariat retorted in a cold tone.

"Why are you doing this? Look around, Nightmare Moon is destroying you, and you're just letting her. Fight back! Don't let her win!" Fyee cried out, the Cloudcluster Sword trembling in her grip.

"It's not that simple," Iscariat said his voice now more heavy, weighed down by some guilt. "I was in her mind, Fyee. She doesn't know that I probed her as she probed me, but I did, and what I saw was unexpected."

"Iscariat, Nightmare Moon is evil! Look around, everything that is happening is because of her!" Fyee said trying to convince her long time colleague.

"That is your opinion, and I'm telling you you are wrong," Iscariat said closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I know because I made the same mistake, I treated her like a monster, and was instrumental in her sealing. I never even bothered to hear her out, or even considered an alternative means of splitting her and Princess Luna, without trying to eradicating Nightmare in the process. Do you understand, I demonized her, and made her out to be some kind of devil."

"Just stop it!" Fyee shouted slashing a nearby pillar, to the left of Iscariat, bilaterally. "Now you listen to me, you did nothing wrong! Nightmare is trying to deceive you, that is the way of her types; they play to your doubts and weaknesses and set them loose upon you. Please turn away from her poisonous embrace, I...I...I lov..."

Fyee felt ashamed, for after finally making up her mind of where she wanted to take this relationship she chokes at the moment of truth like some first time novice. Iscariat was a little confused by Fyee's peculiar reaction, never had he seen her so distraught, it was unsettling, and almost painful to see some one he respected in such a state. However, before either mage could say another word, a loud scream could be heard coming from the throne room, as well as a massive shift in the magical wave length blanketing the whole of Canterlot. Feeling a slight tingle from his crescent wound, Iscariat knew something was a miss, and so, completely spacing on everything around him, he teleported away into the throne room. Once more Fyee was left behind, and as before she was incapable of following, for were she to get any closer to the epicenter of the magical distortion her passive magic resistance would be overwhelmed in moments.    

The throne room was a total wreak; the walls and floors were barely holding together, scorch marks stained every surface, the double doors were completely smashed off their hinges, and the once beautiful chandelier was now nothing more than a shattered piece of garbage. Within the demolished throne room, Iscariat was greeted with a most unexpected sight, for among the ruble of the throne itself Nightmare Moon lay pinned by the Princesses Celestia, Twilight and Cadence. The Princess Trio poured all the magical energy they could muster against Nightmare's already damaged defensive shield; all a tad excessive to Iscariat, given that Nightmare was clearly straining to maintain the meager shell.

"Your highnesses, I believe she has had enough," Iscariat said, but was quickly taken back by the harsh expressions each Princess bore at him.

"No, we can take no chances this time around," Princess Celestia said in a voice that was not her's, and with an expression as cold as ice.

"What did I tell you, she cares not for anything," Nightmare Moon groaned as strong static bolts struck at her through cracks in her shield.

"I will have no more of your poison, fiend," Princess Celestia said increasing the pressure on Nightmare's failing shield.

"I speak only the truth, which is more than can be said of you!" Nightmare Moon snapped back just as her shield shattered to pieces, leaving her exposed to the three Princesses relentless assault.  

"Your highnesses that is enough," Iscariat said pleading them to stop, but they refused. "Enough!"

Startling everyone, Iscariat enveloped the three Princesses in an aura of his magical energy; cutting them off from the Leylines. Nightmare Moon laughed at the priceless expressions her assailants bore as she rose up to her full height, and with hardly any effort she thrust all three Alicorns into the back walls embrace.

"What have I done?" Iscariat said wide eye, and confused.

"Nothing, you have done nothing wrong," Nightmare Moon replied, her wing dropping itself over Iscariat, once more ensnaring him in her embrace, his head against her chest, and her head resting upon his almost lovingly. "They changed the rules when they attacked me together, using shear numbers against me. As I said, Celestia has no honor or sense of respect."

"Stop talking about Princess Celestia like that, and as for you Iscariat...I thought you were better than this," Princess Twilight snapped angrily, so disgusted that she couldn't even look at Iscariat.

"Your highness, I didn't...No, no excuses!" Iscariat said pushing away from Nightmare Moon, and staring each Princess in the eye. "Nightmare Moon has suffered enough from all of you, and I will stand for it no longer."

"Are you crazy?! She is a monster, and belongs in a cage," Princess Twilight said as she struggled against the spell that held her, and the others to the wall.

"Twilight is right, Iscariat, Nightmare Moon is poison, and is not to be trusted," Princess Celestia said hoping that her words would reach Iscariat, and return him to them.

"An who are you to cast the first stone, Celestia," Nightmare Moon said glaring angrily at the Princess. "You may act all kind and benevolent, but beneath all your posturing I know that you're not above lying even to your most loyal subjects."

"What do you mean?" Iscariat asked side glancing at Nightmare Moon, while still keeping the bulk of his attention on the Princesses.

"Oh, you will love this," Nightmare Moon said casting a sinister sneer at Princess Celestia. "About two years before I came into the picture, Princess Luna sought her dear sister's approval on a very delicate matter; the matter of the heart. Contrary to the norm of society, at that point in time, Princess Luna was going to ask you out on a date, but Princess Celestia refused to give her consent."

"That makes no sense, Princess Celestia would know I would say no," Iscariat said; Princess Celestia slightly relieved that even in his unstable state, Iscariat's logical way of thinking had not completely diminished.

"Oh she knew that, but you see she had a carefully laid out a plan for you, and she wasn't going to chance her sister's happiness ruining that," Nightmare Moon said, her careful choice of words paying off in a vast quantity.

"Don't listen to her Iscariat," Princess Celestia said straining against Nightmare's powerful restraining field, but to no avail.

"Why not? I haven't spent a thousand years controlling his growth and progress, and then all but discarding him when you acquired your new pet," Nightmare Moon said shooting a spiteful glare at Twilight when she uttered the word "Pet." Following her statement, Nightmare Moon, in a shocking turn of events, released Princesses Celestia, Cadence and Twilight from her restraint field, and allowed them to approach rather close.

"What trickery is this, Nightmare?" Princess Celestia inquired, remaining ever vigilant.

"There is no deceit involved, sister, I merely think it is time to let Iscariat make his choice; now that he has heard the truth," Nightmare Moon said turning towards Iscariat one final time, and then with a caring smile she continued onward until she stood in the middle of the room. "You are free to try and persuade him, but I'm confident he will make the right choice in the end, regardless of your pretty lies."

"Iscariat, please we have stood by each other for one thousand years, don't let that friendship wither into nothingness just because of this falling out," Princess Celestia pleaded from the bottom of her heart.

"We were never friends, your highness," Iscariat deadpanned, his eyes unable to keep contact with the Princess', and so gazed at his left fore hoof.

"How can you say that?" Princess Twilight asked, positively flabbergasted by such a cold statement. "I saw your memories, and some of the Princess'; you are not like this. Now snap out of it, and help us defeat the real enemy."

"What do you know?! You are nothing but a filly with a large chip on her shoulder," Iscariat shouted, his magical energy lashing out from his horn in the form of tendrils that struck at everything without distinction; Princess Celestia, slightly drained from her tussle with Nightmare Moon, was forced to shield her protege with her own body.

"Princess Celestia, are you okay?!" Princess Twilight asked, her eye's widening with concern as she caught a glimpse of a crimson streak running across the Princess' right side. "Oh no! You beast, how dare you hurt the Princess! She only wanted to help you!"

"Twilight that is enough, he is not himself," Princess Celestia said groaning lightly as she moved back to her original position, blood seeping fro her slash, and stinging with pain with every tiny twitch.

"No, I will not have you excuse my actions so easily," Iscariat said glaring at Princess Celestia with such intensity, whatever weakness his eyes possessed was no longer visible, and instead replaced with incalculable rage. "Except it or not these events transpired because of my choices, and now I 'am ready to make one more."

At the utterance of his last sentence, time itself seemed to halt completely, as if whatever entity in control of it did not wish history to progress, but such things cannot be achieved, even by gods, and so time resumed. Turning his back to the Princesses, Iscariat walked towards Nightmare Moon, a smiling expression blossoming on the latter's face. Princess Twilight averted her eyes at the sight, Iscariat's betrayal hurt her on a multitude of different levels. A tear escaped Twilight's eye, she just couldn't understand how such a paragon of duty and order could be swayed by a creature as vile and despicable as Nightmare Moon. Princess Cadence felt the same, though her experience was far more personal because in her youth, when she was adopted by Princess Celestia, she was tutored in the proper use of magic by Iscariat, himself, and while she did not express her feelings as openly as her sister in law; which was due in no small part to Iscariat's teachings of control, she still grieved for him deep inside.

Princess Celestia could best be described as a blank slate, for from her exterior visage to her interior mental state, nothing cold be discern even by the likes of Nightmare Moon. Iscariat, despite his commitment, was still conflicted, his perpetual self doubt kept eating away at him, and yet he also felt oddly at calm; as if a colossal weight has finally been lifted off him. There were no words to describe Nightmare Moon's emotional state, she was well beyond cloud nine, her entire mental spectrum was set to a sensation of pure bliss that she almost lost touch with reality. When Iscariat at last stood before Nightmare, she could not help but embrace him in a tender huge, and applauding his excellent choice.

"Get your hooves off him you abomination!" shouted Fyee, charging through the ruined door, and with a full body swing she shot out a massive slash of viridian energy aimed at Nightmare's head.

The events that followed occurred so rapidly that even Iscariat was a tad slow on the up keep. Pushing Iscariat to the side, Nightmare used her wings to form a variable shield, catching the energy slash, though not halting its progress. The slash's power was overwhelming, Nightmare could only reduce it by a small increment, as she was pushed into the throne, and then pinned against the back wall. The throne room shook violently, portions of the ceiling came crashing down upon their heads, the wall behind Nightmare splintered and crumbled outward, leaving Nightmare exposed without any thing solid to apply appropriate leverage against.

For one brief moment everypony thought Nightmare Moon's doom was close at hand, but sadly it was not to be, for even when pitted against such power Nightmare is never completely helpless. Focusing her magic to the tip of her horn, Nightmare Moon casted a spell Iscariat taught Luna; in the past Nightmare has used this spell quite frequently, and now she must call upon it again. The spell enveloped her in a navy blue shell akin to her armor, though twice as dense, and enchanted to amplify her strength ten fold. Now donned in her new armor, Nightmare turned her wings outward, and with one sweep of her wings, reenforced by her armor's strength enhancements, she easily cleaved Fyee's slash in half, dispersing it into the aether. Fyee was dumb struck, while Nightmare cackled out loud, her voice slightly muffled by the enclosed helmet she now wore.

"I must say you are a fascinating individual," Nightmare Moon said, her steel covered hooves crunching and clanging upon the ruble and cracked title floor, as she approached Fyee. "To come barging in here, swinging the Cloudcluster Sword at me, as well as having the gall to call me an abomination. That takes a lot of will, and I respect that Princess of the Changeling Hive. However,,,You still attacked one who is your superior in every way, and so it is time to remember your place!"    

Nightmare Moon channeled a vast amount of magic to the tip of her horn, at a rate faster than Fyee thought possible, and before she could react, Nightmare conjured a sphere of ice not unlike a comet, and propelled it at Fyee. The shear cold emitting from the sphere was strong enough to frost over the walls and floors, it also iced over Fyee's exoskeleton; severely hampering her movement, as well as threatening to slow her heart to a dangerous crawl. Unable to move out of the way of the ice sphere, Princess Celestia made a motion to assist Fyee, but just as the Princess placed herself in position, a grey lightning bolt struck the pseudo comet, and reverted it to sleet.

"I think you made your point," Iscariat said, lightning crackling from his horn.

"I guess I did go a little over board," Nightmare Moon chuckled, using her magic to dispel her strength augmenting armor. "However, the question still stands, what shall I do with these annoyances?"

"Just let them go," Iscariat deadpanned, refusing to make any eye contact.

"An why should I do that?" Nightmare Moon asked, her face hardening as she glared at Princess Celestia with such intensity. "Why should I simply allow my most hated enemy to leave, when I was never awarded that curtsey?"

"Please, there has been enough fighting today," Iscariat said, his body finally showing signs of fatigue.

"Consider yourselves blessed, for were it up to me, you would be spending a week in the dungeon; as a start," Nightmare Moon said, as she playfully ran her left hoof through Princess Celestia's mane; a stern look and devilish sneer brandished her face as she did so. "Go, before I change my mind."

"This isn't your Castle! You have no..." Princess Twilight said, but before she could go off on her rant Princess Celestia stepped forward, and shook her head grimly at her star pupil.

"Do we have your word that you will allow all of us to leave, even Twilight's friends in the garden?" Princess Celestia asked, her words directed at Nightmare, but her eyes were fixed on Iscariat.

"You always were hard to trust others. Very well, I, Nightmare Moon, give you my word that no harm will befall you; under the condition that you leave peacefully," Nightmare Moon said, now standing beside Iscariat.

"I will hold you to it," Princess Celestia said, turning to the others. "We are leaving."

"No, I refuse to abandon him again," Fyee retorted, raising the Cloudcluster Sword for a second attack, but Princess Celestia instantly restrained her hooves with a set of ball and chains.

"This is no time to be rash, if you confront them now you will die," Princess Celestia said, placing her right hoof on Fyee's shoulder. "We will break her hold on him, but not now. Trust me."

"Okay," Fyee said softly, dropping her head in defeat, a lone tear leaving her left eye as the chains vanished, and Princesses Cadence and Twilight helped her walk out the destroyed doors; while also levitating her sword; she no longer possessing the strength to carry it.

"Yes, kindly vacate the premises," Nightmare Moon said wrapping her left hoof around Iscariat's neck, and pressing their bodies closer than he would normally be comfortable with, but he was too exhausted to care. "Because the adults have to talk."

There are no words in Equestrian, Changeling, Gryffin or the tongues of Dragons to describe the unbridled rage brooding inside Fyee; a rage that threaten to completely consume her, and compel her to lash at Nightmare Moon there and now. However, she did not, for one thing kept her in line, and that was her great desire to tell Iscariat just how she longed for him, to be by his side through every challenge. Twas this emotion that quashed the blazing rage in Fyee's heart, and with great dignity she kept true to herself, and humbly walked away without a word.

 

  

  

 

        

 

    

Chapter 9: A Dark Future

It has been four hours since Princess Celestia and her followers were forced to leave the Castle, and in that time frame Nightmare Moon and Iscariat accomplished a great deal. Combining their magical talents they made short work of restoring the Throne Room, save for the Prophecy Window that depicted Nightmare's first defeat; though Iscariat did save the pieces, due to their historical value. Once the Throne Room was back in order Nightmare Moon went about to alter it, and the rest of the Castle, to suit her personal tastes, while Iscariat fixed the damage done to the garden. During his repair of the garden, Iscariat found the snow globe that contained Discord, and though he was too weak to attempt to free the Chaos God, he did take the trapped Draconequus with him; concealed in a small sack he conjured. At approximately five o'clock, Iscariat was barely able to keep on his feet, and so Nightmare Moon insisted he seek out any room he desired while she finished her redecorating.

Iscariat sought respite in the same suite he slept four days ago, for no specific reason other than he knew its exact location, and so could teleport there with little difficulty. Placing the sack containing Discord inside the night stand draw, Iscariat simply got under the covers, and was instantly asleep. As he slept in total silence his mind tried to sort out everything that has transpired in the last twenty four hours, but it just couldn't, and not from a lack of trying; it just made no sense. Tossing and turning uncontrollably, Iscariat struggled to get some sleep, despite his body craving it to no end.

"Two bits for your thoughts, chief?" came a familiar voice, followed by the clang clang clanging of two bits landing on Iscariat's night stand.

"Discord? But how?" Iscariat asked, his body shooting off the bed, coated in sweat, and his breathing heavy. Looking around frantically for the source of the voice, but saw nothing other than darkness.  

"Um...check the night stand, Mr. Curator," Discord said with a snicker.

"I don't like playing your games, Discord," Iscariat replied leaping off the bed, and rummaging through the night stand till he extracted the snow globe. Placing the novelty item on the top of the night stand, Iscariat noticed that instead of snow it was raining lemon drops from clouds made out of sponge cake, the tiny replica buildings were now made of peanut brittle with a coat of coconut flakes, and the tiny Canterlot Castle was transformed into a ginger bread and ice cream palace. "What is all this?"

"Well I couldn't get out, so I thought I'd make the place more homey," Discord said catching some lemon drops and popping them into his mouth. "I just love sour candy, don't you?"

"You know I hate candy," Iscariat snapped, but Discord merely laughed.

"I wasn't asking you," Discord said, as he rolled around in a pile of powdered sugar.

"What are you babbling about, I'm the only other pony here," Iscariat said, but was instantly silenced when he saw that which he only heard fables about.

Strutting out of the ginger bread palace was Princess Celestia, and yet no the Princess, for even in his state of partial madness, Iscariat knew an artificial construct at first sight. This "imposter," as he has taken to mentally classifying it as, was a replica of Princess Celestia during her rebellious streak, in the era of Clover the Clever's term as Curator, but more importantly it was during the time she dated Discord. A closely guarded secret between Princess Celestia and all of Clover's predecessors, due to moral and political implications; not to mention just down right embarrassing. he imposter resembled the real Princess as she did five thousand years ago; instead of her teal and pink mane and tail, Princess Celestia dyed them pure black with yellow highlights; instead of a bare, but elegant visage, the Princess had a lightning bolt tattoo, her ears were each pierced by a single golden earring, around her neck were two gold necklaces of medium and small length, and lastly she wore a black leather vest with the words, "Lady Chaos," embroidered in blazing orange letters.

"Discord, what is this?" Iscariat asked, disgusted by this complete lack of respect to the Princess, even though he knew he didn't serve her anymore.

"This is a snow globe, I thought it was painfully obvious," Discord sarcastically retorted, as the fake Celestia used her magic to whip up a pond full of soda pop, and then divided in.

"Don't mock me Discord," Iscariat snapped, slamming his left hoof on the floor, and smashing the tile beneath it.

"Oh relax Iscariat, you are way too up tight," Discord said, as he cuddled up with the fake Celestia, and popped another lemon drop in his jaws.

"And you are annoying!" Iscariat said, completely distraught.

"Oh don't get angry, I just wanted to let you know how proud I 'am of your new personality," Discord said with a thumbs up, and a smiling grin. "I have to say I was very impressed, and amused, at what I saw, and heard, in the Canterlot Gardens. You and that little Changeling were even more amusing, it really took me back to my early years, but I digress. Truth be told, I wasn't too keen on Nightmare's revival, and I will always have a special place in my heart, and memories, for Luna, but after what I just witnessed...I don't think she is such a bad replacement for Celestia after all. I mean some pony who can alter you; the most boring, and antisocial pony in all of Equestria, in just one night; well color me impressed."

"You make no sense," Iscariat deadpanned.

"You know what your problem is?" Discord asked, as the fake Celestia flip flopped the ground with the sky inside the snow globe, and then performed a jig in the upside down lemon storm. "You can't just live in the moment, you always, always have to find some logic in it to accept the action as necessary or relevant. You have no drive, passion or personality. You are little more than an encyclopedia; thirsting only for the underlining facts or motives behind even the most basic of actions. Don't you see, you have become nothing short of a machine, and even with all your gifts you cannot see that which will make you complete."

"Speak plainly will you! I don't even know why I'm talking to you, we hate each other," Iscariat said rubbing his temples in frustration.

"You'll never understand if I just tell you, but as sure as I'm a chaos spewing machine you may learn," Discord said, as he turned to the fake Celestia, and taking hold of her right hoof the two individuals flew into the ginger bread palace. "Now, if you will pardon me, I have a fantasy to relive."

Realizing that Discord was done talking, Iscariat let out a sharp breath, and after covering the snow globe in a small wash cloth, he returned to his bed. As he tried to get some rest, Nightmare Moon was having similar difficulties, though in her case it was because of shear excitement and boundless joy. Nightmare was currently lounging on Princess Celestia's bed; it was fitting since the Castle now belonged to her, though she was tempted to simply take up residents in Luna's room, but once she saw just how spacious her sister's room was she instantly laid claim to it. The circular room boasted a vaulted ceiling, and an impressive five hundred square footage of space, there was also a balcony that overlooked the whole of Canterlot, as well as a full bathroom, and if that wasn't enough the room also had a built in spa bath tub. The room was without a doubt exquisite, befitting a Princess of Equestria, but it still lacked that personal touch; which Nightmare was more than eager to rectify.

Altering the room was a snap for Nightmare; first she changed the purple and red color scheme on the tapestries to a blue and indigo, next she replaced the crests that depicted Celestia's cutie mark on all the tapestries with her own, and for the final touch she changed the pillows that resembled suns into crescent moons. With the room more homey, Nightmare felt much more comfortable, so much so that she decided to take the spa tube for a spin. The warm bubbling water just melted away all the tension and stress Nightmare has built up over the long years; it also felt great to finally remove her heavy armor. For the time being she allowed herself to just relax and indulge in this slice of heaven, while enjoying a plate of moon pies and marshmallow balls she manage to find in the Castle kitchen; oddly enough they were hidden behind the fridge, inside a secret vault filled with nothing but sweets and cakes.

"It's good to be Princess," Nightmare Moon mused, as she took a bite out of one of the moon pies. However, as gay and elated she was, a slight sense of guilt crept over her, and it wasn't long till she lost her appetite as well.

"Does something vex you, your excellency?" a sarcastic voice spoke.

"Who said that?" Nightmare Moon said leaping out of the tube, her horn already glowing with magical energy.

"Don't you recognize my voice, after all we were rather intimate with one another for a very long time. Almost inseparable really," the disembodied voice replied, but Nightmare was not amused.

"Show yourself!" Nightmare Moon commanded, her rage growing more volatile.

"I guess I'll have to," the disembodied voice said, and out of thin air a vanity mirror materialized in front of Nightmare, but instead of her own reflection she saw the late Princess Luna gazing back.

"What trickery is this?" Nightmare Moon inquired, examining the mirror with distrust.

"There is no deception intended, I 'am what remains of Princess Luna. Less than a soul and yet more than an imprint, but for the sake of simplicity you may address me as Luna," the specter said with a cherry grin.

"Why do you haunt me spirit? Do you seek vengeance upon me?" Nightmare Moon asked, though still not fully convinced.

"I mean you no harm, but I 'am here to serve a purpose," Luna replied, her brow turning straight and serious. "I have come so you may come to terms with your feelings towards Iscariat Faust."

"Surely you jest," Nightmare Moon blurted out with a hardy laugh. "You have clearly wasted your time, for I care not of that insignificant foal. He is nothing more than a tool I require, and so I pretend to care about his problems when clearly I don't."

"Oh?" Luna said, her mouth curling up in a fiendish smile, and her eyes squinting together. "If that is the case, then why not be rid of him? You have the capital, and at this point he is more of a liability than an asset. Come on, it will be easy, I doubt he will even see it coming, and you've killed hundreds before. Well? Let's get on with it, then I can disappear, and you can rule Equestria as you always wanted."

"Um...well...No need to be hasty," Nightmare Moon said, tripping over her own words, and hardly delivering a compelling argument.

"Why wait? You said it yourself, he means nothing to you," Luna reiterated, using Nightmare's words to make her own case.

"Well maybe I might have slightly under appreciated my thoughts towards him, but one can hardly infer that I have grown that fond of him," Nightmare Moon said, her voice still lacking her natural confidence.

"Nightmare, just face the facts, Princess Luna's unbridled love for that stallion has passed on to you," Luna said, hoping her words would sink in.

"There is a strong possibility, but what of it? It is painfully obvious that the Changeling loves him, and he her; though I doubt he would admit it," Nightmare Moon said, lowering her head in shame for making such a statement, and showing a point of weakness.

"All I can say is be honest to him. Let him know just how you feel, and in no way force his choice," Luna said with a smiling grin, as she and the mirror started to fade away. "Well it seems my time is up. Expect me no more, but for what it is worth, I wish you happiness."

As the vanity mirror returned to the Aether, Nightmare Moon and Luna gazed deeply at one another, and though all logical thought states that they should be nothing less than blood rivals, the reverse was actually the truth. While Luna felt nothing but grief at losing the opportunity to gain Iscariat's love, she in no way resented Nightmare Moon, for it was only through one inscrutable fact that spared her dark alter ego such, otherwise, justifiable hate; Nightmare Moon did not plan, or truly desire this resurrection. The truth of the matter was Nightmare never wished ay harm on Princess Luna, and when she could no longer feel her soul inside their body, she was close to destroying the entire mountain. However it was when King Sombra insulted Iscariat that she truly snapped; it was odd that she reacted that way over something so beneath her, but now it all made sense, and she did not mind it at all. As an immortal Alicorn, Nightmare Moon could understand why Princess Luna desperately sought Iscariat as a lover, for until he passed on his title the stallion was basically immortal as well, and Nightmare doubted he ever would step down, given his first and only attempt with the young zebra; Magarua.

Now alone once more, Nightmare drained the tube of its contents, and then draped herself on Celestia's bed. Wrapping herself in the lush, and elegant sheets Nightmare gently rested her head upon the soft pillows, and without any difficulty was wisped away into the realm of dreams. As Nightmare and Iscariat rested somewhat peacefully, things were far less peaceful in Pony Ville's Golden Oak Library, where the defeated foes of Nightmare regrouped, and plotted their counter attack; though in truth they were mostly complaining about how they were handed their flanks on a silver platter.

"I can't believe this, he totally went turn coat on us! Not cool!" Rainbow Dash rambled furiously, as Princess Cadence tried in vein to keep her grounded long enough to bandage her cracked cranium.

"Rainbow Dash, you have to stay still," Princess Cadence said, taking to the air as well to complete her first aid.

"I can't help it! He swore loyalty to the Princess, and then just broke his vow on a whim. I won't stand for it!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, bucking one of the top bookshelves so hard it dropped all its contents on a poor Spike. "Oops...Sorry, Spike."

"It's okay Rainbow; super dense scales, didn't feel a thing," Spike said, as he dug himself out of the avalanche of books.

"I'm with Rainbow on this one. Oath breakers should be tarred and feathered as far as I'm concerned," Applejack said, her left hoof in a cast, and right eye concealed by an eye patch. "What are your thoughts, Pinkie Pie?"

"Stone him!" Pinkie Pie bellowed, hurling a large rock through Twilight's top window, her hair straight and not puffy, and her normally bright pink hue suddenly a duller shade; bordering on grey.

"I think you are all over looking something," Spike said, as he fixed the shelf Rainbow trashed.

"An just what could we be omitting?" Rarity asked, her injuries mirroring Applejack's to a tee.

"The 'why!' Why would he do all this?" Spike said, but the six young mares instantly shot him a frightening glare that turned him into what could be classified as a mass of mushy pudding, and effectively silenced him for the rest of the conversation.

"In any event the 'why' is irrelevant at this point. Our only concern should be how we deal with these fiends," Princess Twilight said, taking the center stage.

"You are all fools," Fyee said from atop the stair case; the Cloud Cluster Sword strapped to her back by a magic cord she herself conjured.

"An what does that mean?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed; she never really trusted the Changelings, and she was even less inclined to buddy up to a "friend" of the now traitorous, Iscariat.

"Exactly what it sounds like, Pegasi," Fyee sharply retorted as she leaped from the top of the stairs, and landed right in front of Twilight; her expression less gaze and sheathed sword quite intimidating to Twilight. "Only stupid creatures could think they have a chance against such monstrous power. Tell me Princess, just how many spells do you have under your belt? I don't know, but I can tell you it's not enough. Not by a long shot."

"Shut up!" Princess Twilight said, stomping the floor in her rage. "This has nothing to do with your kind!"

"My kind?" Fyee retorted, her eyes widen in shock.

"You are a Changeling, none of this will affect you. Why don't you just go home?!" Princess Twilight said, as she averted her eyes in disgust, closing them tightly, and gritting her teeth in anger. "We don't need, or want you here. So go away!"

Before Fyee could respond, Princess Twilight just bolted out the library door, and disappeared into the darkness of the quickly fading night. In spite of all that was said, and all the emotions that were vented, Fyee did not feel any anger or pity towards Twilight, but she still desired to seek her out, and understand her sudden burst of rage. However, while Princess Celestia allowed all the others to rush after her way ward student, she held Fyee back, and oddly enough Fyee complied.

"I'm sorry she said that," Princess Celestia said resting her right hoof on Fyee's left shoulder sympathetically.

"She is young and angry, I know she didn't mean it," Fyee said cracking a smile. "Besides, there are more important things to worry about than my feelings."

"That is very big of you, your mother must be proud of how you came out," Princess Celestia said retracting her hoof as Fyee turned towards a window to the left of the door.

"Hardly, I can hear her now, chewing me out for letting that 'insufferable little know it all' speak to me like that," Fyee said with a sigh, and then shook her head. "Oh there I go rambling again. Anyway, what should we do?"

"At the moment there is little that can be accomplished as we are," Princess Celestia replied lowering her head in shame. "We all require respite, food, and spiritual recovery; not to mention a plan."

"As a Changeling I require a minimum amount of sleep and sustenance, but a plan is something that cannot be denied, and I have an idea where to start," Fyee said, flapping her wings till she hovered above the ground.

"Where will you go?" Princess Celestia asked, following Fyee outside.

"Some where I know I can get some answers. I won't be long, but don't wait up," Fyee said, and then took off like a rocket.

Fyee always felt better when she flew, the sheer freedom the open skies delivered was an indescribably feeling that only those with wings could even begin to comprehend. Invigorated by her flight, Fyee could feel the despair and anger that had taken hold of her back at the Golden Oak Library simply evaporate into the thin air that cushioned her so snugly. Zipping about with the greatest of ease, Fyee unwittingly allowed her mind to wander as carelessly as a cloud caught in a gentle breeze, and as a result she thought of her mother. Queen Chrysalis, without a doubt loved her daughter above all else, but at the same time she harbored shame towards Fyee, and even kicked her out; only to recant some time later, and demand she return post haste. Fyee could never understand why her own mother treated her so intensely; she knew her modest personality played a role; "Changelings must always seek more if they are to survive," her mother would constantly state, and yet Fyee sensed that her mother was hinting at something more.

The more she thought of her mother, the more Fyee assumed that there was just something wrong with her; a default that made her ill suited in her mother's eyes, and it upset Fyee that that might be the case. Not wishing to dwell on such thoughts any longer, Fyee instead focused on her destination; which had just come into sight. Two hundred feet below her was a field of shut flowers, patiently awaiting mornings first light to stir them from their slumber, but this was all a lie. No matter how many times she sees it, Fyee is completely captivated by the perfect illusion emanated by the Arch-Library's barrier. Everything from the grass to the flower's pollen is an illusion, and yet can be interacted with all the five senses; the textures, smell and tastes are indistinguishable from the real McCoy.

After indulging in a moment of admiring the epitome of her craft, Fyee used her magic to cloak herself in a field of her own magical aura, and thus equipped she walked into meadow an vanished from sight. It was dark for moment as she found her way through the small dividing wall between Equestria and the Arch-Library's barrier. Prevailing over the dark void, Fyee found herself in the pocket dimension that housed the greatest repository of knowledge that ever will be. Fyee marveled at the imposing structure; its massive arches and towers, its elegant doors, windows, and ivory gates simply stunning to her eyes, and a constant reminder that very few things truly last forever. Composing herself for what lay ahead, Fyee trotted over to the gate, and pulled the cord that rang the bell; altering the Guardian to her arrival.

The bell rang seven times, then a still silence followed as Fyee patiently waited for somepony to descend down the steps, however that wasn't the case. To the right of Fyee there was a small stump, nothing really special, until one really examined it properly, and noticed a small hole between two of the exposed root joints. Peering through the holes was a set of eyes that watched Fyee very intently, but when the eyes fell on the Cloud Cluster Sword they suddenly shot wide open, and their owner zipped out of the hole. Before Fyee could react she was assaulted with a warm, fuzzy hug from Tabitha; the ancient ferret elated to see the Changeling after so many years.

"Tabitha stop! That tickles!" Fyee giggled out as Tabitha scurried about her like some puppy.    

"Sorry, I'm just so happy," Tabitha said telepathically, regaining her normal composure. "So, what brings you here at this late hour?"

"I have to speak with her, Tabitha. I'm sure you know what is occurring beyond these walls," Fyee said, her tone shifting to a depressing mono-tone.

"I do," Tabitha sadly replied. "Are you sure though, you know how she gets when you are the one asking."

"I need answers, and she is the only one capable of providing them," Fyee retorted.

"So be it. Let me get the door," Tabitha said walking towards the ivory gate, and then blew a tiny tin whistle she keeps hidden in her fur. In response Fyee heard the library door unlatch, and saw somepony descend the flight of stairs towards them.

"Thank you so much, I didn't know Iscariat had a pony in his employ. My name is Fyee, and who...what are you?!" Fyee rudely exclaimed, as she gazed at some kind of mechanical pony, but not just any pony, an Alicorn.

Forged from a metal Fyee could not identify; though it seemed akin to steel due to the color and texture, two small blue opals served as its eyes, and its chest was a glass, crescent shaped hatch that allowed view and access to the intricate gears, gyros and power supply. The replica was almost indistinguishable, at a distance, from its subject, boasting a thin figure with equally thin, but long, legs, its wings were perfectly replicated to function like its organic counterpart, as was its elegantly molded horn, and its mane and tail also had its aesthetic details with tiny stars chiseled out at specific locations. Fyee was so captivated by the artificial Alicorn that she did not notice Tabitha climbing on her back, but she did feel the soft bite on her ear.

"Ouch!" Fyee yelped, quickly shooting the ferret a mean look.

"Sorry," Tabitha apologized, while slowly backing away. "Had to get you attention some how. Anyway, allow me to clarify what you are looking at. This is A.R.C.H.I.V.E; Autonomous, Robotic, Cataloging, Hyper Indexing, Vocabulist and Encycolpedist. It helps around the library when Iscariat is away."

"She looks like Luna," Fyee said instantly noticing the similarities.

"It," Tabitha enunciated. "It looks like Luna; though the appearance of the construct is purely for economic reasons. The slender physic allows for greater mobility and dexterity, and female forms are more graceful than males, which results in fewer accidents. Now then, you came hear to see 'her,' am I correct?"

"Yes, of course," Fyee said, a little taken back by Tabitha's defensive tone towards the construct's form.

"Then we best not keep her," Tabitha said leaping off Fyee's back and leading the way. "A.R.C.H.I.V.E, once you seal the gates and door, you may return to your previous assignment."

"Yes, ma'am," A.R.C.H.I.V.E responded in a metallic voice that Fyee could have sworn sounded like Luna's; albeit distorted. "And have a nice day."

Taking a final glance at A.R.C.H.I.V.E, Fyee felt a sudden sense of pity towards Iscariat; "If we survive this, I don't care how long it takes, I will see to it that you settle your past," Fyee promised to herself. Crossing the threshold the ferret and Changeling passed the Great Grandfather Clock, and walked down one of the hundreds of corridors towards the far left of the singular chamber that comprised the library proper. Reaching a pair of steel doors, inscribed with the image of a three leaf clover, Tabitha laid a paw on the cold steel, and in response the doors were pulled off their hinges by a powerful vacuum an simply vanished into the void that lay beyond. Leaping into the black mass, Fyee was entangled in a displacement of sorts, her body and mind seemed to separate and unify simultaneously as she followed some invisible current within the mass. The journey lasted but mere seconds, an when they emerged from the void they found themselves in a perfectly cubed room with a stone casket in its center, and a circular array surrounded it, as well as imprinted on the other five walls.

Tabitha and Fyee both slowly approached the casket, a dreadful chill ran up their spines for what they were about to do, but there was no turning back now; the black mass that served as their gateway had evaporated, and only a Curator could conjure it forth. Inches away from the casket and Fyee could feel her legs ready to give way, she really did not wish to do this, especially after what happened all those years ago, and yet she pressed on until at last she could touch it. Inexorably compelled by some long abandoned sensation, Fyee laid her head upon the rough stone casket, and with one tiny spark from her horn it all began. The six arrays came to life, each emanating with a unique glow; the one above the casket was lavender, whilst the one to the left was sky blue, to the right was a bright orange light, behind Fyee the array glowed pink, in front of her a pale yellow glow like a new born Sun, and lastly beneath the casket the array gave off a heavenly white light. As the six lights converged just a foot above the casket, a loud crack resonated throughout the chamber, and looking down at the casket's lid Fyee gazed upon a glassy surface peering through the now damaged top.

The false lid crumbled away exposing a flawless mirror made of highly polished glass with a stone talisman etched with the same three leaf clover imprinted on the steel door. Taking a step back, Fyee with Tabitha resting on her back, watched as the clover talisman pulsated a sage green as the six lights compressed into a chromatic sphere, and was sucked into the talisman. Rising forth from the glassy surface, now vitalized and engorged by the mystical powers of the six arrays, was the spirit of a pony that at one time, more than two thousand years ago, meant more to Fyee than even her own life. The pony in question was the third Curator of the Arch-Library, Star Swirl's own apprentice, and Iscariat's Master's Master; Clover the Clever. Elegant in death as she was in life, Clover the Clever gracefully descended down before her casket, her fetching golden mane and tail perfectly complemented the emerald green tint of her coat, as well as amplified the shine of her sapphire blue eyes, but as with all ponies, her cutie mark took center stage, and though it portrayed but a simple three leaf clover there was no denying the stellar sheen it radiated; a testament to her overwhelming magical talent, even by Unicorn standards.

Now standing before the first pony ever to win her heart, Fyee could not ignore her deep sense of longing and regret at just how she utterly failed to save Clover from her own fears, and ultimately losing her altogether.

"You summoned me, Curator Iscariat?" Clover the Clever said, her voice just as lovely as the day Fyee heard it for the first time. "In what matter may I assist you...You?!"

"Hello Clover, you look well...Wait, no! I didn't mean you appear healthy. No, that is still not right," Fyee stammered, tripping over all her words, and further irritating Clover.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here, and disturbing my rest," Clover the Clever said, her eyes, though still beautiful to Fyee, were so cold, and devoid of all the warmth they once had in life.

"Please Clover, I need your help. Everything has just gone so wrong, and I can't see any way out," Fyee begged, her voice shaking as her emotions swelled up inside her.

"I council only one pony, and you are not he," Clover the Clever replied, as her horn emanated in an aquamarine aura, and then conjured forth the black mass Fyee and Tabitha used to gain access to Clover's crypt. "Now leave me in peace, and never shadow my door way again."

"No, Clover, I'm sorry I broke your heart, but this is bigger than the both of us," Fyee said standing her ground like an immovable rock.

"I surmise you speak of my successor's utter failure to prevent Nightmare Moon's return," Clover the Clever said nonchalantly.

"I see you still retain your gift of fore sight," Fyee said, as she recalled at how much trouble that power of hers landed them in whenever they went out; be it an adventure or date.

"It's not something one can lose, or obtain, but none of that really matters, does it?" Clover the Clever said stroking her mane with her left hoof.

"No, it never did, but it does not alter the fact that that is the reason I'm here. I need to know Clover, and you alone can enlighten me," Fyee said, her body trembling at he thought of what she came to ask.

"An now it all makes sense, you want to know if you can save him," Clover the Clever said turning her head towards the ceiling, and then sharply returning her gaze at Fyee. "Unfortunately nothing I say will bring you solace, for while I can see the future, it is constantly in motion with only vague moments that remain stagnant, and unchanged. I'm afraid your quest for an answer was in vein."

"I don't believe that, you know something. Tell me!" Fyee said unamused at being jerked around like this.

"No, I refuse," Clover the Clever replied tilting her head slightly down, her eyes shutting, and a smiling smirk brandishing her face.

"If you know something you have to tell me!" Fyee exclaimed, completely fed up with Clover's lack of cooperation.

"I must do nothing!" Clover the Clever snapped, her eyes glowing an albino white. "You think I'm hear for your convenience, to point you in the right direction when you lose your way?! Well guess again, those days, like my role in this world, are over!"

"I already told you, this is bigger than both of us," Fyee said hoping she could reach Clover's sense of morality, but Clover saw right through her.

"That you did, but I know you came only for him," Clover the Clever said unmasking Fyee's true intentions for what they were. "It's nice to know you finally replaced me."

"Excuse me?" Fyee said meeting Clover's intimidating gaze with one of her own; Tabitha was a tad spooked by the stares. "Is that what you think? Clover, words cannot describe the abyss that swallowed my heart when we parted. I loved you, I loved being with you, and I would have taken the next step without a moments hesitation."

"Then why did you abandon me?!" Clover the Clever asked, silvery tears dripping from her eyes like drops of rain.

"Because you were already gone, and nothing I could have said would have changed it," Fyee said, her emotions overwhelming inside her as she desired nothing more than to embrace Clover one more time, and Clover felt the same way.

"The past is the past, but perhaps it need not repeat," Clover the Clever said as her eyes emanated a blinding chromatic light.

"Clover, are you..." Fyee tried to ask, but Clover's somewhat dazed stare was all the confirmation Fyee needed.

In her era, Clover the Clever was renowned for her profound connection to the Aether; a small plane that separates all other planes of existence from one another, and is the source of all Leyline magic. Through this powerful connection she was able to accomplish extraordinary things, the likes of which even the Princesses have never been able to duplicate. However, all of her achievements are dwarfed by her greatest power; a gift from the Aether itself, her fore sight. Now the future is always in motion, and because of this Clover is never one hundred percent accurate, but the more familiar she is with the event, or those involved, the greater the chance she will receive a more guaranteed out come. To Clover, gazing into the event horizon is not like watching a movie, or reading a book, but more like viewing at the starry sky, and trying to make sense of constellations that have no beginning or end.

"What can you see?" Fyee asked cautiously, trying her best not to destroy Clover's concentration.

"It is difficult to say, some phenomena is clouding my sight, and what I can see is littered with possible out comes," Clover the Clever said, beads of sweat perspiring from her brow as she struggled under the strain. "However I will tell you what I can."

"How will Iscariat hold up? Will his mind seep ever further into dementia?" Fyee inquired.

"I can see five outcomes; one where nothing changes, and the current state of the matter remains stagnant. Another where his psyche is entirely destroyed with no hope of a future. The third shows him embracing his new mind set, and actually killing Nightmare Moon, you an all the others. Number four depicts him over coming all odds, and returning to the fold; though he is still a broken stallion in body, mind and soul. An the last one shows death; many, many deaths across all lands," Clover the Clever deadpanned. "There is also something concerning you specifically, but a strange disturbance shrouds it from me. I'm worried Fyee, very few things are rarely this clouded from my sight."

"That is not important," Fyee replied as she contemplated on all Clover said. "So, is that really all you can see?"

"Yes, I know it is not much, or very accurate, but those five are the most likely to come to pass," Clover the Clever said wobbling from side to side; peering into the future always did take a tool on her stamina. "I must warn you, I don't believe that Iscariat's mind set is your only concern, and neither is it Nightmare Moon. I sense some foul play at work. I'm afraid, Fyee, something is coming, and for the first time I cannot see it."

"Don't be, all that means is that you are normal. Even the immortal Princesses still fear the unknown," Fyee said, as she reached out with her left hoof towards Clover's right cheek, only to have it phase through, and cause a cold sensation to pass through her soul. "I'm sorry, I should have known better."

"You're probably tried," Clover the Clever said directing Fyee towards the black mass that served as the exit. "Tabitha, can you please find a room for her?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tabitha responded with a cherry smile.

"It was a long day," Fyee said turning to leave. "Just so you know, my feelings towards you have never changed. I love you, Clover the Clever, and I always will."

"My greatest regret was losing you," Clover the Clever said unable to keep her tears back any longer. "Please Fyee, don't make my mistake. Even if you can't save him, don't lose him either, understand?"

"That was never even a possibility. There is no way I will lose to that witch, got it?!" Fyee stated, her expression a frightening gaze, and a fiery aura blazing brightly from her insectoid exoskeleton.

"Such passion! Oh, if I had a body I would take you on this stone floor right now!" Clover the Clever said completely turned on by Fyee's passionate display of love; one could say she was almost jealous of how her former lover cared so deeply for Iscariat.

"Ah, you never were subtle," Fyee replied, her gaze softening, and aura fading as they all broke into a laugh. "Right, well see you later Clover, and stay beautiful honey."

"Goodbye, and I'm glad we finally settled the past," Clover the Clever said, as she took an extra long second to admire Fyee's well toned rump before she exited Clover's crypt. "Oh, Celestia knows I've been missing that fine ass. Iscariat, you better not screw this up, or I will kill you."

It was as if a great burden was lifted from Fyee's shoulder, and while this was hardly the time to rest on her laurels, the knowledge she has obtained gave her some much needed hope. Resting her head upon a pillow, Tabitha curled up beside her, Fyee slipped into a deep sleep, her spiritual, physical and magical energies finally given time to recuperate. As she rested in peace, things were anything but back in Pony Ville, for it has been over two hours since Princess Twilight stormed off, and she has yet to be found. Princess Celestia was getting concerned, but she was unable to offer much assistance due to the injury she suffered when she blocked Iscariat's attack; the slash still pulsated with pain even after Cadence mended it, and wrapped it up in bandages. The Sun was rising over the horizon, every pony was so exhausted from searching that they had to call it off until they got some rest.

Princess Celestia was so worried about her faithful student, however even this level of stress could not fend off her body's needs, and before she knew it she too was asleep like all the others. An whilst they all slept, Princess Twilight was hundreds of miles away, her emotions still influencing her actions, and thoughts. She was on a mission, and nothing save death would detour her; "I don't care who he thinks he is, no pony does that to my friends and mentor, and to think I looked up to him," Princess Twilight said as she stared at the now eclipsed city of Canterlot, her rage in control, and all logical thought gone from her mind.

"I'll show them both, you don't mess with Twilight Sparkle's family," Princess Twilight said, a magenta aura enshrouding her horn, and her eyes stone cold, as she leaped into the air then suddenly vanished from sight.  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

    

Chapter 10: Know Your Place

Evil; one of the most controversial words to ever exist, and a label that is constantly tossed around so casually by the wise and ignorant alike. Iscariat was no exception, in his hay day he did battle with many a pony that he believed was evil, and maybe they were, but what defines evil! Is evil something that purely seeks the death and misfortune of others, is it a state of mind that goes against the norms of society, or is it just whatever those in power deem it to be? Normally Iscariat would stay firm to his own definitions, but there is nothing normal about everything that has transpired, and he knew that this is only the beginning. It hurt him; not having a way to sort this debacle out literally pained him, for he hated, above all else, the concept of not knowing how to manage a situation, and not blunder about in the dark like some ignorant boob.

Awaking with a jerk, Iscariat shot up from his bed, his head pounding, and heart racing as his body suddenly convulsed with pain. Magical energies seeped out of his horn like a sieve, and as it did he could feel his skin shriveling up like a grape in the midday Sun. The process lasted for only ten seconds, but it felt more like one hundred years had passed, and his body mirrored it. Were it not for his Unicorn physiology, Iscariat would have been rendered an invalid by this rapid age degeneration, but he was no longer a spry young stallion either.

"A bit later than hypothesized, but still within margin for error," Iscariat said, as he examined his wrinkled hooves. "However, I did not expect the pain to be so excruciating."

Slowly rising from the bed, Iscariat hobbled over to his suite's bathroom, and in the sink's vanity mirror he saw the aging process' complete damage. All the hair in his mane and tail were now ghostly white, the skin around his eye sockets had crow's feet, and his height had reduced by almost two inches; so instead of being five foot he now stood at four foot eight inches. Of course the visible derogation was negligible, what really concerned him was what could not be seen, and it was there where the true damage surfaced. Simply put his eye sight was virtually shot; "I might require corrective lens," he said out loud, his joints ached from arthritis, his muscles mass had greatly reduced, which in turn reduced his physical strength; Iscariat doubted he could smash a Ward anymore, and on top of everything else his mind grew groggy, recalling things proved much more difficult, if not impossible, depending on how far he thought back. Fortunately his magical skills had not atrophied with the rest of his body; at least not yet, however they may as well have, for due to his physical dilapidation he had to rely that much more on his magic to compensate.

Tearing off his tattered vest, and then burning it to ashes with a flick of his horn, Iscariat now examined the crescent scar on his chest. The bare skin felt smooth inside the crescent shape, but its perimeter felt rough and coarse like granite or rock candy. His sudden aging has caused some minor cracking around the scar, purely superficial since no blood trinkled out, but it was a tell tale sign that his skin was now compromised, and each aging cycle would cause the cracks to worsen until his whole chest caves in. To some ponies this turn of events would probably cause them to start lamenting over their choices in life, that whether or not they lived to the fullest, and did not waste the precious gift that is a life. Iscariat, however, did not exhibit any of that, for to him death would be a welcome reprieve from his current state, and quite frankly he still didn't understand why an average pony like him got shoe horned into this kind of life.

Finished with his physical examination, Iscariat thought it best to greet the day with a clean and fresh start; so he took a quick shower. It took him fifteen minutes to cleanse his body of dirt and grime, and then an extra ten minutes to groom his mane, tail, and coat. Once he was perfectly pristine and presentable, he exited the bathroom, and conjured his saddle bags on to his bed. Rummaging through the right bag, Iscariat extracted a new vest; this one was made of tweed, it was black with a zipper, and two sets of enchanted pockets able to hold items up to the size of a small four pony table. Upon donning the vest, Iscariat stuffed his watch in the right bottom pocket, then placed Discord's snow globe prison in his left top pocket, and none too soon for a knock came at the door.

Opening the door, Iscariat was greeted by Nightmare Moon, the tall Alicorn was without her armor, and strangely enough, Iscariat felt embarrassed by this.

"Um...your highness, you're not wearing your armor," Iscariat said, while making sure to keep his eyes locked with Nightmare's.

"Well that is not very romantic," Nightmare Moon said, as she used her magic to gently unzip his vest's zipper, and then with her left hoof she caressed the crescent wound on his chest.

"What..." but before he could even ask his question, Nightmare Moon's lips locked with his, and suddenly instinct took over. "Perhaps your highness would prefer to gaze upon a more fairer form."

"No," Nightmare Moon said between kisses, as she continued to caress Iscariat's scar gently, but vigorously. "Why settle for a lie, when I have the real thing right here?"

A fiery passion awoke within Iscariat's very soul, he did not understand what this new sensation was, and frankly he didn't care, for all that mattered was the feeling itself. Their tongues locked in a warm embrace, both could feel tiny sparks discharging from their respective horns as the emotions they have both repressed for years finally swelled up inside them, just itching to be released. Unable to control herself, Nightmare Moon took both her fore hooves and wrapped them around Iscariat's back, and with a delicate touch she commenced to grope and take his measure. Slowly Nightmare, while still locked in a kiss, nudged Iscariat ever closer to the bed, she was eager to consummate this moment before Iscariat returned to his normal self, and on a personal level, she truly wished for her first to be him. Mere inches away from the bed, Iscariat could feel his body preparing to go into auto pilot, his nerves were going off like Christmas lights, he knew he had only one chance, and yet despite all of this stress he also felt an underlying layer of serenity that gave him the solace he required to follow through.

It all happened so fast, faster even than Nightmare could process, but Iscariat was ready. In one swift motion, Iscariat broke the kiss and tossed Nightmare right on to the bed just before Twilight Sparkle lowered her invisibility veil, and unleashed a powerful lightning bolt she had been charging up since they started kissing. The bolt struck him square in the chest, cracking it open, as well as containing enough kinetic force to propel him through the back wall, and down towards the city streets fifty feet below; he did not, however, go alone. Unbeknownst to Twilight, Iscariat had wrapped a thin magic thread around her left fore hoof, and by the time she noticed, it was too late, and she was out the hole with Iscariat. Taking a firm hold of the thread connecting them, Iscariat used what remained of his once formidable strength to control Twilight's trajectory, and her eventual landing zone.

Having just recovered from their hectic experience last night, the citizens of Canterlot were shocked when they saw that their magnificent city was enshrouded by an eerie dome of translucent dark energy. Oddly enough the dome did not hinder them from coming or going, the wind could blow through it, and for the most part the city's day to day activates were only negligibly slowed by the increase of Solaris Guards. The only thing the dark dome seemed to affect was the brightness of the Sun, for within the city limits the Sun's normally radiant light has been reduced to a much paler shell of its former glory. However, any concerns for the strange dome were immediately cast aside when two ponies suddenly crashed into two separate establishments in front of the Castle gates. Not wishing for any civilian to get hurt, as well as to not have a repeat of yesterday's fiasco, the Solaris Guards immediately got to work evacuating the area, while two of the corps more powerful spell casters prepared to diffuse the situation before it could escalate; or perhaps it is better to say, "they tried."

The two guards chosen to deal with whom ever was the instigator of this breech of the peace were unsure of what they were about to deal with, but the last thing Knockout and Pressure Point expected to see was an infuriated Princess Twilight Sparkle. Knockout attempted to get to the bottom of this enigma by speaking to the Princess, but the magical energies swirling around her were so intense that any pony too weak to bear them were instantly rendered unconscious, and though Knockout and Pressure Point were on par with Captain Stone Brow, even they failed to stand in the young Princess' presence. Iscariat rose from the shattered remains of some pony's vegetable stand, his chest was singed and literally cracked in several areas encompassing his crescent wound, blood did not seep out, for the muscles and veins exposed were cauterized, and thus incapable of bleeding. Twilight needed only to see Iscariat moving before unleashing another powerful bolt, this time, however, it failed her for Iscariat deflected the bolt with a barrier comprised of an opposite energy frequency. Using the opening his deflection awarded, Iscariat closed the distance and clenched Twilight's left hoof with his own. and in that same instance he chained them both together with a steel maniacal.

"Got you, your highness," Iscariat said confidently.

"You think so?" Princess Twilight said, but from behind Iscariat, not the front.

"Not good," Iscariat said as he watched the Twilight in front of him melt away in a  cloud of vapor, and in its place, shackled to him, was a lightning golem; the most complex, and deadliest of all elemental golems. "Have you lost your mind?! Conjuring and unstable lightning golem in a populated area! I can accept you want to hurt, if not kill me, but these ponies are innocent, and your subjects!"

"Don't you dare hide behind them!" Princess Twilight shouted, her eyes full of hate and aggression. "I looked up to you, but then you hurt the Princess and tried to kill my friends! Your actions are unforgivable, and as a Princess of Equestria, I pass judgement on you!"

"I will not dispute your words, your highness. However, I apologize for what I'm about to do," Iscariat said using his magic to conjure forth a sword of black fire, then taking a firm grip of it with his right fore hoof, he raised it over his head. "I ask that you avert your eyes, your highness."

"What are you going to do with that?" Princess Twilight asked, nervously taking a step back, and erecting a strong barrier around herself; though what happened wasn't what she expected.

There was no hesitation when Iscariat swung, his blazing black sword cleaved through skin, muscle, and bone as though these obstructions were made of bamboo, and at the same time singing the blood vessels shut so no blood may be unnecessarily lost. Twilight could not believe it, for in the time it takes a pony to blink, Iscariat had severed his own left hoof clean off, but he wasn't done yet. Biting his lower lip to numb the pain, Iscariat imbedded the black fire sword into the ground, inches from the highly volatile golem, then with a flick of his horn, and the utterance of a single word; "Immolation," things got really hot. A flaming black cube materialized around the golem, fire erupted skyward super heating the air, but that was nothing compared to the cremation taking place inside the cube's walls. Three seconds after the cube formed a massive explosion rung out, lighting crackled through the fiery walls, but the bolts were just tiny sparks that would merely tingle if some pony actually came into contact with them.

"I can sense your confusion, your highness," Iscariat said, his stump of a leg throbbed with unimaginable pain, but he endured, and stood tall on his three remaining hooves. "The spell is called Immolation; it is a Tier One fire spell that, in its complete state, can generate enough fire and heat equal to a supernova. Such power does have its cost, as you have just bear witness. So, now I ask you, your highness, do you still resolve to carry out your justice?"

"You don't scare me," Princess Twilight said firmly standing her ground, sparks prickling from the tip of her horn.

"I have no desire to do such a thing, your highness," Iscariat said, as he extinguished the flames by sealing the cube in a barrier devoid of all air, and then turned to face Twilight. "I merely want to make sure if this is what you really want."

"I don't need your helps. I know what I want!" Princess Twilight said trying to sound sure, but her body betrayed her with uncontrollable shivers.

"Then why do you tremble?" Iscariat boldly retorted.

"Shut up! I'll show you right now! I'm not afraid!" Princess Twilight shouted as she began her spell weaving.

His severed appendage ached something fierce, but after what Twilight just displayed he knew he couldn't afford to let her cast anymore spells. Channeling magic into his horn, Iscariat conjured forth an elemental construct of his own; a wind golem to be exact. Next to a lighting golem, wind golems are the hardest to manifest and control due to winds natural desire to be free and unencumbered. Like all conjured wind golems, Iscariat's construct assumed the shape of a Pegasi, a thin permeable membrane coated its body to give it shape, and contain the gale force winds that comprised its body. Not sure what to expect, Iscariat had his golem lung at Twilight first with a strong gust created from flapping its wings rapidly.

Twilight smirked as the gust collided with her, previously erected, barrier, and was reduced to less than huff and puff. However, in her arrogance she failed to notice Iscariat casting another spell, and by the time she caught on it was too late to react. Shrieking from the tip of Iscariat's horn were glass shattering sound waves that collided hard against Twilight's barrier, amplifying the noise within ten fold, and almost breaking the Princess' concentration. As the sound waves increased in intensity they slowly began to crack Twilight's barrier as an earthquake splits open a mountain, and now that it was weakened, Iscariat commanded his golem to strike again. Her barrier compromised, Twilight had no choice but to attempt to teleport, or else be blown away by the golem's razor wind.

Iscariat's golem easily tore through Twilight's damaged shell, an as he predicted she teleported to escape any harm, but what she probably did not expect was that he had a trap set for when she rematerialized. Teleporting exactly where he calculated she would; six feet away on his left side, the trap instantly sprung, a glowing green rune manifested beneath her, and before she knew it a thorny bush ensnared her completely. The bush's thorns were arranged in a manner that made it impossible to move without being pierced by the thorn's sharp points, and yet Twilight did not seem concerned. Noticing that she was still amassing magical energies around her horn, Iscariat too no chances and sought to out right crush her accumulated magic. Focusing on Twilight's horn, Iscariat shot a concentrated beam of magic, both grey and magenta magical auras enveloped one another, devouring and constricting until neither was indistinguishable.

"Thank you, Iscariat," Princess Twilight said with a sinister smirk. "You reacted exactly as I thought you would, and now with your assistance I have amassed enough to cast my spell."

Too late to correct his blunder, Iscariat broke his connection, and then braced himself as a powerful ring of raw material energy exploded out from Twilight's body. The circular band withered the thorn bush containing the Princess to dust, it also striped Iscariat's golem of it's thin membrane, thus releasing the winds that comprised its body into the air, and lastly it pushed Iscariat into the Castle Courtyard. Iscariat collided with the fountain in the courtyard's center, the brass effigy of Princess Celestia that made up the whole of the fountain came crashing down on his head after he compromised its foundation with his collision. The five hundred pound statue nearly shattered his neck, damn near killing him, as well as snapping three ribs, fracturing the femur in his right back leg, and his skull was partially split open. Blood trinkled down the left side of his head and mixed with the water he lay in, a stinging sensation emanated from the top of his scalp whenever the water came in contact with the area, and his once white mane was slightly stained pint when his blood mixed with it.

"Get up Iscariat!" Princess Twilight shouted, as she atomized the brass statue with a tiny blast of the colossal mountain of power Iscariat unknowingly bequeathed her. "I'm far from down, and we both know you have suffered worse."

Forcing himself up, Iscariat and Twilight shared one long gaze before the dual resumed with Twilight telekinetically hurling one of the heavy marble columns that flanked the courtyard. Teleporting out of the way, Iscariat materialized just behind Twilight, a tiny grey sphere of magical energy hovered over his horn, but before he could capitalize on his attack, Twilight teleported the column over his head, and thrust it in a vertical angle, right on top of him. Retooling the spell he planned to use, Iscariat propelled the tiny grey sphere through the column's base, and with a flick of his horn, the sphere detonated. A steel fabric shot out of both ends of the column, enveloping it, then as it descended a loud crack was heard, followed by another, and before their eyes, the large column was quickly crumbled as the steel fabric shrank and contracted, reducing the once tall structure into a tiny pebble no bigger than a bit. Refusing to let Iscariat recompose, Twilight continued her atrocious assault by duplicating herself five times, then each Twilight converged around Iscariat in a pentagon, and then together they brought down a powerful bolt of lightning, as well as each generating a bolt of their own.

Unfazed by this six way strike, Iscariat maintained his cool, he carefully took in the speed and overall energy output of all six lightning bolts, and with his analysis compete, he commenced his counter attack. Concentrating on each individual bolt, Iscariat blasted five grey beams at the five lightning bolts the five Twilight's shot, his rays enshrouded the targeted bolts, and once cloaked Iscariat forced all of them straight towards the largest bolt above him. By coating the bolts in his magic aura, Iscariat was able to control their direction, and when all the lighting collided a powerful shock wave erupted across the sky, causing random static bolts to lash out at anything to cross its path; fortunately they produced no more than a minor shock. Twilight and her clones were furious; "No Unicorn should be able to accomplish this," they all thought, unable to accept the level of skill displayed before their ten eyes.

"Your highness, I can keep this up all day, so please, I implore you to see reason, and go home," Iscariat deadpanned.

"I told you already! I will not be intimidated!" Princess Twilight and her duplicates said in perfect unison.

"It seems I'm wasting my breath," Iscariat said in a disappointed tone. "Which means I must now...Put an end to this contest."

"How arrogant!" the Twilight to Iscariat's top left said.

"Indeed," the Twilight directly diagonal to the other that spoke concurred.

"You will put an end to this? Absurd, and preposterous," the Twilight at the very front said, a truly disgusted expression on her face. "Don't assume you got me figured out. I still have a few surprises left."

Caught completely off guard, Iscariat failed to stretch his awareness to his footing, and so paid the price for his lack of vigilance. It was at that moment that Iscariat understood the Princess' true objective, by dividing herself into five identical clones, then forming a pentagon around him, she had effectively created an array without lines; she was the array. Even as he was enveloped by a violet cloth made of pure magic, Iscariat could not help but silently applaud Twilight's take on an ancient form of magic, she basically recreated the wheel, for not only did she and her clones make up the array, but the clones served as the power source; evident in their slowly fading bodies, and glowing magenta auras. However, as if he wasn't impressed enough, Twilight continued to astonish by following through with a completely different spell, and using the magic she pilfered from Iscariat as the payment.

"The seven gates of Heaven. The six hundred sixty six chains of Hell. The iron box of Limbo. Converge around the blasphemer, so he may repent for his sins. Let him find peace at the utterance of the word; Absolution," Princess Twilight said completing her chant, and thus empowering her spell.

As Iscariat was completely swallowed by the violet cloth seven golden bar gates materialized above him, and when each swung open they released a powerful vacuum that pulled him up to their center. Beneath Iscariat the earth split open to create a volcanic pit, hot vapors shot out distorting all the air around the pit, and from the devilish glowing inferno rose exactly six hundred sixty six chains. The black iron chains were still dripping with red hot magma as they encircled and shackled Iscariat in their tight embrace, leaving only his head, albeit covered by the cloth, exposed. Once restrained by the chains, the seven gates slammed shut, and shattered to pieces, their gold hue melted away leaving only a gun metal grey color in its wake, and from those pieces an iron maiden took form. The dreadful object levitated behind Iscariat, its horrid door opened with a sickening creak, exposing its spike interior, and without a moments pause it snapped shut with a thunderous slam and then silence preceded.

From the observation platform at the top of Canterlot Castle, Nightmare Moon, still bared of her armor, has been watching the battle for quite some time. At first she was indescribably enraged by Twilight's unexpected interruption of her and Iscariat's magic moment, but once she had cooled down, Nightmare was rather intrigued by the young Alicorn's natural talent, and raw power. One of the scariest facts to dawn on Nightmare was Twilight's skill with the invisibility spell, for to be completely shrouded even from Nightmare's sense of perception was no mean feat; though curiously enough, Iscariat was not fooled for an instant, and planned accordingly. On some level, Nightmare could see beyond the defiant aspects of this petty rebellion; if it could even be called that, and instead saw the bright future of a prominent regnant, and perhaps even a worthy acolyte. However, before such a gracious honor can even be considered, the child had to learn her place, and Iscariat was the perfect instructor for such an important lesson.

"I see now why my sister devoted so many resources, so much of her time and undying love to you, little Princess. There is no doubt you will become more powerful and wise than any of us; myself included," Nightmare Moon softly spoke, as she shifted her gaze from the huffing and puffing Princess Twilight to the iron maiden still floating in the air, high above the fiery pit, a sinister sneer snaked its way up her muzzle. "However, even with all your gifts, and rich pedigree, you are still a far cry from the one I have chosen to be by my side."

Twilight was exhausted, her legs nearly buckled on her, but she managed to recover through shear force of will. Her breathing was heavy and every one of her extremities felt like they were made of lead, and her horn was throbbing to no end causing extreme discomfort. However, despite all her discomforts, she was feeling good, she had engage and bested a Wizard, who, for as long as she has known him, has stood above her in every category of magic. The sensation was indescribable, it was equate to the first time Rainbow Dash taught her to properly make use of her wings, and like then it was wonderful; a sense of freedom and euphoria that was borderline intoxicating. Deep down she regretted that it had to come to this, for even now with a strong hatred burning inside her, she still had some respect for Iscariat, and it was a lose to all the Kingdoms that she had to seal him away.

Seeing no reason to stay, Twilight turned her attention to Nightmare, whom she knew has been observing their fight from the observation platform. Glaring up at the near omnipotent, and veritable Goddess, towering above all of Canterlot, and perhaps even all of Equestria in terms of power and shear presence. Though greatly exhausted from her spell casting, Twilight was still mentally prepared to tackle Nightmare, and anything the ancient Alicorn has in store for her. To Twilight's surprise, Nightmare Moon did not move or even blink, she just stood there gazing down at her with a smug look that twisted Twilight's stomach, and further fueled her rage.

"An just what do you find so amusing?!" Princess Twilight shouted, her expression hard, and cold.

Nightmare did not respond with words, but instead with a simple gesture; she pointed behind Twilight, right at the iron maiden still floating in the air. Quickly snapping her attention towards the metal torture device, Twilight expected something to explode, or a portal to open, or even for the iron maiden to just open, but nothing happened. A full minute passed, an still nothing, Twilight did not understand, was Nightmare toying with her, trying to open her up for a sneak attack; Twilight could not say. Just as she was about to turn back towards Nightmare, Twilight heard a sharp cracking sound coming from everywhere, an yet nowhere, and fearing an assault she assumed a defensive position with her horn poised for battle. The cracking grew louder until a visible crack materialized right in front of her, and when the air only inches from her face literally shattered like glass standing before was Iscariat.

"But how?!" Princess Twilight shouted, completely unable to accept this. "I know I had you, so how?! How did you escape?!"

"It wasn't easy," Iscariat replied with a huff and a puff, his coat glowing with sweat. "You have greatly improved in such a short time, and were it any other pony you would have won. However, once upon a time, escaping from traps like this were my specialty, so I just dusted off one of my old parlor tricks; crude, but effective, mind you."

Twilight was veritably left speechless, to her there was no way Iscariat could have escaped that seal with just some "parlor trick." Grinning her teeth in agitation, Princess Twilight shot an intense magic infused glare that utterly vaporized the iron maiden, leaving behind only the chains and violet cloth that she assumed could hold the ancient stallion. As she watched the chains and cloth descend into the volcanic pit; and quite possibly incinerate in the blazing magma there in, Twilight could not help but shed a lone tear. In the end everything she had in her arsenal amounted to less than nothing, and this was against a lone Unicorn, who by all accounts should not be able to compete with her Alicorn physiology. An it was then that Fyee's words finally sunk in, and while she dread admitting it, Twilight now understood that her superior power could not hold a candle to Iscariat's incredible experience; at least not yet.

"Damn it," Princess Twilight said falling to her haunches, and her docked up tears at last released. "How can this be? I just can't comprehend this, it makes no sense!"

"It will, in time," Iscariat responded, as he limped over to the Princess, and laid his right fore hoof upon her head.

"Don't you lecture me, traitor!" Princess Twilight shouted knocking his hoof away, her face greatly confronted in anger.

"Ah, as I said, you will understand in time, but for now go home," Iscariat said, and with a flick of his horn he teleported Twilight several miles away before promptly collapsing on the ground; his aged body well past its limit. "Ah, growing old is awful. Now I know how grandfather felt in his twilight years."

"I would disagree, but then again, you don't appear to be aging gracefully," Captain Stone Brow said, as he approached Iscariat from the city street.

"Captain Stone Brow? Are you here to arrest me?" Iscariat asked from the ground; he was still too tired to move.

"Now why would I do a thing like that?" Captain Stone Brow retorted, as he reached out, and slung Iscariat over his shoulders. "Now let's get you to medic, and then we can talk."

"That will not be necessary, Captain," Nightmare Moon said walking from the Castle forure into the Courtyard, sporting royal regality similar to Princess Luna's, except Nightmare's was made of silver.

"Nightmare Moon?" Captain Stone Brow said, his normally deadpanned expression replaced by a stupefied stare.

"Is that any way to address your ruler?" Nightmare Moon retorted, quite disappointed with the lack of respect. "As Captain of the Royal Guard you are to always address me as 'your highness,' or 'Empress Nightmare.' Is that understood?"

"What is going on here?" Captain Stone Brow asked, his mind still unable to wrap around all this.

"Comprehension is not a requisite of cooperation, Captain," Nightmare Moon stated, as she used her magic to teleport Iscariat to her private chamber, and then focused her full attention on Stone Brow. "Now then, I will be blunt, Captain. Celestia is no longer in charge, I 'am, which means you, and all your subordinates follow my orders. An my first command is to clean up all the damage done to my Castle, and the city post haste. I also want any wounded brought to the Castle infirmary for treatment, and finally when all that is done, I want you to round up all the Castle staff, and bring them to the Throne Room; I personally wish to inform you all on the new regime. Can you handle all this Captain, or must I seek out one who can?"

"No, you highness, I will see to it that your will is done," Captain Stone Brow said, the devoted solider in him refusing to disobey a direct order from a superior; even though said superior is a usurper.

"Good, I would hate to deprive Equestria of such a loyal Captain," Nightmare Moon said, as she turned on her hooves, and made her way back into the Castle, Captain Stone Brow bowing respectfully as she left.

Now alone, Captain Stone Brow took a moment to process everything he has just seen and heard, it was all so confusing, and frankly a little above his pay grade; though not by much. Realizing he didn't have the necessary time to truly soak this in, Stone Brow thought it best not to make any waves for now, and instead play as the good solider. Mean while, ten miles away on some dirt road, Princess Twilight was positively distraught, depicted by her ruffled feathers, and frizzled up mane. She was so out of it she failed to notice Fyee approaching; apparently the Changeling caught sight of the blinding flash that prelude Twilight's materialization, as she was flying back to Pony Ville.

"Twilight, are you alright?" Fyee asked, taking great care to approach the flustered Princess gingerly.

"Come to gloat?!" Princess Twilight sharply retorted, as she glared daggers at Fyee.

"Gloat?" Fyee asked puzzled, until she felt the latent sensation of Iscariat's aura enshrouding Twilight, and then her expression became a mixture of concern and slight anger. "You...You...You stupid, ignorant, foolish, reckless, simpleminded, obtuse, dense, selective hearing, arrogant little brat!"

Twilight was taken back by Fyee's sudden out burst, but the Changeling was far from done, as Twilight would soon understand. Fyee's body appear to grow, her head became more instectoid; ant like to be exact, massive spikes grew out of her spine, and her wings not only expanded in proportion to her bodies new size, but they also seemed to produce a spore like substance with each flap. Even when compared to the horrors Twilight has experienced in the EverFree Forest this transformation Fyee has taken completely dwarfs it all. Too terrified to even cast a barrier spell, Twilight merely dropped to her knees, and hide her head beneath her front fore hooves while whimpering like a small child during a thunder storm. Just as she thought that the end was near silence then followed, and after that the pitter patter of tears falling on the ground; though they were not Twilight's.

Taking a risk, Twilight looked up to see Fyee, monster no longer, but her normal self, crying and shedding tears, her chest heaving with each cry, and her nose stuffing up from all the tears. Before Twilight knew what happened, Fyee lunged out, dropping to her knees and embracing Twilight's neck in a strong hug.

"Thank goodness that you were not killed," Fyee said between sobs, tears dripped from chin and landed on Twilight's cheeks. "What were you thinking?! Did you think you could stand up to two elite spell casters?! Did you even consider those you would leave behind if you were to die?! Your parents?! Your brother?! Your friends?! How could you be so selfish?!"

"Fyee, I'm so..." but before she could reply, Fyee broke the embrace, and instead took hold of Twilight's head and brought their muzzles within inches of the other.

"No, don't apologize to me," Fyee said, and with a flick of her horn, she and Twilight were now in the Golden Oak Library; everypony suddenly awoken by their sudden entrance. "Apologize to them!"

Everypony was still half asleep when Fyee and Twilight just teleported in, spooking poor Spike half to death, and effectively waking everypony up in earnest. Shaking of her grogginess first, Pinkie Pie instantly identified Twilight, and rapidly proceeded to hug her to pieces with her natural Earth Pony strength; which she tends to forget she possesses. In turn everyone of her friends, and loved ones showed how thankful they were to see that she was finally home, safe and sound. However, all this display of love served only to make Twilight feel more guilty about her actions, and while Fyee said nothing on the matter, Twilight simply could not keep this a secret. An so with a deep breath she called for everypony's attention, and without the slightest hesitation she came clean, divulging everything that transpired in these shorts hours; safe to say her friends' moods quickly shifted gears, but it was Princess Celestia alone who had the floor.

"Twilight Sparkle, I have never been more disappointed in all my life, and that is saying a lot," Princess Celestia sternly spoke, the library completely vacant save her, Twilight, and Fyee. All three sat in a triangle formation in the center of the library's forure. "Your conduct was most unbecoming of a Princess of Equestria, not to mention reckless. You could have died! Do you understand the seriousness of these ramifications?!"  

"I'm sorry, I really am," Princess Twilight earnestly said, her eyes fixated on Celestia's hooves rather than her mentor's face; which was devoid of her normal kind expression. "It was a stupid, impulsive mistake. A colossal error in judgement on my part."

"The fact that you responded in that manner proves to me that you failed to grasp my underlining meaning," Princess Celestia replied, as she rubbed her left temple, and exhaled in frustration.

"I don't understand," Princess Twilight said looking up, puzzled by Celestia's overwhelming frustration.

"Think girl!" Fyee exclaimed whilst trapping her own skull vigorously. "What do you think would happen to Equestria without a legitimate heir to the throne?"

An it was then that Twilight understood the ultimate consequence of her action, for were she to die, Canterlot's throne would be without an heir, and if Celestia were to perish against Nightmare then the evil despot's claim would truly be absolute. Both Celestia and Fyee knew that Twilight at last realized the gravity of the situation; a situation that she need not have been in if she simply cooled down, and calmly thought things through. For a time they remained silent, allowing Twilight to fully immerse herself in just how much trouble she was in, while at the same time letting Celestia think up an appropriate form of punishment.

"Before I deliver my judgement, do you have anything to say for yourself, Twilight Sparkle?" Princess Celestia asked, her gaze stern and uncompromising.

"Ah," Princess Twilight sighed shaking her head as a response.

"Very well," Princess Celestia said, as she spread her wings, and pointed her left fore hoof at Twilight. "I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, hereby sentence you, Princess Twilight Sparkle to remain by Fyee Chrysendia's side until further notice. That is all."

"What?" Princess Twilight asked, totally baffled by Celestia's statement.

"Bet you weren't expecting that, huh kid?" Fyee said with a grinning tease.

"But Princess..." Princess Twilight tried to rebut, only to be shot down by Celestia's stern gaze.

"No 'buts,' Twilight. It is clear to me that you are not mature enough to be trusted to act responsibly. So, if you are going to act like a filly, then I will treat you like one," Princess Celestia said, effectively closing the matter.

"Yes, your highness. Sorry, your highness," Princess Twilight said, her head held low in defeat.

"Understand Twilight, I'm doing this because I care," Princess Celestia said as she reached out with her massive wings, and embraced Twilight in a warm hug; whilst a few tears broke free fro her closed eye lids. "I beg you, never do something so reckless again. I don't know if my heart could take it. So please, just don't. Okay?"

"Okay," Princess Twilight softly spoke, before she too broke into tears.

"Alright, I think we have an understanding," Princess Celestia said cracking a smile, and gently nuzzling Twilight's cheek. "Now, I'm sure you're exhausted, so I want you to go up to your room, and get some rest. We can talk more later."

"Okay," Princes Twilight replied wiping her tears, and then kissing Celestia on the cheek. However, before making for the stairs, she turned towards Fyee with a sad expression. "Fyee, I'm..."

"Shhh, later. Right now to bed; off you go," Fyee softly said with a sincere smile, as Twilight returned in kind, and then disappeared up the stairs. "She really is special, and has a big heart. It's too bad she is quick to anger, otherwise she would make an excellent leader."

"She is normally more level headed, but Iscariat's action really hurt her," Princess Celestia said closing her eyes as she took a deep breath, and then calmly exhaled. "An what about you?"

"What about me?" Fyee retorted innocently.

"Don't play coy," Princess Celestia deadpanned, casting Fyee a side wards glare. "I doubt you could be taking this any better than any of us. So, I ask again, 'what about you?'"

"Honestly, I feel awful," Fyee said, unable to make eye contact. "An even though I know it is far from hopeless, I still have this pain inside me. I'm afraid, Celestia, that even if we get him back he won't be the same."

"It is alright Fyee. What you are feeling is a normal sensation, and it is fine to be afraid because it shows that you care," Princess Celestia said laying a hoof on Fyee's shoulder.

"I know your right, heck I'm only two thousand years out of your age group after all," Fyee said with an inherent chuckle, though Celestia may as well have had her own personal rain cloud to depict how she felt about Fyee's statement. "That reminds me, you and mom are the same age, more or less. Though, when I think about it, you might be slightly to moderately older due to your large build, constant shedding of plumage, and faint hints of wrinkles and crow's feet."

"Is this going somewhere?" Princess Celestia sharply retorted as she retracted her hoof, and folded her wings shut; all the while with a stern, an yet still soft, expression.

"Oh, yeah. Hehehe, sorry about that," Fyee said as she scratched the back of her head, and stuck out her tongue playfully. "Anyway, since you and my mother grew up together, I was just curious if my mother was different back then; she always brushes the question away when I ask her."

"Those were the good old days," Princess Celestia said closing her eyes as she recalled all those joyous memories. "So, what do you want to know exactly?"

"Well for starters, how different was she, personality wise?" Fyee eagerly asked.

"Oh we were both radically different back then," Princess Celestia snickered. "Why I could tell you stories about the trouble we got into. Of course most of it was my fault, I suppose you could say I had daddy issues; sort of."

"No need to be subtle, mom told me all about you exploits; Wild Cat," Fyee said, and couldn't help but break into a full blown laughter at Celestia's predicted expression. "I'm so sorry! Hehehe, but when mom said what your reaction might be, I just had to see for myself, and she totally nailed it!"

Princess Celestia was quite literally petrified, her heart nearly stopped twice after hearing that one phrase escape Fyee's lips, her wings were splayed out stiff as boards, and her face was comparable to a rip tomato.

"Chrysalis told you about that?" Princess Celestia asked, her left eye twitching slightly.

"Yeah, she said she gave you the nickname because you were so feisty, and didn't take nothing from no pony," Fyee said starting to rein in her laughter.

"Nickname?...I mean, yes! Nickname, of course," Princess Celestia said sighing in relief as she heard what Fyee said. "Right, well it seems you know more about me than I would have thought. Anyway, concerning your mother, she was an extremely kind and yet strong willed mare. I remember she once helped a family of Earth Ponies til their entire field, and even when they offered her a small stipend as compensation, she adamantly refused."

"Even coming from you, it sounds like a complete fantasy," Fyee said with a skeptical smirk. "However, if what you say is true, then what happened to make her change? Do you even know?"

"She fell in love, but it cost her more than she bargained for," Princess Celestia solemnly said, as she took a new position right next to Fyee rather than across.

"Was it my father? Mom doesn't talk about him much, and when she does it is never positive," Fyee asked hopefully, for while she may not know much of her mother, she knew little to nothing about her old man; Chrysalis never even told Fyee his name, or if he even was a Changeling.

"He left deep wounds on her, wounds that she is still recovering from," Princess Celestia said, a rage filled expression on her face.

"What did he do?" Fyee asked, refusing to let Celestia's frightful gaze detour her from learning anything she could of her estranged father.

"Simply put, he was a selfish brute that took your mother for granted, and royally abused her good nature," Princess Celestia said, her body growing hotter with her anger; visiting display by the warping of the air around her. "An worse yet, he failed to perform at the moment of truth. The bastard let her out to dry when she needed him most!"

Silence presided as Celestia vented her rage through her natural affinity for pyromancy, and Fyee be damned if she tried to even speak before the Sun Princess rebalanced herself. As Fyee and Celestia sat in silence, Fyee pondered over her earliest memories, trying in vain to see if she could recall her father at all, but as always she merely arrives at the same place. Fyee was barely a toddler at the time, and yet this one memory has persevered for two thousand years; "A rare phenomena," Princess Luna once said when Fyee inquired her about it. While it lacked in much detail, the feeling it brought out of her, whenever she recalled, more than made up for its painful simplicity. Brandishing a smile, Fyee replayed the tender moment in time; she was so small, hardly a foot and a half, her wings were still developing an her eye sight was still quite weak, but despite her frail senses Fyee retained enough to imprint her surroundings.

Fyee could tell that she was in some room with a fire place, due to the initial warmth she recalled feeling around her. She couldn't discern anything else about the room, but she knew that there was no place safer. As she moved around in an attempt to get more comfortable, Fyee could feel something soft drape over her like a silk blanket or something of that high quality material. Briefly peaking through her semi closed eye lids, Fyee could see the vague outline of somepony resting beside her, and the pony noticed her looking. An the last thing Fyee could remember was the wondrous feeling of the pony drawing her closer, the soothing sensation of the other's heart beat lulling Fyee back to sleep, and then the light kiss on her fore head that followed made Fyee feel like she was in some kind of heaven; a place where only love and happiness could reside.

As Fyee lost herself in the warmth of her memory, she slowly began to doze off, her body slipping into a relaxed state. Before she knew it Fyee feel into a deep sleep, and without her conscious mind calling the shots, her body went limp and landed against Celestia's body as it fell. Smiling down at the slumbering Changeling leaning against her, Princess Celestia, not wanting to disturb her, and still feeling tired herself, slipped into a sidewards position on the floor with Fyee's head resting against Celestia's neck, and Celestia's wing draped over Fyee like a blanket. Safe to say it was a rather odd sight for Spike when he returned some time later to get the library open for business. Now as a baby dragon there was no way he could make the claim that now he saw it all, but he was confident that after this, he was surly half way there.

Meanwhile, back in Canterlot, Iscariat was resting on Nightmare's bed, his body was so sore that even breathing caused him mild discomfort, but none of that compared to the mind numbing pain irradiating from his partially severed limb. Alone in the chamber with nothing but his thoughts for company, Iscariat pondered over the words Princess Twilight spoke during their dual. Hearing from Twilight herself that she looked up to him, rather stunned him, he just couldn't expect anypony would look up to such a worthless excuse for a living being, and a truly special pony like Twilight would have been the last to come to mind. However, in the long run, none of that matters anymore, for for the good of Equestria, he could not recant from his pledge, he had to support Nightmare Moon. Many would question his definition of, "the good of Equestria," but Iscariat knew that, despite all evidence to the contrary, Nightmare Moon had some good in her, and because of that he could not allow her to be simply locked away like some animal.

"You really think you can help her? You, who can't even help yourself!" Iscariat's chastising inner voice spoke.

"I won't know until I try," Iscariat replied, though his other self could sense the weakness in his words.

"You're so weak and pathetic!" the chastising voice continued. "Just look at yourself, you have one hoof in the grave already; literally. So spare yourself any more pain, and be done with it. After all, you are nothing, remember? You are not special, so what could you accomplish?"

"Just shut up!" Iscariat bellowed at himself, his horn instantly coming to life, and blasted a concentrated beam of magic that caused the balcony doors o be blown off their hinges.

"An that is why you will never amount to anything," his inner voice coldly retorted. "For all your power and intellect you utterly fail to master yourself, and it is because of that single fault that all those you care for die. But you know what, I don't care anymore! More than five hundred years of repeating...The...Same...Damn...Thing! You make me sick, and I'm appalled to be a part of you. From now on I'm done, you're flying sole from here. So either get over yourself and do something about it, or stay where you are and die, because I'm through with this menagerie you call a life."

Now alone in both the physical and mental sense, Iscariat felt nothing, nothing at all, not fear, despair or even misery; just an emptiness that not only encompassed him but threatened to crush everything in its volume less void. Without a doubt Iscariat knew what this sensation heralded, to his great discontent, Iscariat had at last reached the precipice; "I'm not ready," he said to himself, as he now gazed at two pits within the confines of his mind. The one to his left spewed out random waves of energy, its current and flow was completely chaotic, though it had some stability, seeing as how the random waves did not collide with one another. The other pit, as if to contrast the first, was perfectly in order, all the energy erupting from it was uniformed, and symmetrical; however, while beautiful in a visual sense, this pit housed a cold and unyielding sensation that gave Iscariat to approach it in earnest. These two pits were the mental manifestations of Iscariat's ultimate choice, the course upon which he wold steer his life, and for a long time he has tactically avoided this, taking great pains to follow a course of incredible resistance, but now there was no turning back, he had to choose one, and forsake the other forever.

"I'm not ready for this," Iscariat said, as he dropped on to the black slab that served as his only foot hold. "Please, not now. I promise I will make a choice, but not at this time. Just give me more time to think, and I swear I will choose, please."

If there was such a thing as an almighty god, then it clearly heard Iscariat's plead, for in less than a heart beat Iscariat found himself back in Nightmare's chamber, resting upon her bed.

"Seems I have been granted a reprieve," Iscariat said taking a deep breath, and counting his blessings, as he stared off into space before exhaling. "However, I can't keep dodging it forever. Next time I have to choose, but...but what if I choose wrong. What if my choice ends up hurting everyone. Ah, damn it, why must I be so indecisive!"

Iscariat was so flustered by his mental weakness that he just had to do something to calm down before his horn goes bonkers again, and causes more collateral damage to the room. Fortunately for him there came a knock at the door, and before he could telekinetically open it, the door opened slightly allowing Captain Stone Brow to poke his head in.

"Iscariat, we need to talk," Captain Stone Brow said as he quietly walked into the chamber, and locking the door behind him.              

  

 

 

                

Chapter 11.1: So Close, And Yet Impossibly Far

When Captain Stone Brow stated that he sought a conversation, Iscariat didn't think much about it, even when the good Captain locked the door behind him; after all as commander of both the Solaris and Lunar Guards it made sense that he want to be in the loop. However, Iscariat never really appreciated just how intimidating  the Guard Captain could be, the stallion was positively massive, and all of it was muscle. Iscariat felt ashamed that he never bothered to truly acknowledge Stone Brow, instead blending him into the faceless chorus of guards, but now he gazed upon the Captain as he should, as an individual, and not some blank slate. Unlike most stallions, Stone Brow was taller than bulkier, standing at an impressive six foot eight, his body was well chiseled with his muscles giving his body proper dimension without over defining it, his steely grey coat was accented by his black mane and tail, his cutie mark was a snowflake made of obsidian, but it was the Captain's crimson red eyes that truly made him not someone to mess with. Now as all royal guards, Captain Stone Brow was suited in the appropriate attire; a heavy helmet and chest plate, though oppose to gold plate, or black iron in the case of the Lunar Guards, Stone Brow's Captain's Armor sported an electrum finish, and yet while this slightly more flashy armor signaled him out among his subordinates, what honestly made him unique, and made Iscariat ashamed in not realizing sooner, was the fact that Stone Brow was an Earth Pony.

For an Earth Pony to be made a royal guard is a borderline miracle due to the absurd screening, and training process, but to be named a Captain of the Guard; well that is just unheard of. Iscariat had so many questions for Stone Brow, but they would have to wait for another, more pleasant time to discuss the Captain's service record, for right now Stone Brow had his own questionnaire.

"So, you wanted to talk?" Iscariat asked, trying his best to sit straight before the Captain, in spite of the discomfort it caused him.

"I can see that even sitting pains you, so I will be brief," Captain Stone Brow said, as he removed his helmet, while keeping his indomitable stare on Iscariat. "Pardon my bluntness, but just what the buck is going on?"

"No offense Captain, but it is probably best you remain ignorant. Trust me, this is not something you want to bumble into," Iscariat said, his face slightly hardening, but to the veteran solider it amounted to nothing.

"I'm under no delusion, Curator, this whole thing may just be way out of my depth," Captain Stone Brow admitted shamelessly. "However, as Captain of the Royal Guard, I have duty to the Princesses, Equestria, and my subordinates. An in the name of that duty, I implore you to inform me on just what is happening."

"As you wish, Captain. Comprehend me, if you can," Iscariat said, as he began to tell Stone Brow all that has transpired since last night.

As Stone Brow sat there, patiently listening to all Iscariat had to say, he couldn't help but notice the overwhelming guilt the old Unicorn radiated with each word spoken. The explanation did not take long to dictate, understanding and processing it all, however, was the real trick. Making heads or tails of this situation really put Stone Brow against the wall; the warrior in him told him to rally the guards, and make for Pony Ville, but the solider in him said to weather it out.

"So Captain, now that you are caught up, as it were. What do you plan on doing now?" Iscariat asked, his injuries finally pushing him to the point of exhaustion, making it even more of a chore to remain sitting straight.

"For now, I'll just play along, but I warn you, if I see an opportunity," Captain Stone Brow said as he instantly blitzed Iscariat, pinning him to the ground, his right hoof positioned in such a way that he could easily snap Iscariat's neck. "I will not hesitate to take either of you down, understand?"

"Oh, I have no doubt you will, Captain. However..." Iscariat said, as he gestured Stone Brow to turn towards the vanity mirror to his right, and there he saw a dagger levitating inches from the back of his neck. "Understand that I won't go down like some dog."

"Interesting, I was warned you had some bite, but this..." Captain Stone Brow said turning towards Iscariat, an uncharacteristic smile brandishing his face. "But this was truly unexpected. Curator Iscariat, just who are you really?"

"I'm nothing," Iscariat deadpanned.

"Nothing?" Captain Stone Brow retorted with a puzzled gaze, and then shook his head defiantly. "If you don't want to answer my question, fine, but don't blatantly lie to us both, and say you are nothing, because a nothing couldn't have done what I saw today."

"This conversation is over, Captain," Iscariat flatly said, dematerializing the dagger above Stone Brow's neck, and then telekinetically unlocking the door. "Forgive me, if I don't see you out."

"Very well, I have tested fate long enough," Captain Stone Brow said, as he got off Iscariat, but did not help him up, and then replaced his helmet as he made for the door. "It is a shame though."

"An what does that mean?" Iscariat asked, using the edge of the bed to lift himself up from the floor.

"It is a shame that even you can fall," Captain Stone Brow said, and then exited the room.

"I'm not perfect, Stone Brow!" Iscariat called out, but the Captain was already gone.

Alone once more, Iscariat lifted himself on to the bed, he was so tried, and not just physically. Since day one this whole ordeal has been physically, mentally, emotionally, and magically demanding; it was just too much. An yet he could not stop now, he was too invested in Nightmare, and in the other ponies, whether they realized it nor not. From the very moment he chose a side things have escalated as he had predicted, but it was far from over, and soon the tipping point would be reached, and when that happens only one group will stand tall in the ring with the prize clenched in their grip. As he slowly left the waking world Iscariat wondered if he was going to live long enough to see this play out, and if he did, could he prevent anypony from dying?

An as one sleeps, one awakens in Pony Ville; Princess Celestia has never slept so well, not since her childhood, when the weight of the crown rested solely on her all powerful father's strong back. There were days when she cried over the loss of her parents, and now she would weep over the loss of her baby sister; "Why couldn't it have been me?" the Princess would constantly ask herself whenever she thought of poor Luna. None of this made sense, she was sure the chapter on Nightmare Moon was finally finished, and yet the same sick drama unfolded again. Only this time there was no quick fix, for the Elements of Harmony were returned to the Tree of Harmony, and thus not available to them. This was without a doubt the most trying situation she has ever encountered during her reign, and in spite of that she felt so good, as if all was well with the world, and Equestria has entered a new golden age not seen since Sorca the Mystic's time.

The euphoria Princess Celestia felt was unnatural, there was no way she should feel this good after all that has transpired over the last two days. As her eyes slowly peeked through her eye lids, Celestia could see faint wisps of bluish white energy swirling about, and seeping into her body through her horn and skin. When at last she awoke in earnest, the Princess could see that this energy did not spawn from the aether, but from the slumbering Changeling laying beside her. Celestia did not know how to react to this, for she has never heard of a Changeling channeling love into a subject; it was most unprecedented. From a scientific point of view this was most interesting, and easily worthy of lengthy research, however now was neither the time or place for such a thing; though it was very tempting, even for her.

For a time, Princess Celestia simply sat there watching the peacefully slumbering Fyee, her little chest was rising and falling in a calm rhythm that made Celestia want to gobble her up because it was so adorable. The Princess was so zoned out from the rest of the world that she failed to realize that Spike has been gawking at the pair for quite sometime, and has only refrained to make his presence known because of the degree of shock this whole ordeal caused him. It wasn't long however till Fyee began to stir, and awoke as well; when that happened, Spike thought it would be best if he made himself scarce, and so hid behind a curtain like a little kid hiding from his parents.

"What time is it?" Fyee softly spoke, still not fully aware of the complete situation.

"Probably the afternoon, or sometime close to it, given the Sun's position," Princess Celestia replied, as she pulled back her wing so Fyee could stretch more comfortably.

"Oh my, I 'm sorry to fall asleep on you like that," Fyee said rubbing her lens, so the bright light would not blind her.

"It's okay, you looked so peaceful I didn't want to disturb you," Princess Celestia said warmly.

"Well I'm glad you are so understanding, but it is still...quite...embarrassing...Oh no! I'm so sorry! Pony feathers, I thought I finally had it under control!" Fyee shrieked, as she finally took notice of the energy wisps leaking from her body; a bright red blush coating her face.  

"Calm down Fyee," Princess Celestia soothingly said, but Fyee was too ashamed to listen.

"Please Princess, you must not tell anypony about this!" Fyee begged, bowing on all fours in hopes of the desired result.

"I fail to see why," Princess Celestia retorted, puzzled at Fyee's peculiar request.

"Your highness, I'm a Changeling Noble, do you have any idea what would happen to me if word of this got back to the Hive?" Fyee inquired, her expression one of fear that made Celestia wish she never started this conversation. "It would be a mercy if they just disowned me."

"I just don't understand, what is it that you are doing that would prompt such a reaction?" Princess Celestia asked both concerned and curious towards the situation.

"Ah, my love, your highness. What you feel coursing through your body and spirit is the love I have assimilated. I'm wasting a precious resource, and that is an unforgivable sin to my people," Fyee said grimly.

"This is what love looks like?" Princess Celestia asked, as she closely inspected the manifested form of Love, and feeling a tad privileged to be the first pony to see a normally invisible emotion.

"Yes, and no," Fyee replied, as she stood up, and then used her magic to stop the flow of love an reabsorbed what was left in the air. "Raw love has no color or recognizable shape. It only assumes those traits once it has been refined within our bodies; at least that is the theory I have deduced from experimentation and research."

"Astounding, I had no idea that Changelings could develop such an ability," Princess Celestia said, her mind already pondering on the benefits a power like this could produce, and the gaps it could bridge between her Ponies and Chrysalis' Changelings.

"Before you get too enthralled by this notion, I want to make it clear that I am the only Changeling with this deformity," Fyee said, her body language betraying her thoughts towards this ability she was born with; a veritable gift in Celestia's eyes.

"Deformity? Hardly, and you shouldn't think so either," Princess Celestia said with a frown, her left brow raised high. "You were given a gift. A gift to heal and sooth the spirit; tempering it with love. That doesn't make you deformed Fyee, it makes you special, and a possible beacon for other Changelings to aspire to."

"Your optimism is sweet, but naive, your highness," Fyee said with a half smile. "The Hive is not as open minded to change as you may believe. Rather ironic, given my species ability to alter form at will."

"Yes it is," Princess Celestia said with chuckle, prompting Fyee to follow suit.

"Well I think we should get back to the matter at hoof," Fyee said, Celestia concurring with nod. "Now I understand you want me to keep an eye on your precious prodigy, but would it be alright if I fetch the others? I'm sure I'll be back before Twilight awakens."

"Be my guest, and by all means take your time. I have a feeling something pleasant awaits you," Princess Celestia said with a heart felt smile.

Smiling back in response, Fyee performed a few stretches, and then with a final goodbye she left out the door. Once she was sure Fyee was gone, Princess Celestia turned her gaze to the rustling curtain behind her, and with a flick of her horn she drew them back, exposing a nervous Spike.

"How much did you hear?" Princess Celestia asked sharply.

"Enough," Spike said casually with a smirk.

"And what are your thoughts?" Princess Celestia said, as she rose up, and approached Spike.

"Well apart from fitting your description to a tee, all I can add is that she is really easy on the eyes up close," Spike snickered, but quickly quieted himself after the Princess shot him a strong gaze. "Sorry Princess, I didn't mean any disrespect."

"I know Spike," Princess Celestia said, abandoning her unamused glare, and adopting a tender smile. "Now I have a small request to make."

"You want me to follow her, again," Spike replied with a cheshire grin, knowing full well he was right.

"If it isn't too much trouble," Princess Celestia said nervously, her face blushing from embarrassment.

"Princess, even if I wasn't bound by Dragon Code, I would still assist you in this regard," Spike said dropping to one knee, and bowing his head like a Dragon Knight of old.

"Rise, Sir Spike. You do your Princess great honor," Princess Celestia spoke in her most regal voice, while fighting hard not to laugh. "Just remember not to let her notice, especially now since she knows your face."

"Don't worry about it your highness," Spike said, as he made for the door, and then tilted his head towards Celestia, a sly expression on his face. "Blending in is my specialty."

As Celestia took this alone time to recompose herself for the discussion ahead, Fyee wandered about the town searching for the others. Many a pony cast her a wary stare as she casually walked about taking in the environment, and revealing the serene atmosphere this town was famous for producing. Fyee has only ever been in Pony Ville once before when she got lost on her way to the Arch-Library, though her visit wasn't nearly as long due in no small part to the town's legendary party pony; Fyee couldn't get away fast enough. The ambient love just lingering around was like a small buffet for Fyee, however she had to mind her snacking else she could off set the delicate balance of emotions this latent veil maintained. It wasn't long in her search when she heard a familiar group of voices laughing out from the establishment known as, Sugar Cube Corners.

Walking towards the door, Fyee didn't have a chance to look around as she was mare-handled through the threshold, and firmly seated at a table in the far back, flanked by Applejack and Rainbow Dash respectively. Across the table sat Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and Rarity; Fluttershy and Pinkie each took one of the two remaining sides of the circular table. Very few things outside a specific set of circumstances and situations can cause Fyee to feel in danger, but this random moment did not do that; no, it just terrified her to the core, and almost caused her throat to seize up.

"Are we making you nervous?" Princess Cadence asked, sensing Fyee's anxiety seeping about like a gas leak.

"I can see how this looks, but you have nothing to worry about," Shinning Armor spoke out with a smile, which quickly spread to all the other ponies.

"So, you are not going to hurt and/or lynch me?" Fyee asked, still a little worried.

"Hurt you? I want to hug you, for bringing my sister back," Shining Armor said, laughing at the notion that he would allow anypony to gang up on another, even a Changeling.

"Oh it was nothing," Fyee said humbly.

"Not to me," Shining Armor said.

"Seriously though, nice job," Rainbow Dash said leaning up next to Fyee and laying her left hoof upon the Changeling's shoulders. "And I'm sorry for the way I acted late last night. It was uncalled for, and uncool."

"Don't worry about it," Fyee replied with a smile. "I was young once too, and I know how it feels to be really hurt; physically and emotionally."

"Sorry to hear that," Rainbow Dash said, as she lightly tightened her grip on Fyee's shoulders. "But you got me in your corner now, and I never let my friends get hurt."

"That goes for all of us," Princess Cadence said, her smile radiating a powerful emotion not unlike love, though not as intimate,

"While I hate to be a wet blanket, we have to return to the library, and discuss our next strategy," Fyee said, attempting to get up only to be gently forced back down by Rainbow Dash.

"What's the hurry? I doubt the Princess will mind waiting a little while," Rainbow Dash said with a grin that disturbed Fyee a tad.

"But I told Celestia..."Fyee tried to rebut, but was silenced by Princess Cadence raising her hoof.

"Don't worry about my aunt," Princess Cadence said, as she switched gears, and cuddled up to Shining brandishing a captivating pair of puppy dog eyes. "Say darling, you mind going to the library and telling Auntie Celestia that we will be held up for a while?"

"Su...Sure, I can do that," Shining Armor said, his white face adopting a bright red tint, as he began to sweat from his wife's close proximity.

"Thank you honey, and love you," Princess Cadence said, waving goodbye to Shining, and once he was gone she sharply turned her gaze to Fyee. "You see, now my aunt will know we shall be a little late. Which gives us plenty of time to discuss other matters." matters."

"Indeed, matters of a more intimate nature," Rarity said with a devious grin.

"Yeah, like why you were cuddling with a certain Alicorn," Rainbow Dash spoke softly into Fyee's right ear, causing the Changeling's heart to almost stop for the second time today.

"You all saw that?" Fyee asked, her body stiffening like a seizing muscle as the others nodded with sly grins as their response. "Well, I can assure you there is a perfectly logical explanation. I just wish I has one. Oh ho ho, buck me."

As Fyee frantically tried to find a way out of this perfect check mate, Iscariat was deep in though back in Canterlot. After he awoke from his short slumber some time ago, Iscariat left Nightmare's bed chamber, and took up residence in a special room only he, the Princesses and the current Captain of the Guard even know exists; deep down in the Castle sub-levels. Now contrary to popular belief; an popular belief, of course, is merely short hand for ridiculous assumptions and ideas conceived by Twilight Sparkle. Anyway, opposed to the wild fantasies of a single pony, Canterlot Castle has not, and never will have, dungeons in its lower levels, for such things were done away after the reign of King Quazar, by Princess Celestia herself. What really resided in the Castle Catacombs were mainly food cellars, storage rooms, wine cellars, and the chamber Iscariat currently occupied.

The room was called the Equinox Chamber, so named for in this chamber both Princesses of Sun and Moon stood as equals, there was no hierarchy, and no sins of jealousy or envy, there was simply two sisters and their love for one another. It was this very chamber that inspired Iscariat to create the Stargazer's Sanctum, and appearance wise both chambers were almost identical with the exception that this room was more neutral with aspects of both Princesses plainly visible. In the spirit of what this room was built for, Iscariat kept things casual, and refrained from using proper etiquette; within reason. It was because of this calming effect the room rewarded Iscariat that he chose to meditate there, and reflect on all that has occurred thus far. As focused his magical energies to the tip of his horn, and allowed his spirit and body to almost literally uncoil from one another granting him a sense of universal clarity; a third eye, if you will.

In this elevated state of awareness, Iscariat could gaze into the hearts and minds of those he has a close kinship with, though they must be within a one mile radius. As it was only one pony fit the bill, and fortunately she was too busy with castle affairs to notice this serious breech of trust; "I'll hate myself come the morrow," Iscariat said, ashamed that he was doing this. Recalling back to when he and Nightmare first melded minds, Iscariat thought he felt something pure, a kind of light that endures regardless of how dark it becomes. It was this unique discovery that made him believe Nightmare was not beyond redemption, but it wasn't until they shared a kiss that he had a much clearer picture of what he merely glanced the first time. An now the image was unadulterated; at the very heart of a tempest of darkness stood a lone gray statue of a cloaked pony brandishing a cracked long sword in its right hoof, and a pale torch in the other.

Iscariat did not understand it, but he could feel something within the stone, an indescribable resonance that was far beyond his realm of comprehension. As he examined the statue, Iscariat came across an engraving at its base, which read,

Seek Righteousness through Justice. Seek Justice through Vengeance. Seek Vengeance through a Blade.

"These words, where have I seen them before?" Iscariat asked himself, as he laid a hoof upon the stone base.

Upon touching the statue Iscariat could hear a soft voice speak the words, "Justice is indestructible, but its spirit is not."

"What does that mean?" Iscariat asked aloud, gazing at the statue's hooded visage.

"What you seek to protect is less than a ghost. Barely a memory remains," the statue spoke, telegraphed by its faint glowing eyes.

"I don't believe that," Iscariat sharply spoke.

"Your beliefs are irrelevant, what is spoken is truth," the statue retorted, its eyes fading away into obscurity. "Now...Go!"

An just like that, Iscariat found himself back in his own body, and instead of being enlightened he felt more in the dark than he has ever been. Sighing in frustration, Iscariat got on his feet, and returned to the Castle's main level. The upper levels were all a bustle, Guards and other Castle Staff alike were traversing the halls with scrolls, tables, plates of food, and other items.

"What is going on around here?" Iscariat quarried to himself.

"Her highness is holding a dinner party with some of the local Nobles, don't know why, but she requests your attendance," Steward Trixie replied professionally, but with a hint of disgust.

"Is that so?" Iscariat said turning to face the stern glare of the young mare. "Please inform her highness that I shall be there."

"It will be at eight, so don't be late," Steward Trixie coldly replied, and then took her leave.

"Wow, she sounded mad," came a voice from Iscariat's left vest pocket.

"Ah, Discord. Believe it or not, but I was hoping we could speak again," Iscariat spoke softly so as not to attract unwanted attention.

"Oh?" Discord retorted, amused and confused at the same time. "An what do you wish to ask me?"

"Something right up your alley," Iscariat said with a smirk, which amused Discord even more. "What can you tell me about the Spirit's of Order?"

"Hahahaha! My siblings?" Discord said with a hardy laugh. "Sure , on one condition."

"An that is?" Iscariat asked with a raised eye brow.

"That you tell me how you could just walk away from that willingly offered piece of flank!" Discord shouted, but thanks to the snow globe's thick glass it was barely a yelp.

"I didn't walk away," Iscariat said, his face turning red. "I was shot through a wall."

"I knew it! You were disappointed it got cut short, don't deny it!" Discord said triumphantly.  

"I answered your question, now answer mine," Iscariat said, trying to control his blushing face.

"Fair enough, but let's go somewhere more private," Discord said, Iscariat nodded, and went straight back to Nightmare's bed room. "So, anyone in specific you want dirt on? Just so I can give you relevant info. I have so many brothers and sisters you know."

"Yes, tell me about Artymus," Iscariat replied, as he closed the doors behind him, and placed Discord on the night stand.

"I was right," Discord said chuckling lightly. "Things are getting very interesting."

Chapter 11.2: So Close, and Yet Impossibly Far

The Sun was shining high over Ponyville, not a single cloud blemished the sky, and a timid cool breeze blew across the land; basically another perfect afternoon. In spite of the warm atmosphere Ponyville was famous for, it has been a stressful two days for Fyee, and it wasn't just because no real plan has been devised in those two days. No, ever since her embarrassing conversation with Princess Cadence and Twilight's friends, Fyee has been continuously dragged away by one, or several of the young mares, and encouraged to engage in all matter of frivolity. However, while the sudden spike in her popularity was refreshing, to say the least, Fyee found it most peculiar that Princess Celestia was no exception to this change in developments. Fyee just wasn't use to this celebrity status, it was rather exhausting, and what with her new responsibility of keeping Twilight in check, Fyee had precious time to be alone.

Fyee took a deep yawn, her eyes felt like they were made of lead, and her legs were like wet noodles as she walked down the street with Twilight. Noting Fyee's difficulty to maintain her equilibrium, Twilight did her best to keep the exhaust Changeling from dropping to the ground.

"I'm so sorry," Fyee said, as she leaned against Twilight's left side, her eyes fighting to stay open, and her voice equally heavy and sluggish. "I hate a burden on others."

"Pay it no mind," Princess Twilight said sincerely, and further emphasizing the point by wrapping her left wing around Fyee; providing better support, and comfort for Fyee in the process.

"Thank you," Fyee said graciously, allowing Twilight to shoulder some of her weight.

"Any time," Princess Twilight softly replied, as they continued onward down the street.

Fyee was so exhausted, to the point that her sharp sense of awareness was dulled as well, and due to this she was unable to notice the camouflaged pony spying on them. Gazing from an adjacent alley was Iscariat, using a simple light reflection spell, he perfectly hid his presence from any by-standard; though he was surprised that Fyee could not see through this parlor trick. Letting out a sigh, Iscariat leaned against the wall to his right, his eyes almost watered over as he watched Fyee vanish off into the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

"You could talk to her. I doubt she would shoo you away," Discord said from inside Iscariat's top left pocket.

"There is nothing more that needs to be said between us," Iscariat solemnly spoke, and then turned away from the busy street in the direction of the dark alley he currently occupied. "Besides, I can't afford to be distracted, this is too important."

"An yet you still went out of your way to see her," Discord snickered sinisterly.

"Shut up," Iscariat said, and without looking back, he went down the alley, and out of Ponyville.

Wandering into the Everfree Forest, Iscariat came to hate being old, everything turned into such a chore, and by the time he reached his destination he had aches in place he didn't know could ache. Towering before him was the partially restored Old Alicorn Castle of Princesses Celestia and Luna, it was still far from finished, but at least the exterior walls, roof, doors, and windows were repaired. Inside the structure was a different story entirely, ruble still littered the floor, walls were more akin to Swiss cheese, and most of the interior doors had no hinges or knobs to speak of. Descending into the bowels of the castle, Iscariat hobbled through the old halls, his hoof steps echoing back towards him as the sound resonated off the walls like a ping pong ball. As Iscariat walked through the dim halls, powerful memories swelled up inside him as they did in the Star Gazer's Sanctum, and just like before his magic ignited of its own volition, bringing to life one of his oldest memories.

Manifesting as pale apparitions, a much younger Iscariat and Princess Luna were walking down the hall, side by side, in front of older Iscariat. Peeking out of Iscariat's pocket, through his snow globe prison, Discord slowly cocked his left eye up towards Iscariat, a mischievous smile brandishing his snout when it became apparent that Iscariat did not notice his eavesdropping. Snickering fiendishly, Discord kicked back his feet, placed his hands behind his head, then had the imposter Celestia snuggle up next to him with a bowl of popcorn between them, and together they watched events unfold. Following his younger self, Iscariat reached his destination, the organ chamber, and at the far end of the room, in respect to the door, was the pipe organ that controlled all matter of mechanical contraptions throughout the castle. Cracking a smile, Iscariat cast his vision on his younger self, as the youngster sat down before the organ, straightening the wrinkles from his jacket's sleeves, and draping the jacket's tails out over the edge of the bench he sat upon.

Shifting his line of sight slightly to the right, Iscariat could see Luna delicately casting aside her regality, and replacing it with a beautifully gown that just grazed the stone floor; now coated with a thick layer of dust and filth from centuries of low maintenance. When each specters' preparations were completed, the show commenced with younger Iscariat playing a soft melody, with subtle rises and falls in pitches, and about second or two into the piece, Princess Luna rose to her hind legs, spreading her wings for balance, and then started to dance. In tune with Iscariat's music, Princess Luna gracefully glided on the balls of her hooves, dancing perfect crescents on the stone floor, and all of it done with her eyes shut.

"You both were quite the pair back then," Discord spoke out, tired of being silent. "What happened?"

"That was a long time ago," Iscariat said, his eyes following Luna's every step, and a small sigh escaped him. "The past should stay in the past."

"Sometimes things come back, I'm living proof," Discord said, a sly grin on his face, but his eyes were pointed downward uncharismatic.

"Yes, yes they do," Iscariat said cracking a genuine smile.

"Did you just agree with me, and without a single negative remark? Are you feeling well?" Discord replied, gawking at Iscariat's response.

Iscariat laughed at Discord's confusion, taking pleasure in the irony of the moment, allowing the troubles of the world to fade away from his mind, and for the first time, in a long time, actually breath easily.

"It is funny how everything comes into perspective when you are old," Iscariat said with a sigh. "In any event that is enough musing for one afternoon. Now Discord, what you are about to witness stays between us, understand?"

"You wound me, Iscariat. I would never betray a friend's trust," Discord said, a golden halo manifesting over his head, but behind him, out of sight, the fake Celestia was busy setting up cameras, and sound equipment.

"I know you really wouldn't, at least not maliciously," Iscariat said, as he levitated Discord's snow globe prison on to the bench of the pipe organ, and then walked to the center of the room.

Conjuring a small breeze to graze the floor, Iscariat blew away some of the thick dust, and revealed a two by two, diamond shaped steel plate. The plate, in comparison to the rest of the castle, was relatively newer, with no signs of rust or aging, and it was covered with all matter of runes, as well as extremely powerful warding spells that cloak the plate's very existence from all but the most supremely skilled.

"What is that?" Discord asked, his eyes able to see the insane amount of defensive spells, wards, and barriers crammed together on top of the plate.

Preoccupied with the steel plate Iscariat over looked Discord's query, and proceeded to dispel his wards. However, no spell or incantation did he call upon to remove the wards, instead, while swaying to the tune his younger self played, Iscariat focused his gaze on the dancing Luna, and then he started to sing.

As the Moon, your face shines beautifully. Like the stars, your eyes will gleam for an eternity. And though I know it's true that you are now beyond my reach. I will always hold true...To the love I once held for you...And preserve you memory.

Silence reigned through out the chamber, the younger Iscariat had finished playing just as older Iscariat stopped singing, and Luna in turn finished her dance with an elegant bow. This lull in activity lasted but a moment, for barely a heart beat later the sound of air rushing out could be heard from the steel plate, its sealing wards fading away like smoke, and the plate itself lifting into the air as if filled with helium. The two astro projections conjured by Iscariat's subconscious also faded away in a ghostly mist, and melded with the latent energy of the wards. The lingering magical energies were suddenly drawn beneath the steel plate, then with a loud pop, the plate was chucked towards the ceiling, and then crashed on to the floor with a clink and a clank. The plate now removed, Discord could see a small pot hole, and within that foot and a half ditch, he caught the glimpse of a wooden box, engraved with a single, massive rune on its surface; it was from Star Swirl's era, and it simply translated to Lock.

"Well now, aren't you the paranoid one?" Discord snickered and grinned, as Iscariat levitated the box out of the hole. "Hiding anything in the Everfree Forest alone is usually more than enough of a deterrent, but you went as far as to place powerful reality warping wards that were intertwined with a Melody Lock, and if that wasn't enough the item in question has a ward of its own. Just what are you protecting so vigilantly?"

"A power and force beyond reckoning," Iscariat said, as he gingerly ran his right fore hoof along the box, and examined the seal he inscribed upon it centuries ago. "Something I hoped never to call upon for battle, but it maybe the only way to end this conflict."

"But what is it?" Discord asked impatiently.

"I cannot tell you. You will just have to trust me, as I have come to trust you," Iscariat said, his eyes still fixated on the box.

"Did you just say you trust me?" Discord asked gawking in shock.

"Yes," Iscariat said sincerely, as he turned towards the hole one more time, and extracted a small, thirteen inch, road like object, wrapped in a silvery white cloth. "An it is finally time to display that trust."

Untying the twine that kept the cloth wrapped, Iscariat discarded the cloth, and revealed a very unique wand. At thirteen inches long the wand could pass for a small dagger, it was comprised of a strange crystal that glowed with all the colors of the rainbow, and its shape was partially straight with a series of slight bends and curves converging on a predominant point at the tip. However the hallmark of this wand was not its interesting composition, or appearance, but instead the fact that it levitated on its own, and that it possessed the gift of speech.

"Master, is that you?" the wand spoke, its point directed at Iscariat.

"Yes, it is good to speak to you again, Puck," Iscariat said with a swirling grin. "I'm sorry to cut our reunion short, but I have need of your power, my old friend."

       "Of course, Master, I live to serve," Puck said lowering his point as if bowing.

"Very good," Iscariat said reaching out with his right fore hoof, and then turned to face Discord. "Alright Discord, you ready to be free once more?"

"Are you head over hooves for that Changeling?" Discord snickered fiendishly.

Blushing at Discord's remark, Iscariat quickly regained his composure, and prepared to get to work. Now when viewed on the metaphysical level, Discord's snow globe prison was incredibly intricate, it was comprised of six rings, each attuned to one of the Six Principles of Magic. The six rings were arranged in a cubic shape with the snow globe at its exact center, and holding the rings in this shape was a singular chain over lapping everything in a way that resembled two orbits that perpendicularly intersect one another. Iscariat couldn't help but admire the elegance of the spell, for on their own the Six Principles of Magic were the foundation of all magical theory and practical spell casting. From birth all Unicorns, Changelings, and even Alicorns are taught the Six Principles, for without rudimentary knowledge even the simplistic of spells could prove impossible to cast, and the Arch-Library had volumes depicting the unfortunate out come of such ignorant mages.

Entropy, Acceleration, Stability, Equivalence, Consistency, and Moderation are the Six Principles of Magic, every spell in one way or another boils down to those Six Fundamentals in varying or equal levels. In this situation all six were in perfect synchronization, one of the thousands of reasons Alicorn spell casting was so devastating in its wake, for in all magic no spell casting race could boast such a feat; this was why Celestia and the other Princesses were treated as divinities. However, no spell was perfect, and this sealing spell before him had one weak spot he could exploit; the Moderation Ring. Moderation was the Principle that focused on conversation of energy and number of spells a mage should cast at once, it was also the polar opposite to Entropy, and that was the key to seal's strength. Together Moderation and Entropy created a perpetual loop between the other four Principles, for as Entropy drew out the energy Moderation kept it all constant, as well as ensured the siphoned energy was replaced by channeling the excess Entropy drew out back into the other four through the chain that bound all the rings together.

Understanding what he need to do, Iscariat pointed Puck at the central chain link, and with a diagonal flourish, he sliced the link. At the very instant the link was severed the chain vanished into the aether, and without the chain restraining them the six rings shot out in every direction. The rings' circumference were razor sharp, slashing through all the stone columns, walls and floor with no resistance. Dodging the sharp rings, Iscariat barrel rolled towards the organ, then immediately turned to face the rings as they circled back for another strike. Rapidly shifting gaze from one ring to the other, Iscariat pin pointed the Moderation Ring, and with a flick of Puck he shot a black beam straight at its hollow center.

However, his spell was instantly intercepted by the ring of Entropy, and upon collision withered away as its energy was exhausted in one single burst. Caught off guard by this defense mechanism, Iscariat failed to mind the other four rings, and as a result received slashes on his exposed right fore leg, as well as his left shoulder and back legs respectively. Groaning in pain, Iscariat dropped to the floor, blood slowly seeped out of his wounds, and his right fore leg shook violently as his muscles convulsed erratically due to shock. The six rings re-converged for a final assault, the Moderation Ring wisely held the rear, while Entropy took point, and feed on the energy of the other four. Refusing to die after coming this far, Iscariat forced himself to his feet, and with a flurry of flourishes he shot out five black beams, in five different directions.

The six rings had to break their attack formation to defend the Moderation Ring when the five black beams flanked their rear. Missing their target on the first approach, Iscariat's black beams, guided by his movements of Puck, scattered outward in random directions as they evaded the rings' counter attacks. The Ring of Entropy constantly herded two of the black beams towards Consistency's razor edge. Unable to save both, Iscariat had one of the beams cork screw around the other faster and faster, until it had achieved sufficient speed to soar above Consistency, before the ring could react, and seconds before its twin beam was cleaved in twain. The rings' fluid coordination was quite the nuisance, it made it difficulty for Iscariat to gain any ground, and as time progressed, he lost one more of his black beams to the rings.

Out numbered two to one, Iscariat consolidated his three beams for a final suicide run; the only avenue left open for him. Sensing the end was near, the Ring of Entropy confidently abandoned its passive offense role for a true offense, and took point on the final charge. There was no turning back now, both forces were on a collision course, and only one was coming out of this victorious. Holding his breath, Iscariat watched as his three beams were effortlessly mowed down like grass, and yet he was smiling.

"I win," Iscariat said with a sly grin as he flicked Puck.

Mere inches from his face, the Ring of Entropy, Stability, Acceleration, Consistency, and Equivalence came to a grinding halt. Discord couldn't believe what he was looking at, for connected to Puck, by a thin thread of neon blue magic were two spheres of midnight black positioned at the left and right of the five rings. The two spheres were emanating equally powerful gravitational fields, so strong that they kept anything trapped between them frozen in place, because of the equal amount of pull they exerted. Smiling in victory, Iscariat ignited his horn, using his magic to cloak the defenseless Moderation Ring in his gray aura, and with a sudden intense glare, Iscariat crumpled the ring into a tiny, twisted, ball of scrap. Just like that, the spell was broken, and without Moderation's influence, Entropy quickly exhausted the other fours energy, then its own, and without power the five rings withered away to dust.

Dispelling his spheres of midnight black, Iscariat turned around to see the snow globe shining like the star Polaris, and with a sharp pop, the prison exploded, ejecting a full sized Discord right into Iscariat. For an awkward moment, Iscariat and Discord were tangled around each other; Puck couldn't stop laughing at the priceless scene.

"Well, that could have gone better," Iscariat said, as he examined some of his more deeper cuts, after being free of Discord's massive body.

"You think?" Discord said sarcastically, dusting himself off, and stretching his limbs. "So, what now?"

"This is where we part ways, I'm afraid," Iscariat said, his voice a little sadder than he thought it would sound.

"You just freed me to now abandon me, what is your deal?" Discord asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Believe it or not, I don't like this anymore than you do," Iscariat replied.

"Aw, I knew you liked me," Discord said, as he grasped Iscariat in a bone crushing hug.

"What can I say, you grew on me," Iscariat said, gasping for air after Discord released him. "In any event, I required your assistance, and that would only be possible if you were freed."

"Oh?" Discord said with a cheshire grin. "I assume it has to do with that box you went through great pains to conceal?"

"Yes," Iscariat said, as he levitated the box over to Discord, who then took possession of it. "Discord, what you now hold in your hands is quite literally the only hope any of us have left. When the time comes you must deliver that box, and its contents, to Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her friends."

"Cool! I always wanted to be a secret agent," Discord said, snapping his fingers to magically adorn himself in a black tuxedo, with a poison joke flower pinned to his right side, and on his head was a black fedora to complete the outfit. "Just call me, Agent C."

"Focus, Discord," Iscariat said, though at the same time he could not help but laugh at Discord's antics. "Anyway that is all I'm asking of you."

"What about you? What will you do?" Discord asked, his tone uncharacteristically serious.

"I have a plan, but if it doesn't work, then Princess Twilight and the others are Equestria's last chance," Iscariat said, as he put Puck in his vest's bottom right pocket, and then turned to leave. "Discord, if something happens to me, before the end, can you relay a message to Fyee for me?"

"You can tell her yourself," Discord said with a grin. "This isn't a goodbye, we will see each other again."

"Of course, see you soon, my friend," Iscariat said, as he walked out the door, and vanished under a shimmering veil.

As Iscariat wandered back to Canterlot, his thoughts were weighed down by the infinite amount of possible out comes he expected to encounter from this point onward.

"I really hope unearthing that was the right choice," Iscariat pondered, a bead of sweat running down the left side of his face, and his teeth gnawing at his lower lip. "Just one mistake and it could...No! It will work! It has to work, for all our sakes. But most importantly, for Nightmare's sake. I won't fail again! I promise you...Luna."      

                              

Chapter 12: Go Home!

Twenty miles from Canterlot, Iscariat  slept under a tree, a blanket of leaves kept the sting of the wind at bay, and a patch of moss cushioned his head from the otherwise lumpy ground. He was so tired now a days, his heart and lungs constantly struggling to keep up, and even his magic was getting more and more difficult to call upon. He felt so useless, how could he help anypony like this?

"Mother was right, I'm worthless," Iscariat said to himself, as he recalled that painful day, when his own mother turned his back on him, and all but ignored his very existence.

Doubt and stress soon clutched his heart, their icy grip sapping him of all strength, and plunging his mind into nothing short of chaos. Tossing and turning like a child with a fever, Iscariat inhaled and exhaled heavily, his lungs and heart straining to maintain any normal rhythm, and his head ached something fierce. Scrunching up into a ball, Iscariat whimpered as his mother's voice resonated inside his head like a wrathful divinity, enraged by his very existence.

"Weak...Worthless...Lazy..."

"You bring great shame to our family, and our Noble Ancestry with each breath you take!"

"Sorry, mother."

"Did you just talk back to me?! What have I told you, time and again!"

"One may not speak until spoken to."

"And?"

"Ah...and...and...Mother, please, don't make me say it. It is so vulgar."

"Finish reciting it, or you will go straight to bed without any supper."

"Snif, snif, snif, and trash may not speak at all."

"An that, my son, is what you are, and so have no right to speak."

Those words, and that very statement, were drilled into him for years by his mother, and any time he would forget his place swift punishment was soon to follow. Iscariat was beaten, denied food, and in extreme cases, even denied sleep by the one who was supposed to care for him most, and not once did she show any sign of empathy or remorse. From the moment Iscariat could cast a spell, he always greeted the morning with tears, but it was not from the sever punishment. No, what brought tears to his eyes was the notion, the idea that he was nothing but a burden, a useless waste of space.

"Don't cry Iscariat," a soft voice spoke in the dark recesses of his mind. "For you are among friends. Now it is time to awaken."

Opening his tear soaked eyes, Iscariat gazed upon the blurred visage of Princess Celestia, and Fyee. Both mare and Changeling viewed him with a heavy heart, his decrepit form confounding them for a moment before they reached out, and helped him up. Drying his eyes, Iscariat held his tongue, though in his heart he knew he was not deserving of their kindness, Celestia's least of all; the faint remnant of the slash he awarded her still visible. Groaning slightly as the weight of his body rested on his nearly worn out joints, Iscariat struggled to maintain his balance, and with a thump he crashed back onto his bed of leaves. "Pathetic," his mother's voice rang out again in his mind, but he refused to listen, for he would accept no more pity from those who had every right to despise him, and yet do not.

Through his own volition, Iscariat forced himself to his feet, the pain was irritating, and he was sure this recklessness would have serious consequences down the road, but it didn't matter; he had to stand. Fyee shook her head, none of this made the slightest sense to her, Iscariat was always a dear colleague... No! Even before they knew their names well enough, Fyee felt a strong connection to Iscariat, and it was more than some romantic desire; they complete each other, as if casted from the same mold. An yet the vistigues of fate have cruelly pitted them against one another, and for what? So, Iscariat can atone for a sin that was not his to bear, or was it simply some form of bad comedy?

"I'm glad fate has granted us this audience, Iscariat," Princess Celestia said with a genuine smile.

"As am I, Celestia, and good evening to you as well, Fyee," Iscariat replied politely, in spite of his great discomfort.

Silence fell, both Princess Celestia and Fyee were momentarily stunned by Iscariat's words, for not once has he ever, in their company any way, spoken their name without the proper honorific attached to it; this was serious.

"Okay, what are you playing at Iscariat?" Fyee asked, casting subtlety to the wind, and getting down to business.

"Nothing Fyee, it is just this meeting has been a long time coming, and it is time that I stand before you as an equal, not a lesser," Iscariat said, as he drove all thoughts of his pain from his mind, and stood tall on his three hooves.

"Iscariat, you have always been an equal in our eyes, but you have always refused to admit it to yourself," Princess Celestia replied with a soft tone.

"Yes, I concur my vices have hindered me in that regard," Iscariat humbly retorte. "In any event, we have much to discuss, and time is short. So, please, ladies first."

"Chivalrous as ever," Princess Celestia said with a slight smirk, and then immediately adopted a more stern gaze. "Tell me Iscariat, why is it you feel the need to carry such heavy burdens?"

"They are my mistakes, and so my burdens to bear," Iscariat replied, his voice weighed heavily by his guilt.

"Mistakes? Ah, Iscariat you can't blame yourself for Luna becoming Nightmare Moon, then and now," Princess Celestia retorted, her head slouching in depression after saying Luna's name.

"No, Celestia, that is not the mistake that vexes me," Iscariat replied, actually catching Celestia off guard for a moment. "That which plauges me is the knowledge that I am the cause of Nightmare being demonized."

"Why is that? What is your reasoning?" Princess Celestia inquired, her tone filled with honest curiosity than harsh judgment.

"In the past, did I try to understand her? To divine any insight into her psychie? To even talk to her?! No, all I saw was a monster, something I needed to purge, but the teeth is I was wrong," Iscariat said, dropping onto his rear haunches, and then laying his right hoof on his chest, over his, obstructed, crescent scar. "Deep down, Nightmare Moon is more akin to you, Celestia, than say Sombra."

"Are you serious?" Fyee retorted sharply, as she stepped forward, and locked eyes with Iscariat. "Why Iscariat? Why are you playing Nightmare's game?"

"Fyee, you of all beings should understand the pain of judgment through one's appearance," Iscariat replied, hoping Fyee would grasp his reasoning.

"I do, but Nightmare brought that upon herself. She chose to be a monster, and so must abide with it," Fyee said, her voice devoid of empathy, and chillingly cold.

"But she didn't have a choice, she never did, and if I had bothered to really understand her, then none of this would be an issue," Iscariat explained, but Fyee refused to consider his words, and that only raised his ire.

"Why do you defend her, when she never once shown remorse? I know this is true because I was there, I saw the atrocities of the Hundred Year War, and all the children lay buried in that! So, don't preach to me that she didn't have a choice!" Fyee shouted at the top of her lungs, and stomping her right hoof upon the ground in anger.

"How dare you speak of the Hundred Year War as if you knew it! You know nothing!" Iscariat yelled back in kind, his eyes over flowing with rage, and Fyee, unknowingly, retracted at the sight; never has he raised his voice like that to her. "The Hundred Year War is a blight in our Nation's history. There was no victory in it, only loss, and you have the arrogance to lecture me on it! When all you did was watch. You have no right to speak of it, just as you have no real business being here anymore."

"What are you saying?" Fyee inquired, her heart trembling before the answer.

"Go home Fyee, your assistance is no longer required," Iscariat solemnly replied, while on the inside he felt a great pain in his heart.

"Iscariat...I...I...I hate you!" Fyee shouted, as she punched him square in the face, knocking him into the tree behind him. "You always have to do everything by yourself! Why can't you swallow your pride, and accept my help once in a while?! But no, that is too much to ask, so you shoulder all the responsibility and stress, and in the end you can't save anypony! Not yourself, not your countrymen, or even the mare you once had feelings for! You are just useless!"

Not even giving Iscariat a chance to rebuttal, Fyee took of to the sky, and flew out of sight in the blink of an eye. Iscariat could not move, his insides were on fire, and his mind ached from the constant shouting of a single word; useless. Princess Celestia could see it in Iscariat's eyes, he was going to break; Fyee had unknowingly taken a sharp knife, and tore open Iscariat's worse mental scar.

"Iscariat, it is alright. She didn't mean it," Princess Celestia said, as she slowly approached him, and then embraced him in a soothing hug. "Now you listen to me, no matter what happens after tonight, I want you to always remember this; You are not useless. I mean it, Iscariat, and never think otherwise."

"I'm sorry, Celestia. I ruined everything," Iscariat said, as he rested his head against the Princess' chest.

"No, I should have come alone, I know that now," Princess Celestia said, as she took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled. "Iscariat, I have to go after Fyee, and see if she is okay."

"I know," Iscariat said, as he backed away from Princess Celestia, his head still held low. "Take care of her, Celestia."

"I will," Princess Celestia said, and with a sad sigh, she kicked off the ground, then flew off after Fyee as fast as lightning.

Alone again, Iscariat resumed his journey back to Canterlot, the words from his conversation with Fyee looping in infinitum inside his head, and it soon occurred to him. Even if redeemed, would anypony really trust Nightmare Moon? Or was Fyee right? Was Iscariat sacrificing everything for an impossible ideal? Doubt once more clutched his heart, and again Iscariat could see the two swirling vortexes, calling out to him, but as before he had no answer, and so the coin continued to turn, as doubt over took him. An in the darkness, one word rang out like a church bell; Useless.

Chapter 13: Loss

Princess Celestia flew after Fyee, the wind pushed against them the farther east they went, and a massive wall of stone slowly came into view. This wall was in fact a mountain range, but not any mountain range, no this was the grandaddy of them all, the World Rune. Simply put the World Rune was the physical border that split the very planet into three regions, the Changeling Hive to the east, the Griffon Kingdom to the west, and in the center stood Equestria. Gritting her teeth, Princess Celestia increased her speed, she couldn't let Fyee leave, not like this, "Not again," she whispered to herself as she closed the distance with each flap of her angelic wings. Princess Celestia was mere inches from Fyee, the latter's tattered tail whipped about in the breeze, and small pieces of it brushed against Celestia's face causing her eyes to twitch from the particles irritation.

"Fyee don't do this! Running away is never the solution!" Princess Celestia shouted over the roaring wind, but Fyee showed no signs of slowing down. "Are you listening to me!? Fyee! Fyee!! Fyee Chrysendia, you stop and listen to me right now!"

Hearing that, Fyee came to a complete halt, but she refused to turn and face Princess Celestia, which Celestia did not mind. Hovering high above the clouds, with nothing but the roaring of the wind to serve as background noise, Fyee was at a loss of what to do, her insides were all tied up in knots, and her mind was on the verge of a nervous break down. For a time, Fyee just hovered in place, her right fore leg spasmed out of control, her breathing became erratic, and tears began to run down her cheeks. Considering deeply on what she should do, Fyee found herself caught off guard as Celestia's hooves cupped her in a soft embrace, the softness of Celestia's coat brushing up against her hard exoskeleton, and the soothing rhythm of Celestia's heart beat was so comforting, so inviting, Fyee could feel her body melting into it, could feel the love seeping out of Celestia, and coursing up to Fyee's..."No!" Fyee shouted, as she struggled to break free, but to no avail. "Let me go! I don't need your pity, or your love!"

No matter how hard she tried, Fyee could not liberate herself, and eventually, she didn't want to. As she gave in to the embrace, she felt Celestia's love course throughout her body, its power revitalizing her, but at the same time merely adding to her confusion. Celestia's love was so tantalizing, boasting a flavor Fyee had never savored before, yet she could not understand what this signified, for this love was freely given, almost passively, a rare phenomenon to say the least.

"Celestia, I don't...What does this all mean?" Fyee inquired, her ignorance lay bare, and shamelessly.

"Shh, its okay, don't dwell on it. Just let it pass," Princess Celestia softly spoke, as she rested her chin a top Fyee's head, and lightly stroke the latter's right cheek with her left hoof.

"But..." Fyee tried to retort, but Celestia merely shushed her again.

"This night was long and hard, so rest for now, and in the morning we will speak," Princess Celestia replied, her voice sounding a little shaky, and Fyee could have sworn she felt a faint tear roll down her right side.

"O-Okay," Fyee yielded, acknowledging at least that some measure of sleep would certainly help.

Releasing Fyee from her embrace, the pair flew to a nearby cloud, large enough to accommodate them, and made themselves comfortable. Fyee gathered some smaller bits of the cloud that drifted away, and crafted a suitable pillow to lay her head. Though Fyee sought to avoid a repeat of before, this time Celestia intentionally slept beside Fyee, her fore hooves cupping around Fyee once more, and her left wing blanketing Fyee in its natural warmth and softness. There were no words Fyee could use to describe just how awkward she felt, nothing seemed to make sense anymore, and the weight of all this confusion was so stressful. If ever there was a moment Fyee longed for her mother it was now, even if all Chrysalis would do is scold her for being so weak, at least it would be something Fyee could expect, and thus know how to react to, instead of all this absurdity.

Time soon passed, as it must, but no matter how long she kept her eyes shut, sleep eluded Fyee like the name of a friend one has not seen in years, and all the while her stress levels only grew. "What am I doing?" Fyee asked herself, as she sighed deeply, all of this was just so wrong, but Iscariat said it himself, her part in this story was over, and no words could undo what happened; "So, why am I still here?" The more she thought on it the more muddled it became, and the more frustrated she got. As the minutes ticked by her agitation continued to swell, using her magic, she levitated small chunks of the cloud they lay upon, and tore them to tiny pieces, then angrily mashed them together, before chucking them over the edge with enough force to actually dent the ground. It wasn't long till she tossed and turned, flipped her makeshift pillow over, she even tried a sleep spell, but nothing brought her any solace, and eventually she just wept in silence, hot tears rushing down her cheeks like a pair of rivers.

"Shh, don't cry little one," Princess Celestia whispered into Fyee's ear, while at the same time rubbing Fyee's heaving chest.

"An why not? I can't help my friend, or sleep! So why can't I cry!?" Fyee spoke with a cracked voice, and rushing tears.

"You have not lost him yet, but if you give up now you just may," Princess Celestia said, still rubbing Fyee's chest. "Just try to sleep, some rest will do you some good."

'I can't, aren't you listening!" Fyee snapped, as she turned to face Celestia, and then proceeded to punch the latter's chest; albeit lacking any real kinetic force. "I can't, I can't, I can't!!!"

"How about I sing you a song? That always helped Twilight get to sleep when she was stressed," Princess Celestia suggested, as she cupped Fyee in her fore hooves, and rested Fyee's head upon her chest, right above her heart.

"Stop patronizing me! I'm not a child or one of your prodigies!" Fyee screamed through tear soaked eyes.

"No, you are infinitely more special than that," Princess Celestia whispered, as she slightly increased her embrace's grip.

"What did you say?" Fyee asked with a puzzled gaze, as she wiped her eyes, and took a sharp breath.

"Nothing," Princess Celestia solemnly replied, as she lowered her head, and tenderly kissed Fyee's forehead. "Come, let me sing you a song, I promise it will help you sleep."

"Fine, I'll try anything at this point," Fyee said, as she rested her head against Celestia's chest, and the latter's heart beat offering some comfort, and stress reduction.

Smiling down at Fyee, Celestia held her tight, then lightly rubbed Fyee's back as she commenced to sing;

    Beautiful dreamer, wake unto me,

    Starlight and dew drops are waiting for thee;

    Sounds of the rude world, heard in the day,

    Lull'd by the moonlight have all pass'd away!

    Beautiful dreamer, queen of my song,

    List while I woo thee with soft melody;

    Gone are the cares of life's busy throng,

     Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

     Beautiful dreamer, awake unto me!

Celestia's melodious voice resonated inside Fyee as she sang, each lyric melted away Fyee's anxiety, and the gentle back rub Celestia gave Fyee was the final piece that at last allowed the latter to fall into a peaceful slumber. As Fyee quietly snored, Celestia let out a sigh, as she shut her eyes, and slowly slipped into slumber as well, the combined warmth of their body heat pushing away the cold draft, and creating a calm atmosphere that ensured their respite would go uninterrupted.

"Sleep well, my little one," Princess Celestia sleepily slurred out, before she went out like a candle flame.

The few remaining hours passed by uneventfully, and it wasn't long till Celestia had to raise the Sun. For a tenuous moment, Celestia merely watched Fyee sleep so carefree, smiling happily as she saw Fyee's chest expand and contract with each breath, and out right blush whenever Fyee's head tossed and turned against her chest, trying to get more comfortable. In her heart, Celestia knew she had to let go, but it was so hard, harder than anypony could imagine, and yet she had to.

"Let it never be said being a Princess is easy," Princess Celestia whispered, as she painfully relinquished her hold on Fyee, and then softly kissed Fyee on the fore head one last time. "I will always love you."

Using her magic to cover Fyee in a sheet made from the cloud they slept upon, Princess Celestia rose to her feet, and without any hesitation, she flew off to a special lake to raise the Sun. A mile from their current location, on a plateau five thousand feet above sea level, was a lake called Polarus; a massive body of water that could fit Canterlot and all of Ponyville, including Sweet Apple Acres, more than five times over, and still have space to spare. However, Polarus' size was negligible compared to its unique magnetic current, a current so powerful that when it clashes with the equally powerful magnetic current of the World Rune, a dazzling, and one of a kind phenomena, the Reverse River, comes into being. During the Spring and Summer months, when the currents are at their strongest, a column of water, the Reverse River, can be seen shooting up from the center of Polarus, and emptying into a small basin high in the mountains, where it then runs down across multiple smaller rivers that then empty into lakes or seas in foreign lands beyond. Since it was the middle of Spring, the Reverse River was flowing strong, its mighty roar dwarfing any other sounds for almost half a mile, a true force, and power to be respected.

Princess Celestia paused for a moment to reminisce, as she gathered her energies necessary to raise the Sun. In her youth, Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis met at this very location multiple times, and shared all kinds of things from gossip, to embarrassing stories, to hopes and dreams, to even closely guarded secrets. Yes, this place held many wonderful memories, but today she would not be making a pleasant memory, though it could be argued otherwise. Calling upon the well of magical energies deep inside her, Princess Celestia commanded the very force of gravity itself to over power the gravitational field around her precious Sun, and drew it into the Planet's own field locking both in an elegant dance, where one gracefully orbits the other. Taking a deep breath, Princess Celestia centered herself, allowing Leyline magic to freely flow through her, and at the same time loosen her muscles and clear her mind.

As the Sun peeked over the horizon, Princess Celestia felt a slight chill crawl up her spine, but she did not shiver, and instead stood strong.

"So, you arrived after all sister," Princess Celestia said, as she turned to face her adversary, the Sun's light cloaking her in a bright, white, aura.

"You were expecting me?" Nightmare Moon retorted, a devilish smile brandishing her face. "Good that simplifies things, but first things first. Where is she, Celestia?"

"She has nothing to do with this, I'm all you get," Princess Celestia replied, the white aura around her increasing in intensity as the Sun rose inch by inch.

"That's not what I wanted to hear," Nightmare Moon said, immediately hardening her expression to a stern frown, as a black aura manifested around her in opposition to Celestia's white. "So, I will ask again...Where is she?"

"Ask as many times as you wish, my answer will not change," Princess Celestia said, her white aura mirroring her adamant resolve.

"You're really willing to die for her, a Changeling?" Nightmare Moon inquired, genuinely confused by this devotion to a non-pony.

"Each and every time," Princess Celestia replied without any hesitation, her white aura was so bright that even Nightmare cringed, unable to gaze at it dazzling illumination. "Not like you could ever understand."

"How arrogant, you think I don't know what it is to care for someone? To love someone? To be willing to die for them?" Nightmare Moon scoffed, the darkness deepening around her as if to deny the coming of the dawn. "No, Celestia, it is you who lacks wisdom, blinded as you are by your self serving indignation, and pompous piety! An I will not simply abide any longer, as you place yourself on a pedestal like some untouchable Goddess! For let me remind you, Equestria has two Goddesses!"

It happened faster than any mere mortal could preserve, light and darkness collided, the combined force shook the whole of the plateau, and caused the Reverse River to collapse, its magnetic current torn like wrapping paper. All this happened simultaneously, and by the time the tremors settled, and the water from the river stopped raining down, the victor had already been decided. Battered and beaten on Polarus' bank with a broken left wing, and twin blood trails coursing from her lower right jaw and right temple, Princess Celestia lay at Nightmare Moon's feet totally defeated.

"You are unworthy of your own legacy, Celestia," Nightmare Moon whispered into Princess Celestia's ear, as she then pulled Princess Celestia by her hair, and smashed her face onto the hard stone. "But don't worry, I've had a change of heart. Killing you is unnecessary, but your power, as dilapidated as it is, is still problematic, and not something I can safely ignore. So, I've decided to nip it in the bud, so to speak."

Gingerly lifting Princess Celestia's head up to meet her eyes, Nightmare Moon smiled fiendishly as her horn ignited a midnight blue, and a similar shaded aura enshrouded Princess Celestia's respective horn.

"Sister, no," Princess Celestia whimpered, as she felt Nightmare's magic aura slowly constrict around her horn like a vice.

"Sorry Celestia, I can't hear you, you'll have to grovel louder," Nightmare Moon wickedly teased, as she continued to put the squeeze on Princess Celestia's horn, and relished in Princess Celestia's anguish.

"Let those words be your epitaph," a voice softly spoke into Nightmare's ear.

"What!?" Nightmare Moon said, as Fyee dispelled her invisibility spell, and swung the Cloudcluster Sword hard onto Nightmare's horn. "You!"

Caught completely off guard, Nightmare Moon could do nothing but curse Fyee's name as the Cloudcluster Sword unleashed all its energy in one, powerful, blast. Screaming out in pain, Nightmare's helmet shattered under the intense pressure of the blast, the plateau splintered and cracked all over, the lake water splashed over its borders, and soaked them all to the marrow. The Cloudcluster Sword's power was formidable, but Nightmare Moon was a Goddess, a wrathful divinity that would not be so easily slain, and most of all, she refused to be done in by her! Mustering all her will, Nightmare tried to push back the blade with her horn, though Fyee noticed, and sought to counter by putting all her weight into the bind. Grunting and groaning as she strained to push back, Nightmare Moon, unbelievably, began to gain ground, forcing Fyee onto her back foot, but before she could break the bind, Fyee beat Nightmare to it by tilting her edge ever so slightly, and slide her sword off, taking a few strands of Nightmare's mane in the process.

Recovering quickly, Fyee put some ample distance between her and Nightmare, then assumed a solid posture with both fore hooves grasping her hilt, and the blade pointed forward to either push an assault, or deflect an attack. However she would not get a second swing, for in a frightening display of incomparable power, Nightmare Moon effortlessly dispelled Fyee's Cloudcluster Sword, and while the latter was lost in her torpor, Nightmare Moon viciously clenched Fyee's throat with a telekinetic grip, and proceeded to choke the life out of her. Gasping for air, Fyee instinctively grasped at her throat, trying to free her windpipe from the obstruction that clenched it shut, but as soon as it dawned on her this was a magical assault she had exhausted her strength, and with no oxygen to take in, she collapsed onto the ground, completely unconscious.

"Damn brat, you really thought you could kill me," Nightmare Moon said, as she released her telekinetic grip, and took in several deep breaths. "Many have tried, all have failed, and now you will join them."

"No! If you must kill somepony then kill me!" Princess Celestia shouted forcing herself to her feet, and surprising Nightmare with such a statement.

"You are in no position to make demands," Nightmare Moon replied, telekinetically shunting Princess Celestia 's right back leg, causing her to fall to the ground. "Now then, where was I?'

"Please sister, I implore you, don't do this," Princess Celestia begged, as she now dragged herself, lacking the strength to stand.

"You are really annoying, Celestia," Nightmare Moon groaned, as she levitated a large bolder high over Fyee's body, laughing malevolently with a side wards glance at Princess Celestia's weepy expression. "You think she will have red or green blood? Let's find out, because the suspense is killing me."

Releasing her hold on the bolder, Nightmare smiled at her imminent victory, but mere inches before Fyee was crushed, the bolder was stopped, and held in place by a golden aura.

"Let it go!" Nightmare Moon shouted, as she sharply turned to face Princess Celestia, whose horn was ignited, albeit very weakly, showing obvious signs of strain.

"No," Princess Celestia adamantly said, prompting Nightmare Moon to furiously kick her in the face.

"Why is this Changeling so important!? What is she to you!?" Nightmare Moon bellowed, as she then stomped on Princess Celestia's broken wing.

"You wouldn't understand," Princess Celestia groaned out, weathering the stomping, and kicking with all her will.

"Even now you still Lord over me! I've had enough of this," Nightmare Moon said, as she took hold of Fyee's body with her telekinesis, and pulled it right to her feet, before levitating it up in front of her. "One more time, what is she to you!?"

Princess Celestia went mute, dropping the bolder immediately, and gazing through watery eyes at Fyee's limp body; unconscious but thankfully alive, for the moment.

"Well? Well!? Answer me!" Nightmare Moon said sternly, her eyes shooting daggers at Princess Celestia.

"Just leave her alone, I'm the one you want," Princess Celestia said, her voice extremely shaky, as she dragged herself to Nightmare, and embraced the latter's left fore hoof. "I beseech you, just punish me."

"I always knew you were pathetic Celestia, but this...Is inexcusable! Where is your pride!? Has a mere thousand years really made you so weak!" Nightmare Moon said in disgust, kicking Princess Celestia away, and then pulling Fyee closer for examination. "I fail to see why you care so much for this insect, but since you do care I can think of no better torture then to see her suffer."

"No!" Princess Celestia screamed, attempting to stop Nightmare, only to fall down in a heap, her stamina and strength all gone.

Smiling and snickering at Princess Celestia's powerlessness, Nightmare Moon had her way with Fyee unchallenged, and uninterrupted. Enshrouding Fyee in her midnight blue aura, Nightmare Moon conjured forth a black veil behind Fyee, the opaque cloth levitating on its own accord, and waving about while no wind blew. Drawing back her left hoof, Nightmare Moon thrusted her appendage into Fyee's forehead, though immediately upon contact, Nightmare's hoof became intangible, and as it came out the other end, it was joined by something else; a small purple sphere.

"What is that?" Princess Celestia asked, as Nightmare levitated the glowing sphere towards herself, and grinned wickedly.

"This is that Changeling's conscious mind, something similar to a soul, but far more precious," Nightmare Moon said, admiring the little sphere's purple hue, before chucking it into the black veil, causing both to vanish into the air. "An now it is gone."

"What did you do?" Princess Celestia said with a shocked expression.

"Oh nothing, I just sent here conscious mind somewhere. Somewhere you'll have a hard time navigating for sure," Nightmare Moon gloated, as she dropped Fyee's body, and then took to the skys. "It's been fun as always, Celestia, but I do have a nation to run, and a stallion to comfort. Bye-bye!"

Princess Celestia did not even hear Nightmare's word, or even registered that she left, no, all that mattered to her was Fyee. Frantically dragging herself like a crazed lunatic, Princess Celestia approached Fyee's limp body, and with tears pouring out of her eyes, Princess Celestia took firm hold of Fyee's body and cried, all the while saying, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I let this happen." As Princess Celestia lay there, broken with Fyee in her hooves, Fyee's conscious mind tumbled, and swirled around in the nothingness Nightmare condemned it too. Things really looked bleak for Fyee, but just as her tale seemed to be drawing to a close, the sphere that made up her conscious mind came to an abrupt halt, and appeared to be held in the palm of someone, or something's hand.

"Not to worry, lady, we won't let you be consumed by the dark. Isn't that right Ash?" a young girl's voice spoke cheerfully.

"Right as rain, Elm, our home is her home," a young boy's voice replied, also happily, and full of mirth.

An just like that the two youngsters whisked Fyee away from the dark, and to a place of light; though whether this was better or worse remained to be seen.

Chapter 14: Open

It was mid afternoon in Ponyville, the atmosphere in the Golden Oak was tense to say the least, ever since Fyee and Princess Celestia's departure last night the others found it difficult to stay calm. In an attempt to alleviate the stress, they each went out on their own to under take in a favorite activity. Applejack went apple bucking, Rarity sought to design a new gown, Rainbow Dash tried out a few new flight tricks, Pinkie Pie baked a cake, Fluttershy tended to her flock, Spike was napping, and Cadence spent time with Shining Armor. Twilight, however, opted to stay behind should Fyee and Celestia return, but in truth she merely sought some much needed solitude. Pulling a book off the shelf, Twilight shuffled over to the fire place, and commenced reading.

Enraptured by her book, Twilight was unaware that the door had opened, the jingling of the tiny bell went unregistered, and the rather loud creaky floor may as well have been a pillow falling. Just as she finished chapter three the intruder made his presence known, and with a loud pop next to Twilight's ear, she yelped out in fright, flew up only to collide with the ceiling, and then fell flat on the floor. As the room spun around her, Twilight heard a cackling laughter ring in her ear; a very familiar laughter.

"Discord?" Princess Twilight said, as she slowly regained her bearings, and then looked up to lock eyes with the jolly draconequus.

"I'm sorry Twilight, but that was priceless," Discord said, still laughing his lungs out.

"Where have you been all this time?" Princess Twilight queried, rising to her feet, and then collecting her book.

"Stuck in an inescapable snow globe of Canterlot," Discord replied casually, as he conjured up a bag of lemon drops, and popped several into his mouth. "Lemon drop?"

"No thank you," Princess Twilight politely said, as she book marked her chapter then carefully levitated the book onto a nearby table, before then awarding Discord her undivided attention. "So, if that snow globe was inescapable, how did you get out?"

"Oh I didn't, or rather I couldn't, not without outside assistance," Discord replied through a mouth of lemon drops, his mouth so stuffed that many of them just popped out as he talked; much to Twilight's revulsion.

"Okay...So who assisted you?" Princess Twilight retorted, her brow adopting a puzzling expression.

"Iscariat," Discord at last said, a slight smirk crawling up his face.

"What?!" Princess Twilight exclaimed, her eyes wide open, and her mouth gawking in a manner most unladylike. "Why would he do that?"

"Because we are friends now," Discord happily boasted.

"What?!" Princess Twilight repeated, now really confused.

"It's true, he even trusted me to personally deliver this to you; When the time is right," Discord said, materializing the box in front of Twilight, and then taking the form of Iscariat as he quoted him. "Well I got bored waiting, so I say the right time is now. So here you go."

"You seriously expect me to believe that?" Princess Twilight scoffed, while staring at the box from the corner of her eye. "How do I know this isn't some trap? I've read the old lore, I know all about Iscariat's clever strategies during the Hundred Year War. Well I won't fall for it."

"An that is your choice," Discord snickered, as he walked towards the fireplace, and then proceeded to climb up the chimney.

"Where are you going?" Princess Twilight asked, as she covered her eyes from the soot Discord kicked up as he climbed.

"Home, I can't wait to see what happens next," Discord chuckled merrily. "This is turning out better than I could have hoped!"

"But you can't just leave, we could really use your power!" Princess Twilight said, as she coughed, and rubbed her watery eyes. "Discord!"

Just like that he was gone, and Twilight was left with nothing but a box, and boat load of questions. Opening a window to air out the room, Twilight lightly dusted the soot off herself then turned her attention towards the box. Apart from the sealing rune inscribed atop its lid, the box was rather plain, it was smooth all the way around, it had no latches or mechanical locks, a pair of brass hinges stuck from the back, and an iron lip wrapped around the perimeter, dividing the upper and lower sections. Hesitantly, Twilight rested a hoof upon its lid and...nothing, there was no reaction or strange sensation coming from the box. Blinking rapidly with a raised eyebrow, Twilight tossed caution to the wind, and commenced to shake the box, knock on it, enshroud it in her magical field, and even kicked it like a football, but the box would not yield.

"Why...won't...you...open?!" Princess Twilight groaned, as she applied a crowbar to the box's lid, but still it held firm. "What are you?!"

When the box failed to answer her, Twilight's hair frizzled up, her face adopted a scowl, and with one decisive kick, she sent it into the fireplace.

"If you won't open then I'll burn your casing to ash," Princess Twilight said, her horn igniting in a brilliant red hue, with an even brighter white glow from the tip.

However, just as she was about to reduce the box to kindling it simply vanished, but not for long as it re-materialized on a small table just to the left of the fireplace, and right beside it was a photo of Twilight and her friends. Completely over looking the specific location the box teleported to, Twilight instead focused on the action itself, and now really wanted to know everything about the box. Taking the box downstairs to her laboratory, Twilight took out a notebook, quills and some ink, and commenced with jotting down the materials that constituted the box. Following her initial examination, Twilight then proceeded to experiment with a few rudimentary spells, ranging from levitation to divination, and recording the effect, if any, as they arose. As time progressed Twilight had completed her list of low level spells, and none of them had any effect on the box, which was to be expected, but with a smiling grin she took out a much bigger list; full of spells she's been dying to test out.

All matter of sounds could be heard coming from the Golden Oak Library as the afternoon matured to the late afternoon, and by the time the others returned for dinner smoke was fuming out the doors and windows, and the Ponyville fire brigade was about ready to charge in.

"What is the meaning of all this?" Princess Cadence called out just as the library door swung open.

White smoke rushed out engulfing everypony in a thick haze, their eyes watered, and their throats seized up causing them to cough continuously. Fortunately for them watery eyes and a strong cough was the worst to expect, for this smoke was a benign phenomena called Spell Smoke; a white haze that accumulates after the repeated casting of high tier spells, usually tiers five and up. Spell smoke, thankfully, doesn't last long, and in less than a minute it had completely assimilated with the air, and after a quick explanation to the fire brigade, by Princess Cadence, they too immediately dispersed. Now that all was calm again, relatively speaking, Cadence lead them all into the Golden Oak, taking great care to raise a forward shield alongside Shining Armor. As they tip toed towards the basement, they could make out a pair of muffled voices, though they were unsure who the voices belonged to, and so ready themselves for a fight if need be.

Just as they slowly turned the door knob one of the voices cried out, "Look out Twilight, it's going to summon again!"

"Don't worry Spike, I'm ready this time," Princess Twilight said, as Cadence and the others came down the steps, catching her by surprise. "Stay back everypony, this thing means business!"

"Twilight just what in...Ah," Princess Cadence gasped mid-sentence as her eyes fell upon the box in the center of the room, a circle of crystal salt surrounding it. "How did you come by that?"

Cadence's question was over looked when the box's seal began to glow a dismal gray, and from it rose an even more dismal entity; a Wraith. Wraith's were corporeal spirits with the ability to use magic, as well as cast vile curses of various magnitudes, but truly their most frightening trait was their appetite for souls. Except for Cadence, no pony there had ever heard of a wraith, let alone seen on in person, it was like something out of their nightmares, a monster shrouded in darkness itself, wielding twin, bronze, khopeshes. The wraith assumed the form of a featureless earth pony, devoid of eyes, and draped in a miasma of swirling darkness, its weapons held in each hoof respectively, primed to tear them all apart. As it made ready to lung, Cadence ordered them all to hold their breath, and without question they heeded her words.

The wraith immediately lost its poise, it looked around, blind as it was, sniffing the air, and swinging its weapons like a mad man, to no avail. Growling voraciously, the wraith cleaved a table in twain, bottles and test tubes came crashing down onto the floor, glass and various chemicals littered the area, but no pony dared react to it, incurring a dreadful screech from the wraith as a result. Signaling Shining Armor with a simple nod, Cadence slowly approached the box, taking the utmost care to keep her breath held, while at the same time Shining had a barrier spell prepared should worst come to worst. This was hands down the most excruciating thirty seconds any of them had to undergo, their heart were pounding, their faces were turning blue, and the wraith was putting the fear of death in their souls. Fortunately through Cadence's quick thinking and tenacity, they all lived to tell the tale of this hellish experience, for as soon as Cadence took hold of the box she pressed down, hard, on the seal until she heard a click and an Ouch...? An Ouch?

Yes, their ears had not deceived them, the box had indeed said, "Ouch," and as soon as it had the wraith vanished, its summoning undone. After reacquainting themselves with the precious air, they all turned their attention to the box, who cried out with a feminine voice that Cadence kindly cease pressing down on her lid.

"You've been a bad girl, Nymph," Princess Cadence sternly said, her left eyebrow raised as she spoke. "Summoning a wraith is serious, and in no way is funny. Somepony could have died!"

"But the lavender one tried to burn me, twice," Nymph retorted, her voice heavy and sorrowful.

All eyes then turned to Twilight, who gazed back perplexed at just what was happening, and with a surly tone, she replied," What? How was I suppose to know she was alive? Or that she could talk for that matter?"

"Ah, be that as it may, you still took it too far," Princess Cadence said, as she slowly eased the tension on Nymph's lid, but did not remove her hoof completely. "Now say you're sorry, young lady."

"Yes ma'am," Nymph said penitently, as Cadence turned around so Nymph was facing the others. "I apologize for my rash actions, and hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."

"Of course we can," Fluttershy spoke for the others, as she stepped forward, and hugged Nymph without hesitation. "This was nothing more than a big misunderstanding."

"Such kindness, you can only be Fluttershy," Nymph replied with a happy sigh.

"Wait a minute, you know us?" Princess Twilight asked, her brow rising, and her eyes widening.

'Who doesn't know of you is a better question," Nymph replied with a chuckle, as she levitated up above their heads. "But such trivial knowledge is of little consequence, and hardly worth discussing. No, I imagine my very presence here is of greater interest to you; especially to little miss cinders."

"Tsk, look you I had no idea of knowing, and you weren't that talkative either," Princess Twilight said sharply, pointing accusingly at Nymph.

"Okay that is enough," Princess Cadence retorted, coming between the two with her fore hooves raised at both of them.

"Fine," Nymph and Twilight said, though they both knew this wouldn't be the end of it.

"Now I confess that I am interested in your purpose here, Nymph," Princess Cadence said, as she flew up to Nymph's level.

"Isn't it obvious, Iscariat believes that now is the time," Nymph replied with a hint of a chuckle in her tone.

"Time for what?" Princess Twilight asked, she too now in the air, her tone a tad tense and suspicious.

"He can't be serious," Princess Cadence said, her eyes wide open, and her head shaking.

"Would I be here if he wasn't?" Nymph retorted slyly.

"What are you two talking about?!" Princess Twilight bellowed, shifting her gaze between Nymph and Cadence.

"I can't believe this is really happening," Princess Cadence said, her tone low and heavy, and her head held down.

"Desperate times, Cadence," Nymph said, her voice neutral, and devoid of its previous confidence.

"I suppose it is," Princess Cadence mumbled out, her spirit unbelievably low. "Right, well no sense putting it off. Everypony gather around in the center of the room, please."

Descending down towards the others, Cadence had them all form a circle around Nymph, and with a heavy sigh, Cadence looked into each of their eyes an smiled. They all shared in this smile for a moment or two, before Cadence adopted a more serious expression, and with a nod of her head, signaled Nymph to proceeded. An eerie sound of a pressurized seal breaking came from Nymph, as her lid suddenly flung open, unleashing a tempest of starlight and fairy dust. Without the slightest hesitation, Cadence leaped into the swirling vortex, and found herself sucked into Nymph. Staring at one another with wide eyes, the others watched in amazement as Spike instantly jumped in next, and following that unmatched act of courage the others shook off their worries, and dived in.    

            

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