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.              

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