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.

Next Chapter: Chapter 14: Open Estimated time remaining: 11 Minutes