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.

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