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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Your highnesses, I believe she has had enough," Iscariat said, but was quickly taken back by the harsh expressions each Princess bore at him.

"No, we can take no chances this time around," Princess Celestia said in a voice that was not her's, and with an expression as cold as ice.

"What did I tell you, she cares not for anything," Nightmare Moon groaned as strong static bolts struck at her through cracks in her shield.

"I will have no more of your poison, fiend," Princess Celestia said increasing the pressure on Nightmare's failing shield.

"I speak only the truth, which is more than can be said of you!" Nightmare Moon snapped back just as her shield shattered to pieces, leaving her exposed to the three Princesses relentless assault.  

"Your highnesses that is enough," Iscariat said pleading them to stop, but they refused. "Enough!"

Startling everyone, Iscariat enveloped the three Princesses in an aura of his magical energy; cutting them off from the Leylines. Nightmare Moon laughed at the priceless expressions her assailants bore as she rose up to her full height, and with hardly any effort she thrust all three Alicorns into the back walls embrace.

"What have I done?" Iscariat said wide eye, and confused.

"Nothing, you have done nothing wrong," Nightmare Moon replied, her wing dropping itself over Iscariat, once more ensnaring him in her embrace, his head against her chest, and her head resting upon his almost lovingly. "They changed the rules when they attacked me together, using shear numbers against me. As I said, Celestia has no honor or sense of respect."

"Stop talking about Princess Celestia like that, and as for you Iscariat...I thought you were better than this," Princess Twilight snapped angrily, so disgusted that she couldn't even look at Iscariat.

"Your highness, I didn't...No, no excuses!" Iscariat said pushing away from Nightmare Moon, and staring each Princess in the eye. "Nightmare Moon has suffered enough from all of you, and I will stand for it no longer."

"Are you crazy?! She is a monster, and belongs in a cage," Princess Twilight said as she struggled against the spell that held her, and the others to the wall.

"Twilight is right, Iscariat, Nightmare Moon is poison, and is not to be trusted," Princess Celestia said hoping that her words would reach Iscariat, and return him to them.

"An who are you to cast the first stone, Celestia," Nightmare Moon said glaring angrily at the Princess. "You may act all kind and benevolent, but beneath all your posturing I know that you're not above lying even to your most loyal subjects."

"What do you mean?" Iscariat asked side glancing at Nightmare Moon, while still keeping the bulk of his attention on the Princesses.

"Oh, you will love this," Nightmare Moon said casting a sinister sneer at Princess Celestia. "About two years before I came into the picture, Princess Luna sought her dear sister's approval on a very delicate matter; the matter of the heart. Contrary to the norm of society, at that point in time, Princess Luna was going to ask you out on a date, but Princess Celestia refused to give her consent."

"That makes no sense, Princess Celestia would know I would say no," Iscariat said; Princess Celestia slightly relieved that even in his unstable state, Iscariat's logical way of thinking had not completely diminished.

"Oh she knew that, but you see she had a carefully laid out a plan for you, and she wasn't going to chance her sister's happiness ruining that," Nightmare Moon said, her careful choice of words paying off in a vast quantity.

"Don't listen to her Iscariat," Princess Celestia said straining against Nightmare's powerful restraining field, but to no avail.

"Why not? I haven't spent a thousand years controlling his growth and progress, and then all but discarding him when you acquired your new pet," Nightmare Moon said shooting a spiteful glare at Twilight when she uttered the word "Pet." Following her statement, Nightmare Moon, in a shocking turn of events, released Princesses Celestia, Cadence and Twilight from her restraint field, and allowed them to approach rather close.

"What trickery is this, Nightmare?" Princess Celestia inquired, remaining ever vigilant.

"There is no deceit involved, sister, I merely think it is time to let Iscariat make his choice; now that he has heard the truth," Nightmare Moon said turning towards Iscariat one final time, and then with a caring smile she continued onward until she stood in the middle of the room. "You are free to try and persuade him, but I'm confident he will make the right choice in the end, regardless of your pretty lies."

"Iscariat, please we have stood by each other for one thousand years, don't let that friendship wither into nothingness just because of this falling out," Princess Celestia pleaded from the bottom of her heart.

"We were never friends, your highness," Iscariat deadpanned, his eyes unable to keep contact with the Princess', and so gazed at his left fore hoof.

"How can you say that?" Princess Twilight asked, positively flabbergasted by such a cold statement. "I saw your memories, and some of the Princess'; you are not like this. Now snap out of it, and help us defeat the real enemy."

"What do you know?! You are nothing but a filly with a large chip on her shoulder," Iscariat shouted, his magical energy lashing out from his horn in the form of tendrils that struck at everything without distinction; Princess Celestia, slightly drained from her tussle with Nightmare Moon, was forced to shield her protege with her own body.

"Princess Celestia, are you okay?!" Princess Twilight asked, her eye's widening with concern as she caught a glimpse of a crimson streak running across the Princess' right side. "Oh no! You beast, how dare you hurt the Princess! She only wanted to help you!"

"Twilight that is enough, he is not himself," Princess Celestia said groaning lightly as she moved back to her original position, blood seeping fro her slash, and stinging with pain with every tiny twitch.

"No, I will not have you excuse my actions so easily," Iscariat said glaring at Princess Celestia with such intensity, whatever weakness his eyes possessed was no longer visible, and instead replaced with incalculable rage. "Except it or not these events transpired because of my choices, and now I 'am ready to make one more."

At the utterance of his last sentence, time itself seemed to halt completely, as if whatever entity in control of it did not wish history to progress, but such things cannot be achieved, even by gods, and so time resumed. Turning his back to the Princesses, Iscariat walked towards Nightmare Moon, a smiling expression blossoming on the latter's face. Princess Twilight averted her eyes at the sight, Iscariat's betrayal hurt her on a multitude of different levels. A tear escaped Twilight's eye, she just couldn't understand how such a paragon of duty and order could be swayed by a creature as vile and despicable as Nightmare Moon. Princess Cadence felt the same, though her experience was far more personal because in her youth, when she was adopted by Princess Celestia, she was tutored in the proper use of magic by Iscariat, himself, and while she did not express her feelings as openly as her sister in law; which was due in no small part to Iscariat's teachings of control, she still grieved for him deep inside.

Princess Celestia could best be described as a blank slate, for from her exterior visage to her interior mental state, nothing cold be discern even by the likes of Nightmare Moon. Iscariat, despite his commitment, was still conflicted, his perpetual self doubt kept eating away at him, and yet he also felt oddly at calm; as if a colossal weight has finally been lifted off him. There were no words to describe Nightmare Moon's emotional state, she was well beyond cloud nine, her entire mental spectrum was set to a sensation of pure bliss that she almost lost touch with reality. When Iscariat at last stood before Nightmare, she could not help but embrace him in a tender huge, and applauding his excellent choice.

"Get your hooves off him you abomination!" shouted Fyee, charging through the ruined door, and with a full body swing she shot out a massive slash of viridian energy aimed at Nightmare's head.

The events that followed occurred so rapidly that even Iscariat was a tad slow on the up keep. Pushing Iscariat to the side, Nightmare used her wings to form a variable shield, catching the energy slash, though not halting its progress. The slash's power was overwhelming, Nightmare could only reduce it by a small increment, as she was pushed into the throne, and then pinned against the back wall. The throne room shook violently, portions of the ceiling came crashing down upon their heads, the wall behind Nightmare splintered and crumbled outward, leaving Nightmare exposed without any thing solid to apply appropriate leverage against.

For one brief moment everypony thought Nightmare Moon's doom was close at hand, but sadly it was not to be, for even when pitted against such power Nightmare is never completely helpless. Focusing her magic to the tip of her horn, Nightmare Moon casted a spell Iscariat taught Luna; in the past Nightmare has used this spell quite frequently, and now she must call upon it again. The spell enveloped her in a navy blue shell akin to her armor, though twice as dense, and enchanted to amplify her strength ten fold. Now donned in her new armor, Nightmare turned her wings outward, and with one sweep of her wings, reenforced by her armor's strength enhancements, she easily cleaved Fyee's slash in half, dispersing it into the aether. Fyee was dumb struck, while Nightmare cackled out loud, her voice slightly muffled by the enclosed helmet she now wore.

"I must say you are a fascinating individual," Nightmare Moon said, her steel covered hooves crunching and clanging upon the ruble and cracked title floor, as she approached Fyee. "To come barging in here, swinging the Cloudcluster Sword at me, as well as having the gall to call me an abomination. That takes a lot of will, and I respect that Princess of the Changeling Hive. However,,,You still attacked one who is your superior in every way, and so it is time to remember your place!"    

Nightmare Moon channeled a vast amount of magic to the tip of her horn, at a rate faster than Fyee thought possible, and before she could react, Nightmare conjured a sphere of ice not unlike a comet, and propelled it at Fyee. The shear cold emitting from the sphere was strong enough to frost over the walls and floors, it also iced over Fyee's exoskeleton; severely hampering her movement, as well as threatening to slow her heart to a dangerous crawl. Unable to move out of the way of the ice sphere, Princess Celestia made a motion to assist Fyee, but just as the Princess placed herself in position, a grey lightning bolt struck the pseudo comet, and reverted it to sleet.

"I think you made your point," Iscariat said, lightning crackling from his horn.

"I guess I did go a little over board," Nightmare Moon chuckled, using her magic to dispel her strength augmenting armor. "However, the question still stands, what shall I do with these annoyances?"

"Just let them go," Iscariat deadpanned, refusing to make any eye contact.

"An why should I do that?" Nightmare Moon asked, her face hardening as she glared at Princess Celestia with such intensity. "Why should I simply allow my most hated enemy to leave, when I was never awarded that curtsey?"

"Please, there has been enough fighting today," Iscariat said, his body finally showing signs of fatigue.

"Consider yourselves blessed, for were it up to me, you would be spending a week in the dungeon; as a start," Nightmare Moon said, as she playfully ran her left hoof through Princess Celestia's mane; a stern look and devilish sneer brandished her face as she did so. "Go, before I change my mind."

"This isn't your Castle! You have no..." Princess Twilight said, but before she could go off on her rant Princess Celestia stepped forward, and shook her head grimly at her star pupil.

"Do we have your word that you will allow all of us to leave, even Twilight's friends in the garden?" Princess Celestia asked, her words directed at Nightmare, but her eyes were fixed on Iscariat.

"You always were hard to trust others. Very well, I, Nightmare Moon, give you my word that no harm will befall you; under the condition that you leave peacefully," Nightmare Moon said, now standing beside Iscariat.

"I will hold you to it," Princess Celestia said, turning to the others. "We are leaving."

"No, I refuse to abandon him again," Fyee retorted, raising the Cloudcluster Sword for a second attack, but Princess Celestia instantly restrained her hooves with a set of ball and chains.

"This is no time to be rash, if you confront them now you will die," Princess Celestia said, placing her right hoof on Fyee's shoulder. "We will break her hold on him, but not now. Trust me."

"Okay," Fyee said softly, dropping her head in defeat, a lone tear leaving her left eye as the chains vanished, and Princesses Cadence and Twilight helped her walk out the destroyed doors; while also levitating her sword; she no longer possessing the strength to carry it.

"Yes, kindly vacate the premises," Nightmare Moon said wrapping her left hoof around Iscariat's neck, and pressing their bodies closer than he would normally be comfortable with, but he was too exhausted to care. "Because the adults have to talk."

There are no words in Equestrian, Changeling, Gryffin or the tongues of Dragons to describe the unbridled rage brooding inside Fyee; a rage that threaten to completely consume her, and compel her to lash at Nightmare Moon there and now. However, she did not, for one thing kept her in line, and that was her great desire to tell Iscariat just how she longed for him, to be by his side through every challenge. Twas this emotion that quashed the blazing rage in Fyee's heart, and with great dignity she kept true to herself, and humbly walked away without a word.

     Next Chapter: Chapter 9: A Dark Future Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 14 Minutes