Isaris watched in horror as her two half brothers torture the recent captives. She never took joy in watching other ponies suffer; loathed the idea of it. She just could not understand how other ponies could do this to each other. She stood watching through iron bars as her brothers finished torturing the one known as Sweetie Belle. She felt it odd that her name was Sweetie Belle when so much fury and fire existed beneath her. Tears swelled in her eyes as she watched the pony lay in a pool of her own blood, Isaris kept a hoof over her mouth and slowly shook her head. In her mind she thought, ’How can this happen?’

She then began to think of her mother, Queen Chrysalis. She feeds off of love; as did Isaris. But she never enjoyed it. Chrysalis taught her to be brutal and rule with an ironfist, as she would rule the Changelings one day. She as well learned in her foalhood the fate of her father, Rycon Brightstar. She gasped in surprise as a hoof rested on her shoulder it was the tender and soft touch of her brother Icarrus. Icarrus was the most caring and generous amongst her brethren, nicest too. While his three brothers didn’t enjoy the idea of her as a sister, Icarrus loved her as a sister. He said in a soft tenor voice, “You don’t have to watch this you know.”

Isaris glanced over her shoulder and looked into his dark blue eyes and said in a soft voice, “I know…”

She closed her eyes slowly and forced her tears to stop flowing. Icarrus interrupted, “I don’t like it seeing you like this.”

She let his words seep into her ears and cherished every word she replied opening her eyes again, “I have to, if this is the world that I exist in I have to see this for myself. If it wasn’t know it would be sometime else.”

She knew the sad truth that Ketos is filled with war and small ages of peace. But she had not seen it at its worst, Icarrus and his brothers saw it at its worst. Icarrus looked through the bars and closed his eyes in quiet frustration, breathing a slow and steady breath out from his nostrils. The stone walls around them kept the air around them at a cold temperature, moss seeped and over grew in the cracks and crevices in the stone. Icarrus crossed his front hooves and said keeping his eyes closed, “So… what do we know?”

Isaris as well looked through the bars and they were picking up Sweetie Belle and dragging her back to her cell. She said in a shaky tone, “Nothing much. The mares know next to nothing and they haven’t even started on Discord yet. All that we know is they are preparing for a siege on the Castle of the Two Sisters. If we want to find out anything else we’ll have to… interrogate Discord.”

Isaris herself could hear how distant she was talking. The amount of woe in her voice was uncanny, almost sad. Icarrus looked over at Isaris and said, “I came back from a scouting mission from Ponyville.”

“What have you learned?” Isaris asked, not in anticipation but in sadness. The amount of emotion on Icarrus’ face was enough to lower Isaris’ sadness herself.

He replied, “Dracula and Twilight share a physical connection. Whatever happens to Dracula, happens to Twilight.”

“Why do you sound so distant?”

“Because,” Icarrus responded quickly through gritted teeth, “This revenge of mother’s is getting out of hand. She wants everypony dead or enslaved when they have done nothing to her. She will gladly throw anypony into the slaughter just so she can satisfy herself… we can’t keep living like this Isaris.”

Isaris rested her hooves on his shoulders and said in a soft voice, “We will find away out of this brother. Don’t worry, the reign of a ruler lasts only as long as their agenda permits. Personal or not.”

Icarrus muttered, “I hope you’re right Isaris.”

Icarrus looked through the bars and continued to think, ‘I hope you’re right.’

I have had about enough of your excuses Chrysalis!

Living Shadow shouted through the stone throne room. He was pure shadows and Chrysalis could feel the magic he was using to try and revive himself in this world. Cerberus already has and that is why he was here yelling at her. The amount of anger and frustration within himself was uncanny. It rolled off of him like the shadows did. He had his back turned away from Chrysalis who had been kneeling on the ground. He shouted,
I should kill you, but I still need you for this. Cerberus might have granted him powers but I have not slept in darkness for five thousand years just to be killed. Again. I need to be cautious, as do you Chrysalis.

He said her name like it was a poison upon his lips, nothing she wasn’t used to. She had heard that tone a few times before from some of her Drones. Chrysalis looks up at the back turned god and said, “I assure you Living Shadow, that these new breeds of Changelings will turn this war around to our favor.”

He turned around and met her eyes with a threatening gaze, he said in a cold voice,
Be sure that you do. I can’t afford any more setbacks, I have lost so much already. I will not fail. Because it seems to me that this isn’t even a war at all. You have petty excuses for even more petty agendas. You should consider yourself lucky that I don’t kill you right now.

Chrysalis could feel the seriousness in his tone, it was as if his voice carried more than just words across the air into her ears. She had never seen a pony with such a dark agenda, especially one like his. Yes she wanted revenge on all who had wronged her but he wanted the blood reckoning of everpony. He wants to destroy Equestria.

Living Shadow was as broken as they came. A pony destroyed by his own demons and darkness, becoming the nightmare of everypony’s dreams. He is the one who broke himself, he let the darkness he wielded over take him. Chrysalis stood up and said, “How can you be so certain?”

Living Shadow turned his head and growled,
Because I revived my true son. He now gets me closer to making me take Dracula over, besides you. When the time is right you must cast a spell to destroy his mental strength, giving me the ability to take him over. And if you should fail me, I will personally rip your soul into a million pieces and spread you across the planes of Tartarus.

“Is such methods needed?” Icarrus shouted from the bars. Kydaos looked up and waved his hoof.

Kydaos responded, “You aren’t the one to interrogate them brother. Have I ever failed you before?”

Icarrus cringed and stepped away. His methods were solid but there was a fine line between interrogation and being a sadistic. Icarrus looked over at Isaris and said, “I don’t think we’ll get anywhere interrogating these fools. From what I learned from Ponyville they know next to nothing compared to somepony like Dracula himself.”

Isaris raised an eyebrow and said, “Whose side are you on? I thought you were going to rebel against mother?”

Icarrus replied swiftly, “I am on my own side. My own rebellion. But in order for it to succeed Chrysalis isn’t supposed to arouse suspicion that I am planning on betraying her. Every new action she makes, she steps closer to the edge. When the final days come, I will be there to push her off.

“How will you create more Changelings?” Icarrus turned and saw one of the captors speak. It was Discord who sat smugly with his hands tied behind his chair. Icarrus leaned closer to the bars and stared down at Discord. Discord continued, “Only her magic can pass through an immortal alicorn, hers alone. Has this even past through that thick skull of yours?”

Kydaos smashed his hoof across Discord’s face causing blood to fly from his mouth. Discord looked over at Kydaos and said with a sarcastic saddened face, “Now that wasn’t very nice. Didn’t your mother teach you any manners?”

Kydaos smashed his hoof against his face again, and then another time. Discord said after a small grunt, “Obviously not.”

“Shut UP!” Vacius screamed, “I have heard enough of your mind games! Answer the question!”

Discord shuffled his feet and said in the same sarcastic tone, “It wouldn’t kill you to say please.”

Kydaos cracked his hoof across his smug face again. Discord looked directly at Kydaos and said in a lightly accented voice, “Please sir can I have another?”

Kydaos did more than just a blow across the face this time. Kydaos took out a knife and stabbed it into Discord’s arm. Blood running down his arm, he looked and said, “There is no entertaining you is there? Man...I wasn’t expecting a bunch of stiffs. You take your job way too seriously.”

Icarrus saw frustration explode across Kydaos. It was then that Icarrus realised that Kydaos wasn’t doing the interrogating, Discord was interrogating them. This was going to be a long and costly interrogation. Icarrus could just feel it.