"This has got to be, the absolute, worst thing to ever happen to me." Midnight groaned out in annoyance as he continued flying along, looking down to the mass of what seemed like moving bodies being burned in a sea of lava below.

The heat and screams that were coming from below him were so intense that, after a short time, he could feel his fur and feathers already starting to crinkle up from it. Taking himself higher up would only prove to make things more difficult as the stalactites and drapers that jutted down from the ceiling of Tartarus could cut him to ribbons if he got to close to them. Should another quake erupt like it had earlier, those very stones could become dislodged and break off from the ceiling, causing them to fall like massive spears toward anything unlucky enough to be below.

Now, however, the stallion was making his way all across the depths of hell itself, attempting to find a way to free himself from the most dreaded of places to go once one passed on. The only problem was that, there was no way out that he could find, or think of. It had already been close to a day since he had used the afterlife spell, and it looked as if he was indefinitely stuck within the kingdom of darkness, or so he had been told.

"Do you really think that this moron will continue his search into finding a way out of here?" Screwball groaned out in annoyance as she watched a large tv near her, its picture showing that of Midnight as he continued flying along.

"I know he will fail." Satan chuckled. "And yes, knowing him far better than what you think I do will only prove that he will continue his efforts until all of his options have been extinguished."

"What about your other plans to keep him here?" The shadow Hunter purred as it slinked around the Dark Lord.

"Oh I do believe that he will fall directly into those plans without fail. Knowing how hot headed he is when it comes to taking out the bad guy." He smirked causing the rest of the room to softly chuckle in knowing. "He will succumb to me in time, and breaking him will be the most fun I will have had in millennia."

"Possibly..." Discord stated quietly as he appeared next to Satan, only for him to hiss in disapproval.

"Discord, how long has it been? Ten, may fifteen millennia?" Satan spat as he gave a sideways glance to the draconequus.

"Hmm, yes, well you know how much I dislike your company down here." He sighed, looking around the room before stopping as his vision fell upon his daughter.

"Hello.... father." She spat, turning her nose up and away.

Discord just sighed, looking back toward the television that was playing Midnights current picture upon it. Taking in a breath of the hot sulfuric air, he sighed out.

"You do realize, that if he finds out how to use my power to its fullest ability, you will be in an entirely new world of hurt." Discord smirked seeing Satan giving a disgusted look, waving a hand and causing the television to disappear.

"That is if he figures out how to harness such power, and use it without going mad like you did all that time ago."

"We will see...." Discords voice trailed off as he disappeared in a flash of light. "And I am placing my chips on his will alone." He continued to laugh softly as his voice echoed throughout the room.

"Well?" Screwball asked as she trotted up to Satans side.

"Well what?" He snapped back causing her to flinch.

"Don't you think we should go along with the plan? I mean, if it will guarantee that it will keep him here, then wouldn't it be the safest bet to go ahead and start?" Screwball spoke out cautiously, hoping not to anger her new lord.

"Possibly... But I want to have some fun first." Satan chuckled evilly. "Gather the rest of your little friends, I'll let you three be the first to take a swing at him."

"Three?" Screwball asked causing Satan to groan.

"Your little elemental friends, idiot, and before you ask, I am only allowing Forge, and Steel, be the ones to do anything. The rest of your crew would fall too quickly if they attempted anything in this environment." He sighed in annoyance, knowing that the ice and air ponies would not last, should they be exposed to the heat of Tartarus alone.

Screwball gave a girlish squeal, knowing that she was about to have far more fun than she had ever thought about having when facing an enemy. The best part though, she was already dead, and would regenerate after only a few minutes. Midnight on the other hand, well... he was partially alive, so any damage that he would sustain would cause him to endure at least some pain, should he return tot he living world at any time.

Canterlot was on high alert as all of the guard had been summoned for duty. Although Midnight had taken the liberty to teach Celestia several spells that would help prevent them from sustaining any damage from him during a possible fight, they would still get hurt, albeit only a fraction of what they normally would.

The sun Goddess was currently in the war room, along with the captains of the royal guard, minus Shining Armor, whom was in the Crystal Empire, along with his wife, Princess Cadence. Luna would be her only other ally in this battle, and she was currently in Ponyville with the Elements of Harmony, preparing them for a possible encounter with Flame.

"You three must take extreme precautions when dealing with Flame. He has the power of Discord, along every bit of fighting knowledge that Midnight possesses. However, you must not kill him, only capture him, I am sure that you may use whatever force that you deem necessary in order to do this, but please, try not to maim him." Celestia sighed in worry, knowing that the three captains were now more than capable of handling the situation at hoof, but that still didn't mean that they might not kill him by accident.

"Can't we just use that knock out spell that he gave us all that time ago?" Whiplash asked, remembering the spell that Shining Armor had used to knock the Alicorn out all those years ago.

"I'm afraid not, that spell has become useless now since he has created a counter spell for it. Over the time he has since been free from his stone prison, he has taken so many different precautions in creating spells that even I have had a hard time keeping up with them."

"I thought that his spells would wear off though when he turned human again." Iron Clad piped up.

"Although I would like to say that is true Iron, I must be thankful, and also regretfully inform you that some of his spells still remain in effect, regardless of that circumstance." Celestia sighed as she picked back up.

"You see, his ability to create spells from mere thought, along with the spells that he has learned through reading are the reason behind some of them remaining, while the others disappear once he returns human once more. That is part of the were curse that he possesses."

"Wait, I don't understand how that should affect his spells though." Whip piped back up, knowing that unicorn, or even Alicorn magic was beyond potent when it came to certain spells.

"The were curse that has been passed down through his lineage is what causes some of his spells to falter. Creating a spell from thought, for some reason, makes it much weaker than normal spells that take time and dedication to learn and create through not only magic, but alchemical ingredients. Even though, when they are cast, they can be far more potent than regular spells. They are all subject to the same consequence. That particular consequence would be when the being that has been touched by the were curse, returns to their normal form. It breaks the link that the were curse holds on them with the magic in their body and their environment."

Whiplash, along with the other two captains of the guard had a look of realization spread across their face, quickly nodding as they understood.

"So, in essence, a being can cast spells as a were, but once they return to their normal form, those spells break, and must be recast once again to become active once more. But they can't keep spells they made up in thought, active all the time. Then how is it that the king doesn't have a were form, only his Alicorn and human form?" The unicorn asked in thought.

Celestia stood there, giving a pained expression as she thought over what she was about to say. Taking a breath, she gave a disheartened smile as she began.

"Whiplash.... Midnight is his were form. The only reason that he is capable of controlling his anger is due to the fact that Twilight Sparkle had cast a transformation spell on him, which nullifies his ability to change back into his human form once the moon has passed its cycle. You see, although her transformation spell was supposed to turn him into a pony, it reacted to blood of the were within him, causing him to take on his regal form without the madness that would also take his mind as well."

"So, in short, his human characteristics and mind transferred over into his were form when he was transformed in an Alicorn. But what about when he was infected with the elder were-saliva?" Iron clad asked, still a little confused.

"When he was infected then, the elder were-saliva caused those inhibitors to temporarily cease, causing all of his accumulated anger and rage to come forth. That is why he was like the way he was, when his anger overtook him." She sighed. Giving a gasp as something finally occurred to her.

"Your majesty?" Whiplash began, only to pause at the look of worry spreading across Celestias face.

"I now know why Midnight has been letting his anger take a hold of him so often." She sputtered in worry. "The were curse that was part of his lineage. The barriers that keep his mind sane right now, are breaking down. His anger has been getting further and further out of control as time has passed on, and I am afraid that it will only get worse, up to the point of him becoming a danger to not only himself, but the rest of Equestria as well."

"The what do we do?" Iron Clad spoke out in worry.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it must be done soon, otherwise, we may have to imprison him once more... be it willingly, or not" She sighed, feeling tears threaten to fall from her eyes.