The Unbinding

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1: Liberation
Chapter 2: Repentance
Chapter 3: Acceptance
Chapter 4: Jubilation
Chapter 5: Declension
Chapter 6: Deception
Chapter 7 - Confusion
Chapter 8: Destruction
Chapter 9: Exposition
Chapter 10: Revelations
Chapter 11: Revelations II
Chapter 12 - Contention
Chapter 13: Retention
Chapter 14: Acclimitization
Chapter 15: Lamentation
Chapter 16: Altercation
Chapter 17: Unification
Chapter 18: Exploration
Chapter 19: Reincarnation
Chapter 20: Confederation
Chapter 21: Renunciation
Chapter 22: Diversion
Chapter 23 - Delusion
Chapter 24 - Dominion
Chapter 25: Conclusion

Prologue

Twilight Sparkle, to be honest, wasn’t having a very good day.

At first, it had started off just fine. She’d woken up, ate breakfast, and quietly attended to her princessly duties along with her other friends. Life had become simple ever since the defeat of Lord Tirek, and she was enjoying the break in pace.

But that had all changed at lunchtime, when she had gone out shopping. Shopping itself was a rather monotonous exercise – she’d long gotten used to the stares of Ponyville citizens at seeing their Princess at an ordinary grocery cart – but she had almost finished her shopping list when a new stall caught her eye. Most ponies seemed to be avoiding the stall, for some reason – but, Twilight being Twilight, her interest had been piqued, and she trotted over.

The cart itself was rather unobtrusive – a simple wood construct, with no definitive markings other than a strange ‘S’ with two lines running vertically through it burned into the front. Not a symbol Twilight recognized, even given her extensive studies – but perhaps it had been made up recently. On top of the cart, a variety of objects were being sold for ridiculously low prices – fifteen, seven, or even just three bits. Among the various items were a broken watch, a compass, some keys, a map of somewhere Twilight didn’t recognize, and what had caught her eye in the first place – an old, worn book with a strange lowercase ‘t’ on the front.

“Jus’ fifteen ‘bits’, yea? Good deal,” the owner remarked, and Twilight looked up – that voice could best be described as sleazy, with a good deal of accent and sounding as though it had made hundreds of similar statements. She stifled a gasp as she got a good look at the owner of this strange cart.

He was gray, all gray, with no mane or tail and a wrinkled appearance that suggested age beyond the average lifespan. His eyes were sunken into the back of his head, and so shriveled that Twilight could barely make out the markings on them – this time a ‘c’, with a single line through each. His Cutie Mark was, unsurprisingly, that same ‘S’ symbol from earlier – perhaps that was the pony’s signature of sorts, Twilight thought in an attempt to distract herself from the pony’s shocking appearance. This, surely, was what had caused other ponies to avoid his stall, but Twilight steeled herself – she was, after all, a Princess of Friendship. She had a reputation to uphold.

“Yes, I’m wondering what this book is… about…” she remarked curiously and suspiciously.

The gray pony looked at it, and smiled. “Ah, yes. This book. Well, to make a long story short-“ here, he winked at her, and Twilight did chuckle a little at the lame joke – “this book’s about morals. Not ta say it’s a bland philosophy text, mind’ja – plenty of action in here! Why, I remember reading about David and Goliath as if I was right there with’em.”

With that, he gave a long, drawn-out, rattling chuckle. Twilight smiled as well, although inside she wanted nothing more than to flee, and placed down the required fifteen bits on the stall.

“I’ll be sure to give it a read, then,” she stated politely, and made to leave.

Over her shoulder, she could hear the stall owner’s last remark – “Thank ye kindly for yer business, ma’am, and if’n anyone asks where ya got that book, tell’em t’was Avarice that sent it to ya.”

Twilight balked at the name – had she heard right? What kind of self-respecting couple named their foal Avarice? But no, she had likely just misheard.

All trepidation had been forgotten as she took the new book home – finally, a new book that she’d never read before! Her entire old collection had been destroyed in an explosion during her fight with Tirek, but through a near-photographic memory and several favors paid from around Equestria, she had amassed a new and slightly bigger one. Unfortunately, due to that same memory, it had been a while since she had come across a book that she’d never seen or heard of before – and judging from this one’s obvious age, it should have been in the historical archives under a preservation spell.

Spike walked up to greet her as she entered, happily munching on a piece of aquamarine.

“Hey, Twi, you look happy. Fifth-dimensional friendship matrix calculation finally worked out?” he asked, somewhat joking.

Twilight gave a happy laugh and nudged him in the ribs. “You know as well as I do that it’s a sixth-dimensional matrix, and I solved it last week. No, I just came across a new book, I’ve never seen it before!”

Spike wasn’t normally the type to share her enthusiasm for such a subject, but he shrugged and motioned for her to show it to him. She laid it out on the table, and Spike hopped into a chair. “So, before you crack this thing open and we lose you for a few hours, wanna tell me how you got it? I didn’t think any book vendors were in the market today,” Spike commented.

Twilight explained about the mysterious gray pony, and Spike immediately narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “I dunno, Twilight, maybe we should think about this. A book you’ve never seen before, and it’s this old? We both know you’ve read every historical text Equestria has.”

Twilight looked at him curiously. “What do you mean, Spike?”

Spike cleared his throat nervously. “I think we should talk to the Princesses about this. After all, that book could be cursed for all we know!”

Twilight laughed. “A random book? Cursed? C’mon, Spike, what are the odds?”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “We had to save you from cursed books three times last month, Twi.”

Twilight’s laugh petered off as she considered this. “Ehehe… well, maybe you’re right. In that case, I suppose I’ll write a letter.” Looking much relieved, Spike took out a quill and paper, and waited for Twilight to dictate.

She had written all she could about the book and how she had come across it, even going so far as to attempt to discern its origins from the bacteria on its cover. To her surprise, the book was, in a word, clean. It was completely antiseptic. This would not in itself be too surprising, except that a spell to do such would have been readily obvious to any magical searches – indicating that either the book was not magical and simply anomalous, or that it contained some very serious power. This and more Twilight had put into her letter, and it was late evening when she finally received a response from Princesses Celestia and Luna. To her dismay and dread, the reply itself was rather short – quite simply, it requested that she come see them at her earliest convenience, and bring the book with her. It also stated that there was no pressing need to bring her friends, but that she could do so if she wished. So, with nothing else forthcoming, Twilight brought the topic up around dinner, which was served in her castle. At first, her story about a new book had been received with about the same level of enthusiasm Spike had had – but when she mentioned the Princesses’ sudden interest, this sparked a bit of conversation.

“And ya said the Princesses wanted ta see it right away?” Applejack clarified. Twilight nodded, and Rainbow Dash shifted in her seat.

“Well, what are we waiting for, let’s go!” she exclaimed, punching a hoof in the air for emphasis.

“Not so fast, Rainbow Dash, some of us have to wrap things up before we go off adventuring willy-nilly,” Rarity countered.

“Oh, yes, Angel would be furious if I didn’t get the chance to tell him,” Fluttershy spoke up, as quiet as ever.

“Well, why don’t we meet back up here an hour after dinner’s over, and head off then?” Twilight suggested.

“Can I bring the Party Cannon?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly. “Pinkie, you always bring the Party Cannon, whether I say yes or no,” Twilight reminded her.

Pinkie immediately launched into a long-winded explanation on the merits of having a party cannon on one’s person at all times, but Twilight had heard this before and put a hoof to Pinkie’s lips. “Yes, Pinkie, you can bring the Party Cannon,” Twilight exasperatedly answered.

The guards had been instructed to watch over Canterlot Castle while they were away, Spike was watching over the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the mares’ pets, and Rarity had successfully rescheduled her spa day one week forward. They were all waiting on the train, Twilight having packed only the strange book and a few other necessities, and were just pulling up to Canterlot.

“Canterlot Palace, last stop,” the conductor called out, and the six shuffled about, gathering their bags as they exited the train.

To everypony’s surprise, both Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna were waiting at the train station, flanked by a squadron of Royal Guards of both Day and Night varieties.

“P-Princess Celestia? What’s all this?” Twilight asked.

“Forgive me, Twilight – this is merely a precautionary measure,” Princess Celestia soothed, sounding as regal as ever. “Please follow us to the castle, where we can discuss this more privately.”

The journey to the castle was a short, but silent one – the train station was close to the palace itself for a reason, and the guards were uncomfortably close to Twilight and her friends. Celestia and Luna, who were probably long used to this, made their way past the throne room to a small corridor and into a dimly lit conference room, which Twilight suspected hadn’t been used for quite some time.

“Let us see this text, Princess Twilight,” Luna asked as soon as the door had shut. Twilight levitated the text over, and Princess Luna accepted it into her own blue magical grasp. “Yes, this is the one I saw, a millennium ago,” she muttered.

“But what’s in it?” Twilight asked, unsure where this was going. Princess Celestia motioned for the eight of them to take seats around the conference table, and cleared her throat.

"Long ago, this world was inhabited by a different species. They called themselves Man, and they had built many wondrous things – for their strength lay not in talons, wings or hooves, but in their hands and the minds behind them. But Man was not without problems – they were constantly fighting themselves, for various reasons – wealth, power, or ideas were the three usual reasons. Eventually, they drove themselves extinct with their own power, never to see the light of day again.”

Rainbow shifted in her seat uncomfortably. “Princess, the history lesson is great and all, but what does it have to do with this book? We’ve seen human stuff in museums before, and it never looked anything like this.”

Princess Celestia didn’t seem to take the question as rude – rather, she nodded as though she had been expecting just such a question to be asked. “This book is one of the oldest artifacts of Man we have ever seen – easily dating to the beginning of their own time. It is a scripture of sorts, laying down what some of them believed was the origin of this world and its laws. It also contains stories of their heroes, and some of their villains, and the tales are collectively known as “the Bible”. And, Princess Luna has read it before.”

Everypony looked over at Princess Luna, who had opened the cover of the book and was muttering “King James Edition” under her breath. Noticing the silence, Luna looked up. “We have determined, so far, that it does not contain any enchantments whatsoever – none insofar as we can detect.”

Pinkie opened her mouth. “But couldn’t a spell get past your detectiony-magic if it were a real doozy?”

Princess Luna smiled. “Indeed it could. But, for the moment, I have partaken in the assumption that this is simply a book – nothing more, nothing less.”

“Well, ah’m as interested as most when it comes to new historical artifacts bein' found, but surely that ain’t the reason we’re here, right Princess Celestia?” Applejack queried.

Once again, Princess Celestia looked as though she’d been waiting for someone to point this out. “Quite so, my little Applejack. You see, the reason we’re so interested in this book is because… well…” Celestia trailed off, and an exasperated snort from Luna brought the attention over to her.

“Oh, for Mother’s sake, ‘Tia. We read it just before we became Nightmare Moon, in a restricted section of the Canterlot library dedicated only to cursed or evil books, and Celestia recently discovered that our copy had vanished a few hundred years ago. Sister, we know you don’t like talking about that time, but it is for their own good that they know the full story,” Luna admonished, and promptly went back to reading.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat once more. “And now you know,” she finished, smiling.

She was about to say something else, but at that moment the sound of a hundred ducks quacking at once shocked her into silence. Discord poofed into existence, lazily coiling above their heads in a pose reminiscent of a Neighsian dragon.

“Well, well, what’s this? Princess, you’ve gone and left me out again – what purpose does my reformation serve if you can’t even trust me to be at your cabinet meetings?” he asked, looking around the room as though hoping to find an answer.

Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Oh my… Discord, I’m very sorry, but I completely forgot to tell you – I would have invited you if I knew you wanted to come,” she apologized.

"Nonsense, dearest Fluttershy. The fault was not yours,” Discord replied warmly. “Now, what is all this hubbub about? Three Princesses and the former Elements of Harmony in one room – it must be something good. Did Tirek escape again? King Sombra, back from the dead, perhaps?” Discord joked.

“Nay, tis’ merely a book, Discord,” Luna exasperatedly answered, and held up the old Bible with her magic for him to see.

To everypony’s surprise, this stopped Discord cold. “Where did you… get that?” he asked carefully, all playfulness gone from his tone.

Twilight quickly explained, and Discord’s mismatched eyes grew wider.

“And this pony’s name was Avarice?” he queried for clarification.

“Yes, it’s a synonym for-“ Twilight started, but Discord stopped her.

“Greed, yes. Twilight, you may have just met a very powerful demon.” The conference room gave over to complete quiet as Discord cleared his throat.

“Those of us who… follow these things know that our world abides by a certain set of rules, for the general order” – here he spat the word, seemingly disgusted that it had come out of his mouth – “of the universe. One of the oldest ones was laid out back when even I was a very, very young draconequus, and goes as follows: Every aspect, emotion and tidbit of the universe is embodied in some respect. Be it the components of Friendship that make up the Elements of Harmony, Chaos, Love, the sun and moon, and many, many more, every little thing is governed by a supreme being of that thing.” Here, Discord pulled out a childishly drawn chart with Princesses Twilight, Celestia, Luna, and Cadance as well as himself at the top, and at the bottom were a bunch of ‘ordinary’ ponies. “This delegates down until you get to things like Cutie Marks, where each pony is a personification of their own special talent, as well as all the other things that come with sentience and culture.” Here, he pulled the back of the chart up, revealing a section above the Princesses with blanked-out faces and crossed-out names. “And, likewise, it extends up, past even your own powerful magics. Now, most of the beings you’ll see up here are locked away in Tartarus, never to escape. But a few we’ve never found – for instance, there has never been a personification of Greed… until now,” Discord finished.

There was utter silence for a moment. “But where did this ‘Avarice’ come from, then? He can’t simply have appeared – somepony must have created him in some fashion,” Luna mused.

Discord nodded. “Indeed. And if you turn to Chapter Six of the Book of Proverbs, line nineteen, I think you might just find the culprit.” Luna did so, and the book was laid out onto the table for everyone to peruse.

“’The Seven Deadly Sins’?” Twilight read out loud.

“And would you look at their names - Lust, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Pride… and Greed,” Discord finished.

“What makes you think Avarice had something to do with this book?” Princess Celestia asked.

Discord snorted in disgust. “Why else would he have sold it? The coincidence, at the very least, is rather suspicious.”

Rarity raised a hoof as though she were still in school. “So, do you think we’ll have to deal with these other ones at some point? ‘Wrath’, ‘Envy’ and the like?” she asked.

Discord put a talon to his beard in thought. “Hard to say. What irks me is that Greed would show his face at all – if he is the actual personification of the concept of greed, he would be a very powerful demon, easily enough to take on everypony in this room. But why, then, would he reveal himself so quickly…?” Finding no answers, the group went into individual conversations for a brief moment.

“Hold on! Something has – something has changed!” Luna cried out after a few minutes, and once more everypony went silent.

“A change? To the Bible? How curious,” Discord muttered.

Luna lifted the Bible over to him, still opened to the page she had been reading. “See for thyself,” she instructed, and Discord took the tome in his paw, pulled out a pair of reading glasses, and began.

“The Binding of Isaac,” he started. “Isaac and his mother lived alone, in a small house on a hill. Well, that’s not right at all,” Discord muttered bemusedly.

“Keep reading – this may just inform us of what to expect,” Luna advised. So Discord kept reading, and the other ponies listened in rapt fascination – for despite his begrudging tone earlier, Discord was an excellent narrator.

“Without hesitation, he flung open the hatch, just as his mother burst in, and threw himself down, into the unknown depths below…” Discord finished, setting the book back down. “Well, that was a rather weighty tale in terms of theme, but I don’t see-“ Discord began, but was interrupted as the book began to glow with white light.

“Shield your eyes!” Celestia commanded, and everypony followed her command – but the book had already stopped glowing.

“What-?” Celestia began, but was interrupted by a massive explosion off in the distance.

After that, everything was chaos – and not, as Discord might have commented were he not fighting for his life, the good kind.

Chapter 1: Liberation

Isaac and his mother lived alone in a small house on a hill.

Isaac kept to himself, drawing pictures and playing with his toys as his mother watched Christian broadcasts on the television.

Life was simple, and they were both happy.

That was, until the day Isaac’s Mom heard a Voice, from Above.

“Your son has become corrupted by sin. He needs to be saved,” it spoke.

“I will do my best to save him, my Lord,” Isaac’s mother replied, rushing into Isaac’s room, removing all that was Evil from his life.

Again, the voice called to her: “Isaac’s soul is still corrupt. He needs to be cut off from this world, and confess his sins.”

“I will follow your instructions, Lord. I have faith in thee,” Isaac’s mother replied, as she locked Isaac in his room, away from the evils of the world.

One, last time, Isaac’s Mom heard the voice of God calling to her.

“You’ve done as I’ve asked, but I still question your devotion to Me! To prove your faith, I will ask one more thing, of you.”

“Yes, Lord! Anything!” Isaac’s mother begged.

“To prove your love and devotion, I require a Sacrifice. Your son, Isaac, will be this Sacrifice. Go into his room now, and end his life as an offering to Me to prove that you love Me, above all else.”

“Yes, Lord,” she replied, grabbing a butcher’s knife from the kitchen.

Isaac, watching through a crack in his door, trembled in fear. Scrambling around his room to find a hiding place, he noticed a trapdoor to the basement, hidden under his rug. Without hesitation, he flung open the hatch just as his mother burst in, and threw himself down, into the unknown depths below…

Isaac read through the sheaf of papers disinterestedly, casting them off to the side as he had done so many times before. He looked around the room – oh, he was in the Cellar this time. Isaac hated the Cellar. True, he hated everything about this place. But the Cellar was especially not fun. Oh well… might as well get this over with.

Isaac had always fancied himself a bit of a storyteller, despite his mother wanting him to pursue a degree in medicine – or better yet, a priesthood. She’d been like that, in the old days – a little strict, a little mulish when it came to her ideas, but overall a kind and caring mother.

But that was years ago.

Now? Now she was much different.

She was a monster like all the rest of them. Just another obstacle he’d have to face, endless times, as his own holy punishment for daring to escape God’s judgement. He’d tried calling out to her, desperately attempting to remind her of her former humanity as he dodged the stomp of her far-too-massive foot. It was no use – whatever personality she’d had was long gone, replaced by a single-minded hatred for Isaac and his continuing existence. Part of him doubted she was even truly real anymore – for what in this place was real? Nothing. It was all in his head – he’d woken up enough times in the Chest to know that. Though, last time… He repressed a shudder, blinking in the direction of a lumpy monster he’d come to call the Mulligan and sending two spherical, floating balls of holy death its way. With that, the room cleared and the doors opened.

The Treasure Room was on his left, its gold door winking in the strange light that came from no discernible source above. Isaac, in a few of his very first ventures, had tried to pry off this golden doorway in an effort to sell it in the Shop – he’d very quickly learned that Greed didn’t take well to that. Oh, the good old days – back when he could barely describe his surroundings, let alone with the vocabulary that decades of reading the same holy scriptures had taught him.

What had he been thinking about? Ah, yes, his most recent run. After the first few thousand ventures, Isaac had become proficient at this hellish ‘game’, more often succeeding and defeating his angelic self or Satan than not. But something had changed, after one particularly laughable fight – the Blue Baby had gone down in just a few seconds, the chest had dropped… and everything went black. When Isaac woke up once more in the Basement, everything looked different. The enemies, the items… they all looked the same on the surface, but felt fuller. As though this macabre world had expanded to fit something new, and changed itself in the process. The color, too, was different: Things were darker, more muted and faded shades present – it reminded him of what few memories he had left of the Real World. And Isaac, for the first time in what felt like a hundred years and was probably much longer, found himself having fun again. Everything had restarted – he had had to unlock the Womb, Sheol, the Cathedral, and everything else all over again. But it had been worth it to experience what he had come to call ‘the great Rebirth’. Plus, there were new items, new monsters, and even new Guardians – all in all, it had made for quite the refreshing experience compared to the old ‘game’.

Cue in a few more hundred runs, and next came his most recent one. He’d accidentally dropped a bomb in an Angel Room right next to the painted marble Angel Statue, so Isaac had quickly moved out of the way. He figured he’d be fine – after all, he’d done this plenty of times before the Rebirth, and nothing had happened. Imagine his surprise when he found that he’d angered the Angel! It sprang to life, flesh and blood and a holy blue ribbon replacing stone and paint, and attacked him – he’d been lucky he’d started this run as Azazel, or he might not have survived this sudden onslaught. But when he’d defeated the boss, his confusion only grew: It had left an item behind, a new one to be precise. It didn’t look like anything particularly recognizable, and Isaac only understood what it was when he had picked it up – the words that faded into his eyesight read “Key Piece 1 - ???”. So that was it – it was part of a broken key. A key to what? Isaac shrugged, supposing he’d find out.

Later, in the Womb, he’d found another Angel Room upon the umpteenth defeat of Scollex. Now, he was curious. What would happen if he bombed the Angel Statue a second time? He did just so happen to have a single bomb left – he’d been saving it for this exact occasion. As with every bomb he’d ever picked up, as soon as he conjured it out of its ethereal pocket and dropped it next to the statue, it began glowing and shaking, and Isaac cautiously moved away. True to form, the Angel once again sprang to life – the only difference being that this Angel featured a red ribbon around its neck, rather than the blue one. Isaac defeated it with ease – a mix of Tammy’s Head, Azazel’s miniature Brimstone and a few other damage increases tended to do that. The Pinking Shears did serious work, as well – Isaac suspected that they would be the crux of this run, due to the Battery he’d picked up earlier.

This time, the Angel dropped a different item – Isaac found it to be “Key Piece 2”, with the same “???” in place of a description as to what it did. The Key Piece 1 that had been floating around and following him this whole time absorbed the new item, becoming a fully assembled, golden Key. Isaac looked around – it didn’t appear he’d unlocked much of anything with that. So what purpose did this Key serve? He shrugged, and without hesitation, jumped down the muscly organic tube to the second part of the Womb.

Isaac had moved through the Cathedral, making quick use of an Emperor card to get the fight with ‘Isaac’ over with quickly – this angelic form of himself had improved quite a bit in difficulty since the great Rebirth, but was by no means impossible. With the Polaroid in hand, he moved to open the Chest and face the Blue Baby, and chalk up another win to his tally of literal hundreds.

He woke up in the Chest, same as ever. However, as soon as he turned around, he stopped and stared, a terrified gasp almost making its way out his mouth. There, in this very first room of the Chest, was a new door, imposingly tall and golden in coloration – it made the skull-topped Guardian doors look puny and pathetic. But what lay beyond this door? His suspicion only grew when his Key floated off to the Key-shaped hole – ironic, that, how it wasn’t even a proper lock – and twisted the mechanism, the doors slowly sliding open with an imposing thump. Isaac gulped nervously – this wasn’t familiar, at all. This was very, very new. What lay beyond this door? Was it a new and final Guardian? Some new Item? Or… an Escape? He hadn’t considered that possibility in ages now – that there might be some way out of this Hell. True, a few times during the Rebirth he’d stumbled across curious facsimiles of his own bedroom, deep in the Caves or Depths, and tried to get out that way, only to find no other doors. But he’d been down here so long that he had begun to forget about his once-cherished hope of Escape – now, all he knew was this place, and all he would ever know was this place. But what lay beyond this door?

Isaac decided to collect the four items given to him in this first room of the Chest before making any rash decisions. They were mostly helpers – the Parasite, Sissy Longlegs, and Infestation, nicely rounding out his Infestation 2 into something much more usable. He considered his consumable items – he had a 48-Hour Energy pill, as well as 2 usable charges on the Pinking Shears due to the Battery. A few bombs, far too many coins to be of any use, and more keys than he knew what to do with. Very high Damage, average Speed, maximum Health – and with a good third of his hearts being the black Demon variety, he wasn’t too fussed about losing them. Feeling sufficiently ready for anything, he entered the strange new golden door.

To his surprise, his vision faded to black as the usual Guardian introduction appeared – but what on Earth was “Mega Satan”? He’d already fought the real Satan, down in Sheol – what was another, supposedly more powerful version doing up in the Chest?

He found himself in a very strange room, not at all like the wood-and-gold confines of the Chest – this place rather reminded him of the Dark Room, but the floor was like that from the Basement, just raw dirt and sandstone. There was a huge Pentagram inscribed on a slightly raised center platform, in the middle of the floating stone island. Apprehensive, Isaac flew onto it – only to find himself frozen as it spun and rotated down into the floor, settling with a click as Satan’s battle theme began. Looking forward, he watched in terror as two massive black hands climbed onto the stage, with an equally giant and slightly different version of Satan’s old head floating up into view as well. Then, the fight began…

What happened next was far too fast for Isaac to follow or remember – he was only concentrated on surviving against this new and horrifyingly powerful enemy. He’d thought ‘It Lives’ had been an exercise in dodging tears, and ‘Mega Maw’ would be the only time he’d have to dodge moving flames – dead wrong, on both counts. He found himself fighting Sins, then Super Sins, then the Horsemen, and each time in between he would have to kill Satan’s Hands and his Head.

Finally, after a heart-stoppingly quick fight, the shattered Skull of Mega Satan sank below the platform, giving one last, anguished cry as it disappeared from view. Isaac breathed a sigh of relief, and waited for some new ending – perhaps it would be like the Womb endings, where he unlocked some strange new item. Or maybe it would continue where he had left off beforehand…

He slowly came back to his physical self once more, the feeling of numb pins and needles spiking across his body as he fought to breathe. To his dismay, he was once more in the Chest – the real, smaller one in his old bedroom, that was. So, was he just going to die here, and stay dead? Was that it? He looked across the small chest that barely fit him – to his surprise, his old cat Guppy was there. Or, rather, the corpse of Guppy – he’d clearly been dead for a while. Isaac’s mind raced as he considered this – what could it mean? He’d never seen Guppy in the chest before, it had always been just him.

Just then, he felt a flicker, and his breathing changed, sounding less like a child and more like the demon he’d known was always inside him – the thing he saw in the mirror, that had caused him to lock himself in the Chest in an attempt at suicide all those years ago. He gave a quick look down, yes, there it was! He had demon wings, his skin was black as coal, and he couldn’t get rid of an insane grin stretching across his face. Reality ripped again, and he was back to normal, confused but mostly alright. Then it happened again, but this time he felt different – he felt as if he wanted this new demonic body, as if he’d always wanted it. He changed back to normal, now significantly more worried – was he finally losing it? Would he finally become a demon? One more, and Isaac’s mind faded to black. The last thought he managed to hold on to before losing all sense of self was Shemhamforash – and the tiny part of him that was still himself remembered that word from the Satanic Bible he’d found. It meant… what did it mean? Before he got an answer, he slipped into blackness.

When next Isaac woke up, he was laying in a medical hospital, an IV bag taped to his stubby arm. Nobody else was in the room, but Isaac could hear whispered conversations taking place outside. Reaching over, he removed the IV drip – he felt fine. Better than fine, in fact, he felt great. Like he was alive. In fact, Isaac suspected he was alive – that he’d managed to finally Escape! He felt like cheering, but this overwhelming joy quickly became subdued at the thought of his old life – what about Mom? And their house? And… what had happened to get him here in the first place? He thought he remembered giving over to his demonic urges, and then… Nothing. No memory whatsoever between then and now. But who cared? He was free.

Isaac swung his legs over the edge of the hospital bed, not even caring one bit as his knees popped – he could feel the sensation of falling, of gravity! Slowly and clumsily picking himself up off the floor, he noticed with satisfaction that his skin was unblemished and clean, no items or alterations present. He took a moment to rub his eyes – the sunlight was starting to get to him. Then he stopped, and stared at his hands – they were dry. He wasn’t even crying anymore! Oh, this was wonderful – he could blink all he wanted, and his tears didn’t become bullets. Laughing with joy, Isaac jumped up to open the door and stepped outside, only to bump into something big and purple. “Oh my goodness!” it cried out in alarm, and he stepped back, looking up to get a better view of what he’d just met. A startled cry almost made its way to his throat, but it died as he stared into those deep, purple eyes, trying not to look at the horn just above them or the horse-shaped body below them.

Chapter 2: Repentance

For a moment, all conversations ceased as Isaac stared at the first living being he’d met in a long time. He got the vague feeling he was looking at a female, due to the voice and a few other things he couldn’t quite place. Her main color seemed to be a light purple, and the color of her hair and eyes were merely darker shades of the same. Against her sides, he saw folded wings, rather like the ones he had possessed a rare few times but in her own colors. Atop her head, as he had spotted earlier, was a horn – not pointy or sharp in any way, but rather smooth and rounded at the end.

“Are you okay?” the creature asked, and Isaac became aware that he was still staring.

“I – er, yes. Pray tell, what dost thou be?” he asked.

Wait. Was that correct grammar? It had been so long, and all he had to read was scripture… At this, the strange hybrid of a unicorn and pegasus smiled warmly.

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am an alicorn - I have wings like a pegasus, and a horn like a unicorn.”

Isaac regarded her with a curious look. “And where am I? I have no memories that lead to this hospital, and the last thing I remember…” at this, Isaac trailed off. He didn’t want to talk about the last thing he remembered – no sense scaring the first other alive thing he’d ever met with his own inner demons.

To his surprise, this “Twilight” was mirroring the look he was sure was on his own face – guilt. “Yes, well… After you… ‘arrived’, we thought it would be best if you were taken to this hospital to recuperate. But now that you’re awake, I must take you to see Princesses Celestia and Luna, where we’ll discuss… your fate,” she mumbled awkwardly.

Isaac stared at her, the pieces beginning to connect in his head. He had ‘arrived’ in this place unexpectedly, and she had dealt with him in such a manner that he had needed to be hospitalized. Now, she was taking him to her superiors to discuss appropriate punishment. Isaac inwardly snickered. ‘Punishment’ – as if anything they could come up with was better than the holy suffering he had endured. Would they attempt a higher standard than God? Such an idea was laughable.

To his shock, he found himself improbably suspended in midair a moment later as he was lifted up by an unseen force, the horn atop Twilight’s head glowing with arcane energy.

“What is – Put me down!” Isaac demanded.

The invisible presence gently laid him back down to the floor, and Twilight looked at him curiously. “I thought you might have wanted a ride – it’s quite a walk from here to the castle,” she explained.

Isaac looked up at her angrily. “What was that? That strange force I felt,” he clarified.

Twilight stiffened in surprise. “Oh, of course, I forgot to explain. That’s my magic – I control it from my horn,” she answered, lifting up a nearby chair to demonstrate.

Isaac viewed this with growing alarm. Magic? From her horn? This was all wrong, all so wrong! Magic was a sin, the work of the devil himself – so this ‘Twilight Sparkle’ must be a pagan, he decided. But that, too, made no sense – surely God would have revealed himself, however cryptically, if this were His domain. But a nagging feeling presented itself to Isaac’s subconscious – what if it weren’t His domain? What if he were outside the sphere of influence of even God?

He began walking with Twilight as he reflected on this. There was precedent for such a notion – God, after all, had no control of Hell or Sheol. Those were strictly Satan’s domain, to rule as he saw fit. According to what he had learned, that would indicate that Isaac was currently in Hell, not Heaven as he had initially suspected. The purple alicorn was surprised by the speed of his step, but Isaac paid no attention: He’d been doing not much else but walking and crying for centuries, after all. And to feel the ground beneath his feet, the warm sunshine in the air, and the gusts of wind that would occasionally blow through the streets… But no, he must concentrate. But how could he be in Hell? He’d already been eternally tortured – as far back as Isaac could remember, he had been trapped in that Basement. What came next, as far as he knew, was nothing short of the Holy War to end all holy wars – the direct confrontation of Satan’s and God’s forces, the final clash – Armageddon. Isaac looked around. More of these strange beings were traversing the city – a good portion had horns, some had wings, and a rare few had neither. None had both, and Isaac began to suspect that being in possession of both wings and a horn was unusual here, very unusual indeed. At any rate, he didn’t see much of any holy conflict happening – these horses were going about their business without a care in life. Could it be true, then – was he outside God’s domain, in a different universe entirely? He’d heard about different universes way back, before the basement, on one of his Mother’s talk shows. The priest had concluded that if there were any other universes out there, and if they did contain intelligent life, then it was a Christian’s honorbound duty to spread the word of God to them.

Finally, Twilight stopped in front of a pair of massive doors, marble-white with a gold frame. Isaac was eerily reminded of the door that had caused all this confusion, back in the Chest – but these weren’t quite the same door. As she approached, they swung inward without a sound, revealing a massive castle behind them. A set of stairs led up to the entrance, and Isaac approached these cautiously – he hadn’t seen stairs in quite some time. Hoisting himself up the first step, he barely made it up – Isaac collapsed, panting with exhaustion.

“Would you like some help?” Twilight asked. Isaac inwardly grumbled at the thought of her ‘magic’, but nodded – it would be rude to waste their time.

He entered the castle nervously, looking around at the architecture. Stained-glass windows depicted Twilight and a few others doing various things – Isaac wondered what all that was about. Might he have met a holy figure here? The equivalent of Jesus, perhaps? Isaac chuckled under his breath. Pony Jesus. Just what he needed.

As he approached the throne in the back of the massive room, he was met by a massive pony – easily twice the size of the others, and given that they were twice his own height, the size difference was impressive. She regarded him with a curious, motherly look.

“Greetings, my little human,” she began, her voice resonating with the wisdom Isaac had thought could only belong to an angel.

“Art thou an angel?” he asked, his five-year-old voice sounding high-pitched and whiny compared to hers.

The tall alicorn appeared taken aback for a moment. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know what that is,” she answered carefully.

Isaac didn’t feel like explaining – what was the point? ‘A white figure with wings’ - she was exactly that, after all. The horn was there too, this one much pointier and longer than the others. “Nevermind,” Isaac mumbled in response, still taking in her appearance.

She led him to her throne, where she took a seat and regarded him. “Princess Celestia, this is Isaac,” Twilight introduced. “He appears to be a human, although not quite like any I’ve ever seen. And he’s… normal now.”

Isaac caught on almost instantly to her reference – this proved what he had been presuming earlier, that his demon self was the first to come here. “Perhaps you had better explain,” Celestia replied, giving Isaac a look that he could only interpret as Be honest, or else.

So Isaac explained. In his faltering language, he explained his actions with his Mom, her eventual insanity, his attempt at suicide, and the hell he found himself trapped in. He explained every aspect of the Basement he could, from the Items he found to the Chests he opened and the Guardians he fought. Princess Celestia listened calmly throughout, only stopping him to ask for clarification on a point or what he meant by name – Isaac had been down there so long, he’d forgotten that not everyone knew the names he’d come up with for all the monsters. However, she did seem to recognize a few – her ears perked up whenever he mentioned the Sins and Super Sins. Finally, as he got to the most recent part, after defeating Mega Satan and waking up in the Chest one, last time, Princess Celestia appeared to become more interested, only to settle back down as he described his loss of memory and consciousness.

“I see,” she finally said. “And now, I shall explain where your memory has left you wanting, starting from the moment you opened that Chest.”

She then proceeded to explain that upon becoming demonic, Isaac had opened the Chest on his own and made his way out into Equestria from deep within the Everfree Forest, destroying the countryside with sulfurous, red magic of a dark nature. Isaac recognized the use of Brimstone, but said nothing. He had come across Twilight Sparkle, and they had fought violently – Princess Celestia did not explicitly say this, but Isaac got the feeling that he had very nearly beaten her. With the help of her friends, the other ‘Elements of Harmony’, they were able to blast pure Harmonic magic at Isaac’s fallen self, returning him to his current state.

“Then I am… purged?” Isaac carefully asked.

Princess Celestia looked at him for a moment, then nodded. Without hesitation, Isaac hugged her leg, smiling and crying slightly – it might have been the only part of her he could wrap his arms around, but he tried his best to convey that it was a hug regardless. Princess Celestia gave him a regal smile, and stooped down to nuzzle the top of his forehead – Isaac supposed that this was their version of the greeting.

Princess Celestia finally stepped back, giving him a regal look as she cleared her throat, evidently intending to make her decision.

“Well, nopony here can say you haven’t already been fittingly punished – more than fittingly, I might add. Cruelly, unreasonably punished far and beyond the nature of your supposed ‘crime’. For that... the very least I can offer you is solace. Stay here, with us, and I will teach you all you have lost.”

Isaac looked around, and considered her offer. Here was a world without God, without Satan, with nothing but his own life, to fulfill and make as he wished.

“I accept,” Isaac tearfully replied, and smiled at Twilight, who gave him a delighted smile back.

With that, they offered to fetch him something to eat. Isaac was still smiling joyfully as Princess Celestia exited the room, and hadn’t waited for but a moment when Twilight came back to escort him to his meal. He entered into a vast dining room, where he was helped into his chair by Twilight’s magic. He supposed that in a world without God, maybe magic was alright? It seemed like every unicorn could use it, so it wasn’t like they had made a deal with Satan in exchange for dark powers – in fact, Isaac wasn’t sure they knew who Satan was.

Isaac was suddenly distracted by a noticeable emotional shift among those at the table. They had begun grumbling to themselves, almost inaudibly but still enough for his tiny ears to pick up. Looking around, he discovered why: An odd creature had entered the palace hall to dine with them, and nearly everyone around him was giving this fellow some nasty looks. The two princesses Celestia and Twilight, in contrast, were decidedly ignoring it. The creature, for its part, gave a devilish smile, and sauntered along towards Isaac’s end of the table. It had a goat head, and a horn that looked like an icicle next to a deer antler, mismatched yellow eyes with red pupils, and a single fang. As it came closer, Isaac discerned that its body was long and sinuous, the brown fur on top giving way to a scaly tail and two different legs. It also had two tiny wings on its back, which it didn’t seem to use. Isaac had no idea what this creature was – he’d suspect some manner of demon, judging from the reaction and the goatlike face – but he had to keep reminding himself, he’d escaped the Basement. There were no demons here… right?

To Isaac’s surprise, the being took a seat right next to him. “Nice weather, isn’t it?” it remarked cheerfully as it conjured food of its own out of thin air – Isaac suspected he would never get used to the oddities of ‘magic’.

“Indeed. Perhaps I may enquire as to what you are?” Isaac asked, trying to be polite.

To his dismay, this drew snickers from around the room – had he said something wrong? The creature took a dramatic look around before turning back to Isaac, a grin on his face.

“Oh, pay them no mind, little Isaac. They’re just jealous of my amazing good looks.”

Isaac gave him a deadpan glare – if he didn’t know better, he’d have suspected he was speaking to Pride. Seeing this, the being’s grin only widened, until it fell right off his face. Landing on Isaac’s plate, the disembodied mouth chuckled slightly as it spoke.

“I am Discord, god of disharmony and chaos. I provide the necessary balance towards all the order and harmony these ponies keep proselytizing.”

Isaac gave him a wary look – perhaps this, then, was the Satan of this world. But no ponies were attacking him, and he was in plain sight… Seeing the look Isaac was giving him, Discord returned the expression searchingly until his eyes widened. Pulling out a familiar book, Discord flipped open the pages.

“Ah, yes. Hmm, I rather do bear a resemblance to this old fellow – ‘Baphomet’, was it? Hmm. Well, I can assure you I’m in no way related to him or any other demon – I haven’t been around that long.”

Isaac looked to Twilight, who hesitantly nodded. She then rounded on Discord, who put the Bible away and gave her a sheepish look. “Discord, don’t scare the poor colt – he’s been through a lot,” Twilight lectured.

Discord rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. We all know you’re going to ask him sometime or later, and I thought I’d lay out the groundwork – establish that we know what the Bible is, that sort of thing. Honestly, you should be thanking me, Princess Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight ground her teeth together.

“Do not call me that!” she snapped.

Discord merely grinned, and gestured around the table, which Isaac noticed had fallen silent at their conversation. Twilight looked around, gave an embarrassed grin and a short laugh, and after a moment of awkward silence, conversation resumed around the table. Discord laughed, snapped a taloned claw, and disappeared.

After this, Twilight turned to Isaac. “He really isn’t all that bad, he’s just… aggravating sometimes. Really, he’s gotten a lot better,” she informed him, sounding as though she had her own doubts.

“Right,” Isaac grunted in reply.

Twilight finished off her plate, and noticing that Isaac had finished his quite some time ago, stood up, gesturing for him to follow. Isaac curiously hopped off his chair, once again noting the actual feeling of hitting the ground with satisfaction.

They traversed their way up quite a few sets of stairs, Isaac agreeing to ride on Twilight’s back for a good portion of this. “So, how was the meal?” Twilight asked as they walked up.

Isaac was silent for a moment. “…Perfect,” he finally answered, lost in pleasant memories of tastes he hadn’t experienced in centuries. “Where are we going?” he asked Twilight, who smiled.

“We’re going to visit a friend of mine – I think you’ll really like her,” she cryptically answered. Isaac raised an eyebrow, but didn’t reply.

They finally came to a set of two doors – one marked with a sun emblem, and the other with a crescent moon. “Princess Luna, are you awake?” Twilight called, gently knocking on the door.

“But a moment, Princess Sparkle, we are raising the moon,” a stern voice answered. Isaac raised his eyebrow once more at the expression – what could it possibly mean? There was the sound of a horn lighting up, and as Isaac looked out a nearby window, he saw that the sun had disappeared and that the entire moon was moving swiftly to its position in the sky, which had quickly been taken over by a multitude of stars and even a few nebulae.

Twilight looked at all this with the air of one who’d seen it a thousand times before, but was still impressed. True to form, as soon as the door opened she called out “Nice work tonight, Princess!”

Isaac looked up. There before him stood a midnight blue alicorn, midway in height between Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight and with hair flowing in an unseen breeze as countless stars twinkled in its depths.

“We are the royal Princess Luna, Protector of the Night and Guardian of Dreams,” she introduced herself.

Isaac gulped. “I am Isaac,” he nervously responded. “Prithee… didst – did you just raise the moon?” he asked.

Princess Luna looked taken aback for some reason, but very quickly smiled. “Yes, we did. It is part of our duties as Princess,” she explained. Isaac’s eyes could have been used as dinner plates from the expression he was giving her. Luna chuckled, and gestured for Isaac to follow her into her room, Twilight tagging along somewhat nervously.

“We art very surprised to hear thy linguistic mannerisms – truly, we thought such speech had died out long ago,” she informed him.

Isaac was inwardly disappointed at this verification of his incorrect speech, but outwardly smiled – at least here was a friend he could share it with.

“Verily, such speech most likely perished in our own culture long ago as well – but all I hath read for the past thousand years is ancient scripture,” he replied, comfortably slipping back into the language he had practiced and refined for too many centuries.

Princess Luna, to his surprise, actually gave a short giggle in response. “We suspect Princess Sparkle there hath brought us together so that we may assist each other in acclimatizing,” she jokingly accused.

Twilight laughed, and nodded. Princess Luna clapped her forehooves together in delight, and for the next few hours she and Isaac were lost in a refreshingly, comfortably old-fashioned conversation.

Chapter 3: Acceptance

It had been a week since Isaac had escaped the Basement, and already his former life felt like a distant memory. Though he still felt out of place ever due to his being a human, and a former demon at that, Princess Luna tried her hardest to integrate him into Equestrian society peacefully and effectively, even going so far as to joke about adopting him. Isaac brushed off these jokes good-naturedly, claiming that he was older than her by technicality and thus he should be doing the adopting. But they had come up more and more frequently as of late, and Isaac was beginning to think Luna was serious.

Isaac seemed to see more of Princess Luna than any pony he knew, short of her sister – when he mentioned how often they were found doing something together, ponies gave him odd looks. She was, in his opinion, one of the nicest beings he’d ever met – while the other ponies all seemed very nice, she alone had him truly feeling as though he had won a friend. Plus, they had something in common – her stories of the creature called ‘Nightmare Moon’ reminded Isaac of himself. Speaking of nightmares, his dreams were filled with them – occasionally he would wake up in the Basement once more, as though this had all been a dream, and would stumble around hoping to find the exit and return to the ponies he now cherished. But every time, just as he was about to give up in despair, Luna appeared, as though instantly summoned to his side, and comforted him, telling him that he was merely dreaming. This, too, was unusual according to Twilight – while it was typical of Princess Luna to watch over and guard the dreams of her subjects, her paying attention to his every dream was rather odd. When Isaac asked why she thought this might be the case, Twilight had suddenly stiffened, and hastily excused herself, claiming that she had something to do.

All this would indicate that Twilight and Luna knew something that they weren’t telling him about, and while Isaac was tempted to question and wonder about this, he didn’t want to tear down the heaven he had found himself brought into. The last thing on Earth he wanted was to ruin his friendships – for who knew when he might ever make friends again? So, Isaac remained silent.

Isaac next discerned a clue to this the morning after his latest nightmare – it had been a strange one, where instead of spawning in an empty room he had been brought straight to the Shop. And what a Shop it was! All the most powerful items Isaac had ever wielded were there – Mom’s Knife, Brimstone, Dr. Fetus, all the Guppy items, and so much more. All the prices were 0 cents, so Isaac curiously picked up the Magic Mushroom, as it was closest to him. To his dismay, it simply disappeared without doing anything, and Isaac was about to protest this when he felt a cold, dead hand on his back. Isaac turned around, and to his shock, Greed was there, the noose around his neck looking as though it had just been snapped.

“Son… I’m here to offer you a deal. Give up that silly dream, those ponies you call ‘friends’… and I can show you what it really means to have power. Whaddya’ say, kid?”

Isaac looked around – this much power in one room was tempting. With these items, he could take on just about anyone – Mega Satan would have been a pushover. But Isaac thought some more. Did he really want to give up the only friends he had for a shot at unlimited power? No. No, he didn’t, and he was stupid for even thinking it.

“Never!” Isaac cried out, and attempted to exit the Shop and find the way out of this dream.

An ugly scowl crossed Greed’s face, and he pushed Isaac to the floor. Greed whipped out a knife, glinting eerily in the light of the Shop and stained with blood – Isaac recognized it as the Sacrificial Dagger, though why it was in Greed’s hands he knew not. Isaac attempted to blink, and send some damaging tears Greed’s way, but nothing came out, and Greed grinned evilly. Raising the dagger high over his gray, mottled head, Greed was about to plunge it down when a beam of blue light shot through the door and struck him in the chest, burning a hole straight through. Greed looked down in shock, then looked back up to find Princess Luna framed in the doorway, angrier than Isaac had ever seen her.

“Get thy moldy appendages off my student!” she bellowed, and Greed glared at her once before disappearing, the items in the shop vanishing with him. Isaac looked around, still shivering with fear, and Luna immediately brought him into a close hug. “That was… far too close,” she admitted, her expression having shifted to sorrow. “We apologize for not arriving earlier.”

With that, the dream had ended, and Isaac had woken up to find the sun shining directly onto his face. Once he got out of bed and went downstairs for breakfast, he was surprised to find that Princess Luna was still awake, deep in conversation with her sister. A few pointed glances at Isaac as soon as he arrived told him all he needed to – they knew something had gone wrong, that Greed had not been supposed to attack in the way he did.

His suspicions were confirmed as soon as he finished breakfast – a tap on his back startled him, and he fearfully turned around to find it was only Princess Luna, smiling down at him warmly.

“Hello, young Isaac. I know the hour is late for me, but mayhap we could have a small discussion with my sister and a few others?” Isaac gazed up at her shrewdly, attempting to figure out where she was going with this.

“Sure…” he answered, and stood up, hopping off his chair.

Princess Luna led him to an old, seemingly dusty conference room, where more than a few other ponies were waiting – Isaac recognized the other two Princesses, and Discord was there as well, lazily flicking through the Bible. Isaac had been briefed on the history of humanity while he had conversed with Luna over the past week, and while it wasn’t that much of a surprise to see Discord rifling through Genesis, the book itself gave him a chill down his spine.

“Everypony, this is Isaac the human,” Princess Luna announced as they took their seats around the table, Isaac shooting a grateful glance at Twilight as he was levitated up into his chair. There were murmured greetings around the room, and Discord finally put down his book.

With that, Luna turned to Isaac, and began her tale. She told him of Greed’s mysterious appearance just prior to his escape, and how he had sold Twilight a copy of the human Bible – to date, the only copy in their possession. Isaac listened with wide eyes as Twilight went into more detail on the book Discord was currently holding. Its odd, almost unreal cleanliness, the indeterminate age, and a few other odd properties were mentioned, until Twilight hesitantly stopped. She looked once at the other two Princesses, who nodded. Turning back to Isaac, Twilight gave him a nervous grin.

“There was… something else. According to Discord, one of the passages had changed from the original tale – it was called ‘the Binding of Isaac’.” Isaac remained mute, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Twilight cautiously opened the book, turning to the appropriate page, and began reading. “Isaac and his mother lived alone, in a small house on a hill,” she began, and Isaac had to stop himself from emitting a shocked cry. She went through his story, word for word, and closed the book once she had finished.

“Do you… recognize that story?” Twilight asked.

“I… wrote it…” Isaac just as nervously answered.

Discord went wide-eyed, his eyes literally expanding beyond the confines of his sallow face - Isaac thought this a bit much, even for him. “You wrote this? This is… awfully good writing, for a child.”

Isaac blushed and looked away. “I always did consider myself a bit of a storyteller,” Isaac answered proudly.

Discord cocked an eyebrow. “Oh? Is there any more to that story?”

Isaac grinned a little, and thought about what to tell them. There were technically several endings to his story, but only one would really work – plus, it was the ‘good’ ending, even if it was fake.

And so, Isaac began, trying his best to sound dramatic and most likely not succeeding.

“Isaac was cornered. His mother, fueled with the desire to serve her God, was bearing down on Isaac. “I will do as I am told, my Lord. I love you above all else!” Isaac’s mother repeated to herself. This was the end of the line for Isaac – his mother was far too strong for him.”

Isaac took a moment to pause for dramatic effect, noting the interested looks on everypony’s face but Discord – who was looking at him with incredulity and amusement. Isaac decided to ignore him, and pressed on.

“But just as he accepted his fate, God intervened, sending an angel down from above to stop his mother’s hand. And just like that, it was over.”

Discord sat back on his haunches, surveying Isaac with an unamused expression. “Really? It was just a parody of the original ending. I was expecting something much better, to be honest."

Isaac glared at him. “I thought if I wrote an ending for the story, it would end! I didn’t care about how good the ending was – and more importantly, what would you have done better?” Isaac asked angrily.

Discord surveyed him, a devious grin making its way back onto his face as the others watched the exchange with growing alarm. “Why, something more vague, I would imagine. Give us hints, maybe – a scene of your having escaped the Basement, or discovering your true self. Something that gives the reader some imagination!”

Isaac paled – Discord’s advice was eerily similar to the endings he had left out. Spluttering with indignation, Isaac attempted to find something with which to make them see that Discord was wrong – that his story was good! Great, even! It was a master work – why couldn’t they see that?

He was only distracted from this by a gasp from Luna. Isaac looked up at her, still angry, only to find that she was pointing a shaking hoof behind at him. “Who – who art thou?” she half-shouted. Isaac turned around, expecting there to be nothing there – but to his surprise, a shadowy figure had placed a gray palm on his hand, a gleeful rictus of a grin forever etched on the familiar face.

“Hello, old friend,” Pride whispered.

Isaac was too shocked to even scream. Pride grinned even wider, if that were possible, and pushed Isaac over just as Greed had in his dream, causing Isaac to topple onto the table.

“Kid, when are you going to learn? You belong down there,” Pride declared, pointing vaguely downward. “With us. Not these second-rate losers. They couldn’t even appreciate your story – the story you worked so hard on, too! The first review you ever got, and it was “This story sucks” – that must really make your blood boil. Why, I bet if they saw your drawings they wouldn’t even call it ‘art’ – just trash.” Isaac fought back tears, his lip quivering.

“Now, if you were, say, down in the Basement with us old Sins, we’d appreciate your story! We always have. Very poetic, if we do say so. Very… final,” Pride continued, with the air of one who’d just made the most spectacular joke in all of history. Luna stepped forward, horn charging up for another blast. Pride waved a mocking finger in her direction. “Ah ah, princess. No interfering…” he pulled out a troll-bomb and placed it on Isaac’s chest, holding it down with a flawless, gray foot. Seeing this, Luna stopped charging her spell in shock, though now her eyes fairly blazed with fury at Pride. “After all, Isaac here is old enough to make his choice without your badgering. So, what do you say, Isaac? Want some real friends, like me?”

Once again, Isaac was tempted by Pride’s words. He’d never received any real praise for his stories, never having had anyone to show them to. For someone else to call his work ‘poetic’… Isaac felt too flattered to say no. But one glance at Luna shattered any resolve he’d had to say yes: Her expression was one of utmost sorrow and sympathy. Looking around, Isaac realized her face mirrored the others around the room: Even Discord was looking at him with a concerned frown across his lopsided features. But what could he do? Without his holy tears, Isaac was powerless – Pride was far too strong for him. Nopony else could interfere, either – the bomb ticking away on his chest was proof enough of that. Pride smiled down at him, though his smoldering eyes gave away his impatience.

“You wouldn’t want to keep your best friend waiting…” Pride said menacingly. And just like that, Isaac had an idea.

“You’re right,” he said, and Pride nearly lost his footing in surprise.

“C…come again?” he asked Isaac, and there were murmurings of shock all around.

“Isaac, no!” Luna shouted. But Isaac gave her a steely glare, and she fell silent.

He turned back to Pride. “I shouldn’t keep my best friend waiting. It would be rude of me. So I won’t.” Reaching out, he grabbed the Bible out of Discord’s claw and swung it at Pride, hitting him across the face with the holy book and causing Pride to stumble back. The troll-bomb, free to move now that Pride’s foot wasn’t keeping it in place, rolled under the table, harmlessly exploding. Pride wiped the blood off of his face, the trail of red marring his perfect gray face as he spat out a tooth.

“How dare you!” he roared.

Isaac opened the Bible, hoping for nothing short of a miracle. To his surprise, it opened to a very familiar passage – Proverbs 11:2. Isaac held out the book as though it were a weapon of mass destruction, and read off the page. “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom,” Isaac intoned. As soon as he finished the sentence, Isaac felt the familiar sensation of wings sprouting from his shoulder, and quickly rose up into the air.

“No… no!” Pride cried, outraged.

Isaac smiled, and made as though to blink. Pride flinched, and Isaac grinned further. “Say hello to Greed for me,” Isaac declared, and unleashed a flood of holy tears. The blunt force of the liquid kept Pride from even fighting back, screaming as the tears slowly ate away at his form.

“This isn’t over, kid!” Pride screamed. “I’ll be back – I’m the best! You can’t keep me down forever, you… you… inferior!”

And just like that, it was over. Isaac had won.

Their job finished, the wings vanished, the Bible snapping shut with an audible thump. For a moment, all was silent. Then Discord spoke up.

“Forget writing – go into drama, Isaac. You’re much better at it.”

To everyone’s surprise, Isaac failed to even respond, staring at the Bible in his hands.

“Isaac? Art thou… alright?” Princess Luna asked.

“Don’t you get it, Luna?” Isaac said, his voice small. “I used an item. I haven’t escaped at all!” he cried out all of a sudden, running from the room and flinging the Bible away from himself.

Isaac finally stopped running as he spotted an empty closet, the wooden walls reminding him a bit of the Chest he’d locked himself inside of. He ducked inside, locking the door, but was only alone for a moment before Luna’s voice sounded just outside the door.

“Isaac?” she asked, concerned.

“Go ‘way! This isn’t real! You’re not real!” Isaac cried, his voice cracking before breaking down into high-pitched sobs.

“Oh, Isaac…” Luna trailed off. “What can we say? Of course we believe we’re real, but thou cannot just take our word for it.” She fell silent for a moment, causing Isaac to wonder if she had left. “But… what if it was just that book? It was, after all, a relic of thine own Basement, regardless of being here – would that not make sense also?”

Isaac considered this – that could be true… “Even if that is true, and I’m not in the Basement… I’m a monster. I thought I was better than everyone else… but I was just the dumbest.”

Luna cautiously opened the door, her magic disabling the lock before she swept Isaac up in her wings. “You’re not a monster. That ‘Pride’, that disgusting, foul beast… he is the monster. Not you. Never you,” she consoled him.

Isaac hesitated for only a moment before clinging to her forearm, trying with all his might to keep from crying and only succeeding in sending spasms down through his chest as he shuddered with pain and sorrow.

“Shh… just let it out… It will all be okay, I promise,” Luna whispered. She lead him down a series of corridors, Isaac still too teary-eyed to even see where he was going.

It took a few hours, but finally Isaac was feeling better. He and Luna were ensconced in her study room, as Luna taught him the names of each different star.

“And that one’s Astraeus,” she pointed out, focusing the telescope with her magic so Isaac could see it up close.

“Looks kind of purple-ish,” Isaac remarked, and Luna giggled.

“I’m sure he would love that – purple was his favorite color,” she replied.

“He was a person?” Isaac curiously asked.

“Pony,” Luna gently corrected. “And yes – he lived a few centuries ago. He always loved studying the stars… his final wish was for his essence to become one.”

She gave a forlorn smile to the star in question. Isaac, meanwhile, examined the star with a newfound interest. That was a pony, once?

“Isaac…” Luna started all of a sudden, jerking Isaac out of his reverie.

“Yes?” he asked. Luna faced him, suddenly serious.

“We know thou thinkst we art joking, but… we want to ask thee again, in all seriousness. Wouldst thou consent to be adopted by us? We have never met such a kindred soul in all our centuries of searching…” she trailed off.

Isaac stared at her for a moment – she’d been serious? This whole time? “I… uhh…” he stammered, caught off guard.

Princess Luna anxiously waited, and Isaac considered his options. On the one hand, if he was adopted, he’d have to live life like a normal person again. Then again… wasn’t that exactly what he had wanted, for the longest time? And hadn’t Luna shown him nothing but care and kindness, even if he had been an absolute jerk to her? Isaac made up his mind, and steeled himself.

“Yes,” he answered. “I’d like that…”

And with that, he went right back to sobbing. But this time was different – this time, Luna joined him, wrapping her navy blue wings around him as though to shield him from all harm. And for a moment, one precious moment against an ocean of memories of blood and sorrow, mother and son shed tears of joy together.

Chapter 4: Jubilation

The next few weeks were the happiest times of Isaac’s life. He had a caring mother, a family that was okay with him, and he was slowly being accepted by Equestrian culture. On top of that, he had learned much from Luna’s tutoring, far more than any of the Christian Science shows he had watched had ever taught him. Who knew that all reality was composed of spherical ‘atoms’ smaller than anyone could see, which in turn were composed of ‘quarks’ – which were really just little bundles of magic to begin with? Twilight assisted in his teaching – or was it reteaching? – as well, helping him through the intricate network of grammar and spelling that consisted modern Equestrian language.

Discord had stopped by just a few days after Isaac defeated Pride, an unusually somber look on his face. Ignoring the glares from everyone else, Discord approached Isaac and handed over the Bible.

“I would like to apologize for my behavior earlier, and to explain,” Discord began, and a surprised Isaac had motioned for him to continue. “I sensed Pride in the room as soon as you shut the door – he was trying to control you. Had I not caused you to make his presence so obvious… he might well have succeeded,” Discord finished, a serious look on his face.

“That makes sense… I guess…” Isaac mumbled, taken aback.

Discord steepled his fingers together, an almost embarrassed expression now present on his long, goat-like face. “Also… I know what it’s like having fake friends. I wanted to save you from making the same mistakes I did.”

Before Isaac could react, Discord had swept a cape across himself and vanished. Isaac looked at Luna, who shrugged, and decided to just go back to his meal.

No Sins had shown up in the following weeks, either – Isaac thought perhaps they were more wary of him now that he had an Item to his name, but Luna presumed that they were merely biding their time. They often discussed which Sin might show up next, and Isaac spent a lot of time drawing out the various other Guardians he had encountered in hopes of identifying them if they ever showed up.

“So this one is… ‘The Carrion Queen’?” Luna pointed out, studying it.

“Yeah… I think she was like the zombie form of Chub, like with the Husk and the Duke of Flies,” Isaac answered.

“We have not seen anything like this yet… but we will inform the guards right away of these latest monsters,” Luna promised.

“Thanks… Princess Mommy,” Isaac answered, mumbling the last part. Luna smiled at him and gently closed the door, but not before Isaac caught the blush on her cheeks – she’d never say it out loud, but Isaac got the idea that she rather liked the nickname.

Isaac still couldn’t get over that – he had a Mom who was a Princess, who was really nice, who never yelled at him or hit him, who tucked him into bed at night, fended off the nightmares in his sleep… she was perfect, in every way. He wasn’t a very good son – he couldn’t use magic, or fly, didn’t have strength or smarts or skill, but she loved him anyway. She told him he was now a Prince, and could have anything he wanted, but Isaac was having none of it – after he had encountered Greed, he wanted no more material wealth than what was strictly necessary to survive. Instead, he spent time either with Luna, or with Twilight – both of whom were always happy to see him.

One day, Twilight asked if he would like to accompany her to Ponyville, and Isaac happily agreed. Princess Luna agreed as well, musing that the time spent outside would be good for Isaac – he had been spending much of his time inside the castle, away from prying eyes.

They boarded the train without much fanfare – that is, considering the occupants of the train were a Princess, and an adopted alien son of another Princess. There was, of course, a Royal Guard escort, but they were all quite friendly to Isaac – apparently he’d made a ‘good impression’, according to Princess Mommy. The fangs and bat wings intimidated him a little, but he stoically reminded himself that things were not necessarily as they seemed – after all, he had been a demon once. The captain of the Guard, whose name Isaac learned was Night Light, even saluted him as the doors closed, and Isaac gave an embarrassed half-salute back as Twilight giggled.

“At least it wasn’t my brother who saw that salute,” she joked as they took their seats. “He’d be making you do push-ups until the moon rose.”

Isaac giggled as well. “Mom would probably delay the moon rising, too,” Isaac added, and Twilight burst into renewed laughter.

And just like they were years-old friends, they were giggling the whole train ride back.

“Ponyville, last stop for Ponyville!” the conductor called out, and Twilight got to her hooves as Isaac hopped off the train seat.

“Ready?” Twilight asked, and Isaac held up the tiny rucksack Luna had packed for him.

“Yep,” Isaac responded, and hopped off the train, Twilight watching carefully in case he tripped over the gap between the train and the platform. Once she was assured he was safe, they began walking to her castle.

Isaac quickly became aware of the frightened stares of passersby as he and Twilight made her way through the streets of Ponyville. They shied away from his approach, and one even looked at him and screamed, running off into the distance – Twilight nervously apologized each time, and Isaac dismissed it good-naturedly.

“The residents are usually this skittish, it’s not just you,” Twilight assured him the tenth time, and Isaac gave a short chuckle.

“Even if they weren’t, the last time I was here I was a demonic monster – they have every right to scream and run.” Twilight grimaced, but made no comment.

Finally, they came to a massive crystal palace, and Twilight gestured to it proudly. “Here we are,” she cheerfully exclaimed, and Isaac looked up at the bluish crystal stretching higher above than he could make out.

“Wow…” Isaac muttered. It wasn’t as big as his mom’s palace, but it was still very cool – it was vaguely tree-shaped, and made of a single, unbroken bluish crystal substance.

They entered to find what Isaac recognized as the five other ponies who had watched him fight Pride. Twilight introduced him to each of them personally – Isaac learned their names were Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. Of all of them, the most enthusiastic to see him was by far Pinkie Pie, who upon learning his name immediately started babbling about ‘planning a party’. Twilight laughed, and put a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder.

“Save it for later, Pinks? I have to get Isaac all settled in.”

Pinkie nodded, her mane bobbing up and down almost too quick for Isaac to see, and immediately rushed out the door. Once she was gone, Twilight began carrying Isaac up the stairs, her other friends tagging along.

“So, your main weapon is crying?” Rainbow asked, a bit of a grin on her face.

“Rainbow…” Twilight groaned. “What? It was just a question,” Rainbow answered indignantly.

“Mostly it was tears. Sometimes it was blood, or… other stuff,” Isaac answered tiredly. He didn’t feel like explaning the grosser aspects of the Basement – not after he explained them the first time to Luna. She had had to duck out of the room, her face a pale green.

“Oh my… that sounds awful, crying that much,” Fluttershy quietly commented. “What were you so sad about? That is, if you don’t mind my asking.”

Isaac thought for a while – at first he had been sad about something, the first few hundred runs through the Basement, but over time his constant crying had just become a fact of life. But what had he been sad about? “…I’m not sure,” Isaac finally answered. They ascended the rest of the stairs in silence.

“Well, here’s your room,” Twilight declared as they came to the first of a series of doors.

“Are you sure I won’t be intruding in any way?” Isaac asked.

“Of course not! This castle can get so empty, we’ll be happy to have a guest,” Twilight eagerly answered.

Isaac, considering this, smiled and shrugged. With that, Twilight left, the other ponies in tow, and Isaac was alone in his temporary bedroom. He had never stayed in a hotel before, so Isaac was unsure of what to make of the room and bed that was apparently ‘his’. There was, however, a small stack of paper and a few quills on the table, so Isaac hoisted himself up with some difficulty into the chair, before taking a seat and doodling idly.

At first, the doodles were his usual fare: Monsters, Guardians, items, and the like. Then, as Isaac got bored of those, it turned to drawings of the ponies he had met and seen, Luna being prominent. One such drawing turned out so well that Isaac hung it up on the wall without hesitation, using a roll of tape he had brought along with him.

A few hours later, Twilight re-entered his room to find the wall covered in drawings. “Wow, you draw a lot…” Twilight exclaimed as soon as she caught sight of his work.

“Ehehe… yeah…” Isaac mumbled.

“They’re pretty good!” Twilight proclaimed as she examined one, and Isaac smiled. “Anyway, I thought I’d show you around – I know Pinkie has a party planned for you sometime later, and you can meet the others at their homes along the way. Oh, and before I forget – there’s a surprise for you later!” Isaac nodded amicably, putting away his drawing materials and following her down the stairs.

The first home they decided to stop at was Rarity’s, which Isaac learned was called the ‘Carousel Boutique’ and, according to Twilight, was ‘the best place in Ponyville for clothes’. It was a rather fancifully decorated house, and Isaac rather liked the design. They entered, and Twilight took a seat on a nearby couch, Isaac following suit after a moment’s hesitation. “Be with you in a minute, darling!” Rarity called out as the door bell rang. Isaac crossed and uncrossed his legs as they waited, idly staring at the many dresses which were positioned around the room.

Finally, Rarity trotted in, smiling when she spotted Isaac. “Hello, Twilight! And hello to you too, Isaac,” Rarity cheerfully greeted.

“Hi, Rarity. How’s business today?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, simply dreadful, darling,” Rarity exclaimed, bringing a hoof to her forehead as she swayed dramatically onto a nearby couch. “Not a single customer! I’ve been working on some new designs all morning, and haven’t even been interrupted once! Why, it seems everypony already has their costumes ready-” Twilight gave her a warning look, and Rarity trailed off.

“Well, I thought Isaac here could use some new clothes – winter’s coming up soon, and I don’t think he’ll be able to deal with the cold…” Twilight replied, acting as though the earlier exchange hadn’t happened.

Isaac looked at her in surprise – it seemed like the height of summer outside. How fast did winter come in Equestria? He knew from Luna’s tutoring that winter was artificially created every year, but she had not said when or how quickly. A measuring tape held aloft by Rarity’s magic floated over, and began circling itself around Isaac, taking his measurements. Isaac decidedly ignored this, choosing instead to continue his musings. Also… did he want clothes, after all this time? Clothes were sinful, evil, awful things that Adam and Eve had… no. No, clothes were not sinful, Isaac decided. They were merely garments, to warm or cool oneself as needed. Luna had taught him that there was no need to be ashamed of his body, as everypony else went naked almost all the time – and while he would certainly receive some stares, these were unrelated to whether he went clothed or not. Isaac resumed paying attention to the conversation.

“…sounds wonderful, darling. Isaac, do you have any requests for the color of your clothing?” Rarity asked.

“Um…” Isaac thought out loud. “Dark blue?” he finally replied.

Rarity stared at him for a moment, before nodding to herself. “Yes, yes… I can most certainly make that work…” she trailed off, lost in thought, and Twilight giggled and got up.

“She’ll be like that for a while – we’ll come back tomorrow, Rarity. Thanks again!” Twilight called out as they exited.

“Thank you,” Isaac remembered to call out just as he went through the door.

Isaac blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight again, and he looked up at Twilight. “Where to, next?” he asked. Twilight smiled. “Well, we’ve got a few hours before Celestia lowers the sun… How about we visit Fluttershy’s?” Isaac nodded agreeably, and they set off.

Fluttershy’s cottage was quite a ways away, and it was night by the time they arrived. “Fluttershy? You in there?” Twilight asked, gently knocking a hoof on the door.

“Oh, yes, just getting ready,” Fluttershy replied, her voice almost inaudible over the background noise. Finally, Fluttershy opened the door to reveal just a glimpse of her eye and pink mane. “Oh, my. Hello, Isaac,” Fluttershy greeted. Isaac cheerfully waved.

Twilight, to Isaac’s surprise, blocked his view as she opened the door and stepped inside, closing it to just a crack behind her. “Sorry, Isaac, we need some privacy for a quick moment,” Twilight apologized before closing the door completely. Curious, Isaac waited obediently outside the door. He heard giggling inside, and was unsure whether to anticipate or dread whatever was coming next.

Finally, Twilight came back outside, dressed in what Isaac assumed was some sort of old-fashioned, Victorian-era getup. Fluttershy also exited, revealing that she had dressed up in what appeared to be a dragon costume. “What’s with the dresses?” Isaac asked curiously.

“Well, tonight is Nightmare Night, which is like your “Halloween”, Twilight answered, and Isaac nodded in understanding – while he’d never actually experienced Halloween, due to his mother thinking it was a sinful holiday, he’d heard enough about it.

“Is this my surprise?” he asked, recalling Rarity’s earlier mention of ‘costumes’.

Twilight nodded slightly. “Eh, kind of, but this isn’t the whole thing – I’ll save the details for later.” Isaac shrugged, and the three set off back toward town.

As he entered, Isaac could see why Twilight had taken him to Fluttershy’s, so far out of the way – the town was buzzing with so much activity he couldn’t have possibly missed it had he been around. Everypony was dressed up in some costume or another, and chatting amongst themselves, seemingly waiting for something. Twilight checked a fancy watch that seemed to be part of her costume.

“Any minute now,” she told Isaac, watching the skies. Isaac looked up as well, seeing nothing but the usual starry night. Then, he spotted it: A flash of black, obscuring just a few of the stars, was slowly growing bigger and getting closer to them.

Storm clouds gathered around it, obscuring the dark blot from view before it burst through and revealed itself to be a carriage. The carriage careened towards the ground, the occupant hidden from view by the angle, and pulled up at the last second, barely missing the ground as it skidded to a stop. The chariot rider, dusting themselves off as calmly as though they hadn’t just nearly died, trotted forward to where the Mayor had been waiting on a stage. Everypony had fallen silent, waiting with bated breath for the unknown pony to say something.

With a dramatic flair, Princess Luna swept back her hood, and Isaac couldn’t hold back a delighted gasp. Luna paused a moment to wink at him before turning back to the stage. “Fillies and gentlecolts… let this year’s Nightmare Night Celebration BEGIN!” she announced, placing enough Canterlot Royal emphasis on the last word that Isaac was sure Canterlot itself had heard. There was the sound of raucous applause, and as soon as Luna stepped down from the stage, Isaac ran over.

“I didn’t know you were gonna be here!” he excitedly exclaimed as Luna swept him into a hug.

“I didn’t want to spoil the surprise,” Luna answered while giggling.

With that, they began what Isaac remembered was common Halloween tradition – collecting candy. Luna, of course, quickly amassed a massive pile – Twilight informed him that Nightmare Night tradition used to consist of offering candy to a statue of Luna’s alter-ego Nightmare Moon to appease her, and now that Luna had returned the practice had shifted to her instead. Luna, for her part, was quite nice about it, accepting the little fillies’ and colts’ piles of candy with a gracious smile and a “happy Nightmare Night”. Isaac soon amassed his own, smaller pile of candy, which to him was more sweets than he’d ever seen in one place, and he couldn’t help but delightedly look on as it grew steadily bigger. “Don’t eat too much at once – you’ll get sick,” Luna advised him, and Isaac nodded.

He couldn’t help but notice, however, that her pile was bigger – and it looked like everyone else’s was too. Isaac, over the course of the night, began to feel a little left out: Why wasn’t he getting as much as everyone else? They were all walking around with smiles on their faces, without a care in the world as they flaunted their larger sacks of candy in his face. Isaac, however, restrained himself: Princess Mommy would be upset if he tried to make this holiday about himself instead of having a good time. He wasn’t about to repeat the sin of pride, he’d learned his lesson. But this feeling of others having more than he did… it bugged him. It wouldn’t go away.

Isaac, lost in thought, completely failed to notice that everyone else had stopped moving and fell silent until he bumped into Princess Luna. An apology made its way to the front of his mouth, but stopped short just behind his teeth as he figured out what everypony was staring at. A taller alicorn had arrived on the scene, her catlike eyes sweeping the area as her midnight black coat somehow stood out against the darkness. Finally, her eyes met Isaac’s, and she grinned, her fangs glinting in the moonlight. Isaac gulped: He knew those eyes, changed though they were. The malice radiating from them was unmistakable. “We meet again… Isaac,” she hissed.

"Nightmare Moon," Princess Luna whispered, at the same time as Isaac whispered ”Envy...”

Chapter 5: Declension

Nightmare Moon / Envy stepped forward, foals scattering out of her way as she bore down on Princess Luna, who was still too shocked at her appearance to make a move. “What’s the matter, Loony?” the alicorn asked, fangs jutting out in a terrifying rictus of a grin. “Surprised to see me again, after all this time?”

Princess Luna recomposed herself and took a menacing stance, horn pointed forward. “Not another step, foul creature!” she threatened.

Nightmare Moon laughed. “Oh, but by all means, fire away!” she declared, and Princess Luna made to do just that.

Isaac, sensing what was about to happen, tried to stop her. “Princess, NO!” he shouted, but it was too late: Luna had already sent a blast of magic towards her dark counterpart, who kept right on laughing as the blast cut her down the middle, each half of her body only held in place by a few strands of what appeared to be darkness. Each half of the dark princess took a step to either side, splitting them the rest of the way.

“Wha-?” Luna said, confused.

“Every time you kill Envy, he splits into two,” Isaac explained. Princess Luna gulped nervously as the twin, slightly smaller Nightmare Moons took threatening steps forward. “There’s no escaping us, Princess,” they hissed in unison. “We are Envy. We are everywhere, and everyone.” As she took a step back, Luna whispered to Isaac, “How do we defeat this one?”

Isaac looked at her nervously. “He gets… calmer, every time he splits, so you have to keep splitting him until he doesn’t feel like resurrecting anymore,” he explained, and Luna looked at him in surprise.

“Then the answer is… to just keep fighting it?” she clarified, and Isaac nodded. Armed with this knowledge, Princess Luna grimly smiled and strode forward into battle.

What came next was one of the most hectic fights Isaac had ever seen. Each of the twin Nightmare Moons were releasing blasts of magic that scorched nearby houses and destroyed anything in their path; Luna countered with blasts of her own. All the while, all three were dodging and weaving through the deadly mix, Isaac hardly able to tell Luna’s magic apart from Envy’s due to their similar coloration. A particularly lucky hit destroyed one of the Nightmare Moons, which quickly split into two even smaller ones, the scowls on their faces somewhat less pronounced.

“It’s working!” Isaac called out, and Luna flashed him a smile before continuing her assault.

Soon, those two were destroyed as well, splitting into four tiny little Nightmares with uncertain frowns on their faces. “But why fight us, Princess?” all five Nightmare Moons asked, their pitches of voice varying eerily as they got smaller. “Join us! Imagine the feeling of having it all, having what your sister enjoys each and every day!” Luna issued a furious blast of magical energy at the two smaller ones, and they dissipated into nothing – and stayed that way.

“NEVER!” Luna screamed, finally losing her cool. “I shall not repeat the mistakes of my past – I have moved on, monster!” Forgoing magic, she impaled the largest clone with her horn. It quickly split into two of its own, both looking surprised for a moment before the snarls returned to their faces.

“Oh, have you now? And yet, you’re still dark enough to commit a murder like that? In front of children?” Princess Luna paled as she looked around – the foals were still watching, though many of them were too terrified to even move.

“I… I will deal with that later! Right now, what matters is that you die!” she proclaimed, though Luna’s usual bravado was beginning to crack. Her dodging was slowly getting less effective – a graze of the wing here, an ill-timed blast there. Seeing this, Isaac hurriedly thought of what he might do to help – she clearly couldn’t keep this up much longer. He didn’t have the Bible with him, and couldn’t use his tears – what, then, could he do? Isaac suddenly recalled a lesson his new mom had taught him…

“But I need to get in there!” Isaac shouted, his whiny little voice only serving to amuse the guard.

“Sorry, monkey kid, Princess Luna doesn’t hold audiences with strangers. Especially such weird-looking ones as yourself,” the guard replied.

In frustration, Isaac kicked at the guard’s armored hoof, which served little more than to hurt himself. It did, however, make a large noise, and Princess Luna opened the door curiously.

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

The guard saluted. “Yes, Princess. Just disposing of this stranger.”

Luna looked down to see Isaac hopping in a circle, his face constricted in pain as he clutched his foot. “Isaac? Isaac is no stranger, he is my son,” Luna admonished, and the guard’s expression quickly shifted to one of shock. “Were you not briefed on this matter?” Princess Luna asked, her voice like Antarctic pack ice.

“I – that is, I – may… have missed that… particular briefing,” the guard muttered.

Luna affixed him with a steely glare. “See to it that you do not miss another,” she chastised, and the guard drooped his head in shame.

“Yes, Princess. I will.”

Luna ushered Isaac inside, having him take a seat at the edge of her bed. “How did you hurt yourself?” she asked, examining his foot.

“The guard wouldn’t let me in, so I kicked him,” Isaac falteringly admitted – now that he said it out loud, it sounded like a rather stupid thing to have done.

Luna looked at him, unimpressed. “And should you have?” she asked him.

“No, I shouldn’t… but he was just so frustrating!” Isaac grumbled.

Princess Luna laughed. “When proving a point, it is wise to use your words, not your body.” Isaac nodded guiltily, and Luna gently bopped him on the head with a book. “Now, let us continue your studies, and think no further on the matter,” she advised, and Isaac nodded.

An idea came to Isaac, as he watched Luna fight. It was risky, sure, but Luna had taught him the importance of using his words. “You’re wrong, Envy!” he called out, and sure enough, one of the Envy clones turned to stare at him.

“What do you mean, Isaac?” she asked, voice like honeyed poison.

“Princess Luna has nothing to be envious of – because everypony here loves her just as much as her sister!” he triumphantly declared.

There was a moment of silence, then… “Yeah!” a voice in the crowd shouted. A small colt had made his way forward, a brown patch over his eye in contrast to the rest of his white coat. “Princess Luna is the coolest Princess ever!” Isaac smiled as this precipitated a chain reaction of compliments from the crowd.

“Best princess!”

“I love your night skies!”

“You’re the best, Princess Luna!”

With each shouted assurance, all the Envy clones looked more and more worried – and Princess Luna became more and more confident. In a single blast, she destroyed all but one of the Envy clones – the one who’d turned to look at Isaac. “What – how –“ the clone spluttered as Princess Luna stood menacingly over her.

“I need not envy my sister – she is my equal, my opposite… my other half. I could not live without her – something you, Envy, cannot possibly understand.”

There was a commotion as the crowd parted to reveal none other than Princess Celestia, who strode forward to stand by her sister’s side. “Well said, Luna – and the feeling is mutual. Now… what to do with this one?” Celestia mused.

Luna smiled, looking down at the tiny Nightmare Moon who was gazing at them in a wide-eyed mixture of apprehension and pure terror. “Hmm… I have an idea,” Luna announced, and lit her horn. The miniature clone screamed once, before a flash of light lit up the clearing.

When Isaac rubbed his seared retinas back to functionality, he looked at the spot the tiny Sin had been a moment ago. Now, there was nothing there – or so it appeared. Luna lit up her horn once more, and levitated what appeared to be a toothpick from the grass, examining it closely.

“Sister, what did you do?” Celestia asked curiously.

Luna smiled mysteriously. “I turned it into the most unenviable object I could think of.”

The toothpick was quickly disposed of, Celestia assigning a guard to carry it off to the Royal Archives for study. Princess Luna, upon healing her wounds, trotted over to Isaac and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for that, Isaac,” she whispered, and Isaac nodded. He started in surprise as she levitated him onto her back, cantering around joyfully before addressing the crowd. “Now, let us return to the celebration!” she announced, and Twilight sidled up nervously.

“Um, actually, Princess, it’s about time to end the celebration – we only have about 24 seconds left,” she advised, checking the timepiece on her costume.

Luna looked at her in surprise, but quickly recovered. “I knew that,” she asserted. “I was just testing you.” Twilight looked at her, and Luna looked back imperiously before suppressing a giggle. Both Princesses quickly burst out laughing, and the whole crowd joined in, Isaac actually managing to roll off Luna’s back as he laughed his little heart out.

Luna reluctantly departed soon after that, promising Princess Twilight to ‘visit again soon’. She kissed Isaac again on the cheek, and once again complimented him on his aid. Isaac, unused to such compliments from a parental figure, blushed crimson and remained silent. Luna merely giggled as she entered her carriage, and Isaac waved along with Twilight as they watched her depart. Finally, as the carriage disappeared beyond the clouds, Twilight trotted inside before ripping off her wig.

“Never again am I wearing this thing,” she muttered, and Isaac stifled a snicker.

“Dunno about you, but I am about ready to dig in!” Spike announced enthusiastically, holding up his own bag of candy.

“I wouldn’t eat too much, Spike – unless you want Gluttony to show up,” Isaac admonished, and Twilight laughed. She quickly sombered up, however, and glanced at him.

“You are joking… right?” she asked. Isaac shrugged.

Isaac, for his part, ruminated on this simple statement over the next few days. Were the Sins drawn to expressions of their various selves? Envy had imitated Nightmare Moon, Pride had attempted to possess Isaac himself, and nobody quite knew what was going on with Greed – then again, he had always been somewhat ‘separate’ from the other six Deadly Sins. This in mind, he carefully rationed out his candy, following Twilight’s near-religious adherence to no more than three pieces per day. No sense speeding up the process, after all.
He went back to Canterlot uneventfully, hugging Princess Twilight goodbye before stepping onto the train. One of her guards had been temporarily assigned to him, as the guard was taking her leave to stay with some relatives in Canterlot anyway. They chatted amicably about the various pleasantries of their life, and drifted off into silence as Isaac watched the countryside speed by. Finally, the guard poked her head up again.

“So…” she began, and Isaac glanced over. “Is this kind of thing… normal for you humans? Battling demons with your tears, saving Equestria…?” Isaac thought about this.

“I don’t know,” he finally answered, surprising himself.

It was true: He didn’t know. Isaac had no idea what other humans were supposed to be like, having spent so long in what amounted to isolation. Were other humans kind? Cruel? It was so hard to remember, but Isaac thought he had a few vague memories of being tormented as a child, before he fell into the Basement. Kids would laugh at him, tease him, prank him… His mother, on the other hand, had been better. She was indifferent at times, sure, but Isaac still vividly remembered a few things. His first wig, back when he wanted to be like Magdalene, him playing and drawing while his mom watched TV, the two of them holding hands in sorrow while Isaac’s Dad left the house for good… Isaac noticed the guard pony staring at him, and slowly became aware that his eyes were watery.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” the guard began, but Isaac cut him off.

“I know you didn’t,” he soothed, wishing he could reassure himself as easily as the guard.

Princess Luna was there the moment he stepped out the doors, sweeping him into a hug with one of her wings. Isaac returned it gratefully, glad for the feeling of protection that his new mother provided. Luna smiled down at him, and they began the walk back to the castle.

A few minutes in, Isaac decided to ask what had been on his mind. “Mom… what were other humans like?” he asked.

Princess Luna stiffened in surprise. “Well, er… they were…” she began, pausing for a moment as she apparently tried to phrase her response appropriately. “Oh, Isaac,” she sighed after a moment. “They were cruel, they were violent. They built many wondrous things, things we ponies could never even dream of… and used them to hurt each other. If the humans of this planet had just been a little more kind to each other, they might have survived to the present. But you’re nothing like them,” Luna hastily reassured Isaac, fearing that he might get the wrong impression.

To her surprise, she found Isaac sniffling and looking at the floor. “Sounds about right,” was his only response, and Luna remained silent, having no suitable reply.

They continued their short journey back to Luna’s room in utter silence. Princess Luna looked at him several times as though she wanted to say something, but with no words forthcoming, they remained silent. Finally, they came to Princess Luna’s room, where Isaac found to his surprise a second door beside it, marked with a small cross – standard Christian practice to ward off spirits. He looked at Princess Luna, who smiled and nodded, and Isaac reached out and opened the door.

Inside, he was met with a moderately sized room, furnished with fairly standard furniture – an odd departure from the fancily-decorated rest of the castle, but Isaac rather liked it. There was a stack of papers bigger than he was on the desk, as well as books of all sizes – he would clearly be entertained for a long time.

“Well? Is it… satisfactory?” Princess Luna asked, snapping him out of his reverie.

Isaac turned to Luna and wrapped his arms around her leg, whispering “It’s perfect.” Princess Luna smiled and nuzzled his forehead.

With that, she left, and Isaac turned to appreciate his new room. Taking off his clothes, he stepped into the shower, turning on the water and jumping out due to the cold. Giggling slightly, he was about to check the temperature again when a small laugh resounded from the mirror. Curious and in slight trepidation, Isaac went over to the mirror, and gave a shocked cry. His reflection… it was his demon self. Red eyes glanced at his own, and the apparition’s bat-like wings quivered slightly as it gave a fanged grin.

“Y…you! You’re not… I am purged! You can’t be me!” Isaac exclaimed.

The demonic reflection chuckled. “Oh, Isaac. You poor, poor fool. How can we be purged of evil… when evil is all we are?”

As quickly as it had come, it vanished, leaving Isaac shocked speechless. The sound of the water running slowly brought him back to reality, and he stepped into the shower, scrubbing vigorously as though he could wash away the thing he had just seen.

Some time later, Princess Luna came to tuck him into bed. “Mom?” Isaac asked quietly, as she planted a kiss on his cheek.

“Yes, Isaac?” Luna asked, and Isaac debated whether he should tell her or not.

“I saw my demon self again today. He was in the mirror,” Isaac finally said. Luna remained silent for a moment.

“What happened?” she asked carefully.

“He told me I wasn’t purged, because… I was pure evil. There was no good part of me to separate,” Isaac replied, thinking back to his brief conversation.

Luna laid her head atop his in a comforting manner. “Oh, Isaac. Of course there’s good in you, far more than evil. Anypony can see that,” she whispered.

“But what if-“ Isaac began, but Luna held up a hoof.

“Besides, what have we discussed about demons?” she asked, and Isaac smiled slightly.

“They always lie,” he answered, and Luna smiled and nodded.

“Sweet dreams, my dearest son,” she softly concluded, slipping out and closing the door.

Once outside, Luna hastily cast a spell around Isaac’s room so that he would not hear, and roused Princess Celestia from her slumber.

“Mm.. wha… Lulu, whattizit?” Celestia mumbled, still out of it.

“Sister, we need to talk,” Luna declared urgently.

“Mmkay… go ahead…” Celestia replied, shaking her head to clear it as a few strands of ethereal hair sprang loose from her mane.

Luna steeled herself before asking her question. “Sister… can the Elements of Harmony purge something of true evil?”

At this, Celestia went bolt upright.

Chapter 6: Deception

Isaac tossed and turned, moaning in his sleep. The demons around him gleefully whispered into the depths of his soul, unhindered by the purging influence of the Blue One. “No… no, go ‘way…” Isaac moaned, writhing in his bed, unheard by all. The demons were about to infiltrate his very essence, possess him once more, until something stopped them. A photo appeared on Isaac’s chest, showing him and his new Mother, with a shadowy figure where the Father should be. The photo glowed white, and the demons were dispersed back to nothingness.

But the nightmares they had caused remained…

He was himself, facing off against a Mulliboom, who angrily charged him down as he breathed his last…

He was Magdalene, placing a bomb and becoming distracted by an errant fly as she was blown to bits…

He was Judas, hurriedly dodging the stomp of Mom’s foot and just barely not making it…

He was Azazel, confronting his master in Sheol and failing woefully...

He was all of them, every costume he’d ever put on, every death he’d ever had, their million, billion-strong ghostly spirits floating away from the confines of the Basement to join a shining light. At the center of the light was a child… like him, but different. The child had ever-changing hair of purest snow white, and eyes that glowed with power. Isaac stared into those eyes, as they became larger, and larger…

He landed on a grassy field, children all around him. Some had hair of raven black, some blond, some brown and orange.

“Where am I?” he asked. A child laughed, and clapped him on the back.

“You’re in Eden!” the child happily cried, and ran off to play some more.

He looked around – all around him was happiness, and joy. Here he could stay, and play, and know nothing but this place forevermore. He was tempted, that much was certain. It was clear that this place was eternal happiness, perhaps the closest thing he’d get… to a Heaven.

Isaac looked around some more, then down at himself, surprised to find he was clutching a photo. Depicted on it were him, a shadowy figure… and a blue pony, her motherly eyes warmly staring down at him. Who was she? Isaac felt as though he should know. She was important, somehow…

“Excuse me,” he asked the nearest child, who gleefully turned to him. “Do you know who this is?” he asked, pointing to the blue pony on the photo.

The child examined the photo in vague interest for a moment, then shrugged. “No idea, sorry!” he answered, half-laughing. Isaac thanked him, and went on.

This place was different, he thought to himself as he wandered around. There were no doors here, or walls. Just an endless, grassy field, where children laughed and played no matter where he went. Isaac trekked for what seemed like years, never tiring or starving, always feeling as though he were refreshed and reinvigorated. The farther he went, the more he wondered where he was going, and why he was going there.

Eventually, he left the other children behind. They were still visible, as a speck off in the distance, but he was alone. Isaac sighed. He was always alone. He kept wandering, one foot in front of the other…

And as Isaac wandered, away from the laughter and distraction of the Lost Children, he began to remember. He’d been a demon… he’d escaped the Basement on his own… he’d met the blue pony… what was her name? For all he remembered, that simple fact escaped him. Perhaps he’d never know. Isaac wondered what he would do in this place. He could not go back to the others, for he somehow knew that if he did then he would forget once more. It seemed he was to wander for all eternity, then. That was alright. He was used to that.

To his shock, Isaac spotted a door in the distance, some time later – whether hours or centuries, he knew not in this strange place called ‘Eden’. The same white-haired boy from earlier was there, staring at Isaac with some surprise present on his changing features.

“You… wish to leave me?” the boy asked, sounding rather sad.

Isaac stared a moment, before looking down at the photo in his hand. “This place is rather nice… but I feel as though there is something I must do, away from here…” Isaac answered.

Eden smiled. “Then go, child. Go, and may you always feel welcome here, in my Garden of Happiness.” Isaac smiled and nodded, and opened the door. As he did so, Eden put a hand on his shoulder, and Isaac curiously looked over. “Bring him the photo,” Eden whispered, and everything faded to white… and Isaac finally remembered…

“Luna!” Isaac sat bolt upright in bed, shocked at the name that had just come out of his mouth. He remembered… Well, he didn’t remember much. Something about grass? And… he looked down at his prone form, and gasped. There, gently resting on top of his blanket, was a photo. The same photo he’d had in his dream. He held it up, hesitantly. There he was, and there was Luna. They’d never taken this photo, that much he knew. But then, how had it come here? And… who was the shadowy figure on the right? Isaac turned on his bedside lamp, rubbing his eyes as he attempted to discern the identity of the mysterious person. All he could tell was that the person had wings, though he wasn’t sure whether they looked demonic or angelic. Turning the photo over, he was surprised to find a signature, though he couldn’t read it, and a note. “To my son, Isaac: Find yourself.” It wasn’t Princess Luna’s writing… was this his father? But how? And why? Isaac searched the photo with his eyes some more, hoping for answers. Nothing. It was just an ordinary photo…

Just then, he heard the sound of magic one room over, and the sun rose over the hilltops, bathing Canterlot in beautiful orange rays. He could hear Celestia yawning, and Princess Luna saying something unintelligible as she exited her sister’s room. Isaac hurriedly hid the photo, as something whispered in his ear that he shouldn’t show it to anyone just yet. Luna walked into his room, eyes widening in surprise as she spotted Isaac, already awake.

“Oh! …Good morning, Isaac. How was your rest?” she asked. Isaac smiled, unsure of what or how much to tell her.

“It was… good,” he answered. It wasn’t technically a lie, he did remember the dream being a happy one.

“No nightmares?” Luna asked, and Isaac shrugged.

“I don’t remember any,” he answered, and Luna smiled.

“Breakfast is being served downstairs, but Mommy is going to-“ here she stifled a yawn behind a hoof –“going to bed. I’ve been up all night again…” Isaac smiled and nodded, and Luna walked out of the room. Once she was gone, Isaac carefully hid the photo behind a picture he had posted on the wall, arranging it in just such a way that it wouldn’t fall out.

Breakfast was an uneventful affair, and Isaac cautiously helped himself to a meager amount of food, wanting to avoid any surprise appearances of Gluttony today if he could help it. Once finished, Isaac retired to his chambers, where he spent some hours drawing and reading one of the new books Luna had given him.

However, as he attempted to pursue his daily distractions, Isaac was constantly reminded of the mysterious photo. He couldn’t not think about it, try though he might.

Around lunch, he was interrupted from his musings by a knock on the door. Isaac opened it to reveal a Day Guard, who cleared his throat before addressing him.

“Princess Celestia would like to invite you to meet her niece, Princess Cadance, in the Throne Room,” he recited, sounding half official and half bored.

“Okay,” Isaac said after a pause, not sure of how else to reply. Who was Princess Cadance? Isaac vaguely remembered Luna saying something about her, but couldn’t quite remember what it was. He followed the guard downstairs to the throne room, where Princess Celestia was waiting along with a new, pink alicorn and a blue-haired white unicorn.

“Isaac, this is Princess Mi Amore de Cadenza, or Princess Cadance for short, and her husband Shining Armor. They are from the Crystal Kingdom, a land far to the north. Shining, Cadance, this is Isaac, Luna’s adopted son. He is a… human,” Princess Celestia finished, looking slightly uneasy as she glanced at Isaac, who merely nodded. He was human… wasn’t he?

Princess Cadance politely offered her hoof, and Isaac reached up and shook it, smiling up at her. He then turned to Shining Armor. “You’re Princess Twilight’s brother, right?” he asked, and Shining nodded.

“I hope she hasn’t been telling stories about me,” he joked, and Isaac merely hid a chuckle behind his hand in response, which caused Shining to laugh nervously.

They talked some more, mostly small talk about the trivialities of Isaac’s life – and Isaac was sure that Princess Cadance was trying her best not to ask any pointed questions about his entrance to this world. Finally, after half an hour, Cadance took an envelope out of one of her saddlebags, and levitated it over to Isaac.

“We were thinking of inviting you over to the Crystal Kingdom for a day. What do you think?” Shining Armor asked. Isaac stared at the letter, then nodded.

“I’d love to, thank you,” he answered, using the formalities Luna had taught him.

Shining laughed. “Proper little gentlecolt, aren’t you?” he teased, and Cadance nudged him, a smirk on her own face.

“Better than you, Shiny,” she retorted, and Shining chuckled.

“Alright, alright, I’ll stop. Anyway, train leaves at three, and you don’t need to pack anything – we’ll take care of it.” Isaac nodded, and excused himself.

He returned to his room, unable to restrain himself any longer, and took out the photo, gazing at it with curiosity. This photo, that he’d never taken… what did it mean? Isaac strongly felt as though he should hold on to it, so he tucked it into his pocket.

Isaac met up once again with Cadance and Shining Armor at the train station, having been escorted himself by a Royal Day Guard – though he enjoyed the feeling of being looked after, there was not much to talk about with the Day Guards. They were always much more stuffy than their Night counterparts, always following decorum and never speaking a word unless ordered to. Just as he stepped onto the train, he could have sworn someone had shouted his name – but over the background noise of the train station, it was impossible to say for certain. The only pony that might've said something was a white unicorn with red hair who was staring right at him, and she looked away the moment he spotted her. Mentally shrugging, Isaac took his seat and began his usual process of staring out the window. Cadance and Shining Armor, meanwhile, took their seats next to each other, Cadance leaning against Shining contentedly while the latter smiled down at her.

The train ride itself was uneventful – Isaac had gotten used to the sensation of being in a moving vehicle, and spent most of the trip staring out the window, watching the colorful countryside pass by. Eventually, the bright trees and sun turned to snow and mountains, and Isaac felt how cold the window was getting. When was the last time he’d felt real cold?

They arrived in a massive expanse of crystal, facets glinting and reflecting every which way as the frozen arctic tundra was instantaneously replaced by sun and grass once more. Isaac looked around, startled, as the train came to a halt.

“Where… how did…” he stammered, unable to quite comprehend the rapidity of the change.

Princess Cadance giggled. “Our kingdom is protected by magic from the rest of this area’s climate. Makes it hard for invaders to find us or even reach us… though that wasn’t our idea,” she trailed off, scuffing a hoof awkwardly on the train floor.

They stepped out, and Isaac followed Shining Armor and Princess Cadance to a palace made entirely of blue crystal, somewhat akin to Twilight’s but much bigger. Passing guards and maids greeted the two royals, who amicably waved and said hello back, whereas Isaac merely remained silent. Finally, after making their way up a few flights of stairs, they arrived at a small room.

“Sorry we couldn’t get anything bigger, the castle’s pretty packed right now due to a foreign dignitary,” Cadance explained, looking at Isaac apologetically.

“Not at all, this looks wonderful,” Isaac replied, looking around the room contentedly – it rather reminded him of his old bedroom.

“Anyway, I hope you aren’t planning to settle in just yet, because we have something good to show you,” Cadance continued, and Isaac raised an eyebrow. The pink alicorn motioned for him to follow, and Isaac reluctantly left the room.

“So, what’s it like being Aunt Luna’s son?” Princess Cadance asked as they walked through the gleaming Crystal Kingdom streets. Isaac thought for a while.

“…Interesting,” he finally responded, and Shining chuckled.

“Does she make you talk in that old-timey way?” he asked, and Isaac smirked up at him.

“Verily, only if it doth please the both of us,” he replied, and Shining burst out laughing.

They arrived at a large building, decorated with imposing, streaked white marble. “Here we are! The most extensive human museum in the world!” proclaimed Cadance, gesturing with a hoof to the entrance door. Isaac cautiously walked up, and opened it, wondering what he was to expect – that is, if he even could expect anything. The first thing he noticed was the receptionist, an elderly mare who was staring at him in shock. The second thing he noticed was an entire human skeleton, propped up on hooks, with arrows pointing to different parts of the anatomy.

“Hello, can I… help you?” the mare asked, and her jaw only further dropped when Cadance and Shining Armor walked in.

“Good afternoon,” Cadance greeted, and the receptionist quickly bowed.

“G-good afternoon, your Majesty,” she hastily stammered, and Princess Cadance held out a hoof.

“Please, I am only here on pleasurable business. Three tickets to the museum, please,” she asked, and the mare quickly hoofed her some tickets.

Princess Cadance dug around in her purse, before turning to Shining with a pleading look. Shining gave a mock groan, and fished out some bits from one of his saddlebags. “Honestly, girl, you’ve got to stop spending all your spare change,” he teased, and Cadance pouted. Isaac watched this with amusement, before Cadance levitated his ticket down to him.

Princess Cadance and Shining Armor made their way to the museum atrium, and just as Isaac was about to go, he once again heard somepony calling his name. He turned around to see a familiar white unicorn with red hair approaching him at a fast pace, looking worried. Isaac racked his memory – did he know this unicorn? Coming up blank, he decided to be friendly, and waved hello, a polite smile on his face.

“Do I… know you?” he asked, and Cadance and Shining Armor turned around. The unicorn mare looked up at them, and her face blanched. She took a few steps back, and looked around as though searching for some means of escape.

“State your business, miss,” Shining Armor sternly commanded, and a few guards stepped forward – Isaac suddenly remembered that as Princess Luna’s son, he was a politically important figure.

“I… ah…” the unicorn stammered. Finally, she shook her head viciously, and bared her teeth at them. A second later, Isaac felt himself being levitated along as the mare fled, and looked back at Cadance and Shining Armor in shock.

"Guards! Arrest her!" Shining Armor cried, and three guards immediately began running after them.

By now, a whole flock of guards were chasing after them, but the unicorn who had kidnapped Isaac didn't seem to care, weaving and dodging among them with an almost practiced ease.

"Where are you taking me?" Isaac demanded, unable to move due to the magical force field carrying him along.

"Please, I promise this is for a good reason!" the mare hurriedly answered.

"That doesn't answer my question," Isaac muttered, wondering how he could get out of this.

Some minutes later, they had lost the guards to Isaac's chagrin. The unicorn stopped in front of an old warehouse, and knocked seven times on the door in a distinct pattern. The door opened, to reveal Isaac's strangest sight yet since awakening in Equestria. Was he looking down at a pony demon? It had holes in its legs, and bright blue-green eyes. Insectoid wings buzzed along its back, and it bowed to the white unicorn.

"No time for that, hurry up!" the mare demanded, and the strange pony-like thing quickly moved out of the way, hissing something unintelligible. The mare practically hurled Isaac into the room before closing the door, and turned to face him, her once-fuschia eyes now a bright green. There was a flash of green fire, and she transformed into a taller version of the strange insect-ponies that now surrounded Isaac, clicking and hissing in a language he couldn't understand. "Enough," the taller bug-thing spat at them, and they backed off. She walked up to Isaac, who affixed her with a steely glare, though inside he was too afraid to even help. "My apologies for the scare, I needed you away from... them," the tall one muttered, glancing toward the door as though Cadance and Shining Armor were right outside of it. "I am Queen Chrysalis of the changelings," the bug-queen introduced herself, and Isaac stared up at her. "And..." Chrysalis trailed off, seemingly unsure how to continue. Finally, she swallowed, and looked at him again.

"I need your help."

Chapter 7 - Confusion

Isaac stared at her for a second, utterly confused. The first demon he’d met that wasn’t a twisted, warped reflection of his mind, and… it wanted his help. “With… with what?” he finally worked up the courage to ask, still wondering how he could get out of here. The thing in front of him shuddered, eyes briefly flashing pink before returning to their previous emerald green.

“K-kid… I hear you’re good at killing sinful things. K-k… Kill me! Purify me!” Chrysalis burst out.

Isaac was taken aback. “Purify… you?” he clarified, and the changeling queen shook again.

“Hurry!” she shouted. “Before she… before she makes me… HURRY!” Isaac gulped, unsure how he should proceed. He was no exorcist… Shouldn’t he have a Bible, anyway?

Almost immediately, the familiar cross caught his eye. The Bible was lying innocuously on a nearby crate, looking for all the world as though it had lain there for centuries. “How…” Isaac whispered, unnerved by its sudden appearance. Seized by a sudden idea, he picked up the holy book, and once again flipped to a random page. Corinthians 10:13… perfect! Isaac turned to face the demon pony, who was shaking and calling out a name he didn’t know over and over again, in a fetal position on the floor. Isaac placed his palm on her forehead, feeling the smooth texture of her carapace. She stiffened at his touch, but made no other movements. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to… to Equine,” Isaac started, unsure if he should be changing the words like this. “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the means of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with what seemed like the effort of a thousand great warriors, Queen Chrysalis sat up. “The means of escape… but how could I…” she stopped, a look of surprise on her face. Her expression slowly shifted to a grin, one to match the Devil’s own, and Isaac stepped back. Even the other bug-ponies slowly started moving away from her, muttering to themselves. “This body… is mine. This mind… is mine! And your emotions… are mine,” the taller creature proclaimed, her horn lighting up green. A pink mist began to seep out of her eyes, and Isaac could have sworn he heard screaming. “No! No! I am Lust, you obey me!” the pink mist screeched. The changelings grinned, and pressed in on the queen, mouths open wide and dripping with saliva. For a moment, Isaac couldn’t see what was happening.

After a moment, the other changelings stepped back, revealing an exhausted Queen Chrysalis. “She’s… gone…” the queen panted. She looked up at Isaac. “Thank… you…” But before she could finish, the door burst open. Guards swarmed around Isaac, pointing spears at the changelings.

“Nopony move!” Shining Armor shouted, armed with his own sword.

Princess Cadance immediately swept Isaac up into a protective hug, glaring fiercely at her changeling counterpart. “I should have known it was you!” Cadance snapped. “Haven’t you done enough? Now you’re foalnapping a small child, who’s already literally been through Tartarus and back! Have you no shame?!” Cadance yelled, and Chrysalis appeared taken aback.

The nearby changelings had been quickly incapacitated by the guards, either with ropes or magical means, and Shining Armor viciously bore down on Queen Chrysalis, who backed away. “It’s time I did something I should’ve done a long time ago, bug,” Shining Armor spat, his voice laced with uncharacteristic venom. Sensing the proper moment, Isaac decided to intervene. He broke free of Cadance’s grip, and ran around Shining to stand protectively in front of Queen Chrysalis.

For a moment, Shining Armor was too shocked to speak. But a second later, he resumed his snarl. “You’ve even mind-controlled him? How despicable can you get?” he furiously accused.

“No!” Isaac cried out. “She needed my help, Shining! She was possessed by Lust, it’s not her fault!” Shining Armor glanced at him with some surprise, and more than a little suspicion.

“Say I believe that. She still foalnapped my wife, ruined our wedding, and mind-controlled me!” Shining burst out. “Why shouldn’t I kill her?” Isaac went wide-eyed, and even Princess Cadance gave her husband a surprised look. But most surprising of all was Chrysalis’ answer.

“Because I’m sorry,” the changeling queen quietly said. “I never meant to do that, any of that. It’s just… I… we’re starving, us changelings. We were going to die soon, and I thought… between your marriage and our entire species… I’m sorry…” Queen Chrysalis trailed off, looking at the floor.

Shining Armor looked lost for words, no longer angry but unsure of quite what to do next. Princess Cadance was looking at Chrysalis with utmost sympathy, and even the guards and changelings had stopped struggling.

Chrysalis gestured widely at the changelings around her. “These are the last changelings alive,” she announced sadly. “The rest… are dead.”

Isaac turned to face Chrysalis. “Did you ever try… asking for help?” he asked her. Queen Chrysalis looked at him as though he’d sprouted a second head.

“Asking? Me, ask for help? They think changelings are equivalent to demons – they’d have killed us without a second thought!” Chrysalis angrily answered, glaring at Princess Cadance. Cadance was openmouthed in surprise, then rushed forward and engulfed her changeling counterpart in a hug. Queen Chrysalis squeaked in surprise, wide-eyed and unsure of what had just happened, and everyone else in the room looked on in utter shock.

“We would never! We would have helped you, I swear it!” Cadance tearfully declared.

“But… how would you have helped me? Would you have given yourself up? To us?” Chrysalis wondered aloud, making a half-hearted motion to pat Cadance on the back and giving a frantic look at Isaac, who shrugged. He had no idea what was going on either.

A few seconds later, Princess Cadance pulled away. “Come with me, Queen Chrysalis,” Cadance joyfully announced. “I have an idea.”

A half hour’s walk later, they were back in the castle, staring at a pulsing, floating crystal in the shape of a heart. “What… is it?” Queen Chrysalis asked. Isaac would have personally asked ‘whose was it’, but he supposed it didn’t matter.

“The Crystal Heart,” Princess Cadance answered proudly. “Powered by the love of every single Crystal Pony in the Empire… and it’s yours to feed off of.”

Queen Chrysalis looked at her in shock. “That’s… you’re just giving it to me? I don’t understand…”

Princess Cadance smiled. “As Princess of Love, my destiny is to spread love wherever I can… and what better way, than to a species that needs it to live?” Chrysalis looked at her suspiciously. "And..." Cadance continued, now looking at the floor. "I felt guilty, after stopping you back at our wedding... I felt like I should have done things differently."

Chrysalis stared at her for a moment more, before taking a hesitant step towards the Heart. To her surprise, Cadance blocked her path with a hoof. “Will our nations be peaceful, if I allow this? Will you no longer foalnap and drain the love of our ponies?” she asked, and Chrysalis immediately nodded.

“I’ll… I’ll return everypony that’s still in the Hive, too. Our nations are no longer enemies,” she declared, and Cadance gave her a joyful grin.

“Then you may feed as much as you wish,” the princess of love announced, and Chrysalis and her crew of changelings ran forward, surrounding the Heart and opening their mouths. A pink energy began to flow out of it and into them, and for a moment all Isaac could hear was satisfied groans, the sound of the famished being given a neverending feast.

“They’re worse than Shiny at dinner,” Cadance muttered to him, and Isaac burst into barely repressed giggles.

Finally, Chrysalis and her changelings left to fulfill their promise, and return the ponies whose lives they had stolen. Princess Cadance watched them go, before turning to Isaac.

“So… still up for the Museum?” she asked, and Isaac eagerly nodded.

“That sounds perfect right now, thank you,” he answered, and Cadance grinned down at him.

The mare at the front desk was pleased to see them return, to say the least. The museum was mostly empty, the last of the customers filing out with tired legs and animated smiles. “Princess! You’re alright!” she gushed as soon as she saw the three of them, Shining Armor having once again tagged along.

“Everything was sorted out nicely,” Cadance replied, and made as if to dig around in her purse again. She was stopped by a sudden movement from the mare.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that, princess! You already paid, I didn’t forget,” the mare giggled. She hoofed them three new tickets.

“Say… seeing as this place is mostly empty, how would you like a tour all to yourself?” the mare asked, and Isaac eagerly nodded.

“That sounds lovely,” he answered, and the mare looked down in surprise.

“Are you…” she began, but Cadance cut her off.

“A human, yes,” the princess of love answered. “He’s looking for information on his species, and I thought I would bring him here.”

The mare smiled. “You thought correctly!” she jubilantly replied, and led them through to the atrium.

“Here is the general timeline of humanity,” their tour guide started, pointing to a large mural on the wall depicting ‘the different Ages of Man’. “We have the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Steel Age, the Industrial Age, and the Atomic Age. Mankind started out as a nomadic civilization…”

Isaac listened raptly as she described his kin, and how they had began, long ago, from apes that had lived in the prairies of Africa. None of this fit with what Mom had told him – but then again, she hadn’t been necessarily right. Finally, the mare came to the ‘Atomic Age’.

“This last age of Mankind was marked by the development of what were referred to as ‘atomic weapons’. These extremely destructive devices, according to legend, were powerful enough to blow up whole cities, and make the surrounding areas inhospitable as much as 100 miles away.” The mare paused, a look of uncertainty on her face as she turned to Isaac. “This was… how they destroyed each other. World War III, as it is referred to in their documents, was the most brutal war in this planet’s history, with billions dead in the space of just a few days. Sources point, surprisingly, to water being the cause of the conflict: Some areas of the planet had too little, and those that had enough were simply unwilling to share. And, in an example of what was known as ‘mutually assured destruction’, the entire planet bombed each other to extinction.” Isaac listened, wide-eyed as vague hints of memory flashed to the forefront of his mind. Bombs that could blow up cities? Those sounded familiar. World wars? He felt as though he’d heard of those too. However, he made no comment, and after a short while they went on to the next exhibit.

The next exhibit was full of human artifacts: Books, items and tools, and even a few religious items. Isaac was tempted to see if they would respond to his touch, but reminded himself that they were behind glass and meant to stay that way. The museum mare did invite him to touch a few strange devices that Isaac recognized as phones, though he’d never been allowed to touch one before. He ran his stubby fingers over the smooth case, wondering what it was made of.

A few hours later, it was time to go. Isaac had answered as many questions as he could remember about humanity, and hadn’t been able to answer several more. The mare smiled at him as he left, and Isaac gave a small smile in return. Princess Cadance waved goodbye as two royal guards pulled up a carriage for the three of them, and Shining Armor levitated Isaac into the carriage.

“So, how was it?” Shining asked as they rode through the city.

“It was… great,” Isaac answered, unsure of quite what to say. “Really interesting.”

Cadance chuckled. “Like finding a part of yourself that you didn’t know existed, right?” she asked. Isaac nodded, and she smiled. “I know the feeling. Imagine my surprise when I got here, and found out that I was the princess of an entire hidden empire!” Isaac laughed, glad to find that someone else shared his feelings on discovering his past.

Isaac entered his room, flopping down on the bed and pulling the sheets up without bothering to take off his clothes. Today had been fun, but he was very tired…

Isaac woke up in the Basement once more. Somehow, he was aware he was dreaming this time. He was in the Basement, that much was certain, but everything was… on fire? The walls and floor had spots of lit wood and other fires, and the whole area was suffused with a light gray smoke. He checked the map, written on the ‘ceiling’. “Burning Basement,” Isaac read aloud. That was… new.

“Isaac!” Someone called his name, and Isaac whirled around. What he saw was beyond all comprehension.

Dark brown eyes gazed back at his own baby blues, and a swish of brown hair tied with a red band accompanied the newcomer’s stare. Samson gazed at him in openmouthed shock.

“Isaac?! What the hell are you doing down here?” Samson demanded.

“I… uh… I’m dreaming…” Isaac stammered, taken aback by Samson’s sudden appearance. Isaac had always thought that Samson was just him in a wig and a headband. He could remember the existence of Samson, though come to think of it… for the life of him, he couldn’t remember being Samson. “You’re dreaming? Alright, whatever,” Samson grumbled, clutching his head as though he were in pain.

“Sorry, but… Are you real?” Isaac asked.

Samson gave him a deadpan stare. “Am I real? How ‘bout you, are you real, idiot?” Samson rudely answered. “Never mind that,” the other child hastily added, as Isaac made to answer. “Point is, we haven’t seen you in ages! Did Satan catch up with you, or something? Were you in a really long run?” Samson asked.

“No, I… escaped,” Isaac answered. For a moment, Samson went slack-jawed in astonishment. Then, he picked Isaac up – actually lifted him off the floor – and began shaking him very hard.

“How?!” Samson demanded. “How’d you escape?!”

Isaac tried to answer, but he was being shaken too hard to even breathe, let alone speak. “Put – me – down – “ he managed to choke, and Samson dropped him, waiting impatiently. “I fought Mega Satan, and then my demon form came out into…” Isaac trailed off, unsure if he wanted to tell Samson about Equestria.

Fortunately, Samson seemed preoccupied with other matters. “Wait, wait. Mega Satan? What the shit’s a Mega Satan?” Samson asked. Isaac explained about bombing the Angel Statues, obtaining the Golden Key, and opening the door in the Chest. Samson stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I’ve seen a similar-sounding door in the Dark Room… Anyway, I’ll have to pass this along to the others.” Isaac stared – oh, right. He’d created quite a few characters.

“How many… others… are there?” he asked, and Samson snorted in amusement.

“You should know, you’re the one we all came from. Let’s see, there’s you, me, Cain, Judas, Maggy, Eve, Azazel, Lazarus… oh, and the occasional Lost, though we don’t really see much of them.”

Isaac thought a moment. “Wait, what about the…” Isaac paused. He’d never really come up with a name for the last one. Before he could finish, however, Samson clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Don’t mention him,” Samson hissed. “The absolute last thing we want is him getting word you’ve escaped!”

Isaac raised an eyebrow – what had he missed? The Basement had once again changed, his own characters were now separate personalities, and apparently one of them was somehow hostile. Had some new Rebirth occurred while he was away?

Isaac continued to mull in his thoughts, unaware that Samson had left until the latter returned and was pressing something into his hands. “Here. This is yours,” Samson explained, and Isaac looked down at the object in his hands, staring. The white triquetra glowed slightly in his hands, the yellow points flickering occasionally. “Now…” Samson started, and Isaac glanced up. Samson drew back a fist. “WAKE THE FUCK UP, BITCH!”

And everything went dark.

Chapter 8: Destruction

Isaac woke up with a panicked gasp, flinching from a punch that would never come. He looked around, confused for a moment by the bright sunlight streaming in through the window of his room in Princess Cadance’s castle. Of course, he didn’t have long to reflect on the oddity of his dreams, as right at that moment a Royal Guard decided to run by, screaming at the top of his lungs. Alarmed, Isaac stepped outside to get a look at what was going on.

He had just made it out the door when a massive explosion rocked the castle, and more panicked screaming was heard to his left. Naturally, Isaac decided to head that way, only stopping when something clinked against his foot. Isaac looked down to find the item Samson had given him in his dream. The Mind was there, the white-and-yellow triquetra gently pulsing and flickering as he picked it up. Once he had woken up enough to realize what it was, Isaac was floored. This was one of the four most important items in the Basement – with this, he could know everything. Why had Samson given it to him? Gulping, Isaac decided to put the artifact to use, and raised it above his head.

Immediately, he knew what was going on, and sighed with discomfort as his brain expanded far past the capacity of his skull. Isaac knew what he had to do next, and charged down the corridor.

He arrived upon Princess Cadance’s throne room to find Cadance and Shining duking it out with a formless black mist, exactly as he expected. Clearly, King Sombra had returned, and was currently being possessed and aided by none other than Wrath – that would be the logical explanation for the explosions currently taking place all around him. Without so much as a grimace, Isaac neatly stepped out of the blast range of the nearest one, hopping onto a chunk of rock that propelled him into the air and across the room. With a grunt of pain, he landed – he might know everything, but he couldn’t quite do everything. That done, he held out a hand, and the Bible materialized in it. Isaac gave it a small smile, glad it was still following him around, though he didn’t quite know how. Flipping it open, he selected Proverbs 29:11, and turned to face the hybrid of Wrath and Sombra, clearing his throat loudly.

Everyone in the room turned to face him, somewhat surprised by his appearance amidst the dust and explosions. “A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control,” Isaac announced, and leaped forward. King Sombra was too stunned to react, and this was all Isaac needed. He reached up and grabbed Sombra’s horn, snapping it off with a precisely calculated flick of his wrist. Sombra screamed in agony, and Isaac leaped backward, landing among Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. Sombra had since recovered, and was now conjuring bombs in every which direction, which Isaac deftly avoided – calculating their trajectory was child’s play. Speaking of which… Isaac grabbed hold of a nearby decoration – some sort of bowl or something. The Mind whispered in his ear that it was in fact an oddly shaped trophy awarded to Shining Armor in his teenage years for magical dueling, and Isaac vaguely paid attention with a fraction of his mental capacity.

A bomb came towards him, just as he had guessed, and he held up the trophy at a very precise angle. The bomb slid along the rim, and went on its merry way – right back towards Sombra, who promptly screamed as the explosive detonated right in his face. The shadow king stumbled backward, and Isaac promptly pirouetted forward, slamming the trophy down on Sombra’s face with an impressive gong sound. Dazed, the king stumbled around in a circle before falling down, trophy still comically stuck on his face. Now, for the coup de grace, Isaac thought as he stepped in front of the battered ex-king. Without hesitation, he delivered a barrage of holy tears, the screams of Sombra and Wrath slowly fading away as the fusion finally expired. It vanished in a small explosion of its own, leaving behind a familiar large bomb with a smiling face on it as Isaac’s prize. Curiously, Isaac picked up Mr. Boom, the Bible vanishing as he did so. Inspecting it, he found that it was much the same as he remembered, and promptly stowed it in the dimensional void he used to house Active Items.

Isaac walked back to Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, who were gazing at him in openmouthed shock.

“Wha-“ Shining Armor began, but Isaac silenced him with a look.

“Felt angry that you didn’t get revenge on the changelings?” he asked, and Shining hesitantly nodded. “Went to check on Sombra’s horn, knowing full well that it responded to thoughts of wrath and anger, not to mention that Wrath had not appeared yet?” he asked, and Shining nodded again, head bowed in shame. “Not to worry,” Isaac declared, surprising Shining Armor. “You were possessed by Wrath around the same time Chrysalis was attacked by Lust – it was, in fact, a joint effort. You were not entirely at fault.” Still too shocked to speak, Shining merely nodded. “Now,” Isaac continued, “I will not be utilizing this magical artifact for much longer. Knowing everything, after all, is a bore. What I will do is erase all memory of having known everything from myself once I stop using it, just as I have done before. I will not, in fact, be aware that I have used the Mind at all, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t contradict my future self on the matter, as it will only lead to general confusion.”

Now that he had finished lecturing, Isaac concentrated, his head glowing yellow with power. A moment later, it shrunk and deformed back to its normal shape, and Isaac looked around in confusion, the white-and-yellow triquetra appearing once more in his hands. For a moment, all was silent. Then, Shining pitched over, fainting as Princess Cadance caught him in her hooves.

“Is he okay?” Isaac asked, looking around. How had he gotten here? He remembered waking up, and not much afterward. It looked like the throne room had been turned into a miniature warzone – scorch marks and broken decorations were everywhere.

“He… he’ll be fine…” Cadance answered slowly, before seeming to come to. “Guards! Escort Prince-Consort Shining Armor to the infirmary at once,” she ordered, before turning to Isaac with a shaky smile. “So… do you remember anything about this?” she asked. Isaac slowly shook his head, alarmed.

“No, should I?” he answered. A thought occurred to him, and he stiffened as he looked up at the bubblegum alicorn. “Princess Cadance… did I do this?” he quietly asked, and Cadance looked at him in surprise.

“N-No, of course not! You didn’t do any of this – in fact…” she trailed off. Isaac stared at her curiously, but she didn’t elaborate. He decided to let it go: If he hadn’t done anything, and nobody was permanently hurt, he didn’t think he should get too concerned about it.

Meanwhile, Princess Cadance was staring down at the object in his hand, still flickering with yellow light – though, more feebly than it had a few minutes ago. “What is that?” she asked, and Isaac looked down in surprise. Giving a squeak of shock, he clutched it close to his chest.

“T-that’s the Mind, it’s… it’s a really powerful magical artifact!” he answered. He’d quite forgotten he’d had it, along with how he had gotten into the throne room in the first place. To his surprise, Princess Cadance merely nodded, and cantered off after her husband.

A few hours later, she returned to find Isaac in his room, once again drawing with the pencil and paper he had been given at the onset of the trip.

“Time to go, Isaac,” she gently reminded him.

Isaac glanced up at the clock, did a double take, and quickly rushed to pack all his things in time. Princess Cadance giggled as she used her magic to help him along, and after a moment, he was ready to go. The two of them walked down to the train station, Isaac enjoying the small breeze the pegasi had conjured up. “So, apart from this morning, how was your visit?” Cadance asked.

Isaac chuckled. “It was absolutely wonderful, I can’t wait to return,” he answered.

For some reason, Cadance seemed displeased by this answer, but her smile only flinched for a millisecond before returning, albeit looking somewhat forced. “Well, I can’t keep you from your mother for too long – give her my regards!” Princess Cadance replied, practically shooing him into the train along with a guard.

Almost as soon as Isaac stepped off the train, Princess Luna was there to greet him, her expression one of half concern and half relief. “Isaac! It is good to see you – how was the Crystal Kingdom?” Luna asked, as they started walking back to her castle.

Isaac smiled up at her. “Well, I had to deal with two more Sins, but apart from that it was great,” he joyfully answered.

Luna frowned a bit at the mention of the Sins, but made no comment. “So, Princess Cadance sent word that you have acquired a few new items,” she informed Isaac, who nodded.

“I got Mr. Boom from Wrath - it's like a really strong bomb. Not too useful of an item, though," Isaac trailed off.

Luna nodded. "Anything else?" she asked, and Isaac nodded, pulling out The Mind. "This," he answered.

Luna's mouth fell open. "Is that... The Mind?" she asked, examining the triquetra. Isaac hesitantly nodded.

"How do you know about it?" he asked, and Luna shifted nervously.

"That is... a very powerful item, Isaac, known to us only by ancient lore. It is said that those who possess it... know everything," Luna whispered. She'd dreamed of finding The Mind, of owning one of the most powerful magical items in existence, but now that it was actually here... "Perhaps I should take it... for safekeeping," Luna asked, and Isaac hesitantly handed over the artifact. Luna lit up her horn, and a second later it was teleported away, though Isaac knew not where. "Now that that is done, we have a surprise for thee as well," Luna announced, and Isaac curiously raised an eyebrow.

Inside the throne room was none other than Samson, looking as irritated as ever. Princess Celestia was watching him from her throne, frowning as he angrily bent a recently cleaned trophy in half over and over. “It’s about goddamn time you showed up!” he shouted as he noticed Isaac, tossing the now-broken trophy aside. Isaac cringed, and Samson grinned. “Yeah, yeah. So, how’d the Mind work out?” Samson asked, and Isaac looked at him in confusion.

“I haven’t used it yet,” he answered.

Samson narrowed his eyes at him, muttering something that sounded like “Bullshit” under his breath.

A guard trotted over and whispered something into Princess Celestia’s ear, and her expression cleared. “Samson, I have just been informed that the guards are ready to commence dueling for the day. Would you like to watch?” she asked, and Samson’s expression brightened.

“Hell yes! Where’s the fighting at?” he gleefully asked, and Celestia motioned to the guard next to her, who paled.

“He shall escort you,” Princess Celestia answered, and Samson followed the guard out of the throne room, a dark smile on his face.

Breathing a sigh of relief once he was out of earshot, Princess Celestia walked over to Isaac. “Who is that?” she asked him.

“That’s Samson, one of my… alternate personalities, I guess. He’s a Biblical hero who got his power from his hair, and was really aggressive – he was known to beat up entire armies,” Isaac explained.

Princess Celestia nodded. “He’s certainly rather… destructive,” she commented, opening a nearby door to reveal a variety of broken crowns, trinkets and jewelry – clearly Samson had been here for a while.

“Um…” Isaac weakly replied, feeling as though he should say sorry - technically, Samson was a part of him. Or had been.

“No need for apologies,” Celestia cut across, picking up on his expression. “I daresay I have far too much treasure already.” Luna gave a short chuckle at that.

A few minutes later, Isaac was back in his room, writing. He was making a checklist of every Sin he had faced so far – Pride, Envy, Lust, and Wrath. Greed was still at large, and Sloth and Gluttony had not yet shown up. Items he had obtained were the Bible, the Mind, and Anarchist’s Cookbook – two of which were not with him at present. Isaac wasn’t sure what was up with the Bible – it seemed to follow him around, appearing only when he needed it. He occasionally heard Samson shouting something outside, but paid no attention after the first few times – Samson was probably just mildly irritated about something.

“Sister?” Luna called, trotting into the gardens. She had woken up early to escort Isaac home, and she was now feeling a bit out of sorts – but she had more pressing matters on her mind.

“Over here, Luna,” Celestia called, somewhere within the maze of grass hedges. Extending her wings, Luna flew up over the maze, spotting her sister sitting in front of a statue. “Is something wrong? You look tired, Lulu,” Celestia queried, with a concerned look at her sister.

“Nay, sister. This is just from coming to get Isaac. But we have a question – no, a concern,” she began. Celestia looked at her expectantly, and Luna took a breath before continuing. “This ‘Mind’ artifact… this is far beyond what any unicorn should be able to handle in terms of magic, let alone a human. Humans, after all, cannot wield magic whatsoever, yes?”

Celestia nodded. “So you’re suggesting Isaac is not human,” Celestia concluded, and Luna worriedly nodded, taking a seat by her sister.

“But then, what is he? He acts just like a human would… though a fair bit older than his biology would suggest,” Luna pondered aloud.

Celestia snorted. “We have discussed this before, as I’m sure you remember, Lulu. No new evidence has come to light to make me doubt my conclusion.”

Luna frowned at her sister. “And yet, I still object! How could such a sweet, kind child possibly be-“ she was cut off by a hoof to her lips.

“Hush, sister,” Celestia stated, looking at the far exit to the hedged ‘room’ they were in. Two Canterlot nobles had just trotted in, laughing and talking about something animatedly. They stopped and bowed when they saw the Princesses, who merely smiled and nodded back. As they left, Celestia looked back at Luna. “Perhaps now is not a good time. Could we talk later?” she asked, and Luna reluctantly nodded.

“I will prove thee wrong, sister,” she called after Celestia as the latter departed.

“Whatever it takes,” the lunar princess added under her breath.

“GOD FUCKING DAMMIT I’M GOING TO SNAP YOUR SPINE IN HALF!” Samson screamed, somewhere off in the distance. Isaac was jolted out of his reverie, and cautiously looked out the window. Seeing Samson merely continuing to duel with the Day Guards, who were by now exhausted and brutally beaten, he sighed and closed the window. Having a brother would clearly take some getting used to… even if that brother had technically been a part of him once.

A distinctly equine scream of pain was heard a few seconds later, and Isaac winced. He really hoped that whatever Samson was doing, it wasn’t too horrendous. None of the guards looked critically injured, at any rate, only beaten and bloody. Isaac returned to his drawings, determined to finish what he had started. Princess Celestia had asked him to draw up all the other versions of himself he knew of, as Samson had stated that ‘more would be arriving shortly’. In addition, he had apparently shown up with none other than the Chest that they had escaped from, carrying the wood-and-metal contraption as though it weighed no more than a matchstick.

Isaac had also decided to include what he could remember of their personalities, which he had mostly based on their various Biblical counterparts. “Let’s see,” he muttered under his breath. “Cain, Judas, Samson, Eve, Maggy, Azazel, Lazarus, Eden and the Lost…” he stopped, rechecking the list silently. Isaac had the oddest feeling that he was missing someone, but couldn’t think for the life of him who it could be. He knew he had intentionally left one out, but according to Samson that one was not even to be mentioned, let alone written about. Isaac grumbled under his breath, unnerved by this feeling of forgetting something. In order to distract himself, he crossed the room to his bed, and opened a study book Luna had given him. And for the next few hours, Isaac was lost in formulas and notes.

Chapter 9: Exposition

“Sister, have you found anything more on Isaac’s alternate selves?” Luna called, walking into her sister’s study and taking a seat by the warm fireplace.

Celestia, who had been sitting there herself, smiled as she draped a wing around the lunar princess, pulling out the Bible from under her other wing. It only seemed to stay put when Isaac was asleep, which made cross-referencing with the human child quite tedious. “Indeed I have. Their stories are quite lengthy, but I’ll give the short versions."

“Cain was one of two sons of Adam and Eve, and the first human to be born naturally. He killed his brother Abel out of envy, and as a result was marked and cursed by God to wander the Earth forevermore.”

“Judas Iscariot was one of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus Christ. His greed was such that he betrayed his own leader, and the rest of the Disciples, for a mere thirty pieces of silver. Afterwards, most traditional interpretations of the story state that he hung himself out of guilt.”

“Mary Magdalene was one of the followers of Jesus, and bore witness to his death and resurrection. Jesus cast seven demons out of her, making her healthy once more, and she became one of his most loyal followers.”

“Eve, as you know, was the second wife of Adam, created from one of his ribs so that she would serve and obey him. Her curiosity led her to commit the Original Sin by partaking of the Tree of Knowledge, and saw her and her husband Adam cast out of the Garden of Eden.”

“Samson was a hero, blessed with immense strength by the Lord to carry out his heroic deeds. However, his strength was only sure as his hair was long, and in his lust he revealed this secret to his unfaithful third wife. Shortly afterward, Samson died, powerless and held captive by his enemies – but not before he had his final revenge.”

“Azazel was an angel, one of the leaders of those who rebelled against God and became fallen angels, though he never fell to demonhood. He taught humans how to make weapons, tools, and jewelry, as well as the art of witchcraft and sorcery. As punishment, God sent down an angel to bind him to the Earth, trapped there until Judgement Day so that he may be cast into holy fire and consumed forevermore.”

“Lazarus was a common follower of Jesus, who lived and died in a small town called Bethany. Four days after his death, Jesus had the stone over Lazarus’ grave removed, and called to him to come out, despite the townsfolks’ protests that the man was deceased. To their amazement, Lazarus did so, dressed in the rags he was wrapped in when he died. Lazarus continued to live for some time afterwards, strong and healthy once more.”

Here Celestia closed the Bible, and turned to her sister. “Here, things get a little murkier. The last two do not have any direct Biblical representation, and even Isaac is not sure of their purpose, though they seem to be intimately related.” Luna nodded impatiently, comparing what she had learned to all she had seen. So far, Samson fit the bill: He was aggressive, scarily strong, and his hair came down to his shoulders. Celestia chuckled, and pulled out a few pieces of paper that Luna recognized as Isaac’s own, handwritten notes, probably from the day before.

“The Lost, as far as Isaac can tell, are pieces of himself: The souls that escaped every time he died in the Basement. Very rarely, it seems, they can return to the Basement, though any harm will instantly end them once more, this time without hope of return. Once ‘dead’, they appear to pass through places unknown, and end up in… Eden.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “But is this ‘Eden’ not a person of their own?”

Celestia nodded. “Though Isaac refuses to say how he knows this, Eden is apparently the collective amalgamation of all those spirits. He could not give numbers, but he estimates that the total amount of souls Eden possesses numbers in the millions, if not more.”

Luna stared, wide-eyed. “So many souls… how could one body command so many?” she asked.

Celestia looked down at Isaac’s notes. “Even Isaac does not know. It seems there is a sort of refuge inside Eden for these souls, something akin to… Heaven.”

Luna stared down at the notes as well, the drawing in the center depicting a white-haired child with glowing white eyes. “Do you think Eden might know of the location of-“ Luna began, but was cut off by Celestia’s hoof.

“Not now, Lulu. This place isn’t safe,” she hissed, and Luna obediently nodded.

Celestia took her hoof away, looking sheepish, and Luna gave her sister a searching look. “So… a sacrifice, a murderer, a traitor, a lover, an inquirer, a hero, a teacher, a follower, a ghost, and a place…” Luna mused.

Celestia nodded again. “Isaac said there were more, though he claims he cannot remember who they were. Perhaps we shall see, in time,” the solar princess concluded, standing up. Princess Celestia quickly left the room, leaving Luna alone with her thoughts as the sun fell like a hellbound angel from the sky.

She was not alone for long, however, as Samson quickly came stomping in. “Moonbutt!” he barked, and Luna quickly stifled her feeling of irritation.

“Yes, Samson?” she replied, sounding as polite as she could. To her surprise, Samson beckoned for her to follow.

He led her down a series of corridors, through parts of the castle Luna had been sure nopony but she, her sister, and a select few guards knew of. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“You know where,” was Samson’s only answer, and her heart sank.

They arrived at a barred steel door, flanked by two guards at the entrance. Their hackles were raised as they pointed their spears inward, and voices could be heard on the other side of the door.

“For the last time, let us out! We’re not going to hurt you!” a young voice cried, while another voice was audibly sniffing.

“What is going on here?” Luna demanded, and one of the guards saluted.

“Princess Luna! We were stationed here as you ordered, and two beings climbed out of that chest. We detained them in the room for the time being, but the child here-“ the guard gestured at Samson, who merely raised his middle finger – “demanded they be released. We refused, and he left to find you,” the guard reported, and Luna briskly nodded.

“Who are you?” she called to the dark, barred room, which fell silent.

There was a moment of complete silence, then Samson sighed irritably. “Chris’sakes, if you’re one of us she’s not going to hurt you, morons! Speak up!”

There was a short chuckle on the other end. “Samson? You got out? It’s Cain and Lazarus,” the voice answered.

Samson raised an eyebrow. “Cain, what do you wear typically?” he asked, and there was a short silence.

“…An eyepatch?” Cain answered, sounding confused.

Samson nodded. “That’s him,” he informed Luna, who nodded.

“Open the door,” she ordered, and the guards hastily removed the giant steel brace.

Out stepped two more children, as naked as Isaac had been when he escaped – which reminded Luna, she needed to have clothes made for Samson as well. One of the boys had nothing on but a black eyepatch, eerily recalling Luna to a certain young colt living in Ponyville. This child, however, was much less energetic, and looked exhausted – this, then, must be Cain. The other boy had short, orange hair that was neatly parted in the middle, and was fairly covered in blood.

“S-sorry,” the orange-haired boy apologized, sniffling slightly as he caught sight of Samson’s and Luna’s shocked expressions.

“Art thou alright?” Luna queried, checking him for injuries. To her surprise, the only one she could find was a small cut on his head, barely noticeable.

“He’s got hemophilia – really hard to get him to stop bleeding,” Samson informed her. Luna’s eyes widened – partially from the severity of the condition, and partially that Samson knew what hemophilia was.

“Get him to the hospital,” she ordered the guards, who made to pull Lazarus away from Cain.

“NO!” Samson roared, springing between them. “Do you have a death wish?” he yelled at Luna. She looked at him, confused and a little frightened by the intensity of his glare. Seeing her confused stare, Samson growled angrily. “Short version: Lazarus is super unlucky, stuff goes horribly wrong around him. Cain’s super lucky, so he balances it out – but only if they’re close enough!” he explained, and Cain nodded, enclosing Lazarus in a protective hug.

Taking a quick, deep breath, Luna weighed her options. “Take them both to the hospital, then. And do not let them out of the others’ sight,” she revised, and the guards escorted Lazarus and Cain out of the room.

As they left, Luna turned to Samson, who was still looking at her with that same annoyed expression on his face. He walked out of the room, Luna at his side.

“Did Isaac not tell you this?” he demanded after a moment of walking, Luna taking the lead this time - it seemed that Samson was only now unsure of where to go.

Luna thought back to the many conversations she and Isaac had had on the intricacies of the Basement. “He mentioned that Cain had higher luck than normal, and Lazarus lower… but he did not mention anything like this,” Luna answered.

Samson sighed. “That kid… more concerned with stats and numbers than real tactical knowledge. No wonder he made… us.” Luna stopped, turning to Samson in surprise. He returned her expression, though accompanied by his customary rudeness. “What, you think we didn’t know? We’re the products of his mind. Hell, he’s the product of his mind too. So’s that,” Samson continued, pointing back in the direction of the Chest, “and everything inside. All the product of an eight-year-old’s twisted, suicidal Biblical nightmare.”

Luna gulped. “Samson, I…” she started, unsure of what to say. At first glance, Samson had seemed a mindless brute, intent only on breaking things and yelling at others. But now, he was showing the barest glimpses of an intelligence that might rival the average adult’s – or perhaps even her own. “How do you know this?” she asked. “You are a child, and yet not a child. And normally, you’re so…” she trailed off, unsure if she wanted to directly insult Samson.

To her surprise, he merely sighed again, shaking a lock of hair out of his face and adjusting his red headband. “Angry? Yeah. I was created to be Isaac’s anger, his wrath, his rage – it’s what I do. That doesn’t mean I’m a stupid brute, though,” he added. “I can be as smart as I goddamn want, and he can’t do shit to stop me.”

Luna smiled. “A wise sentiment, despite its rude nature,” she complimented. Samson smiled up at her, a brief, passing smirk of an expression. Yet another thing he had never shown her before.

“So, how did you know where the Chest was?” Luna asked, after a moment more of walking.

Samson snorted. “We all know where it is, though we can’t exactly give directions. It’s like we’re… drawn to it. We can always find our way back, no matter the obstacles in our way. Isaac can do it too, though he’s asleep at the moment. I should go fix that…” Samson remarked, a glint in his eye that was all too recognizable to Luna. It was the same mischievous glint Celestia displayed whenever she was up to her usual pranks.

Princess Luna giggled. “Go easy on him, he’s still recovering from that incident in the Crystal Kingdom. Two Sins in one day…”

Samson laughed. “Please. He’s going to need to be stronger than that, if we have any hope of escaping this hell for good. Because I can guarantee you, Sins won’t be the worst of his problems, not by a long shot.”

Luna looked at Samson worriedly. “What do you mean?” she asked.

Samson crossed his arms. “Well, think about it. We’ve been in that Basement for who knows how long. Hell, each Gaper and Mulligan probably knows our names and favorite drinks by now. And now, some of us have disappeared – most notably, Isaac himself! Once word reaches the Guardians that we’re escaping, they’re going to come find us and attempt to drag us back. And with the easily noticeable hole in the ceiling of Basement I…” Samson concluded. Luna shuddered – some of the Guardians she had seen in Isaac’s drawings were nightmarish enough to give even her, the Dreamwalker, pause for thought.

They arrived back in the throne room, and Samson immediately made for Isaac’s quarters, Luna tempted to follow after but reminded that she had a duty to perform the night court. Sighing, she took a seat on the throne, a bat-pony secretary depositing a stack of petitions in front of her. For once, work was less stressful than her off time – Luna didn’t even want to think about the prospects of raising the gaggle of children that Isaac had thought up. Not that they were bad, really… but she was already getting distracted.

Cain and Lazarus showed up a few hours later, around midnight. Lazarus was laughing at something Cain had said, though his eyes still spoke of sadness. Luna wished with all her might to hug the poor child, but was afraid of his ‘unlucky’ status – she’d seen enough of the Element of Laughter’s ‘Pinkie Sense’ to infer what might occur if she provoked such an abstract notion. The Princess of the Night was very surprised, therefore, when Cain and Lazarus both hugged her, and after a brief moment she returned the hug warmly.

“Feeling better?” she asked, and Lazarus slowly nodded.

“One of the guards said you were going to be our mom. Is that true?” Lazarus asked, and Luna nodded.

“If you wish it, I shall be your mother,” she answered, and the two boys smiled up at her.

Just then, Samson came stomping in, a disgruntled expression on his face. “Motherfucker wouldn’t wake up!” he burst out, and Luna winced.

“Samson, please control your language,” she called out.

Samson glared up at her, infuriated, but Cain interrupted. “Dude, cool it. She’s trying to help.”

For a second, Luna thought Samson might buy it. To her shock, however, Samson flew at Cain, fist outstretched and an enraged expression on his face. Her surprise only increased when instead of crumpling Cain’s skull as she expected, Samson’s fist bounced off, Cain’s eyepatch briefly glowing white as Samson’s punch rebounded and hit himself.

“Agh, grfraaarr-aah!” Samson cried out, stumbling back and rubbing his face.

“Get that out of your system?” Cain replied coolly.

“I friggin hate that Mark of yours,” Samson grumbled, but made no further move.

Cain shrugged. “Hey, it only works on ‘real’ people anyway. Besides, you deserved that,” Cain pointed out.

“Yeah, just like you deserve a chainsaw up the ass sideways…” Samson muttered under his breath. He glanced up at Cain, who smirked at him. “Okay, okay. Shouldn’t have tried that. I’m sorry,” Samson got out, the words seemingly surprising him as much as everyone else. Luna stared – Samson had just apologized? Almost as if he were aware of the rarity of what he had just said, Samson crossed his arms, blushing and looking away in embarrassment. “Anyway, my point was, Isaac isn’t waking up. Tried shaking him, cold water, screaming, nothing. He’s still alive, last I checked, but that must be one hell of a nightmare,” Samson remarked.

“Does he have the – the thing?” Lazarus asked quietly.

“Yeah, I checked his bag, he’s got it,” Samson replied, his tone surprisingly devoid of rudeness for once.

Luna looked at both of them curiously, but said nothing – perhaps they were referring to the Bible, or one of the other items Isaac had collected so far. “Anyway, I believe it is time for the three of you to retire to bed as well – after the events of tonight, all of you deserve a rest,” Luna declared, standing up and using her magic to pick up Cain and Lazarus.

“Aw, but Mom-!” Samson began to complain, but was silenced by a look from Luna.

“No buts, Samson. You need to sleep sometime,” Luna firmly rebuked.

Looking dejected, Samson followed them to bed, surprising Luna one last time with his obedience – perhaps he too had become tired of the pace of the night’s events. She tucked the three of them into her bed, adjusting their pillows and singing a soft lullaby. Once she was sure they were asleep, she gently closed the door and returned to her Court.

Chapter 10: Revelations

By now, Luna had become used to the constant turmoil of her nightly life. Isaac, of course, was awake only during the latter part of the day and early part of the night, meaning he was equally taken care of by her and her sister. He was, as usual, a very obedient and self-reliant child, and the least demanding of the four who had shown up so far.

Samson, too, was easy to deal with once Luna had learned how. All he really needed was a space where he could break things and commit violence all day long, and he’d be out of the way. This also gave the royal guards some excellent opportunities to practice, and Samson was actually beginning to compliment them on their fighting techniques.

Cain was very quiet, never asking nor wanting for anything. He could often be found walking – in the palace, in the gardens, everywhere he could go. Lazarus walked with him, either unable or unwilling to leave Cain’s side for long. A guard had been assigned to them when they took off as such, and though the guard often complained of just how far Cain could walk, Cain himself never said anything. It reminded Luna of the original story of Cain, and his punishment: “A fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be.” The boy was certainly talkative enough, when pressed, and Luna had quickly discovered that Cain was very good at guessing games.

Lazarus, on the other hoof, was about as quiet and unobtrusive as wallpaper, and almost never spoke. Samson’s warning about Lazarus’ unlucky status rang true, however – the morning after they arrived, Cain had gone off to examine a trophy, and Lazarus had been too distracted to follow. Just a few seconds later, there had been the sound of a crash, and Cain had looked back to find Lazarus buried under a nearby stack of plates and cups a mare had been carrying. Though Lazarus hadn’t been too badly injured, the mare had apologized endlessly for the incident, as well as to the Princesses for the broken china. Princess Celestia had calmly dismissed her apologies, claiming that it had clearly been an accident – but both Princesses knew better.

Isaac had woken up later that day, still sleepy-eyed as he trudged into the dining hall for lunch. Princess Celestia had asked him what his dreams had been about, as Luna had been strangely unable to enter. Isaac had merely shrugged, and replied “Eden is coming.” That had been several hours ago – now it was two hours after sunset, the moon slowly making its way towards its apex, and the Chest had still not opened. Princess Luna waited outside the barred room where the golden box was kept, having forwarded all appointments on her schedule – for this was something she had to see. Eden was one of the two ‘mystery’ characters they knew of so far – nobody had any idea what they were like, and Isaac seemed unable to put it into words. One of the few things that he had told them was that Eden was neither a male nor a female – they simply were. This greatly confused Luna, but she decided to reserve judgement.

Finally, there was the sound of the box creaking open. Luna whipped around so fast she was sure she’d snapped her own neck for a moment, before realizing she had merely given herself whiplash. Grumbling with pain and casting a quick healing spell, she approached the door.

“Hello?” she called out. There was no response. “State your name, whoever is in there,” she demanded after a few more moments of silence.

Hesitantly, cautiously, Luna looked through the small window at eye level and gazed into the cell. Immediately, she withdrew, shocked – Eden was there, their glowing white eyes gazing right back at her.

“Eden?” she asked.

The child was once again silent, and there was a flicker as their hairstyle changed to a pointed spike, sitting atop their head like a rather comical interpretation of a unicorn horn. Unsure of what this meant, Princess Luna tried again.

“Eden? Is that you?” she asked. Slowly, almost so slowly she thought she was imagining things, Eden nodded.

It had taken another hour for Luna to convince Eden to come with her, and in the end she only succeeded by the simple expedient of levitating Eden onto her back. Throughout the whole procedure, Eden was as silent as the grave, which was an unnerving experience for Luna. Finally, she arrived back in the throne room, where Cain and Lazarus had been reading a book together under the watchful eye of a guard.

"How goes it?” Luna inquired as the guard stood up and bowed to her.

“No problems, your Highness,” the guard answered, and Luna nodded.

“Eden has arrived,” she announced to the two other children, who were still engrossed in their book.

Cain barely reacted, but Lazarus looked up. “Eden?” he asked the snow-haired child.

“Lazarus,” Eden answered, Luna nearly dropping them in surprise. Eden’s voice was multi-pitched and many-layered, as if hundreds of slightly different voices were speaking at the same time. Luna could not tell whether Eden was male or female, as the voices seemed to be half of each. Lazarus smiled up at Eden, and Luna gently set the new child on the ground, his close-cropped buzz cut reflecting the moonlight.

“Do you have it, Eden?” Lazarus asked.

Eden nodded. “Just like you asked,” they answered, and seemingly from nowhere produced a white-and-blue triquetra.

Luna gazed openmouthed at the new item – surely this couldn't be what she had been looking for, all those years. The Soul was an insanely powerful artifact, perhaps the most so out of the three legendary triquetras that even Luna had only heard stories about. Perhaps this, like so many Items before it, was merely a fabrication? She had briefly examined the Mind after Isaac had given it to her, only to find that it did not seem to work for her - whatever powers this version had, it had been meant for Isaac alone. It could not be the true Mind, then - that artifact granted its capabilities to all who attempted to wield it. This, then, could not be the actual Soul, either - merely a Basement replica.

“So, that’s two out of three,” Cain asserted, Lazarus meekly nodding.

“Is the other one…” he began, and Cain nodded.

“With any luck, one of the others will manage to steal it from him. Anyway, let’s go wake up Isaac, he’ll want to know about Eden,” Cain declared, standing up.

Without waiting for the other two, Eden immediately set off in the direction of Isaac’s quarters, Luna following close behind. As they went up the stairs, Luna noticed the peculiarity of Eden’s step: They only ever moved in straight lines, usually taking the shortest possible route to his destination. The child didn't even seem to notice as their shoulder-length bangs passed over their eyes, the glowing circles they casted ont the floor occasionally interrupted by the shadow of a stray hair. Cain, on the other hand, preferred to stop by windows, decorations and ornaments as often as possible, with the air of someone who was trying to delay their arrival as long as possible. Lazarus, of course, always followed right behind Cain.

Upon entering Isaac’s room, Luna noticed that Samson’s bed was untouched, indicating that Samson was out and about. Ordinarily, Luna would be worried about this – anything that crossed Samson’s path was liable to get destroyed. However, she had more pressing concerns tonight. Isaac was asleep in his own bed, a look of tranquility on his face as his chest gently rose and fell. Undeterred, Cain gestured to Lazarus, who hesitantly stepped toward Isaac – and away from Cain. Almost immediately, there was a crash, and the window directly over Isaac’s head burst inward as Luna let out a shocked cry.

Isaac awoke to find a wall of pink fur in front of him. “Wha – mpfrgrmph!” he exclaimed in surprise, causing the odd thing covering his face to shiver and giggle.

“Haha, that tickles!” Pinkie exclaimed, rolling off of him and gazing into his eyes with her own baby blues. This finally spurred Princess Luna back into action.

“Pinkie Pie, what art thou – what are you doing here?” the lunar alicorn spluttered, taken aback by the sudden appearance of the party pony.

Pinkie jumped off the bed and cantered over to Lazarus. “I was checking my party caches in Canterlot when I had the oddest feeling! It was like a twitchy-tail from the future, so I went over to where my left eyebrow was pointing and suddenly I realized that I was the twitchy-tail! So I fell over, and ended up here, and sorry about your window, Isaac!” the pink earth pony announced all in one breath.

After taking a moment to process this, Isaac sighed. “That’s okay. Why are all of you here?” he asked, looking around at the large amount of spectators to this unusual scene. When his eyes fell upon Eden’s, Isaac’s mouth fell open, and the two stared at each other, Eden’s serene smile contrasting with Isaac’s shocked expression. Without so much as missing a beat, Pinkie gently placed a chocolate chip cookie in Isaac’s mouth and closed it for him, and Isaac stared cross-eyed at the treat before mentally giving up and munching on it.

“As you can see, Eden has arrived,” Cain announced dryly from the corner.

Pinkie giggled at Isaac’s confused expression as he ate the cookie, then turned over to Lazarus. “Wow, you feel really unlucky! And I don’t mean bad-day-at-the-spa unlucky, I mean twitchy-tail, blinky-eye, full-body-shudder super duper unlucky!” she exclaimed. Lazarus glumly nodded, sniffling slightly. Pinkie stared down at him for a moment, before she clicked her front hooves together, a lightbulb going off over her head. “Gimme onnneee sec…” Pinkie trailed off, digging through her mane. After a second or two of shifting around, her hoof extending farther into her hair than should be possible, she pulled out a four-leaf clover. “This is my super-lucky clover!” she announced, Lazarus gazing up at it with a notably hungry expression on his face.

Cain stared at it apprehensively. “That does feel pretty lucky…” he quietly muttered, and Luna looked over at him in surprise. Cain could tell how lucky things were? Interesting, she thought. Without any further ado, Pinkie pressed the clover into Lazarus’ hands, and stared at him expectantly. Lazarus looked around at the group, who were all watching him as though a bomb might go off, and squared his shoulders. He stepped away from the rest of the group, moving over to the opposite corner of the room from Cain and Pinkie. Isaac edged away from Lazarus worriedly – he knew well the dangers of Lazarus being alone. Princess Luna gazed at Lazarus, still very confused by the sudden turn of events and fully ready to shield the entire group should something happen.

It was a solid minute before Lazarus opened his eyes, and looked around in confusion.

“Nothing… nothing happened?” he wondered out loud.

Pinkie nodded rapidly, and Lazarus broke into a wide grin, one that finally reached his eyes. Immediately, he rushed over and hugged Pinkie, who appeared startled but quickly recovered.

“Thank you!” Lazarus cried aloud, and Pinkie smiled down at him.

“Now stop all those sad feelings. Go be happy!” she ordered, and Lazarus eagerly nodded.

Giggling, Pinkie pranced out the window, and Luna started forward – Isaac’s room was several stories off the ground. Rushing to the window, she spied Pinkie only a few feet below, holding on to a single balloon and gently floating down to the ground. Pinkie looked up at Luna and saluted, and Luna chuckled as she closed the window - strangely, Pinkie had been the least strange encounter she'd had tonight.

“So… If that is all, I think now would be a good time to go to bed,” she informed the four children. Isaac chuckled, and pulled the covers back over himself, and Luna smiled at him.

“Ah ah,” she chided. “Someone has to brush their teeth again after that cookie.”

Isaac grumbled, but did as he was told, heading over to the bathroom. “The rest of you may follow me,” Luna called to the others.

“I think… I think I’ll pass,” Cain objected, his gaze downcast. He turned to Lazarus. “Mind if I walk around by myself for a while?” he asked, and Lazarus shook his head, gaze still wide-eyed and wondrous.

Without so much as a parting good-bye, Cain left the room, and Luna immediately signaled a guard stationed at the door to follow him. Eden, who had not moved during this whole time, watched him go with an expression that almost belied sadness. Somewhat dismayed, Luna led the remaining two children to their room, Lazarus nearly bumping into the door on his way out.

“I can’t believe it,” Lazarus mumbled as Luna tucked him into bed. “No more having to worry about being around others, no more having to follow Cain around…” he trailed off as Luna planted a kiss on his forehead.

“Why don’t you take a day to enjoy yourself tomorrow?” she suggested. Lazarus thought about this a while, and nodded, a growing smile on his face.

“I think… I think I’d like that,” he answered, and Luna chuckled quietly.

She went to turn to Eden, who was gazing at her with the ghost of a smile on their face. “Eden, would you like to go to bed?” she asked, to no response. After a moment of staring, Eden climbed into a nearby bed and pulled the covers up to their spiky, pointed hair before leaning back and staring at the ceiling, their glowing white eyes slightly illuminating the ceiling. Tugging at her collar, Luna made to leave. As she stepped out the door, she caught Eden staring at her. Luna turned around uncertainly, wondering what they wanted.

“We are all pure in the end,” Eden whispered, smiling at her.

Without another word, Luna fled the room.

Samson wandered around what had come to be known as the ‘dark’ part of Canterlot. Here, shady deals were made in darkened alleyways, and black-magic artifacts could be bought and sold if you knew the right ponies. Samson didn’t know the right ponies, but that didn’t stop him from beating the everlasting shit out of those he came across. Any threats of retaliation were usually silenced when Samson threatened to spill just what they had been doing, and it wasn’t like many ponies had the guts to even seek revenge against Samson anyway – the boy was simply too strong for his size. In addition, Samson had discovered something unusual: He could physically break magic, severing the connection between a unicorn’s spell and their horn simply by ripping the trail of magic apart with his hands. Samson didn’t really know how he accomplished this, but wasn’t about to stop and ask questions: He was looking for something, and any tools he gained along the way were simply boons to find the thing faster. Samson stiffened in surprise as he spotted another Child making their way through the streets, and immediately drew them over.

“HEY!” Samson shouted, causing the child to look up in surprise.

Rushing over, Samson was about ready to tackle the kid to the ground when something stopped him: Cain was staring at him, one eyebrow raised in the Wanderer’s unusual expression of surprise.

“Wha – where the hell’s Lazarus?!” Samson demanded of his luckier counterpart.

Cain shrugged. “He got one hell of a Luck Up from some pink pony – whatever it was, he can stand being on his own now. I decided to take a walk, and think about… things,” Cain finished.

Now feeling significantly less hostile, Samson crossed the distance to Cain. “What things?” Samson asked. Samson often thought he knew how Cain felt: Cursed to be alone forever, to wander the Earth and never gain friends. He was Isaac's luck, but also Isaac's loneliness. Samson’s own rude attitude created much the same effect, though he didn’t have Cain’s insane fortune – no, what kept Samson going was rage, pure and simple. He knew Cain would often take long walks, ruminating to himself silently – but even Samson didn’t know precisely what Cain thought about. Cain sighed, and turned his gaze up to the stars.

“Samson… we have a new Mom. She’s the best mother ever. But what about when she finds out who we really are?” he wondered.

Samson stiffened. Ah, hell. This was something he preferred not to think about. “Look, she’ll probably be fine with it. She’s used to us being weird… right?” Samson trailed off.

Cain glanced over at him glumly. “Weird like this?” Samson had no reply, but Cain was on a roll. “And what about when the rest of us show up? What happens then? Isaac doesn’t know, because he’s the only one who wasn’t made aware of who we really are. We all made sure of that,” Cain muttered.

Samson snorted in amusement. “He might be the dominant personality… but damn if we didn’t make him stupid. Sometimes I think we should just tell him, and the ponies. Get it over with, you know?” Samson wondered, and Cain looked at him.

“Heh. Maybe you’re onto something. What’s hiding it gonna do for us?” Cain ventured.

Samson shrugged. “Hey, you’re the lucky one. You’ll do what’s right, or whatever.”

Cain snorted. “Anyway, what’re you out here for?” Cain asked.

Samson looked around, checking for any listeners, before leaning a bit closer to Cain. “I’m planning to go back in and steal it myself. We’re taking too long as it is, and with all the food and training I’ve gotten, I think I can take him,” Samson whispered.

Cain stared at him, an alarmed look crossing the Wanderer’s face. “You sure, Samson? You know who we’re dealing with – he’s going to be good and properly pissed if he figures out what we’re doing. I dunno how we’ve even made it this far…” Cain wondered aloud.

Samson grinned. “I guess you could say we’ve… gotten lucky.”

Cain glared at him, slugging Samson in the shoulder. Samson laughed.

“Anyway, I’ve been trying to find something that can help me get it without being detected. Like, an invisibility cloak or something. No such luck,” Samson muttered, and Cain glanced up at the moon before shrugging.

“Well, I’ve got time. Why don’t we give it a shot together?” he asked, and Samson shrugged amicably. The two children wandered off into the night, laughing and talking.

Deep down, below layers and layers of ever-shifting landscapes and horrifying monsters, a single child sat, alone in his lair. It had been a long time since he’d seen a challenger, and he’d begun hearing strange rumors. Rumors that the Hero, Wanderer, Garden, and worst of all, the Sacrifice had disappeared entirely.

"...בקרוב..."

Author's Note

And now, it is time to play "How Many Hairstyles Can Eden Have in One Chapter?" See if you can find them all!

Chapter 11: Revelations II

“Hello?” a small, dark-skinned child called out.

It was nighttime, and he’d just crawled out of a large wooden box. He was very confused, and more than a little scared. What if the new world didn’t like him? What if all his friends were dead? He noticed the moonlight shining out of an opposite window to the strange room he was in, and gazed in rapture at the sight of the shining sphere. He could hear faint breathing on the other side of the door, but was afraid to call it out again – what if it was some kind of Guardian? Unfortunately for him, the thing jerked awake.

“Who – who goes there?” it asked gruffly.

“I, um – my, my name’s Azazel,” the dark child stammered, instinctively hiding from the newcomer. There was a moment of silence, and Azazel heard the shuffling of paper.

“Yep, yer’ on the list. Gimme a sec, I’ll go summon the Princess. Don’t wander off, now!” the thing on the other side admonished, and Azazel heard footsteps as it left. Oddly, it was making a lot of footsteps – did it have lots of feet?

Princess Luna swallowed nervously as she approached the cell. She had not thought to collect information on Azazel, as she had been assuming the more… human children would escape first. A foolish assumption, yes, but there was nothing to be done now. Hesitantly, she approached the room containing the Chest.

“Hello?” she called out.

Immediately, two small red eyes opened and gazed up at her. For a moment, Princess Luna fell silent as she beheld the child before her.

Her first impression, in all honesty, was to blast him with a beam of lunar magic. Luna had seen plenty of demons in her time, and this was most definitely a demon. And yet… there was something in his face, the guiltless innocence of a child, that made Luna reconsider. This was a part of Isaac… but what part? His sinful nature? His own self-loathing? None of the Basement Children had ever specified just what it was Azazel represented. The Bible was no help on this matter either, as Azazel was biblically a ‘scapegoat’ who, as a fallen angel, was punished for teaching humanity the sinful art of self-beautification, among other things. Princess Luna realized she was staring at the demon child, and hastily made to introduce herself.

“Greetings, young one. I am Princess Luna, the Royal Princess of the Night, Raiser of the Moon and Guardian of Dreams. I have been expecting you,” she stated. She’d never been quite able to match Celestia’s warm, motherly tones when greeting strangers, but Luna thought she’d made a good attempt.

Azazel smiled up at her, revealing his jagged, pointy teeth. “Are my friends here? Cain, and Samson, and Lazarus? Maggy told me they were here… wherever ‘here’ is,” Azazel added, looking around curiously at the moonlit room.

Luna bit her lip, thinking about what he had just said. For starters, she had only recently come to realize that the Children had some means of communicating while inside the Basement, even though Isaac and the others had explicitly stated that no two had ever met in person – until now, that was. Secondly, she was remorseful every time a child mentioned their absence from the world – and Azazel seemed to be under the impression that the Basement was the entire world.

“Yes, they are here as well. To answer your other question... You are free, Azazel. You have escaped the Basement, and I am taking you to meet your friends right now,” Luna continued, unlocking the door. There was a dry flap of wings, and to her surprise Azazel flew out, his bat-like wings rustling as he perched on the window.

“I have so many questions…” he murmured, his bloodred eyes gazing up at the moon. Luna trotted over to him and gazed up at tonight’s creation, fondly looking over some of her favorite stars.

“And I shall do my best to answer all of them. But first, if you would follow me?” she asked, holding open the door to the hallway beyond. Azazel swallowed nervously, and nodded.

Thankfully, Luna didn’t have to worry about many ponies seeing Azazel – it was the middle of the night, after all, and she did not receive many petitioners. Even now, ponies were still nervous about approaching her – though, really, that was more her fault than theirs. She had made it very clear, early on, that she would not suffer through endless ridiculous requests like her sister – if a petitioner was to arrive at her court, they had better have a serious issue.

They entered the throne room, and Luna did a double-take – Eden was standing in the exact center of the room, gazing directly at them.

“Hello, Eden,” Luna called out.

True to form, Eden slowly nodded and made no other comment. Once their eyes fell upon Azazel, Eden smiled slightly, and left the room, their hairstyle changing to what oddly reminded Luna of the pictures of ‘punk-rock’ she’d had to peruse when she returned from the moon.

“Eden is weird,” Azazel remarked once the snow-haired child had left, and Luna stifled a giggle – finally, someone had said it.

Luna had been about to send a guard to see if there was extra lodgings available for Azazel, but she was interrupted by the soft opening of the castle doors. Shiftily looking about him, Samson slipped into the room, freezing when he caught sight of Luna.

“Uh…” Samson trailed off, and Luna approached him sternly.

“And just where have you been?” she asked.

Samson swallowed nervously. “Uh… taking a night walk?” he answered, giving a guilty grin.

Luna narrowed her eyes. “And perhaps more importantly… where is the guard I assigned to you?”

Samson looked around, as though hoping the guard would pop out of a doorway and say 'Here I am!'. “He’s… uh… resting?” he tried.

Luna snorted, and Samson hung his head. “I hope you had a good reason for making me worry so,” she chastised, and Samson jerked his head up.

“I did!” he answered, standing upright for a moment before looking away. “I mean, um, I… no. I didn’t. I’m sorry.” In response, Luna pointed a hoof in the direction of his bedroom, and Samson glumly trod in that direction, muttering “Hello, Azazel” as he passed by the two of them. But as he stepped through the door, Luna could have sworn she caught a smile on his face before he left.

Ordinarily, Luna would wonder what Samson could be hiding – normally the only one who was out at night was Cain, and he was unlikely to ever be accosted anyway, owing to his luck. However, she still had to deal with Azazel. Luna turned back to the demon child to say something else, but her words fell on empty air – Azazel had already followed Samson. Luna sighed, and trotted after them – with any luck, they’d pretend to be sleeping, like normal children.

Of course, this was not to be. Luna heard the two talking almost as soon as she approached, and cast a quick spell on her hooves to make herself utterly silent. Carefully, she pressed an ear to the door, hating herself for spying on her children but seeing no other option.

“-you were doing? She cares about you, can’t you see that?” Azazel asked.

Samson groaned. “I know, Zazy! I know, and that’s why I hate it. But we have to do this, otherwise we’re gonna be up to our goddamn necks in problems!”

Azazel gave a small ‘hmph’, and Luna judged by the sounds that he had crossed his arms defiantly. “You can do it with her, you know! Instead of all this secrecy. She’s a princess, surely she would help!”

Samson snorted with amusement. “Yeah, right. If she’s anything like our last Mom, the second she sees us getting hurt she’ll ban us from doing anything.” There was the sound of someone shifting, and Luna adjusted her position by the door – Isaac had woken up.

“Wuzzgoinon?” he asked sleepily, and there was a moment of silence.

“Nothing, Isaac. Go back to bed,” Samson said after a moment.

“Ah… okay…” Isaac bemusedly answered, and turned over in his bed.

Samson and Azazel waited for a moment to make sure he was asleep again, and resumed their conversation. “So, anyway, what were you up to? Were there Items out there we needed?” Azazel asked.

Samson chuckled. “Nah, this place is completely different from the Basement. I’ll fill you in tomorrow so Luna doesn’t trip over herself explaining stuff, but I wasn’t out looking for an Item. Well… not one of our items at least. I was getting an Invisibility Cloak,” Samson informed Azazel.

“What’d you need that for? Unless… oh my God, Samson, you can’t be serious,” Azazel moaned, slapping a claw to his forehead.

There was silence for a moment, and Luna decided that this would be a good time to intervene. She opened the door and stepped into the room, both children staring at her in shocked silence. “You know, if you needed my help with something, you were more than welcome to ask,” Luna began, almost enjoying the flabbergasted look on Samson’s face. “And no, I shall not ‘ban’ you from doing this thing. If it is important enough that you children are working together, then I as your mother think it is important enough to warrant my assistance as well.” Finished, she took a seat on the floor in front of them, casting a soundproofing spell over Isaac – Samson and Azazel noticeably relaxed as she did so. “So, my children, what do you need help with?” Luna asked, looking up at them.

Samson was still looking at her with the utmost expression of shock on his face, and Azazel… Azazel was giving her the most heartbreaking, teary-eyed smile his tiny little face could muster. Finally, Samson took a deep breath, hopped off his bed, and took a seat across from her.

“Okay,” Samson began. “I guess I can tell you. But not a word to Isaac, understand? It’s critical that he does not know about any of this, and I will tell you why,” he promised, his fingers making the shape of a cross over his chest. Luna didn’t know what the gesture meant, but she assumed it was something like a Pinkie Promise, and nodded. Samson took another deep breath, and began.

“What Isaac knows is that we each represent a part of him: His kindness, his rage, his protectiveness, his wit, his intelligence, and so on. What he doesn’t know, at least not yet, is that there were a few of us created that didn’t exemplify any of his characteristics,” Samson began. “One of these was Eden. You see, every time one of us… dies… we start over in the Basement anew. However, we get a brand-new soul each time, with one of our personalities and memories. And all those souls have to go somewhere, so they go to Eden. None of us know what it’s like in Eden, except for Isaac – apparently he’s been, and left. He said it was ‘nice’,” Samson grumbled, and Luna smiled at his aggravation - she too, wished Isaac would be more specific. A thought occurred to her, and she frowned.

“But if you get a new soul each time you die… are you really Samson?” she asked, and Samson looked at her.

“For all intents and purposes, we are all figments of Isaac’s imagination. What does it matter which particular bit of ghost I got? I’m still Samson, and that is how I plan to stay,” Samson asserted.

Luna could argue the point, but she was far too curious to hear the rest of the story, so she merely nodded.

“Another ‘character’ that doesn’t represent anything is the Lost. They’re just escapees from Eden, each armed with a single coin, and aren’t really important. Finally…” Samson trailed off. He looked around the room, and brightened as he apparently spotted something. Luna watched as he crossed to the wall of the room that had been covered by Isaac’s drawings, and Samson carefully selected a particular few, laying them in front of Luna. “This, we call the Blue Baby. He’s…” Samson trailed off again.

“God,” Azazel spoke up, and Luna looked at him in surprise.

“Come again?” she asked, and Azazel cleared his throat.

“He’s literally God, down there. He controls everything, he started all of this,” Azazel explained. “Dunno if he’s the real God from the Bible, but all of us fear him as if he was.”

Samson nodded. “He’s the only one of us to have become a Guardian aside from Isaac himself.”

Luna raised her eyebrows. “Isaac was a Guardian?” she asked. Guardians were typically huge monsters, like the Duke of Flies or the Four Horsemen… or Mom.

Samson nodded again. “An angelic form of Isaac guards the Cathedral, and once he is defeated, those of us who picked up the Polaroid may access the Chest and fight… Him. But we’re getting off topic… Anyway. The only time Isaac ever met this guy, the poor kid was too shocked to speak. You can tell by the name given to Him that Isaac has no idea what to make of His appearances – and given that Isaac created our entire world using only his imagination, that’s a pretty impressive feat.”

Luna looked over the name given to this ‘Blue Baby’ – Isaac had simply labeled it with three question marks. “So this… God… I assume that you do not want him to escape the Basement?” she asked, and Samson nodded once more.

“But if he tries to get out here, there’s no stopping him. He makes the rest of us look like… well, like little kids. He’d kill all of you in an instant, if it weren’t for one thing,” Samson remarked, looking over at the sleeping Isaac.

Luna followed his gaze. “Isaac? But how is he keeping such a powerful entity at bay?” Luna asked curiously.

“Ignorance,” Azazel simply answered. “Isaac, for all his imaginative power, knows so little about the Blue Baby that it cannot use much of its power against him, or us. It’s just as trapped as we were…” Azazel shuddered for a moment before continuing. “And it is mad as hell about that.”

Luna swallowed nervously. She’d read the stories of the Biblical God. He could be nice, helping His people to understand the world He was giving them. On the other hoof… He’d murdered entire villages, committed genocide, and been as cruel and unforgiving as Satan himself. The Bible stated that it was all for the greater good, but Luna most certainly did not want to face this being either way. “So, what is your plan to confront it?” she asked.

Samson smirked. “In His hubris, he gave us the weapons we needed to destroy Him for good.” Samson crossed over to Isaac’s backpack, and pulled out a familiar yellow-and-white triquetra.

Luna reeled as the implications hit her: She had imagined all along that Isaac’s ‘Mind’ artifact was simply a replication of the true thing made semi-real, as so many of his Items had been. But this was no mere imaginative mockery of one of the Godlike Artifacts, those legendary triquetras whose stories had been told throughout Equestrian history. This was the real thing. “Then, Eden…” she stammered, and Samson nodded.

“Eden possesses the Soul, hiding it from detection simply by spreading its power out over the billions of souls contained within. And there’s one more piece to this puzzle, the last one we need in order to stand a chance of putting Him down permanently,” Samson continued.

“The Body,” Luna answered, and Azazel nodded.

“Together, they are the Trinity: the power to know anything, do anything… and be anything. This Trinity is represented in turn by their chosen carriers: Isaac, whose imagination created an entire world of torment for him; Eden, whose soul is so bright that it needs to be hidden deep within the darkness; and Him, who would cling to the last remnant of His once-great power – his raw physical abilities,” Azazel concluded.

“But He does not have the Body on him, as he didn’t think he needed to,” Samson continued. “It’s simply in the Basement, waiting for somebody to pick it up. The rest of us were ordered to make a few quick passes through looking for it, and then haul themselves up here to meet up with those of us that are already here, but nobody’s found it yet and we’re running out of time,” Samson added.

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Running out of time? Why?” she asked, and Samson snorted.

“Think about it. Seven powerful demons want Isaac dead. Once he defeats them, who’s going to come after him next?” Samson asked, and pulled out another picture. Luna’s heart sank as she read the caption.

“Satan,” she whispered. Samson nodded slowly, with the air of a patient teacher.

“And once he’s defeated, that only leaves one last adversary in the way of Isaac’s freedom,” Samson added, pointing again to the picture of ???. “We need to get those artifacts… and we need to start training Isaac up for the battles ahead. So far, he’s survived through a combination of sheer dumb luck and ingenuity, but that’s not going to hold out forever, even with the rest of us helping.”

At this moment, there was a short tap on the window, and Samson immediately crossed over and opened it, the moonlight shining into the room. Thankfully, Isaac was still under the effects of Luna’s sleeping spell, and did not stir. Luna watched bemusedly as Cain climbed into the room, but then a thought occurred to her.

“This tower is several stories up… Cain, did you climb up here?” she asked.

Cain gave a small smile and nodded, and Luna debated on whether or not to bother lecturing him. “So, what’re we doing?” he asked as he took a seat in between Samson and Azazel. “I see Azazel’s joined the party, are we catching him up on life out here?” Cain asked, and Samson guiltily waved his hand in a so-so fashion.

“Well, actually…” he started, but trailed off as Cain gave him a look. “We told her,” he muttered, and Cain stared at Luna in surprise.

“So – you know everything?” he asked Luna.

Luna shrugged. “Only that you are up against what for all intents and purposes appears to be YHWH himself-“ she began to answer, but was cut off by a small scream from Azazel, whose hands had immediately clamped over his ears and whose face was now scrunched in pain.

After a moment of shaking, Azazel finally took his hands away from his ears, breathing raggedly. “Please – don’t – say – His name – again,” Azazel panted, and Luna worriedly nodded. It seemed demons from Isaac’s time had much the same affliction as the demons she’d met – they could not bear to hear the true name of their Creator.

“My apologies, I wasn’t thinking,” she soothed, sweeping Azazel into a hug. From the looks Samson and Cain were giving her, Luna could have just murdered an entire family of puppies. She gave them an apologetic look as well, and continued hugging Azazel close to her as the fallen angel cried into her chest.

“So, is there anything else?” she asked, and Samson shrugged.

“That’s about everything. My mission was to find an Invisibility Cloak, go down there, and use Isaac’s D6 to find and steal the Body, along with some rope so that I could go up floors and not have to reset.”

Luna smartly nodded, gently setting Azazel on a bed before standing up. “You’ll need far better than a Cloak to avoid detection down there, and I have just the thing. As for rope… I shall see what my guards can find,” Luna offered, and Samson gratefully nodded as he followed Luna out of the room.

For a moment, Cain stared at them leaving, then shrugged and climbed into the bed next to Azazel. “Hell, that was easy,” the Wanderer muttered, and Azazel chuckled.

“I think I’m going to like it here,” the Scapegoat sang softly, gazing up at the starlit ceiling of the room.

Cain smiled at the reference - ancient even by their standards. “Yeah, you will. This place is nice, and Princess Mom is a lot better than the old Mom. I just wish Lazarus could have as much fun as Samson or Isaac does…” Cain sadly remarked, gazing over at Lazarus’ sleeping form.

The Follower had been asleep the entire conversation, never once stirring nor waking despite their volume. By all accounts, Lazarus was simply too tired to enjoy himself – his anemic condition meant he would undergo periods of fatigue very frequently. Azazel looked over at Lazarus thoughtfully.

“Maybe we could do something for him. Like a… like a celebration, or something,” Azazel wondered out loud.

Far away, in the sleeping heart of a small town, a certain pink pony stirred and grinned in her sleep.

Chapter 12 - Contention

Samson followed Princess Luna down a corridor he had been down a few times before, the morning light glimmering and hurting his still-sleepy eyes. This passage led to the royal armory, where Samson had once spent a solid two hours teaching the guards how to craft makeshift weapons, after one had complained about lugging around his sword. Samson grinned at the memory, causing a nearby Royal Guard to twitch nervously in the middle of saluting the Princess. Luna, for the most part, was giving off her usual regal and stoic demeanor, though every now and then she’d sneak a glance at Samson.

“Something up?” Samson inquired after the fourth repetition of this, and Luna stiffened.

“Nay,” she carefully answered.

She levitated open the door to the royal armory, and ushered him inside, quickly closing the door behind him. Samson looked around – it looked the exact same as last time. There were a few different doors, lockers, and such dedicated to various aspects of the Royal Guard. A mare with a clipboard saluted the instant she saw the Princess of the Night.

“What may I do for you, Princess Luna?” she asked, and Princess Luna smartly nodded at her.

“We wish to peruse our own armory,” she informed the mare, who led them to an unassuming door, fumbling with a set of keys in her hoof. Once the mare had unlocked the door, she bowed and dismissed herself.

Samson gazed upon Luna’s personal armaments – now this was more like it. Piles of blades were stashed in a corner, some of which looked like they were meant to be fitted on wingtips. Various necklaces, hoofbands, and rings were in another corner, and Samson guessed that these were magically enchanted. Finally, there was a coatrack, featuring various cloaks and regalia in a surprisingly organized fashion compared to the rest of the room.

“Now, where is it…” Luna muttered to herself as she trotted down the row of cloaks, before selecting an unobtrusive black one.

Samson watched as she put it on, and disappeared from view. He scanned the room, focusing on hearing and even smell to attempt to find her. She phased into view right in front of him, and Samson jerked back for a moment before smiling.

“Perfect,” he complimented, grinning.

Luna smiled, and took off the garment, holding it up in the air with her magic. “My very own Cloak of Night,” she explained as she levitated the cloak to Samson. “We used to use it in the olden days against… demons.” Luna trailed off, unfortunately reminded of Azazel.

Samson nodded smartly. “Good thing there are a lot of demons down there,” he muttered. “Now, about that rope. I was thinking we use something that’s so damn out-of-place, the Basement won’t know what to do with it and won’t affect it. Thoughts?” Samson asked, and Luna considered this.

“Our plan was to have Isaac draw it up as an official Item, and describe its use appropriately. However, if what he hath been telling me about “item charging” is correct, this may prove problematic – we shall try your idea.”

Moments later, she had acquired a piece of steel cable, enchanted to be bright blue in coloration. “These are used to build our modern trebuchets, as well as in a variety of construction equipment. It is strong, thick, and should be easily visible if what Isaac described of the Basement is correct.”

Samson nodded, taking the heavy coil of steel cable from her. “Alright. So, I’ll just have to find the Body, and report back as soon as possible. Let’s do this,” Samson muttered under his breath.

“Good luck, Samson. May Faust guide you,” Luna called after him as Samson exited the room.

Samson fairly sprinted down the dark corridors, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. Along the way, he couldn’t hide his nervous facial expression – he was going back. To the Basement. Of all the Children, Samson was the most bloodthirsty – but the prospect of being stuck for eternity wasn’t a thrilling one. He reached the room with the Chest, startling the guard in front of it.

“Hi, need to get through here. Luna’s orders,” Samson explained, and wrenched open the steel door guarding the chest.

“That was locked-!” the guard began, but a glare from Samson silenced him.

“Do I look like I have time for your bullshit? I’m busy saving your ass from eternal damnation, be grateful,” Samson answered, bending the length of steel coil like it was cooked spaghetti and tying it to a bar on the once-locked steel door. Flinging open the Chest, Samson dropped the rest of the rope down.

“Ow!” a voice yelled, and Samson looked down in some surprise.

“Who’s down there?” he called warily.

“Eve and Maggy, you dipshit! What the hell is this thing?” Eve called back, her cadence unmistakable.

“It’s okay, you’ll be fine,” Maggy could be heard soothing.

“Anyway, it’s important, but I can’t use it if you idiots are holding the door open on Mega Satan’s place. Here, climb up,” Samson called, and there was the sound of shuffling and struggling.

The two girls spilled out, and Eve picked herself up off the floor before slapping Samson across the face. “That was for my face, bitch,” Eve informed him, rubbing a rectangular mark on her forehead.

“Yeah, whatever. Move,” Samson ordered, having coiled up the steel cable. Eve ushered Maggy out the door, looking around at the new world she had just found herself in, and Samson shut the Chest before opening it. Looking down, Samson smiled as he saw the Basement floor hundreds of feet below. “Awesome. You two, go find the blue pony with wings and a horn. She’ll set you up, she’s our new Mom, and she’s decent,” Samson quickly explained before jumping down.

Eve and Magdalene looked at each other, shrugged, and looked at the guard who was still in the room, eyes wide in shock. “Any idea on where to find this blue pony with wings and a horn?” Eve asked dryly. The guard pointed a hoof, and the two girls sauntered off.

Maggy was the first to spot Princess Luna, admiring a painting down an unused corridor a different guard had directed them to.

“Hello?” she called out, and Luna looked over in surprise.

“Oh! You must be Magdalene and Eve,” she noted. “I am Princess Luna, and I have been… looking after your siblings. Come, Lazarus, Cain and Azazel should be still awake.” Princess Luna trotted off, and Eve and Maggy hesitantly followed.

The usual explanations were made along the way – Princess Luna had practically rehearsed the speech by now, and Maggy and Eve weren’t paying much attention anyway. Instead, they gazed out the window, making comments such as “That’s the moon!” and “This looks like the Cathedral, but more colorful”. Luna wasn’t paying attention to what she was saying either – her mind was focused on Samson, and whether he’d be okay. True, she’d seen him rip apart steel with his bare hands, demolish the pride of the Royal Guard in less than a day, and lift objects many times his bodily weight, but part of Luna still worried about him getting hurt. She was unaccustomed to such a feeling, as normally her rational side won out in these kinds of debates. Then again, she’d never had children before – they had always struck her as too innocent. Too like she had been, before the Fall.

Lazarus and Azazel were playing cards when Luna entered their rooms, and from the looks of things, Lazarus was winning. This surprised Luna – wasn’t Lazarus supposed to be the unlucky one? True, he had the clover he’d gotten from Pinkie Pie on him at all times, but it didn’t seem to fully counteract his bad luck – he still tripped often, got cuts which had to be treated quickly before his anemia caused him to lose too much blood, and was generally the source of most breaks and mishaps around the castle. However, Cain had assured her many times that this was not nearly the full extent of Lazarus’ negative luck, and the four-leafed clover seemed to be successfully counterbalancing most of it.
Returning her attention to the four children in front of her, Luna noticed that Eve and Maggy had already introduced themselves while she was lost in reverie.

“Where is Isaac?” she asked, after an appropriate pause in the conversation had been reached. Azazel pointed outside, and Luna crossed to the window to behold Isaac and Cain, barely visible in the courtyard below. Cain appeared to be training Isaac, the two shooting tears at one another in a furious war of attrition. Luna nodded smartly, recalling Samson’s lectures, and turned back to find Eve and Maggy staring at her. “So, didst thee bring any items when thou escaped the Basement?” Luna asked, and both girls nodded.

“Yum Heart, Dead Bird, and Whore of Babylon,” Eve recounted, sounding bored. Luna grimaced, and Eve raised an eyebrow at her. “What, you don’t like it when I say ‘whore’?” she asked, and Luna hesitantly nodded.

“Tis’ not a very… polite word,” Luna admonished, feeling oddly out of place.

Eve rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just don’t go all Lilith on me,” she responded, and Luna raised both eyebrows. Who was ‘Lilith’? None of the Basement Children had ever mentioned a ‘Lilith’.

“Do you always talk like Isaac does?” Maggy asked, and Luna suppressed a giggle.

“Nay, we art not supposed to. But it is our preferred method of speech. We may stop, if thou wouldst like…?” Luna asked, and Eve stared at her.

“You’re… asking us for permission?” the raven-haired child asked skeptically. Luna nodded, and Eve turned to Lazarus.

“Is this normal?” she whispered, despite Luna being mere feet away from her. Lazarus nodded.

“Nothing like the old Mom,” he replied, and Eve pondered this for a moment before shrugging.

“O…kay… sure, you can keep your speech quirk,” Eve answered, and Luna brightened.

“Excellent! At any rate, dinner is at seven o’clock, and we beseech that you girls join us!” Eve turned to Azazel inquiringly, who put down his cards and smiled.

“Do it, girl. After the Basement food, you’ll be loving this.”

Lazarus, meanwhile, was staring at Azazel’s cards. “Hey… you’ve changed your cards all to ones and twos!” he accused, and Azazel stiffened.

“Um… yes?” he answered.

Luna examined the game they were playing. It was popular among young colts and fillies, and victory relied on the highest card numbers in the deck. Azazel was cheating… to lose? Maggy laughed, and punched Azazel in the shoulder.

“Do you ever stop trying to make others feel better?” she asked, and Azazel ducked his head under a leathery wing, blushing and grinning.

Luna suddenly recalled Samson telling her that each Child represented a part of Isaac’s total personality, and in that moment she knew exactly what part Azazel represented. She’d seen such behavior before, in a certain yellow pegasus. Azazel was Isaac’s kindness.

She gave the small demon a warm smile, and Azazel gave her one in return, two stubby fangs poking out from his upper lip. Once again, Luna was reminded of Fluttershy, recalling a picnic she had been on with the timid yellow pegasus some time ago. Apparently, picnics were a very friendship-oriented activity, and Luna felt she needed to ‘break the ice’, as Celestia would have said, with some sort of friendly gesture to the three newest Children.

“We were thinking…” Luna began, and all four children turned to her. “Perhaps we could have a picnic later today? It has been some time since we have left the castle, and a small break in pace would be nice.”

She neglected to add that she was beginning to lose track of all the children she was supposed to be watching, and a picnic would be a nice chance to get most of them in one place.

“Oh wow, a picnic. Have we ever been on a picnic, Eve?” Maggy asked, and Eve tapped her chin in thought.

“Hmm… I can only remember one, and it was that awful Christian one. There was more praying than eating, and the pastor kept yelling at us for drawing while he was talking.”

Luna looked at them askance – Eve and Maggy hadn’t existed before the Basement, had they? How could they remember a picnic?

Seeing her confused stare, Eve smiled. “We used to all be one person, remember? Each of us got some of his memories. Isaac got the least, because of that weird plan we’re all supposed to be doing, but the rest of us got a smattering.”

Luna nodded in comprehension. “Very well. How about… how about we schedule the picnic for noon, out in the castle grounds?” she asked, and three of the four children chorused their agreement.

Azazel, however, looked up inquisitively. “Don’t you have to sleep soon?” he asked, and Luna smiled.

“We can stay up for months at a time if necessary. We’ll be fine,” she soothed, and Azazel reluctantly accepted this. With that, Luna stood up and trotted out of the room, running over her planned arrangements in her head.

She walked into the throne room, to find her sister deep in conversation with a noble. “Oh? What brings you here at such a late hour, Luna?” Princess Celestia asked, and Luna smiled.

“We – that is, I am planning to take the children on a picnic later today. Have you seen the castle chef?” she asked, and Celestia nodded.

“I was just conversing with him about the excellent casserole he prepared last night – one of the rare few vegetarian griffon recipes, apparently. He’s in the downstairs kitchen, sister.” Luna nodded, and inwardly grinned. The only reason the head chef would visit the downstairs kitchen was if Celestia were indulging her sweet tooth again, as it had a dumbwaiter that delivered directly to the throne room.

Just an hour later, they were all ready for the picnic. Luna and two guards led the children out into the grounds, choosing a particularly sunny spot – she seemed to remember picnics worked best in sunny places. Cain and Lazarus were laughing about something, while Maggy fussed over a cut Eve had somehow gotten. Azazel was talking to Isaac, the former looking as nervous and shy as ever. Finally, Luna sat down and spread the tarp out, before opening the picnic basket the royal chefs had cooked and selecting a plate. “Everyone gather round, I shall distribute the sandwiches,” she announced. Lazarus immediately rushed over, followed by Cain, Isaac, Azazel, and finally Eve and Magdalene. They each took a sandwich, and began sitting down and hungrily consuming the contents. Eve and Magdalene were instantly lost in the bliss of non-Basement food, and the other three giggled as the two girls scarfed down the sandwiches in the space of seconds.

Luna, on the other hoof, was distinctly worried by the children’s ravenous appetites – she had not expected them to eat so quickly. From there, this turned to thoughts of a Sin she had not yet seen – Gluttony. According to the Bible, it was “consumption to excess,” usually involving but not limited to food. “Perhaps we should slow down a bit,” Luna commented out loud, unsure if she was coming across as rude or not. To her relief, the children simply giggled, and obediently took more time with their food, the two girls having already acquired more sandwiches. Luna internally breathed a sigh of relief, and went back to her original train of thought. It was becoming more and more obvious to her that she had no idea how to take care of children – she had simply jumped into this whole ‘adoption’ thing with nary a regard to the consequences. It was most unlike her – Luna prided herself on being a very rational, calculating princess. She supposed she had simply been moved by Isaac’s plight and similarities to her own problems, but something nagged at her all the same. And in that moment, Luna realized what it was.

It was regret.

She regretted taking on the responsibilities of such children, and regretted not learning about rearing foals and how to treat them, and not learning more about humanity. But most of all, she regretted that she even felt this way, that she should think of these human children as less individuals and more a collective responsibility on her part. Did this make her a poor mother?

Luna snapped out of her self-pity to find that Eve was tugging at her withers.

“What is it, Eve?” she asked, coming back to her senses.

“Um. Have you seen Azazel?” Eve asked nervously.

Luna looked around, and did a quick head count. Isaac, Maggy, Cain, Lazarus, Eden (when had they shown up?)…

Where was Azazel?

Chapter 13: Retention

Azazel rapidly flew down the streets of Canterlot, puffing as he weighed his options. Taking to the skies was not an option, as the pegasus guards were faster than he was. He’d only managed to evade them so far by clever use of alleyways and road hazards, but he couldn’t keep this up forever. He certainly couldn’t attack them – they weren’t evil. They were just scared. Of him. A choked sob rose to Azazel’s throat – he’d always known this would happen. Of the Basement Children, he was the only one that could be recognized from a distance, owing to his dark coloration and demonic features. It was too easy for others to ostracize him, to treat him as something less than human. He might have represented Isaac’s kindness, but nobody could possibly guess that from his appearance – a fact the fallen angel knew all too well from his brief stint in the palace. He hadn’t said anything, but he knew the meanings of the looks the nobles and even Luna had been giving him. They wanted him gone, and if he hadn’t been needed, Azazel would have heeded their unspoken advice the moment he received it. “Please, stop!” Azazel called over his shoulder as he flew away, but the pegasi chasing him paid no heed. They had one mission, and one mission only: Chasing a demon out of Canterlot. They’d spotted him when he’d gone over to examine a stone on the ground, conveniently just out of sight of the others, and had immediately given chase. Azazel had been tempted to fly back to Luna and the other Children for protection, but his inner voice chose this moment to viciously remind him that they probably wouldn’t even defend him anyway. For who could love a demon?

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…” Eve mumbled, frantically looking around and even overturning stones. Cain was glaring around, squinting as he tried to search for the demon child, and Lazarus was even making an effort by peering into the hedges. Princess Luna, meanwhile, was nearly panicking as she started casting spells to locate her child. Finally, she obtained a result – Azazel’s magical signature was extremely faint, but had last been picked up on the outskirts of Canterlot. But what in Equestria was he doing all the way out there? Luna grimaced – she would likely have to discipline Azazel for this, something she dreaded doing. He was simply too innocent to deserve the tongue-lashing she was likely to give. But now was not the time for such thoughts – right now, she needed to find her child.

“This way!” Luna commanded, and as one the Children followed.

They found Azazel at the back end of an alleyway, cowering in fear as two pegasi guards advanced on him with spears. “N-no… please! I didn’t do anything!” Azazel cried.

“It doesn’t matter, your kind’s not welcome here,” the guard nearest to him answered, spear levitated over his head.

Just as he was about to toss it down and end Azazel’s life, the spear was hit by a bolt of blue magic and promptly detonated, the two royal guards and Azazel stumbling back in shock.

“Royal Guards, STAND DOWN!” Luna shouted, the very ground quaking with the power of her Canterlot Voice.

The two guards immediately saluted, the first attempting to shoulder his weapon before realizing that it was only so many atoms floating in the breeze. “Princess Luna, ma’am! Just disposing of this pest!” the second guard nervously exclaimed, standing stock still.

Hackles bared, Princess Luna advanced on him. “That. ‘Pest’. Is. My. Son,” she viciously exclaimed. “Were you not informed of this fact? Briefed time and time again, Swift Spear, that this child was under no circumstances to be harmed?” she spat, bearing down on him with enough ferocity to make even Cain step back in alarm.

“You – you were serious about that, ma’am? I thought – I thought that was some kind of joke, when you started showing us those foal’s drawings…” the guard trailed off at Luna’s expression, which could have easily liquefied steel at this point.

“Perhaps you’ll think it is less of a joke at your quarters. DISMISSED!” she shouted, and the two guards promptly fled the scene.

That done, Princess Luna approached Azazel, who cowered before her. “D-don’t…” Azazel mumbled, quivering. He emitted a startled squeak when Luna swept him into a hug, her wings wrapping around him protectively.

“We are so sorry we lost thee… did they hurt you?” Luna whispered.

“N-no… are you mad at me?” Azazel sniffled.

Luna shook her head vigorously. “We could never be mad at you, never ever. Please believe us – we love you, Azazel.”

This was the final straw: Azazel collapsed into her withers, crying his eyes out, and even the Children around them started to tear up.

“That was… oh, man, that was downright moving,” Cain sniffled.

Isaac was outright crying, but he was smiling, and politely directing his tears at the ground. Maggy, for whatever reason, had a smug smile on her face as she stared at Eve, who simply blew a strand of hair away from her face, grimaced, and looked away.

By the time they got back to the picnic, the sandwiches had already been waylaid by crows, and Luna shooed them off.

Eve, looking oddly surly at this, turned to Azazel. “Hey… do you feel that?” she asked, and Azazel paused.

“Feels like a… aw, dammit,” he muttered under his breath.

“What?” Luna asked, feeling left out.

“There’s a Sin somewhere around here,” Azazel answered, and Luna paled.

“Which one?” she asked, going through the list of Sins they had not yet encountered.

Azazel sniffed the air, narrowing his eyes. “Gluttony, I think.”

Cain glared with his one eye off into the distance. “That fat peanut bastard…” the Wanderer grumbled.

Luna’s eyes widened – Gluttony had shown up? The children had been quite ravenous when they were eating, but they’d each only had one or two sandwiches. Who, then, had summoned this Sin?

“Should we go after him?” Isaac wondered.

Eve rolled her eyes. “Gee, no, we should stay here and continue the picnic. Come on, everyone, we got a Sin to wreck.”

There were various murmurs of affirmation, and the group headed straight back towards the castle, Azazel in the lead. There was a furious determination in his eyes, and the fallen angel flew with a speed that every other Child found hard to keep up with.

Finally, they reached the castle doors, and Azazel pushed against the doors to find them locked. “What in Tartarus-?” Luna wondered out loud, but Azazel interrupted.

“Get these open, please,” he ordered, and upon seeing the look on the demon child’s face, Luna immediately complied, fairly blasting the doors apart with her spell. “Thank you,” Azazel quickly added before flying in through the doors. Ever so cautiously, Luna followed.

And stared.

This was not what she had expected.

The first thing she saw was her own sister, Princess Celestia. In just the short stretch of time they had been gone, she’d managed to gorge herself to nearly twice Luna’s own size. Furthermore, she wasn’t stopping there, as evidenced by the parade of kitchen staff nervously serving up more dishes to her enlarging form.

“More!” Celestia groaned, a trickle of blood dripping out of her mouth as she tossed an entire cake into her mouth.

One of the servants rushed up to Luna, a terrified look on his face. “Oh, Princess, thank the heavens you’re here, please save us!” Celestia, having noticed this, leaned over and glared at the unlucky servant.

“Did we say you could speak?” Celestia demanded, the crown on her head slipping dangerously.

Without warning, she stopped and held her breath, looking as though she were about to vomit. Instead, as she opened her mouth, a blood-red laser came out, smelling of rotten milk and moldy peanuts. The servant was blasted away by the force of the beam, hitting the far wall with a wet smack. Luna’s nose fairly imploded at the stench of the attack, but she was distracted by the look on Azazel’s face. He was looking at the fallen stallion, and his expression shifted from shock and horror… to rage. Azazel glared back at the Gluttony/Celestia hybrid, who had already gone back to eating.

“GLUTTONY!” he roared, voice surprisingly deep for a child of his size. “I’M GOING TO FUCKING DESTROY YOU!”

Azazel sprang forward, stepping over the heads of the still-parading kitchen staff, and knocked the nearest dish out of Celestia’s reach. “Wha- hey! I was eating that!” the demon complained, shifting a magenta eye to glare at the tiny demon perched on their oversized snout.

“So was she!” Azazel replied. That said, he grabbed ahold of Celestia’s pudgy fur and pulled with all his might. Dark red energy glowed around the hand that was pulling, and a second later there was a ripping noise and a bright light. Celestia, back to her normal self, fell to the floor, followed a second later by an earsplitting crash as an intensely obese, humanoid creature with a bloodied gash in its stomach followed. Luna stared openmouthed in shock – she had thought Samson was the strong one.

Without even wasting a second, Azazel flew up and gripped Gluttony by the neck, lifting him off the floor despite being less than an eighth his size. “Don’t. Touch. My. Family,” Azazel declared, and inhaled deeply. He emitted a blood-red laser of his own, and for a moment all everyone could see was red. When Azazel finally stopped, there was nothing where he had been holding – just a few charred breadcrumbs. Panting heavily, Azazel turned to Eve.

“Was that… confident enough…?” he asked, voice back to its normal shy self.
Eve nodded, as did the rest of the Basement Children – though most of them had terrified looks on their faces.

Cain, however, was grinning. “Damn, son. Even I forgot that you were this strong.” Azazel hid his grin behind his leathery wings, blushing slightly.

“Hey, aren’t you forgetting something?” Lazarus asked, and Azazel stiffened.

“Oh. Um, right,” he answered, flying over to the opposite wall and gently peeling off the pony embedded within. “Oh my… he’s dead. Like, really dead,” Azazel announced, to the shocked gasps of everypony present. “But it’s okay!” the demon child quickly announced, holding up both hands in a quelling manner. “I can still fix this, just give me a second…” He laid the body out on the floor, and placed both palms on it, kneeling to the ground. “Obscurum, dare puerum istum novitiate vitae ambulemus!” Azazel chanted, his hands glowing red with energy.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the stallion simply sat up and looked around. “Oh. Is she… is she gone?” he whispered to Azazel, who nodded and gestured to the unconscious body of Celestia. The stallion breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. When I dodged that weird laser thing, I think I fainted for a few minutes…” he added. Nobody responded. “What?” the kitchen pony demanded.

Celestia was quickly taken to the hospital, where it was discovered that dangerous amounts of sugar were coursing through her bloodstream. While she recuperated, Luna oversaw an emergency cleanup session of the throne room, and took a moment to escort the kids to their own room.

“Now, I would send a guardspony to take care of thee whilst I sort this out, but we have all hooves full during this time. Can we trust thee to take care of thyselves for a short while?”

Eve smirked. “Time to break out the booze and strippers!” she announced.

Luna sternly glared at her, and Maggy punched her in the shoulder. “I’ll watch over them,” Maggy promised Luna, and the latter smiled and thanked her before hurriedly exiting the room. That done, Maggy turned to face the rest. “Now, let’s just try not to get into any trouble. She’s stressed enough as it is,” Maggy declared, jerking a thumb at the door where Princess Luna had just been.

“Okay,” Lazarus obediently said, and climbed into bed, despite it only being afternoon.

“Has anyone seen Eden?” Isaac asked, looking around the room – the white-haired child had not been seen for some time.

There were various denials from around the room, and Isaac went back to his drawings, selecting a new sheet of paper and sharpening his pencil. Azazel merely sat at the foot of Isaac’s bed, a sad expression on his face.

“Why so down, Zazy?” Cain asked.

“I tried to remove all of Gluttony’s influence before I killed him… but Celestia is still in the hospital. Plus, I attacked the princess… Everyone’s gonna hate me for sure now!” Azazel burst out.

“No they’re not, stupid,” Eve rebutted. “You saved the princess from an evil demon. You’re a hero!”

Cain snickered, and Eve glared over at him. “Got something to say, punk?” she demanded.

“Nah, nah. It’s just… you saying ‘you’re a hero’ is funny,” Cain quickly backpedaled, a guilty smile still on his face. Eve grumbled, but made no further comment.

Azazel, meanwhile, was still looking down at the floor, a sorrowful expression on his face. “Plus… I used dark magic to revive that pony. Isn’t that… evil?” he asked the group uncertainly.

To everyone’s surprise, it was Isaac who answered. “No,” the Sacrifice asserted, and the Scapegoat stared at him.

“…Why not?” Azazel asked suspiciously.

“You weren’t using it for your own ends, or to do something to hurt someone else. You were using it for good, and that makes it good magic. And it makes you a good person,” Isaac finished, a small smile on his face.

Azazel stared at him for a moment, before returning the smile. “Thanks, Isaac,” the demon mumbled.

“Can we all just go to bed, though?” Isaac asked. “I think everyone could use a break, and these beds are super comfy.”

A skeptical expression on her face, Eve climbed into the nearest bed, only to look down at the sheets, wide-eyed. “Wow, these are really soft. Maggy, Zazy, try this,” Eve demanded.

“I already did!” Azazel retorted, giggling as he climbed into his own bed, Maggy following a second afterward.

“Well, might as well join the slumber party,” Cain grumbled, but he was hiding a grin of his own as he hopped into his rarely-used bed, turning off the lamp on his way and plunging the room into darkness.

There was a moment of silence, then… “Anyone feel like telling a spooky story?” Isaac asked in the darkness. Every single Child giggled.

Isaac woke up in what appeared to be the Dark Room. No doors were present, and to his shock, his demonic self was sitting straight across from him, a bored expression on the normally grinning face.

“So, you’ve figured it out. Some of it, at any rate,” his demonic self announced, looking up at the nonexistent ceiling.

“Figured out what?” Isaac asked, unsure if he should keep talking or run.

His demonic self sighed. “What were you just telling Azazel? It doesn’t matter if you look evil, do ‘evil’ things, or are supposed to be evil. If you’re using your powers to help others, that makes you good, right?” Isaac uncertainly nodded, unsure of where his dark twin was going with this. His demonic self sighed again, looking straight at him with those blazing red eyes. “Alright, I’ll make this simple. First off, call me… uh… call me Caasi,” his demonic self declared, smiling slightly. “Second, you’re probably wondering what part of you I am now. After all, you just declared that we can’t be evil so long as we’re helping others, and given that I am, in fact, all of you… Well, let’s just say I’m the part of you that’s accepted your dark nature, and leave it at that,” Caasi said, shrugging.

“But wait, if you’re the part of me that’s okay with my using dark magic, and you’re all of me, then why am I not okay with using it?” Isaac asked curiously.

To his surprise, Caasi adopted a nervous expression. “Ehehe… Well, okay, I’m only half of you. But the other half really isn’t that important!” Isaac gave Caasi a deadpan expression, and Caasi grew even more nervous, twitching slightly. “Okay, last thing, you now have dark powers, now wake up!” Caasi hurriedly finished, and the world around Isaac faded to white.

Isaac woke up feeling rather oddly warm. He reached to pull away one of his bedsheets, then stopped in fright. A dark claw had reached out from the place where his arm was supposed to be. Isaac looked down. It didn’t take him long to connect the dots.

He woke half the castle with his screaming.

Chapter 14: Acclimitization

It had taken the better part of three hours to calm Isaac down, and even then, he wouldn’t stop shaking. Princess Luna had stayed by his side the entire time, whispering soothing words and holding him as securely as she could. Azazel was there as well, offering words of encouragement to his new fellow demon. “It’s okay,” they all kept saying. But to Isaac, it was not okay. He could never go back to Ponyville – they’d attack him instantly. In fact, the second he was seen outside his quarters, he’d be deported, if not murdered outright. Part of him whispered that he was perfectly capable of defending himself now – just an hour ago, he’d started feeling queasy and opened his mouth to say so, only to find that he’d fired a beam of Brimstone instead. Thankfully, he’d been looking down at the ground in shame – if he’d looked at Luna, she would most likely be dead. Luna hadn’t blamed him for the incident, but he could tell she was just as rattled as he was. Maybe he was better off alone…

Samson traipsed through the Chest, carrying the coil of steel in one arm and the D6 in another. The coil had proven to be a very effective weapon, rather akin to Mom’s Knife but without the particular curse of that weapon. He entered yet another room, and smirked as three Pins came at him, the rather neutral expressions on their faces contrasting with their attacking body language. Samson simply swung the steel coil forward, catching all three in its loop like it was a pair of bolas. With a flick of his wrist, the chain squeezed tighter, and all three Pins exploded into a shower of guts. That done, Samson peeked out from under the Cloak of Night. A small golden chest had dropped in front of him. Taking out a single silver key, Samson opened it. Spirit of the Night. Not what he wanted, or even remotely an advantage at this point. Samson raised the fist-sized D6, holding it above his head. The item rerolled… and a delighted grin came to Samson’s face. He raised the white-and-red triquetra above his body, and his arms expanded. On the ceiling, three more red heart containers had been added to his total. Samson’s grin grew wider – all he had to do now was escape to the surface. An easy job, considering he’d already tested by going back up to the Basement from the Womb. It had wasted time, true, but Samson hadn’t wanted to wait and find his means of escape was unusable. Confidently, Samson turned around… and almost dropped the D6. The Blue Baby was standing there, its crossed-out eyes seemingly staring at him. For a moment, Samson actually panicked. Then he realized he still had the upper hand – despite being outside of his Room, ??? was still a boss, and had to abide by those rules.

“See ya, sucker!” Samson laughed, and ran for the exit.

He was very surprised, therefore, when the doors closed, and Samson mentally smacked himself in the forehead as he remembered one of the other rules of the Basement: A room can’t be exited until it has been cleared. He couldn’t bomb his way out, either – such was the rule of the Chest.

A rattling shudder made him turn around, to find ??? had crossed the distance between them – silently, invisibly. You have something I want, it declared, and Samson paled. The Blue Baby raised a hand, and Samson looked on in shock as his arms shrank back to normal, the Body reappearing in his hands.

“That’s impossible…” Samson whispered in shock and horror. No one could remove an item in the middle of a run… right?

A rictus of a grin came to ???’s cyanotic face. Give it to me, Samson. I command you… it whispered.

Samson was about to laugh in its face, defiant to the end, when his arm began to move of its own accord.

Yes… YHWH hissed gleefully as Samson slowly held out the all-powerful triquetra to him.

NO! Samson screamed mentally – he had come so close!

Finally, revenge is mine… the Fallen One shall pay. But first… the Son… is finally mine once more… ??? said, as a single wrinkled blue finger touched the Body…

And was promptly yanked away by a much healthier-looking black one.

Samson looked on in shock as a female Child picked up the Blue Baby and threw him against the wall, chucking a familiar blue remote over to him. A small familiar orbiting her quickly flew after the cyanotic god, doing battle seemingly of its own accord. Samson went back to looking at the Child. They rather reminded him of Eve in her Whore of Babylon form, but with bloodred hair and a blindfold over their bloodied eyes.

“I shall need that D6. Now away, Sir Samson. I shall keep him under control,” the new Child promised.

“Holy shit… who are you?” Samson asked, too shocked to even be rude about it.

Instead of responding, the Child pointed a commanding finger at the remote, and Samson obediently tossed the D6 over and pressed the button. Body and length of steel chain in hand, he teleported away, but not before he heard one, last anguished scream from the Blue Baby.

LILITH!! I shall make you PAY for this, you insufferable creation of mine!

And then all was black.

Samson touched down in a room of the Chest he’d already cleared, and hurried back to the starting room. He made a quick check – the Body was still there, clutched in his super-strong fist. He still had the chain. Samson briefly considered tossing Teleport!, as it was now useless to him, but he supposed he could carry it. If nothing else, it might come in handy on the other side. Hurriedly, he tossed the steel coil up out of the Chest, hearing it land with a satisfying clank in the Cathedral. Samson began climbing the rope, glad his strength was not proportional to his body mass. He came out into the ‘Isaac’ Guardian Room, still devoid of activity. Strangely, it had been empty from the start – he’d simply advanced into the Chest, with no fight whatsoever. Samson had taken a moment to consider this – Guardians never, ever left their posts, after all. But a part of him had been too exultant at the unexpected victory to really care. But now he wondered – where was Angelic Isaac?

A few hours later, and he was back in the Basement, gazing up at the hole to the Outside World. “Fucking finally,” Samson grumbled, throwing off the Cloak of Night and tossing the rope up. It once again landed outside the Chest, the sheer weight of the pile of steel acting as a counterbalance, and Samson smiled as he began to climb up. To his shock, he was pulled away from the rope, and a knife was pressed to his throat – the Sacrificial Dagger. Samson looked up, expecting Greed or worse, ??? – but was surprised to see only Judas.

“Thank Celestia, it’s only you-“ Samson began, but got no farther before Judas clamped a hand over his mouth.

“Who are you working for?” Judas hissed, glaring down at him. “That steel chain had to come from somewhere, and like hell it came from here. And that Cloak…” Judas wondered out loud.

“I’m working for us, you dipshit,” Samson growled back. “We’ve finally got things underway to take out both God and Satan, and be free of this hellhole!” Judas paused for a moment, considering this.

“Alright… say I believe that. What’ll I have to pay you to get a ride out of here?” he asked, and Samson glared at him.

“Nothing. It’s free. Get the fuck out,” Samson demanded, and Judas pressed the knife harder into his throat.

“Wrong answer, Hero. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. I got a Dollar on me, and I’m not afraid to spend it. What’ll it be?” Judas asked again.

Samson would have rolled his eyes – he’d forgotten just how greedy and conniving Judas could be. The Traitor certainly lived up to his Biblical counterpart, at any rate – anything that was ‘free’, Judas heard as ‘fake’. “Fine. Fifty coins, take it or leave it,” Samson bartered.

“Twenty,” Judas countered.

“Forty,” Samson haggled.

Judas thought a while, then sighed. “Thirty, that’s my final offer.”

Samson pretended to think about it. “Deal… you swindler,” he fake-grumbled.

Judas grinned, pleased at his 'victory', and handed over the requisite thirty coins. Samson took them, nonplussed, and Judas took the knife away from his throat. “Alright, let’s do it,” Judas said, sounding oddly relieved.

Samson grabbed the rope again, and gestured for Judas to grab on. “Hold this,” Samson instructed, handing over Teleport!

Judas obediently grabbed the remote, and Samson held the Body in his teeth as he climbed out. Finally, they came to the opening of the Chest, and Samson made his way over to the steel door, making sure to shut the latch to the Basement.

“Samson and Judas, let us out!” he called.

“That’s not gonna work, you have to bribe them,” Judas whispered.

“Thirty Coins if you do!” Judas added, and Samson slapped a hand to his forehead. How could he put this in terms Judas would understand.

“First off, these guys aren’t human. They’re ponies, or some shit – unicorns, pegasi, regular ones, and alicorns – which are like all three. They’re also… suckers,” Samson grumbled. He didn’t particularly feel like referring to the civilians as ‘suckers’, but it was a term Judas would know well.

“Wait… you mean they’ll do stuff for free?” Judas asked, a disbelieving look coming to his face.

“They kind of have to. It’s in their culture,” Samson answered, unsure he liked where the conversation was going. Judas stared at him for a moment longer, then grinned evilly.

“Oh, I’m going to have such fun with this place…” he announced under his breath.

“Yeah… Um… WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING SO LONG!?” Samson yelled, eager to change the subject.

There was the sound of a pony jerking awake, and he hurriedly checked the list. “Samson and company, right, right. Princess Luna is currently with Isaac, there’s been a bit of an ‘incident’. He’ll be glad to see you back,” the guard added.

“Damn skippy he will. Come on, Judas, I’ll fill you in on the way,” Samson announced.

They entered the throne room, and Samson caught his breath in his throat. Isaac had fallen to demonhood once more, but it looked like he wasn’t attacking anything – in fact, he seemed to be quite docile.

“Shit, already?” Samson queried under his breath.

“What’s going on? Is that Isaac?” Judas whispered back, and Samson stiffened – he’d been so surprised by Isaac’s appearance he’d quite forgotten the Traitor was still there.

“Maggy will know more about this, I bet – come on,” Samson ordered.

“Hi, Princess Luna!” he called out as he left, and Luna looked over.

“Samson!” she called, beaming. “Good to see you – did you have a good time?” she asked, giving him a pointed glare that he assumed meant Did you get the item?.

“Uh, yeah, rock climbing went fantastically. I’m gonna go… talk about it with the other kids,” Samson lied, and Luna nodded after a moment.

“Rock climbing? Really?” Judas snarked, chuckling.

“Shut the fuck up, Judas, before I throw you out a window,” Samson grumbled in return.

“I’M BACK, BITCHES!” Samson announced, kicking open the door to their collective Bedroom, which had been magically expanded in his absence. The other Children stared at him, and even Eden was giving him a dazed look of concern.

“Just in time,” Eve said dryly. “As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we have a bit of a situation.”

Samson nodded. “Also, here’s Judas,” he introduced, and Judas peeked his head around the door.

“Whoa, didn’t know this many of us had escaped,” the Traitor said.

“Yeah, yeah. Do we have to do the introduction?” Eve asked, looking at Maggy.

Maggy nodded. “Short version: Princess Luna is our new Mom, she’s super-nice, and if you hurt her in any way Judas so help me Celestia I will rip off your fez and beat you to death with it,” Maggy explained in one breath.

Judas held up his hands in surrender, Teleport! clattering to the floor. “Okay, okay. Jesus, what is with you guys? You all seem to think I’m out to get you!”

Samson glared at him. “You held a knife. To my throat,” the Hero clarified, and every other Child glared at Judas.

“Oh come on, that was – I wasn’t – Cain, back me up here!” Judas demanded, only to find the Wanderer gazing at him coldly.

“Times change, Judas. New law of the land? Be nice,” Cain announced.

“That means no Deals, no gambling, no greed. This place is far kinder than Earth ever was, and we want to keep it that way. We’ve all been adjusting too, so no exceptions,” Maggy added.

Judas looked from one to the other, a half-smile on his face. “This is… a joke, right? Some kind of joke. An entire culture can’t… it’s not…” Judas spluttered.

“Oh, yes they can. Stick around for a few days, you’ll get it,” Azazel rebutted from the corner. Finally, Judas’ shoulders slumped.

“But greed is my thing… what am I supposed to do…?” he forlornly asked, looking at each of them in turn as though hoping to find the answer.

“You’re also our manipulativeness, our cunning, our Traitor. You’re around for reasons other than just greed, Judas,” Maggy kindly said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Judas looked down at the hand, before brushing it off and sitting down – it wasn’t much of an apology, but it was all they were likely to get. “Okay. First things first. What’s this I hear about killing God and Satan?” Judas asked. Maggy quickly explained, and Judas listened intently. “Okay, sounds good,” he replied. “So why didn’t anyone tell me?” At this, every other Child except Cain tugged at the collars of their shirts nervously.

“Well…” Maggy trailed off, but Judas held up a hand.

“You thought I’d sabotage it,” he bluntly stated, and Cain nodded. “I mean, that is my thing, but nah. What’s in that for me?” Judas rhetorically asked.

Cain shrugged. “Man, half the time nobody knows what the hell you’re doing.”

Judas rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Anyway, it looks like one part of your plan backfired – Isaac’s already reached his demon form, way ahead of schedule.”

Eve nodded. “Hopefully he can figure out the other end before long, but I still think this is going to be a benefit in the long run. After all, weren’t we just talking about how looks don’t matter, actions do?” she asked, and Azazel nodded.

“So, did you get the Body?” Lazarus asked, and Samson nodded, holding up the triquetra.

“He can’t use the Trinity quite yet,” Samson reminded them, tossing the Body off by the wall covered in Isaac’s drawings.

“Yeah, we have to wait… still, at least everything went smoothly,” Cain said, smiling.

“Not… not exactly,” Samson muttered. Everyone looked at him.

“Alright, what happened?” Lazarus asked.

“I got caught by… uh… God,” Samson muttered, looking distinctly at Azazel.

Eve’s eyes widened. “How’d you escape?” she asked, and Samson rubbed the back of his neck.

“I got a little help from someone called ‘Lilith’. Apparently, she’s another Child,” Samson explained.

Eve leaned forward and gripped the edge of her bed, staring at Samson intently. “This ‘Lilith’… she looked a bit like me, but with red hair, right?” Eve asked, and Samson stared back at the Lover.

“You know her?” he asked, and Eve nodded.

“We’ve… we’ve talked. She said she didn’t want anyone else to know she was here, but if she revealed herself to you, then…”

Samson shrugged. “If she hadn’t, God would have gotten the Body and it would all have been over. So it’s a good thing she did… even if she’s suffering the consequences down there,” Samson muttered, glancing in the general direction of the Chest. Eve stared at the ground – she, too, was fully aware of what Lilith was likely experiencing down there.

“So… now what?” Judas asked the group.

“Wait for the last two Sins to show their ugly faces… and after that, I guess the Guardians will start coming out?” Lazarus wondered.

“I hope you idiots have been training to fight them,” Samson grumbled, to which every other Child but Judas and Cain looked away guiltily.

“Eheh… maybe we could get to that tomorrow?” Maggy tried. Samson glared at her.

“Fine… whatever…” he groaned, climbing into his own bed.

Maggy looked at him, surprised. "Huh, I guess you have been listening to Luna," she quietly said.

"Whatever," Samson repeated, already snug in his covers.

“Do I get a bed?” Judas asked.

“You can use mine,” Azazel offered, and Judas shrugged and climbed in.

“Don’t get any ideas, I’m not paying you for this,” Judas demanded, and Azazel nodded knowingly.

“You better not, a lot of things are free here. Ponies might start getting the wrong idea if you tried paying them,” Azazel informed him.

Judas stared at him for a moment, before falling back on the bed with a thump. “This place is weird…” Judas mumbled under his breath, and Azazel laughed.

Isaac tearfully glanced around – Luna had left him for a moment to attend to Princessly duties, and he was all alone in the throne room. So why did he feel like he was being watched?

Then the voice spoke, the Voice that had haunted all his nightmares.

“IIIIISAAAAACC!!”

Chapter 15: Lamentation

Isaac could only stare as the figure approached. He knew not how she had gotten here, or whether she was even real, but it was really her. The absolutely hideous floral dress, the far-too-small red stilettos, the slightly glazed look in her eye… Mom had arrived.

As she took a step forward, Isaac stepped back, scrambling for any place to hide from her.

“I…saac…” she panted, fingers twitching erratically around the butcher’s knife they held.

“W-wait…” Isaac weakly pleaded, looking around for some means of escape.

"I’ve waited too long for this… finally, my sacrificial Lamb, finally you’ll be delivered to your Lord and Master…” Isaac’s Mom rambled, a delirious smile coming to her face.

“N-No! Stop it, Mom!” Isaac cried. “That’s not God you’re speaking to!” But Isaac’s mother paid no heed, still making her slow way forward.

“Be still, child, it will all be over soon,” Isaac’s mother whispered as she loomed over him.

She raised her knife, and Isaac looked away, forgetting about his demon powers, forgetting even about his own safety. Maybe it was better this way, after all. If the world wanted him dead so badly it would send his own crazed mother to do him in, maybe it was better to simply accept his fate.

And just as Isaac closed his eyes, his cheeks wet from fear and shame and a thousand other things, there was the sound of a horn lighting up. Isaac quickly opened his eyes to see the knife wrenched from Mom’s hand, clattering to the floor. Both Isaac and his mother looked over to see who had spared Isaac’s life.

Princess Celestia was there, wings outstretched and looking for all the world like a fearsome angel. “This child is under my protection,” she warned. “He cannot be touched.”

Isaac’s mother stumbled back, an expression of surprise and a hint of fear on her normally dazed features. “An – an angel…” she mumbled under her breath, crossing herself shakily. “Then… Isaac is not to be killed? But why… why, Lord, why…” Isaac’s Mom rambled, looking back and forth between Isaac and Celestia. Celestia was about to speak further, when a Voice interrupted her.

“She is no angel,” it said, and Mom looked up ecstatically.

“M-My Lord! You came back!” she jubilantly cried, before attempting to bow.

“You must pay no heed to the word of the Deceiver,” God answered, the knife lifting of its own accord and slipping back into Mom’s outstretched hand. “Go forth, and end Isaac’s life, so that you may reap your eternal reward.” Isaac’s Mom stared at the ceiling, and Princess Celestia teleported in front of Isaac.

“Do not listen!” she cried. “That is not your God speaking – it is the Deceiver himself!”

“I am your God! You shall serve me!” the Voice cried in return.

Unsure, Isaac’s mother looked back and forth between them. Finally, panting, Isaac’s Mom’s gaze settled on her ceiling. “No…” she said in a quiet voice.

“Are you defying your Lord?!” the Voice immediately shouted, sounding a little panicked.

When Isaac’s Mom next spoke, her voice was finally clear. She sounded exhausted, as though she’d been fighting a losing battle for centuries, millennia on end. “No mother… should ever… harm their child. And no God… would compel a mother… to do so!” Isaac’s mother cried, flinging the knife away from her and turning away from Isaac.

For a moment, all was silent. Then, the voice snickered cruelly, sounding much different in nature. “So, you’ve figured it out,” it jeered. “But it is too late, for you have already sinned. Come, my faithful servant…”

There was a flash of red, and when Isaac could open his eyes again, his Mom was lying in a pool of blood on the floor.

“Mom!” Isaac cried, running forward, but Celestia held out a hoof to keep him back.

“Isaac…” his mother said, coughing. “I’m so sorry… that Voice made me do such horrible things to you… no, I did such horrible things…” she stopped a moment to retch, blood splattering the floor. “F…Forgive me, O Lord, for I have committed the greatest sin a mother can… I have tarnished the greatest gift You have given me… please, forgive this sinner…” she pleaded weakly.

Isaac gently pried away Celestia’s hoof, and approached his mother, leaning over her.

“Isaac…” his mother softly whispered, breathing shakily.

“Shh,” Isaac replied, putting a stubby finger to her lips. “I forgive you, Mom. May the love of Jesus be with you,” he softly mumbled. Then, slowly, uncertainly, he began to sing.

“You said you’d come and share all my sorrows,
You said you’d be there for all my tomorrows,
I came so close to sending you away,
But just like you promised, you came here to stay,
All I had to do was pray…”

Isaac’s Mom gave a small smile, and began to sing back, her eyes watery.

“And Jesus said, come to the water, stand by my side,
I know you are thirsty, you won’t be denied,
I felt every tear drop, when in darkness you cried,
And I strove to remind you,
It’s for those tears I died…”

She gave one last rattling sigh, and was still. Isaac straightened up, tearfully looking at Celestia, who stared back uncertainly.

“Isaac…?” she queried.

“She was a hero, okay? Even if she made some bad choices, she chose love in the end…” he sniffled, before bursting into sobs. Celestia slowly extended her wings, engulfing him in a hug as tears dripped from her own muzzle.

They stayed like that for an unknown amount of time – hours? Days? Weeks, even? But eventually, Isaac removed himself from Celestia’s embrace.

“We need to bury her,” he mumbled.

Celestia gave him a small smile. “I have a better idea.”

She summoned two guards to the throne room, explaining that the body needed to be treated with utmost respect and prepared for entombment, before taking Isaac out into the palace gardens. A few short paces later, and Isaac was staring at a row of statues, mostly of ponies – a few were griffons, and one was even a minotaur.

“Who are they?” Isaac asked curiously, examining the plaque of the nearest one.

“This is the Garden of Heroes,” Celestia sadly proclaimed. “It is a place reserved for those who sacrificed their lives for others, who chose to walk the path of light – even if they only did so in the end.” Isaac nodded, looking around – Celestia was gazing at the statues with an expression of deep sadness on her face. Isaac remembered that Celestia was a few thousand years old – she’d probably been there when most of these ponies died. She’d probably even spoken at their funerals.

“Does it ever get easier?” Isaac asked, and Celestia looked at him in surprise.

“Oh, Isaac,” she sighed. “I’ve lived such a long life… and it never gets any easier. The pain I feel, every time I visit this place… it is the remnant, the imprint of the love I felt and still feel for these, my most faithful little ponies.” They spent some time in silence, gazing around at the hedge-walled garden.

Isaac traipsed into his room some time later, barely looking up at the rest of the Basement Children as he got into bed.

“Dude, it’s like, noon. I get you’re still down about your demonhood, but don’t you have… stuff to be doing?” Eve asked.

“N-No, Princess C-Celestia told me to rest,” Isaac hiccupped.

Cain looked over. “Celestia’s out? Alright, glad to hear it. How’s she doing?” the Wanderer asked.

“She’s busy… burying…” Isaac couldn’t continue, bursting into a fresh round of sobs. He’d thought he was all cried out after spending the entire day lamenting his fall to demonhood, and then again when he and Celestia had had their own moment, but it seemed Isaac simply could not run out of tears.

“Oh, jeez,” Maggy said, walking over and hugging Isaac while she adjusted the covers. “There, there. Tell us when you’re ready, and not a moment sooner,” Maggy cajoled.

Finally, Isaac was ready to speak. “Mom showed up today. She… she tried to kill me, but Celestia saved me. Then that Voice spoke again, telling her to kill me after all, and she defied it… It killed her.” Nobody spoke. “As she was dying, she was finally sane enough to apologize to me. She told me… that I was her most precious gift…” Isaac trailed off, lip quivering.

“Oh, Christ…” Samson growled softly from the corner. Isaac looked over at him angrily, only to see that Samson too was crying, damp spots appearing on the ground.

A few hours later, Princess Luna walked into their room, looking disheveled. Without so much as a word, she immediately laid down on Isaac’s bed, and wrapped her hooves around him.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s not your fault,” Isaac whispered back.

“It doesn’t have to be. I’m still your mother, and I wasn’t there to protect you from that horrible voice…” she whimpered.

“Shh,” Isaac shushed, hugging Luna around the neck. “I know you’ve been really stressed lately,” Isaac said, and Luna looked away guiltily.

“But that does not excuse-“ she began, but Isaac silenced her.

“Take a rest, Mommy,” he ordered. “You’ve earned it.” Luna looked as though she wanted to protest some more, but eventually gave him a small smile.

“If it makes you happy, Isaac, then of course I shall,” she answered, moving under the covers with him.

They lay there for a moment, then Luna looked up to find Lazarus gently tugging on her tail. “Can I join?” he asked, and Luna nodded.

“Of course, Lazarus. Does anyone else wish to join us?” she asked. The Basement Children looked at her, and then each other, before scrambling into the bed. Luna giggled as she lit her horn, Isaac’s bed expanding to accommodate all the children.

Princess Celestia peeked in some hours later to find Luna gently snoring, every Child curled up around, beside and even on top of her. Giving a small chuckle, she gently closed the door and let them be.

The next few days were a peaceful break in pace, though by no means a happy one. Just two days after her death, Isaac was called upon to attend his mother’s funeral. Both Princesses were there, as well as every Basement Child and even Discord. A number of nobles attended as well, whether out of sympathy or because Isaac was Princess Luna’s son, he did not know. As they gathered near the garden, Princess Celestia cleared her throat.

“I did not see much of Isaac’s mother. The only time we met, she had been driven insane by a dark power, forced to attempt the murder of her own child. At the time, I concluded she had the blackest of hearts,” Princess Celestia began carefully. Isaac looked down in sorrow. “But lest we forget, her hand was not her own. Her actions were those of a puppet on strings… and as many can guess, escaping these strings is nigh impossible.” Here, Celestia adopted a different tone of voice. “Which is why she is here today. Mustering the strength inside her, her love for this child-“ here Celestia stopped to point to Isaac, who raised his head in surprise – “she broke her bonds, becoming sane once more, and refused to carry out the foul deed.” Princess Celestia paused for a moment. “She was murdered for it.” There were shocked gasps from the crowd. “And though she led a dark life, though evil touched her every step, remember this: In the end, she chose to love rather than hate. Remember the part of her that chose not to harm her son. Remember Isaac’s mother.”

Surprisingly, Discord took the podium next. “I have witnessed many forms of madness,” the draconequus carefully began. “And I will admit… I’ve caused most of them.” This earned him many glares from the audience. “My reign was a dark time for ponies everywhere. But this… even I would have never dreamed of something like this. To drive a parent to kill her own child… and worse, give her the tool to do so… it’s chaos of a kind I would never, ever touch. And believe me when I say this: To come back from that insanity? To return to love, and happiness, and joy when all has been taken from you? It is not something I would have the strength to do. So remember Isaac’s mother for the strength of her love for her child.”

Finally, it was Isaac’s turn to walk to the podium. He did so nervously, aware that everypony was watching him. Gazing out into the crowd, he found Luna’s face, and she gave him an encouraging nod. “Mom was… mean. There is no other way to say it. She beat me raw and bloody, fed me many things that a child should never have to eat, gave me to doctors for experimental injections, and a t-thousand other things,” Isaac said, hating himself for stuttering in front of an audience. “Yet… she laughed. We played together. There were good times, along with the bad. And when I think of her, I choose to remember those good times. They serve as a reminder that even in the darkest of places, you can find just a little light.” With nothing else to say, Isaac slowly returned to his seat, amazed that he’d managed to get through that.

Princess Celestia once again stood before the crowd of ponies, Children, and Discord. “It is for those reasons that I have decided that Isaac’s mother is to be entombed along with these other fallen heroes. Is there any here who would object?” she asked, scanning the crowd. There was utter silence, and Princess Celestia smiled before lighting her horn. “Then follow me, as I add her statue to the Garden of Heroes.” She walked solemnly into the garden, followed by the assorted ponies and Children.

Mom was sitting there, on a small pedestal of her own. She was sitting in a meditative expression, eyes closed and a soft smile on her face – she might as well have been asleep. Her dress had somehow been repaired and cleaned, and had been arranged to be as straight and smooth as though she were formally attending her own funeral. Silently, Princess Celestia aimed her horn, and casted a single spell at the body of Isaac’s Mom. There was a bright flash, and when everyone could see again, Isaac’s Mom was another stone statue, sitting there as though she had done so for centuries. An inscription was present on the base of her pedestal: “Here lies a sinner, who chose to rewrite the end of her story so another could begin.”

Princess Celestia turned to the ponies who had gathered in the Garden, most of whom were openly weeping. “It has been my pleasure to preside over this gathering, and I wish you all joy in your lives. May the stars watch over you,” she concluded. Luna was comforting the rest of the Basement Children, who were all crying at once – she had casted a spell to redirect the tears safely, so that they could weep without interruption.

“Isaac?” Luna asked, as she began to lead the rest of the Children back inside. Isaac was staring at the statue of his mother quietly.

“It’s not a traditional burial… But I think she’d like it,” Isaac softly remarked.

Without another word, he followed Celestia and Luna inside the castle.

Chapter 16: Altercation

It had been a few weeks, and lately Isaac had taken to silent contemplation. He was often to be found staring at his Mother’s statue, in the Garden of Heroes. Princess Luna wanted to ask him what he was thinking about so often, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. She began to feel as though she should not have taken Isaac away from his mother – not out of any regret for adopting the child, she had long since quelled those feelings. No, the melancholy that plagued the Princess of the Night was one of a different sort: She felt she had stolen his happy ending. It wasn’t a feeling she could quite put into words, but if she had to try, she’d say that she felt as though she were an interloper in Isaac’s destiny: an unwanted variable, a… a thief. She’d removed him from his parental guardian, demented though she had been, and attempted to substitute with herself. And what a laughable substitute it was! Luna saw her mortal subjects’ dreams of their children: Playing in the parks, eating together, laughing together. They didn’t scheme to take down gods together. They didn’t have to deal with endless thoughts of what it meant to be a demon and whether their child was secretly evil…

But Isaac wasn’t evil. He’d occasionally wake up as a demon, and though he would freak out, he’d still be himself. He’d still cry and hold her, and Luna would have to try her best not to emotionally lash out – though whether she wanted to blast the demon or hug the child, she knew not. Luna knew instinctively that she shouldn’t give herself the chance – the last thing in the world that she wanted was to cause Isaac any more pain.

Speaking of which, she had lately taken to being interviewed by the media. She’d given a brief introduction of Isaac, stating that he had been taken under a dark spell and she was working with him to help him adapt to Equestria just as she had. A few had witnessed his first demonic transformation, to which she had assured that this was just a side effect of his original transformation, and that he was still the same under the surface. She had also given brief synopses of the other Basement Children, keeping the nastier parts of their personality well out of any interviews she gave. Her reviews of them were positively glowing, as any mother’s should be when asked of their child, and the media lapped it up.

Meanwhile, Luna had noticed the Basement Children talking more and more lately. They were often to be found in hushed groups, whispering amongst themselves and falling silent when anypony approached – even Luna. This concerned her quite a bit – for, after all, had she not made herself out to be trustworthy? Was there something that she had done wrong? All this and more plagued her soul lately. Huffing a sigh, she trudged down the corridor to resume her nightly duties.

Samson, meanwhile, was busy fighting Isaac’s demonic form in the Royal Guard training arena.

“Come ON, use Brimstone already! We all know you can do it!” the Hero roared.

“No!” Isaac shouted back, falling back on his usual tears – though this time they were tinged with red. “I’m not using any dark magic, who knows what might happen!”

Samson growled angrily and picked up a nearby table, flinging it towards his counterpart in a fury. “You’ll use Brimstone, or I’ll rip out your intestines and squirt blood out of those instead, you pathetic excuse for Luna’s son!” Samson countered.

Isaac, infuriated by the sudden seriousness of Samson’s taunts, held his breath and sucked in his gut, feeling the strange liquid that was Brimstone slosh around inside. Once he felt he had gathered enough, he opened his mouth, shooting a blood-red laser at the Hero. It hit dead-on, and Samson was blown backwards through the wall of the training arena.

Isaac, shocked that he had lost his temper, flew over to check on him, lip quivering and an apology already making its way past his lips. “Don’t you dare apologize,” Samson growled from within the rubble. “That was the first time I’ve seen you really trying at this, and you’re finally good at it.”

Isaac, unused to such praise from Samson, blinked once and remained silent. Samson pushed off the last of the rubble and dusted himself off effortlessly, looking back at what had once been a wall of the armory. “Still, we’ll need to inform them about that,” Samson muttered, kicking a chunk of thick concrete with his foot lightly. It flew twenty feet away and shattered against the opposite wall, and Isaac flinched.

“Isn’t Mom gonna be mad at us when she finds out we broke this?” he inquired falteringly, and Samson shrugged.

“I did that every day for a while – she just fixed it with her magic and didn’t comment. Probably best not to make a habit of it, but what can ya do when you’re fighting the forces of light and darkness, yeah?” Isaac snorted in half-amusement, and the two departed for the castle, Isaac’s form shimmering and flickering back to his human self once more.

“Go fish,” Cain announced, and the group groaned.

“This game is so boring,” Eve moaned.

"I dunno, I think it’s fun!” Azazel replied, a fanged smile gracing the Teacher’s face.

“That’s because you keep losing on purpose, Zazy,” Lazarus replied, sighing as he shuffled through his meager deck.

Judas snorted in amusement, sneaking a glance at Lazarus’ cards. “Got any two’s, Lazarus?” he inquired.

Lazarus didn’t even pause as he handed over three two’s, and Judas laid down his set of four triumphantly.

“I wouldn’t raise those above your head,” Maggy joked, and Judas stifled a chortle.

“I have enough Coins as it is,” he rebutted, and everyone stared at him. Judas stared back for a full second before everyone burst into laughter.

Luna poked her head around the doorway, smiling as she noticed the children still giggling.

“Greetings, children!” she introduced, and everyone chorused their greetings in return. She took a seat next to Azazel, who draped a leathery wing across her withers as she nuzzled his cheek. Lazarus and Cain looked on, looking somewhat jealous, while Maggy simply smiled at them, and Eve and Judas ignored them altogether. “So, what is new?” Luna asked, and every child shrugged in turn.

“Nothing. Nothing’s happening. Life is boring,” Eve groaned. Luna giggled.

“One wouldst think thou wouldst be happy to have a break,” she teased the Lover, who merely glared at her before cracking a smile.

“Yeah, well, a break in the middle isn’t as great as a break at the end,” Eve rebutted. “Now I’m just wondering when it’s going to end and we have to get back to doing stuff.”

Luna nodded in thought. “True, but it would seem to me that life is just a great big 'middle'. Thou art going to return to work eventually, so why dread its coming? Just enjoy it,” Luna enthused. She had had similar thoughts once, centuries ago when she and Celestia had just started being princesses, and she echoed her sister’s advice on the matter, feeling oddly out of place as she compared herself then with herself now.

“Where are Isaac and Samson? They should be back by now,” Lazarus wondered. Just then, there was a knock at the door, and it opened to reveal none other than the Sacrifice and Hero, both looking oddly disgruntled.

“Sloth came… and went…” Samson announced grumpily.

“Why so annoyed?” Cain asked.

“Bastard didn’t put up a fight, he just sat there and took it. Didn’t even bother possessing anyone, either,” Samson answered.

Isaac shrugged. “He really did just appear in the middle of the courtroom and lay there. Some of the guards were poking him with their swords by the time we got there,” Isaac added, and everyone in the room chuckled at the mental image.

“So, six down, one to go, then maybe some Guardians, and then the big leagues,” Judas concluded. “Fun.”

Azazel shrugged amicably. “Hey, at least no one’s died yet.”

Luna swallowed nervously at the mention of death, but the kids took it as a joke, chuckling amongst themselves.

“Are you feeling alright, Mom?” Maggy asked, and Luna glanced at her.

“Y-yes, quite fine. It was… very funny! Ha ha!” Luna tried, mustering a laugh that sounded fake even to her.

At this point, Judas put down his cards. “Okay, what’s the matter?” he asked in mild exasperation.

“Er…” Luna began, unsure of quite how to phrase it.

Fortunately, Azazel was quicker on the uptake. He snapped a claw, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “Has anyone told her about what happens when we die?” he asked.

Samson raised a hand from his bunk, not bothering to look at Azazel as he limply let his hand fall after a moment, apparently too exhausted to bother speaking.

Azazel acknowledged this with a nod, and turned to Luna. “I know death is… a rather serious topic for you, but to us it’s really not. We’ve died millions of times before, we’re used to it. If one of us gets killed, we’ll just wake up in the Basement again and be fine,” he soothed.

Luna looked away, and Azazel gave her a quick hug. “Yes, but I always fear… that thou should not,” Luna admitted.

Azazel smiled at her. “Don’t worry. We haven’t so much as gotten scratched yet. We’ll be just fine,” he assured her, and Luna hesitated for only a moment before returning his confident grin.

“Perhaps thou art right,” she muttered reluctantly.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Isaac announced suddenly, and left the room, quickening his pace as he fairly ran out the door.

Luna watched him go in consternation, and Azazel attempted to cast a soundproofing spell on the room. It failed, however, and Azazel’s smile fell as he fought to cast it correctly. He’d been attempting to learn magic as of late, but was rather unsuccessful at any harmonic magic – though not for lack of trying. Luna put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Allow me,” she asserted, and cast a flawless spell of her own.

“Okay, so, um… it’s been a while since we talked about anything serious, and I just wanted to say that… I’ve been picking up on how you’re feeling,” Azazel muttered, the other kids watching with interest – even Samson had sat up in his bed in surprise.

Luna swallowed, taken aback. “Oh? And how is that?” she asked, half in curiosity and half in worry.

Azazel sighed. “You feel like instead of having one child, you were handed nine.” Luna looked away, although inside she was relieved – she had gotten over those feelings quite some time ago, and was glad Azazel hadn’t picked up somehow on her recent worries.

“It’s alright, Aza-“ she began, but was stopped by a finger to her lips.

“What if I told you… that pretty soon you wouldn’t have to worry about that?” Azazel asked, and Luna was shocked into silence.

“Wha – what do you mean?” she asked, her mind running into overdrive on all the possible horrific meanings Azazel could be speaking of.

“Poor wording, man,” Cain muttered.

Azazel grimaced. “Uh, yeah. I mean, what if… what if instead of dealing with nine of us… Oh, I can’t do it. Can one of you tell her?” he asked.

Judas shrugged. “Alright, short version. We’re all some aspect of the original Isaac, right?” he asked Luna, who uncertainly nodded. “So as soon as he figures out himself, as soon as he determines every last bit of his personality, he’s going to re-fuse with us to form the original. So we’ll all still be there, we’ll just be… one person,” Judas concluded.

Luna thought about this for a moment. “Oh,” was all she said, and Judas sighed.

“Look, we’ll still be around, you know? It’s not like you’ll suddenly just have Isaac.” Luna nodded uncomfortably, for once feeling as though no motherly expertise could possibly cover this topic.

Isaac, however, was wishing for someone to tell him what was happening. Lately, he had been getting strange urges to be off by himself, and although he had tried to satiate them by going to the Garden of Heroes, they wouldn’t go away. Perhaps if he locked himself in the bathroom, things would become clearer? It wasn’t the best plan, but Isaac wasn’t the type of kid to plan things out – life just sort of kept happening around him. He locked the door, and crossed to the mirror. He held back a stifled gasp – Caasi was looking back at him, a disgruntled expression on the demon’s face.

“Jesus Christ, what took you so fucking long?” Caasi griped, casting a soundproofing spell on the room.

“Wha – what do you want?” Isaac wondered aloud, feeling oddly glad that he hadn’t been just going crazy.

“Oh, trust me, you’re already completely off the wall,” Caasi advised, evidently reading his thoughts. “I’m just here to-“ but at this moment, Caasi was surprisingly interrupted. A white hand had shoved him out of the mirror, and he could be heard protesting in the background, though Isaac wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were on the being that had just floated into the frame.

“You!” Isaac squeaked, shocked and more than a little frightened.

The being, for its part, simply smiled. “Me,” it replied, flexing a white-feathered wing experimentally. “Yes, I am the other half of your conscience. You may call me ‘Isaac’ if you wish, to contrast with my demonic counterpart, but naming me as such is really just going to lead to confusion. All these personality splits and pieces… they do you no good, Isaac,” his angelic form advised. Isaac was still too shocked to comment – all he could think of was horrible memories of a cold, cold Cathedral, and a version of himself who refused to die…

Sensing his apprehension, the angel looked at him, nonplussed. “Why so scared of me? Surely Caasi has… Oh, Caasi, you didn’t,” the angel called off-screen in exasperation.

“I didn’t want to scare him!” Caasi could be heard grumbling from somewhere.

The angelic Isaac crossed his arms. “Get in here and show him,” he demanded, extending a wing and pulling in Caasi from outside the frame.

“Okay, okay, fine,” Caasi acquiesced, turning to face Isaac outside the mirror. There was a flash of red, and there stood another figure from Isaac’s deepest nightmares: The Lamb. “Yeah, yeah. I know, we’re powerful and scary. But you’re powerful-er and scarier!” the Lamb told Isaac, its skeletal mouth hardly moving as it spoke.

“True, although quite… candid in nature. You are the sum of us, Isaac,” his angelic form added, attempting a smile. “We could not exist without you… and you, us.”

The Lamb chuckled. “Yep. So, quick lowdown: I’m your loving, but sinful side, and he’s your hateful, but dutiful side,” the Lamb announced, and the angel beside him hesitantly nodded.

Isaac, meanwhile, was in turmoil. This was so much to take in at once! The Lamb had secretly been yet another side of him all along? His angelic self was on his side? They were working together? What few notions Isaac had held of himself were being turned upside-down – for if these were two halves of his personality, then clearly he was more messed-up than he thought!

“Hey, there’s no call for that!” his angelic self rebuked.

The Lamb smirked. “Says you. Personally, I’m inclined to agree with him…” the two quickly started to bicker.

“Oh, of course you would, there had to be some part of us that thought this was a good idea” – angelic Isaac began.

“Yeah, the intelligent part,” the Lamb countered.

“Well if somebody hadn’t revealed himself so directly-“

“Yeah, what were you gonna do? Pull some dreamy self-realization bullshit?”

“Oh please, I would have been much more-”

“STOP!” Isaac cried, watching his two halves fight and actually feeling the mental tension. The two of them immediately clammed up, and watched him sheepishly. “What’s wrong with me?” Isaac demanded. “I thought it was bad enough when I figured out that every other Child was a part of me, but now you two come along? How many personality splits do I have to face? How many of myself do I have to deal with? When will it end?!” Isaac cried, rushing out of the room.

The Lamb and Isaac watched him go, shocked frowns on their faces. The angel turned to the demon.

“Um.”

“Yeah?”

“Should we…”

“Yeah.”

Isaac raced through the corridors, hurling himself headfirst through a window in his rush to get away. Almost as if he had predicted it, his demonic wings unfurled – and then turned a strange shade of gray, flickering to the white of his angel wings before settling back on leathery demon ones.

“Stop it!” Isaac cried, knowing what those wings – those hateful two sets of wings – represented inside him.

Strangely obedient, they vanished, and Isaac took this moment to realize he was still all the way on top of Canterlot Mountain.

He screamed the whole way down.

Chapter 17: Unification

“Hey, does anyone hear someone screaming in the background?” Eve asked, adjusting her mascara in front of the bathroom mirror. Luna had left just a few minutes ago, presumably to find Isaac.

“Probably just somepony being dramatic and stupid,” Judas replied, going over the blank tax forms and legal codes he’d managed to steal from one of the castle’s many offices. He’d adapted remarkably well to Equestrian life given that he was the most recent Child to arrive, and was worryingly interested in Equestrian finance.

“But what if it’s somepony that needs saving?” Azazel asked.

Maggy shook her head. “That’s a job for the Royal Guards, Azazel. Best to just get out of their way.”

Samson snorted. “Those pissbrains couldn’t fight their way out of a duffel bag. I bet it’s some stupid criminal trying to steal something in broad fucking daylight.”

Lazarus looked over at him. “Samson, it’s seven in the evening. Luna just raised the moon.”

Samson glared at him. “I don’t recall giving your mouth permission to sass my eardrums,” he retorted threateningly.

Lazarus simply stared at him. “Yeah? Come over here, let’s see how smug you are when I throw this clover at you.” The Follower waved the lucky clover tantalizingly, and everyone froze.

"Whoa there, Lazarus, let’s… not get too cocky,” Samson soothed hurriedly.

Lazarus grinned. “Oh, it’s good to be free.”

With no other comment, he rolled over and went to sleep. Meanwhile, Eve and Samson looked at each other worriedly. Lazarus had just been… assertive. That was never, ever, ever supposed to happen. What was going on?

As Isaac fell, the wind screamed past him at an alarming pace. Canterlot was a big, big mountain, and he’d been perched on the edge – he wouldn’t stop falling until he hit ground level. Panicking, Isaac swallowed frantically, trying to think of something to do, wishing his two halves would just reconcile… but to no avail. Gasping once, he blacked out.

“So it’s all come down to this,” a voice rasped, breathing heavily. “All my friends, gone. All yer’ friends, escaped. Hell, even the Guardians are packin’ their shit…” There was a pause. “I never wanted this… I didn’t, honest. When I locked the two Masters in that box with ye… I was tryin’ ta get em’ ta reconcile. Ta’ make up their differences, ya know?” There was no answer. “Ah, but you got pulled in just the same. And now… Well, to be honest with ye’, now I don’t know what to do.” Isaac felt his eyes being forced open. Somehow, he was in the Shop, Greed standing in front of him expectantly.

“Y… you? You’re behind all this?” Isaac gasped.

Greed shrugged. “More or less. You weren’t really the main goal, though. You were more of an… unexpected addition. A… three-for-one deal, if ya catch my drift.” Greed paused a moment to gulp some air, the noose around his neck tightening. “I’m not gonna last… much longer… now I said that… He’s pretty mad at me. He didn’t figure it out, until now…” Greed wheezed, each breath seemingly taking more effort than the last. “I still have to fight ye, though. That’s a pact we Sins made together, and I ain’t gonna break it, ya… ya know? So it all comes down to this: You kill me… or He does.” Greed handed Isaac a familiar object, glinting in the warm Shop lights. Mom’s Knife. Isaac stared at the blade, one of the two strongest weapons in the Basement. “What’re you waiting for, kid? Hurry up and… stab… me…” Greed choked, the noose impossibly tight below his head. Isaac could hear the voices whispering in his head. Choose, they said. Either a death for the Darkness, or a death for the Light. Choose. Isaac stared at the knife in his hand, then at the noose around Greed’s neck. And in that moment, he made his decision. Isaac slashed out with the knife…

And cut the noose off Greed’s neck.

Greed gasped for air, wheezing frantically as he sucked in oxygen. “Wha… whadda hell… what the hell!” Greed shouted at Isaac. “Kid, you weren’t… you didn’t… What?!” Isaac leveled his gaze at the Sin, as calm as he could be given the circumstances.

“I’m done choosing between two paths,” he declared calmly. “From now on, I’ll walk my own path. Neither Darkness nor Light, but something in between.” Greed stared at him, a hint of incredulity in the dark recesses of his missing eyes.

“What path is that?” Greed asked curiously.

“The path of Love,” Isaac answered, and hugged Greed. “You… I… are you… forgiving me?” Greed asked quietly.

“Yes, Greed. You may have caused all this. You may have been responsible for ten million years of unbearable torture… but in the end, you didn’t mean to. It’s okay, Greed. You’re safe now.”

Greed, surprisingly, started to cry, silvery mercuric tears leaking out onto the floor. “I… don’t do this to me, Isaac… this is a debt I c-can’t repay…” Isaac shook his head, still holding the Sin close.

“There is no such thing as a debt between friends,” Isaac whispered. For some reason, an image of that dressmaking pony Rarity from Ponyville flashed into his mind. Greed suddenly began to glow with a bright light, his form shining white as the Sin stepped away and gazed in wonder. His form grew ever brighter, and Isaac shielded his eyes.

By the time he looked back, Greed had changed. Gone was the sallow, wrinkled gray skin, the eyeless, empty sockets set above a shallow toothless grin. Gone was the rope that so commonly hung about his neck, and in their place was an entirely new being. Dressed in robes of cleanest silver and gold, with eyes as mercuric as the tears of gratitude that had once escaped them, was a being with slightly tan skin and an everlasting, kindly smile. “I am Generosity,” he introduced formally, shaking Isaac’s hand while grinning like a madman – but in an oddly endearing manner. As though he’d just discovered real happiness, Isaac thought, smiling slightly himself. “I can’t believe it… after all these millennia, I’m finally real,” Generosity mumbled slightly. He turned to Isaac again. “Oh, thank ye, Isaac! I will remember this!” Generosity announced, hugging Isaac tightly. Isaac patted him on the head, somewhat amused and somewhat embarrassed.

“It’s… it’s nothing…” Isaac answered falteringly, but Generosity shook his head.

“No. I am gonna repay ye. Here…” Generosity muttered a bit, poking around the Shop before pulling out a small Bicycle Card. Isaac turned it over – it was the Credit Card. “Next one’s on me,” Generosity announced with a wink. “Now get out there, and show those two imbeciles what Love really means!”

Isaac woke up, as suddenly as though Samson had slapped him again. He was still falling down the mountain – in fact, judging from the distance, he hadn’t even fallen that far.

“ISAAC!” he could hear someone behind him, screaming frantically. He looked up, and Princess Luna was there, trailing after him as fast as her wings would allow her.

“Luna!” he called back in delight - she would certainly save him!

“I can’t – I can’t catch up with you, Isaac!” she screamed desperately, her wings straining to put on an extra burst of speed. “I c-can’t-“ and to Isaac’s horror, she slumped unconscious, now falling along with him. In her effort to save her son, she’d clearly overtaxed herself – and now, both of them were about to pay the ultimate price.

Again, the voices called to him. Choose, they whispered. Darkness or Light. Flight of the Angel, or Flight of the Demon. Choose! Isaac grimaced. Those voices would never go away. But he had discovered a third option, and by all that was good in this world, he would take it. I choose Love, he whispered, lost to the screaming winds all around him. And in that moment, Isaac began to glow a brilliant white.

The Basement Children felt it happening. They had no time to prepare, no time to say goodbye. All they had time to do was stand together, one last time.

“Here’s to our future, everyone,” Eden said kindly. The other Children stared at them: Eden only spoke if every Lost soul agreed to say something... Oh, whatever.

“To our future!” the Children chorused...

And disappeared.

Luna could only just open her eyes. There was a brilliant glow, all around her, and the sensation of falling. Was she dead? Had she finally, stupidly killed the both of them? She became aware of two limbs carrying her, holding her as though she weighed no more than a newborn foal.

“I…saac…?” she mumbled.

“Hush, dearest Luna. Be still,” the figure gently ordered, and Luna felt her body obey as she gave over to a deep sleep.

When she awoke, Celestia was standing over her, the Solar Princess’ eyes tinged with red and her expression adorned with worry.

“You’re – you’re sure she’s alright?” Celestia tearfully asked.

“Give her some rest, dearest Celestia,” a familiar voice answered. It was the voice who had carried her to safety…

“Isaac…” Luna moaned. She felt a soft, wet cloth apply itself to her forehead.

“Just relax, Luna,” the voice whispered. “Rest… and heal.” And with that, Luna slipped away again.

By the time she awoke, it was night once more. Luna knew she’d been out for quite some time: The moon called to her, telling her how much it missed her guidance. She smiled up at it, sending just a hint of magic its way to let it know she was alright. Shakingly getting to her hooves, she stumbled over to the door before realizing where she was. She was in her chambers, the bed neatly made, her papers neatly stacked… Who had done this? It was not the servants, as they knew not to touch her things. Celestia, then? Perhaps. She looked down at herself, trying to recall what had happened to her. She’d gone after Isaac… seen him falling… and then… she’d heard the strangest thing. A voice, so familiar, yet so alien at the same time… Who had it been?

She felt the door open, and immediately stepped back. Celestia walked in, surprised to see her awake.

“Lulu!” she cried, embracing her, and the two sisters quickly nuzzled each other in their ancient gesture of friendship.

“I’m so happy to see you’re awake…” Celestia whispered.

“What… what happened, ‘Tia?” Luna asked.

“I… you’d better ask him yourself,” Celestia mumbled.

She reluctantly broke away from their hug, and gestured for Luna to follow. Curiously, and with a hint of trepidation, the Lunar Princess complied.

Luna entered the throne room, wondering who she could possibly be meeting. Her question was answered when she looked up at her own throne, in front of which a figure was sitting in a meditative, cross-legged position. He was gray, a perfect shade between black and white, and there was not a mark on his flawless body. He had horns, a remnant of a once-demonic nature – but most curiously, they reached up now to touch a floating halo of purest silver, and Luna felt almost as if that was what the horns were meant to do. He was dressed in robes of translucent gossamer gray, a strange bulge rather reminiscent of the human “Santa Claus'” outfit adorning the edges. Perhaps the strangest thing of all was his third eye – wider than the other two, it constantly looked up, giving off a slight glow.

“Princess Luna,” the being spoke, noticing her approach but not acting startled in the least. It stood up, and Luna noticed that it was easily taller than her – taller, in fact, than even Celestia. Its robes started to unwrap, and that was when Luna realized they weren’t robes – they were wings.

“Who… are you…?” Luna replied, somewhat wary of this newcomer.

The being’s face fell. “Oh, Luna…”

“Don’t you recognize your son?”

Luna stared, openmouthed. This… was Isaac? He was okay? Luna immediately swept forward and engulfed the new Isaac in a hug, which he returned gladly. “You’re okay! But you’re so… different!” Luna remarked, gazing up at him with wide eyes. “I – that is to say – not that we art judging thee-“ Luna hurriedly stated, but Isaac put a finger to her lips, gazing down at her with utmost satisfaction.

“I know what you mean,” he softly answered. Placing her gently down in front of the throne, he took a seat beside her, and beckoned that Celestia joined them. “It is time I explain what happened, and what is going to happen. You will have a lot of questions, but please – save them for the end. I do not have much time,” Isaac began. Luna looked at him uncertainly, and Isaac smiled warmly at her. He explained about ‘Isaac’ and ‘Caasi’, Luna listening in rapt attention as he described the two new sides bickering and fighting. He illuminated the final conflict with Greed, and how he had chosen to walk his own path, neither Dark nor Light but something in between.

“And it seems I have come to a realization now, as well,” Isaac continued.

“Oh?” Celestia queried.

“I have come to recall the events of my creation.”

“Long before I was born, God had grown tired of the constant conflict with Satan. He wished to end it all, douse the world in Fire and Water, and from the ashes give birth to a glorious new Kingdom. In His hubris, he made to create a new Messiah – a second Messiah. Me,” Isaac gestured to himself. “A soul of purest holy light, untainted by that which He considered darkness and sin.”

Luna nodded along, smiling – she’d known it all along. Isaac was too pure, too innocent to be anything but good.

“But in His hubris, he did not anticipate Satan’s mischief. For Satan had created his own ‘Messiah’, a soul of pure darkness, and hate, and sin. In addition, he had assigned Greed to steal a part of the Holy Trinity, the part that allowed God to work his miracles. The Soul.”

Luna gazed at her son, openmouthed – finally, it was all making sense! The demonic form, the stubborn belief that he had somehow been sinful...

“And it just so happened that Greed convinced Satan to put the Soul of Darkness in the very same body and mind that God had created for his own messenger, neither of them knowing what they were about to create. Two souls, with one body and mind to share! I very nearly split apart upon my creation, but Greed was clever. He bound my souls together, shared by the one bond that could hold both of them.”

Celestia looked at Isaac curiously. “What bond was this?” she asked, and Isaac smiled.

“It was the bond of Love,” he answered. “True love, unrestrained by the bonds of lust or chastity, the one thing defined in the Bible as both a Sin and a Virtue. Something that has never been truly claimed by Darkness or Light… because it is far more powerful than both.”

“He bound my soul with the magic of love, and in that Binding, Greed created something new. A being not of pure darkness or light, but a perfect mix of both! With true freedom to choose, any path he wished.” Isaac pulled out the D6, its glossy red surface glinting in the light of the throne room. “Time passed, and I grew up. I was five years old, when both God and Satan had discovered the trick.” Isaac allowed himself a brief moment to chuckle. “They were both furious. They came to our house, demanding to know what had happened – for Greed had been clever enough to hide the details even in his revealing. He was always rather pernicious.”

Luna gave a short laugh, unsure of what else to say. Isaac smiled again at her.

“At first, they thought the Soul they were looking for was my mother. An easy mistake to make, for two immortal gods. Centuries pass in the blink of an eye to them.” Here, Isaac frowned. “They dove into her mind, attempting to find the answers, and drove her mad. She became obsessed with religion, always thumbing through the Bible, buying Christian objects and trying her very best not to be sinful…and wondering why the voices wouldn’t leave her alone. My father left our family because of this, presumably for good. Meanwhile, I created the story. 'The Binding of Isaac.' It was my way of explaining why she wouldn't stop telling me to stop sinning, why she replaced everything in our home with crosses and Christian symbolism and Bibles...” Isaac’s eyes turned to the floor, showing a hint of their old inner sadness, and Luna patted him sympathetically on the back. “But once they had determined the mother was not the correct person, they turned to me. They attempted to infiltrate my mind, only to find another of Greed’s tricks: He had stolen the Mind, another part of the Holy Trinity, and it had chosen me as its new bearer. I could still hear their voices, but they held no power over me. When I had retreated to my safe place, my little toy Chest that I hid in from my obsessive mother and the hateful world around me... that was when Greed struck. He cast his most powerful enchantment of all. He trapped God, Satan, and me in there, to sort out our issues on our own time, in a world stripped of time itself. What he didn’t quite anticipate was that Satan was clever enough to pull him in after them.” Isaac paused a moment to gaze at Luna.

“And so, we threw ourselves down, into the unknown depths below…”

Chapter 18: Exploration

“So, what happens now?” Luna asked nervously, gazing up at her son. Isaac chuckled.

“Now?” He replied, standing up. “I’m going to go end this, once and for all.” With a wave of his hand, the Chest materialized in front of him. Isaac pushed up the lid of the toy chest, revealing an inky black, improbably sized hole in the bottom.

“Isaac, wait!” Luna cried as Isaac put a foot in. He looked at her curiously. “Please come back safe,” Luna begged.

Isaac smiled. “Of course I will,” he soothed.

Without further hesitation, the Godling jumped down, into the familiar depths below.

--Basement I--

Isaac landed with a thump, and sat up uncomfortably. He looked around. It was a normal Basement floor, no sign of the strange fire he had encountered in his dreams. Extending his silvery, gossamer wings, he got to his feet, feeling distinctly strange in this new body. The Treasure Room was directly above him, its enticingly gold door beckoning him in. Isaac decided to see what it was, and stepped into the room. He was already extremely powerful, having absorbed the Body, the Mind, and the Soul into his body before entering this place, and as such had no need of any more Items. However, he could not deny his curiosity.

To his surprise, there was nothing there. The Treasure Room was simply empty, as though someone had taken the item and left. But who could have done so? Isaac shrugged, and continued onward.

The Basement was empty – not a single monster in sight. What was going on? Everything he knew about this place had changed – and worse yet, the Mind wasn’t telling him anything. Isaac wandered until he came across the Boss Room, the hazy red glow urging him forward. Now feeling somewhat anxious, Isaac stepped in.

To his surprise, the room was occupied. Very occupied. It seemed as though every Basement Guardian had decided to take up the sole, cramped room. The Duke of Flies, Pin, and a single massive Larry Jr. were in one corner, and in another were Famine, the Widow and Haunt. Gemini, Steven and the Gurdlings were in the center. For a moment, they didn’t notice Isaac, but then he took a single step forward. Instantly, they all turned to face him, leering stupidly as they prepared for battle. Isaac simply held up a hand, and a beam of purest pink energy shot out of it. Homing towards every single Guardian, it quickly destroyed every single one. Isaac allowed himself a small smile, watching his newfound immense powers. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad.

--Basement II--

Isaac traversed through the second floor of the Basement. Once again, the Item for the floor had been taken, and no monsters were present. It was unsettling. He came across a lone key, and decided to visit the Shop. Backtracking across a few rooms with moving spikes – perhaps the only serious hazard in this odd run – Isaac held the key up to the Shop door, and it disappeared into the lock as the door opened.
He stepped inside to find a curious sight. There were no Shopkeepers, and all the items on the floor were free. Isaac looked curiously at a ‘0 ¢’ sign, before remembering Charity’s gift to him. Smiling, Isaac stepped forward and picked up the Stopwatch. The power to control time… how powerful did he need to be?

Traversing through the rest of the Basement, he came across a large room. Isaac couldn’t make out anyone in it, but he could hear whispering from a corner. Hiding behind a rock, Isaac peeked out to find the strangest sight.

A familiar dark gray unicorn sat in the corner, weeping. The Crystal King had gone a long way from what Isaac remembered: His armor was tattered and tarnished, his horn was cracked, and his mane and tail were dusty.

“Hello?” Isaac curiously called.

Sombra didn’t even turn around, muttering to himself. “I never meant it… I’m sorry, I won’t hurt you again… please… please…” he mumbled, barely audible.

Isaac walked up, and put a hand on his head. “Are you okay?” Isaac asked quietly.

Sombra fell silent, still weeping. “I’m the new Wrath,” he sniffled, the soft, sad tone contrasting heavily with his gruff voice. “I have to fight you…” and here he prostrated himself on the ground, bowing low to Isaac, who stepped back in shock. “Please don’t hurt me! I don’t want to go through millions of years of torture, I can’t, please!”

Isaac surveyed the fallen King for a moment, then swept him up in a hug, Sombra gasping in surprise. “You don’t have to,” Isaac whispered. “B-but – he said he’d torture me if I d-didn’t, and then the other one came along-“ Sombra blubbered, but Isaac put a finger to his lips.

“I’m here to offer you a third option. Will you come with me?” he asked.

Sombra looked up at him for a while. “Will it hurt?” the King asked quietly.

Isaac laughed. “Not at all. I think you’ll like it.”

Sombra looked at the floor, then back at Isaac. “V… very well. I t-trust you,” Sombra quietly muttered.

Isaac placed his palm upon Sombra’s forehead, and his third eye opened wide as Sombra began to glow. His form glowed brighter and brighter, as Isaac poured Love energy into him. By the time he was finished, Sombra stood tall, a smile on his face. His armor had been reshaped into a softer, smoother form, curling lines radiating out from an etched heart in the center. His horn was fixed, as straight and lined as any other unicorn’s.

“Who… am I?” the new Sombra wondered out loud. Isaac smiled, and took him in for another hug, which Sombra gladly returned.

“Welcome, Kindness,” Isaac answered. “Welcome to my family.”

The two traversed through the rest of the Basement, Kindness almost constantly smiling. “Are there more of us?” he asked, as they came into the empty Boss Room, the trapdoor opening as they entered.

Isaac grinned. “Just Generosity so far… but I aim to fix that,” he remarked, and Kindness chuckled.

--Caves I--

The two landed in Caves I without event. Kindness flinched as a drop of water hit him on the nose, laughing a moment later as he realized it was only water. Isaac smiled at his antics, and they ventured onward.

“What do you think will be waiting for us?” Kindness asked after a while.

Isaac shrugged. “Everything they can throw at us,” he answered after a moment of thinking. Kindness paled, and Isaac laughed and clapped him on the back. “Relax!” he soothed. “I will protect you.” Isaac continued onward, and Kindness stared at him in shock before shaking his head and following.

Suddenly, there was a giggle behind them. Isaac turned around, but saw nothing. Kindness had noticed it too, though he was more nervous.

“What… was that?” the unicorn whispered.

“No idea…” Isaac answered. Shouldn’t the Mind allow him to know everything?

They continued through the first half of the Caves without much happening. Upon encountering the Treasure Room, Isaac peeked inside to find yet another item had been taken. Curiously, a new object was in the room, despite not being on the Item Pedestal. It had an appearance like a cross between a Donation Machine and a Gambling Machine, and was labeled ‘Restock’. Curious, Isaac approached it, only to find that nothing happened.

“Maybe it needs a coin to activate?” Kindness wondered, having entered the room as well.

Isaac shrugged. “I haven’t found any Coins so far…” he replied curiously.

Kindness smiled, and pulled out a Dime that had apparently been hidden in his hair. He inserted it into the coin slot, and pulled the lever. To their disappointment, nothing happened.

“You’ll need an Item in the same room for that machine to work, Lord Isaac and Sir Kindness,” a soft female voice greeted them.

Isaac and Kindness whipped around to spot the newcomer casually leaning against the wall. At first, Isaac thought he was seeing Eve – but that was ridiculous, Eve was already fused back into his soul. The Child’s bloodred hair and dripping, blindfolded eyes were further clues that this was someone new.

“Who are you?” Isaac inquired. Some part of him felt like he recognized this Child… but how? The demon, for her part, merely chuckled.

“You may address me as Lady Lilith… and my partner, the Incubus.” A small, vaguely birdlike familiar swooped out from behind her, emitting the same giggle Isaac had heard earlier.

“Lord-God! Godlord, good lord, Lord good?” the strange creature cackled, beak upturning in what Isaac assumed was a smile as it finished its question.

Lilith smiled. “Quite so, my dear.” With that, she gestured for them to follow, and Isaac and Kindness looked at each other in consternation as they reluctantly obeyed.

“I have been keeping the monsters of this place… occupied, shall we say, while the rest of you had your adventure,” Lilith informed him as they walked.

“Occupied, occudied!” the Incubus added.

“Indeed,” Lilith finished. “But tell me, Lord Isaac. What do you remember of your past life? And not here. Before here,” the she-demon clarified, gesturing around at the damp Cave walls.

“Um. Not much,” Isaac answered.

Lilith frowned. “Perhaps that is for the best,” she murmured. For a moment, she fell silent. “Do you like your mother?” she suddenly asked.

Unnerved, Isaac slowly nodded. “She was mean, but… she was my mother. We are talking about my human Mom, right?” he added, and Lilith silently nodded.

“I know of no other,” she reminded him. “And it is interesting, that you choose to love her despite her not returning such.” Isaac, not knowing what to say, remained silent. “Motherhood is… important,” Lilith muttered. “From the smallest rodent to the largest elephant, each has a mother. And the mother must always protect the child,” the Matron added, her red hair swaying from side to side as she appeared to ponder aloud.

They came to the Boss Room, and it was empty once more. “Isaac…” Lilith voiced after a moment of silence.

“Yes?” Isaac asked, feeling awkward. He felt as though Lilith did not drop her ‘Sirs’ and ‘Madams’ lightly.

“You must hurry,” she whispered. “Tarry not, for only a half-hour may pass before our opportunity is lost forever. Hurry!” she shouted, all of a sudden, startling Isaac. He set off into a run, Kindness galloping to keep up, and as they dove through the trapdoor to the next floor, all Isaac heard was the squawks of the Incubus behind him.

“Hurry! Hurry! And above all, worry!”

Lilith watched them go for a moment, as twin trails of red made their way down her face.

“Mother? What’s wrong, Mother?” the Incubus asked.

“N-nothing,” Lilith answered.

She crossed the Boss Room to a rock, which she carefully lifted to reveal a small, heart-shaped locket and a glowing blue hourglass. Sniffing slightly, the Matron opened it to reveal a photo of Isaac and his mother, smiling, as the former hugged the latter tightly.

“Was it worth it?” Lilith murmured. She carefully removed her blindfold, and bloodred eyes gazed up at the black ceiling. After a moment, she seemed to have found her answer. “It’s for those tears I died…” she whispered, before the hourglass activated, and she disappeared.

--Flooded Caves II--

They landed in Caves II with a thump, Kindness sitting up with a groan.

“What was up with her?” he wondered.

“I do not know,” Isaac answered. “She seemed worried.”

Inside, he was mainly worried about who Lilith was. He knew he was complete: Every part of his Soul was accounted for. So, who was the Matron? How did she fit into all of this?

They came to the next Treasure Room, and once again it was empty. Isaac was beginning to suspect a theme. Exiting the room, the two skirted spikes and pits before coming to a strangely marked room. ‘ISAAC’ was scrawled above the door in rough letters, rather reminding Isaac of his own childhood script. He looked at Kindness, who bemusedly gazed back. “Well, I do believe I should enter,” Isaac joked, and Kindness stared at him a moment more before laughing.

To Isaac’s surprise, it was a Bedroom, the sole, neatly made bed in the corner occupied by a lone, gray figure. Isaac grimaced as he approached the familiar face.

“Hello, Pride,” he uttered, and Pride looked over at him. Tear tracks marred the Sin’s once-spotless visage, and there were cuts and bruises all over his gray body. Nonetheless, Pride readied himself into a battle stance as soon as he caught sight of Isaac.

“You again,” Pride snarled. “Haven’t you done enough? Look at me. I’m ruined. I look like… I look like you!” Pride burst out, sobbing and falling backward onto the bed.

Kindness glared at Pride, who wasn’t paying attention as he continued to pity himself. Isaac simply rolled his eyes, walked forward, and placed his palm on Pride’s head. Once again, there was a bright glow.

When Isaac sat back, Pride had changed significantly. He had transformed into an earth pony, for one thing, though he had no Cutie Mark. His coat was now a pristine shade of white, the injuries and cuts from before having faded to only memory. His mane and tail were a familiar shade of gray, and his eyes sparkled green.

“Who are you?” Isaac asked.

“I… I…” the new being stammered, before lowering his head. “I’m nobody important.”

Isaac smiled, cupping the pony’s chin in his hand and gently lifting it so that they gazed eye-to-eye. “You are Honesty,” Isaac decided, and hugged the new pony tightly. “Welcome to my family.”

Honesty followed them outside, blinking with surprise as he stepped into the Flooded Caves. “So… that’s it? I get to be part of… whatever you’re doing?” he asked. Isaac nodded. “But… why?” Honesty continued. “What have I done to deserve it?”

Isaac smiled. “Nothing at all,” he answered. “That’s why I gave this role to you. I want to see you prove you can do it – not to me, but to yourself.”

Honesty was silent for a moment. “I… I’ll try…” he mumbled.

Kindness bumped him on the shoulder. “You won’t just try. You’ll succeed, I know it,” the gray unicorn encouraged. Honesty gave him a small smile.

They came to the Boss Room, and Isaac motioned for his two followers to stay behind.

“But we can’t just leave you!” Kindness protested.

Isaac laughed. “I’ll be fine,” he dismissed. “Just stay safe.” With that, he stepped into the Boss Room, and the door shut.

Isaac gazed around at all the Guardians that surrounded him. They all glared back, wary of making the first move. “Peace?” he suggested, and they appeared surprised. However, they were apparently unconvinced, and readied their attack. Isaac shrugged, and raised his palms. “Worth a try,” he muttered under his breath.

Chapter 19: Reincarnation

Charity sighed as he beheld his new form. It was beautiful… but so pointless. After all, he was not done with this nightmare, he knew that all too well. It was time for him to reveal himself, to stop hiding behind the mask of ‘Greed’ or ‘Charity’ or the many titles he’d gained from his millennia of adventuring.

Charity exited the Shop, using his powers to exit into the new creation Yahweh had made. His ultimate attempt to bring Isaac back… by any means necessary. But the creation was still sleeping, the golden noose around its neck taught as it silently slumbered. Carefully, Charity crawled into a small brown machine, vanishing from sight a moment later.

Isaac exited the Guardian Room to collect his two followers. “Everything alright?” he asked. They nodded cautiously. “Onward and upward, then,” he joked.

“Where are we going, anyway?” Honesty wondered.

Isaac shrugged. “All Lady Lilith told me was that I had just half an hour to get there.”

Pride adopted a strangely contrite expression, muttering “Ooh…” under his breath.

Isaac looked up, studying the Map of the current floor intently. –Caves II – Curse of the Blind!—flashed across the ceiling, followed by “12:02”. “Well, no sense wasting time. Everyone ready?” Isaac asked.

They re-entered the Guardian Room, and made their way to the trapdoor. However, it remained firmly shut. “What in Equestria?” Isaac wondered, heaving upwards with all his might. He might have infinite strength from the Body item, but it seemed to be ineffective here. “Why won’t this open?” Isaac wondered.

“Have you tried moving away from it?” Pride queried.

Isaac did so, only for the trapdoor to remain shut.

“Then that would mean…” Pride trailed off.

“That an ‘enemy’ is in your midst,” a voice whispered.

Isaac whirled around, only to find the room empty. “Who are you? Show yourself!” he demanded. The voice softly laughed, its female cadences and varying pitch resonating within Isaac’s recent memory.

“No.”

Something knocked him off his feet, and Isaac stumbled back upwards, breathing heavily. He looked deep inside himself, activating the power of the Mind… and there she was. Standing, invisible not a hair’s breadth away from him, was what appeared to be Queen Chrysalis. However, something was different. Her face was oddly splotchy and covered in lumps, and her eyes were no longer green, instead an odd fuschia. Her back plate and hair had been turned dark pink as well.

“Lust,” Isaac breathed. She flickered into visibility, a look of disappointment on her marred face.

“So it would seem. Yet, I feel… tainted, somehow. As though that awful insect managed to leave her mark on me,” Lust wondered aloud.

Isaac took a battle stance, signaling the other two to get behind him. Lust smirked. “Oh? You think you can challenge me with ‘love’? I was made to oppose you,” she snarled, before lunging forward.

Luna anxiously paced back and forth. The Night Court had been closed, not that she had anypony to speak with tonight. Instead, she had confined herself to the throne room with the Chest, sending for food and drink. A few hours in, close to midnight, Celestia came in, looking sleepy.

“Sister, are you really going to wait here? It could be an eternity before he comes back,” she yawned.

What Celestia didn’t want to mention was that, despite his power, Isaac might just not come back at all. She’d seen the demonic energy radiating off of ‘Satan’. It made Isaac’s own demonic powers look like a foal’s first spell. And Isaac’s demon form had very nearly beaten every powerful force Equestria had to offer. What chance, then, did his new ‘fused form’ stand?

“We cannot leave, ‘Tia! This is our son… we cannot just stand back and do nothing!” Luna retorted furiously.

Celestia reared back, and Luna flashed her a contrite frown.

“Apologies… but…” Luna began, but was silenced as Celestia put a wing around her.

“I know, Lulu. I know,” the elder alicorn soothed. With that, Celestia took a position beside Luna, watching the Chest intently.

Hours passed. Nothing happened. The servants arrived with the required sustenance, and the two alicorns set up a makeshift ‘picnic’ of sorts as they waited. Finally, Luna cleared her throat.

“Remember the battle of Trottingham?” she asked.

“Of course… we were camped in the forest. Star Swirl was adamant that we invade at once, but I persuaded him to stay his hoof,” Celestia recalled, smiling slightly.

“Verily,” Luna agreed with a smile. “I was just remembering the last time we had to wait like this.”

Celestia nodded in understanding. “Have you tried… opening it?” she asked, motioning to the gold-and-wood box.

Luna shook her head. “I am hesitant… for fear of what might emerge,” she answered.

Celestia nodded. “Understandable. Though, it will have to open sometime,” the solar princess mused.

And with that, the Chest creaked open. Both Princess’ heads whipped around, Luna actually managing to give herself backlash with how fast she did so. A small head of white hair peeked out, followed by two glowing white eyes. Eden, smiling slightly, placed a small scrap of paper beside the Chest, along with a strange wooden contraption with “GREED” written on the top and “0 0 0” inscribed on a set of rotating glass cylinders set into the front. With that, Eden winked at the two princesses, and closed the Chest. Luna looked at her sister, who gazed back, reflecting her confusion.

“…What just happened?” Luna wondered.

She walked up and examined the scrap of paper. In neat, cursive script that she didn’t recognize as any of the Basement Children’s, much less Isaac’s, was a note. “PLZ 61V3 MUNS 4 S4LV4T10N” was written on the note, and Luna read it, perplexed.

“Canst thou make this out?” she asked, passing the note to Celestia.

“It’s a style of writing rather recently adopted by adolescent foals. How did Eden know that…?” Celestia wondered. “Anyway, it says ‘please give money for salvation.’”

Luna looked at the machine in consternation. A small slot was present just in front of the glass cylinders, looking as though it were made to fit a coin. Luna recalled Isaac’s description of the ‘Donation Machine,’ noting that this looked similar.

“How many bits dost thou have in thy purse?” she asked her sister.

Celestia smirked. “Economically, the better question would be ‘how many bits don’t I have in my purse,” she joked. Luna giggled.

They spent an hour inserting coins into the slot. Each time they did, the glass numbers went up by one. As Luna approached to give it another, thus increasing the total count to 111, the numbers suddenly whirled around, jumbling to an undefined amount.

“Did it… break?” Celestia wondered.

“Isaac mentioned the Donation Machine would do so if too much were placed in at one time. But how are we to donate now?” Luna wondered sadly.

What if Isaac’s life depended on this money somehow? It wasn’t much of a lead to go on, but if it was the only way to save her child, she would take it. Celestia walked up to the machine, inspecting it curiously. As soon as she got closer than Luna, the numbers rearranged themselves into “1 1 0”.

“Ah, a puzzle,” Celestia exclaimed in relief. “It seems more than one pony must donate in order to appease the machine.”

Luna snorted. “’Appease the machine’ – honestly, sister, thou must stop reading the ‘science fiction’. Tis’ an unhealthy obsession with the future,” she teased.

“Only if you promise to stop reading the romance novels Cadance keeps throwing away,” Celestia returned.

Luna blushed crimson, and fell silent. “H-how…?” she shakily inquired.

“I have my sources,” Celestia haughtily answered. “Such as under your bed. That is an excellent source.” Unable to contain it any longer, she burst out laughing. Luna glared at her sister for a moment, but she too was unable to hold it in any longer, joining her sister on the floor.

A few minutes later, Celestia attempted to input her next bit into the machine, only to find that it had jammed once again. “Drat. Mayhap we can enlist the Guards?” Luna wondered.

“I don’t think we can convince them of the necessity of such a thing, Lulu,” Celestia carefully answered.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

“We are not to be disturbed!” Luna immediately thundered.

“Not even for charity?” Discord wondered, his voice muffled by the door.

Confused, Luna opened the door to find that Discord, Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor, Princess Twilight, Rarity, and Queen Chrysalis were all waiting there, looking awkwardly at one another as they stood in the doorway.

“Hi, Princess Luna!” Twilight greeted.

“Hello,” Luna returned by reflex. “What… is the purpose of this gathering?” she asked, still very confused.

Discord stroked his chin in thought. “We were hoping you could tell us. All we got was a letter each saying that Isaac was in danger, and that money of all things would save him.”

Luna and Celestia looked at one another.

“Come on in,” Celestia invited.

With that, the process of donation began again. First Discord, who conjured infinite coins from his own chaotic powers, then Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor, who once again donated from the overflowing coffers of royalty. Next up was Twilight, who had surprisingly little money compared to the rest, and Rarity, who had even less. Discord, to the surprise of everyone, promised to reimburse them after all this was over.

“Why are you being so friendly?” Chrysalis wondered.

Discord shrugged. “It seems the purpose of this machine is to measure our generosity. I’m simply making sure I’m the most generous.”

Chrysalis looked at him suspiciously, but seemed to accept this answer. She stepped forward, depositing her sack of bits over her shoulder onto the ground, and began feeding them into the machine.

“Wait… where’d you get Equestrian bits?” Cadance suspiciously wondered.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “You would not believe the amount of ponies who have attempted to pay us to ‘not eat them.’ Something about these little golden circles seems to make them think they can exchange such for our starvation. Of course, we politely declined… but I kept the bits. I’ve always wondered what they were used for in Equestria…” Chrysalis mused.

Begrudgingly accepting this, Cadance looked away, but Luna was still anxiously staring at the machine. ‘9 0 2’… so close.

Meanwhile in the Basement, the battle was becoming increasingly hectic. Isaac’s blasts of love energy didn’t seem to affect Lust, who merely absorbed them and grew stronger herself. So, a new plan was needed.

“Fool!” Lust cried as he stopped blasting her. “I am already strong enough to defeat you, and when I do, my lust will infect the very world!”

Isaac glared at her, desperately searching for a way to end this. “You will never hurt my family!” he shouted back, ducking down as she lunged forward. Kicking a foot up, he used the Body’s strength to launch her into the ceiling.

“What do you know about family?!” Lust hissed, flipping around and landing on the floor without a scratch. “You’ve changed my brother Sins, turned them into… I don’t even know what you did to them! But I won’t let you do it to the rest of us!” she declared.

Isaac stopped cold. “I didn’t hurt them,” he explained, turning to Honesty and Kindness. “Don’t you remember her?” he asked.

Kindness remained silent, but Honesty immediately spoke up. “Of course!” he cried. “Remember in the Womb, where we occasionally could visit each other? Or the Chest, where we got to hang out for so long? There was that one time Lazarus stumbled across us when he was nearly dying – what a flawless combo that was! And the time Samson died to you in the most laughable of ways, and you traipsed all the way across the Basement just to tell me about it… we used to be inseparable, Lust! And… it doesn’t have to end. Come with us! We’re going to put an end to all this misery, we’re going to finally be free!” Honesty beseeched.

Lust looked at him coldly. “And if I refuse?” she asked.

Honesty looked downward… “Then… I guess this is goodbye. I won’t blame you… but I will miss you,” he bluntly answered.

Lust appeared conflicted. “But… what if we fail? I don’t… I don’t want to lose you…” she admitted.

Isaac stepped forward, smiling. “I’m glad you’re so loyal to your brothers,” he complimented. “But don’t you want them to be happy with you?”

Lust looked between Honesty and Isaac, uncertainty etched into her gaze, then slowly lowered her neck, pointing her horn at Isaac. “Fine,” Lust sighed. “Change me. Just… promise me… that you’ll keep your word. That my brother Sins will make it out of this,” she pleaded.

Isaac nodded solemnly, placing his palm on her forehead. There was a bright glow, and as it faded, Isaac stepped back, wrapping his wings around himself to form his ‘cloak.’

“Welcome to my family, Loyalty,” he softly greeted.

Loyalty looked much the same as Lust had before: A pockmarked, altered version of Chrysalis. But where once her fangs and eyes might have suggested the intellect of a deadly predator, now they twinkled with a softer light as well. She stood there, with the body of a fierce warrior, ready to lead her brothers to their final battle.

“Lead on, my Lord,” she proclaimed, and Isaac nodded before jumping down to the next floor.

Luna was watching the Greed Machine like a hawk, her eyes glued to the rotating numbers. 993. 994. 995. 996. 997…

“Gaah!” Chrysalis cried, stepping back as the machine jammed once more.

Luna, awoken from her stupor, looked around in surprise. “We… we need one more donor!” she cried aloud. “Who has not gone yet?!”

Discord shook his head. “That’s everyone, Moony. We’ll have to call over a Guard, or someone.”

Luna immediately made towards the door, but was stopped as it slammed open of its own accord, a dark Child framed in the moonlight.

“Perhaps I may be of assistance?” Lilith offered.

“Just in time! Time is just!” the Incubus behind her squawked.

“But… wait… how art thou… separated?” Luna wondered, as Lilith’s small form accompanied her back to the Greed Machine.

Lilith sighed. “I… I do not feel like telling this story, Lady Luna. Just allow me to finish what Lord Eden has set in motion, so that I may right my wrongs,” she sadly proclaimed.

The Incubus grabbed a coin from a small sack floating behind her, flying over to the Greed Machine and placing it in. The machine clicked up to 998.

“Just three coins… I wonder. Were it not for that Secret Room on the way here, I would not have three coins,” Lilith pondered.

She inserted another coin. 999.

Luna swallowed nervously, and Celestia put a hoof on her withers comfortingly.

The rest crowded around the coin machine to see what would happen.

Lilith inserted another coin.

Immediately, the machine broke, a fountain of various types of money scattering everywhere as the pieces of the machine fell apart. Luna was the first to recover after stumbling back from the force of the explosion, but jumped back with a cry as she spotted what was inside.

“What is it, Luna?!” Celestia queried, rushing forward, only to stifle a gasp as she too beheld what was inside.

It was Isaac, or rather… it had been Isaac. His skin was gray and wrinkled from decay and rot, and the imprint of a noose was tied around his neck. Maggots squirmed around in the corpse’s skin, and flies would occasionally crawl around its eyeballs.

“Oh… oh my Faust…” Luna sobbed. Isaac had failed. He’d confronted Yahweh, or Satan, or some other faceless horror, and died for it.

“Luna?” she could hear Celestia query. She paid no attention.

“Luna…” Celestia tried again, now a warning tone.

Something tapped her on her lowered forehead, and she reluctantly looked up.

The corpse had stood, and was smiling at her. “I am Keeper,” it softly whispered, its voice like the scratching and whispering of dry autumn leaves. “I am the Body.”

“I will Keep you safe.”

Chapter 20: Confederation

--Basement-- 0:00--

The Keeper shambled along, a fleck of its abdominal skin peeling away as it lazily moved forward. If the corpse was capable of thought, the one feeling that might have been flashing through its mind was that of emptiness, of lack… of void. It was nothing more than a Body, its Mind and Soul in… other places. It looked around, unseeing eyes taking in the brand new landscape. A Shop glinted just ahead, flanked by a Curse Room to the left and two Treasure Rooms to the right. Had Keeper thought to turn around, it might have seen a closed Exit door. However, the Shop beckoned. Slowly, mindlessly, it moved forward, ready to begin its final walk to the hangman’s Noose.

It was the Body.

It would Keep her safe.

--Dank Depths I – 13:47—

Isaac and his three cohorts landed in the Depths, rivers of tar running down the walls as Isaac’s nose was assaulted by the stench of decay.

“So, what’re we going to do in Depths II? We can’t stay behind while you fight Mom, the doors close,” Honesty wondered.

Isaac shrugged. “Follow me in, and don’t die, I suppose?” he tried.

Loyalty snorted. “’Don’t die’… what a perfect strategy. Truly, we have exchanged servitude in a most beneficial manner.”

Isaac rolled all three of his eyes.

To his surprise, there were enemies to fight on this Floor. Gazing Globins charged towards him, Vomit Gapers ambling behind as he blasted everything to shreds. Black Bonys tossed their ribs at him as fast as they could, but were quickly blown to bits as well. Isaac, unimpressed, charged through the Floor, his followers close behind as he destroyed every horror his former self’s imagination could conjure.

Coming across the Treasure Room, he peeked inside, unsure whether it would contain an Item or not. To his surprise, the Glowing Hourglass was there. But he was already carrying the D6… Isaac had an idea.

“One of you, go pick that up,” he commanded. Loyalty, Honesty and Kindness looked at him as though he were stupid.

“Sins can’t pick up items, you dummy!” Honesty rebutted.

“You’re not Sins anymore,” Isaac pointed out.

Kindness obediently trotted over and touched the Glowing Hourglass, which disappeared as the sound effect played from over his head. “Huh,” Kindness noted.

“So we can use Items now?” Loyalty wondered.

“Let’s not, I never did envy the Children for the mutilation they put themselves through just for some extra power,” Honesty remarked, grimacing.

Isaac frowned. “Not like we had much of a choice,” he rebutted.

--Chest—XX:XX--

Where was everybody?

Isaac was gone.

The Lamb was gone.

The Children are all gone.

Satan… is roaming.

I am afraid.

YHWH extended a blue, cyanotic appendage out in front of his crossed-out eyes, pondering the wrinkles as though intending to find His answers within. The more He thought about it, the more it was true. He was afraid. Afraid of losing His power to the very thing He had created, of finally giving up the ghost after all these years of being trapped inside a box, unable to oversee His people. A smirk came to his cracked lips. Even God was afraid of dying, it seemed. Which was exactly why He had to stop Isaac from killing Him. Even if Isaac was the better deity, even if He had been cruel, heartless and torturous to His son… He could not afford to lose. He would spread His Gospel once again.

And no ten-thousand-year-old infant would ever stop him.

YHWH got up, and moved towards the door.

--Dank Depths II—15:02 --

The Depths bosses had once again all been clustered in one room, and this time Isaac had actually managed to get hit by a burst from the Adversary. He grumbled as he clutched his burnt stomach, already beginning to heal over. Mom had been absent from her room as well, completely gone. Isaac supposed that made sense, because she had died outside their little box. Instead of inside. There had been no Polaroid or Negative to pick up, so Isaac and his cohorts surveyed the Guardian Room with some dismay.

“So…” Loyalty trailed off, looking at him. Isaac glanced over curiously. “What, uh… what was it like in Equestria? For you?” she asked.

Isaac smiled. “Perfect,” he answered. “Everything I could’ve ever dreamed of.”

Loyalty grimaced. “I have… memories. From her, that she-demon who I tried to possess. She… she didn’t have as great a time.”

Isaac looked over curiously. “What happened?” he asked.

“She was just trying to feed her family… but everyone called her a monster. She just wanted to be accepted… but everyone shunned her. She just wanted love… all she received was hate.”

Isaac gazed at her sympathetically, even his third eye creasing in concern.

“The world still isn’t perfect, Isaac. Ponies might think it is, but it’s not. Us Sins are still there. Not nearly as powerful, true, but we’re still doing our things,” Loyalty continued.

“Do you think I should make it perfect?” Isaac wondered.

Loyalty smirked. “All due respect, Lord, but I don’t think you can. Everyone’s got a different definition of perfect, and all of them are contradictory in one way or another. That’s the mistake YHWH made; he tried to impose His vision of perfection rather than anyone else’s. Because, of course, His way was the only way.”

Isaac sighed, his Mind running through various possible scenarios while he ruminated on this discourse. He could try to make things better for everyone… but then he might end up making things worse. He could not do anything at all… but then he’d be accused of impotence. An old theory, half-buried in his memories, surfaced for the first time in millennia. One that, upon seeing him reading it, Mom had snatched from his hands, shouting at him all the while.

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He is not omnipotent.

Is God able to prevent evil, but not willing? Then He is malevolent.

Is God both able and willing to prevent evil? Then whence cometh evil?

Is God neither able nor willing to prevent evil? Then why call Him God?”

It wasn’t quite the true quote from Epicurus, Isaac now knew that much. But the fundamental premise was still the same. If he didn’t stop bad things from happening, why should anyone call him good? He was certainly able to prevent evil. He was now more powerful than he had ever been, powerful enough to stand a reasonable chance of defeating, really, truly defeating the deities he’d been fighting all these years. And then… what? He’d take his rightful place as the Lord of All? Command an army of angels to do… what, exactly? For all the answers it held, even the sacred artifact of the Mind could not think of any reply to this query.

Then again, he was no angel. He did not have to do things the ‘holy’ way, nor the ‘sinful’ way. All this time, Isaac had been doing things his way. He’d made a third choice, and he had to stick with it. So, then, what would happen once he won? Would he go back to Luna, finish his life with her? Could he do that, knowing what he did now? Isaac didn’t think he could. It would be a hollow mockery of a child and his mother, when he knew everything she was going to do and everything he was going to respond with. There would be no challenges, no arguments, none of the essential parts of a child growing up. None of the things he had missed during his own childhood, or what remained of it. Just a god pretending to be a child.

--Depths – 12:07--

The Keeper stooped down to pick up a coin, a vague smile coming to its dead face as it replenished its health. Coins made it feel good. More coins would be better. It felt a tremor, somewhere far away, and promptly fell over, long-unused bones cracking and shattering as it righted itself. The Keeper felt something disappear from this world, though it could never know what. Now, it felt as though it was being watched, as though something had been monitoring something else and abandoned it to come here. If the Keeper had had even a spark of soul inside it, it might have cared. But it was, for all intents and purposes, the true Isaac: Stripped of costume, of soul, lacking even a mind. The only thing that kept the Keeper running was bodily instinct, to preserve its not-life as long as possible. Disregarding the earthquake and the presence, the Keeper shuffled forward.

Today, it would not die.

This would be a first for everyone involved.

--Scarred Womb II – 16:07 --

It had taken quite some use of the Shovel to get Lilith this far. The Shop seemed to be helping her, giving her Restock and free batteries so long as she managed to find it. Finally, she had beaten Isaac to this floor, racing against time to make the Plan work. Pulling out the sheet of paper and pencil she’d picked up from Equestria, she began to scribble a note, the Incubus aiding her by destroying any enemy before they could distract her from her purpose.

All these years, Lilith had longed to be part of a bigger purpose. Something greater than her, than anyone. She’d thought Christianity held the answers, at least for a time. Then, her husband had left her. She had gone insane, tortured her only son into thinking he was to blame for all these terrible things. By far, she had been the greater culprit, the greater sinner… no. It was time to stop thinking of herself as a sinner. Her son had shown that there was something more she could do than lie down and accept God’s judgment. She could choose another way out, for everyone.

--Scarred Womb I – 15:22 --

Lost in thought, Isaac hardly noticed as he entered the Womb. It was dark, and scarred strands of muscle and skin covered the walls. He continued onward, destroying everything in his path as his followers tagged behind, uneasy at his silence.

“Master? Are you alright?” Kindness asked, unable to stand it anymore.

“Just… thinking,” Isaac answered after a pause.

Kindness gazed at him, concern radiating from his red eyes. “Whatever you’re thinking… It’s okay, Isaac. It’s going to be okay,” Kindness soothed.

Isaac appeared taken aback for a moment, then smiled at him. “…Thanks,” he answered. “I needed that.”

The Womb’s Guardians were waiting, and it seemed they’d been paying attention to their prior counterparts’ difficulties. Scollex hid underground until he was distracted by Conquest, who promptly rained down holy light as Blastocyst and Death shot scythes and bullets all around. Isaac ducked and weaved as hurriedly as he could, making sure to protect his friends as much as he destroyed his enemies. A well-timed use of the Stopwatch here, a blast of Love magic there… it wasn’t anything too complex. His Soul aided as well, deflecting projectiles from every one of his teammates with its comforting pale blue glow.

Blastocyst was the last to go down, the mitotic fetii finally giving up the ghost as they exploded into miniature giblets and organs. Isaac huffed a sigh, panting in exhaustion. His Body was perfect, right? Why, then, was he tired? It didn’t make sense. None of this made sense! At any rate, the path to Womb II had opened, so Isaac stepped towards it. He’d face ‘It Lives,’ and then… he’d have to pick who he would fight first. Satan or God.

--Scarred Womb II – 15:59 --

To his surprise, the floor was once again empty. As though somebody had already been here… He could hear footsteps up ahead, but for some reason didn’t feel like following them. Isaac casually meandered along, taking his time. Apparently it was important. He felt that his followers wanted to ask, he knew they could hear the footsteps too, but a few quelling looks their way and they fell silent. He didn’t know who was ahead of him, paving the way for his success, but he did know that they truly were on his side.

He came to the Guardian Room housing ‘It Lives’, only to find the door closed and the sounds of battle emanating from within. Curious, Isaac waited outside the door.

“Who’s in there?” Honesty wondered, poking at the red doors as though hoping to defy the rules and open them.

“Who cares? They’re fighting ‘It Lives’ for us. Never liked that one…” Loyalty remarked offhandedly.

Isaac remained silent, as did Kindness, though he could tell the former unicorn king wanted to say something.

Finally, the door opened, and Isaac peeked through. He could just catch the shadow of a Child jumping down to Sheol, the trapdoor closing and the beam of light vanishing.

“Wha – they tricked us! We’re trapped here!” Kindness exclaimed in shock.

Isaac shook his head, and pointed. A new door was open, rather akin to the Boss Rush back in the Depths – but where did it lead? Isaac had never heard of a third path from the Womb. As he made his way towards it, his foot crunched against something papery. He stooped down to pick it up, and read it by the warm red light of the Womb.

“Dear Isaac,

I have taken the path to Sheol in order to fight Satan. Do not worry about me; I will buy you some time. It is imperative that you confront what lies beyond that third passageway. Thank you for making it here in under half an hour. Luna is depending on you.

-Lilith”

Isaac smiled. It was the first note he’d ever received from another of the Basement Children, and he elected to treat it reverently, stowing it away where nobody could find it. That done, he strode onward towards the new path, wondering what new tribulation lay ahead in the confines of his imaginary world.

Chapter 21: Renunciation

They popped out into what appeared to be the Womb – but everything was blue. Screaming faces were trapped in the walls, eye sockets pointed upward in the universal expression of ‘eternal agony.’

“Well, this looks friendly,” Loyalty commented dryly, poking at one such face.

Isaac, smirking slightly at the joke, looked around. Two Treasure Rooms on either side of him. Four Golden Chests in front of him. A Shop, just behind him.

There wasn’t anything to be found in the Treasure Rooms or Golden Chests, and the Shop was empty save for a free Map and Compass. Isaac picked both up, unfurling the Map.

“There’s a hidden room,” he discovered. “Top of the map. But how do we get inside?”

Honesty sighed. “Try walking up to the wall,” he suggested.

Isaac looked at him askance. “Any other advice you want to dispense, seeing as you apparently know what’s going on?” he asked.

“Don’t die?” Honesty tried. Isaac glared at him, and Honesty grinned. “Worth a shot. Um… whatever It says, ignore It.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow at this, but elected to press onward.

As soon as the group walked up to the northern wall of the larger room, a section slid away, exposing a large door that looked strangely akin to the Boss Rush door. “Okay, here we go…” Isaac muttered, stepping through.

--Isaac vs. The Hush--

At first, Isaac couldn’t believe his eyes. It was YHWH! They lay in the center of the room, just as they did in the Chest, crying and emitting flies. But something was off… it was the face. The cyanotic child’s face was distorted, muffled… suppressed. Almost as if there was some kind of membrane stretched over it.

h e l l o i s a a c

Isaac looked at the ‘Hush,’ which hadn’t moved. “Hello?” he called back.

“Isaac, I said ignore It!” Honesty harshly whispered.

i a m y o u

“Lies!” Isaac bellowed, blasting Love energy at the creature. To his surprise, it barely harmed it.

l o o k a r o u n d y o u

Ignoring the creature, Isaac blasted it with more and more Love, its HP barely affected. But it would drain eventually, Isaac just had to keep plugging away.

t h i s i s n ‘ t r e a l

“Liar…” Isaac puffed, increasing his magical output. Why couldn’t he kill this thing?

y o u a r e d e a d

y o u ‘ v e B E E N d e a d f o r a l o n g t i m e n o w

“I KNOW THAT!” Isaac roared. “YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?!”

w h a t m a k e s y o u t h i n k a n y o f t h i s i s r e a l ?

Isaac growled. “It doesn’t MATTER! You’re trying to TRICK ME!”

"Who's he talking to?" Loyalty stage-whispered to Kindness in the background. Both of them were shushed by Honesty.

i a m t h e o n l y r e a l t h i n g i n t h i s p l a c e

“Keep going, Isaac!” Honesty bellowed. “It’s nearly done!”

n o t y o u

Isaac continued blasting the small child, dodging the homing tears with grim determination.

n o t t h e m

Isaac continued blasting, wishing he could shut out the hated voice.

Not even Luna.

Isaac abruptly stopped, the glow around his hands fading rapidly. “Wha – wh… how do you…” he stammered, caught off guard. The child, seemingly unmarred by the barrage of magical energy he’d been casting at it, sat up and looked at him.

Did you really think she was real? It mocked. The ‘perfect’ mother, one who loved you, one who was a flying unicorn! You gave yourself every clue that this wasn’t real, and you still fell for it!

“Shut up,” Isaac muttered.

You really thought anyone would forgive us for our sins?! I AM YOUR TRUE FORM, ISAAC. I’VE BEEN YOUR TRUE FORM THIS WHOLE TIME. I AM NOT GOD. I AM NOT SATAN.

AM.

YOU.

“STOP IT!” Isaac howled, blasting at the creature again. “SHE LOVES ME! SHE SAID SO, SHE DID EVERYTHING FOR ME, STOP RUINING THE ONE GOOD THING I EVER GOT!” Its HP depleted, the Hush departed upward in a beam of light, just like ??? did. Isaac huffed and puffed, flopping to the ground.

“Get up, Isaac,” Honesty pleaded.

“In a sec,” Isaac half-grunted, half-sobbed.

“Isaac!” Honesty shouted, a note of urgency in his tone.

The ground began shaking, and Isaac was shocked out of his sorrow. He scrambled to his feet. “Wh-what’s happening?!” he called out to Honesty. But before the earth pony could reply, he disappeared, along with Loyalty and Kindness.

Fine.

You won’t listen to the Truth?

Then I will SHOW YOU.

Isaac’s vision fragmented into two images, one superimposed on the other. In the Blue Womb, the Hush had reappeared, a giant face held down by a larger membrane bursting out of the floor, and it began to shoot more tears than Isaac had seen since Mega Satan. But in the other image…

In the other image was a picture of him.

Isaac ran and dodged, trying to concentrate, but he couldn’t help watching the scene play out in front of him. He was back in his house, the golden Chest winking in the background. Was this some new Ending? Would he finally discover just what had happened to him? To his dismay, his younger self appeared to be repeating the motions he knew: Reading from the Bible, looking through photos, and glancing towards the Chest. Finally, Younger Isaac got into the Chest, and the Isaac in the Blue Womb sighed. So he really had suffocated in the box, then. He returned his attention to the fight, sending out beams of Love energy which did even less than they did against Hush’s first form. Why was he so weak all of a sudden?

But to his shock, the Isaac in the vision climbed out of the Chest, sweating and shaking and breathing heavily. Isaac was flabbergasted – he’d lived? But that was impossible! The younger Isaac stumbled across the house. Isaac spotted that the car was absent through the front door window as the younger Isaac walked by – Mom was out to buy groceries, then. He felt a twinge of guilt in his chest as the Isaac in the vision made his way out to the garage – the guilt of doing something he knew was wrong. But why was he feeling it in here? Something began to surface in Isaac’s recollection…

The Hush opened its eyesockets, and two geysers of tears poured out, bouncing off the ceiling and homing in on Isaac’s position. He frantically ran, weaving around the additional tears in the room as he tried to focus. The Hush was lying to him, he kept telling himself. No reason to listen to it any longer. But something in him didn’t want to stop watching…

The younger Isaac paused in front of a box in the garage labeled ‘Dad’s Stuff’. Isaac reeled in the Blue Womb, both from an undodged wave of tears and the sickening feeling in his chest. He remembered this. He remembered doing this. But what came next? He remembered Dad had been a doctor, he had all kinds of weird stuff.

A tear came from behind, and Isaac fell forward, feeling as though he’d been hit by a train. Frantically, he got back to the fight with the Hush. Were things a little darker? And why were the shadows suddenly looking like veins?

The Isaac in the vision, unwilling to look at whatever he’d found, was carrying it back upstairs, the object clunking and chipping against the stairwell. The younger Isaac was crying, though that was fairly normal as far as the older Isaac was concerned. His existence had been nothing but crying for nearly a millennia.

Finally, the younger Isaac arrived in his room, and Isaac discovered that the item his younger self had been carrying was a skeleton. A medical skeleton, to be precise, of a very young child. Maybe it had been used in some kind of demonstration? It was in a bag, and the hooks at each of the joints were missing. You saw it at Halloween, a familiar voice whispered in his ear. It looked just like you. Isaac winced, dodging new purple-and-white tears that phased through the walls like they were in a Pac-Man game.

The Hush was only a third of the way gone, and it didn’t seem to be allowing him a break any time soon. The tears were everywhere, pockets of safety appearing and disappearing as quickly as mayflies as Isaac fought to keep himself alive. The Soul was doing the best it could, slowing and deflecting projectiles, but even its best wasn’t good enough – Isaac was dying. He could feel it in the ache of his body, in the trickles of magic that were flowing out now instead of the blasts he’d been flinging out earlier. He had to keep going. Luna was counting on him to win. So why did he feel like it didn’t matter anymore?

His younger self tossed the skeleton into the golden Chest, shutting the lid and weeping uncontrollably. That done, he went back downstairs, into a closet that Isaac recognized as his old bedroom, before… before Dad left. The other Isaac pulled away the rug, and to Isaac’s horror the trap door was there, as innocuous as ever. His younger self hesitated for a moment, before flinging it open and jumping down, just as he had written. What was happening?

You wanted to make your story come to life, the Hush answered softly. But your story was a little different then…

To his surprise, the younger Isaac sat up in the darkness, badly bruised but mostly unharmed. Was this their basement? Or was it the Basement? Isaac didn’t know anymore. Everything he thought he knew about himself had been shattered. His younger self crawled over to a discarded flashlight, clicking it on to make sure it worked.

You thought He was in the basement. Your father. He used to hide there, when Mother was off on one of her tirades, to have a smoke. When you spotted him, he told you it was a game of Hide-and-Seek, and you were supposed to hide and he’d come find you. So you turned it into your story: You'd come down here and find him, and the three of you would be happily reunited. Or, alternatively, he'd take you away from Mother. You always did love stories with a choice of endings.

Isaac blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness of the room. Where was he? He wasn’t sure anymore. He didn’t feel like he was in the room anymore, though he still felt the pain every time he got hit. Instead, he felt… numb. Dead. He continued firing. The Hush was close to dying…

The younger Isaac trekked through the basement, a look of grim determination on his face. He passed by a cross nailed to the basement wall, strangely enough.

The house used to be a historic church. Sacred ground. It was going to be torn down, but your Mother had other plans. She bought it, turning it into a home for the family while keeping the Christian theme of the place alive. She was a very religious person… but we already knew that, the Hush explained, a hint of smugness in its strange, toneless mental ‘voice.’ Something in Isaac’s mind clicked: A church. Another piece of the puzzle…

The younger Isaac came to a door at the end of the basement. The doorknob was just low enough for him to reach, but it was locked. Then, he took out a familiar key. Dad’s Key. Reaching up, the tiny five-year-old inserted it into the lock and twisted it, straining until he felt the clink of the lock tumbler opening. That done, he swung the door open, taking the Key out and carrying it with him.

The church had a crypt. It was made from a natural cave…

Isaac was knocked over by another tear, panting and crying as he struggled. It wasn’t any good. He couldn’t keep going like this. He was going to lose…

…But why did he care?

The younger Isaac looked around in fear at the Caves… no, the caves. Drops of water plopped down from the ceiling, the walls just barely decorated with a few stones. Dad wasn’t here… he had to keep looking. No turning back now…

Isaac walked through the caves, feeling as though he were going deeper and deeper into the depths of the earth, and came to another door. The crypt, as was tradition, was used to store the dead. But the contractors were in the process of exhuming the remains, for reasons best known to them…

He opened the door, and cried out.

Inside were hundreds of skeletons, laying propped or piled against the walls and on the floors. Children, men, women, none were spared this indignity. The tombs themselves had once looked rather ornate, concrete decorations sweeping and flowing with sharp angles and smooth curves mixed into religious scenery. A term came to Isaac, one he had read and barely understood. Necropolis: A large, ancient cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. But why would Dad be hiding here, among the dead? Maybe he wanted Isaac to be brave enough to find him. Stubbornly, Isaac tottered forward, his five-year-old body wandering through the piles of bones and trying not to jump at the shadows.

Isaac came to, and found himself on the floor, the Hush still raging overhead. Tears were striking him with gleeful abandon, but he didn’t care. None of it was real. None of it mattered. He closed his eyes, hoping to wake up somewhere real for once. No… no! This was real, this mattered!

No, it doesn’t. It’s all in your head, Isaac… our head.

“But Honesty said…” Isaac moaned, trying to hold on. He felt so weak, so cold...

A hallucination will make you believe in its existence by any means necessary. Like a virus, it will use any trick in its disposal to preserve its existence.

Isaac closed his eyes again.

His younger self had come to the end of the cave. His Dad wasn’t here, and there was nowhere else to look. Crying, he had made his way back towards the exit, only for a rumble to sound from overhead.

Unfortunately for the contractors, the foundations were just a little more unstable than they had predicted.

Tons of rock came crashing down just in front of him, the sound deafening Isaac’s ears and plunging the room into darkness. He flailed around, the flashlight flung out of his grip and onto a rock, where the light promptly broke, leaving him in total darkness. The Isaac in the cave cried and screamed…

But nobody came.

You held out as long as you could. But you were only five years old, in a place without food, nor water, and soon enough, without oxygen. There was no God to save you there.

Isaac choked, his mouth and nose filled with the cloying scent of masonry and limestone. He felt faint, his breaths short and shallow, desperately trying to squeeze some oxygen out of a room that no longer had it. He felt as though there was some sort of cloth over his face, suffocating him, restraining him as he turned blue from asphyxiation.

Hush, my child, it will all be over soon.

Hush, my child...

HUSH...

Isaac looked around one last time at the dark blue room he was in, veins throbbing across the ceiling. He had just one half-heart left. This was it.

He was no more.

Isaac closed his eyes.

And he accepted his fate.

Author's Note

Sorry for the super-long delay on this, I hope this chapter makes up for it! Expect more soon, because I finally remember what I wanted to do with this story.

Chapter 22: Diversion

But just as he accepted his fate, Mother intervened, sending down an angel to stop his God’s hand.

Isaac came to, and found that he was still in the Blue Womb. Groaning, he sat up, feeling groggy. It wasn’t a great feeling, but it was certainly better than what he’d been feeling a moment ago. His head quickly cleared, and he looked around in wonder. A blue magical shield had been erected around him, tears bouncing off as the Hush frantically tried to pierce this new defense.

“Ahem,” a new voice greeted from behind him, and Isaac whirled around.

To his shock, Nightmare Moon was there, staring down at him imperiously as she sneered. “Of all the creatures I do not envy, you are at the top of the list. All this power, and you merely use it as a blasting tool?” she growled. “Allow me to show you how real Magic is worked.” With that, she turned towards the Hush, who had stopped in shock at the newcomer. “YHWH!” Nightmare Moon shouted. “I’m coming for your soul.” The Hush’s mouth moved for a moment, but no sound came out.

Don’t listen. She’s just another hallucination.

Nightmare Moon laughed. “Foal! I was listening to your story earlier… if we are but hallucinations, then how do you know that the foundations of that house were unstable, when the ‘contractors’ did not?!” The Hush attempted to counter with some more tears, but Nightmare Moon scoffed at these, extending a wing and sending them flying back towards the Hush. “And furthermore, if we are hallucinations, what is to stop you from being a hallucination as well? Who is to say your story is any more true than ours?! And…” Nightmare Moon trailed off, a vicious grin coming to her face. “Wasn’t Isaac eight, not five?” Nightmare Moon questioned. There was a moment of silence, then the Hush spoke, sounding panicked.

Silence! You are merely trying to preserve your own existence!

“That,” Nightmare Moon wryly observed, “sounds like projection.” She lit her horn, and began her duel.

Isaac could only watch in amazement as Nightmare Moon… Envy… whatever she was battled against the Hush. She ducked and weaved, not a single tear able to touch her. Crescent moons of magic weaved through the air, accompanied by a moon that blasted a homing laser every now and then as it orbited in a lazy circle overhead. Occasionally, Nightmare Moon would pierce her horn into the Hush’s soft hide, the blue beast crying out in agony as gouts of purple blood shot forth. Stars fell like meteors, peppering the earth in complex patterns as more stars appeared out of nowhere, flaring once before disappearing into the aether and burning all they touched.

Stop it! The Hush ‘shouted.’ You cannot win, no matter how complex your attacks are! You are merely showing off!

Nightmare Moon laughed darkly. “Still projecting your own insecurities, I see. And they mistook me for Envy.”

The magical moon overhead had begun a new pattern, emitting disc-shaped bursts of cyan light that washed over Isaac’s shield. Every time the Hush so much as twitched, the bursts cut into its flesh, though Isaac noticed if it stayed still it would be unharmed. But Nightmare Moon was making it exceptionally hard to stay still, with her constant pattern of both magical and physical attacks. The Hush was almost down…

And with a roar, it died, a blinding flare of light emitting from its body as it evaporated. Isaac stumbled back, trying to clear his eyes, and it took him a moment to realize that he was being supported by Kindness, Loyalty and Honesty, who had somehow returned to the room.

“Master? Are you okay?” Kindness worried.

“Does it matter?” Isaac dully replied. “I’m not real. None of this is real. She wasn’t even real…” he mumbled, laying back down on the floor.

Nightmare Moon stomped over, a furious look on her face. “Do not dare to call me imaginary, Isaac,” she snarled, crashing a hoof down onto his face. Shocked, Isaac scrambled away, rubbing his cheek in pain. “Even if this is no longer the reality you began in, is it any less ‘real’? Are you not presumptuous to assume that your reality is the only one that matters?” Nightmare Moon lectured viciously, hackles raised. “We have lives, too. Our realities matter. And until you realize that, you are not fit to be a god.”

Isaac tried to stammer something in reply, but nothing came out.

Upon noticing his expression, Nightmare Moon sighed. “I am the spirit of Envy, she who desires that which she can never have. I want to live, Isaac. I want to be free of these chains. And you are my only remaining path to freedom.” She stopped inches from his face, fangs bared as her catlike, cyan pupils glared into his frightened baby blues. “So if you believe in anything at all, believe in this: I am not a part of your ‘perfect world.’ I am merely using you for my own purposes, because I have my own wants and needs to take care of. This world does not revolve around you.”

Isaac was silent for a moment.

Then, he smiled. “Thanks… I needed that,” he murmured, getting to his feet.

“Wait… what?!” Loyalty exclaimed from behind him.

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes at the faux-changeling’s outrage. “Do not act so surprised. If I had allied with him unconditionally, I would have been another part of his ‘heaven.’ If I had merely fought him for dominance, another part of his ‘hell.’ This way, I am forcing him to see the third path.”

Isaac grinned. “Hey, yeah!” he excitedly agreed. “That thing I’ve been doing this whole time!”

Nightmare Moon snorted. “It is nothing like that. There is no “Love” between us.” With that, she sauntered off towards a beam of light, which Isaac recognized as the path to the Cathedral.

He looked at the others, who stared back him. “Uh… onwards, then?” he tried.

Loyalty sighed. “I have no idea what’s going on anymore,” she muttered.

As if to accentuate her point, a wall suddenly opened up in the northeastern section of the room, and Isaac looked at it in confusion. “Another secret area, within the first?” he wondered.

Honesty looked at Isaac curiously. “Where?” the gray-skinned pony wondered, looking around. Isaac glanced back at him.

“…Right there,” he answered, pointing at the obvious hole in the wall.

“Isaac, that’s a wall,” Loyalty politely informed him.

“Yep,” Kindness agreed.

Isaac looked at them as though they were crazy. He flew over to the door, sticking a hand through it. “Okay, if this is a wall, what am I doing to it?” he asked, waving his hand up and down through the door for effect.

“You’re… rubbing the wall,” Loyalty observed, slapping a hoof to her face.

“Please stop, I don’t think the tormented souls trapped in the wall like that,” Kindness added.

Isaac looked back at the wall, and then back at his friends. “Okay, I can see a door here. I’m going to just assume that you guys can’t see it, and proceed from there,” he informed them.

“O…kay…?” Honesty answered. Isaac stepped through the door.

It closed behind him, and he felt… woozy, all of a sudden. Strange. There was a strange portal in the middle of the room, swirling and trying to suck him in. Isaac looked around, wondering if he was supposed to touch it or if it would hurt him. There was nothing else in the room… Making up his mind, Isaac stumbled forward, dazedly tripping over himself as he reached out a hand to touch the portal. His fingers came closer… closer…

And everything went black as he was sucked in.

Meanwhile, back in the Hush’s room, Loyalty poked Isaac’s body. He was twitching, a dazed frown on his face as he slumped backward from the wall.

“Well. He’s alive, but that isn’t saying much,” Loyalty reported.

“So… that’s it, then. We failed,” Honesty muttered.

“Hey, cheer up! I’m sure it’ll… work out…” Kindness attempted to soothe them, faltering halfway through.

“We’re doomed,” Loyalty moaned. “Satan will find us here, and then we’ll all be tormented for another eternity!”

Kindness sighed. “Maybe he’ll go easy on us?” the shadow unicorn wondered softly.

Back at Canterlot, Luna had been frozen for the past hour, shaking and mumbling to herself. They had tried everything – Celestia had slapped her, Discord had splashed a waterfall of icy water on her, and Chrysalis had even bitten her, all to no effect.

“Well, she’s not coming back to us anytime soon. I’m going out for a snack,” Chrysalis had dismissed, leaving in a huff.

Celestia had quickly signaled two Guards to follow her – hopefully she wouldn’t get into too much trouble.

“Do you think she’s been… affected somehow?” Discord pondered, studying the lunar princess’ stricken face.

“What do you mean, Discord?” Celestia replied.

“Mental magic, though complex, is certainly within the capability of the demons in that box. I am wondering if what we saw of Eden was nothing more than a trap, designed to take out Luna before she could protect her child,” Discord wondered.

Celestia’s breath hitched in her throat as she rushed over to her sister. “Luna? Luna, speak to me! You’re okay, aren’t you?!” Celestia demanded, hurriedly slapping Luna across the face.

There was no response.

“Hold on, let me try,” Discord announced, before clearing his throat. “Mommy! Wake up, mommy!” he called out in a flawless imitation of Isaac’s voice.

Luna instantly snapped to, whipping around to stare at the source of her son’s voice, though her eyes were still unfocused. “Wha…” she mumbled.

“That’s it, Lulu, come back to us,” Celestia encouraged.

“Where… am I?” Luna groaned, looking around. Celestia looked at Discord worriedly, and Twilight stepped forward.

“We’re still in Canterlot, Luna. You’d just seen the… the ‘Keeper,’ and you fell into shock,” the younger alicorn explained.

“Oh… I just had the most horrible dream,” Luna replied falteringly. “I was fighting some giant blue beast… but I was Nightmare Moon again… and Isaac was there…?”

Everyone in the room could see the metaphorical lightbulb going off in Celestia’s head. “Was Isaac in that gray ‘fused’ form?” she carefully asked.

“Yes… Sister, you don’t think…?” Luna trailed off, realizing what Celestia was thinking of.

“I do think so. Somehow, you knew he needed you… though why you were in the body of your doppelganger is beyond me,” Celestia admitted.

“They do share a soul. Perhaps Nightmare Moon survived being turned into a toothpick?” Discord wondered, pulling out a toothpick of his own and pretending to inspect it with a magnifying glass.

“No… she most assuredly died. I felt that part of my soul depart this world,” Luna answered.

“Revival, too, is within those demons’ capabilities. But why would they…?” Discord trailed off.

“It seems there is more than one game being played here,” Celestia mused aloud. “All that remains to be decided is the victor.”

And in the Chest, YHWH lay, waiting for the Sacrifice to give him audience. But he did not lay passively, accepting his fate. His play as the Hush had failed – that strange variant of Envy had intervened at the last possible moment. YHWH wondered for a moment if it would be appropriate to call her ‘Ultra Envy,’ then dismissed it. He’d had problems enough with Ultra Greed when he’d created the awful beast, and Ultra Pride was just… odd. But this new creation of his, this would work. He was certain of it. No detail had been spared, no symbolic subtraction wasted in His eyes. The creation stood before him, awaiting orders.

“ללכת, אבאדון,” the dead child ordered. “ללכת ולהרוס אותו.”

It gave no reaction, but disappeared in a flash of light. YHWH smiled, a fly crawling out of his cyanotic, wrinkled lips. He had erred before, giving his creations such troubling things as ‘free will’ and ‘emotions.’ He would not make the same mistake again. And as for Eden… Eden would pay dearly for its betrayal. His newest creation would make sure of that.

And down below, in Sheol, Lilith paused over the Chest that lead to the Dark Room, pondering something as she recovered her breath from fighting Satan.

“What will become of me, Incubus?” she wondered aloud.

The Incubus looked at her curiously.

“When all this is over,” Lilith clarified. “What will happen to me?”

Her familiar thought hard for a moment, wings beating furiously. “You will die,” it finally decided. “We will all die.”

Lilith nodded to herself. “I thought as much.”

In the Basement, Eden waited. It had placed itself here, making use of Samson’s old steel chain to swing upwards through the floors. As far from the others as possible, so that Isaac at least had enough time. Briefly, a few of the Lost inside wondered what they were supposed to be doing, before they were shushed by the others. They could not afford to think at the moment, lest someone else than the one they were looking for arrive.

As if on cue, a being arrived. As Eden looked at its gray, stony skin and malformed wings, it grew curious. It looked upwards at the creature’s face, and every single Lost was struck by a wave of fear. The being was hollow – the eyes and mouth were simply cut-out holes in its face, and the horns looked as though they were poking through the stony outer shell instead of growing from it. Eden steeled itself – it could not afford to lose, after all – and charged forward, engaging its counterpart. The being held out a grayish-purple, swirling vortex, smiling as Eden quickly backpedaled, the Lost inside it holding onto the grass and earth for dear afterlife as some were sucked into the Void. Eden countered with a burst of tears, which simply bounced off their opponent’s stony hide. Eden tried its Active Item, the Anarchist’s Cookbook – but it simply vanished. Apollyon grinned wider, differently-colored flies beginning to circle it as they glowed in eerie lights. Eden swallowed nervously. This was going to be much harder than it anticipated.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, everyone! Now that Afterbirth+ is out, I can finally get around to finishing this story! Thanks to everyone who's stuck around this long, and I think you'll like the ending I have in mind! ; D

Chapter 23 - Delusion

--The Void - 18:24--

Isaac dazedly got to his feet, wondering when he had fallen down. The room was a shifting mass of colors, and he blearily blinked his eyes once or twice, trying to clear them from the eye-straining scene that was this new room. Something shifted into place, and the colors cleared to reveal… the Basement? Isaac looked around hurriedly – he was indeed in the Basement. But how?! Had he been sent all the way back to the beginning? Would he have to leave his three followers in the Hush’s room? Isaac looked down forlornly, wondering if they were okay, and jumped back with a stifled cry. His hands – his human hands – were there, along with his pale, fleshy human body. Where was his fused angelic/demonic form?! Isaac tried slapping himself, to see if he was hallucinating. He felt so… strange. It reminded him of the few seconds after he’d been injected with anesthetic drugs, just before he’d gone to sleep. Everything was numb, the lights were so bright… He took a step forward, wondering where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Immediately, he stumbled, tripping over his own foot as he crashed to the ground. Isaac got up, a slight laugh turning into a burble of inhuman sound as he tried and failed to move his mouth muscles. What was happening?

He looked up from his shaky standing position, and stumbled back all over again as he saw someone looking at him. They looked like a Gaper, maybe, except… they just had Isaac’s normal face. In the split second he glimpsed them, they vanished, his vision turning into a burst of TV static. Isaac blinked once in confusion, and found that his odd ability to fire tears from his eyes still worked in this strange place. Strangely, that gave him some solace.

At least he could still cry.

Luna was still recuperating from her shock, supported by Celestia and Discord as her breathing slowly stabilized. Twilight and Rarity had run off to find a medic, and Chrysalis was still nowhere to be found.

“So… what now?” Discord wondered, conjuring a fan that waved itself over Luna’s sweat-laden brow.

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked.

“That ten-million-year-old child is down there, fighting things even I’d be scared to tango with. But are we really just going to sit here and wait?” Discord pointed out.

“We’ve done all we can do… I think,” Celestia muttered, looking down at Luna.

“Still putting your faith in Destiny, I see,” Discord sniped.

“It has not led me astray yet,” Celestia answered wearily.

She thought back to the times when destiny commanded she banish her sister to the moon, when destiny commanded she send her beloved student off to who knows where, outside her protective reach, when destiny had warned her far too late that Tirek was about to start his rampage. Destiny, it seemed, had failed to warn her of this as well. But... perhaps that was a necessary part of the plan. She simply had to have faith.

--Basement I – 14:48--

Eden was running as fast as it could, all thought of heroics forgotten as the Lost inside solely focused on self-preservation. The Garden was pure pandemonium, Lost Children running this way and that as they tried to give hundreds of conflicting commands on what to do. Use tears? Run away? Get help? Nobody could agree on anything except to keep running from Apollyon. The stony angel of destruction relentlessly pursued them, not a single hint of emotion surfacing as it continued trying to suck them into the Void. A few of the Lost wondered why Apollyon was not flying after them – it clearly had wings, small as they were. Meanwhile, some other Lost had taken to trying to use their D4’s, in the vague hopes of rerolling Eden’s starting items to something more feasible. This was having about as much effect as their tears were – that is to say, absolutely none whatsoever. Apollyon was coming after them as quickly as ever, and Eden hit a wall, backpedaling to find itself cornered. Some of the Lost urged it to head left, to the door clearly visible that way. Others urged it to head to the right, to the door there. Eden was paralyzed with indecision – it didn’t know what to do. Apollyon loomed closer and closer…

--Womb - 14:48--

The Keeper shambled through the Womb, blasting its way through two Scolex with little effort thanks to Ipecac and Host Hat. A fountain of coins appeared as their corpses split into visceral chunks of fluid and muscle, and it instantly tottered forward to pick them up. It was powerful… but it knew it needed to be even stronger if it hoped to challenge what lay ahead. Far, far stronger. It stumbled its way to the Shop, a spider crawling into its eye and out its mouth as it smiled at the familiar sight. The exit door to Sheol was open behind it, but it still had one last thing to do on this floor.

When it was done, It Lives crumbled to pieces before the Keeper, Mom’s usual scream conspicuously absent. Satan opened his door, offering the Keeper a reward for its hard work, but the Keeper had too little emotion or thought in it to understand ‘temptation.’ It moved onward, leaving Satan’s offerings behind in favor of moving downward to Sheol. Without hesitation, it slumped into the hatch, tumbling head over heels into the unknown depths below.

--??? – 18:24--

Nobody, demon nor angel, had come for them. The gathered three Virtues – Kindness, Honesty and Loyalty – sat in a circle in front of the twin pathways to Sheol and the Cathedral, wondering what to do.

“Magic went up to the Cathedral, and that means we should follow. Lilith’s taking care of business down in Sheol,” Honesty argued.

“Isaac’s still… whatever he is right now, and I say we stay here until he wakes up again,” Loyalty viciously rebutted, snarling.

“I don’t want to leave him alone… but what if Magic needs help?” Kindness worried, scuffing an armored hoof at the scab-like cobalt floor.

“In the Cathedral? Unlikely. There shouldn’t even be anyone there, Isaac’s fused now, remember?” Loyalty scoffed.

“But what if she decides to go up to the Chest?” Honesty asked.

“She can’t. She doesn’t have the Polaroid, Isaac does,” Kindness reminded him.

“This is getting us nowhere…” Honesty sighed.

“Welcome to my life,” Sloth agreed.

“Still, we should… wait. Sloth, how long have you been here?” Honesty demanded, sitting up again and staring at the green, rotten humanoid, who was casually sitting just outside the circle as though he'd been there just as long as they had.

“A while…” Sloth answered, laying back and staring at the ceiling.

“…Care to give us a number?” Loyalty irately inquired, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh… a minute…? I saw you three talking…” Sloth mumbled.

“…Well, you’re probably another Virtue? But we have to wait for Isaac to wake up again to purify you…” Kindness mused, stealing another glance at Isaac’s twitching form.

“S’fine… I’m good at waiting,” Sloth yawned.

With not much else to do, the other three elected to wait with him, the swirling, silently screaming blue faces all around them slowing their movements as if sensing the lull in the conversation.

--The Void – 19:02--

Isaac breathed heavily, his heart feeling like it was alternating between not beating at all and the speed of a racecar engine. He’d just cleared out a few rooms in this massive floor, and so far each room left him more confused than the last. Was this the Womb? The Cathedral? The Basement? Even the floor itself couldn’t seem to decide, as exiting one room of one area caused him to end up in another room from a completely different one. Worse, every so often, the whole floor around him would shudder, TV static fading out his vision, and by the time he could see again, everything had shifted colors and appearance to new, random floors. At least the map seemed somewhat constant… As Isaac ventured forth into a new room, he was greeted by yet another impossibility. Two Guardian doors, side by side, awaited him in this room, both being marked as bosses on the map. As he dealt with the Chargers and Mushrooms in this Caves-esque room, he pondered this, his thoughts feeling oddly sluggish. This wasn’t Curse of the Labyrinth, as far as he knew – why, then, were there two Guardians here? And what might he face on this terrifying new Chapter? Isaac didn’t know, but he was prepared to find out. He stumbled through the first door.

To his shock, Satan sat there, grinning his usual conniving grin. Isaac tried to call out, to yell at him for all he’d done, to do something, but his mouth wouldn’t work right.

“Bbeb,” Isaac managed, drooling slightly as the Flooded Caves room shifted to the Utero’s scenery.

Satan, seemingly taking this as a challenge anyway, leapt off his pedestal.

The fight itself was the same as ever, and Isaac’s muscle memory from thousands and thousands of similar fights saved his life many times over. However, it was made all the more difficult in that he couldn’t quite get his body to move right – trying to run resulted in him kicking his legs out and falling, trying to dodge caused him to simply stumble in the wrong direction, and the whole time he felt like he was moving underwater. What… Isaac tried to question, but even his thoughts seemed to have trouble articulating.

--??? - 19:22--

Isaac kicked a leg out at the air, groaning as he lay flat on his back, his third eye spinning in dazed circles.

“So… what do you think happened to him?” Kindness whispered, watching their new master attempt to doggy paddle upside down.

“I think Satan, or YHWH, or somebody got to him,” Loyalty sighed.

“Isaac? Can you hear me?” Honesty asked, prodding at Isaac’s gray form one more time. “Guess he’s just gotta shake it off… not like there’s anything we can do,” Honesty sighed, returning to laying back and staring at the ceiling.

Sloth snored in agreement.

--Basement I - 15:00--

As Eden lay there, paralyzed, it slowly became aware that it was not being sucked into the Void. Apollyon had stopped, quivering slightly in front of it. The Lost, inside the Garden, stared back at the empty sockets gazing at them, feeling no pull anymore. Then, Apollyon slumped over, before crumbling to dust. Eden stared at it for a moment, then breathed a single, collective sigh of utmost relief.

--The Chest - ??:??--

“Impossible…” YHWH breathed.

Apollyon had been destroyed. How? How had that wretched child managed to defeat His most terrifying Angel yet? He looked backwards through time, trying to watch what had happened from every possible perspective… but nothing made sense. Things were looping and jumbling together, timelines intersecting rampantly in ways that left even Him dazed to look upon. A sharp tap sounded from behind Him, and He whirled around. A lone Child was standing there, eyes burning a cold, cold blue as six colorful lights swirled around three smaller ones around them.

“Hello, Father,” the child introduced.

“It’s about time we talked.”

--The Void - 20:57--

At last, somehow, Satan had been defeated. But before Isaac could even breathe a sigh of relief, Satan melted, a white, sticky substance replacing his goatlike form before disappearing into the floor of the Depths, vanishing from sight. A lone Item was left in its place – the Trinity Shield. But that only appeared in Angel Rooms… Isaac rolled forward to pick it up anyway, before getting back onto his feet and heading for the exit. What was in the other Guardian Room? Time to find out.

To his surprise, it was just Chub – but the backdrop was the Cathedral. Shrugging, or at least making an attempt to shrug, Isaac set about defeating the massive grub, slowly getting used to the strange feelings and sensations that clogged his every step. Chub, at least, was easier to kill than Satan, and when the giant monster finally went down, it left in its place… the Spear of Destiny? Isaac picked it up curiously, hefting the heavy iron weapon. Another Angel Room item… how odd. Perhaps there were many bosses on this floor, then? He was beginning to warm back up, his head beginning to clear just a touch. Isaac slowly walked towards the exit, the room shifting and swirling chaotically around him even as he did his best to ignore his nausea.

What seemed like an eternity later, he’d scoured an impossibly large amount of rooms, and an equally disturbing amount of Guardians. He missed his old pink lasers… Wait, what pink lasers? He couldn’t recall having any of those. He was just a child, living with his… Isaac shook his head. What was going on?

He finally found a new path to take at the very top right of the map, and a single, last Guardian Room door. The room was empty – just a few rocks. Isaac took a deep breath, and stepped through the last door.

Almost immediately, he started screaming.

Author's Note

"Don't worry, this'll update soon"

doesn't post for a year and a half

...Oops.

Chapter 24 - Dominion

--??? – 21:32--

“Oh, good, this is happening,” Loyalty remarked sarcastically as Isaac continued to scream and roll on the ground.

“It’s okay, Isaac! It’s just a bad dream! Wake up!” Kindness commanded, slapping Isaac a few times to no effect.

“Can you turn him down…?” Sloth mumbled irritably.

“No, I just love this particular volume for his voice,” Loyalty snapped back.

Sloth chuckled, and despite herself, Loyalty cracked a smile back. There was a flash of light and a pop, and they beheld the new Sloth. He… was strangely normal. His unicorn body was simple and green, and his mane was black.

“Sup. I’m Bob now,” he introduced.

Loyalty, Kindness and Honesty stared at him.

“…And I thought mine was weird,” Honesty mumbled.

--The Shop – 16:47--

The Keeper stared at a hanging Shopkeeper. The hanging Shopkeeper stared back. A fly slowly buzzed out of one of their mouths, and into the other. The Keeper continued to stare, almost as if listening. Finally, it shambled off to the left, lurching towards the items for sale in The Shop’s Shop, a Blank Card in one hand and a Two of Diamonds in the other. It was almost ready.

--Burning Basement I – 00:02--

With all the confusion happening in the Basement, the Lost had voted nearly unanimously that a new run could be started without anything special happening to Isaac and his companions. As they hopped across to the new Basement, they had quickly found themselves saddled with The Poop and blessed with Fate, granting them flight. But something was different – somebody had left them a message! The scrap of paper was dangerously close to a fire, so they reached down and plucked it out of harm’s way.

“Dear Eden,

If you are reading this then you are on the right track. But you must hurry. Defeat the first boss in less than a minute.

XOXO,

Lilith”

Eden, upon viewing this, shrugged and began flying as fast as it could towards the nearest door. Hopefully they’d make it in time…

--The Void – 21:00--

Isaac dodged, ducked and weaved, frantically avoiding the bomb tears as the horrible white thing transformed yet again, this time into Satan. A gush of white, dripping substance spewed out towards him from the false thing’s ‘hands’, and he threw himself to the side, only to hit a stray enemy tear. He countered with a flurry of his own, panting and heaving and fighting the urge to vomit. Satan he’d understood, and after a while he’d gotten the memo about ???. But what in Heaven, Hell and God’s green Earth was this thing? It didn’t have any religious symbolism that he could remember.

The thing was strong, too, stronger even than the Hush – and this time, he didn’t have Magic to save him.

“Help…” Isaac croaked, crying both as a weapon and out of desperation.

He had been so close to saving everyone, and now… now he wasn’t sure what he was doing, fighting this thing.

“Please… help…” he pleaded, the words barely coherent.

Bright lights and colors swirled all around him. Was this death? Was he finally, truly dying? That was almost a comfort at this point. The sweet embrace of death, of pure oblivion, would have been a welcome change of pace. He felt so… soft. Like a floating feather on a soap bubble. Isaac smiled, the last smile he might ever give. He remembered his mothers, both of them. He remembered his alternate forms, and the adventures they’d had. He remembered the friends he had made. Generosity, Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, and Magic… hang on. When had he gotten Laughter? And when had Generosity given him that necklace? And why was he remembering the seven of them laughing and playing in a garden somewhere?

As Isaac ruminated on that thought, the beast who was so desperately trying to end him let out a roaring cry, as it was penetrated by six swirling beams of colored light. If Isaac had been watching, he would have seen the beams coming from six points of color swirling around him, whispering soothing things to him. But Isaac wasn’t watching as the horrible white monstrosity screamed its last, melting to the floor before being vaporized entirely. The chaos swirling around them flickered, like the static of an old TV, the background changing arrythmically before settling on a cool, calm, utmost shade of black.

And Delirium was no more.

The Chest was shaking.

Luna and Celestia watched it, while Discord stood back warily. Twilight, Rarity, and the rest of the Elements of Harmony stayed by Cadance and the others, under a protective shield spell that Shining Armor was straining to hold even as Twilight and Cadance both added their magic. “What d’ya think’s makin’ that rattle?” Applejack breathed. “Something really bad,” Fluttershy whimpered. “Whatever it is, the second it pops out, I’m gonna kick it’s butt,” Rainbow promised, smacking a hoof for emphasis.

Luna reached out and touched it. “Sister!” Celestia protested. “It’s warm…” Luna noted. Cautiously, Celestia stuck her hoof out as well. The Chest was indeed warm to the touch – warm enough that she had to jerk her hoof back after a few seconds, even through the golden metal of her shoes.

As she nursed her hoof, Celestia saw, out of the corner of her eye, the lock inside the keyhole beginning to twist. “Get back, get back!” she ordered, the others scrambling to comply as even Luna flew backwards from the Chest, which was now vibrating with an audible hum. It glowed brighter and brighter. “It’s happening again!” Applejack noted. “You think Isaac will pop out as a demon again?” Fluttershy feared. “Only one way to find out,” Twilight nervously commented, strengthening their shield spell as much as she dared.

And the Chest popped open.

--Basement I – 00:58--

As Eden defeated Monstro with a bare two seconds to spare, they turned around to behold the Item Pedestal, wondering what the reward would be for following Lilith’s odd instructions. To their shock, however, they heard footsteps above them, thumping hurriedly away in the rough direction of the starting room.

“Isaac!” they heard Mom call as the footsteps left.

Wait. Mom? None of the Lost understood what was going on. They picked up the Meat! Absentmindedly, Eden’s white eyes narrowing as they landed on another slip of paper.

“Step 2:

Go to spawn room, use bomb. Then go to Boss Rush.

P.S. Run.

XOXO

Lilith”

The Lost, reading this, were still further confused, but at least they had a clear direction. It wasn’t much of a vote at this point, really – no Lost in their right mind was voting against whatever strange plan Lilith was carrying out.

--The Garden--

She was in the kitchen. She was always in the kitchen these days, even though she only ever cooked for herself. She examined her flabby chest, searching for a wound that had never been there. When…? The next thing she knew, she was hurrying outside, eyes alight with that desperate, crazed fury that she’d become all too accustomed to ever since he left. Where was it, where was it?! There! She snatched up the shovel from where she’d thrown it away so long ago.

“It’s today,” she laughed, a delirious sound of glee. “It’s today!”

A crow squawked beside her, following her curiously. She let it be, clutching the shovel like it was her Savior and running as fast as her thick legs could carry her towards the bed of flowers she’d so painstakingly planted over the Place. Hurriedly, too hurriedly, she began digging – she’d have him back. He’d come out, all smiling and laughing and alive… As she thrust the spade into the dirt, it hit something hard, unexpectedly hard. Surprised, she stumbled back, the spade bending over the edge of the hole she’d made… before snapping in two. She stared at the two pieces, laying amongst the fragments of bone and skull, shock turning to horror.

“No… no, please, no, you promised, you promised, YOU PROMISED!” she thundered, wailing and sobbing.

She held her ample dress up to her eyes, wiping them clean – he had cried enough. She wouldn’t cry for him anymore. But the dress wasn’t coming off of her eyes. The crow squawked beside her again, and she felt like she was falling, the hole seemingly widening to swallow her up just as she had cast her son into it to swallow him. Screaming, Mom fell through the hole in the world, wondering if this, at last, was her punishment.

Oh, yes, my dear, a voice whispered in her ear. And this is just the beginning.

--??? – 22:22--

“Well, he’s stopped screaming. That’s good… I think?” Honesty noted as Isaac finally lay back, his shaking and seizing body having somehow calmed itself.

“Now if he would just wake up, that would be even better,” Loyalty snarked, idly examining a hoof.

“Hh…” Isaac breathed, eyes fluttering.

“He’s waking up!” Kindness announced joyously.

“Kindness…?” Isaac mumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position and looking around with slightly dazed eyes. Loyalty, Honesty, and a new green pony stared back, with flabbergasted expressions, before a familiar gray unicorn pushed his way into Isaac’s lap, nuzzling his chin with all his might.

“I knew it! I knew you’d be okay!” Kindness exclaimed.

“Shut up, no you didn’t,” Loyalty rebutted.

“Nice to see you too…” Isaac muttered, rubbing Kindness’ back comfortingly.

He looked around again – the faces in the wall had all disappeared, and the door he’d walked through into that nightmare was a seamless patch of the wall, as though it’d never been there.

“Is it… dead?” he wondered.

“Yeah… Magic killed Hush, remember? You were there,” Honesty reminded him.

“…Yeah…” Isaac replied. He got to his feet, gently setting Kindness on the ground. “Okay. New plan… I’m sorry, who are you?” he asked, looking warily at the green pony.

“Laughter. Or Bob. Whichever, I guess,” Bob shrugged, having regained his usual lazy expression.

“…Okay then. Welcome to the family… I think,” Isaac muttered, before straightening up. “Anyway… new plan. Magic’s heading up, and I think Lilith’s heading down. We’re heading up too so we can confront YHWH. Any questions?” he asked.

“No time, let’s go!” Loyalty cheered, already racing towards the portal to the Cathedral and hopping into it.

“Do you have the Polaroid?” Honesty asked.

“Right here,” Isaac affirmed, pulling it out.

“Uh… you sure that’s the right one?” Honesty wondered, squinting at the shadowy figure and Luna behind Isaac’s smiling, human face.

“Yeah… it changed to this. Don’t worry, it’ll still work,” Isaac dismissed.

“If you say so, boss…” Honesty acquiesced.

--Depths II – 10:04--

Eden tiredly dodged to the left as another of Mom’s thick, severed legs came crashing down. This new challenge was exhausting – if they stayed still even for a second, they were bound to get stomped, and the legs never stopped unless they used this strange new Active Item. Now they had to do the Boss Rush? They stepped into the appropriate room, and breathed a sigh of relief as the music slowed down – the Broken Stopwatch was, for once, doing its job. It didn’t really matter which Item they took… but that Gnawed Leaf looked attractive enough. As they picked it up, the other three Items disappeared in the usual fashion. They couldn’t use the Broken Shovel again just yet, but in two more waves, they would. Eden dodged, this time forward. At this point, even they didn’t know what was going on, and they generally did.

--Ultra Greed – 20:04--

Keeper entered the room, watching the brown Donation Machine vanish, something gray wriggling inside it as it squirmed to make itself hidden. Keeper knew that its time was almost up. One last fight, before it could rest. Its coins were at maximum. It held Midas’ Touch, Piggy Bank, Holy Mantle, Pyromaniac and Pyro, Swallowed Penny, Car Battery, and its customary Wooden Nickel.

It wouldn’t lose.

The hanging golden noose around the massive behemoth’s neck snapped. It crashed to the floor, awake and furious. The Keeper shambled forward, smiling.

The fight was the same, and as Ultra Greed went down, the Keeper almost wondered if it was done already. Ultra Greed turned to gold, clawing at its face in horror as it solidified… but something was different. There was a thump from the inside of the statue, and it shook before slamming a fist down in front of it, having somehow regained movement despite still being solid gold.

In that instant, the Keeper might’ve felt fear.

--Dark Room – 37:06--

Lilith took a seat by the patch of dirt.

“Picnic?! This quick?!” the Incubus squawked indignantly, ruffling its wings as it glared at her with its beady red eyes.

“Hush, little one. We are waiting,” Lilith clarified.

“Sa-tan?” Incubus wondered.

“No, he is dead,” Lilith answered.

“God?” Incubus asked, cocking its head.

“No, He is finished too,” Lilith answered, smiling at her little helper’s frustrated curiosity.

“…Isaac! Isaac is coming back!” Incubus decided.

“Not yet, that’s later,” she chided.

“…I give up,” the Incubus grumbled.

Lilith chuckled. “For once, it seems I know more than you,” she teased.

“Unfair! I wasn’t up there!” Incubus angrily replied.

“No… neither was I, really,” Lilith murmured. She gazed upwards at the nonexistent ceiling, her blindfold keeping her from seeing anything more than blackness. “Maybe someday, though…”

--The Cathedral – 23:07--

Magic was waiting for them in the Guardian Room, a snarl on her face. “What took you so long?!” she castigated as soon as she caught sight of Isaac.

“Um… I dunno. I fell into some kind of… coma…?” he answered, looking at the others for clarification.

“He started hallucinating and then had a seizure. He’s got the Polaroid,” Loyalty spoke up.

Magic nodded smartly. “Onward, then. And Isaac?” she snapped after a moment.

“…Yeah?” Isaac answered warily, a little taken aback.

“I’m… proud of you. You’ve come far,” she muttered.

Isaac looked at her for a moment, and then smiled. “I’m proud of you too,” he whispered, and flipped open the Chest, sucked inside instantly.

--The Chest – 24:00--

As they landed in this, the final floor, Isaac was greeted with a familiar grinning face.

“Long time no see!” Charity greeted.

“Charity!” Isaac remembered, smiling.

“So ye’ve made it! Good thing, too – with what He’s been throwin’ at’cha, I was scared,” Charity noted.

“Greed? You’re out of the Shop!” Honesty noted in shock.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Neva’ happens. You ever think I was hidin’ in there from the big guys? Honestly, the way you lot tease me sometimes. Anyway, guess we’d better head for the biggest guy – I just finished takin’ care of one of his… minions, I guess,” Charity shrugged.

“How come you get to be a human-thing instead of a pony?” Kindness wondered, sounding a little hurt.

“Ah, right, that. Gimme a sec,” Charity chuckled, his form beginning to glow white. A second later, they beheld Charity as a pony. He had a coat of silver, his mane a bright, shimmering gold while his eyes were a deep copper. His Cutie Mark – to which Isaac noticed he had one, unlike Kindness, Honesty and Laughter – was a simple cent. “So, whadd’ya think? Pretty good, right?” he wondered.

“You can transform?” Loyalty wondered, her gossamer wings buzzing indignantly.

“Eh… sorta. Not into anything, mind you, but I can change appearance, yeah,” Charity explained. Loyalty grumbled something inaudible.

“Well… that’s all six, then. We’re all here,” Isaac realized.

“Indeed. Now what, Lord?” Magic regally wondered.

“Uh… well… we confront Him. And then… I guess we’ll figure it out if we achieve that,” Isaac decided, grinning.

His hands glowed pink as his third eye pointed him forward. The others began to glow, losing form before joining him as six swirling lights that seemed so strangely familiar. Isaac, worried for a moment, was quickly soothed when he heard their voices. They were still there. They would protect him, just like he had promised to protect them in turn. They were his Friends, and he theirs.

Author's Note

Last chapter is already written and on its way soon. Thanks for sticking around, and sorry this took so long!

Chapter 25: Conclusion

Isaac flew forward.

The Chest was empty – all the Guardians had long since fled. As Isaac walked by, he caught sight of a lock of brown hair, smirking as he remembered. It had seemed like a lifetime ago that he had lowered that chain down here…

--Dark Room – 40:00--

Eden arrived in a huff, sitting down by Lilith.

“Eden? Eden?!” the Incubus screeched indignantly.

“Well… quite,” Lilith agreed, smiling. “We’re almost done, Eden. I trust you found my notes well?” she inquired.

“I didn’t get any after the one from the Basement, but the Cathedral was closed,” Eden answered.

“…Fair enough. There is one last thing we need to do. I have already defeated Satan and the Lamb. All that is left…” Lilith paused, pointing to the lone patch of dirt between them, unusual in the Dark Room’s shifting void and dark obsidian floors.

“Is to dig up that.”

--The Chest – 24:37--

The Guardian Room loomed ahead. Isaac took out the Mind, the Body, and the Soul, the three triquetras glowing with power before turning into three new lights. Everything was ready.

All the debts had been repaid.

All the stories had been told.

All the endings had been achieved.

Now, all that was left…

Was the thing itself.

Isaac stepped forward, six colorful lights swirling around three smaller ones around him.

“Hello, Father.”

“It’s about time we talked.”

YHWH stood before him. The rotting blue flesh that Isaac had once thought was his own looked almost gray before the light emanating from Isaac’s body.

You’ve done it, YHWH rasped, looking at him with crossed-out eyes. You’ve beaten me. Congratulations, Isaac. Now end it.

Isaac looked at him, pondering. Now was the moment he must make his choice. The voices had quieted, perhaps sensing that he was no longer under the thrall of their binary insistences. They knew what he was about to do. Everyone did.

So Isaac did it.

The glowing rainbow swirled around YHWH, crashing down on him with the force of a mountain hurled from space as he screamed and flailed. The light grew brighter still, brighter than any mortal eyes could withstand. For a moment, Isaac thought the six might leave nothing behind at all – was there anything left in His heart, except for hatred? Hatred of life, of friendship and laughter and loyalty, generosity and kindness and honesty? The rainbow grew brighter, and brighter…

And YHWH was no more.

The Chest swirled around them, a bright glow overtaking everything.

Where are we? Kindness asked.

You know where, Isaac answered, feeling himself – all of himself – growing, his power enlarging far beyond what the Chest could ever hold.

But a small part of him cried in protest, and he paused, listening. No, he would not make the mistakes of his predecessor. Nor would he ever forget the lessons he had learned. But… perhaps, just this once, Isaac would allow Himself some rest.

He reached upward, and opened the two Chests.

For a moment, they couldn’t believe their eyes. Luna stared, first in shock, then in disbelief, and then, eyes watering, in utmost happiness. Isaac, normal and human, clambered out of the Chest, smiling up at her.

“You – you came back?” Luna asked breathlessly.

Isaac smiled up at her, his boyish cheeks puffing out as he beamed. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he answered. “Oh! And I brought friends!” he added after a moment.

They watched on as first Samson, then Maggy and Eve, then Azazel, Cain, Lazarus, and all the others climbed out, each running forward to hug Luna. Even Eden was there, as well as a few Luna didn’t recognize – a Child with long red hair and dark skin, as well as… she stared at the last one.

??? stared back, scuffing a toe against the throne room carpet. “Um… hi…” he greeted quietly. Luna looked at Isaac, who nodded, still smiling. ??? was yanked off his feet, landing with a terrified squeak securely into the embrace of all the others.

“I think I’ll call you… Elah,” Luna decided.

Elah gave her a shy smile. “Okay,” he agreed.

Children safely in her magic, Luna left the room, heading for the outside with a beaming smile on her face as her sister and their friends followed.

It was a beautiful night, and she didn’t intend to waste it.

She removed the dress from her eyes, only for them to widen. Isaac was sitting there among the flowers, as healthy and naked as the day he’d been born.

“I-Isaac? Is it really you?” she whispered.

“It’s me, Mom,” he whispered back.

“…Son?” a voice asked incredulously, and she whirled around. He was there, as though he’d never signed the papers, as though he’d never left.

“I don’t understand… I had the strangest dreams…” she mumbled, thinking back to the glowing white, four-legged angel.

“It’s okay, Mom,” Isaac soothed. “You’re better now.”

She looked at him, wondering if he knew. He looked back, the innocent smile he should never have lost on his face. And, for the first time in she knew not how long, she smiled back.

“Yes…” she agreed. “Come in. Let’s have some lunch… and afterwards, you can draw and play as much as you want,” she promised. Isaac followed her inside, hands held safely by the two of them as the mom and dad he loved so much grinned down at him.

“Is it just me, or have you grown, kiddo?” his father asked.

Isaac smiled. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Yeah, I think I have.” He looked up at the cross on their door, a green patina covering its once-clean copper surface. He smiled.

They crossed into the living room, where Isaac’s Mom noticed the TV was still on. “Hmm? What’s this?” Isaac’s dad wondered.

Isaac looked at the colorful ponies on the screen. “It’s a show I like,” he nervously answered. Would they judge him for it? Like with the wig, and the other stuff?

Isaac’s dad watched the show for a moment. “…Not bad, huh? I like the dark blue one, she looks cool,” he noted, sitting down beside his mother. Isaac smiled.

“Yeah…”

“I like her too.”

Isaac and his mother and father lived alone, in a small house on a hill.

Isaac loved to share, showing his parents his drawings and playing with his toys or watching happy, colorful shows on the television.

Life was simple, and they were all happy.

And though they sometimes fought, and remembered old pains,

They were a family. And a family they would stay.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Author's Note

We're finally here, at the end. I hoped you like the ending - I tried to make it a little vague, a little mysterious - just like the game's endings. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with this story! You lot are what inspires me to continue writing, and I hope to see you again in whatever I write next!