The pony without a name looked up at the strange sky above her, inky black, without the slightest pinprick of a star to break up the monotony of nothingness. She knew it was not nighttime, rather, she was literally surrounded by nothing. And yet here she was, alone and aware, racking her mind for something, anything, that could help ease the panic building in her mind.

Should she call out for help? Could she? And would anypony listen?

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle." An icy voice whispered behind her, saving her the trouble.

Alone in the void of black, Twilight Sparkle whipped around frantically, trying in vain to see something to conflict the emptiness.

"Who...who are you?" She asked, scanning for signs of life. "WHAT are you?"

"An old friend." The voice simply said in response, its voice as cold and sharp as the blade of a knife. "And do not bother searching for the source of my voice in this void. For I have no form to discern amongst the black."

"Your voice is familiar..." Twilight Sparkle whispered, racking her convoluted and confused mind for the source of the malicious and soothing voice. "I know you, don't I..."

Suddenly, a small pinprick of light revealed itself in front of Twilight. As she gazed in wonder at this one speck contrasting the black void, she noticed it growing in both size and intensity, until a blinding orb of light forced her to turn away.

"My apologies." The voice sounded as if it were standing right in front of Twilight now, and she turned to face the source despite the blinding light. In time, it dimmed, revealing a tall, slender alicorn with an almost skeletal stature. She stepped from the orb of light, and in an instant it imploded, the black void again uninterrupted.

"Perhaps you recognize me now?" The dark blue alicorn said softly, her smile betraying any malicious intent towards the frail purple pony in front of her.

"Of course! You're Nightmare Moon!" In that instant, memories flooded Twilight Sparkle's mind. Memories of her place at the princesses side, ruling over the eternal night together, student and protegee.

"If it is convenient for you to think of me as 'Nightmare Moon,' then yes, I am. I do not, however, admit that that is the truth."

"Where am I, princess? I'm so confused..." Twilight Sparkle was shocked to feel tears welling down her face, and realized just how much she had missed her mentor.

"The answer is quite simple." Nightmare Moon replied bluntly, staring at Twilight Sparkle with a stoic expression that could be mistaken as boredom. "You are dead. Well, partially."

"WHAT? But...I'm here! I'm speaking with you right now! How can I be dead if we're here together?"

"Again, the answer is simple. Because I, too, am deceased." Nightmare Moon chuckled lightly, and Twilight was taken aback by the casual nature she said such a terrible thing. "Tell me, Twilight...do you remember the protegee of Princess Celestia? The one who refused you mercy, instead choosing to sentence you to your permanent fate here, in this gloomy wasteland?"

"I..I think so. She was me, right? The 'me' from the other side of the Mirror Pool?" The memories were clear in her mind now. The two of them, facing each other in the castle courtyard, their magic colliding. The protegee of Celestia was staring at her now, the light of her magic flooding everything around her with whiteness. And then, nothing. "She killed me, didn't she? And...and you, too?"

"Indeed. But all hope is not lost. For you see, I cannot truly be destroyed, at least not permanently. The greed and jealously in the heart of Princess Luna served as the perfect host for a vessel of evil like myself." Nightmare Moon closed her eyes, and turned away from Twilight. When she spoke again, it was with a fiery, infuriated tone.

"However, when Princess Luna was split from the darkness living inside of her, I was abandoned, left to my lonesome by the one whom I sacrificed everything to aid." Nightmare Moon beat the black ground with her hooves, and crags of light shattered underneath her violent impact. "And then I remembered you, and your 'death', cowardly homicide by a pony proclaiming herself as virtuous. That hatred, that desire for revenge...with it, I may be resurrected again. And, more importantly, YOU may be resurrected. You desire revenge, no?"

Revenge. Against the protegee of Celestia. Indeed she did. Even more tempting was the opportunity to be released from the wasteland surrounding her, the chance to rule once again. However, Twilight could not help but be slightly suspicious of the way her mentor was referring to her current state of existence; every time Nightmare Moon uttered the topic of her death, it was coated in a thin, barely visible layer of doubt, as if it were not entirely the truth. Nevertheless, Twilight decided it would be wiser to not think twice about it and simply obey her mentor as she had been taught to do. Especially if it offered her the possibility of another chance.

"Of course I do, Princess. What needs to be done?"

"Oh, it is quite simple. You simply must focus on one specific desire. Hatred is especially effective, and I know that you have no shortage of that. Once you have focused on that desire, then the gateway between our beings shall be opened wide, and together we shall return to the world of the living..."

"Hmm...will it be...painful?"

"Your psyche is being altered, your form twisted into one of nightmares as you take on an identity of true, refined evil. I would think so." When Nightmare Moon saw the doubt flood the small unicorns eyes, she attempted a soothing smile. "Pain is temporary, Twilight Sparkle. This realm of darkness, however, is eternal."

Twilight pondered this, and realized how foolish she was being. She was stronger than this pathetic fear consuming her.

"What next, then? We're going to wake up back in Equestria, right? And I'm going to be an all ruling, magically omnipotent alicorn like you were?"

Nightmare Moon's form shimmered slightly, before dissolving completely, reappearing as a regal, blue alicorn, with a kind smile and compassionate eyes. When she spoke, however, the voice was still of Nightmare Moon.

"This pony you see before you is the ruler of Equestria as you once knew it. Her name is Princess Luna. As you know, she was the pony who I lived within, manipulating and controlling her. However, my power was limited to what she possessed. When the Elements of Harmony were used against us--against me--we were split, once again two separate beings. She took all the power we once shared, and I was left as a disembodied spirit in the realm of the dead. Therefore, we shall possess as much power as you did the moment prior to your death...essentially, none."

"Then what do we do?" Twilight Sparkle said dejectedly, slumping on the ground and burying her head in her hooves. A hoof touched her mane gently to soothe her, and she looked up into the eyes of Nightmare Moon.

"Do not fret, my dear pony. Together we shall overcome any and every obstacle that stands in our way. Together we shall see the death of Princess Luna."

Next Chapter: Hello, Again. (I) Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 50 Minutes