Luna was in her room, pondering what to do next. She needed a plan. The entire Empire was on the line. Without her sister by her side, she had no way of rallying the ponies.

“I never thought I would come back to this room…” she thought.

She looked around the room and looked at it. She felt a sense of nostalgia as she walked. She looks at where the weapons use to be. Behind the closet appeared to be a sword.

“With this, I’ll be able to see everything. All events, visions, and possible outcomes. I never dreamed this would be used again… The last time this was used, it nearly costed me my lifespan... Everything comes to light. Nothing can avoid it… Not even immortals are safe from this… I hate that I have to resort to this… but we are out of options. If anything by looking at this sword, it reminds me of the time my sister was here with me. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if my sister had already had this in mind before her death… If she had a choice in the matter… No, I can’t dwindle in the past. I have to make my own choices and hope that my judgement is correct.”

She used a form of spell and her body transported inside the sword. With that, her entire consciousness was completely warped in. It was pitch black as she entered, something she expected. She looked around and noticed that there was a mirror. As she got closer, she sense something. Something that was not supposed to be here.

“Who’s there?!” she demanded as she glowed her horn. But there was no answer. Instead, she saw what appeared to be herself. It was different than before. Only corrupted. “No…! How could it- How could it be possessed!? Did… the anomaly do this?! No… that’s impossible! Only my sister and myself can access this sacred place! This cannot be!” She attempted to purify the room in order to seal the creature off. But to no avail. “It cannot be...” She used her magic to demand the the answer. “Sword of Fate, reveal to me what happened. Tell me how to fix this plague... Make everything right again… and lastly, tell me who the monster is!”

The sword did what she asked and delved into her mind. Upon flashing, her consciousness delved further into the vision. However, on the other side of it, showed a corrupted version of her. The same version that nearly destroyed Equestria. “Here I am!”

Luna was surprised by what she saw. She stood back as the creature walked towards her. “That… is not me...” Luna said in disbelief.

It changed into its original form. It was the creature. “Give the big mare a prize… What tipped you off? The cackle? The aura that I gave off?” Luna didn’t respond as she tried to understand what was going on. “You're probably wondering how I got into this sacred place undetected, aren’t you?” It laughed as it chased Luna. “Let’s just say you relied on a certain pony a bit too much.”

“This… that’s not possible…” Luna quickly back away and quickly glowed her horn. “No matter. Your tricks will not work on me. I will defeat you.” She attempted to force the monster out. But it didn’t move. It only mocked her attempts at trying.

“Looks like you’ve grown weaker since the plague began. I can’t be removed so easily,” it said, filled with malice.

“Then I will destroy your creator! I will remove your very existence from this world!” She attempted to reach the sword. However, it proved to be in vain as she could not get to the sword in time. “What?! Impossible...”

It smiled as it levitated the sword. “You seem to say that a lot, huh…? And you’re supposed to be the strongest Alicorn around? More than your sister? I guess I overestimated you...” It was outside in the real world while Luna was stuck inside. It started to walk away but not before adding, “There’s one reason why you can’t beat me…” It looked back at her and with a breath of fire and with its claws, it said, “Rules don’t mean anything to a monster that is nonexistent.”

Luna noticed and it appeared to be an illusion. It cleared the entire room and it was no more but a void. “That voice…”

“So you noticed, huh? The body has grown on the count of how many lives I’ve consumed and for awhile, I couldn’t act… However, since the light is gone, I’ve grown much stronger as a result. With everything you’ve worked so hard to keep gone, you’ve forgot about your sister...” it said with a wicked smile.

“So you’re the one who killed my sister…!” Luna said, filled with rage.

“And with her power completely eviscerated, even light can’t hope to kill me.The dead will continue to grow and answer only to me... This weapon…” it morphed it’s claws into three extra rows. “It enhances my powers even further… Unfortunately, it seems to missing one thing… While I can take life at will, the pure of heart cannot be harmed in anyway… Your lackies and that sword are- no… were troublesome.”

“When I get out of here…” Luna started to get angrier as she something started to emerge.

“But no matter. There is one other way of getting through the pure of heart… and all I need is-”

“Bastard!” Luna transformed and tried to get out. However, all it did was break and she was still stuck inside. She screamed in fury as the creature made its escape.

“How fitting… in the end, you really are irredeemable. I hope you enjoy the rest of your life in utter darkness… Nightmare Moon…”

It walked away, content with getting under Luna’s skin. It grabbed the sword and morphed away. The Empire was now in greater danger than ever.

. . .