"I'm not sure." Her voice was hesitant. "It feels strangely familiar but I can't quite place it."<br/><br/><em><strong>"THEN ALLOW ME TO EXPLAIN!"</strong></em>The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once. Luna tensed. Seconds later, the dead trees blasted apart, showering them all with splinters and branches. From the valley below rose the pale light. It kept rising until it stood before them atop the hill, fully revealed.<br/><br/>It was...a filly. A tiny green unicorn filly with a flaming red mane and tail. She had a black circle for a cutie mark, and where the whites of her eyes should have been all was black. The pupils were gold flames that leapt and guttered sporadically. She didn't even come up to the forelegs of any of the ponies there. The hazy purplish-black aura that surrounded her choked the air with the stench of decaying flesh and vegetation.<br/><br/><em><strong>"I AM PESTILENCE AND I HAVE COME TO AVENGE MYSELF ON ALL WHO HAVE THWARTED ME!"</strong></em>The black aura flared higher, dimming the sky.<em><strong>'EVERYPONY IN MANEFLOW WILL DIE FOR THE WAY THEY HAVE TREATED ME, AND THEN I'LL BRING PUNISHMENT TO ALL EQUESTRIA! HAHAHAHA!"</strong></em>The voice was the squeaky voice of a filly who hadn't reached full marehood, but at the same time it was overlaid by a deeper, more sinister and resonant voice. The flaming gold eyes turned to Luna and narrowed.<em><strong>'AND YOU! YOU'LL PAY FOR REJECTING ME!"</strong></em><br/><br/>Luna looked confused. "Have we met?"<br/><br/>The filly snorted, pawing the ground as if she would charge.<strong><em>"FOAL! I WAS YOU FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, NIGHTMARE MOON! DID THE ELEMENTS STRIP EVEN THE MEMORY OF ME FROM YOU? WELL DON'T WORRY. I'LL REMIND YOU! I'LL SHOW THEM ALL AND THEN THEY'LL BE SORRY FOR MOCKING AND REJECTING US!"</em></strong>She reared up, the aura flaring darker and filling the air with dark smoke. Her laughter spiraled up with the smoke, cracking and breaking shrilly, as if she couldn't control it, or wasn't used to vocal chords.<br/><br/>Luna meanwhile, had reared up in shock. Then she'd gone extremely pale before collapsing to all four knees and bowing her head, stunned and disbelieving.