Chapter 21 against the code

"What are you waiting for? Are you going to grab it or not?", said an impatient Star in front of Glade.

"Hey! Today is my first time doing it, okay, I'm not as experienced as you. I'm... just getting ready before I grab yours.", he responded, sweating from the pressure.

"Glade, have you chickened out now? If you don't hurry you may miss this opportunity.", Star said waiting for her coltfriend.

Glade looks down again and thinks about his next move. After leaving the forest, the cult members were taken to the hospital for medical examinations and treatment. The leaders were separated into individual rooms, but Glade could stay with Star in the same room as the other members. Luckily for them, Glade's bed was assigned near Star's since they were the saner ponies and required less attention. So that they could have some privacy, they were now in the same bed, the furthest away they could be alone after telling and confessing their feelings to each other. Do things that any couple would do.

"Okay... it's all or nothing.", Glade swallowed his hesitation and stared at his marefriend.

He moves his hand towards Star and he grabs it. Star was happy because her coltfriend caught it. Grab the joker.

"What the-!", Glade turns the card over and sees that it wasn't the 4 in heart. "Buck my luck!", he then shuffles his two cards and then shows them to his marefriend.

When the members were assigned to their rooms, they were stripped of all their belongings, including robes and clothing, and dressed in hospital gowns. So they were wearing nothing underneath besides panties and boxers. This allows Star to grab a pack of poker cards from the lobby and hide it to take Glade to her bed to play while they wait. In addition to talking about his feelings, with that Glade released his response thinking that they were going to do 'things'. Some time after Glade turned into a tomato, they played some card games to pass the time.

"You know, I never thought you would never play cards with your friends. And I never thought your poker face was the worst I've ever seen! Hehehe!", Star laughs as she places her fingers on the 4 of clubs. Leaving the joker with Glade.

"Ugh! It's the third time in a row you've won. And Yes! I never play with that scum on my squad. Either they scam you or they exploit and fight because they lose.", he then throws the joker from his hand onto the pile of cards.

Then he turns towards a small gap in the curtains to see that the guards in the room have stopped watching them. At first, the guards in the room watched them carefully, but a commotion that shook the ground, not once but three times, forced them to move from their position with the hospital staff.

This reduces the six guards to two with what remains of the nurses to calm the broken members in the room. As they were the only ones who did not require medical attention, no member of the hospital staff attended to the couple. And that includes the only guard left who had an eye on them, he kept an eye on them because he could see their card game all this time, until they called him. Now both of them were not under surveillance.

Glade looks to the other side while sitting cross-legged on the bed. "Huh. Looks like that 'guy' has finally woken up. It seems that we are no longer important to be watched.", he said, not realizing that Star was putting the cards away.

And with chaos all around, nopony will interrupt them. "Good, we finally have time to ourselves.", Star didn't give Glade time to respond as she lunged towards him.

Glade didn't react when Star sat on his lap and his face was covered in her kisses. He then kisses her back after a moment as Star uses her magic to close the gap in the bed curtains. Glade hugged her with his arms to bring her closer while Star did the same with her hand grabbing his mane to deepen the kiss. As they got closer, they could both feel their hearts beating uncontrollably under the thin fabric.

GASP They both separate from their long kiss, they did not speak knowing that they both wanted the same thing. After the nightmarish night they had, they had been waiting too long and couldn't take it anymore to finally let out their feelings for each other. How they care for each other. And finally realizing how much they wanted each other when Star's abdomen warmed and Glade junior woke up. They make preparations while Star makes a small barrier and Glade moves his hands to remove whatever was interfering.

They were no longer prolonging it. Too bad, they will have to wait for another time.

SSSSSHHHHHHRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!

Star and Glade, like any living being, were paralyzed by the piercing and horrible screech when ended.

SLAP Followed by confusion of what that could be.

They couldn't help but hug each other, not for pleasure but to protect each other. For what they think was an hour, but it was a minute, the impact of the scare finally subsided. Star and Glade were afraid that something bad would happen, but they stood still and did nothing. They stay in each other's arms before Glade decided to find out what's going on.

"Wait here. And be prepared for anything.", Glade let go of his marefriend and saw behind the curtains the chaos waiting on the other side.

The screeching disturbed the peace of mind some of the patients were able to get after their checkup, so Glade wasn't surprised to see the nurses and guards trying to calm them all down. After the incident of the special patient and the box full of meat, the hospital makes some preparations for another one but the staff was also affected in this case.

The patients, nurses, doctors, and guards were paralyzed like Glade did before. Some fainted because they knew who it was. Those who wanted to help ran around trying to calm everyone down while trying to figure out what that was. So nopony stopped Glade from reaching the door frame of the room.

Glade approached the door but did not dare leave the room, he was aware that he was under arrest. However, he didn't wait to see that the rest of the hospital was also in the same state as his room. He tried to see if a guard, nurse, or doctor could give him an answer, but a better pony appeared down the hall in his direction.

"Princess Luna?", Glade saw her walking down the hallway, he noticed that she was in a bad mood from her expression, against common sense he went to ask her. "Excuse me, your highness?"

"Hmm?", Luna stopped leaving her mind when Glade stepped into her path. "...You are one of my Children of the Night. What is it, my son?"

"Sorry if I interrupt you... mother? Whatever. Can you tell us what's going on?", Luna took her time before answering him, she was still in a bad mood as Glade noticed.

When she heard 'us' she couldn't resist taking a look at the room where he was with the other members. It was when her eyes landed on the last bed with a Star, hugging her legs without taking her eyes off Glade, a memory came to her mind. She saw those kinds of eyes before, the same way she saw them in the past, a past of herself that she began to remember.

'All you want is to protect the pony you love. Just like my old self.', with this in mind, Luna put aside her frustration and gave him what he needed to know. "I'm sorry you're worried my son, it was a small incident with... a special patient. Nothing that should worry you, or your family."

Glade's eyes widened, but it wasn't surprise or fear but the amazement she kept secret. Seeing that he cannot and should not press for the truth, Glade took his princess and mother's word.

"As you say, your highness.", he bows after his response.

Luna was intrigued why this member was in better shape than the others and asked him his opinion. "Tell me my son, what is your name? And what are you afraid of?"

"My name is Night Glade, just Glade. And what worries me is what will happen to us, the Children of the Night.", although he wasn't that loyal, Star was and he wanted to ask this for her.

"Hmm I see.", Luna calmed down enough to be able to tell him what was on her mind. "Well, it will depend on the pony. For those who want to repent and live a normal life, I will ensure that their trial is fair and try to reduce the punishment. For those who have not learned and do not want to correct themselves, I am afraid that I will not be able to save, but I promise you that I will do my best to guide them back to the right path."

Luna walks past Glade giving him an idea of the options for members. He knew that Star wouldn't try to live a normal life and it would be worrying if he allowed her fanaticism to continue trying to fulfill the cult's mission. But Luna gives them another path they can take.

"However, those who want to correct their mistakes and help their mother are welcome to my Royal Night Guard that I will establish in the near future.", with that, she leaves Glade with a smile knowing that they can be accepted under her protection. And he can have a future together with the hope of a better life for Star.

Luna continues walking with the idea of her night guard. With this idea, she can also reform the Children of the Night to compensate for allowing them to follow the crazy Luna of the past. It hurts her to remember that past when she stopped near a window overlooking the town. However, it was not the town she focused on but rather an adult Moon in its reflection.

A version of herself that she regrets having created in the past. And looking at Star, she saw the same look on her past self. Of a desperate mare who wants to save the colt she has just begun to love.

And how she was going to do everything for him, including offering her soul and accepting the devil's offer.

A thousand years ago, a war ended. A thousand years ago, an evil plan of the current lord of chaos was stopped. A thousand years ago, a servant was turned into stone. At the same time, a thousand years ago, an innocent maiden devised a plan. A plan that she will regret while looking at a statue under a strong storm in the middle of the night.

Thousand years ago, Luna, in her now adult form, stood in front of Shadow's prison statue in heavy rain.

"Shadow... I will find what binds you to be a servant. And I will destroy it.", Luna said as she looked at the broken warrior.

When the war in which Discord planned to make Celestia his wife did not work out, it caused his defeat and he fled from the two sisters. This allowed Celestia to raise her victory to her forces and allies, indicating that the war that threatened their coexistence and peace was over. But one mare did not regain peace because she was fighting another war. She was angry with herself, because of her, someone was sacrificed. Not only to protect his master, but also her. She wonders why?

During the war, Luna wanted to defeat a legend by herself. She wanted to demonstrate her strength to her subjects and allies. She wanted to show her sister that she was leader material. Only to be reduced to a small, inexperienced filly against a titan. A broken but noble titan who showed her true sympathy for the pain and loneliness she felt for so long.

That day Luna met another Shadow, the Shadow who sacrifices himself for her. She finally had her answer, he had a soul inside that metal prison. And her eyes were opened from that day.

The one she wanted to face was the only one who really saw her, not the useless princess of the night, but the victim, the unloved, the forgotten, the incomprehensible little sister. He saw her as the lonely Luna, who wanted someone to recognize her, even her enemy.

Shadow became someone who saw her pain, the pain she has been carrying all this time, including the pain he caused her. And in his final moments, he did not try to save himself as others would, but instead tried to obtain her forgiveness. What he didn't know, he got more than just that.

For the first time Luna felt that someone finally recognized her with true concern for her well-being, and since it was from somepony outside of her family it had a greater impact. Because of this, she couldn't be at peace with her emotions. She felt angry with the outcome of that day, she felt regret for how the fight ended, she felt disgusted with herself for being too narrow-minded.

But most of all, she felt sorrow for him as he did for her. And from that sorrow new emotions came out as she was not able to take off him of her mind. Until that day she was never interest in a colt, and that curiosity make her see him in a different light. A light that draw her to him.

All these emotions drove her crazy. But most of all, she felt sorry for him as he felt sorry for her. And from that sorrow new emotions arose since she was not able to get it out of her mind. Until that day she was never interested in a colt, and that curiosity made her see him in a different way. A light that draws her towards him.

For the next few weeks after their battle in that tower, she set out to find the secrets of Shadow and his origin. She spent hours and hours, day after day, and even canceled her celestial form celebration gala for her investigation, plus Discord was also on the run. But like others who tried, she couldn't find anything about him. Only a legend tells of what he is.

The Yami Legion, their Yami Tools and the Three Yami Commandments.

'From what I gather, Discord and everything I could find says that this group has some kind of rules... If I can discover a loophole in them... then I can free you.', Luna stares at the stone statue that Shadow was imprisoned under her coat in the heavy night rain with thunder on the horizon.

When they left the battlefield and the tower, Celestia understood that The Elements of Harmony simply imprisoned Shadow, so to keep an eye on him, she decides to put him in the statue garden of their castle. Luna, for her part, began researching 24/7 anything she could find related to the Yami Tools.

All her efforts reach dead ends. She couldn't find nothing in the royal library or in the nation's historical records and archives. Even folklore and myths never mention them. Neither the books nor the diaries of their father nor Star Swirl the Bearded could speak of them, in which they were known to the sisters. But she found a clue.

On the book 'The truth in our souls'.

Luna didn't know what to think of this book, especially that it appeared out of nowhere when it landed on her face on a bed of books she had piled up. She first took it as those random books like the unknown of the universe, the undead and spirits, theories of how the world is flat and others that Luna couldn't take seriously. But she got serious about this one.

She read the first page and soon discovered the power behind those texts. She read it to the end, surprised that it even explained and told her how her feelings work and how to use or control them, as well as her desires. From all this, she learned how to control his 'self' to a certain extent, even to create other persona in her consciousness, and from all this, how a soul can be bound and chained. It was in this part that her plan was put into action.

'And if a Yami Tool is a pony chained to the rules in their souls, then those chains must be broken to free him.', Luna was preparing her spell to enter his mind and dream, with the goal of entering the realm of his soul.

Tonight, with this heavy rain, was the perfect time for her to escape her room and encounter Shadow's statue under the cover of darkness. Neither the guards, nor the maids, nor the nobles, nor the guests, nor her sister knew of Luna's plan. She wanted to do this alone for him and she was the only one who could enter that place.

When Luna opened her eyes, she was where she wanted to be. She was in the Dream realm.

She gets up and sees herself wearing the same clothes in the real world. She had a thick coat with a shirt and long skirt made of thin fabric or like that of commoners, but she didn't care about her clothing for the place she was going. Then, as she walked through her domain, she saw the same bubble dreams she always knew.

She saw the same bubble dreams in which her subjects were happy in the daylight, playing and enjoying the day her sister reigns. And nothing about her night or with her. But actually, there were a few with 'Luna' and those were the ones she hated the most, as a fun time and nothing more. And she found one on her way.

Luna was watching one where she was wearing a maid outfit, a very revealing maid outfit, and she was on her hands and knees. But the important part was how this 'Luna' lewdly begged her 'master' to stop behind her. She could ignore it, but the noble inside the bubble was a guest she met tonight before bedtime came. Now she knew why that noble asked her if she had worn a maid's uniform before. Remembering how he failed to invite her to try it, in private.

This angers her and ruins her mood, so she trades the 'Luna' for a manticore. Then, she enjoys the spectacle of how the noble notices the change of the annoying beast and how it fails to escape. She did nothing as the noble became the beast's meal. When she noticed that the bubble was trembling about to burst, she crushed it with both hands. Worsening the effect of wakefulness, but could not relieve her rage.

'THOSE PIGS! I'M A JOKE TO THEM!' Luna was breathing uncontrollably thanks to her rage. 'IS THIS ALL I CAN GET FROM THESE SUBJECTS OF MINE! THIS IS WHAT I AM TO THEM! I SWEAR I WILL... I WILL... it doesn't matter... they're nothing to me... just focus on what's important...'

Luna calms her breathing as she hugs herself with her arms. Unable not to imagine that they were Shadow's arms. The only one she wanted to be embraced. "...SIGH... I should keep moving...", Luna shook her head, let her frustration aside, and went to look at that dream bubble.

Luna was taught that all beings manifest their thoughts and dreams in bubbles when they sleep. And all the dreams of her subjects end up in this astral realm where she can verify their dreams as part of her magic, talent and duty. This was the place where she could check on him every night since the day they met. Thanks to this place Luna discovered that he dreams, she was only surprised and annoyed by how simple he seems when she sees him for the first time.

Finding his appearance gave Luna a feeling of disappointment, even more so because nothing was happening in his dreams. She could be in his dreams for hours and nothing would happen, but it didn't stop her.

As time went by, she got used to checking here what he thinks about when completing an order, even when he steals her sister's underwear. Every time he did something stupid, jokey, and crazy with Discord, she came here seeing his inexpressible human face with his empty dream bubble. Even his dream did not generate any memory of what he did or worry about his day like any other.

So Luna took the idea that Shadow is really a puppet, forgetting that he has a soul and emotions. When they had that fight, Luna didn't come back unable to see him with her shame in herself, how wrong she was about him. Now she was motivated and hoped to see Shadow again.

But her expectation and happiness turned into an ugly surprise. Shadow's bubble that was always clean and clear became dark inside. This scares Luna to the core.

"What is this? I've never seen this before...", Luna carefully took Shadow's bubble. Trying to figure out what could cause this to him. "He's supposed to be suspended by the Elements... he should be frozen, at least sleeping... but this... is this something else?"

Because the dream realm was her special gift and talent, Luna knew a modified dream when she saw one, that's why she knew there was something inside Shadow's dream. 'Not rather his mind and his soul. Something is trying to reach him or escape inside him... could it be his shackles?'

It crossed Luna's mind to inform her sister of this, even if she was angry with her. But her pride and determination to do it alone make her decide her next action.

'Whatever it is, it won't hurt Shadow anymore!', Luna closes her eyes and moves the bubble towards her chest as she casts her next spell. And enter Shadow's realm of dreams. 'And he can be... free?...'

The first thing Luna saw was the pitch-black void, this is what she expected, not faint red trails all over the place, even in the sky. Because the bubble is small, the small details are not within Luna's naked eye, so once inside she could see red currents around her, as if they were blood vessels.

Luna saw enough nightmares to not feel afraid but in this case she was intrigued and for the worse. Fear, worries, even traumas could turn a flower into a pony-eating plant in dreams, without that only a force that could manipulate dreams like she did with that 'Luna' was capable of this. If Shadow never dreams, then something changes the landscape of his dreams. Fortunately for Luna, finding the source was an easy task thanks to there being nothing to interfere with her scanning the dream.

'But the worrying thing is that everything comes from there...', Luna could see how the currents in the veins came from one direction, and thus her journey began. '...it all comes from Shadow's soul.'

Because the dream realm is not linked to the real world, space and time were not the same in this place. Sometimes it was faster and other times it was shorter compared to real world time. However, her journey to Shadow's soul was eternal for Luna. She could not specify in terms of time how long she had traveled in this black world, it felt like she was not in the Dream realm or in Equestria.

During her training with her mother, who taught Luna to travel from dreams to the limits of a pony's soul, she knew well that she was entering uncharted waters. Her mother only shows her how to reach the soul for the purpose of observing how the pony's soul manifests the pony's experiences and dreams. Just as the eyes are the windows to the soul, the realm of their dreams can be considered a door to it. A door that her mother forbids Luna to cross as it can change the pony's 'self' forever, even by mistake.

But for Shadow she was going to risk it, even risk her own life.

Luna continued walking at a steady pace since she didn't know what she was going to find. That's why she was surprised by what she found next. 'Are those...cubes?', she thought as she looked at a black cube with red corners and stripes on all sides of the cube.

The further she ventured, the closer the red streams got to what she thought was a cube. Everywhere there were multiple cubes. She discovered that these red threads come from one of the sides of the cubes, she thought of them as a union point or common point. However, when she looked closer, she soon discovered that they were nodes, as all the cubes had something in common. A stream of red blood did not come out from one side of the cube, but instead ran into the cube from somewhere else towards it.

'And that means there is a main source... a main source that is in an even deeper part of Shadow's soul.', Luna checks and confirms that they were all connected to something where her destiny was. Now she was considering whether it was a good idea to continue or not.

'But I will be failing him if I turn back now. Whatever it is... I'll soon know the truth.', Luna with more motivation to proceed, continues walking to the source.

The further she ventured, the more cubes she found, and they got bigger and bigger. The first cubes were smaller than her dream bubbles, then they were the same, then bigger, and then as big as Luna in her adult form, to end up as big as her castle and even bigger.

More streams of red blood flowed from these larger cubes to the smaller ones, but they all still had a source in the deepest part of the soul. Eventually, the idea that these cubes were some sort of nodal points of something occurred to her as she continued walking towards it. Still she had no idea of the voice that echoed throughout the place.

The closer Luna got to the soul source, she could hear a faint voice getting louder and louder. She didn't need to concentrate on what they were saying, as it repeated the same line: Error.

Error. Failed to update Unit #3. Error. Failed to connect User program. Error. Failed to connect the Yami system. Error. Failed to update Unit #3. Error. Failed to connect User program. Error. Failed to connect the Yami system. Error. Failed to update Unit #3. Error. Failed to connect User program. Error. Failed to connect the Yami system. Error. Failed to update Unit #3. Error. Failed to connect User program. Error. Failed to connect the Yami system. Error. Failed to update Unit #3. Error. Failed to connect User program. Error. Failed to connect the Yami system. Error. Failed to update Unit #3. Error. Failed to connect User program. Error. Failed to connect the Yami system. Error. Failed to update Unit #3. Error. Failed to connect User program. Error. Failed to connect the Yami system.

Luna was anxious about the voice and worried about what she might find in the end. Until she finds what she was looking for. Her journey and search ended when she came across a large cube, the largest found on her entire journey with sides of a dark red substance like sticky material. She only notices it when the cube stops being part of the background colors as she gets closer.

Luna stops for a moment, contemplates the strange thing or building formation, it is what she thought, that overcomes hers small size. She put more attention on what she believes in is a thin membrane through which all the blood streams pass to the other cubes. She knew it was close but it wasn't the end. Luna looks back ahead and sees that the entire side of the cube is the same thin membrane.

Luna stopped to decide. She really wanted to have her mother, even her entire family, here. Without thinking, said and trying to reason she put her hand on the thin membrane. Her hand touches the membrane and it simply reacts by creating waves like a pool of water. She just pushed and her hand went in, giving her a second of confirmation. Nothing would happen to her, so Luna went inside.

A garden, the most twisted she had ever seen in her entire life up to this point. If Luna said what the gardener was inspired by, she would tell us that an abandoned and dead metal garden.

Once inside the cube, the landscape changed from a dark, empty space to a kind of dead forest under the pitch-black sky with a dying red sun. Luna was no longer walking in the empty space of air, now her hooves were standing on dead grass. What could be formations of bushes and flowers were instead metal scraps and withered flowers made of metal. And the trees were either withered, burned or rotten, at the same time there were some that had metal parts, there were some made entirely of metal.

Like every garden, this one has decoration, but everything was in ruins. Luna couldn't separate them from the deteriorated statues, burst fountains, rusty eaten away fences, and broken vases and pots. And what she feared were the mounds that could be the green spaces of the garden. The latter had piles of metal waste, which she believed could well have been graves. Multiple graves throughout the garden.

Luna was amazed and at the same time worried. Now she knew why nothing appeared in his dreams. Everything is withered, every essence absorbed and taken. All nutrients devoured leaving this appearance to the rest. And she knew why.

In the center of the garden, with worn paths and crooked grass, with withered metal flowers that those closest looked like hands reaching for it. A scorched and leafless black tree at the source of the soul realm. Red streams erupted from its branches, sending blood-red liquid into cubes outside across the sky from the giant cube it stood on.

Luna have reach Shadow's soul core. Or what she thought it is.

'What is this?... Is this what is tied to Shadow?... Is this what the soul of a Yami Tool looks like?...', and discovering that the voice came from there.

Error. Failed to update Unit #3.

'Eh?!', Luna responds to those words. 'Unit 3? Is that Shadow's real name?... No. That's not a name! They even took his name!'

Luna's fear began to be replaced by her rage. That was because she found something she wasn't going to forgive.

At the top of the tree in plain sight she discovered a kind of red cocoon. A disgusting red cocoon that seemed to be made of the same red and transparent liquid, like veins surrounding something. And that something was Shadow, or what Luna thought was his soul as Shadow could see inside of it. Floating naked in the fetal position in the red liquid, eyes closed sleeping.

"SHADOW!!!", Luna shouted in her royal voice, but it was useless since she didn't reach him. "If that's the case... THEN I'LL GO TO HIM!"

Luna opens her wings and flies directly to the cocoon. Only to be electrocuted and being blown away when touched. "AHHH!!!"

The electric shock was so strong that Luna did not expect to endure the pain and fell back to the entrance of the garden. Luna spun in the air and fell flat on her face. She took some time to recover before standing on her arms and knees. She gritted her teeth since the pain was too much even in her astral form. And if she wasn't careful, it was her soul that could be damaged and even destroyed leaving her body soulless.

But it was worth it for her mission. "I don't know what you are...", Luna stood up as her magic concentrated in her hands. "...but I will free him even IF I DIE!"

Similar to Celestia's solar beam spell, Luna had her version of the lunar beam. This version was made of lighting and if she wanted Luna could change to ice type instead of solar and fire energy. Luna just wanted to burn that tree to ashes so she cast her spell on the tree. When she saw how her spell was about to reach the tree, she smiled, waiting for that result. But when the lightning struck the tree for a long time, her smile disappeared.

Luna keeps her beam on the tree for more than 10 minutes, deactivates her spell to see the result. Luna calmed her breathing after her pain subsided and her anger began to rise. She saw that nothing had changed on the tree, not even a burn mark. However, she notices the change in her surroundings.

Luna's eyes widened as soon as she realized what she did. The voice stopped and the place fell into a dead silence. 'Whatever I made angry... will soon appear.'

Luna backs away and prepares to fight whatever is about to appear. So she didn't let her guard down when a red ghost in the shape of a pony appears in front of her.

'Is this... the spirit of the Yami legion?', Luna thought that the specter in front of her was some kind of spirit.

Somehow Luna did not realize that an apparition appeared to her that was semi-transparent made of red light in the shape of a filly without a face or eyes. Luna thought it was a filly due to the curve of her body and a long mane that reached her up to her entire back. However, she was not going to let her guard down and be fooled.

"Who are you?!", Luna shouted. "Are you the demon of the Yami Legion?! What are you doing to Shadow?! Answer me, NOW!"

The filly did not speak or respond, she stood still and waited. For what, Luna wonders. When she was about to interrogate the ghost, she was outmatched at that.

What are you?

'Huh?!', for a moment Luna thought she had heard the ghost speak, but she discovered that it was speaking in her mind. "How?...How can you speak in my mind? How could you get past my mental defenses?"

Luna learned from her mother about the dangers of having her mind affected and damaged in the Dream realm. That's why it took her by surprise, since it was the first time that her defenses were breached. "...Who are you?"

You are inside the armor system of Unit #3 and I detect that I cannot identify you. I cannot locate or recognize you as one of the programs within the Unit #3 Operating system. I cannot scan you because you have no physical or electronic body or form for more information. I can't analyze your shape because the composition of unknown particles it is made of is not in my database or any available records. I cannot classify you as a virus or program error entity because you have not interfered or compromised the system with your actions. Until now.

Luna didn't need to ask, she understood most of it, especially the last part. "If you're here to take care of me, then you can start forgetting about it. I'm not going to give up my quest. I'll free Shadow, if I need to destroy you, so be IT!"

Negative. It is not recommended to turn off or remove the Yami System in Unit #3 and all the armor's defense mechanisms and protocols. Prevent worst-case scenarios from developing.

"!!!...Worst-case scenarios?..." Luna expected a challenging response, not a warning. "Explain yourself. What could be worse than freeing a poor soul? What right do you have to chain an innocent life to your whims!"

Because Yami Tools are meant to be objects, not a living being. Then the promise can be fulfilled.

"Promise?", Luna was now getting more information than she ever got and will ever get, still keeping her guard up as she continued to ask. "What are really the Yami Tools?"

They are magic-powered gifts from our lord of the 'Dark realm' you call to this world and its inhabitants. The Yami Tools have his power and are intended for those who want to achieve their realities, regardless of whether they do not have the power to do so and create the world they desire. And the Yami System was created to make it possible. To ensure that our lord's power cannot be misused, not even by the Yami Tools themselves.

"I will agree with you that Shadow's power is incredible to a certain extent.", Luna couldn't deny what Shadow is capable of achieving being a Yami Tool. "However, that is no excuse for stealing his life, his dreams, his opinions, his personality, his emotions, his feelings! And even his own name! What makes you have the right to take it all away from HIM!"

Luna was ready to attack the ghost, until something important appeared.

Because it is the only way to make the Yami Tools and avoid their contamination to Terra. In the end, the Yami Tools are necessary to balance the scale of the world. And make sure it is not modified once it is gifted to Terra. This is the mission of the Yami Legion according to his promise. Only in this way can we achieve it by restricting the 'self' from them.

"...Contamination?.. Balance?...", Luna freezes, unable to understand that meaning. It almost sounds like it's something necessary for the world. "What do you mean by balance? And what does it help to take the 'self' to prevent the corruption you speak of-"

That information is neither available nor permitted to you.

Until that moment, Luna took a step away from the ghost, it was due to the hostility of that warning. Telling her that she was not worthy and did not deserve to know, the true mission of the Yami Legion. She couldn't imagine what kind of authority could be above her except her parents. But she could only think of another type of authority greater than them. She was about to ask, the ghost once again surpassed her.

That's why I'll question you again. What are you?

'...Should I change my approach?', Luna thought that by introducing herself she would allow some access. She lets her guard down but mentally prepares herself for battle at any moment.

"I am the daughter of King Solaris and Queen Polaris, Co-ruler of Equestria, Princess of the Night, Luna Selena Moon.", Luna said it proudly, standing firm.

Luna Selena Moon, an User program? Checking records from Unit #3... Analysis Complete. You are a User program, but my system does not reflect that you are the 'User' of Unit #3, recognized by The Three Yami Commandments. My system reflects that User 'Discord' is the current 'User'. Checking for updates... Error. Failed to connect User program. Error. Failed to connect the Yami System.

Luna heard her words well, she even got scared when the ghost blinked at the last part. But it provides her with what she always wanted to confirm. She got proof that it exists, the existence of the role of master and the supposed rules.

Having it close, Luna set out to obtain it. "What are the 'Three Yami Commandments'? And how do they work, the rules and the role of... the 'User'?"

The ghost did not answer her. For a moment the two look at each other to see who was going to give in. Luna spent weeks and days non-stop searching for answers and to get to this place. Discover the existence of the Three Yami Commandments and know the role of the 'User'.

And knowing why Shadow was created as a Yami Tool and his role in all of this. Luna was determined to know all of this, and it was this determination that paid the price.

Suggestion. Due you are not a recognized User, we need your permission from you to implement the information of The Three Yami Commandments and his promise. He has allowed it, but we need your confirmation before we can proceed.

"Yes. I want to know everything because I-!...we?" Luna accepted with confidence, but made the mistake of not listening well to the proposal. 'Wait... He? Who is talking-', Luna stopped all actions right there.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Luna looked at the ghost, because it told her what she hadn't realized all this time.

Our Lord detects you from the moment you touch his gift. He came to check what anomaly was affecting this realm by himself. Just like he was supervising our interaction all this time.

Luna panicked, she didn't understand what the ghost was talking about. But she understood the presence behind her. Behind her was 'He'.

Luna felt the presence of the gaze of a real god at her. The pressure she felt overwhelmed her, she didn't even know whether or not she wanted to turn back and meet this entity. She never felt so much pressure, not her enemies, not her sister, even her father and mother could make her feel like a filly again, it were nothing compared to this. So much so that she never noticed the ghost floating face to face with her.

And he has bestowed your request.

Before Luna could respond, the ghost grabbed Luna's head with both hands. Before Luna could think of anything to do, the ghost was already inside her head and brain. Before Luna could scream and panic, her mind was being rewritten. The process was short but for Luna it was more than eternity itself.

She knew she had to defend herself even if her hand and magic pierced the ghost. She knew it was dangerous to let them continue, she must have escaped with her safe plan to disconnect and return to her body. She knew she had to reject them so that her noble goal to free the pony she had come to save, it would be fulfilled. But once she 'tastes' it, she changes her mind.

Once finished, Luna's head was released and she fell to her knees and with one hand while breathing frantically to control her heart with the other hand. She searched her mind and discovered something she didn't know and knew at the same time. She read it and read it and read it again and again with eyes of disbelief, she couldn't contain herself any longer.

She let out a laugh as her smile grew bigger and bigger.

"heh...hehe..hehehehe...HahahahahaHAHAHAHAHA! Are these the supposed rules? Is this what a Yami Tool can provide?! Is this what a User can get from this?! It's incredible! It's magnificent! It's glorious!"

Luna was immersed in her moment of euphoria, having this knowledge turned her into the crazy pony when she discovered the taste of the sweetest fruit. So much so that she cried with tears falling from her astral eyes.

"All this time... all this time... SOB... I thought I should live a horrible life in this horrible world... forgotten... unloved... but... I never thought... that I could just destroy this... evil world... made by my sister!"

She lifts her face with the craziest smile and eyes as she looks at the ghost filly and the two runes at her side.

"Is this... what he promised me? Can I really... make my ideal world?... A beautiful world... for me?!", The First Commandment answers her question to assure her that she was correct.

THE YAMI TOOL WAS CREATED FOR THE CHILDREN OF OUR LORD TO REALIZE ANY DREAM AND DESIRE. EVEN YOURS MY DAUGHTER. FOR THIS IS WHAT HE CREATED HIS GIFT.

Luna stands up while holding her stomach after laughing, real laughter from a very long time. "Really?... I can make my world... where everypony loves my night... I can make them love me?! Shadow... I need to show him what I'm worthy of... I need to win over others... so I can be his rightful master! NO! USER! RIGHT?!", The Second Commandment gives her the answer she wanted.

THE YAMI TOOL WILL FOLLOW ITS USER, AND IS NOT OBLIGED TO ONE BUT TO THE PROMISE, EVERYONE HAS THE SAME RIGHT. EVEN YOURS MY DAUGHTER. YOU CAN GET IF YOU WIN HIS APPROVAL.

"Yes... the right to be his master... the right to be a User... the power to make everyone love me! So that he loves me! And Shadow can be my YAMI TOOL! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!", Luna laughs into the air as the filly, The Third Commandment, agrees with her.

The Yami Tool must obey the User's commands, that is his role and reason for existence. Even from you, he will obey and fulfill all your wishes for the world you wish to create. But.

"HAHAHA-Huh?", Luna stops and turns to The Third Commandment because she has a reminder for her.

If you want him to obey you, you will have to surpass the current User that has been assigned to the Unit. Only in this way will Unit #3 and other Units follow you in creating your world. For a world not created by others for others, but one of your own for yourself. That is his promise.

Luna stare at The Third Commandment with dangerous eyes. She was about to use her right and title as the Alicorn Princess of the Night to make them grant her wish now. Thanks to the rules implemented in her, such error was avoided. That she was nothing against the rules at all.

"...The rules are absolute...", Luna mutters under her breath, only to let out her twisted smile. "The rules are absolute... Yes, I understand. No one can go against the code, our roles have already been assigned."

Luna said as she looked at The Three Yami Commandments and the tree with Shadow's soul. Giving her understanding of the rules to the tree's red demon eye while it stares back at her. Knowing that will keep his promise if she also does her part. Then Luna returns to The Third Commandment.

In that case, there is nothing more to discuss. We wish you the best in your efforts to earn your right and your Yami Tool, User 'Luna'. We hope to see you again once our lord recognizes your role as a User. Please wait while we finish this chat and connection. And have a good night.

Luna no longer questioned or resisted them. She closed her eyes for what was coming, she wasn't worried at all. When it was finished, she opened her eyes, not to the dark, strange world or the garden, but to her moon in a clear night sky. Her moonlight bathes her and Shadow's statue in her castle garden, welcoming her to the real world.

'Unbelievable... they even have the power to dispel my astral form and send me back to my real body... and without any damage or alteration to my soul and mind... I never had a chance.', after a moment calm, Luna begins to check her surroundings.

Luna was kneeling when she began her quest. She knew she had returned thanks to the feeling of dampness on her clothes. She discovers that the rain ended minutes ago and her moon was there to welcome her back in the clear sky. She checks herself, body and mind, to make sure nothing has changed. And she discovered that she was the same when she entered, only with the happiness of the delicious knowledge she obtained.

Even if she failed in her original mission. 'But who cares?! Who cares if I failed at it! HAHAHA!'

Luna, with her head down, hid the crazy happiness she still enjoyed. 'If I can't free him then I can make him mine with the rules! I can get what I really want with the commandments! I can realize my world where everyone loves my night and not my sister's day!'

Luna stands up, ignoring how the wet fabrics envelope her body and the ugly sensation, preparing for her new course of action. By the next place she was preparing to teleport she would have enough heat to dry her clothes. Luna calmed down before she finished her teleportation spell as she headed to another part of the castle. To the castle blacksmith.

Luna's spell flashes in the middle of the room, causing all the blacksmiths working that night to take the leap of their lives. Even one who almost collided with her is carrying a hot pot of molten metal. But Luna didn't care about them, she was just there for a purpose.

THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK THUNK "What the- *GASP* BANG - Princess Luna?!", the chief blacksmith stops what she was doing and turns around to get the surprise of her life.

Luna just smiles back at her and her crew. "Hello blacksmiths, I have a request for all of you. Where is my broken sword? Have you fixed it yet?", she asks the head blacksmith.

The best blacksmith of that time was an earth mare that had black burns all over her brown-furred body, her clothing was a welder's helmet on her head and a blacksmith's breastplate with plain shirt and pants. She was the same type of pony as Celestia who preferred to carry all her mistakes on her body, even if her muscular and well-toned body (more so than Applejack's) was no longer of interest to the stallions.

Her only love was the weapons she makes and repairs. That's why the blacksmith was scared if Luna was angry with her. "I'm so sorry, your highness! We haven't been able to start yet!"

She remove her welder's helmet and put away her tools to be able to face Luna. "Due to the war, the unicorn wizards who help us make the magic weapons and their metal have not returned from their designated post to the castle! We hope that they would return -Silence.- !!!"

Luna interrupted her, something she and the blacksmith apprentices did not expect from their princess. "I'm not interested in the excuse. I'm more concerned about whether you already fixed it or not."

The head blacksmith wasn't expecting her tone either, Luna was usually shy and introverted around other ponies outside of the Royal family and close friends. She even remembers the day Luna gave her the broken sword hat was gifted by the King, she could see sadness and sorrow in Luna's eyes. But now, the mare was looking at a Luna with new eyes on her, eyes of a Queen.

"No.", not wanting to anger Luna, the mare answered her question. "We are keeping the two parts guarded until we have the materials and qualified ponies to begin. We plan to later fix the sword your father gave you once we are ready, Your Highness."

"Good.", Luna's response made her back away, all the ponies in the blacksmith's workplace. "I was hoping for that so I could make my new request to you.", she ended up walking away towards her goal.

Luna went to the section of the next room where the broken weapons were kept safe. She opens the door and reaches for her sword. Inside it was easy for her to see her sword, the blacksmiths put the pieces on a shelf in plain sight. She went and took the two pieces in her hands and in their broken blades Luna could see her reflection. Her reflection of the useless Princess of the Night and the defeat against Shadow, her defeat of her right to be his master.

A Luna that is no longer in charge, the new Luna will be sure to change that. So she returns to the blacksmiths, returns to the chief where she establishes her new order.

"You see, this weapon failed me, I was defeated even with its magical property and the supposed power it possesses. But I will not be defeated again, neither by its power nor by my own.", Luna gives the two pieces to the confused mare. "That's why I want you to melt it and forge me a new weapon, a weapon that can meet my... new standards."

The chief blacksmith's eyes widened and she couldn't believe what her princess had just said. "B-b-b-but! Your Highness! This sword was a gift from your parents, the King and Queen, it was made for you!"

"That's why I'm not interested anymore.", Luna stared at the mare, making her listen carefully. "This sword was made for the old me (the weak one). From this moment on I will forge my own path and for that I need my weapon to be at my levels, one that can reach the new me and even beyond that."

Luna looks indifferently at her moon sword, the blue blade has lost its magic and the shine has gone out. If she wanted to wield this weapon, she would be wielding her incompetence. She scans the room to see how quiet the blacksmiths got. She was about to unleash her anger by not telling her anything or asking her what she really wants. But her anger stops when her eyes fall on a farm scythe.

One of the apprentices was making tools while holding his finished scythe. An idea occurred to Luna. If she was about to create her own perfect world, she will need the perfect tools for it. Because she will harvest all those things she doesn't want and eliminate them for her ideal world.

"Yes... what I really need.", Luna slowly turns towards the blacksmith mare, still holding the broken sword with disbelieving eyes. "It's a battle scythe. An anti-magic astral scythe, which can cut even souls."

Now the mare was getting scared, not because such a weapon was difficult to make, it was even impossible, but because of how Luna was asking for it. All the blacksmiths looked at her as Queen of Darkness, not as the Princess of the Night she knew. "B-b-but- I know."

"If you're worried about the small detail, don't worry.", Luna then turns around preparing to leave.

"I know we received new material from the war, especially anti-magic minerals and stones. As for the mages...", then she turns to the blacksmiths and leaves them her message. "I will supervise and assist in the forging of my weapon. I look forward to working with all of you~"

Luna cast her teleportation spell a second time and was now in the halls of her castle.

Luna did not move or speak for a moment. She wouldn't even worry if a pony found her standing alone in the hallway like a crazy mare. That's because she didn't care about anything, Luna just wanted to enjoy what she achieved in the blacksmith's workplace. For the first time Luna saw that the ponies respected her, that they obeyed and listening what she wanted. But most of all, she was enjoying how her subjects were afraid of her, of going against her and her fury.

'If I knew that this was the only way to make these incompetent and ungrateful ponies listen to me... recognize me... I should have already gotten what I want! Now I know why I was suffering all this time. I was living in someone else's world, a world that chose my sister over ME! But soon, all these ponies will begin to live in the kingdom that belongs to me. With the right way of living, chosen by me.'

Once she was satisfied, Luna calmed down to hide the creepy smile on her face and walked towards her next stop. The night was young and Luna wants to complete everything she wants to do as her new 'self', leaving nothing missing for this special night. She wasn't going to leave any loose ends in her new rebirth. Because there was another pony that Luna wants to show her new 'self' to.

Luna reaches her goal and finds herself outside a guest room in the castle hallway. In this part of the castle it was somewhat remote and today not all the rooms were occupied. But here was a pony who is using a room just for this night. It was this pony that Luna wanted to see.

Before announcing her arrival, Luna checks her clothing. She was still wearing the same tunic with a normal sleeveless shirt underneath that was almost dry thanks to the heat at the blacksmith's workplace but still show off her body. She thought about whether it was worthy to show herself in this state before him, however, she fantasizes what his reaction will be like for what she planned.

Not wanting to prolong it, she knocks on the door, waking up the pony inside.

"W-who is this?!", Luna takes a step back as the male voice inside asks her. "Who is b-b-b-bothering me at this time of night?!"

"It's me, Princess Luna. Sorry to bother you, but I detected that something was wrong with one of our guests in the castle and I came here to find out what the problem is. Is there any problem that you have encountered recently, dear guest?", Luna asked when she heard him approach.

She didn't wait long until the pony reached the door and began to hear the locks clicking.

With enough click, the door creaks and opens to an elegant room with elegant curtains, a king size bed with the best covers and pillows, with cabinets and tables made with the best materials. And the pony inside.

A noble yellow unicorn pony stallion with his disheveled robe, his wild blue mane and his sleepless eyes appeared on the other side of the door. This was one of tonight's guests who came to visit and stayed. The guest she talked to before sleeping, the same stallion with that maid 'Luna'.

"P-P-P-Princess Luna! I-i-i-i wasn't expecting for you!", the stallion began to sweat, he knew he had to prevent her from seeing him in that state. Especially the incident in bed. "F-f-forgive me b-b-because I didn't know it was y-you! N-n-n-nothing happened b-b-for being w-worried! So- Shh shh shh~"

Luna stops the noble with her finger in his mouth. "There is nothing to be ashamed of. As your princess, I must help my subjects with their problems, it is my duty after all. So, won't you let me in? It's freezing in here."

When Luna removes her finger and hugs herself, the noble fights the temptation to look down. But being the kind of stud he is with how close Luna was, he could see her almost wet clothes hugging her body. As a gentlecolt, he shouldn't let such a mare be in a difficult and terrible state on such a cold night. He supposed it was because of the rain she had to run to come here, he should accept her offer of help for the inconvenience.

That is what the new Luna wanted and he fell into it.

"O-o-o-o-of course!", he said excitedly as he moved to the side and opened the door for her. "Y-y-you can come in!"

Luna acts as he wanted and enters the room. The noble was happy, he was having a dream that ended abruptly and now he thought it would come true. And because of that, he doesn't see Luna launch an anti-sound barrier. And the kind of smile on her face.

"P-p-p-please make yourself at home! I-i-i-if you need to freshen up y-y-you can go to the bathroom f-f-first!", he said waiting for her to accept the offer.

"No need.", Luna said as she scanned the room. And she didn't need to be Sherlock Hoof to verify the incident in bed. "We can do it now as we are."

"D-d-d-d-do it n-n-n-now?!", his excitement turned him into a teenage colt again, not realizing what he was about to sign as he approached her. "Of-f-f-f course! What do y-y-you have in mind?"

"Well, you see.", but Luna didn't let him as she moved out of his reach. "As Princess of the Night, I also have control over my ponies' dreams. And yours seemed to be disturbed by something. So I came here."

"M-m-my dreams!" Without looking, Luna knew that his face was turning pale. She was going to let him imagine the reason, so that he would be afraid, when what he should be worried about was what she planned to do with it.

"Aha~ I felt like you were having a sweet and happy dream, but something interfered." Luna stops walking around the room until she reaches a desk with a large round mirror. "And I know that dreams are very important, that's why I came here. To make your dream come true~", and she smiles at what she saw in it.

The nobleman had his eyes wide open and his mouth hanging, so he soon thought about what it could mean. He couldn't control his imagination as a tent formed between his legs. He thought that he would finally make that dream come true, even if the 'Moon' was not the same as the Moon in front of him. He thought he would have a good night with the princess of the night herself.

He thought very badly. "Oh! How stupid of me. Did I say dream? It wasn't a dream you had recently."

She didn't need to turn towards him and she didn't want to, what she was seeing in the mirror was more fascinating than anything else. In the mirror it wasn't Luna that she saw in it. The room wasn't the same either. Even the foolish noble who had no idea what was coming was also not in the mirror.

Luna was looking out a window, where the landscape was not that of a castle but an empty white rocky land with a dark night sky. The entire land seems to be a white rocky landscape that had spots or holes everywhere, and if Luna could focus she could see Terra in the background. However, she ignores everything because of the filly in that place, a place she knows best in her soul.

She could see the black-furred alicorn filly smiling with her light blue mane and tail shining like the blue night sky in a white dress holding a large amount of dark dirt in her hands. With a small dark leafless plant/branch leaves sticking out of that dirt.

Luna corrected herself as she looked into the filly's blue cat iris eyes. "But a nightmare."

Back in the present, Luna pushes that memory aside to look at her room window.

Luna was no longer staring at that dark filly. Not even that old Luna, who let The Three Yami Commandments change her. She was looking at the Luna after the Elements of Harmony cleansed her of her dark desires and returned them to the depths of her soul, where they belong. And even today, after everything she's been through, she doesn't have the answer to why Shadow was a Yami Tool.

Especially how to free him. 'Even today... he is still bound to them... not even The Elements of Harmony could change his destiny... after all... no one can go against the code.'

Luna prepared to sacrifice her life for that quest, yet her efforts were in vain, her entire plan backfired that night. If she had not created her safe plan of separating her consciousness into two, one with the memories of her sister's weaknesses and the secret of The Elements of Harmony, and the other with the information of what she found in that world, she would be sitting on a throne with the heads of all the ponies were against her, by Shadow's sword.

Just imagining it disturbed her to even believe that this was a real part of her true desires. Luna flashes from her past memories to the moment she wakes up.

She runs to the room where the disturbance was, she didn't need to know why Shadow was yelling or what called The Three Yami Commandments. All she knew was important was Twilight, and whether she was tempted or made the dumb move like she did in the past. Fortunately, none of her fears came true, yet. And she'll have to keep an eye on Twilight and Shadow's well-being.

She stops her train of thought and decides to enjoy the view of the peace of Ponyville. Still, her mind didn't let go of what she really got that night.

'The world we desire... balance the scales... Contamination... The Promise. Shadow, I hope I can help you with your mission. While you serve... Twilight, right?'

This peace makes her feel guilty for how she slapped Twilight. She will have to talk to her later to explain her actions. For now she will have to talk to the pony who is watching her.

"You can come in sister. I've had enough rest for now.", Luna said without turning to see Celestia in the door frame. "You can sit on my bed if you need more time after meeting 'them'."

"Luna...", Celestia wanted to say more but the words never left her throat. Instead, she followed her sister's advice and went to sit on the edge of the bed, right behind Luna. Both sisters contemplated the tranquility for a moment.

Until Luna asks her older sister questions. "How is he? Is he sleeping again?"

Without doubting who Luna was referring to, Celestia gathered the courage to respond. "He... is sleeping again... we can't check it for sure but it seems that way...", Celestia responds with her eyes lowered.

"And the holders? Are those fillies okay?", Luna said as she watched the foals play again after the commotion.

"...Most of the girls are fine...only Fluttershy had a second degree burn on the palm of her hand when she touched Shadow, but she will be fine with some healing spells and medicines. SIGH...", Celestia let out a deep sigh as she responded.

"And Twilight? How is she?", Luna turns to her. Celestia raised her head and could see the anger and seriousness of her question. "Has she angered The Three Yami Commandments again? Or even the promise?"

Celestia did not answer him immediately. She even wonders if what she saw just now was her imagination or not. However, Luna's attitude towards the problem told her not to even consider it or treat it as nothing.

That's why she couldn't contain her question. "Luna... what was that?"

"SIGH... Those were The Three Yami Commandments, sis. Making sure the rules are not broken.", Luna turns towards the window with her arms crossed. "And as you could see at that moment, they have power over Shadow's life and restrict anything that changes his role, even his current User."

"But for what?" Celestia, leaving her insecurity, went with her curiosity to Luna's side. "What could make such an entity create such a system, such rules, such roles with Shadow and Twilight? And how do they have that power to make somepony like Shadow have a destiny like that? To be a Yami tool?"

"I'm sorry sister. The 'Why' wasn't what I learned. Even for the 'What' I can only tell you part of it. But I can explain the 'How' to you since it is what we must be careful with.", Celestia stares at her sister who hasn't taken her eyes off the landscape of Ponyville.

Luna's warning to Celestia. "After all, every pony and every inhabitant of Terra can access this power through Shadow. The Promise."

Celestia then heads to the village, to her ponies. "So tell me, Luna. What are we up against? What makes Shadow, the last human, something our ponies should be afraid of?"

Luna continues looking towards the town too. Watching two foals fight over the same toy. "You're wrong, sister. It's not what he can do. It's what we can do with him.", just then, the two sisters turn around at each other.

"Shadow will carry the promise that our Great Father made to us, his children. The promise of our Lord Erebus."

The room fell silent after Luna's statement. Nothing changed in its atmosphere and the world continues as always. The sound of the ponies was not interrupted. The noise of the busy hospital was not drowned out either. Even the two sisters could hear the coughing of the guards outside the room without knowing what their princesses were talking about. The same effect occurred between the two sisters.

It was because Celestia knew from all the ponies who Luna was talking about.

"Lord Erebus... The primordial and true god of Darkness and Chaos... Our Great Father who created Terra with our Great Mother Faust..."

Celestia repeated what her parents told her, who was the authority even greater than her parents could ever possess or obtain in this universe. That's why she immediately accepted Luna's answer.

At the same time she understood her feeling of becoming a filly again under that pressure. Even Discord had nothing against him, he would be afraid like Celestia was a moment ago. For he is the Father of creation and father of the Draconequus race and all other descendants who resonate with his domain and affinity. The same goes for Great Mother Faust, the mother of creation, with her Alicorn race and other descendants with their affinity with Harmony.

And that's why Celestia couldn't help but ask the next question. "Does this mean... we're against him?"

"No.", Luna responds without breaking eye contact with her.

"He's not out to destroy us or anything. His true intentions aren't clear unless we ask. But, in my opinion, it's almost like a game.", then Luna turns to the window, her ponies. "A game where we have to fight among ourselves for what we want. Almost... like it wakes us up from the dream we are in... to compete, because the prize of a world where our desires come true is at the end of the race."

"A game? Fight among ourselves? Wakes us up?... A world where our desires come true... So the power the Shadow carries can grant it, I guess?"

"Almost like that, just like I said, something that awakens us... but yes, Shadow is the link to that power, that makes you believe that anything you want or want to be is possible. All because we are not capable of doing it ourselves. That's why Shadow is here, to help us archive it, like the other Yami Tools out there."

Celestia swallowed this whole discovery, because the next question was something she couldn't swallow. "How many... Yami Tools are there out there? Do you know?"

"Nope.", Luna responds without the seriousness she had before. She didn't even want to ask herself this question. "It could be just a dozen, it could be hundreds, I can even imagine a thousand of them marching across the countryside. Hehehe~ It'll be terrifying to see, right sis?"

Celestia did not need to confirm her, she was already thinking about an army of Shadows. However, she was more concerned about another detail. "If there could be more Yami Tools, why haven't we seen them?"

"Please, sister, you should let your fear out and just accept this madness, maybe follow Discord's advice like old times.", Luna smiles without looking at how she provokes her sister. "And if you want me to answer, I'll tell you the same thing Discord brings up with your cake obsession, about how you act when somepony tries to get in the way of your cake."

Celestia frowned because she knew why Luna was saying that. "It's because the masters don't want to lose their Yami Tool to others. And they can't use it against them."

"Indeed. Users do not want to lose their piece of cake, most will be satisfied to have their own paradise in a corner of Terra. And if others know the rules and such gifts exist like me, they will be persecuted until they can no longer protect what they treasure. The best way to keep them away from others, from their friends and family, as well as from their own hometown and country, as well as from other Users, is to stay low. Hiding while they can keep the piece of the cake they take with them after such an odyssey."

"And they will enjoy it while they have it, making others believe what they are now.", Celestia was now looking at her ponies. "Myths and legends."

Both sisters still see the peaceful land they must protect, even from their own ponies. "Nopony should know this, sister. Even Iron and Pink will have to take this legend to the grave. So I'll ask you this just once."

Luna then turns to her, making Celestia do the same, eye to eye.

"Are you going to help me protect Shadow? To prevent anypony from discovering the secret and trying to steal him? To prevent anypony from being corrupted by their darkest desires? To prevent more ponies, like me, from hunting down Twilight and Shadow?"

With each word, Luna walks towards her sister. Celestia was bigger, a responsible adult, while Luna was smaller, in her weak filly form. In their reflections in the window it was the opposite. In the reflection, a serious adult Luna walked towards a frightened filly Celestia. When it came to the Yami Legion, Luna had more experience than Celestia, that's why Luna made her understand her conviction.

"And bring Twilight down, the moment she succumbs to her 'True Self'? Because I will."

Author's Note

Hi! Thanks for reaching this part. I hope you have like the story so far. As for this chapter, this is were Luna was corrupted giving and explaining the 'True self' corruption, as well giving how this universe of the Yami tools works.

As revealing my anti character of Lauren J. Faust, the name Erebus belongs to a god of darkness. I try to decide if creating a new name but I choose to use a mythologic god of darkness and shadows to contrast Faust as my goddess of light.

Please like or dislike and comment your thoughts. All feedback are welcome. And if I leave an unedited part, please let me know in the comments.