Sombra:
It's been a long time since I've given the Book more than a passing glance. Why would I need to? Even I didn't possess a full understanding of it when I held it clutched to my chest in crimson aura, eyes warily trained on Luna.
Her mane was swept up in the cool early morning breeze and her eyes were fixed on me, her gaze was relaxed, yet solemn. I could still see her holding the plate with the sandwich with the ridiculously named bread I had used last time, though she had sent it away as soon as she had seen me. I nodded quickly to acknowledge her quiet thank you for making her breakfast even if I would have done it even if she hadn't asked.
She looks at the worn gray cover of the think volume that I grip tightly with a forehoof once I reach her.
For a few moments, we exchange no words and the mood is unusually tense. I swallow forcibly and back away when she steps closer. "Luna, don't."
She hangs her head and adjusts the position of her wings at her sides. I hear her give a heavy sigh before she's ready to meet my gaze again.
"Are you going to read it, Sombra?"
"We're aren't going to be able to read it." I grip the Book even tighter. The waves of magic coming from it right now make me feel queasy and on edge. Today's weather was calm and expected but the chilling effect of the Book's magic instilled a creeping feeling of something dire to come.
"How are we to use it if we cannot read it?"
When I feel the Book slipping from my grasp, I grab the cover roughly and promptly sit down on the deck, nodding for her to do the same.
Once Luna is settled nearby, the navigation system to her back she looks to me, silently waiting for me to go on and explain my plans.
"The Book is meant to trick whoever it snares with its power, as well as prevent those who hope to unravel its secrets from doing so. It can change how it presents its content and just how much it shows the reader. How corruption is delivered varies from pony to pony in order to do the job perfectly. While I can see past most of this and can't be corrupted by the Book, I'm not very good at navigating any of the contents it has since..."
Luna blinks. "Since what?"
"Since the Book's nature cannot manage to so much as come close to tempting me, I cannot get it to reveal much that would be of use to me when the experience that can be had with it is a personalized, ever-changing one. The core intention of corruption and the end goal of getting a demon are always there, but the exact method of operation will alter with each pony that reads it. Sometimes, it reveals itself to none at all - which is how Starswirl never noticed what it was in his possession. The most I've been able to decipher is a few pages out of what could only be thousands sealed into this one ever-shifting volume. The entire tome is not available to me because I'm not a reader, and because readers are not demons - a form of dark magic in one of its most powerful and elusive, just like the Book. The reader cannot be saved."
Luna lowered her head, tapping her chin with a forehoof. While her ears were pricked forward to catch my every word and listen to the sound made by my every gesture - something that certainly pleased me, knowing that what I did meant that much to her - her eyes were lost in deep thought as she considered various plans. I could see that her mouth was set in a grim line vaguely reminiscent of her adorable pout.
For the first time that morning, I allowed myself a more relaxed smirk instead of my own equally grim look and wondered what exactly she was thinking.
She continued to ponder something, growing more lost in potential plans with each passing minute. As I waited, I cast a few quick glances at the sky. The faint feeling of something ominous in the atmosphere of the Sky Scraper hadn't gone away, but at least it had lessened. I found myself unable to focus on any plans of my own for long, and while none were bad, I couldn't see anything too satisfactory in them. I settled for sneaking glances at Luna instead, all the possible routes our decisions on how to handle the Book still lingering in my mind, the details coming to attention only for a moment, like something bobbing to the surface of a pool of water before disappearing. I continue this until Luna finally speaks up.
"This will require the both of us?"
I consider her question as I run my hooves over the edges of some of the Book's pages. "Probably. Is there a particular reason you ask?"
"I think that I should be used as bait."
"Luna-"
"Sombra, I think that it is something worth trying. You know this book well enough and will be able to act as my guide on how to properly use it without being tricked. It is something you have learned to recognize from years of viewing it, no?"
"Yes..." I admit
"Then all we have to do is protect my mind, correct?"
"Correct, Luna," I say carefully.
"While that is advanced magic-" she moves her forehoof from her to me "-I think we can come up with something, wouldn't you agree?"
I give a heavy sigh. "If - and only if we go through with this course of action - you must swear to listen to everything I say. This is one instance when I absolutely cannot have you questioning me. Do you understand and agree to this?"
Luna nods gravely. "I do."
"Luna?"
"Yes?"
"There is no way in Tartarus I'm possessing you for this-"
"Sombra," she interrupts gently, though I'll forgive her for this, "what if it's the only way?"
I note that the sun is barely high in the sky. "We should have enough time to think of something else. I don't want to put either of us through that again - much less risk a full possession if something goes amiss - so that option will always be the last of last resorts in any situation from here on out, alright?"
Luna slowly makes her way over to where I sit after she adjusts a few levers on the navigation system and the Sky Scraper's direction shifts. A stray ray of sunlight catches the white moon on her necklace before she turns away and sits next to me.
"I understand, Sombra, and I do mean what I say when I promise to listen to you."
I pass the book to the forehoof opposite from Luna and allow her to move closer, where she begins to stoke my mane and hoof-comb it. I tense up at this, but allow her to continue.
"We're going to destroy the book that troubles you so much," Luna murmurs, "I promise that as well."
I nod quietly, swallowing again.
"We're going to destroy where I came from," I whisper hoarsely, tensing up even more when it suddenly becomes hard to breath and I feel cold and dizzy. Luna notes this and pulls me into a careful, but tight, embrace. She can no doubt hear my heart hammering in my chest. Instead of worrying I just feel her cheek brush mine as she hums in my ear.
"Have hope, Sombra," she whispers, "I will be right here with you."
I don't react; I just let her continue to hold me because the thought of destroying the last thing connected to where I came from - Onyx himself being the exception - is suddenly absolutely horrifying.
But she's right. She's here, and I like that. I love it. I don't want her to go, and I don't even need to tell her. She knows and she continues to sing wordless songs to me and she tells me I'm free.
I can't say I've ever been free before, but I know I've been free to choose things before...
...And I choose her. I want her to stay with me.
I want to stay with her.
I've never wanted that about anypony, only I wanted to be around myself. Alone.
Only I wanted me, but now she does, too... she's just sitting here singing to me and stroking my mane.
And I let her.
...
At the far end of the deck, Luna stood with her horn lit. A faint film of crimson aura could be seen in her eyes, which looked to me with something far softer than my unwavering looks. Her softer, unblinking, wide-eyed stare held a sense of determination and spunk that intrigued me. Though, it was hard to focus on anything but her eyes with turquoise magic glimmering in my eyes and obscuring almost everything else from view.
My own horn was lit and ready for the spell. Halfway between us the Book lies closed, its front cover face down.
Luna looks to me and I to her. A breeze wafts by.
What we're about to do is simple to the both of us. She needs to read the Book. I need to be able to pry into the Book before it can shift and see its true nature in order to access information about it and potentially destroy it. She needs to remain uncorrupted and have somepony help her properly utilize it. So, in order for her to read the Book, I have to read her mind.
When she gives the signal, both of us release the magic.
...
I sit up, steadying myself by gripping the ship's rail and using my other hoof to rub my temple now that I have a splitting headache. I let out something in between a deep breathe and a scoff.
"You think that because this isn't dark magic, I wouldn't feel like I have a bloody hangover," I mutter to myself, fixing my posture as much as I can manage in order to not feel like I'm about to fall over.
What was that?
I froze at the echo of Luna's voice in my mind. It's been a long time since I've felt this dreadful sensation, but the scars are always clearer than any would expect them to be. "How are things on your end?"
Sombra, what is it you speak? I cannot hear clearly you all the way over here 'on my end' when you mutter to yourself. This is most strange... it feels so invasive to be doing this to you and- oh my, you look tense do you need me to come over-
No, Luna. I just never wanted to be used to this.
Is it painful...?
Across the deck, I see a nervous-looking Luna bobbing her head in a faint nod in better detail now that my vision has cleared. She cradles her mane in her forehooves and runs one of them through it in a fidgety gesture of discomfort. Otherwise she looks okay, and I offer a nod to serve as a question of her welfare.
She nods in return, but slowly. She's taking this far better than I anticipated.
It's emotionally... I punctuate my thoughts with a heavy sigh, ...troubling, if that counts to you. So, could you try to keep your statements short and avoid tangents at all costs?
Yes, of course. Now what is it we are to do?
First, I tell her, pointing with a hoof to the Book, I need you to pick the Book up, but don't look at it yet. Look anywhere but the Book, and take care to avoid looking at the cover.
Luna nods and trots over to the center of the deck, her eyes trained on me the entire time.
I see you chose what to look at wisely, I tease.
You are certainly a sight to behold. I'd be lying if I said I didn't see Luna wink at me. She picks up the Book, as I told her to, and then looks at me for further directions.
Now, think about your some of your greatest desires. It has to be something that the Book can manipulate, so something like Onyx's lust for power would work, as would a lust for material wealth or bloodlust.
But-
I brush a lock of my mane out of my face. I'm fully aware that you aren't anything like that, but those were just examples. Sincere love and a lack of desperation won't work on this thing. You also can't be too selfish and self-driven or it won't show itself to you. The less aware of yourself you are - or you let yourself become - the more it wants you. If you place too must trust in others or care too freely, it can work with that as well.
There was a long pause between us, disturbed only by the wind.
Keep that in mind, Luna.
I shall. May I look at the cover now?
You can.
Wait, Luna starts, I want to know what it said when Onyx... She doesn't continue. We both know what she was going to ask.
It said 'Everything You Ever Wanted'. He believed it, of course.
Luna remains composed as she offers one last nod and sees the Book's cover for the first time. Instantly, her eyes widen and I can see a dull flicker of dark aura, with colors too muted for me to make out beyond that, begin to burn in her irises. I lean against the rail of the ship, digging my wither into the metal to keep myself from rushing over to her at the sight. We can control this, I know we can. Even though I feel a ripple or darkness from her mind echo into my mine, I won't let it spread.
Sombra...
What does it say, Luna?
As her ears prick to register the 'sound' of my voice that isn't there and 'hear' her name, I feel the echo of the Book retreat.
It says 'The Truth'...
Open it!
And as soon as she does my horn is consumed with dark aura. Luna's eyes succumb to my magic as we planned, so it looks as if she has been possessed by the magic I have partially transferred between us so she can play the dual role I need her to: that of somepony already corrupted by dark magic. She plays a perfect victim, and my extra set of eyes in reading the Book and seeing what I can only glimpse through the lens of darkness I have given her.
There's a map, Sombra, and it's moving... Her expression is of something between dark intrigue and bewilderment.
I narrow my eyes and tap the railing with my hoof. If I go near her, the Book might be able to sense me if I'm too close to her. After all, it was able to tell when others were near Onyx and change what it displayed so the same thing would not be shown to anypony who peered over to check if he was reading anything interesting. Does it say what it's a map of? Can you describe how it's moving?
Luna lights her horn with dark aura, something she is woefully unfamiliar with. I can see a flash of something like doubt on her face, but she manages to cast her half of the spell successfully and my vision alters. I blink at the sudden change so I can see what she is shown by the wretched volume, except there's a few minor differences I see.
While she sees a large map spread between two pages and no real key to go with it, I see the runes of Everything floating across the page changing from simple Equish words and translations, to another pony language I don't recognize, and back to eldritch runes again. I also see a header in the corner of the page, as if I were reading something that were a modern, organized volume instead of this - a map that mimicked one drawn in ink, but was too perfect for any mortal to have made with flaws and other effects too tailored in appearance to be anything but intentional.
I blinked in surprise from my place on the Sky Scraper's deck at the unchanging header:
A Humble Collection of Spellcraft, it read, mocking none in particular. The poor joke was not what interested me. It was what came after:
Umbra.
A name.
A name that sounded rather familiar...
I bit the inside of my cheek to stop my quickening breathing, but only drew a bit of blood. I swallowed in horror at the taste and tried to regain my focus, wracking every corner of my mind I could for an answer....
Umbra. Umbra. Umbra.
Where had I heard that before?
Sombra..?
I nearly choked on my next breath at the sound of Luna's echo.
What is it?
Are you alright?
Not really, but I think I might have found something. Before I tell you, could you explain what you mean by the map 'moving'? It isn't doing that on my end.
I draw my hood against a particularly bright ray of sunlight and turn to look at Luna, whose expression is a mix of concern for me, deep sorrow, and a brooding cleverness as she gazed at the Book's pages. I try to flash her some kind of grimace to let her know I'm coping with this as best as I can, but sit quietly instead.
There are these small pictures, almost like a more tasteful version of stick ponies. They are walking about the castle, and various lines outlining paths in the halls. I cannot find any labels for them, but I have also noticed that the doors and windows will open and close, or parts of the castle will change, as if being built anew or repaired. What does it look like to you?
I return all concentration to the map that I see.
The castle is there, but it does not change. However, I have keys and labels. It says this is the Marecca Palace - at least that's what it's called in the Equish translations.
Luna cocks her head to the side, her eyes still fixed on examining her map. Is that script helping you - the one that only you see?
Yes, I nod. I remember reading that Marecca was the capital city Al Far'iimbra. I don't recall reading much about the country itself, or the inhabitants and culture. I do know that they were part of the Alicorn Empire, and that they had many universities, mathematicians, poets, and inventors come out of their country... like Princess Amira.
Luna gave a heaving sigh and furrowed her brow, casting a quick look at me before returning to the Book once more. Amira is a very old name that has survived from a time long before Saddle Arabia was established. I know of no place called Marecca or Al Far'iimbra ever existing; however, Al Far'iimbra almost sounds Arabian... but not quite. I do not think it would be unreasonable to say that this land of Al Far'iimbra is now present-day Saddle Arabia. Do you concur?
Absolutely. What about that name Amira mentioned? Hasad? Do you recognize it? It's clearly important and I think it might tie in with what I've discovered.
Hmm, did Amira not say he was an Alicorn and the younger brother of somepony named Elinora?
Yes, she did. We have an Alicorn prince of unknown age as our suspect. I also recall that Elinora was the queen of Al Far'iimbra and had many students. She was a special kind of pyromancer and was a patron of many inventors and great researchers - I don't really know much past those footnotes, really. But does 'Hasad' sound familiar to you?
Luna closed her eyes in thought, purple smoke still flickering around her eyes. Hasad? I know that when Arabian dignitaries came to Equestria a couple of years ago they left a letter of thanks to my sister and I for having them... I recall no mention of the name Hasad, but they spoke... they spoke it as a word. When I had Celestia translate the letter for me, since I did not recall modern Arabian well...
Her eyes fluttered open and she gasps. Envy! They said that they had been envious of our kindness - and oh, Sombra I know it! Hasad is a modern Arabian word that means envy!
We both stare at one another. Luna's eyes are wide with horror and my jaw is agape.
You do not think...
I think Hasad is more than just a suspect now, Luna. He's guilty of something, it's just a matter of figuring out what specifically he did...
...What is it that you found?
I fidget with the hem of my cloak. Another name. Umbra. Well, at least I think that it's a name...
Luna frowns. 'Umbra' is a Tribal-Era term. In the arcane language of the Unicorn Court's magic of that day and age-
Which was really just bastardized Old Arcane fallen to ruin, I interject and certainly feel quite pleased with myself when Luna smiles at my knowledge. I finally give Luna a sort of grimacing half-smile.
...it means 'darkness'. I do not know the exact origin, only that in came into use after the Collapse.
Both of our smiles vanish.
Do you think-
I don't think, I know.
As soon as I say this to Luna, we watch as both maps of the Marecca Palace are obliterated by a colossal wave of magic that is neither sketched nor real. The castle is blown to ash, runes flying everywhere and dissolving as the picture grows smaller with each moment of destruction, until it finally shrinks to a landscape sketch of a city...
...a great metropolis, a citadel of old that made Canterlot look like a hamlet in size be reduced to ashes in a blink...
...by a small sketchy-Alicorn in the sky...
...labelled 'Hasad' even though his horn is curved now...
...and that's all we can see before the no-longer-quite-an-Alicorn flies into the distance, leaving only dust in the wind where millions lived only a moment before.
Luna-
She gives a mute, horrorstruck nod. Tears fall past the dark magic in her eyes as she watches the oblivion. They roll down her cheeks in silence.
Hasad is Umbra.
...
The second map was the worst, not because it showed a dead place that neither of us would ever see but because the Book showed Luna and I a place we would be seeing very soon. I heard her gasp at the sight of the ungoldy structure drawn in thin, spidery lines of black ink. Instead of looking flat in the labeled projection that I viewed, there was a depth to them and I found that detail eerie...
By now I felt lightheaded at the sight, my forehoof gripping the rail so tightly it had begun to produce a dull pain that I couldn't ignore for much longer. Eldritch script proclaimed this place to be 'the Isle'.
I gulped. The entire spire - which drifting measurements labelled to be as long as ten ponies - was like a flagpole of äerint that rose from the ocean's waters... if flagpoles neared the height of mountains, that is...
When I re-examined the ocean around the äerint, I saw what looked to be a tiny scrap of land that had been speared by the crystalline spire like a javelin. What had Luna called islands this small? Rays? No - cays, they were called cays... and they were usually found in the Barren Sea, which was westward. That's where we were heading.
Still, I wondered what this place could be for - it was too unsubtle to remain disguised, wasn't it? Except that I had discovered that äerint was the crystallized dark aura and if that aura was bent or something was woven into either it or the island... well, then I suppose the Isle could be disguised...
But that still didn't answer my question. Why would the Isle be needed in the first place, since it acts as the smoke to the fire that would eventually be found? Umbra was the one who caused the Collapse and has been missing for three millennia. He couldn't have been hiding at the Isle itself the whole time. So why would so much magic need to be sitting there like that? In this drawing it almost looks like a seam of-
I'm jerked out of my reverie as soon as the answer becomes clear, and I turn to face Luna, who is still distraught from where she sits, staring at the same image on the Book's pages.
It's a seam, Luna! The Isle - that's what it's called, I'll fill you in on the rest later - acts as a gateway to something else and that must be where Umbra is!
She looks skeptical of my conclusion. How can you possibly be sure?
Only a demon would be able to manipulate the äerint.
True...
I give her a wary look until she accepts my theory with a nod, and a fleeting, weak smile.
Luna... I start cautiously.
She instantly sees my nervous expression, even though magic clouds her vision. What is it, Sombra? Despite the sight of dark magic, she sounds gentle right now.
I don't think I'm ready to destroy it yet... or if it can be destroyed with normal means... or if we should do it here...
Would it be hazardous to keep it?
No, I've had it with me this entire time and it hasn't been a problem. It really can't do anything on its own.
She nods quietly and an ocean breeze blows by, stirring our manes. Whatever it is you are comfortable with. I'll return it to you once we stop this spell.
I let out a ragged breath. Thanks, Luna. For understanding all of this...
Of course. She flips the Book's cover closed and the maps of lost places vanish from our eyes and my attention is drawn elsewhere as I get a good long look at her smile.
...
Hours later when the stars gleam faintly in a clear, dark sky Luna and I are drawn together once again after quietly busying ourselves with solitude for the remainder of the day. We don't say anything to each other since neither of us are really in the mood for conversation. I don't need to tell her that I put the Book away. She doesn't need to tell me about the letter Mac sent her detailing our meetup point. The two of us sit side by side in silence, Luna looks at the stars and I look at her form in the dark and the glassy surface of the ocean sparkling below in the dark.
We'll be reaching Germaneigh in about a day and a half and while I'm used to being a wanted criminal, Luna won't be familiar with having to walk about in disguise and hear her name whispered on the streets followed by 'runaway princess'. It'll be said by ponies who know so little of her that they might as well be trying to sever her name and apply it to a caricature of some lost idol the populace has spent five minutes deciding on. Or maybe Germaniegh has yet to care about a runaway goddess who will walk among them without any to recognize her.
Next to me, Luna lets out a long sigh, re-folds her wings and continues to stare straight ahead at what's to come.
I prod her wither with a forehoof once to draw her attention to me. Is there something bothering you?
Luna grasps the unspoken meaning quickly and shakes her head, letting me know that she's doing well before placing a quick kiss on my cheek. She pulls away before I can return the gesture, a mischievous smile flashing in the dark when she sees me huff and roll my eyes at her antics. The both of us pretend to return to looking at the sea and the sky, but I'm the more careful about sneaking glances at her. Luna's occasional quiet giggles aren't helping her beat me at staying quiet. I manage to refrain from rolling my eyes again to prove that I can outlast her in this little game of ours.
The moment I turn away she starts to stroke my mane and doesn't stop even when I turn to shoot her a questioning look; in fact she scoots even closer to me and continues to fidget with looks of my mane in a wide-eyed state of fascination and laughing softly to herself from time to time. I allow her to and continue to watch with some confusion as she spontaneously braids small locks of my mane and then untwines the loose plaits.
For her sake, I start purring and she wraps me into crushing hug, only lessening her grip when I she hears me cough a couple of times. When she pulls away, I expect her to just give me another peck on the cheek before straying off to do something on her own. Instead she just turns me toward her, keeping her forehooves on my withers and looking at me and I'd be lying if I said she didn't look just a little bit apprehensive. I stop purring and I'm about to ask her what might be bothering her under her playful mood, but just as I'm about to, she leans forward...
...and starts kissing me, which makes it clear that absolutely nothing is wrong. I'm certainly not going to protest, even if I could, because at last there's nothing between us. So I just let everything else melt away - everything but us and the stars that continue to shine somewhere far away, as the Sky Scraper drifts toward Germaneigh, and all around us the night rages on.