//------------------------------// // Chapter 46: The Thing With Feathers // Story: Favorable Alignment // by Ice Star //------------------------------// Luna: The next six days passed and the nights followed with the usual cosmic indifference that ponies wouldn't bother to notice. The sun rose, as did the moon. If the world I lived upon was to end, then the universe as the whole saw fit to give no sign of such. When did it ever? It may be the prospect of eternity in me etched where a concept of mortality and the many delusions it can bring would lurk in other creatures, or all the things I have learned that simply had me refuse any claim of there being a destiny from an early age. I didn't think that the world would care if it was coming to an end, if it could think. I am, at heart, a nihilist, and what fun it is to know that life has no true purpose! The joy of knowing that every day, I could learn and grow is refreshing. With each sunrise, I might do something to give myself deeper insight to myself, the world around me, or go on adventure so that my heart might soar with the thought of seeing strange lands. I am bound by no crown as my sister is, but simply wear it. Even doing something as mundane as stealing food from Sombra is something I can look forward to when I do not look to a headpiece for my character. Nihilism is a positive delight and my sister's endless idealism and ways I've found gloomy in comparison to my cheerful outlook. Sombra's curious existentialism was an entire continent of fresh air in comparison to traditions, roles, and destiny. And I've never found that in anypony but Sombra. Cadance has zest, but is bound in ways she does not realize and though her moderate moxie is nice, Sombra's endless stubbornness and moxie and demon-may-care rakishness was an endless source of delight to me. The thought of talking to somepony who knew that they could just get up... and walk away from everything, and break rules, and do something - whether it be dangerous or wonder-filled - was positively shocking after seeing ponies so content to root themselves in everything only worth shirking. Now Sombra was gone. For six days, I pulled through both mourning and worry by lingering in the isolation I drifted to, doing my best to hold myself together as magic ran hot in my blood demanding I work on some kind of plan or stalk an enemy that would dare to even touch one strand of Sombra's mane... oh, it just made me seethe! It also became apparent that I should stop dwelling on some fiend that would dare hurt Sombra when a stray bolt of lightning charred Cadance's nightstand by accident. She almost managed a glare across the the table during breakfast on the second morning. Her choice of marshmallow infested breakfast didn't do her attempt at hostility much good. With a helpful distraction in the form of a raspberry I was successfully able to relieve her of the marshmallows while she tried to maintain her almost-glare, levitate milk, and grumble about property damage in that chirpy voice of hers. The third day started out well enough. War was declared between Cadance and I. Pillows were flung, the pancakes she hastily made were gobbled in the brief peace conference that failed spectacularly. By then, the fighting had resumed. She had learned many things about the construction and maintenance of proper pillow forts from her time as a foal sitter, but combat experience went to me. Civilian casualties were high. Shining Armor never stood a chance against a goddess and a demigod, the latter who considered impromptu singing a proper expression of battle rush and 'emergency' leg warmers to be proper armor. Her war songs were best described as 'alternative'. As afternoon came around and the sun wavered in the sky, my spirits had wavered too. Shining Armor, in his constant appreciation of fun and all things merry, told us we were no better than Sombra to be causing so much trouble when all he wanted to do was clean up the pillows that we had scattered everywhere. Everything that I had been working to try to keep off my mind for all except the most careful thoughts and melancholy to indulge in when I was alone broke and I had started to cry. I loved Sombra. I missed Sombra. They went hoof in hoof, and all those matters got tangled up in each other and stemmed from that single truth. I love Sombra. The third day ended in tears. Cadance tried. She really did, and so did I. I tried to talk to her and tell her even just a couple of these things but she's not the same as Sombra, not at all. She's so innocent and nice. There's only so much of everything I could explain without shattering her and seeing her in tears too. Somepony has to be able to just... smile. That pony is Cadance. Until I get my beloved Sombra back, it's going to be hard to talk to ponies. I try, and I did keep trying to talk with Cady. However, flying alone around this spire in the night air, napping, and reading on magical matters and other things proved to be far more restorative than conversation attempts. Imagining Sombra's smile hurt far more than it should. The fourth day was one I slept through, but when I had risen at dusk, I heard Cadance yelling at Shining Armor. I'm sure it was over yesterday, but I didn't know the Western language she was speaking so rapidly in. While Cady sounding so frustrated was strange, I had only tried to be careful so I didn't roll over and bump Sombra so I could wake him and ask what language she had been speaking as well as have somepony with whom I could discuss a course of action intelligently in regards to the conflict in Cadance & Shining's cabin. But Sombra wasn't there. I was able to catch Cadance cooking herself a late dinner. She let me braid her mane as I would have braided Sombra's and kept talking about all the different things that one can do with pasta, chirpy tone no longer chirpy. I listened to each new method of cooking, serving, and making pasta she mentioned while stirring the sauce to pour on her own simple meal. She even agreed to share, attempting to teach me a few words in her first language, half-heartedly trying to chastise me for forgetting the name of the country her parents came from and the name of its languge. When I just barely stopped myself from asking Sombra if I pronounced everything alright - second opinions never hurt - everything lapsed into awkward silence. We ate the pasta in awkward silence too. Pink Sunset's kitchen was kept dark and even the werelight Cady created was dim. The fifth day was one I spent alone and in the air, saying nothing at all to anypony as the wind ruffled my feathers with its bursts of sudden cold that were heavily laden with the salt from the sea. Only the wind's songs graced my ears and my eyes never even caught the slightest glimpse of white or pink on the balcony of Pink Sunset. Once or twice, I did catch a pink princess peeking out at the skies from the windows while I stirred up stormy skies and volleys of lightning. When I had landed it was not the sweet sound of thunder that startled me, but the voices of Cady and Shining Armor greeting me that jolted me from the solitude I had immersed myself in. I felt even more alone right there then when Sombra left or when I cried in front of those two. I didn't say a single word to them the rest of the night. Occasionally I nodded at something Cady had said, but most of the time I let my thoughts slip, drifting to daydreams and other musings that I let flow by. Quite a few were about Sombra. He was likely alright. I had no doubt that he had at least fought in one battle of epic proportions by now. I had imagined his horn blazing crimson, his bangs spilling out from under his cloak and across his eyes - oh and those eyes! When they were filled with the intelligent, stubborn determination I just- Cady may not be able to read minds but she shot me more than a few knowing looks that night. In any other circumstances, I'm sure I would have responded to her arched eyebrow and infectious smile with my own imitation of the second gesture. I spent the daylight hours of the sixth day in our cabin with Fish, who I wasn't even in the mood to talk to as I spent hours watching him swim about in a full bath while attempting to focus on a book. Cady had brought it along with her in order to try and divert Shining Armor's attention away from a false book-shaped container that she brought with her. I had seen it before and knew it is where she kept the plant she liked - not tobacco, but something very similar I have never discovered the name to - when she needed to smuggle the substance with her, despite it being legal in both the Crystal Empire and Equestria. I cannot say that the romance novel did anything to lighten my sinking spirit. They're all dreadfully boring and I understand even less of what is supposed to be achieved during the stories than I used to, now that I have entered a relationship of my own. At least the beings that are supposedly beyond comprehension in Cady's horror books are understandable. I would much rather talk to one of those than I would like to skim six pages of ponies kissing; literally none of this is in any way a good story. I wondered how these things even got published. But on the sixth night - here and now - I dream. ... An invisible and savage wind tugged at my feathers as the sudden gusts of freezing air buffeted around me, wanting to me to fly farther into this yawning and endless dark vacuum. I couldn't help but laugh, the sound ringing loud and clear, drowning out all as I cheered wildly. Nopony was around, and any happiness flourishes in solitude and withers in all but the most treasured company. Here, I needn't worry. My heart soared with me and a wide grin found its way across my face. I felt as though I might sparkle, fresh and bright in the lovely black abyss that lathered shadows so freely. In the distance, I saw them: distant lights, frosty wisps floating in the dark and... I felt them waiting for me, twinkling enigmatically. I could fly faster, and I did. The little streaks of white-blue lightning that was my speed trail - something I had not seen in centuries, for what need did I have to reduce myself to a blur on a daily basis? - flashed behind me as I plummeted in the direction of the dreamlight, and oh, I felt adrenaline run wild through me as I held my breath with excitement, for I was almost there- "You're going nowhere." The world crumbles, ground rushes up beneath my hooves, I feel myself snap back and gasp, suddenly dizzy with the abrupt shift as I remain still, my mind spinning. Looking around, heart still beating with racing energy, I saw that while I stood on something solid, there was nothing to see and while might just be my superior vision, or maybe not, it seemed as if this place was lighter. The alien lights above and around really did become the stars of this dream, distant, ever-present, and memorable. However, my focus was on something far better than any star: the eyes of a too-familiar companion staring at me, his blue eyes more enigmatic than any dreamlight could ever be. "Hello, Sombra?" I offered, completely confused on how this could be. He looked like Sombra - blue eyes being the only difference - and had his cloak, his armor, his adorable look of apathy that he always combined with a look of hidden calculations mixed with all that indifference. Everything was just so Sombra. But Sombra couldn't dreamwalk. No pony could, and no demon could. Only I could dreamwalk and while I could drag other ponies into dreams, combine dreams, and visit dreams... I had done no such thing for Sombra... And what was I supposed to do about those blue eyes? "Just what-" "I'm you," Not-Sombra said bluntly and flatly, looking me over once. "Yes, the eyes really give it away. Pray tell, what are you really?" An expected eye roll and small sigh of the slightest bit of defiance that he put into every bit of his usual body language. "I'm the rational part of your mind. Your voice of reason, if that's how you want to see it." "Would that not be like the disgruntled part of my mind?" "No, you and I aren't Sombra. You two are as full of differences as you are similarities." "So why exactly does my voice of reason look like Sombra?" Reason gave me one of Sombra's flat stares. "You're really going to ask that?" "Oh," I said, blinking in surprise, "It makes quite a bit of sense now that I dwell on it..." "Of course it does." I cocked my head to the side and Reason's eyes followed the gesture, but otherwise he remained unmoving except for a slight flick of his very fuzzy ear, with a tuft of fur at the top from his winter coat quivering. "If you are a figment of my imagination-" "Actually, I'm a byproduct of your subconscious," he interjected, voice slightly less grumbly in its indirect plea for coffee. "Yes, thank you for enlightening me on the matters of my own mind-" Reason's expression shifted to a smirk that only spelled 'trouble', fangs flashing slightly as Sombra's handsome smirks always had when I said something that had him acting playful. "So you're going to be the snarky one now? And here I thought you cherished our differences." "See!" I pointed a forehoof for emphasis. "This is what I was going to say before you interjected: despite taking the form of Sombra, you act just like him as well, even though you're part of my mind, not his. Why is that?" "I'm only as accurate as you imagine him. Spend enough time here and I'm sure that you'll note some deviations from how Sombra really acts. Now..." Reason gave me a meaningful look. "Are we going to get down to business as to why you're here?" I furrowed my brow. "This is like the dreams I was telling Sombra - the ones with the different light. That is most certainly what you are here for." Reason nodded. "Something big is about to happen. Can't you feel it?" I could! Magic ran wild in me, itching to escape as it built up. My horn tingled with aura that had yet to surge and crackle. Oh, I hadn't felt like this since I- I think my heart skipped a beat, and the void seemed a little quieter, and the brilliance of the lights above a little brighter. Reason saw my startled expression and gave me a wry, smug smile that was just too Sombra-like to do anything but make my heart skip a little. "Since you got your cutie mark," Reason began when I could not, the voice of Sombra commanding everything about this place effortlessly. "And my own world. Or when I became the Dream Goddess so recently..." All gods have their own plains of existence. Each is named and unique. Celestia and I have whispered of ours, but only enough to confirm those things to one another, and that was so long ago. We have never even seen the other's world. Until recently I was not strong enough to return to mine. When divinity and a cutie mark were gained, I glimpsed this world all my own... but had yet to master the magic that would take me back to it until my return, when the despair I had succumbed to was not so great. I know not if my sister has been visiting her plain, Radiance, as I have visited Solace. It is what separates gods from just being immortals, these personal worlds and our glorious divinity. I know that Sombra has one. He has yet to tell me the name of it, but it is where he disappeared to during our battle on the beach. Old worry threatens to wash over me again, as I recall how I had fretted over whether Sombra would make it out... or be trapped for all eternity, forever doomed. Immortality may be a prerequisite to access such a place, but to triumph and claim? It was such a grand feat for two little fillies of our age to access those worlds and claim them as ours, letting them lace their existence with our superior ones. And it has been some time - two years, or so; I do not care for such record keeping at the moment - since such unbound eagerness has run through me, and my coat has glowed with a light that has yet to decide if it is aura, divinity, or something else... Yes, both Reason and I note that I am literally glowing. It is quite natural too, for the light between, green, white, and blue - it is far too transparent to be properly defined - to shine from within, the energy weaving through my coat. I already have energy that would be boundless to a mortal, at the least, and unfathomable at the most, but the energetic sensation working its way through me, warming me and invigorating me like battle rush... it is indeed divine! "Do I need to point out just how meaningful that is?" Reason grumbled. "I'm afraid you already have, dear Reason," I said, smiling and imagining those blue eyes as crimson. He smirked, and the smirk was the same. It was captured so well that if Reason's eyes were indeed the correct shade, I would not be able to tell my beloved apart from Reason. "So I'm only dear to you now? That's very disappointing, I thought we had something special-" "Wait!" I drew back, the feel of magic warming me in my small moment of panic and confusion. "Are you, an aspect of my own mind, flirting with me?!" Reason cleared his throat. "I'm as accurate as you imagine Sombra." "That does not make it any less odd," I harrumphed, pouting. The only difference in behavior between Sombra and Reason made itself known: Reason's will did not melt at the sight of my pout. I pouted harder. Reason looked on with apathy and magic boiled within me as this cosmic injustice played out. "Do you remember what he said to you about pondering?" Reason arched an eyebrow in amusement and looked on with those chilly blue eyes that captured the twinkling of the lights above us - the ones that compelled me upward - so that mischievous reflections glinted in his eyes. Somberness settled over us both once more, cold breezing by as we stood inside this nothingness. "I do," I said quietly, Sombra's words coming back to me in great waves. As each bit was recalled with new clarity, I felt myself glow a bit brighter, yet the light held no true color yet... and it looked like it should have color of some kind. My dark mane, sparkles dancing in it, rippled with renewed conviction. Reason didn't need to ask me what was on my mind in order to highlight the breadcrumbs that Sombra had laid out for me. Do I understand what he meant knowing, what Sombra had been hinting at? More than ever. Reason smiled Sombra's smile as the echo of that thought faded. Do I still trust Sombra? Of course. With anything. Reason nodded, bangs slipping in the way of his eyes as he bobs his head in a brief nod. Only that smile - my Sombra's smile - splinters the relatively unpunctuated darkness around us. "Everything from here on out is nothing even a mental figment of yours can aid in. There's no reason not to trust yourself from here forward." Reason faded gently into the darkness as though there had been no degree of separation between the two. Only his parting gesture - a slightly flirtatious smirk, one that was undeniably honest - still lingered in my mind while the air from the space he had occupied stirred. Only the echo of a voice that felt like neither Sombra's - as Reason or himself - or my own stayed behind to offer last words. They were in the wry tone that both Sombra and I favored before it, too, faded - even though it felt almost incomplete to begin with, like a whisper. What have you always had, the half-voice questioned, and only given up once? It was no riddle, despite the delivery, yet, it was still something for me to ponder. I tilted my head to the side quizzically and stared off into the distance as my mane continued its silent movement. The answer was not love. My life had not always been filled with that, whether it be the love of family, the love of myself, the love Sombra has for me, or some other variation. It was not something I gave up actively either. With no more company, I allowed my thoughts to wander to any memory. Over three thousand years of life had left me with an amazing amount of experience and an immortal mind allowed me to recall almost anything. Above me, those lights still twinkled, and their light felt- My eyes narrowed in thought. They felt exactly like the lights in my last dream... And the light in the last dream... it had the same peculiar feeling. I recalled how uplifting I felt despite the distance between us. I knew not how long a journey to reach them would be, but I was prepared to endure the hardships of a long flight. Hope that I would reach what I sought in the end felt as though it ran in my veins, as thick as my own blood. My heart leapt a little at the thought of it- At the the thought of hope- Almost gasping, my eyes widened. I held a forehoof closer to my muzzle. The glow that I had been emitting shone brighter and was gravitating toward the start of settling into a proper color - a lighter one, it appeared. Describing the light as 'divine' would not truly capture what it was like. The light of a god was one that came from them and shined outward, through magic, fur, and bone. Thus it suited each individual by being unique. Mine was not a garish radiance that could be likened to the sheen of gems or the blaze of fire. It was eye catching - whether it was illusion or true, focusing on anything else was a little harder the more I concentrated on myself and this feeling. The world around me seemed darker in contrast. Hope. That word's echo still strong in my mind, my own voice carrying it, held its own kind of power - though in a purely figurative way. This did not enhance divinity, but realization was more often than not a catalyst. Epiphanies in the right moments meant things that could define a life. Cutie marks were one such example. Divinity was not so different in that broad likeness, even if cutie marks could relate to godhood, it did not work both ways. Sometimes only the slightest trace of one immortal's divinity could be observed within their mark. Hope. The word pulsed again, and magic with it. I felt more grow within me. Power swelled within my thin frame, as warm as the weight of summer air. I really have had hope for so long, haven't I? The radiance around me brightened as I kindled it further. I swam with magic as my own heart felt elevated by my emotions. My mind too, roamed as it pondered everything meticulously. All my life, I have had hope - or at least, almost all my life. As a filly, it was I who never gave up on adventures and everything beyond mountains, rivers, and valleys. I savored and lived every bit of those places, wondering at each and every thing I could hope to see. Even when the sun set on the land, I had never been afraid. Adventure only waited among a darkened world's lands, and mystery in the creatures whom daylight shunned. I had never felt more at home wrapped in secrets, starlight, and a void dotted with lights that bore down upon the world more than ever then, shrouding it... It was decidedly a white glow. This was how I felt in the nights when I was a child wandering about new forests and telling my always-princess sister which way to go as I stayed by her side. I was quiet except for all the times that I told her with smile that cut past shadows and caught the glow of fireflies, that I would be the brave warrior. I would be the brave one and lead her through the dark. All she had to do was follow my voice. She need only stay close to me and make no sound, like I did. She was scared, but not I. I felt as though I were aglow with happiness as I watched a world bathed in black, and yet I was more hidden then ever. I loved that. With each recollection, the glow grew brighter and I could feel my active, moving magic begin to sort through itself before going through yet another metamorphosis and allowing myself access to a greater sea of raw power that came with the enhancements my divinity would be undergoing. This was not change, nor was it simple. Upgrade was tame, but solid term. This is not ascension. My thoughts steer abruptly back to hope, and I let them dive wildly into memory again. I had only given up hope once. The path to it startled gradually, of course. That was when I had clung to it more than ever; my downward spiral furthered after the events in the Crystal Empire when I thought that there had been a chance to escape the suffocation and sluggishness of everything... Momentarily, I saw the bright glow waver, its white hue dimming for a brief second. ...in times like those, the years after Discord's imprisonment, before my own, and even before that, when I was in the Tribe's lands... my own world, dear Sol, was unreachable. I yearned to see it again, but found myself unable to access it not only from a lack of sufficient power and skill, but I felt it drifting away from its master. But... Since I've found myself caught up with Sombra, I feel more like myself than ever. Nopony else has made me feel like he does. I feel hope again, I feel myself trying to push through tears out of the want to be happy again, instead of out of need. I have been beaming around him and taking steps I was unable to, and would have been unable to in the company of another. I can talk to somepony and... Oh, it means so much when it's him. Everypony talks, fewer listen, and even fewer understand. Sombra understands. He's seen me smile and laugh and cry. I feel better. I really, truly feel better, or at least I'm starting to. I'm getting there. I'm not stuck. I feel more hopeful than ever, and not because this feels like a winning battle. It most certainly does not... but... I inhale to calm myself a little and watch myself glow brightly, mane rippling energetically, and as the seconds pass I glow brighter and it appears almost lost in the light. But that does not feel so wrong either. I may - and maybe Sombra shares this sentiment - not feel like this is a winning battle, but that does not mean it is unwinnable. Flaring my wings instinctively, I draw another breath. There's all this magic swarming within and so much that needs to take place. I yearn to fly. ...I wonder if I have given Sombra hope as well. He trusts me and he's happy. His panic attacks have been soothed instead of him just suffering through each one. Surely that gives him hope? Putting my hoof to the invisible ground I stand upon, I light my horn and put the vast sea of magic to a more obvious use, and find that the turquoise glow is now drowned by the brighter, new shade. With that noticed, I work my magic and try to sense any workings of this place, magic and will working in tandem until the ground dissolves beneath me. And then, I look up to the lights shining above - and yet none as brightly as myself - and take off with a burst of speed and accelerating from there. My flight trail - a magic shared by pegasai and Alicorns - is no longer small streaks of white lightning in a spark-laden dance as they trace spider web like patterns at random. Instead, I leave only a wide stripe of pure, luminescent white on my journey upward. Now it is I who am the brightest light in the dark. ... I woke up glowing. My entire body radiated a light whiter than snow, as though I were like my sister in all the fanciful artistic depictions of my sister radiating sunshine and poised as a pony's image of perfection. I was not perfection. I was very real, as was the light around me. The magic poured out of my body, surrounding me with it until I was engulfed in the glow that was far larger than myself. The mirrors of the cabin were blind, bright reflections of my magic and all basked in the glow. Just like in my dream, the world around me looked much darker. Drawing a nervous breath, my mind raced with things that I should do. My entire body was bursting with energy, wanting to fly as fast as I could or attempt to move mountains with my magic - I needed to perform some feat, to triumph! This must be put to use! I had already been awake for ten seconds before I noticed my mane. As lovely as it was, I had grown beyond simply wanting to stare at the deep blue mass of Alicorn hair and try to count how many purple highlights it had whenever I was bored. Except, I thought, running a forehoof through it as I always liked to, it is quite clear why I missed it now, among all the light... My mane was the purest white. It was glittering and brilliant, its flow both smoother and more aggressive - it was practically lashing in the magical discharge that I both produced and expelled. Snow was filthy in compassion to this. I heard myself gasp and yearned to examine this change further and soak in the memory, but the energy to dwarf the greatest magical engines and entire kingdoms' worth of ponies - at the very least - demanded I go elsewhere and urged be forward. I had such impulse to run out the door, but let all my instinct take over, recalling my last divine feats. I ended up breaking the door. Really, I hadn't meant to - I had almost fallen into it, brushing it with my wither - as a warrior I must be aware of my own strength - and instead the door was unmade with a crash like a clap of thunder and fell to ashes. Before I could even estimate how much was left of it, those too had dissolved to nothingness. My impulse to move was proving to be more overwhelming with each passing second. My heart hammered in my chest and my mind could not stop racing with thoughts of just how free I was, and how I should not be trapped in this metal - oh, I should run, bound, and soar! There were things to be done; so much to do - ah, how could I stand still like this? I galloped down the halls with as much speed as I would permit myself, relieved that I hadn't torn the floor up with my burst of speed that only let me be seen as a blur of inky hues and dazzling white, like a shooting star. And yet, there was no telling how long this burning urgency and blessing of power would last - it had to be used, and fast! ...And was today not the seventh...? Gulping air, I prepared to use the royal voice - the voice of the Alicorns - and summon Cady and Shining without rending them deaf in case the voice was amplified as well. It would be impossible for me to be keeping all of my power out of the most everyday acts but it was at least worth a shot. "CADANCE AND SHINING ARMOR! I REQUEST YOUR PRESENCE ON THE DECK AT ONCE! THE ISLE MUST BE OPENED! I AM PREPARED FOR DEPARTURE!" The entire ship careened under the reverberating power of my voice. The floor underhoof, thick and metal-wrought quaked as though it were less than paper. My stomach lurched, my eyes widened, and even I flinched at the abnormally thunderous effect that had been lent to something as simple as the voice. Ignoring my ringing ears - something that had never happened before - and spinning head, I tried to collect myself before chasing after the sound of two sets of hoofsteps through the aftermath. ... The breeze blowing across the deck was warm and carried the scents of far-away lands, warm and ignorant to the world's happenings. While the scents were faint and pleasant, I did not waste time dwelling on it. There were important matters at hoof and this was something that I would not dismiss - today I would dive into the same fray that Sombra had. I would need both Cadance and Shining's help to keep the ship running. There were small reserves of magical helium substitute in case anything unfortunate occurred, but stars know I wished to preserve that for as long as possible. Shining would usually be the one maintaining the ship itself or standing and waiting for an order every time I strolled by as my unsmiling and currently glowing self, mane of glittering white flowing behind me. Today was an almost surprising exception, his blue eyes were looking towards Cadance who was trying to look slightly serious. She failed utterly in that regard - hints of a giddy, if nervous smile showed on her face and she kept sneaking glances at the 'book' tucked under her wing that were so obvious, even Shining Armor was able to put the meaning together. "Cady, you didn't-" Shining began, tone like that of a usual wet blankets's. I resisted clearing my throat in mild annoyance. "I did," Cadance confesses, tone quick and firm, though her usual melodic chirpy tone - the one she uses when she blurts such things as this - was still easily heard. "It's the end of the world-" Shining begins again, his usual easy-going tone replaced by an almost intense, scolding one that was ill-suited for his usually goofy and carefree voice. "Near-end," I corrected coolly, eyes flicking from husband to wife aloofly. "-and she's concerned about getting high?" He jabs a forehoof in Cadance's direction and Cadance merely cups her wing around the 'book' further, clutching it to her side like it were a cherished foal. "Cadance, may I inquire if that is exactly what you were planning?" She fidgeted with the little box, magic aglow as she debated her course of action. "Uh, after, well... You're going to need me to, y'know, get the gate open and after that..." Cadance trailed off a bit nervously, her smile faltering. Unlike Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor, she never resorted to sheepish gestures to get on my good side or win ponies over with excessive modesty and cheap gestures. The latter is the more bearable, for at least it is easier to see the insincerity in that, and less bothersome. "As a grown mare, Cadance is able to do what she pleases, as strange as her desire may seem, it isn't one I judge harmful. With Sombra gone, and I chasing after him within the dimension hidden in that-" I lifted a forehoof in clear indication of the Isle's large crystal that loomed ominously around our comparably small airship. "-there will be nopony to maintain this operation. Yet, the both of you are well aware that you are only supposed to be temporary backup. If things are too serious or suspicious you are to flee immediately." Instantly, my dire tone worked like magic and Cadance smiled no more, but stared at me solemnly with a look that reminded me of dear Sombra; something almost enigmatic flashed in those eyes that were unable to hide anything from me. There was something she wasn't quite ready to say - what it was about, I haven't a clue. With a curt nod and a brief wave of my forehoof, I dismissed Shining Armror who trotted back to the ship's interior without question. Once he left, I felt myself relax somewhat. While I remained unsmiling, my expression softened when it was just Cadance and I. "We have work to do," I said softly, Sombra on my mind no matter who it was I looked upon. I would find him. If anypony could survive anything so dire as the environment I envisioned behind that gate, it was he. And I just had to find him... Cadance nodded, set her box aside and walked with me. Her face was contorted with mild pain and determination as she lit her horn with blue and screwed her eyes shut, searching for something deep within herself. I watched quietly as her chest heaved and she clenched her jaw, wincing. Purple smoke streamed from under her eyelids and she made a small, pained noise and I observed her muscles tense with the strain she was putting herself through. Never had I observed an equine with such a capacity for light magic variations. My own mother, the world's greatest light mage was the only exception. Twilight Sparkle was but a vessel for power, and as impressive as she is for a mortal, she lacks much. Cady, however is deeply rooted in love magic, complimenting it as it compliments her. Her horn swirls with dark aura and the äerint before us gradually begins to shift, and at a painstakingly slow pace. I maintain my glowing aura of power and my white mane ripples a bit impatiently as I look on, my gaze traveling between the gradually opening entrance and Cadance, whose breathing is shallower with the strain that she puts on herself. Crystal creeps away, peeling away like paint. The noise it makes - various scratching sounds, a product of Cadance's lack of skill - is far less pleasant than the simple rustle of paint chips that fall to the ground and crunch underhoof almost like leaves. If I could assist, I would, but I lack any traces of dark magic in me. Twilight Sparkle picked them up from her time in the Empire and from being around Sombra and my sister. I know that Tia must have picked up traces of the magic sometime after my banishment, when a couple of artifacts had surfaced. She has never been as careful or intrigued by magic as I have, but I don't think she wouldn't have tried a bit of tampering if she thought it would protect ponies. She's hardly tempted to delve into things otherwise. It is neither a passion or something that is feasible for a mare like herself. Still, I would try to offer my friend any assistance if needed. Mistakes could not afford to be made here, and if they were, the weight would not be one I think Cady could bear easily - and even if she could, I wouldn't let her. Maybe that's something very silly of me to say, but she is my friend and I think that this is something a friend - at least a good one - should do. Worry existing in equal measure as energy - both physical and magical - I watched with eager eyes as a hole to some other place grew and recalled how Sombra had commanded the äerint so skillfully, a dramatic gate thrice his size and edged with burning flame had appeared with much less effort for him. That had been no surprise, he was a demon and shared more with this cold substance than a pony in ways, no matter how far above both he was. Finally, exhausted and panting, Cadance managed to wrench a gap that could accommodate me and my large wingspan - perhaps another pony as well, but that was pushing it. If all went remotely as Sombra and I planned, he would open it from the other side and Cadance would not need to struggle to keep this open as she struggled to stand right now. Before she had the chance to collapse, Cadance found herself caught in my forehooves. The state she in is honestly quite pitiful: what's left of her long curls are limp, her brow is damp with sweat, her crown sits crooked upon her head, her legs shake weakly, and her eyes are unfocused. "How long?" I ask, voice steady and low. Cadance wheezes out a breath. "I tried dabbling in it a bit, after the incident with the body-less lich, Opal Charm. I wanted to know more about Sombra and the strange things-" She began to cough and I held her closer, deciding against fetching Shining. Time was something I was running short on and it was not my place to tell him something so personal. "He gave me a book," Cadance continued hoarsely. "Or what was left of one... I was just a little curious. The power never quite left, I think." "Are you sure?" "Not really," she admitted, head swaying. "It hurts when I use it, but Sombra and I-" "What did you do?" Cadance bit her lip, noting that my tone was suddenly colder - but it was out of concern, not malice. "We talked." She coughed again. "There's not enough for me to be corrupted, and I don't use it enough. He says that if..." She looked to her precious little box with, her gaze clouded over. "Sombra said...?" I prompted gently, and nudged the weak demigod. "There wasn't enough for it to do anything, yeah?" Lucidity returned to her gaze temporarily. "So he was telling me... before he left for that place." Her foreleg trembled when she pointed and I tried to mind both the weary mare and the time I would have left. The glow around me, white and powerful, intensified with anticipation. "He was telling you what?" "It should be purged. A few more years in the Empire. A few more Fairs. Nopony has to know." She sighed, and no weight was released. Fatigue consumed her features. "Luna." I looked at her more closely. "Yes?" "Auntie. Cousin. Luna... could you bring him back?" She drew another breath, and with it, her chest shook and trembled. "I know. It's stupid. He's powerful and living magic and so... unstoppable?" "Undaunted?" I suggest. "Yeah. Undaunted. He's strong enough for this, even if it hurts so much." In between more coughs I hold her tighter and in the rough sound, I think I hear her curse in her first language. Her tone is suitable for a curse, so a curse it must be. "Hellfire," she wheezes and I loosen my grip to help her. "He is this." Cadance taps her horn. "It's so strange." "I suppose," I murmur absentmindedly. Time ticks away... "He's scared of just... nothing. I know you love him, Luna, but he can be vicious too. You know that, don't you?" I nodded. She thought Sombra to be devoid of fear; I had no reason to correct her, I only knew better. "Yeah, well... I like him. He's weird and stubborn, but he's also kind of funny in an equally weird way. Once I got to know him, it just became difficult to imagine him not being there. Sombra's probably stubborn enough to will himself to exist forever, immortality or not." I do not laugh at her joke, but nod for her to go on. My magic busies itself with some shape changing. I must be ready for battle. Summoning my necklace from my cabin with a brief flash of my horn is easy, and the weight is comforting, but also shifting. The usual turquoise of my horn is hidden under the intensity of the admittedly beautiful white. I look around me and my focus on the gate aside, the world seems so much dimmer, and in the back of my busy mind I wonder at this. Wonder soon slips deeper into the reaches of my mind for later as I help Cadance stand. She wobbles, but manages to stay upright no matter how dizzy she looks. Her pink body is slim in a rather delicate way - she isn't as used to the grand adventures and physical tests that Sombra and I endure, nor do I think it will be. Her spirit is loving and welcomed, but not suited for the harsher things that must be endured. She is the Princess of Love, but I still see a filly in her, and it makes me smile - her and I are not so different there. My necklace shifts, and I welcome a weight far more familiar than that of such practical jewelry - my armor! A foal-like glee runs through me alongside the vast new reserves of magic I have yet to explore the potential of as midnight plates unfold from nothing and cling to me. This alteration is one of my proudest works. The armor is not bulky and is suitable for flight, long travel, and my quick combat while being able to bear many magical hits. My legs are encased in this suit that is but an extension of myself that burdens me not. Normally, I would have my lovely boots transformed and combat-ready as I am, but I left them in Canterlot where they lay unreachable. The crescent moon emblem that adorns the necklace, neither carved, painted, nor inlaid has shed its lesser form and now sits as a proud gem, clearer than polished diamond and reflecting the brilliance of my glow so that Cadance is speckled with rainbow light where she stands, gaping at me with something beyond awe. Inside is a midnight-dark and foggy mist - the Tantabus on display in a useless, but breathtaking palimpsest floated about, passive and non-threatening. I know that were we not friends and princesses, she would be a mortal gaping at me and looking at me with eyes that saw only perfection and when I saw only myself reflected in such worshipful eyes. She looked at me with reverence, yes, but it was not that of a 'mere mortal's'. I know she is from a superstitious background and she unfolds a wing as minutes pass so slowly, melting into a drag as my desperation to be soars within me. Her purple feather tips move to her chest and trace a small symbol resembling a 'C' with a quick gesture upon her chest. I know better, it is no 'C' but a crescent moon that she marks herself with and the smallest bashful smile slips out. "What is it that you see, Cady?" "A goddess," she whispers, "You really are a goddess. My friend... but oh-" She ends her sentence by bobbing her head, short manecut bobbing with it. Had it been a bow, but I would have stopped her, but it was not such. Cadance was merely expressing her beliefs. "By you, Celestia, all of Equestira and gods around, Auntie Luna, Sombra may be the most unshakable pony there is, but please bring him back. Please." She marks herself again and as a breeze blows by she looks at me wide-eyed, awe still there, surprise too, but she looks like she might swoon. I will not patronize her by suggesting she sit down - she has made it far and she is not my equal in ways Sombra is, my ultimate equal, but a comrade all the same. I offer her a nod as solemn as her gesture, briefly recalling that Tia told me a younger Cady did the same - a different mark, of course - upon seeing her face to face for the first time. "...Why is your face uncovered, Luna? You're going into battle-" "I forgot my crown, which doubles as my dear helm," I replied simply, "but regardless of how often I've usually decided to forgo it, this was intentional on my part." I give her a serious look just short of grim. "I want the wretch who harmed my family to see my face, and to know my voice." "That's, like, wow... Luna, that's hella cool," Cady squeaks. Her strange word - this 'hella' she speaks of - is something I have heard Shining Armor speak is not one I know, but coupled with 'cool' I know that Cady is speaking high praise indeed, and it is impossible not to crack a playful grin at her awkwardness. "Then I suppose that what will occur within this pocket world will also be 'hella cool' - did I say that right? - because there is a demon to save and a very despicable flank to unmake. May we find one another again, and you enjoy that extremely strange substance you take such pleasure in smoking! Battle awaits!" Without another word, I plunge into the dark, hope blazing within me, and from me as thoughts of Sombra return stronger than ever. I hear the gate close behind me, the grating scream of crystal upon crystal and find myself in a dark world.