//------------------------------// // Chapter 52: Nova's Tree, or Matters of Favorable Alignment // Story: Favorable Alignment // by Ice Star //------------------------------// Luna: I didn't have time to gasp before my legs hit the cloud clumsily; my mind was too busy. I rejoiced and felt jarred by the fluffy, cool, almost-solid surface that my hooves were sinking into. An immortal is not a sloth, or unfit, even if we are born into it. Despite this, Nova wasn't adjusted to flying for two weeks, and landing was something that my experience could only do so much to improve when met with Sombra's clumsiness. I could not bear to open my eyes, but the glimmering light of the soul-wisps still managed to find its way through my tired eyelids, and the lilac-white light is surprisingly gentle and soft, as moonbeams are. What a marathon this has been! I think with a jovial, if equally tired, heave. A journey like this is one I seek to do again to feel the world underhoof in full once more. I wonder if Sombra has had the same feel - to treasure isolation so - on his jobs as a mercenary. My eyes fluttered open and a single name sat in my throat, nearly caught at the thought of the most important demon. Sombra! Where was he? I lifted my head up, blinking at the late dusk sky and the cloud embraced with the harmless wisps before me. They bobbed about to create an enchanting sight, like that of fireflies over a meadow on a summer eve. I felt a breeze ruffle my feathers, but just barely felt it. Sombra was no longer possessing and the last thing that- A cloud-walking spell and another, different one to allow safer breathing for my companion at such a high place as my body shaped itself yet again, a mass of shadow and a tangle of long, slender limbs that belonged to me and me alone, spilling out and tumbling with a creature that was no pony- Oh! Worry set in my heart yet again. That cloud-walking spell was well-timed, but Sombra was not without wounds when he- Frantically, I looked to my left, only to see that Sombra wasn't there, and I began to grow worried. Hooves dug into the plentiful, comfy surface of the cloud as my stomach sank. Still uncharacteristically clumsy and worn from the longest flight I have had in some time - though, the endurance of my kind was great - I decided to roll over to my right in a flurry of feathers and hooves. My mane too, was long enough to be counted among these. While it still sparkled, it waved sluggishly. I still had to adjust to not having Sombra... I really did not have a word for what we did. I know it had been possession, and the reconstruction of Nightmare Moon so that things might have been complete, instead of how I did things so long ago - but just what was it that we had done? I simply haven't got a name for it. As soon as I stretch my hooves out, I feel something - somepony familiar and wrap him into an embrace, dragging him through the thick fluff until I had him hugged tightly to my chest and my eyes shut once more - before I had even gotten a good look at him again. Unlike Sombra, I could not feel magic, and feel ponies but I wanted to feel him there. The suddenness of this certainly startled Sombra who only responded with a profound response all wrapped within the brevity of one sound: "Murp." I hugged him closer, and began to stroke his fur after placing a kiss on his cheek. To my surprise, he felt rather cold. Sombra was fluffy and extremely warm. His body, winter coat, and his normal, less fuzzy coat were always comforting in their warmth. I could think of few things that made me feel safer, or as though things were going to be okay other than being near Sombra like this. I looked him over instantly and was greeted with a strange and magnificent sight. "S-Sombra...?" He nodded, never taking his wide crimson eyes off me. While his eyes searched my face, mine roamed across the sight of Sombra. He was solid and whole once more. I could feel his fur and stroke it as well as ruffle his mane. I flicked his fuzzy ear with a bit of magic and watched grumpiness flicker over his face briefly as the cold wind blew by, doing the same as I had done. Far up here, the air was cold and thin. The wind was not without an icy feel, for this is the last cloud before our world spilled into all the others. The closeness I felt to the stars right now made my chest tingle with warmth. I couldn't wipe the expression of wonder for them off my face, and shivered slightly. My Alicorn body was still adjusting to this cold, and it was a trait I was glad my kind had. Sombra should not be this cold. At least, not this fast. I rolled onto my stomach and positioned myself next to him, scooping him closer with my wings, and draped my right wing over him and nuzzled him until he lay upright with me. I noted instantly how he looked like he had been exposed, and that he ducked his head slightly so his mane spilled across his face and attempted to tuck his forelegs close to his chest and fold them there, like he expected his fluffy chest to hide them. I did not know what words to speak for what I saw, not yet. Under my canopy of feathers that I had safely blanketing dear Sombra, I couldn't tear my eyes from his coat, and that is what most likely resulted in his unexpected display of... embarrassment? His eyes were always the same. Even when displays of dark magic made them appear more feline, they were always his eyes. I could, and would, see no other in them. It was the rest of him that was not as he usually appeared. He was not changed, not at all. Sombra did not change, but as of now, he was more himself than usual. I thought of no finer way to put it, as I watched him, entranced. His coat was layered with bits of transparency, and these patches revealed the same colors and whorls - the displays of light that I had witnessed when I was with Onyx... and with him... before everything had merged and woven together and my mind - and I, Luna - was within another being... Oh, it was all quite the experience. And here was Sombra, who looked slightly ill - just a little pale, really - with the soft, pulsing glow of a crimson script that ran through his fur. I felt it, and it was like sunlight and dust motes - fragile, just barely tangible, and easily interrupted. He made a small noise in the back of his throat - a confused, warbling trill - when I did this. His withers twitched. Sombra cocked his head to the side and I looked at that script again. The whole thing moved too fast for me to understand them, and faded into his coat just as quickly. The few symbols I thought I could glean changed on me. Perhaps this 'language' was a purely esoteric, and I could never learn it. And perhaps Sombra might one day share it with me, if such a thing was possible. I caught the glimpse of what looked to be the sight of pages flipping and was struck by the memory of many spell books and field guides - anything that detailed both matters intellectual, magical, philosophical, and never without passion. Some locks of his mane appeared to be shifting, so they were interwoven with subtle wisps of shadow that were just as much a part of him as everything else, and it hurt to have to resist the urge to reach out and twirl them. Sombra was a patchwork amalgam of all his different forms, and yet he fit seamlessly together and when I pulled him into a hug, he felt solid and real. For a time, I did not want to let him go. I did not want to say anything, I just wanted to feel Sombra there as we sat high in the sky. I think he wanted quiet too. He didn't say anything; he only hugged me back. When we spoke again, it was automatic. The other's questions and concerns did not seem to be that unreadable. "What was all that?" I whispered into his ear, feeling the fuzzy tip tickle my muzzle. 'Was' because I saw the lights and colors dim and his equinoid form and felt the fabric of a familiar crimson settled over him - and since I was holding him still, it draped over me as well. I shifted and sat on my haunches, but kept holding onto Sombra, who wriggled a bit too. Eventually, he sat wither to wither with me and nuzzled my neck. When I turned to nuzzle him and remind him that I still wanted to hear an answer to that question and many more, I found myself unable to. Sombra was nibbling on my ear, and his deep purr rumbled across our patch of cloud and sky, drowning out my surprised gasp. He did answer me, in time, but it was only between nibbles that he would pause to do so. Sombra even flashed me small smirks when he knew I wanted to see his face, each a small shadow of his usual, irresistible smugness. They were like the heresy that was bite-size candies; I always wanted more. How he could even manage to smirk so handsomely, I have no idea. It was completely unfair! How could I resist a power like that? He was supposed to be the sappy romantic, and when he did that my chest felt like there was an ice cube melting inside when he did that and getting everything all wishy-washy. "I'm not entirely sure what that was, Luna," Sombra said. He lowered his voice noticeably up here and his tone was nonchalant so far. I could hear a touch of flippancy below it before he would go back to nibbling my ears. "That's never happened before." It was quite the dilemma for me: did I want him to keep nibbling my ears? With his cute little fangs it tickled a bit and I was trying my hardest not to giggle... and not to be too tense from holding back laughter. Or, did I want to hear his voice? After all that time in Niflhel and on Pink Sunset without him there, I wanted to hear him ramble about nearly anything. I wanted Sombra to tell jokes and say all the snarky things about what he's done and seen and felt. I yearned for him to narrate exactly why somepony was at fault for something and should be showered with the Right-Honourable Sombra's generous snide remarks and grumbles about anything and everything. I decided on the latter. I was not ungrateful for his affection, but I wanted to hear what was on his mind. Nopony talked like Sombra did, and he might not be in the mood later, so I would listen now. "Do you have any inkling to what that was Sombra? I saw your forms." At the thought of his shadowy mane I reached out a forehoof to stroke his, ruffling the disheveled black. I was rewarded with deeper purring that sounded even louder up close, especially when Sombra nuzzled the top of my head. He lit his horn and gently moved me closer to him. I felt his magic brush against my coat and tried not to shy away. This was Sombra. I would be fine. I was surprised that was all I needed to tell myself this time as he scooted closer to me as well, meeting me halfway on the cloud's puffy surface. Absentmindedly, I reached up a hoof to where my necklace rested, with the Tantabus within and- It was gone. I nearly fainted, but Sombra was there to catch me. I felt his forehooves wrap around my withers in a hug meant to steady me. That necklace that carried the burden that had been weighing on my mind and heart for two... no, no, no it has been almost three years, I am certain... oh, I feel so dizzy. Sombra noticed my irregular breathing first. Of course he would - he was Sombra. He always noticed far less obvious things. Leave it to Sombra to notice something a pony doesn't even know about themselves. The only reason he hadn't noticed the Tantabus was because it was part of me, though it was stored otherwise. Worse still, it had been part of me, and a part I could remove... so was it no part of me at all? I know it was a brick in the wall of my own malaise, and now... "You're free, Luna. Whatever happened, that thing is gone." The way he began 'whatever' and what followed had a quality of uncertainty to it. It was not at my freedom, but making it known that he had little memory of exactly what had transpired. After his pause, his certainty was undoubted and the venom for how he addressed the Tantabus plain. Free... I nodded, but dreamily. Something about that word - there was something that I should remember, I just know it. I was free from the Tantabus but- But what? Everything Onyx said to me is crystal clear, but- Oh, Onyx! It was about him! Sombra made a small grumbling noise - a grumpy one, not a growl - and his smirk faded until he had an admittedly adorable scowl on his face, but it was not directed at me. "Some pieces of what happened after you and I... well, they're missing," he grumbled. It was not a question. When Sombra was certain, it was confirmation enough. I nodded and looked out at the stars. Whenever I solved problems, I liked to think of having scattered points. Some connected, some didn't, and others connected only with time. I need only to fish for possibilities, take my time, and use what I know - the rest happens, well, in between the stars. "Do you feel strange otherwise?" "Not particularly. Possession doesn't have that many after effects on me other than memory rush and I didn't touch your memories." "Thank you," I said sincerely, and beaming at him. At the sight of my heartfelt smile, Sombra places a soft kiss on my muzzle. When he pulls away - and before I had a chance to reciprocate, the fiend! - there is a smirk working its way across his muzzle, with the left side of his mouth curled upward and he can't seem to shake having a sardonic look about him. Not that I mind. "What does 'memory rush' do to you?" He shifts next to me, and the little gift of a smirk softens to a thoughtful, neutral expression. "Depending on how bad it is, it can feel like I'm hallucinating. Usually the worst that'll happen to me is I'll just be overwhelmed with what I'm seeing. That usually only happens if there's something very intense in a pony's life - and something that I register as intense - when I see their memories, accidentally or otherwise. The only lasting effect is that it's best not to teleport for a few hours afterward." "You've possessed how many other ponies before?" I look at him after I finish, and find him frowning while those handsome crimson eyes burn fiercely with the recollection of something unpleasant. "A lot," he says brusquely. "It happened in the Crystal Empire, and it wasn't always of my free will I chose to do that. In fact, I usually didn't. Drop it?" I nodded quietly and stoke his mane again. "I didn't mean to pry, Sombra." He sighs, but the annoyance in it isn't directed at anypony in particular. "You and nopony else. Any reason in particular you thought it'd be a good idea to chase these?" He swept a now-armored foreleg around to indicate the luminous soul-wisps while staring boredly at another cloud floating by, silently judging its very nature while I wondered, in the back of my mind, if I would get him to nibble my ear again soon. I flicked one towards Sombra and looked around, thoughts of Onyx momentarily dismissed. I would be sure to tell Sombra about them later, if I had a conclusion that I could use to order things. This would be important to him, I just know it. The answer is waiting for me to find it, and need only wait a little longer. I'm sure I'll remember. Our memories of Nova are a strange puzzle, with the pieces divided between us. Since we separated, my whole body has felt tingly on occasion - like when Sombra was about to light his horn and when his magic brushed me. It isn't an affliction of the skin, or any kind of malady that I know of. I would say that it almost feels like something had been left inside me in trace amounts. When Sombra and I acted as Nova, it was using my body as a foundation for everything. I have some recollection of what feeling magic had been like... to explain it, even to myself, and piece together the experience that resulted from so many in-the-moments sensations and the chilling rush that different magics gave... oh, how long that would take. This is information I must digest and work through carefully. I pull Sombra close again, startling him slightly, as he produces a small, surprised trilling noise which disrupts the small purr he had begun to make in my silence. I relish in the fact that he feels warm again, and gently nip one of his ears. He flinches, and what goes unspoken is understood: I like ear nibbles; he isn't partial to them. I try to see if this works, and let my mind clear and try to focus on what it had felt like to sense magic. That would explain the tingling that ran within me - something I imagine would have likely been worse for a mortal, but that is just a guess. It was a post-possession side effect, no doubt. What Sombra did... it went beyond normal possession. Some time passes, and I release him once I am certain that the feeling has slipped away, but not before I can give him another nip, this one being quite teasing. He lays his presently fluffy ears back and gives me a tame warning growl without parting his lips in a snarl. Gingerly, I pet the top of his head and sweep aside his bangs as an apology. A pointed look is all I get in return, but it lets me know that the apology has been accepted. Now, I can finally tell Sombra what I have been thinking. "The magic sensing effect lingered," I began. "As soon as you..." ...And now I had already paused so early. What could I possibly say to describe the feeling of when his shadow-form seeped into me without sounding... offensive to him? Inexperienced with such matters like possession? Wrong? Intensely uncomfortable the more I dwell on it in hindsight? Sombra's eyes search my face, and I see nothing but concern in them. I watch his ears perk up and him bob his head in a little nod before he leans over and brushes his fuzzy cheek against mine and whispers in my ear: "Go on," he says carefully, "you know I want to hear you. We may be here forever but these clouds won't be." Nodding slowly, I grab one of his forehooves. He lights his horn and the armor retracts into a leg band. I clutch his hoof tightly and wait until I don't feel so scared. I like it when he nuzzles me. Or hugs me and holds me. When he brushed up against me right now, that felt better than nice. Just sitting next to him and holding his hoof is wonderful. Being possessed by him is scary. It is 'scary' because I should never be afraid of Sombra. He's the most amazing creature and has a great sense of humor. We can talk about everything, or we can talk about nothing. I should not ever be scared of him. Not now, not ever. He won't hurt me, he won't hinder me. And yet, the experience was still an awful one in many ways. He didn't hurt me when he possessed me. Not on purpose. It hurt a little, like when one tears a bandage away and there is a sting. This was not a sting but it wasn't dissimilar. I'm sitting here with him, completely calm, and yet utterly horrified. It feels like there's something disgusting inside me and oh, why did I have to think about this now? We were having such a lovely time. Did I ruin it? He didn't hurt me at all. I don't ever want him to do that again. He's the greatest pony I have never known and not some horrible parasite. He isn't a monster. But I don't think I can have him do that again. It felt wrong, and not because ponies aren't supposed to do that. We are not ponies. I want Sombra to be out here. Sombra taps my wither and his eyes are worried. He's going to stay right here, that's what his eyes say. He's sorry. They say that too, and I squeeze his hoof tighter. I trust him with anything. Anything. His eyes ask me if I can just go on, and we can talk about the parts that are bothering me later. We have a later now. I nod. I do not exhale sharply. I held no breath in, but I shiver a little. This dark spell was not pleasant. "Too much of my magic rubbed off on you," he says, expression serious, but not stern. "That right there - you almost had a panic attack because of-" He stops himself and fixes his eyes on me. I lean against his wither and silently wish that he won't look away. He doesn't, and continues. "You've never had one before have you?" I shake my head. "That's..." He sighs, and I can hear some longing in his voice. "That's really nice, Luna. You won't have one again." He nuzzles the top of my head, and adds quietly: "They're far worse when you can sense magic and feel it seeping like I can..." They must be, I say with only a quiet nod into his wither. "Do you remember at all what it's like to feel magic? Even in pieces?" When I nod, I hear a familiar dry chuckle that always manages to make me feel at least a little bit better. "What is it you felt that you want to talk about?" I take a deep breath and sit up, straight and dignified with my mane flowing freely. A lock or two must've been knotted slightly because I feel Sombra run a hoof through the thick mass of hair, undoing it. That knot - it really was too small for a knot, but Sombra has keen eyes - was like Sombra and I. Our magic had started to rub off on each other, at least slightly. Magic could never completely transfer over or do anything so silly just because two entities were in the presence of another. I felt it when I saw through Nova's eyes. No, a little before that when the sense was temporarily born within me - which was the only part about the possession that had been inherently painful; only demons had the basis for this sense to exist - and Sombra had not yet merged everything... He dreamt because of me. The magic he had worked on himself - eight years of forced wakefulness, and one before that with sporadic rest combined with Onyx in his mind had meant that he was unable to dream, and any hollow shadow of a dream that he might've had as simply the barest impression of something in sleep and nothing more - had robbed him of any chance. I had no doubt other things he had done to himself contributed to that absence. Sombra's time in the icy void he was imprisoned in only addled this further, and it pains me to know that for most of his life Sombra didn't even have the solace of dreams to comfort him when he needed it. Onyx being sealed by the Heart - and what a mighty seal it was! - was enough for my presence to have an effect on him... which was something that few among the gods were able to do. With all that's happened here, I might as well be growing up all over again! Onyx... Free... The two words burst in my mind like star's light when a cloudy veil moves away and lets the light shine. I swallowed and liked my lips a little before I finally felt confident enough to speak because through the puzzle that were Nova's memories, which only belonged to me in part, I had finally pieced something together, and thus I knew what had happened. "No, Sombra," I began, and my voice was strong, caring, and regal. "It is you who are free." The wisps around us, clinging to the surface of the cloud and making us a beacon of light in a gorgeous, dark world almost twinkled audibly with the heavy silence that followed. Sombra had redefined conflicted. His expression was mostly shock, pupils small in the dark. He was startled and exasperated, joyous and disbelieving. The way he had placed his hoof on my wither made it feel like his boot was still on, his grip was simply so tight. "I-I saw him, Sombra. In the strange form, where you are like a nebula and-" "That's my original form," Sombra said quietly, voice hoarse. "I think I remember you..." He buried his face in his forehooves. "This is real," he said with a voice that asked no questions and doubted nothing, but was emotional all the same. I swear that he sounded as though he mourned something. It was not Onyx and it would never be him, but I do not doubt for one bit that Sombra was not mourning something deeply private. "This is real," he repeated. His stubborn urgency was enough to escape the muffling forehooves. "It is," I said softly, nudging him gently with my muzzle. "All this is very real, and I am here with you." As if agreeing or simply encouraging something, the wisps gathered around us glowed brightly, but softly and Sombra was bathed in their whimsical glow. His gray coat and dark hues of all but his eyes, magic, and cloak were a notable, stark contrast to the world around him, so that he appeared to be an odd centerpiece to this world and sky from which all else unfolded, as he could do nothing but stand out. I was not prepared for when Sombra abruptly - and I must admit, rather roughly this time - seized me, pulling me into a deep surprise kiss. My mane rippled slightly faster before I could acknowledge what was happening and spilled around me fluidly. As soon as I freed my forehooves from his grip - again, it was too tight and sudden for me to call it an embrace - I wrapped them around his neck and withers - whichever I could get my hooves on - before returning the gesture. Tragically, I still needed to breathe. After I felt the need for air become all I could focus on, I had to shove Sombra away without using too much of my Alicorn's strength. As strong as Sombra was, I most certainly did not wish to push him off the cloud. It was impossible not to stare up at him and appear anything other than... well, lovestruck. As amazingly pragmatic, take-things-very-slow, and extremely reluctant as I can be with all of this it's hard not to treasure Sombra so. My awestruck expression shifted into one of our smiles. I wanted to laugh a little but everything was so tranquil... Instead, I smile and plant a kiss on Sombra's muzzle, and it felt impossible to look away from his eyes - the only ones I never minded looking at me the way he does. He wasn't a noble who might as well be nameless except for the looks they gave me that only made me long to be invisible. Sombra wasn't a delusional, naive, and annoying would-be suitor who wanted to court a princess and pretend to know anything about Luna - or to think only on the title before my name, as though I were like dear Tia and devoted all to that title, encouraging the thought of serene perfection. He was nothing like that. He was Sombra, and I loved him. And Sombra was currently enjoying the feel of my telekinesis running through his mane and being pet as a soft purr sounded occasionally. "Sombra?" I asked softly. The purr warbled to a sudden stop. "Mrph?" Sombra questioned elaborately. "I love you," I said, an unstoppable smile spreading across my face until I beamed at him. My magic booped him softly upon his muzzle, and he purred in confusion as mild bewilderment made its way across his features. "I'm not sure I tell you that enough." Eventually, Sombra chuckled briefly and flicked a few strands of my mane with his magic, draping them across my face until I had to spit them out, twitch my muzzle until they fell away, and pouted until Sombra could bear it no longer, and he removed them. He was rewarded for his great and magnificent feat with a long scratch under his chin with careful strokes of my magic. Sombra's purr was loud, like the deepest rumbles of oncoming thunder and his eyes shined with nothing short of happiness. To make up for the oh-so-disappointing fact of being unable to scratch him under his chin forever, I teleported next to him quickly, and pulled him into a warm hug. Since he doesn't like getting nips or nibbles near his ears, I flicked one teasingly - that got me another 'murp' noise and nuzzled behind his ears instead, which he liked. I felt him relax and cuddled him closer, and he relaxed even more in my embrace. At the start of all this- No, 'the start' would be the Crystal Empire. Our paths have only recently converged. When Sombra and I first spent time with one another on the Sky Scraper, he and I were already off to an amazing start, though I did originally suspect he had a mercenary's want for payment. I was able to talk to him easily, more often than not, because of how anti-social he was instead of how 'approachable' my sister and everypony else was. His ability to be approached lay in the fact that he wasn't approachable. We had made small displays of affection... mine were as simple as compliments that I meant wholeheartedly, helping him, listening to him... and Sombra? Sombra was trying to get to know me with a different possibility in mind, but still spent time talking to me and doing the same things that I did for him, and more. Our starting affection was very awkward. He flinched at my touch for more reasons then his love for me being unrequited at the time. Sombra had been hurt. He's very brave not to show it so obviously, but I know where to look, and I'll never lose sight of the rest of him. And now? Sombra's response to my affection wasn't to flinch or any similar responses. He smiled and laughed, and was caring and patient with me. I have a feeling that in the future, Sombra might be even more willing to bestow affection on those he cares for. I stroked his cheek a couple of times, and felt a shift in how he set his jaw. Looking at him and gently tapping him so he knew I wanted him to look at me, I saw that when he turned closer, tilting his head slightly, his expression was now a serious one and his eyes burned with contemplation. "Is something bothering you, Sombra?" He looked like he wanted to hear my voice, and the way he pricked his ears in my direction told me that my hunch was true, no matter how obvious my question might be. He doesn't look at me. "Did you see him?" Sombra's direct, troubled tone gets an instant nod from me. "I did see him." There's no need for a name, Sombra knows who I refer to. I reach out a forehoof and curl it around his withers, snaking it through his mane to stroke it carefully and straighten out his cloak for him by brushing the crimson fabric clean of any bits of cloud. I marveled at the impressions of script that looked like marks, dyed into the fabric. Almost as soon as I caught sight of the elusive things and let my hoof brush them, they were gone. "You talked," Sombra says bluntly, and distantly. It was no question. I nuzzled him softly and spoke in a careful whisper. "Yes, I did speak with him, Sombra." "And?" He sounds worried, so I pull him into a tighter hug. "And what, Sombra?" I ask softly, petting one of his ears. "What did you think?" he mumbles into my coat. "What did you see? What did he-" When his tone grew more frantic I kissed the top of his head and then looked at him since he would not meet my gaze. Sombra's eyes were damp. "What's wrong?" I whispered, and began to hum in his ear, and continued to do so when I wasn't giving him careful replies. "I thought him repulsive and I saw a monster." There. Sombra felt a bit more relaxed when I said that, but no happier. Poor fellow. "May I assume next that you wished to know what he said?" Sombra nodded quietly. "He said nothing flattering about you, and nothing that would ever garner my sympathies. I haven't a bit of pity for him, even if he is a child." Sombra mumbled something and then stop abruptly, but I did not catch what it was he said. "Sombra, what was that?" I toyed with a lock of his mane by running my magic through it. "Could you please speak up? I do want to hear what you have to say." "Would you..." He paused and sighed raggedly, and I heard the apprehension in it. "Would you... forgive him?" I blinked, and felt as though water had been thrown in my face, startling me. "S-Sombra?" He started to shake a little. "W-Would you? You're so kind to me and... Would you be just like everypony else? Would you do what they would? Luna would you forgive him because he's a child, or ever? Do you think that-" "NO!" I shouted, to him, to the sky, and to myself. I clutched Sombra tighter, and while he stopped shaking, I felt him squirm. "Sombra I would never forgive him. The things that Onyx did to you and... He had his chance, Sombra. He was born with one. I am kind to you, to my sister, and to Cady because you have all earned my kindness. I am not cruel to ponies, but kindness, respect, and forgiveness are not something I would give so wantonly. They are reserved for my loved ones. I would seek to be a just ruler, not a kind one. I admire professionalism." "You'd never forgive him," Sombra mutters, nibbling my withers slightly and then stopping. "Never," I confirm. "I would never forgive just anypony. Why, there wouldn't even be meaning in that. Forgiveness isn't to be tossed out so freely. It is a gift." "...Then what would you do with him?" I pull Sombra up close to me so I can shower him with nuzzles and so he can watch me as I give him an answer. He looks at me, but also something behind me, with curiosity. I imagine he likes the bright light of the wisps. I've seen him bat at moonbeams and sunlight before, so he might seek to be entertained by them. "I would love nothing more than to have Onyx executed, if I could get ahold of him and he were anything but a shade, or whatever he is now. Disembodied." Sombra nods, and I go on. "There would be too much trouble with a trial, but I would like to get, ah, sort of confirmation, I would put it, for the sake of formality. Rushing into things has never been something I would endorse. Even battle cannot be blindly rushed into, and neither can justice." "A trial..." Sombra mutters, and the disdain in his tone is clear. "Well, something like it. He'd be a very unusual case. Murder is not a common crime in Equestria, or any god-governed nation that is known. Serial killers and mass murderers? Why, you and I both know that they're basically unheard of." I stroke his mane, and watch as Sombra looks at me, quite calmly, as I talk. "Onyx would be a special case, especially considering the circumstance around him. There would be no jury alive I would trust to even glance at a case like this, and there's also the matter of you, dear Sombra." Sombra's pupils dilated. "Me..." I nod carefully. "Yes, you. You're an immensely important individual, and would be crucial to an event like this. You would even be pressured by the masses-" Sombra growled softly. "-and more. Your private life, secrets, and security... any of that would be exposed harshly. I would never allow such a thing to happen to you." Sombra is no longer looking at me; his entire focus is on whatever is behind me, and his ears are laid back and fangs bared, which sends chills down my spine when a feminine monotone that carries both cold detachment and wisdom in her tone speaks behind me: "Luna Galaxia, you are certainly not your mother's daughter. She had the utmost faith in ponies, but she was a Spark of Magic. That seems to be a pattern with them: a faith in ponies that can prove powerful or foolish. Now, the last time I truly saw you, Luna, you were but a filly swaddled by your mother with a sister who coveted you like a jewel, and then... I might have glimpsed you in a blink from my slumber. The trouble you had with the last draconequus on this world has left me weary, and you and your sister thinking they can harvest whatever fruit they please has left me quite drained. And now, here you are, as a young mare, at your world's end with a lover even I find shocking." ... Sombra and I stood before a phantom that cast no shadow for us to stand in. Her glittering wings of translucent, sparkling blue matched her coat and body. She stood expressionless, with eyes of pure white light that only seemed to glance over us, and had no focus. They were absent of either iris or pupil, and saw everything, giving none in particular her attention unless she were to swivel her head and look upon you and you alone. Her mane and tail of rainbow light reminded me of the aurora of the Crystal Empire and her horn was quite long. She loomed over us, exceeding even my sister's height. Sombra's opinion of her was quite plain. He stood away from her, tall and arrogant with suspicion in his eyes and gave her an unwavering, hard glare. Unlike me, he was a few extra steps away from her and digging his hooves into the cloud. We knew that her power was great; Sombra's small measure against swaying with unsteadiness was just an unneeded confirmation. The only gesture he allowed me now was letting me drape a wing over him after I had backed away, joining Sombra. It was both a protective gesture as well as one meant to allow him to lean close to me if needed. Nevertheless, he only looked more aggressive with my dark feathers around him. I stood quietly, and reserved where he stood proud and unconquerable. Neither outshone the other, but he was clearly fire and I ice. No effort was made to conceal his fierce calculating stare that the spirit refused to meet. She did not smile. Any emotion she was capable of was not expressed in conventional ways, but she knew who I was, and I knew of her. "You are my mother's 'friend', the one who guided her and told her prophecies and the meaning of many of her dreams. It was you who shielded us from the Collapse where more than ignorance of our existence would be needed to fool Umbra... and yet Celestia and I still left the forest." The spirit inclined her head in a partial nod. "I am Harmonia, this world's Tree. Your mother had a personal name for me, but to you I am as I have always been: Harmonia Everfree." "And what are you to me, Deadpan Dryad?" Sombra asked, tone challenging and a cocky smirk flashing across his face. I savored the sight of it while it lasted. Harmonia, the closest there was to an entirely omniscient being in this world, blinked quickly and showed the tiniest trace of confusion and barest hint of displeasure. "Do you have any idea who or what I am, young god? Or, would you prefer Sombra, Endling of Demons?" Sombra scoffed. "Sombra the Enigma works best." He gave me another very knowing smirk when he spotted my light blush. "But I've also been known as Sombra the Mad. There used to be a pointless title in front of it, but it was never mine." "Mad you do seem," Harmonia said quietly, not caring who heard. Sombra's response was a short, humorless chuckle that the slightest twitch of her mouth tells me she did not expect. "Mad but not wrong. As to who you are, you're the spirit that Lumina of the Light followed. She was your Champion," Sombra said knowingly. He really didn't look surprised to see her. "You're nicknamed the Gods' God, even if there is no such thing. It's not arrogant to think one being could control all the intricacies of the universe, it's just stupid. You're not omnipotent, so don't think you could ever get away with such an act to me. I know far better." I nodded, and let some pride show. "He is most educated, as you might come to see." She actually looked at Sombra. "The God of Knowledge? Is that what you are?" Sombra rolled his eyes. We both knew that Harmonia already knew in full or in part what Sombra was the god of, only I tried to humor her occasionally. Sombra did not want, and chose, not to do so. "No, I'm the God of Facetiousness. Tremble before me!" He waved one forehoof flamboyantly. The sound of me choking by laughter ended when one of Harmonia's blue ears flicked toward me. She returned her attention to Sombra, who stood proudly and aware that he had the undivided attention of the most powerful - though not in bold or direct ways - being in the known world. "Then you are easily the most dangerous god. No matter where your power levels off, or where the power of your fellow divine stops increasing too, you will never stop learning, and that makes you almost infinitely dangerous." Sombra meets her gaze easily, suddenly serious. There is a sinister glint in his eyes as he looks at her ominously through his bangs, slowly running the tip of his tongue along his fangs. "You know what the sad thing is?" She pauses, and I hold a solemn silence. "What?" Harmonia speaks without any trace of interest, but the slight narrowing of her eyes says otherwise. "You only just realized that," he gives her a venomous smile full of smugness. "If you had any idea of what had been going on in whole and weren't an entity that sunk so far into deep slumbers, you would have done something to intervene before I obtained divinity. It isn't even sad so much as downright pathetic." His eyes roamed over her coldly. It didn't matter that the magic she radiated would cause him to stagger on his own. Even with my wing about him, Sombra was nothing short of completely imposing. Harmonia was silent. The rippling of her mane was nearly audible, as were the wisps that had moved so they clung close to her. "What would you say to me if that were true?" Sombra smiled coldly and without mirth. It was devious, and I got chills watching it. "Why, the same thing I'd say to you if it weren't." "Which is?" I watched Sombra, choosing to focus on the hood of his cloak instead of his intense, triumphant expression. "Tell us why you're really here," he said with a small shrug, while his smirk only grew with the gesture, vanishing when it ended with a toss of his mane. He lit his horn to tug at his cloak when he did, and I caught a small array of crimson sparkles drifting near his mane and dying quickly. My heart felt as malleable as mud. "Go on. I only have forever to wait," Sombra added, his smirk returning, cruel and sardonic. I felt like I was melting inside. "I am here to talk," Harmonia said flatly, but she still looked at Sombra for a moment longer before taking in the both of us. "You really desire to keep him as anything short of a weapon?" Harmonia asked. The slight change in her tone told me just how useless she knew the question was. "I only ask because of how well I knew your mother. She was..." Harmonia paused, and added in the same level tone, "...a friend. She was like a very dear friend to me, and her forgiving the blight Penumbra... Even now, it was neither surprising or expected, but a measure of both. Penumbra was submissive and humble, this one is not." "This one can hear every damn word you say," Sombra grumbled. "I have gone to the end of the world with Sombra, and would do so endlessly if only he could accompany me. Sombra is my equal." The conviction in my voice feels so true, and I feel Sombra nudge me with a small bit of playfulness. It is true. "I'm her only peer," Sombra says, proud once more. "I see. You, Luna Galaxia, would accept such an unnatural creature as a partner? I do not endorse or desire to see your union-" "We aren't married," Sombra and I deadpan in unison. "Oh," Harmonia says, tone still level and betraying nothing. "Well then, I am neither for or against your... partnership. Even if I was either or, it is not a matter in which I have any place." "Damn right," Sombra grumbles, nudging my cheek with his muzzle. I lean into his touch and keep listening. "But Luna, I would caution you against embracing a relationship with such a creature. Demons are not... they are quite vile, if I am to put things as tamely as possible." "Oh yes, Sombra is so vile," I say, placing a kiss on his cheek to say 'don't listen, you'll be okay'. He nibbles my ear sneakily before we return our attention to the primordial spirit to make it clear that nothing had happened and yes, we have listened attentively. "His kind are equines not to be, as I imagine you know. They lack even the barest, core experiences any living creature is meant to have. Unlike any equine, they are capable of eating flesh." Sombra shifts uncomfortably next to me. I wonder what this spirit would think if I told her that Sombra was a vegan and was disgusted by the very thought of eating any flesh. The closest thing he has ever come to such a thing would be him mentioning he has bitten in self-defense. Sombra is an omnivore then? I lean my head against him, but he feels tense. Poor Sombra. He had just begun to relax earlier. I don't mind if he's an omnivore... for an equine it's a little gross, but with those fangs? He was made to be omnivorous, I wouldn't protest if he wasn't going to eat as a pony or Alicorn would. I've seen more than my share of gore. So what if he's not an ovi-lacto-vegetarian like everypony else? "Your lover is a false creature, and of that you should be aware." Sombra growls and I wrap my wing tighter around him. "I find Sombra better company than any pony, precisely because he isn't one. Do you know what I have to say if you keep slandering his fine name?" Harmonia looked down at me. "You certainly are not your mother's daughter. There is a strong air of rebellion around you that none other than your demon companion have." "I'm just going to take that as a compliment," Sombra grumbled, rolling his eyes. "The opposite of rebelliousness would be accepting and going through everything as a living insult." "It was an observation," Harmonia said quietly. "Now, Luna, just what is it that you are threatening me with?" "Ppht." Harmonia drew back, surprise finally showing plainly upon her face. I would dare say that she even looked mortified. Next to me, I heard Sombra laugh. He needed it too. "Ppht. Ppht. Ppht. Ppht." "Are you going to keep doing... that?" Harmonia ventured. "Sticking your tongue out at me?" "Ppht. Ppht," I responded honestly. Harmonia's dull expression resumed. "I see. I have only offered you warning, and you have continued to rebel against it though I caution you against the company of a dangerous creature." "I too am quite dangerous," I say, pulling Sombra closer. "But what is it that you possibly think you could do to deter me? My mind is not malleable and my heart is true. You are a being of light magic that is but only a projection of your true self: the Tree of Harmony. It is ironic that an entity like yourself, though not the same as myself or any other living creature, would be speaking out against Sombra for being something you are not. He is still flesh and blood, but there is great magic there as well. He is not some deranged construct and has outshone his kin, who are accountable for their own deeds, not his." Sombra gave me a kiss on my cheek, softly and discreetly, and I stroked his wither with my feather tips and stared straight at Harmonia, more determined than ever while Sombra looked on, amused, and cautious to be a safe distance from a being like Harmonia, who could harm him if he made contact with her. "That is a very dangerous view." "And?" Sombra and I question together. While I didn't roll my eyes like he did, we both managed to refrain from bursting out laughing... although, I had a harder time doing so. Sombra had a disdainful edge to his tone that I didn't, but our message was the same. Harmonia's expression softened slightly. "Are you two aware of just how much you will be up against? There are no gods more dangerous than the both of you-" "If this is going to lead to some amazingly stupid heard-it-a-thousand-times-before remark about just how criminal our deeds, mentalities, and my existence is, I'd suggest that you gather whatever sticks you want to shove up your rear from the ground, where Luna and I currently aren't so we can go about the rest of our lives without another inconvenience like yourself in it. Eventually your planet will die, and you with it. Luna and I, if we've made it that far and are still in another's company will just go spend the next part of our eternity somewhere else and you'll never have to hear from us or see us again, mostly because you'll be dead. What's even better is I won't ever have to deal with you, and won't that be grand?" Sombra finished his snappy, sarcastic remark with a humorless stare directed at Harmonia. I think she almost blinked, and just barely didn't shift her attention to him and him alone. "I was going to say nothing like that." "Really?" Sombra says incredulously. "No lectures about your views on good and evil that are about as diverse as Celestia's two-color world and how I can be tossed into one category and remain there forever and without question? Now isn't that a surprise!" Sombra is able to ignore me tugging on a lock of his mane for saying my sister's name so cruelly. He'll certainly be getting a few ear nips later, I thought, feeling the beginnings of a scowl on my face. "What is it that you wish to speak of then, Spirit Harmonia?" Once more, she held us both in her gaze. "Do you know just why you two are so dangerous?" "We're intelligent," Sombra said, narrowing his eyes. "We rebel," I added. "We question," Sombra said, posture straightening. "We dream." "We work alone." "We hope for greater things," I add. "We're honest," Sombra says, not hiding the distrust in his tone. "We endure." "We sass." Sombra smirked slightly. "We fight," I concluded, and the both of us looked to the great spirit before us, awaiting an answer. She must have gotten better at disguising any surprise from the things we did and said, because none showed this time. A statue revealed far more than she did. "Those are all... very blunt answers." "So they're true," Sombra said, raising an eyebrow. "You've carelessly labelled them blunt and I'd be a fool to say you weren't taken aback, even a little. Every one of our answers are true, and you know it. Refusing to confirm them or acknowledge that I'm right will only reinforce a futile effort to remain impartial - or at least have the air of it - and deny that I've bested you. My only question is this: What's the whole truth? Be blunter, and I promise that I won't attempt to stir up anything by disclosing any of what's happened here, in part or otherwise... including any alternate versions of the truth. You know that any knowledge you give us will disrupt what we can laughably call the fragile mind of the average mortal, or cause unrest and uneasiness at the very least. A single seed of doubt can still work its way past a wall if it has the chance. Would you risk that?" I wanted to smirk alongside Sombra, but choose to watch the spirit carefully while Sombra had a chance to show his glory, puffing up his fluffy chest with pride and directing his unwavering, cool stare at Harmonia alone. A wicked gleam shone in his eyes. "In short: Give me what I want. I currently have every advantage over you." "You tempt fate," Harmonia said dully. Sombra laughed coldly. "You joke by bringing up what's little more than fancy." His gaze flicks to the sword sheathed at his side, and the look he gives it is knowing, for he and I know a private joke: Sombra wields Fate like a tool, he controls it and reigns over it, though I find the concept of 'fate' and 'destiny', or anything like it to be like a fairy tale at best, and one with no truth in it. He looked up at her once again, with a look brimming with cold, manipulative charisma. "Do I need to repeat myself?" "Who would ever believe you?" Harmonia said, tone sour. "Nopony has to believe me, and I don't anticipate it. All it takes is for doubt to be there. Little details build great things and little details will fell them too. To be among ponies at any shade of how they are at their worst is to be torn between surprise, revulsion, and no surprise at all, as everything is exposed. They're far quicker to turn against one another than you would think, and often betray themselves in the process." Harmonia actually scowled at Sombra. "Harmony is lost on you, and virtue as well." "I am beyond 'virtue'," Sombra scoffed. "How could any even trust you to keep your promises? Not all love you as deeply as young Luna Galaxia, if any love you at all." Sombra cocked his head to the side, looking like for all the stars in the sky. Harmonia was just an ignorant fool, as a tourist often is, and she was inconveniencing and disgusting him. "I have a very nasty habit of keeping my promises." Sighing, Harmonia gave her attention to the both of us, her milky eyes sweeping over us both. "Do you consider yourselves to be good ponies?" "No," Sombra replied easily, though not without thought. He knew of the matters he spoke. "I'm not even a pony, so I certainly couldn't be good at being one." "I do not consider myself to be good either," I reply carefully. "And it is not solely because of mistakes I have made or shall make. Mistakes do not go away, and neither do successes. I know that I do not think as one who is good does. My heart, as I am told and think, is quite pure, but it is not good. Like, Sombra I am not a pony, but I shall discount your usage of it. It is understandable. I think..." I pause thoughtfully, and look up at Harmonia. "I think that I can be rather selfish. If I was given a choice between good and right, I would choose the latter. I hope, too, that I have been doing so." Harmonia looked unmoved, but that was not surprising. She made a faint tutting noise. "You are certainly not your mother's daughter, nor your father's. Celestia Galaxia too, from what I remember of her, is not like them. You only have your mother's night-touched eyes, Luna Galaxia." "What a lovely sentiment," Sombra deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "Now would you get on with it?" "Yes," I said, "Do get on with it." "Do you consider yourselves to be evil individuals?" "Not at all," I answered. "My mistakes may be great, and I can be unkind as well as a crybaby and... well, I am flawed. There is no perfection." "Every time I look in the mirror, I see the closest thing to it," Sombra says earnestly, while nodding in agreement. "Gods are not perfect. We never were, and never will be. There is no perfection in divinity other than what mortals have falsely attributed to it. I will continue to make mistakes, and I will continue to learn from them and better myself. No matter what, I am not evil. I am aware of myself and what I do. Even if all the world but Sombra, Celestia, and I were to declare that I was, it would not be. The majority - any majority - can say exactly what they please, but that does not make it true. The majority of creatures any where thinks that Sombra is evil, for example, but he is not." Next to me, I felt Sombra kiss my cheek and whisper a short promise of more later. I avoided flushing and nudged him, for it was his turn to speak. Hearing Sombra sigh, I braced myself for what he had to say. "I'm very familiar with monsters, both real and imagined. I used to think I was one, and sometim-" Sombra cleared his throat loudly. "There's certainly good in the world regardless of whether I've witnessed it or met any who were good. However, good is largely inadequate. Evil certainly exists. There's a good deal more of that, but that label alone is laughable when whatever thoughts or actions are much more telling. I guess you could say it's the why, not the what." I turned to look at Sombra. Me regaining confidence... and getting better... would take time. Sombra isn't a monster, and he never was. Helping him know otherwise would take time too. Where everpony else has failed, he and I could work alone and together. I knew we could. Nuzzling his neck and leaning in close to him, I encouraged him to keep going. "I don't align myself with either, and don't suspect I ever will," Sombra said with a small shrug and an almost bored tone. "What are ponies?" Sombra and I exchange curious looks with one another, and Sombra gives me a small nod; he'll be going first. "Expendable," Sombra replies confidently, the trace of an easy smirk appearing momentarily. I introduce a forehoof to my face and sigh. "Care to elaborate?" Harmonia says coldly, clearly not approving of his answer. "Most ponies are expendable," Sombra says, flippantly blowing his bangs out of his face. "But I'm not about to going around demonstrating this. Just as glass is breakable, I don't go around smashing any bit of glass I see." "You are fond of arson," I mutter, thinking of some of the more recent records of fires in Canterlot, which fit in a much different context now that I knew of one very fire-happy and unexpected resident. Sombra quickly mumbles something I barely caught - something about arson and random, wanton acts of destruction being two different things before adding something to his previous remarks, tone suddenly far darker than before. "It would be stupid to deny that most ponies are in fact expendable, whether they ever know it or not that it isn't without consequences. Anything can have a price, but that doesn't mean it's worth paying." Harmonia cleared a throat she did not have. "I was not asking that, you morbid mock-beast-" Next to me, Sombra growled loudly and deeply than I had ever heard before, baring fangs and nodding to me before speaking quickly, through gritted teeth: "She's the only reason I haven't done anything more morbid to you, so I'd watch just what you say around me so I don't lose my temper." Only Harmonia's mane and tail moved for a while. I shivered at how intimidating Sombra could be. "...I was speaking of the previous questions on the nature of good and evil. What are ponies? Or, should I say, most ponies." This time, I began. "Most ponies... why, they just follow their leader. It could be a god, the head of family, or a mentor. Anypony would work, I suppose, but most ponies would follow all the same. It is not loyalty, it is just pointless and unquestioned fealty. As a former Bearer of Loyalty, I know it when I witness it. To do that... it is not good or evil. It is an absence of anything, I would say. The blind are following the blind, sweeping all with them... and if the blind shall fall..." I conclude with a dramatic sigh and nudge Sombra, who wastes no chance in speaking. "Most ponies aren't anything at all, and I don't mean to say that they're neutral in matters. They're blank. The absence of decisions and defining features... of reason and motive. It's nothing at all. There isn't any alignment. For generations, the 'mere mortal' hasn't vanished, they just were buried under better living conditions. Many would tell me otherwise if I said anything about it, and yet it's all quite plain: I've met plenty of ponies but few individuals. Ponies have a strange fondness for dooming themselves." Harmonia silently regarded Sombra for a long time, and the night wore on with a silent fury as winds tore across the sky. "As blunt as you are, you are not wrong," she says to him. "Ponies and other creatures will believe all sorts of things. Demigods and great sorcerers - and even more - coming from just anywhere? Nay, that is impossible. Almost anywhere, maybe, but never just anywhere. There are those without even a seed of possibility for greatness. A demon as a god - and even an immortal - would have been thought of as an impossibility. Mortal Element Bearers? That would be nearing heresy. The original six were thought to be eternal... and I imagine the Galaxia Sisters too, were thought to have an eternal connection." "So you finally admit it," Sombra said, smiling with all the arrogance I loved. I frowned when she made no effort to acknowledge what Sombra said - and yet, in doing so only proved him to be correct by demonstrating that she had been backed into a sort of corner. "You two are the most dangerous not because you are evil and need to be stopped, or good and able to win the hearts of many, nor are you dangerous because you have chosen to follow and do nothing at all." I curled my wing tighter around Sombra in a protective gesture and looked Harmonia over. Just what is it she was trying to say? "You are not a combination of the first two, but a third in between that I cannot say this world knows much of... only in small shades perhaps. In actions, undoubtedly, but not in entire individuals... and as constantly. This is what makes you both great and terrifying, but I see that the God of Knowledge already had some idea of this." I slowly let my gaze travel over to see Sombra's expression, which is stoic. Only his eyes tell what he feels, and I see nothing but ambition, deep thought, and even wonder there. "Arguably, we're above and beyond it all," he whispers to me. Sombra's eyes didn't move; he didn't even shift, he simply sensed me watching him. Harmonia didn't hear him, but to say she wasn't suspicious of what he might have said... it would be foolish. We watched as her horn glowed with light too soft for me to even make out the color that pulsed there - and in what would have been the pocket of shimmering aura, a yellow gem appeared. It was shaped like a seed and reminded me of daffodils dotting a field. I couldn't help but admire it. Jewels were not something I held in high favor, but this one was rather beautiful. Sombra seemed more focused on how shiny it was, with light bouncing off it in so many ways and creating such an array of colors. Even I had never seen ones quite like that before, at least, none so beautiful... "I am done here," Harmonia said calmly, "and have slumber to return to. Waking and manifesting even this long... it is something I have not done in over nine thousand years, if my count remains true. Perhaps I might sleep on it? Either way, I bestow upon you this Boon. You two need only agree upon a destination, and when you wish to go, and once you activate it with your magic, it shall take you there." She carefully floated it over to me, and I accepted it in my magic while Sombra quietly admired the sparkles with wide eyes. The gem was like the monarch's orb, only smaller, and it fit in my hoof with ease, the facets glittering in tonight's starlight. "Thank you," I said, and as always, I meant it and was honest in my words. Sombra shot Harmonia a judgemental and challenging look, though most of his malice had evaporated. "You'll see us again." Harmonia inclined her head once more, the soul-wisps around us glowing brighter as the colorful form of the spirit dimmed, until it was only by the light of those wisps and her bright eyes, that she was glimpsed most easily. "I shall, but it will most likely be between blinks. The two of you have been the most... intriguing entities that I have witnessed. What become of the unholy union of a goddess and a demon? Even I am not entirely informed, despite all my power. It is a blurry future, as far as I can see. With time, and the untangling of a few roots, it may clear. Until then, Sombra and Luna Galaxia, I bid you farewell." Sombra groaned and brought a hoof to his face, and proceeded to make a series of rather loud disgruntled demon noises in his throat. "For the last time, Luna and I aren't married!" His tone too, had come out like a growl, and a loud one at that. "...perhaps not yet," whispered the last of what lingered of Harmonia's voice, which was all but drowned out by the growls of Sombra. I had to prick my ears carefully to catch it. Sombra's following eye roll told me that he had not heard what I did. Married? To Sombra? The thought made my heart skip a bit. If that is a possible future... it is one that I would love to work toward, if Sombra would have me. I smiled a small smile to myself. The work we would have to do! Why, I still have a hard time believing that we are together... but to wed him? Time will only tell, and it certainly isn't an impossibility. Together, Sombra and I watched as the small, nearly transparent presence of magic that was Harmonia, stirred the purple soul-wisps as she soared upward, rising with a column of growing orbs of light behind her, and dappling with the sky with them before her temporary form would fade. We looked up at the stars from the bare cloud that we drifted upon in a midnight world, and there was a tree that was almost uncannily like something I might see in the astral projection that I used to navigate the dreaming world. Sombra gasped softly, and I drew him in tighter, while his eyes were still upon such a magical, whimsical sight, and kissed him on our little sky island, far below the shimmering branches. He certainly did not mind that his eyes no longer saw our world's newest addition, a tree of souls, or all that remained of them. Much of my family was among them. I felt his forehoof carefully brush away a few tears I hadn't known had escaped my eyes. The Pantheon awaited us, but first there was Cady and Shiny in Canterlot, and the former to pick up for our next little trip. But for now, I was very preoccupied with the present, and all it entailed. The possibility and hope of so many futures had been restored. The present wasn't the future. It was rather obvious. The present was wrapping Sombra in a hug under the stars above, Nova's tree glittering new and proud above us as I swept him into a kiss. A promise; one that we'd see each other again. One that we'd linger here a little longer. Please? I felt Sombra' hug tighten. Even if I were able to say anything, I had no need to. Sombra was a good listener. ... Within the fluffy depths of the puffy cloud I was upon, a creature lay among the soft white, dappled silver by the light of the moon, whose beams shone gently on the surface, almost as though the dark coated creature was to be ignored, as a shadow would be. The creature's fuzzy belly scraped the smooth, plush whorls of cloud as they lay, crouched and waiting to pounce. Two intelligent eyes focused on the gleaming gem that I had grasped tightly within my magic. Two attentive ears flicked at the slightest sound, and the shadowy entity that was almost totally still among the pale cloudscape used only their eyes to track my movement and the slightest change in light, enthralled by the speckles of gentle, colorful light that swept across each surface. "Sombra," I said, breaking the silence. "I am afraid you cannot play with our ticket to Canterlot, but when all is settled, I promise I shall obtain a shiny trinket for you as a special gift. It is the least I can do after all you have done for me." Sighing with obvious disappointment, Sombra rose and walked over to me. His eyes were still on the magical trinket. It must have radiated something that he found rather pleasant, or at least intriguing. Being from Harmonia, I think that it would likely be light magic, so he might just find the sparkles nice. Soon, I was accepting a nuzzle from him before he withdrew, stepping back until there was a small distance between us. It must be light magic then, or something that makes him dizzy. I will have to ask him before we leave. "Some trip, huh?" Sombra remarked, crimson eyes looking up at the sky's newest addition. "Indeed." "So, what's after this, Luna? Any plans?" His nonchalant tone was oddly enrapturing. I found myself humming softly - and all little nonsensical, incomplete things - along with him. Or perhaps just because it sounded nice with his voice. Either would do. "I do have my royal duties. They'll no doubt be greater after my vanishing act this summer." "It's almost summer," Sombra pointed out, and still neither of us looked at one another. The stars had our undivided attention and we stood parallel and next to one another. "It is," I said softly. One year with Sombra... and I still wanted more, for if all this had been one year, what would one decade be? One century? Glorious, I would think. "What about you? Are there any plans?" "I do have a job... not a demanding one, you know, but I'll have a fair bit to explain, demon god or not." He smirked. "I'm probably going to be ditching it for the rest of the summer. Won't be too hard to get a new one if needed. Pulling strings isn't exactly hard for me. You doing anything else? I know that you of all ponies won't be busy with royal duties constantly." Well... "Sombra-" "Are you going to ignore me after all this, then?" he said teasingly. "I'm hurt. Truly. Didn't we have more than that?" "O-Of course," I said, giggling despite myself. "I would love to see you... we are dating, I-I think. Should I ask Cady? She would know, but, Sombra, I am quite sure that we are since our time in Germaneigh... you see... and... well... do you, maybe..." No, no! I cannot falter now! Just gather your thoughts, Luna! "Do I what?" Sombra said, finally facing me, head tilted to the side and bangs in his eyes. A cocky smirk graced his muzzle and I wanted to hug his silly fuzzy face and tell him just how charming and silly the look he was giving me was. "Do you want to... do," I paused and swallowed, "an activity together?" He laughed again, and I loved it. Does anypony else know how wonderful his laugh is? Have they even heard it? Well, the answer to the second is quite obvious, and oh, I think my stomach is in knots... "Is this how you ask the Right-Honourable Lord Sombra out on a date?" He tossed his mane out of his eyes dramatically, and it fell right back into place, of course. "Not even a half-assed pick-up line? I expected at least an attempt here, not 'do an activity together'. Do you honestly that is a proper request for one as great and egotistical as myself? You seek to wound my indomitable pride, don't you?" I held a forehoof to my mouth, but a fit of giggles had long since escaped me and I couldn't stop. There had never been anypony I found quite this funny before! Nopony that was not a long-dead poet, clever playwright, or philosopher whose wry remarks all paled in comparison to my Sombra's snark. Sombra had stepped forward to nuzzle me again, his tone as warm as his fur, but never without his wit. "I'd love to go out with you. Any idea of when you'll be free?" "No," I said softly, "You live on the mountain, only a bit farther up than the city, correct?" "Yes," Sombra says, continuing to nuzzle my cheek when he's not whispering in my ear. "I'll be restoring my pocket realm. Celestia doesn't know where I live, so I'd appreciate you not telling her, but you're welcome any time, but if I sleep, it's usually during the day. I'm usually in the city during the night hours, so you can find me there, if you know where to look. I can always find you as well." I watch our reflections in the gem's facets. Do I really look so smitten? "That sounds lovely, Sombra. There's so many things I want us to do!" Sombra chuckled warmly. "Tell me about it. Do you have any particular idea to what you want to do or...?" I smile mischievously. "You are exceptional when it comes to disguises..." "Only with disguises?" Sombra raises an eyebrow. "You're relentless in your slander against me." I tried to stop giggling, I swear that I really did. "We could go see a play. They're so much fun! And I did practically promise you that I would take you to see one, didn't I?" Sombra's nuzzling stopped and his smile faltered; a thoughtful look emerged instead. "You did, but don't you think that it would be best to stay out of the public eye as much as possible? I may not have ever been to one, but the theatres and playhouses of Canterlot are prominent and full of ponies that have a very unfortunate habit of talking more than usual." "Socialites." "Socialites," Sombra agreed. "Did you happen to have an idea?" Sombra nodded. "You've got a sweet tooth." "I do," I admit, smiling. "Do you like sorbet?" he asks, nuzzling me again, as if that was the best way to get an answer from me. My eyes widened and I looked at Sombra, rather confused. "You like sorbet?" He nodded once more. "When I lived out in the desert, I'd eat it when I had the chance. There's all sorts of weird things out there. I don't like sweet foods, but that's the exception. There's a couple places in Canterlot that have it - Saddle Arabian eateries. Would you mind going to a place like that with me?" Laughing, I threw my forehooves around his neck and planted one big kiss on his cheek. Harmonia's gift was safely tucked under my wing and I had no worries that I would drop it. "Of course! Your company is always wonderful, no matter the location." He smirked and tapped his muzzle against mine briefly. "Well, I suppose that means you'll be just as big of a pizza freak as I am soon." It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Stars only know, Sombra... and did you really just call yourself a 'pizza freak'?" Sombra almost glowered at me. "Do you have a problem with that?" "...N-No." He eyes me warily. "Good. Now, we should probably getting going. To Canterlot?" "Aye, Canterlot. Cady and my father await us." "And the Pantheon from there," Sombra said, prying one of my forelegs off of him. I almost pouted. I wanted the hug to last longer. I didn't bruise his ribs this time, and surely that is an improvement? "So... nothing you want to add before we go?" There was that sly smirk and eyebrow raise again. My brow furrows. "Did we forget something?" His gaze directly meets mine, and Sombra watches me with a level, enigmatic stare. "You could say that. We could still spare a few minutes, couldn't we?" I nod. It certainly didn't seem to be a bad idea, to tarry a little longer, and around us - I looked up at the stars for a moment. Dare I say it was a stellar sight? "Well Sombra, I suppose we could. What exactly did we forget?" Sombra took a moment to roll his eyes playfully, before smiling. He leaned into the kiss first. "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there." --Rumi