Sombra:
The eternal twilight of Paradise washes over me as I lean against on of the Pantheon's columns. The light of this world's frozen sun and moon travels through the ever-clear sky without trouble. No stars or clouds ever dotted the sky.
I tugged at my hood, which was up, and boredly blew a bit of my mane out of my face and continued to watch the sight before me. When Luna, myself, and the others had arrived it had been an uproar. I made myself known and slipped away after Celestia threatened to reduce me to ash on the spot for 'abducting' her sister. All the others present were instantly suspicious of me. I was faced with hostile looks, unsubtle gestures, and slander because of my nature as a demon.
And it was Luna, who boldly and stubbornly stepped between all this before anypony else could react.
She told them all that I was the newest god, and there were shouts of anger. She told them that the world is safe because of me, and there were shouts of disbelief, but fewer than before. She told everypony standing there how I was the God of Knowledge, and the few who I saw keep silent were the most afraid among the outbursts.
Before she could tell everypony that she loved me - what these beings would see as the greatest 'crime', I suppose - Luna was swept into a clamped and constricting hug from her sister, who looked like shit. Her sparkling mane was in partial disarray and the cosmetics she applied to only drew attention to the fatigue poking through the applied coats of this and that. It only made her appear like plaster fell from her - and a plaster only I saw. Luna had been squashed in the tight and uncomfortable looking hug, so she couldn't see. I saw how smudged the eyeliner and mascara were from Celestia's crying as she had tightened her possessive hold on her 'baby sister'.
From there, Twinklebutt had become the focus of everypony's laughs and tears, as well as Celestia's aversion. Older gods crowded around him with their cacophony of words, and in that throng, where Luna spoke to the remnants of the gods and directed those who falsely thought themselves her superiors, Celestia and I slipped away. I caught the draconequus Discord near the fringes of the crowd, saying something to a distracted Indigo Imbecile and Mac, who was trying to listen to everything.
My reasons are obvious. I didn't care or need to hear everything in detail or be plunged into any of that.
Celestia was actually on my mind for many reasons. She wasn't one to stray from crowds. She wasn't one to shirk an opportunity to run her mouth. She wanted to be the serene centerpiece, socializing pointlessly with anypony, and I saw her slip to another area of the Pantheon's floating pavilion in silence, her rigid and disgustingly regal facade never faltering as she waited.
Maybe she knew that I saw her too, but I doubt that. Celestia is a lot of things, but I know better than to include 'observant' as one of her qualities.
Currently, everypony was listening to the extroverted Twinklebutt speak as he spoke: an orator and a king. Maybe he was a king before he was Twinklebutt. Most are.
I don't blame Luna for listening. She meant something to him and I wasn't going to tear her away from him. He wasn't hurting her. I saw how she watched her father speak with a semicircle of the remaining divine around him, all surveyed by me from a distance. There was respect in her eyes for a being I didn't think should have it.
Among the faces of everypony else, it was impossible for me not to see her first. She stood out more than anypony, listening to Twinklebutt spin what his plans for his life now were, only now it was delivered with the charisma and tempered faux optimism and blithe assurance of a politician that I had to roll my eyes at. I was just hearing him exchange questions and answers with the other gods and announcing to the small crowd what he told Luna and I on Pink Sunset, with an assurance that wasn't genuine in inspiring, just tailored with every stitch and seam in plain view to me.
I turned and looked off to the blurry realm of Paradise stretched far below. Verdant valleys, winding rivers, vast plains, dense woods, and misty mountains with more beyond them were below me, stretching as far as I could see. Here, I was as far above the land divided only by the vast chasm that hid a portal to Tartarus as Luna and I were when we spoke to the Tree of Harmony, and I was still able to see the gleam of Paradise Estate, the queen's castle, and the shining sprawls of villas dotting the land caught between romantic and rugged forever.
I judged the world and then spat, watching it fall.
"How crude of you, demon," a familiar voice droned.
"Can it, Fishcakes," I grumbled, giving 'Neptune' a glare that oozed grumpiness, as though my nonchalant indifference and gruff tone weren't clue enough.
Fishcakes scowl twitched and he appeared somewhere between aghast and disgusted. "And if I do not?"
"Fight me."
He swallowed and his mane rippled agitation. "...I would rather not. For various reasons. As an immortal demon you were... unpredictable," he said with a politician's disgusted attempt at delicacy, "but as a demon god... you are quite frightening."
I sized him up again. Nothing about him was any different than when I saw him months ago. He doesn't look at me directly, but watches the space above my head impassively.
I tilt my head to the side slightly and more of my mane spills out from my hood. "What do you want?" I demanded. "I'm not stupid and I can see past all your faux regality. Honestly, when did charisma become the watered down and artificial mess that you're really trying to shove on me and think that I'll be falling for."
Fishcake's upper lip curled up slightly. "While you are not a simple creature, I think that it's quite plain that you were... confused, I think would be an excellent way to put it... to fall for my cousin."
My posture instantly draws into something imposing enough to make Fishcakes flinch and I glower at him until he shudders, bowing his head visibly when he sees my irises flash red under my hood.
"What did you just say?" I say with a thick, unexpected growl that causes Fishcake to bite his lip while I stand, radiating a menacing feeling from my place in the shadows.
"I-I... forget it. Are you always so horrifying?" he asks honestly, quickly looking away. "You feel diff- no, no. Everything would be better if you felt different. Instead, you feel more like yourself than ever. Don't you think that's terrifying? That you can't simply try to be like anypony else in one way or another? Cousin Luna is quite queer - in manner, at least - but there seems to be something-"
"Be quiet," I snapped angrily, "Unless, of course, you actually plan to disclose why you're talking to me. I know you have a reason."
Fishcakes sighed. "...This is why I wish you were a simple creature. I am here to tell you that as annoying as I find both my cousins, I haven't seen Luna with such happiness, as quiet as it is right now. I do loathe you-"
"Subtle."
"...And your mannerisms, really almost anything about you... except... by making Luna so distracted and... how you destroyed-"
"Spit it out already."
"Thank you," he spat, with some venom still in his tone. "Thank you for ensuring this world will last when I-"
"Was too much of a coward to do anything?" I offered.
"...Yes. I never thought I'd see my uncle again either. At least he's less of a stranger than his daughters. I think that I shall resume speaking with him for purposes other than professional correspondence."
"That's nice," I said flatly. "You can leave now."
Fishcakes sniffed and looked down at me, puffing out his chest a bit and snorting. "Did you really just-?"
"You will leave now," I corrected, lighting my horn with crimson aura in a clear threat and running my tongue over my disguised fangs.
I didn't need to repeat myself.
...
"...We can only thank Our daughter Luna and her companion for enabling Us to see you all again, Our friends and allies. We are all that is left of a fine population. Our world is a fledgling that We must know again, but first We must re-address that We do not feel like the same Alicorn. We must heal and We must learn to be Us again."
From my corner of the Pantheon, I angle a metal-clad forehoof toward my mouth in an obvious, exaggerated gagging motion. The dolt couldn't mention my name throughout his entire oration? Is he really going to keep styling my stunning Luna as something as lowly as the delusion of being a hero and just write me... oh, who am I kidding? Of course he is! Would it kill anypony to just do a little bit of anything to suggest that they're worthy of decent expectations? I expected Celestia's purple wretch to at least demonstrate a slightly intelligent thought process, but this is ridiculous.
Me, a silly sidekick. An unnamed footnote. The day I get even a quarter-way honest portrayal in any story or gossip... well, that'll be something. Maybe in a few million years. It's certainly not like I can't wait. How hard is it to admit that I'm asshole, but at least one that knows what he's doing? Ponies.
I watch Luna raise a forehoof to hide a smile when she sees what I'm doing, her eyes lit up with laughter that glitters in them while she half-listens to her father's filibuster.
Seeing her impish expression, Fishcakes, who's nearby, follows her eyes and shoots me mortified look. Next to him, Purple Eyesore, who stands in his shadow, actually notices something, and gives me a quick, fearful look before returning her attention to Twinklebutt.
From the fringes of the small group, I see Celestia give me a sharp, disapproving glance.
A presence of magic that I could never mistake drifts nearby. The sound of a muffled giggle reaches my ears after the light, warm, and flighty but pure feel of her magic.
"Uncle Sombra, did you really just do that?"
I nod and turn to look at Mac while Twinklebutt finishes up his speech, rambling on about how he'll be living on the Sage's Isle until he's ready for the world... and the world for him.
"...Though We may be living like a hermit for centuries or a few millennia, all depending on what is required, We will not cut out the world entirely. The Sages have never failed to provide assistance, no matter who lives on the island. We will be honored to keep the company of such extraordinary mortals."
I caught Celestia shoot Luna a cool 'talk later' look, and Luna nod in quiet acknowledgement. Nopony else noticed. The look was sisterly enough, but professional, at least on Celestia's end. I'll certainly be talking with Luna later, with all this happening and Celestia around, I want to make sure she's alright. Maybe this isn't too much to process for her, but for everypony else, that's not the case. Luna's not a recluse like I am, she's going to have to deal with these fools.
"We are even more honored," Twinklebutt began while I rolled my eyes and held up a forehoof to the waiting Pink One, letting her know that she'd have to wait a bit longer until I heard the end of this, "that all of you still wish to have Us as your king among kings, even after this tragedy that has shattered the world and left us inhabiting a shadow... a shadow that Our own foals have had to grow up in. While We cannot properly express Our gratitude here and now, We must also address the matter of Our co-ruler: We shall not take up a close consort or bride again. Lumina - her soul now within Nova's Tree, our sky's newest feature - is... was like no other. We want no more of love like that if it is n-not hers. Instead, We would like to take up Our trusted ally, Elysium, as High Queen."
Luna and the other gods started talking among themselves. Since they now spoke in quickly exchanged murmurs, I couldn't make out what they were saying beyond being able to catch small bits and pieces, as well as see signs of a general consensus among them.
With that done, I turned to face Mac. She'd cleaned up her new manecut a bit. It still curled at the end, but she no longer had a thick mess of curls that I never quite figured out how she managed. Her regalia was present and she was smiling broadly. A tankard suiting the rest of the place was grasped in one of her forehooves, filled with the liquid I was unable to identify on my last visit here - the one that looked like a liquefied supernova.
That wouldn't be the case this time. I quickly smacked the tankard out of hoof roughly enough to make her yelp.
"Uncle Sombra, what was that for?!" she exclaimed, wide-eyed and recoiling.
"Do you have any idea what that is?" I hissed, making sure I had as little attention drawn to myself right now as I possibly could. Currently, it would be unwanted and I wasn't about to waste time explaining myself to just anypony milling about.
Only Luna looked in my direction, but none of the other gods and others milling about paid attention. Their attention was on the draconequus attempting to entertain or annoy the crowd with magic tricks. I didn't care which one.
"It's the drink of the gods, yo," Mac said, visibly confused. "A free alcoholic beverage from the gods themselves. How could I refuse?"
I stared at her coldly. "Ambrosia is not genuinely alcoholic, but the effect it has is similar. Do you know what else it can do?"
"No," she said, shaking her head and looking at me with an expression best described as naive. "What?"
"It makes mortals burn from within," I deadpanned. "Literally."
Her eyes widened again. "O-Oh," she stammered. "Thanks for the save there. So how goes it, eh?"
I shrugged as an answer and resumed looking grumpy and indifferent. "You?"
"Pretty good!" she smiles. "Canterlot was hectic - you and Luna should be glad you just dropped by - but I'm really looking forward to heading home... there's been so much happening, but I just want to see the Crystal Empire again. Adventures aren't for me. I want to settle down."
"I'm certainly not going to stop you. Mac, you really aren't the type for adventure. For me it wasn't hard to see that."
She stared at the tankard on the floor. "Did you know from the start... when we first met?"
I nodded. "I knew that you weren't going to take to the life of unexpected adventure."
"Not like Luna and you," she whispered forlornly. "You two... it's hard to believe that Aunt Luna's a princess because when I think of everything that she is 'princess' just seems to be the least of them... and you... the world almost seems like it was made for you to play weirdo rogue in. Just how do you do it? How do you forget ponies without really forgetting them? Does that make sense?"
"Yes, Mac it does make sense. I've been around long enough to understand more than a few things. As to how I do it? Trade secret," I said with a smirk.
Mac giggled a little. "You're actually really nice, you know that? I'm sorry I ever thought you weren't."
"Mac, it isn't a problem any longer. You've still neglected to tell the Right-Honourable Lord Sombra your plans now that you still have a world to live in."
A small smile spread across her muzzle. "Oh, y'know. Princess stuff. I'm going to be sure to visit Canterlot as much as I can now."
"To see Luna?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm aware that you and her have been friends for some time."
Whatever she thinks I meant by that certainly isn't what I intended for her to infer. She backed away a few steps and her magical presence flared up around me, prickling my coat, invisible to everypony else.
"Sombra, listen, I know you're the mysterious, possessive type-"
"I'm actually not."
"-but Luna and I are just friends, I swear!" She shifts nervously.
"I believe you."
"Gods, Sombra our friendship was what made me think you would have a chance with her when you told me that it was her you had your eyes on." Mac gulps and looks away from my quiet, observant stare.
"I figured as much."
"Everything between us is completely platonic! You don't have to get mad! Please, don't get mad, we're just friends! I don't even like mares, and I'm married."
"I'm glad she has a friend like you."
Mac looks at me, what I just said finally registering now that her nervous outburst has ended "Wait, you don't think that-"
"I don't. You will visit Luna, won't you? I'm not going to be welcome at the castle, but I know you will be."
Mac opened her mouth and then closed it. "Wha...?"
I rolled my eyes and gave an annoyed sigh. "Mac, I know you aren't that dense! Just visit her, will you? Do you know how little effort it takes to understand that you should keep in touch with her? I want her to talk to you because I know that she trusts you and that you've made her happy. I trust you around her too."
She nodded. Slowly. I facehoofed and waited for her to comprehend what I just said.
"That's so sweet of you, Sombra... and you're about as sweet as the lovechild of black licorice and lemons!"
"Lovely sentiment there, Mac," I muttered.
"Have you asked her out yet? Have you?" She bounced on her hooves and looked at me with a wide, almost hyper smile and a cheerful gleam in her eyes. Her curls bounced with her and she rustled her feathers with excitement.
"She asked me, but yes, we have a date planned."
I was met with a tight pink embrace crashing into me, only to find me unyielding as a steel wall, braced for her actions, and unsurprised. I've seen undertakers that are jollier than I am right now.
"OH MY GODS YOU TWO ARE OFFICIALLY GOING OUT! I COULD JUST DIE!"
"At this point, I honestly wouldn't mind if you did," I mumbled into pink feathers and giving her a sharp look that she couldn't see. Just because I let her hug me once doesn't mean I want her to do it again. I shudder slightly and my posture becomes no less rigid.
Even with this pink tumor of a friend clinging to me, I still radiate antisocial, disgruntled disapproval. For everything.
"WHEN'S THE WEDDING, EH?"
"Oh, be quiet."
She made a series of high pitched squeals while I gritted my teeth and contemplated the relaxing nature of arson. Then, I just shoved her off me. Hard.
"Cut that out. Luna and I are officially dating. You'll be visiting Canterlot. Anything else I should know?"
Almost though I had given her a definite invitation instead of a partial suggestion to speak, Mac smiled conversationally and chattered on. "Sure!" she chirped, "I wanted to know if you would be alright if I visited... whatever part of the mountain you're going to living at."
"I will be residing where we last met for my birthday." The word was still as foreign as ever when I said it, and any emphasis that I put on it was entirely unintentional, as was the slight disdain in my tone. I don't exactly plan on having any more 'birthdays' but I don't hold a specific hatred for them. "Could you tell Luna where it is in case she doesn't know? I wouldn't mind if you dropped by from time to time, just write first. Don't expect me to let you in my pocket realm either. I won't. Tell nopony else where I live, or do I need to remind you that you have sold me your future child?"
"No reminders needed!" she said, nodding dutifully and facing me like an inferior cadet does a superior officer.
I was certainly pleased with the behavior and let the left corner of my mouth curl into a faint smile. "Who knows? I might even look forward to seeing you. I'll be spending most of my time with Luna and off on other endeavors - some will be in the area, others outside of Canterlot - but I can certainly spend time with you too."
Pawing at the ground, Mac smiled bashfully. "Aww, that's certainly going to be something to look forward to. Is there anything in particular you'd want to do?"
"If you're going to be hanging out with Luna and I at times, you're going to have to learn more about magic. I will be willing to teach you about dark magic and a couple other things you might find use in. As moody as Luna and I are, when it comes to magic, philosophy, and weaponry - really anything like that - we've got you-"
"Schooled!" Mac finished with a chipper hop.
I rolled my eyes and reminded myself that if any communication was to happen between the three of us, Luna would need to brush up on modern language just a little bit more... oh, and I would certainly see if I could sneak a few calculus lessons in there for her. She's bound to try and fit in attempts to familiarize me with poetry. I'm not entirely unwilling. If I learn more verse than the little I'm familiar with right now, she's going to learn something about higher mathematics.
"Do you like movies?" Pink One asks curiously, reaching out a forehoof to tap my wither.
I slap it away before it nears me. "I'm aware of them, but only so much, and I've never seen one. They certainly seemed like something I was considering taking Luna out to at some point in the future, but it would be in disguise."
Mac's smile grew wider. "That's a great idea! I've taken auntie to see them before. She loves adventures and anything witty or dramatic... just as long as it doesn't have romance in it that much, which makes me sad. I still think she's annoyed with me for my attempts to get her into romance novels."
"Your romance novels are trash. Even the Replicating Spell thought so."
Mac's jaw dropped. "My romance novels are terrible? I'm a connoisseur of romance novels, Sombra. Those weren't the best that I owned, but none of those were trash. You want trash? Shiny's taste in movies certainly needs work. We may both love action movies and I love comedies of all kinds but Shiny..." She took a deep breath. Whatever she was about to say next would be difficult, at least for her. I just grew more visibly unamused.
"...Shiny unironically likes the really bad romantic comedies, anything about surfing, and don't even get me started on the sports movies." She sniffled. "He's wonderful enough to appreciate The Termineightor with me but..." Instead of finishing, Mac trailed off and looked at me pleadingly.
The look I returned was unsympathetic. "I wouldn't mind seeing a movie with you. I'd be in disguise, but I'd go."
"I'd buy you pizza."
"Then my presence is inevitable." With nopony else paying any attention to us, I swivel my ears closer to her, but not close enough that I can't act if the echoes of multiple conversations turn into something else. Mac getting her hoof on a tankard of ambrosia means that some of the other divine will be drinking it as well. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Indigo Ignoramus won't be drinking any. I find drunken ponies obnoxious. Ponies that are violent enough to prove capable of harming me when intoxicated frighten me. A god that's intoxicated isn't something I want to stick around to see, if they're too hostile. Anypony else I would be pleased to laugh at.
Mac is laughing again. "You really are something else."
"Tell me about it," I muttered, smirking crookedly. It didn't last, my expression slipped back to being aloof easily. "Is there anything else on your mind?"
She grinned ecstatically, curls falling around her face innocently, which made it hard to see the faint bags under her eyes. "What kind of music do you like?"
Without entirely diverting my gaze from her face, I watched her sway on her forehooves. "I've never really been exposed to it, unless you count examining sheet music, ancient ballads, and battle songs. My work leads me to have to frequent nightclubs from time to time. I wouldn't call what plays in those 'music' so much as an exceptionally loud bass."
Snorting, Mac nodded vigorously. "Too true! Most places in Canterlot can afford to have better taste. What you're describing sounds... Las Pegasus or Manehatten-style clubs. Urban stuff is never going to catch on."
"I'm aware."
"Other than that, you've never heard music?" Her eyes widened with something between sadness and even a bit of fear.
"I have heard some simple propaganda songs against the King," I mumbled, watching her expression change to something a little more serious.
"Oh, I'm sorry... they sang those after the Heart... and I might've..." She didn't finish. Mac hung her head and kicked at the ground.
Despite my cold, piercing stare, I tugged her head up with my magic - not enough to hurt her, but admittedly I did so a bit roughly.
"Mac," I said levelly, "I hate those more than I will ever articulate to you, but I'm not mad at you. Do you think that you're the only one who has initially feared and distrusted me and grown past that?"
"Luna," she said softly, in understanding.
The look I gave her was confirmation enough. "Don't worry, I'm used to it. Now, what were you saying about music? I'm actually curious to hear what it is that you had to say."
Her expression brightened quickly. "You've never heard much music, eh?"
"No," I repeated, adjusting Fate's sheath using my magic without looking away.
She almost smirked, so I knew something was up, and my ears perked up. I cocked my head to the side. Before I could stop it, a faint trill sounded in my throat. Thankfully, the noise of conversation nearby drowned out the sound, so Pink One didn't hear anything.
"You should totally come to a concert with me! Shiny's never having any fun at them and I can always get you a ticket without much trouble, it's a perk of being a princess!" Mac grinned at me, almost jumping in place as she waited for an answer.
I looked at her up and down, betraying nothing. "Sure."
Her smile managed to grow wider. "You'll love 'em, I promise!"
"I'm thrilled," I mumbled.
"I mean, I swear that you're a Nine Inch Tails fan just waiting to happen! Or maybe you're a psychedelia kinda stallion...?"
"We'll see about that." I roll my eyes at the name. This will certainly be something to get used to.
"...I might be wrong, but that's not likely. I can match ponies with bands just as easily as I can match them with one another."
"I'm certain your skill is unrivaled."
"I know, right?" She waves a forehoof to Luna in the background quickly.
"You've certainly been adapting well to my sarcasm."
"What?" She looks at me and blinks.
I give her a proper sarcastic clap. "Bravo, Pink One," I deadpan.
Mac clicks her tongue and smiles with a giddy sheepishness before making a clumsy, but bold, attempt to hug me as a parting gesture. Without a change in expression, I sidestep her easily and watch her fall flat on her face, wings splayed loosely around her like she's a dead bird and short curls spilling onto the floor.
The last thing she says to me is to make a spitting sound in a futile attempt to communicate her pain.
...
"Oh no, you've finally caught me! I'm at an utter loss of what to do! Can't you just see me shaking in fear?"
The semicircle of gods around me stared on with varying degrees of attempts at looking unamused and stone faced. A few looked upon me with disgust. Only Luna and her sister were the exceptions: the former has a quiet, observant look and a neutral expression. She stared at me solemnly, but made no effort to hide how well she knew me from anypony else. I found warmth in her gaze that was absent from her sister's false calm.
"Is he really that foolish?" The socially awkward Reaper whose name I could care less about cocks her head to the side, but the gesture is pointless. Her mane never budged from obscuring her eyes, no matter how disheveled the messy black forelock was.
"I imagine he wishes us to think that he is, dear." Elysium's eyes flick to the Reaper and she wraps a wing around her. "But I really cannot say."
"He's tricking us. I'd never put it past a smug fellow like 'im." The King of Tartarus only looked at me for a moment. Like Elysium, Stolas had a name I didn't even care to work with. He wasn't worth it. "I've got an influx of three hundred and thirty seven demon souls in varying states cause of 'im. Umbra's among them, but the blasted Alicorn prince is gone."
"Thankfully," Elysium muttered solemnly. "Oblivion is a fitting end for Hasad. If only his sisters hadn't shared such a horrid fate."
Celestia stared at my hooves without speaking, but Luna's eyes never left me.
"What are demons even supposed to do?" an annoying voice chimed.
"Nothing right, Discord," Celestia said softly.
Discord looked at me like I was spoiled food and my stare burned back into him, flashing with anger. I was used to this treatment, and far worse.
I growled in her direction, and Discord, the Reaper, and Celestia flinched. With her demigod disciples hanging back, she had no entourage here. I caught Mac's stiffened posture and frozen eyes filled with nervousness. No matter how many times I told her I knew was doing - three times, to be exact - every flippant move on my part, like declaring myself anew, no matter how purposeful had her worried. This was not for me specifically, but close enough.
The purple wretch was twitchy, and for entirely different reasons. A notepad floated in her magic and she scribbled away.
Twinklebutt looked over to his co-ruler, who he stood next to, Stolas to his left. It was as far away from his daughters as he was likely to get. Celestia didn't look displeased by this - it was all directed to me. "Well, Ellie? What is your insight on Sombra?"
She looked at me coldly. "A god of knowledge... and a demon god, of all things. He's a murderer, Noctus."
"They all are," Luna's father said, purposely avoiding my gaze. "Can we really be surprised by that?"
Luna scowled in their direction. I know she was waiting to tell them. When her father looked back at her, startled by Luna's expression, Celestia draped a white wing over Luna in a way I couldn't brand as anything other than possessive. Luna wriggled free from it, but I swear she didn't see just what it was really like... the way those feathers touched her, like Celestia didn't ever want to let her go.
I growled too softly for anypony to hear.
"What are you going to do with Sombra?" Luna demanded. Her demeanor had shifted to something more proud and commanding. Every part of her held a natural strength that I knew she would handle without effort when she needed to.
She walked away from the group with a stride that was both fluid and immovable. Her mane rippled defiantly, and I had to try and make it look like I wasn't staring. Luna placed herself at my side and held her head high. Even her forelock falling into her eyes made her look nothing short of brilliant.
I sidestepped closer to her discreetly and our withers brushed one another. I let everypony spot me and made a spectacle of myself - I knew this was coming, I only chose to take control of it and play everything I could... and still let everypony play themselves.
Her magic did not feel comforting as it it usually did. The word that came to mind was inspiring; this was I side to Luna I especially loved. This was just another incentive to being around her. Unlike everypony, her company was a reward in itself... and this was just one of many reasons to why.
I would fight for her, and I would fight with her too.
I watched everypony through narrowed eyes. "Yes, I would suggest enlightening Luna on what it is you plan to do to me."
"How insolent," Stolas said, sneering.
"He often is," Fishcakes replied dully.
Twinklebutt cleared his throat and spoke above everypony. "That is not what we are here for. Sombra's insolence is known, and though he is a demon, he is... odd. Has there ever been a demon who has saved anything and maintained such an," his muzzle scrunched up in confusion, "independent nature?"
"No," chorused a few voices, Celestia's not among them.
I feel Luna inch closer to me. "He's a living creature just as you and I are, Father!"
Celestia looked like she was the first who wanted to object, and Twinklebutt did as well; I saw that he bit the inside of his cheek.
"...He is not like us," Twinklebutt said with forced tact, "but he is alive, and immortal. There are no creatures quite like the immortal, Sombra the Endling. He is equine, as we all know... but not as other living things are."
"Eat shit," I grumbled in his direction, only to be tapped lightly with Luna's feathers.
Twinklebutt blinked and continued. When he finds out about modern language, I can only imagine the disapproval that I'll be getting - oh no, I'm trembling just thinking about it.
"The final decision on what to do with Sombra will not be made until the voice of everypony is heard. However, We shall make this known: Sombra will live. His form, like ours, can be robbed from him, but none of that shall happen to him. He is going to live, no matter what is chosen. There will be no attempts to rob him of his form and delay his regeneration. Sombra, as much as everypony might disagree, is among the immortals just as that... draconequus is."
"Hey!" Discord protested. "I'll have you know that I am reformed!"
"...We see..." Twinkle said, tone lukewarm. "As We were saying: Sombra will not be - if We are to speak crudely, as mortals are wont to do - killed. He is a remarkable thing and shall not be handled so violently, nor will his mind be invaded or pried into. His memories shall go unread. Only the most vile demonic instruments would get anything close to that kind of treatment, and this one is not vile. No such harm shall come to it."
The 'instrument' in question was me.
I gritted my teeth.
Luna's wing tightened around me before I even needed to conceal my growing anger, though she kept the gesture to one of familiarity instead of love. Disgust, disapproval, and smothered mortification were shown all the same.
A thing.
...There's worse, I know... but...
I stifled a growl and folded my ears back partway - I wanted more of course - but signs of hostility were enough.
Twinklebutt kept going. "We understand that unlike demons of the past, Sombra is without ownership... and that is certainly odd to the point of being improper, but We shall not gripe about it so. If absolute authority were to be placed in Us, and Our way was to be had without question, ownership of Sombra would be given to my youngest daughter, Luna Galaxia."
I swallowed and paled, but the former was hidden. Leaning closer to Luna helped, and nopony noticed. Nopony other than Celestia who watched me with a clenched jaw, trying to piece things together and maintain that nearly seamless mask. Luna watched everypony else with the patient and narrowed gaze of an experienced soldier, daring anypony to do anything to suggest they'd attack me. Nothing here sat well with her either.
Fishcakes chimed in next. "I think it would be appropriate to transfer ownership of the demon over to somepony who can put it to proper use."
"You want him to be a slave," Luna said with a low voice that rumbled like distant thunder.
"Chattel, really," Fishcakes said with a shrug. "It's a very disobedient thing and having it adapt to order would be beneficial to all of us."
"And what about what Sombra wants?!" Luna cried.
Only Celestia looked on her sister with a hint of emotion. Twinklebutt's expression was a mask of patience. He's had conversations like this before, and his eyes told me what the rest of him tried to hide: the fates being tossed about were 'easy' ones compared to some of the things he's heard before.
Fishcakes froze. "...Luna, cousin, its a demon. The thing is not likely to have more than six basic emotions. You really shouldn't get too attached to it. If it has bonded with you already, it isn't likely to betray you. Giving it to Stolas for work would hardly be a bad choice. He's dealt with this thing's kind before, and could find proper use for such an instrument. That is all that I, Neptune Atlantia, have to say."
Luna trembled with anger that she hides not and I stay frozen in place, quick breaths caught in my chest while my stoic expression hides everything they'd never bother to look for. I try to restrict my memories of the Crystal Empire and every time this has happened before to all the darkest parts of my mind, where they crawl forth from.
It was like sand lapping at the shores of the Sage's Isle.
Eroding the sand with each coming wave.
...And leaving less...
...and less...
...and less...
...with each cycle.
It always gave less than it took, and as everything grew smaller and more trimmed with only deposited uncertainty to grow into-
My eye twitched.
All distance felt realized. These gods were steps away and my mind ran wild with all the ways to take them on as their magical presences twisted around me, like crooked shadows.
I hung back the second time I came here - at Pink One's invitation - for various reasons. One of those was because of how the magical presences of everypony mixed.
Fishcakes' paranoid and cluttered presence was touched with stagnation that could pass for calm right now. Living underwater gave his magic a different feel from the rest.
Twinklebutt felt like a bobbing light. His magic flitted around him, and I felt it quite clearly.
Luna's was fierce, stubborn, and protective with everything she was below the surface of that sensation. Her magic had stubbornly imprinted on me and mingled with how I felt, and I with hers. If another who could sense magic were present, they'd feel how she clung to me heavily now instead of in traces. I didn't mind. Her magical print lingering didn't bother me at all. I found it was harsh and less subtle now, but I rarely found it anything short of soothing. It never drowned out mine.
One of the reasons I wasn't teleporting away or shifting to shadow as my instincts screamed was because I could feel her magic, and tried to focus on it and cling to it to push panic away. It only worked so well, but it was enough. She knew, too and only stood prouder because of it.
Everypony felt the same. The way magic felt didn't change unless something drastic happened to the individual, and even then, they were always recognizable as themselves, unless dark magic was involved. Celestia felt as she always had, only compared to Luna and the other gods around us, she was subdued and weak.
Elysium's mouth was turned into a cold frown. Her magic was an indifferent, frosty, serenity that combined with her bright glow cut her apart from the others with a clear distinction that only Luna and I shared. The draconequus did too, but his was for different reasons.
"If it were not for the error of Celestia of Equestria, this demon would be dead, as things should have been. That is what would have been an acceptable fate for him - and the fate that he should have had. Instead, this creature has nearly scrambled destiny... and is now one of us, though his nature suggests otherwise. I am to understand that he has acquired his world as well?"
I nodded coldly, never taking my eyes off her, and my malicious silence continued.
Her frown lessened and she sighed. "Of course he does, otherwise he would have been an accidental immortal, not an accidental god. If it were left to me and me alone, I would suggest that he be given to one who could tame him. He is unpredictable and dangerous, worst and best of all, he's frighteningly intelligent. Can you not see how he stares at me? He should be used as seen fit and sworn into the Pantheon. So says Elysium."
The last look she gave me was cool and without any compassion - I didn't expect or want any of hers - but it was an acknowledgement: she thought that there was something honest about me, not that she'd ever admit it.
Stolas, whose magic felt frenzied mumbled something about Elysium stealing his idea before he coughed and gave her a dirty look.
She didn't even look at him and instead looked upon Twinklebutt again. "Noctus, I must inform you that Helena has bailed. She did so as soon as she heard that there would likely be a demon before us and that she cared not what happened to the creature so long as it was 'made to know that it was the greatest blight upon the world and given a taste of its own poison'. Her words, not mine."
Twinklebutt shook his head. "This position has never been anything but a joke to her. We suppose that the next to speak shall be... the draconequus. Discord, is your name, correct?"
There was a murmur of agreement from none other than Discord himself while I admired my reflection in a nearby pillar.
Draconequus magic is strange only in the sense that it feels childish. If the feeling of the messy room of a colorblind child who has fallen down staircases often and out a few windows for good measure can be translated into a sensation, then that is exactly what the draconequus feels like.
I gave him a stare that let him know I found his existence questionable. He was a creature made up of scrambled anatomy and had the maturity of a prepubescent foal land I'm the one getting all the strange looks? Now, that is criminal.
The draconequus strokes his bread with a claw and lazily points a paw in my direction. "We want him to join the God Squad?"
Twinklebutt blinked. "That is not what this is called."
He was ignored, and the draconequus pointed his claw at me. "He looks boring!"
What.
Celestia's composure slipped just enough for a stifled snort to escape her.
I looked between the two.
Those two.
"Just look how grumpy he looks! This guy's not going to be any fun ever!"
A goddess with an entire forest up her ass instead of a single stick, the strictest morals and narrowest mind, and love of all things dull... and an unpredictable and obnoxious mad lib of body parts that likely has an attention disorder.
"Do you think he even brushes his mane?" His accusing claw is still jabbed at me and I have the urge to smack it away.
Damn, she must be getting desperate.
"What's up with his horn? It looks like a chili pepper!"
I want to break every single one of his fingers and cram them down his throat.
"It doesn't," Luna whispers to me. "He's simply never seen a demon before."
"Really? That was going to be my third guess," I whisper back.
"Only your third? You must be losing your touch."
I glare at her, slack jawed. "...Maybe it's your horn that looks like a chili pepper."
Luna covers her open mouth with a forehoof and looks at me with wide, shining eyes. "Stars above, Sombra. How could you say such a thing? I truly thought you cared."
I tossed my mane roguishly. "Darling, hasn't anypony ever warned a young maiden like you about how truly black-hearted demons are?"
She shook her head in a small 'no', and those wonderstruck eyes never left me. Luna always had a way of making me feel like I was the center of the universe and the way she marveled at me spoke for itself. "I am as you said: a young maid. What would I know of..." She trails off and the look of adoration slips.
In the background, Discord keeps shouting, and all eyes but ours are on him. My focus is given to Luna.
"Isn't having the most straight-faced of them all join in on the God Squad just a little too much? He's never going to have fun or lighten this place up! Didn't he kill ponies or something just a teensy bit on the 'no' side of things? Why does he have red eyes? They're freaky! Can we buy him contact lenses? And, err, maybe it's because I'm new her but why do you keep calling him a-"
"...Demon," I whisper to Luna, eyeing her carefully. "I won't get mad if you say it to me. I'm the only one left, and you've earned that privilege."
The floor has her full attention. "Sombra, I couldn't... not after all the hurt that it has caused you... I couldn't call you that..."
"It's a game, Luna, and only you can."
"...I don't like it though. You aren't a monster and the only reason I don't think of 'demon' as the same thing any longer i-is..." Luna swallowed.
"Luna?" I said softly.
She leaned forward and nuzzled my too quickly for me to blink before retreating. "...It's because of you, Sombra. I couldn't insult you like that."
My expression softened slightly and I placed a forehoof under her chin and gently tilted her head up so she could see me.
"Say it," I said. "I won't get mad, Luna. The whole thing is only a joke."
She pokes her tongue out at me. "Ppht."
The echo of a trill sounds in my throat and I draw back a bit, cocking my head to the side. "Close enough," I mutter, smirking.
And then, Luna pushes my hoof away and wraps her forehooves around my neck, pulling me into a kiss just when everypony decides to actually listen to the draconequus.
"I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE SEEING THIS!"
The chorus of gasps is of no concern to me. I flick my tail arrogantly and wish I could manage a smirk again.
Oops.
...
I wasn't surprised by the magic that pulsed around me, flooding my sixth sense with divine power. Crackling and the sharp, lively sizzle of sparks filled my ears while the air pulsed with two magics in tandem.
Pulling away from Luna, I opened my eyes and drew in a breath, eyes already searching my surroundings. Luna, still caught with a look of breathlessness and surprise drew back too, the usual turquoise lighting of her horn charged with tones of white, highlighting and casting dramatic shadows on her form.
Luna and I quickly saw that we weren't the only ones casting shadows. Without the ability I have, Luna is only now just confirming this whereas I sensed it before her. My right forehoof still rests on her wither as our eyes scan the crowd of gods. Their faces show varying states of being startled at the display they see... and a couple reflect disgust at the sight of Luna and I exchanging a kiss.
A ring of gold-white fire surrounded us both, and there was no doubt to whose magic had made it. Luna and I viewed it through a rippling dome made up of bolts of her lightning woven together like threads and raining harmless sparks down on us. Once they hit my cloak, they died, leaving only speckled singes, most of which were too small to notice.
Glittering nearby were the array of sparks that had fallen into Luna's mane and reflecting their fleeting light in her widened eyes. She stared at the mare who cast her shadow over us both, the stripes of shadowy feathers showing on Luna's dark coat and across her face like subdued stripes.
Two white wings spread out in full acted as another barrier to keep Luna and I away from the crowd. Attached to them is a stern-looking Celestia, with her aggressively rippling mane, regalia that might as well be attached to her for all I care, and cosmetics that look like paint chipping off her face looks like nothing short of a pretty ticked gargoyle who has been shat upon one too many times.
In those eyes that never viewed me with anything short of filtered contempt, I caught a few embers of sincere venom smoldering there as she looked at the tense semicircle. Everypony was in various states of distrust all directed in the general direction of Luna and I.
"That is why my youngest wants to protect Sombra from all of you," Twinklebutt confirms, tone serious as can be.
Maybe Celestia doesn't realize that I can see there's stoked hatred directed at Twinklebutt in her rose eyes, because I know that there isn't another who can.
"Don't any of you dare take another step toward my sister and Sombra." Celestia's tone was liquid, level, and low as she cast a sweeping look to them all, and I thought the gesture mechanical. "Sombra's crimes originate in the Crystal Empire, which is a territory of my nation of Equestria, thus it should be up to my sister and I to manage his offenses and Sombra himself, even if he is a god."
"Princess Celestia," Elysium's incredulous, yet contained voice rang out, "Are you really going to take such aggressive actions against one, admittedly very threatening gesture on Stolas' part? Everypony here would have stopped it if he had actually done something, and the demon can sense magic and would have escaped unharmed."
"That is not the point I must make," Celestia said with a frosty edge in her voice and directing a chilly glare at the King of Tartarus, who frowned quickly and ducked his gaze a bit. It carried a guilt so obvious that he didn't bother to make the smallest attempt to hide it. Even if he had, I would see past it and his sloppy cover-up would only be a bigger indication.
Whatever he had done would've been a purely physical and non-magical or I would have sensed it and countered it if possible. A physical attack would still have to get by my reflexes, but that's no excuse for me not to remain vigilant and suspicious.
His horn finally lit up, and though I knew the magic upon it, I tensed anyway, ready to fight while casting a glance at Luna, who was waiting and watching with apprehension and solemnity on her face.
Fire flashed briefly, and he had teleported elsewhere, leaving a spot in the rank of gods empty.
Quickly letting my focus shift to where Pink One and her purple companion stood in the shadow of the twin thrones of the Pantheon, I caught the nervous smile of Pink One and fearful shock of Lavender Lack-wit. No matter the distance, the display of Luna and I was still fresh in their minds.
Celestia spoke again with the same air of authority. "Yes, I know that Sombra is a demon." The way she said my name was with undertones of disgust, like it was something she could chew up and spit out. I tensed up and laid my ears back just hearing the subtle malice that I could never ignore.
"Sombra is also a god," she continued slowly, "and his danger has only increased because of this. We are all aware of this, but how many of you are truly aware of some of the world's happenings?"
As soon as she said this, she received more than a few scolding looks from everypony but Luna and Twinklebutt. The latter looked upon her with frozen touches of confusion, his eyes constantly searching her... or, more likely, for something about her, only to end up with an unmistakable blank stare at being unable to find something.
Pretending - I knew better than to call it anything else when she clearly wasn't on that good of terms with many of these beings - to acknowledge the other gods, Celestia continued speaking with the experience of any lying orator.
"I think that I should point out not the cruel and terrifying of evils that define Sombra, but the present of Equestria," she opened. "Discord has been reformed and now stands among you as a peer. The faithful and unfailing Twilight Sparkle is my sister's savior. Tirek has been imprisoned once more, locked up tighter than ever. I propose that my sister, whose pure heart outshines the darkness of this creature, be made to reform him so that he will be able to aid ponies as Discord has done now that he has finally been changed by the love of Luna." A soft smile made its way onto Celestia's face as she looked to everypony, eyes settling on the lone draconequus in the crowd.
I had the power and will, and flaring anger to snap one of her legs right then and there. I wanted to. My jaw clenched and I hid the extent of my flaring anger, just not the emotion itself.
Until Luna's wing slipped around me and drew me close to her; we hadn't realized how tense the other was. Black bangs, the careful tilt of my head, direction of my hard gaze, and the fact that I was rarely looked at twice aided in concealing all but traces of just how much Celestia's words had stoked my temper.
A quick but meaningful look at Luna revealed eyes filled with a conflicting storm of thoughts and creeping gloom. Her small smile was a nervous grimace that struck me as paranoid and she stood at a height meant to make her, the second-shortest of the divines, look at how she carried herself instead of her height. That was the sole factor about her that few would be intimidated by, even if she was taller than any pony, and me too. Height was a poor judge of her character, or anypony's.
When her sister spoke the given name of Purple Eyesore, I saw something like the softest bit of resentment behind a glimpse of sullen embarrassment buried behind those splendid turquoise eyes that I don't think anypony ever looked beyond or read the way I did.
Luna leaned to me for support and I let her. She mumbled under her breath something I caught in part, and that was enough: she was going to speak with the sister she still trusted and cared about. Celestia just didn't know that I was more than meets the eye, Luna said, and she'd explain herself and how she's forgiven me.
Sweet, if context was cut away at parts. Luna was one for words as lovely as I thought her and more. They were honest words... but her love for her sister was misplaced. I know nothing of familial loyalty in the ways that she does, and there's no doubt that it can be as misplaced as any other loyalty... more than most, even.
When I was certain that nopony was looking, I sneaked in an ear nibble to help relax her. Hang in there.
Her feathers stroked any bit of me that wasn't covered by my cloak and even the parts that were with small, careful, brief movements that were observed by none. And you as well, Sombra.
Of course she knew just how many little fractures were running through my self control with every word her sister spoke. Luna's eyes told me that I just had to focus on her - as if I wasn't already doing that - and listen. I'll pull through is what she wants to tell me. She wants to sing to me. Choosing to focus on the sound of her breathing, a small part of me managed to relax partially.
She leaned just close enough to me to not draw too much attention to us while Celestia continued her speech. I relished in the warmth of her touch, no matter how much appreciation I have toward the cold and chills, Luna's body heat was a feeling as good as any chilly Arctic wind.
"I am aware of the many crimes of Sombra, and perhaps more than most. Only my sister has seen the Crystal Empire under his reign as a scout."
My jaw loosened and the growl I bit back died away. To everypony but Luna, I looked stoic. Only she read between the lines and knew where my mind drifted...
What did she see? Will she tell me one day? I had always known that somepony was in the Empire, somepony careful, and-
The caress of her feathers pulls me back from memories and everything that will never be forgotten. It's enough, for now.
"Then, my sister and I were unaware of his nature. He was a stranger to us, and a tyrant unlike any the world has known then and since."
Other than you, I wanted to add.
"I have the utmost faith in my sister. She is the one who has always been there for me and is a princess of Equestria alongside me. Her happiness is paramount to me, and if that means she wishes Sombra to stay-"
"I do, sister! I do! I have no companion more trusted than you and him!" Luna's voice rings out with all the strength of a battle song, and sounds just as melodious as most things she speaks, with that low, dulcet tone that she has just for me...
To call my stare anything other than defiant, proud, and challenging would be a lie. It carries all the arrogance one would expect me to have, and more, as I look Celestia straight into her wavering rose eyes.
"She doesn't," I echo dryly and unsmiling.
Celestia inhales with a mechanical and unenviable calm. "Then so long as I am a princess of Equestria, I promise that Sombra, endling of demons, and newest god of the world shall not be tried or absolved of his past crimes, no matter how unforgivable they may be."
The surprise of this statement wasn't crushing. Luna's flying tackle hug was crushing, but damned if I didn't look dumbfounded, and not from her overjoyed shriek. Of course she was playing some kind of game, that was undeniable... and yet she never would have done any of this-
Luna, have mercy on my lungs. Between the two of us, it is you who has that quality.
-if it weren't for the happiness that I brought Luna and the glee that shone whenever she was near me. This was not a selfish move. It was not a gift or something charitable.
This action was twisted generosity from the mare history records as its former Bearer. She wants to make her sister happy... and everything behind it is what makes what she has done here still carry some hallmarks of what I know to expect from her, even if nopony else does. Celestia certainly doesn't accept our relationship. I can already think of so many reasons to why, most being obvious. She wants Luna to be happy. Celestia's being selfless - oh my - and that's actually quite a bad thing.
Damn it all, my ribs are being crushed - here's to you, Luna, and your goddess streng-
OHGODSNONOWITFEELSLIKETHEY'REONFIRELUNASTOP-!
Gasping and coughing, I managed to concentrate enough to ignite my horn with dark aura, which flashed briefly and was gone. A profound cold swept through my body and concentrated near my sides, where my ribs were. My sense of touch as physical creatures knew it deteriorated entirely, replaced with a chilling numbness through which a different way to sense what I touched emerged and the constricting pain of Luna's embrace vanished.
Though my cloak and the goddess pinning me to the ground obscured the change, I'm sure Luna sensed it, even in her hug-frenzy. I had partially shifted my sides into a dense version of my shadow-form so she could attempt to squeeze my lungs out without me being hurt. The cold didn't seem to bother her. She just hugged me tighter, which made me offer a muffled cough. It didn't bother me either - partial shifts like this were one of the few instances where I could feel the cold, and even then it was never the same.
It's not that I wasn't happy with even a small aspect of the outcome of all this, I was. Only Luna could sense it. I wouldn't let anypony else know; I gave no sign that any who didn't know me as well as she did would be able to see. Keeping most of how I presented myself aloof... I might as well have been made for it, and as soon as the thought crosses my mind, I feel my eyes roll. Were I in Luna's company, the two of us alone and together, I would have a smirk too.
I just can't be properly happy for a plethora of reasons. The presence of others? It can squash that fairly easy at times, and I find myself growing warier the longer I stay. All I need to do is look around and see the fragments of something larger in everypony's eyes - the things that they think I'll never see - and there I can glimpse every sign that there's still more to come.
As if I needed a reminder.
Before any growl can slip from me, I hold Luna tighter and push myself up, no matter the weight, especially when it comes to these wild embraces of hers.
I just continue.
No matter the weight.
...
"Do you, Sombra the Endling-"
"Enigma," I cut in without a care in the world to who I'm cutting off or interrupting.
"What?" Elysium says slowly. I know she heard what I said, but she still looks confused. No matter how much taller she is than me, the goddess and ruler of Paradise doesn't feel as bold when I am present, staring up at her, scowling and defiant with a stare that never wavers. For once she isn't attempting to be rude towards me, but I know that will never last.
Her expression tells me that she has never, ever been interrupted before. Whether she'd admit that if I asked, I'm not entirely sure, either way, it's another 'never' broken by me.
"Address me as Sombra the Enigma."
Her brow furrows in confusion and her navy eyes tell me that she hasn't ever been ordered around like this. Her composure - which is more natural than other attempts I have seen - still manages to melt away enough for me to see that she acknowledges I have noted this and am aware of just how many barriers I am breaking with every word I speak.
She thinks I'm too aware.
"Pardon?" she says, tone formal and with a bit of admirable curtness to it. I may resent nearly everypony in here for some reason or another, but the gods know better than to waste time with pleasantries and lathered, unnecessary kindness. Still, my bluntness isn't something that they're ever likely to get used to.
"There isn't any harm in calling me that. You'll just look stupid doing otherwise, and stupid entities are a bit a million. We've already established that I'm an endling and there isn't anything that's going to change that. I'm familiar enough with texts and resources from the Old World to know that gods were often addressed with an epithet, Elysium the Fair."
She doesn't meet my gaze, and instead just focuses on as much as me as she can without directly meeting my gaze. She clears her throat. "You're mad, aren't you?"
"True, but I'm also not wrong, now am I?"
Her expression remains neutral. "Were you not called 'King Sombra the Mad'?"
My jaw clenched. "I'm not a king. Sombra the Mad works, however."
She nods and continues. I catch sight of Luna's face in the crowd, and see how her eyes light up when she caught the title.
"Do you, Sombra the Mad, swear yourself to the Pantheon and the code it operates by? You possess the irrevocable identity that is being the God of Knowledge, but will you align yourself with the Pantheon of this world and contribute to it, working and meeting alongside your fellow divine who govern the lives of mortals?"
Everypony present looked down at me. Luna looked at me with a conflicted gaze, her feathers rustling with worry that nopony else saw. Somewhere in the crowd, I felt the flighty energy of Mac. She wasn't as bubbly among these other gods and I've mostly seen her around Purple Eyesore, the draconequus, and Luna. Celestia was usually talking to the other faces she found less familiar. I could feel Purple Eyesore nearby her too. That one rarely left the side of Pink One and her oh-so-beloved mentor. I was just glad that she was dwarfed by everypony and I didn't have to see her.
All the other gods looked on with varying expressions: completely stoic, certainty, and a kind of humorless satisfaction. They thought they had me, and though the majority of them were sure to what I'd say. I know for certain that one mare was wondering, and I loved her for it.
To them, the answer that was to come out of my mouth was already certain, and they still waited with bated breath for me to accept an offer that nopony had ever thought to refuse.
"Absolutely not," I said, tone filled with nonchalant pride. My ears perked up to catch the sound carry through the abrupt silence.
Expressions shifted, many revealing mortification that hadn't been there before. A few ears perked up in disbelief and a few folded downward with disgust and chilly hatred that I caught in the eyes of the other gods.
"Come again?" Elysium asked, eyes filled with shock she couldn't disguise, even when she was trying her hardest to keep her voice level.
"Did you really think I'd agree to something like this? Ever?"
Her jaw twitched slightly. "Care to explain yourself and your accusing tone?"
"Gladly," I drawl, flashing a smug smirk. "You all want to control me."
Nopony said anything.
"Everypony here, with one notable exception, wants and expects me to swear myself to this, as everypony before me has. Here, I'd be observable and have to follow a way other than my own. Thus, you think you can control me. It's not that subtle."
The silence I received was more telling than any verbal reply.
"Swearing myself to this group will take away the independence I cherish. Restricting me is something that's all on your minds. Well, guess what? You lose. I reject this, and even if you tell me I 'can't', I will. There's nothing you can do about, really. If you tell me I'm selfish, and act as though that's wrong, you'll be wrong. I am very selfish, and that's not going to change, and neither is my choice."
Silence dragged on. Other gods had begun to exchange glances, and none of them were at my gorgeous self. I felt spurned and scowled slightly at their unnecessary discrimination.
That's one reason why I'd never let something like this happen. They really think that they can take something away from me? They honestly thought that they could work me into plans to hinder and degrade me? I know the looks they give be and the transparent motives they thought they could hide.
It was either go my own way and risk everything in a world where my allies would be little, my 'safety' of no guarantee, become an easy suspect in any problem these gods would intervene in, and a bigger loose cannon than I already was...
...Or swear myself to my enemies and be restricted, monitored, and bound by something as trivial as whatever ethics they force upon me. I would be tossed in a pecking order if I agreed, treated as 'the odd one out' as if that were a bad thing. There would be attempts to do something as despicable and futile to humble me and have me conform to the standards of these creatures.
This choice was stupidly easy.
"I'm able to refuse this offer of yours, even if nopony else ever has, and I do."
Looks were exchanged: cold and business-like glances slashing across the pavilion with a sharp mix of disapproval and disbelief that hadn't faded in the slightest.
"You refuse?" Elysium said, slowly, deliberately. She enunciated everything carefully as if I were a child, and a particularly stupid one at that.
"I refuse," I confirmed, tone curt and condescending as ever. "I'd love to see you attempt to do something about it too, and prove that this fantastic little club of yours wishes to use me, control me, and keep an eye on precious little Sombra, but then again, your inaction can mean just as much as action. Go on. I love being proved right." I flashed a fabulous, smug smile.
Elysium's mouth tightened into a small scowl. "You were offered a choice, Sombra, not a bond which you cannot escape."
"Well, forgive me if I'm skeptical of such arrangements." I sneered at her a bit, disgust dominating my features.
"Do you grasp the consequences that could come by refusing this offer and what they might be?"
"Yes, and there are less of them compared to what would happen if I joined this cult of yours."
Elysium took a deep, annoyed breath. "This is not a-"
"It is and you know it. Now, is there anything else you have to say?"
Her exhaled was muffled as everypony looked on while the silence intensified.
"Refusing a place among the Pantheon, the order among orders, means that you will be known as a rogue god."
I raise an eyebrow. "There were more?"
Her expression doesn't waver. "You would be the first," she says with frosty, imperial calm.
A short, meaningful silence follows and my reserved, challenging gaze meets hers. Hoofsteps sound behind us.
"If that is to be so, then I shall be the second rogue god!"
I could never attribute that voice to anypony else and whirl around to see-
Luna.
Luna, standing tall and as proud as her words.
Luna's steely gaze swept through the crowd while I did my best to only allow my eyes to betray how awestruck I was. "I forfeit my position among this Pantheon if Sombra is to refuse as well. None of you will benefit him, and I have no wish to stay among you when he is correct in how this order wishes to maintain everything that would be against him. Not a single one of you would treat him as anything but the monster you think he is and impose further restrictions upon-"
"Luna!" Celestia interrupted, nudging her way past the others in her way and mumbling a few polite, expected, utterly mechanical apologies when she bumped somepony. "Luna, please, do not do this!"
"Sister," Luna said, looking up at Celestia who stood only a few paces away. "The one reason that I joined you here was because of my return... but I cannot go through with this, nor could I remain here."
"Why?" Celestia said, rose eyes pleading. It was the most unrestrained emotion I had personally witnessed her displaying openly. "Luna, why would you want to leave this place, to forfeit something that is your right and have no say in the divine matters in this world? This is something optimal for everypony, and Sombra should see that. Mortals and immortal alike would thrive-"
"If I was finally under control?" I interrupted with a blunt, testy tone that drew all eyes to me once again. "I'm aware how optimal this would be - optimal for everypony but me. Any others who would suffer because of this, I'm not sure of, but I would. That's why you'll never get me to do it. I'm always aware of how 'optimal' these things are, that's why I won't do them." I shrugged casually, as uncaring as ever. "My life is going to be exactly that: mine. I'm going to live it as such too. I'd wish you luck stopping me... except it won't do you much good and I'm not one for lying. And thank you for confirming everything I suspected once again. Are you even trying here?"
Celestia opened her mouth and closed it just as quickly. An even quicker flash of annoyance shone in her eyes - it was directed at me, of course. Her unusually emotional look returned to Luna, still pleading. "Luna," she said, quietly and delicately. It was almost tearful. "Is this about something that I did? If you need me, I'm always here to listen-"
"No, sister." Luna still kept her tone level, proud, and firm. I wanted to tell her that she was spectacular right now, but if she noticed how I stared... it should be enough. "Sombra, as you have all seen, is somepony very close to me."
'Close'. That's one way to describe it. Rather... lacking. Then again, I suppose that there are few better descriptions that poor little Celestia and the others here will be able to process.
The sound of a guffaw that sounds suspiciously like Mac causes me to swivel my ears forward to catch the sound.
"Sombra is somepony I love. I shall not devolve into a naive, foolishly optimistic, unnecessary speech that comes across as a plea for approval and for understanding of the love Sombra and I share. Instead, I will state this: it is a love that I am going to protect. I wish to owe allegiance and loyalty to those I find worthy of it, for loyalty should not be given freely, nor should things like kindness and charity-" She gave her sister a softened version of a typical pointed look, "-something that Celestia and I continuously disagree about."
Celestia's small, tight smile appeared for a moment. "Go on," she said softly, but just loud enough to be heard by everypony who watched with silent anticipation.
She wanted Luna to be quiet.
But Luna was not silent. My eyes were on her and her alone, watching her speak.
"My decision is as final as Sombra's. I shall not remain here. I am aware of all the consequences that this action will entail, and readily accept them. I know that I will no longer be welcome here if I leave, and that bothers me not. I know that the nation of a rogue god would not be taken as kindly to and that the actions of such an entity would 'ever be regarded with suspicion. For that, I am prepared. My love and freedom lie with Sombra, so why should I not break rules? I have lived long enough to know that some rules are naught much more than elaborate restrictions that are nothing that I wouldn't shirk."
Even from here, I saw Celestia's throat tighten with a harsh swallow and a smug smile played across my muzzle at the sight.
Elysuim and Twinklebutt traded looks before the former spoke, voice projected but not thundering like the Alicorns' Voice.
"Very well then, Luna, Princess of Equestria. You and Sombra the Mad may have a couple hours to remain here should you reconsider."
'Reconsider'. Sure.
I'll stay for a little though.
There's still somepony I need to talk to. After that? Who knows.
The crowd is ineffective camouflage, and I locate a purple limb among the tall gods.