Cloud Shroud sincerely thought to himself long and hard over everything before he finally gave the Windigos his answer…
“I can’t make that promise.”
“Why not?” the unamused Windigos asked. “Are you frightened, coward? Or will you stupidly oppose us, fool?”
“I am a coward.” Cloud replied blankly. “I am a fool. I’m not worthy of your power.”
The Windigos had blank expressions on their faces, perplexed by this unprecedented response.
“You can’t honestly believe that self-deprecation and false modesty will get you out of this.” the bemused Windigos called what they thought was a bluff. “Cease this pitiful attempt at manipulation.”
“You know I’m no good at manipulation.” Cloud continued to disparage himself, confusing the Windigos even more. “I’m not even good with words or talking to people. And even if I was, how could I trick you in such a manner? Your will is stronger than mine.”
The Windigos were beyond astonished by how they could not debate these points at all. Nothing about Cloud’s tone or mannerisms made him come off as disingenuous. This felt like an honest admission of the fact that he did not know what to say or do.
“This was truly unforeseeable…” the Windigos thought in disbelief. “Why did he not just lie to us and pretend he wouldn’t go against us again? We hadn’t threatened him with consequences, and he’s been half-heartedly following us since the very beginning...is this a product of his abandonment of nihilistic ideology? Does he not want to lie to us if he doesn’t have to?”
“Don’t look so surprised.” Cloud interjected, with a tone that abruptly shifted to an intimidating one. “This is just the way I feel. I don’t think highly of myself, but that alone doesn’t make me a decent guy. I’m just tired of being told what to do by you guys, that’s all.”
“But you know that we’re stronger than you!” the Windigos proclaimed in frustration. “You must submit!”
“Or else what?” an unphased Cloud retorted. “I don’t really care what happens to me, even if I might die. You said yourself that the shame that comes with dying standing up to your oppressors is worse than death itself...but I don’t feel ashamed at all for standing up to you. My shame would come with choosing my life over my friend’s soul!”
“IDEALISTIC IMBECILE!” the Windigos angrily lashed out at him. “The souls of your friends are destined to go astray! It’s the way of nature, it can’t be helped! Your life is not worth a chance to “save” a friend!”
“If I can’t even save a friend, then what’s the point of living?” Cloud continued to argue, unmoved. “My death does not mean the cessation of my will. If you lose me, you don’t lose my fire. A fire that burns for a friend may not be favorable for your schemes, but that’s just the way my fire is. You can influence one’s will, but you can’t control it. That’s simply the way of nature. And I also believe that’s the way this god of love intended for it to be!”
With that, the Windigos fell silent...for they knew his belief was correct. And so, their confidence was lessened, for they never expected his faith to feel more sincere than theirs despite the fact they had known Amoros far longer than he had...
“Even if our will is stronger…” they thought nervously. “...if his faith in our god becomes stronger…”
“You have every right to be afraid.”
The Windigos grew even more worried as they could hear the words of a gleeful Amoros running through their minds.
“Depending on the way this goes…” Amoros continued, goading them. “I just might end up siding with Cloud over you three…after all, it would be inconvenient for me if you had to kill him...”
“NO!” the Windigos desperately exclaimed in their minds. “We will not kill Cloud! We only ever intended that as a last resort! But please, let us put him to the test! We will never accept these foolish ideals of “friendship” unless he can prove to us that they work with empirical evidence!”
“Though I am certainly more partial to the idea of his ideals of friendship working,” replied Amoros, “being a god of love that can see how love and friendship go hand and hand together, I also see how testing his faith would be a great service to us. A vessel with a strong will is not enough. I also want to prune a vessel with unshakable faith in me. And I have the perfect way to do so.”
“What kind of test would you propose?” the Windigos asked curiously.
“I already know how you would do it.” Amoros answered. “You would make the stakes as high as possible, even knowing of the safety net I could provide…”
“You don’t mean to say that you plan to rescue Cloud in case he fails, do you?” the suspecting Windigos questioned.
“If I were to bail him out in the way you suspect, that is when he would truly fail.” Amoros replied. “That is not what I intend to do. I simply mean to give...and take away.”
“Do clarify.” the Windigos requested. “We trust your judgement no matter what, but we want specific details.”
“I’ll gladly go over everything with you.” Amoros promised. “Just keep in mind that this is part of the reason why Cloud’s faith will ultimately prove superior to yours. You go by what you’re told. He goes by his fire…”
*FWOOM*
Cloud could feel his fire become even stronger from standing up to the Windigos. Peculiar as he had found the Windigos’ prolonged silence to be, he was composed and prepared for whatever they would tell him next. Eventually, the Windigos began to speak with him again…
“Although what you have told us is questionable at best,” Aero told him, “we have tremendous respect for your passion. So in spite of our incredulity regarding your talk of friendship, we will give you a fair chance to prove its power to us.”
“Does that mean you’re allowing me to reform Sombra now?” Cloud asked hopefully.
“You’ll get to reform Sombra if you are able to change our minds about the value of friendship.” Aera explained, knowing full well how different their view of friendship was. “For a bit of fair warning, this will not be easy. In order for you to accomplish such a feat, it’s not enough for you to save one’s life or one’s soul...you must do both simultaneously with the power of your will.”
“Whatever that means, it seems easy enough.” Cloud replied nonchalantly, desensitized to bemusing wordplay.
“Oh, trust us…” Aeros remarked, he and his comrades smirking sinisterly. “We mean it when we say it won’t be easy. It doesn’t sound difficult just from hearing our words. But remember that we warned you once you’re in the middle of a life-and-death situation…”
“I’m supposed to be in an “immortal, immaterial” body.” Cloud interjected, refusing to let this suspicion of his go.
“We did not lie to you.” Aeros insisted. “We did everything we could to make that body as invulnerable to death as possible. All that matters now is what you are doing to it…”
“Huh?” Cloud responded, thinking to himself.
“Hold on…” he said in thought. “If this body is the product of my will like Sombra said, then…”
With that thought, another idea came to Cloud’s mind…
“How do you intend to throw me into this life-and-death situation if I can’t die?” he asked.
“There’s far more to death than what you know…” Aera answered ominously. “Even that fool Sombra has no idea. He blames death for his sense of being trapped in purgatory, having no clue that his hell is entirely self-imposed.”
“If my will falters…” Cloud surmised. “...will my body in Equestria cease to be? Will I end up just like Sombra? What will happen to the human me?”
“You said yourself that death does not mean the cessation of the will.” Aero reminded him. “And now what you fear is the opposite, if the cessation of the will means death. Such a thing should be everyone’s greatest fear, for the cessation of the will is the truest form of death.”
“This is precisely why we chose you.” Aera interjected. “You have so much rage in your soul, yet you’re also so submissive. Only your fire was just right. Not too strong for our influence, and not too weak to be thoroughly tested. You should know from us having to keep your human body alive that death has never been off the table. If your fire was any weaker, both the you from that world and the you in this world would be dead by now.”
Cloud made a grimace, taking a moment to ingest this truth. What was beginning to dawn on him was making him angry, even with what he had always suspected.
“I knew it...” he proclaimed in frustration. “All this time, I’ve just been a guinea pig for you to monitor!”
“Don’t complain as if you’re some kind of victim here!” Aeros snapped back. “We had a deal you agreed to! We never promised you there would be no danger involved! We agreed to allow you to bail...but you can’t do that now, can you? For how else will you save your friend?”
“As if I would ever drop out at this point!” Cloud retorted. “No way is this just about me anymore! It’s not even just Sombra...I want to create a new hope now for you guys too! For Rainbow Dash! For all of Equestria! For all of the world! I’m through with being a cold, self-absorbed cynic! From now on, I want to be my true self!”
*FFFFFWWWWWOOOOOMMMMM*
The Windigos could not hope to cease their astonishment as Cloud’s flame grew even stronger. Not only did it become bigger, but it now had a purple glow surrounding it, similar to Sombra’s flame…
At the same time, Sombra’s eyes fluttered wide open, shining green and exuding purple haze. He was now outside of a courthouse, wearing a dark red business suit with a white cravat. Twilight Sparkle was beside him, dressed in a black gown and standing on a podium and giving a speech to the press. As expected, Fax First from PNN was the reporter interviewing her.
“So Princess Twilight Sparkle,” asked Fax in his usual smug tone, “having formally presided as judge of far more trivial disputes, such as overruling a trade made at an exchange, how did it feel to make a much more impactful decision today? One that will surely rouse the public and change the lives of not only your friends, but your subjects forever?”
“...” Twilight looked guilty and forlorn in a brief moment of silence before she finally answered…
“I honestly don’t know how it feels. It certainly doesn’t feel right, but I suppose this is only my fate as Princess of Equestria. I have to grow accustomed to making tough calls…”
“...” Sombra stared at Twilight blankly, unable to deny that he too shared a sense of remorse over what had transpired in court. It all began after Discord had confessed outside the weather factory…
“You did not kill Sombra.” he had told them somberly in Cloudsdale. “I did.”
“DISCORD!” Fluttershy shouted, crying inconsolably. “I WON’T BELIEVE THIS! YOU ARE NOT A MURDERER! THIS IS A LIE!”
“Indeed, I am capable of lying.” Discord replied, acting unphased by his friend breaking down in tears, pushing her to greater depths of despair. “But facts never do. I’ve performed a motley array of grandiose tricks in the past, but the evidence against me has been conjured up by no such ruse.”
“Evidence?” Twilight asked curiously as she attempted to comfort Fluttershy by patting her back.
Discord clicked his fingers, and a book familiar to Sombra appeared, surprising him.
“That’s the same…!” he exclaimed in shock in thought.
He recognized the black book from the insignia on it. It was the same symbol Discord had drawn on the ground when he had brought Sombra back.
“That symbol...there’s no mistaking it!” he cried nervously in his mind, feeling chills. “That’s the same book Luna and I used to call...him, that demon... Where did Discord get that from?!”
Twilight glanced over at Sombra and immediately took note of his look of distress.
“Even Sombra is tensing up…” an unsettled Twilight thought. “What in Equestria is going on?!”
“You have the right to be afraid, Sombra…” Discord muttered ominously. “We know more than you do...the ones who govern Equestria have always known…”
“...What do you mean?” Sombra asked worriedly. “Are you insinuating that Luna...did Celestia put her up to-”
“No.” Discord blankly interjected. “Neither of them had any malicious intent. Everything they’ve had to cover up, they’ve done so for what they believe is for our own good. This is the way it’s always been, even before Cloud Shroud was brought here.”
“...?” Fluttershy’s crying slowed, some of her sadness becoming confusion. She remembered what Rainbow Dash had said about recording Cloud, how it would be bad if the tape was played for the princesses...and felt a disturbing premonition...
“Cover up?!” Twilight yelled in disbelief, trying to suppress the memory of the night of her coronation. “What-NO! That can’t be! You have to be mistaken! Celestia and Luna are not LIARS! They would NEVER, even if they did believe it was justified! I’ll never distrust them! I’ll never believe this! It’s too RIDICULOUS!”
“You do realize just how ridiculous this situation is, don’t you?” Discord retorted. “You do appreciate just how many strange things have happened recently, all the absurdities you’ve simply had to accept and move on from despite knowing they don’t make any sense?”
“.....” Twilight couldn’t respond, not only because she knew Discord was right on the nail, but because Discord was the same creature who had muttered those words that were now echoing through her head…
“What fun is there in making sense?”
And so, she instinctively turned around and noticed another bizarre anomaly...the news team, in spite of all this development, was completely silent.
“Why are they not all over this?” Twilight thought suspiciously. “This kind of story would break the headlines!”
Twilight then noticed Fair Press whispering something to Fax First…
“What’s the plan, sir?”
“I don’t know…” a disgruntled Fax murmured. “All I can say for now is that there’s no way we can show this to the public unedited...it’s probably best we stop filming now and wait until the court hearings before we resume our broadcast.”
“...Court?” a now very skeptical Twilight thought. “We’ve seen no real proof so far that Discord killed Sombra and we know nothing of the contents of that book...yet they’re talking like they’ve known something ahead of time…”
While Twilight and Sombra were concerned, Fluttershy had stopped crying, feeling a spark ignite in her.
“Discord…” a torn up Fluttershy finally spoke up. “I won’t believe this...I won’t...this is not the truth...the truth is that you’re innocent…”
Fluttershy then grit her teeth in righteous anger, a new motivation moving her from despair.
*FWOOM*
A small fire lit up in her soul, pushing her to fight for justice.
“AND IF YOU WON’T FIGHT FOR YOUR INNOCENCE, THEN I WILL!” she proclaimed indignantly.
Upon seeing this, Discord’s once stoic and serious frown slowly pursed into a comfortable, endearing smile.
“Fluttershy…” he said happily before he clicked his claw. “Thank you.”
*SNAP*
Everyone outside of the weather factory was then teleported to an Equestrian courthouse...
...and what had transpired there still had Twilight and Sombra feeling conflicted and mystified as they stood outside of the courthouse with the news crew asking questions. Even if the press was fair and objective, they couldn’t have done the event justice, for lack of a better word. A trial was held with Fluttershy acting as Discord’s defense attorney, Sombra acting as a prosecutor, and Twilight acting as a judge. These were the roles Discord gave them when he teleported them there with his magic, giving them suits to match their roles as well. Twilight and Sombra were in their aforementioned attire of a black robe and a red suit respectively, while Fluttershy was wearing a blue suit with a red tie. The occurrence of events played out with Fluttershy pushing the argument that there was no proof of Discord’s guilt and Sombra countering with the argument of how the defendant had already confessed and there were no other suspects. As for Twilight, she was still answering the question of what it was like for her to the reporters…
“Being a judge certainly isn’t easy.” she continued to tell Fax. “But there’s no doubt it helps you see what is and isn’t worth fighting for in this world. I couldn’t give a biased verdict to favor Fluttershy just because she’s my friend and I couldn’t rule in favor of Sombra just because I preferred his argument.”
*dwoom*
Twilight’s fire had grown even dimmer, knowing that her reason for preferring Sombra’s argument was because it not only catered to what the public would want, justice against the “villain” who confused them and made them doubt the Elements, but also because it helped her avoid having to confront a painful truth. The painful truth that Celestia and Luna were hiding something from her...and that possibly, as Equestria’s new ruler, she would have to start hiding things from her subjects as well…
“Thus, I compromised.” she continued to explain. “I postponed the trial for a later date, allowing for proceedings to continue once both sides have gathered more evidence. In that time, however, I had to rule that Discord could not be allowed to roam free, being a suspect in murder. Refusing to be taken into custody by the guard and confined to a detention center, he asked to instead be...turned to stone by Celestia and Luna and kept in their custody until further notice.”
In a garden outside of Celestia and Luna’s castle, Fluttershy solemnly looked upon what her friend had become. She was disillusioned by the decision made by Twilight in court, the fact that Celestia and Luna had petrified her friend, and the nagging possibility that Discord had been set up. Despite Celestia and Luna allowing her to visit Discord, she did not trust them like Twilight did. Why else would Discord do this? Who else could put him up to this?
“You took the fall for them, didn’t you?” she said blankly. “Don’t worry, I don’t hate them. But I do hate this charade of lies. I’m not going to let these lies hurt any more innocents like you. I’ll uncover the truth no matter what, or else I’ll disgrace that smile of hope…”
Before Fluttershy flew off, she took one last look back at the statue of Discord and noted that even though he was turned to stone now, he was still smiling that same hopeful smile he made before the trial…
“I already know my first lead to finding the truth…” she told herself seriously in thought as she remembered her premonition. “I’m coming for you Cloud...I know you have answers!”
And as Amoros watched both Cloud and Fluttershy, he too was smiling hopefully. Part of him was glad to see Discord out of the picture, exactly what he needed for his plan...and part of him was genuinely happy to see them building faith.
“I know for sure Cloud will save you, little one…” he said happily. “Even as he is yet to confront the most painful truth about me…”