Zanza decided to grace the town with his presence, in search of the one called Twilight. She had said that she could contact the royals, one of which he knew possessed his Monado. Perhaps she had already done so, and explained -
Zanza felt his heart skip a beat, a horrid thing he had not experienced in a millennium. 'I can only hope that is not the case. The last thing I need is further impediments in my reclamation.'
He stopped, and looked about. The sun had only just begin to rise, a time where most would be setting up their stalls or travelling to school, but they dared not to venture out. Not with him about. 'I suppose they have yet to grow accustomed to my appearances.'
As the Spirit of Bionis drew nearer to the palace, he faintly sensed life forces surrounding the structure, an ability he had finally reacquired with last night's events, however limited it was without his Monado. A number of guards donning gold or obsidian hued armor were arranged about the entrance, many the same subspecies of ponio as the guard from the previous night.
'Speaking of impediments...' he mused as he approached them, palms out and visible to them. "Well then, it seems I am expected."
A few of the guards looked to one another as if surprised, before returning their gaze to Zanza. One mare stepped forward from their ranks, and addressed the deity. "If you are the one who goes by 'Zanza', you are to come with us immediately."
'It is adorable how they think they have authority over me,' the deity chuckled softly, unnerving the group, but he complied.
He could feel something - a familiar something - in the castle. Along with several powerful auras, perfect for replenishing his own reserves. As he drew nearer to the room he was being led to, his divine senses could detect snippets of conversation.
Zanza recognized Twilight's voice. "... are you sure? Won't he be mad?"
"It is for the best, Twilight. It is a dangerous thing, unsafe to be around. Sealing it's power was a necessary precaution. We can only hope his own intentions did not align with that of this cursed blade." A regal voice reasoned.
'They truly are more naive than I originally imagined,' he shook his head, disappointed. Then his head snapped to attention. 'No. No, they could not have. They would not dare...!'
Zanza stormed ahead past the guards to the source of the voices, forcing the locked door open with a massive two-handed shove. The room's occupants all turned to him with a mixture of shock, anger, and surprise strewn across their faces. Twilight stood next to who Zanza assumed were the other princesses, judging by their race, royal regalia, and stature. Behind them, on a crystalline stand, his Monado rested. Quickly it was engulfed in a midnight blue nimbus of energy, cutting off his connection to it.
"What have you done to my Monado?" He demanded.
"We are the diarchs of the Sun and Moon," the magic using one said forcefully. "And you shall not address us in such a manner."
Zanza took a deep breath, and his serene visage returned to him. "My apologies, I was merely inquiring as to the condition of my Monado."
"So it is indeed your weapon, this 'Monado?'" The tall starry-maned ponio confirmed. She was on level with his own height, horn included, and her wings dwarfed those of Twilight's. "Your weapon caused the death and injury of no less than seventeen civilians and guards?"
"No, it was their own incompetence in wielding the blade that drove them to their destruction. It is of no fault of my own that they could not handle it's power." Zanza stated, glaring at her. "Now return it to me, that it may never fall into mor- that is, unworthy hands again."
"Why should we give you back a weapon capable of such destruction?" The pastel maned ponio inquired sternly. Of the three, only she truly could look him dead in the eye without looking up, given her greater size.
"It is only a tool of harm in the hands of those who are unworthy to the Monado's power," Zanza insisted. "I am the only one it recognizes as being fully capable of utilizing it's true power and potential. The Monado is a tool of creation."
The white ponio seemed skeptical. "Is that so?"
"He did mention it earlier to me," Twilight confirmed. "He said something about being able to transform matter."
"Truly?" the darker one mimicked the white in tone.
Zanza had an idea, if the ponios were gullible enough to allow him to. He held out a hand. "Perhaps you would care for a demonstration?"
The tallest two looked to each other for a long moment, before the white nodded to the midnight one. The red blade was slowly floated over to the deity, though there was a moment of hesitation before it was within his reach. 'Finally.'
Zanza grasped the blade in his right hand, and with a flourish, the blue beam of pure ether burst out from the brandished weapon. He gave a small grin, which quickly soured. 'What is... Why can I not restore it's form? Why is it locked as such?' He closed his eyes momentarily, before snapping open in annoyance. 'I cannot see the future! Why is the passage of fate sealed to me?'
He turned to them. They had said they had sealed it's power. He could break the bonds, but it would take far too much time and be too obvious to do it here and now. Not without the amount of energy equivalent to the amount used to seal it, many, many lives worth. He effectively resisted the urge to give a sigh of frustration, contenting himself to a slight, momentary scowl. 'But perhaps I could... there is still hope. I could get them to remove this curse from my Monado. Gain their trust so they can contribute to it's unbinding. Ah, but not now. They are still waiting for an example of it's potential.
"I will require inorganic matter. Is there anything in here that you do not care for? Organic material requires far more energy than this seal of yours allows me to channel through it at this time." he emphasized the word 'seal' with a small level of disgust.
Twilight put a hoof to her chin, looking around the room. Eventually she levitated over a blue gemstone from a bowl on one of the table's. At Zanza's questioning look, she elaborated, "Spike won't miss it. Besides, he's had enough this week." Zanza shook his head, and leveled the Monado with the precious rock. A slash, barely traceable by the naked eye, and the stone's ethereal matter was absorbed into the beam of ether. A look of mild interest passed over the faces of the two taller ponios.
The Spirit of Bionis took a neutral stance. "Now, is there anything in particular you would like to see?" Neither of the taller two responded, and the shortest shook her head. "Then I shall show you someone I had lost my place to, in my own realm."
The deity held out his left hand, palm up. Light from the Monado flowed up to his hand, and began to form a small, vaguely humanoid form, growing more defined, gaining fine white-blonde hair, red, blue and black clothing, and deeply cerulean eyes. It was inanimate, however; it did not so much as twitch in the slightest as it held it's place just above Zanza's hand. 'The first step in gaining their trust is gaining their sympathy.'
"This is the upstart that chased me from my home. He did everything in his power to try and kill me, and only succeeded in banishing me here. Separate from my weapons of creation." Zanza scowled as he elaborated. "He only desired a world without me, and in banishing me, doomed his whole world's very existence. This insignificant Homs condemned his world by removing the one who maintained fate, who wielded that which created the world with the intent of renewing it."
"He destroyed his world?" Twilight asked with concern. Zanza nodded, dissipating the model.
"What did you do to make him banish you?" The white one asked sternly.
"You assume I was to blame?" Zanza feigned hurt.
"Yes." The blue one stated with a neutral gaze.
"I only did as fate determined. The world was in need of restoration, but he would not have it. He saw fate differently, determined he had to stop me. But it was this re-envisioning of fate that ended the world by removing the only one remaining with the ability to wield the Monado." The deity chose his words carefully. 'Granted, I was the one who made restoration necessary, in my eyes. But it was within the margins of fate.'
"You keep mentioning fate, as if you knew what was supposed to happen," Blue observed. "But one cannot know the fate of their entire world. You jest, surely."
"I assure you, I do not." Zanza's expression darkened. "Fate is only foreseen by one such as myself, one who can truly wield the Monado with precision." 'A skill which you have so insolently deprived me of in the moment.'
"And what granted you this skill?" White inquired.
Zanza paused. 'My greatest feat. My unimaginable power. I created their kind, their world; I alone choose when they perish. Fate is mine alone to decide.' he thought with contempt.
Aloud, he said simply, "I have always been able to."
They did not seem entirely satisfied with this answer, but did not press him for more on the subject. Zanza decided not to return the favor. "And you? Who might you be to question me?"
"I am Princess Luna, and this is my elder sister, Princess Celestia," the blue one introduced. "And forgive me if I cannot say it is a pleasure to meet you, Zanza."
'Likewise, mortal.' "Agreed, it is a shame we could not have met in less... unfortunate circumstances."
'Celestia' nodded, then, with a harsher form of the stern gaze she'd been using, said, "There is still the matter of your punishment."
'They would dare!' Zanza's mind ran a billion miles an hour. 'But perhaps... Mortals' guilt is a useful tool. I could use this to my advantage.' He motioned for her to continue.
"Your 'tool of creation' as you put it has caused the death and injury of many civilians and guards-"
"I am not to blame for this. If a child finds their parent's knife, hidden away, and hurts someone with it with their inexperience, is it the parent's fault for their child's incompetence and recklessness?"
Celestia blinked, expression unwavering. "You carelessly left it where it could fall into the hooves of my 'incompetent' subjects."
"Perhaps a better comparison; Should people charge recklessly into the unknown? They knew not what they toyed with, and it is quite apparent the consequences of their foolishness," Zanza countered. "And as I said, I had no influence over where my blade landed. I knew nothing of this land. I could not have predicted where it would land, not without it's ability to glimpse the future."
"It is because you are here that-" Luna started angrily.
"Against my will. I was forcefully evicted from my own realm, as I've said several times now. And I was unconscious until my eventual arrival here."
Twilight stood jaw gaping, staring at Zanza in awe. The foreign being had effectively countered the princesses' arguments against him not once, not twice, but three times consecutively.
"Any more invalid slander you'd like to pose against me?" The Spirit of Bionis crossed his arms and smirked. "Or am I permitted to leave in search of the other Monado?"
"You shall not speak against us in such a manner-!" Luna raged.
"I have every right to, as you have treated me as a common criminal despite all that has happened being mere accidents that are the fault of that wretch who banished me. Knowing what I have explained to you, you still accused me of acts I had not committed. And you have so obviously and crudely sealed the Monado that I might not foresee fate and do my duty in fulfilling it," Zanza retorted with indignation. "It would appear to the outsider that you are the antagonists here, would it not, Twilight?"
Twilight flinched at the sudden mention of her name. "I, well, I guess-"
'Oh, how perfect!'
"You see?" Zanza chuckled as he spoke. "Even your own colleague has come to agree with me. You are the only ones who deserve punishment."
Luna's eyes filled with white light. Storm clouds gathered outside, flashing lightning as the windows blew open. "Do not toy with us, beast."
Zanza's eyes filled with a fury he had not felt since his defeat. 'Beast! How dare any mortal refer to me as beast!'
"Luna!" Celestia berated the night princess. The winds died down and the storms faded. "You know he makes a valid point."
"He makes a mockery of our rule and our judgement!" Luna protested, glaring at him.
"I have done nothing. Both of your arguments were flawed to begin with." the deity refrained from resorting to childish gestures to express his hatred for the night princess. Petty insults, however, were fair game. He cared no longer to gain her aid - only to ruin her before her inevitable downfall. "Though yours especially was laughably weak."
Luna glared venomously at him. He returned it with an unperturbed gaze.
"Zanza," Celestia began after a deep breath. "While we may have been about to have a lapse of judgement, your rudeness is uncalled for."
Zanza once again avoided an eye roll. "My apologies. I had no intention of disgracing you as efficiently as I did."
"Hmph!" Luna grunted. "Excuse me, sister, but I have other duties to attend to. I shall leave you to deal with this... miscreant."
Zanza shook his head with disgust as the night princess vanished with a flash. He turned to the day princess. "So. Am I permitted to leave now? Or would anyone else like to insult or accuse me?"
"Zanza, you know very well that you instigated the insulting with your backhanded comments. And our accusations were entirely called for until you explained yourself."
"I suppose you are requesting an apology, then? Or are you going to verbally reprimand me further, as if I were a child?" Zanza replied, a bemused expression overcoming his face.
"Not as such," Celestia's expression softened. "It seems to me that you are a pretty abrasive being, not used to being kind to others. Am I wrong?"
"I have never had a true friend," Zanza admitted, stone-faced. "But... one of my position should not desire friendship. My equal, Meyneth, she had made a number of friends, treated all the best she could."
"Well that's wonder-" Twilight began.
"She perished before my eyes because her compassion compelled her to sacrifice herself for them. Her duties fell to my hands alone." The deity said darkly. 'Ah, how I love the intricacies of truth.'
The two ponios were silent for a moment, exchanging glances of worry. Twilight was first to speak. "That's... sad. But not every friendship ends like that!"
"I offered my opponent a place among my disciples, my allies, as a gift to him. He denied it and proceeded to fight me with his like-minded companions." Zanza recalled bitterly. "My offer for truce, spurned and tossed aside. I could've stopped him before, had I not wanted to offer this position to him. I had given him a final chance to prevent his destruction, and he..." The Spirit of Bionis trailed off. 'His hatred for my way, for me, he doomed his world out of spite of my decided fate.'
Zanza snapped back to attention. "This is how I learned - in the worst of ways - why I should not long for friendship."
Oppressive silence returned to the room. Twilight looked at the floor, disheartened. Celestia wrapped a wing around the smaller ponio, and nuzzled her encouragingly. 'Pathetic. The residents of Colony Six had been far more resolute. And here she is, a ruler of a nation, already falling to despair.'
The white ponio released Twilight. "Zanza, I realize you may not have had the best experiences with friendship-" the deity scoffed. "-but until you understand it's magic, I'm not sure I can let you go off on your own. I request that you stay with Twilight so that she can teach you about friendship."
"No." Zanza growled. 'I will not be subjected to lessons on their pathetic values.'
"Then allow me to rephrase - I do not trust you enough when it comes to causing harm to my subjects, so I'm giving you an order to stay with Twilight until we can be sure you'll be no trouble."
He was quiet a moment, before breaking out into hollow laughter that echoed in the room. As it died down, his expression became quite serious. "And why should I follow this order of yours?"
"You will be considered a felon otherwise." Celestia said sternly.
"On what charges? We have already discussed this, I am at no fault here, and have never shown any aggression beyond trading disrespectful remarks with one who insulted me without reason." 'Honestly, how dense are these mortals?'
"We'll help you find the other Monado?" Twilight suggested.
"I can find it on my own." he insisted. 'If it wasn't for this damnable seal.'
The two looked to each other, exchanging silent messages in their gazes. In unison, they said, "We'll undo the seal as you make progress."
Zanza's eyes widened in mild surprise. 'So soon? I will not even have to trick them! Ha! What incompetence!' "Is that so?"
After a moment's hesitation, they nodded. Twilight then added, "But don't even think about trying anything funny with it. We'll know if you hurt anypony with that thing."
"But of course," Zanza said in false agreement. "I would expect nothing less."
'This will be ridiculously easy! Maintain a facade of kindness and they will grant me my rightful power. It would be a matter of time until I can simply take the power from them with no consequences. And I already have learned something about friendship; it makes manipulation that much easier when the target is trying to befriend you. Ahah, ahah! Haha-!'
"Ehm, Zanza?" Twilight asked cautiously. "You're smiling at the ceiling... It's more than a little creepy."