//------------------------------// // 十八 (She Won't Let Him Go) // Story: Divine Move // by Ice Star //------------------------------// Even through the pillars, the first thing my eyes were drawn to was the sky. The entirety of it was tinged purple, some areas were lighter or darker but the whole sky was almost the exact shade of purple as a certain mistake. I didn't see a single cloud either, which was disheartening. My other surroundings would quickly prove that I was no longer in Equestria or any of the neighboring lands, but the most obvious indicator was that there was not a single star in the sky. It was an ugly lavender with nothing to take my eyes away from the soft hue except for the sun and the moon, each dividing the twilight between them like an overly symmetrical picture. A frown tugs at my lips. I hate it when things are so... neat, and everything appears right on the surface, when things are easy. I like flaws, small changes, quirks, and puzzles. In other words, I like it when things look somewhat natural instead of having each and every aspect of one's life sorted into rows like it's an accomplishment. This sky was like that, it felt like either one of us didn't belong. Celestia stood close enough to me, and I could see that neither her nor me were translucent as I thought would happen, even if it were only to one instead of the other. Thankfully, I could feel the faintest stir of my own magic once again; I was here. Everything, Celestia included, emitted magic again. Well, they hadn't stopped, I'd just been unable to feel it. In an almost ironic twist, I stood in her shadow with Fate at my side. She had teleported... no, that wasn’t the right word, her magic had taken the both of us... oh, how I loathe to use that word to describe Celestia and myself... to this place but had bypassed something to get here. I could feel it, but just barely since my senses were still somewhat blurred, even now. 'This place' was a pavilion of some kind that looked to float somewhere in this twilight because I couldn't see any land nearby and it feels drafty up here. I've never seen architecture in this style whole before, the closest would have to be the ruins under the Castle of the Two Sisters, but of course the only wreck I've seen worse than that would be tied between Onyx and Purple Eyesore's mind. It did have a bit of a Crystalline feel to it as well, I decided as I took a few steps away from Celestia. There were two crystal thrones with a peculiar hour glass between them. I wanted to investigate it since this structure was only about twenty paces across and I doubt that Celestia was going to flip out but another voice interrupted by another voice calling to Celestia. I didn't catch what they said but I did almost fall into this pool that I somehow didn't manage to see even though it looked like it was made of liquified supernovas. Yeah, forget the hourglass. I'm tempted to find out if drinking this will harm me and then actually trying if it doesn't. I just hope it doesn't taste like cactus since there will be consequences if it does. "Onyx," Celestia calls, "There's somepony you need to talk to." "First, quit calling me that, and second, quit acting like you've got an ego like mine since we both know the only thing big about you is your rear." "Sombra, will you quit being rude for at least five minutes?!" "I don't think so, and if you're so fixated on getting me over there, why don't you get your fat-" I turn around and see a Celestia with a face that would put tomatoes to shame looming over me. "NOW." "I'm not sorry, but you get to scream in my face but I can't tell the truth?" I whine in a wounded falsetto as I toss my mane to the side, adding a scoff for good measure. "Although Celestia, I must really admit that your vocabulary has improved since the last time I've heard from you." She looks like she wants to set me on fire. I'd like to see her try. "Famous last words," she hisses, as if trying to yell while whispering could make her appear any less sillier to me. "Actually, I think my last words, if I were to allow such a concept of 'last' from yours truly would be something along the lines of 'Kiss my flank you throne warmer' but, hey it's still a work in-" Another blink of the horn and one teleportation later I'm looking up at an Alicorn with a glowing gold mane and inky eyes. Her coat matches the sky and a wreath of plants balances on her head. "So this is King Sombra?" She has an accent I do not know and even though her voice is higher than Celestia's she is definitely older and sounds like she's seen much, much more. "Elysium, his real name is-" "My name is Sombra. I'm not a king and I want to kick Celestia's face in at least twice a month." Elysium doesn't seem to care what either of us are saying. She's facing front so I can't see what her mark is but I almost want it to be kicking puppies over rainbows since she's yet another equine I'm not going to take too seriously. Or rather, I don't respect her just like I don't respect pretty much everypony else. Her tone isn't like Celestia's professional one but she doesn't seem to treat Celestia like most and bow to her every wish like she's a spoiled child. She definitely knows Celestia or something about her. I can tell they've met before based on how they're interacting. "Since there seems to be unnecessary confusion over who you are, just answer this simple question: Have you ever at least gone under the name Sombra?" "Yes." "Are you 1,124 years old?" "Well, I guess I am now." "Are you from the Crystal Empire?" "No." I see can Celestia look as if she's about to call out before looking to something she imagined in the corner. "Did you ever kill anypony in the Crystal Empire?' "Yes." "When was that?" "During the King's rule." "Did you occupy the castle for eight years?" "...Yes." "Celestia, you have the right pony, from what I can tell. If he's lying it will show up when I read his memories," Elysium adds tersely before her own horn lights up. Looking at memories? I don't even need to dwell on that. It's mind magic. The vision doors don't work on me, but there are oh-so-many types and I know them all. But I hardly ever used them. Mind magic. When it's the dark magic kind, it's worse. It's all bad magic. It's horror, it's panic, but sometimes you don't need it because after six months you realized something and after two years you couldn't even cry anymore. It's screaming in the corner and I want to disappear magic. Why? Because all he does is want you to hurt everypony and he wants you to feel it too. He's generous like that. And when he's done with them he'll be bored soon enough, and you're the one he can't kill. It's Celestia pulling you off of Elysium and trying to make you stop screaming while the lavender one tries to get the sword away from you. It's that kind of magic because after a while you don't even need the magic part of more because he sure didn't. It's a really complicated mess magic. It's Celestia screaming because you only missed her eye by this much with that sword and it won't stop bleeding magic. It's I just want to be alone magic because they pushed you too far and I, I won't let it happen again. It should be history. I want it to be history. This is history that I'm only in because of one mistake, and it wasn't even mine. I'm the mistake of some kid's twisted fantasy and he never let me hear the end of it. I can't be calmed down but they end up getting me to stand off to the side. I've taken the least amount of damage, coming out with only a few bruises on the sides of one of my foreleg. Celestia conjured a bandage for her eye and the gashes on her chest are already healing. Elysium dodged the sword a bit faster so her cuts are much more slight but she's a deeper shade of purple in places but even that vanishes before my eyes. "Something is wrong with him," Elysium says even though a very angry, eyes-darting-from-goddess-to-goddess him can hear everything you say. She ignores me when I spit at her hooves. "What do you mean?" "How did this one die?" "Well he was suffering from time displacement and-" "Yes, that much to me is clear but what was his final moment? How did you come by him? Celestia, he seems too lucid, too defiant for a recently departed soul." Celestia clears her throat smoothly. "I had him brought over to the castle since he's been out on his spree long enough and shouldn't have been allowed to go free no matter how much Cadance-" "Cadance?" Elysium questions. "Mi Amore Cadenza, Crystal Empress and Princess of Love, Wife of Shining Armor of the House of Mortals-" "Alongside Twilight Sparkle, Spark of Magic, Prophet of Harmonia, and Princess of Friendship? Yes, Celestia I know the full titles of your successful students but not their pet names." "That's just it!" Celestia's nearly screaming and my chest lurches as a sharp, accusing hoof finds me once again. "I let him go the first time around, oh Ellie you should have seen what happened to Twilight Sparkle. I had him brought to the castle as soon as I could pinpoint his whereabouts which did take longer than I initially expected since this one hardly even bothered to fancy himself as intelligent in youth." "Please it speed it up a bit. We may live forever, little daughter of Lu-" Am I the only one who saw hints of a scowl in Celestia from that remark? Apparently, I wasn't, since Elysium tsks a few times before muttering something about forgiveness. Celestia's mask resumes and she goes on. "When it came down to it, he showed a single moment of reason in getting me to bring him here." "So he was still alive? I taught you that spell for a reason, Celestia, and while you've used it well so far, have you ever heard of ‘picking the fruit before it is ripe’? There is no harm done, but make sur-" "Elysium, he was already dying when it happened-" "WHAT? CELESTIA DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE?!" ... What ensued was me standing right in the shadows, utterly forgotten by the bickering gods for now. I heard everything and there was quite a bit to learn. In fact some of it is remarkably simple: a seal both natural and one created by Elysium and somepony else named Stolas to keep wandering souls from getting in and allowing somepony called the Reaper, themselves, and others who knew the spell to be the only ones to filter this place. Only three kinds of creatures can enter. The dead can enter easily, as can immortals. The living will explode a few minutes after arrival. Lastly is the theoretical, and that would be the dying. They are neither living or dead, oh sure they're more living... but living things can expire and the dying are expiring. What happens next had not been proven before. The dying are something else. So are immortals. There is no mistake in this, just an upgrade if you will, a small alteration to something that already is. Celestia made a mistake, she failed her game because she was only a piece in mine, and she was a piece that I won in a gamble. Everything that tried to kill me only made me want to live even more, and did she really think that I was going to let her of all ponies take that away? No. She made a mistake, or rather she made me immortal. Everything was worth it. Everypony I had to twist and hurt and risk like her and the one pony, the ace of hearts who has proved she is still a piece, but one I won't treat like the other two that I have acquired. The gold diamond is mine. I've gotten more than I bargained for. The last card is hardly a flat piece or a win to be coveted. She's something special, above any token or inferior. I did it, I built my bridge, it took so many years but I've known who I'm searching for. I'm Sombra and once again, because of somepony else's mistake I've won so much and I'm grateful for every bit of it. I'm everlasting, and this has been my latest move, and it happens to be a divine one at that.