Favorable Alignment

by Ice Star


Chapter 3: A Goddess' Discovery

Luna:

My sister has always been fond of her kind of strategy, gatherings, and games. Often, she could combine them for her own amusement. While she liked a small surprise now and again, she was never one for adventure, not like I am. Even though this part of her nature will always be, despite the conflict it could cause, her opinions are always worth considering as my sister, my friend, and a ruler. But that does not mean they are the only option or are guaranteed to be followed, and her and I still disagree on things terribly often. Her orderly chess-like thinking is not always appropriate and even her decisions are not incorruptible to doubt or alterations of the moment.

She questioned many of the choices I made in regards to this topic, the one thing that I have never considered her word on, and that was because I decided to. We are beyond fighting on this matter, she is still my dearest sister but this is still the only matter where she will use a purely emotional argument, where I can say that she's wrong. I have listened to her time after time, but I will not obey her wishes. I have proof now, I know something went wrong and I will not sit idly by.

I had to get away before she found out what I was doing, and in doing so I ended up with an unintended companion. He is a pony I have no real warmth to, but am not familiar with enough to loathe. There is hardly an indisputable fact I know about this pony, and even what was recorded so many years ago as Celestia dictated history be written is something I still question because I think what I saw, what I never told another soul, contradicts some of what he is made out to be. And if recent tales are to mean anything than I might not be the only one to discover this.

I have only heard small snippets of each tale. Twilight Sparkle speaks of a somewhat darker version of a foal's frightening and unstable madpony that feels too far-fetched and lacking to be true. Cadance tells little, only hinting at a cynical recluse who isn't what he seems while Celestia continues to publicly have him recorded as the tyrant who slaughtered hundreds without a care in the world, and has many heinous aspects to him. It was only after my return as well as the Empire's passing to Cadance that she told me what she had learned from a tattered journal and a few records she was able to view from the crystal kingdom that had only recently shaken off its shackles.

I wanted to do this alone, a companion of any kind would prove too dangerous for what I'm going to do, but if I had to pick anypony to come along regardless of where we'd be going and what we'll be doing, I would have picked Cadance. She is usually unshakably calm when it counts and quite reasonable while he just stands on deck looking apathetic and vaguely grumpy without giving any clue as to why. I don't find the behavior unwelcome, but he is a stranger and has much to answer. I don't think I have done anything to upset him and I don't know if he simply looks like this most of the time.

Hopefully, he'll keep to himself most of the time. I may know little about him but he doesn't seem to be too talkative and neither am I. This could work out splendidly.

We left the ocean area around Manehatten not long ago, and thankfully remained unseen, especially Sombra who locked himself below deck in some of the rooms I showed him earlier. Since the weather was calm and there wasn't anything to worry about for now or any specific coordinates to follow for quite a while, I was able to let the Sky Scraper drift somewhat while I gave him a tour.

...

On an airship intended to face more conflict than its journey could bring, the wheel would be in the small 'house' built for this purpose, however as a navigator's ship this wasn't so. The wheel was out on the deck and crafted differently due to the conditions it would have to face. The frame of the plain door is emblazoned with moons peeking over mountains while the porthole window mimicked a large golden sun. Even seeing all the little balances in such designs for the nth time is touching. It is never something that would have happened a thousand years ago, not when suns might be splashed everywhere.

Throughout the entire tour of the Sky Scraper he remained quiet and distant, not making direct eye contact and hardly uttering a single word. Just by looking at him, he appeared only to regard his new surroundings with the utmost boredom. I did wish to know his thoughts, for I doubt he was really bored, but he did not give them. Perhaps this will be a mere business partnership I can expect nothing from this mildly intriguing fellow, though I have little problem with paying him at the end of this, if that is what he wishes and he works hard. Tia may complain about immoral mercenaries as she pleases, this one might not be so bad. There were only a few brief changes in his overall demeanor, but those were few and far between.

First, in the navigation room of the ship, which was located in the small wheelhouse he directed an angry glare at a map of Manehatten Harbor he almost tripped over.

When we went down the small set of stairs to the lower level, he inspected the table and benches nailed down in the wall-less dining area, something that was far less stuffy than an enclosed room.

Next, I saw him stopping to examine the spines of several books that were left in the sick room, curiosity flickering in his eyes. Without a doubt they had come from the small library next door.

In the library he almost set the wastepaper basket on fire for no good reason and because of this I refused to show him the interior of the storage room, located in the bow of the ship. His only response to this was a mere shrug.

Then, when showing him the four cabins that lined the Sky Scraper's starboard side, he finally began to speak more and he immediately declared Cabin A, which was right across from the library, his.

"Why did you pick this one?" I asked, gazing at the plain bed, desk, empty lantern, and chest identical to the other three cabins which he had not even seen.

"I wanted to," he replied curtly before stepping inside and after a brief glance around, his horn began to glow with an aura identical to the color of his cloak. The air in the center of the room rippled three times before settling back to how it was before. He frowned slightly before copying his actions, only this time the result was different and the air in the center of the room dissolved, slightly revealing the glimpse of a gray room to me as well as the faint gleam of familiar crystals.

"Are those-?"

"It's called äerint, and yes, they are the same as before."

"Did you name them that?"

"No."

I would have asked him more since his gray crystals are really quite interesting, since they don't follow the patterns normal crystallokinesis does. Instead, I only furthered the silence between myself and this odd stranger.

I wonder how much he remembers of me. I expected anger of some kind after what Tia and I did, but he hasn't even mentioned such a thing. If he really is Onyx, he has never acted like it all the times I have seen him, but his deeds on a larger scale are things that Onyx would want if he had the power. They do look like each other, but only barely. Sombra is decently handsome, I suppose. I'm not exactly one to bother to judge that of anypony. Onyx was quite filthy and plain, thought a little girlish. Sombra is decidedly more masculine, and looks quite clean. I have no idea how old either is, and I last saw Onyx when he was... oh, I forget how old he appeared to be, but the pony I am travelling with appears to be older. Perhaps they were brothers?

I suppose I'll find out either way.

...

"Princess, do you have anything better to do than stare at me?"

For a brief moment our gazes met. It's been over a thousand years and that's the first thing he says? I am still waiting for him to belt out a declaration of revenge, to do anything that suggested ulterior motives instead of apathy and slight irritation.

I resume steering as soon as his gaze falls to the deck's floor. "So what exactly is this?"

"A boat," I mumble, "think of it like a carriage or a train. Usually they go over water, but this is an airship and I do not think I need to explain that to you."

"Why is it called an airship instead of an air-boat?"

"A ship is another name for a boat."

He blinks once in what appears to be comprehension and then looks out at the sea. "Why is this lake so big?"

"Have you never seen the ocean before?"

He shook his head. "I wouldn't be asking if I had."

Congratulations Onyx, for once in your life you have made a fair point.

I close my eyes for a moment, not just to push away the scowl I wanted to make or the memories of a stupid young colt, but to bring a clear picture of the map I was conjuring to mind.

A soft 'poof' and the audible dispel of sparkles told me I had succeeded before I had even opened my eyes.

When I did open them a map of most of the world now rested in a sparkling turquoise cloud of magic. The lands were drawn in clean lines of navy ink on crisp parchment and each city had its name in clear print next to the precise location.

By levitating it over to him just as the sparkling aura dispelled, I was able catch him off-guard with the small token. His expression going from nonchalant to stunned as a crimson bolt of magic swiped it up. He quickly unrolled it and exclaimed: "That's an ocean?!"

"Yes, we will be travelling across most of the eastern sea; do you see where it is?"

"How can this much water be in one place? It's all just sitting here, right below us!"

"I suppose the library's books will have something that can explain that. Would you say you are a big reader?"

"That's an understatement, I'd say I'm a full-blown bibliophile."

After this statement we both returned to relative silence that had defined most of this trip so far. He was only a few paces away from the wheel, and snuck peeks at the map often while silently refusing to go to close to the modest guardrail around the deck. I noticed that he either seemed to loathe eye contact, be distracted, or have an unnatural love of wheels as he watched the ship's great gold-colored wheel spin with an expression that suggested either scattered thoughts or a lack of amusement.

"So, Princess, what are your plans?"

I was staring out at the sky, a few faint wisps of cloud floating not far above us when he said this.

Princess? Why did he choose to only call me this? Was he not known to come up with obnoxious, if well-wrought aliases for Cadance and Twilight Sparkle? Or was he just waiting to coin a name once he had the material to use against me and the opportune moment? Perhaps that is why he refrained from anything. It does not change how much I despise nicknames.

"Since it is my cousin Neptune who knows the most about the shark that was found, I will steer this ship towards his realm and pay him a visit, with you accompanying me."

He certainly looked much more attentive now. "How come we can't just teleport there?"

"Neptune changes the palace where he currently resides every four months, and in no particular order. He never releases the coordinates of any of his cities and is hardly on decent terms with any cartographer that has ever lived. He hates the idea of one teleporting to Aquastria so much that he expends massive amounts of energy on counterspells and barriers at all times, discourages tourism of any sort, and there are also some environmental hazards with your proposal of teleportation."

"How would you describe Neptune's personality?"

"Oh, him? He is generally a whiny sourpuss, stick in the mud, who is nothing but tiresome to deal with. On occasion he can be quite a blowhard, but mostly he just acts like somepony with something shoved where the sun does not shine. Only, we will be the ones who are in pain from dealing with him."

"So a nicer version of Celestia, only he's a territorial nut with a border control obsession who resides in a country we can't get into?"

I'll let him have one rude remark about my sister before I decide to tell him off for insulting somepony who isn't even here to witness his remarks. Celestia was not a good pony a thousand years ago and was an even worse sister, but she is not what he makes her out to be since his understanding of her is unlikely to go far.

"There is a way in that I do know of, and you will see it when we get there."

I received no reply from him since he was quite busy with that look of apathy he manages to effortlessly pull off. Will he maintain it for all eternity? It isn't like there's anypony who would be able to stop him. This behavior is so uncharacteristic from what I remember, it was as if he needed somepony to remind him he was a dethroned tyrant who was responsible for the death and misery of so many.

Right now I had to be as cool and distant as I could, at least most of the time. I was not in ideal company since he was still too unpredictable for me to even consider interacting with, all due to his abnormal behavior. It was not very hard either, as I am asocial in nature. But I must admit, he is a bit intriguing. I can't say that for too many ponies.

Maybe he had some kind of partial amnesia like the rest of the Crystalline ponies and this lead to his current state. It might not be likely, but maybe I would be able to tell if-

"Princess, are you going to stare at me disdainfully all day?"

There was a trace of snark in his voice as he said this, still acting as if he were loitering by the wheel instead of just standing here near me. Another moment of silence passed that was so heavy, even the clouds passing above seemed to press down, and the blood in my ears was all I could hear, along with my own heartbeat in this deathly silence that even I didn't fully appreciate anymore.

He could be, came the echo of a thought from deep within my mind, he could be the bratty little colt, after all who's to say I would recognize him if he were full grown and altered by whatever magic he must have meddled in since I last saw him?

There is only one way to find out.

"Maybe I will, Onyx," I hissed.

Those were the magic words, at the mere mentioning of the name a dark, red, hot flame was lit in his eyes and the ship itself seemed to buckle with tension as wisps of crimson and dark aura drifted off of his form, He spat his next words through bared, gritted teeth a full-on scream of seething rage within him only barely contained.

"I'M. NOT. ONYX."

It seemed as though the world around us was static and had no reaction to his shout as a result. This only amplified the anger he put into each growled syllable so it felt comparable to the Royal Canterlot Voice. But now he was not the only one angry. All I did was call him a name, a pony's name.

"WELL SCREAMING AT ME SURE PROVES THAT!"

"My name is Sombra," he said quiet, dark, and angry while quickly striding over to the office door.

"...and I'm not Onyx, but I have a feeling you know exactly what I am."

I only watched as the door slammed.

"Then prove it," I whispered after the longest time, when there was nopony around to listen only to realize he already had, long before either of us had set a hoof on the Sky Scraper's deck and before I ever knew the moon's cold energy.

'Magic wants to be free.'

He had told me that once, ages and ages ago.