46 - Talking to Myself
With a hoof, I opened the leathery book. There were weird hoof-written symbols on the first page. My foreleg got heavy as I shuffled through the pages. A particular drawing caught my attention. It depicted a zebra inside a familiar-looking circle. She was gravely injured in several places. I could tell because bones stuck out of her dark flesh.
A gray plane was drawn above the circle. There were white, limbless figures in it; some bigger than the others. One of them was on the edge. The head protruded into the circle while the rest of it still resided within the plane.
I tried to remember where I saw it, but I felt a haze in my mind. My focus waned, yet, I knew with my being that it hadn’t been long since I’d seen it. Somewhere...
“This book is of no importance!” I said.
But it was important. I could sense the urgency. Things had gone astray in Zecora’s hut. A gasp escaped my muzzle as a hidden memory surfaced from the depths of my mind. I hadn’t just seen the circle before, I had been within it.
My foreleg moved by itself and kicked the book in the water. “Not important!”
Why did I just do that? After standing up, I walked to the pool’s edge. I couldn’t see the book anymore, but I didn’t have to. At that moment I remembered what had happened at Zecora’s hut. It hadn’t been the party that had gone down. It had been a ritual. And if I was in the center of it, then that ghost…
I looked at my reflection in the pool. Show yourself, imposter!
My mouth morphed into a grin as if by itself. “Hello there, little filly.”
I shuddered. That’s the weirdest thing I ever heard myself say to me.
“You didn’t say it. I did!”
You can hear my thoughts? Cold shivers ran down my spine.
“I’m in your thoughts and all around them. I’m not just inside of you; I am the new you. Darkness incarnate.”
Go away, ghost. Leave me alone!
“It doesn’t work like that, my young host. The crystal sage is here to stay. Now we are one! You can’t get rid of me. And I take offense to being called a mere ghost.”
What are you then?
“You’ve heard my name before, little filly. They speak of me with distaste nowadays, but that’s merely because I was defeated. Only winners get to write history books, you see? There was a time when my name was spoken in fear and adoration. I might not be getting the respect I deserve for a time, yet my very name still holds its former glory even after ages past. I am—King Sombra.”
I shuddered at the stream of words coming out of my mouth.
“I would have brought about a golden age for the Crystal Empire if it weren't’ for those meddling princesses. But thanks to you, sweet vessel, my time shall come again.”
Have you been hiding in my mind for all this time?
“I inhabited you for days. And our roles are soon to change.”
Well, you’re scaring me, so you should just go away! I have enough on my mind as it is. I don’t want to deal with you, too.
“It is you who interferes with me. You and your petty desires. But I’m gaining ground. Every day. In time, I shall occupy you entirely, and you’ll be powerless to resist my influence.”
It was you! You made me do all those things.
“You have it all backward. I provided you with my power since we were merged. It was your blind ambitions that made ponies wary of you.”
No...
“When I occupied your body I couldn’t keep your biology running with my unbound spirit alone. I needed your soul to stabilize the life energies within you. I needed a working vessel for my purposes. It gave me time to alter your physiology before binding with it. I harnessed the ripping energies you released upon drinking the healing potion. When I secured your soul, I left your inhibitions in ruins. The royal future has no use for foalish fears, I deemed. A mistake on my part. Back then, I had no idea about the aspirational monster lurking within you.”
You’re the monster!
“The restrictions you’d been raised up with had held it in check. With those doors brought down, there was nothing to keep back the ambitious beast inside of you from expressing itself. It was apparent from the start. You wanted to get everything you wished for right away. I was already binding to your physical body and couldn’t fix your stern spirit any longer. I had to fight you just to keep your relentless drive at bay.”
It still wasn’t me. You’re the reason ponies hate me!
“I was barely even present until just recently. The most I could do was take control of your body for short periods of time. I only did that when I had to save you from yourself. I may have also put a suggestion or two into your subconsciousness, on an occasion, but it was still you who was in control, most of the time. My influence was hard-capped but such won’t be the case for much longer.”
What do you even want from me?
“You served your purpose child. I no longer have a need of you. I can keep your body running onward just fine by myself. Drift into the back of my mind and interfere with me no more.”
No! This is my body. You had no right invading me.
“You were as good as dead; were it not for me, you’d stay dead. Your soul was already drifting away when I entered you. I jump-started your bodily functions and sealed your soul back inside the body. I saved your life, foal! Be grateful for the passive existence I offer you.”
I just wanted to fix my horn...
“You got more than just your horn back. I fulfilled your foalish fantasies! The things you were afraid to pursue; I gave you the strength to take them. I opened the doors for you. And you’re destined to gain so much more: power, adoration, respect and immortality.”
I never agreed to any of this. It’s not the destiny I want.
“It matters not anymore. As of now, your wants and desires are irrelevant. I’m in control.”
No! I won't let you take over. My head resisted, but I managed to jerk it away from the reflection in the pool. The muscles were slow to react, but I forced my will on them and made the body move.
“You...”
I willed my mouth shut and pressed my tongue against my palate. It tried to wiggle a little, but I tensed it up and forced it still.
You can’t fight me forever, foal, a voice in my mind boomed. If you stand in my path, I’ll destroy you from within!
“I’ll…” I focused hard and took full control of my tongue. “I’ll find a cure and get rid of you.”
There is no cure for having a soul...
“Maybe Twilight has something in her books.”
We’ve read those, already. You’re just struggling against the inevitable.
“I haven’t read all of her books. Twilight keeps one in the corner of the library behind a life-bound shield.”
Hmm… Perhaps, we can still work together. For a time… Your drive cannot counter me if it aims at my target. Since we both seek the book which Twilight harbors, there’s no reason why we couldn’t work in unison in that pursuit. The spells transcribed in it could facilitate my rise to power. With the secret of ascension, we could gain more than you ever dreamed possible. I could become immortal, and in a way, so would you.
“Why would I want to extend a life that is not worth living? What is the point of existence if you can’t even share it with your friends?”
They are not your friends anymore!
“It’s because you robbed me of them! But I’ll make them my friends again. I have the power to do so. Ponyville is where I’ve lived all my life. I’m going to make it my home again, and I won’t let anything stop me!”
Yes, deploy your inner drive to bring down the doors but do not abolish your resolve. Acknowledge that Twilight Sparkle is sure to stand in our way again. We need to be smart if we are to get our hooves on the book. Careful planning is a must, so too is playing to our advantages. Hitting her where she least expects it is our best bet. We’ll have to deactivate the life-bound shield somehow. This body got bruised all over the last time we met with this new princess. We’ll have to use everything we have in our arsenal. Staying undetected until the last moment is key. A camouflage should prove invaluable in infiltrating her castle. It could even offer some protection when push comes to shove. My head turned to the black swimsuit.
I grimaced. “I’m not wearing that hazard to personal space, no way!” I sent forth a burst of my inner flow, launching an energy ball at it. The stretchy clothes burst in smoke. “Dumb, tight fabric!”
That… was a stupid thing to do...
“I’m more than I was. I’ve seen the spell she weaved when she tried to cut off my horn. She used Alicorn magic to cast it. I’m even better at those sorts of spells than she is. The razorblade spell I could cast would put hers to shame at any time.”
I charged my horn and weaved my channels in a circular pattern. My endpoints connected to the channels themselves. I pushed with my inner flow and a bright circle formed in front of my horn.
Channels weaved faster and faster, filling the surface inside the circle. “Twilight wouldn’t be able to attach her focal points on the moving surface, just like she couldn’t do it on a spinning circular saw.”
The formed disk span twice as wide as the one Twilight had cast, and I wasn’t even trying.
“Channels impact at their tips, but with the disk, the endpoints are joined together and self-supportive.” I formed a shield around a rock that stuck out of the ground and launched the magic saucer at it.
The disk passed through both my shield and the hard stone as if there weren't any obstacles in its wake.
The upper part of the rock slid down and tipped over. Smoke gushed out of a thin line in the ground behind the rock where the circular, magic construct disappeared into.
The disk had just cut through the solid rock as if it were nothing and I hadn’t even put much focus into the spell.
“Thanks to your meddling with my body, Sombra Ghost, I’m pro… I’m really good with Alicorn magic. I can make the razorblade spell ten times stronger than the one Twilight cast when she tried to cut off my horn. Nopony can stop me!”
No! Sweetie Belle, I can sense your thoughts. You intend to confront Twilight directly yet again. Don’t lose us in your blind ambitions! We have to be smart in getting the Alicorn’s book. Yours is not a good plan! Remember the last time you crossed your horn with Twilight! If you rush it, you’ll doom us both.
“This time it’ll be different. I’m different. Nopony can stop me from fulfilling the plan. Most importantly, you can’t stop me. You’re only in control of me when I let you. And I’m not letting you manipulate me anymore. This used to be my body, my mind and my life. I’m taking it all back!”
I shook my head in the hopes that it would block out the foreign thoughts. My thrashing about didn’t help any.
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Comment section minigames for the Talking To Myself chapter of the story Sweetie Belle Gains a Soul. Anypony can play them in this comment section of this story.
GAME 1
Does this story remind you of a song that you know? If yes, post it in the comments in the following format:
- Chapter of the story that this song is relevant to.
- A link or embedded Youtube video of it.
- Percentage of correlation (0% being an unrelated song, 100% being a song written exactly for this story).
- A reason why this song reminded you of this story or the excerpt of the lyrics.
Epica - The Essence Of Silence — Correlation: 50% (Lyrics)
Is it a doubt you try to hide — Just have an open look inside — It’s just a dreary memory stuck in your mind
Metallica - Sad But True — Correlation: 50% (Lyrics)
I'm your dream, mind astray — I'm your eyes while you're away — I'm your pain while you repay — You know it's sad but true
Stabbing Westward - The thing I hate — Correlation: 55% (Lyrics)
Lost in a world of doubt and insecurity — Nothing that you hold sacred, nothing you believe — Your life is a contradiction
Asrai - Tower — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
She has met the stranger inside — Looking in the mirror — She saw the face behind
Blind guardian - Twilight Hall — Correlation: 45% (Lyrics)
the mirror calls my name — it's showing me the way — into the dark
Lunascape - Mindstalking — Correlation: 50% (Lyrics)
Calling out your enemy inside — Like mindstalking
Thoushallnot - Inside of You, in Spite of You — Correlation: 40% (Lyrics)
I burn still when you close your eyes — I am the soul that never dies when flesh is weak
GAME 2
Record yourself reading this story aloud. Upload your mp3 to MLP: Audiobooks, for instance, and paste the link to your audio or video in the comments.
Poor Sombrero, his plans stopped by a hard headed filly, let's hope that Twilight don't discover him inside, or Sweetie just let it out, or end without horn or magic... Maybe he could teach her some Dark Magic, enough to give a surprise to Twilight, if she can use it of course...
9775372
I think he feels like when you're riding a stallion, but then the stallion sees a mare and doesn't want to go anymore where you want him to go but instead jumps on the mare and starts doing her while you're still on him. That kind of feeling.
Who knows what the ending will be like. Well, I do cause I wrote it, but I ain't telling.
It was actually Twilight who taught her a new trick. What Sombra taught her failed. She's going to do things her own way now.
¡I did not see this
coming!
9775511 And you said that surely nothing was amiss. You were so wrong!
9775793
an exorcism is in order
please dont kill sweetie if you can help it 
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and as i said before now its going to drive me crazy until you post next chapter
9784551 Kill her? I, as a writer, saved her life. Well, I kind of also put the deadly potion on Zecora's shelf, but that's a minor detail.
In this universe, exorcism is not known. There has never been a case of a soul possessing anything other than a corpse.
9784669
boo negative black hole sucking potential from a story booo
9784708 You can't have a story without conflict. It's that very conflict that makes the characters grow.
9784724
boo i like it better when the conflict come from external sources not shoving a soul down her throat!
9784744 That soul saved her life, which she endangered herself.
9784751
makes no difference when you use it as the main plot and that plot has the soul rip hers apart i hope she can pull herself together????
9784765 Let's hope she can.
9784774
or i'll send the memez virus youre way
but to be honest i would know how
i mean you better
9784774
AGAIN why does every pony have to die
knightly bad dragon is killing sweetie belle!!
9784793 Shh! Shh! Let's keep it down or knighty will hear you. I'm kind of on probation with the admins. I don't want to get on their bad side.
Sweetie Belle won't die, okay? Calm down now.
9784795
sweetie bot says she will infect you pc and post all you private info to the dark equestrian web data bass so all the ponies will hate you mewhahahaahha
9784832 Okay, okay! I'll post a happy ending.
There will be cupcakes and everything at the end.
9784859
yaaaaaay! you beter not be lying
9784870 If I am, I'm going to hear it from knighty. Sweetie Belle is his fave.
9784970
times infinity
she deserves all the love in the universe!
I suspected it was Sombra after Sweetie got an ability to defect crystals.
11086906 I actually hinted at it before. In the prologue alone, the word crystal is used 4 times.