Divine Move

by Ice Star

十 (Life is Suffering and Sombra Knows it)

Ponies are fond of conversation that they believe will add meaning to their lives. It stops being funny until somepony decides to say something ironic, but most of the time they just talk on and on until the air is cluttered with their meaningless garbage and ill-chosen phrases. Most of the time I can get somepony to stop talking by screaming at them and threatening their lives.

Other than that, I don't pay them any attention. There is no reason to. I'm not a nihilist. The lives of ponies are quite meaningless. There is no reason for them to be here.

So yes, life is meaningless. Unless you're me. End of story.

As Pest leads the way through the streets of Canterlot that lead closer to the castle, he won't stop talking.

Most of what he says has no point. I don't care that he came from Whinneyapolis to return to Canterlot where he was born or that he survived being struck by lightning when he was younger. I simply wait for him to get to the point where he explains what he thinks I'll be so helpful for. I'm surprised that he thinks I won't ditch him if I find out this isn't interesting.

He's still going on, right now it's something about that cloud city, well at least the one around these parts, I've been to the smaller one in the south. Weather magic is still something I don't have much knowledge on so I wasn't sure how that city was constructed. I did know that I am unlikely to ever visit one again considering how much I-

"Are you even listening to me?"

"No."

"Well, I was about to tell you what I needed you to do."

"Finally! I've always been one for killing time but your attempt at banter is what really causes it to die. It suffers because of ponies like you."

Mayfly mutters something I also don't care to listen to and bows his head slightly. "Well anyway we're here now."

Since this section of city is too close to the castle for my tastes, I don't know it very well. It seems that Mayfly has lead me to the borders of the castle gardens themselves. There are flowers of all kinds growing on neatly trimmed plants that surround Canterhorn Mountain. A waterfall pours down the cliff face and a river stems away from this spot. I can't see where it goes past a few trees but it must be the same river that I saw winding its way under a few bridges back in the more populated areas of the city. Luckily there aren't any ponies here.

Just flowers. Too many flowers.

What exactly does he want me to do, though? Pick flowers? Become a gardener?! What is it that this child could possibly want me to do?

"Eerr... Mister Mercenary, are you okay?"

"I want to light everything in the immediate vicinity on fire."

"I think that's normal...?"

"Also, I will simply mention this now and then if you persist in such behaviours I will threaten you like everypony else: Do not refer to me with any form of polite, gender specific titles, only myself and ponies I have no desire to harm are allowed to do so, but only if I grant them permission. You have no permission to do such things. Keep this in mind. I am not Mister, Missus, Lord, Lady, Duke, Duchess or any variation to you."

This greatly confuses Mayfly. "But I don't know your name, so what am I supposed to call you if I don't know your that?"

I peer over the hedge that separates the garden from the empty back road that we're on. That's one of the conveniences of Canterlot. Some sections are always traveled frequently while others, like this one, remain unfrequented often. I turn back to this little pest.

"You do realize I can be referred to through context alone? I don't need to be called any sort of name. All you do have to do is give the implication that you're talking to me."

"Oh. Alright then, anyway do you wanna hear what I'd like you to do?"

"Humor me."

"Well, you were listening to what I said on the way here weren't you?"

"Absolutely not."

A brief glance in the direction of Mayfly confirms, much to my horror, that he will speak again.

...

It seems that history has repeated itself. It may not be history to me but am I some sort of magnet for annoying and possibly delusional foals?

According to Mayfly, the weather accident that should have fried him and spared me this pointless errand also altered his senses in some way. He began to see things shown in fire, or so his tale goes if I bothered to listen to every ramble he went on.

Mayfly saw things and places he had never seen before reflected in the flames and not long after that they began to come true.

The last pony I knew who saw things envisioned a crown on his head and blood on his hooves.

He speaks of how he saw a cave behind this waterfall.

Only now does he tell what he requests of me.

"Basically," begins Mayfly, "I want you to use a spell to help us sneak behind that waterfall. Maybe there's a treasure there, I mean why else would a place be shown to me?"

Perhaps it's so I can dispatch of you for wasting my time.

My name is Sombra, as of late I'm using my own finite magic to keep myself alive. I'm 1,123 years old and apparently some see it fit to make me an errand pony and I'm entirely sure that if this keeps up my life will fully descend into suffering.

Comments

[NorrisThePony]

"You do realize I can be referred to through context alone? I don't need to be called any sort of name. All you do have to do is give the implication that you're talking to me."

This feels like editor lampshading

[Kaleido]

"I want to light everything in the immediate vicinity on fire."

"I think that's normal...?"

*somehow manages to agree with a series of increasingly annoying sneezes*

"Also, I will simply mention this now and then if you persist in such behaviours I will threaten you like everypony else: Do not refer to me with any form of polite, gender specific titles, only myself and ponies I have no desire to harm are allowed to do so, but only if I grant them permission. You have no permission to do such things. Keep this in mind. I am not Mister, Missus, Lord, Lady, Duke, Duchess or any variation to you."

heh

[Ice Star]

10277261

heh

Sombra is the NB icon we never knew we needed

[MayhemMoth]

"I want to light everything in the immediate vicinity on fire."

"I think that's normal...?"

Sombra should appreciate the fact he just found himself a little arsonist buddy, but Sombra appreciates nothing and has no buddies, so alas.

[Ice Star]

10555615
Sombra appreciates Sombra. That's not nothing.