Divine Move

by Ice Star

二 (It's Always the Tall Grass)

I have only ever been in the mountains here three times and it was never in a part where ponies lived. The Pink One led me here to the foot of one of the mountains, one that I don't think I ever caught the name of. The fields were gone, there was only gray stone and light flurries of snow, or so she says.

She has been trying to engage in banter the entire time only for me to remain silent, especially since she wasn't saying anything of importance right now and I honestly didn't care. I'm not one for wasting words.

However, if she paid more attention she could see that there was still grass here. We were not that far up the mountain yet. If she happened to be as observant as I was, then she might also be able to see the roughly-made stone stairs among the blades.

Pink One ceased walking, her brow was furrowed. "Okay there's supposed to be a house right here... somewhere... Sombra, do you see a house anywhere?"

I continue to stare at the stepping stones 'hidden' in the grassy slope. "I don't see a house, Pink One."

She sighs and starts to walk in poorly defined circles, all the while looking throughout most of the clearing for a house which she may or may not expect to outright fall out of the sky. As much as I don't hate this one I won't be sticking around to clean up the mess if a house does happen to fall on her.

Instead, I am wondering if the stepping stones have glass – or crystal – beads embedded in them. I saw that at a shop in Canterlot where glass was embedded in the stone to form a picture. I'd like to know how it was done but didn't know the name for the process, which made it difficult to steal a book on the subject. And I didn't want to take it apart since I wouldn't have the slightest idea on how to put it back toget–oh, hey it looks like she's still mumbling about that house and hasn't noticed that I'm staring at the very thing she's looking for.

I was more aware of detail when sealed in an ice-void then she is right now... and she is still muttering about finding that house. Truly brilliant, Pink One. Your navigation skills are rivaling master cartographer, and here I am having never been here before and yet I still managed to locate what you are so desperately searching for but also observing yet another example of silly princesses being incompetent.

You know, Pink One, if you don't figure out anything soon vines are going to sprout up from the ground and grow around your face.

I snort at the thought.

Hilarious.

"Hey, Sombra you've been staring at that patch of tall grass for a few minutes now and it's concerning-"

"Really? Are you sure that your atrocious navigation isn't what we should be worried about?"

She trotted over to where I was. "Wait, what do you mean?" Then she sees the stepping stones and proceeds to facehoof. "Why didn't you point that out before?"

"Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

"Err... why...?"

Oh, don't act so confused, you aren't that dense compared to your acquaintances. "You weren't able to spot those stairs."

"Do you have to nitpick the behavior of others and judge them so insanely?"

"Always."

Once more her hoof met her face. "Let's go, I think I've had enough of your craziness for just a little while."

"Welcome to my insanity, Pink One."

"Can I leave now?" Pink One starts to walk towards wherever this path leads.

"Never," I reply heading after her. The stairs lead up a grassy slope that would be steep to anypony who has never climbed a real mountain and instead decided to accept that the only obstacles to scale around here are the Gemheart Mountains.

Novices.

...

The path lead further away from the city to the last grassy slopes before the mountains rose up to their full height and no grass would grow on the rocky banks. It was too hilly to farm and I wasn't sure a creature that usually had strong social inclinations, like a pony would, want to live here among the occasional tree that made up the Gemheart Mountains' tame excuse for a timberline. Just go over the mountains and through the snow – the difference is remarkable. Most would die after a few hours straying north, probably not even in that much time unless they headed west to Trotland.

Pink One mentions that we should find this house soon. The path has been overtaken by grass and I can see that it has been used recently, but is not heavily traveled. I hope that the residents here don't talk much, I also hope they aren't obnoxious purple-hued brats.

From up here, even as I walk I can see the entire city and I loathe it. It doesn't matter whether it's the green fields, their borders outlined with small groves of trees or the thin streams that weave a path of their own down the windy mountains, I despise every bit of this place. It was never my choice to come here.

The castle is the worst offender: it catches the light of both the sun, the moon, and even the stars, tossing it everywhere and shooting the tri-colored light as if its presence wasn't obvious enough.

I know what happened in there, and the last thing I want is a reminder of how he used me as a weapon to hurt ponies I cared nothing about while he took as much as he could from me and even assumed my name, leaving me to be lost under the surface of that disaster as if I was the one who never should have been there. IT WAS HIM!

All somepony had to do was take a closer look, even it wouldn't have helped.

But ponies are never good at that sort of thing, now are they?

The castle and the city are no longer in my sight, but the house finally is. It is located on a well concealed rocky outcropping on the mountainside and is very small compared to the main city's houses. It couldn't have been more than two stories tall, and didn't look like it would contain more then six rooms. The crystal used to build it is a rough blue gray with very little luster, as if somepony had tried to build a tiny house out of an overcast sky, and not even a nice one at that, as if it were possible for the sky to look awful.

A nearby tree sways in the breeze. For some reason there were twin ropes tied to one of the branches. They hung parallel to each other and were joined by a wooden board that hung at the bottom. Pink One hasn't noticed that I've stopped walking and proceeds to the door.
What was it? I almost feel like such an object is familiar but am entirely sure that I have never seen one before, much less heard of one since I have no recollection of a possible name.

What does it do? Is it some kind of crude pulley? I don't see the wheel, and the ropes aren't positioned right, but what else could it be? Why would you put a pulley system in a tree anyway? Maybe to send supplies up into the boughs? Why would you send supplies up into a tree unless you were scouting something – I'd know, I've been in trees before and unless you have magic or wings or are injured in some way it can be difficult to hoist such objects into this choice of shelter, so establishing a pulley system would make sense if you knew how to make it right!

Nopony here seems to build anything that exceeds four stories with the exception of the castle – which has one ridiculously long staircase where something much more interesting could have been constructed - and that's probably for the better. Basic engineering is a lost art to these ponies.

I hear Pink Princess knock on the door.

Yeah, welcome to my insanity alright.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Trigger warning: the narrator is crazy and morally gray.

How is that a trigger warning?

[Ice Star]

7210749

Some people like fluffy stuff or characters who are sane (especially since this isn't dark enough to need a dark tag and I don't plan on it to go that way) so it was fair to put a warning even though the character was introduced in other stories as such it is still a bit different when they narrate as you get to see more of them and what they really think. Has this comment helped you at all?

[Kaleido]

A nearby tree sways in the breeze. For some reason there were twin ropes tied to one of the branches. They hung parallel to each other and were joined by a wooden board that hung at the bottom. Pink One hasn't noticed that I've stopped walking and proceeds to the door. What was it? I almost feel like such an object is familiar but am entirely sure that I have never seen one before, much less heard of one since I have no recollection of a possible name.

ooh, the joys of swings
maybe he'll actually figure out how to use one one day

[MayhemMoth]

"Welcome to my insanity, Pink One."

"Can I leave now?" Pink One starts to walk towards wherever this path leads.

"Never," I reply heading after her.

I love their banter a lot, actually.

[Ice Star]

10555464
I too enjoy these dorks. I'm curious if present-Sombra is coming across how you imagined he might, too. His internal voice has been largely kept from the series for a reason.