Favorable Alignment

by Ice Star

Chapter 12: Cousins' War

Sombra:

I imagine then when you happen to half-accidentally live for as long as I have, you'll acquire at least one or two beliefs that border on prejudice, if only because they can't be justified well enough to pass for much else.

Me, I hate kings, or at least that is what I'll chose to say. Anypony who willingly chooses or desires to be a king - there's no good reason to - I will have a personal loathing for, if I don't already. There are so many ways to use power and rule, that to settle on being a king just ends up being silly. They're idiots that are all talk who can't bother to just sit on that throne of theirs and think about anything. Each of them is just some power-mad usurper or another undistinguished heir who thinks that whatever mess they inherited is either the best thing in the world or something they can fix with a few official decrees. Some are merely a living puppet with snickering advisor, or a realm of blind ponies following them. Lastly, there's always the consorts who are worth only an official footnote.

When I was younger, I would pore over everything and anything with words as soon as I managed to learn to read. History texts, biased pamphlets hidden away, foalish breezie tales, and novels. Each one of them only acted as an expected confirmation to the hatred of the king's crown I was forced to endure.

Kings are not only stupid, but incredibly dull as well, and history has not proven me wrong. It is not hard to notice that they define themselves by the crown most of all. Queens seem to vary quite a bit, and I have to say that there appear to have been quite a few deliciously witty ones that have found their way onto the leaves of books I've read. I can't really compare them to one as grand as myself, but even these inferiors were slightly less atrocious than their crowns and horrid alignments indicated. I would never want to be in the vicinity of most, as they are still ponies and other creatures I hold little to no love for.

Princes aren't much I ever bothered to look at, seeing as they usually became kings and were entitled naifs groomed so the crown might rest comfortably upon their empty skulls.

Princesses are the most annoying, almost-anarchic, and even amusing bunch of all royals. Some were capable, some were conniving, others were cutesy imbeciles. They have the most variation of any crown-bearing fools that I have seen. Why, I've already encountered four examples: Princess Tyrant, Pink Princess, Princess Possibly-Dead-Inside, and Princess Charming.

So it goes without saying that I would resent Neptune for his title alone, since I doubt he could make up for it if it was something he chose for himself. Luna was visibly annoyed with something Neptune was saying, which was giving him less Sombra Points by the second. Neptune himself had clearly never taken any lessons in composure and looked as if he was trying not to admit my sheer superiority to him very, very hard, clearly not realizing Sombra Points don't apply simply for one's effort. I don't think sarcastic star stickers that I conjure up to aid me with vandalizing bad kearning in Canterlot work underwater, or I might have given him some. I'm also pretty sure that based on this stallion's expression he has never eaten anything but the most rotten of aquatic grapefruits that are at least half as bitter as my life outlook.

While Luna attempts to deal with the pest that happens to be relatives, Neptune brushes off something she says - which earns a glare from me - and struts over to his throne.

Clearly, Neptune tries too hard. His stride is so terrible I could be occupied for hours just pointing out why mine is better.

What really is too flamboyant, by any standards to the point where I wouldn't even want to try to pull this off, is the throne that Neptune sits in.

I haven't absolutely no idea what the thrones in Canterlot Castle look like, but I can certainly say that if it's anything like the rest of the castle it shouldn't look as awful as this one. Yet, I suppose that like the rest of this castle, the throne was only going to reflect something about the sub-standard god.

Like the cave of the dragon that Mac just had to get kidnapped by, there was a hoard in the throne room of Styx Palace. Piled around the shell and pearl adorned chair that rose above the clutter on a small platform was meaningless, golden garbage.

Chalaces, helmets, scepters, and many other things, like gems roughly half the size of a pony's face lay in a messy heap. His trident now sticks out from the clutter, causing a few goblets to roll farther down the pile.

I blink and decide to hold back my disgust. If he were to take all this trash - for I can't see a single piece of art among this collection - he could melt it down and make something both useful and well-crafted, or even use his magic to reforge it into something that's useless out of context, like money.

I've done that before, it's a nice hobby. There's plenty of opportunity for such things in Las Pegasus.

"Why does your demon look like he wants to steal from me?" Neptune sniffs.

I narrow my eyes, but say nothing. Your demon...

"He's not mine, Neptune," Luna replies from her place next to me. Her mouth is set in an unamused frown that doesn't look half-bad at all...

"It seems we'll be disagreeing on that. You have the audacity to bring a demon, a Shadow, into my realm, my very own palace like it's nothing!"

"And apparently you have the audacity to forget that this demon, whose name isn't even fit for your tongue, can understand everything you say as I stand right here like it's nothing!"

A slight movement near Luna's throat tells me that she's stifling laughter and choosing to stay stoic.

"I allowed you in here only at my belligerent cousin's insistence, for it is her I will converse with, not you. I never even gave you permission to speak."

"First off, I'm the belligerent one around here, which I imagine you'll learn soon once the voices in your head stop telling you that pegasus chemtrails are dousing your ocean with assorted potions to gain control of your mind. Second, I'm sure that somepony who isn't as apathetic to your existence as I am and has terrible interior design taste, much like yourself, would appreciate it if you learned not to harbor false impressions."

King Chemtrail clearly has had most of his mind eaten by chemicals that deserved a better meal than this imbecile's mind. I'm almost surprised that him and Purple Eyesore aren't crafting aluminum replicas of everything together and sharing what their lobotomy experiences were like.

"What about this impression that I harbor could be so false against the likes of you?"

"You're under the impression that I care."

His quick change in expression of disgusted to furious would have been accompanied with some much louder remarks had Luna not given me a I know he's fun to tease, but did you really have to do that?' look and speedily changed the subject.

"I only bring Sombra here because he is accompanying me for my trip. I see no reason for you to hold such an automatic disliking for him. Sombra may be insolent, but he's not going to do much more than sass you."

I stare at Fish silently as they continue to talk.

"Well your demon certainly isn't polite."

"He's not mine, Tuna, and I would suggest that you call Sombra by name."

I snorted at Luna's remark. It was her that taught me that 'tuna' was a kind of fish on our way to Styx.

"I've already allowed it in my castle, which is more than enough," Neptune huffs from the throne.

I don't bother to suppress a growl - which startles Fish and catches Luna's attention - because any more and Neptune will be crossing quite a few lines where being Luna's god-cousin won't save him from my temper.

"If you call him 'it' one more time," Luna says slowly, "I will be calling you Tuna for the next millennium."

"Why shouldn't I refer to the demon properly? His very existence is a-"

"Watch it," I growl.

"See? Your precious companion will easily turn violent and cannot be trusted. If he weren't an immortal mistake because of Celestia this would be one less sin to worry about."

I could dismember Toxic Tuna in at least twelve different ways right now...

"You don't even know anything about him and refuse to acknowledge him by name, so of course I won't be needing to consider any judgement of yours on Sombra."

"Well then, little cousin, I see nothing to know about this demon."

"That is your loss."

"She's right, you know. I'm the best thing to happen to everypony."

Neptune has the nerve to ignore me and go on talking to Luna even though he's very bad at pretending I'm not in the room. He's honestly got more against me than Celestia and I'm not entirely sure why. When you're as experienced with hatred as I am, or simply as observant, you're able to tell when the kind of hate you see is personal or the effect of something trivial, and Neptune's hate is too strong to be the latter.

"What is it that you seek, Luna, and why do you think that I can give it to you, or that it can be obtained at all?"

"I want answers, first and foremost, Neptune. Once I have answers, I will be able to prevent whatever catastrophe that you know will be upon us all if we sit idly by. I seek whatever information you can offer as that shark was found within your domain."

This steadfast reply of Luna's seems to both terrify and trigger Toxic Tuna. "What do you think the corpse of one dead fish that washed up on the western shores is going to mean? It won't do anything, nor will fighting invisible enemies, because that worked so well all those years ago, didn't it?"

"We didn't know what we know now," Luna replies, her eyes shining with her defiant spirit and the knowledge that Neptune had unknowingly given us both, no matter how small the fact.

"It doesn't matter! We still know nothing and your actions aren't helping anypony. Do you really think your death or glory approach will work here?"

"I do."

I looked from Neptune to Luna, it was clear that this was no longer an argument I could easily participate in and it would be best just to listen, since there was bound to be more to learn from each venomous reply and subtle gesture between the two foes. In this verbal battle, it was easy to see the volumes of everything unspoken where I was no longer part of the context, and it was best I just appear to look at Fish and appear bored.

"You're even less reasonable than Celestia!" Neptune shouted, "Why can't you just accept that they're gone? Are you still so mad with grief that you'll risk everything in a gamble so careless? The time you spent has made you unstable and almost as dangerous as what you had been before your return to Midgard."

Luna's glare was steely and bored into her cousin while I gleefully awaited the cue to attack the king behind my apathetic composure.

"Just look at yourself, Luna. Listen to reason. Your mind is weak as ever as you chase dreams. You should believe me when I say that they are gone, cousin. Go back to Canterlot with Celestia, who should be able to get something through that thick skull of yours."

"No," Luna says, and I don't even to bother to hide the pleased smirk at the stubbornness she exhibits, since it isn't like those two are paying any attention to me.

"Does Celestia even know that you're here?"

For a split second, I get a few words in, a simple and automatic statement upon realizing that Luna won't tell even the smallest lie.

"Did you just imply that a princess would leave her country without a ridiculous tearful farewell to at least somepony that loves and adores her? Wouldn't that cause some chaos sooner or later?"

It seems that Luna is quite the actress, having hid the brief flash of appreciation in her eyes almost instantaneously and scowled darkly.

"Silence, Sombra," she commanded, her voice even lower than normal.

Even when she's faux brooding... oh gods...

"Did I upset the fragile little princess?" I taunt, adding a faint snicker that is almost entirely muffled by the bubble of water around me.

Toxic Tuna is quite poisoned by our absolutely spectacular banter and gives a look to Luna as if the wretch had the nerve to command her not to return another mock-insult.

She listens and I further contemplate ideal deaths for her cousin. If Fish were just an oddly shaped rock instead of an animal maybe I could have more potentially gruesome courses of action.

"You might heed the words of this beast, cousin. He clearly is onto more than you think."

At the word 'beast' I dig my hooves into the floor and try to will the spell on my fangs not wear off. Gritting my teeth - fangs - is such a bad habit. I can break the feeble mind of purple scum but not a simple habit?

I don't want to give him whatever 'proof' he thinks will support his claims.

I want to tear him apart.

It's just too easy, he's a god, but I'm far from his inferior and my life is just as eternal. He'd certainly be an interesting opponent, and maybe even a challenge.

And then there's Luna, who looks so down because of Neptune's words. How did what he say bother her? She mutters something I don't catch.

"Of course Celestia told me. We may not be the closet family in the world, but I still have a right to know my own cousin's welfare. You aren't a stable mare, Luna, and this frivolous adventure is only going to worsen things for others and yourself, not that I imagine you know or care what you put yourself through. If you have any sense at all, you'll ditch your choice in company and go back to Canterlot where Celestia can at least keep an eye on somepony as reckless-"

Don't.

"damaged-"

You.

"-and as much of a liability as you are."

Dare.

One split second is all it would have taken on land. Everything would move as I intended, my form would not be what it was down here.

Three seconds and I have the tip of Fate's blade in the direction of his neck before Luna can blink and bow her head with shame at whatever it was that he said to her.

Half a second for those eyes I hate to look away from to see what I'm doing, and shock to overtake almost every bit of despair that had temporarily taken hold of her.

I don't bother to to count how long it takes for this horrid king to scream out that a monster is in the castle and ready his magic. He doesn't realize that the monster is him, and he prepares a spell that I'm willing to take on, but Luna clearly recognizes the cyclone of water and enchantment he builds.

One second for her horn to light and her, Fish, and I to disappear from Styx and the world under the water all together.

...

I didn't have to be standing right next to Luna to know that she was upset. The usually relaxed atmosphere of the Sky Scraper was drenched with a magic aura that was particularly collapsing in on itself from anxiety.

Luna herself only looked like she had misplaced something and was slightly frustrated upon not being able to remember what she had misplaced in the first place. I'm surprised that she can still concentrate on steering, because I'm having a hard time focusing on anything that isn't her, knowing what emotions are writhing within her mind and how she could let a spell loose at a moment's notice and lose control for just a minute.

"Sombra, why are you so compelled to stare at me?"

Making no direct eye contact, her gaze strays to the ragged hem of my cloak instead. The tone of her voice is remarkably composed, except for a slightly sullen timbre that appears when she's anxious about midway through her sentence, as if she is trying to distance herself.

All obvious signs of Luna internally panicking.

"You're not okay."

Luna won't look at me and continues to steer the ship.

"Outside of being a general prick, what was it that he said that upset you so much?"

"Do you have to insult every member of my family? Can you quit sparing me your criticisms and just tell me how dreadful you find my behaviors to my face?"

"Don't change the subject. I don't insult you because I don't have anything against you that is strong enough to prompt such a reaction from me," I sit down next to her now that I've gotten Fish situated in my cabin and punctuate my statement with a generous eye roll, "I just want to know what's wrong."

"I don't want to talk about what Neptune said."

"Is that the only thing that's bothering you?"

"No! No it isn't!"

I sit silently, waiting for her to continue. This behavior doesn't shock me. The first thing I had noticed when her spell returned us to the ship was that she was much, much more upset than she would let on, which isn't exactly like most ponies. In fact, I was pleased to know that a creature who felt things so deeply existed, since emotional connections to magic like hers are very rare. Most of the the time they end with idiots like Onyx having outbursts, or incomplete senses of 'awareness' gained from creatures with the usual amount of superficiality messing with poorly developed magic that gets them nothing. Never has it been the unique creativity and zest that Luna has.

Because of this, it was all the more saddening when she was upset.

"It was never just that!"

I watch as Luna ceases sitting and starts to pace across the front of the deck - the proper term for this eludes me - where she raises and lowers the moon.

"It is everything at this point!"

I don't need to ask what 'everything' entails. She isn't talking to me any longer, but is bound to answer herself, or at least expand upon her statement soon.

For a brief moment, Luna flashes an angry look to none in particular - and it happens to fall upon the Sky Scraper's rail - and raises her hoof to strike out of frustration, the first colors of sunset behind her.

"Each possibility I bring up, gone! Every answer I've waited for, gone! Harmony between what family I have left, gone! Countless theories I have proposed, gone!"

Her voice cracks at the last refrain.

"Any time I try to start an investigation, Celestia still discourages me, although she does it so kindly this time. Too many years have passed and there's no place to start and there's never been anything to explain what happened until now! Neptune's just short-sighted, he gave up on Aunt Corah and Uncle Ponn coming back ages ago, but I can't give up on Mom and Dad, on somepony surviving..."

Luna stares at the railing that she bent with a single hit.

"...whatever took them..."

She swallows, wincing at how small her voice sounds.

"...whatever took them, it's still out there."

Her ears flop and she returns her forehoof to the ground and hangs her head once again before falling silent.

"Luna?"

She shivers slightly, only now realizing that it's nearly dusk, and the moon still isn't out. Hastily, Luna lights her horn and raises it above the horizon over the course of a few minutes without a word or even a glance at the night sky before trodding back to the wheel with heavy hooves.

Luna grabs the spokes of the wheel again, slouching over and tilting her head so her face is hidden. She doesn't acknowledge me.

I clear my throat, and even though she doesn't look at me I see one limp ear prick up slightly before falling back against her head.

"What is it, Sombra?" she asks quietly.

"There's something important about Alicorns I don't think you're telling me."

Luna's wings unfurl and curtain her face and she shivers again.

"If you shut me out, I can't help you."

Luna, who has tolerated so many remarks from me, looks like she's trying to disappear once she catches the notes of irritation that I don't even try to soften.

"So, you're really going to be like this? Hiding? You never hid before."

"I'm not telling you."

Did I almost just laugh? Apparently. "Well you certainly sound adamant, now don't you? What could I possibly do to an Alicorn? I may be immortal but even you Alicorns are still virtually untouchable."

She still doesn't answer.

"You trust me don't you?"

"You could hurt me."

Now I fall silent, partly so she can speak but mostly because I know that feeling all too well.

"If I were to tell you any of this, I would be telling you things that not one pony in the past two thousand years, at the very least, has any knowledge of."

"I see, but are you forgetting that I am dangerous knowledge?"

One of her wings lowers a good deal, so I can see the shadow of her profile.

"You and I both know what dying is, Sombra. None of us are strangers to death, although our exposures to it differ."

I give her the slightest of dirty looks to thank her for reminding me I was used to further a child's genocidal fantasies.

She gets the idea, and continues on. "Ponies die, as do most other animals. Alicorns do not, and somepony as learned as you are surely thinks it would stop there?"

"Don't your bodies regenerate when slayed?"

"Yes, but that does not count as death. It is not final and our souls do not depart this world. Alicorns cannot be brought back by necromancers nor do we lose our mind if we are felled through normal means - which I should mention would be a tremendous feat as we are not slain as easily as mortals." Even though her voice was muffled I was still able to hear what she said.

"There's something more final... for Alicorns?"

"Something I do not wish to tell you."

"Luna... are you scared?"

"Yes," she whispers.

"Do you really trust me?"

She repeats herself and I give a small sigh of relief.

"Do you want to know a secret?"

Was that a nod? It looked like one. Well, here I go...

"Obviously, now that I'm immortal I will never die and since I'm not an Alicorn like you I imagine that whatever you know won't be able to happen to me... can it?"

"No."

"Alright then, since there is no way for me to have Door #1 and get a mortal death... which I suppose is redundant seeing how you speak of it but oh well... and Door #2 of the 'Mystery Alicorn Option' is not available to me, I'll have you know that there is still a way to prolong any regeneration of mine for extended amounts of time."

"You're very talented with regeneration."

"Hey, it's flattering to know that I can piece this handsome face back together after Onyx goes and gets my body blown up. I'll have you know that was difficult too. Anyway, if you're ever tempted to get rid of me all you have to do is dismember me and scatter each piece of yours truly across different parts of the world and wait a few decades, centuries, or some other amount of time until I show up to your current location, incredibly angry."

The only sound I got from her was a faint 'uh'.

"I just told you how to prolong my regeneration - which is known to nopony, much like whatever knowledge you are withholding from me. Luna, I know many things about withholding knowledge because I've done it quite a bit myself and know what can be gained and lost from doing so."

Luna is silent for a very long time, but I don't budge from her side.

"...Is it wrong that I miss them?"

Upon hearing her voice, I'm startled because I know something's wrong because her voice is more than just off, she's choked up.

"...Is it w-wrong that I didn't give up?"

After hours, Luna's wings have grown cramped seeing how limply she drops them to her sides, where they won't even fold and just hang heavily. Once again, she still slouches so I can't see her face.

I stand up and hold a hoof out to where she sits at the wheel since I don't know what to say and there's a lump in my throat. I don't hate it when others cry, at least not in general. It's just a painful reminder to me.

I see her forehooves move in the dark, but it's not exactly easy to tell what she's going to do because a layer of clouds have rolled across the sky so only a few bits of stars' light can shine through. For a moment, it looked as if she would grab my hoof so I could pull her up and see if she'll stay in one of the cabins while I steer. It's not like Alicorns don't sleep.

But that was only for a moment. Instead, I find myself being tackled and feel my back slam into the railing a few paces behind me.

Umm, ouch.

Luna is hugging me, and gods is she strong. I think she might have actually left bruises, but I don't really care because oh my gods Luna is hugging me.

Nopony has ever had the nerve to ever make any kind of contact with me - which I would have been repulsed by had it been anypony else. I've never been hugged before or tackled and hugged - okay I've never been tackled either - and is it just me or is my face warm?

I can see the moonlight outlining her shimmering mane which isn't flowing as much, and the lump in my throat grows when I can feel her crying into my chest. I don't even need the light of the stars to see her silhouette shaking and feel her horn resting on my wither.

As they are made of the same magic I used to shape my cloak, I don't need a proper spell or the light of my horn to reduce the boots on my forehooves to bands smoothly and without a sound so I can wrap my left hoof - which, despite my previous condition always remained dominant - around her while I use my right to comb through her mane, which is indeed physical.

Any other pony who tackled me to the floor of anywhere in any other circumstance would have not not left unscathed had they even succeeded in the first place.

She tightens her embrace, but I don't care that if she were to look at me she could see how horribly my face flushes because it feels hotter than a summer day in southern Equestria right now despite the cool air around me. How could anypony become used to this? I don't bother to answer myself because I'm more worried about her instead of a my own rhetorical commentary.

I don't keep track of the time, but that pesky internal clock can't help but remind be that Luna and I have been here for over and hour.

I don't care, we could sit here the whole night even if she can figure everything out by morning with how nervously my heart must be beating.

I focus on only her and I, us.

Us.

Long after she stops crying, Luna is till hugging me and I don't mind one bit because I'm dreading when she'll wake up and let go, no longer snoring softly and tackling to me the ground once the moon is lowered in the morning.

The both of us are going to be here all night.

Us...

Comments

[Kaleido]

I've done that before, it's a nice hobby. There's plenty of opportunity for such things in Las Pegasus.

ah, so he took up forgery! neat

"Don't change the subject. I don't insult you because I don't have anything against you that is strong enough to prompt such a reaction from me," I sit down next to her now that I've gotten Fish situated in my cabin and punctuate my statement with a generous eye roll, "I just want to know what's wrong."

awwww they kept Fish, destroyer of worlds!

ahh, love me some opening up to each other

[MayhemMoth]

Okay yeah the circumstances are bad but oh, hugging. Soft shadow ponies... I am so weak for them.