Favorable Alignment

by Ice Star

Chapter 47: Wishing God Among Oblivion's Torment

Sombra:

The air of this place was so thin that when I came to, in physical form once again, I found myself gasping and coughing in an attempt to breathe. My heartbeat was racking my chest and paranoia's usual rottenness make myself feel like I'm looking from the inside out at a world that...

I frown and push myself up, almost falling down. The familiar sensation of pain has already sunk in. Most of it is the tear of whatever muscles I damaged cutting out the teeth stuck so deep in me that no telekinesis could withdraw each literally bloody thing. The knowledge that there would be a scar... and an unsightly, mangled one at that and the possibility of some permanent damage to more than my skin hurt even more. My pride was more intact than ever, but the reality of a scar like that was a blow that I hated to bear.

I unsheathed Fate and began to lit my horn. This place was really just a void and even less exciting than Niflhel, but Niflhel hadn't been an endless stretch of something with only a murky possible horizon and no defined sky or ground. Texture was nonexistent. Even the descriptions of 'monochrome' and 'gray' were grossly extravagant.

I need enemies with better tastes in interior design, less cannibalistic desires, and less desire to mar my beauty because I've rarely been more sold on the desire for revenge than after what has happened now. My ears perk at the sound of me growling at the very thought. Even sound seems out of place here, and I eye what little I have for surroundings carefully. Any feel of magic is as distant and stagnant as they could get. My senses feels barren, which is an outrageous contrast to air of Niflhel, which had nearly crackled with the amount of energy there.

The light of my horn isn't very strong right now and my breaths come in heaves that make my sides ache even more.

Reaching into my mind and beyond that, I latch a special kind of magical grip onto the seething resolve of my temper and twist some of it - no, not in the way of mind control - so that I can siphon energy from it by rearranging extraneous parts into something far more useful. This is far from my limit physically or magically, but I'm going to be needing power in excess. One of my favorite last resort tricks is to feed temper and magic together into something terrifying to any who dare go against me. My anger is nearly unlimited, but my magic isn't and I could never use this infinitely - stress takes hold after a while, and so does mental exhaustion. It only worked with anger too; there wasn't anything else I could channel into battle.

Sheathing Fate again, I give my surroundings another good look. I can never be too careful.

The state of the blood on Fate means I've been here for six days and the caked gore on my coat tells the same story. When all my life in the Empire was spent around death, I had to make do with it and develop some more unusual skills. Stars could guide navigators and the sun could be used in place of a clock, but I hardly ever saw the sun. Time was told on other things for me, and chiefly that meant I used the decay I found around myself.

Still panting, I stood as strongly as I could and waited for my head to clear a bit. I've gone through far worse in much less fit conditions but the stunt I pulled to get here and the lingering haze of my comatose state weren't going to be doing me any favors.

I took off trotting - the fastest I dared to push myself. The spot I arrived in was marked with a few droplets of my blood from some of my wound opening again. I bit back any discomfort that was unable to fade easily and kept trotting, vigilance increasing with each step as I eyed everything warily, gaze sharpening by the moment and the familiarity of paranoia finally etching itself into my shifty gaze.

...

I drift aimlessly and see nothing. Hoofprints and any other signs of lingering life are nonexistent. A while ago, I casually note that the temperature is almost as cold as the void where I was banished. Other than that, I keep my eyes open and ears pricked forward as the back of my mind works on a few back up plans, I'm careful to scrutinize any detail I can locate.

There is a trace of magic here. 'Slight' and 'lingering' would be generous descriptions for the state its in. Whatever was here has little power or hasn't been in this stretch of picturesque nothingness for centuries.

Wanting to draw attention to myself so that I can lure whatever Alicorn was trapped in here into the open, I manifest another one of my crimson cloaks once more. It helps cover up the bleeding from my wound, which is helpful for the next part. I pull up the hood and withdraw Fate again, dismissing a small wave of dizziness and reshape the blade into a crude staff.

I exaggerate my wounded gait to a pronounced, but realistic limp. My cloak, which is bright in contrast to everything, betrays none of my features and covers up an obvious wound; the blood is like a seal between the fabric, mixing with my coat. The severity of my wound was up for a guess to any who observed me - not only would they have to do so from a distance to remain unseen, but the color helped hide the blood.

I looked like nothing more than a mysterious, foolish, and way too out of place stranger of indeterminate species hobbling about with a staff. It was a convincing disguise to all but the most detail-obsessed when it came to all things related to wounds.

Now all I had to do was wait and wander.

I counted an hour passing under my breath, muttering each number in as many different languages and dialects I knew to keep myself occupied on my walk as well as ensure that if I was heard, it would be harder to guess other information about me. I'm a polyglot and know both dead languages and ancient dialects, I can at least put them to use and make them a fine distraction. While I've rarely had to speak anything other than some form of Equuish, knowing eight languages never hurt.

Once I was done counting minutes, I decided to play with a little bit of my magic and probe my internal clock to better gauge the passing time. No proper moonlight, sunlight, shadows, or decay didn't mean I had to be completely oblivious to something so mundane.

I felt the Alicorn sneaking up on me not long after the seventh hour had passed. Their magic was massively depleted; I sensed a yawning gap in their being where thriving magic should be. There was more power than any demigod but barely enough to even compare to Luna's magic - Luna's magic when I first met her, that is.

Soon, I was standing with my back to them in the muted outline that passed for shadows here. Feigning the body language of panic and gradual shift into shock when debating fight or flight was simple. I'm not an actor like Luna, but manipulation and deception are their own arts.

"Who are you?"

The voice was male and older than me. If it belonged to a mortal, I'd guess the speaker was in their older forties. I didn't bother to turn around and shook a little - enough to seem a bit shaken, but nothing else. Subtlety wasn't beyond me and there was both uncertainty and a threat in that tone. Whoever this was, they weren't going to conceal how paranoid they were.

"We have never known any who have worn a cloak like yours, stranger. You are no delusion. Again, We ask: who are you?"

Royal, then and with a Continental accent. That narrows down the list of possible survivors significantly and eliminated the ruling family of Aerogard instantly.

"I'm neither your friend or your enemy, yet I'm not one whose company is given often or easy to keep."

He paused, and the shadow wavered. I caught his wings rustling. "We see you are northern, then. Yet, you sound rather strange. Are you one of Sapphira's Crystalline subjects? Your magic means that you are not of her race, so the borders of the Empire must be finally open. Which of her kin rules now?"

"I'm not from the Crystal Empire, but I'll grant you northern."

I've been looked at with suspicion enough to feel when such an expression is being directed at me.

"We suppose there is some sense in that... you are a unicorn." There was a long pause. "No ordinary unicorn would be able to make it to this place."

"Well, I'm not exactly an ordinary unicorn then, now am I?" I'm unable to resist a taunting tone. It isn't like this god is my equal. Luna is my only peer.

My change from tricky to mocking in tone sparks something, I fell him move and allow him to swiftly pull away my hood before whirling around to face him with more speed than he anticipated from me.

"Demon!" he screams.

'He' is an Alicorn barely taller than Celestia with a shorter horn and a dark coat of inky blue so dark that it is almost black. Only white speckles across his exhausted form dotting his visible ribs, along with the other contours extreme malnourishment that have been made visible are able to show that there are hints of a clearer color in the darkness of his coat. Part of me instantly wishes that he looked a little more like some artistic depictions made him with a coat like the starry midnight sky that Luna perfected. I've seen more than enough starving creatures in my life already.

I miss her sky... the next time I see it, I'm going to have her point out every constellation all over again.

'He' is Noctus Galaxia, high king of the Everfree and Empire of the Alicorns that sprawled across the southern and northern continent, starting from the southern border of the Crystal Empire. He is one of the famed 'World-Tilters', the first Element of Generosity, and the God of Wishes.

I can't say I'm impressed, but Luna loves him and that's okay enough for me to deal with this stranger.

His once short curly mane of dark purple - that's how he has been depicted for ages, and for the life of me, I can't understand why he would have settled with just one manestyle; even I would change mine up just a little bit once in a while if I lived as long as he has - has grown down to his knees and hangs limp and tangled in places. The few sparkles in it are dull. His tail is even longer.

He is without his usual chest plate, crown, and boots, but there are other ways to identify him - his mark, a large wishing star adorns his flank, a trail of smaller stars behind it. Tears shine in the corners of his purple-gray eyes that look tired beyond anything I care to say and his mouth his curled into an angry snarl - not an expression that suits most equines, if I do say so myself - when he sees my smug smirk of victory.

"You disgusting and unnatural mistake!" he spits. His venom is personal and vengeful, but like his snarl, I can hear that his voice was once suited for laughing. "Of course there are more of you pests! You are all the world's evil balled into one, creatures of malice and greed - every worse thing spread across many false souls and bottled into one body! He that calls himself Umbra spoke of things..." I notice his voice catch for a moment. "Things that he spread across the world right under the eyes of-"

He looks away when emotion - old emotion - overwhelms him. As a result, his voice becomes choked before turning on me again, hatred so personal flashing in his eyes as I maintain a bored expression - one that triggers disgust from him.

I allow him to tackle me. Everything about him is drained from what he once was, magic and all. Still, he's very solid and I need to bite back a soft growl as I give him a mild glare. He doesn't exactly have me in the most comfortable of positions either. One powerful forehoof rests on my throat. His eyes aren't that of somepony who is weak; he'll crush it if he wants to. Smothering me in any way would bring him delight.

The other is near my wounded flank, pressing down on it just enough to let me know that he has me pinned down and will gladly shatter my bone. Obviously, he has no clue that all my magic still works here since I'm a creature of dark magic.

Am I impressed? Not really. This is the fourth time an Alicorn has tried to kill me. I'm not counting Umber and I'm certainly not going to count every time that some creature has attempted to maim, assault, wound, annoy, inconvenience, or just inflict any kind of harm because that would bring everything into the five digits, minimum.

This is honestly just routine at this point. I need a punch card for every attempt to do something against me because the only thing that's depressing about this is how little I'm rewarded for permitting the majority of such entities to live. If ponies or any other damned species knew how much energy it took not to murder everypony that annoyed me like some kind of blood-mad savage then they would consider me the nicest thing to ever exist, because that is something I am indeed capable of.

Breaking out of prison that one time I happened to be arrested last fall - and thankfully while disguised - was a bit more fun than this. Even then, I was able to gather evidence that enough members of the royal guard in Equestria are closeted bisexuals who can't handle my charming silver tongue and roguish smirks that allow me the rare amusement of flirting out of situations, as hollow as such behavior would be for me in such a situation.

I got scarred for this. My beautiful body was nearly ruined for me attempting to save this ingrate.

There isn't even a country that creates flattering wanted posters of my handsome Mafia alter ego and conniving disguise, Wild Card. Sure, it's really obvious to anypony that's met me that I'm the stallion they want - but with those illustrations? Ugh, I'm almost tempted to let them get a photo of me just once. It'd be for a good cause.

I look up at Noctus with a look of apathy so unrefined it communicates only one thing: I. Am. Done.

He doesn't catch it, and instead leans a little closer to me, since I apparently can't perceive any signs of hostility from his actions towards me so far.

"We have no idea how you ended up in this prison, but you might as well be the spawn of Umbra himself. Your species alone is a cause for you to die - you and however many else are within that twisted mind of yours."

"Whatever, Nocty," I manage. Being tackled by an Alicorn isn't as fun when the Alicorn isn't an individual who styles themselves as my 'lover'. This time it's just a bit more painful then I'd like to let on. That doesn't mean apathy still can't prevail. I don't have it in me to be truly irritated with him. Not yet, at least.

He's looking at me with something between extreme disgust and even more extreme confusion. It's not a good look for him, either. "What...?" he mumbles before tearing himself away from my gaze, and I feel that in place of his depleted magic is confusion made tangible.

"Do you even have a name, he who is less than beasts?" The way he addresses me isn't spiteful anymore, I can see it in his eyes that he was never much of a fighter like Luna is. It doesn't mean that there isn't some hate there, or something like it I still have yet to unravel. Somepony can hold all the hatred they want without the aggression or drive common in superior, hardy sorts.

"My name isn't going to mean much to you."

His jaw clenches. "How arrogant of you. Either way, We will allow you one last mercy. Give Us one reason not to end your mortal existence, demon."

My laughter, dry and smug gets a look of surprise from him. In the back of his eyes, a hint of anger at my insolence, blazing there. The pressure around my throat tightens. I cough instead of fighting. Sure, I could escape this if I wanted to, but I'm enjoying myself far too much.

"One reason? And here I thought there'd be far more challenges at the world's end. I'll give you two, and you'd better like it."

"You are ordering Us, demon?! Why-"

I give a lopsided grin with all the arrogance Luna loves. "Celestia and Luna."

...

"What is your name?" Noctus asks. Even when he was sitting, I was still swallowed by the shadow he cast. Unlike when I was around Umber, there was no illusion of me being dwarfed, just the obvious fact of Alicorns being a tall species in front of me. He flares his wings around himself like a shield, and I watch feathers litter the ground before fading into oblivion. They're untended and have an almost decaying look about them, as they twitch nervously when he thinks I'm not watching. The magic that would have drifted around his feather tips as every written account of him notes is gone, leaving only shaggy feathers from a high god that was reduced to sneaking about oblivion.

"Sombra," I mumble, trying to shrug my cloak over the bruise where Noctus had almost crushed my windpipe after I said his daughters' names. If he thinks I'm going to forget this incident, he's thinking wrong. I shift subtlety, but awkwardly until that wound is covered and glare coolly at him. He doesn't notice. He's too busy looking at everything with wide-eyed disbelief and distrust.

'Everything' of course, would be me. Right now he's looking at Fate, now back to its usual form of a gore-covered, crystal-veined sword instead of a misshapen and hastily constructed, gore covered staff.

"Are there other Shadows? Are you the demon or the summoner using the name of the chief demon tormenting you? How many of them are within you? It has been ages since We last encountered your kind, and introductions have never gone particularly smoothly with your species."

"Probably because you're blatantly racist."

"Only because the first two members of your species were lethal at their kindest. The prejudice that carries on started after their deaths. Do not act as though you are innocent, no demon is. We are willing to communicate with you before noting whether you could be an exception to your species, Sombra the Strange."

"Damn right I am," I grumble. "And to answer your questions. It's just me, there have been no others since the Collapse. I'm the demon and Sombra is my real name, so don't question that. It's also just me in here, no vacant head-space and body-space. My body is not for rent, so don't you dare even think that either because I will mess you up."

Noctus nods slowly and gulps a little. He looks at me with confusion and apprehension, uncertain whether he should fear me for how I present myself, what I might be hiding, or how damned attractive I am. So far the only thing he's done for me is heal the bite wound Umber gave me as an apology for almost crushing my windpipe. It's still going to scar since the wound was too severe for there to not be one, and I wasn't able to access any healer for days, but the scar won't be as severe as it could have been. The fur would grow back, the flesh was mostly repaired, and yet it would always be clear that the marks hidden under a coat that I've yet to grow again that teeth made those marks.

He's saved my ass. Literally.

It isn't enough. I'm not going to let him get anywhere near my good side that quickly. I'm not even complain how all my sides are my good side.

I just sat a little straighter and pulled my hood up again. "Any other questions?"

"How old are you? How do you know of the Crystal Empire? We had no doubt that Sapphira's empire would be the last to survive. The power of the Heart is strong, and though she may be long gone, isolation and magic has done wonders for that land... or what is left of it."

"I'm twenty four. The rest of matters and complications about my age aren't important for now, but let's just say I stopped aging at twenty four. I've been around for a while, and I've known your daughters for a while too, but there's a lot of things that I don't want to go into. If you think that you'll be able to get any information I refuse to disclose from me, you won't. Everything ponies say I've done, I haven't. I know of the oh so special Rock Candy Kingdom because my summoner was Crystalline."

Noctus narrows his eyes, but doesn't look hostile. "'Been around for a while'... You are even more secretive than most of your kind. We suppose that you shall only tell us why when you see fit?" He doesn't bother to hide traces of displeasure with how little information I've offered him, but accepts my slight nod.

We may only be sitting a few paces away from one another, but the way Noctus looks at me shows that there might as well be a gorge between us, and one only I can see across. I can get a read on him, but he's unable to see anything beyond my aloofness and constant almost-frown that only increased the feeling of distance between us.

"We shall accept your desire for privacy, demon."

If he noticed me cringe upon being addressed only as 'demon' he didn't do anything to show it.

"You met the original demons?"

He furrows his brow and looks to recall something only he knows. "'Meet' is not how We would put it. Antumbra... We did not know him. Not personally. Penumbra was Lumina's demon-"

My eyes widen. I allow myself to interrupt him as soon as the name he says with such reverence - Lumina - and the word 'demon' come out of his mouth. "Lumina's demon?! What exactly do you mean?! If you want me to give answers about the world and your daughters, surely you understand that I'm in search of answers too? I need to know whatever it is that you have to say about Penumbra; that's a demon's name if I've ever heard it, and now it's a word-"

"We are aware," Noctus says. His tone is surprisingly calm in contrast to the distant, nervous look he always has. "Penumbra is indeed a word derived from her name. She is not a popular figure of legend; none of your kind are."

"Do I need to count how many times you say something racist toward me?"

His muzzle crinkles. "How unlike Antumbra, Penumbra, and Umbra you are, demon-"

"I told you my name."

He tilts his head to the side a little. "And We are used to knowing only the more typical and violent of your kind under your strange names. Penumbra, once she turned against those who had enslaved her, swore herself to be Lumina's weapon."

I cringed again and he was too lost in memory to notice and just continued on, nostalgia in his voice. "All of us were so young then..." Trailing off with a sigh, he started again. "Penumbra was a miserable entity. As horrific an entity as she was, she carried nothing but despair and sorrow. Living was a pain for her. She was traumatized enough from her ordeal and all the identity she was robbed from, being a demon, that she was able to rip herself and all within her away from her brutal life with the other demon of the time, Antumbra, who made the average raider appear like a foal in nature. She swore herself to protect young Lumina and aid our company, the original Elements, as Lumina's own high servant, willing weapon, and confidant."

I swallowed and shifted myself so that most of my growing fear could be hidden with the rest of my face. "Did Lumina use mind-?"

I almost brought myself close to finishing before Noctus shook his head. Relief washed over me, some of the illusory weight in my chest disappearing. "Lumina is..." He sighs heavily. "Was... she is gone now... is she not?"

His tone as all the resignation of one condemned to eternal loneliness. Just because I've never felt lonely before doesn't mean that I can't recognize it. He's the only one left of his comrades - I'm sure that he knows it too. The only reason he would be left here is so survivor's guilt can take some toll on him. No legends speak of him as an especially glorious Alicorn in the way the others were known for their fantastic feats. I don't think a more fitting torture could be devised than letting a creature with a streak of dependence like that be the sole survivor.

My silent nod only acts as a grim confirmation. His resignation only becomes clearer and he offers a choked sigh. Yet, I'm able to spot thankfulness in his gaze.

"...We suspected so... and the others?"

I nod again. They're gone.

His eyes water a bit, and I look away. It's the only privacy this place has. I give him no sign that I can still hear his choked breaths or that I can use my ability to sense magic to know that he's hunched over, like he could mourn everything and everypony as though they were right in front of him with his untended and broken wings pulled around him like a wall.

I stare off into the void until he speaks up - it's sooner than I would've thought too, but he's had thousands of years to doubt whether any of the other Alicorns survived or didn't. I'm sure I just gave him nails to put in his coffin.

"Do you want to hear the rest?"

Not bothering to make eye contact with him, I nod quietly.

"She died protecting Lumina, and everything that she disclosed to her was the basis for the knowledge of demons, aside from what could be gleaned of Antumbra. Her soul sits in the deepest depth of Tartarus now, alongside Antumbra and all that made them. I do not think you need a reminder of how your kind is always Tartarus-bound. Like the rest of your kind, she had fangs, a curved horn, and identified as no gender other than what she was called. Penumbra was utterly consumed by her emotions, in constant conflict with herself, and other demonic traits - like strange vocalizations and powers over the dark energy that shaped her - were about the only identity that creature had."

"Strange vocalizations?" I ignored the remark about being 'consumed by my emotions'. I'm moody, yes, but definitely not that. Maybe he was exaggerating her qualities, and maybe she really was like that. I wish I could know.

Noctus nodded and blinked back a few tears. "Yes. We know not if you would make the same ones, though your lot does not make the same calls of other equines at all. Each of you demons had some differences among you, certain powers were not shared between members, but that did not stop your kind from having common traits, like your growls, trills, and chatters. You see, whenever Penumbra - she preferred to be called Penny - was picked up and shaken a bit, she would make a noise like this-"

Using his forehooves, Noctus swoops me off the ground after lunging forward and to my immediate shock and displeasure, shakes me up and down a few times.

"HEY - rrow - PUT ME DOWN DAMMIT - rr-rrow-oow - GAH - grr-oow - STOP IT!"

He does, and I glare up at him, lips pulled into a snarl as a low growl rumbles in my throat.

His response is to look unfazed, and take his seat again, his face bearing a calm expression that doesn't fit the situation all that well, no matter how familiar he is with demons.

"It seems that you make a similar sound as well, Sombra. However, yours is less... surprised. It is worth noting that your pitch is lower too, but that is to be expected from a male of your kind, I would think. Honestly, your violent nature is in no way surprising-"

"And here we go with the constant racism!"

He has the nerve to pretend not to hear me. Ingrate. "-but it varies so much from the submissive temperament that Penny revealed herself to have and the complete lack of conscience that Antumbra had. He could not even recognize the existence of mercy, and any vile deed, he had done. He admitted it himself, boasting even though he was lacking. Only Umbra has rivaled him. And then there is you, Sombra."

There he goes again, saying my name like it were a label that didn't fit me instead of what I was called. "You are so-"

"Just what about me?" I lift an eyebrow and make sure he's able to see my piercing stare from under my hood.

He shifts with slight discomfort and looks away just enough so that we're not making direct eye contact. "Your entire temperament. What I can observe of your nature... it is not like the others, yet you do not appear pony-like either. For a demon, you are very headstrong and independent. Neither of those are things your species is known for."

I just scowl. "Is that all?" I ask impatiently. Demon this and demon that. Does anypony other than Luna realize how uncomfortable it is for me? Or how they sound?

Of course they don't.

Stretching his wings again, Noctus once again looks lost in thought. Truly lost. I don't make any attempt to talk to him and only appear colder while getting a closer look at his feathers. I felt that some of them were odd, and now I can see why. Some of the Alicorns of old whose wings would often grow to look like they were shrouded in magic, as his had been, had translucent feathers at the very edge of his wings. Now, they were dull and hollow looking. Thousands of years ago they would have expelled magic that clung to his feather tips and made it look like his wings dissolved.

It was honestly a sight that I would look forward to seeing outside of detailed drawings in long-burned ancient manuscripts. I just can't believe the sheer amount of traits lost to the Collapse. Luna, Celestia, and Tuna don't have this, assuming it isn't some effect of age. Entire physical traits died with every family. Entire races of ponies were...

I couldn't let those thoughts drift; they might find the Crystal Empire.

"We suppose it is all. Are you not aware of the nature of your own species?" His question is genuinely confused this time instead of tinged with any degree of prejudice. I doubt it will last long. "Your kind is created knowing things, and would that not include how you are nature's own weapons? There is no mortal being more dangerous or fearsome than a demon. Even We still fear what they can do if not disposed of quickly. Your skills are varied, your powers not to be trifled with, and your instability fearsome."

I was tempted to bite the inside of my cheek again instead of growling before I felt the still-injured skin from the last time I did that. "Were we all intended as weapons...?"

He nodded as if I had asked him something as obvious as whether I was the most beautiful thing in this world, and I managed to suppress my horror. I knew that my species was undesirable as a whole - I was prepared to be the last for all that and more - but all of us were used?

...It's impossible to not be reminded of the Crystal Empire and how every single one of them went through-

Did they all feel as violated as I-

What was it like for the ones that were constantly trapped and tortured? The ones that never saw a sky?

It's a relief he can't see my face clearly.

"Is something wrong, Sombra the Demon?"

"It's just Sombra," I growl. He flinches a little at the sound. No doubt from memories of Umbra and how if it weren't for him he wouldn't be wasting away in here, magicless. He'd have his wife, his kingdom, his daughters, his family, his world, his Element, and his Harmony if none of this ever happened. His eyes have nothing but regret written there.

And if none of this ever happened, I wouldn't exist. Luna and I would not be.

Neither would Mac, the Tribal Era, Starswirl, Onyx, Purple Eyesore, or anypony else this world knows like the mortal Element Bearers and their entire bloodlines. Who knows if Luna and Celestia would still raise and lower the moon and sun? Would they unravel their domains in the same way they did in this time?

"You still have not answered my question." His tone is rather fatherly now - which is surprising when it's directed at me. I don't like it either; family isn't something that I understand in the same way most creatures do, or need to understand.

"Why does it matter to you, Alicorn?"

"...Are you not trying to help me? If We have come across as cruel in any way, We do apologize. We have no fondness for your species, Sombra, but you have made an attempt to aid Us and bring news of Our daughters... is it not strange that We find ourselves even a little concerned for your being, strange one?"

I clench my jaw and allow myself some small revenge: "Celestia, Luna, Tuna, the two Alicorns of the dead worlds, and a mare of fire are all that's left. Contact with the west is virtually nonexistent for all but some trade and immigration. The world looks different as well. There's only two demigods. The Crystal Empire survived, but was plunged into a thousand year stasis and is only now opened again. The draconequui are reduced to one member, and his name is Discord. Almost everything has been forgotten. The Elements were wielded entirely by mortals, led by the demigod who is styled as the Princess of Friendship. Only four pony races survived the Collapse. If you think that that's even the tip of the iceberg to how different things are, you couldn't be more wrong."

Noctus looks like I did on the Sky Scraper when I was busy vomiting and unsure of exactly what was happening. I knew what vomiting was, just as he knew what I said and all the names I mentioned, but the way I used them baffled him just as I was unsure of why I would vomit so suddenly in the circumstances I was in. He even looked disgusted too; it wasn't surprising that he thought something was wrong when nearly everything I said was.

"Only Celestia, Luna, Neptune, Stolas, Elysium, and Helena...? No contact with...? Only four races...? By the Elements, you called Neptune 'Tuna'. We see that you are rather rude but only Luna calls him-"

He looks right at me and leans down like a large bird examining something at his talons. I glare back.

"Celestia and Luna, what became of them? How old are Our daughters? How did you, a mortal, learn of her name for him? And what went so wrong at the Crystal Empire? What demigod, immortal, or god plunged it into that kind of trap?"

"Your daughters are thirty two and nineteen, both are physically well. I've seen them both within the last year, however, they have little involvement in Alicorn culture - it's mostly dead."

Noctus brought a forehoof to his mouth and began to shake with something that could either be fear, worry, or being on the verge of tears. "D-Dead... ? Are they mentally well? What are you hiding from Us, demon?!"

I let my irises glint scarlet, an array of the mysterious runes flashing across them and watched Noctus make a choked noise.

"Demand nothing of me. I'm not your inferior or your peer, and I'm not mortal. I'm Sombra, the God of Knowledge. I know your daughters very well because my summoner used-" There's few things I hate saying more than that. "-me as a weapon against my will. Ask no more than this because I will hurt you for prying, no matter how much Luna loves you. My summoner used my intelligence - something you clearly don't associate with demons - and whatever luck I had to try and pull myself free from the deplorable circumstance that I lived in. Luna saved my life. I was the one who plunged the Empire into stasis as a mortal. I've only gained divinity and immortality recently, but it's stopped me from nothing. I have the mind to get what I want, and if my mind is set on it, I'll do all I can and more to ensure that I have a chance to get it."

Refolding his wings, Noctus dipped his head to the side and looked at me again. His breathing was quick. I noted that the tic he had in his right cheek muscle was acting up again. His eyes reflected my blurred silhouette and his torn emotions: fear upon realizing that everything I spoke and did made me a far bigger threat than he would have ever liked to acknowledge and confusion. Appearances are deceiving, and he had yet to figure out the honest parts of mine.

"How do you know Our daughters?" he repeated, voice brimming with suspicion.

"I know them in many ways," I say, flashing him a facetious smirk from under my hood, "but I'm more curious to which way you'd like to know how I know your daughters, hmm?"

He snorted at me and drew up to his full height quickly, royally glowering at me. It wasn't hard to see why nearly every mortal would prostrate themselves before him with this look.

To show how intimidated I was, I smirked wider and flipped off my hood to reveal just how sassy my smile was. The simple act of telekinesis shouldn't have been anything too snazzy, and yet, the atmosphere of this place and minor distraction on my part led to the aura failing to catch the hem of my hood the way I wanted it to. I watched it fall back in a more exaggerated toss than I was planning for while my crimson aura pinched together and I found myself being showered with little red sparkles. The light from them reflected on my teeth and made my extremely sassy smile and wonderful mane look even snazzier.

Noctus made a sound between a choke and a painfully restrained guffaw.

I had to remember this one.

"Celestia and I... Never have I met an equine-" I can only imagine how confused he would be if I referred to either of his daughters as ponies. It was easy for me to see how he was trying to speak to me very plainly when he noticed that language had changed in the time he would have last spoken with another like this. No matter how different language was, it didn't change that for him to hear me refer to an Alicorn as a pony would be like me not having an extensive history of stunning good looks and breaking and entering. Or, of course, trying to make a stork raise the sun by screaming at it... or just even expecting it to be able to in the first place.

To do something like that, criminal levels of stupidity would be required.

"I swear that her horn is just a product of the stick that's shoved up her rear poking out her skull. The only problem with my theory is that it isn't possible for sticks to work like that, so this very interesting word was created a few ages ago in order to describe mares like her. It's 'bitch' and while there's a great deal more colorful and admittedly creative thing that would make far more interesting descriptions for your rotten daughter, the disgusting simplicity of just dropping a vulgarity upon her head like I'm sure she'd drop the sun on mine has a strange appeal that I honestly don't mind."

Noctus only blinks. "How strange you are."

"Yeah, I'm pretty queer."

"So she is just up to her usual 'Princess' shenanigans, only all grown up is it?" He was trying so hard to see past my bias to piece things together.

"I'm sure she is."

"We - both Lumina and Us - always knew that she would jump at the chance to dive into summits, parties, meetings, politics, and many of the less-than-exciting duties that came with her station. She was so excited too! Always playing games with Luna and Neptune..."

When he realizes that he's talking to an apathetic demon, Noctus stops himself. "We have not seen her in..." He doesn't need to finish so he doesn't bother.

"I really don't get it. You haven't seen her since she was nine, as Luna tells me. Celestia is literally a stranger to you. Why could you possibly be so adamant about seeing her again?"

I don't think that I could've gotten him to make a more shocked, wounded expression if I had hit him - I know I couldn't have. I just couldn't understand why.

"Have you never seen the memories your poor summoner had? Of their family?"

"He was an orphan and if he hadn't created me, I would have killed him myself. This isn't a matter you should be digging too deep into. At all. 'My summoner' as you've elected to call him was a monster."

"Do you really expect Us to believe your ever word on matters concerning yourself? You have proven that you can be trusted to give Us plenty of information. Yet, when the matter is about you, We do not find you to be the most reliable in any way, shape, or form. It is clear that you are a god, but that does not stop you from being a demon. What you just said to Us was quite cruel and a matter you have no right to speak about. Family and love are not things that you are likely to understand, the first because you and your kind have no family and the second because you are remarkably antisocial."

I grit my teeth. If it weren't for the present situation, his relation to Luna, or that he's actually valuable, I would've hurt him for that. He says some things in such a Celestia-like way, but he finishes them so differently.

"What is it that you think of when one speaks of their family? Parents are a foreign concept to you, We know, but what about something else? There would be mortals your own age, so perhaps you have bonded with a few in your life to make up for the family you lack-"

"And what if I don't have the want or need to maintain or start social relationships? What if I am well off without having had a family? Then what?"

"...Have you never even allowed yourself to imagine what it would be like to have any kind of family like We have? Parents? Siblings? Even a cousin?"

"No, I've never imagined what parents would have been like. Cousins seem completely unnecessary unless you're particularly interested in genealogy or keeping records of any kind. Siblings...? Well, they're usually around a lot, from what I can gather. Don't know what's the point of them sticking around - they can just up and leave at any moment."

"Yes, and?"

Luna said that she couldn't remember life without Celestia. "A lot of decisions have to be made to incorporate them. It's apparently really taboo to murder them. I've heard of some who are unable to recall what life would have been like without them... which makes them a lot like-"

Understanding flashes in my eyes, and Noctus looks on with anticipation at my realization.

"They're like plagues, then!" I say, enjoying the moment that of finally discovering something by sitting a little taller. "Wait... what the fuck?! Why would you want to keep somepony around if they do nothing but drain your resources, potentially hinder development - they're just plagues! Even more than most creatures usually are! Why are they kept around again?"

"...Even as an only foal, We are nothing but shocked, confused, and a little disgusted with how exactly you understand this."

"That's a passable summary of what I think of ponies. Shocking, confusing, and more than a little disgusting. Biological relatives aren't something I'm going to have an understanding of. It seems like the usual case of misplaced loyalties that many have. There's no point in being loyal to somepony just because they're related to you or you're told to. Something like that isn't so different from tyranny, if you think about it."

He just stared at me, baffled and dumbfounded as I met his broad looks in my direction with a steady stare of cool indifference. "You want to hear of Luna next." It wasn't a question.

"We do, if you have anything to say about her. Seeing how flattering your opinion of Celestia is, We are sure that you will have nothing that kind to say about poor Luna-"

"I'm Luna's lover."

Noctus stops breathing and immediately whips his head around to look at me. His eyes are as wide as a frightened child's, if not wider.

He opened his mouth to say something.

And then closed it.

He looked straight at my unblinking expression of apathy.

And then he opened his mouth again.

But then he closed it.

And repeated the entire process again while I blew some of my mane out of my face and hummed some smug praises to myself, returning the kindness by humming egotistical praises to myself in return. Meanwhile, Noctus was staring at me. He finally managed a squeak. He, Noctus Galaxia, high king of the gods and first Element of Generosity only managed a faint squeak.

It was glorious.

"You and Ou- my daughter? Little Luna? She is so grown up now that she has taken lovers...?"

"Lover. She's never had any other than me."

"Her only lover has been a demon?"

A growl sounds in my throat and I give him a disdainful, angry look. "And?!"

"It makes complete sense, actually." There he goes with his cloudy-eye look again. "She always loved things that nopony else would ever pity."

'Charity case' isn't something I can say that I've been considered. It isn't something I like either, so I just scowl and roll my eyes. He doesn't notice.

"'More than meets the eye' is a good way to define you, Sombra. Do you mind if I call you that?"

"Not at all, it's only my name, isn't it?" I snap.

Noctus stands up and brushes off the bitterness. Extending a forehoof to help me up, he gives a forced smile - to do something so natural after so long in here isn't happening, he just wants to look friendly. Accepting means I respect him and that I see him as a superior, or anything along those lines. With Luna, it means that I trust her and that we care for one another.

I don't know where it was that creatures began to see themselves in their offspring. Long ago, and just like many other conceptions that are considered timeless, they're often as false as can be. Copies on all but the surface or divergent entities are all that such simple biological unions produce.

I see nothing of Luna other than a dark coat shared between her and her father. Even their dapples are different; Luna's came with her mark, she told me.

I help myself up and lift my head up haughtily to give him a challenging, piercing stare. He returns with only a passive demeanor, unable to even make his ragged state work for him. Of course he can't make it say 'I survived' instead of 'I suffered'.

"We still have other things to discuss." I fix him with a pointed stare that he's unable to avoid, no matter the height difference between us.

"It seems so. What is it that you still must know?"

The left side of my mouth curls into a humorless smirk. "Oh, there's a few things that I must know-" His expression becomes more hesitant when it's clear he has no choice in this. "But you also have somepony who wants to see you - somepony I promised to help in finding what is left."

Now he looks almost hopeful - and there's still confusion too. I may be his superior, yet it's hard not to resist some gloating. I wouldn't be the Right-Honourable Lord Sombra if I didn't.

"Luna is coming to help. The goddess of the moon and dreams herself is on her way here."

Another open mouthed stare. 'Shock' was such a tame way to describe the look on his face. Gratitude of some kind was there, and I smugly savored every bit.

"There's some briefing that still must be done, but you can bet your dead empire that I'll be getting us out of here, or I'm not the Right-Honourable Lord Sombra. I just need to know a few things..."

...

"Just how hasn't any form of corruption taken its toll on you?" I cast a quick glance at Casual Racism without ceasing my pacing. I have a strong hunch to why; outside of anything but dark magic - something he didn't have - no magic worked here. To help that elaborate effect out so that shoving gods in voids was more of a proper solution than it initially sounded like, I strongly suspected that there was a seal that I ended up bypassing when I drifted here. Only being in a non-physical form would have gotten me past that. I can't be sure it that's what it is - with my presence, escape is certainly possible...

Prejudice-over-Pleasantries watched my disorderly paths, visibly dizzy. He looked like he might faint as well with a form as frail as he is. I couldn't possibly stand not being able to slip into a more convenient body if I looked so weakened. Just because an Alicorn doesn't have to eat or sleep doesn't mean that stopping both immediately won't have negative effects. If they're used to doing to regularly, it'd be withdrawl. Centuries of exhaustion and starvation mark his face and body alongside old battle scars that were slashed between the dapples on his dark coat like lines on a star map.

"Err-" He didn't even attempt to hide how difficult it was for him to concentrate. Being left like this, without any distractions or company made his attention span incredibly halting. "As a demon I thought that you would know of dark magic-"

"I do. However, what I'm not sure about is how corruption can take hold without an artifact-"

Since he was clearly going to say something useful this time, I only scoffed slightly and fixed a harsh stare on him that looked far more impatient than it actually was. It wasn't as though I weren't used to the incompetence of others. Onyx. Purple Eyesore. Him. Occasionally Mac. Firefly. The list went on.

"Ah, yes, Hasad's dark works. He spread them across the world... right under the muzzles of everypony..."

In retaliation, I take the chance to finish my statement - his recollection needs some speeding up. If the plan is to work, then Luna can't be waiting out constant delays. it's my job to meet her, not the other way around. To do that it's upon me to be balancing action and intellect - and to do so, I'm going to be cutting corners. Civility isn't an option both because of a limited time frame and its general uselessness.

"How did two demons come to be without any artifacts? Or have you just avoided mentioning them? What were they? Did you and your company destroy them?"

He shakes his head airily in order to try and reconstruct some semblance of lucidity. "N-No. Lumina would have known, you see. Her and Penny were close. I know nothing of exactly how such mon-" He looks at me and stops himself. "How they were created other than there being no artifacts. That is something only you and Umbra share. The knowledge that demons were created with was not quite the same - it was not from any one source. You and Umbra, you came from-"

"A Book," I supply flatly. Scoffing again, I run my magic through my disheveled mane and resume pacing, ideas and possibilities, numbers and factors crunching into place as I sort, swap, and dwell on them aimlessly, always searching for what I need...

"Yes, that. And I understand that it is within the mind of Umbra - and yours too?"

I nod and keep pacing. If he were anything like Luna, it'd be great bouncing ideas off him... Luna always kept up with me... we had our strengths... even when she didn't understand what I was explaining, it was always a joy to teach her - or she at least, understood me.

"That book acts as a focal point-"

"And water is wet. Anything else I should know?"

"...you and Umbra also..."

"I'm part book on my book's side. Who would've known?"

"For a demon, you are rather sharp," he mumbles.

"For a god, you can't take sarcasm."

He was quiet again. Unfortunately for me, it didn't last. "You do not get my point."

"You have a hard time making one, seeing as we don't have all eternity to escape this place with a plan constructed from a lot of guessing that would at least be less haphazard if you could attempt to aid me here. I may work alone, but some help could prove to be useful. Possibly."

He gave me the most ridiculously mild and parental frown I've ever seen, and in the tone of a decently patronizing father said: "I was only going to suggest that you being 'part book' as you put it, would mean that you have characteristics of one."

"You think I haven't considered that?" I may have never had a father - thank goodness - but I can spot the behaviors of one and dislike them just as much. "Do you think I'd be the god of knowledge if I knew nothing about books like that? Try supplying something I can work with."

"How is it that anypony can stand you?"

"How can anypony stand themselves?"

"I think about that often." He sighed and his focus started to slip again.

"Good!" I snapped, pacing faster. I wasn't here to manage his insecurities and guilt. "Now think about something useful!"

"...What is the name of your world?" he said after a long pause between us. I didn't doubt that silence was unbearable for him and something he wanted to avoid at all costs... but why do it so stupidly? Talking for the sake of talking...

I quickly turned to face him, eyes burning with scrutiny. "The world? ...You have some explaining to do, and fast." I'm not going to be acting on impulse so much as I will be acting quickly: this is one of the few times I can't be tasking risks. Luna's safety and my own life are staked on this. I will be getting my way, and while a few limits should be pushed, detail can never be overlooked, and I won't do anything. Action should be taken, but never action without thought.

He won't solve anything, I will.

Sighing tiredly, Inconvenience Incarnate looked up at me and rose on long, shaky legs. He had a lot to say, and wanted me to know it. I decided to humor him and comb through for any information that would mean something to me. He may have the resolve to outlast what few immortals could ever endure - the drifting aimlessness of guilt and being here, draining and wasting way neither bound or unbound, remaining completely physical - but I have no respect for him. I respect and love Luna, and that's the only reason I've been so tolerant of him.

"It is not an ascension so much as it is discovery. Godhood pulls what is already there into something more. Ascension is an ugly word for this. Divinity is growing, not changing. Once an immortal has a surge - a greater surge that spirals into something more and both creates and follows a magical rhythm, that rhythm becomes like a key. And what is done with that key?"

"If it weren't for the fact that you're Luna's father I would've hoped that you choked on it."

He gave me a weak look of disapproval and a sour, thin frown. "Again, I cannot help but wonder about just how strange you are, Sombra the Rude-"

"Oh no, how unflattering!" I wave my forehooves about like everypony who has never seen a real ghost and watch him blink in a clear sign that he didn't get my joke.

"...I shall go on, then. It is not a literal key."

"It isn't? I would've never known!"

Impatient frown aside, Royal Pain chooses to just look upward at something that is not there, a hint of wryness in his frown before he kept speaking as if nothing had happened. I think I might remind him of something.

"With this 'key' you have unlocked one of the particularly stubborn worlds that have sprung from the plain of magic - if you have demigods, then it is known as the place of ascension. In my time..." He sighed again, swallowing hard. "It was known as 'Where Gods Walk'."

My expression was stoic and unreadable, but he took it as impatience and hurried his explanation. It was already a bit clumsy to begin with. We had no way to explain what we did know without peeling back secrets and speaking of centuries worth of everything unsaid, and of course, using time we didn't have.

"That clearly does not matter to you."

I never said that.

He kept going, ignoring my narrowed gaze, trained on him. Judging him. "These worlds name themselves and it is only when one finds their way to them, with magic so much like dancing..." He snorts at something long forgotten. "Then, if you survive, you come back a god. I think you have an eye and an ear for detail, yet some oversimplification might be needed if we have as little time as you say."

"Everything."

"Hmm?" His curly blue and purple mane bounces when he turns to look at me.

"That's what my world called itself. And yours? You're the wishing god. What is your world and how does your power work? And since you're more experienced with this matter than I am, even if I still have yet to see it show, is it possible to bring other creatures into these worlds...? Can I even visit mine again? Don't you understand just how many questions I have racing in my mind despite there being a greater sense of urgency?"

Or how much I wish that I was with somepony as intelligent, capable, and quick-witted as Luna? Or I would, if it wouldn't mean that she'd be stuck in a place like this.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I observe how much effort he puts into not watching my maddening pacing. I run a bit of telekinesis through my mane again and sigh. No matter how much effort I had put into not attempting to sound irate, it was inevitable, and I let it be. Fragments of proper plans just waiting to be formed into something proper - noisy ideas, shards of something smart, amusing tidbits, curious possibilities, a multitude of simply everything - roars in my mind like the waves below the Sky Scraper on the nights Luna had it glide close to the ocean...

No. It's louder. Much louder.

I just need more information and a damaged god isn't on the list of desirable ones. Is it really such a surprise that working alone is more fruitful? Or with Luna? He just seems so simple in comparison to the complexity I need.

And this is not one of them. Noctus hears my stray growl and realizes that he spaced out again before scraping together a few hurried answers to my questions. "You, Sombra, are certainly frustratingly inquisitive and dangerously intellectual. Were you like any other mortal, I could just order you about." I knew that he was supposed to be laughing - briefly - but he'd spent so long here that his laugh was hollow and mostly unrecognizable as such. "My world is called Charity; the details of it are private. Consider it godly etiquette to only reveal such details to those closest to you."

"Like Luna."

His eyes clouded over with a haze of remembrance - he couldn't imagine my Luna as a grown mare and I couldn't see her as the filly he remembered. A troubled youth, yes, but that was never with my own eyes.

He cleared his throat so softly that it was almost annoying in how disgustingly polite he tried to make it. Maybe that's where Celestia got some of her demeanor. "You could. Bringing mortals to such a place would require some precautions. If it has been done, it was a private event between yet another face lost to your age and a mortal lover, so I cannot say that I ever heard of it happening. Even bringing in an immortal companion is not the easiest. Lumina saw my Charity, and I her Order only a few times. To visit so frequently did not seem necessary."

"But will I be able to visit mine again? I'm not an Alicorn-"

I grit my teeth and decide to tolerate his latest interruption. It's not long answers that bother me - I'm not always one for brevity myself - but here it's needed.

"That, of course, is likely why such a feat could be very draining for you. Over time, you would get better with this, but at this point..." He managed to look sheepish without me rolling my eyes. I imagine he must have had a natural inclination to behavior like that before all this. Every little gesture he made now felt cracked - not quite what it should've been, a ghost. "Such a feat would be dangerous, and no matter how bold or adventurous you may be, as the weakest member of the original Elements, I am telling you that no matter how great your skill is, it would be unwise to make the attempt to access your Everything regularly."

"Weakest? I'm familiar with large amounts of legend and culture of the Old World and I know that you were usually heralded as the least likely to perform feats of great power like the others but your power and talent... they were never described in any of the texts I read. Enlighten me?"

"...I shall soon. But first: if your magic works here, then it would be, if you would permit my suggestion, favorable for us to be more aware of the other's ability. I understand that our communication is not strong, and currently neither am I, but we will be expected to fight together, no matter our weaknesses."

Smirking, I flip my hood off with as much nonchalance as I can manage mid-pace. "Now we're talking. I know of your magic and yet, you've hardly had any songs to yourself. Some warrior."

There was that laugh again. "There is indeed a reason for that. My magic is virtually nonexistent on my own. I might as well be as weak as a demigod. I have never liked to be alone, either-"

"Descriptions in all the old stories..." I trail off, rethinking my words. "You were always at gatherings and described as very extroverted. Might explain why you're horrid with reflection and matters like this, huh? I have yet to meet one who isn't, but I'm patient."

He managed to brighten a bit, eyes gaining a bit of lucidity. "Yes, yes! I am indeed..." He let out another heavy sigh and continued instantly, gaining more and more liveliness as he did so. "I was the weakest of the original Elements and Lumina, the Element of Magic, was the strongest. She even had these curious night-eyes that made her look fearsome indeed. Luna has them as well. I have always sought to aid others in any way, giving all that I could and more despite being the metaphorical runt of my kind. Company was always calming and lent purpose. Solitude was never something I feared then, but I never sought it."

"Tartarus is other ponies," I grumbled.

"Maybe? You seem the type to say that." He sat down with a heavy thud and hummed a few scrambled notes with a creaky voice. His throat was sore. "Lumina was a fine leader... it made it inevitable that I would develop an infatuation with such a brave young mare. You see, my magic is to manipulate and shape the quintessence from the false-"

"These days, they're usually called 'wishing werelights'."

"Yes, those. I am a bit surprised that the more rustic term has become more popular. As I was saying, I have the ability to shape that and change it into something mundane that is wished for - a new quill or some other multitude of things, and all from dust. Stardust, as it was sometimes called. I can grant grander, important wishes to an extent, and that is what I did for Lumina and the company. One might say I am Luck's god, and goodness is she fickle with me. As long as the stars were visible and the night wind sure, I could aid those who needed it, and only when they really did. The stronger and more charitable desire, like a hero's wish to save, the more I am able to gather power."

"How ironic it is that you're the last survivor, then? You're virtually powerless without others and that extroversion... just wow, the sheer survivor's guilt you must have-"

"You have a very cruel sense of humor, at times. And yet, considering your species I am unsure if I should be impressed that one of you has actually developed one, or find it to be obvious that it would be so cruel." He manages a mildly annoyed sigh and the same exasperated look upward. I know I must have hurt him more than he would want to show.

"If you're going to doubt how impressive I am, then I'll consider leaving you here." When he did a double take and looked at me, eyes wide with confusion and fear in contrast to the doldrums around us, I gave him a bored look. "Consider," I emphasized dryly.

His cheek muscle twitched slightly, and he pursed his lip, frowning. "I honestly have no idea just how I am supposed to cope with you. Your nature is tricky, yet determined over fickle... what an enigma you are, rude one! I shall continue on, then."

In a cryptic attempt to encourage him, as well as witness his reaction, I made a series of 'demon noises' and assorted growls that sounded unlike any creature who had ever walked or walks the world... other then a demon.

"Ah," he blinked at my range of sounds. "So you make those noises too. Back to my tale it is?"

I shrugged and motioned for him to continue.

"Wishers could be fooled. To maintain harmony and do my duty as a god, ponies had to learn that not everything they would wish for was going to come-"

"I'm not that uneducated and naive. Would it be possible for any kind of wish to be granted here, and spark your magic again?"

Starbutt fixed his gaze on me, looking at me like I was a foreign food or a painting he didn't quite like.

An object, I thought, always an object.

"With you here... it might actually be a possibility. Your magic provides plenty of opportunity... but the power that we might need to expend to get out of here..." He frowned with thought. "Are you able to have surges of power - 'divine wrath' as it might be called?"

"Of course I can," I tell him with a bitter laugh. "Whenever that happens there's these runes - I've been seeing them a lot lately. They change... and yet stay the same. I can't read all of them. They're like no other language I've seen before. It's strange, even by my standards. I'd like to get to the bottom of it, but I'm not in any position to right now. You've been a god longer than I have. Are you able to come up with anything based on what I've told you? I know it's brief, but I don't usually force myself into magical surges or overwhelm myself with power at the drop of a bit."

Starbutt tapped a hoof to his muzzle in thought. "Such a fitting phenomena for the God of Knowledge. Until we are able to get out of here - and if," he adds quietly, "there will be no definite answer. My only guess is that it has to do with you - I apologize, but I find myself fond of how you say this - being 'part book'. Assuming you have never worked with runes or encoding anything or constructing your own magical programs-"

"I have."

He blinks, slightly taken aback. "You are certainly prodigious..."

Your next line, I think, bitter anticipation rising with a growl in my throat too low for him to hear, will be 'for a demon'.

"...for a demon. I am honestly surprised that you are so educated... and different. Odd indeed. If that is the case, then the symbols that you see are your magic. It is a language only you can read, and though it may bear the illusion of change, if it is magic, it merely grows. Only the dark energy that you and the rest of your kind spring from and spread changes. Harmony and true magic preserves."

He's so lucky he's Luna's father. "It's my magic...? Nothing new I need to worry about?"

"Yes, it is just your growing power." He shifts awkwardly in a flimsy attempt to hide growing apprehension. "It will grow with you, of course. Think of it like learning a new language. All that is merely your power, visible, and aiding you... with time you should be able to gain control over it, or let it scrawl possibilities as you please. I have always found your kind's ability to sense magic terrifying and intriguing. Umbra, being book-born, if you will permit that minor inaccuracy on my part, can read it quite well compared to the others..." He pauses and looks away, recalling something and trying to avoid my glare of stifled hostility. "I am unsure if all of you could do that - read magic instead of just using the feel to detect life and other things. Can you all do that, read what you sense? Lumina was always the better with demons..."

"Yes," I said coldly, "all of us can. It'd be stupid if we could only use it in such a..." I pause to think of what might fit best. "...raw way."

As per usual, Starbutt just ignores me. "I do not even know if you could make an unselfish wish."

My forelegs itch to be pacing again, so I resume the process, gradually and aimlessly. Ideas that I had pushed away temporarily so I could examine each one slowly as Starbutt and I talked were now rapidly compared and swapped with others in a maelstrom of genius.

"Pocket dimensions are weaker than divine worlds, aren't they?"

Starbutt looked at me, confused, as ever as though I had asked him if I could come close to being defined only as 'vaguely attractive' across any multiverse. The thought was actually a horrifying one, and one of the few things that I'm glad was likely to ever achieves that status of 'impossible' across worlds.

"Yes, they are..."

"I have an idea, then."

"Oh my..." He looked ill.

"One that will either loop us in infinite agony as the world is torn apart, where I'll never see my dear Luna again as we suffer in the form of half-physical beings, never completely regenerating or finalizing a physical state, or it will actually get us out of here."

"I-Is that only the worst case scenario?"

"Honestly, those are just probable estimations. Maybe you can't feel it, but time does pass here. The sooner we're out, the better - and it's not often that I'll say that. We don't have the time to be testing things. Regardless, I'm not a magical genius for nothing. There's a plethora of chances that we won't have an eternally horrible fate, or at least you won't. Luna told me how Alicorn souls can be released from this kind of thing."

"Do you not think that calling yourself - a being from magic - a 'magical genius' is strangely redundant? Even just a little?"

Allowing myself a good dramatic, disgruntled eye roll and well-earned annoyed sigh, I stare right at Starbutt, collected except for the mad look in my eyes that I knew was there. "Do you honestly think we have time to debate this? The fate of me, Luna, myself, pizza, my relationship, my ego, my good looks, and also me are in danger. If I wanted to sit around chatting with you all day, I would have considered seeing if it was possible to teleport one of my kidneys outside of my body and let the painful aftermath consume me first because I honestly find you to be that annoying that I'd prefer such an ordeal."

"Are you always this insane?"

"I'm as insane as I am attractive. Considering I'm immortal, my good looks and excessive personal bias that's as everlasting as I am, I'm infinitely insane and attractive."

"Do you even hear what it is that you say?"

"At this point, I honestly don't care. But, I can tell you this: my accent is superior to yours, so you might as well just listen to me. I do it all the time."

...

Sound wasn't the same here, or at least not the way it traveled. Whenever Twinkleflanks and I talked, the silence everywhere else was so heavy it might as well have been tangible. Echoes died quickly and even if I had stopped my manic pacing, there would be little to signal that if a literal blind observer was present. My hoofsteps and his barely made a sound the farther we strayed. If you were to think of sound like a ripple, then 'rings' faded quickly.

The silence we were surrounded by was unnatural, and it shouldn't be.

Twinkleflanks looked at me hesitantly. God or not, apprehension was all he conveyed every time I opened my mouth. I even had bothered to disguise my fangs before he could spot them when he nearly tackled me. I can't say I'm not used to it. Only Luna trusts me enough to go through with anything I say.

"What exactly is your brilliant plan, Sombra the Demon?"

"You could just call me 'Sombra'," I mumbled, blowing a bit of my bangs out of my face with a huff. Like everything else, it was still caked in the gory residue from my fights with Umber. I didn't have the compulsion to be clean either, this was still battle. Planning was just as important as fights, for they dictated them. This was also a familiar sensation - being covered in this kind of mess. "It's not as though my name is difficult to say - I know that all you Old World Alicorns are polyglots too - or like I'm insisting on being called by a largely unnecessary string of titles. What do I look like, a politician? And do I really need the constant reminder of what my species, Twinkleflanks the Alicorn?"

"Can you just tell me what your plan is...?" He grimaces before adding. "Please, Sombra?"

I snort and roll my eyes. "Well, you've certainly invoked something here. You think that calling me by name will suddenly make me appear or something? I don't even know where that demon myth came from."

Twinkleflanks gives a dry cough-like laugh again at something only he remembers. "Myths will be myths, Sombra. And onto your plan?"

Cracking a devilish smirk, I cock my head to the side and look him straight in the eye. "There's never been a demon god before."

"Fortunately, no," Twinkleflanks says, mistaking my statement for a question. "Not even Hasad the Betrayer was a god. Only his elder sister, the fair Elinora was, and even that could not save her from the fate that befell her and her subjects."

"And we've already established that my magic isn't inhibited here since this was designed to drain and trap Alicorns. Tell me, will you be able to gain any of your abilities back if we get out of here?"

He shook his head. "Not unless I am under the sky, mostly. The night sky would be best, you see. Even then, I do not think I could do much other that exceeds a demigod's pitiful ability. To regain what I have lost would take centuries."

"That's lovely. Now, these worlds can't be infinite."

"They are not," he confirms.

My smirk widens. "If they're limited I can exploit that. This place isn't unlimited either, I can feel it. The focus just shifts. If you think of us as two insects trapped under a cup that's on a table, we have plenty of space in the cup to move, but never enough. That's the focal point, where most of the magic is concentrated into barriers, and such. They're all remarkable, but that's not the point. The point is that the illusion of infinity is created because the cup moves across the table with us. Neither of us have a sense of direction in here - well, mostly you since you can't feel magic."

Twinkleflanks looks astonished. "How could you possibly know that?"

"First, you don't move much, and when you do, it's awkward. You're stuck travelling in circles because there's only a vague sense of 'up' and a few millennia in here has deteriorated almost all of your ability to navigate. Mental torture isn't anything new to me. And remember, we're on a table, our path looping aimlessly. Tables have limits to what they can have on them-"

His widening eyes start to catch onto a little of what I mean. "You cannot possibly mean-"

"Oh, but I do. It sounds simple, but the work in it won't be. The strain would be enormous. I'm not a source of infinite magic, but I'll be damned if I can't manage to do something like this. It's quick enough and we don't have time for subtle tricks."

Twinkle gulps. "You really are serious..."

Laughing dryly and briefly, I look scornfully at him. "I am. We're on a table. Tables can't handle infinite weight. And if I were to place a container on top of the table..."

He gulps again.

"Well, even the container can't hold infinite weight."

"Please," he pleads, tone bordering on frightened, "surely you understand just how grim the situation is? What exactly is it that you plan to do...?"

Turning to the side, I spit at the ground and give him the same, special critical look I reserve for every inadequate travelling 'companion' I've ever had. "To grossly oversimplify for the sake of your further displeasure and my morbid delight: I'm going to bring forth my world right here and overwhelm this one. As it begins to collapse, I'm going to teleport us into my superior realm briefly and then swap us to the space 'above' where I sank from before reforming. From there, I'm going to force us back up into Niflhel. After that, I'll take it from there. Here, I lead, not you."

He nods mutely, and I am appeased.

"My only question is this: can you trust me? I know I'm an asshole, but I'm an honest one. I mean whatever I say, except in the few instances that I don't." I give a flippant shrug and nod to the side a bit, flipping my bangs out of my face. They fall right back, and as always I don't mind. "Trust me, you'll know those few times, if you ever know anything about the Right-Honourable Lord Sombra."

After prolonged silence, Twinkleflanks sighs and nods. "Trusting a demon... what next?"

I don't humor him with a reply.

"You know, Sombra, as soon as I heard the names of my daughters from your mouth, I knew that I might be able to trust you... at least a little. Nopony outside of their family knew of their existence - or Neptune's, for that matter - at the time of what you call 'the Collapse'. They were too young, and as you no doubt know, it was not our way to reveal something as precious as a young Alicorn to the world."

"Twinklefanks, I already knew that," I grumble.

He only nods. I doubt that's the strangest thing he's ever been called. If I live to be over ten thousand years old too, it's only guaranteed that I'd be called many things as well - even if it's only in brief exchanges that I barely tolerate. "Now, is there anything else I can do to aid you? I cannot say you have all my trust, or much of it, but you shall have enough of it for this. And, of course, my gratitude."

To show my appreciation, I just roll my eyes and spit on the ground again. "There's only one thing you need to do from here on out."

"And that is...?"

I give him a devious look that I'd usually reserve for any victim of my schemes. It's a smug, roguish look, and powerful too. As well as just a little sassy, if I do say so myself. It says that I've won and that I want you to know that too. If looks could label me a demon, this would be it.

"Put your faith in me."

Author's Note:

Credit for Noctus be here. So here's a chapter about two characters literally just talking in a featureless void. Hope you enjoyed Sassy Boy and Starry Butt's banter. See you next chapter! There'll be fighting there. And, uh, yeah, it seems I accidentally typed a really long chapter again... whoops...

Comments

[Kaleido]

"Yeah, I'm pretty queer."

"Just how hasn't any form of corruption taken its toll on you?" I cast a quick glance at Casual Racism...

now *that's* a nickname you don't want to be stuck with

oh goodness sombra yes great plan, just overlap the current pocket dimension with a divine plane you literally know is called "Everything". this can only go perfectly

[Ice Star]

10284341
world wrecking time
it can only go right