dragonofruin

As terrible as Sombra knew the situation was, mainly for Mythic, he couldn't help feel some level of old pleasure to know at least somepony was still afraid of him. While most citizens in this kingdom were known to take a fright upon seeing him or keep a wide berth, none really trembled at his hooves unless they were of a particularly spineless or easily frightened sort since they weren't used to much interrupting their otherwise idyllic lives. Nothing like him. Others, for some odd reason, hardly gave him a second glance or so much as blinked at his presence, which he found to be sorely disappointing. The pegasus fluttering about above them was certainly one of them, as was Ice Storm. He supposed being 'one of them' lessened whatever effect he might otherwise have, as if he were tamed or now harmless. The promise given to Mythic Vision by the pegasus mare that was soon introduced to him as Feather Blitz was enough to draw a low, rumbling chuckle out of the umbrum. Protect her. Well, maybe from others, but not for him if he was ever given to cause mayhem.. As it stood, he wouldn't. STAR was going to become of some use to him and he'd rather not ruin what would be a nice source of information for him. Hou had her own informants, Sombra knew, although who they were were a mystery to him. STAR would be his, as well as any sort of help that he might deign to use when he needed it. It wasn't hard for Sombra to peek over Ice Storm's back a little as Mythic stammered out her answers and her want to get to know him better later. Well, perhaps after she got over her initial fright of him and however he must look to her (an empty void? a mass of shifting darkness?) she might just have that chance. He wouldn't mind talking to her later if she actually wanted to. "See you later," Sombra replied, watching the mare scramble out of the data room. His gaze returned to the other two mares once Mythic was out of sight. His expression was clear with his unspoken question: what now?

The mare's terror was already palpable, and he could feel it just pouring out of her in waves as she faced him (with her visible blindness he couldn't exactly call it looking). This pony was terrified, and if he were to give in and feed off of that fear after so long only stealing scraps from ponies he might have inadvertently scared, it would be a feast- but she might also see or sense it and it'd only make the situation worse. It was the sight of those tears that kept him from it, at least before Ice Storm moved to place her body between him and the one she introduced as Mythic Vision. It was quite a name, and for somepony who could apparently see through her sense of magic. No wonder she was so terrified of him.. "Does she see what I really am, then?" Sombra quietly asked, his voice like velvet. He felt it was best to reign in his brief little flare of anger, because he was sure the mare would just break from her fear of him. It was good that he had the form of a pony, then, he'd read about old accounts of the crystal ponies first encounter with umbrum and how they were said to be terrifying to behold.. Even now, he hated to feel that sort of shame towards his existence. He was snapped out of his thoughts by arrival from another who dropped down from somewhere above, and it startled him a bit; Sombra thought they were alone in here. The pegasus, whose name he hadn't gotten yet, looked quick to zip off to no doubt fetch somepony else and it was either for the situation at hoof or perhaps to have something done about the broken glass. Sombra made a note to figure out who they were. At the moment, Mythic was stammering and struggling just to speak in his presence, and he got to hear a few apologies in the midst of it. Not his fault. Well, that was.. a first. Nopony ever admitted that what he was wasn't his fault. He relented, settling back into a more relaxed posture. He'd try to take it easy on the poor pony and not scare them any more than he had. "It's not a problem, now." He paused, licking his lips as he sought to think of something more to say. Ice Storm already said a lot of it. "I'm not here to hurt anypony, as long as they don't try to hurt me." His gaze flicked up towards the pegasus again. "I don't think we need any help, although she might," Sombra answered, gesturing towards Mythic.

The soft and distant sound of the door to the library opening drew some of Sombra's attention in the brief lull in conversation, and one ear turned in hopes of catching anything else of interest. It was most likely one of the ponies in this base coming in to do some work, or research.. Just knowing that ponies might live and work here left Sombra feeling strangely alien in this place even though it was Ice Storm herself who'd invited him and others into this organization. He just wasn't used to being a part of anything, and as he hadn't really done anything in or for STAR, he wasn't sure how much a part of it he was; it wasn't as if he was the kind of pony one would contact. His thoughts came to a halt to better focus on the hoofsteps, noting that they were coming this way. It wasn't much longer before the pony themself rounded the corner and the crystalline sound of shattered glass punctuated the beginning of an apology. Sombra's eye twitched and he eyed the stranger, a brightly colored mare with an unusual look to her eyes that made him wonder if she was blind. If she was, it didn't explain why she reacted the way she had saying things like that.. and it... It was language that he was familiar with from his time in the empire, when fellow orphans and certain crystal ponies referred to him as if he was a thing, and not a pony like them. To a very small extent, they were right in that he wasn't a pony, but they didn't know that.. To hear that sort of language again here and now was enough to stir some of that old anger that only masked a distant hurt. His lips peeled back from his sharp teeth and a brief, soft growl rumbled up his throat. "I'm not a thing, you know." His voice was a deep, rumbling baritone and it was edged with frustration. "I have every right to be here as anypony else."

Sombra made a noise in his throat, pondering it. "It could easily be whoever created it is its owner, although who that is we don't know. Hou definitely will if she's figured out how it works and got a look into those memories." He frowned and tore his eyes away from the book to look up at Ice Storm. He rumbled softly. "An airship? I think I've seen a few of those at the docks in Canterlot. If you think it'll be the quickest path to Saddle Arabia, then an airship it is. It'll have to come with a pilot because I've never been on an airship much less steered one. Hell, I haven't even been on so much as a boat." He wouldn't set hoof on a normal boat either, knowing how easy they were bound to tip over. All his time living in the Empire and he never once learned to swim or had a chance to. There were a couple of small lakes within the Empire's borders, but he never had a reason to actually go anywhere near them. As for the battleship, he was curious about what that entailed and if it was an airship too. It had to be, if Ice Storm mentioned not wanting to use it just to go to Neighpon. "I can imagine," Sombra replied a little dryly. "I'm sure I'll eventually get to see it in action if I survive dealing with Hou in Saddle Arabia." He doubted he would fall so easily, but Hou had made it very clear how she'd gotten by and gotten so powerful over the centuries and that involved souls. He knew as much after her threat before their fight really got started- she would've consumed his if he hadn't annoyed her so much that she lost her appetite. He quietly scoffed to himself, remembering a thought he had during that meeting. Disregarding that, Sombra was left unsure what to do next if Ice Storm was going to have an air ship prepared for him to head to Saddle Arabia. He looked to her, quizzical.

Under any other circumstance, Sombra would've liked to have simply sat down and read through some of these books at his leisure to learn more. It was too bad that he had the annoyance of Hou Shuren's existence to deal with. A soft sigh escaped him as he shoved the next book he peeked at back in its slot and turned to Ice upon hearing that aha! of triumph when she found something of use, and he was quick to make his way over. It sounded like she found some information, albeit.. vague. "For it possibly being Hou's invention, I doubt that. I'm ancient as creatures go and it's not as if I made any old powerful magical objects." Sombra snorted. "Besides, the Remembrance Stone would be useless to her if she made it and it contained her memories. The only reason she might have wanted to steal it back was to keep anypony else from seeing her memories and discerning any of her weaknesses. If she's gone to Saddle Arabia I'm sure it's for one of her nefarious reasons. Whether or not it has anything to do with the Stone remains to be seen. Who knows what else she's gotten her hooves on?" Sombra peered at the book. "If the Stone can alter or implant memories, then its even more dangerous in her hooves. She could twist anypony into some simpering, loyal pawn to do whatever she wants with its powers. Just like using mind-control magic, although how permanent it could be I dread to know." He huffed and sat down, frustrated. "I don't know. I'm sure if I head to Saddle Arabia as soon as possible I might have a chance of gathering some information. Tongue Twister might be able to fill me in on any observations she makes once I find her, provided Hou hadn't spotted her and crushed her on sight. Speaking of, what means would allow me to get there quickly? Teleporting is already out of the question since it would take far too much power to go that distance, and I'm sure even any gateway would take a lot of magic."

Sombra'll be late to the party/I might not be posting in just yet. He'll definitely be on Hou's heels eventually though, :B

"I'm sure that once you're in Neighpon and manage to find any sort of information about her, what she gets up to there, her history, anything that she's done, or even where she lived, you can send me a letter. Anything will be useful when it comes to dealing with her, if it'll give us any idea what she could be after or up to," Sombra replied, glancing over at the mare as she joined him up at the bookshelves. "Although I doubt she's doing it for any of the usual selfish reasons like some lost or sick family member. I doubt she even has so much as a boyfriend or a husband." Sombra snorted derisively as he moved along the shelf, tilting books out to look at their titles and covers without having to tilt his head just to read their spines. There had to be something here, even so much as a tome on ancient artifacts or magical items. He'd seen the picture of the Remembrance Stone, so he at least had something visual to go off of if anything happened to contain an illustration on it if there was anything at all, even so much as a few descriptive lines. He nibbled on his lower lip for a moment. "The purple princess.. Twilight, was it? She told me what the Stone does. She said that whoever holds it can see the memories of who it belonged to, and that it had other abilities but none that anypony has managed to figure out. Since Hou isn't in Equestria I can only guess it's nopony there whose memories she might have seen in it. I would've thought perhaps Celestia, but.. apparently not, unless there's something else she's going after in Saddle Arabia." Sombra frowned at the bookshelves, as if he was disappointed in them for not giving him what he sought. "I think that the Stone is still dangerous in her hooves. We don't even know who it originally belonged to, whose memories it could be. That would give her too much information."

The stallion merely grunted. If elevators were used for that, then he supposed that they had a use. He'd just rather avoid them if he could help it because of how strange he found them. He was quiet up until they finally reached their destination and his eyes went to the shelves of books spanning the walls and in rows. "Actually, I never mentioned where I came across her. I only mentioned I was in Canterlot to tell the royal sisters about her," Sombra corrected. "Where I actually fought Hou was in the Whitetail Woods during whatever was going on in Central Equestria at the time that was causing ponies to migrate towards Central Equestria. I only vaguely recall the reason, but I do remember seeing some great blast of rainbow light in the sky afterward. I don't exactly know when Hou stole from Canterlot's vaults, but it was certainly before she decided to come after me for her to have mentioned it." He eyed the console as Ice Storm pressed a few of the buttons on it, and the change in the lighting drew his eye to a section of books that was now lit up. It looked useful, and it at least narrowed down their search a little. "I don't really know her that well myself. We met once or.. possibly twice? back when I still had the empire under my control." There were vague memories of a warning she gave him, something dredged up by Hou's comment that came to him after their fight when he had time to think over every moment of their interaction for clues. Sombra headed towards the lit up sections of books and started to peruse them, intent on finding anything of interest. "You can go to Neighpon. I would rather head to Saddle Arabia as soon as possible so I can see what she's up to there and make sure Tongue Twister isn't going to get into any trouble with her. Any more than she has before."

Sombra made a face at her explanation and gestured vaguely in the direction of the elevators. "You do know stairs can exist," he pointed out. There was no need for magic if a pony could simply walk up the stairs, although he knew well enough why such a cursed contraption as an elevator existed with buildings as tall as these. Ponies would complain about being tired. He snorted, his nostrils flaring. He hesitated at the door to the second elevator and finally stepped on, turning to face the door and pressing his shoulder to the wall as the elevator began to drop. Somehow he could feel that it was moving a lot faster than the other one, and the sensation was more eerie going down than it was going up, like his organs might've wanted to go after his spine. He wanted to close his eyes even though there was nothing that he even had to avoid looking at. Sombra glanced over at Ice Storm and the letter that she pulled forth, and a short one at that. His magic was quick to pluck it from her grip to scan, his heavy brows furrowing. "Saddle Arabia? Is that where she is?" There had certainly been plenty of time for Hou to move around while he was piddling about in Canterlot. He recognized the other name on the letter, Tongue Twister. The mare he met when he was fighting Hou back in the forest, and from the look of it she was either in trouble or about to be in trouble with the sorceress if she spotted Hou. His snout wrinkled and he looked up as the elevator finally came to a halt, just as disconcerting as before. Sombra made his way off after Ice Storm, flicking an ear towards the acknowledging shout. "I don't have a clue why she's in Saddle Arabia. A few weeks ago I spoke with the.. purple princess and we managed to figure out what Hou stole from Canterlot's vaults. Something called a Remembrance Stone. Hou mentioned stealing something and I had to investigate even if it meant dealing with the royal sisters, if only to be a thorn in Hou's side for engaging me in a fight over some perceived notion of hers." Sombra looked down at the letter again before he offered it back to Ice Storm.

It didn't take too long for them to finally reach their destination, and they made it there without any issues or fuss. The way some ponies looked at him were something Sombra easily noticed and tried to ignore along the way, but nopony had really panicked or did really much of anything other than startle at most; their discomfort and some of their fear was something that Sombra easily picked up on. It was otherwise quiet, and now that they were indoors he could experience something like peace. A relieved sigh left the stallion as he followed his escort towards a pair of doors that slid open quietly, revealing what was either a large box or a very small room. He eyed it dubiously before stepping in with the mare, and once the elevator began to move he leaned his shoulder against the wall with discomfort, uncertain whether it was going up or down by the way gravity seemed to pull or release his body. He didn't say a word, entirely confused by the contraption that they were in, and he glanced over to see how the valet was handling it. Relatively normal, from the looks of it, and it was likely this was just a regular occurrence for her. This space was just small enough too that he could pick up on anything as easily as breathing with as cramped as it felt to him, as large as he was. The next he knew when the doors slid open the view was completely different- it opened up to a room with large windows, and a desk behind which Ice Storm sat. Sombra was quick to exit the elevator with his long stride, focusing his attention on the coolly colored mare other than giving his valet a cursory glance when she was dismissed. "The.. elevator? Is that what that thing is called?" Sombra asked without so much as a formal greeting, pointing a hoof towards the other sliding doors. "I don't like it," but he would have to get in it again, he knew, if he was going to get to talk to Ice Storm about anything. "Well, perhaps you can at least tell me what you've found."

His ears focused on the mare who greeted him before his eyes found her, and he eyed the dress uniform that she wore; it made her stand out from the crowds of casually dressed tourists that it made his valet unmistakable. The only thing that threw him off was for somepony to refer to him as King Sombra again. One dark brow rose in response, both to it and what he recognized as some sort of salute. Sombra lifted a bare, dark hoof and gestured to her. "Lead the way, then," he answered. Once the mare strode off, he fell into step somewhat by her side without any hesitation, and with enough room between them so that if she happened to turn anywhere to her left he'd have enough time to stop to avoid tripping over her. It wasn't likely to happen anyway. He made sure she was within his view no matter where his gaze wandered to the tall buildings that they passed and the brightly flashing signs proclaiming the names of the establishments themselves, although what they held was something he had no clue of. This was a bright, flashy, and noisy place. He'd be glad just to get in to somewhere dark and quiet soon because it was already a little overwhelming for somepony out of time like himself; even the rest of Equestria was perfectly normal compared to this city. Personally he couldn't see why ponies came here.

It didn't take long for Sombra to eventually receive a reply, and he didn't bother to count the minutes. He simply settled down on the single bed in the room and pulled a book from the pocket realm he kept anchored to a space inside his cape to read, and he only got a few pages in when a scroll appeared before him. A short one. Sombra opened it to read, his expression impassive. Hmm.. It appeared he was going to go to Las Pegasus after all, and it was a good idea for him to have sent a letter at all if Ice Storm would be sending somepony to fetch him from the train station. Although how long it was going to take for the train to reach Las Pegasus from Canterlot was unknown to him, even with a map on hoof; he was still mostly unfamiliar with train travel and he didn't know how quickly it'd get there. He grabbed another slip of parchment and sent a reply. Sombra sent the letter off and once he tucked his book back in his pocket realm, he checked the room to make sure he hadn't left anything else lying about (which wasn't hard since he didn't have that many belongings to start with) and left to check out. _____________ The time it took for the train to eventually reach Las Pegasus left Sombra with enough freedom to spend it reading, or staring out the window and watching the countryside roll by between a couple of naps. Doing so provided him a good judge of how long it took for the train to eventually reach the city, which if he had been keeping track, seemed to be two and a half days by the time it came into view. The city itself was a strange one, looking as if it was set high enough to be among the lowest cloud layer or perhaps sitting on the clouds themselves much like he'd read about Cloudesdale. He saw more of the tall, square buildings with their shiny glass windows and various signs colorfully lit up with what he could only assume were the magic-powered lights that he occasionally came across in lieu of fire. The book he'd had sitting out was tucked away and the stallion sat up, patiently waiting for the train as it rolled up towards the station and finally came to a gentle jerk of a halt. As soon as the doors were open, he was quick to get up and made his way off without much issue from the disembarking crowds; his size, height, and no doubt his entire appearance made ponies part for him like a subservient wave. His eyes scanned the crowds, hoping to find the valet Ice Storm's letter spoke of waiting for him. Surely once he'd found the pony, it'd only be a matter of time that he could meet up with Ice Storm- all the while trying to bear the groups of excited ponies and all the noise this city seemed to invite. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

Weeks had passed since Sombra's little audience with two of Equestria's princesses. He hadn't left Canterlot as of yet, not even to seek out the castle that apparently awaited him on this Glacial Isle somewhere in or off of the Far Badlands, with the staff he received as its key that he occasionally took out to look at out of curiosity. His stay was kept to a hotel room, where he lingered when he didn't have anything else to do except wonder where, exactly, to go next now that the princesses were informed. It just didn't feel like it was enough to have just told them about Hou Shuren, and he didn't exactly have the means to actually track that witch down to find out more regarding what she planned to do with the Remembrance Stone. Except, of course, the particular group he allowed to recruit him. After his invitation to it and his brief meeting with its leader, Ice Storm, he hadn't had anything to do with them in the months that followed after. If they were meant to be some new line of defense for Equestria, then it was only right that they had some means of obtaining information and tracking anypony of interest. The only thing about it was, Sombra didn't know where to find them. He knew they were based in Las Pegasus at least, at some casino judging from the memo that he'd been sent some time ago, he just wasn't sure if he'd be able to navigate the city to find them. Sombra grimaced. He had no liking of cities, but if he was going to start anywhere, it was going to be sending a letter. After acquiring some pen and paper, he wrote one and sent it on its way.

I'm just wondering how Sombra would've learned anything about it, heh, or where exactly to start tracking Hou down to find her in Saddle Arabia, although if he is still technically a part of STAR he could tap them for information. 🤔

The other mare's giggle drew a smile out of Luna, or Spring, as she would be known to these two. "It sounds like quite the wild party in every description I ever receive about that city, if it can be called a city with the attractions it boasts." She tilted her head and glanced to the stallion to offer him a nod and a friendly smile. So she had heard his name correctly then as Blank Canvas, and from Vanhoover. Maybe she could ask him about his city in a moment as she hadn't been out that far to it either. Any diplomatic visits to cities was usually Celestia's forte. "A performance festival, hm?" It sounded like it would be something fun to watch and to see ponies showcase their talents. It sounded like it would be a musical one, but it might involve other talents. "It sounds like it would be fun to see, although I've heard it can be difficult and somewhat expensive to book famous performers to take the stage. Your idea to help draw attention to smaller musicians and the like through them sounds rather admirable, I think, and a lot to prepare for." She tilted her head, thoughtful. All the decorations, and planning that would go with it.. To some extent it was like throwing a party.

For the most part, Luna had missed their introductions although she was sure that she overheard the stallion's name on her approach. She felt it best to wait and see if he might re-introduce himself to her just so that she could be certain that she'd heard his name correctly. As the other mare introduced herself, Luna offered her a small, friendly smile and dipped her head to Wind Dancer. "I'm Spring Serenade," she answered with a name easily enough. It hadn't been too hard for her to come up with the name while she'd been flying over Canterlot, and run variations through her mind until she found something appropriately normal for a pony. It didn't even matter if her fake cutiemark didn't match, either, as some ponies' names were not reflected in the mark of their talents. Which, speaking of.. she guessed that she'd have to come up with one if anypony ever happened to ask and she wasn't sure how often ponies spent discussing their special talents. "So you're from Las Pegasus? How interesting. I'm unfortunately somewhat unfamiliar with Canterlot myself, but I'm sure I might be able to help you get around," Luna offered. She glanced between the two, and knew well enough from their introductions that.. Blank Canvas, was it? was not Wind's coltfriend, but a stranger. From the sound it, from Vanhoover too, another far away city, to the north from where Wind was from. "What sort of event are you putting on?"

For the opposition~

The disguised princess let the wind carry her for a bit in a half circle across the town, her teal eyes trained on the buildings and ponies below. She wasn't even sure where to begin or who to even approach about what she could do. She already knew that there was so much to choose from! She could peruse the shops, or see a play, or even go try out something new to eat at one of the many upscale restaurants Canterlot boasted. Her flight carried her low over the buildings, coming close to where the long building of the train station was with its platform and open space around it where ponies could mingle or wait for their train or visitor. At the moment, there seemed to be two ponies standing next to each other with one holding a paper, something Luna guessed must be a map. Maybe they were as lost as she was.. It took her by surprise when one of them seemed to notice her and waved. The fact that they could see her coming had to have meant they were a pegasus; the race was known to be capable of seeing further than the others, with the exception being alicorns and that only included the equine species. Luna took the wave as an opportunity to come gracefully swooping down to land by the pair with a flutter of wings, curiosity clear on her face. Her height was reduced in her disguise, to leave her only a few inches taller than most mares so she wasn't likely to stand out in any particular way, especially not to the two that she approached. "Ah, hello!"

Ooh? That sounds like it'd be fun.

The oncoming shift of power left Princess Luna with far less than her meager duties to perform, which also left her with plenty of time on her hooves. It was both a blessing and a curse to her, though out of everything that she was giving up, the only thing that would remain hers and hers alone was the dream realm. It was she who discovered it, and only her magic worked there. No matter what, she could continue to govern the dream realm long after her crown was gone to Princess Twilight Sparkle. Some part of her wished she didn't have to give it up at all, and their retirement was mostly her sister's idea; perhaps because of how much Celestia's life had gone into governing this kingdom while she sat in the icy prison of the moon. Sometimes Luna tried not to be too bitter about it, and sometimes she didn't even have to try- like today. The idea had only occurred to her recently that with her new freedoms, that she had the opportunity to see the town as it was said, and she could do it without Celestia unlike their disastrous little vacation. The only thing about it was that she would have to go disguised in order to avoid exciting any ponies and losing the chance to simply exist in the castle town for the day, doing whatever she liked without so much as an interruption. With her magic she wove herself a simple enough disguise: a slender powdery blue pegasus with a black mane that had a purple shine in certain lighting. The makeup she usually wore was just a darker shade of blue. She kept the cutiemark simple, with a crescent moon and a few, silver stars half hidden behind a puff of cloud. She spent only a moment admiring herself in the mirror before making her way out of the window, her path around the castle towers and to the town a quick and stealthy one to avoid the notice of any of the guards. The cold winter wind bit pleasantly at her coat, and Luna felt her heart soaring as she glided over the tops of the buildings, looking for what she could possibly do here first. Having only ever been a princess living most of her life in a castle or in the moon left her little idea what ponies normally did with their time. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for her to find somepony and ask them for some recommendations.

Big rip. Personally my Luna would not want to retire or accept as much seeing as she never really got to rule Equestria other than the few years or so ? that she's been back but lol. I guess I can try to run with it and see how it goes.

Fun. I just need to figure out who I might like to use for it, lol. Edit: Actually I'm super torn between using Yuna, or maybe having a disguised Luna wandering the town. I know this site is keeping up with like, events from the show and w/e so I don't really know where it's at on the 'princesses retiring' thing even tho I prefer to leave that out of my Luna's thing.

I'd be down for whatever tbh. I just don't have any ideas and I'm mostly just hoping to get some character(s) involved in something.

I wouldn't mind that. I just don't have any ideas in mind at this point and I'm mostly just hoping to get some character involved in something, since what I've tried to pursue doesn't seem to be working out? Mostly in that I'm not sure where to go with it now.

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