private IC: Return of the King (1x1 with Catpone Cerberus)

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props ValRoa
Una again moved from reading to thinking about what she had learned...she probably should get a journal or notebook or something to write down her mental ponderings to make possible research easier... her thought process was different from Sombra, as instead of thinking of things from power angle, she looked at them from more scientific perspective, yet again a thing she did subconsciously that no doubt came from what she couldn't remember.

Basically, instead of thinking about how to destroy the elements or the wielders, she thought about how exactly they worked and if 'good' morals were a necessity for their use, after all, for example loyalty wasn't morally pure concept, you could be loyal to prince of death or something. There was also the fact that the princesses had been able to use them too, be it to lesser extent, so what did that say for their requirements?

She did also consider the idea of elements of Disharmony, their existence would make sense if one was to assume that magic saught harmony, no order without chaos and so on, but their theoretical nature also made their existence in a way self defeating. The elements of harmony were all about teamwork, every singular element was embodying an aspect to build trust between individuals, so the opposite of them would be the exact opposite, Greed, disloyalty...they were all things that pushed others away, so those who truly embodied them would be unable to come together, until of course that too was the opposite, and they were actually weaker together, but then wouldn't they by their nature be weaker than the elements of harmony? It could also be that they were meant to be wielded by single individual, though that would need to be very miserable individual, And even Sombra, him being the closest to it she had met, wouldn't be bad enough to wield their true power, and someone who would be, would be unlikely to help them because...well, they would be the most disloyal, selfish, unhappy jerk around.

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Sombra would ponder more about the Elements of Disharmony, eventually discarding the idea because Greed, Betrayal, Avarice, Deception, Despair, and Cruelty were the exact opposite of what he wanted. He wanted the populace to be loyal to him and him alone. He did not want a disunited populace who would hypothetically be aware of how he achieved power. He wanted to be seen as the liberator. The one who set them all free - perhaps he could use the Elements of Harmony themselves to achieve that? But, how would he take the reigns of the Elements of Harmony and use it against those who oppose him? He didn't understand that part of it at all, but at the very least the idea of the Elements of Disharmony was discarded. He would discuss this with Una.

If Una told him about the idea of the Elements of Disharmony being wielded by one single individual he would find himself curious about that. If such a thing existed, he would obviously want to see it for himself and see if there was a way to take advantage of it - however, he told her that being that one individual would directly go against his goals of being seen as the "liberator" of the ponies from the two sister's rule. While Sombra was a very dark and easily enraged soul - he wanted to be seen in a positive light so that his power may rule for all of them. Using overt oppression and force constantly just goes against that, and undermines the very foundations of what he wanted to achieve.

Sombra wasn't a directly morally good sort - but he wasn't someone who just destroys and conquers for no reason. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props ValRoa
Una would tell a short version of her thought about the elements being meant for individual if Sombra brought them up, not really suggesting them as an option, but rather that sharing a theory on how they work, to his explanation of his goals, she respectfully acknowledged them, and then informed him that she wouldn't have suggested their use like that regardless, because even ignoring Sombra's goals, they would need someone else to wield them at their full power, and such individual would not work with them since they would be by definition greedy traitor. This all of course said respectfully and in manner that someone overhearing wouldn't be the end of the world. 

She had also thought about herself as a potential wielder, but she realized she wasn't fit for that either, because while she didn't have strong morals keeping her back, she didn't go to the other extreme either, sure she didn't feel the need to stop cruelty, but she also didn't want to cause cruelty herself.

"I believe it would be more beneficial to look into the harmony elements to see how tightly they are tied to conventional morals." 

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Of course, Sombra was fully disguised as a regular dark gray stallion so even if they were overheard he wouldn't overtly be noticed by anyone out of the blue - at least, he would accept Una's responses and say that for any one individual to wield the Elements of Disharmony - would probably also have to be the one that created them in the first place. Although Sombra also stated he believed it to be possible that the Elements of Harmony and Disharmony have no known creator and were merely created by existence itself as a natural force of balance in the world - though he added that he had no proof to back up that suggestion.

He would then look for books about the Elements of Harmony, and when he found them - he'd return and give them various books to dead on the Elements of Harmony. Though he didn't know exactly what to expect from the validity of the information that was contained within them.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props ValRoa
Una acknowledged Sombra's response, but didn't add more to it, as she hadn't really thought about the potential creation of the elements, though she did conclude with a statement about magic as a force being mysterious, and that she personally finds it hard to believe that something that powerful was made by a mortal individual, but like Sombra, she had no evidence for it.

Una again quickly ended up thinking rather than reading, because there was only so much information about a topic even the writer didn't fully understand, thinking about the morality aspect, though there wasn't really enough information to conclude anything, since there had been only two sets of users, The princesses, and the current wielders, and from what it looked like, both of them were morally 'good', and nobody they considered evil had as much as tried them.

Of course there was the results of using the elements, they too implied 'goodness' through removing 'the evil' when possible, but was it the elements themselves choosing it or did they follow their wielders' wishes? 

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Sombra would continue reading, and the same question would eventually come across into his mind. Either way, he had to steal the Elements of Harmony for himself and experiment upon them for himself. Perhaps the idea of them being used as "goodness" was merely reflecting the wielder's desires, framed in the minds of those who used them? He would look to Una, and suggest that it was possible this was the case - and if it was, he could use their own weapons to defeat the so called "Mane 6" and the Two Sisters. Though, he would wish to somehow copy Celestia and Luna's ability to raise the Sun and Moon, before getting rid of them permanently. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props ValRoa
Una agreed with Sombra's statement on the elements, but she added a point "They could be bound to them, making it impossible to use them as long as they are alive." her tone told that it was merely speculation rather than anything she could prove to be true. For the sun and moon though, she commented with more confidence "I don't think there is any special ability, I saw in one of the books that before the princesses, it was a group of unicorns moving them. I didn't read much about it since it wasn't related to what I was looking for, but from the little I did see, I believe one doesn't need any special magic to move the Sun and Moon,, they just need to be powerful enough to do so, and alicorns are naturally powerful."  she did wonder what the world was like before ponies, or any other potential ancient magical creature, what was things like before creatures started moving the celestial bodies?

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Sombra didn't understand how and why ponies started moving celestial bodies. He never understood that. "If the elements are bound to them as long as they are alive - then the best course of action would be to merely kill them, breaking the binding. Though, I do not know if they are bound or not. I do not feel the way that I do to them, as I do the two sisters. It is likely the two sisters brainwashed them to service their goals without them realizing it, though killing them may just be a good precaution anyway just incase the elements themselves are binded....though one could be killed, breaking the link between all 6? As for the Sun and Moon, that, I have no idea..." he said with a slight groan. There was so much to consider.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Empress Magloria
Una shrugged, she had even less of an idea of how things worked, everything she said was just pulling connections between dots based on what she had learned, she had no real way to be sure how correct she was about things, hay, as far as she knew, she could have a bias that she herself wasn't aware of, which would mean she failed to notice some things. She wondered if the number six meant anything, why was it six elements exactly, the first assumption would be that it was to have two of each race, but that wasn't true anymore, since one of them was an alicorn, making the numbers uneven, it wasn't like those six things were the only things that made...to use their words...friendship, work. 

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Sombra would continue reading, and he would find out that the Elements were tied to the Tree of Harmony, as if the Tree itself was somehow sentient and created the Elements themselves. Sombra himself did not see the problem with Harmony - it was analogous to order, so perhaps he would be able to somehow take command of the Tree and use it's power along with the Elements to be used as a way to impose his order on the world? He would tell Una this, though Una could tell he was doubtful that such an idea would succeed. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Empress Magloria
Una responded thoughtfully "How such would work, depends on the nature of what the elements actually are, or in other word, if they have their own rules, or if they mirror the wielder's will." Magic was a natural force, so there was only so much creatures could do to control it, so if the elements were a creation of magic as a force rather than something caused by a being, it was unlikely they could be corrupted against whatever they formed for, and if they could be, then there would most likely be awful side effects, but if they were made by some being, there was a chance.

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

"More investigation is required to answer that, I have no doubt. Depending on the answer, that would be the second...goal that I would seek to do once we are potent in modern magic and technology. First I must find allies, then find a way to make the Elements on a non-threat, at the very least." Sombra would speak to Una, agreeing with her. Sombra guessed that perhaps there was a secret library section under the Canterlot castle, though he would examine that later. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Empress Magloria
Una would then say, or more specifically ask, something that may have been bit surprising, and not just because it was unrelated to the elements, she spoke so quietly that she practically whispered to avoid any eavesdropping "Your Highness, regarding all this studying, I ask for permission to focus on specializing my abilities, I believe I would be the most useful for you if I focused on mastering absorption and learning to create new spells, rather than learning bit of everything, I have justification for this belief, but this isn't a good place to discuss it." 

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

"You have my permission for that. That will give me time to focus on what I need to do." Sombra would say, and he would walk away for a few minutes to retrieve some books about enchantments and psionic magics. Hopefully these books could help him find something that would allow him to create the brainwashing rings he was talking about. It would be something that he needs to study first, because brainwashing the captains of the guard would paralyze the most organized resistance to him, and he already stole their blueprints anyway. If left un-interrupted, he'd be reading for the next several hours.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Una too went to gather some books from outside the history section, the topic being the two she had just mentioned, or well, the latter mostly, since she had pretty much gone through everything this place had to offer for absorption. She didn't really expect to find too much about spell creation either, as like absorption, it was the type of thing that could, and most likely would be dangerous in the hoofs of a regular, less educated pony.

She believed that here she would mainly find the basics, and for more detailed information they would need to get access to libraries of schools or even possibly a private collections of select few depending on the laws of this land. After all, no sensible ruler would allow powers that could bring down their rule to be accessed by just any common creature from the streets, there had to be some amount of regulation.  

She had no reason to bother Sombra as she too focused on reading. 

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Sombra was only able to find the basic theories and elements of what he was looking for. There was nothing in here that actually allowed him to do what he wanted to do - because it was a public library. For what Sombra was really looking for, would likely be in some private collection or forbidden section. Sombra would continue to read books about modern magic theory. None of it was terribly interesting to him, but he figured that he should take the time to continue reading up on the basics about things. 

Eventually Sombra would have read enough material here, he would look to Una and suggest they find a private collection, somehow. It was clear they weren't going to find the full details they were wanting to find here. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Una didn't have high hopes, but she was still disappointed, it wasn't that there was little information about new spell crafting, rather, there was pretty much none, sure there was general information, but no actual information on how it was supposed to be done, apparently it was something that only very special few, like the latest princess, were able to do...nonsense, creating new magic, maybe, but making new spells? it wasn't as complicated as the books claimed, she knew it...why and how she knew it though?...she had no idea. 

It wasn't a total dead end though, since there was information on spell modification, which was enough for her to start experimenting with things, she just needed more spells to start. 

She agreed with Sombra about finding a private collection, and listed few potential places, those being, any castle, a home of a princess if they lived outside the castle, or a home of some other important magic related individual, and of course any other private, potentially illegal or otherwise hidden collections, but how would one even start looking for those?

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Sombra would take note of this, and he would lead the way out of the library so they could talk more in private. He'd lead the way towards an alleyway by the library - and take out his map. He'd look at it for various potential locations for a private collection - and his eyes would fall upon the museum. He would suggest that there could potentially be hidden artifacts or a restricted section in the museum, and if not, perhaps they could try the homes of various highly important individuals - which aren't marked on the map of course, but would potentially not be all that difficult to find due to their high status and wealth in society. He seemed to relent somewhat, allowing Una to discuss what the options were with him.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Una didn't have much more to add, but she did share the thought that the museum, while it had artifacts, possibly even more secret ones, even though storing something not meant to be seen in a museum would be weird, it was also a high profile target, meaning that while stealing from a individual or a shop, or stealing something that could be misplaced, like the blueprints, would most likely be seen as a case of random thievery at most, stealing from a museum would certainly be noticed, and if it's something especially important, guards would be at high alert. She emphasized that she wasn't saying it was a bad idea, just that if they were to do so, they would need to be extra careful after.

She also mentioned the door in the museum she had spotted and mentioned before, and suggested that if it really was a way into some kind of guard-tunnels as she suspected, there could be something stored down there too, though for obvious reasons it would be very risky place to go to. 

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Sombra would mention that if they needed to, they could of course flee somewhere and let events in Canterlot die down incase they happened to get caught or if something went wrong. Though Sombra added that they should go to the museum and just look around to see if there were any signs of a hidden area or off limits to the public areas. Sombra stated he could easily infiltrate the place in his shadow form and look through logs to make sure, as well. He was going to do this either way but thought that it would be good to mention. He would say that if they found anything, they should examine it before diving into it. He was weary of the prospect of it being a decoy to attract thieves.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Una agreed with the last statement, but mentioned that she knew for sure that at least some things are real there, like Nightmare Moon's armor from which she brought the piece of to Sombra, because she could feel the magic in in, or well, the emotion tied to the magic, the darkness you may say. She also said, in surprisingly worried tone, that Sombra should be careful because there was lot of anti-magic measures in the building, especially around the more important stuff, and while she didn't know the specifics of what magics they blocked exactly, it was likely that dark magic was on the list, since even normal unicorn magic was affected.

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

Sombra would state that they'd have a look around before doing anything with magic. They may be able to find some clues for things if they just spend some time there and look around. Though he would state that he was more or less referencing that he would use his shadow form outside the museum to see if he could find any hidden ways in that cannot be seen from the inside. He would begin leading them towards the Museum - and if Una had no objections, he would lead them into the museum itself so they can look around. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Una didn't object, and just followed Sombra after nodding to his words.

It wasn't that she had thought that using magic would become the problem, after all, she was sure that he too would be able to feel the anti-magic effects without even trying to use his magic, since it was quite noticeable, rather, her worry had been towards his health, as she still didn't know how exactly Sombra worked as a being, she only knew for sure that dark magic was very big part of him, and since even she felt bit ill when her magic was only partially blocked, she could only imagine what it would be like to someone like Sombra to have all his magic blocked.

She also didn't know the real nature of his abilities like the shadow form, so she had had no reason to assume they didn't get affected by anti-magic measures.  

[King Sombra]

@Catpone Cerberus

When they arrived at the Museum the first thing Sombra would do is lead them into the areas they were in before. There were tons of ponies and visitors here as usual, and so they blended into the crowd. Sombra began to look around the Museum, looking around for anything he might have missed. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,428]

@Props Valroa
Una simply followed Sombra, she didn't much look at the stuff in display since she had had good enough look when she had been there alone before, instead she looked around generally, and when they got around the area, she showed Sombra the door she was talking about before, where guards went and came, and which seemed to have stairs down behind it. She also pointed out few spots where guards seemed to stand guard when they weren't walking around.