Obsidian: Shards Of Sombra

by Randimaxis

Fifty Seven: A Most Dangerous Game

Okay, serious thinking time.

Ponyville itself was going to be clear of others, but apparently not completely cleared - otherwise, it wouldn't make any sense to put her into this stallion's appearance. There were going to be others here... and knowing her luck (and having recently learned of Amber's level of sadism), they were most likely going to be her friends.

No time for surmising or reiterating what she already knew; first things first. And at the moment, the firstest thing of all was getting to Princess Twilight's palace. Obsidian was going to try circumventing the middle of town with a longer route... and avoiding Sugarcube Corner at all costs, as if demons and Umbrals were planning to meet there for brunch.

The entire village was as silent as a grave. It was just past dusk, and there were a number of shadows that filled each corner... plus, with nopony present to light the magical lanterns, the streets were foreboding and dark. There were a few scant electric lights, but those only converged where the shops were located and where public places were frequented... which meant there was a lot of open ground to cover, but there were a few points of light to move between.

She might've cast a Light Spell, but the ring on her horn was firmly in place and she couldn't access ANY of her magic. Whether it was real or not, the restraint was doing the job it was made for.

As further evidence of Amber's vast control, there were some rogue rainclouds hanging over the town and it was lightly sprinkling little raindrops with the occasional, distant light rumble of thunder; no pegasi available to corral them. The ground was a bit muddy, but otherwise everything was still and dark and quiet.

The perfect mood for a dramatic encounter; Obsidian had no doubt that it was bound to happen, sooner or later. It didn't prevent her from doing her best to move quietly between the houses as she made her way towards the castle itself. Getting there would involve crossing town, then getting though the meadow area between the town and the castle, then through the castle itself to the throne room. It sounded simple enough, and she most certainly knew the way.

As she rounded the corner towards the fountain, she felt an icy chill in her heart - one which made her shiver involuntarily. The wind blew across the empty streets, and the drizzle pattered down to make small, shallow puddles within the occasional ruts and divots that passing ponies and their carts had made in the course of their travels.

Suddenly, out of the darkness came a sound that turned the Grey Princess' blood to ice water in a split second:

Someone had found her.

A moving, churning hill of mud and dirt zoomed out from behind a larger building, and began to rush towards Obsidian rapidly, overturning cobblestones and making a direct beeline for the mare.

Oh shit! At least Obsidian didn't have to waste any more time trying to be sneaky! She simply turned to face the end of town and rushed forward, sprinting towards the castle with haste as she wasn't really wanting to meet A FURIOUS GYPSY ROVER!

The hill suddenly vanished down into the ground... then razor-sharp, claw-tipped paws suddenly thrust up from the dirt underneath her, tearing at her legs and barrel while pulling at her tail, a frantic scrabble for anything soft and yielding.

It was always better to be safe then sorry... but it was far better to be alive than safe. She juked to the side - straight into the mud - just to avoid losing any of her limbs that might prove useful on her quest. After all, she was rather attached to them...

"GYPSY!" Obsidian cried out as she couldn't help but shout at him in her desperation - but alas, if all that Amber had claimed was accurate, no sound that she made would reach his ears unchanged...

The location of the attacks continued to follow right beneath her, with one claw managing to tear a gash across her left front leg. Luckily, not across a tendon... but it still hurt like fire.

As she went to step forward, the dirt under her started to sink; he was digging the ground out from beneath her hooves! She had to start running erratically; she'd have to be even more vigilant if she didn't want him to make a hole for her to break a leg in!

This little trek was probably going to be difficult and unpleasant. She started to dodging like mad, as there was simply no way he would outright stop - at least until he ran out of ground to dig through.

Sadly, there was plenty of it. In fact, as far as Obsidian could tell, if the palace floors couldn't stop him, she was completely and totally screwed. She could make it all the way there, she was sure of it - she would just have to dodge Gypsy during the entire trip to the castle. Might as well get started on the fast-paced action now - the sooner her adrenaline kicked in, the better.

Galloping through town was nerve-racking, as Siddy felt she was literally dancing on glass; one wrong step, and she was done for. That, and those rock-rending claws kept reaching up and threatening her underside, where all her tender bits were... like her chest, her stomach, and other physical attributes that are usually best left undamaged.

However, Obsidian saw a saving grace ahead of her - a parking lot, paved over, was at the far end of this street, and in the right direction; she could possibly lose him there. She still hadn't actually seen the diamond dog's muzzle as of yet... but she could hear what sounded like a low, continuous rumble of angry thunder whenever he was scrabbling to claw at her.

What was more? She could feel his PAIN in her own heart, his suffering and rage at having to experience the loss he did. How had it looked, Obsidian wondered, when she'd died in front of him? Had Amber been completely literal?

Poor Gypsy... and Poor Siddy, if she didn't hurry her flank to that paved lot!

Of course, even if she could escape those claws from underground, her problems were still far from over - he could simply run after her on the surface. However, in this case, she could at least have a chance to stop him. To resist. To fight... no matter how badly it would hurt (both literally and metaphorically) to do so.

She turned to one side without warning and practically dashed towards the asphalt-covered parking lot, hoping to lose Gypsy for a long enough time to get back on route to the castle.

It would be severely ironic if Gypsy - in the act of trying to avenge her death - ended up being the one to kill her.

When she finally managed to dash her way onto the concrete-surfaced lot, the attacks from beneath her stopped. Safe for a moment, she saw the mound of dirt circle the lot hastily, as if looking for purchase, but finding none. Then, it stopped only a short distance from her hooves...

And an absolutely livid diamond dog, growling with a guttural rumble, burst upwards out of the muddy ground! He was wearing crude padding beneath a black duster, and with a pair of thick goggles covering his yellowish-glowing eyes, he roared like a beast unbound as he surged up from the ground at her, claws ready to strike, foam and spittle flying from his tooth-bared maw.

This time there would be no Diamond present to stitch either one of them up - though that was honestly the least of her problems. After all, she lacked the claws and teeth Gypsy had available to him.

At the first moment, Obsidian simply wanted to push him away from her with her magic - but alas, there was this damnable ring on her horn! And no matter how much she might curse the fact, it was still obviously apparent: she simply couldn't defend herself using magic she had no access to.

Damnation, a rabid Gypsy was quite a terrifying sight to behold! The normally kind and loving friend she'd once known had turned into an absolute beast, a real killing machine - which was currently aimed straight at her.

Obsidian counter-attacked, slinging a hoof in a feint to try to hit him in mid-air while actually dodging below him, then striking upward into his midsection. Such a strike knocked Gypsy for a loop, and he stumbled back with a yip, but then glared at her with seething anger as he sprung forward again, paying no heed to the trickle of blood running from his mouth.

He went low, going for her muzzle and swiping upward; she felt his claws barely flick at her chin, making little papercuts there as he just barely missed tearing open her throat! He whirled like a dervish, and was coming back for a double-claw to the barrel - but he was a scholar, not a trained fighter; he was telegraphing his moves far too much. A good thing, too - otherwise, his speed may have made up for his tactical shortcomings.

Obsidian could fight; whether she actually wanted to or not was a different story.

What a terrifying enemy Gypsy made - normally, someone with such little battle training wouldn't be too problematic - even with the advantage of his strength and those sharp claws - but the fact that Obsidian didn't have her magic and that this was her dear friend attacking her was making everything harder. She just had to be careful, keep vigilant and strike right after dodging his attacks.

Dodge, strike, dodge, strike... it was almost as if it was mere training, instead of a battle to the death.

He kept coming, yet she kept deflecting... but only half the time was she managing to get in a strike back; for the rest, she was having to dodge his bites and swipes, and though he may not have been a fighter, he was insanely angry - and his adrenaline was making up for any sort of lack of training. But of course, it only meant she had to keep sidestepping and guarding, and striking when she could... which wasn't as often as she'd hoped.

As the altercation continued, she could see the damage she was doing to poor Gypsy stacking up; his eye was blackened, a front fang cracked and broken, his cheek and mouth bleeding... and though it all, she just felt his PAIN his horrible PAIN churning inside him, the outer shell only being a porton of the pure primal fury he felt right now.

As Obsidian continued to back away from the pressure of his assault, she felt herself step into the dirt at the edge of the lot, and teeter over into it unexpectedly as it fell away from her landing, and she fell further down than she'd realized was even there...

Falling through the hole she'd made and hitting the cool, rough earth on the ground, Obsidian found herself at the bottom of a large pit; it looked as though it had been dug out completely under the parking lot... which meant Gypsy had herded her here. Maybe he wasn't a fighter, but he DID know a little something about ancient tactics... and the art of distraction, apparently.

With an internal chill freezing her veins, Obsidian looked around and realized the pit she was now sitting in was one big killing jar... and she was the bug.

Well, Gypsy would probably feel terribly sorry for killing her, Obsidian was sure about that. Not that he'd have much time to do so - after all, there'd been what Amber said about torturing them all to death if she failed...

"GYPSY! IT'S ME - OBSIDIAN!" she shouted in panic, her eyes searching the area frantically to find even a mere glimpse of a means of escape - perhaps through one of the diamond dog's own hastily-dug tunnels?

The canine in question suddenly burst through the wall next to her and swiped at her barrel, leaving three angry red slashes along her right side before he dove into the dirt on the opposite wall - an act he began to repeat rapidly; luckily, Obsidian's training kicked in, and she managed to stay just barely away from the rest of those lethal attacks.

His diving from one wall to the other was harrowing to behold... but it also left more holes that could possibly lead up to the surface. She just had to dive into one herself and go up as fast as she could...

Yes, let's outrace a diamond dog through the dirt; no problem, eh?

Obsidian had to choose - and neither of her choices seemed good enough. However, just sitting there, waiting for him to get tired wasn't an option. Amber really wanted to top Onyx on Siddy's personal list of 'the most annoying ponies ever', it seemed.

He dove in at her again, slicing a lock from her mane in passing... and revealing light from above through the passage he'd made! She would have only seconds... but if she could get through the hole, she'd be above ground again. And above ground held much better chances for survival than below it did.

Obsidian was well aware that Cup really liked her mane... but she was fairly certain he also liked the rest of her body as well! To keep him satisfied, she just had to keep it in one piece. She decided to take the risk and scrambled towards the tunnel to reach the life-saving light above her.

She leapt in and scrabbled at the grime-slick sides to get to the surface before Gypsy could reach her - and popped onto the concrete of the parking lot, covered in mud and scratches... mere seconds before he leapt through as well, coming out of the hole nearly right on top of her!

Free of the obstructions below, he began wildly slinging his paws at her, needle-like claws getting close enough for her to feel the wind of their passage.

"NOH! BAD! BAAAAD! STOP! NOH!" His words sounded more like harsh barking, like a junkyard mutt guarding his territory... but at least his stutter seemed to be gone for the moment. Silver linings, right?

Normally listening to Gypsy's advice was a good idea - but not today, old friend. She just had to get a single, clear shot - one good strike to leave him stunned long enough to resume her mission. She dodged into the parking lot again, feeling much safer with a firm floor beneath her hooves as she frantically looked around for anything that could be useful in her situation.

Unfortunately, other than the few remaining vehicles still parked there, nothing useful came to-... WAIT.

About a block down the street, there was the glow of a sign for Handy's Dandy Tools, a hardware store - and possibly a number of useful things inside she could work with to possibly stop or even entrap him? Otherwise, there was a single shopping cart, with three wheels, shoved against the back lamppost in the lot - and it didn't look very weapon-worthy.

Well, a tool shop was as good of a choice as any other place, and as such a shop would most likely have hard floors instead of dirt, the pup would no longer have any of his current digging advantage in there. Obsidian braced herself for the sprint, then ran to the store at full-tilt, desperate to get there ahead of the canine.

When she began to bolt, Gypsy quickly dove into the ground again and gave chase, his passage marked by the hill of moving dirt she'd seen earlier. She could feel the familiar sensation of the ground under her going soft, even as paws raked repeatedly at her hooves.

She laid on the speed and made it to the storefront, sliding to a stop in front of the door before three things happened, almost simultaneously:

1: Obsidian found the door locked tightly.
2: Obsidian realized that the front stoop for the shop was made of concrete.
3: Gypsy realized it just a touch too late.

>WHUMP!< She felt the ground beneath her hooves shudder as a network of cracks spiderwebbed out across the storefront's cement stoop... then, nothing but stillness and silence.

BY DARKNESS! Obsidian had only wanted to stall him; she hadn't wanted to give him an accidental concussion! She dove towards the dirt, and had to dig a bit to find him... but not far under the surface, she came across Gypsy's limp form and pulled him out of the ground carefully.

His head was gashed and bleeding, and he was completely unconscious. She had done quite a number on him; he looked like he'd been in a fistfight with a minotaur, and wasn't exactly the winner. Worst of all was when she looked at his goggles and saw they were half-filled with his tears.

He'd tried so hard to avenge her, and had even gone somewhat feral over the loss of her. It was kind of touching, knowing he'd have gone this far for her, had it happened for real. Poor, kind-hearted Gypsy Rover...

Amber would pay for this - ALL of this! Her heart ached for her friend as she wasted a few moments tearing strips from his duster to patch up the worst of his wounds she could see... and only after she'd made sure he wasn't going to bleed out, she'd get back to her trek to Twilight's Palace.

After a quick bandaging and settling his poor head down onto the remaining scraps of his duster, Obsidian turned and quickly continued through the rest of Ponyville, only looking back at Gypsy once before moving on.

It was only another few minutes before she managed to reach the edge of town, and she was now looking over the expanse between here and the palace; it looked as though it wouldn't be too much of a trip, but it also wasn't a five minute walk through the park, either. Though it most certainly seemed to BE a park...

Still, at least the rainclouds were staying situated over Ponyville; otherwise, it was a clear sky...

... well, nearly clear, anyhow; there was something in the air that at first might have been some kind of bug, but it was actually far out there.

But getting closer...

... rapidly...

... VERY RAPIDLY, in fact!

Obsidian could now make out that it most certainly was NOT a bug... but something big, fast and very blue was coming straight at her through the air at colossal speeds, making a direct path to her exact position!

Oh, BUT OF COURSE! For a second, Obsidian entertained the idea that all she had to do was sit down and wait; most likely, the impact would kill her immediately, ending all of the torment and pain she was currently dealing with. She wouldn't even have time to feel anything... but, it would end exceedingly badly for her friends if she failed. She had no choice; she had to press on, regardless of circumstances.

She'd never won a race against Thunderclap Dash... but there was always a first time for everything, right?

Streaking past with a wake that nearly blew her off her hooves, Thunderclap Dash shot by like a bullet, delivering a foreleg clothesline that sent Obsidian sailing backwards and slamming into a park bench, bending it almost in half from momentum alone.

Clap was wearing her Wonderbolts training uniform, had her flight goggles down over yellow-glowing eyes and had a knapsack on her back with a label that read 'WEATHER FACTORY PROPERTY' on it in big letters. She turned back, and reached into the sack to pull out what looked like a long, steel pole. She pointed one end towards Obsidian.

"EAT THIS, YOU MURDERING PSYCHO!" she screamed with rage as a bolt of lightning shot out of the tip of the rod, scarring the ground next to Siddy and making her coat's fur stand on end!

NO FAIR! WHY DID SHE GET TO HAVE NEW TOYS?! Obsidian quickly pulled herself up from the wreckage of the bench, jumping behind it - the more things between her and the lightning bolts, the better.

Shit! It was simply not fair! Even her friends had more firepower than she did at the moment!

As Clap shot past overhead, Obsidian now heard a mechanical growl, like an engine roaring to life. Then the sound revved, and wound up to speed... behind her.

Out of the bushes roared a gaily-colored dune buggy, rumbling and thundering towards her. It had a number of different fireworks strapped to the top of it and a sign on the front which labeled it 'Pinkie's Noo Year Party Wagon'. It also had a number of rakes, pitchforks and stakes strapped to the front of it, presenting a portable spear wall across the front of the contraption that would probably hurt pretty badly to get run down by.

And behind the wheel, wearing a construction helmet and yellow-glowing goggles, was Mica Chip - a firm frown on his muzzle being the only part of his expression Obsidian could make out.

It really would be too simple to just sit down and wait for the inevitable end. Why did they all seem to have goggles, though... it couldn't be an accident, or perhaps it was? Maybe it was just bait to attract her attention?

But first things first - and the firstest thing of all was avoiding being pitchforked!

Turning so fast she almost heard her mane snap in the wind, Obsidian darted between the trees and park benches as she continued trying to get closer to Twilight's Palace. Perhaps the juking and jiving wouldn't stop these two for too long, but at least it could possibly slow them down.

Mica gripped the steering wheel with his hooves as he dipped and dodged between the trees; Obsidian was more maneuverable, so she managed to keep away from the deadly front grill. However, with a tug on a single cord from Mica, the fireworks on the rack above began to sizzle, then launch - and now rockets were shooting past her, exploding in brilliant bursts of fire in front of her, making her stumble and partially blinding her.

One of the rockets got lucky, and hit her squarely in the middle of her back, where the >POP< of it's explosion burnt a hole in her coat, and nearly in her skin. As a reminder, another blast of lightning nearly tagged her flank as Clap divebombed her once again.

GAH! Thinkthinkthinkthink... o-okay, what weaknesses in them could she possibly exploit? Well, Clap was rash and hardly ever thought about her actions first... while Mica? Ummmm... Thunderclap Dash, maybe? Obsidian turned rapidly, trying to flank Mica's Motorized Cart Of Doom. She had a plan - sadly, it was a stupid one. Mica's cart wasn't able to turn very easily at high speeds, so she managed to get a good bit towards his side before Clap made another run.

This time, as Obsidian was running, it suddenly felt like she'd been slapped by an Ursa Major, and she went sailing through the air before sliding to a halt on the ground with dirt in her mouth. Her left flank felt like it was on fire and partially numb.

"DIRECT HIT! YOU SEE THAT, MIKEY?" Clap yelled down.
"FOCUS, CLAP! DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Mica returned.

By Harmony, what was that? Why did the entire world feel so strange? Wait... it wasn't the world; it was her flank. Confused and in a bit of shock, she peeked back at it as she tried to get up again.

Across her lovely Crystal Heart cutie mark, there was now an ugly, blackened patch of smoking flank - she'd been struck by lightning, and though it hurt horribly, it wasn't bleeding; the wound had been cauterized by the strike.

With the roar of Mica's engine growing louder in her ears, she knew she couldn't stay put for long... though honestly, staying in one place would technically solve all of her current problems.

She rolled to one side, forcing herself to move her wounded leg. If only she could get between Clap and Mica...

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT, THUNDERCLAP CRASH! YOU JUST HAD TO FLY ALONE TO THE FACTORY, DIDN'T YOU? DIDN'T YOU!?" An angry Clap could possibly make a mistake - and the more mistakes she would make, the easier it would be to stop Mica.

Curious - would Amber's spells distort even her insults? To be fair, Obsidian had a few things that she would like to explain to Clap... such as 'getting captured makes everything harder'.

The pegasus didn't even seem to notice; she was leaning down further to get in some speed before diveboming Siddy with a literal lightning rod again.

"I'LL SHOW YOU A CRASH, KILLER - I'LL CRASH INTO YOUR FREAKING SKULL!" she screamed as she let loose with another torrent of electricity, leaving gouges in the dirt behind and next to the unicorn.

Finally managing to turn himself towards her again, Mica surged forward, unleashing another volley of fireworks - a few of which struck Obsidian, one or two bouncing harmlessly off before exploding while another sizzled against her coat - and yet another was throwing sparks into her mane!

The insult may not have been her exact words, but at least she got the impression that Clap had reacted accordingly; good enough.

Sadly, it was the only thing 'good enough' happening at the moment - especially considering that the sizzling fireworks and lightning strikes were hardly good for her. In fact, they hurt like Tartarus - and if she didn't come up with any good ideas in a jiffy, all her pain would end soon enough... most likely in a rather messy way.

Deeper into the park was her only option at this point; she had no chance against these two at the same time. Bah, even against a lone pegasus, her chances were pretty low - but as soon as she could take Clap down, Mica would react. Maybe he'd give up, make a mistake or get angry enough to kill Obsidian with a single blow - hopefully without sniping her with fireworks; a single death blow was preferable to burning, bit by bit, from little tubes of explosive agony!

Clap and Mica fell into sync, and began firing their respective payloads at Obsidian as she ran. Dodging through the trees was effective at being active cover, but they would still only need to get lucky one good time.

After a substantial volley, Clap started charging Siddy down while Mica pulled the cart to a stop, hopped off and began reloading another round of fireworks onto the roof rack. Meanwhile, Clap continued to light up the ground around the Grey Princess, setting fire to the grass and blasting the bark off of trees; Obsidian was barely keeping out of the way as it was - much more of this level of activity, and she'd get winded way too soon... which would cost her her life, and possibly that of her friends, too.

Damnation! In a way, Obsidian was touched that her friends wanted to avenge her death so very badly. On another hoof, however... she made a mental note to discuss with them all that BRUTAL MURDER isn't exactly the best way to avenge one's death. Maybe something about forgivness and so on...

Though, obviously, she would have to contradict her own teachings as soon as she saw Amber again...

But at least in a way, her plan worked - Mica was distracted for a moment. Now, Obsidian just had to run across something she could throw. Hopefully, something within reach - her magic, sadly, was still kaput.

The park had a few things that could be grabbed easily enough; there were a few frisbees laying about, as well as a soccer ball and a lawn towel. There were also trash cans, in a pinch.

Thunderclap was audibly growling as she tried to use the rod she'd held... but it simply fizzled. She threw it down and reached into the knapsack again, pulling out another steel rod and blasting off a fresh bolt of lightning at her.

HA! THE DAMNED ROD FINALLY STOPPED WOR-... nevermind.

Back over with Mica, he finally managed to finish reloading and hopped back onboard. He revved the engine and tore into the dirt as he started heading their way again. Now, from the look of things, Obsidian had Clap right behind her, and Mica directly in front of her.

And Mica was now back in his war chariot - overall, Obsidian was screwed. So, in desperation, she reached for the soccer ball to use it against Clap as the worst ranged weapon in the history of ranged weapons. The towel was nice as well - she liked towels.

Clap was charging her from behind, Mica was coming at her from the front... she was in the middle of a pincer, and would probably be toast unless she came up with something really good.

Perhaps... maybe, if she could just... meh, the ball was useless. But that towel - the towel was nice. In a way, it was her plan - she just hoped to bait Clap into crashing into Mica's cart... with just a small chance that the pegasus would end up possibly impaling herself on a pitchfork.

Was endangering Clap's life in exchange for her own survival, moral? Probably not, though one could argue that Obsidian's life was the only thing keeping death away from all of them - but right now, Obsidian was sore, desperate, tired and didn't have any free time to discuss the details of morality.

So, she simply grabbed up the towel in passing and ran towards Thunderclap, preparing to throw it directly in her face.

Clap was a pegasus, so she could technically fly far enough up to be out of reach of any kind of towel...

"OH, HEAD ON? COME GET SOME, YOU TWISTED FREAK!" ... good thing Clap wasn't smart enough to realize that.

She dipped low, and began to charge at Obsidian, a grim smile on her muzzle as she focused on that towel, coming right at her, at eye level, and picking up more and more momentum as she came.

There was this kind of sporting event she'd heard about once... or maybe it was a traditional dance? There was something in it about minotaurs, flapping red flags at them and avoiding their attacks... well, Clap was going to be a bull today, apparently. And Obsidian had one single chance to get this piece of fabric onto her friend's head at the right moment, to blind her long enough so she could reunite her with her lovely coltfriend and his machine. Face first.

"OBSIDIAN IS A FUCKING IDIOT," she screamed out loud in a bid to make Clap a bit more livid, and to be sure that the pegasus would focus more on her words than the rapidly incoming Mica.

Behind her, a stream of fireworks began to rain on where she was... including a bottle rocket that ricocheted off the ground and came up right under Obsidian, exploding as it reached the front of her barrel. A good thing, though - about one second earlier, and Cup would have been very upset with Mica Chip.

But the words did the trick; she saw Clap's muzzle harden, and she let out an unintelligible roar as she charged for her... in fact, her form was beginning to narrow...

OH SHIT - if she let loose with a Sonic Rainboom at ground level, Obsidian could possibly be blown away by the sheer force of it! She HAD to stop Thunderclap NOW!

The question was - would Clap be fast enough to pull off a Sonic Rainboom at ground level? Even when she was flying, she'd only achieved such a thing once, after long and arduous preparations. Now that Siddy was running, it was simply impossible that she could get close enough to pull it off. That's what logic would tell Obsidian.

Obsidian, however, would tell logic that there's really no place for it here, at this time - because anger and adrenaline could be all the fuel she needed to achieve it. So she threw the blanket at Clap's head and leapt to one side, toppling to her knees in the process.

Clap, already in full anticipation of the upcoming throw, laughed and looked back at Obsidian haughtily as she dodged under it. "HA! YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME IF YOU THINK I WOULD FALL FOR A-"
"CLAP, LOOK OUT!"

But with Obsidian moved to the side as she was, it left nothing between Clap and Mica. One of Mica's fireworks went wild and slammed into Clap's left wing; there was a burst, smoke, and a surprised yelp from the pegasus before she saw Mica's cart coming right for her and raised her forehooves to cover her head.

>WHAM< The two met head-on, Clap diving face-first into the cart's windshield, and the resulting collision sending the entire mishmash into a clump of nearby hedges.

Thunderclap should be safe after crashing through a windshield... right? Mica should be fine, too... a-and besides, if he died from being crushed by Clap, at least he would die happy, wouldn't he? Though part of her ached to do so, Obsidian had no time to check up on them as she had with Gypsy; she had to hope the Fates were kind today, and that her friends weren't mortally wounded.

She turned to the castle and sprinted to it, trying to force her body to try a bit more, to hold on a bit longer...

She cut across the park center and managed to get through the remaining distance rapidly, reaching the large palace doors within a few minutes. There wasn't even enough time to check how much time she had left; she didn't have a watch anyway, so it would have been a futile gesture. She just had to hope she hadn't wasted too much of it in the process of getting here.

The doors were unlocked, and their hollow creak echoed down the many hallways of Twilight Sparkle's Palace. Without anyone else she could see present, it felt strangely alone; she hadn't seen many others wandering before, but now it just felt eerie.

She'd made her way down the entrance hall, and was turning to head down the main hall when she first heard it...

She was NOT alone, after all - a steady metallic rythym was being clanked out, and it sounded as if it were getting closer...

By Darkness, no... just... Obsidian's entire body was sore; probably the only thing that was preventing her from falling over was the fact that she had enough adrenaline running through her veins to force the dead to move! And those clanks marked the first time in her life when she wasn't at all happy to hear that her little guard friend was coming.

She turned to the corridors and took off; there was no way she could possibly stand against Wart - she had to lose her.

As she took off down the hallway, the sound just seemed to get louder:

It was insanely nerve-racking, hearing the sound of what had to be progressive hoofsteps as Siddy moved along, heading down the hall with the intent of not coming across the owner of those clanks.

In front of her, a wall-bound chunk of stone suddenly was wrapped in a green glow, and it whizzed off the wall and slammed into Obsidian's side, sending her staggering to the floor and making it painful to breathe. This was followed by other pieces of wall growing their own green glows, and flying at her from different directions.

Hello there, ribs - it's nice to hear from you again... wait, no - it's BAD to hear from you! Bones normally shouldn't make snapping sounds like that, and she was pretty sure that it had been a while since breathing itself counted as torture. Sadly, she couldn't stop - especially not when the walls themselves were trying to kill her!

She rolled to the left, then to the right, then back to the left... if she had to, she was going to wipe the entire damned castle floor CLEAN with her coat and mane - but she would SURVIVE!

A tapestry came whipping off the wall in a green aura and deftly flew between her hindlegs, wrapping them together and yanking upwards, jerking her off her hooves. Hitting the stone floor hurt, and she felt her jaw crack against the tile beneath her as she struck it... and from her new vantage point, Siddy saw what was standing ahead of her...

There was a rather small suit of full plate armor standing there; it looked polished, yet dents and grooves spoke of actual action witnessed by the armor in question. The faceplate of the helmet was completely down - not that Obsidian had any question as to whom was behind it. As the unicorn watched, a green aura pulsed around the horn's armored plating as it faced her with a fierce stance.

"Jack Knife," came a cold and hard voice from within, "you have been found to be lacking in any sense of the word 'morality', and stand guilty of premeditated and willful mareslaughter... but any pleas you may wish to speak shall fall on deafened ears this day, as did our own when you took our heart from us. Now, in the name of all that is right and good and just..."

Wart's horn grew an impressive overglow, and FOUR bastard swords lifted up from behind her, brandishing in the air above the small knight's head in a ready and most threatening manner.

Her voice was low and menacing. "... have at you, vile fiend."

Okay, come on, seriously... what mother would consciously name her foal 'Jack Knife'? They should have seen through the illusion already and noticed that it wasn't serious enough to believe it could be true. Sadly, not a one of them had.

And Stalwart - just like Mica, Gypsy and Clap before her - had gone waaaaay overboard, bringing far too much firepower to deal with one, lone, crazily murderous earth pony. And Obsidian was already regretting that fact, as she could feel her jaw reacting in considerably different ways than usual.

Legs? Wrapped. Jaw? Hurt. Her entire body? In pain. Her head? Well, it was still in rather good shape, as she simply didn't have too much time to think how much this fight against her friends truly pained her. She had some time for that during her struggle against Gypsy... but that felt like it was ages ago.

At least being skewered with four swords at once would be less painful than walking around in her current state, and once it was ov-... NO! This was NOT the end of her! Not yet, by Darkness!

She started to fight desperately against the tapestry's snare, trying to free her hooves as best as she could; every single movement hurt, but she had to do it - there would be enough time for complaining later!

The tapestry tore, just as the first of Stalwart's swings came down where her rear left leg would have been! Sparks flew as the little mare attacked with all four swords at once with Obsidian dodging and dipping as fast as she could, the blades coming close enough to split hairs... and even closer, as one or two of the slices actually connected, leaving lines of red along her side.

This wasn't a fight against a studious scholar, or a Wonderbolt-in-training and her coltfriend... this was a seasoned and well-trained warrior she was fighting now! She couldn't afford to misstep or think slowly; Wart would take advantage of every slip-up and weakness she could. Obsidian could only guess at the level of anguish and vengeance in the little mare's heart... but she was getting a first-hoof chance to experience that right now.

The four swords swung out-of-tandem with each other, leaving Siddy off guard at the lack of measured timing in the strikes. This caused a few slices to appear in Obsidian's coat, as if she were taking a cue from Ruby and sprouting stripes of her own.

There were plenty of slip-ups and weaknesses waiting for their turn at Obsidian's nervous system, and each landed hit was bringing her closer and closer to more of them. It was simply impossible to ignore her wounds any longer; even pretending that she was perfectly fine was failing her...

She had to escape - now!

A prolonged duel with an enemy who possessed magic, four large swords and no prior injuries could only end in one possible way - but it couldn't! Not now, when she was so CLOSE! Obsidian tried to find at least a window of opportunity to throw something at Stalwart and escape.

A torch seemed like the perfect weapon, but Wart was on top of her game for this one, and caught it easily with her magic as Obsidian lobbed it at her head. The torch was then swiftly winged right back at her, but not to strike Obsidian; it dashed against the wall next to her instead, and Obsidian's view was filled with ash and sparks.

And through the shower of sparks came two blades: one sliced at her barrel, leaving a red line that went from the base of her neck to her shoulder; it was deep, and it hurt like wildfire as it began to bleed. The other one sliced right through the middle of her right ear, the tip of it sailing past Obsidian's view and bouncing off the wall, landing at Wart's armored hooves as she walked past it, focusing her attacks solely on Obsidian... purposely wearing her out.

GAH! This was hopeless! Pointless! There was nothing she could do to stop the unbound fury of Stalwart Stance! She was always crazy about loyalty, royals and Obsidian - and there was nothing the Grey Princess could do to stand against her! It hurt! IT HURT! EVERYTHING HURT!

"AAAAAH! STOP IT, WART - IT'S ME!" she screamed in anguish, trying to step away from the swirling death in front of her. Amber would win; she'd torture her poor friends to death, and Obsidian wouldn't be able to do anything about it. And even without the threat of torture... poor Stalwart would be absolutely heartbroken after finding out she'd torn her friend's body apart like this!

"YOU SHALL BITE THY TONGUE! SHE WAS A ROYAL! SHE WAS A PRINCESS! SHE WAS FAR BETTER THAN YOU SHALL EVER DREAM TO BE! SHE WAS A HERO!" With each of these declarations, Wart swung at what she thought was her enemy, either narrowly missing or connecting far too well. Obsidian could feel the little knight focusing on her leg joints, trying to take the flexibility out of her.

"SHE WAS MY BEST FRIEND, YOU BASTARD CHILD OF DRAGON SHITE!" With that, she telekinetically shoved Obsidian through the wall next to her, the battered unicorn mare collapsing onto a table in the palace library; she hadn't been allowed in here when she'd first arrived - now, it was one of the places in the palace she knew quite well.

However, at the moment she was simply aching on a table - and she could hear that syncopated rhythm start again, far too close for comfort...

Obsidian thought that it was impossible that she could be in any more pain than she already was... however, Stalwart was quickly teaching her that yes, there were new ways to make her body suffer! And here she'd thought being beaten by King Sombra was bad enough...

Library... it was the library... perhaps she could take Onyx's diary and - wait, no... that was in Tourmy's hooves at the moment! It didn't help that she was barely able to move at this point, but she tried anyway to crawl away from her doom.

She managed to work her way to the central desk as Stalwart marched her way into the room. The little mare looked around a bit; she was wearing a helmet with a visor, so Obsidian couldn't even see her muzzle... but if she knew Wart as well as she should, Siddy was fully convinced that Wart was most likely crying under that helmet. But she'd be damned if 'Jack Knife' would know it.

The swords hovered above and behind Wart as she made her way slowly and warily into the library. "You dare to profane this place with your presence... but I shall remedy that problem very, very soon."

She began to make her way through the shelves; she was so small, Obsidian could only track where she was due to the location of the hovering bastard swords trailing above her.

However, as far as Obsidian was concerned, tracking prey that was bleeding profusely from multiple cuts was an easy job for a predator. She wasn't going to give up easily, though. It'd been ages since she was last here; in the desk, there were still the librarian glasses that she used when she had to be a 'serious librarian'. Over the doors was the sign about Sonic Rainbooms being prohibited.

Damnation... now that Obsidian thought about it, the destruction of this wall would surely make for a lot of mess to clean up later. Her first time here had been, what... three thousand years ago? Four? Well, it felt like a long time ago...

It was good that Obsidian didn't forget where certain books were, because the only plan she had consisted of throwing 'Crinos: The Dark Magic of Romance' at Stalwart, hoping beyond hope that she might recognize it and think twice about this situation. The book went sailing through the air and bounced off of Wart's helmet harmlessly, bringing an annoyed grunt from inside and a twist of the head to see where it came from. "Every second you evade me shall be another day added to thy suffering, maggot!"

The smol mare began to slowly stalk the aisles, her head seeking even the slightest of movements. "When I find you, cur, I shall make what you did to Her Majesty Lady Obsidian look like foal's play..." The thought of Wart taking her time to torture someone who had killed her best friend... well, it certainly lit a fire under Obsidian to get out of this as quickly as possible!

Come on, you stubborn little filly! Check out the damned book! Look at it and realize that it was the same book your bestie wanted you to read! GAH!

... fuck it.

Obsidian knew this place well - she just had to outcrawl Stalwart's advancing steps... and not lose too much blood in the process. Amber, I will mop the floor of this damned palace with your fucking face, Obsidian thought with a growing hatred.

Every single twitch of her muscles hurt as Obsidian's slow progress continued across the floor until she was close enough to see the window she could feasibly climb out of...

"There you are, whelp!" ... and Stalwart found her.

Two of the blades sliced through the air at her, and the shelves on either side of the small knight let out twin crashes as the swords bit into both shelving and books, a number of tomes crashing to the floor around her. At the moment, her saving grace was the fact that those large swords couldn't swing in arcs powerful enough to do much damage, hemmed in by the shelving on either side.

Wart, however, wasn't waiting for swinging room; the other two blades came up from behind her pointed forward, and they began to stab at Obsidian, forcing her backwards as the unseeable face behind the helmet growled in concentration.

"THOSE BOOKS ARE LIBRARY PROPERTY!" Obsidian yelled out, suddenly reminded of her librarian duties, in helpless anger. What did Stalwart think THAT was going to do? Destroying the library would somehow avenge her death? Great job, Wart, really - everypony knew that Obsidian had always hated books, right?

Her short burst of anger didn't last very long though, as she was quickly forced to dodge once again, while getting close enough to the window to outright jump through it. At the very least, it would get her away from the volatile ball of metal and sharp pain that was seeking to end her life.

She managed to make her way to the window, right herself enough to jump-

"NO!" ... and get caught in a field of Wart's green magic.

She felt the unicorn none-too-kindly squeeze her as she was brought about to face the little knight directly. All four swords now held at the ready behind her, making Wart look a little bit like Amy did, once long ago, with her daggers hovering overhead.

"Before you are dispatched with extreme prejudice for your crimes," Wart said in a stately, yet barely controlled voice, "you will answer ONE question..."

Stalwart's form then gave a small shiver, her armor rattling ever-so-slightly, and the voice that came from the helmet sounded as if it were on the verge of shattering like glass. "... w-w-why? Just explain to me WHY? Why did you DO it, you foul miscreant!? WHY!?"

Obsidian really needed some magical fighting lessons from Stalwart; she was apparently even more skilled than Obsidian thought. Or perhaps Obsidian simply didn't have the chance to prove her skills as much? And now that she was looking right at the very heart of Stalwart's fury and anguish, the Grey Princess was fully aware that she needed some of her famous luck to survive.

Or perhaps that wouldn't help her too much; she could feel a few rather nasty wounds at the moment.

"I-it's... Amber..." she said as she tried to reach up with her hooves to Wart's helmet, in an attempt to cover her eyes. "I... I'm Obsidian!"

Wart's helmet let out a howl of furious anger. "YOU DARE SAY SUCH A THING OF LADY OBSIDIAN!? THEN THERE SHALL BE NO MERCY!" She drew back with all four swords to run Obsidian through, ending her life in misery...

And the bookcases, perhaps feeling some sort of need for revenge against the little mare, suddenly gave out from the previous attacks, and a cascade of books clattered down onto the little knight's helmet, making a loud ringing as they bounced off her noggin.

"OW! ACK! HEY! S-STOP!" She dropped two of her swords - and Obsidian - to the floor as she attempted to bat away the falling tomes.

Somewhere inside her, some rather curious, somewhat depraved or simply psychopathic portions of Obsidian's soul were curious as to what her friends were actually hearing when she spoke... but alas, there was no way she would ever be able to find out.

It seemed as though the floor was a bit more painful than usual today - yet more comfortable, too. Being a stupid, stubborn hero was a difficult career path, Obsidian thought to herself while her body was practically begging her to stay down and just let it rest - even if it meant death. And yet, Obsidian fought back against the unconsciousness that threatened her and tried to use this opportunity to escape.

...oh, those poor, poor books...

The window was now behind Stalwart, so it might not be a good idea to continue that way... so, back to the central kiosk it was. Obsidian managed to mke her way there, and was now at the dubious safety of the desk... but now, she'd lost sight of Wart completely.

The rough hoofsteps seemed to be coming from the west end, she'd doubled back and was coming up through the same walkway Obsidian herself had used.

Rifling quietly through the top desk drawer, Obsidian grabbed her librarian glasses and put them on her muzzle. It wasn't anything that really did much good, but it made her feel a bit better. Irrational, yes, but she could at least die looking smart.

Obsidian braced herself for a sprint, then ran towards the doors in a bid to escape, heading towards the Harmony Suites. Perhaps, at the very least, she could die in a comfortable place.

She managed to make it to the doors - just in time to see them slam shut in front of her in a burst of green magic.

"... you... CUR... you savage CUR..." Wart now stormed her way out of the shelves, stomping directly towards Obsidian with every intention of slashing her apart. Midway to her quarry, Wart charged at her, with the swords behind her raised to strike...

Obsidian saw a flash of bright red light for only a second... then, she was standing in the west hallway, completely on the other side of the palace from the library. In the distance, she could hear Wart's enraged roar of indignant anger at having her target yanked away from her in her very moment of triumph.

Oh, the floor looked more and more comfortable with each passing moment... in fact, Obsidian was slowly becoming too tired to even think properly - or perhaps it was blood loss?

"What in..?" she muttered. Had she managed to finally figure out teleportation for herself? But wait... the energy burst had been red, hadn't it? Maybe...

No time for this postulation; she had to get to the throne room, then to the throne. It was time to end this nightmare; she could die later, if she still wanted to.

Getting to the throne room was far easier without a rage-fueled little war machine tracking your every step; she came to the doors soon enough, and could feel herself having to push harder to keep moving. Between the pain, the exhaustion and the blood loss, she wasn't sure how much further she could go. The doors were a bit stiff to open, but they eventually gave way and she crept inside.

The throne room was silent and dim, with only the light of a few torches to see by. At the far end was her goal: Twilight Sparkle's throne. It sat there, carved and regal, befitting a princess such as the purple alicorn was. And nothing but open floor between here and there, save for the columns in the center. It looked as if she were home free...

Until a bolt of magic slammed into her left shoulder, lifting her off her hooves and sending her flying into the wall HARD before she flopped unceremoniously onto the tile-fitted ground.

Well, hello there Miss Floor, how have you been... oh, so you've been polished... aww, how nice of the cleaning crew. Yes, Miss Floor, Obsidian was very sorry that she'd landed on-...

Wait - the floor wasn't a living animal, and Obsidian wasn't Fluttershy.

She tried to get up, barely capable of thinking about very much now. She only knew that the throne was ahead of her - she was almost there, she had to get there, SHE WOULD BE THERE!

Stepping into view from behind a pillar came a ragged unicorn stallion who looked to be the very visage of death; his pale coat was devoid of color, as was his mane, which was clumped up and frizzed as if he hadn't touched it in years. His movements were firm and sure, and his body language spoke of nothing but a determined and precise focus on every move Obsidian made.

His eyes, dead and cold, stared right into her soul, and he walked until he stood between her and the throne. This deathly-looking pony's entire being sent chills down Obsidian's spine, as she could wear she was facing off against a serial killer instead of a pony. She didn't even know who this pony was!

He stopped where he stood, simply glaring down at Obsidian with a gaze that made her nerves itch and her heart shudder, silent as the grave, apparently ready to stare her to death... and with how he looked, he might just be able to do it.

By Darkness... she was so tired that she was barely able to withstand the glare's weight. "To the... side for a... m-moment, please... th-then... you can kill me..." she muttered, gesturing with her hoof for him to move aside.

Throne... she just needed... to touch... the... throne...

The stallion let go with another blast from his horn - one that slapped Obsidian across the muzzle, which knocked the librarian glasses from her muzzle and a tooth out of her mouth. Then came another to the neck. Then one to the backs of her knees on her hindlegs - both of them simultaneously - and another to the center of her spine. One more blow to the middle of her barrel, and the previously tenderized ribs there gave out with a >SNAP<.

As he administered this flood of pain, the dour stallion watched her gravely... and, as he stared, he reached up to his own neck, cupped something in the frog of his hoof, and lifted the pendant of a necklace... an engagement necklace... to his lips and, without a single word spoken, he kissed it softly.

Cupcake looked terrible; of course, Obsidian would probably look just as awful if somepony murdered her love in the middle of a world-saving event for literally no reason, but still...

She didn't even have strength to stand up. In fact, with the current state of her ribs... and her knees... though hopefully not her spine... chances were, she probably wouldn't be able to do anything at all. All she could was to cry out in pain, one last shot at reaching her one true love...

"MEANIE!" Obsidian screamed with every ounce of energy her poor, broken body had left.

Cupcake's lifeless eyes narrowed even further at whatever he'd heard her say, and she felt herself yanked off her hooves and slammed forcefully into the ceiling with enough power to knock the wind out of her and make her busted ribs screech within her rapidly breaking body.

As she hung there from the gilded ceiling, he stepped over to where she was and, with his grip on her middle beginning to s-l-o-w-l-y tighten, he glared up at her with the coldest of conviction in his dead eyes. The fact that Cupcake hadn't said a single word at all during the entire altercation was more unnerving than anything he might have actually said in the first place.

Her eyes, just barely open now, looked upon her stallion; she could almost see herself reflected in his eyes... if they had held reflections anymore, that was. They were flat and basic, looking for all intents and purposes like the eyes of a porcelain doll - bereft of living energy.

Well, that was the only plan that her tired and pained head could come up with. She was going to die, killed by her fiancee - Amber, you sadistic bitch! Obsidian was sure that she would accidentially forget to invite her to the wedding; the fact that dead ponies can't be wed didn't even occur to her dimming, fading mind.

"... I... l-love you... Cup...py... bye..." she whispered her last words and closed her eyes, unwilling to look at the miserable mockery of her beloved in her last few moments.

Cupcake pulled her closer as he slowly yet surely choked the life from her... so close that her limp and hanging mane fell across his muzzle...

And the squeezing stopped.

The pale stallion below her slowly began to show the tiniest bit of color - a pale and washed-out blue fading in, ever-so-slightly - as his eyes widened... and he sniffed.

Then sniffed again.

And again.

And again, almost inhaling the strands of mane that laid across his snout.

"... S... Sssss... Sssssss..." His lips parted, and his voice sounded as if he hadn't used it in decades.

"... Ssssssssiddy?" he muttered in a daze, staring at her with a mixture of disbelief and razor-thin hope.

Obsidian nodded weakly, though even that slight movement was a bit much - she was barely staying conscious.

It was ironic that her own friends had managed to hurt her more than any of the baddies had, up to this moment. On another hoof, she bested three out of five members of the Siddy Six. Not bad, not bad...

His eyes grew even wider, and then he lowered her down from the ceiling until she was face to face with him. He looked at her curiously, hesitantly...

"... I hope to Twilight that's you, or this will be very awkward..." he said.

And kissed her.

Bold of him - but Obsidian had never in her life been more grateful for a kiss. She tried her best to return it, but she could barely even feel her lips. But it felt wonderful - a momentary respite in a veritable ocean of misery and pain.

As they kissed, color slowly began to flow back into the stallion; by the time the kiss broke, she was looking at her Cupcake Sprinkles again, in all his sweet, unique glory.

And he gasped when he saw her - finally saw her and her current condition.

"Obsidian? OBSIDIAN! Oh nononononononononono..." He lowered her gently down to the floor, and practically jumped to her side.

"Siddy, oh Siddy, Obsidian, oh love, OH SIDDY!" He looked over her frantically, then reached behind himself and pulled out what looked like a first aid kit. He put it to instant use, including some weird-smelling liquid that he splashed onto her numerous wounds, numbing them from the pain.

Now, only breathing, thinking and existing hurt; no really, it was an improvement!

"Siddy, what... what h-happened? What's going on!?" His eyes were wet with tears - both at the sorrow of her current state, and at the joy of seeing her alive.

"...throne... t-to the... throne..." Obsidian was so relieved that Cupcake wasn't going to kill her that she almost blacked out. Luckily for her, she didn't - and though she still wasn't in any shape to have any sort of small-talk right now... she was still able to crawl to the throne.

She was a rather stubborn mare, after all.

Cupcake looked at the throne, then saw her moving towards it, and just knew he didn't understand a single, solitary thing that was going on... but he scooped Obsidian up and placed her gently onto his back, where his coat was soft, sweet-scented and very warm. With her secured, he began to walk carefully towards Twilight's throne.

"I don't know why you need the throne," he said, his voice husky with emotion, "but I love you - and if that's what you need, then that's where we're going."

He walked carefully forward and brought her right next to the regal chair, smiling sweetly back at her as he began to cry. "I thought I'd lost you, love... I j-just couldn't... c-c-couldn't..."

May Darkness and Harmony both have mercy on anypony who'd make Cupcake think he had lost his Obsidian... which, in this case, meant Amber. Cuppy liked to have fun... so there was a chance the mare was going to be turned into a 3-D puzzle? The Grey Princess herself wouldn't complain too loudly... well, at least at the beginning.

But for now - Obsidian reached out feebly with her hoof and, with a sigh of relief, touched the throne.

There was a flash of light, and Obsidian suddenly found herself laying on a floor of loamy black dirt. Towering above her was the spire of what seemed to be an ancient Umbral temple; sinister points and shiny black stone, twisting and writhing into a strange sort of pattern - one that made the mind itself blink at how strange, yet oddly fascinating it was.

She was still wounded, and could feel every bit of damage given to her on her trek...

But she had done it. She'd won.

Sitting at the doorway to the inside of the temple, Flurry Heart gave a sardonic slow clap as she looked at Obsidian with a smirk. "Bra-VO, Sids - had to beat your way through three of your friends, retreat from another, and you actually got that fucking idiot to slip my control for a moment. I have to say, I am impressed."

She got to her hooves and, slinking like a snake, she stepped closer. "Yo, not to be rude or some shit, but you look fucking awful, Sids; bet you feel twice as bad, right? Might be the blood loss... ooh, or that half-an-ear you're sporting... or that nasty burn on your flank... honestly, you look worn the fuck out."

She then grinned broadly. "Good! I'm so glad you enjoyed my game!"

'Enjoyed' was too strong of a word... and 'worn out' would be far too weak. Obsidian could only nod once again, barely listening to her sister's taunts. In fact, Amber was pretty much wasting her breath at the moment.

"Awwwww... are you THAT close to broken? Well, then I guess I should get my show on the road, shall I?" She giggled, then turned to face behind her, and as she spoke, Flur's horn flashed an unhealthy green, boiling glow; Amber had perverted Flurry Heart's Light Magic.

"Uoy fo sdnammoc esruc ruoy sa, yebo dna pu esir!" Amber called out in a powerful voice that seemed to echo back at them from multiple angles.

The last time Obsidian had heard those words, she was having her magic forcibly sucked out of her and into an evil shard of Darkheart that had empowered the spell... but Flurry Heart was so powerful, she didn't need the amulet. Behind them both, the black waters of the pool began to bubble...

Close to broken? If Obsidian could still talk, she would've scoffed at that notion. Since she woke up from her last proper rest, she'd dealt with quite a few war machines, fought a frantic battle against a terribly powerful mechanical spider, managed to survive Amber's tortures AND her friends' various attacks... and yet, she was still able to breathe.

Of course, she was in a rather foul mood after all of this chaos, but the main factor with her current behaviour was overwhelming exhaustion. Oh... and plenty of pain.

And here we go again with the Umbrals. Meh.