Obsidian: Shards Of Sombra

by Randimaxis

Twenty Seven: Pressing Coal

She hadn't been awake for very long, but it already felt like much of the day was already gone - even though it was only early afternoon when they reached Ponyville Station. Ah, yes - home again, home again. And back to her beloved Cupcake, too.

Obsidian had told Flurry where they'd left the cab, along with an appropriate amount of grumbling at the princess' choice of transportation. Still, regardless of the shenanigans that had ensued towards the end, the trip had been a success - and their lives hadn't been threatened, not even once! Nice!

As she put the braclet away in her bags again, Gypsy's tail began to wag as he pointed up the street - and there he was: Cupcake, walking merrily along with a spring in his step and carrying a load of groceries on his back, all the while lightly bouncing a ball between his forehooves, but carefully - he didn't want to drop the food. He apparently didn't see her, or he might well have dropped the food, at that.

That's why the Dark Princess decided to play it safe - by sneaking closer to Cupcake, then quickly levitating the groceries with her magic as she slid up behind him. Only then would she call out to with her softest, sweetest voice.

"Did your shopping go well, Cupcake?" she purred. She'd actually prefer to tackle-hug him on the spot and welcome him with a long, pleasant snuggle, but... well, she still had to be mindful of the groceries. Something like that might be a bit too distracting...

Deliciously distracting, true, but distracting all the same.

When the blue unicorn stallion heard her voice, his ears perked right up. "Siddy?" He whipped around, then gave a high-pitched squeal. "SIDDEEEE!"

Sure enough, he tackled her and kissed her fiercely. "I was hoping you'd be home soon; I'm making pizza and cauliflower casserole!" Those were some of his best dishes! "Gypsy! Hi hi hi! You can come too, of course!"

Gypsy's wagging tail and excited smile encompassed all he needed to say.

Now, Obsidian just had to make sure that this rather pleasantly started day would continue to be pleasant. Now, let's see... she should probably contact Headmare Starlight. Sending notice to Celestia and Luna that they arrived home safely wouldn't be a bad idea either. Maybe even put aside some time to properly meet with Miss Pinkie... OH! And hide her siblings, of course.

The sad realization that her reunion with Cup would have to wait a bit didn't exactly stop her from returning his kiss. Mmmmm... cinnamon, mayhaps? It was quite possible she was mistaken - she felt that she needed a second sample to be sure... but, alas, she also felt that two kisses in public might be a bit too much.

"I still have some things to do around town, Cuppy... but I give you my word that I'll do my best to come back home as soon as possible!" she promised. "Gypsy, do you possibly know where we could send a message to the princesses that we've succedeed?"

The diamond dog nodded. "The P-P-Ponyville Post Office should d-do the trick, and they can d-deliver on the same d-day, when paid extra."

Cup gave her a tight, firm hug with a loving nuzzle. "Oh, I hope you'll be home soon - I've got a new blender, and I'm in the mood to make milkshakes toooo-niiiiiiiiiight..!" He called out to her happily, and waved as he gathered the groceries again and headed homeward, an extra spring in his perky, almost skipping step.

Gypsy pointed towards the post office, which actually looked more like a reconditioned cottage than a professional post office. But then, it just added to the little town's charm and look, and it may have been where the mailmare slept when she wasn't working. All this postulation and the presence of her siblings being so close had her both nervous and excited at the possible prospects and upcoming introductions.

Milkshakes tonight, eh? That sounded just fine - Obsidian was already very curious about tonight. Another interesting variable would just make it even more exciting! She looked as Cup went on his way, enjoying the sight - she simply loved how enthusiastic he always seemed to be. "Thank you, Gypsy. I'll send word to them after I have a bit of small talk with Miss Headmare... just in case. Well, I suppose I'll have to go to the school, then - would you care to join me, friend?"

Gypsy nodded. "This one would b-be happy to accompany y-y-you." The school wasn't far, and it was actually fairly nice out today - a walk in the sun would be a fine thing, indeed.

It would probably be a very good idea to speak with Princess Twilight later as well... but what's the worst thing that could happen? She wouldn't possibly be upset that she wasn't informed about these possible threats to Equestria, or that Obsidian arranged for them to be smuggled out of the Crystal Empire, or even that she was aided by Twilight's taxicab-stealing niece... would she?

"Let's go - I'd like to get everything done as quickly as possible, so I can enjoy the rest of the day on its' own merits," she said as she trotted towards the school, her diamond dog companion in tow.

The school was currently at a low key point; the clubs had all done their thing, and the staff were headed out as the doors were being locked up. Obsidian managed to catch Headmistress Starlight at the front doors, magically locking things up tight.

"You're a little late for classes," she smirked as Siddy and Gypsy rolled up, "but I can give you a random assignment if you're THAT desperate!"

"I, uh, already have an assignment, Miss Headmare - good afternoon, madam." Of course they were late for classes! Now that she thought about it, Obsidian was somewhat missing school herself. She'd already lost... what, three days? And she was poised to lose more, since her other rogue siblings probably wouldn't simply surrender quickly and quietly. "I actually have an issue I'd like to discuss with you which isn't about school..."

Starlight lifted an eyebrow, but there was a sharp, curt >WHONK< from behind them; out in the lot, there was what looked to be a large tan and white metal box on wheels, and Guidance Councilor Lulamoon had her head stuck out of a side window, glaring intently at Starlight as she gave the horn another beep.

"Well, I always have time for students!" she said with a sheepish grin, "so, what's on your mind?"

Obsidian sighed before she began. "I need to learn more about mind control and the standard means to defend against it, because one of my sisters is an expert at it and I'd pretty much prefer not to be mind-controlled... or to see my friends mind-controlled... or Harmony-forbid, see Midnight suffer any further indignities. It was bad enough for him the first time..."

Starlight's jaw dropped for a moment, which she lifted back into place with a hoof. "Geez, you don't ask the easy questions, do you?"

She began to ponder for another moment (which brought forth several impatient honks from the parking lot), then she looked back at them both. "Well, I do have a few papers written up on the subject; if you like, I can get those ready and have them available for pick-up tomorrow. I'd go and get them for you right now, but-"

The point of her excuse was brought home as Trixie laid on the horn, one long and loud blast permeating any hope of conversation until Starlight waved her hoof reassuringly at her friend. Trixie glared openly at the lot of them, then slowly sank her head back into the vehicle's window, her stern and unforgiving eyes staring accusingly.

"... but I can tell you that there are a few spells that can defend against mind control," Starlight continued as she turned back to her students, "and there should be a list of them available to anyone on the Royal Guard - meaning that I'll bet Stalwart could get those for you, easily enough."

"... then I shall ask her next, since, er... let's just say this sister is closer than I'd care to admit, so I'd need to be certain that 'tomorrow' won't become 'too late'. I should probably go directly to Princess Twilight too..." Obsidian rubbed her temple; exactly what was this big metal thing? And why it was making so much noise? "The next few days may prove to be a bit too interesting, I'm afraid."

So - Stalwart, eh? At this day, at this hour, she should be still at the palace, perhaps? It would be totally convenient if she could inform Twilight and get her hooves on some mental protection at the same time.

"Well, as long as you stay safe, you'll be okay. And don't worry about being absent; you'll have the chance to make up anything you missed later. After all, educa-"

>WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNK!!!!!<

"... a-anyway, just be careful, Obsidian. And we may have to talk later, about... w-whatever it is you're doing right now. But later. If you'll excuse me, I have a well-planned out road trip to go on, and if we're going to get back by tomorrow, we should probably get going now."

>WHONK! WHOOOOOOONK!<

"Especially if I want to save my sanity." Starlight waved and made her way out to the vehicle, climbing inside and apparently getting snarked at for taking so long, by the looks of Councilor Trixie's expression. There was a rumble, then the whole box, mares and all, simply rolled away.

To be fair, Obsidian had no idea which would be more damaging to Miss Starlight's sanity - her trip with Miss Trixie, Miss Trixie's obnoxious honking... or the full story about smuggling three of Sombra's spawns into Ponyville. "So... to the palace, then?" she sighed as she turned to Gypsy.

Gypsy shrugged. "This one is n-not certain that this trip to the sch-school was necessary... but he said he would f-f-follow, so he shall." At least she'd learned that her small mare friend might be able to help the situation a bit - so it wasn't a wasted trip, at least.

"Honestly, I had no idea Miss Starlight would be in a such a hurry... but at least we learned that Stalwart should know more about mind-control prevention." So perhaps they didn't have a nice, long discussion with Miss Headmare, but they still could make up for it with Stalwart's help and perhaps the princess, too.

Hopefully.

The two of them took to the road again, headed to the next stop in Obsidian's Welcome Home Tour.

Twilight's Palace was the usual place it was; busy if you knew where to look, near abandoned if you didn't. Twilight herself was actually in the atrium, talking to one of her assistants before sending them on their way. She then looked at a scroll she was holding in her magic before it rolled itself up and went up in a flash of green flame. Gypsy flinched a bit from the fire, but he didn't panic; it simply caught him by surprise.

"Er, Gypsy... just in case I end up in the dungeon or something, would you kindly tell Cup to send me one of his milkshakes? I'm rather curious about this 'blender' he spoke of," Obsidian said as she tried to lighten the mood a bit.

Gypsy nodded, then pointed at Twilight as she absent-mindedly began to walk right past the two of them, lost in deep thought.

"P-p-princess?" Gypsy asked, and the regal alicorn nearly tripped over her own hooves.

"Aggahbulafluhrrbahwhaaa..?" she stammered, then took a few claming breaths. "Sorry, I was a bit preoccupied - Obsidian? Is there something else going on?" Her expression flattened. "Like, already?"

To be fair, Obsidian had sort of hoped that Gypsy would calm the princess down, so there would be no way she'd end up in a cell or such. "Erm... I'm afraid so. I've already discussed some of the issues with princesses Celestia and Luna when I was visiting some friends in Silver Shores, but obviously you're the next one to inform." A beat "You see, one of my brothers upest our father and was terribly punished for it. He was hurt, tortured and cursed, with his shard placed into an alcove which practically drowned him in acid, which he's been suffering in for over a thousand years."

Twilight listened intently, soaking in the details as Obsidian relayed them and when she spoke of Jade, the unicorn could almost see Twilight cringing in reflexive sympathy as she described the waterfall of acid. "Celestia and Luna are in on this? Well, at least there's that - a bit of a load off my mind, actually. Thank you - I appreciate the information, but... may I ask what I might be able to help with, then?"

Obsidian took a deep breath. "In cooperation with the princesses and the Flim Flam brothers, I recovered his shard, along with two others. I'm... I-I'm really sorry that I didn't-say-anything-wewereimprovisingandIwasafraidtheycouldbelock-..."

She took another deep breath, stopping herself from choking on her own rushing river of words. "... er, locked away, as too dangerous to be free. I'm truly sorry - please, please don't lock me in the dungeons for more than a week, as there are still other siblings that I need to take care of!"

"You've recovered another SHARD?" Twilight's eyes lit up. "But this is amazing! According to his notes, Sombra had-..."

She stopped herself with a conscious glance towards Obsidian. "A-at any rate, the reason you came forth was because of interactions with an alicorn activated your shard - my fault, actually - and now that we have one of them in their crystalline form, we could study and analyze them! If we could get enough of an idea of how the magics work, we might be able to figure out what the spells are that went into them... this is incredible!"

She looked to Obsidian. "I can have my royal magical advisors together within the hour - and they'd be the best ones to ask about where we would start the studies!"

Okay. She wasn't angry. Good.

Gypsy nudged Obsidian and leaned in closely to whisper into her ear. "You r-realize, Siddy, that if they g-go to st-st-study the shards, it m-means she'll be t-taking them from you f-for that purpose, y-yes? It m-may be some time b-b-before you get them b-back."

Oooooh... if Twilight took the shards to study them, they'd be stuck in the depths of a magical laboratory for... well, quite some time. Like when her father used to gather unusual crystals, and how he'd study them for weeks... and sometimes, he even cracked them open to complete his studies. Cracking open ANY of her siblings sounded horrible.

"Of course I realize that, Gypsy - I was going to get to that point right after asking about those notes she mentioned." Silly Gypsy; of course, Obsidian wasn't going to just surrender her three innocent siblings to Twilight.

Okay, maybe more like two innocent siblings... Amber was a rather nasty piece of work.

"Because I am concerned both about my father's notes and about these supposed live experiments on my brothers and sister, I'd like to ask further... yet, for discretion's sake," Obsidian asked as she looked around carefully, "could we perhaps move this discussion into one of the smaller, more secure rooms? The atrium is a bit too public, methinks..."

Twilight nodded, and led them to a room in the now-familiar hallway of suites. It was a bedroom with what looked like live plants growing in every corner. There was a small waterfall on one of the walls, and there were little vines growing across the ceiling that surrounded the bed like a canopy. The dresser and other acoutrements wre all similarly themed, with not a single piece of furniture here untouched by plantlife.

"The Fluttershy Suite will work," Twilight said as she closed the door behind them, "so I suppose I should ask you what you feel would be the best way to do this, as you're the only authority I know on the subject of Shard Ponies?"

Taking care of this particular suite probably drove the maids mad. All of these plants around, covering every single place that had to be cleaned, dusted off and so on... really, it was almost cruel to think about their hard toil to maintain such a visage of 'natural'.

"I think I have a mind to immediately release one of my brothers," Obsidian started with a hard statement, " as Diamond was described by my other siblings to be a very kind stallion, and he was skilled with Healing magics. Considering that my other sharded brother, Jade, is cursed... well, we would need to be very, very cautious during his release - yet at the same time, we need to hurry - because honestly, he really needs a break. The poor fellow..."

Obsidian rubbed her temple; she could use a break from all of this, too. Okay... now, for the bad news.

"My sister Amber - the third shard - is apparently quite proficient with mind control magics, which is something I'm very, very concerned about. Even stuck as a shard, she managed to force her way into my dreams. I'm not sure what else she's capable of, but we already know that this kind of magic is of the 'very problematic' kind. We need a way to contain it... and defend against it. I'd prefer not to fight with an Amber-style mind-controlled Gypsy or Cupcake... or, Darkness-forbid, Midnight again." Obsidian was fairly certain that Amber would be a bit more of a hoofful than Peridot had been... plus, no magic notebook to shred, either.

Twilight listened intently, then nodded as Siddy finished. "Well, I have to say that I'm not sure I agree with your ideas - not all of them - but I do think that at least the threat of your sister needs to be approached first. There are a number of mind-control resistance spells in the royal armoury, and a few of them are even quick and easy to learn - I'll have Stalwart bring them to you, since she knows you."

"I'm not so sure about releasing any of your other siblings, Obsidian - especially with the track record they have. I would honestly feel much, much better if they were turned over to me for safekeeping, and kept from being released at all... at least, until we know for 100% certain that we have everything under control."

Now, Obsidian was starting to see what Flur was talking about; it was almost as if Twilight were simply trying to get the shards away from her, like she didn't feel as though Siddy could reasonably keep hold of her sibling shards... or like she didn't trust her with them. Frankly, it was Obsidian's family; it should be her decision, shouldn't it? Yet here was an alicorn, requesting her to give her siblings over, for 'safekeeping'... and likely, for study as well.

Easy to learn mind-controlling spells were good; they should come in handy. Hopefully, they'd be strong enough to keep Amber at bay - and, even more hopefully, Obsidian's fears were just her own paranoia.

"Princess, at the moment, our track record is really not that bad. Counting as a single group, my friends and I have saved Equestria twice already... and besides, I have to protest putting Diamond or Jade in the same category as Onyx or Amy - especially as Jade is just an innocent victim of my damned father's machinations. Besides, Princess Luna has already offered to help rehabilitate and take care of him - she stated she was 'familiar' with his current mindset."

"And Diamond should be far, far less dangerous than even I was during my reawakening. He is a kind healer, after all... and then, there's that, uh, study you were talking about. Is it... ethical, I hope?"

Twilight balked, but gently. "Obsidian, I wouldn't ever allow any direct harm to come to your siblings; I'd make sure they were handled with the utmost care, and nothing but information is all we will take from them. I promise you, what we could learn from observation alone might well bring about other spells that could be capable of... well, anything! Can you imagine the help to law enforcement alone, if we could discover a way to trap criminals harmlessly into similar shards?"

She sighed. "But... I really don't think that releasing ANY of them is a good idea right now, Obsidian. Each time one shows up, it's always a big event... and frankly, I think we're about 'event-ed' out, to be perfectly honest. But..."

She nodded her head, then looked directly at Obsidian. "I... I have to trust my subjects, that they have Equestria's best interests at heart. Especially when it comes to heroes; I've witnessed firsthoof the kinds of things that can be accomplished with teamwork and trust, and I'll not be the one to ruin that for you."

"If you truly wish to awaken... did you say his name was Diamond?... then all I ask is that you allow it to happen at one of our study facilities, so we can record the event. I activated you completely by accident; this time, we'll have all the proper instruments ready for the occasion. Plus, we'll have back-up, in case things DO go wrong; I have a number of magical failsafes in place, just in case of a containment emergency."

Obsidian tapped her chin in thought. It did sound like a good idea... however, she still wasn't sure if the ideas Twilight would consider 'good' were completely 'safe'.

"I'm just worried that something would happen to possibly awaken Jade, princess... or that Amber could somehow mind-control somepony during their research," she admitted with a rather grim voice. "But... there's nothing I can do with them at the moment, anyway; I suppose properly documenting the release isn't a bad idea. It could be useful, yes..." Well, Diamond - it looked as though you were getting your chance after all.

"And, um..." Obsidian meekly asked, "could we perhaps move my father's statue into a safer location? Even with those three safely under supervision, there are still four more siblings of mine running around."

Twilight nodded sagely. "We can - he'll be placed within the vaults, at least until this either blows over or we find a way to convince him to behave himself. At this rate, one's just as likely as the other," she rolled her eyes, but her kind smile stayed in place.

"I can see to it that my head researcher and her assistant are the only ones with access to them, if that would ease your mind. I can even increase the guard presence there, just to be on the safe side, so you won't have to worry about one of them just walking right out as soon as they wake up."

Gypsy tugged at Obsidian, and leaned over to her, speaking low and soft. "I-in the v-vaults? Is that not what Onyx d-did as well, so that she c-c-could her her hooves on something? Maybe we suggest that S-S-Sombra not have such an op-opportunity, as w-well?"

"Gypsy, Onyx got into the vaults because it was a part of her well-crafted plan; my father will be there as a statue, and he also had his magic blocked before he was turned stone, if you recall. It's not exactly the same circumstances," Obsidian tried to calm her diamond dog friend, "especially as the only other alternatives I can think of are either dropping him into a lake, or grinding him into gravel."

Gypsy conceded, yet the look on his muzzle said he was going to keep worrying about it, thank you very much. "And whom d-did she learn her p-p-planning from?" he asked under his breath.

Twilight, however, saw the diamond dog's muzzle and gave a thoughtful look. "Maybe we could put him into one of the holding vaults in Ponyville; no one would ever think to look for him in a town's bank." Gypsy smiled a bit, glad that he was noticed, and his suggestion taken into consideration.

Twilight Sparkle then looked at Siddy. "Give me about ten minutes, and we'll have a Study Chamber ready for you - that is, IF you're wanting to do this right now, of course. If you'd rather wait, we can do that too... but honestly? I can hardly wait to see what discoveries we learn from this!" She giggled excitedly as she momentarily pranced-in-place on her dainty royal hooves.

Even though she was an adult alicorn, the idea of learning something new apparently made her react like she was a filly again, flowing mane notwithstanding.

Okay, granted - a secure bank vault was a good idea; it wasn't Obsidian's fault for not knowing that Sombra could be put there! She wasn't familiar with this place! And honestly, considering that Onyx's plans had worked with eerie accuracy, and Sombra's plans merely led him to THREE defeats... well, Obsidian really had no idea from whom Onyx had learned to plan so deeply. Certainly not from their loser of a father!

Stupid Sombra.

"I believe that's what I DO want, to be honest - Diamond deserves a chance. However, we, ummm... we've sort-of run out of beds at my own house, and he would need a place to sleep..." she admitted, embarrassed. Seeing to his welfare was an important part of his release, after all - she couldn't just free him, then go on her way and let him fend for himself; shame on her for not thinking of that ahead of time.

Twilight nodded. "I'm sure, if this works, that the science ponies will want him to stay with them for a while, to monitor him and make sure he's okay. Plus, it gives time to find a place for him, wherever it may be. Maybe your brother would share his space with Diamond?"

Obsidian thought about Tourmaline sharing his personal space... then, she thought about Gunther. "I... think Tourmy would prefer to keep his privacy, princess. But I'm fine with the science ponies wanting to observe him for a bit."

Princess Twilight turned and, with a flash of light, a scroll and pen appeared in her magical grip. "I'll get the word out to the science lab; you go to the West Hall and let Stalwart know to gather some of the armoury's quick-cast spells against mind control. Tell her to accompany you as well, as her skills might come in handy... in case of big disasters, things exploding, or Diamond turns out to be evil and stuff. Just the usual things to worry about."

Obsidian sighed - hopefully, Diamond wouldn't explode; it would be terribly depressing, after all she'd been through to reach him. "Well then... let's go, Gypsy. The sooner we find out about these mental-warding spells, the better." Also, meeting with Stalwart was always a nice bonus.

Excusing themselves as Twilight started writing, Gypsy followed Obsidian as they made their way to the West Hall. It was just as grand as the rest of the palace, but far less travelled. The thought that this place was an absolute bore was written no larger in this room than the look on Wart's muzzle; she looked so very bored, she seemed as though she would be on the verge of doing the unthinkable... and relaxing.

However, as soon as she saw Siddy and Gypsy heade her way, her eyes lit up with the smile her face couldn't wear on duty.

"Stalwart! I'm so glad to see you!" Obsidian couldn't manage to contain her excited mood as she practically pranced to her little friend and almost picked Wart up as she hugged her. "We have so much to talk about.... but first things first, of course! We need some of the spells the Royal Guard has to combat mind control from the armory... and after that, you can accompany us to Twilight's study chambers." She smiled proudly. "We are going to release another one of my siblings."

Wart's muzzle didn't change expression, but her eyes were full of surprise at the news. "I gather the chambers are where you plan to release your brother, Diamond? Well, I will say that it will hopefully be a sight more interesting than watching the dust settle here! So, as per your request, I shall go and fetch-... wait.. your request won't conflict with my orders, will they?"

"It's not exactly my request. It's Princess Twilight's request," Obsidian added with a smirk, knowing what the little mare wanted to hear.

Wart nodded smartly. "Well then, I shall not keep Her Majesty waiting!"

With that, Wart led them to the armoury - a long room filled with shelves, half of which were filled with weapons and armor pieces... and the other half, filled with nothing but BOOKS. Obsidian approved; knowledge could be just as useful a weapon as any blade.

After a quick look through what looked to be a tome full of nothing but tables of contents, she located where the spells were, and fetched four scrolls. Each was a ward against mind control, but they looked fairly easy to learn. That accomplished, they left to head to their next destination - Twilight's science research facilities. Hopefully, at least one of her two friends knew where those were - the Dark Princess had no clue.

Outside of the armoury, Wart looked at Siddy. "And so, spells prepared, yes? Then where shall we witness your brother's arrival?"

"Study chambers, I was told," Obsidian replied with her eyes set on the scrolls. She wasted no time, and immediately started to look them over, holding them open with her magic and reading each word, fully focused on the task - she wanted to meet with Ruby tonight, dammit! Amber, oh, Amber... why did you have to be a master of THAT specific part of father's magic?

Wart looked at her for a moment. "Study chambers? Well, those are in the science building, but... did she happen to say which one?"

Gypsy shrugged, and Wart sighed. "I will suppose that it will be the most active one, then. Shall we go?"

Wart led the way, heading through hall after hall until she came across stairs, where she led them up and into another hallway, but this one had framed schematics on the walls and more of a professional feel to it. She made her way down rows of cubicles until she reached a hallway with a sign that read:

[Study Chambers #1 - #20]

Wart looked back at her friends. "Shall we simply start at 'one', and work our way up?"

Obsidian looked around in awe; she felt that she should have a study chamber of her own, someday... maybe two. It was apparently one of the many advantages of being a princess - a portion of your palace, turned into study labs at your command. Yet another reason to try to become an alicorn one day...

Gypsy smiled, and raised a paw at a passing stallion. "Exc-cuse me, good sir - would you happen to know wh-what Chamber Princess T-T-Twilight is currently using?"

The stallion looked over the three of them, then motioned with a hoof to the fourth door on the right.

"Thank you k-kindly," he said with a grin. The scientist simply gave them all another look, then went on his way.

"A commendable idea, Gypsy," Wart praised him, and the diamond dog's tail gave a few light wags.

Well, it seemed as though the classic move of 'asking' was still working! Yay! As they went along, Obsidian kept carefully looking around, trying to decide whether or not it was a good place to keep her other two siblings.

From what she observed, the place looked quiet and secure - two things she simply couldn't guarantee at home. It may be that the ONLY sensible place to keep them was here, as this was in the same palace as the princess. It would mean she'd be close by if something went wrong... right?

At any rate, the door that had been indicated was indeed the one that held Twilight Sparkle; she was inside, talking to a few other unicorns dressed in lab coats. One of them, a tall mare, gave Siddy a slight wave as she came in - the rest were utterly professional.

Inside what appeared to be a secure-looking chamber, there was an area on a raised stage. It had carpeting on the floor, a couch to lie on, and a chair in case the couch was not to his liking. Otherwise, it was almost like a sound stage, but the walls were lined with dark mirrors. It looked strange, but not dangerously so.

By Darkness... at this rate, Obsidian was becoming aware she might have to deal with her paranoia on a personal level; she shouldn't want to waste her time and willpower on worrying about the lab's safety - if it wasn't safe to be under the supervision of a scientifically-minded alicorn, then what place would be?

Slowly, she stepped into the chamber, looking in her saddlebags for Diamond's shard. The case that held it was on top, and the shard inside looked small and helpless in the bright, revealing lights of the laboratory. The case's runes had a soft white glow to them, and it almost looked as if they were pulsing under the drone of the overhead bulbs.

Twilight came over to her and held up a device with her magic; it buzzed and its' antenna changed colors as she ran it up and down the shard's casing. She then looked at the device, frowned, thumped it lightly on one side with a hoof, then sighed and gave it to another scientist there, who promptly took it away.

"Okay, everybody... moment of truth time." The alicorn spoke with a sense of hushed reverence for whatever she was about to witness. "So, Obsidian... care to open the case?"

Obsidian started to feel her nerves twitch when her sight fell on the rune-covered casing surrounding her brother's shard, but it wasn't a bad twitch; she was actually going to meet him, muzzle-to-muzzle, to save him from this sorry state... and in the process, she'd get an idea of how it looked when she was freed from this strange prison as well. This time, however, everything was going to be recorded, described and checked over in every possible way. It would be a fine day for magical science, that much was fairly certain.

She peeked one last time, just to be sure she didn't grab the wrong sibling's case, then held her breath as she aimed her horn at it. "Here... we... go..." she whispered as she carefully took hold of it, feeling her hooves shaking slightly.

The case. Yeah. The sealed case. With the runes on it. Yup. And no visible hinges. Or a latch. Mmm-hmmm. Right.

Okay, the fact that it was more securely sealed than Obsidian had first thought was a good sign - that way, nopony would accidentially free Jade or Amber. However...

"... er... ah... umm, this may take a moment."

Reaching into her bags again, she took out her Flurry-Connection Bracelet and put it on. It shouldn't hurt to ask, right?

Flurry, did you see how they made the cases? Or at least how they sealed them? We're trying to open one, but... it's doing its' job a bit TOO well.

Meanwhile, while she was trying to connect with the Crystallian princess, Obsidian started to inspect the case a bit closer herself.

The solid wooden and steel casing was sturdy-looking, that much was evident... but strangely enough, it almost looked as though it were built around the shard itself. Useful for containing things... unless you wanted those things back out, apparently.

Hunh? Flurry's voice pinged in her mind. How they made the-OH! Fuck me sideways with a kirin's horn, that's right! They said it would take a codeword to deactivate it... and the codeword was saying your name, then their name twice. It sounded easy, but I don't have a fucking clue if it actually is or not.

O... kaaaaay. "Gypsy, could you possibly take the other two cases into another room for a moment? I don't want to accidentally open all three cases." She then thought towards Flurry, Okay, thank you - hopefully all will go well, and Diamond will be free in no time.

She lowered her head to the case, touching it lightly to her forehead as she spoke. "Obsidian... Flim and Flam... Flim and Flam..." she whispered quietly.

...

...

... well, that was anti-climactic.

Nothing at all happened. Nothing still continued to happen. Then suddenly, nothing else happened at all.

Did she get it wrong?

"Is everything okay in there?" a tinny Twilight Sparkle voice spoke up from a speaker in the ceiling. That was when Obsidian first noticed that, aside from herself, Wart and Gypsy... the lab was completely empty of all the ponies that were in it, mere moments ago.

"I'm, er... I'm trying to correctly cast the opening phrase... where did everyone else go?" She focused herself as she lowered her head again. "Um... Obsidian... Flim Flam Brothers... Flim Flam Brothers?"

"Oh," the speaker chimed, "we're all in the observation room... watching you. Just in case, well... you know." Twilight sounded assured... but then again, she wasn't the one releasing her brother, was she? IF she could get the damned case open, that was!

The second attempt yielded nothing as well; maybe she should ask Flurry for verification? "Obsidian... Flam and Flim... Flam and Flim?" Her irritation was starting to grow. "Damnation! Maybe... Obsidian... Diamond... Diamond?"

The case gave a single, audible >click!<, then she watched as the glass panes began to glow. Slowly, the glass seemed to melt away into the edges, leaving the shard simply floating there in the middle of the strange enchanted frame, as if waiting for someone to gather it up.

Wart blinked, taking a defensive stance yet not drawing a weapon. Gypsy, at Obsidian's other side, sniffed cautiously at it. "It s-smells like fresh cl-cl-clay," he said, "mined from deep in the g-ground."

Okay, now it made sense - more sense than assuming that, in this case, 'their' was meant in a strictly plural sense. She took a deep breath herself - clay? Fresh clay... perhaps it was important to keep that in mind.

"Okay, I got it open... now where should I put it?" she said aloud, towards the speaker on the ceiling.

"Take it to the couch; maybe he'll appear there?" came from the speaker. The couch and chair did look more inviting than the cold, sterile lab table.

"Th-this one thinks you sh-should place the sh-shard in the chair," the diamond dog shared his opinion.

"I would suggest somewhere where there is something familiar to see, as he may be disoriented," Wart offered. "Do you recall how you awoke, Lady Siddy?"

"I awoke to a shocked alicorn and a few spears aimed at me, Gypsy - it was hardly the best awakening in the world," Obsidian chuckled slightly. Couch, chair... of the two, the couch seemed to be more natural for a pony and if he fell over or something, it should be big enough for him to stay ff the floor. However, Gypsy was proposing a chair, and lately he seemed to have far better ideas than Obsidian herself did - so, she placed the shard gently in the chair with her hooves.

Gypsy nodded, then stepped back respectfully to allow Obsidian room, should she need it. Wart, ever so careful, took a stance that would allow her to pull her sword swiftly, ending any possible mistakes made. The shard sat on the couch cushion, beautiful yet inert.

From the speaker above: "I actually picked the shard up with my magic, which activated it. Try that - use your magic on it."

Here goes... er, something. Hopefully, there would be no shenanigans or dirty tricks; it would be nice to have, at least for once, a non-violent family reunion.

Obsidian focused her mind, and enveloped the shard with her magic...

Author's Note:

Of course, Twilight Sparkle would be the kind of princess to dedicate a portion of her castle to scientific study; I dare any true fan of Twily's to deny it. }:p

The part with Trixie honking the horn was fun for me; I giggled almost the entire time I was writing it, because I could so TOTALLY see her being the impatient kind when it comes to starting road trips with her BFF - and, well, Trixie's just that way in general. Not that I don't like Trix; on the contrary, she's one of my favorites. She's just got the type of personality I could see doing such a thing, is all.

And so, the time has come to meet yet another Shard of Sombra; next chapter, Obsidian's (supposedly) kind sibling finally makes his appearance, and we get to see how it happens. Will Diamond end up being everything Obsidian expects him to be... or is there more to this brother than she knows? Will this be a peaceful reunion?

No spoilers...

Comments

[jimerjam]

oh come on you tease!!!!!

[Mr cold ghost]

Look forward to the next chapter!

[Truthseeker]

Yay! New chapter!

*reads chapter*

O_o ... a cliffhanger? Really? But I wanted to meet Diamond! Pewp. Looks like we have to wait some more. Oh well, good chapter. Plenty of interesting things happened. Kind of worried that Twilight will double cross Obsidian and hold the other siblings hostage 'as a precaution' and have the researchers get out of hand... hoof with their experiments. Hope it turns out better though.