Obsidian didn't know where she was being taken.
Oh, she knew that she'd made a mistake. As soon as she felt the binds of magic falling off from her body, she decided to greet the pony who - she thought - had just set her free. In her stupidity and hastiness, she did it while still half-blind after a prolonged magical exile into the frozen wastelands - and thus, doomed herself.
"Greetings, my most honourable father," she said obediently, unaware of the fact that her parent was not actually present. The young princess realized her mistake only when she blinked a few times to clear her vision - and saw guards around her, and a white, elder unicorn with a blue yet graying mane, elegant armor and a small diadem on his head in front of her.
She did not receive any answers - nor asked for them. It would be pointless; armed guards from unknown nations aren't exactly 'welcoming' to princesses if they are in no mood to talk. Considering the fact that she couldn't see her father anywhere, she had very bad feelings about this. A thought about resisting appeared in her mind for a while - would it be the best possible option to stand, fight and hopefully die with dignity and glory?
Yet... Obsidian hesitated, not out of any sort of cowardace, but by the realization that only as a living pony could she find out what was going on, or where her father was.
For a few moments, the elder unicorn was asking all the questions. She did not respond with words, simply shaking or nodding her head to indicate a 'yes' or 'no'. They knew she was aware of 'Slave Lord Sombra'... but not to what extent. They also realized she was just a mere teenager, just a few steps from reaching adulthood... and it seemed to ease the tension, as if they were expecting her to attack them at any moment.
They took her... somewhere. Teleportation, coupled with a ride in a chariot, left her disoriented. Yet eventually, she was brought into a strange palace of interesting and shockingly alien (at least to her) architecture - and that was where she and the guards escorting her stopped in the hall, as if waiting for something... or someone.
Obsidian was starting to feel a rather unfamiliar feeling - hope. They weren't torturing her. They weren't even brutal. True, they were insulting her father, calling him a 'tyrant', but as long as her body and mind were intact, she was able to fight. For him. For herself.
Her appearance was anything but plain. As a princess of the Slave Lord's empire, she had been treated rather harshly by her father; he was always claiming that 'crown princesses need to learn the hardships of life to rule properly', hence her mane and coat weren't as well-cared for as most would expect. Originally, she'd been born with stark white fur and a red mane, but the Dark Magic lessons given to her by her father started to leave a mark on her - it turned her fur gray, and there were black patches in her mane. Even her horn was slightly curved - not as much as her father's, but enough to be... noticeable.
When the door opened, the unicorn stallion that appeared there didn't look like royalty - he looked like a paper-pusher.
He had a tan coat that was well-enough kept and trimmed, trimmed hooves, a pair of spectacles that sat primly on his muzzle and the posture of a military stallion. He wore a white collared shirt with a belt that held small pouches, and had a notepad hanging from a silver chain around his neck, with a pencil in his chest pocket.
His mane, however, was something to see; it was floofy, curly, large, and hot pink. BRIGHT hot pink. He gave her a passing look, then spoke to the guards with a voice that held a somewhat authoritarian nature, yet sounded as if he were tired of having to deal with situations such as this.
"She doesn't look that dangerous; let's see what we can do from here. Shall we go to the Rarity Suite?"
The guards saluted, then began to escort both her and her 'guest' along the hallway. He looked over at her again, and then adjusted his glasses as he refocused on where he was going.
This stallion was starting to remind Obsidian of a few particular slaves from the castle, namely the ones that were overseeing the finances, production and so on - but far more healthy-looking than the ones her father had used. His mane was especially strange - back in the Empire, King Sombra would probably have ordered him to be shaved bald, just to avoid any reason to look at this eyesore.
However... he'd insulted her. 'Doesn't look dangerous'? Did he know whom he was talking to? If there weren't guards so close by, she would be more than happy to show him how dangerous she was... but, alas, it would be a foolish thing to risk any injury in this situation. She was still without any proper knowledge about her current status; she just knew that a lot of things were very, very wrong.
"Rarity suite..?" she asked eventually, the very first words she'd spoken in quite a while. The stallion gave her a sidelong glance.
"She speaks."
Of course she speaks - she wasn't a dumb mule! Was he trying to insult her even more?
He turned to look at her, addressing her directly.
"Yes, the Rarity Suite - one of the finest suites in the castle. In fact, I'd dare say one of the most opulent in all of Equestria - after all, Aunt Rarity wouldn't want anyone to think she wasn't worth the very best, hmmm?"
He gave the smallest of smug smiles.
"And I'd rather prefer a comfortable atmosphere while I ask questions - it helps bring forth more honest answers, I've discovered. And, when it comes to finding things out, you'll discover that I'm very good at it."
He looked directly at her. "Of course, it all depends on your cooperation - as long as you answer my questions, things will be fine." His look then darkened, and the small smile vanished as his stare bored into her.
"I wouldn't make things... 'not-fine'. Understood?"
Was he trying to intentionally anger her to make her cast some of her Dark Magic? Bah, even if he was, it was completely and utterly futile; she was trained to deal with her emotions by her most honourable father... if HE wouldn't know how to deal with his own anger, the whole world would probably already be under his iron hoof... or simply burned away.
Aunt Rarity - that sounded important. If her suite was really that good, then maybe she was a local noblemare? Just who was this stallion, then? He said something about questions, so she expected some form of torture... but at the moment, nothing really indicated they would do so; apparently, their interrogation techniques were somewhat different from those used by her most honourable father.
"It's all up to you," she replied in a calm, collected voice.
He smiled more broadly at that. "Good, good - glad to see you're putting me in charge, here."
They finally stopped at a room with an ornate, iron-wrought door. It was carved and shaped to include swirls, curves, and a LOT of the color purple. The three blue diamonds that graced the handle looked to be the final nail to give the doorway all the elegance of a gilded coffin.
"In you go - and me as well."
He turned to the guards. "Two here, two at each end of the hallway, and one outside the window. Have six unicorns in reserve, in case things... go south. Otherwise, I'll take it from here."
Was he truly so incompetent as to give orders to the guards right in front of her? Perhaps it was some form of code, or intentionally misleading... or, he was an idiot. Obsidian was beginning to suspect the third option was the more likely one.
The guards saluted, then took the positions they were told to. The tan stallion then reached over and opened the doorway.
"After you," he said with a silky smooth smile.
Whoever this stallion was, however, she just mentally blacklisted him. She was determined to find a way to deal with his attitude, sooner or later. Maybe even experiment a bit with some of the more interesting spells she knew, perhaps. He was just too annoying for his own good; a proper lesson of humility in the face of a true princess would be a blessing for him.
At least he acknowledged that he needed a number unicorns to deal with her, 'just in case'.
And BLEAH, the room was distasteful. Horrid. The purple and white motif was an eyesore to her, as was the rather flagrantly decadent four-post bed, the exceedingly scrimshawed and fanciful wooden dressers and bureaus, and the overall appearance of some court fop's nightmare. It was nearly as much of an eyesore as this stallion's mane was.
Some nobles seemed to like this kind of decadent luxury, but it was merely a sign of rot in their very souls. Whoever this Rarity was, she was probably already corrupt - a victim of her own greed for fancy things. After all, who would need so many carpets? Tapestries? This entire room was practically screaming that its owner liked to waste resources.
Obsidian already didn't like this 'Rarity', whomever she was.
She sighed and entered anyway; the sooner they were finished, the better. Besides, she wanted to gain a bit of knowledge herself. The stallion followed in after her and, with a knowing look to the guards, he closed the door behind him.
"Alright, I suppose this would be a place to begin... best as I'll get, I'd wager. Please, have a seat... or not, no skin off my flank."
No skin off... what? What did he mean? Was that yet another insult? Regardless, she took a seat anyway. This stallion had already gotten under her skin, so it didn't change his standing with her too much, regardless of whether or not he could annoy her even more.
He waved vaguely to the furniture as he lifted his notepad with a hoof and examined some writing on one of the pages. When she risked a glance at the notebook, she could swear it just looked like so much gibberish scrawled on the page.
"My name is Lemon Custard, and I am here today because you are a problem we have to handle, somehow. As the leaders of Equestria and the Crystal Empire have stated, you are NOT to simply be 'dealt with', as that isn't how we handle things here."
He looked at the paper again, and smirked. "We're not very keen on torture here, unlike some ponies."
Ok, so she wasn't about to be tortured... that sounded quite good, and it meant that her captors were probably weak in their mercy. Alternatively, they perhaps simply wanted to keep her as a hostage, out of fear of her father, and wanted to mask it as mercy - she had to be careful to not underestimate them.
Returning his gaze to her, he lifted an eyebrow.
"Before we begin, I'm required by my position to ask you if there's anything you'd need, or perhaps anything you'd wish to say before I start?"
He looked at her with a poker face; there was no telling what he was thinking at the moment.
"One thing: exactly how many days have passed since my most honourable father fought with Celestia and Luna?"
She had asked the very first thing that came to her mind - after all, she was curious how much time passed since King Sombra decided to hide her, to avoid any... interruptions while he was dealing with the incoming invaders.
Lemon gave her a solid, weighty and serious look as he answered.
"We discovered you within Sombra's vaults, locked away tightly and undisturbed during your time there. The battle with your father took quite some time, but eventually our Princesses emerged victorious... but your father would have none of it, and selfishly cursed the entire Crystal Empire into a limbo-like dimension..."
He closed his eyes and gave the softest of sighs.
"A curse that lasted for a thousand years."
When he looked at her now there was no mockery or judgmental stare... there was only a weary sort of empathy. "You have been asleep for quite a long time, madam."
A.... thousand years? It was impossible... it was a lie... there was no possible way she had been displaced for so long! She showed no outward sign of distress at this, but inwardly she was having a difficult time merely accepting what this obviously foolish stallion was trying to tell her... but, if he was right...
That was quite a big number to bear; if it was only a year or two, maybe even ten years, Obsidian would be very concerned about it, but a thousand years? She had problems with the mere comprehension of this fact, let alone facing it properly. She blinked quickly a few times as she was processing this new information.
A thousand years... locked in the vault, while the world was changing around her... a thousand years...
Her father was wise. That was probably a part of his plan and she simply didn't understand its meaning, but...
A THOUSAND YEARS!
Why? How? Where was her most honourable father right now? Why didn't HE find her first if he still had enough power to curse an entire country?
She had many questions - but at the moment was too dumbstruck to ask any of them.
The stallion looked at her for a moment.
"Speechless, I see. Not surprising; were I to encounter such a development, I'm sure I wouldn't know what to say about it, either."
Of course she was speechless - she'd just learned that ten whole centuries had passed during her sleep! He turned a few pages in his notebook, then Lemon cleared his throat and spoke in a formal manner.
"My beginning question to you would be for you to state your name and occupation. Though we may have it on Royal record, I still have to ask this question first. Protocol, don't you know?"
So many things to learn about, so much knowledge to catch up on... Obsidian didn't lose any friends or acquaintances during her hiatus from reality... mostly because she didn't have any... but she was also terrified that so many things she knew were probably obsolete, and yet excited to learn about new discoveries.
She was just damn good at hiding it.
"Princess Obsidian, under the Honourable Lord King Sombra, and heir to the Crystal Empire. Currently not occupying any country."
Occupation... it was a strange question, wasn't it? She fully understood the meaning of protocol, though - after all, procedures were important; they were made to make life more ordered, and Obsidian really, really liked order.
"Excellent, good, wonderful. I'm sure Princess Cadence will just love to hear that." He took up his pencil and jotted down what looked to be notes... yet it only looked like more scribble. Finishing, he set down the writing utensil and looked at her again.
His eyes were a sharp teal color; they almost shined, they were so bright. Totally in opposition to his (mostly) neat and serious appearance. That mane, though...
"Second question: What are your immediate intentions? Do you plan to follow in your father's hoofsteps, or are you more interested in something more... modern?"
Intentions? As in, what she wanted to do right now? Well, the most obvious answer would be 'wait for my father'... but she had no idea how much time that would take. In the meantime... she had to do something. As in, choose it herself. Without any input from her father, teachers and so on.
Now THAT was something completely new.
Normally tomorrow would be fencing lessons, and after that either etiquette or history. After that, meditation...
"It's every child's duty to follow their parent's hoofsteps. I... do not know any modern alternatives," she replied after a moment. Well, perhaps she did, but it wasn't clear yet as to which ones were viable, and which were not.
Lemon frowned distinctly at her words.
"I... wouldn't recommend that course of action. Your father was certainly present here a number of years back; when the empire reappeared, he did as well. The Crystal Heart - not to mention the Element Bearers and Master Spike - valiantly fought against him."
He now gave her a direct look. "And won."
He made another scribble-note, then looked to her again.
"As for what's available... that's understandable. We'll be more than happy to do what we can to integrate you into society as smoothly as possible."
His eyes narrowed a bit. "So long as you behave yourself, of course."
His glare vanished as he went on. "What skills or assets do you possess? After all, we can hardly be expected to assist you in rejoining Equestria without knowing where you'll likely fit best, now can we, Obsidian?"
"Princess Obsidian," she corrected him. As long as he was referring to her as 'you' it was all fine... but her name was to be used only with her title. It was important to her. "I was learning fencing, magic, etiquette and several liberal arts. Custom education for an heir apparent, as far as I know."
Hmm... Crystal Heart, Element Bearers, Spike (whoever that was) - it had taken a lot to take down her father, then? She had no doubts that his so-called 'defeat' was only short-lived; she merely had to wait until his grand return, and then Equestria will shatter before his might!
But wait... that meant that HER Crystal Empire was under foreign rule? Now, that was annoying... and effectively changed her title to 'Princess In Exile', as well. Humph.
"What happened with my father after this... fight you've mentioned," she asked him eventually. She peeked at her own cutie mark - a Crystal Heart, surrounded by a Dark Magic aura.
"Princess," he spoke up, "is a title for those who are royalty... and, according to my records, you no longer are. So, I hope you'll understand if I don't attach the... 'title'... to your name. Obsidian."
He didn't seem as if he was amused; he looked as though he were trying to deal with an unruly child, instead of a lovely young princess like herself.
"Your father's fate... hmmmm..."
He pondered for a moment, then said simply, "He was defeated - by the very Crystal Heart you bear on your flank."
After a moment, he added, genuinely, "My sympathies. He may have been a monster, but losing a parent is no fun."
He then straightened, wrote more notes, then looked back at her again.
"Fencing... not much market, as there hasn't been much call for it since Equestria came to peace. Etiquette, we have too many teachers for. Liberal arts... you may have to elaborate, there. But there's always a use for magic... unless..."
He sighed. "I assume your father must have bestowed some Dark Magic unto you, else your coat wouldn't look as... shaded... as it is. Which, of course, Dark Magic is illegal in Equestria. Consider yourself informed."
He made a number of notes now, and took up two pages doing so.
"Obsidian, DO you want to reintegrate into Equestrian society? I mean, it's your decision to make... and it's an important one. You do want to be social, don't you?"
More and more annoying news. As far as Obsidian was concerned she didn't learn anything positive since she woke up. What's worse, she was slowly getting hungry - after all, her last meal was... well, more than thousand years ago. She could handle it for now, but the growing void in her stomach was irritating her almost as much as this stallion.
"Legal children of royalty are royalty as well, so as long as my honourable father didn't disinherit me, I am royalty. It's not as if it is a job one can quit," she replied with an utter deadpan look plastered on her muzzle. It didn't seem as though she was concerned about the news of her parent's (supposed) demise.
"Liberal arts are septem artes liberales. Grammar, logics, math, history, geometry, astronomy and the arts... and it doesn't sound as if I have any possible alternatives to reintegration, am I correct?"
She most certainly wasn't used to be asked what she wanted to do. As far as she was concerned, most of her life consisted of what others were choosing for her - mainly her father, of course.
"Legally, Sombra was seen as a tyrant," Lemon said, "and his royalty status was revoked by court decision, along with Chrysalis and a number of others. YOU have no kingdom, no subjects, and no palace. As far as Equestria is concerned, you're just a pampered citizen of a long-gone era. And I don't have time for foppishness, nor supposed entitlements of dispossessed regality."
He gave her a long look. "Obsidian."
He was a dead pony. Ooooh, so much a dead pony! Not only he was insulting her in many ways, especially not paying the proper respect to her royal status, but he also dared to call her 'pampered'! She only knew this damnable word from the dictionary; it had no basis in the sort of life she had led. For the first time since she came here, she showed her irritation, squinting her eyes at the rude stallion.
He cleared his throat again, and after a few more jotted notes, he returned his gaze to her.
"And there are alternatives, of course... I hear 'exile' is fairly popular this season, as is 'statuing' you up, or even just an 'apartment' in Tartarus could be arranged..."
He sighed, shut his eyes, and spoke earnestly.
"You are the child of a mad former monarch, and as such, we have to observe you to be CERTAIN you aren't about to do as your daddy did - a likely reason you were assigned to an Equestrian location rather than falling under the purview of the Crystal Empire. Therefore, if you do work with us until we're sure you're safe, we can likely talk about other alternatives such as living in other countries, or in solitude if you like..."
"But we can't just let you go, no. Behave, and we'll talk. Misbehave, and well..." he shook his head, "we have ways of handling that, as well."
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then scribbled another note and looked up.
"Is there possibly a profession you have experience with, or am I to assume you never worked a job before?"
She continued to glare at Lemon as she replied. "I was supposed to take up some royal duties after reaching adulthood, but nothing like that before this date. So... no."
He sighed, nodded, jotted another note.
"Of course, you have no job experience. It would have been FAR too easy if you had, and I keep getting the distinct feeling this assignment is going to be anything but easy."
"Alright, then - we will have to find you a place to live, a job, and possibly enroll you in an appropriate school. For now, you are allowed to use the Rarity Suite as your bedroom, but I wouldn't get too attached to it; once we find a place for you, we can work with what comes after that."
Wonderful. Her revenge was going to take a while, apparently, but she had to get to it quick, before they put some sort of burden not fit for a princess on her. It was bad enough that they were going to put her in this dreadful, terrible room.
"For now, you'll sleep here. The Map Room, Royal Library and Princess Twilight's personal chambers are all restricted areas, so I'll thank you to stay out of them - they will be labelled as such. Food can be found either in the dining hall or the kitchen, should you have the ability to cook your own food."
"This suite has a bathroom with a walk-in tub; I'd advise you utilize that as soon as we're done here. Once I leave, you'll be set up with a liaison to escort you." He stared at her. "Don't. Ditch. Them. You don't want to know what sort of thing happens to those who break our trust."
He sat back. "Do you prefer a mare or a stallion as a liaison?"
"I have no preferences in this matter," she replied truthfully before she realized she heard something very, very interesting.
She focused properly on the stallion in front of her. "Wait. Of all places in this castle, I'm restricted from the library?" She had an almost pleading quality to her voice.... almost. For her, anyway, it was practically like begging.
He absently nodded. "Yes, from the library as well - Princess Twilight has a number of magic books ensconced within, and with no clue as to your true intentions, I'm afraid we simply can't risk you learning new tricks. Prove our trust in you is warranted, and that will change, most likely."
He glanced up at her. "Seeing a re-occurring theme, here?"
He made a few more notes, stood up and looked her over once more.
"I'll attempt to arrange for some clothing for you - we're not barbarians, after all. And I'll send a liaison I can trust to keep an eye on you, as well as answer questions you may have, direct you to places you need to go, blah blah blah."
He stood there, looking at her for a moment more with a very steady, serious gaze.
"Any further questions for me, or are you as eager for me to depart as I am?"
She needed to get to the books... any books! Her knowledge was one thousand years obsolete, and she simply couldn't walk around not knowing anything! As far as she was concerned, without her father she could just sit in the library as much as she wanted to. Wouldn't that be a perfect life? But alas - as a princess, she had her duties - so luxuries like that were outside of her reach.
Wait... Princess Twilight? Maybe it was Celestia's or Luna's descendant...
"Questions later," she replied shortly. Now, where was this bathroom..?
Lemon nodded to himself. "Very well - until we speak again, Obsidian... behave yourself, and these occasions will be few and far between." With that, he left.
GAH! The bathroom was just as frou-frou as the bedroom! Lacy toilet covers, a silver and gold inlay sink basin, and the bathtub itself was carved with more needless scrimshaw. There was a massive mirror over a marble and oak vanity table, and there were a few bits of makeup within the drawers.
Too bad they weren't her color.