//------------------------------// // Seven: Take Two // Story: Obsidian: Daughter of Sombra // by Randimaxis //------------------------------// [-] "Your place is HERE." The jingle of chains ground against her ears like sandpaper. "Your POWER is the KEY." She could swear she heard the crack of a whip. "You WILL obey me." The stomp of an angry hoof echoed in her head. "MY will be done!" Pain... a seemingly endless flow of pain... "You WILL be properly prepared for the future..." Bright red eyes with green energy pouring from them, wisps of purple mist issuing from them, in the darkness, staring at HER. "MY FUTURE!" Were those teeth, tearing at her flank? "Because YOU have NONE." One long, roaring, terrifying scream of conquest, triumph, POWER... [o] There was a slight, meek knock at the door to the Applejack Suite; was it morning already? Ah, for a moment she felt almost as if she were back home. The constant mental assault, sounds of chains, overwhelming dark magic and the voice of her most honourable father all around her... There was no doubt that she would be proud of being a child of such a powerful king as he was - or that she wouldn't do anything she could to fullfill his dark will. To think otherwise would be foolish, and fools weren't known to live very long in her Father's Crystal Palace. She had to live to ensure she didn't let him down. In his presence, she felt... she was... nothing but a dust mote... ... knocking? It seemed that she fell asleep at the desk - apparently she was more tired than she initially thought, and unfortunately it seemed that sleeping in a chair wasn't too effective. Still, she stood up. "I hear you..." she said with sleep thick in her voice as she trotted over to the door. Outside stood Cupcake... but he looked as though he was about two seconds from crying. "Um... h-hiya." He fidgeted for a moment, looking like he was half-expecting her to just start yelling at him. "I, um... made... uh, breakfast. I-if you're hungry, that is. I mean, if you're NOT hungry, we can skip it, it's okay to skip it, we don't have to do anything you don't want to... but I figured, since you seemed to like my cooking yesterday... well, I thought maybe you'd like more of it today, before everything gets started?" Even when he was feeling miserable, he apparently still had to speak as much as possible, it seemed. Obsidian barely managed to stifle a yawn. She was used to sleeping in rather uncomfortable conditions, but the hard wooden chair was even worse... and using a book as a pillow didn't help either. "Good morning. Why, yes, I am hungry; how very considerate of you. I need a moment to refresh myself, though, as I just woke up." It seemed as if she didn't even notice his current state... at least until she rubbed her eyes, to wake herself a bit more. Then she saw his expression, and quirked an eyebrow. "Is everything fine? You seem to be behaving strangely. You aren't sick, I hope?" It was a very important question, in her opinion. After all, a sick pony could potentailly infect her... and there was no telling what sorts of maladies and viruses might exist in this era. Cupcake looked at her for a moment, seeming shocked. He then looked outside the door again, then back at her. "This... is the Applejack Suite, right? A-and you... you're Princess Obsidian, right? You..." he gave her a skeptical look, "... Markannus, is that you??? Are you messing with me again?" He looked the dark princess over. "If it is you, Markannus... you're doing an amazing job! You even got the frazzled mane right!" What was going on? And who was this 'Markannus' he mentioned? If Cupcake had any doubts about her, they vanished after the glare that Obsidian pinned him with. It was a very glare-y glare. It helped that she was still tired and, thus, she didn't have to work too hard to look unfriendly and irritated. "What did you say about my mane?" His eyes grew wide, and he took enough steps back to bump the bed. "OH! That... th-that's m-more like what I was expecting..." He ran a hoof nervously through his mane, and looked at her with a mix of embarrassment and apprehension. "Well, I mean... your mane always looks so... um, f-frazzled. Like you don't brush it out at all. I mean, yeah, you've only been awake for, like, a single day... but still, I mean..." he gestured to the mirror at the back of the room, "look at it! Honestly, you should take better care of your mane... you are a princess, right? It's just... I've never seen a royal mane so unkempt and... a-and... uhm, fr-frazzled." He looked down a bit. "I'm not meaning to make fun or anything; I'm just surprised, is all. I swear, I'm not being a m-meanie." Brushing? Hm, it sounded like a waste of time; she was fine with her looks - it was easy to keep and it didn't disturb her lessons. "One day, perhaps, I'll get the same shadowy mane as my most honourable father has and... oh, right, I forgot. Dark magic is illegal, so that won't happen anytime soon," she growled quietly. Maybe it would be a good idea to at least wash it before going out... "And I know you aren't being a meanie. However, you failed to reply to my question - you aren't sick, are you?". "No... N-NO! I just, well..." he sighed, "after yesterday, I wasn't expecting... um..." His voice got tiny and quiet. "... I wasn't expecting you to be so... um, nice." He blushed and looked down at the floor. "It made me think my changeling friend was playing a prank on me. But no, no..." he gulped as he looked up, "you're you." The sheepish grin he put on was sincere. She was behaving... nicely? It seemed that she had to be more careful - otherwise they were going to think that she was becoming fri- ...endly, ah, but there was that punishment given to her by princess Twilight, which meant that she probably HAD to behave that way, right? Obsidian briefly wondered how much truth was actually in the words 'friendship is magic' and how many friends she'd have to get before noticing a difference with her own magic. Perhaps her father would be impressed with Obsidian - Empress of Friendship! What could go wrong? "Changeling... friend?" It shouldn't surprise her, considering how diverse this place was, but it did anyway. However... it was an opportunity to learn a bit more, perhaps. "I've never heard of one before; I might like to meet him later. However, right now... I need a moment. Excuse me," she apologized before leaving to the bathroom; she probably shouldn't just walk out without at least refreshing herself a bit. Cupcake nodded (exceedingly glad he wasn't about to be destroyed), and stepped out into the hall. "When you're ready, I'll be waiting out here - we'll head to breakfast as soon as you're ready. After that..." He gave a groan. "After that, I'm supposed to take you to Lemon. For your work assignment. Sorry." The door shut, and she was alone again. Oh no. Not Lemon. He was, from her experience, NOT a friendly pony. And she didn't want to do some piddling, pointless work! What happened with 'you don't have to do anything you don't want to'? Maybe she should threaten him once again or something... Princess Twilight didn't forbid her threatening others, right? After moping a few minutes in the bathroom while she cleaned herself up, she came out looking a bit better than before. "... fine. I'm ready. Any ideas what your brother may have prepared for me?" Cupcake nodded approvingly at her changes... yet he still eyeballed her mane, even if only for a moment, before he began to lead her down the hallway. "Knowing him? Lemon's probably got some mundane little thing to keep you busy - I doubt Princess Twily would make you do anything too hard. But Lemon does like to push his authority around; likely, he'll try to make you nervous about it before he gives you the assignment." He made a grumpy face. "Lemon, by the by, is a bit of a meanie - just in case you hadn't noticed. But I'm sure you did, 'cause you're pretty smart. And he's a jerky-jerk-face." Cupcake led her around the corner, and already the smells of his cooking were floating on the breeze. Whatever it was, it smelled like pure ambrosia - mouth-watering and delectable. "I made you some honey-basted biscuits, lemongrass toast with blueberry jam, and some strips of hay bacon - and a tall, cool glass of OJ to wash it down! I hope you'll like it!" They reached the dining hall, where the spread he'd spoken of was all set out, ready to eat. Aside from the two of them, there was no one else in the big, roomy hall. The blowhard stallion trying to make Obsidian nervous right now probably wouldn't work out very well for him, or would possibly end quite badly - especially as Obsidian learned that Lemon didn't have as much authority as he wanted others to believe he would have and not even his princess or his own brother seem to think too highly of him. If anything, dealing with him could be, potentially, relaxing for Obsidian... ah, right - no dark magic; such a shame. "You just spoke so very many words that I don't quite understand..." she admitted as she sat down to her breakfast. Lemongrass? Bacon? Jam? Everything was so new here... but, as her taste buds told her while she ate, utterly delicious. Frankly, if this was setting a precedent, she would gain a bit of weight... which honestly wouldn't hurt, as she was a bit skinny. She did attempt to eat slowly and with diginity, though; as good as it was, it didn't excuse her from her manners. Cupcake was all smiles as he saw her enjoying the meal he'd prepared. "Y'know, it always makes me smile, smile, smile when I see others enjoying my cooking! I'm glad you like it so much! I'd be happy to make you lunch and dinner, as well, if you're interested?" He seemed so happy, just watching her devour his hard work... and it had to be hard work, because there was so much flavor! And plenty of food, too! Well, having a personal chef was one of the advantages of being a princess, so she was coming to understand... it would only help her feel more like the proper royalty she should feel like. "I am indeed interested," she said briefly. "and will the rest of group attend as well?" Now that was an interesting thought - Princess Twilight told her to 'make more friends', but it was under the assumption that the ponies (and one diamond dog) she met were already friendly with her. However, she first had to be sure about that. Cupcake lifted an eyebrow. "Uhhhh... they're all in school, right now. I don't think they'll be able to, at the moment. Plus, ummm..." he looked awkward, "... I don't know what it'll be like, after yesterday. I mean, yeah, they were being kinda rude, but..." He sighed. "You may have hurt some feelings." Hurt feelings? How could feelings be hurt? She just told them that her father was the greatest king in the world and they were all wrong! Ugh, these modern ponies (and the one diamond dog)... Maybe it would be a better idea to give up on them and find other friends? Princess Twilight didn't set any sort of deadline, but Obsidian was afraid that she had to hurry - she just had to deal with this annoying thing and get back to the books, just as He liked from her... she assumed. She just had to decide what would be faster - finding new friends or fixing these 'hurt feelings'... "Oh," she said, chewing on some of the toast with a dollop of jam. "Can you help me with it, then? I'm not sure how to deal with... hurt feelings." He blinked for a moment, an incredulous look on his face before he said, in almost a whisper, "... haven't you ever had a friend? I mean, I just thought you had friends long ago, but they weren't, uh... a-around anymore. But... honestly, you've never had a friend before?" His grin suddenly sparked to life. "Well, hey - the School of Friendship would be perfect for you, then! That's where they TEACH all that stuff, and you even get the chance to use it! But, hmmmm," he pondered, "dealing with hurt feelings... okay!" He reached over, turned a chair around backwards and sat down in it, facing her. "Now, you remember what it felt like when they said all that stuff, right? That angry, angsty, no-goody-feeling? Well, they feel that, too - they're complete folks, too. So the key is to have what's called empathy; put yourself in their horseshoes, and try to imagine what it must've been like to get yelled at like that." He grinned. "That's the first step - because once you understand, you can apologize sincerely. All it takes is thinking like they did, or at least trying to understand what it was like for them. Try it!" ... but of course she didn't have a friend she could 'empathize' with. Where would she get one? "Cupcake, when you are wondering how many friends I had in my life, remember my castle; the subjects there were either slaves that I couldn't befriend, or my most honourable father that... well, I do not believe anypony could call 'friendly'" she finished in a whisper, as if using the words 'father' and 'friendly' in the same sentence was a terrible curse, or at least a vulgar term. So... empathy. Hmm. So they felt right about what they said, even though they were wrong? Silly ponies... and of course she didn't have to imagine what it was like to get yelled at - King Sombra wasn't exactly the most quiet teacher or parent in the universe. "... so we need to steal their horseshoes, so that I may put myself in them. It doesn't sound very hygienic, honestly." Cupcake gave a giggle. "No, no... not literally! It's like, put your perspective in their place; think what it felt like for them to be told that what they thought didn't matter... remember, they felt like they had the right idea. Have you ever felt what it was like to have your feelings, your opinion just shoved aside? Like, like..." His muzzle suddenly took on a stern glare, but not at her. "I'll bet Lemon treated YOU like that, didn't he? Like your opinion didn't matter? You remember what that felt like? Well, that might be the way they feel, too." Come to think of it, there had been the whole 'princess' thing, where he'd not only refused to call her by her title, but he'd also told her she was no longer a princess at all, no matter how much she'd tried to say otherwise. "Yeah," he pointed a hoof at her expression, "THAT is what I mean! I'll bet he was a real butt! I mean, I dunno what he said, but... he's always been like that, so I'll bet he made you mad too, right?" He then gave her a look of understanding. "Now... imagine that they felt the way you did when you effectively told them their opinion didn't matter." There was a difference, though - her opinion mattered and she was right, while Lemon was stupid and wrong. And stupid. She obviously didn't say it aloud, though - it would be a shame if Cupcake would realize that she really didn't get this whole 'empathy' thing. "My most honourable father has been doing things like that to me constantly, so I think I have some insight here," she said. "I think I'm starting to understand, however... So who felt the most hurt? We can make a list, and go with whomever was the most upset first..." She didn't feel she had to apologize, though - and didn't like this idea. However, it was for the greater good... maybe she'd be able to reach a compromise - or, at the very least, a compromise with herself. Cupcake shrugged. "I... don't think it works that way, princess; the only one who really knows how it hurt them... is them. But, for what it's worth, we can try to find them and give a simple apology for upsetting them; we'll see where it goes from there. Hey, after all, maybe all it'll take is saying sorry, right?" He then paused as he thought back on what she'd said. "Um, princess? I'm not gonna assume that your father was... whatever he was... but I do know that the things I've heard you say about how you were treated... well, I don't know what the plan was, but... well..." He sighed, then shook his head. "... never mind; I don't want to upset you again; I like Nice Obsidian! So, after breakfast, maybe we can see if we can work Lemon over a bit." He grinned like a colt stealing from the cookie jar. "When we finally see him, just follow my lead, mmkay?" "Mmkay" - whatever that meant. She stood up. "I'm quite full already; I'm not used to eating that much. However, Cupcake, mind you - I've been nice Obsidian since I woke up... but if your brother pushes me too much, you will have the honor of seeing a very not nice Obsidian for the first time in your life," she assured him. Of course even 'not nice Obsidian' wasn't going to be too threatening. After all, dark magic was illegal here. "So... I think it would be the best for us all if he didn't behave in the same manner as he did yesterday." Cupcake sighed and went to put a hoof on her shoulder... then thought better of it, and simply lowered his hoof. "I can't speak for him, so I can't promise any change in his attitude... but, if you work with me, you'll get to see what can be done to outsmart him." He grinned... the mischievous one. He led her out of the dining hall (after cleaning up), and down through several hallways until he came to a row of offices. Following the line, he stopped outside one and, with a conspiratorial wink, knocked loudly and quickly. "Lemooooooooon! We're HEEEEEEE-eeeeeeeere!" From inside, there was a hefty sigh, then, "Yes, come in." Cupcake opened the door for Obsidian, then bounded in with more energy than he'd projected yesterday. "My faaaaaaaavorite brother! Didja see, I'm a liaison now! Didja? Didja, hunh? Didja?" "CUP!" He growled loudly. "For Twilight's sake, how much candy have you had today?" "Just my usual regimen!" His smile was bright enough to light a cavern. "Good grief," Lemon groaned... then he saw Obsidian, and he gave a small smile. "So, Obsidian," he sat back in his chair and regarded her, "I take it you're ready for your assignment today, hmmmm?" At least it seemed that Cupcake was finally learning how to treat her - as putting his hoof on her would be probably a big mistake. It was especially nice as she kept envisioning his ability to be an overly annoying, loud weapon of mass eardrum destruction - but pointed at Obsidian's enemy. And hopefully Lemon wouldn't be too annoying, as right now even Obsidian was scared of Cupcake's abilities. "Yes, I am," she walked into the proverbial lion's den, wondering about Cupcake's words. No, not the ones about outsmarting him or anything - rather about Lemon being his 'favorite brother'. Did... did it mean there were more than those two? "Oh, she sure is!" Cupcake blurted. "She even managed to make some friends and see the school and read some books-" "What!?" Lemon sat bolt upright. "I specifically said-" "Didn't you get Princess Twilight's orders? She told Siddy she had access to the library now! If the orders aren't on your desk, you can ask her yoursel-" "A nice try," Lemon began with a haughty grin, "but you'll never get me to buy tha-" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes locked on a rather full {INBOX} tray. He reached forward and took a paper from the top with a flick of his hoof, read it thoroughly... then, with a dark scowl, he gave a single grunt, and shoved the paper into a drawer, turning back to face them both. "Fine." Lemon grumped, his muzzle carved in angry stone. "I don't see why she would allow such a thing, but... well, orders are orders. Though I still don't think it's a very good idea to give her access to potentially dangerous information!" "But brother," Cupcake said, sounding wounded, "if she's working here in the castle, then it only makes sense that she get the chance to use the library! I mean, there's the one at the School, but she didn't seem to like that one very much..." That brought a wicked little grin to Lemon's muzzle. "You... didn't like Princess Twilight's School of Friendship? Oh... oh that is perfect. Because, you see, your assignment is there, Obsidian!" Cup placed his hooves on the sides of his muzzle in mock horror. "Lemon! NOOOOO! That's no way to treat a newcomer! I mean, it's not like she's a meanie or anything-" "Oh yes," he grinned like the cat who ate the canary, "I'm certain the School of Friendship is EXACTLY where I want you to report to! When you get there, you're to go directly to the headmare's office - they'll keep you busy, I'm sure!" "Lemon, pleeeeeeeeease don't send her there! She really didn't like it, and-" "My mind," Lemon said slowly for emphasis, "is made up, Cup. That means she's school-bound... and you are too, o brother of mine." Cupcake's entire face fell, his body language crumpling like a piece of used tissue paper, and he looked pathetic as he looked at his brother. "But... but Lemmyyyyy..." "NEVER CALL ME THAT! NOT IN PUBLIC!" Lemon looked like any satisfaction he might have gotten from bullying Obsidian was effectively stymied by Cup's antics. "Now, get out of my sight! Both of you! And you'd better be at that school, Obsidian! I don't want to hear you've skipped out on this!" Cupcake hung his head as they walked out of the office... but as soon as the door was closed, he smiled broadly at Obsidian. "Ta-daaaa! Now, onto the school to find the others!" And he began skipping down the hallway, grinning like an idiot. But perhaps not as much of an idiot as he appeared to be? Oh, so that was that. Obsidian really regretted right now that she couldn't feel other ponies emotions - at least except fear, of course... but, alas, dark magic was illegal, so even that was out of her reach. Too bad - she was curious if Cupcake was really playing with Lemon that well, or if he was just going along with his brother's nudges and suggestions. Well, at least she didn't seem to get any real, physical work... and Friendship School was close to the place she was currently occupying. It was a welcome bonus. "I admire your cruelty, Mr. Lemon," she said before she left the office. So now... headmare. And friends. Oh Father, where art thou? Why couldn't you just come back and take over this entire place?