//------------------------------// // Twenty Two: Crystal Clarity // Story: Obsidian: Daughter of Sombra // by Randimaxis //------------------------------// "I... can try. That's very Dark Magic, though; it may take a moment..." What should she tell them? That she felt far too happy with them to be sure it would work? She tried to focus on her negative feelings, starting with the proud triumph she felt after the utter defeat of Amethyst. It was... pathetic to see her crushed so utterly. Maggot! Mongrel! Unworthy of carrying even a portion of such a soul as wonderful as their father's! Hopefully scorn and pride would be enough to cast the proper magics... Obsidian concentrated, trying to build up the energy needed to produce one of the sinister Dark Crystalsssssss... she pushed and struggled and focused her immense willpower... Aaaaaand nothing; she was too happy. There was no way she'd be able to make even a hoof-sized crystal, never mind one of the size required. "Wait," Cup blinked, "Dark crystals need Dark energy, right?" He looked at the others. "We've been pumping her full of goodwill; I don't know that she could right now... could you?" "Hmmmmm... Obsidian," Mica said, "does the energy have to be Dark to work?" "Well, no one has yet tried to cast the spell with Light Magic before, as far as I know so - yes - you could say that," she sighed, clearly unhappy about her humiliating lack of ability to cast Dark Magic on a whim anymore. It almost felt as if she was magically mutilated. "I can use others' negative emotions, but allow me to be clear: I do NOT want to use any of you in any way..." She cut her eyes to Cupcake; 'hugs' weren't exactly using others, right? "Perhaps you could make an attempt to embarrass or possibly even anger me? With that sort of motivation, I may possibly be able to cast it. For example, Lemon tried to disorient me during our exercises, asking me about some, er... romantic stuff, but his tactics were unsuccessful." It was Wart who got the idea. "Your Majesty," she said, "when I saw you dealing with your brother, he said something that made you very angry. I... didn't say so at the time, but you had... purple mist... coming from your eyes." "Whoa," Clap said, impressed, "what'd he say to you?" Cupcake trapped in chains... Thunderclap with scars after whipping... Gypsy forced to spend days in the mine instead of learning history as he loved... Just the thought of what Tourmaline had implied about the fate of her friends under the rule of the Slave King... and purple mist began to seep from her eyes, making wisps that flowed back toward her mane. "WOW!" Cupcake took a step back from Obsidian, and the others just stared. "There!" Wart exclaimed. "That was what your eyes were doing when I found you!" She could feel it. ANGER! Maybe if she imagined more and worse, the power would possibly come? The thoughts came rapidly and, after years of experience with her father, shockingly naturally to her: Cupcake impaled on a Dark Crystal shard, his still living body twitching in unspeakable agony, tears running down his blood-stained muzzle, mouth open and gasping for a scream... Mist practically erupted from Obsidian's eyes as she growled and shot a beam of inkwell-black energy at the floor. Kill! Destroy! She had to defeat every single creature that threatened the lives of her friends! IT DIDN'T MATTER WHETHER THEY WERE HER FAMILY OR NOT! Obsidian's growl grew until it reached a fevered pitch, and she opened vengeance-filled eyes that were gowing like hot steel in a forge! "... damn you... CREATE!!!" The floor of the Applejack Suite split wide open, and a Dark Crystal rumbled up from the ground beneath, stopping just short of the ceiling. The others backpedaled from the occurrence, all simply thunderstruck by the power they just witnessed. Mica and Cupcake exchanged a worried look, then Cup stepped forward. "Princess... Obsidian... you did it... calm yourself down, it's done. It's okay." "Wow - if you get THAT powerful when you get riled up, remind me not to get on your bad side!" Clap gave a chuckle, the look on her muzzle changing from shock to gritty good humour. "But keep whatever you thought ready for if we gotta fight again, 'kay?" Mica came closer to the crystal and examined it closely. "I... am impressed, for the record. I didn't think-" He then made the mistake of touching it, though only gingerly. "... oooohhh..." Mica stumbled back, catching himself on the corner of the dresser that had been shoved against the wall by the crystal's entrance. Gypsy came towards him in concern, but Mica held up a hoof. "That was... ohhhhh... no, no, I'm... I'm f-fine, but..." he shook his head vigorously, as if clearing his mind of cobwebs, "remind me never to do that again." "I truly hope that Butter Churn's mother won't be using her suite for a while... otherwise, I'm dead," Obsidian muttered, even though she was rather... pleased by its size. She had never managed to make it quite that size before; quite a noticable difference. The Dark Princess stepped forward, touching her crystal lightly with a hoof, in an almost motherly fashion, practically petting it. "Yes... crysssssstalssssss..." she purred huskily. With such power, she should be able to defeat all of her foolish siblings... and take their own magics for herself! Yes, nopony would be EVER able to stand against her! ... okay, maybe Cup was right. "Cupcake, please... you don't have to call me 'princess'. However, I believe I require a calming hug - would you please come forth and provide one?" She slid her hoof along the crystal tenderly, her eyes never leaving it - even as she made her request. And while the others had eyeballed her 'loving caress' of the large black crystal, they ALL turned to stare at Cupcake when she asked directly for a hug. He looked at the others, chuckled sheepishly, then came directly to her. "Whenever you want, Siddy," he said kindly, then he wrapped his forelegs around her and nuzzled into her mane. She could smell the sweet scent from him that she'd encountered before... his touch was so kind, his fur so soft... "whenever you want." It was like he was the cooling balm to her angry rash, the soothing drink of water for her anger-parched throat, the ice for her fire... By Darkness, was she having a crush on Cupcake!? The rest of them simply stared. At one point, Clap looked over at Mica and blinked. Gypsy looked at Wart, and she simply shrugged. Slowly, the purple mist from her eyes ceased its' flow, and faded from view. An interesting experience, truth be told - of course, it could just have been the fact that it was thinking about his horrific death which had angered her; his touch reminded her that he was still alive and right next to her. She held him at foreleg's length and smiled. "Thank you, Cup. Your hugs are quite powerful, I daresay - nothing has ever brought me to peace so quickly..." With one last smile at Cup, she turned to Wart. "Now, what was it you were saying about a Locator Spell? I do believe this crystal will... be... er, sufficient?" Why were they just staring at her like that? A mere moment before, they'd had a group hug - without asking her first before including her - and now they were surprised by her actually asking Cup for a warm, wonderful hug? Were they possibly jealous? It was quiet for a moment, but then Wart stepped forward, clearing her throat to speak. "A... *ahem* a Locator Spell isn't exactly a commonplace spell, as its' uses are far too tempting - yet I believe there's a copy in the library here; I can fetch it, if you like, Your Majesty?" Mica pre-empted Obsidian's reply. "Actually, I had designs that Obsidian, Thunderclap and I could fetch it; I want you here with Gypsy and Cup, watching this crystal; it may attract something we don't want, so I'd want the three of you to guard this room, and keep the door closed and don't allow anyone besides us into the room." Cup looked at Wart and Gypsy, then smiled and saluted. "Yus yus yus, you can count on us!" However, his gaze lingered on Obsidian for a moment before he turned back to the others... Mica nodded, then turned to Clap and Obsidian. "Shall we go? I have a feeling it'll be in the rare book section, am I right?" He looked to Wart for approval, who nodded an affirmative. "Towards the back corner, last bookcase on the right, on the middle shelf - behind the front desk," she added. Mica gestured for them to follow, and headed out the doorway. Well then - a trek to the library; she'd hoped that it was something they already had available... as in, 'in hoof'. Splitting the group up like this could be dangerous; hopefully her siblings wouldn't risk attacking them in a middle of Princess Twilight's castle... but it seemed as if they had no other choice. Her fault, really - she should have asked for more details, then gotten hold of spell first and then... THEN she could have created this beautiful cryssssstal... but she left the room with Mica and Clap anyway; perhaps it was the for the best, splitting up so they could fetch the spell. There was no doubt in her mind that Stalwart and Cupcake, backed by Gypsy, were more than capable of guarding her room. As soon as they were out of range of the room's earshot, Mica looked over at Obsidian. "I'd like to ask a few questions, if I may, Obsidian?" "Of course, Mica - after all, we are friends." She didn't see a single reason why Mica shouldn't be allowed to ask questions; friends didn't have to ask to ask, right? "First question," he began, "what would you want to see as the ideal outcome for all this? I'd like to know so that I can plan accordingly." Her ideal outcome, eh? She hadn't really thought about it before... well, not very much. "Everypony lives, that's for sure. Hopefully my siblings would learn to adapt and integrate, without spending their time plotting the return of my father. I also wouldn't complain if I could find out exactly why my most honourable father turned... well, into the Slave King Sombra you all know from the history books." Mica nodded. "Save Equestria, save your siblings if we can, find the reason behind your father's corruption... okay. Got it. Now, next question: if Dark Magic is required to win this battle, do you think you can use it and keep yourself controlled from the backlash?" "Backlash?" Clap asked. Mica nodded. "You saw her after she summoned the crystal, Clap - if she has to do that in a much bigger way, I want to know if we'll ALL possibly need to help her calm herself, or if she can manage it on her own." "Well, Cupcake seems to deal with it pretty well, does he not?" Obsidian chuckled lightheartedly. "But the more Dark Magic I use, the the more calming I would require; your presences would be quite helpful, methinks." "Alright, be prepared to help if and when we can, especially if for some reason Cup isn't available. Got it. Question thr-" "Hey," Clap interrupted, "does she get to ask anything?" Mica considered it. "That's fair; do you have any questions in return?" "No, not currently - I'm too concerned about this situation, and my only goal is to learn something more, which would be the spell we currently seek." Obsidian shrugged lightly. "Trust me, Mica, Thunderclap - if I have any questions, about any topic, I will most certainly be asking." Mica nodded. "Good. Excellent. Very well, question three: when this is over with, do you plan to return to the Crystal Empire, or will you be staying with us here in Equestria?" "Please say you're staying!" Clap said with a smirk. Obsidian raised her eyebrows and peeked sidelong at Mica. "I spent my entire life inside Crystal Palace, limited to only a few rooms... so I'm not sure if there are any real reasons for me to return. No friends, no empire, existing as a body back-up for my father and so on... so, I think - at least for now - I'd prefer to stay here." "YESSS!" Clap hollered, receiving a look from Mica for it. She just smiled back at him. "What? I'm glad she's staying - I like Siddy!" Mica gave a slight grin. "As do I, Clap. As do I." "And I like both of you, too," Obsidian admitted, pleased by their reactions - especially Mica's, as they had wasted a potential day of friendship, and she was maybe a bit afraid that his brief brainwashing by her manic sister would have made him reconsider their relationship. As they reached the library, a passing pair of guards saw them approaching. Mica nodded to them, and Clap gave a slight wave. They didn't stop any of the three friends as they entered the doors, continuing their patrol. The library was quiet... but eerily so. Without Miss Tome behind the desk typing away softly, it was completely devoid of sound, except from the trio's footsteps... and the floor was carpeted. They made their way towards the back, where the section was filled with books from floor to ceiling. So many books... Obsidian could practically live in here, reading for an entire decade, and she still wouldn't be able to finish them all! The shelf they were looking for was where Wart said it would be, and Mica and Clap began searching through the titles. So many books. That's why she asked for a job here - it was calming to see it, and the realization of just how many books were there was quite humbling. But first things first. They had to find this spell Stalwart had mentioned. There had to be something here they could use... her siblings couldn't have known what they were up to - for the first time, the element of surprise would be on Obsidian's side. There was a dull thump, and the doors to the library opened slightly, then closed again moments later. Mica's head popped up from where he was searching. "Stop." He froze in place, listening intently. After a moment, with as quiet as it was, they could hear hoofsteps headed this way. "... hide," Mica said, and crept over behind a nearby table, where he positioned himself so he couldn't be seen. Clap looked at Obsidian and motioned to a shelf, where she then slid her large frame behind it and out of sight, with just room enough for Obsidian if she wished. No no no no NO! Don't tell her that they were ONCE AGAIN hot on her tail! Just how could it be possible!? Did they plant a stealthy magical listening spell in her room? Did they have a spy? Were they using tons of invisibility spells? How did they always manage to keep one step ahead of her, By Darkness!? But she didn't have either the time nor the want to think about it right now - instead, she quickly joined Thunderclap behind the shelf. Hopefully, they wouldn't have to fight in the library - so many books would be in danger... All they heard were soft hoofsteps for a moment... then, a slight muttering, as if someone was talking to themselves. More hoofsteps came, and a form appeared around the corner of the shelving... It was Looking Glass. Alone. She made her way down the row, searching the shelves carefully for a particular book, one would guess. Clap looked at Obsidian and shrugged. "Should we say hi?" she whispered. Yesterday, Obsidian more or less trusted everypony... well, perhaps a touch less. Today, she wasn't sure she could even trust herself. And another thing - it was a sizeably large school; just how many times could two ponies accidentially run into each other? Obsidian hadn't even come across Eloquence or Licorice again - and she was spending time with their family members and unrequited crushes! Was it REALLY an accident that they'd met again, right before she made up with Mica? How much time would Onyx have truly had to create a facade of a normal life for herself? So Obsidian shook her head slightly; better safe than sorry. Looking Glass was officially suspicious. Clap nodded, and turned to watch the young mare. Glass began scanning the shelves, looking back and forth for a few minutes before she suddenly exclaimed, "A-HA!" and pulled a single book from the shelf. Looking it over, she smiled to herself. "Grim Shadows: A Treatise on Dark Magics! YES! I told you I could find it! Let's hear you tell me I'm just a 'frilly researcher' now! Oh, they'll be so happy, I just KNOW they will!" Clap lifted an eyebrow. She hugged the book to her, smiling and turning a pirouette. "And when father comes home, we can all be a family - no more fighting!" Clap's eyes widened in shock as Looking Glass began to do a cute little victory dance. Obsidian smirked at Thunderclap's shock. It truly felt good - being able to be right about something at least once. Even if it meant she almost fell into another trap. At least this one didn't seem to ramble... and she couldn't risk the chance that her siblings would get their hooves on this apparently important book. She stood up and stepped out fom her hiding spot. "Interesting choice, I daresay - pray tell, is your real name 'Onyx'? Or perhaps I have a third sister?" "G'FAGAHAGAH!" Glass fell over with a flurry of legs, the book hitting the wall behind her. She looked up at her interloper. "OBSIDIAN!? I... oh, I j-j-just... it'snotwhatyou... you..." Her ears drooped as she made the connections. "I... uhm... eh..." She fidgeted for a moment, then sighed and looked up. "No, I'm not-... uhm, I... h-h-hi. I'm... Ruby." She looked ashamed of herself. Obsidian's horn flashed, as she surrounded book with her aura and immediately brought it to her. "So I have not one, not two, but THREE sisters? Such good news," the dark unicorn grinned at Ruby... though, not in a mocking way. Maybe two out of four siblings had tried to kill her, but they were still a family. Her eyes widened as she took the book. "NoPLEASENO!" She reached desperately for it, falling onto her face as she missed "I may have forgotten to introduce myself during our past meetings... but it seems you already know my name. Good. So... what would you say to a quick chat? Brother Tourmaline and sister Amethyst didn't seem to want to explain very much, amidst the ranting and death threats." Lying there, she sniffled and began to tremble. "Please... they don't think I'm capable of anything! I've been trying to locate this book for so long!!! If I don't get it, I'll be exactly what they say I am! Oh, Obsidian, PLEASE give me the book! Please please please! I'll... I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just PLEASE don't take it away from me! Not after I tried so hard to find it!" Great. Now she was crying. Wonderful. But Obsidian, as it turned out, had become fairly sensitive to crying lately - at least, when it was one of her friends crying. A potentially dangerous sibling, though? She didn't care... Much. Well, too much, anyway. "Sister Ruby, please... calm yourself. After two separate assassinations attempts, I'm not just going to give you a book about Dark Magic that could possibly be used for sister Onyx to kill us all with." She stepped closer a bit, but not before moving said book right into her own hoof. Now it should be safe - unless Ruby wanted to fight for it. "Did you really spend three years living here amongst the Equestrians? Or maybe there's a real Looking Glass, imprisoned somewhere or possibly even murdered?" Ruby looked up, tears flowing freely. "I... it's me - ALL me. When the empire returned, I was stuck there for a long time, until Onyx came and freed me. She... (sniffle) she said, when the time was right, we would all be a part of something special. Something BIG." She sat back, wrapping her forehooves around herself and letting a few tears roll onto the floor from her muzzle. "That's... that's when I made this persona, Looking Glass, and came to Equestria. I've been searching for that book," she stared at it in Obsidian's grasp, "for the past several months, as it was what Onyx told me we needed to... t-t-to... finish it." She trembled a bit. "Please. I don't wanna be seen as the useless one anymore. Please." Her eyes locked onto the book. "So instead, you want to be seen as pony that allowed Sister Onyx to kill herself? Ruby, you've obviously spent plenty of time in this school; do you really hate it so much that you want everything to end?" Obsidian tried to convince her by appealing to the propects of her current life. How could any creature willingly spend time with Tourmaline and Amethyst, yet manage to live in the school without exposing herself? There was no fooling Obsidian; Ruby was good. She now turned her tearful blue eyes toward Obsidian. "Oh NO! No no no - that's not it at ALL! Onyx assured me that father won't want to end all this... he'll want to take charge!" Now a dawning look of hope crossed her features. "Father will come back, and he'll take over so we can have a big, happy family, and then he'll bring Equestria into the Crystal Empire, which is where everything here will last forever! Why would he want to destroy it; he wants it to be our new home, Obsidian!" She sniffled again, glanced at the book, then back into Siddy's eyes. "I remember father teaching me about what ponies needed - do you remember? He said they needed order, they needed structure, they needed discipline if they ever wanted to survive for more than a few centuries. He said they didn't know self-control, so it was his job to bring it to them, remember?" Obsidian DID remember. All too well. "Yes, father got... g-g-got angry at us when we failed, but when you're trying to build a stronger tomorrow, you have to be strong, or you end up dead. Father may have disciplined us, but he never actually tried to kill us! And besides, do you think you would have been able to survive in the world at all, if he hadn't made you tough? Resilient? Would you have made it as an undisciplined princess?" Ruby shivered again. "Obsidian, please understand - I kept bumping into you because I was so excited to meet you! I couldn't help it, because you're so powerful... and you seem so nice, not like-" She covered her mouth with a shocked look on her muzzle, then continued after a moment. "I just want us to be a family, Obsidian. Please. Please. If you ever want a chance at having a family, please give me the book." "Ruby, By Darkness, are you fully aware of how long Equestria has survived, especially with how many dangers it faced? And even though it may sound unbelievable, ALL of these dangers were most effectively neutralized, in many different ways - including Discord and Headmare Starlight. It's already a number of centuries old, and yet Equestria still exists, and Celestia and Luna are still alive. I'd even say that it flourishes, accounting by the number of griffons, diamond dogs, changelings... even dragons in this school. Does it look like a failed society to you?" To be fair, it had already gone well beyond the point where Obsidian was trying to provoke Ruby, in order to get more information out of her and so on. In fact, the longer she kept talking, the more logical it sounded. "... I... I don't think even our father would be able to take charge here, Ruby. He would be struck with the Elements of Harmony, o-or maybe a small dragon would accidentially put the Crystal Heart into the right place... or something else would happen! The world seems to be rigged in Harmony's favour..." "Can you deny it, sister? Even our father once had a friend - he had a life. Then, he... h-he found something, and everything changed." Please Ruby, deny it, Obsidian hoped. Show me all the holes in my logic, present all the knowledge that you've gathered during these past few years, and counter everything I've learned from reading a few modern books about history... tell me it isn't so... Ruby looked at her for a moment, then looked down. "You don't know, do you? Equestria is not even a minute's length, compared to the Umbral Empire... like, did you know, it lasted for almost half a million years? It was the most advanced civilization in all of Equus, and it only fell because the Darkheart was shattered." She now looked at Obsidian with curiosity. "You don't even know about the Umbral Empire, do you? Oh... oh Obsidian, I can teach you! I'd love to teach you!" She stood up, happiness in her eyes as she wiped her muzzle. "That's what father discovered! He was the last Umbral, and the remnants of the Darkheart were only a fraction of what he found; they taught him all about his ancestry, about his heritage, and charged him with returning the Umbral Empire to its' former glory - and he accepted!" She stopped, and put on a worried face. "Equestria kept trying to stop father because they were formed in the bones of what was the old regime - not even using their own devices, but stealing from the unmarked graves of the Umbrals! Who would want to give back what they stole from us?" She now looked kindly at Obsidian. "And I know father had a friend... you look a lot like her." Now that was an interesting bit of information. If Mica and Clap hadn't been here with her... well, more like her with them... she could have had a far more in-depth discussion about this subject. So their father wasn't even a true pony? And ponies were using Umbral devices? And... um, that bit about being possibly purposefully crafted to resemble a dead mare? Yeah, THAT was totally NOT NOT creepy. Obsidian wasn't sure what to make of the thought; instead, she started to try a different tactic. "How did this Darkheart shatter?" "Naw, uh-uh, no way!" Thunderclap suddenly burst out, coming out from her hiding place with an angry look on her muzzle, storming over to where Ruby stood, making the smaller mare cower. "That's a HUGE load of manure! Equestria isn't a bunch of scavengers! We grew up of our own accord, and we did NOT steal from any 'Bumble Empire! You'd better take that back!'" Ruby stared at her, then at Obsidian, then the book... then shut her eyes, and with a >POP<, she was gone. Clap stared for a moment, then gave Obsidian a sheepish grin. "Ah heh heh... oops."