//------------------------------// // Thirty Seven: Gypsy // Story: Obsidian: Daughter of Sombra // by Randimaxis //------------------------------// "!uoy sah llits ehS !uoy sah llits xynO !LAER TON S'TI !laer ton s'tI" When their surroundings faded into view, the five of them were in a voluminous cavern, but not one that Obsidian recognized. And from the expressions on her friends' muzzles, neither did they. It was an open area with a number of strangely decorated wood, stone and mortar buildings all around them, fixed into every square inch of side space; even on the walls and the ceiling! There were posts sticking out of the ground, and there seemed to be... strings?... that ran between them, and even a squat well in the center of town. Once again, Ruby spoke up between dream-worlds... and again, she couldn't understand a single, solitary word she was saying! RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGH! Annoying! Worrisome! Mind-numbing! By Darkness, why had Fate seen fit to curse her with this family of hers!? She should either be lazily spending her time in Ponyville while being annoyingly herself to her gang of friends and still not actually caring about pursuing Dark and Light Magic (at least not too much)... or she could be cackling maniacally while collaring Equestrian slaves in Twilight's palace! And there was only one pony guilty of making this entire damned day much too stressful and exciting for poor Obsidian... oh, the taste of her revenge would be so exquisitely sweet! The entire cave-town around them was completely devoid of any signs of life... except for a single individual who was huddled over next to a small bonfire, the single source of light barely keeping the shadows at bay. And when they spoke up, they spoke up. "Such an ADORABLE little bitty PUP-py! Oh, father would ab-so-LUTE-ly love to have you FOR DINNER!" A large, grotesquely exaggerated version of Jynx was flying loops around the kneeling form of Gypsy, who seemed to give a shudder at her words. The mock draconequus laughed with a gurgling quality, before swimming through the air and back into the darkness. But she was no sooner gone than replaced by... "NOD IMPORTUNDT! Yu think diamond dogs not GOOD ENUFF for liddle GYPSY? You think you need dis 'FREMSHIP' stoopid thing? YU KNOWS NUFFING!" This one was a rough-looking, over-muscled and angry diamond dog, just like him, that seemed to cause him to shudder again, just as Jynx did. "Stoopids will be pud OUD! No more FAMULY! Gon FOREVURRRR!" The form on the floor shuddered, but said nothing as the huge & horrific entity slid back into the shadows. Strangely, he hadn't even looked up from the dirt-cave floor at any of the ghastly sights. And then... "Nyah nyah nyah! Big bruvver luvs his paypurz! He LUUUUUUVS demz - an I'mma EET demz!" Another diamond dog, this one quite small, but looking cruel and sinister, covered in scars and dirt. "Gunna nom emz all upz, cuz big bruvver is big dum STOOPUDZ!" The dog on the floor shuddered again, but said nothing as the spirit vanished back into the shadows, the jeering laughter fading with its' presence. "Alright - enough of this; I'm going in." Obsidian began to go to him, as the rest waited in the wings. "I'll simply explain to Gypsy that he is going to become great one day, and we shall be there to support him." As long as Onyx didn't eat him, of course. As she moved towards the diamond dog, a familiar voice came from the darkness around the tiny bonfire. "Although you may consider my most honourable father tyrannical, your conclusions are flawed! Mean? Nice? Enjoyment? Love?" Out of the darkness came an exaggerated version of Obsidian, her coat dark, her horn big and glowing crimson, and her eyes ravenous and enraged. "Those are but empty words, merely masquerading self-indulgence, a perspective that there is something more important than duty. There is NOT!" Again, the diamond dog shuddered, but did not speak. Mica leaned forward, "Don't let that get to you, Siddy; just go get him out of there." The enraged eyes didn't seem all that bad, but she always preferred to have her anger more focused and cold. She wasn't able to always have such a tight lid on it, but that was more the fault of her new surroundings and situation than her own shortcomings. Had she strayed too far from her initial path? Of course it did feel rather good to actually have friends, care about them, have them care about her in return... but in the long run, it could possibly ruin the strict discipline that her father had painstakingly taught her. At least she didn't have to worry that she had betrayed her father - after all, it was Onyx's actions that forced her onto the Equestrian's side! She hesitantly had to admit it, though; it was bothering her a bit that her appearance was there among the other diamond dogs and a creature whom Gypsy feared so much that he almost soiled himself. But this was a version of herself who hadn't understood how important these things were to others yet - and now, she at least had an inkling. She trotted straight to him. The apparition of Obsidian faded to the background as the others had as she approached him. When she got close enough, she could now see a gathering of tiny little scraps of paper in front of him; they were shaped weirdly, and though they looked like random paper chunks, Gypsy was picking them up, examining them and putting them down with a slow but steady pace and ease. When she got to his side, he looked up at her... The diamond dog that was sitting there couldn't have been Gypsy Rover - the look on it's muzzle spoke of countless years of stupidity. It had Gypsy's features, but quite noticably had none of his intellect; she might as well have come to free a rock! He glanced up as she got close. He said not a word; the string of drool racing down his jawline said volumes, though. Damnation! With this look on his muzzle, it was clear that the lights upstairs were out. In this current state, he wouldn't even be a proper slave... Obsidian once again glanced at her friends and shook her head slightly. This entire fiasco was getting tiresome, and it certainly didn't help that she was still worried sick about Onyx's plans, and what she may have already done to them while they were sleeping! All the nonsense they'd been through should be easier; in the history books she picked up on her first day here, there'd been nothing written about any undead-army-raising enemy of Equestria who was possibly as diffcult and frustrating as Siddy's sister! "Gypsy. Come now, don't look at me like that - YOU are one of the cleverest creatures I've ever met. Even in your worst nightmares, you should still be aware of that." His eyes blinked... off-beat. The drool continued to roll from his lips, and he nodded dumbly and went right back to examining the paper pieces of... In his paws was a small wooden model of a brain; it was incomplete, and he was shuffling through the pieces and locating stuff that fit together properly. The diamond dog seemed to be rather taken with his brain teaser, and even held it out towards Siddy in dumb pride. When did she last have a nice, proper sleep? A thousand years ago, maybe? Since awakening in this modern world, she first slept with her face on a desk... then fell asleep after a rather shameful meltdown, after she had learned about her true functions - and since then she had been forced to fight, learn, rescue her friends, require rescuing herself and so on. She just wanted to kick Onyx's stupid flank and get back to the palace! "Let's see..." Obsidian's horn flashed as she tried to move a few of the pieces of paper closer - then took a close look at the strange 'brain-teaser'. Mayhaps she could finish it herself? The brain teaser was... a brain. What the diamond dog held in his paws was a complex-looking three-dimensional puzzle of a cerebellum; the rest of the paper chunks on the ground were parts of it as well, but they were flat paper as opposed to the model. The big, dopey grin across Gypsy's features was surreal, as it almost looked like he was a different dog altogether. Again, he held it up with a foal's sense of pride, grinning like a fool as he showed Obsidian his incomplete work. Behind them, an enormous griffon of unrecognizable origins flew into view and just howled a cackling, jeering mockery of a dog's howl... and, as if on cue, Gypsy flinched. He wasn't doing it out of fear - he never had been; he was simply reacting to the 'fears' by giving them the reaction they apparently wanted from him. Seemingly brainless, yet still smart enough to pick up on such a thing as that! Oh, how wonderful... Gypsy got his brain literally removed, apparently, and turned into a puzzle! And to think, Obsidian believed that beating Onyx would be the biggest challenge... First things first. She had to analyze this thing; examine the details of how the rest of papers fit into it... mayhaps she really could finish it! And while she was at it, some support for her friend wouldn't be a bad idea either. "Gypsy, you have no reason to listen to these shadows - you are not a target, not a pariah, and NOT a big, dumb stupids." She was almost deadly serious, even as she continued to look at the unfinished and somewhat sparse model. "You have friends that truly appreciate you for everything you represent within your very presence; shy charm, good humour and kindness to spare. You are our friend... and we would wish to have you back." When she spoke to him, there wasn't even a glimmer of recognition. However, she felt that something in his eyes was still there... a spark of hope, mayhaps? The puzzle was... weird. The pieces were made of paper, but when one was placed into the brain model correctly, the piece became some strange form of wood, and seemingly locked into place. All the pieces might have been here, but it was hard to really tell if they had them all. There were just so many pieces, and they were only two-dimensional! Gypsy simply smiled at her in that nobody's-home way, and drooled a bit more-... oh Darkness preserve... he was chewing on a piece! Even using her magic to pry it out of the dog's mouth, she could almost feel that nasty drool, and gave an involuntary shudder. However, he didn't put up a fight, and the piece came to her easily enough. Dripping, but she got it all the same. "ALWAYS the observer! NEVER the observed!" Great; another apparition. "This one is worthless! He has abandoned his family! His home! His life among his own kind! This one is a failure! A laughingstock failure!" EEE-yuck. At least she could use magic to grab the piece, and didn't have to cover her hooves with diamond-dog-drool. With this piece gathered, putting the entire puzzle together should be easier... a-at least a bit? Hopefully she wouldn't have to take any more pieces from him... And apparently, Gypsy himself had come forward as a part of this neverending theatre of shadows. Was it a projection of his self-doubt? Then again, mayhaps it was his true self, raging against his lack of self-confidence represented by this drooling and sorry excuse for their canine friend? Still, she wasn't about to allow those words to go unchallenged. "This one joined friends that have come to truly appreciate his worth. This one is also a grand pupil, well liked by many of the teachers in Friendship School. And perhaps this one left for a reason; I wonder - perhaps because he was not properly appreciated there?" Sure enough, the apparition that floated into view was Gypsy, though a grotesquely malformed version of himself. It had a fang-filled maw and long, gangly arms that ended in a mass of claws. The spectre glared at Obsidian evenly. "This one was never as the rest were! He is an anomaly! He must be stopped before he believes there is more than the life of a diamond dog ahead of him! Why should he care for the world of ponies?" She continued to play with the unusual puzzle as she replied, "Because the world of ponies is awesome, of course... and apparently, the life of a diamond dog could use some more variety." "Diamond dogs need no variety! We have been living our lives for centuries without other ponies butting in, and we can continue to d-do the same!" ... did it just stutter? "There is NOTHING worthwhile enough t-to throw away one's family! You speak of how he is seen by teachers - but what of the other p-p-ponies!?" Gypsy's dumbfounded body continued to paw at the puzzle, trying pieces and failing, trying and failing, trying and succeeding - which brought another shift from paper to wood - then back to trying and failing. Even in his stupidity state, he was still trying to beat this! "Well, I personally think Gypsy is wonderful; I didn't even know about origami before meeting him, or anything about diamond dogs at all! And he is a grand researcher who has probably saved my life already at least once with his dilligence. When his family realizes that too and apologizes for being jerks, I'm sure he'll forgive them." To be fair, even in his current state he wasn't much worse than Obsidian herself with this brain-thing. "The rest of our group surely thinks highly of him as well. We'll have to find him a nice pairing though; since we already have two pairs, it's only logical we should matchmake the rest." Maybe with Stalwart...? Everything would stay within the gang that way! The apparition balked visibly, almost looking as though Obsidian had bitten it. "LIES! The pony world is for PONIES! There is no p-place for a diamond dog among you!" "Buhhhhh..." The dumb-Gypsy was trying to speak! "Tuh. Heeeeeeeeed." The spectre bristled. "THIS ONE is worthless to himself! He c-c-cannot-" "B-b-b-buht. Hed. Buhthed." The puzzle was now coming together nicely... and was becoming more complete as they both worked on it. "This one has NO DEFENSE! There is n-n-nothing it can say to justify th-this behavior! Inexcusable! Useless!" "Shuu-uup. Buhthed." The spectre looked ready to have a heart attack from pure rage. "There are griffons, changelings, even dragons and moving, talking artificial ponies made of crystal shards; I think that diamond dogs would fit in too," she smirked, looking on with wry amusement at the 'discussion' between the two Gypsies. "And yes, he has his own defenses - have you ever seen him fight? And even if he couldn't, he has friends willing to stand up for him." "N-n-n-NO! This one h-h-has i-issues! He has p-pr-p-problems! He h-h-h-" "Haz uh c-cloo. B-b-b-big wun." The dumb-Gypsy now was sitting upright, and had wiped his mouth free of spittle. He still looked... wrong... but that was changing before Obsidian's eyes. "There are MATTERS that y-y-you do NOT underst-st-stand! They s-say they c-c-c-care, but th-th-they d-d-do not! They... th-they..." "Dey... THEY care. About th-this one." Now the puzzle was mostly complete, with only a few pieces missing, and the face of the apparition began to take on the dumb-Gypsy look, even as Gypsy himself became more... well, himself. "NO! NOH! Dis... i-i-is wrong! Dis is... i-i-i-is a NOH!" "Why? B-b-because you have been t-t-told that it's h-how it is supp-p-posed to be? That diamond d-d-d-dogs belong at h-home? No. Only other d-d-diamond dogs have said this. N-not ponies." "NOH! BAAAAAAD!" "This one agrees. VERY bad. F-for you." The ghost, wailing in agony and stupidity, faded from view in front of her, leaving only Gypsy Rover, complete at last, smiling at her. "This one is g-g-glad you are his f-friend. Th-thank you. Now," he casually tossed the brain teaser over his shoulder, where it vanished into nothing, "what is our n-n-next g-goal?" The others all rejoiced over their reunion with Gypsy, and the diamond dog's tail was wagging fiercely enough to knock an Umbral over! There were hugs and exclamations all around, and they simply felt good to be together again. And it felt right inside Obsidian - it felt whole and complete, as if it was always meant to be this way. It went better than she thought it would; luckily they weren't exposed to the horrors of Discord's and Jinx's crimes against the entire race of caninekind and instead just had to deal with Gypsy's sense of self-worth. Nothing really mind-blowing, insanity-inducing or anything like that - just a few personal issues. Let's say that Obsidian was very relieved. "Now..." she looked around, "we really should seek out Ruby." Maybe thinking about her would work, similar to how she located the rest of the group? She tried to recollect their first meeting, in Headmare's Starlight's room... Gypsy gave a questioning glance. "I-is she n-not... n-n-n-not..." Mica stopped him. "It's a loooooong story, but the short version is that an aspect of Ruby has been helping us escape, and now we may have to go find her." "Oh." Gypsy seemed concerned, but he just put on a smiling muzzle. "Well, as l-l-long as we h-ha-h-have each other, w-w-we should b-be f-f-f-fine, yes?" Cupcake pondered, "Now, If I were a Ruby... where would I hide?" Thunderclap began searching around... the stopped and crossed her forelegs. "Uh-uh. I ain't getting fooled again with that trick. Only Siddy can see 'em, remember?" Mica shrugged. "Well, you're welcome to think that, but I still think it'd be better to look anyway." Cup grinned. "Maybe we're supposed to be thinking about her?" "Well, at least some of you surely knew Looking Glass, right? And Mica and Clap heard our discussion in the library..." Of course, Thunderclap did a bit more than just 'hear' the chat, but that was a sore point. And it was the past, which should stay in the past... at least until Obsidian got irked at her again. It wasn't a matter of 'where was Ruby hiding' - the Dark Princess really doubted that her 'good' sister would avoid them without a very good reason, like being held as a prisoner by Onyx or something like that. However Clap was right that only she might be able to see Ruby, especially after nopony had seen Gypsy's Sombra origami. "...SLATSSSSSSSSSSSSSYRC" "!PUTES A S'TI !diputs ,em retfa emoc t'noD !potS" There was that voice again... but that first one was... NOT Ruby. Not by a LONG shot. "We didn't know Ruby very well, Siddy," Clap said softly. "But wait - we knew Looking Glass, right?" There were some sparse acknowledgements all around at Cup's question. The stallion was undaunted. "So... what about Looking Glass?" Clap gave a small grin. "Heh, her mane. It didn't matter what she was doing, she always made sure her mane was good." Mica nodded. "Yes, she was pretty proud of it." "Th-th-this one," Gypsy added, "rec-c-c-calls how she a-always smelled of manespray and c-ca-c-ca-candy." Wart rolled her eyes. "She was kind, yes... but her obsession with her mane was, by and far, severe." Then, Ruby's voice came to her... "...part a part a part a part A... -rt a... a trap! Obsidian, it's a trap!" Oh, manure.