~>-<~
Obsidian stood on a hill overlooking Ponyville...
Or, more precisely, where Ponyville once stood.
The entire town had been laid to waste; devastation at every corner, every house reduced to rubble, every familiar thing now nothing more than blasted debris and blackened ashes. Fires of jet black flame ran rampant throughout the small village, and smoke choked the air above.
And among the disaster were ponies, all of them turned to fire-scorched statues. The sky was a hazy red color, and a swirl of VERY Dark Magic hung over it all like a shield against the sun, blotting out any single ray of sunshine that might be had. The pallor it gave made even the brightest of colors seem dim and washed-out.
That wasn't her fault, was it? Of course, Obsidian had often considered learning more about Dark Magic, and even using it a bit more than her studies about Grey Magic would normally excuse... but she certainly didn't want to ruin the village where she was living. Besides, even when she wasn't considering Onyx to be her rival and enemy, she considered killing ponies a shameful waste. Was that another nightmare about her father? Or possibly Onyx? Let's be completely fair - the events from that most active day of her life were pretty terrifying, and Obsidian wasn't as scared as much as she should have been only because she had been far too active (and exhausted) to have even noticed.
But even in the midst of this horrific tragedy before her, she noticed she wasn't alone on this hilltop; standing next to her, with a grim look on her muzzle, was none other than Ruby.
"Greetings, dear sister," Obsidian welcomed her. Was this another visit of her spiritual remains, just like with the mirror or amulet? Was it another strange appearance, as she had when Clap had performed her Sonic Rainboom? Or perhaps she was merely a product of her own brain, created from her memories?
Ruby looked at her and gave a weak smile, embracing her in a hug before stepping back and looking out over the town again, sadness writ large in her eyes. "It's not your doing - just getting that out of the way first, before we speak on. This is more of a glance at what could happen, if things go all wonky for you."
She pointed, and at that exact moment, a ROAR of pure, unadulterated HATE echoed through the small town. There was an explosion that blew apart the remains of Sugarcube Corner, and standing there was a jet black alicorn stallion, with vile green mist pouring from his eyes and mouth.
He flapped his wings and began to hover over the ruins, his voice like razor blades on Obsidian's ears as he spoke. "WHERE ARE YOU HIDING, PEGASUS!? I'LL FIND YOU IF I HAVE TO KILL EVERYPONY IN MY WAY!" A bolt of pure Dark Magic shot from his horn, and scorched a line of black fire across the ground as he screamed in anger- Sweet Darkness, it was Midnight!
"That," Ruby said, "is the source of all this."
"That's quite a lot of pent up anger," Obsidian noticed. A glance of the future... or perhaps it was what she was afraid could possibly happen. "I don't think that's a friendship problem which could be solved with just a mere discussion or two, and perhaps a short, cute song. Damnation, what is his problem? She didn't cause him any long-lasting damage, did she? From this level of reaction, you would think she gelded him."
One might think he would practically have forgotten her, after all these years. Perhaps getting help from Princess Twilight on this one was a good idea... Obsidian really doubted the alicorn leader of Equestria would be too upset about Clap bullying Midnight. After all, she was practically famous for being rather lenient; she'd even shown mercy to King Sombra, simply turning him into a stone statue instead of turning him over to his children.
"... but things won't get wonky. Not this time."
Ruby gave her a look that reminded her of Dark Ruby, her muzzle lit with irritation. "Hey, keep in mind that he'd supposedly spent almost his entire foalhood being kept down by Thunderclap Dash; do you remember what it was like when Onyx was teasing and verbally abusing you? Now imagine if you had to endure that for years!"
She closed her eyes and sighed, her muzzle returning to it's previous sad look. "That is the result of issues never faced, thoughts never spoken, feelings repressed for waaaaaaay too long," Ruby explained, "and there's a chance he actually spent much of his last few years plotting revenge on his tormentor. Which would mean he studied Dark Magic purely out of vengeance."
She gave Obsidian a serious look. "And YOU know what happens when you invest those sort of feelings in Dark Magic, don't you? You should know all too well... and you should also know what kind of mindset it puts him in."
It apparently had to be worse than the things that Onyx had done to Obsidian - and that made this situation far worse. However, it was still the closest approximation Ruby could give to her sister. After all, she couldn't just compare Clap to King Sombra, right? Especially as in this particular case it would mean that the more bullied Midnight had been, the more twisted love he would show towards his attacker, yes?
But learning Dark Magic just to enact a terrible vengeance? Twilight, you really screwed up, just sending him away instead of doing something... anything... to deal with his issues at that moment in time.
"I feel I'll need to do something, even if it would mean crashing the princess' birthday party, just to drag Midnight's unconscious body away from Ponyville." Obsidian now shared her sister's grim look.
Ruby sighed. "Look, you're the only Grey Magic caster I've ever actually known... and this situation might call for it. Darkness to combat darkness, and light to heal the pain. Even with all you've seen here, you have to remember that, under it all, he's just... suffering with how much pent-up rage and hatred he has."
She looked back at the town as Dark Midnight casually ripped a charred roof off what used to be the Carousel Boutique, flinging it aside and letting out another pained, rage-filled shriek of anger. "Darkness can help you defend yourself and your friends against harm, but... Siddy, it's going to take Light Magic to bring him back again. Threats, fighting, obstinance... that's just going to make things worse. He has to know kindness to be able to heal, like you did - to be able to pull back from the brink of villainy, he needs understanding... both from you and for Clap."
"He needs Light in his heart to ever fight the chance that this," she motioned to the ruins of Ponyville, "could happen."
Thanks Ruby. Without saying that out loud, Obsidian surely wouldn't take notice of how much rage and hatred was in this dream version of Midnight. "And there go my plans for private group studies," the dark princess said as she rubbed her neck with a hoof.
Well, creating new bodies for Ruby and Onyx would have to wait a bit, apparently. While another Dark Magic practicioner would be useful, the fact that he was learning it merely to get vengeance on her friend was downright annoying... same as the fact that he was so damned powerful, being an alicorn and so on. Obsidian had to be sure he wouldn't turn into her rival.
"I didn't expect any troubles from that particular direction. And to make it even worse, even Blue adores him," not that she truly cared about Blue's opinion - but the amount of allies and minions he could possibly gather without much trouble was... disconcerting.
Ruby shook her head and looked Obsidian in the eye. "He's powerful, but under all that, he's just hurting. Everything she did to him has probably been boiling in the back of his mind since he left Ponyville. You heard him talk about how much he loved this place... and yet, look what he's willing to do to it to exact his vengeance."
She suddenly smiled at Obsidian, and she was Light Ruby all over again. "But you have a chance to connect with him. You know Dark Magic, and that means you also know it's limits and flaws; you hold a better chance of connecting with him that I think even Blue has," she said, "because you've been down that road. The things that were aid to you to get you out of your Dark shell? Stuff like that is what he needs to hear... and he should hear it from someone he has no prior connections to, so he doesn't bias his opinions on how he knows you to be."
"Siddy," she smiled warmly, "you're gonna have to make him your newest friend."
Ah, yes. Turning him into a slave to the friendly relations between them was the best possible option, of course. As soon as he started to realize he likes other ponies more than he wants to painfully obliterate them all, everything should get much better. And Obsidian just had to help him start to understand that, while also being careful about Clap's feelings, to make sure she wouldn't feel betrayed or replaced by the alicorn prince.
There was also Stalwart, who seemed to have a crush on him - it would be a true shame if she thought by mistake that Obsidian was hitting on him. Considering that Clap's flirty behaviour supposedly wasn't a part of an average relationship, she should be also careful to not do anything that would make Cupcake suspicious.
She just wanted to learn more about Dark Magic and strenghten her connection to it, as it was a wonderful thing to learn about and - to be fair - Gray Magic was kind of annoying her with all its' internal contradictions. "Okay. I can try."
Ruby's smile was just as sweet as the last time she'd seen her alive. "I know you can do it, sis. I believe in you, just like I always did... and you can make this happen." She then gave a more humorous grin. "And even if Grey Magic annoys you sometimes with how it works against itself, just remember that YOU are the wielder of magics nopony even knows about - which makes you speacial to the entire Equestrian nation, and even all of Equus..."
She then hugged Obsidian. "But you've always been special to me."
With that, the dream faded away, the sounds of fire crackling and vengeful screaming fading into nothing as she stirred...
~>O<~
When her eyes fluttered open, she discovered Cupcake snuggled against her back, his forelegs wrapped lovingly around her and his sweet breath blowing across her muzzle as he lightly (and cutely) snored.
Well, it was kind of obvious that Obsidian was special and unique - there was no other Obsidian, daughter of Sombra, in entire world! But being hugged by Ruby, the best sister ever, still felt nice... even if it was just a dream. Possibly a prophetic one, but a dream nonetheless.
Which eventually ended, sending her back into harsh reality. Now the most important question was, what hour was it? Normally, she could try to get up without waking Cupcake - which, to be honest, wasn't that hard - but sometimes (i.e. now) she pretty much preferred to stay in the bed a bit longer.
By Darkness, she was becoming LAZY.
From the light on the window, it was still early morning; she hadn't overslept yet, it seemed.
Cup snerked in his sleep, smacked his lips and muttered, "... zzzzz... how many cups of sugar does it take to get to the moon, Momma?... zzzzz..."
Silly Cuppie. Of course, after witnessing his sugar rushes, there was only a small amount of doubt that he could get to the moon on nothing but pure sugar. She'd seen what could happen with that... The horror... the horror...
At any rate, the sun was coming up, and Siddy had a number of things to do today. As soon as she felt like moving from Cupcake's side, of course. Which was harder than one would think, the snuggly-bug he was.
It was kind of ironic - she'd normally never felt any serious urge to stay in the bed during the weekends. During the only days where she could afford that luxury, it was suddenly becoming something she wanted to avoid. It was annoying! Or maybe laziness just tasted the best when there was something to do?
She just had to get out of bed so she could leave - so very, very carefully she started to wriggle her way out of Cupcake's embrace.
Cup mumbled again, then rolled over, releasing her from his hold as he buried his muzzle in her pillow. "... zzzzz... you shmell like luff... zzzzz..." A single hoof twitch, and he was out again.
She got up, and the moment she did, she realized something felt... odd...
Something in town. Something very faint... her senses only picked it up slightly, and even then it was only due to her ties to magic that alerted her that something was possibly going on nearby... ... something Dark.
He wouldn't possibly start killing Thunderclap that early, right? Besides, everypony knew that dark rituals worked the best after a good breakfast, not before... unless Midnight was very angry about having to get up early, there was no reason for him to emit so much Dark Magic!
And yet, she could most certainly feel it. Breakfast? Morning shower? Even tooth brushing - everything was unimportant in the face of the potential apocalypse. So Obsidian simply (and quickly) left the house, to follow that trace.
That dark trace, as it turned out, led directly into Ponyville, and precisely to Sugarcube Corner. With the fog of her latest nightmare still looming large in her mind, Siddy found herself attracted to the front door, where she heard the last snatch of a conversation from inside.
"... you sure you're okay?" Licorice's deep, rich voice rolled out of the open doorway. "You don't look okay..."
"Yeah, yeah... I'm fine... shtop it alreddy, wouldja?" That was Clap's voice... sort of. She sounded as if she'd just woken up as well. But she'd always known Clap to be a morning pony - this wasn't at all what she should sound like at this point in the day. Heck, she should be jogging right now!
"I jus' wanted some pastries... izzat a crime 'r' somethin'?" No, that didn't sound right at all.
That... wasn't Midnight. Which sadly meant some serious bad news, as Clap had never shown any ability to cast Dark Magic, especially being a pegasus and so on. It meant that either Midnight was inside as well, or he had already cast something rather wicked against the poor pegasus. Hopefully Licorice wasn't using Dark Magic too; it would be a rather annoying thing to learn about. So, preparing herself for some form of bad news, Obsidian boldly entered Sugarcube Corner.
The shop was the same as she remembered it; no burns, no fire, no rubble. Whew.
Licorice was the same as she remembered him; tall, dark and handsome, as well as strong and sure... but he had a look of worry on his muzzle she hadn't seen since the Umbral Incident. It didn't look good on him, even though he still looked good.
Thunderclap Dash, however, did NOT look the same as Obsidian remembered her. She looked... pale. Like the colors in her mane and fur were a bit faded. She also seemed... older somehow, as if she'd aged ten years in a single night, her muzzle was shallow and her eyes held heavy bags under them, like she hadn't slept a wink in weeks. Her gait was a bit unsteady, and as she went to walk out, she ran smack into Obsidian.
Catching herself on the wall, she turned and started to speak. "Why'ontcha watch where-... oh. Hey, Siddy," she sounded a bit better, seeing Obsidian standing there, but she still sounded a bit slurry and tired. "You wanted shome pashtries too?" She held up a bag... though Siddy could have sworn it looked like she was straining just a bit to do so. "Y'want shome? I c'n share, if ya wanna..."
Stalwart had been with Midnight, right? The idea that they had possibly spent the night together was probably too optimistic, but Obsidian at least needed confirmation that Midnight got back to his home. She didn't notice him casting anything during their walk... and before that Thunderclap looked completely fine (or even better, considering that they had just left the spa), so he had to have done something during the night...
Where was Clap living? Damnation, why didn't she know? "Thunderclap Dash? You look and sound terrible." Obsidian wasn't well-known for her tact. She walked closer to her pegasus friend. "You really, really shouldn't walk around in this state. How are you even able to stand still, girl?" Dark Magic... were there any traces on the poor pegasus?
"Hello, Licorice. Have you seen Mica or Stalwart, perchance?" She had to have a very, very serious talk with Midnight... and hasten her own studies - if he had done this to her friend, the act was a clear declaration of war!
Licorice looked up from the counter at her and smiled that heartbreakingly handsome smile. "Uh-uh, I haven't seen either one all day. You saw Thunderclap, right?"
"I'm right here, dummy," Clap said, now leaning a bit against the doorway and trying to shake the cobwebs out of her head..
"Oh." Licky seemed a bit embarrassed, but he still gave her a smile too. "Okay, well... if I'm right, Stalwart should be at work, shouldn't she? I mean, she's a Royal Guard Trainee now, isn't she?"
"Yah... an' she EARNED dat, too..." Clap turned and started walking away from the shop... but slowly, and with an obvious wobble to her gait. "'Kay, if y'don't wanna pastry... I guess I gotta go an' eat 'em up m'self..."
What was it with the pastries? It was quite innocent thing, but in the current situation Obsidian was getting slightly paranoid, and the fact that Clap was here shopping and talking about sweets, instead of trying to jog, was worrying her.
"Clap, wait for me!" she cried out. One shouldn't get so much important stuff to do before breakfast and a shower! Obsidian followed her, quickly. "You really don't look very well... maybe you should sit down for a bit? I live nearby, after all..."
"Hunh?" Clap looked at her like she didn't understand her for a moment... then she simply shrugged and kept trying to walk non-chalantly. "I'm... f-fine. Just feelin' a bit under the weather, 's all. Decided ta take a pers'nal day. Havva lil' treat while I rest up an' stuff... I slept like crap las' night..."
Obsidian could now feel the lignering effects of Dark Magic... and it was coming from Thunderclap. There was no longer any doubt; something had been done to her, and whatever it was had left her drained.
She stumbled, and dropped the bag onto the ground as she leaned against her friend. OOF, but she was heavy! "Shorry," she slurred out as she tried to right herself, "um... crack inna sidewalk; my bad."
Was it possibly some form of long range Dark Magic attack? Or perhaps Midnight snuck by her house? Maybe Tourmy and Amy would be able to help her find out something more about it? After all, Obsidian could use some quite powerful magic, but it was Tourmy who knew the most dangerous and damaging spells.
"Thunderclap Dash, I insist. You didn't just sleep like crap - I sense something else, but I'll need to check it carefully. Please, Clappy?" Giving her friend the puppy eyes was probably pointless, considering that Clap probably wouldn't even notice... But it couldn't hurt to try, right?
Clap turned to say something... but the puppy-eyed stare she was getting seemed to have an effect after all. "O... kay. Yeah, shure - why not? 'Sides, you gotta nische house... you an Cuppie-Cup-Cup-Cupster..."
She changed course, and started to head for Obsidian's home. She even gave a weak flap of her wings as she tried them out, to no avail. "I'd rashe ya, but m'wings hadn't shlept too good lately..."
Teetering and tottering, the two of them made it to the cottage. Outside, Tourmaline was working in the yard; as soon as they drew near, his ears perked up, and he looked up at Thunderclap with alarm - he could sense it too, apparently. He gave Obsidian a questioning look - one that said he was a bit shocked at what he felt from the pegasus. He set down his rake and trotted over.
"Obsidian... Thunderclap... what's," he motioned to Clap, "this all about?"
Whatever had hit Thunderclap had hit her hard. Bad sleep, eh? So it probably happened at night and continued on up to now. She had to get rid of this dark magical stench, figure out how Thunderclap was attacked... and possibly maim Midnight - preferably without worrying his mother.
Okay, maybe that third point wasn't the best possible idea... but it would be quick and painless! Well... almost painless.
"Dark Magic, my brother. Thunderclap was attacked, and I'd like to figure out how, when and how to get rid of the effects."
Besides, she really needed a shower and breakfast. "Clap, did you sleep in your home today?" Didn't she have a home in Cloudsdale...?
Tourmaline's expression grew hard and serious. "Not... good. Alright, let's get her inside, and we can figure out what's going on from there." He looked at his sister. "Cupcake already left, so it'll just be the three... ahem FOUR of us." He nodded his head towards the attic window, where Obsidian saw Amethyst standing and looking out at the three of them, a similar expression of concern on her muzzle before she saw them looking and shut the curtains.
Guiding her inside, Clap took one look at the couch and smiled. "Now datsch a good idea, dere," she murmured as she made her unsteady way to the couch and plopped herself onto it; Siddy could hear the springs groan in protest as she did.
Tourmy turned and looked at Obsidian. "Let's... hit the kitchen and make her a nice, fresh pot of coffee, shall we?" The nods and looks he was giving her seemed to indicate he wanted to speak with her in there... without the pegasus present.
Thunderclap took the idea that she'd maybe been the victim of a magical attack rather well... or was too dazed to hear them or understand what they were talking about. Still, it was probably for the best to talk without her around - a nice, sweet discussion between siblings... besides, in the kitchen, Obsidian could finally make herself something to eat. Maybe she should call in a sick day, or something like that? This was BIG.
"Yes, dear brother, quite a good idea," Obsidian agreed. She took a last look at Clap, to make sure she wouldn't fall off the couch and hurt herself, and then turned and trotted to the kitchen after Tourmy.
As soon as the kitchen door closed, Tourmaline whirled around and looked at her. "It's not your doing, because I don't feel your magical vibe... which means there's another Dark Magic user here - and I will NOT alLOW that!"
He made his way over to the fridge, and began to gather a few light foodstuffs, placing them on the table in front of her. "Obsidian, this is NOT good, not at all! I can't even defend myself, with this damnable lock on my horn! Dark Magic in Ponyville - and it isn't ours - could spell disaster if it causes a stir; they'll blame US! They'll TURN on US, and MAKE us SUFFER!"
He started the coffee pot, then sighed and sat down at the table, putting his head in his hooves. "Okay, from the top... what is happening here?"
Bah, of course it wasn't her doing - what reason would Obsidian have to curse Clap in such a manner? The pegasus would have had to have been impossibly annoying for even a consideration of such a thing, and even then the dark princess knew other ways to deal with things like that. Less life-threatening... or at least less visible.
"We have a rather powerful Dark Magic user in Ponyville with a personal grudge against Thunderclap. He is more powerful than I thought apparently, as he did meet her yesterday - but I didn't detect any spells coming from him. However, Clap said she had a terrible night, so I think this spell was possibly cast yesterday or during the night... and our fellow Dark Magician either snuck up on her house, or perhaps he cast it from an exceedingly long range. I had hoped that either you or Amethyst could help me identify the spell." Obsidian decided to keep the information that the said Dark Magic user in queston was an alicorn prince to herself.
The door to the attic was near the kitchen, and Tourmaline gave it a bit of a hard glare. "Amethyst probably wouldn't be willing to help, here - in fact, I'd dare say that we might have to keep this from her, else she might try to ally herself with them, if it meant getting her lock off."
He sat and began to think. "Well, from what I felt, it seems as though your friend out there is suffering from a dark curse of some sort. Not... good. There are a large number of dark curses, and some of them are..." he sighed, "... irreversible."
Tourmaline took up a strawberry from the food he'd put out and slowly chewed it as he continued to think. "But the signs I'm seeing - and feeling - look somewhat familiar. Onyx cast a number of torturous spells on Amethyst, Ruby and I, so there may be a chance it isn't one of the permanent ones. Still, she doesn't look good - and if we are still feeling residual magics, it may still be going... which means Thunderclap will continue to progress from bad to worse unless we can figure out how to either suspend it, or stop it altogether."
Irreversible? Oh dear - keeping Thunderclap in her current state would be quite a sad ending for a mare able to pull a Sonic Rainboom - and, of course, if it continued to deteriorate, she would end up in a far worse state, sooner or later.
Just how did Midnight manage to curse her? And Amethyst... maybe she should just lose that short bone on her head. Obsidian had faith in her sister, but if she would ever try to betray them, the dark princess would be glad to remove the source of her temptation, once for all.
"I will go to the library, look for a few books. And perhaps..."
She got quiet for a moment as she was thinking about the worst possible thing. Oh, the things she had to sacrifice for friendship!
"... I'll send word in for a day off, both to deal with this curse and to try to contact the pony responsible for it, to stop him from further attempts." Who would ever think that the son of the Princess of Friendship would bring so much trouble into Obsidian's life?
"Him?" Tourmaline raised an eyebrow. "Something tells me you know more than you're letting on... which, in my experiences with you, are par for the course." He leaned forward in his seat. "So... I would suggest you disclose whomever he is, so that I might be able to possibly calculate what we can do about this situation." Whatever else Tourmaline was, he most certainly wasn't slow.
Of course, the new question was how much she could trust her brother? Maybe he was getting more into this whole idea of 'friendship business' than Amy, but he had still tried to kill her. He could possibly end up seduced by darkness once again, and he was the only pony around that could take care of Clap... at least until Obsidian met up with Mica.
"An alicorn prince named Midnight Star," she said eventually. After all, if he would try to 'visit' Obsidian it would be important for Tourmaline to keep him away from Thunderclap. "He was thoroughly bullied by Clap when they were young, and that's apparently enough for him to spend quite a few years looking for Dark Magic in order to reciprocate a vengeance."
The damnable fool - learning Dark Magic, just to hurt a single pony. What a waste of time.
Tourmaline's jaw dropped open, and a single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "An... alicorn... prince?" NOW, he looked worried. "Not... good."
He stood up and began to pace. "Onyx had sought out information regarding a small hoofful of possible Dark Magic practicioners, and one of them was suspected to be an alicorn; it was going to be one of her first steps after 'waking' Father... of course, she had no idea she wouldn't be alive after His return..."
In her head, Obsidian heard the gory >BLORTCH< sound again, from when her eldest sister popped like a pimple.
"But this... Midnight, did you call him?... apparently has quite a chip on his shoulder, if he's doing this to your pegasus friend. I would wholeheartedly suggest that whatever you do, you approach it with the most extreme caution and care; an alicorn has powers far beyond a mere unicorn, Grey Magic or not, and a prince would have far too many allies to confront in public. And remember, we may be 'accepted' into pony society now... but if word gets out about MORE Dark Magic, so close on the heels of the recent fiasco..."
He gave a gusty sigh. "... we might be next on the proverbial chopping block." He took up another strawberry... but paused before he ate it. "For the record, though Amethyst might attempt to parley with this alicorn prince of Darkness, I have no aims to that end whatsoever - I most certainly learned my lesson, and besides..."
He actually grew a small blush on his muzzle. "I actually have... something to lose by going back to it."
Popping the little red fruit into his mouth, he began the makings of the pot of coffee. "So, if you plan to deal with this, you very well can't be expected to foalsit a stupefied pegasus; leave her here, and I'll see to her needs. In the meantime, investigate - but make no accusations... yet. Those can only truly be made with evidence... which we will need, no doubt."
Ooooh, did Tourmy manage to get himself a marefriend? Did he, did he? Obsidian had to sneakily ask around, or maybe even go to the most important source of informations - Gunther. He had to know something!
But first things first. And right now, Obsidian reminded herself that she was very hungry - so she joined her brother in eating the food set out on the table. "We can introduce Amethyst to him... later, after dealing with these problems and reforming her a bit more. I'm sure an alicorn brother-in-law would be an useful ally."
Unfortunately, the crush Stalwart had on Midnight possibly meant that it was merely a jest - Obsidian wouldn't try to stand between the petite guardian and her prince... at least as long as there was no risk that he might kill her, sooner or later.
Apparently, Onyx knew about the dark prince - which meant that there was the possibility that there just had to be something about him in her diary! Yet another reason to get books from her secret stash today.
To be fair Obsidian wasn't that worried about the 'proverbial chopping block' Tourmaline had spoken of - in the worst possible scenario, they could just try to free their father and escape from the village afterwards.
"Today is the princess' birthday party. It should give us some time, as I seriously doubt that her son would miss that. If things get any worse, I can always just get the gang together and hope for some kind of flashy magic of friendship," she joked dryly. Or at least, she hoped it was a joke. "Anyway, I know a guardian, a very literate diamond dog and a few other ponies that could help me with the investigation. I'll do my best, dear brother."
A hoofful of dark magic practicioners? Maybe one or two of them could be reached later...
"Let's hope it's enough, in this case... granted, Thunderclap isn't exactly my favorite personage... but, I admit, no one deserves to simply waste away like that." A light sparked behind Tourmy's eyes, and he looked as though he suddenly had an idea.
"Wasting away... that leads me to think-"
The attic door opened, and Amethyst quietly walked into the kitchen. She stared back and forth at the two of them for a moment, then simply frowned.
"You two seem 'chummy'... how nice for you both." With that, she made her own way to the fridge and started rummaging around, presumably looking for breakfast-like items... and ignoring the foodstuffs on the table. Tourmy shook his head at Obsidian, reminding her to keep quiet over their current predicament.
Oh? Then who was his personal favorite personage? Damnit, if not for Midnight, Obsidian would have a wonderful opportunity to have plenty of fun with looking for rumors and so on. Sadly, in the current circumstances this kind of humorous activity would have to wait - quite a while, potentially. Damnable bastard. And, due to Amy's incursion, Tourmy didn't even could finish his thought. How annoying!
"Amy! I'm so glad to see you. Do you want to get chummy too? It's important to nurse healthy relations between siblings and I'm pretty sure you didn't receive your daily hugs today!" Obsidian chirped, a bit hopeful that it would make Amy want to escape from them.
Amethyst's eyes narrowed. "Touch me, and I'll make sure your coltfriend gets a double dose of candy before you get home."
She turned back to the fridge, rummaging around until she pulled out a jar of grape preserves and what looked like... like...
"Is... is that... meat?" Tourmaline said with suspicion.
Amethyst smiled sweetly... but didn't say another word. She s-l-o-w-l-y unscrewed the jar and dipped the suspicious meat-thing into it, then took a big bite of the jelly-covered meat stick. "Yum," she said.
To be fair, using a sugar-drugged Cupcake as a weapon wouldn't be a very bad idea. "Weeeell, it's important for you two to get along, and you would be first on the frontline in this case... and where did you get that?" Obsidian was interested. She hadn't seen any meat in the shops... did Amy perhaps visit some diamond dogs?
Amy now looked rather pleased with herself - possibly because of the disgust on her erstwhile brother's muzzle. "Oh, I have my secrets," she grinned, "but I'll happily tell you if you get this damned lock off my horn."
Tourmaline glared. "I eat that jelly, you know?"
Amy's smile redoubled. "Oh, well then... care for a bite?"
Tourmy pushed away from the table in disgust. "FEH! I should've killed you when I had the chance."
"Too late; missed date!" She said as she bit off another chunk. Tourmaline grumbled under his breath as he headed back outside, shooting Siddy urgent looks as he did. Once he was gone, Amethyst's smile fell back into the sour, dour face she typically wore.
"So... why does your little pegasus slave stink of Darkness?" she casually asked.
Obsidian decided that even a small diversification in her diet wasn't worth risking it, especially as Amy really didn't seem to like Ponyville and its surroundings as much as the rest of her (very reduced) family. "A small accident, sister. I'll fix it soon," Siddy shrugged and followed Tourmy. She really wanted to know what this little 'wasting away' idea meant.
"Accident? Oh-HO!" she exclaimed, "so you have taken my advice and started using them for experimentation! Bra-VO, Obsidian! For a while there, I thought you didn't have it in you, but color me impressed!"
If Amy was anything like Tourmy, she'd be able to TELL it wasn't Obsidian's work... but, the angry mare was known for baiting her siblings with words such as these.
"Now, if you'd just be so kind as to do that to everyone in this sewer pit called Ponyville... then, why, I might just forgive you for turning me into a useless, washed-up has-been."
She jammed the meat stick into the jar again, brought it out, then held it out to Obsidian. "Since you're finally starting to feel like yourself again... want a biiiiiiite?" Her grin said she knew Obsidian would turn her down... but she wanted to poke at her, all the same.
Poke... well, it was a good thing her dagger was locked up in Twilight's Palace.
Impressing Amethyst was hardly something worth of bragging about, though luckily it wasn't something to worry about - especially in a situation where she was able to believe that Obsidian would be able to hurt one of her friends. Of course, Obsidian did have to work on her Dark Magic - as part of her Gray Magic studies - but experimenting on her friends? That would be low.
Meat... hmmm... "With grape jelly? Are you sure it's a good idea?" Obsidian took the meat stick and sniffed it suspiciously. Why would anyone want to mix tastes like that?
"... naaah, I do believe I shall pass. Bon appetit," she said as she returned it to Amethyst and turned around to leave.
"Fine," Amethyst grumped, "I didn't really wanna share with you anyway!"
The words followed her into the living room, where the blue pegasus lie on the couch, looking rather worn and tired.
"Heeeeeyyyyyy..." Clap mumbled, "there's my beshtie. What'cha dooooin?" The cup of coffee that Tourmy had brewed sat on the table next to her, half-drained. As thick as Tourmaline made coffee, she should've been wide awake... instead, she looked like she still hadn't slept for days.
"Siddeeeeee," she moaned, "I losht muh bag o' goodies when I dropped 'em... wouldja get 'em for me? Pretty pleashe?"
Awww, it sounded as if Obsidian had really dissapointed Amethyst. However, she would stand by her opinion - grapes? On meat? If she hadn't stuck it directly into the jar, she would have considered it more seriously, to be fair. By Darkness, it was absolutely heartbreaking to see Clap in such a state. A proud, active (perhaps too active) pegasus was now turned into an exhausted-looking, bleary-eyed pony... except that no amount of coffee would be really able to help her.
"Do you mean your pastries, Clap?" Obsidian asked carefully.
"Yeah, dem. Thosche pay-striiiieeees..." She swooned a bit, falling back on the cushions and moaning as if she were in pain. "Oh, geez... I godda get shome schleep... you maybe got shome, like..." She paused for a number of seconds. "... shome schleepytime tea, 'r shomethin' like dat?"
Though the accents of some modern ponies were really terrible, making them almost completely impossible for Obsidian to understand... Clap was even worse right now. Sleep was a good idea... but sleepy time tea? Uh, there had to be something like that; after all, they had to put down Cupcake to sleep after he overdosed on sugar.
"Tourm, could you get her a blanket and pillow? And look to see if we still have any of that special tea for emergency situations with Cupcake? I'll be leaving for a bit..."
Tourmaline, who was currently going through drawers and such, looked over his shoulder at Siddy. "Yes, yes... go be a super sleuth, and figure out what to do about her," he pointed a hoof at Clap, "because I swear, if she hoots at me about how 'cute' I am again, I'll get her a gag to go with her tea."
Clap gave a drunken-sounding giggle. "Yer cyoot when yer mad, Tourmy-Wormy-Squirmy..."
His glare made Obsidian wonder if he wasn't practicing to kill with a glance. "... and hop to it, SIDDY," he growled.
"Consider it practice," Siddy smirked at him, "you'll find your own partner, one day." At least probably. Or maybe he already had. He mentioned that he had someone to stay for in this town, right? Aaaah, if only there wouldn't be this alicorn-shaped problem around!
But he was right. Obsidian had to leave - quickly - before the situation could get any worse.