//------------------------------// // Seven: Woolgathering (Without The Sheep) // Story: Obsidian: Shards Of Sombra // by Randimaxis //------------------------------// Did Clap have any pastries with her at all when they were leaving Sugarcube Corner? Obsidian seemed to recall such... but where did she lose them? The Dark Princess could try and fetch them, but only if it didn't take too much time. Otherwise, she had to get to the library. Oh, and take... *sigh*...a day off. Hopefully, nopony would think she was slacking off. Sure enough, the sack was where it had fallen from Thunderclap's hoof, only a block down the street from her house. However, it seemed there was already a pony already there, looking curiously at the bag. As she watched, the unicorn levitated it off the ground and in front of himself. He opened it and looked inside; a smile began to spread on his muzzle as he saw the contents. But those weren't his! Well, as far as Obsidian was concerned, she wasn't forbidden from using overwhelming firepower against thieves, right? Hopefully not - because she had a lot going on her head right now, and didn't want to waste too much time on dealing with something this trivial. As long as it helped her pegasus friend feel better, she didn't mind this small favor. "Oh, great, yes - that's where we lost our bag of pastries," Obsidian trotted closer to get the unicorn's attention and resolve the whole thing peacefully. He looked up at Obsidian, then frowned as he closed the bag and brought it behind him with his magic. "Hey... finders keepers! Apparently, you didn't want it TOO badly, or you wouldn't have left it on the ground like that! You can't just take something back after someone else claims it! Don't be petty about your loss." He backed up a few steps; his volume seemed to be attracting some attention to them both, and other ponies looked on curiously. "YOU lost them - I found them. As far as I'M concerned, they're mine." "Is that so?" Obsidian said with a sigh. Apparently, this HAS to take more than a moment. Grand. "Well, I'm sure we can most certainly ask the local guards if the true owner is the one who found it... or the one who paid for it. I'd be interested to hear their take on this, but we don't have to," Obsidian offered gently; after all, there were far too many witnesses for her to be able to be much more... eh, forceful. The unicorn made a show of looking around. "I'm not worried about any guards... plus, as far as THEY know, it was mine to begin with! So, you're just gonna walk up to a guard and say, 'someone stole my sweetroll?' You think they'll honestly believe you over someone like me?" He started stepping backwards, making his way away from Obsidian. "You snooze, you lose. Now begone, and let me eat my pastries in peace," he snarked. So he was gonna play that way, was he? Obsidian grabbed the bag with her own magic - positively certain that said unicorn didn't have any training in levitating objects from someone as talented as Lemon Custard - and started to pull. "That goes two ways, anonymous citizen..." The unicorn pulled back. "HEY! Get your magic hooves off! Let go!" The bag, made only for holding pastries and made of recycled paper, only took one strong tug before it ripped in two, dumping the precious cargo onto the ground, where they became covered in dirt. The unicorn scowled at her, then turned to walk away. "Fool... now nobody gets any. Besides, they looked like lemon sherbet; I don't care for that, anyway. Too bad." He kept his eye on Obsidian, but turned and started to leave the scene. For Obsidian, it was a victory. To her, it was better to end up with nothing, rather than let the enemy have even a fraction of it. It was just a matter of principle - in her father's kingdom, he would have been severely punished for stealing, and even moreso for daring to argue with a royal! Obsidian didn't think that such a punishment would be a good idea in THIS day and age of course, but some sort of proverbial spanking would do that one a bit of good. Though not right now, of course - she didn't have enough time to deal with petty thieves. She smirked as she saw him fleeing the scene - she was certain she could at least remember what he did look like. Maybe there would be an opportunity later to deal with this issue... Lemon sherbet, eh? She would have to buy some for Clap later; right now, she merely gathered the poor remains of her hollow victory with her magic to ensure not to leave a mess in the road, while resisting the urge to throw it at the back of the retreating coward's head. Of course, in the end, he'd get his - especially if Obsidian could deal with this whole 'Dark Magic Alicorn' business quickly. It would surely leave her in a foul mood - and with the Dark Magical experiments she was planning, that poor bastard could possibly find out that trying to steal those pastiries would end up being his biggest mistake in life. What little life he would have left, that was. A few of the onlookers seemed disappointed that there wasn't more drama... but moved on anyway. An older couple came over towards her, and the elderly stallion held out a small sack. "Here, young'un - we heard th' whole thing, an' m'wife here thinks you were cheated; here, take these bits an' go get yerself summore pastries. Never mind that blasted thief; he'll get his, I'm sure of it." The older mare simply smiled sweetly at Obsidian, not saying a word. "Say," the stallion continued, "you hear anything on th' street 'bout how Princess Twilight's cancelling her birthday party?" Ah yes, Equestria's Random and Surprising Acts of Kindness! It really did remind Obsidian that she lived in a such a completely different day, age and nation, and warmed her cold, artificial obsidian heart. She smiled sweetly at them as she took the sack. "Thank you so very much, I truly appreciate that. And no, I can't say I've heard anything about any cancellations. Might I ask your names, please?" Damnation, Cupcake was going to be very, very disappointed. Maybe Miss Pinkie Pie would know something more... "Me? I'm Short Round, and this here is Whisper Winds." The stallion and his wife gave a polite bow, and smiled at Obsidian as they stood. "She might not be th' loudest in th' room, but she can still make MY heart trip-hammer pretty loud, and that's fer sure!" The elder mare blushed prettily, half-covering her face with a wing. Though both of them had a faded yellow color to their coats, Short's mane was a bright blue and neat, while Whisper's was a soft pink, and loose and long. Even Obsidian could tell they must have been quite the sight in their youth. "Well, we heard that she's puttin' a stop to it 'cause her son Midnight's come down with some kinda sickness; such a shame too - I was gonna dance with my Whisper there, jitterbuggin' in public for the first time in 'bout ten years. Still," he smiled at the pegasus, "don't mean we can't fire up the ol' record player an' hoof it at home, right dear?" Whisper smiled and nodded, evidently liking the idea. "An' what's yer name, hon?" Short Round asked. So... that brazen bastard not only dared to curse her good friend, but also ruined the hard work of her coltfriend!? That settled it - he was going down. Midnight wouldn't even know what hit him! Short Round and Whisper Winds... it wouldn't be too hard to remember that. "Obsidian," she said as she introduced herself; sometimes she was amazed that there were ponies who still hadn't heard about the mare who headlined the defense of Equestria against an undead invasion. Apparently, heroes weren't getting fame as quickly as she'd hoped. But both of their eyes grew wide when she spoke her name. "W-wait... you're the one who helped stop them confoundin' zombie ponies we had ta deal with? You, an'... uh..." Whisper leaned over and whispered into her husband's ear a moment. "... yeah, yeah, with them friends o' yers, right? Cupcake an' Thunderclap an' even that new trainee Royal Guard, Stallion-" Whisper nudged her husband's ear again with her soft namesake. "... no, Stalwart, right? Well, hitch me ta th' wagon an' call me Porter, but you're a hero, ma'am! I had no idear that we were speakin' to a bonafide HERO! Wowwee!" Whisper looked at Obsidian and nodded her head in recognition, and even had the respect to blush a little bit. "Hey, if'n ya don't mind, we'd sure like ta bend yer ear sometime an' speak t' all the old folks at the Silver Sands Retirement Home, if'n yer ever around them parts! Sure would be grand ta have a hero like you, talkin' 'bout what ya did fer Equestria an' all!" Ah, so they did hear about her exploits! Perhaps it was a bit vain of her to think that they would be able to recognize her appearance as well. Hopefully, she hadn't gotten too proud or vainglorious lately - on one hoof, she recently defeated the pony she considered to be the most perfect being in the world, so it was kind of justified... but on another, she didn't do it alone, and met other wonderful ponies along the way. Hmm. "I'll remember to visit you, then," she agreed quite happily. Meeting new ponies was always interesting - each with their own experiences and stories to tell. In all honesty, Modern Equestria was a place she'd like to explore a bit. "But don't forget, there were also Mica and Gypsy, too..." To be honest, maybe Gypsy would be interested in visiting them with her? Old ponies and a diamond dog who loved history - yes, that should work out nicely! "An' the nerve of that stallion, stealin' yer pastries like he was such a hot item! Ma'am, I'm sorry y'had ta deal with that." Whisper nodded empathetically at her husband's rant. "Well, s'long as you make it over to th' shoppe anytime soon, you'll be able ta get summore, I'm sure of it!" The two elderly ponies smiled at Obsidian. "Well now, we oughtta get movin'... after all, if'n we can't dance at th' palace, we'll just do it at home! Y'comin', hon?" Whisper nodded to her husband, then turned and bowed deeply to Obsidian. With that, the old couple started away, waving. "An' hey, if'n y'ever find yerself in the south part o' town, stop on by! We stay in th' house with th' BIG weathervane!" Short Round called to her. Obsidian couldn't disagree with them about the pastry thief; hopefully it wouldn't turn into a big delay. In a perfect situation, she would find one of her friends around and ask him or her to buy the pastries for Clap, while Obsidian herself would be finally able to get into the library at last, or possibly even meet with Midnight. She bowed back in response and waved to the nice elderly couple as well. So... they had their own house here, yet they were visiting other old ponies in this retirement home place? Did she hear him correctly? There was the average amount of bustle in Ponyville, but there was only one thing on everyone's minds: "Did you hear Princess Twilight cancelled her birthday?" "Yeah, I know - rough stuff, her son freshly home from Griffonstone... and he's sick!" "I'll betcha it's something he caught from a griffon..." "You hear? She just called the whole thing off!" "And I had my nice, new dress ready for it!" "Maybe she's just faking it, to surprise us?" "You know how she feels about her colt; it's no joke, she's stopped it from happening." "Do you think he's gonna be okay?" "He's an alicorn; of course he's going to be just fine..." Twilight's cancelled party seemed to be the talk of the town, at least for what she heard from passers-by. That meant Obsidian's options were rather limited: she could go with the 'pastry' plan first and get them for her sick friend - as Friendship is Magic and kindness is part of Harmony and so on, it would not be the worst possible idea... though she could also go straight to the castle to find out more about Midnight's mysterious sickness... or, she could check Onyx's diary first, to find out if there was anything in there that could help her figure this out. She started to look around somewhat frantically, allowing herself to waste a minute or two in the sheer, lucky hope of finding one of her dear, unbusy and willing friends completely by coincidence. And she did hear a voice she recognized... "... but NOT what you'd call 'ambitious', y'know. S'a part o' life, an' I'm just tryin' ta get through it, y'get me?" She knew that voice... it was Gunther Gadfly! And it sounded like he had someone with him? "Yeah, but it's not really much of a problem for YOU, Gunther; 'ambition', to a dragon, usually means more treasure. Not me, I mean, but..." There he was! Gunther was flapping past above her... and he seemed to have a dragon with him. Maybe he knew something? "Yeah, yeah, yeah... big high-and-mighty lizard's what you are!" "Hey! Very funny, Gunther." A dragon? Well, her brother's friend surely had some interesting friends as well. Also, hearing a dragon saying that he considers 'ambition' to be about something else other than gold was somewhat scary, to be honest; as soon as dragons grew old enough to notice that there were other interesting things around them, they would try to claim them. "Hey! Hey, Gunther!" she waved to him, trying to get his attention. The griffon stopped in mid-flap, and hovered as he looked around. The dragon, however, pointed Obsidian out. "Down there!" "Hey, that's... yyyeeeeaaaahhh, I know who that is!" Gunther flapped his way down and landed with a solid thump in front of her. The dragon's landing was a bit more fluid, and he touched down next to the griffon. "Heya, kiddo! Don't tell me you're jealous of me hangin' out wit' yer brother, and you wanna hang too? I mean, s'cool... you an' me an'-" "Gunther," the dragon gave the griffon a look, "someone who flags you down like that probably has something else on their minds." "No way," Gunther grinned, "ev'ryone's got me on their minds, heh. So, what's the haps, hunh? Somethin' up?" Again with that thick accent! If words could be weapons, Gunther would be bashing her head in with blunt force trauma, to her agonizing death right now. It didn't help that he was quite a character, and Obsidian sometimes had problems with understanding what he meant, even without the little language barrier. "Sun's up," she replied with a completely serious face. "I hoped you would know something more about the situation with Princess Twilight's birthday... and, by chance, have you seen Cupcake today?" Hopefully, he'd be up to some delivery quests later. Gunther looked at her. "Cup? Yeah, he's at the palace, taking stuff down... and lemme tell ya, he looks like someone kicked his kitten." The dragon spoke up carefully. "Um, I know about Twilight's situation... i-if you're one of the-" "Yeah, yeah, she's one o' the good ones, it's arrite," Gunther assured him. The dragon turned to face Obsidian. "Twilight's really upset, because Midnight woke up this morning looking awful! He's all sorts of sluggish, and he barely seems to be able to stand up without getting all wobbly; Gunther and I were on our way to Zecora's, to see if she might have some kinda potion that would help." "I c'n confirm dat," Gunther added, "'cause I seen him myself; yikes, he looked rough! Dat's why we're headed to pick up some medicine... if'n she's got it." "But yeah, Cupcake's at the palace with Peppermint Patty and a few others. I would've figured Cup would be really let down by this - he arranged the party - but he seems like he's just... worried." "Aw, don'cha worry about it, Spike," Gunther said, "Mids'll be fine, you'll see." "I hope so," the dragon sighed. So, he looked exactly the same as Clap did? What kind of curse would hurt the caster as much as the intended target? It would make sense, though... considering that since he was an alicorn, he might possibly be more resistant than an average pony... and such a cost would still make this kind of curse work. The same amount of punishment that could kill a target, yet would merely weaken him for a bit... which also meant he could get better just in time to dance on Clap's grave. That was about the only theory that Obsidian could come up with - unless, of course, she would find a third party involved, willing to strike down both a Prince of Equestria and one of its newest heroes. "Thunderclap's got it too; I took her to my home to allow her to sleep for a bit. I believe it may be some kind of spell... could you possibly mention it to miss Zecora, and let me know what she tells you, yes?" To be honest, Obsidian hadn't met any mysterious zebras from the forest, but she'd heard that name around town. "I'll check at the castle and hit the library, to look and see if there's anything that already exists about this strange condition," she added. To be honest, she initially wanted to ask Gunther to get some pastries to Clap, but in the current situation it was out of the question. Hmmm, there was something else... something about a dragon who was named... Spike? "Ahhhhh, yes... now I recognize you; you helped kill my father," she realized, saying it without any malice, anger or hate whatsoever - she just stated a plain fact. "Well, good luck with Miss Zecora." Spike turned and blinked at her. "Wait... wai-WHAT!? What do you mean I-" Gunther gave a short bark of a laugh. "HA! Really, Spike? You ain't heard o' Obsidian already? I'd figure the princess wouldda toldja 'bout her already." The dragon looked at her like he half expected her to blast him at any second... but when seconds passed and she didn't, he relaxed a bit. "Uhm... h-hope you're not mad about... y'know... that... b-but, it was-" "'Nuff," Gunther said, "we gotta jet - yo, I'll ask about spell-type-stuff when we get ta Zecky's - c'mon, Spike; you two can catch up latah!" Gunther waved as he headed off, with the dragon still looking at Obsidian like he was trying to figure her out. "Don't worry; I tried to kill him too... or at least hurt him," Obsidian said in the most reassuring voice she could muster. If anything, she was surprised that this dragon was still around, and yet they'd never met before. Spike blinked at her... then he gave her a slow nod, and turned and darted after Gunther, catching up quickly to fly side by side with him. Well, that was fun - to the castle, then. Twilight's Castle had guards at every door... and they had their jobs to do. "HALT! No visitors today, by decree of her royal majesty Princess Twilight Sparkle!" The guard at the front had a neutral face on, and simply barked his orders out. When he did, however, another guard came around the corner to see what was going on. "Another well-wisher, probably come to-" He stopped when he saw Obsidian. "Hey, I know who you are! I saw you during the Umbral Incident! Meter," he turned to the other guard, "this is who Stalwart was talking about! Y'know, the one who dealt with Sombra?" The guard who had stopped her now gave her an actual look. "Whoa, hey... this is Obsidian? I didn't think she was so... good-loo-" The second guard smacked the other on his chestplate, and he stopped talikng instantly. "Don't mind him; he's kind of new here." "B-but, Princess Twilight said-" "Yeah, she said the palace was currently closed to the public... but THIS is a local hero. She might even be able to figure out what's wrong with Prince Midnight." The second guard turned back to Obsidian. "Go on in - we won't keep you here." Ah, yes - finally, somepony who had both heard about her and knew what she looked like, and was willing to just help her out a little bit from the goodness of his heart. Obsidian's life would be far easier if everypony else would also treat her with such reverence. "Thank you kindly. By the way, have you seen Stalwart today, perchance?" Considering that she left her with Midnight yesterday, her little friend might possibly know something more. "Stalwart Stance? I... think she's inside. Check the Grand Hall; she may be there for the cleanup." The other guard shook his head sadly. "A real shame; I was hoping to take my marefriend to that party..." "Through the doors," the second guard went on, "and to the right where you see the servants going. Can't miss it." So he thinks? It wasn't exactly promising, but it was the best hope she had at the moment. Besides, there was a chance she could meet Cupcake here as well. Considering how big the whole 'birthday' thing was going to be, there surely was a lot of cleanup to do. Obsidian nodded and went into the castle, following the path the guard told her. For a second, she thought about heading to find Midnight first, but it was important to get some intel before facing a potential enemy - even if he was allegedly sick. When she reached the Grand Hall, she saw what looked like a gathering of mopey ponies. There were a number of servants there, all in the process of taking down the balloons, rolling up the banners and taking away what looked like large numbers of folding chairs; the looks on their muzzles were of heartbroken apathy. Obviously, the whole afair had been quite looked forward to... and it did these ponies no joy to have to wrap things up before they could celebrate. Towards the center, Cupcake stood on a tall ladder being held in place by Wart. It was strange, though - instead of a look of outright misery, he had concern writ large over his features. He didn't seem to relish what he was doing, but he didn't seem to have his head into it, either. As she approached, Wart looked over her flank at Obsidian. "Lady Siddy? What brings you here?" Cupcake looked down at her. "Siddy - Midnight's NOT right; we should talk." He finished unhooking the disco ball from the central beam, and climbed down carefully. He and Wart then turned to face her properly. "I fear that something is wrong with Prince Midnight, yes," Wart said, looking just as concerned as Cupcake did, "and Princess Twilight cannot figure out what the cause may be." "Yeah, Auntie Twily is really worried." Cupcake gave Siddy a look that begged her to have some sort of plan or idea. Oh well - all of that plethora of work going to waste, all because somepony decided to play with a little bit of Dark Magic. Everything would have been neatly avoided if the blasted princess wouldn't have made such a fuss about her birthday in the first place... and if Midnight hadn't come into town for it, if he wouldn't have used magic beyond any normal ponies' comprehension! Or if the princess would just buck up to the fact that her dear son would have to stay in bed for the duration, and proceed normally. And luckily, Stalwart was already here. Wonderful - it meant she wasn't an equine sacrifice by Midnight to summon some ancient powers of evil or anything like that. "Yes, we should talk. Is there any place where we could chat privately, the three of us?" Wow, Cupcake really seemed to be worried; that was never a good sign. Wart stood up straight. "I do believe there is a section of the palace which is not currently in use; the library is currently closed, though I have access through magic. I will have to return to my duties soon... but as this relates directly to what is happening to our royalty, I shall deem it necessary to take some time to discuss this." As she began to walk towards the library, Cup followed. "You should have seen him, Siddy! He could barely stand up, and his words were all slurred and broken, like he was a wind-up toy whose spring was uncoiling! And his eyes... he looked like he hadn't slept in days - but he'd looked just fine, yesterday!" Yup, everything sounded as perfectly similar as Clap's current condition - but what could be causing it? Did he really hate her that much to inflict such pain on himself, just to get his revenge? If alicorns were truly as powerful as Obsidian had heard, then he surely would have other means and ways to do such a thing! "Clap looks about the same, Cup. She's currently in our house, on our couch resting," she said quietly as they walked along. "What!? Thunderclap, too? Oh, wow... this is BAD bad, isn't it?" Cup seemed more and more concerned by the minute. They reached the library and, with Wart opening the lock, they were inside. It was deathly quiet in here - more than usual, as the three of them were the only ones present. "M-maybe he brought some sort of illness from Griffonstone?" Wart mused. "It's not just an illness, Stalwart - it's a curse. A Dark Magic curse. And I'd be rather grateful if you would publicly keep quiet about the fact, please... at least until I find out something more." The castle's library - Obsidian's librarian instincts were purring to her that she was in the best possible place to look for some nice, juicy clues. She couldn't help but wonder what secret tomes of ancient lore Princess Twilight could be hiding in there. "Stalwart," Obsidian asked, "did anything strange happen yesterday between you two, after we parted ways?" The petite guard shook her head. "I escorted Prince Midnight to his quarters, we spoke for a moment, then I dismissed myself to return to my duties. I went home when those were done, but when I arrived this morning... he looked as though he'd been ravaged in the night! And you are certain it is some form of curse?" Siddy's coltfriend spoke up. "Wart, if Siddy says it's Dark Magic, then I'm sure she knows what she's talking about." Wart got a look of shock on her muzzle, then bowed in front of Obsidian. "Lady Siddy, do forgive my lack of faith; of course, you are correct." Cupcake looked at her. "So... what can we do?" "Unfortunately I am correct, Stalwart. It's so strong that even my siblings, despite their current magical limitations, could still feel it." What would Obsidian do in the same situation? There were plenty of ways to kill a pony: Direct sneak attack. Poison. 'Accidents'. Magical spells that didn't kill both caster and the victim. But... what if Midnight didn't cast it? He had a rather strong emotional connection to Thunderclap, so perhaps his livid hatred could have been used as some kind of catalyst, or perhaps channeling? "I want to meet with Midnight. Then, I plan to hit the books to find out more about this curse. Do you think you could get some form of guard duty near the prince's room, Stalwart? It would be nice to have somepony I can trust near him. The same goes for Thunderclap, but you still have plenty of work to do here, right Cup?" That fact was a bit of an annoyance; Obsidian would love to simply send him home to keep eye on her as soon as possible. Wart saluted smartly. "I know exactly the pony to ask about switching shifts; though it will mean I will be working through most of the day, I will be where you require me, Lady Siddy." Cup nodded. "Yeah, I have to help clean all this up - which I HATE, because it just feels like fun is going down the drain as fast as it can. But once I'm done, I can make my way back home and keep an eye on her-" His eyes got wide, and he looked at Siddy with alarm. "Wait - who's watching her now? PLEASE tell me it's not Amethyst!" Obsidian glared a bit at Cupcake. "Tourmy, Cup... Tourmy is watching her right now, because among other reasons, I didn't really want to keep an unconscious pony alone near my charming, stab-happy sister. Come on, Cup - do you think I would ask Amethyst for anything like that?" Duh. Cupcake facehoofed. "Y-yeah, of course, right... I just..." He sighed. "I just have a lot on my mind, is all. Yeah, I know you wouldn't do that to Clap - sorry." Wart looked towards the doors. "If I speak to Lemon Custard, I am certain he would find a way to grant you access to Midnight... but if you have a need to go there right now, then I suppose I could escort you there. If you should wish." Cupcake placed a hoof on Siddy's shoulder. "Whatever happens, if you need me... I'll be right there. Go be the Big Brain now, and let's get this dealt with so we can try to see if this can be put to rest." "To be fair Wart, I think that an official path through Lemon would be a bit safer in this situation." If convincing Lemon of her good intentions was necessary to get to Midnight, then he was apparently placed under pretty secure guard. With all this Dark Magic stuff around, Obsidian didn't want to risk making any mistakes - especially considering that Princess Twilight was apparently quite scared for her firstborn. "I know - it's all right, Cupcake. And I'm sorry all your hard work is wasted," she answered in kind to her coltfriend, pat-patting him slightly. After all, she knew firsthoof how much he worked on all this stuff. "So Stalwart, may I stay here while you go and speak with Lemon? I could use the time to look for anything I can find about curses." Princess Twilight surely had some books about the more murderous spells somewhere in her collection. Wart nodded. "By your command," she said, and went to the doors... but she glanced back at them for a moment. "I shall tell him you have a suspicion, but no further details will come from me - I will assure him your intent is pure. Five minutes." With that, she left. When she was gone, Cup turned to Siddy and offered a hug. "I could use one right about now," he said as he gave a sheepish grin. Five minutes, eh? It might not be too much time, but it should be enough for her to at least glance at the books around her... okay, four minutes; one could be spent on Cupcake. She complied with his request, giving him a healthy hug. Okay, so perhaps she'd needed a hug as well, at least a little bit. Obsidian felt somewhat better after that - more energetic. He smiled sweetly as she gave him what he asked for, then turned to the shelves. "Alright, what are we looking for? I can at least help you search the stacks, right? No sense in just sitting here when there's stuff to find out!" He made his way to the other end of the library, and looked back over his shoulder at her. "Dark Magic in general? Curses? Dark Magic Curses? Anything that rhymes with curses?" "Dark Magic in general," she said back to him, "as there is very strong connection between Mid and Clap, and I wonder if it was possible for somepony to use it to curse them both," It was starting to make some sense - at least until she met with Midnight himself. Hopefully, in his current state he would be harmless. There wasn't much time for talk - she started to look around for anything at all on the subject as well. Four minutes was not an ideal amount of time to search a library; it wasn't long before the door opened again, and Wart stuck her head inside. "Lady Siddy? Cupcake?" Cup spoke up, "Hey, did you find him?" Wart nodded. "He says he will allow a quick visit, but Midnight's quarters are supposed to be off-limits; he implied heavily to be as quick as we can. He does, however, trust Lady Siddy, and says he will try to make his way to you to speak on this matter, as soon as he is able to." Cup looked at Siddy. "Well, at least it's something - let me finish up with the cleaning, and I'll go home to see to Clap. You gonna be okay here?" The little guardpony scoffed. "You forget whose hooves you leave her in the care of, Cupcake." He smiled. "Yeah, you're right - Wart's got your back, Siddy; see you at home okay? And be careful." Wart watched him leave, then motioned to Siddy. "Follow me, please." Cupcake was really worrying her poor head - first asking her about Amethyst, then messing with Stalwart... though it seemed that Siddy wouldn't have to have the pleasure of talking with Lemon on top of everything. "See you later, Cup. Good luck, and send Tourmy my way if anything changes with Thunderclap." The only alternative would be sending Amethyst... which might not be such a good idea. But for now, the only option left was following Stalwart. Too bad they couldn't find anything among the numerous books in the library in such a short amount of time... but then again, she was still perfecting her librarian craft. Wart marched on, looking both adorable and deadly serious in her shiny new armor; she walked as if she expected Siddy to give a full report on her conduct. "If I may?" She suddenly asked, still escorting her charge. "If I am correct, it would seem as though Dark Magic has only been involved since your arrival in Equestria - do you possibly believe this may have something to do with Onyx, perhaps? She was a deep planner; mayhaps her personal records would hold some insight as to what is happening here? Or perhaps in Ruby's notes, there may be-" She stopped in mid-stride, and turned to Obsidian with an apologetic muzzle. "My apologies, Lady Siddy... I am aware that the loss of Ruby was a cruel blow, and I mean not to bring up memories that might harm you. Please forgive me." With that, she turned and kept walking. "Yet still... mayhaps you already possess notes on such a phenomenon?" "I plan to look through Onyx's notations after my upcoming meeting with Midnight. I want to possibly gather more information about the nature of this strange curse first." To be fair, Obsidian doubted that Ruby would keep notes about this specific sort of spell, especially as she'd already met her - kind of - and talked about the whole ordeal. "Don't worry about mentioning Ruby, Stalwart. Despite her death, I've spoken with her quite a lot after her demise, so it doesn't hurt quite as much as it first did," Obsidian admitted. Hmmmm... there was the part of Ruby she'd shunted into her hoof mirror, as well as the trace of her in the amulet, and then she'd seen her spirit at Clap's Sonic Rainboom, then there was this dream... "I haven't found anything yet, sadly. I hope Gunther and Spike will be back from Miss Zecora's before I leave - anythng they might learn from her would be helpful." Wart looked at her strangely when she spoke of talking to Ruby... but said nothing as they came upon a pair of guards standing at the double doors. "Gentlecolts," Wart said with an authoritarian voice, "Lemon Custard requires this individual to pass, so that she may assess the Prince." The guard on the right spoke with just as much conviction. "None shall pass withou-" Wart then held up a scroll, which unfurled before them. Both guards read it, then saluted. "Very well. You may pass." Apparently, it really was a good idea to check in with Lemon, in this case. Wart opened the door for her, then stood against it from the inside as she closed it back behind Obsidian.