She knew he was quite intelligent... but where did Mica find this information about her siblings?
"What kind of scrolls did you find? You apparently seem to know as much as I do about some things and it's a bit curious, as my siblings were supposed to be, well... rather hidden from the world. And, Mica... it isn't Jade's fault. Leaving him in this sorry state would be like participating in my father's crimes against him. His final, eternal victim... sentenced to an endless life of pain and misery, with not even a mouth to scream with. We can fail to help his mind - after all, we ARE only ponies - but even thinking about ignoring his physical torment makes me feel quite ill."
There was steel in Obsidian's voice - whether it was a good idea or not, she wasn't about to just let poor Jade suffer.
Mica blinked, then gave a sigh. "I... suppose you have a point, though I'm VERY trepidatious about such an idea. IF, and only IF, this is to be done, we have to make SURE he can be contained, at least until we find a way to help him."
He looked at her. "And I'm sorry; I didn't mean anything by it - I just... you haven't read what I have. Speaking of which, the scrolls I've been looking into are from the Crystal Empire's records - albeit older ones. The entire history of knowledge of the Empire has been put into magical storage readers; they take time to go through, but if one is diligent," he chuckled, "they can find out all sorts of information from them. I can show them to you, of course; they're public knowledge, just not stuff that many find interesting enough to peruse."
"Unlike me," he added.
"I know, Mica; I want to help him, and I don't think that releasing him without proper preparation would help him too much." If this curse would turn out to be too difficult for them to handle, then perhaps they could at least stop the acid from hurting him?
"I'm somewhat surprised that the knowledge of my siblings is among public knowledge; I thought it was a secret," It was actually a bit surprising - her own existence was more-or-less hidden - Peridot had to deduce it to figure it out - so she assumed that the rest of her siblings were kept out of the public eye as well.
"Well," Mica sighed, "it's not like it was easy to find; much of it was in Ancient Crystallian, and the translations are difficult and take some interpreting, plus they're buried under tons of other information - stuff nobody would ever really look at. And, like I said, only ten; apparently, there's three shards that nobody knew anything about. YOU are one I never found anything about, for the record."
He gave a bit of a blush. "And it was you whom I was originally researching about, to be honest. Because I thought that finding and sharing stuff about you might make you happy... but, if anything, you apparently seem to be one of the best kept secrets in all of the history of the Crystal Empire. Which, in and of itself, should tell you how unique you are."
"I'm lucky I was found and freed by an accident, then - at least I wasn't conscious as a crystal for that all time. I have a feeling that would have been terribly boring." So that left two shards that were either secret, as she was, or just buried under tons of meaningless information.
"Now that you mention it..." Obsidian inquired, "did you happen to find anything about a mare named 'Radiant Hope'?"
Mica nodded. "Indeed I did. Radiant Hope was a loyal friend to Sombra during his pre-ruler years, and she was known for being kind and generous. She used to feed the poor and shelter the homeless... though what led her to Sombra himself wasn't recorded, to the best of history's knowledge... though it may have been his youth as an orphan that influenced her to take him in. She cared for him and helped him to grow into a strong, powerful stallion."
His muzzle fell a bit. "Unfortunately, Sombra's rule brought shame and sadness to her, as she never believed in slavery. There are a lot of different accounts of her fate; there are some that say he murdered her in an angry fit, some that say she left him and the Empire behind, which caused him to turn in a dark direction, and others that claim she simply disappeared... there are quite a lot of conflicting stories about her fate, but they all agree she was the only real Light he ever knew."
"Orphan? So not only do I not have a mother, but my grandparents are unknown as well? My family tree is the absolute worst," Obsidian grumbled. "Well, so her ultimate fate is unknown; I wonder if I could find anything about her in the Empire's records... or maybe one of the older princesses once heard something. If she escaped, then it would be logical to assume she went to Equestria, yes?"
"That is a possibility," Mica pondered, "and I might be able to locate such information... though it would mean diving into the EVEN BIGGER pile of information about Equestria. Something that sounds enjoyable to me... but also a bit daunting, as I might search for years before I find what I'm looking for."
He sighed, then shook it off. "No matter; we have something to start from, and that's better than we had a month ago. I'll start looking into it when I get the chance, and let you know if I make any discoveries." He then looked to her. "In the meantime, what would be our next move? There's a lot to cover, and I'm curious as to what you feel should be the very next target on the agenda."
"No contest: Opal." It was a quick choice. "My sharded siblings can wait a bit longer... though I'd like to release Diamond as soon as possible, and help Jade. The fashion designer doesn't sound too scary... and usually it's a good idea to be concerned about the enemy that is already up to something devious; you could talk with Tourmaline about my siblings as well, and I'll take a peek into my notes later. I think that's all... though I'll need to ask Gypsy when he has time to travel to Silver Shores."
Mica looked at her for a moment. "What about Amethyst? Would she know anything that could help us? Would she help us?"
Obsidian shook her head rapidly - no no, nooooooo... no. Maybe she might know something... but Obsidian didn't trust her one whit. "I think... that's about it, then?"
"Very well - I can start looking into things on my end, and I expect you'll have your own end to deal with. If I make any breakthroughs, I'll tell you what I learn; I hope you feel you can trust me enough to do the same." With that, Mica began to veer off from the walking path the two of them had been taking, headed towards his own home... but he spoke back over his shoulder at her.
"And Siddy? Do be careful; if we have to come and rescue you, you should be aware that Thunderclap will never let you live it down."
"I'll tell her that she saved me as many times as Flurry did; perhaps it won't calm her down, but it will make it more interesting," Obsidian chuckled. "Do you think the party is still going?"
Mica didn't speak, but pointed a hoof at Twilight's castle, where lights could be seen flashing behind the stained-crystal windows, and the dull thump of music could be heard. He gave a knowing grin, then set off for home.
Of course it was still going - parties apparently tend to live for an incredibly long time when the Pie family was present. Perhaps returning there was a waste of her time... but damn it, she'd spent almost the entire day running, plotting, researching and hero-ing - she could afford to waste a few hours...
Even if she didn't particularly like parties.
The only alternative was researching the sudden appearance of not one... not two... but six siblings - and in order to look into what she saw as the most pressing matter - Opal's schemes - she had to meet with Gypsy. Who was, of course, at the party.
Hopefully at least the fashion designer wasn't plotting anything dangerous.
Obsidian was now walking along the stone road by herself, somewhere between Ponyville and the castle proper. It was relatively calm, and seemed to be a chance for her to breathe and gather her thoughts, before the oncoming storm that was bound to eventually arrive.
The party was hopping, and looked as though nobody planned to stop anytime soon. By now, a grey stallion with a bright blue mane and shades was working at a pair of turntables, and the music had become significantly more active. Clap was busting a move on the dance floor with Eloquence, while Wart was chatting with Lemon Custard. Cup was having a slice of the cake, his eyes glazed over with delight, as Gypsy sat towards the back, simply watching everyone have a good time. His tail was wagging to the beat of the music.
Hopefully that grey stallion wasn't ALSO related to her; after what she'd been through, she'd learned to be a little paranoid around grey or black ponies.
Hmmm... so there were SIX new siblings to ponder and encounter. If only she could find out how Onyx was using their powers! This kind of magic would be safe in her care, of course. Equestria would be grateful to her for robbing dangerous ponies of their Dark Spells, right?
Gypsy was going to be delighted at the news... and that delight would be quite soon. She trotted straight to him to inform him that he was about to become a travelling pup.
The diamond dog looked up at her as soon as he saw her, and his tail began to wag a bit faster. "Greetings! H-how are you enjoying your p-p-party, Obsidian? This one believes it was well p-past due."
"I... er, had to do speak with Mica for a moment, and I only recently got back. It's... interesting, I daresay. And I have something interesting for you too," she quickly changed the topic. "Would you care to visit Silver Sands with me, Gypsy?"
He looked at her curiously. "Silver S-Sands? The retirement home? Well, this one d-does know that Celestia and Lu-Luna live there, so it would b-be a chance to m-meet them... but this one w-wonders to what p-p-purpose?" His tail gave him away a bit, as the wagging sped up a notch; he was excited, he was just asking the important questions first.
"I was actually invited by a couple already living there... and with all we stand to gain from it, I need to meet with Princess Celestia. I just thought you might like to come with me, as company always seems to make a trip better."
He smiled his toothy grin, which might have bothered others... but to someone like Siddy, it was adorable. "Oh, th-this one would v-v-very much like t-to come along on such a j-journey! He would b-be most p-pleased to accompany you to such a n-nice place! It does have a rich and fascinating history to it, as w-well!"
"I had a feeling you'd like the idea," she patted him on the shoulder, "and maybe you could make some of your origami for the princesses? I'd bet they are utterly bored in this place, and a visit from one of the first diamond dogs in Friendship School and the daughter of one of their sworn enemies would surely entertain them." Hopefully.
Why would alicorn princesses retire, though? A strange thing to ponder over, now that she thought about it.
Gypsy hopped up from his chair and threw his paws into the air. "Oh, wonderf-f-ful, YES! Th-this one would LOVE s-s-s-such an opport-tunity!"
He then realized he was overreacting a bit, and blushed slightly as he retook his seat. "This one means, uhm... h-he would be honored, S-Siddy. Th-thank you."
To be fair, Obsidian didn't think he was overreacting; if anything, she had kind of expected something like that. "Great! When do you think you might have the time for it, then?"
He thought for a moment, then smiled sweetly. "This one c-c-could be ready to go as s-soon as tomorrow; he will need to write an excuse t-t-to his teachers, b-but that would not be a p-p-problem for him. Ab-b-bout noon, he would be ready, i-if you plan to leave s-soon." His smile was infectuous, and he seemed to be doing his utmost best to keep from jumping up and hugging her tightly.
Obsidian grinned - why keep him waiting, then? She stepped forward and hugged him warmly. "Wonderful; tomorrow, then! Though I should ask - just how shall we get there?"
Gypsy grinned. "There is a tr-train that would go so f-far, this one is cert-t-tain. It should not be t-too difficult to arrange a train ride... and this one v-very much likes tr-train rides! If you so wish, h-he could purchase the tickets t-tomorrow?" How kind he was, offering to hoof (paw?) the bill for the tickets.
"Okay. We'll deal with splitting the costs later, especially as I have no idea how much tickets cost," Obsidian agreed. Perhaps she should take a book to read during their travels, if it was to be a long journey.
"Yo, Sidster!" Clap's voice rang out from behind her. "You gotta get yer flank out on this dance floor, girl! Show me some of those Ancient Crystal dance moves I just know you got!"
Gypsy nodded, his tail going a mile a minute. "It will b-be done, Obsidian. I shall w-wait for you at your pl-place tomorrow, and we c-can go to the station t-together!"
"Siddylicious! The dance floor is caaaaaaallllling youuuuu..." the pegasus crooned at her.
"Cover me, my friend..." Obsidian dived into the crowd to escape as far as possible from Clap's invitation, her muscles reacting practically on their own to carry her away from the threat of... The Dance Floor!
Gypsy nodded, then darted from his seat to tacklehug Clap before joining her in her wild gyrations within the crowd, looking as though he was enjoying himself... at least a bit. As Clap turned to look for Siddy, the diamond dog gave Clap's cheek a long, wet lick that made her goggle at him, to which he only smiled and laughed, which she soon joined in.
Obsidian almost got away... until Cupcake sort of sprung up in front of her. "Nuh-uh. Coltfriends get a dance with their marefriends, and I want mine." He grinned. "But we can do it in the corner, if you don't want to mill about in that press of bodies over there."
"I..." Obsidian hesitated a bit; it was apparently a Pie family trait - she could swear she hadn't noticed him until it was too late. The fact that, as a unicorn, he was able to use magic apparently made him even more dangerous than his mother. "I, er... Cup, I've never danced. Literally never."
He grinned. "But you learned how to, I'll bet; you just don't know it yet! Among all the things that royals were taught in the Crystal Empire, there was always the lessons on how to be socially accpetable - and one of those things was learning how to do the Crystal Waltz. I've been practicing..." He blushed a bit. "For you, of course. And if you weren't taught, that's okay - I can teach you! Besides, it'd be fun to show a princess like yourself how to do it!"
Cupcake Sprinkles would have had to discover this fact first, then find how to do the Crystal Waltz, then learn and practice how, even amidst his usually busy days...
And he did it for her.
He was apparently overestimating the levels of 'social education' that her father had prepared for her; the same pony that had enslaved an entire country, tortured one of his sons into insanity, and spawned quite a few mad and sadistic ponies that were raised to be utterly fanatical about bringing him back. Dancing wasn't exactly too high on his priority list... even moreso, as it seemed that he wasn't actually interested in dying and letting any of his children take over the throne.
"I won't deny my coltfriend this pleasure, then," she smiled at him - a bit nervously.
He smiled back, then gently led her to a vacant corner. Slowly, he took her forehooves into his, and lifted her up onto her hindlegs. "Steady... lean on me for support; I think I've got this down, so you should be okay for this. Now, if you can tap your hooves to a beat, you can dance. Here, just follow my lead..."
He began slowly, making lazy circles with her and helping her to adjust her balance. With a few false starts, they began to slowly waltz together, his strength was surprising as he held her up with little effort. He was actually quite light on his hooves, and he was a careful and encouraging lead.
"That's it... take it slow, it's not a race... sliiiiiiide your hoof here... then turn... yeah, that's it... now bob... and now, we do it in the other direction..."
He was truly the embodiment of everything that wasn't her father - including dancing and, apparently, teaching methods. For starters, he obviously didn't plan to beat her for doing it wrong - not that she could even imagine him doing something like that.
Obsidian was still slightly nervous, but the fact that she wasn't carried directly onto the dance floor in the middle of the crowd eased her worries. In fact, it wasn't as bad as she initially thought it might be - her coltfriend was close to her, caring about her, leading her when she had no idea what to do...
By Darkness, she really loved him.
Cup's fur was warm and soft where she leaned on him, and the scent he usually had about him was just as sweet as he was. He gazed into her eyes as he danced with her, and soon it felt as though the two of them were simply gliding about the corner floor, her hooves seeming to follow his lead without any trouble at all.
He leaned in close, and pressed a kiss onto her cheek as they continued to waltz, in time to the music, but not as hectic; he seemed to make a step for every four beats, instead of each individual one. At one point, he actually dipped her, and planted a quick peck on her lips with a charming smile, then whirled her in a small circle and then... the two of them were waltzing, no mistake about it.
"Siddy," he murmured into her ear, "I love you more than candy, more than chocolate, more than even the most wonderful cupcake I've ever eaten... you're MY Princess, and I hope that I'll always be your Prince."
Now that was the boldest declaration of love she had ever heard in her life; she simply couldn't doubt his sincerity, as otherwise such a statement could be considered borderline blasphemous of him, to talk about loving ANYTHING more than candy, cupcakes or chocolate. Now, if only she could come up with something just as good...
"You always will be, Cuppy - you are the most important pony in my life," she said plainly, embarrassed that she simply couldn't think of anything better to say. There were just no words she could think of that could embellish her declaration better... of course, that's what he did to her sometimes; total brain flush.
His smile redoubled on itself. "That's the sweetest treat I've ever tasted... aside from your lips, that is."
With that, Cupcake kissed her.
Deeply.
Fiercely.
Lovingly.
It took her breath away, and he gently squeezed her as he did, the waltz slowing to a stop... as did the rest of the world, seemingly. The kiss lasted almost a full minute before he broke off, and he was blushing quite red, and smiling that loving smile at her.
That... was... unexpected... Obsidian was sure that during this dance she would - at best - be a bit less nervous at the end, or perhaps feel a bit of pleasant warmth in her heart (which, plainly speaking, shouldn't be possible - it was just an organ, pumping blood). She didn't expect a complete meltdown!
Just how long did the kiss go on for? An hour, minimum... perhaps two? Obsidian was sure it lasted quite a bit longer than a minute, and that Cupcake really outdid himself. It wasn't the kind of kiss which ends with blushes so red that they're visible even under black fur - no, it was kind of kiss where Obsidian, at the end, had to remind herself that she had this thing called a 'spine'...
"WooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!!!"
Dammit, Clap.
"Now THAT was HAWT!" the pegasus exclaimed. Slowly, Obsidian began to notice that the dancers and talkers had ceased their doings, and almost every eye in the place was on the two of them... except for the older grey mare in the corner, who had one eye on them and the other on the ceiling, apparently.
Their impromptu audience began to applaud them both. Cup, who looked a bit uncomfortable at all the attention they'd garnered, simply gave a sheepish grin, then bowed. He whispered softly, "Just smile and bow; they'll love it, and it keeps us from having to make any speeches."
Well, it may have shut out the rest of the world for the two of them, but it certainly got them plenty of attention, it seemed... for now, however, Obsidian didn't really care as much about it anymore. In fact, she decided to do something in front of everyone gathered here that would normally go against the very grain of her personality...
Instead of bowing, smiling, retreating... or frankly, doing anything that would lessen the amount of attention they'd gotten... she clutched Cup closer to her, and returned the kiss - just as fiercely as she'd received it.
Cupcake's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull as he gave a muffled squeak, which then became a low sigh as he closed his eyes and embraced her warmly, savoring the kiss he was receiving from his favorite mare.
Their audience now erupted with applause that was like thunder... but it was only a murmur compared to the thunder in both of their hearts as he held that kiss for as long as the world around them would allow.
[Hours Later]
The door to the cottage opened, and Cupcake almost stumbled across the threshhold as he made his way inside. He'd been a bit woozy since The Big Kiss, and was still wearing a smile that outshined the sun... even hours after it had happened.
He held the door open for his love, and stared at her with a dreamy look as she made her way in... paying a little extra staring attention to her flanks as she passed him. "I still think we could've kissed for another hour or so, regardless of what Wart thinks is 'an improper display of public affection'. She may be our friend, but she's waaaaaay too stuffy, sometimes!"
"Don't worry about it, Cup. I'm sure that we will tease Stalwart about improper displays of affection soon... assuming that Midnight goes forward with his plans..." Obsidian chuckled.
She had really ended up coming to enjoy the party - especially when Cupcake personally made it far, far more interesting for her. And she made it more interesting for him, in return - which was fun, too. Truly, she'd planned to catch Miss Pie for a bit of small-talk, but she kind of, er... forgot about it after The Big Kiss.
"We needed this too, you know," she nuzzled against his neck.
He nuzzled back. "YOU needed it, my lovely - I think you're even more beautiful when you smile, and your smile was chiseled in place after that kiss. And you danced divinely! I knew you had it in you... of course, you are a princess, after all!"
He kissed her softly, then made his way to the kitchen. "After all your wonderful lovin', I need me some food! You hungry too, or are you headed to bed?" He grinned. "If you want company, I can always just feast on your beauty, and slake my thirst on your kisses some more?"
"I am hungry, actually," Obsidian admitted. "And rest assured... I'm still quite interested in improper displays of affection. Perhaps more... private... displays, this time," she purred at him in response. She kind of doubted he was being genuine when he said that thing about her 'dancing divinely'; though it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, it was still something she would rather prefer to avoid in the future, if she could.
Except perhaps with Cuppy.
At least once.
And another kiss. Or two.
...
Okay, no more than five.
... maybe.
They made their way into the kitchen... and there was Amethyst, who looked as though she was hoping she'd be alone for the night. A cup of steaming black coffee sat on the table in front of her as she eyed them suspiciously.
"You two look like you're positively glowing with happiness." She made a face. "Disgusting."
Cup sighed. "Hello, Amy. You didn't come to the party, did you?"
Obsidian didn't feel too sadistic, ironic or even sarcastic right now - Amy was actually quite right on the matter; she sort of was glowing with happiness.
The sullen mare humphed. "And why should I have? It's obvious that I might have been invited, but nobody really wanted me there. Besides, what was there for me to do? What, dance? Eat cake? Listen to Twilight Sparkle extoll Obsidian's..." She shuddered. "... virtues?"
Cup suddenly smiled brightly. "So you were there after all, weren't you? You wouldn't have known what went on if you weren't there!"
Amethyst made a sour face. "FEH... a waste of time, if you ask m-"
"We didn't," Cup cut her off, "and you can keep your sourpuss to yourself."
"Awww, you DID come after all!" Obsidian chirped, and rushed forward to hug her poor sister. "Thank you, Amy! I really appreciate it!"
"TOUCH ME AND DIE," Amethyst yelped as she scooted back as far in her chair as she could.
Cupcake gave a small chuckle. "Careful - she's rather lovey tonight! And I should know..." He turned a salacious grin on his sweetheart.
Amy's disgust was complete; she got up, snagged her coffee cup with a hoof and headed for the upstairs door. "I hope the both of you lose all your teeth from the sappy sugary sweetness you're both putting out."
She stopped at the stairs, however. "Oh, and Obsidian? You can act as nice as you like - but we both know you're just pretending; your darkness will show itself soon enough, and they'll ALL know you're just a shadow in disgui-"
"Amethyst," Cup's voice held a warning in it, "upstairs."
She huffed, then gave Siddy a small, wicked glare as she closed the door behind her and stomped her way upstairs.
Cupcake huffed a heavy sigh, then smiled at Siddy. "I think she's just mad she doesn't have any friends of her own... oooorrrr she's just psycho. Either way, she's totally jealous of you."
"Am not!" came from the other side of the door, and Cup gestured towards it like her words merely proved his point. He then turned and began to gather the things he'd need to make them both a feast fit for royalty.
"We need to find her some friends, then! Maybe Spike would be interested?" Obsidian wasn't bothered by Amy's behaviour or words - not at all. At the moment, she simply didn't care from being too drugged by the sheer happiness she was feeling, and normally she would be relieved that at least her sister thought that there still was some darkness in her.
"You know... now that I think about it, I don't even know how old Amy is," Obsidian pondered. "She doesn't look too much older than I am, does she?"
Cup chuckled. "If you ask me, she'll never hold a candle to how gee-gosh-darn cute you are; it doesn't matter how old she is, she's still an immature child to everyone else. She's nasty, rude, and conniving. She's a real meanie, and she's just mad that you won't be a meanie with her."
He waved a dismissive hoof in the direction of the attic door. "She might take a long time to ever get over herself, but I think she'll eventually see the light... or she'll do something dumb and become a statue. Either way, I don't worry about her too much - and you shouldn't either, at least not tonight."
He blew Obsidian a kiss from the kitchen counter as he whipped up a couple of tasty-looking salads for them both, and added tall glasses of carrot juice to the menu as well. He sat Siddy's down in front of her, then joined her at the recently-Amy-vacated table.
"Besides, Spike probably wouldn't have anything to do with her; she'd probably remind him of you-know-who too much," Cup reasoned.
"I'm not sure if you're praising or criticizing her at the moment, Cup," Obsidian chuckled. "Of course she's a meanie - that's her beauty! I bet there are plenty of stallions in the world that would really like a mare like that, all snark and Darkness! Aaaaaaand, if Spike is out of the question - though to be fair the last time he met you-know-who, he helped blow him up - then perhaps your brother? I'll bet that even Amy could appreciate his looks!"
She wondered about it for a moment. "Just think - Lemon and Amy..."
Terrible idea.
"... okay, perhaps not," she muttered as she pulled her salad closer and, taking her time, began to sate her hunger.
Well... her tummy's hunger; her heart was ready to feast on Cup's love some more, all cozy in bed and hugging tightly to each other. Fur blending, muzzles doing nuzzles, and him inhaling her mane, which she found endlessly adorable. Creepy, yes... yet endearingly so, to a mare raised by a dark tyrant.
Cup laughed. "If those two ever got together, I'd eat my cutie mark!"
The salads were delicious, of course - Cup had learned what Siddy liked by now, and her salad was nothing BUT her favorite things. As he ate, he kept looking over at her with those loving eyes, as if she were the only dessert he would ever need.
Once those were done, they headed up to their bedroom, where Cup held the blankets back for her, then covered her gently as she slipped in beside him. He nuzzled, then kissed, then nuzzled again as she snuggled up close to him, his muzzle - sure enough - ending up buried deeply in her red and black mane.
Damnation, the salad was too good; she'd forgotten that she'd originally wanted to propose taking a bath together, and remembered it only after they were already in bed. Well, perhaps another time - he wasn't going anywhere she wouldn't be.
"I love you," he whispered into her ear as he held her close.
"And I love you, Cupcake Sprinkles," she giggled as she kissed the tip of his snout.
The two snuggled down tightly (after a few more soft kisses), and sleep came easily, taking them both off to the realm of dreams together.