Ponyville, in many ways, was simply better than Manehattan... and not just for the lack of crazy journalists. It was so nice and cozy - ah, it was good to be home.
"Hey hey, Flur! It's nice to see you a... gain..." Obsidian's voice trailed off as she saw the reactions between Flurry and Clap.
Fuck.
"A... number of rabid journalists tried to destroy us," she tried on the rebound, "So, how have you been, Flur?"
Ignoring Thunderclap, Flurry Heart grinned at Obsidian. "Lemme guess... paparazzi? Yeah, they're a pain; try being born as an alicorn - they wouldn't leave us alone until Dad dealt with them head-on, and even after that, Mom had to make a decree stating that paparazzi had to stay outside of a hundred paces from me, on threat of a severe fine. Shit like that, yknow?"
"Yeah, world's ugliest alicorn is a heckuva headline," Clap muttered, juuuuuust loud enough to hear.
"But fuck those asshats, yo - we got better things to talk about, right? All sorts of fun stuff must have happened to you in Manehattan - despite being stuck with the big, blue loser - so you'd better believe I wanna hear all about it, Sids! And you kept talking about Whistlewhite, so I brought a book Mom had about her with me!"
She levitated out an old-looking book, titled 'Harmonious Heart: The Amazing Artwork of Whistlewhite', and gave it to her. "Just get it back to me when you're done with it; no big rush, 'cause Mom's practically wore it out already."
"Like, I dunno, the way you've already worn out your welcome?" Clap uttered quietly.
"Oh, and I saw Gypsy and your brother Diamond - and fuck me sideways, he's so fuckin' cute! Is he, like, a child or something? I mean, he's smarter than the blue bitch, but that's not hard; he's so well read, and polite! And he introduced me to Pancho - so cuuuuuuuuute! I kinda wish more of your family was like him - that little guy's such a sweetie!"
Okay, this was getting ridiculous. "Girls, if I can get along just fine with a pony who, during our first meeting, nearly crushed my ribs with a spell - while trying to kill me. Can't you two just, you know, settle your differences in a more peaceful manner?" Oh, a book! Books were GREAT.
Cup shook his head frantically, "No, don't point it-"
"Well, that depends..." Clap started, "if the stupid cow feels like apologizing for having to deal with her presence..."
"Oh-ho-HO!" Flur instantly replied, "Got yourself some BIG WORDS there, y'fuckin' retard; you sure you can use those without adult supervision?"
"... out," Cup finished flatly, the expression he wore saying this was exactly the situation he'd been trying to avoid.
"Well, at least I'm not hanging onto my Mom's frilly petticoats, whining about how you're SO put upon, spending their money and sitting around the palace all day... oh, your life is SOOOO rough!" Clap bristled.
"Hey, it's better than being the product of a Dad who you don't even know, having to stand forever in the shadow of what your fuckin' Mom did for Equestria!"
"I made a Sonic Rainboom, turdbrain! Let's see you do something as impressive as THAT!"
"Oh, I can - let me squeeze out this fuckin' fart, Shitheap!"
"You do, and I'll kick it right back up your fat flank!"
"Look who's calling who fat, you fuckin' cake-cramming bitch!"
"STUPID LITTLE JERK!"
"FUCKING ASS-CLOWN!"
"BRAT!"
"COCKSUCKER!"
"IDIOT!"
"FUCKFACE!"
"E-NOUGH!" came a new voice, though it was one Obsidian knew.
Lemon Custard was standing there behind them... in full Royal Guard armor, flanked by five other guards, all outfitted for bear. "I would much appreciate the two of you knocking it off, NOW," he spoke with authority, which made both the pegasus and the alicorn back down and look at him with a touch of shame in their expressions.
By this point, Obsidian knew that she'd have to get them to act at least neutral to each other - though from the display she witnessed, it might mean killing them both, putting them together in a single grave and using necromancy to raise them as a single horrific, unholy chimera. Thankfully, before she explored the idea much further, Lemon came along and made short work of their bickering.
"There... considerably better," he said, then turned to look at the others, "Obsidian, Mica... hello, Cup."
"Hiya, Big Brother! What's the occasion? OOH! Is it Nightmare Night yet?" the blue unicorn said eagerly, hope writ large in his eyes.
"Cup," Lemon sighed, "that's over nine months from now."
"Oh, um... so, no - I dunno; what's with the armor?" Cup asked.
Lemon fixed them all with a serious look. "We are headed to a location where there have been reports of a fire, as well as some explosions - supposedly it's not terribly serious, but Princess Twilight says we need to make certain that no one gets harmed from this problem."
He turned to the other guards. "Right - board the train, stay together, talk to no one, am I clear?" They all saluted as one. Lemon nodded, and they went to the train in formation. He then looked back at Obsidian. "And the lot of you - coming back from a trip, are we?"
Obsidian paled. "Wait... it wouldn't happen to be Mount Arris you're headed for, would it?" she asked with a grave look on her muzzle.
Lemon nodded. "Near there, yes - part of the wooded area has had a plume of smoke coming from it for a few days. The smoke has since ceased, but when the local fire department went to investigate, they were treated to a number of violent explosions. No one was injured, but they were scared sufficiently enough to ask for the princess' help."
The mustard yellow unicorn looked down at his armor. "I haven't worn this in at least two years; it still fits well, of course, but... admittedly, I'm not exactly eager to test its' integrity. But hopefully, this is something easy to handle, and we should be home by tonight."
Lemon looked at Obsidian meaningfully. "We're being sent as a deterrent to more trouble, but... should we find the source to be a threat to the locals, we... may have to escalate to aggression. I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that... but, I am duty-bound."
He turned to head to the train, but looked back at them for a moment. "I would say to wish me luck... but luck holds no candle to skill. Until next time," he saluted them before getting onboard the train with his troops.
"Siddy," Mica spoke up instantly, "is he headed where I think he's headed?"
"Yes - STRAIGHT towards another shard," Obsidian facehoofed - hard. Ouch. "Lemon, wait!" she called out. lifting a hoof to try to get his attention.
The stallion stopped in mid-step, almost on the train. "What? Goodbyes, I understand, but this had best be good, Obsidian; I AM on duty." He didn't look angry, just preoccupied.
"The source of the problem you seek... is probably my last brother," she informed him plainly.
Lemon's eyes went wide. "Your last..." he facehoofed, "Obsidian, why haven't you reported this already? If this IS another one of your siblings, we may have to bring an entire unit! Possibly MORE, if he's anything like Tourmaline was!"
He stepped off the train and looked at her gravely. "I don't have the time to dally for long, so anything you suggest or could advise me of would be much appreciated. I will do my utmost best to keep him from harm, if it is indeed your brother, but understand that we have been summoned by Her Majesty Princess Twilight to deal with this situation - and I cannot go back on it now."
Lemon took a deep breath, and looked at her solemnly. "What can you offer?"
Obsidian had to think carefully about the question; actually, what did she know about him? Not too much, to be absolutely fair... and yes, she probably should have reported it already, but come on - she'd been a very busy mare, as of late. She felt like she was working almost non-stop to cease the malevolent plans of her brothers, her sisters, King Sombra and even a possessed Midnight from destroying the world!
"His name is Aquamarine; Onyx described him as being brutal, cruel and rather skilled with offensive spells - especially explosive ones. A very angry stallion, umm... he supposedly likes woodcarving, too. Diamond and Tourmy said he supposedly isn't quite as sinister as Amethyst, and he apparently wasn't within the Empire's borders when it disappeared. Which means he spent the entire thousand years as a shard, lost and buried somewhere in the ice and snow... and frankly, I... well, I'm not sure what could it mean for his mental health." She reached into her saddlebag and brought out the picture, to show the grim unicorn Aqua's portrait.
Lemon listened intently as Obsidian spoke, taking in every detail with utmost faith in her words as his eyes shrewdly committed the stern visage to memory. When she finished speaking, he breathed a long, weary sigh... then cleared his throat. "Obsidian, you would have a much better chance to deal with this problem than we would, or at least you have more at stake here... so listen closely to me, and understand that you and I NEVER had this conversation, once I'm finished speaking these words."
He shut his eyes, and his voice was barely above a hoarse whisper. "Even though civilians becoming involved in Royal affairs is considered unsafe, and revealing direct information to civilians in an attempt to bring them into unsafe conditions is considered highly treasonous... I want you to come to assist us in dealing with this issue."
He now opened his eyes and fixed her with an iron stare. "I will take my unit to Clearwater, which is due northeast of Arris; arrive there and seek a guide to what they call Ditch's Grove - you'll get a few looks, but someone will approach you for enough bits."
He looked around from right where he was; his eyes never stopped scanning anyone nearby for eavesdroppers, though he remained facing her. "We shall wait for you for exactly twenty-four hours; then, with or without you, I will take my guards in to deal with the situation directly. And whatever results from that situation, we shall see."
He then gave Obsidian a look she hadn't seen from him before, and she didn't like the look of it on his muzzle: Fear. "... please be there."
With that, the conductor blew the whistle, and Lemon stepped onto the train, looking back only once at her with solemn eyes before he joined the others. He began to speak to them, and though she couldn't hear what he was saying, she knew he was warning them about Aquamarine by the looks on their faces. The train's doors closed, and it began to chug away slowly.
Obsidian didn't really consider herself a civilian - after all, she wasn't just a princess of the Crystal Empire, but also one of the newest heroes of Equestria who'd saved the entire country (hah, the entire world!) twice already. If anything, she was as involved in Royal Affairs as... well, probably as much as Lemon himself was. To be fair, she would have preferred to be able to gather more direct information - a few times, it would have saved her plenty of annoyance.
But this was serious, if the expression on Lemon Custard's muzzle was any indicator. Luckily, Obsidian hadn't planned to look into anything too important in Ponyville, right? "You heard him, ponies; we need to get to Mount Arris - and the sooner, the better. Flurry, I'm afraid we won't be able to spend as much time together in Ponyville as you'd probably hoped for..."
Flurry's face fell. "Well, fuck... that bites. Still, I mean, I'm not in any rush to get back, so... I can wait a bit longer, I guess. Especially if you take Blunderfat with you."
Clap bristled again, but all she said was, "Fine. FINE." She then took off, like it was a race she hadn't even called, headed unmistakably in the direction of Siddy's house. Mica sighed, shook his head, and with an 'I've got this' look to Siddy, he trotted along after her, taking his own time to get where he was going. Cupcake and Stalwart waited for Obsidian, of course.
"Is it okay that I'm worried about Lemmy?" Cup asked innocently, seeming a bit afraid himself.
"Of course, Cup - in fact, I'm worried about him as well - we don't know very much about brother Aquamarine, after all," Obsidian had to admit. How would being a shard affect somepony during a thousand years of sleep? She didn't notice it passing when she was interred in crystal - in fact, she didn't have any idea that she'd been turned into a crystal shard until she was told so...
But Amber was able to use her powers in this form; what if Aquamarine had been conscious, in a way, the whole time? A terrifying thought. "Let's go to the castle first - perhaps Princess Twilight will be able to help us prepare a bit." Siddy turned to the alicorn. "Flurry? Do you know if Princess Luna is still in Ponyville?"
Flur gave her a look. "Auntie Lulu was here? I mean, I know she was here in, like, dreams and stuff, but-"
"No time to postulate," Wart said as she galloped ahead a bit, "as we must endeavor to reach our next destination quickly!"
Cup shrugged, and went to catch up to her. Flur, with a single flap, was airborne; it was hard not to be jealous of an alicorn, but Flur's presence was so much more than she even seemed to know. Maybe she would make a good ruler, someday.
Obsidian had no reason to argue with Stalwart, especially as it seemed that Luna had already left, so there was nopony to warn that her 'armada of batponies' should be mobilized as soon as possible. Apparently, she'd have to stop by post office later. Wasting no more time, she ran after Wart.
The lot of them reached the palace, where there were a number of ponies all waiting in line; it seemed Princess Twilight was holding Court at the moment. But, as they were observing the ponies standing there, Obsidian heard a familiar voice and dialect from the direction of the gardens...
"{Oh! Such a tragedy! Poor, poor Father...}"
... oh, what fresh Tartarus was this? Just WONDERFUL; didn't she already have a conversation with Princess Twilight about moving Sombra's stony visage to a better location? Her kind brother was strong, forgiving and apparently didn't even hold half of Obsidian's grudge against the pathetic fool; there was no telling what he might possibly be 'moved' to do on the foul tyrant's behalf.
But hey - at least she'd quickly located Diamond. She immediately made her way into the gardens, the rest of her friends in tow.
Twilight's Royal Gardens were, as always, a sight to behold. So many rare and wondrous flowers and trees that seemed to grow in harmony with everything else here; ivy crept its' way up the walls of the palace, while row after row of beautiful flora were all well-trimmed and colorful, ready for presentation.
The statue of The Terrible Trio sat at the far edge of one of the inner gardens, as it was a section that was surronded in greenery and offered very little in the way of 'distant' scenery; perhaps it had been chosen for them out of spite, as there wasn't much to look at in this particular area - including them.
However, Obsidian eventually came to Sombra's statue; he had been placed in a closed alcove, where sunlight didn't get to very often. Around the base, she could already see the beginnings of what looked to be mushrooms growing...
And there, seated on the ground, was Diamond. He looked absolutely heartbroken, small rivers flowing from his eyes as he just stared at the statue in frank disbelief. He had Pancho in his embrace, and squeezed the little stuffed phoenix on occasion as he sat and mourned his lost father. Nearby was Gypsy, standing close with a single paw resting atop Diamond's head; when Obsidian made her way out to them, Gypsy sniffed the air, and his tail was wagging slightly before he even turned to look at her.
Wonderful. They simply had to put him in plain sight, where anypony could see him - despite the knowledge that his damned TOOLS were running around, spreading chaos and misery! Because, of course, it's such a great idea for an alicorn to brag... alternatively, he could have been executed, sent packing into Tartarus or even - who knows - spirited away to the Moon. It wouldn't be the first time, after all...
Obsidian quietly approached the two, and Gypsy gave the small stallion a gentle pat before stepping closer to Obsidian - giving the little guy some space.
"H-hello, friend," he said softly as he gave her a light hug, "this one h-hopes your trip was s-s-successful?"
Obsidian happily returned the hug - damnation, it was good to see him again! All things considered, they really should try to stay together in the future; after all, the last time they'd fought as a team... well, the results were right in front of her.
"Yes, my dear friend - everything's clear in Manehattan," she smiled at him, "even though we ran into one or two unexpected problems... but that's a topic for later."
Gypsy nodded. "As long as e-everyone is safe, th-then it was a g-good trip."
He turned and smiled even more broadly as Cup and Wart joined them, catching up to Siddy. Cupcake also gave the diamond dog a hug, and he and Wart exchanged salutes amidst grins.
"Heya, Gypsy - we really missed you! We even picked up some stuff as presents to give ya! We saw so much there! We went to the museum, though we almost got swamped, but the curator saved us, and we saw all sorts of neat stuff, and we even saw a painting of Siddy's room in the Whistlewhite display, and-"
"Whistlewhite? The art-t-tist?" Gypsy's eyes went wide. "This o-one is a great fan of hers; it was 'Nightbloom' which first helped a young p-pup to want to cr-create art, as it w-was so beautiful... w-was it there on d-d-display?"
"If 'Nightbloom' was on display, we didn't notice it - sorry," Obsidian admitted. While they had seen a number of her artworks, she hadn't really paid enough attention; if anything, she'd been far more curious about the painting of her own room and Diamond's apparent hoof in Whistlewhite's only existing portrait.
Cup thought for a moment, his tongue poking out as he thought hard about it. "I... don't remember... but it sounds really neat! We also got to meet Quartz, and he was really nice - even when Siddy had to fight him, he didn't hurt her!"
"Yes," Wart spoke up, "he conducted himself like a true gentlecolt... however, in the end, I made short work of him. He now resides within the jailhouse, where he shall no doubt serve his time; he seemed to be the honourable sort, and I feel he would not attempt to escape from his punishment."
Gypsy grinned. "It s-seems as if each of y-you had q-q-quite a time, yes?"
Cupcake's smile turned a bit emotional. "It would've been better with you there, Gypper."
Those words made the diamond dog blush a bit, but he held up a paw. "Th-this one still insists that a g-g-good time was h-had by all. He appreciates your k-kind words, th-though." Still, even with his admittance, his tail was wagging a bit more.
He then looked over to Diamond. "Your b-brother has been well - he has d-d-discovered television, yet he s-says it is boring; we h-have managed t-to walk alm-most all over town, and he has enj-joyed such... and then, we f-found..." He gestured to her father's statue, and shrugged while looking at Diamond.
"Th-this one felt he n-needed a moment - p-perhaps two," he said shyly.
"Honestly, I'd hoped that Princess Twilight would have moved it already. I mean, we already have enough trouble with Amber; I don't think we need to just leave his statue out in plain sight." The look on her muzzle got a bit more sour; last time she'd wanted to talk to the purple alicorn, Luna had explained that Princess Twilight was very busy, ruling over an entire nation - but she would have already lost that nation twice, if not for Obsidian! If she was that level of busy, then she should get more help, more advisors! Something!
Gypsy grinned. "P-P-Princess Twilight is a b-bit ahead of you there," he turned to Wart, "if you p-please, Stalwart; c-could you levitate a l-leaf to the alc-cove?"
Wart, with a curious look, took up a stray leaf with her green magic, and floated it to the statue... however, as soon as it reached the edges of the alcove, the glow vanished, and the leaf floated harmlessly to the ground.
Wart grinned. "There is an anti-magic field in play?" she asked, to which Gypsy nodded.
"Yes - this one d-discovered this tod-day, when Diamond attempted to pl-place a flower behind his f-father's ear. The alcove its-self is enchanted to rep-pel magic, so that the o-only way to move it would be physically." The diamond dog chuckled a bit. "And th-this one believes your f-father has put on a b-bit of weight, lately."
Obsidian didn't seem to be as happy about it as Wart or Gypsy was - not. At. All. "Oh, I'm certain it would stop them for quite a long time, that Diamond is the only physically strong sibling in my family, and that the machines that Opal is busily making for industrial purposes won't be able to move it... oh! OR that this alcove is sturdy enough to resist any sort of attacks that could possibly destroy it, thereby dispelling the anti-magical field..."
Okay, maybe that was a little tiny bit too snarky. The trio of her friends all seemed to notice it, too; they looked a bit awkward, not quite able to speak after such a comment.
"{... would it be for long and long, though it feels as though 'twere only yesterday, and so I have seen your legacy, left behind to spread and grow, even as you once wished to. And yet, though the madness overtook you, still I sought to understand your pain... but it was such that I could not comprehend, I could not understand, what shadows clawed at your soul. Would I have known a cure, I would have most certainly...}" Diamond's voice was clear and soft, and he seemed to be speaking to the statue directly.
Feh. As far as Obsidian was concerned, the best cure would be a spear jabbed straight into his rotten heart.
"How long have you been standing here already?" she whispered sidelong to Gypsy.
Gypsy whispered back, "We've been here f-for about an hour; this one b-b-believes your brother needed such."
Cupcake looked at Sombra's statue and gave a slight shudder. "I'm actually not to keen on just... y'know... leaving him out here like this; it's just too tempting a target."
Wart now put on a look of complete seriousness. "Cupcake, the statuary is a safe place for these villains; tell me, if things are so vulnerable here, then why have none of Chrysalis' changelings been here to abscond with her statue?"
She looked at Obsidian. "I can understand a healthy paranoia, Lady Siddy... but please, do not insult the very institution I labor for; we have plans and contingencies in place, should ANY of the statues here be put into jeopardy." She seemed to swell a bit with pride. "Unless an intruder simply plans to take a sledgehammer to it, I would say your father is in careful and able hooves."
Obsidian smirked. "So you say that a sledgehammer would work well enough?" She quickly sobered, though. "And I can only hazard a guess, but it seems that Chrysalis' changelings are not nearly as capable as Sombra's spawn."
Wart gave her a somewhat chilly glare, but Cup simply looked on at Diamond. "He... he really sounds like he cares a LOT about his father... I mean, I don't know what he's saying, but he sounds so sincere about it. Like he's speaking directly to him."
Diamond did look awfully adorable, sitting ever-so-calmly at the base of Sombra's statue, quietly speaking to him... it almost looked as though he were praying. But now, the little stallon turned his head, and saw all those present. "{Obsidyan... h-hello. And Cupcakes, and-}"
His eyes suddenly shot wide open and he stood up quickly, wiping at his muzzle to rid himself of tears before standing at his full (miniscule) height and putting on a strong expression. "{And Stalwaat! Oh, such an honor to not only have discovered my father today, but to share space with the lovliest mare in history as well?}"
He looked at Obsidian, traces of tears still slightly visible. "{Today is a good day! Greetings, my dear sister - I have found Father, as you can see - I am glad he is unharmed, and I have dusted him off a bit.}"
Obsidian was quite aware of how much he cared about Sombra - and it was starting to worry her. Somepony whose concern for this stone-coated monster could get some exceedingly foolish ideas - such as releasing him. As long as Diamond's mercy was shown by little things like cleaning the statue of this undeserving beast, it would be all right; the dark bastard surely had a ulterior motive for having such a naive and trusting stalion nearby - probably a part of his master plan or something.
"{Good morning, brother; as you can see, we're back from our trip to Manehattan. We had a few small problems, but we've made it home in one piece, and met Sapphire and Quartz, as well.}" She went straight on to the important things, not wasting any time; perhaps she was simply in a hurry to get to Lemon as soon as possible... or it MAY have been the unsettling presence of Sombra's statue that was annoying her just a little too much. "{We are leaving soon to try to locate Aquamarine... however, I am afraid we would need to take Gypsy with us for this escapade, Diamond.}"
The short stallion nodded. "{I am glad that you got to meet them both; Quartz is quite the aristocrat, yes? He is so very polite, and quite fun to chat with... and Sapphire? How is she? The last time I saw her was when she was making a pendant for Father, just last wee-...}"
Obsidian knew that look well; the look of someone who was thinking of a recent event... that had happened centuries ago. For what it was worth, he took it well, only sighing slightly before continuing.
"{... a-and finding Aqua? Are you certain you are ready for him? He is a BIG one, as he stood taller than even our own Father was; the only one of us who stood taller was Jade. I would be very cautious, and would make certain I had some anti-magic barriers prepared, just in case.}"
He glanced back over at the statue, then looked at Obsidian. "{Do... do you ever visit him, Obsidyan? I am certain he gets lonely, and so I visited him for a while.}"
Obsidian clenched her teeth and counted to ten: One, two, three, four, five...
"{Sapphire was... unwell. She did not look good at all, and Quartz told us that she has been behaving strangely. Worse than that, she managed to escape us, and she knows where the anti-magical suits Quartz had been preparing are located - they worked together, under Amber's mind control. Quartz is currently in prison, but he seemed relieved to be separated from Amber's control - something in the prison wards seems to be able to keep Amber at bay, so he can finally get some rest."
"And no, Diamond - I'm not sure if I am ready for Aquamarine, but..." she sighed, "he needs to be found, and if no one else is stepping forward to do so, then I am obligated for the betterment of our family, yes?}" she shrugged slightly with a little resignation.
Anti-magic barriers? Maybe they could find something along the way... and the only answer to Mundy's question about visiting Sombra was pretending that she didn't hear it.
Her smaller brother nodded as she spoke... then cocked his head a bit. "{Sister... what ails you? It does bother me that Sister Sapphire sounds unwell; maybe, should we find her, I can attempt to clarify her aura, or perhaps heal her body... if Princess Twilight will allow me the chance to use my healing for her, of course. Or maybe something happened with Quartz? He wasn't rude or mean, was he? Because that does not sound like the Quartz I used to know...}"
He then glanced at the statue again, then back at her. "{Do... do you worry for Father too, perhaps?}"
Obsidian ignored that one, too. "{Well, Sapphire escaped, so it would be a good guess that she is probably helping Amber to prepare some kind of army to invade Equestria, alongside Opal because, of course, nothing says 'the world is doomed' like an army of anti-magical, mechanical menaces.}"
Obsidian sighed deeply, rubbing her temple with a forehoof. "{And honestly, I'd say that bothers me quite a lot. The last time Equestria was invaded by Dark things, the results were not pretty... and took a lot of work to repair.}" Not to mention a few sorrowful funerals. "{I just hope that putting some of these particular runes around Amber's casing will help contain her, at least a little better... to give us some time to prepare for a true, but cautious release for her - and we could help Jade as well. Learn more about the clues I have gathered... such as, for example, the Kayfadd Spell...}"
Obsidian lifted an eyebrow and turned a slightly hopeful gaze onto her brother. "{Perhaps you have heard of it, brother?}"
Diamond narrowed his eyes for some reason, then leaned in and looked very closely at her for a moment, seemingly on the verge of saying something... then, he blinked. "{Yyyyyyyyes... I see.}"
He looked back at Sombra's statue again, and spoke softly. "{Perhaps Opal might be capable of such things, but Sapphire... she's never been one to complain, as long as she had Father's instruction. Though, I cannot say I can guess how she feels right now... oh, poor Saffi; she must be heartbroken over everything we have all been through, and Father cannot be there for her any longer.}" He looked down. "{But... there were many times Father could not be there for us.}"
Then, a strange thing happened; Diamond actually scowled. "{... but IT was.}"
The look seemed as if it were almost a blasphemy upon a muzzle she had never known to see actual hatred on. It was an expression that didn't belong on Diamond... and the effect it had was shocking, as it made him resemble their father far more than his usual appearance ever did.
"{And were I able to, I would REMOVE it, I would wipe the stain from the face of Equestria!!!... and yet... and yet...}" He sighed wearily, and the vile look drained away from his muzzle, settling into a look of tired resignation. "{... and yet, I feel as though I must go back to my room now. I shall send Gypsee forthwith, when I am no longer needing my liaison to accompany me. I do hope we get to spend some time together when you return, sister..."}
He then paused, turned and gave her a quizzical look. "{Kayfadd? No... no, I don't recall any spell like that - may I ask, where did you find it, and what does it do?}"
IT, eh? No doubt, Diamond was referring to The Umbra. "{Radiant Hope had mentioned it when they were examining the Umbral Altars. None of them bothered to mention a word of what it was about, so it could be anything at all - from a nose-cleaning spell to a terrifying and world-rending enchantment. Whatever it was, they apparently wanted to test it at the Altar.}" She felt that she obviously didn't need to explain who 'they' were.
Diamond's eyes flashed an alarmed look. "{The Umbral Altar? That is NOT a safe or pleasant magic to deal with! Father used it to create all of us, yes... but the cost was far, FAR greater than he ever imagined.}"
He looked again to the statue, his sight focused on the muzzle of the stone-covered tyrant. "{And yet, now look at where his sacrifices are; he is regaled as a horrific monster, and his life's good deeds overshadowed by his last few years of madness. Because IT tricked him, fooled him, into believing lies... lies which took Father from us more and more, until-}"
"What'cha talkin' about?" Cupcake whispered as he slowly slid closer to the two of them as Wart regaled Gypsy of how she handled the crowds at the museum with a trusty fire extinguisher.
Diamond looked the blue unicorn, then at the grey one. "{Would Cupcakes possibly be of any help, and if so, should we add him to our conversation?}"
"{Cupcake is always helpful, Diamond - often, more helpful than I am.}" While perhaps it was a bit of an overestimation, she believed it because Cupcake wasn't related to Sombra in any way. "Cuppy, we're talking about the Umbral entity which apparently possessed Sombra, and about the spell that he and Hope wanted to use to test the Dark-Magic Infused altars - the same ones where he created all of us," she rolled out to him, giving him the quick run-over. Er... runner-up? Run-down, mayhaps?
Cupcake blinked a bit... then he lifted an eyebrow. "Uhm... well, that sounds like all sorts of history-stuff - and we just got back to our group historian! Maybe we could ask Gypsy about it; I'm sure he'd be happy to help, especially after missing out on the Manehattan trip!"
Diamond looked over at Gypsy for a moment, then turned to Obsidian with his ears flattened against his head. "{I... a-am sorry that I kept him from your company, sister; I can remain in my wonderful room for a while, should you need him back?}"
Offering to hole up in his room, so he wouldn't keep her group of friends separated... how was HE one of SOMBRA'S creations!? Knowing how things typically went for Obsidian, it was probably by accident.
"My brother, I am deeply sorry that we need to take him with us; we need him to save Equestria.}" She pressed her ears to her skull as well; despite all the anger she felt at the mere presence of the monster that dared to create them for his own amusement... she simply couldn't maintain such an attitude for too long in Diamond's bright and gentle presence.
Mundy nodded. "{I understand, dearest sister Obsidyan; I am happy to be of even the smallest help, even if it only means staying out of your way.}"
He then smiled at her sweetly. "{I love and trust you, sister; I know you will win against the darkness of the soul.}"
And again, he cast his eyes to that damnable statue! "{Darkness in the heart and mind are not always evil; sometimes, they are simply misunderstood.}"
With that, he went to Gypsy and tugged on his hoodie; the diamond dog turned and they spoke for a moment... then, her brother bowed and said something romantic and prosaic to Wart (who looked clueless, but listened anyway), and then he and Gypsy walked back over to Obsidian.
"Diamond says that he w-w-wishes to ret-turn to his room; this one sh-shall take him there, and meet you at y-your house, if it is okay?" Diamond just smiled at her, though there was obviously something else on his mind. Then again, everyone kept forgetting that he was technically older than Obsidian; his intellect went far deeper than he usually showed.
Well, in Obsidian's opinion, any sort of misunderstanding ended a number of fatalities and Dark Magical experiments ago. Right now, the only understanding she could give Sombra would be long, sharp and deadly - and that was assuming she could get her hooves on a sword and name it 'Understanding'.
"Yes, Gypsy, it's okay." She gave him a brave, if tired smile. "I'd like to meet with the Princess and send a letter along to Luna - but afterwards, I will go straight home to meet you."
The diamond dog nodded. "Then this o-one shall meeee-... shall meeeeeee-"
His eyes bugged out, and Gypsy suddenly grabbed his stomach and let out an enormous belch... and a dark blue ribbon-tied scroll dropped from his maw and hit the floor.
Wart stared.
Diamond stared.
Gypsy stared.
Cupcake clapped his hooves together. "Cool trick, Gypsy! OOH! Can you make a pool floaty next?"
The diamond dog gave Cup a... weird look... then he looked up at Obsidian. "M-m-message for you, yes?" He seemed a bit nonplussed, but the fact it had happened at all was maybe a bit of a surprise for him. Then again... how would she feel, had she just burped up a scroll?
The bracelet Obsidian had gotten from Flurry worked far better... and considering the level of awkward discomfort her poor canine friend had to suffer, the Post Office would even be a better option. Obsidian - wearing the best poker-face in all of Equestria - picked up the scroll in her magic to check its' contents.
Thankfully, there was not a trace of diamond dog slobber on it; it was dry and clean. The ribbon, sure enough, had the familiar half-moon symbol on it, and when she opened it, Obsidian told herself that she just had to study caligraphy with Luna sometime - her penmanship was exquisite!
[To Obsidian, The Living Shard]
... cute.
[We have received word of your recent exploits in Manehattan, and we are assiting with whatever may be necessary; I have negotiated a lawsmith for your brother's upcoming trial - a kirin professional with a history of winning her cases. When this comes to pass, my sister and I shall speak up on his behalf, and we shall recommend THEE as a liaison unto him.]
She had a feeling she knew who this 'lawsmith' was.
[We have also received information about the contents of a crate discovered at the warehouse - and it greatly disturbs us. We await word of when - IF - our forces shall be necessary. May Harmony guide us from that moment, if at all possible.]
[~ Luna]
She, Obsidian, as Quartz's liaison? As far as she was concerned, he was far better integrated into Modern Equestria than she was - except for his color-blindness, of course.
Kirin, yes... she simply had to visit their village, but she had no time to do so. She never had time for anything she wanted in her life, apparently. "Well, now we don't need to go to the Post Office; Princess Luna has already been informed of what's going on, and is acting on our behalf. This means we just need to chat with Princess Twilight..."
Cupcake looked back towards the direction of the train station; he was thinking about his brother, and even though he though nobody was looking, Obsidian saw the look of deep worry and dread that crossed the usually chipper unicorn's muzzle. However, it was gone in a flash as he turned back to them. "Okay, but we have GOT to go home first; we don't need to carry our luggage around town."
"And I," Wart spoke up, "shall meet you there, as well - I must check in with the Royal Guard, to ensure that they know of my unavailability, due to saving Equestria." She smirked at Obsidian. "Again."
"You know, I don't even remember the last time I worked in the library... or attended any of my classes in Friendship School..." Well... she thought that, after defeating Onyx, she would be able to spend her time learning about friendship and magic. Plotting her plans of plottery and plotness. Perhaps discovering more about her friends.
Not running around like crazy, looking for evil (or semi-evil) crystal unicorns created by a monstrous tyrant.
Wart sighed. "Such is the life of an adventurer, Lady Siddy - I expect Daring Do has many of the same woes." With that, and a quick salute, Wart was off towards the palace itself, headed for the guard barracks to check in.
Cupcake walked close to her as they left together. "Love?" he asked carefully, "I don't understand the Crystal-talk you and Diamond do... but I can read expressions like cookbooks; he's upset over something, isn't he? And I think you were too, but... well, if you need to talk about it, you know I'm here. I won't press."
He gave her a light nuzzle against her neck, still walking. "I'm just worried... about a number of things, really - and you are the priority on all my lists - just so you know. So... Diamond? Is he... okay?"
"Diamond is okay, and so am I. At worst, I'm growing quite tired of the fact that apparently my siblings are constantly trying to destroy the world, they've been planing for it longer than I've lived in the modern age, and they all have some manner of powerful and dangerous abilities that make it impossible for me to stand against them without worrying that we will all die horribly... and that the only thing that can save us is the intervention of Harmony."
So perhaps it wasn't okay per se... and while having Harmony on their side was nice, Obsidian would pretty much prefer to have some solid firepower as well. "Oh... I forgot to give Diamond his calendar. I'll get it to him and catch up to you in a moment, okay?"
He stopped, then nodded... but his eyes stayed on hers. "Okay... you know the path, I guess. But I'm gonna walk reeeeeeal slow, okay?"
Cupcake - her Cupcake - smiled at her sweetly and headed down the path... one step at a time, like he was trying to avoid cracks in the pavement. In fact, after a moment's watching, she realized that was exactly what he was doing, amusing himself.
She loved him so much... and regretted she couldn't show that any better than she was already doing. Rushing to her brother, Obsidian practically ran after Diamond. Her gallop was uninterrupted, save for a few ponies who watched her in passing.
She came upon Gypsy and Diamond, both walking side by side, almost to the door of the Rainbow Suite. "{Your sister approaches,}" Gypsy said aloud, turning to greet her with a grin and a light wagging.
"{Wait... sister?}" Diamond said, and looked over his flank at her quickly... then breathed a sigh of relief. {Obsidyan? Is all well?}
"{I simply forgot to give you this gift from Manehattan,}" Obsidian grabbed the calendar from her saddlebags and gently placed it on Diamond's snout, playfully. "{I thought you might like it. Now, please excuse me; we've got a lot to do.
Gypsy, will you join me, friend?}" she turned around.
Diamond stared, cross-eyed, at the calendar deposited on his muzzle, then grinned. "{Thank you ever so kindly, Obsidyan!
I shall learn what is the kalyndar, and then I shall appreciate it that much more!}"
Gypsy nodded, and the two of them wavd to a now enthusiastic Diamond as they headed back to her house. "One feels he m-must ask... a-a-are you okay, Obsidian? All of this act-tivity, one wonders if y-you have time to b-breathe..."
It was nice of him to ask. "I'm currently overdosing on family drama, but hopefully it will all end soon enough." She just needed these runes from Manehattan prison...
Gypsy nodded, then simply sighed. "Life is n-never set at the pace one w-w-wishes to run at... but is that not what m-makes Life so interesting to exp-perience?" He smiled softly as they walked along. "It is the hope of th-this one th-that you may experience peace, a-and love, and family... but one m-must invest faith that s-such things will come, for them t-to ever have a ch-chance."
Well, Obsidian could use a bit less of an interesting experience. After all, she had such an unusual life that she didn't realize that talking with her dead siblings is NOT normal. Well... speaking to passed family members wasn't that rare, actually - it was having a dialogue with them that made it weird. "If we don't die first, we will most certainly experience peace, family and so on... hopefully," Obsidian answered grimly.
Arriving at the house, she found Clap already there, seated on the peak of the roof and visibly pouting. Mica was standing on the ground, leaned against her home and looking... well, like Mica. The basement lights were out, windows cracked, blinds down - and what sounded like music from inside; the attic light was on, window open, curtains parted.
"She'll be fine. She's..." he gave a slight sigh, and Obsidian felt a stange sense of deja-vu, for some reason, "... she'll be fine. Give her some space, and we can let her know what's up when she's able to hear us over the anger in her head."
Well, it wasn't a pigeon, that was for sure... unless they'd grown bigger and bluer since she'd last seen one. And damnation, Mica said it in the same way that Clap had when she'd talked with an irate Mica in that restaurant, that 'Mica would be okay'.
"Well, I suppose I'll check on Tourmy; hopefully nothing strange or terrifying happened to him when we were out." Obsidian gave Clap one last glance before heading indoors.
Inside, everything was just fine; no fires, no Umbral prayer circles, no bodies... and the basement door was open, allowing a lovely symphonic melody to waft up from Tourmaline's room below; it was a very pretty, soothing aria that seemed to float on every note.
Cupcake was in the kitchen; she heard him making up food, as per his usual habit when he was upset or worried. Gypsy stayed outside with Mica, chatting idly with him about the Manehattan trip.
Heading downstairs, she found Tourmaline lying back in his hammock, one hoof in the air, waving in time to the music as he enjoyed it. When she entered, her hoofsteps got his attention, and he grinned at her. "Ah, and so, the sister returns. The house is still in one piece, your mail's on your bed, and Amethyst hasn't made a peep, the whole time you've been out."
He glanced at the radio. "As you can see, I am loving your gift; hope the trip was fruitful, as far as Quartz went?"
Ah - home, sweet home. Perhaps the penthouse in Manehattan looked fancier, but THIS was her home and there was simply no better place to be - even if it was a little crowded. Tourmy seemed to be rather well; no attempts to kill her on sight - a good sign.
"Hello, brother. Quartz is in prison, so I'd say yes - very fruitful. I've even gotten you a souvenir," she removed the snowglobe from her saddlebag and gave it to him.
He lifted an eyebrow. "Prison? Well, certainly a step up from how Peridot ended up, that much is certain..." he then glanced up at her with a light wince. "Sorry."
He took the snowglobe and looked at it for a bit... then grinned. "It's only a glass orb, filled with water and trinkets... but the fact that you got it for me makes it worth hanging onto; I have a space on a shelf that's been dying for something like this. Thanks again... though nothing will ever top the radio, sorry." He was actually rather sweet when he grinned; far better than the wild grimace he had when he'd been attacking her.
Of course, now Peridot felt better than ever, and Quartz was relieved that he was no longer controlled by Amber - apparently, the average sibling trying to destroy the world was patently miserable, it seemed. "Peri didn't like being among the living so much," Obsidian noticed as she trotted to her room to check the mail, yet paused at the doorway. "Amy really sat in her room the entire time? Are you sure she's, you know... alive?"
Tourmaline shrugged. "She hasn't tried to murder me while you were gone; I figured, why jinx it? Besides, it's been, what, one day? Now, if she doesn't show up for breakfast again tomorrow... then there might be a problem." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, where would she go? She doesn't like to go out much, she has zero friends, and she can't leave town with that ring around her horn; I understand, and wouldn't want to be bugged about it, either."
With a light shrug (and a feeling of unease), Siddy made her way upstairs to their room to check her mail. She found two letters and a small box waiting for her on the bed. Obsidian checked the envelopes first.
The first envelope was addressed to 'The Bisdieam Ladey':
[Deer Bisidieam Ladey, my nam is Ivy Blossom, and i wannit to thank you for savimng my daddy from the Umbnderals, they were gona got him, but you came in and saved Ponyvill and saved him to, yor so nise for saving him from those bad things!]
It continued on for the entire front of the page, and half of the back. The filly's father had apparently been one of countless civilians she'd saved that day from the wrath of the Umbrals, and the sweetheart had written her a thank you letter for her kind act.
But wait, she wasn't a deer? Ah, wait - it was written by a child. At first, Obsidian thought it was some kind of code, or perhaps somepony had decided to include their accent (ACCENTS!) in their writing, but she quickly realized the truth of the matter. It was... actually pretty nice. It even felt a bit better than the big party that Princess Twilight threw for her.
The second one was a letter of notice, for Diamond's status as a 'currently liaisoned prisoner-in-absentia' by Stonewall Peavine; according to what she could make out from the Legalese, it would mean he was essentially doing his labors and chores as a punishment, and therefore was not eligible to be paid for anything he did for the stuck-up little jerk.
She scowled at the second letter. Perhaps contacting a certain kirin lawyer about this injustice would be a good idea? For now, she put both letters down on a side table and reached for the small package that was brought in along with them.
The box was about the size of a lunchpail; it had no return address, but it was shipped through the Silver Shores Mail Service and addressed to her, specifically. But she was no fool; a quick magical examination of the box's possible magical content revealed nothing magical at all.
Inside, however, was something magical... so to speak: It was a hoof-crocheted scarf, thick and fuzzy, that was of a lovely shade of violet. With it came a small note:
[Thank you for stopping by to visit us; we very much enjoyed your company. I made this for you, just because I was thinking about you. Stay safe, and trust your heart. ~With Love, Whisper Winds]
Oh dear, oh my, OH WOW! Obsidian read the note again, then a third time; in a middle of this whole possible 'yet-another-end-of-the-world' issue, she'd almost forgotten about the kind pair. It didn't help that she didn't exactly have time to think about things like that... she was doing everything she could, but she still had a feeling that she was forgetting far too many things, and dealing with the ones she could remember too slowly.
It didn't stop her from instantly wrapping the lovingly-made scarf around her neck.
In the kitchen, she heard the oven open and it was only seconds before the scent of chocolate chip cookies struck her senses like a speeding train. Cup's cookies were the stuff of legends... though he could still learn a thing or two from Celestia.
She heard a rough bump above her; Amy was apparently awake and home. She also heard the front door open, Mica chatting amicably with Clap, who he managed to talk down from the roof. There wasn't any reply on the pegasus' end, which felt weird because the mare was usually a talker. Of course, now Obsidian had seen, firsthoof, how bad the feelings were between her and Flurry Heart.
Maybe they just needed to save the world with her; it helped Siddy bond with her friends, so it stood to reason it might work for them too, right? After all, nothing that Obsidian had heard about the bad blood between them didn't sound serious enough to let it mess with their daily lives... or at least it didn't mess with their saving of the world.
"Well, I'll have to reply to this mail at some point - though it could take a while. And first things first, after all," Obsidian sighed a bit. At the moment, the firstest thing of all were Cupcake's cookies, small-talking with Amy and then - of course - saving Equestria! Or at least Lemon.
She ventured back to the top of the stairs and called down. "Do you possibly need anything, dear brother of mine?"
Tourmaline's chuckle came back upstairs before he answered. "Truthfully? I've never felt so need-free in my entire life; nobody forcing any screaming fits on me, no one calling me stupid - except for Amy - and nobody putting me through any Nightmare Spells... and now, I get to lie here in a hammock after the yardwork is done, and listen to music until I fall asleep.
I don't think I actually need anything, sis - I've already got it all."
Awwww... he'd called her 'sis'!
It was good to know he'd found himself in the same happy state in this Modern Equestria as she had - except he wasn't saving the world. Lucky him. Though it wasn't like he COULD, with his magic blocked. Obsidian made her way down only far enough to reach his doorway, grinning lightly. "Well, if you ask me, I'd say you still need something, bro..."
Her grin became a full smile, and she held out her forelegs to him. "Hug?"
Tourmaline, the brother she'd first met when he duped her into following him outside of town to murder her, smiled broadly as he made his way over to her and embraced Obsidian, squeezing her firmly. "You know..? I'm actually quite glad that little pepperpot busted my ribs; you're worth getting to know. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry... for everything I did, I'm sorry. You... you mean something to me, and in our family? That's unique - and I like it."
HA! And to think - only a few weeks ago, he'd tried to turn her entire skeleton into bone jelly.
"Get used to it," she smirked, ignoring an opportunity to remind him that he had started the whole issue with the ribs and the breaking. "Hopefully your relations with everypony in our family will look like that, soon enough."
Tourmaline's grin faltered as he looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "I actually hope so - I don't know what it is, but you are the catalyst that's giving us all another chance - Myself, Amethyst, Diamond... possibly Quartz, too. If not for you, we wouldn't have had even the slightest chance to discover what an actual life was like."
Again, he looked up and sighed. "Amethyst... may take some time. But, even though I used to want her dead... I actually hope she comes around, and we get to... well, at the very least, talk. She's had it rough - rougher than many of us did - but she's got a strength of soul that just won't stop going. Maybe someday, that strength will be on our side."
"Well... if you say it can be so, then it will surely happen." And until then, Obsidian was going to try to be content that Amy was alive, because she strongly suspected that being alive was far more interesting than being dead.
Except for Peridot, of course.
"I'll go straight to her, right now... in fact, I got her a souvenir too." Obsidian simply hoped they wouldn't be thrown back in her muzzle. In response, Tourmaline gave her a light wave as he settled back into his hammock again, sighing as he listened to his music.
As she made her way into the kitchen, she noticed hat every available surface had cookie trays; there had to have been at least a dozen dozen cookies! All fresh-baked and delicious-looking... Cupcake himself smiled at her as she passed through to get to the attic door. "Just a few things for the trip!" he quipped.
And there she was, at the attic door. Postcards? Ready. Door? Present. Cookies... later. Obsidian knocked.
It was quiet for a moment, then hoofsteps descended. After a moment of silence, the door cracked just a bit. Amethyst's eye peeked out at her. "You're not Tourmaline. Good. "
She now opened the door fully; she looked a bit tired, like she'd been doing more of her secret training. Otherwise, it was still the same Amethyst. Same braids. Same ring around her horn as her brother's.
"... yeah? What is it?"
... but not quite the same attitude. Her voice wasn't mean or snarky; she was genuinely asking what she wanted.
"Good morning sister!" Obsidian chirped happily. "I've returned from our Manehattan trip, and I got you a bit of a souvenir! Sadly, it's nothing particularly special - but that's only because someponies did everything they could to stop me from spending too much time in the shop."
She grabbed the postcards from her saddlebags to give them to Amy when... hmm. Now that she thought about it...
"Can I come in?" Obsidian dared to ask.
Amethyst looked at her with a carefully neutral expression, blinked, then raised an eyebrow... and stepped back from the door. "Okay, but... you shut up about anything you see, you got it?"
That sounded more like her... but it was still not angry enough. Was she sick?
Well, as long as she didn't have a pile of bodies in the corner, Obsidian was happy to comply. "Okay." She stepped into the stairwell.
Now that she thought about it, this was the most unknown place in her entire house... which was weird, considering that it was her house. Amethyst led the way up the stairs. Whe she came out of the stairwell...
The attic was barren and grey; the walls were still plaster, the ceiling showing exposed rafters and no color had been given to make this room any bit cheerful. There was no furniture save for a workbench, a single folding chair that was rust-caked, and - most noticably - a lovely white dresser with purple scrimshaw, in the center of the back wall and looking completely out of place. There were thick, dark grey curtains on the windows, a slightly open closet door, and a worn and used-looking saddlebag in the corner, hanging from one of the rafters.
Otherwise, the entire attic was spotlessly clean; not a speck of dust to be seen. And Obsidian saw no bed.
Obsidian looked around, rather dumbfounded. What was this alien place? She'd expected a more-or-less normal room, perhaps with some things to make it look more, er... Amethyst'y... but instead, she saw... well, nothing.
She had duly promised to shut up about anything she saw; she didn't promise to shut up about everything she didn't see. "You didn't get any furniture when you got here?"
Amethyst was uncharacteristically demure, and she shuffled her hooves a bit, not looking at Siddy. "It gets in the way. It's... i-it's hard to keep clean. And besides, this... reminds me of my room. Back then."
She almost looked ashamed of the barren room... or herself; it was hard to tell.
Okay, the first part made sense - Obsidian herself didn't appreciate any of the furniture in the suites where she was put either, and with the mindset Amy usually had, she would probably have gotten rid of almost everything as well.
However, the second part was far more interesting; she'd never really thought about their living conditions. There was Peri with his Fortress of Forbidden Science... but that was about all.
"I kind of disliked modern beds as well, to begin with... but I eventually got used to them." Especially with a Cupcake to snuggle. "What was your room like, sister? I'm sure we could think about the problem together and come up with something easy to clean..."
And more room-like; damnation, this place looked like a prison cell!
"It..." Amy stepped past Obsidian to the rusty chair and carefully sat down; it was positioned for her to look out of the window.
"It was a cell... in father's prison. The stairs are something different in here - back then, it used to be three walls and... bars. The cot was gone, but... I had a blanket. And a big wad of cotton. Those made a good bed."
She looked towards Obsidian, but still her eyes didn't quite meet up. She grew a scowl, but it wasn't aimed at her sister. "Father always said that if I wanted to learn how to survive, I had to have practice at what surviving would be like. Winter was cold, Summer was hot, and the rain would get in through the window-hole sometimes... but it was MY room, and it meant a lot to me. Some nights, father didn't lock the door... and I got to explore the Crystal Palace on my own... well..." she huffed a grunt, "as alone as I could get with the others all crowding me, all the time."
She now looked down at the floor again. "And when the snake crept into the window one night and bit me, I learned how to hide while I slept." She stood up and went to the closet, pulling the door open wide enough to see inside. Hanging there were two items - a ratty-looking grey cloak, and a wall mirror suspended from the clothing rack by some twine. On the top shelf was a thin blanket, with what looked like a ball of pillow-stuffing in the corner.
"This is... my bed," she said, now looking at the closet... but not at Obsidian.
Okay, as far as Siddy could tell, there was nothing in Amy's old room worth remembering. It didn't sound worse than her old room... but it didn't sound any better, either. While Obsidian had at least had a bed, and with her room being in catacombs and so on, there was no rain. Granted, she couldn't just up and leave at anytime; she was almost always locked in there, mostly only coming out for training. Oh, and no snakes.
It would be utterly ridiculous to make anything new based on their old situation. "Um, well... youuuu... are right. It does look easy to clean," she had to admit - even if only because she had not even the slighest idea what else she could say. "Though it, er... doesn't look too comfortable, does it?"
Amy gave a half-hearted shrug. "It's dark, I have a door I can close, and it's off the floor - isn't that what 'comfortable' is?"
Well, no - it wasn't. Comfortable was comfortable.... and simply 'having a door' was hardly a sign of comfort in current times. Perhaps back in the old days, it would have been good enough - but at the moment, they were living in a totally different society, so they had to make comparisions between their pasts and the average state of the world around them.
And in no way could sleeping in a closet could be considered comfortable.
Amethyst sighed, then finally looked up at Obsidian, eye to eye. "Okay, you got the tour - now what did you want?" Even though she was trying to sound angry, she still came across as 'soft' - especially for Amy.
"Ah, well... I just wanted to give you these postcards," Obsidian levitated the little souvenirs to Amy. "It isn't too much, I know, but I thought that the photos on them looked quite nice - especially as this place is wildly different from Ponyville! I also met brother Quartz, by the way; I thought you might be interested."
She took the postcards from Obsidian, glancing at them before she put them down... but then she stopped and looked at them some more.
"... I didn't-..." she stopped and tried again, "... I mean, I wasn't expecting anything. These..." She looked them over again.
"These are... nice." Amy said the word 'nice' without sarcasm? Was this a changeling spy in disguise? Was it Markannus, maybe?
"... thank you." ... and thanking her!?
Obsidian remembered her first morning in Equestria, as she woke up in a bit less of a murderous mood and had behaved so non-threateningly that Cupcake thought she might have been Markannus. And then, he insulted her mane. ...ironic, now that she thought about it; it was now one of his favorite things about her, from what she could tell. "You're welcome, sis; I thought maybe you could put them on a desk or... a-above a bed, but..." She looked around once again. "I don't see too many places where they could fit... oh! Except maybe on top of your dresser?"
Amethyst's eyes widened, just a touch. "They'll be... where I can see them, if I lay them on top of it, yeah." She very gingerly and pointedly put the postcards, all face up and separate, on top of the frilly white dresser, in a room with zero decoration other than said piece of furniture.
When she finished placing them, she turned to face her sister - noticeably standing between Siddy and the white dresser now. "Is that it?" She asked, eyeing Obsidian suspiciously.
"Well... er, yes. Aren't you even curious about my meeting with Quartz?" Why was this dresser so important? Obsidian had already gotten over Amy's terrible living conditions, and right now she was more curious as to why this one, specific thing was the only piece of furniture in the entire room... and the fact that Amy apparently didn't want her to get too close to it was only making her more curious.
Amethyst looked at her for a moment, and Obsidian swore she was about to say something completely different... yet instead, her expression changed and she said, "Quartz... so you found him; bet he was surprised to see you, wasn't he? Acted all charming and stuff? Dressed like a painter's tray threw up on him?" THAT sounded like Amy! "Yeah. He and I never really saw eye to eye on much; a lot more of a talker than a fighter - unless he's got a sword; then you're dead."
"That's a perfect description of his outfits, yes. I did survive a short duel with him, but only because he didn't want to kill me - otherwise you'd all be attending my funeral right now," Obsidian shrugged slightly, a bit resigned. The fact that she'd almost gotten killed and had survived only because her attacker preferred her to stay alive, was... a bit disconcerting, to say the least; other dangers wouldn't treat her so kindly. "Why does he dress like that, though? Is he colorblind?"
Amethyst gave a mirthless chuckle. "I always thought so - not that he ever listened to us... which kinda made him seem like an ass, but he had that charm of his. I'm glad our family didn't practice inbreeding, or we wouldn't have stood a chance against him."
She then rolled her eyes and sighed, shaking her head before changing the subject. "So, now you're done with the chore, and you've come back home to sit and let Cookie-Puss make you fat, right?"
Obsidian gave a halfhearted shrug. "Well, I would... except that I think we've found Aquamarine, and I'm going to investigate that lead soon."
When she mentioned that name, Amethyst's eyes flew open. "Wait - they found him!? He wasn't with us when father prepared us for the invasion; he'd pissed him off royally, and father threw his shard out of the window, into the snow." She mumbled the next words, but Obsidian's keen ear caught it. "Never thought I'd ever see him again..."
She then looked up at her. "Where? Where did they find him?"
Okaaaaay... the abrupt change in Amy's attitude was worrisome. "Mount Arris - we aren't completely sure, but that's why I need to go and investigate. Was he a decent sort?" So he annoyed Sombra, did he? Obsidian felt a pang of sympathy.
Amethyst looked up at her with a grim expression. "He was my greatest rival, in terms of fighting and survival skills." She now grew a strange, distant look as she spoke. "Aqua was almost the biggest out of all of us - even Jade just barely crested being eye-to-eye with him. He was hot-headed and quick to hold a grudge, and he was obnoxiously good at taking pain."
"He was my greatest rival... and if he's still alive? Hopefully, a thousand years in the snow cooled his temper - if not, then I may have to expect company..." the mare brooded.
Wait - was he trying to kill her too, like Tourmaline was? How many siblings wanted to murder Amethyst!? "So I may have a few problems in dealing with him, I assume?"
Amy looked at her firmly. "If he's angry, yes - yes you will. Aqua is normally looking for a fight all the time anyway; if he's already raging by the time you get there, you might have a hard fight on your hooves..."
She stared hard, making sure her next point hit home with Obsidian. "He's a Berserker."
Obsidian just stared. Of course, it wouldn't be easy; after all, he WAS the pony described by Onyx to be 'brutal' - miiiiiiight be a wee bit problematic. "Well, hopefully I'll survive the encounter with a complete of limbs."
Amethyst's stare turned angry. "Do you even know what that means, stupid? It means he could KILL you without a second thought! When he's raging, he doesn't see anything but what he has to destroy next - he attacked father on the battlefield! Just because he was approached before he was finished raging - that was why he was sealed in his shard, that's why father threw him out of the window, and that's what you and anyone with you should expect from him! No mercy, NO rest, NO quarter given!"
Amy stepped back a few paces and grit her teeth for a moment... then took a DEEP breath, let it out in a gusty sigh, and looked at Obsidian with serious intent. "DO NOT be fucking flippant about this one, Obsidian - or someone's gonna bleed for it."
She then turned and went to her closet and, using the door's frame to climb up, slunk onto the top shelf and curled up with her head resting on the cotton wadding.
"If I wasn't wearing this stupid ring, I'd go instead of you, and you'd shut up about it because I know what to expect... but I am, so I can't, and you probably won't, because you don't. Just..."
She sighed, reached out and, using a tied piece of rope, she pulled the closet door closed.
"... just don't die, stupid," came the muffled words, from Amy to her.