The sheer relief that Obsidian felt over the fact that Lemon wasn't captured and burned was impossible to put into words... after all, considering some of the tendencies for sadism that she'd seen among her siblings, it could have happened - they may have done so while he was still conscious, as well.
Luckily, the mood quickly changed, forcing her to once again estabilish a connection with reality.
"Step away from the pyre!" she commanded quickly, remembering what she was told about berserkers. Gypsy... well, her brother hadn't been trying to hit him, it seemed - otherwise he would have been turned into dog soup.
Wife... that could explain quite a lot. "... Aquamarine? Is that you?" She decided to take a risk - especially as she had her shield spell up and active.
Silence lie over the entire scene for all of a moment. Then... "How do you know that name?" came a quiet, serious growl.
The treeline parted, and what stepped out and made a slow, deliberate beeline for her was... not what she'd expected.
The stallon was OLD; his coat, covered with scars and worn patches, was almost white with age - and his mane was white... if you could have called the mass of clumpy dreadlocks surrounding his head a mane.
From the look of him, he had to be pushing at least eighty summers, and he had the knobby knees, wrinked skin and squinting eyes that the elderly get when they reach their twilight years. He looked very, very little like the strong-looking and powerful brother in her drawing.
However, he strode forward with not only confidence, but without a single sign of hesitation or elderly gentility; he looked like he was ancient, but he moved like he was no older than Siddy herself. His blue-green eyes were blazing as he stormed over to her, intently staring holes into her brain.
"How do you know that name?" He didn't stop, getting right up in her face and getting muzzle to muzzle with her. "YOU WILL TELL ME NOW WHERE YOU LEARNED THAT NAME!" he screamed at her with a voice like a lion's roar.
By Darkness... he was ancient, but it didn't change the fact that he still looked dangerous. He was simply emanating raw power, even when he was just trotting up to her - and then, somehow, he became even more dominant when he opened his mouth.
By Darkness! Obsidian had to force herself to stay calm - how many things that she'd learned about him would be useful now? He could have possibly changed a lot during his time beyond the prison of his shard. In fact, how did he manage to escape it?
"Diamond and Amethyst informed me of you, my brother," she said as she decided to take the most honest and blunt response - she preferred not to mention Onyx just yet.
His eyes widened... and his horn began to glow as he stepped back from her. "So, Onyx... you fool... coming here will be your LAST mistake! Your illusions are much more accomplished since last we met - unless you're still using Tourmaline for your dirty work!" He then gave a rather feral smile - the smile of a berserker.
Oh shit! Obsidian stepped back instinctively; she'd seen many dangerous beasts in her time, but this one was one of the most disturbing she had ever met!
"NO NO NO, I'M NOT ONYX - I'M OBSIDIAN, YOUR LOST SISTER!" she exclaimed in hurry.
The beast inside his eyes... hesitated. "You're... you're who? Wait," he blinked, "... you're real!?"
It was only a moment's hesitation, and he was still in an offensive stance... but the next words didn't come from him:
"HALT IN THE NAME OF PRINCESS TWILIGHT!"
"LOOKER! NO, YOU FOOL!"
And from the other side of the treeline, a Royal Guard charged in at the old stallion with blinding pegasus speed, slamming into him and knocking the old stallion off his hooves... and directly onto the charred remains on the ground, which collapsed into ash beneath his body.
"YOU SHALL CEASE AND DESIST, NOW!" shouted the guardpony.
From where he'd come from, Lemon Custard ran out at them, anger writ large on his muzzle. "YOU IDIOT! OBSIDIAN HAD THIS!" he screamed at the guard, "INSUBORDINATION!"
But that wasn't the guard's biggest concern right now.
The old stallion looked at what he was laying on... and a bright red mist pulsed from his eye sockets.
"You... YOU... {YOU SHALL ALL DIE FOR THIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSS!!!}" he screamed in an actual Royal Crystal Voice that rolled out from him in perfect Crystallian, and with a roar that dwarfed a hydra's, his horn suddenly burst forth with tendrils of pulsing bright red energy which sparked flames when they touched the ground, the surrounding trees, the debris of the pyre...
And Hard Looker, as three of them slammed into him with the force of a speeding train. There was a sound as if someone had stomped on a bed of crystal - a horrific multiple cracking sound - as the rather limp and rag-dolled form of the guard went sailing into a tree, the trunk of it bending over him from the impact as he smouldered.
The elder pony roared, and the tendrils lashed around him furiously, enraged beyond consolance. The rest of her group leapt back, except for two - Gypsy, who dove into the ground, and Cupcake, who was standing right beside her.
"Now what do we do?" he said to her as he watched the raging berserker, who seemed to be attacking the very ground... until he turned to face Mica and Thunderclap.
"Uh-oh," murmured Mica.
Just how hard is it to NOT throw an elderly pony on top of the ashes of his dead wife? It actually should be an outright simple concept! After all, she was merely talking with an old pony - why would anypony get the idea of 'hey, let's attack him while he's chatting, ruining what was obviously the most important thing in his entire life'?
The most obvious answer for Cupcake's question was 'we die'; even if they outright attacked the guard in retaliation, it wouldn't change anything now. Anypony who had the nerve to have attacked Sombra wasn't going to care about details like that. Still, Obsidian wanted to personally finish off the complete idiot who had effectively destroyed her sister-in-law's pyre.
"CLAP! GRAB MICA AND FLY AWAY! CUP, GET TO LEMON!" Damnation, she was going to die in a horrible way...
"HERE, AQUAMARINE! HERE!" She waved her forelegs at him, and was actually stupid enough to use her magic to throw a small rock at him. At least she knew that old Displacement Spell that projected her a bit to the side, courtesy of Onyx's writings. It could possibly buy her some time if he attacked her.
Clap moved so fast, her rude mother would have been so proud; grabbing Mica by, of all things, his braided tail, she took off straight up... but not before a tendril lashed out at them and juuuuuuust barely managed to slap Mica's left rear hoof.
Mica Chip screamed, and the natural keratin shoe of his hoof shattered like glass, leaving the bottom of his hindleg dripping blood.
Aquamarine's eyes continued to follow them aloft... until Siddy threw the rock. It never reached him; as if by reflex alone, a red tendril slapped at it, turning it into powdery chunks that left divots in the ground. Now, his eyes - as dark as a shark's - were focused on HER.
Without a humorous joke, nor a quip, nor even a twitch, the elder stallion just seemed to throw himself towards her, screaming like a lunatic in a voice that was FAR too powerful for such an aged form, blaringly red tentacles leaving flaming black furrows where they slid along the ground during their writhing, twisting dance around the old stallion's horn.
Aquamarine - if he was this bad now, Obsidian could finally appreciate why Amethyst had warned her so stringently.
But Obsidian could understand his anger; after all, she loved another pony as well - and would be enraged beyond all capacity for self-control if anyone would ruin Cup's funeral pyre or tomb.
However, it also meant she was able to share that anger, to feel a similar fury like he did - though subdued by the subtle feeling that she was going to die soon... but then he hurt Mica, who had done nothing to him.
And that made Obsidian very unhappy.
She could fight him here... she could die here, obviously... but even if her fight against him went badly, IT... WOULD... BE... INTERESTING!
As he lashed out at her with one of the glowing tendrils, she quickly evaded with the help of Onyx's spell, then immediately went with her own counterattack - shooting a bolt of Dark Magic directly at the elder pony. She had to either keep him busy long enough for the rest to escape... or defeat him.
Both options were good and worked for her - especially as, for the first time in some time, Obsidian's own eyes were actually seeping a bit of purple smoke themselves.
Her bolt struck true, and it struck hard; a flap of flesh and coat peeled back from the shot, and blood flew from the wound, the muscle underneath revealed. It was a good, solid hit, one that would have struck down a number of other ponies with a single shot...
It would have been nice if Aquamarine would have noticed it.
Locked into his berserker's frenzy, he didn't even register the blow - he simply brought a number of the red energy tentacles around and slung them at her, as if she had squirted him with a tiny water pistol. His eyes didn't even look sentient right now; twin black orbs with pinpricks of searing red in the center of each, pulsing in time to his rapid heartbeat.
Lemon Custard came into Obsidian's peripheral view, horn glowing and head down as Cupcake joined by his side. "Obsidian," he said evenly and quietly from next to her, "don't you think his horn looks a bit like a pencil?"
Meanwhile, Obsidian also took note of the bulging shape moving beneath the ground as a hill of dirt that was making a wide circle around the old stallion as he raged on. Cupcake simply pulled out a seltzer bottle, shook it rapidly, then pointed the nozzle at Aqua... and waited for his moment.
By Darkness, if Aquamarine hurt one more of her friends, Obsidian would simply decide to screw everything and conquer the world to rule it with an iron hoof and... wait, a pencil? What was he talking abou- oh, right. Pencil.
Obsidian evaded one more time - as far as she could tell, she did not want to be hit by Aqua's power - and focused on her brother's horn. Attacking another unicorn's horn was not an orthodox strategy, but Lemon apparently had a plan. She just had to keep her ancient brother in place long enough...
Grabbing his horn was like trying to take hold of a charging rhino; this was not a pencil! However, when she applied the sphere of pressure to it, she was rewarded with a roar of fury from Aqua as his head slowly came to a stop - and the rest of his forward momentum as well. It wouldn't hold for long, and the tentacles were thrashing about even more than before.
Lemon nodded at Cupcake; the moment had come. Cup sprayed a solid jet of seltzer water directly into Aquamarine's face. At alomst the exact moment it struck, Lemon's horn lit up, and a beam of yellow energy wrapped around the tentacles, tying them all together and wrapping around a few more times for good measure.
Aquamarine howled in pure insane rage, his voice hurting Obsidian's ears with how VIOLENT it was - as if he was nothing more than Fury Incarnate. He wasn't even using logic to-
That was it; Aqua wasn't purposely attacking anyone - he was completely out of control. It meant that his attack on Mica wasn't intentional... but it also meant he could hurt anyone, even those he loved. But, would that have included his wife, too?
However, before the thought could mull over further in her mind, she felt a surge of Dark Magic, and Aqua's horn began to overglow - and he was beginning to break free of her grip! The red ribbons of mist around his eyes began to turn a familiar shade of purple - one that matched her own. There was now no mistake; this was her brother.
Being enraged over death of a wife would be a good reason to just start destroying everything around him... and if he'd accidentally killed her himself, it would have probably made him even more furious. However, right now Obsidian had far, far more pressing issues - like calming an ancient, enraged berserker that was currently a bit tied up, but could still likely murder them all.
And right now, he was accumulating enough Dark Magic in his horn to turn this entire forest - them included - into cinders.
Obsidian did the first thing that came to her mind - she tried to levitate the carved heart-shaped stone in front of Aquamarine's vision. And if that wouldn't calm him down, she could always simply smack his horn with it; it was hard to use magic when your horn hurt like Tartarus.
Lemon began to grit his teeth in his struggle to hold the angry energy tentacles, and Cupcake stepped between her and Aqua out of pure instinct... but as soon as the heart-shaped stone floated up in front of him, he glared at it...
... and his face slowly softened from the rictus of fury it had been locked in, as he stared at it.
"I... I JUST WANTED... wanted..." Now, as the mist receded from his eyes, tears replaced them and began to pour freely down his cheeks.
"... I just wanted to lay my wife to rest..." The black in his eyes seemed to pull back into him, revealing his lovely aqua blue eyes as they began to cry, his muzzle going from enraged... to heartbroken.
Obsidian was too naive, stupid and kind-hearted for the kind of pony that she thought she was - that's why she decided to try another stupid thing and carefully approached Aqua. He was her brother... just in a murderous mood and far, far, FAR older. He deserved a hug and some condolences, right?
He slowly slumped down to his knobby, old knees and sat down in the mud, staring at the stone heart. Slowly, gingerly, he reached out and took it gently into his hooves and cradled it to his barrel as he shut his eyes and wept.
"... she... she was the only one... the only one in my life who truly wanted me..." he moaned in a voice that sounded as old as he truly was.
There was a glow of white light behind them; standing at the treeline was Diamond, his horn glowing a brilliant white as his magic was enveloping Mica's hoof. She watched as the keratin shoe was regrowing right before their very eyes... Healing Magics could do such things, but the process would have normally taken an hour or so; at the rate the small healer was working, Mica's hoof would be restored in less than a minute. She also noticed Hard Looker, the idiot guard, sitting up and looking perfectly fine... and staring in disbelief at Diamond.
How did- no. She'd have to ask him later - there was no point in thinking about that right now. Besides, first things first.
"Brother Aquamarine, I am truly sorry for your loss." She sat down closer to him, watching him carefully. On one hoof, he was her brother... but on the second hoof, he was terribly dangerous. On the third hoof, she had a bad habit of liking ponies who were trying to kill her. On fourth hoof, she simply hoped it was enough.
Obsidian spoke softly, soothingly to the elder stallion. "And there is somepony else who would want you..."
"... father did not want me... and nobody came to find me..." He held the stone heart out to look at it; it had been lovingly carved into that shape, and looked smooth as a still pond's surface. "And I awoke to... to such a different world... and I... I hated it."
He carefully set the heart in his lap, and gave a gust of a sigh as tears continued their endless march down his muzzle. "But I had to... live.. in it. Alone. A-and I did, for such a long time..." He now looked at Obsidian directly... and she could tell, there would be no treacherous blow, nor any further escalation; he looked broken.
"... and she found me. I didn't know what to think, when she kept coming back to my field... and then, when she finally saw me, she just waved at me. Just... waved." Aquamarine put his head down for a bit, quiet sobs racking his elderly frame.
"Who was she - what was her name, my brother?" Sombra didn't want anyone, so that wasn't so surprising. She could only wonder why Onyx didn't try to recruit him, though. Was she afraid of him?
He sniffled a bit, when he'd gotten some of his sobbing done. "If I had only not been so hesitant... so paranoid... I could've spent that first year in her embrace... just one more year... my lovely Heartfire always made my own heart burn for her... oh, Hopie..." He put his head down and gave a sigh that would have moved Nightmare Moon herself to tears.
"Brother... oh my dear, dear brother..." She hesistantly, but steadily reached out to him, pulling him into an embrace. In a way, Obsidian was satisfied - she'd just learned the conclusion to an old mystery. She only wished it could be a happier ending...
He sat there as she embraced him... and then, he began weeping openly, and clutched at Obsidian like a baby koala, holding her tightly (surprisingly so) as he just poured his heart out.
Diamond walked up and, smiling through his own tears, he also embraced Aquamarine from behind. Slowly, she heard the little stallion's voice sing softly, in Crystallian:
Misery loves company
Because it's so alone
It doesn't have a mother
It never had a home...
Aquamarine looked up in surprise at Diamond, whose smile only got wider... then, Aqua slowly gave a small smile of his own, and his rusty, shaky and broken voice joined in.
Misery loves company
Because it's so alone
So why not be a friend to it
And make it all your own?
The tune was soft, sweet and sing-songy; it sounded like a song that a mother would sing to a cranky foal to soothe them. And it certainly seemed to soothe Aqua.
He blinked a bit, then sighed. "{Diamond... you would be the one to remember that, wouldn't you?}"
"{Whistle sang it to us every night she could, Brother Aqua - how could I ever forget?}" Diamond replied.
"{My brother...}" he turned to look at Obsidian, "{... and the mysterious 'Lost Sister' is real after all, I see.}"
Diamond gave a little giggle. "{Which means you owe us an apology - we were not as 'hopelessly crazy' as you thought we were, eh?}"
Aqua sighed... and looked up. "So... what happens now?" he asked earnestly, looking just physically and emotionally exhausted.
Oh, right - they knew Whitewhistle. And she'd lived long enough to meet Sombra's spawn, despite the fact that he'd been falling deeper and deeper into the clutches of darkness. Obsidian had no idea how it was possible, but she was having problems putting past events on a well-defined timeline. It didn't help that her assumptions, guesses and other attempts to use data she'd already learned kept coming up wrong.
"I... I'm not sure. I simply came here to investigate these mysterious fires; I only hoped we will find you..." Well, she knew what to do, in a way. "Brother, please, forgive me my curiosity, but... do you happen to have had any children?" She was hesitating a bit, but really - her curiosity got the better of her. Also, she knew of two specific ponies that would be overjoyed by the idea of grandfoals.
That brought a cackle out of the elder pone. "Oh, we were both WELL past child-making age by the time we met; not that we didn't have fun pretending we could..."
"EWWWWW! Old sex!" Cupcake called out; he hadn't been far behind, but he'd let the family have their moment... he'd waited to make the awkward comment. And his moment had come.
Aqua looked around at them - really looked - and then seemed surprised. He turned to look at Obsidian, confusion in his eyes. "Did I just get my butt stomped by The Siddy Six?" he asked bemusedly.
Obsidian blinked. Then blinked again. "So you've heard of us, but didn't realize I was your Lost Sister?" she asked, bemused as well. Damnation; she forgot all about Hope Heartfire's advanced age.
Aqua gave a hefty sigh. "Look, back in the old days, I didn't even believe you existed; why would I second guess a sister who wasn't even real? But I heard about your deeds... and I thought the group sounded like the next batch of heroes to save Equestria, now that the Mane Six are not only retired, but they lost one of their own."
Meanwhile, Lemon Custard was leaned down very close to Hard Looker's muzzle, speaking softly... but by the color draining from the guard's muzzle, it was clear that Lemon still had a knack for being... well, Lemon... and that Looker's prospects after this fiasco were not the best.
"{Brother Aquamarine... please, would you be willing to come to where I am living now? It would be nice to have another sibling to speak with; I may have already talked poor Obsidyan half to death!}"
Aqua's expression sobered. "I'm fairly sure they don't look too kindly on assaulting a member of the Royal Guard..."
"Well, that depends," Lemon spoke up as he walked over, "on how we want this to play out. Either we can take you back in restraints, we report this entire botched ordeal as is and deal with the consequences of such..." Lemon's eyes shifted to stare at Hard Looker intently.
"OR..." he continued, "we can just forget this little incident happened, so we can take Aquamarine in peacefully and of his own accord... and so someone's job is now so very much more important to them." Looker, seeing he was being given a break, nodded vigorously. "Though there WILL be consequences, Looker - I'll see to that MYSELF - but at the end of it all, you shall still be employed. Do you agree?"
"Y-yes," almost instantly from the squirming guardpone.
Lemon nodded, then turned to the others, "And the rest of you?"
"I agree," Obsidian replied, but her attention immediately returned to her ancient brother. "It would be nice to have you around, and I also happen to know your in-laws..." she added carefully.
"You know..." His voice trailed off, and he brought his hooves up to her neck slowly... to her scarf. "I... I've seen this crocheting pattern before... Hopie had a scarf a lot like it, but hers was a soft blue. Did... did you get this fro-"
At that very moment, the entire circle of them - Diamond, Aquamarine and Obsidian - all fell through the ground into a hole roughly several stones deep, landing in a heap amongst each other.
Gypsy's head poked out of the dirt above them. "D-d-did this one g-get him?"
Diamond started laughing... and after a moment, so did Aquamarine.
"Well, congratulations Gypsy - you just defeated three dangerous creations of Sombra, all by yourself," she snarked as she started to giggle as well.
Gypsy gave a sheepish grin. "Eh... h-hooray?"
=====[Two Hours Later]=====
"You have my solemn word, Obsidian, that I will see to it your brother is cared well for," Lemon was saying as he stepped onto the train, "and that I shall see to it personally."
Things having been settled, the guards were on their way back to Ponyville - with Aquamarine in tow, unshackled and free to move, though flanked by Royal Guards. Lemon sighed. "And I wanted to be certain to thank you for coming to our aid. I know Cup probably drove you nuts over me, but you could have just let him come on his own - which he would have - but instead, you supported him and helped me greatly. I believe I wholly approve of your marrying that silly little stallion... though it still escapes me as to why you would."
Aqua, flanked by guards, leaned his head out of the train car widow to look down at Obsidian. "Mundy says their 'processing' doesn't take too long, and that they'll have a liaison for me within a day or so. I wish we had more time to talk, but... we'll get to that, I suppose. After all - I'll be where you can find me."
"Have fun, brother! Give my best regards to Amethyst and Tourmaline!" she waved to Aqua. Well, this had worked out much better than she initially thought it would.
Diamond tugged on Obsidian's scarf. "{Obsidyan, shall I return to Ponyville as well with Brother Aqua?}"
Obsidian had to try hard to maintain a straight face when Lemon used the words 'drove you nuts'; the sentence was correct and all, but each word separately reminded her of the hour she spent to calm her Cuppy down... especially 'nuts'.
"Well, I have a few good reasons, yes," she smiled at Lemon, "but it wasn't just because of Cup; I wanted to meet my brother anyway, and of course I like you as well, Lemon - it would be a shame to lose such a good teacher, eh?"
Obsidian then turned to Diamond and gave him a light grin. "{Actually, I think I'd prefer you to stay by our side; you know Sister Opal better than I do, after all.}"
Diamond's muzzle grew an excited look, and he smiled broadly. "{Oh, I was so wishing you wanted me to come along for this too! I am so happy to be helping out the best sister ever! Thank you for allowing me to go with you, so I can see MORE of the world!}" He hugged her leg again, his smile almost bigger than his entire muzzle.
The rest of the guards got onboard the train (Hard Looker being seated right next to Lemon), the whistle sounded, and off it chugged, taking the strange case of Aquamarine back to Ponyville, where he'd be safer than out here in the woods.
From the conversation that had followed on the way back to town from Ditch's Grove, Aquamarine had told them about living in a hollowed-out tree in the center of the copse; he'd been awake for a long, long time - and he'd spent his time getting older as he raided trader caravans for supplies.
He'd met Hope when she'd been there birdwatching; even though he tried hard to chase her off, she kept coming back. When she'd brought food once... well, that had finally lured him out. From that point, she worked her way into his heart, and she admitted she'd found him to be so very much in need of attention.
It had been Brother Creedence himself that had married them in a private ceremony, and it was the happiest time in his entire life. He'd loved her, she'd loved him, and he'd truly thought his past was finally behind him...
Then, he woke up to her cold, lifeless form. She'd passed in her sleep, and still wore a small smile on her muzzle, he'd said. He was devastated, but had gone out into the woods and had used his magics to gather trees for the pyre. When he'd lit it, however, it had brought locals - he scared them off, but now they were spooked. Sure enough, they'd sent for help - which brought Lemon and the others out here, by request, to look into it.
Aquamarine, the berserker who was too much for Sombra, had just wanted to pay his last respects to his beloved wife... it was everyone else who'd made it such a big deal.
Strange things. To think that, of all ponies, Whisper and Short Round also unknowingly had Sombra entangled in the branches of their family tree? But Aqua's awakening kept troubling her; it was such a long time ago... what brought him back? The total number of alicorns around whad been far less back then. There were no siblings available to free him, especially without recruiting him to their own plans.
Hard Looker had luck on his side that Obsidian didn't get even with him for disturbing the remains of her sister-in-law.
Once the train had chugged away, Clap came over next to Obsidian. "So... what about Wart? Are we gonna go get her, or..?"
Mica sighed. "If she'd have been there, I might not have had to have my hoof regrown - which, for the record, having it explode to begin with is not a fun experience."
"Should we maybe send word to Princess Twilight? Maybe she can, y'know, send Wart along too?" Clap suggested.
Gypsy and Diamond sat next to each other on the bench nearby; their own train would arrive in about twenty more minutes - and these tickets said it would only be a six hour trip, this time. Wow - gathering Aqua really had been quick, considering the time it took to find the others.
Cupcake stood next to her, not quite touching but close enough to if she wanted. She could even smell his sweet scent from where she was. He glanced over at her, and gave a little smile. "A bit for your thoughts?"
Thinking about it, Obsidian wondered if perhaps Flurry was still there... in fact, she could also contact Luna. "I'll try to contact one of the princesses and ask about Wart. The guards are returning without any injuries or fatalities, so there's no reason to keep her in Ponyville. Especially as Opal could be... well, problematic," Obsidian sighed.
While she'd thought the same about Aqua - and had turned out to be wrong - Opal was supposedly already controlled by Amber, so it was obvious that she wouldn't fall easily.
Bit for her thoughs, eh? She nuzzled Cupcake lovingly. "Lemon said he approves of our marriage - though I forgot to tell Aqua about it." This was almost over with; they just had to survive Opal and prevent another invasion of Equestria.
Cupcake's eyes widened in surprise. "Lemon said he approves? Well, THAT just made my day!" He nuzzled her back, sighing happily.
Gypsy got up from the bench, and made his way over to her other side. "A sh-shame about Hope H-Heartfire... but, it speaks well th-that she was h-happy with him, in her l-late years. This one h-hopes he a-and his in-laws g-get a chance to t-talk, someday."
It was kind of suspicious that he woke up next to her dead body, but they were old, after all - she didn't have to be so paranoid about everything.
"Yes... I'd hoped for a bit more of a happy ending, as well. As long as Aqua remains calm, Whisper and Shorty now have a nice, new son-in-law." Actually, how old was he now? "Which leaves us only Opal and Sapphire to locate and deal with..."
Cupcake gave another sigh, but this one wasn't so happy. "Sapphire... if only we'd have known who she was when she opened the door to the factory! If only we could've talked to her more! If Amber was running poor Quartz ragged, I can't even begin to think about what she's gotta be going through."
"Well, regardless," Mica spoke up, "we've still got Opal to deal with - and from the picture you've got, she seems like she might be even easier than Aqua was."
Clap chuckled. "Yeah - she does kinda look like an egghead; eggheads usually aren't so tough - we've got this easy, right Sids?"
Obsidian looked, smirking slightly. "Princess of Eggheads standing right here, remember?" She quickly became serious again, though. "However, she is dangerous, and under Amber's influence. We managed to talk Aqua down, but it will most likely be impossible with Opal; as soon as she thinks that we're a danger to her business, we have a problem. It would be good to check to see if she is already in any trouble with the law; while she did break it by forging Celestia's signatures through Quartz, she did it under mind control - she shouldn't feel endangered by any cooperation from us."
Mica grew concerned. "Hmmmmm... well, then maybe we shouldn't just all barge in at once? Maybe we should use this time to come up with a plan?"
"Like what," Clap groused, "dressing one of us up and getting 'em inside to see what she's doing?"
Mica thought for a moment. "Actually... it's not a bad plan... but we'd need to work out who and why."
Cup looked up. "Maybe I could get a message to Patty to meet us there? If we send it now, it might reach her and get her to us before tomorrow."
"Patty would be the most logical choice," Obsidian admitted. It would be the best if she could simply send a message to Ponyville instantly. She doubted that Flurry was still there, but... Flurry, heareth thou my voice?
No response - maybe she was asleep? In the bathroom? Wanting some privacy? Maybe she was being held hostage and slowly being turned into a horrifying Umbral creation? All the options may have seemed equally likely, she had to admit that in the presence of Princess Twilight, Amber shouldn't really have much of a chance - especially as a helpless shard.
Cup nodded. "Okie dokie lokie! I'll pop over to the post office, and see what I can do about sending a message to Peppermint; I'm sure she'd love a road trip!" With a quick peck on Siddy's cheek, he trotted his way back into the small town, seeking the post office.
The large tent in town had been active for a bit, with hymns to Celestia being belted out by multiple voices. After a while, though, they just caught a word every now and again, assumedly from Preacher Creedence. His revival must be going well... but then again, Clearwater was his town, and Creedence seemed like he was glad to be the spiritual guide here. Better yet? Neither he, nor any of his followers gave Obsidian and her crew even a single bit of trouble.
Clap was seated on the guardrail, looking out at the town with a bit of a distant look on her muzzle.
"Write about sending Stalwart along too!" she called after Cupcake. There - that should solve most of their problems and help them prepare for trouble. Hopefully.
And the religious folk... chances were, they'd probably never actually MET Celestia, face-to-face; it was hard to worship somepony who bakes you such incredible sweets.
Obsidian sat next to Clap. "What are you thinking about, Clappy?" she asked cheerfuly. A six hour ride... well, she could always try to take a nap again.
Clap glanced over her shoulder at Obsidian... then gave a tiny, sad grin. "Well, I... awww, it's dumb..."
"No it's not," Mica said, "say it."
She sighed. "Well... I guess... I miss Wart. A-and I missed YOU, Mikey, when I was cursed... and I missed Gypper in Manehattan. I even missed you, Siddy, when you cast that bogus Locator Spell and vanished." She shook her head a bit, then reached up and actually pulled the hairband out of her mane; the strands fell across her shoulders, and it had an interesting effect of being blonde on the outside, but even the lightest breeze revealed colors beneath.
Mica, unbeknownst to her, stared at her with loving eyes, taking in the rare sight of Thunderclap Dash with her mane down.
"I mean, yeah, we all did, but... Sids, I've never really had friends this close before. Like, close enough that it bothers me when we're not all together, y'know? It just... it just feels like I'm missing a pinfeather or two; I might not be able to tell which one's the most important, but I know when something's missing."
She sighed. "But I don't miss pinfeathers..."
Obsidian did her best to wrap a hoof around Clap and pull her closer, but she only managed to pull herself towards the big blue pegasus. "Weren't we all lacking close friends before? Me, you, Gypsy, Wart... we're just a merry band of weirdos, united by friendship and this sweet, sweet firepower we can muster up when we work together. As a group, we are more than sum of our skills and powers - we are the most awesome, evil-ass-kicking band of teens Equestria has ever known!"
She thought about it for a moment. "...though it would be nice to get some proper rest after all this evil-kicking. Perhaps even make another Spa trip or something."
Clap looked down at her from the rail and smiled, then wrapped her forelegs around Obsidian and gave her a patented Thunderclap Hug. Ow... but the smile she wore made it worth it.
Still... ow.
"Siddy, you're the best!" Clap gushed, "To think, we had to teach YOU how to be a friend, and now you're teaching us how to be a team. Who'da thunk it? It's a good thing you're the leader; I'm pretty sure I'da messed it up royally by now!"
"Is she the leader? I didn't even know the position was available," Mica joked, keeping his stone-serious expression, "and I don't recall voting for her. Though, to be fair, I don't recall voting for anyone."
Clap laughed. "Yer a RIOT, Mica!"
Mica blinked. "Thanks; I get it from my Mom."
Clap leaned down and let Obsidian go (WONDERFUL AIR!), then smiled at Mica. "What, did you want to lead?"
Mica held up his hooves quickly. "No - NOOOOOOOOO, no. I'm not good at leading; I'm a better planner. But maybe Gypsy wants the job?"
The diamond dog's ears perked up, and he paused his conversation with Mundy to speak up. "This o-o-one would NOT b-be good at leading; o-orders would t-take too long to give, with h-his stutt-tt-tter. That, and... h-he is shy."
Mica shrugged. "Well, what about Stalwart?"
Clap gave a blast of a laugh. "HA! She's practically tied to Siddy's tail; that mare would just give it to 'Her Majesty Lady Siddy', without a second thought!"
Mica nodded. "Fair." Obsidian noticed that nobody had mentioned Cupcake.
Well, since there was no Stalwart around, it was a time for a joke. Obsidian, despite her best efforts, still had issues with idioms and innuendos...
"There's also Cupcake," Obsidian offered, "and I wouldn't complain if I'd have to serve under him," she said cheerfuly. To be fair, was she really the leader here? Did they even have a leader at all? She was only important because they had to fight her siblings... right?
"According to what I'VE heard..." Clap grinned, "you already have!"
Mica, typically solid and steady, instantly burst out laughing at her comment, while Gypsy started blushing hotly, pulling his hood up to cover his (slightly giddy) embarrassment.
Diamond, however, was just looking at Obsidian. "{We... we are allowed to do THAT now? I was not informed!}"
Gypsy now began to snicker aloud, a bright and bubbly sound from the diamond dog. "{This one believes they have taken their own initiative, friend.}"
Diamond blinked at them... then stood up proudly. "{Then I must stand before my beautiful and noble Stalwaat and ask her if she wants to participate in the act of sex with me!}" He then quickly faced Obsidian. "{Will you translate for me?}"
While Obsidian blushed, she also giggled.... or possibly the other way around. However, stark terror moved through her muzzle when she heard Diamond's request. She'd kind of... forgotten that he was a bit different from the rest of them.
"{Diamond - dating first, then being a pair; sex happens much later.}" He apparently needed to learn a quite a lot about modern romance; sooner or later, he would say or do just the wrong thing, and Stalwart would kill him. Or Obsidian for introducing too many strange ideas to the small stallion.
Diamond rolled his eyes like a teenager. "{Yes, I KNOW of those things - but I wish to be honest and direct about such an event! She would appreciate it, I am certain! OH! I do not wish to ONLY have sexual acts - but, if all I ever may have is one... then I wish to share that one time with her, and no other mare.}"
Gypsy sighed. "H-h-how very romantic... this o-one believes your c-c-crush on Stalwart to be ad-dorable."
Diamond actually gave a light blush at that. "{I... em... err... y-yes. Yes, friend Gypsee.}"
Clap chuckled. "I don't even know what he's sayin', and even I know he's got a crush on Warty!"
Diamond looked at Clap curiously for a moment, then turned to his sister. "{Obsidyan... it has bothered me a bit, yet I did not feel proper asking before now - why do you all call her a 'Wart'? Is that not an unsightly blemish of the skin? Are you aware of that?}"
Maybe Gypsy considered it to be cute, but Obsidian was a bit worried all the same. "{...it is?}" Hunh. She got so used to it, she never considered the connotations.
"{Yes, Obsidyan; you have all been calling her a blemish - and I do not understand the reason why. Did she anger you at some point?}"
"{Friend Diamond}," Gypsy spoke up, "{it is a term of endearment; this one is occasionally called 'pupper' or 'doggo'; he likes it, as it is something that lets him know his friends gave him these special nicknames.}"
Diamond seemed to accept that a bit more, but still seemed confused by this Modern Equestria. "{I see... so then, nicknames are endearments towards others?}"
"{Yes,}" clarified the diamond dog.
"{And the practice of unpleasant or unwanted nicknames is... commonplace?}" He cut his eyes at Siddy, "{Then perhaps I should come up with a nickname for YOU, dear sister...}"
{"Well, when they did so for me, I became 'Siddy'. At first, I thought they meant 'seedy'.}" A nickname for her, huh? What exactly did he have in mind?
Clap glanced at Diamond. "He looks all shifty..." she grinned, "what's he up to? 'Cause wth that look on his muzzle, I want in!"
Mica sat back and looked over at Gypsy. "What is he saying, if I can ask?"
"He s-says he likes the i-i-idea for nicknames, and he w-wishes to come up with h-his own - f-f-for Obsidian." Gypsy explained.
"Ah..." Mica spoke up, "but we already call her Siddy, so that box on the proverbial resume has been filled in."
Clap giggled, "Yeah, and thanks to Cuppers, so has Siddy!"
Cup, who had just walked up in mid-convo, blinked and looked at Clap. "So has Siddy, what? Is it a joke? Did I miss it? AWWWW! Wait, can you start over?"
Obsidian chuckled at Clap with a smidge of embarrassment on her muzzle. She was already starting to regret trying to make an innuendo joke, especially as she already knew that a certain pegasus would surely build others upon that.
"We are throwing innuendos around, Cup. Were there any problems? Did you remember to send message about Stalwart as well?" she asked, trying not to look too guilty. This current stream of jokes was not only at her expense, but also his.
Cup gave a bemused grin. "Nope - no issues; because we got rid of the 'ghost', the mailmare even let me send it for free. Of course, she was staring at my flanks a lot... maybe she thought my cupcake looked yummy?" Clap nearly fell off the rail, laughing at that one.
Oh Cupcake... you know better than to invite Obsidian to eagerly dig her own grave. "I can't deny that, for sure."
Cup looked at Siddy. "Well, I know you like the frosting, at least..."
Mica managed to pull himself together, shaking his head. Clap, however, slowly slid off the railing into a sitting position on the ground, still howling with laughter. "Sto-STOP! I c-c-can't BREATHE!"
Diamond smiled mischeviously. "{In honor of such, I shall nickname you Frosty!}"
... and now Gypsy was giggling uncontrollably.
She was practically asking for it here - still, she didn't think he'd have mentioned this particular bit; her blush was visible even through her dark fur.
By now, Wart would be having a conniption fit. The lot of them around her, laughing and cutting up, having a grand time... and yet, Clap was right; something felt missing, incomplete... and no matter the good cheer going around, she could tell that everyone else here missed the little knight, too. But, for the moment, the joy of embarrassing one another helped to bring some joy to them all, in the light of what was soon to come.
They were headed to Cincineighti... but little did they realize exactly how much things were about to change.
=====[One Hour Later]=====
This train wasn't as frilliy as the Friendship Express had been; this one was sleek and silvery, almost shaped like a dart. Clap had talked about how it was supposed to be the 'next big thing' in travel: magnetic rail trains. Even Obsidian had to admit, it was most certainly different; the gentle click-clack of the train on the tracks was nowhere to be heard.
The entire train was quiet, whispery and smooth-moving; Siddy almost missed the ambiance of the old train. Almost... because it was discovered they all had private suites. Each one had a bathroom, a small kitchenette, and an actual bed - big enough for two, Siddy noted.Princess Twilight, apparently, had spared no expense on them for this trip; she'd have to thank her for it later.
Ah, bed! That was exactly what she needed right now, considering that she'd almost managed to dream-learn about a spell that could restore the bodies of her fallen siblings! She practically got giddy at the sight of the available room. However, she was a bit afraid that her enthusiasm would be TOO MUCH to let her sleep.
"Cup! Cup, Cup, Cuppyyyyyy! We have plenty of time! So, what are we going to do? Or what do you want to do? Let's do something!" She was doing her best to burn it all off.
Cupcake's enthusiasm was like a fire, and her mood was gasoline. "OOOOH! We could play Eye Spy, or use the pack of cards I brought, or we could trade off singing showtunes we enjoy! Maybe we could try to fold some origami for Gypsy - to show him we've been watching him! WAIT! What about the sink here? With a little kitchen like this, I could make miniature cupcakes!"
Granted, with the bed right there, he could be 'making miniature cupcakes' right now... that would surely make her sleepy for a while.
"What cards?" she sounded interested. While any 'bedtime activities' sounded like a fine idea, she didn't want her Cuppy to think she was some kind of lust-crazed beast!
At least at the moment; later, however...
Cup brought out his deck of cards, holding them aloft like a magic sword. "Ha-HAAA! Cardus De Packius! Now, I know you may have had some different training when it comes to 'War', but allow me to explain the intricacies of this noble pasttime of kings and scholars!"
'War', it seemed, was a very simple game to play - as such, Cup got bored after only an hour... but he'd brought all sorts of stuff to bide away the time, so it felt like she'd be busy all the way to their destination. He even had a few books!
They still had five hours, more or less. She could spend an hour at best to attempt to tire herself out, and then she had to take a nap, for the good of Equestria. For now, she decided to look through the books - maybe she could find something interesting there?
Dovetail: The Legend of Deerfield
Grim's Fairy Tales
Dream Analysis: How YOU Can Help Luna
109 Polkas For Any Occasion
How To Be A Better Coltfriend
Tonal Adjustments For Perfect Acoustics
Crinos: The Collected Works
The Collected Works of Whistlewhite
Stolen Kisses From A Monster
1,001 Recipes For Sweets
Well, it was a rather diverse collection of books, she had to admit.
Well, the decision was obvious, wasn't it? She immediately picked up 'Stolen Kisses From a Monster', but only to check quickly what the story within was about.
Stolen Kisses was a tale of a pegasus mare who had fallen in love with a cruel unicon warlock and how, after much hardship and difficulty, he eventually fell in love with her as well. It was a cute story... but a long one, it seemed.
That done, she quickly settled on 'The Collected Works of Whistlewhite'; the artist seemed to be rather important in Sombra's court, after all.
The subject of Whistlewhite was a bit more interesting... the book was mostly compiled, collected stories from the past, which were used to create a working timeline of her life.
She'd been born dirt poor to unknown parents, and had lived on the street for much of her life. The work that was legitimately considered her first one was a piece she simply called 'Fur'; it was a very lifelike painting of a kitten, playing with a puppy on the steps of the Crystal Palace. The animals in the picture were along the bottom right corner; the rest of it was a breathtaking view of the Crystal City... in shambles. The buildings all looked run down, and the cobblestones on the streets were milled up in different directions, cracked, or missing all together. It looked like a slum... but there was no denying it was her beloved Crystal City.
The book went on to speak of how she would paint for her expenses; paintings for a room to sleep in, paintings for food, paintings for supplies... it was once said that almost everyone in the Crystal Empire used to own a Whistlewhite original! Then, it spoke of the changes in regime, and how Whistlewhite herself was hoof-picked to become the Royal Artist. To commemorate this event, she painted a portrait of Sombra and his Grand High Magus that hung in the palace for quite some time.
Then almost without warning, Sombra began to turn cruel... around the time that Radiant Hope vanished. During this period, the book said that many of Whistlewhite's artworks were smuggled out of the country, some supposedly containing contraband for black market trade. Then, the book went on to speak of Sombra's Fifteenth Decree:
[There shall be no art, be it written, painted or performed, without the expressed consent of Lord King Sombra himself.]
Which is where the book spoke of The Great Artisian Purge of the Crystal Empire.
Late in Sombra's reign, he purportedly threw a fit - the reasons were unknown - and Whistlewhite, for some unknown reason, was subsequently attacked, crippled, and sent to the dungeons. Enraged over whatever had happened, Sombra then created his Fifteenth Decree... and had ALL offenders - Whistlewhite included - put to death and buried in a mass grave. The death toll for the artisian purge was listed at over 400 individuals.
Hardly a surprising ending... but why? Was it merely a fit of insanity, or was it connected to The Umbra? Was Sombra afraid that something which could help his enemies was smuggled away under his snout? Did somepony see too much?
The grim tome had two effects on the Grey Princess - first, she was truly shocked at the sight of the ragged and destitute Crystal Empire, a far cry from its current glory (obviously Princess Cadance was working rather hard). Second was the fact that, thanks to such a depressing read, Obsidian had lost any desire for pleasures of the flesh. Quite the contrary, in fact; she immediately threw herself onto the bed to think... and, perchance, to dream.
Cup could see she was upset over something... but he wasn't sure what. However, he apparently had been reading the 'Better Coltfriend' book, so he slid on the bed next to Obsidian and put a foreleg around her. "Hey... what's the matter? You were fine a moment ago... you wanna talk about it?"
He then snuggled up close behind her. "Or would you rather just have a comfy cuddle while you lay here? I can do either one... for you, I'd do anything." He hugged her close, and she heard him lightly sniff her mane.
Heh. For a moment she was curious as to what sort of wondrous advice was in this book of his - after all, she could hardly imagine a better coltfriend.
"Each time I fall asleep, I dream of Radiant Hope's past - the mare that accompanied Sombra in his first adventures - and after her sudden and mysterious disappearance, he began to grow evil. Each time I see anything about her past, I feel as if I'm on the brink of a great discovery... and I fully intend to finally reach the breakthrough," she explained quickly, practically without thinking.
Maybe one day, she would find the mare that Diamond referred to as 'mother' within her mind... but where she could be? Was it like finding Peridot and Onyx - was she perhaps near the Umbral Altar? In the orphanage? In the castle itself...?
Cupcake thought for a moment... then slowly, he settled back away from her far enough for him to place his hooves on her back and s-l-o-w-l-y rub the muscles there...
Wait... Cupcake knew massage!?
Her back told her that yes, he most certainly did. "Okie dokie lokie... then it's MY job to get you to sleep, so you can learn more about the past! Right, you just stay riiiiiiiiiiight there, and I'll just do what I'm doing."
Granted, he wasn't as talented as the Spa Ponies... but, to think that Obsidian had a personal masseuse at her beck and call? Priceless.
"Cuppy, you are so perfect that I couldn't even dream of a better coltfriend," she muttered while her mind and body were slowly relaxing. Muscles that she had forgotten the existence of were slowly releasing all the tension she currently felt. Damnation, but she loved that stallion of hers.
Cupcake smiled. "Then we're even... because you are more incredible than anything I've EVER known in my entire life." She felt him kiss the very back of her neck, in the tender spot underneath her mane, before he went back to focusing on her back.
Ohhhhhh sweeeeeeet Daaaaaaarkneeeeeesssssss...