//------------------------------// // Fifty Two: Cincineighti Heights // Story: Obsidian: Shards Of Sombra // by Randimaxis //------------------------------// Aside from both Gypsy and Diamond sticking their heads out of the windows, nothing else eventful occurred until they reached Police Precinct 13; it was one of the short, thick buildings in the city, and inside it was filled with police ponies, mares and stalllions, all doing what they were supposed to be doing as the group walked in. They followed Officer Cynic through the milling groups of officers to one of the closed doors, and she knocked with a rythym that was as dull as she was. "Chief - they're here," she moped through the door. It opened, and a very firm, serious unicorn stallion was standing there. "Right, Obsidian, yes? You're the one Princess Luna was talking about, and the one who Princess Twilight ordered us to assist. I don't know what's up, but if the princess ordered it, I'm your stallion." He was fit and trim, if leaning towards the middle-age look, and was clean cut, bright-eyed and alert. Well, Obsidian recalled that Princess Twilight had said something about assitance from the police, but she wasn't sure of exactly what they could do to help her. Guards, she knew - police? Not so much; maybe investigate Opal's factory? Get them official approvals for equipment? Arrest somepony? "A pleasure to meet you - er, did the princess happen to specify exactly what you're allowed to do to assist us?" Obsidian asked; might as well just come out and say it. "Sure, we can go over that. Please, come in," he motioned for them to follow. Inside the office, there were filing cabinets filling the wall space, and in the center were two desks. One was neat and orderly, without a single thing out of place. The other had a buffalo in a police unform sitting at it. The buffalo was HUGE; his horns were within inches of scraping the ceiling. His eyes weren't visible through the fringe of fur that acted as an eyebrow - in fact, his eye area was one big unibrow, going all the way across his forehead. He looked almost comical, sitting in a chair that looked even smaller beneath the massive bulk seated in it. And the buffalo wasn't fat; he looked fit - just LARGE. He turned his face in their direction (she couldn't see his eyes, so it was a guess at best), and said a single, clear, deep-voiced word. "Hello." The stallion stepped next to him and grinned. "This is Chief Big Thunder Mountain, by the way - I'm Captain Shield Storm. He's the brains, I'm the mouthpiece, so to speak - the Chief does an amazing job, he's just not much for words." "Nope," said Chief Mountain, straightening a stack of papers carefully. "See? But rest assured, after working together for a decade, we know each other well - anything I say, he means, and vice versa." Oh by Darkness, yet another species she didn't know about? How fascinating! Did they know magic? Where did they live? Were they subjects of Equestria or formed a separate state? Ah, so many questions; so little time to find answers. At the moment, however... Obsidian didn't even know how the chief was able to get inside the building. Maybe he sat down a few years ago at that desk, and the police station was built around him? She bowed to him anyway; if he was going to be an ally, she might as well be polite. "So. We are here to investigate Pola Industrial, as Princess Twilight surely told you. We are lacking a lot of direct information, however, and our expert... er, well, I'm not sure when she will arrive. How much time does it take to get from Ponyville to Cincy... uhh, this city... by train?" Obsidian kind of hoped that Patty and Stalwart would already be waiting for them when they arrived. Captain Storm came back around and sat at his desk, opening a drawer and taking out one of several various notepads. He flipped it open, then started reading it aloud. "Pola Industrial has been a boon to this city since they built their factory here, two years ago, but they've also been keeping a spotless record - not a peep out of them, from accidental alarms to fires to... well, there's been NOTHING coming from there except cooperation and a vague feeling that we're being pacified for now." He looked at Obsidian. "And in our experience, no news is BAD news. We've been sure they've been up to something, we just have no proof... but see, that's where YOU come in! You see, every time we go to investigate, they're spotless; we need someone who doesn't have to call ahead by law to request time to explore the factory grounds." The look of irritation at being bound to the law was obvious, but he didn't make any mention of it. "We've been cleared to give you assistance in any way we can, but due to our responsibilities to the city, we can directly only offer a few options: First, we can provide some backup; we have a roster of about twenty five officers who aren't on special assignment or otherwise engaged - they can be called in a moment, and we can have them to you within five to ten minutes... or sooner, if you let us know to be ready for that call ahead of time." "Second, we can offer services in looking up police records and files on anyone you can name - or at least, whatever name they go by. False identity is a problem sometimes, so don't expect a miracle... but we'll offer what we know, for your perusal." "Third, we can make arrests as directed by you... BUT, understand that we frown on false arrests, and won't stand for being called in to arrest someone as a prank or an ego boost. Understand that, and we'll be fine." "Fourth, we can provide some transportation, though it will most likely be in an obvious police vehicle; it won't be easy to hide your affiliations if it comes to that. But if you're in a hurry to get somewhere, emergency-style, then we are able to provide such." "And fifth and finally, we are cleared to allow you the use of some of our body armor vests and helmets, in case of an emergency... but anything firearm- or even weapon-related is a strong, firm NO. Princess Twilight specifically told us you wouldn't want firearms involved anyway; I agree with her, as they're nasty, cold things." The rest of her friends were still out in the main room; Mica had his head slightly poked through the doorway, listening... but that was all. "Aside from that, do you think you'll actually NEED anything more than that from us?" Captain Storm asked. "Don't worry - I prefer pranks that don't involve the police," Obsidian assured the captain after the third assistance option. Hmmmmm... transport, direct backup, information, armor; not bad, actually. All of them would make the automatic connections with police obviously clear... but it's better to have options than not. "I don't think so, sir - at the moment, I'd only like to look up some police records on Shaded Pearl. It's also possible she's lately been spending time with a similar-looking mare, but I doubt Sapphire would use her real name publicly." Eh, false identities - such a pain. Captain Storm nodded. "We knew you'd ask about Shaded Pearl, because we have HER file already; we figured you'd want the information on the CEO of Pola Industrial, since you were, y'know, here to investigate into them." He reached over and picked up a neatly bundled stack of papers, holding them out for Obsidian. "Here; this is what we have - those are copies, so feel free to take 'em." Obsidian took them, glad that they were prepared. "I'll check them out immediately, thank you. Is there any place around here where we could sit down for a bit, perhaps?" "Interrogation room eight is open at the moment... just don't stay for more than an hour or so; on-duty, spare rooms can fill up at a moment' notice... off-duty, we let some officers sleep there between shifts, if those shifts are close enough together." He got up and made his way to the door, motioning for her to follow as he went out of it. "Goodbye," came from Chief Mountain as she left. In the main room once more, Captain Storm stopped and looked at the gathered individuals here. Thunderclap and Mica were having a debate on the best way to hide a weapon (with a few hoodlums nearby, listening intently), Gypsy was standing at the counter, eyeballing a box of doughnuts on a back shelf, while Diamond was speaking at great length to what looked like a crazed-looking old mare seated on the bench in hoofcuffs. The old mare was smiling sweetly at Diamond, and he was telling her all about his trip to Clearwater. Captain Storm looked back at her. "Friends of yours, I take it?" "Yes," she answered briefly, looking around. Clap, Mica, Diamond, Gypsy... "{Diamond, where's Cup?}" she asked, a bit worried about his willingness to talk to some old mare in hoofcuffs. Diamond turned to look at her. "{Obsidyan! I was telling my new friend here about the fun we had in the Cleared Waters! She seems nice.}" He pondered for a moment. "{I believe he has gone to use the porcelain chamber pot, yes? The room of bathing? He said he would be back in a 'jyf', though I do not know what that is.}" Obsidian nodded - no reason to be worried, then. "Everyone, let's move this into the interrogation room; we'll all check our target's files and then plan our next steps accordingly." She'd have to wait a bit for Cup to return so she could tell him this as well. The old nag on the bench next to her brother slowly looked up at Obsidian. "Is this your colt, missy? He sure is a nice little fella." Diamond smiled at her words. "{Thank you, elder! You are also a joy - though I think you need to straighten your mane out; it looks a bit wild today.}" The old nag smiled at him. "Yes, yes... I'm making sure your mother knows you want a treat - patience, little one!" As Storm led her to the proper room, the others simply fell in line behind her, Diamond included as he waved to the old mare. The room with the door numbered '8' on it was a table with four chairs... and a large mirror at the back. "Nobody's in observation right now; you're clear. Let us know if you need anything else." He saluted smartly, then turned and headed back to his office, presumably. "Okay," Mica rubbed his hooves together as he sat down in a chair, "let's see what we've got on Miss Pearl, here..." Obsidian handed him the files. Did... did she really look old enough to be Diamond's mother? Damnation. Or perhaps he simply looked that young? "I'll be right back, Mica - I'll wait for Cup outside, as I don't want him to think we just left him behind." Mica waved a dismissive hoof towards her, shooing her off as he dove into the file, his steel-trap mind already at work. His wave away wasn't rude or presumptuous; he was simply already thinking, and didn't have time for words at the moment. Outside of the room, there were a few officers doing their duty, moving about the area; she saw two of them carefully escort the old mare to the cells in the back, both taking care to make sure she didn't hurt herself. She saw another one escorting a rather scared-looking young colt towards the holding area, tears running down his pale cheeks. The officer in question tossed a reassuring wink at Obsidian as he passed by - perhaps this was just a scare tactic? Whether it was a scare tactic or not, Obsidian felt her stomach clench a bit when she witnessed it. Apparently, she had a soft spot for foals... er, not that she'd met many foals before, to be fair. And then, she saw it. Hanging in the back, surrounded by tacked-up papers and yellow sticky notes was an exquisite painting print of a goregeous view of the Crystal Mountains, looking so close to real that she expected the trees to bow from the wind. A Whistlewhite painting print. Ah, so Whistlewhite was truly everywhere, eh? A copy, no doubt... but Obsidian walked over to inspect it more closely anyway. Mountains... one day, she'd have the opportunity to seek them out. It was an exceptional piece of artwork, that was for sure - it was so lifelike, only the lack of actual color was the only thing that kept it from looking like a photograph. It was a charcoal sketch on scroll paper - Whistlewhite's preferred medium - and it was a breathtaking view of the Crystal Mountainside... particularly, she noted that two very familiar-looking spires were quite prominent in the background. There was a small metal plate on the picture's frame, and it said: [Fangs Of Ice ~ Whistlewhite] Leftmost peak... she was created somewhere in there, and sooner or later she would have to go there as well. She would have to see it for herself, and check for the Umbral City that Ruby had spoken of, if only to be sure that no further danger could come out of this place. What was taking Cup so long? The peaks themselves almost seemed to call to her... as if there was a siren's call that sounded from their peaks and valleys. She could almost see a small, nearly indistinguishable little line which rolled up the left spire... a line that was a bit darker then the surrounding ones... "... Siddy?" She'd been lost in the artwork; Cup was standing right behind her, an eyebrow raised. "You there?" "Shhhh..." she hushed him softly as she stepped a bit closer and squinted her eyes, focused on this single line. Was it right there? Whistlewhite was a strange creature who was able to realize that somepony from the future was watching them to learn this supposed path to the altars; perhaps she added something to her picture as well? However, if there was something more there, she'd have to see the original; close up, everything blended in too much with modern printing abilities. Even a perfect copy was still just a copy - she needed the real thing. And in Manehattan, she'd been surrounded by the real thing at the museum. Frustration bit her hard; the answers might have been all through that gallery, and yet she didn't know, so she'd passed them all by. So much she may have missed... "Um... you okay, love? I mean, I like art, but that's... wait... that's a Whistlewhite, isn't it? Looks like it... Siddy, is there a connection?" Cupcake: he may not have known what was going on, but he picked up quickly. Damnation. "Yes... but let's head to the interrogation room; we can discuss it there." He followed her back to room #8, and they went inside. Mica had the contents of the file spread out along the tabletop, and was reading one page rather intently. Clap looked bored, and yawned as Siddy and Cup entered. "Tell me we're not just gonna sit here while Mikey reads for the next hour!" she said, rocking from side to side precariously on one of the chairs. Diamond, however, was being treated to the sight of Gypsy folding pieces of paper on the other end of the table; the little stallion just watched, rivited to the sight of Gypsy's nimble paws folding and shaping, making what looked like a buffalo. Cupcake came over to the table and began casually looking over the papers. She trotted in with Cup to take a peek at the papers. "Diamond? You knew Whistlewhite, correct?" she asked, focused on Opal's files. Diamond looked up from Gypsy's masterful handiwork almost immediately. "{Whistle? Yes, she took care of us until...}" he paused, "{... f-for a while. Why do you ask, sister? Are you curious about her?}" The paperwork on Opal was less than she'd thought... but still enough to paint a decent picture of her; she'd been listed as an orphan, and had made a living repairing appliances and such until she began to dabble in gearcraft, or mechanical creations, that were designed to make life easier. Two years ago, as soon as the factory was open, it was cranking out Pearl's most renowned invention: The Labor Harness. The device was a free-standing suit of mechanical armor that could be used for a multitude of chores, from heavy transport to mining - particulary mining, as the suits made workers MUCH safer than the typical miner-with-a-pick could be. The Labor Harness was a much-lauded product of Cincineighti, and Pola Industrial was seen as the 'new kid on the block', but with great potential. 'Pearl' had no previous issues, problems or arrests - of course, as she truly didn't exist in their paperwork, that was hardly surprising. "OHHHHHHHHH..." Cupcake suddenly moaned with the same intensity as he had when they were in bed together... then she saw what he was moaning about: One of the papers talked about the Nest-Lee's Confectionary Factory she'd purchased... right across the street from her factory, no less. "I think I already like this sister," Cup grinned. "{I ask, Diamond, because I saw her in Hope's memories, and she wasn't exactly what one would call a 'normal' pony. She was... strange; knew far more than she should have. She even knew that somepony was watching her from the future.}" The labor harness looked useful - but Obsidian didn't like it; this... thing... could be easily weaponized. Coupled with anti-magical suits, a single one of them would be worth as much as a proper siege engine! "...are you sure about that, Cuppy? Perhaps she poisoned the things from this factory..?" Cupcake paled. "She... she wouldn't... sh-she WOULDN'T... that's just... WRONGOWRONG!" Diamond looked very closely at his sister. "{Whistle... always seemed to know things, yes... she always seemed to be aware of what was going on, even when we didn't tell her... it was like she already knew; she even had bandages ready for when we got hurt, as if she just KNEW we'd need them...}" Now he looked intrigued. "{Tell me, Obsidyan... what else did you learn?}" Cup simply couldn't understand that a known sister of Onyx, who was actively working to bring back Umbrals into the world as savage undead warriors, could do something that wrong, eh? "{Oh, plenty of things, like the fact that Hope cast the spell that created us after stealing a bit of Sombra's soul. I think it means that Hope is Onyx's mother, in a way?"} Diamond looked at her solidly, not a single ounce of humour in his eyes. "{Hope didn't create us. Any of us. Father did.}" "{I say only what I saw, Diamond; she cast the spell using Sombra's substance, after Whistlewhite told her to do it.}" "{Yes... she cast a spell... at the Umbral Altars. And it destroyed her, according to father's diary. I consider her our mother, as she created the spell, but... we were ALL created by father's hoof and horn.}" He now looked quite uncomfortable; did Diamond know something he wasn't saying? "{...Diamond,}" Obsidian said softly, "{is there something you feel that you need to tell me?"} Diamond looked at her in a very similar manner to the same look she'd gotten from Sapphire at the factory doors. "{No, Obsidyan. No.}" Mundy now stared awkwardly at the floor; Gypsy, done with his origami, looked up to show it to Diamond... then grew a quizzical look as he saw the stallion's fallen expression. He glanced at Siddy and raised an eyebrow. "{Brother? Was there somepony else before us, perhaps? Please, speak to me...}" That was the only possibility that she could think of. Diamond continued to look at the floor, keeping his eyes away from hers. Now Clap noticed. "Hey... what's eatin' the little guy? Siddy, what's up with Mundy?" Gypsy now looked up. "Sh-she is asking him about a m-m-mutual friend, Clap," he said simply, but the look on his muzzle told Obsidian that he'd want answers too, later. What was he hiding? Why he didn't want to talk about it? What terrifying secrets he was hiding? Did he possibly murder Hope's first creation with his own hooves, and the shock over this terrifying act made him turn to his peaceful values? Probably not... this was Diamond, after all. "Yes, Thunderclap - I'm asking him about a mutual friend," she confirmed Gypsy's words. After all, Whistlewhite had somehow known that Obsidian was watching through Hope's eyes. Clap turned and looked at Diamond. "Then why's he look like he just stepped on someone's tail? C'mon, little guy - what gives?" Diamond hopped up and quickly went outside of the room, closing the door behind him. Thunderclap instantly raised her hooves. "I didn't do anything, I swear!" Gypsy went towards the door, then looked at Obsidian for approval. Obsidian nodded. Frankly, she had no idea what had made Diamond behave like that - but Gypsy would be able to find out, or at least cheer him up. "Don't worry Clap - it's not your fault. We were just discussing a more... painful bit of our history." Gypsy followed after Mundy, while Clap just looked confused. "Okay," Mica spoke up, "I've finished reading." Cup looked after Diamond as well, but he trusted Gypsy to handle it; he sat in one of the open seats. Clap crossed her forehooves and smirked. "Right, so let's hear what the Supreme Egghead has to say." "Ha," he said to Clap as he sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Pola Industrial is a multi-million bit corporation, yet it fits into the private business category, as the factory doesn't have any actual employees - just 'Pearl', and a number of tasks seen to by automated machinery. Therefore, she's making an INSANE amount of money, as she has nothing to pay for but utilities and supplies." "Pearl has donated some money to random charities, to ensure she didn't draw attention unduly - but they're private donations, which once again keeps the factory from becoming the target of taxes. It's a brilliant strategy; Opal seems more and more intelligent as I read about her." "She makes rare trips, but spends almost all of her time at the factory, working on her pride and joys - The Labor Harness. From what I can deduce, THIS is a legitimate machine; it single-hoofedly brought down mining accidents by 14% - a miracle by any standards. And there are fleets of them, according to the warehouse accounts..." He then pointed at another paper. "But THIS paper talks about how EMPTY that warehouse usually stays; it says that delivery trucks arrive only once a week, and the shipments all go out one truck at a time... sound familiar, Clap?" Thunderclap sat forward. "Yeah, it does - just like ol' Quartz was doing, with Sapphy at the wheel! I wonder if she's doing these routes, too?" "Wait," Cup offered, "if Sapphire's been delivering from both Quartz AND Opal... she'd be driving an eighteen-hour route! No wonder she looked so tired!" Fleets of working, magical machines... plenty of anti-magical suits... oh dear. Assuming that Obsidian was right, Opal could single-hoofedly conquer Equestria at any moment she wanted! Bah, if Obsidian was in her place, Equestria would already be subjugated! ...okay, maybe it wouldn't be; friendship, blasted with rainbows and so on. "Thanks Mica, you did a fine job," Obsidian grinned. "So - we have a factory without any workers, an empty warehouse... did that paper mention if she had any private housing, or does she spend all her time at the factory?" "ALL her time is spent there," Mica stressed, "she has the factory's address as her own, and she shows no other property or expenses for outside housing; she's living in there." "So, wait... lemme get this straight, here," Clap said, "Amber's got Quartz sewing all night long, Opal living out of a factory, Sapphire driving and doing what else all knows what... GEEZ, what a louse! It's like she doesn't even care that you're family!" Cupcake spoke up, "I really don't think she does, Clap." "I'm not sure if you noticed, Clap... but some members of my family are rather nasty artificial ponies," Obsidian sighed deeply. "But hopefully it will all end as soon as Princess Twilight places new wards around Amber's shard. This way, we should be able to stop her from abusing our brothers and sisters any further, and give us some time to think about the possibility of releasing and reforming her." That was the perfect version of the plan, anyway. Mica nodded. "Well, we have what we can get from here - next step would be to get a hotel room, then maybe discuss what we're going to do ne-" "BOOOOOOOR-iiiiing! I say we drop off our stuff, then head straight to Pola Induct... Indep... In..." "Industries," Mica offered. "Yeah THAT - we can't waste time gabbing at each other; we gotta stop this while we still can!" Clap looked ready to go, of course - one might even be afraid she'd go off on her own, were she given the chance to do so. "We don't have Stalwart nor Patty with us yet," Obsidian pointed out, "and all things considered, I'd prefer to have both a technological expert and some increased firepower with us. Exactly how far is Ponyville from here?" Mica looked up at her. "About a four hour trip by train; they should be here already, but I'm gauging that Wart may have had to finish out her shift first; you know she won't leave it early." "Yeah, that's Wart, alright," Cup agreed. "Give her a responsibility, and she won't shirk it for even a second!" "Yeah, and she's all, like, 'yeah, I'm short - but I can stll kick your flank', and all that," Clap added. Mica nodded. "Noble. Proud. Dedicated. That is Stalwart in a nutshell." It got quiet again; they were missing their little friend fiercely. "Well, they should arrive soon enough," Mica said, getting up, "and it would probably be a good idea to have the rooms ready when they arrive, yes?" "Yes, no doubt - it would be nice to be able to contact them, of course - but unless they're travelling with Princess Luna, I kind of doubt we'll be able to get in touch with them just yet." Not that the sight of Gypsy burping out messages was the nicest thing she'd ever seen... They left the room to find Gypsy standing next to a very subdued and quiet Diamond, who still couldn't look his sister in the eye. "He sp-speaks of only w-wanting to get to sleep," Gypsy offered Obsidian, looking a bit worried about his newest friend. Mica shrugged. "We need to get to the rooms; let's see if we can talk the officers here out of a ride." =====[Half An Hour Later]===== The suites they had weren't top of the line, but they weren't bottom of the barrel, either. There was a mini-fridge and a bathroom, and two comfy and springy beds in the modestly furnished room. Cup jumped on one for a bit, until everyone heard a loud >TWANG< from the mattress... and then Cup wouldn't jump on it anymore. They had a total of four rooms, two beds apiece. Mica and Clap took one room, while Gypsy claimed another for himself and Diamond. The last was presumably for Wart and Patty... Which left Cup and Siddy all alone in their own room together. What secrets were known to Diamond? Did Whistlewhite tell him more than he could carry on his own shoulders, or perhaps he saw more than Obsidian had (which wasn't hard - most of her time was spent in her room or training)? Whatever it was, Obsidian hoped that after a long night of sleep, he would be willing and able to share this story with her. "So, Cuppy... Is there anything you'd like to do? Because if not, I'd be grateful for helping me get in a nap. Last time, I saw Hope's final hours - but I'd like to know what else I can discover within the realm of my own mind." Cupcake looked at her for a moment... and the look was... strange... but then, he nodded. "Yeah, uh... sure. Here," he grinned now, "you lie down, and I can give you another massage..." Something was... off... about Cup, and Obsidian didn't know what it could be. "Cuppy? Is there something wrong?" she asked carefully, stepping a bit closer to him. He wasn't thinking anything bad about Obsidian after her discussion with Diamond, was he? The moment she asked, she could see the relief in his muzzle. "Well... actually, I was... well... it's just..." He sighed, then took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Closing his eyes, he spoke softly. "Well... I know you've been through a lot lately, a-and there's a lot on your mind and stuff... but, well... I have been through some stuff too. I mean, Lemmy turned out okay, but... well, I was really worried there, for a moment. And the party, then Quartz and that horrible outfit..." He now opened his eyes, and looked at her sweetly. "I wanted to know if, maybe this time... you could, um... c-comfort me?" He gave a bit of a shaky smile... and that's when it hit her. With him looking so deeply into her eyes and just loving her, he didn't even notice how his mane was a bit ragged, his hooves needed a good buff, his coat was unkempt, and his manner was a bit... shaky? All this going on, and he didn't notice how he was having to handle himself BY himself... because he was so busy taking care of her. He didn't notice... but neither had she. Everything that had been going on in a whirlwind around her, and he'd been there for support in almost every instance... And here he was - still going, even as signs of wear were beginning to show... and asking for her to be the one to provide comfort for tonight. Oh... oh dear. Obsidian could feel her heart breaking a little bit as she realized that she let her coltfriend get into such a sorry state. Now that she could get a closer look at him, he really looked exhausted and haunted. It was foolish of her to think that he was better at dealing with the stress and hardship of the last few days. Well, she'd tried to calm him down when he was worried about Lemon, and then they immediately managed to rescue him, but still... damnation, was she blind? "My greatest love, I'll do anything I can to comfort you," she promised, closing the distance between them and nuzzling him lovingly. She took gentle hold his hoof, leading him towards the bathroom. "Let's get you cleaned up with a nice, warm bath. I'll take care of your mane, and then we can go to bed, where we can talk and snuggle all your stresses away." She was a bit stressed and anxious herself at Cupcake's current state; were her attempts to care for him good enough? She didn't know - any other mare would surely have immediately noticed that there was something wrong with him. Cupcake looked at her like she was the only thing in the world, and tears of gratitude began rolling down his cheeks, a huge smile on his poor, worried face. "Thank you, love." He let himself be led to the bathtub, where he gave no resistance whatsoever to her ministrations... and sneaking a kiss or two as she worked. She heard him almost sob with relief when she stroked the shampoo through his mane, and he sighed so very deeply as she toweled him off. There wasn't even anything sexual; he was just so incredibly grateful for the attention. "I love you," he said simply as she dried his mane, which already looked so much better... as did he. The nervous look was gone, and his coat and mane were good and clean; his hooves might need work, but it wasn't too bad yet. She was a bad marefriend - worse! A bad fiancee! She may have had the excuse that she was busy with her world-saving activities, but if she wasn't able to do so without grinding her coltfriend to the dust, then she was doing something wrong. She led him to the bed, where she did her best to make it as comfortable for him as possible, fluffing his pillow and turning down the bedcovers with her magic. "I love you too, Cuppy; I'm sorry I didn't take better care of you," she sighed sadly as she crept into bed as well, still feeling guilty. He stopped where he was. "Siddy... that's what you just did." He slipped up onto the bed, sitting on it and looking at her. "That's why I asked, love; everything that's going on with you, I understand that you're busy and preoccupied. And no, it does NOT make you a 'bad marefriend'... just like I'm not a bad coltfriend for not asking earlier - I handled it for as long as I could, and when I felt like I couldn't, I asked for help..." Now, he stretched out next to her and wrapped her in his forelegs, squeezing her gently. "... and you helped, just like the best marefriend ever would." She heard him sniff her mane again; it might have been a touch creepy, but it was far more adorable to her. "I love you... and I know you love me, too." he sighed into her neck, his warm and sweet breath rolling across her nape, making it tingle a bit. Such a good colt - the best one, in fact. Even when he was feeling bad, he still made her feel better. She wrapped her forelegs around him, snuggling up to him tightly. By Darkness, not too long ago, there was a risk he would have been a fully-grown adult by the time Onyx would have freed her shard... and she never would have know his love. It would have been an epic tragedy. She stroked his mane lovingly with a hoof. "After all of this is done with, we'll make it a slow week, with no hurry. Baking, snuggling and just enjoying life... and I will focus the whole of my attention at you, my brave stallion." Cupcake shook his head. "Nuh-uh - you and I will spend time together, but I think we should invite our friends over, too. I want ALL of us - all of The Siddy Six - to be closer... even more than we are now. I want us to know each other perfectly." His smile then turned a bit smirky. "Besides... you get me all night long, you know." He then sighed and just looked at her as he held her. "But the enjoying life stuff? Yeah - I'm all for that, completely. And there's no other mare I'd rather experience it with." He kissed her deeply, then nuzzled his way against her as he buried his muzzle in her mane again, a contented sigh escaping from him as his warmth began to seep into her as well. So very, very soft... "I had already considered 'inviting our friends' to be a part of 'enjoying life', Cuppy," she grinned. For a moment, she wanted to tease him a bit... but she quickly decided against ruining the moment; there was nothing wrong with just laying here and snuggling, after all. Quite the contrary, as she was rather content right now. It wasn't long before she felt herself drifting off to sleep, surrounded by Cupcake, and dreaming of...