//------------------------------// // Fifty Eight: A Study In Onyx // Story: Obsidian: Shards Of Sombra // by Randimaxis //------------------------------// Amber stepped in close and ran a hoof through Obsidian's mane in passing, smirking evilly. "And so, the army's covered... now, to get them suited up and piloting, then to get them ready to storm..." she laughed, "well, everywhere!" The possessed alicorn strutted out to the pools, admiring the sight of the horrific undead rising up from the waters and sighing happily before turning back to face Obsidian. "Now, I also have a special present in store for Equestria," she began. "You see, the Crystal Empire is still going to be MINE... but first, there's the problem of who's in charge right now. I mean, I can't just take an empire whose ruler could stop me at any time, so... I simply came up with how to solve the problem." Amber smiled sweetly, like a completely innocent mare. "It shouldn't take much to convince the Princess of Love that her youngest is hurt and needs her mother's care..." Now, Flur's smile curdled into a twisted, cruel smirk. "Of course, she doesn't know it, but that child she's going to heal is none other than our dear brother... Jade..." She began to giggle. "And her magic will set him free... and kill her for being so close to his curse!" "... whatever..." Obsidian mumbled in pain; at the moment, she was hardly the most attentive pony to mock - and Amber's words, no matter how cruel, weren't cutting as deeply as some of her wounds already were. Amber lifted an eyebrow curiously, then shook her head with an exasperated sigh. "Oh, fine - since you're going to be so difficult..." Flur's horn flashed, and Obsidian suddenly found herself on the floor of a large metal cage, big enough to be half the size of her old room. [If you're going to be a BABY about it all, then you can stay here with the rest; I'll be back to play soon enough, don't you worry. Ciao, Sids!] "Well, damnation... there goes our proverbial ace-in-the-hole." She knew that voice... was that... Quartz? That uptight bitch hadn't ever been beaten so badly, eh? It was a cold comfort, but Siddy would gladly take all the comfort she could stand right now. Obsidian gave out a pained groan of agony from where she was. Hopefully, Diamond was here as well - she rather liked that tooth... and her lost ear tip. And her blood. And her flesh. She would MUCH rather prefer if, during future excursions, she could manage to keep those things from harm. "Knew I should've stayed where I was, dammit..." Aquamarine. "Right, like you would have been in any less of a situation, eventually? Think, you old fool - she would've come along for you eventually." Tourmaline. "Well, er, you don't, um, know that for, ah, c-certain..." Opal. "{Please - Obsidyan seems gravely injured; we must help her at once!}" Diamond. "I concur, Mundy... however, it will be quite a feat to perform Healing Spells from so far away; longshots, I can abide by... but miracles? That's asking too much - at least for this family." Quartz. Aqua, Tourmy, Quartz, Opal... wait, Opal? And Diamond was here as well, luckily... though it seemed he was too far away to actually help her, which was... not good. At this point, even simply losing conciousness would be a mercy. "Am.. e... thyst..?" she asked softly to no one in particular. "... yeah. Me too." Amethyst. "{Oh, Obsidyan! We have discovered that Amethyst was the purple mare!}" "SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU LITTLE ASSHOLE!" "You watch your tongue, you bitch! I ain't too old to kick your ass!" "Please, really, there's no need for all of this nonsense; fillies and gentlecolts, we're merely exhausted and somewhat chagrined from Amber's-" "Now, er, that's n-not right, uh, you know - you shouldn't, well, say such things, right, abou-" "YOU CAN BITE ME TOO, TWO-FER!" "How DARE you refer to us in such a manner, you persnickety pool of pus - you and your faulty brother are both wastes of horseflesh and rotten grey matter!" "YOU can GO to TARtarUS, you ASS!" "{Obsidyan! Obsidyaaaaaan!!! Speak to me, Obsidyan, PLEASE!}" Ha... so Obsidian had been right, even if off-hoovedly. But then, as soon as she had heard that Amy could use her magic, everything had become crystal clear. "I... l-love... you all..." And with that, Obsidian's eyes closed of their own volition. Oh, Cupcake... why did you have to aim for her jaw? Even talking was painful... ~>-<~ The library was in shambles. Everywhere she looked, Obsidian saw nothing but destruction; shelves torn apart, books in shreds, tables broken into pieces, chairs bent and splintered... it was as if a hurricane had made its way into her head, and had ravaged the little library completely, without removing the walls or ceiling - but leaving practically everything else broken, shredded and ruined. And seated in the very center of the devastation was Onyx - fully herself in her sleek, dark form - on her knees, sobbing loudly and pitifully into her own hooves. Dark mist was practically pouring from her eyes and the tip of her horn... but her sobs sounded as hopeless and exhausted as Obsidian's had, not too long ago. Considering all the throbbing that Obsidian had felt in her head lately, it was only to be expected that Onyx would be a rather unhappy mare at the moment. Still, Siddy hadn't expected such utter chaos in the halls of her mental library. Any desire she had to mock her older sister without mercy - starting with some congratulations for 'a well-executed plan to get rid of Sombra for good' - vanished from Obsidian almost immediately when she laid eyes on the pitiful, wailing creature the once-proud mare had become. Well, what was the worst thing that could happen to her in her own dreams? She made her way closer, to at least try to comfort Onyx with a pat on the back... yet Onyx flinched away from her before she could connect. "... i... i m e s s e d u p... s - s o b a d l y..." she said, so softly Obsidian could barely hear her. "... w h y... w h y c o u l d n t i j u s t... j - j u s t h a v e h i m B A C K ?" She sobbed anew into her hooves. "T h e w a y h e U S E D t o b e ! ?" she shrieked suddenly, now making very vocal, loud and heartbreaking sobs. "Er... the way he used to be? As Sombra or as the possessed King Sombra?" Obsidian asked carefully. Diamond hated the 'parasite', as he'd called it... but Onyx wanted to bring back the 'Umbral Empire' for him. What did this mare truly want from all of this? She finally looked up at Obsidian. Even though Onyx was supposed to be this pillar of villainous intensity... all Siddy could see was a mare who had been pushed to the brink and beyond, only to watch it all explode in her face. Yeah - rubbing it in would be a bit much; Onyx looked like she was already suffering enough. "... i... i w a n t..." she shut her eyes, then continued in a clearer voice, "... I wanted the stallion who I remember; the one who cared about me. The one who told me I could conquer the world, if I wanted to. The one who told me that he... t h a t h e..." She held her breath, trying not to break out into sobs again. "... there is... no hope, now... none... Father is gone, possibly forever... and it's ALL MY FAULT!" She threw her hooves to the floor in frustration, and simply began sobbing aloud again. "I failed him! I FAILED HIM! I was his daughter, and he loved me - AND I FAILED HIM!!!" The whole mess with their parentage - the person of their supposed 'maker' and the fact that he was possessed by some sort of ancient evil - was really confusing sometimes... not to mention the question of the Simulacrum Spell and what had happened from it. But for now, Obsidian only knew that she had a broken mare in front of her; Onyx was far too proud to pretend to be a crying ball of sadness. So she stepped in close, knelt down and wrapped her hooves carefully around Onyx, hugging her tightly. "Shhhhhhhh, dear sister... there is always hope." It felt really strange to be comforting Onyx, but... well, all things considered, it was a strange day. And Onyx, surprisingly, leaned into her embrace. The sobbing went on for a good while, no further words being spoken for a bit... and Siddy even got the unexpected reward of Onyx's hooves sliding around her barrel as well, squeezing tightly as she cried her eyes out in the middle of the ruined library. It felt like hours, but eventually her oldest sister's wailing wound down into occasional sniffles as she simply sat there, curled into Obsidian's embrace. "... i... i m s o r r y..." What? Did Onyx just- "... f o r... a l l o f i t." Wow. Just... wow. "O-oh, well, I... oh, I forgive you, sis - for everything you tried to do to me." Well, Butter Churn might have something different to say about that. "Do you... feel a bit better, now?" "... I... I should've... not just seen you... as the problem... but as a... a solution..." Onyx looked up at her with misty eyes. "But I kept blaming you, Obsidian... I kept putting the blame for my failure on you, because every time Father would-... w-would..." She hung her head. "I was there for every birth... every time. Every. Thrice. Damned. Time." She looked up at Obsidian again, so much sorrow in her muzzle. "... except for yours." "Well, everything could be better - especially if we would at least talk. And perhaps discuss this whole 'Umbral Invasion' idea you have?" Obsidian gave a half-shrug as she continued to hold her sister. "I mean, when we first met, I didn't even know that there was something inside our creator that apparently changed him..." In fact, Obsidian still had issues with it. Diamond kept calling the real Sombra 'Father'; Obsidian had never even met him before - she'd only known the vile and wicked King Sombra. He may have created them all, but... where did Sombra end, and King Sombra begin? "Yes... y-yes, I... I can do that much for you." Onyx sat upright, trying to regain a bit of her dignity... but it was obvious she wasn't quite the same mare she'd first met sitting on a throne of stone at the Black Pool. "What do you want to know, Obsidian? I'll..." she sighed resignedly, "... I'll tell you whatever I know, no lies, no fooling around anymore. I'm... done with that, now." Whatever she knew, eh? Maybe it was a bit too late, but hopefully Onyx would at least enlighten Obsidian with a few actual answers. "Okay, so the first question - what's the difference between Sombra's death after the Crystal Heart's blast, and his current situation? You were very keen to bring him back before, and now... well..." Onyx ran a hoof over her eyes to wipe away some of the residual tear-trails. "When the Crystal Heart blasted him, it was The Umbra who was fully in control; Father was his puppet already, and he was helpless to whatever it wished to do with his body... Father was nothing but his tool, a glove to touch the world with." "This time, I'd... I'd wanted to bring them BOTH back, so I could have a chance to separate them - don't you see all these miracles around us, Obsidian? Can you imagine what we might be able to accomplish with Umbral Magic and Modern Equestrian applications?" She sighed. "But, it... i-it was a pipe dream... I just never let myself see that. I wanted him back so badly, I was willing to bring IT back, as well - and honestly, once they were separated, I was going to use that vile thing to power a night-light battery." She gave a light smirk, but it died quickly... and was replaced with a cold seriousness. "And it was MY fault for choosing Amber as my second; I should have known the temptation was too great for her to resist; I thought she would have more willpower than that... but, to be fair, I also had NO IDEA she'd been creating a mental backdoor into an alicorn, all this time. That was diabolical of her." Well, fuck. "I stopped you then, Onyx - and I'll stop her now," Obsidian said with a ripple of determination, "and I'm glad you've come to the realization that bringing an ancient evil back to life is NOT a good idea. Does this also mean that you and I could possibly forge an alliance now... or do you still want to murder and eat all of my friends?" Onyx looked up at her for a moment, then sighed. "Obsidian... I still want to bring Father back, and I still want there to be an Umbral Empire..." She grew a ponderous look. "But maybe... maybe... it can be done..." she rolled her eyes, "without killing hordes of Equestrians, I suppose. IF we can figure out a way to do it." She now gazed at Obsidian with a slight grin. "Oh, and the Simulacrum Spell? I've got it - ALL of it - and it's yours whenever you need it - no strings attached. And Amber may be powerful... but I promise you, she doesn't have the sort of mind that I do." Wiping her eyes clear, she looked around at the destruction surrounding them both and nodded. "Well... I suppose I have work to do here, if I'm going to be the brains behind the Siddy Six; I might redecorate, though..." Onyx looked... different, now. She didn't feel as... desperate... as she had before, nor did she seem to be complaining or snarking off. Instead, she held out her forehooves and her eyes and horn began to glow. The debris in the blasted-out waste of a room began to hover and gather in a slow-moving whirlpool of clouds over their heads. As she watched, Obsidian saw broken things mended, bent things straightened and books reformed - then things began to drift back into place. And as a nice little side note, Obsidian's head had finally stopped throbbing. "Next question," Onyx said as she directed things, looking like some sort of conductor in the midst of directing her own orchestra. "Who is the last presence in my mind?" Obsidian almost instantly piped up. "Do you know what it could possibly be?" Onyx cast a look at her for a bit... then sighed and resumed her sorting. "Probably the same presence in all our minds, Obsidian - The Umbra itself." She continued to direct objects, making Siddy's sorting runs in the library look like foal's play in comparison. "We were all created on the Umbral Altars; that means we each have a piece of that vile thing inside us - and I have concluded that it's the connection he possibly uses to enter us for ressurrecton. And when I-" Onyx gave a visible shudder. "... when I experienced it, it was just a small sensation that just... grew. Instantly. As if he'd just teleported into m-" She shuddered again, and a few of the objects fumbled a bit. But she regained control, and kept going. "I think it wants to reclaim us, Obsidian... and I'm not ready to go just yet. Are you?" Well that was... unexpected. She'd thought it could possibly be Radiant Hope... or mayhaps a part of their other maker; after all, they were made out of a piece of his very soul, weren't they? The Umbra, however... "I'm ready to send that fucking thing back to the pits of the Tartarus it crawled out from," Obsidian replied with a deadly calm voice. But Onyx still wanted an Umbral Empire, eh? Did that mean she was simply going to accept that this thing might one day harvest them all? "Did you... ever have any dreams where you were in Sombra's body, looking through his eyes, maybe?" It was worth a shot. Onyx risked a look at her. "No... but I have had some dreams from the viewpoint of Radiant Hope herself. Not... often... but I certainly have in the past." She then blinked. "Why... are you dreaming that you're Sombra? Because that's something Peridot spoke of before..." What in Tartarus was going on here? "Peridot dreams about Sombra... and we two dream of Hope..." Was it because they were mares and Peridot was a stallion? But why were Hope's memories here in the first place? "That... surprises me." "You... you're dreaming about her as well?" The few things she held in the air with her magic crashed to the floor, and she trotted right over to Obsidian, excitement written all over her muzzle; it was the same expression as she'd seen when Onyx had felt their 'Father' returning; sheer wonder. It looked kinda weird on Onyx. "Did you dream about the altars? And the fight between them?" Onyx sounded desperate for answers, "And oh please, TELL ME you know where Whistlewhite took her, because I always wake up before that part!" Should she tell her? Should she keep it to herself? You know what..? Fuck it. Equestria was almost completely mind-controlled, and Obsidian had been beaten nearly to death; she could, at the very least, sate Onyx's curiosity. She told her older sister almost the entire last dream she'd witnessed - though she avoided mentioning The Moochick, however. If Onyx was able to see the scene, then she'd know that part anyway - and if she hadn't, well... there might have been a good reason. Onyx listened intently, interjecting when she couldn't understand, and also adding a few bits as well: The rune that Hope had recognized on the altar had translated to SACRIFICE, and the two of them had continued on to examine more of it, leading to the words SPELL, CAST and POWER being inscribed and studied. All of them were noted in Hope's Spellbook, supposedly. And surprisingly, Onyx knew another little tidbit that Obsidian truly didn't expect... "Now, would you like to know about the Kayfadd Spell?" she smirked. FINALLY! Obsidian eagerly nodded her head; those two had known it before they came to the altars - what could it possibly be? Onyx gave her youngest sister a bit of a grin. "Now, don't be upset... but it's not what you may think it is." She gestured with her hooves as she explained. "Radiant Hope, as an orphan in an empire that no longer cared about it's citizens, was always begging for food and whatnot. This problem doubled when Sombra began to join her - they tended to get chased off, as nobody wanted to give them any part of the precious little food available." The unicorn mare then grinned in spite of herself. "Hence, using her gifted magical knowhow, she created the Kayfadd Spell, as we know it... or K.F.A.D., as they did." She held up a hoof. "It stands for 'King For A Day'; the spell lasts for a full day, and while it's in effect, everyone you meet will be glad to share with you - a few bits, a loaf of bread, a few pieces of candy... not enough to break anyone's wallet, mind you, but enough for the two to survive on when the orphanage ran short on food." She spoke dramatically. "THIS was the spell Hope cast at the Umbral Altars on Father... and nothing happened. At first. But then, Sombra found himself in a number of advantageous positions, which eventually led to his leading the revolution against King Crest, overthrowing him, and being unanimously named King by those who he led. He was a glorious example of righteous nobility!" She then sighed mildly. "But, it was all due to a spell meant simply to feed a pair of hungry orphans. Imagine that." Interesting... "I'd think she'd have had better luck coming up with a spell that simply made food; I didn't suspect it would be a spell that could actually... control other minds," Obsidian admitted. "so, then... were YOU created by Radiant Hope, perhaps?" Onyx frowned and shook her head. "No... I was made by Father... we all were." Obsidian growled in annoyance. "Then who was the shard that she created using that stolen bit of Sombra's soul? It existed! I've seen it!" Not that Obsidian didn't consider making Sombra into a father without his approval and participation rather horrifying... though there was also the possibility that this new artificial pony was instantly killed in the process. Onyx looked at her. "Obsidian... Hope's spell failed." She looked down and seemed to actively try to recall what she could remember. "Hope had put everything together, but at the last second, Father stepped in and accidentally caused her to make a mistake during her conjuring - and it cost her life. YOU'VE seen it in her memories, right?" She sighed. "If he would have waited one more second... then Hope might still be alive today..." Then a sour scowl crossed her features. "Not that I miss her; I HATE Radiant Hope for what she did to Father." Well that was anticlimactic; Obsidian felt like a deflated balloon. Well, she didn't care much for Radiant Hope either, but she was still curious as to what had happened. "Oh," was all Obsidian could say in response. Onyx gave a slight grumble before she spoke up again "He spent the better part of his remaining existence trying to get her back... and THAT eventually cost him his body." She got up and began to pace as she talked. "Father was INTENT that he was going to find her, and he used the Umbral Altar to try to get her back... again, and again, and AGAIN..." Now she looked at Obsidian with a grim visage. "... which is how WE were created, Obsidian. All of us were the results of Father's attempts to ressurrect Radiant Hope... and each and every one of us is a FAILURE, a botched attempt to bring back the one pony he cared about." Her gaze went to the floor. "And I was there and aware for every one of them... except for mine, of course... and yours, because you were apparently a last minute attempt." Such a situation could explain why Obsidian apparently looked a lot like her. "Well, that could possibly explain why some of us dream of her memories. So it turns out that we have two parents, and not just a father," she said eventually, still rather disappointed. "Yes, it took two of them, so to speak, so I would assume she had a hoof in it... but I will never call her that - she did too much damage for me to look past..." Onyx grit her teeth for a moment, then gave a huff of a sigh. Regardless, first things first. And the firstest thing of all was... "So how do we stop our new enemy, then?" Onyx shook her head to clear it, then looked at Obsidian seriously. "Honestly? I've been too busy feeling sorry for myself to organize anything yet... but I think I might just be in the proper mindset now, so give me some time, and I might be able to come up with something..." She paused. "... and I already have something brewing... Obsidian, you're still waiting to hear from Twilight about the jail cell runes, yes? IF you can get those details to Quartz, he might be able to incorporate them into some outfits - some form of clothing - that might protect the wearer from Amber's influence." She grinned. "And that's just my first thought." So ask Quartz for assitance - got it. Too bad he didn't have the time to make them those superhero outfits! "So, Princess Twilight is still alive, then?" "Hmmm... as far as I know, she's locked her and her friends up somewhere... or killed them, but she's most likely holding onto them for leverage. Still, it means we'll have to gather together anyone who isn't affected, and try to see if there IS anything we can do." The library around them now was back into it's usual look... mostly. There were still slight signs of the earlier destruction, such as scuffs on the floor and a few marks on the walls... but now, it looked functional enough to be usable. Onyx walked over towards her desk, and wisps of shadow whirled around her as she did... "Now," said Miss Tome as she sat down, "genius takes time, and first things first - as long as you keep feeding me information as you learn it, I can work from here to put together a plan to get us out of this hole." She looked at her. "Your job is to stay alive, learn as much as you can, and wait for your opportunity to escape - and seeing as you're currently surrounded by our siblings, maybe try to recruit as many of them as you can to our cause..." She gave a light smirk. "Heh... our cause... that sounds... right." She picked up a sheet of paper, grabbed a pen with her magic, and began to write with the intensity of someone in the middle of an exam. Onyx was already hard at work on a plan... for some reason, it felt relieving, knowing that she was now working for Obsidian's side now. Maybe they had a chance after all? "Well, fine and good. So, anything else that's been bothering you, question-wise?" she asked while she got to work. Of course there was a small issue, here - Onyx's plans might possibly be an advantage to her more than Obsidian. However, as far as she was concerned, it was her only chance here. Alone, she wouldn't have a chance to defeat Amber.... Anything else to ask her... anything that bothered her... hmmmmm... "You... love us, sister. Don't you? Your siblings, I mean?" Miss Tome paused in her writing, but didn't look up. "... I care about them enough to have included them in my plans. I care enough to not have killed Amethyst and Tourmaline for their mistakes. I care enough to be sitting here right now, dead as a doornail, and try to come up with a plan to save us all." She sighed. "I suppose, in my own way, I do love them... everyone but you." She held up a hoof to stop any protests. "You're the only one I wasn't there for, the only one I never knew much about... so, naturally, I always had an aversion to you. Even in my plans, you weren't set to be released for years - and even then, I was working on a plan to put you back into shard form when it was done." "So yes, I suppose I DO love my siblings..." Now, she looked up with a slight grin. "And I believe you're starting to grow on me, Obsidian." Well, it was reassuring to know that, during what may end up being her next fight with Onyx, she might actually like her. "Let's hope we can keep it this way, my sister. Er... is there anything YOU want to know?" If she was done here, maybe there would be some time to chat with Peri or Ruby? "Yes, actually... a few questions, since you're offering." She continued to write as she spoke; just like her, always working. "I want to know how the lot of you managed to eascape my Nightmare Spell; it's been driving me crazy, trying to ponder how the lot of you miserab-..." She actually stopped herself, then chuckled. "Old habits; sorry... but I kept trying to think of what possible gap could I have left for you to exploit?" How did they..? Well, it had been a while, hadn't it? "First off, I'm too stupid and stubborn to give up. I can whine, complain and crave the sweet embrace of death... but I'm not really giving up. Second, the power of friendship; it may sound cheesy, but let's face the facts - Nightmare Moon, Discord, King Sombra, Chrysalis and so on... it really works. And as soon as I reached Cupcake, the results were obvious," Obsidian admitted. Though giving up when her body almost gave up didn't count. At the end of Amber's torture, she had been simply too exhausted to even think. "So... friendship got you out of it? Just... THAT?" Onyx scowled, "I was hoping it would be more complex than that, but... well, I suppose I have noted just how much Equestria shoves the concept down everyone's throats, so..." She sighed. "Beaten by being buddies... bleah." She wrote for a moment more, then spoke again. "Alright, here's one that's been baffling me... why am I in your head?" She gestured with her free hoof. "Ruby, Peridot and myself, the only three who have actually DIED, all stored safely away within your cranium... but why? And, perhaps MORE importantly, how?" To be fair, it was kind of worrying to Obsidian as well. "I suppose I, uh... am apparently made this way. A safe haven for my siblings' souls, right?" Meh - while all the rest of them got these awesome powers, she became some sort of a 'spirit dump'. Yippee. Skippy. Onyx gave her a skeptical look. "Riiiiiiiiiiiight... so you don't know either, then? That's bothersome - there should be an explanation for it, but one isn't available. Annoying." She murmured the last word to herself. "Well then, on to my next question..." She actually put the pen down and looked Obsidian squarely in the eyes. "Cupcake Sprinkles... WHY? Just explain to me why you found him to be... desirable... because honestly, I can't see it - I can't fathom how you could find yourself attracted to... him!" It was such an unexpected question that Obsidian stared blankly at Onyx for a moment, not believing her own ears. When she realized that she didn't imagine it, she chuckled. "He's kind, pleasant, knows when and how to help me and, overall, embodies everything that I lacked, a thousand years ago." Onyx facehoofed, then gave her a sardonic look. "But he's obnoxious! He won't stop talking, he actively tries not to make sense, and he's... he's like a big colt! How can you... I mean, I can't... you..." She closed her eyes and sighed. "... fine. Since I've never experienced anything like... love... before, then I suppose I'll just have to take your word for it. Not like I'll ever know what it's like... being dead and such... I may have to find myself living vicariously through you." Onyx shrugged. "Not that I'll miss things like pain, and starving, and the need for sleep..." Her muzzle fell for just a moment. "... though there are things I'll miss..." "Hey, if everything goes right, you will live again." Obsidian noticed this small admission that there were things that Onyx missed. It would probably take some time to accomplish, as she really wanted to bring Ruby back first... but Onyx obviously had her place in the proverbial queue. Peridot... well, he didn't - unless they found a way to get him back into the world without that infernal pain in his head. Onyx shook herself out of it and continued writing. "Alright, then... if I'm going to come up with a plan, I'll need to know what resources I'll have available; who is going to be a part of your little Fan Club? I need names, so that I can research them in your head, and figure out where they'll fit best. This means MORE than just your..." She paused. "While I'm on the subject, who came up with such a ridiculous title as The Siddy Six?" "I have no idea! The name just started to appear everywhere! Suddenly, everycreature knew it!" At least they could both agree that it was utterly ridiculous. "Okay, so... Markannus the changeling... our other siblings, of course - including Amethyst, who became a hero on her own, as you've no doubt noticed. Lemon Custard, Peppermint Patty and the rest of the Pie family... and it would be good to find Midnight's whereabouts as well..." It had been a while... Obsidian really felt as if she'd saved him from his possession at least a few years ago. "Markannus... was he the one who was injured, going after Sapphire? Hmmm... it'd be best if I knew his current condition, but noted. Our siblings... well, they DO count, yes. However, I wouldn't be too certain on their battle readiness; as you've seen, they hardly agree on anything. It's one of the reasons I HAD to be so hard on them... if nobody takes charge, they devolve into arguements and squabbles." She gave Obsidian a pointed look. "Remember that." She then pondered a moment. "The Pies... yes, as I recall, they were most effective at opening a path through the Umbrals. Granted, Amber might be expecting that, but she wouldn't expect us to expect her expecting us..." She wrote a bit more. "Midnight Star, I'm afraid, has seemingly fallen off the edge of the world; Amber and I BOTH had been looking to find him... MY assumption is that he's in hiding - hopefully, somewhere YOU don't know about." She sighed, but kept writing. "And... yes, it was an underhooved act, relaying everything you learned back to her. It was also completely unexpected - we BOTH thought I was simply dead, and that was it. It took a bit to realize I wasn't gone yet - that's why it took a while for me to manifest." She glanced up at her sister. "Getting Luna to stifle your dreams didn't help, by the way." Working again, she got up and made her way over to her desk, took another notebook from a drawer, and took up another pen to write in it with. Now, she was doing double the writing... was she a workaholic? "But still, I... I'll attempt to make up for it here. Besides..." Her eyes flashed red for a moment. "... I WANT AMBER TO KNOW... I WANT HER TO KNOW IT WAS ME WHO HELPED STOP HER. THAT SHE WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS. NOT FOR A SECOND." "Dear sister of mine, Amber will pay - in spades. After all, I liked this tooth," she said as she checked it with her tongue. Maybe Diamond would be able to regrow it... though obviously, her ribs were the first priority. "Princess Luna was also promising a batpony armada for us." Onyx's eyebrow raised. "A Thestral Army? That will be useful indeed... More jotting, more writing... and now, with a small notepad added to the mix. "Not to mention the princesses themselves... though, I have to wonder if they're even capable of helping any further than they already have; rumour has it that they were both curiously absent from many of Equestria's major threats, particularly during Twilight Sparkle's rise to power..." Onyx scoffed. "My excuse was that I was quite busy... I wonder if either of them can say the same? Eh, no matter - I'll put them down as a 'mayhaps', and we'll work with it from there." Now, there were no less than five different things hovering about 'Miss Tome' that were being written on, not including the one in front of her. "This is a good start - something to work with that I can slide into place... something new, after almost five years of writing out the same plan. I must admit, I'm actually looking forward to it." She now looked up at Obsidian... and honestly, genuinely smiled. "Obsidian-" ~>O<~ "... better be working! This hurts like TARTARUS!" "{YES! Yes, it is working! Obsidyan is alive!}" "... rrrrrgh... mmmmmmph..." "Keep holding out!" Obsidian awoke to what sounded like her siblings... struggling? And more importantly, she awoke to find that she was in NO pain whatsoever. Her flank, her hooves, her tooth... everything was as it should have been, nothing out of place. And no pain! "We... are... NOT... pleased... with this... for the... proverbial... record..." Would it be possible to make her dreams end a little less abruptly? Maybe some kind of dream training, to be sure that nothing short of a magical missile could wake her up suddenly enough to force her to leave a conversation in the middle of it? It was probably somewhat rude to Onyx... But hey, hello again, tooth - Obsidian was missing you! Wait... waaaaiiiit... what were the others doing? Obsidian opened her eyes, both curious and worried at what might be occurring. Obsidian herself was surrounded by a white aura of magic - a bright one - and she could feel the unmistakable tingle of Diamond's Healing Spell coursing through her. The aura was being cast through a beam from the little stallion's horn... ... and all of her other captured siblings, all of them, were straining and pushing against the restraint rings they had on their own horns while they cast their own magic onto Diamond. Her siblings - Quartz, Opal, Aquamarine, Tourmaline, and even Amethyst - were all lending their power to the little stallion, so that his healing spell could reach her. Diamond began to cry as he saw Siddy' eyes open. "{Obsidyan! Obsidyan! Oh, Obsidyan - you had died! You ceased to breathe after you said goodbye, and my magic couldn't reach you, and I panicked, and-}" "And then WE stepped in... and managed to... make it happen," Quartz added as he continued to struggle. "{Yes! If they had not helped me, I would not have reached you in time! Oh, Obsidyan!}" he gushed, wiping away tears that simply kept coming as he looked at her. Obsidian's heart sunk quite a bit as she heard Diamond's words. While she was initially in a pretty good mood after waking up, after her nice chat with Onyx and supposedly surviving Amber's torturous game, his words hit her consciousness like a stone. She had... died? She could only stare at them all with visible shock in her eyes; it was quite a lot to digest, to be fair. Diamond gave a cry, and his beam of magic broke away from her; he and the others all collapsed in their cages, all at the same time. "Oh... oh that was dreadful," Quartz groaned as he got up and dusted himself off. "But TOTALLY worthwhile," Tourmaline grinned at her. "{And we have Obsidyan back! Oh, I am SO thankful for all of your help - thank you! Oh, I am so... so glad...}" Diamond slowly sat himself down on the floor of his cell, leaning against the bars as he panted. "We are STILL uncertain as to why we participated in this," Opal Lapo said, her red eyes staring at Obsidian. Obsidian pointed her hoof at all of them in turn, her mind going completely blank. She'd died? Her friends killed her by accident? And she survived only because her siblings helped to heal her? "I... beat three members of the Siddy Six... without magic," she stated blankly. Was she bragging or complaining? Both? Well, Tourmy already got defeated by one member of their group... it probably meant that, as a villain, Obsidian could be the most succesful of them all. "Th-thank you, my brothers and sisters..." She was somewhat speechless. Diamond just smiled tiredly at her. Quartz gave her a polite bow and a grin. Lapo stared for a moment... then her eyes went blue, and Opal simply stared at the floor, embarrassed. "You're in the middle of this whole thing - we weren't gonna let you off the hook that easily," Tourmaline quipped, the look of utter relief on his muzzle plain and evident. Aquamarine simply shrugged. "Look, I did it because, for some reason, she started crying... and I've never seen her do that before." He pointed a hoof at Amethyst, who was turned and facing away from everyone. The purple suit she wore had been stripped bare of everything but fabric - even her boots were gone. She looked as though she were waiting for her execution... and with Amber in charge, she may not have been far from the truth of it. "Whatever you did to Amethyst," Aqua warned, "it scares me senseless - just don't do it to me, and we'll get along just fine." "Oh, you should have seen what I did with Onyx..." Obsidian mused, rather surprised at the current turn of events. Her friends killing her, Amethyst crying, Onyx smiling, apologizing and hugging. "My apologies, Aqua - but I'm afraid you've already been infested with 'Obsidianism'." At this rate, they could possibly have an almost-normal family, one day. She rose up onto all four legs, enjoying the ability to walk without problems once again, and walked to the bars of her cage. "Amy? Sister? I'm sorry I didn't listen to your last command..." Don't die and don't be stupid, right? Amethyst didn't say anything; she simply glanced over her shoulder at Obsidian - and she could certainly see the traces of tears on her muzzle as she just stared back, her expression unfathomable. "Obsidian," Lapo suddenly spoke up, "we would like a word with you... if, er, that would be, ah, okay, hmm?" Opal finished. Wow... Amy had apparently gotten rather used to her, it seemed. "Of course, Opal - what is it?" Opal looked... strange. One of her eyes was a blood red color, but the other was a cool, soft blue. "We are NOT pleased that we ended up in this precarious situation... but, um, we still aren't sure, um, oh dear, about you yet, sorry, er... y-yes." She gestured to the others. "If you can, ah, get us all to, mmm, do what we just did... then perhaps there is further worth to your presence beyond this infuriating setback..." "Opal, for Darkness' sake, this is the one who beat Onyx! Who bested Father! She revealed me, and she outright stopped you..." Quartz spoke up, "do you honestly believe she isn't worth saving?" Opal/Lapo seemed uncertain. "We, ah, still don't, ooh, know just yet... yet we are observing closely, even at this particular moment." Strange... VERY strange. So her issue wasn't a simple binary system, where only one side of a personality could assume control? Not something she ever really expected from her dual-sister... but then, they were all rather unique, right? "Oh, don't worry about anything, sister Opal; soon enough, you'll be back in your factory... though I would appreciate it greatly if you wouldn't build any more giant mechanical spiders... or at least make one for me first..." Obsidian looked around the small stone room, counting the cells. "Wait... where's Sapphire, if I may ask? And now that I think about it, why are you here, Opal? I thought your battle with me would have been more appreciated by Amber?" "Amber has decided that our assistance was no longer viable; now that she possesses the practically unlimited power of an alicorn, she doesn't find us worth keeping," Quartz told her, "so she has said that she plans to have us as 'entertainment'... whatever horrific torture that may end up being..." "So in other words," Aquamarine snarked as he looked at Siddy, "you pretty much pulled my flank from the frying pan, just to be thrown straight into the fire? Lovely. Great way to welcome me back to the group-" "Family," Amethyst said softly. "What now?" Aqua put a hoof behind his ear. "I can't hear too good - what did you say?" [SILENCE. The One In Charge wants to speak... and that means the lot of you will shut up, now.] Well, that situation in Clearwater wasn't exactly Siddy's fault, was it? Besides, Amber could have ended up dragging Aquamarine out of his forest hideout anyway, so... The one in charge, hunh? Obsidian could only hope that - soon enough - Amber would join the choir of voices in her head... utterly and completely powerless. The others got quiet... and, Obsidian noticed, they also had scowls on their muzzles - even Diamond. [Good. Now, this is the part where I tell each of you... oh, still alive, Obsidian? - each of you that I no longer have need of your services, and that I will be presenting each of you with a fine 'seperation package'...] There was a giggle in their heads. [... as in, to separate you from your lives, of course.] "Amber, please," Quartz said with obvious disdain, "we all know you're just an opportunistic thief who spit on her family once she gained control... even Onyx had principles." [And so do schools - and yet, neither one are in charge here - I AM. Now, wouldn't you all like to hear the wonderful game I have planned for you?] Groans came from everyone gathered. [Aw, I knew you would! Well, it just so happens that my new captial has its' own coliseum - and I am just overjoyed to put it to use! So, I'll be pairing you all off with another sibling, and each pair will fight each other for their freedom.] She gave a low, ominous chuckle. [To the DEATH, of course.] Tourmaline rolled his eyes. "Of course." Amber was a rather bored pony, apparently... and rather boring, herself; without her mind powers, she'd be merely a petty, stupid idiot - too bad that she'd gotten the most useful magic of them all. "Oh, come on..." Obsidian groaned. Fight to the death, fight to the death, fight to the death... what was her ultimate end-goal, anyhow? Giving herself a sore ass from sitting on the throne all day? [You know... the less fun you make this for me, the more I have to invent my own fun. And I'm sure you know what happens when I have to invent my OWN fun, don't you?] Tourmy sighed loudly. "Yeah, that's how you end up with a plunger handle shoved up your ass, saying 'I just wanted to know what it felt like', right? Look, Amber, quit screwing with us; we're all worn-out, and we jus-" >POP< And Tourmaline was gone. [And so, we have our first contestant! And who else would be the perfect foil for dearest Tourmaline, buuuuut...] >POP< And Amethyst was gone. "{Oh, no...}" Diamond gasped. [And after that round, Quartz versus Opal!] "Uh, ah, n-no, please, umm, ah... you wretched, fetid little stain on the rectum of LIfe!" Quartz just looked ill. [Then, it's Big Bad Sister Obsidian versus Aquamarine, The Killing Machine!] Aqua simply hung his head and groaned. "Well that's just fucking peachy," he muttered, worry and frustration both writ large on his muzzle. [Now... five minutes to magic time, so behave yourselves, you little shits... and I'll be right back!] Part of the wall next to them suddenly rearranged itself in a glow of Flur's stolen magic, and Obsidian and her remaining siblings could now see the arena clearly; it was a vast atrium, surrounded by risen and separated seats of stone in concentric circles, blocked from the area itself by a low stone wall. The ceiling was quite a ways up, and was decorated with cracks and missing chunks. Around the edges, there seemed to be ancient stains of unknown origin... though, knowing what sort of books the Umbrals used to write, Obsidian could probably take a fairly accurate guess that it wasn't old tomato paste. Obsidian didn't even know how to comment on that, to be fair. She was rather curious about the amphitheatre where they were; they were all in a city which had remained hidden from the world at large for ages... and DAMNATION, she couldn't even get a decent peek at it! "I'm starting to think that some of the ponies in our family line have some serious issues, you know? The good news is that it should be possible to recreate us..." The Simulacrum Spell might come in handy earlier than expected. "If there's any of us left to do the rebuilding... unless Amber manages to find a way to keep ressurrecting us for her cruel and sick amusement." Quartz shuddered. "I would hate to think of what that mare would do if she had access to Necromantic Magic like that..." "Oh, I can tell you what she'd do, Quarty," Aqua said, "she'd kill the entire world, then bring them back as zombies for her to play with... or worse." Quartz gave a distaseful sigh. "As uncouth as that sounds, I won't argue it - after all, I respect my elders." Aqua's eyes narrowed. "Yes, laugh it up, funny fellow... and while you're at it, you should get yourself ready to either slaughter your sister, or give up your life." "Well," the courtly stallion smirked at Obsidian, "wouldn't be the first time I'd offer to give my life for a sibling." "{Obsidyan, what are we going to do?}" Diamond looked at her hopefully, "{Do you have a plan to get us out of here?"} It seemed as if it was time to tell them a bit of the honest truth - of course, by definition, the truth was already honest. "Onyx and Peridot are doing the thinking, at the moment... so, let's try not to kill each other, okay? Diamond, can you do anything about the bars in your cell?" Diamond looked at her grimly. "{Unfortunately no, I do not think I am capable of such - Jade was the escape artist, not I.}" Opal simply stared. "You're, umm... you're having, er, dead ponies, ah, doing your planning for you, what, really?" Diamond looked to her. "{Oh, yes - she holds our dear Sister Ruby, as well! Obsidyan is our safety net, as she will catch us when we fall!}" "I wasn't thinking about picking the lock or anything as such, Diamond - just give them a bit of a kick, perhaps? You are exceptionally strong, brother. And yes, Opal - each of my siblings souls seem to end up within me if anything goes... er, south? I think it was south..?" Ah, idioms... the bane of her vocabulary. The blonde mare balked, her red eyes wide with disbelief. "You... you simply cannot DO such unbelievable acts as that! It rivals the very laws of nature!" Quartz shrugged. "State the impossibility of it all you want to; it doesn't negate the fact that it seems to be honestly happening. I can only imagine the stress of what poor Obsidian is feeling, having to house all three of them like that. I feel for you, my dear, truly." "Fascinating..." Opal's eyes shifted suddenly to blue, "... utterly, um, fascinating, yes." [FILLIES AND GENTLECOLTS... WELCOME to the First Annual KILL YOUR SIBLINGS CELEBRATION! There might not be another after this one... ooh, unless I find a way to bring you back for MORE fun!] Quartz shuddered again. [But, for now, we have tonight's first matchup! In the red corner, hailing from the Crystal Empire... it's the queer-bait who NEV-er LO-ses his COOL!] Aqua smirked at that. "He still does that when he gets mad? Some habits die hard, I guess..." [I give you... TOURMALIIIIIIIIIIINE!] A >POP< of magic, and Tourmaline was standing in the center of the ring, looking about for some form of help in his situation. He looked a bit harried; considering his opponent, it came as no surprise. "Oh, Tour - I don't know if I can even bear to watch this bloody spectacle," Quartz said as he looked away from the fight. If she was a betting mare, Obsidian would surely choose Amethyst as the possible winner of this brawl. However, it was more in her best interest to prevent this fight - especially as she didn't even get the chance to properly thank Amy for her rescue - twice, due to her help in Manehattan. And... well, the fact she had her magic and didn't slaughter them all in their sleep. "Opal, our very existence rivals the laws of nature, in case you haven't noticed." Their hopes were now in Diamond's little hooves... Diamond was looking at the bars carefully. He slowly reached up and, using his hooves, he pushed on the bars tenatively. And his cage shrank, just a bit. Not noticing the fact, Diamond pushed at the bars... making the ceiling of his cage grow even closer to him. But when he tried to bend them open and the cage closed up by nearly half its' current size, he noticed that. For all his experimenting, now Diamond was in a cage that was more the size of a large oven - he didn't even have room to walk around anymore. "{Obsidyan, I...}" Mundy hung his head in shame. "{Sister Amber is very clever; I am sorry.}" [And in the blue corner, also hailing from the Crystal Emprie, she's the Mare of Mayhem, the Bitch of Beatings... AMETHYYYYST!] Another >POP<, and now Amethyst was now standing on the other end of the arena. She looked around a bit, trying to take in everything she was seeing. Then, her eyes landed on Tourmaline... The two of them just looked at each other with a bit of confusion shared between them, trying to figure out what was going on. [And, just because Tourmaline wants to act like a snarky bitch and such, I have a special surprise for Amethyst...] Another, smaller flash went off next to Amethyst, and lying on the ground was a very familiar-looking blade. [Appearing directly from Twilight Sparkle's vault... it's Amethyst's FOCI DAGGER!] Amy looked down at the dagger in shock, while Tourmy looked on in despair as she slowly wrapped her magic around it, lifted it into the air to examine it closely. Then, she looked up at Tourmaline... and her lips slowly curled into a wicked smile.