Still thunderstruck, Peavine took the key in his magic and used it to unlock the door, and after a thorough look inside, he nodded to Siddy and Gypsy, and made his way in.
The lab itself wasn't huge, but everything it had was top-of-the-line, and it was neat as a pin - a place for everything, and everything in its' place. Rows of glass beakers and shelves labeled with notebooks, test tubes of varying sizes, and various other lab implements. Gypsy kept gazing around at the lab itself, while Peavine crept his way through to the door on the other side of the lab, presumably where it would lead where they needed to go.
The truth was, Obsidian had only taken the key because she thought it would be useful later; in any other circumstance it would be called 'theft', to be completely and utterly fair. Luckily in this situation, she could pass it off as a 'requisition of strategical resources'.
Too bad they couldn't take Patty or Opal with them, as Obsidian was sure they would find some sort of use for all the equipment here. Sadly, she had no idea about them at the moment, so she followed Stonewall... and she remembered something important. She used her magic to try to form a small ball of water, held within a magical field. The water ball actually gathered from the nearby sink basin, rolling out of the tap to bring about a nice-sized ball of liquid. Smart thinking.
Sure enough, the lab opened into the hallway, which most certainly was the sight she had seen in the cameras underneath Sugarcube Corner; the walls were a bit melty, the light sconces were dark, and the floor held the path Jade had taken from the holding room he'd been placed in.
And where the Princess of Love met her tragic end.
Gypsy manuevered them through the hall, avoiding the worst of the heat... but Obsidian got the impression they should finish this business as quickly as possible, whether they avoided the weirdly hot spots or not. What sort of terrible power had been placed upon her poor brother?
"Peavine, here - you're a bit dehydrated," Obsidian murmured, levitating the ball of water closer to him.
The guardpone looked at her, surprised again. "... y-yes. Th-..." and he actually seemed to lighten his expression a bit, "... thank you." It wasn't a smile, but it was a start. He drank a portion of it, careful to sip instead of gulp. Gypsy, meanwhile, looked directly at her and smiled kindly, nodding his head in approval.
Reaching what was left of the doors, they managed to avoid the debris enough to at least see inside before they moved.
It was a cylendrical chamber with a high ceiling. The walls had one particular feature to them; lines of glyphs in neat patterns circled the room in bands. In the center was a reinforced platform/table, and it looked as though it had once held a stand of some manner. Now, the tabletop was covered in metal goop, hardened again into the likeness of melted candles. The table was slightly bowed in the middle, as if it had tried to melt - and there was a thick, hot and humid air in the room. The floor in here had four heavy hoofprints on the floor in front of the table, where Jade had first stepped to the ground.
And lying behind the table, on the floor, was a golden tiara, stained with soot... the rest of which must have been behind the table itself, thankfully out of sight.
Obsidian couldn't believe her eyes. Not the destruction - that was to be expected, as she saw the terrifying effects of Jade's curse for herself. However, she didn't expect...
"... is this all? Please tell me that either of you can see more than I currently can," she practically pleaded to Peavine and Gypsy.
Stonewall Peavine stepped over the metal sludge and into the chamber itself, and made his way around the table, hesitantly. In only a few steps around it, he squeezed his eyes shut and a look of anguish crossed his features. "... sweet Twilight's crown, no..."
He visibly shuddered, then turned and vomited up all the water he'd just drank. He hung his head for a moment, coughing lightly, before wiping his mouth and looking up at them. "I... I shall gather..." he closed his eyes again, "... j-just let me handle this. Please."
Gypsy nodded, then led Siddy back into the hallway a bit, his ears drooping but concern on his muzzle as he got both of them away from what would certainly be a grisly task for the guardpony. So Obsidian's worry that the crown was the only thing left of Cadence was... not exactly correct - much to Stonewall's anguish.
"Let's hope that, among the other things in the laboratory, there is something to... t-to collect her remains in," Obsidian said with a dead, emotionless voice. It was apparently a good thing that they brought Peavine along with them; she didn't even want to think what she would find there.
Even the sight of Cadance's crown was a bit too much, as it was just so... final.
Gypsy reached over and put his forearms around her, giving her a gentle embrace. "It is f-fuel for the f-f-fire that will push us t-to victory against Amber; she w-w-will regret this act, among c-countless others... let th-this not become a constant p-pain in the heart as much as a f-fire in one's belly to see j-justice done."
Roughly ten minutes (and another round of puking) later, Stonewall Peavine came out from the room, looking quite emotionally drained. With him, he had a bundle on his back, wrapped in his own Royal Guard cape; it had been neatly packed and tied, but it seemed there was barely enough for half a pony there. He said not a word to them, but gave a baleful and harrowed glance towards them as he passed, headed for the doors, no longer caring if anything would be waiting for them.
"Amber... she will pay for the loss of Princess Cadance... and for forcing Flurry to watch it happen... and for using Jade to do it," Obsidian promised - herself, Gypsy, the entire world. Oh, there were already other crimes Amber would certainly have to answer for - but at the moment, this one was the most important. And it was Obsidian's task to be sure that she wouldn't commit any more.
She turned and quickly followed Stonewall as he returned with... such a terribly small something packed away in his cape. Obsidian was regretting her earlier worries now - it would have been much, much better if Cadance would simply have turned completely to ash - this was ...brutal.
They took the same path back, carefully winding their way around the debris, then through the garden, and back into the palace itself. Neither Gypsy nor Peavine said a single word as they went on their silent sojourn.
Coming to the rooms, they made their way into the Pinkie Suite once more. Again, the mass of sticky notes drew her attention; how much did the pink mare know, and just how much of a prophet was she? One of the notes came unglued and fell to the floor as they entered the room:
[Don't forget THE P.P.L. in the closet!]
...oh? What was this? The note was so, well, generic that Obsidian had overlooked it at first. "Go ahead and leave first, please - I think I need to check something out," she said as she looked around to find the closet. What could be this 'P.P.L' be?
Right now, any distraction from her current, grim reality was welcome.
The closet turned out to be the cabinet which was painted to look like a giant present, complete with a bow on top. The garish colors were bright and happy; not at all matching to the current mood.
When she opened it up, there could be no mistaking what the P.P.L. was: There were a few dresses, some boxes of peanut butter cookies and a comically overly-large Stetson hat. Those were the only other things present in the closet aside from the thing that Siddy first laid eyes on.
It looked like a large metal tube that had been mostly flattened, and had a cannister-looking thing attached to it. There was a harness strapped to it that looked like it would fit on any pony - even holes for wings - and it was shiny and clean, as if it had never been used before.
Across the side read the following words: [Pinkie Pie's Party Pizza Launcher]
Miss Pie was the best mother-in-law in the world - Obsidian had no idea how it was possible that she got her hooves on a harness, or how she might have smuggled it into the castle, or how she knew to make a note - but did it matter? No, not at all; at the moment, the only important thing was the fact that she would get an opportunity to test this device. Obsidian quickly and enthusiastically tried to put it on.
It was simple enough in its' design that she could easily do so, and it felt like it was made for her. It sat comfortably on her back, and the straps in front made sure it was tight enough not to slide around on her. When it was done, there wasn't much extra weight on her, and a retractable mouth-trigger was next to her jaw; one bite would probably fire it, from the looks of it.
Gypsy watched her with interest... but Peavine just watched the floor.
It felt good on her back, like she had a weapon of her own now; gun-pones, beware... Obsidian had pizza pies of DOOOOOOOM! And of course, it could be a pretty dangerous weapon on its own - especially if those pizzas were still FROZEN - but perhaps it would be possible to load something else into it... or maybe ask Patty or Opal to take a peek. It wasn't quite enough firepower to defeat Amber outright, but it should at least make fighting a bit easier - and hopefully, more entertaining.
Then, sadly, she reminded herself of their task. "So, Mister Stonewall... do you want me to levitate you down, to keep your... um, c-cargo... safe?" she asked, embarrassed.
The guard stallion held up a hoof. "No. I chose this burden; I will see it to the end, alone, as my honor within the Royal Guard demands that I do this duty for... for her." He then carefully took hold of the ladder and climbed his way down.
Gypsy offered Obsidian to go next, as he would have the easiest time getting down, and wanted to offer his friend help, should she need it.
Obsidian waited carefully for Stonewall finish descending. "Yes, thank you, Gypsy... though I'm not sure if you'll be able to catch me if I fall down with this thing strapped to me," she offered him an uneasy smile. Maybe she should just jump down instead of bothering with the ladder?
Gypsy gave her some assistance, but the ladder wasn't as difficult to negotiate as she'd thought it would be; Pinkie had put it in to use for climbing, so it was pony-friendly... more or less.
As they regrouped and made their way through the tunnel, Peavine poked his head up a bit and looked around at where they were. He was obviously curious, yet he kept quiet while they made their way through the passageway. Reaching the other end, they came back out into the warehouse, out of the same fridge they'd first entered. Gypsy closed the doorway behind them, and Peavine looked around with a puzzled look on his muzzle.
"It's Sugarcube Corner," Obsidian informed him, wondering what could they do with Cadance's remains. Bury her, yes, that was obvious... but what were the ceremonies involved? The habits to be followed? Traditions to be observed? She knew about none of them, so she simply had to rely on her friends in this case; it certainly didn't help that the fallen princess wasn't going to receive a burial worthy of her status.
"What will we do with the princess? We're going to leave Ponyville soon, and I'm sure we could try to find a proper coffin while we gather supplies for our expedition," Siddy suggested quietly.
"Sugarcube Corner?" Peavine said incredulously, "There's a breach in the palace's defenses HERE!?" He now seemed to take on more of an expression she was used to seeing on him. "When all of this is done with, I will be making a report on this, and we'll have it sealed up immediately," he spoke to himself, "there won't be anymore breaches like this, I guarantee..."
Gypsy simply rolled his eyes and looked to Obsidian. "There are w-w-ways to proceed w-with burial that th-this one is familiar w-with; there can be a p-prayer spoken, a-a-and a ritual to perform which is t-to put her soul at rest... until we can inter her p-p-properly within the Crystal Empire."
Good luck with that, Peavine; Obsidian would be quite surprised if Miss Pie had only one way to smuggle herself into Twilight's Palace. "So... you'll take care of her soul. Good. But what about her body?"
Peavine looked over at them. "The diamond dog speaks true of what can be done to quell her lost soul, but until we arrive within the Crystal Empire, her remains are to be placed somewhere safe; I am aware of burial and rites criteria, so I am certain I can find a suitable container somewhere in this... this..."
He shook his head in wonder. "HOW is all of this connected to Sugarcube Corner? The building isn't that big, so..." He puzzled a moment, then looked at them both. "... underground?"
Gypsy nodded in confirmation, and Peavine nodded as well. "Hmmmmmm... very interesting; I believe Royal Guard Security will be having a long and detailed chat with Miss Pie, once this is done with." She had to give some credit; he was certain that Equestria would win out, it was just a matter of when. The confidence in the eventual win may have been a bit arrogant, but at the same time it spoke of his loyalty and trust in his nation.
Gypsy looked at him and nodded. "This one offers t-t-to assist in locating a p-proper container, if you w-wish?"
The unicorn looked at him, then at Obsidian... then, with a sigh, all that bravado simply leaked out of him. "Yes, yes... very well. As long as she doesn't end up in a bread box, then I'm sure it will suffice."
Gypsy looked to Obsidian. "And where are y-you headed now, Ob-bsidian?"
"Just remember to put a proper sign on whatever you find to store her in, Gypsy - we don't want anypony to find her by accident," she warned them - just in case. She doubted that Gypsy would forget so important a detail as that, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"As for myself, I will... uh, I will... will..." she pondered. They had to go on an expedition to get back to Washington's hideout, and to do that they had to prepare. What would they need? Perhaps she should take Onyx's shard chunks that she'd had sent from the museum in Manehattan? She could also check to see if Torumaline had left Onyx's notebook in his room.
And, considering they were headed to Washburn's... "I will talk with Cup and the others to see if they know the whereabouts of Butter and her family."
Gypsy nodded to her, then walked next to Peavine as he began to search the shelves. "What sort of organization is this? This is hardly alphabetical order..."
As they began to wander the shelves, Obsidian made her way back into the wrehouse proper, and reached the back area with the couch and the fireplace.
Sitting on the couch was Thunderclap Dash, who was busily eating a plate of what looked like some of the breakfast she'd made earlier - the pegasus seemed to be enjoying it just fine, with a few pancakes still waiting to be eaten.
Over in the corner, there was a line of armored pieces that were on some of the tables; Stalwart Stance was busy polishing them up, making sure they shined properly. Neither one of them seemed to see her - but then, there were a few other ponies here as well that she didn't recognize, too.
Other ponies were all around her, and here she was with her mane dirty. Damn her cooking adventures! She needed a shower, quickly! But even dirty, Obsidian was still looking around rather curiously; she was well aware that she didn't know too many ponies here, but it was a flaw she hoped to fix, sooner or later.
And then Peridot had attacked... and then she had to deal with smuggling Diamond and the rest out... and then Quartz... and then Aqua... and then...
Obsidian really felt as if her 'civilian' life had happened over a thousand years ago, and had lasted for all of a week or two, at best. She walked straight to Stalwart. "Pssst..." she said softly in the little mare's direction, which instantly caught her attention.
Wart glanced over her shoulder at Obsidian, and turned to give her a proper bow. "Good morning, Lady Siddy," she said, as per her usual businesslike manner, "I have managed to ensure each suit of armor displayed here is in working condition, complete and presentable. There is alos a table with bladed weapons, which I have oiled and properly sharpened for use."
She then walked over and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d up to take hold of a dollop of dried batter on Obsidian's mane, gently removing it. "And your breakfast was quite a hit with the refugees, by the way."
Refugees? Breakfast? Considering her cooking skills, she expected that at least some of the survivors wouldn't see the light of day. "When did they get here? And is there anypony I know among them?" she asked with interest.
Wart glanced over her flank at the others milling about, then looked back at her friend. "I do not believe so, Lady Siddy - there are some here that none of us know, yet they know of others. After..."
She sighed, then continued. "... after our attempt on your life, and we reconveined here in Ponyville, we came across a number of ponies who were not under mind control and were quite lost. It was Cupcake and Gypsy who begged to allow them to stay here, and the rest of us agreed. They are mostly staying in the warehouse, as there is not enough room above for such a gathering; I believe that, at last count, we have taken in thirty-fi-..."
"Thirty-seven," Clap corrected through a mouthful of pancake, and waved at Siddy.
"... thirty-seven others, including four yaks, two kirin, another diamond dog and a dragon. There is enough food in storage for a number of parties, so we are distributing it among them. I am certain they will be sick of cake before the week is out."
Obsidian looked at her with shock. Thirty seven other creatures? "... a kirin? A-and a dragon?" she asked with incredulity in her voice. "That's a small army, to be honest - especially after our successful recovery of the anti-mind control ward glyphs."
Wart actually gave a smirk. "A clever deception, on Amber's part - she may have the power of an alicorn, yet she has none of the control; she managed to take the minds of important figures, yet she could not extend her control to EVERYONE, as she had tried to lead us to believe; there are pockets of refugees all over Equestria."
Clap swallowed her mouthful of pancake and added, "Yeah, I found 'em while I was searching for you, Siddy! And they say there's more in a number of locations - Manehattan, Deltrot, Appleloosa, Los Pegs... and guess who's been coordinating the refugees?"
Wart nodded. "Lady Luna has been guiding them through their dreams, which has proven to be effective against Amber's eavesdropping; there is a gathering of around six thousand creatures in hiding at the moment... and we are trying to figure out a way to communicate with them all."
"Peridot and Opal will surely figure something out, I'm sure of it," Obsidian said with confidence, conveniently ignoring the fact that Peri was - as far as she was aware - gone. However, if he was to be gone for good, the mysterious filly in her dreams wouldn't be asking her to talk to Tourmaline, right? Obsidian had already seen enough strange things to know that there were hardly any feats that were completely impossible.
"Or perhaps Patty, but well... we don't exactly know where Cup's siblings are at the moment, do we?" she asked, her ears flattening against her head.
Wart also drooped her own ears. "Worse - Patty was in the middle of a visit to Princess Twilight when things happened; there has been no word yet as to the situation in the palace, but there was talk of an attack..."
She looked up at Obsidian. "Cupcake's siblings are missing... and Thunderclap's mother, Mica's parents... no trace of their whereabouts remains. This... includes my own mother, as well."
Clap looked over at them and sighed. "Yeah... and nobody knows where Amber's hiding out; the Crystal Empire's sealed off with a dome of some kinda energy, so no one can even see inside to know what's happening. It's freaky."
Obsidian had a feeling that Amber's location wasn't within the empire - after all, there was another captial city near there; Obsidian had seen it for herself, thanks to Amber... and she knew where it was, thanks to Whistlewhite.
"Amber is most likely in Tambelon," Obsidian spoke outright - there was no reason to hide it from her two friends, and if anything happened to her... well, it was better if somepony else knew about it. "and I happen to know the way to the city."
Wart looked at her with a quizzical expression. "Tambelon? I have never heard of such a place before..." She looked to the pegasus, who shrugged with a mouthful of her last pancake. "Yet you say you know the way there... however, I would state that we are woefully under-prepared to take on Amber at the moment; we would require a functional army to handle the Umbral Harnesses... otherwise, they would overwhelm us quickly."
"Yeah," Clap added after swallowing, "and there's been additions, Sids - there's a hooful of harnesses that have propellers, now, too. Not a lot, and they're easy enough to take down, but..."
Wart nodded. "Yes - it bodes ill that modifications are being made which could be disastrous in the future."
Modifications? Who could be making them? Did Amber put Patty to work to replace (the stupidly sacrificed) Opal? Or perhaps it was one of the last innovations of her sibling's work before Amber decided she didn't need her anymore?
"We will gather an army, liberate Equestria and the Empire, and eventually strike back against Amber in her own house. Hopefully, sooner than later..." Poor, poor Flurry Heart...
Obsidian sighed. "Is there anything else I need to know? If not, then I'll start preparing for a quick visit home; I need to recover Onyx's diary - assuming Tourmy didn't have it with him when he was captured - and her shard's remains. I'd also like to visit Sweet Apple Acres; do you know anything about the situation there?"
Clap stood up and stretched. "Yeah, the Acres are boarded up from the outside, but there's a few refugees holding out there; Big MacIntosh is in charge, and even at his age, he's a powerhouse - and they trust him. There's a bunch hiding in the root cellar, and twelve in the barn, I think."
Wart nodded. "We have also recieved word from Lady Luna, via Gypsy - her army of Thestrals has been reduced, as she has sent them to aid some refugee camps, but it still stands at ten thousand strong... and I shall accompany you to your home, Lady Siddy, as the streets are only moderately safe - some harness patrols occasionally scout the interior of the town, though they have yet to leave once we discover them."
Clap smiled. "Yeah, 'cause Wart's a smashin', thrashin' and bashin' machine!"
Obsidian nodded shortly to Stalwart. "Good; as you can see, I've found Miss Pie's pizza harness inside the palace, but I have yet to test its abilities - any help would be greatly appreciated."
So many things to do, so little time... and only two of Amber's asscheeks to kick - and so many creatures dreaming about doing it. "I hope that, after pacifying the last of my siblings, I won't discover the existence of any aunts or uncles..."
"Or worse, MORE brothers and sisters," Clap added as she stretched her wings out, "'cause, no offense, your family's a HOOFUL, Sids. Well, I gotta hit the air - might as well patrol a bit for more lost pones, right?" Then she got a closer look at what she had strapped to her back. "Nice weaponry, Siddy - that looks like some kinda connon or something... what's it do?"
Wart looked as well. "... Party Pizza Launcher? Pray tell, are we to feed the enemy to death?"
"Well, I'm aware of the idiom of 'feeding our enemies steel', meaning stabbing them and so on... but I don't think it can be used when talking about pizza, unfortunately," Obsidian had to admit. "However, I think that it won't be too hard to create a few pizza-shaped projectiles that will fit into this launcher and turn the last moments of our enemies' lives into an ocean of pain, torment and regret."
Clap grinned. "Heh... I like that one, Sids - pepperoni-flavored destruction!"
Wart, meanwhile, put on one of the armor-plated chestpieces and picked up another, bringing it to Clap. "Wear this, Thunderclap - and keep it on, this time."
Clap groaned. "But it weighs me down, Warty! How can I dodge stuff when I'm too slow?"
Wart looked unimpressed with her pleas. "If the armor is good enough, you won't have to worry about dodging. Now," she turned to Obsidian as Clap glared at Wart, unwillingly donning the chestplate, "shall we go, Lady Siddy?"
Obsidian thought about it. "I wish to shower first; I think I may have too much dough on me," she admitted sheepishly.
Wart nodded. "Then I shall await you upstairs." She turned smartly and made her way towards the entry area, and as soon as she was out of sight, Clap dumped the armored chestplate onto the couch and sighed with relief.
"Just, uh... tell her it didn't fit," she blushed as she took off before Obsidian could complain.
Obsidian thought about it for a moment - and glared after the departing Thunderclap. Perhaps in armor, she will be slow enough for her head to catch up with her sometimes unfortunate and dangerous ideas. "Didn't fit, eh? Well, it seems that a diet might be in order, then?" she grinned mischievously to herself.
Once she got back upstairs, she heard (and smelled) what would be none other than her fiancee` in the kitchen; it seemed as though he was making more food to go with the breakfast she'd already made. Otherwise, the upstairs area was mostly clear of other ponies - except for Wart, standing at attention next to the front door.
Shower or Cup, shower or Cup... well, the choice was obvious; she happily trotted into the kitchen.
There was the pile of dishes she'd presented her attempts at breakfast on... and they were absolutely barren of food. Apparently, it had been enjoyed more than she thought it would be. At least it meant she wasn't a total failure in the kitchen.
Next to Cupcake Sprinkles, however... the counter space was filled with different foodstuffs, of all manner and kinds; soups, loaves, platters, dishes, desserts, pies, cakes... all sorts of things that all smelled of incredible flavors.
As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, Cup's muzzle lit up happily. "Hey you! Those pancakes were delicious; thanks love! It inspired me to make all this!" He had several different pots and pans going, and was tending to each of them equally as he spoke to her. "Sleep well? I sure did... I mean, since you were there."
Obsidian practically beamed at the sight - after her short trip to the palace, it was nice to see that some things didn't change, and that Cupcake was still the benevolent ruler in a kingdom of cooking.
She made a mental note to work on her metaphors.
"Hmmmm... well, I've visited the place in my dreams where my siblings usually await my arrival, but none of them were there. Instead, there was a small alicorn filly named Ruby Chocolate, who told me that they were gone and that I should discuss it with Tourmy. It's hardly anything unusual, though," she shrugged with a just a little bit of resignation. "I'll be going to our home soon and after that, I want to visit Sweet Apple Acres. We've found Washburn Washington there, so I decided that we have to inform the Apples of it, Umbral invasion or no."
At the words 'siblings', Cupcake seemed to deflate. "Y-yeah..." he muttered as he seemed to be having an internal struggle for a moment. Then with a quick swipe of his foreleg across his eyes, he smiled at her again - though it seemed a bit pained. Dammit, Siddy - did you have to say 'siblings' in front of a stallion who was terribly missing his own?
"... s-so, you mean... Ruby? Peridot? Even Onyx? They're all... gone? A-and what's with 'Ruby Chocolate'? Though I DO like the name..." Then he goggled at her when she finished. "Washburn Washington's ALIVE!? Oh, Butter will be beside herself over that - especially as it's just her and Big Mac at Sweet Apple Acres... is he okay?"
Damnation, she didn't consider her words before she spoke; she knew better than to say explicitly hurtful things, even by accident - but she still had issues with avoiding topics that could pain others, like bringing up a mention of something they were missing. She reacted in the only way she could come up with and hugged him tightly.
"Yes, Cup - they're all gone. And Ruby was, hmmmm... a little alicorn who seemed to be playing in Princess Twilght's throne room. She had a toy dragon, and was calling him 'Spike the Best'." She explained everything as well as she could - including her interesting appearance.
"And, um, Washburn is okay.... maybe not too social, though. And he's lost a leg... though I left him with Opal, so I sort of expect that he might already be forced to wear a mechanical replacement or such." She decided to omit the little detail that he'd tried to sculpt her with a chisel.
Cup returned the hug eagerly, then looked at her very seriously. "We've gotta do whatever we can to keep spirits up - can't have ponies giving up when it looks blackest, because then we'll never get back to brighter days. I'm doing that with cooking, so I'm making it happen in my own way... and you doing stuff helps too; folks here believe in you, Siddy - you give them hope, even though they don't even know of ALL you've done..."
He grinned. "But they know you're doing something, and that encourages them to hold onto that hope for just a bit longer."
"Well, I'll be doing a lot of things, frankly - after all, we have to take the entire nation of Equestria back, right?" It sounded kind of epic - even more epic than her previous adventures! Too bad that Amber had immediately set a very grim tone, otherwise it would be far easier to enjoy it. "But first things first - I need to take a shower. Do you possibly want to help me with my mane?" she added innocently.
Cupcake's smile got a bit bigger. "I... would love to help you with your mane, love." With that, he made one grand gesture towards the stove's controls, and shut everything off. Glancing at the filled counter, he gave a light chuckle. "I think they'll be okay if I don't finish what's cooking just yet. Besides," he winked, "I was so happy to see you, we didn't really do much else but sleep... but if we wanted to take a little bit to, y'know, 'celebrate your being alive', maybe we could-"
From the front foyer, Wart cleared her throat loudly, and Cup sighed.
"Well," he said with a shrug, "I'm still gonna help you with your mane - regardless of what some smol pones think would be better!"
There was a small humph from the front, but nothing more.
Ah ah aaah, Wart... what were you doing? Why were you standing in the path to her and Cuppy's happiness? He was her fiancee`, and one day he would become her husband! Well, considering that Stalwart was ready to join her on her small trip to her house, perhaps Obsidian could ask her then?
"To the bathroom," she nodded, though a bit less enthusiastically than she would without the small mare nearby. They both went upstairs, though Obsidian could swear that Wart's eyes were on them as they entered the washroom.
Cup got the shower started, then spent a few minutes kissing her as the water warmed up... and WOW, was he eager for those kisses! He seemed intent to plant as many of them as possible on her before they hopped into the water... Which, kissing led to hugging... which led to caressing lovingly... which was beginning to get a bit heated when she realized they were still outside of the water itself.
"Cup, we're... w-wasting... water..." Obsidian had to admit between kisses. No matter how much she liked it, they were in a state of war - so they couldn't affort being that prodigal. Besides, snuggles between two wet ponies were interesting as well.
He smiled. "You are absolutely right," he said as he led her into the shower stall, "so let's fix that..."
In the actual shower itself under the hot water, Cupcake got much bolder, nuzzling and kissing and even giving her ear a light, loving nip. The stall was filled with steam, and it was like a combination of the spa's sauna and her colfriend's attention - and both at the same time felt quite lovely.
He was always improving her mood - so Obsidian didn't shrink from getting quite bold as well. She wanted to have fun, he wanted to have fun... well, it was pretty obvious that they should use any opportunity they got in these dark times to enjoy each other.
Excuse or not, it was terribly grim thought.
Things continued to escalate between them both, and soon she barely noticed the shower was on at all. "... I love you with every piece of my soul," Cupcake gushed, "and I never, ever, ever want to experience the world without you again - you're more important to me than anything ever in the history of evers..."
NOW, he was getting bold!
"... let's make it a pact; no dying without the other's approval from now on, okay? That goes for the BOTH of us..."
Ohhhhhhh, so bold...
"... I love you, my sweet Dark Princess..." He was now kissing her deeply and hungrily, his hooves in - OOOH - sensitive places as he bathed her with his love, his heart the soap that meant to cleanse the dirt of their grim reality from her coat.
Good thing he wanted to make this pact before her death - though they would both have to find a way to become alicorns, because she was sure that neither of them would ever approve of the other's demise anytime within this century. "I love you too, my laughter and my happiness," she purred, submitting to his tender hooves and greedy lips.
They spent a good deal more time in the shower than they should have... and they were thoroughly clean when they were done, as not a single inch of either of them remained untouched. Some parts most certainly touched more than others.
Stepping out of the stall, Cupcake lovingly dried his marefriend off with a towel, even giving her rump a light nip as he did, grinning ear to ear. "I bet Wart's about to either explode, or she's asleep," he chuckled with a slight blush.
"Or she patiently waits and plans a very serious discussion with me, considering that we are going to the house," Obsidian replied, blushing a bit as well. Or, well... maybe not that such a little 'bit'; after all - with her fur - she had to be very red to make it noticable, and yet... it most certainly was.
"But we both enjoyed it, and that's all that matters for now," she said as she smiled and kissed his cheek.
Cupcake kissed hers in return. "And when this is over, we're going to have the BIGGEST wedding in Equestria... oh, u-unless you want a small one; it's pretty much for us, anyway - we can figure out what we want together!"
One last nuzzle, and he headed out of the steamy bathroom. "I'll get back to the kitchen - and YOU be careful out there, love." Then, out the door and down the stairs for him.
Inside, she was still shivering at how wonderful the whole thing had been; Wart wasn't their mother - it wasn't her job to foalsit them.
Though to be fair, Obsidian technically had her mother in her head, the whole time. Maybe in a rather diminished form, but still... it certainly didn't help that, in a way, Obsidian - technically speaking - was her own mother.
Actually, now that she had learned so much about all of her siblings and both parents... maybe it was finally time to try to figure out who the parents of Radiant Hope were? In the Crystal Empire lived ponies that were born thousand years ago; sooner or later, she could earnestly attempt to track down any further potential relatives.
But first things first. So for now, Obsidian left the bathroom to find the little guard mare, intent on getting home... and hoping there wasn't going to be a speech on decency and morality in her immediate future.