Obsidian: Daughter of Sombra

by Randimaxis

Thirty One: A Stabbing Pain (In The Neck)

Sure enough, the walls were exactly as she recalled them to be; covered with crystals - dark, foreboding, yada yada yada...

Well, now she knew where she'd been... and frankly, it was a bit anti-climactic to have the final battle here, after she'd already seen it once. Though, now that it came to mind, wasn't Onyx most likely going to be in the room with the Black Pool, where the Umbrals had originally been summoned from?

That... might not be good.

Mica kept staring at the crystal formations on the walls. "Fascinating. Mother would be stuck here, going on about the quality and formations... but all I have to relate is that these crystals hold magic - probably Dark Magic - and you should probably not touch them."

Clap looked at the wall, then moved herself closer to the center of the path, giving a slight shudder. "Siddy," she said, trying to get her mind elsewhere, "when we find Onitwit, what're we gonna do? I mean, you got a plan or something? If so, it'd help to know what it is..."

"Well, er... unfortunately everything depends on what she is doing right now. She apparently chose this place for the upcoming battle, which isn't exactly a good sign for us. After all, she could be trying to raise herself another army of Umbrals for the occasion, or perhaps she's simply building her power. But, as far as I'm concerned, the greatest danger comes from her amulet; it's the counterpart of the one I'm currently wearing. Our main goal will quite probably be provoking a direct struggle between our respective magical abilities."

"Ruby said that the amulet with the greater power stored inside should win - and considering that she's currently using it to power her entire Umbral army, then it stands to reason that without it, she should be far less dangerous. If she loses her amulet's power, then we need to take her down quickly; I will block her Dark Magic, then if Cupcake has some ropes in his secret hiding place, we tie her up and promptly deliver her to Princess Twilight."

"If I lose with my amulet... well, we either evacuate very quickly and try to find better place to live than an Umbral-infested Equestria... or try to do it in the old-fashioned and time-honored Equestrian way - and count on our friendship." She shrugged slightly.

Too bad the Bearers of Elements of Harmony were effectively neutralized.

"Hey, don't knock the power of friendship," Cupcake pointed out, "Momma told me about the kind of stuff it was capable of, back in her day - and lemme tell you, it was a doozy!" He grinned. "Why, Twilight Sparkle didn't even have any friends when she was first sent to Ponyville; she made 'em while she was there, and then they all came together to deal with a BIIIIIG problem, and they blasted Nightmare Moon with RAINBOWS!"

Mica gave a smirk. "That's... close enough to the truth, actually."

"And then, there was chocolate rain!" The Pie smiled broadly.

Clap chuckled this time. "Cuppie, don't you ever change, you hear me? You're a riot!"

Cup looked over quizzically at Gypsy and Wart. "I thought I was a stallion?"

The diamond dog and the little mare both fought to contain their laughter, while Clap just rolled her eyes and Mica kept looking at the walls.

The caverns bent and twisted for a while, but eventually led to a pathway that brought her and her friends around a severely sharp corner, and eventually to...

"By Howler's claws and maws!" Gypsy exclaimed in a whisper as they came into the library well that Obsidian recalled from when she'd first shown up here. The books were still shelved all the way to the ceiling, so far above them. Gypsy was practically drooling over the amount of knowledge here, and Mica was scanning book titles rapidly as he walked alongside the shelves.

"Lady Obsidian," Wart asked, her voice uncertain, "all this knowledge... do you believe your sister had time to actually read all of these? Because if so, we might be in for a far more difficult fight than I thought..." She suddenly puffed out her little chest. "N-not that I will be incapable of dealing with any threat we encounter! I am merely... uh, concerned, for the possible situation ahead."

"Yes, I do believe so. I assume she is at least as fast of a reader as I am, and she had plenty of time to gather all this knowledge... Gypsy, don't get too excited; some of these books were too gross even for me, and I only checked a few random novels - I assure you that there are things that should be forever forgotten by the world."

Nightmare Moon with rainbows, eh? Well, her magic of Light could be split into rainbows, all right - she just needed a prism. Though she doubted it was literal. "Oh, and if she starts talking about, er... eating or skinning you just... uh... try to ignore it, ok?"

The diamond dog had been fascinated by the seemingly endless bookshelves, yet at her comment, his ears darted up and he looked right at her. "Wh-what?" However, as he turned to look at her, Obsidian saw the shelf behind him shudder slightly, then begin to tilt outward from the wall - it was going to fall on him!

Damnation! Her horn lit up quickly to try to hold the shelf in place. "Get out of there, Gypsy! Cupcake, help!" Just how cruel was Onyx, using bookshelves as traps?

The shelf was heavy, but she held it well enough... the books, however...

Gypsy was struck by a few, but Clap zipped through and grabbed him out of the way before the rain of tomes could really come down with any real threat... but he was only saved by inches. With this, now other shelves all around them began to rock and topple, sending an avalanche of books down toward them all.

Wart held her own magic above her, acting as an umbrella while protecting Obsidian, Mica and Cupcake as well as herself. Clap and Gypsy now could find no respite, as the pegasus kept having to dart around collapsing shelves and heavy books pounding down among them.

Above the sounds of the shelves creaking and the books slamming into the ground, there was a distinctive, high-pitched laughter that echoed from all around them, acting almost as a twisted metronome to the beat of the falling novels.

Amethyst had found them.

Maybe she really should have cast a shield first? Obsidian did exactly that now, if only to relieve Stalwart a bit, and darted to Gypsy to check his wounds. If he needed any healing, she had to deliver it as soon as possible. And it seemed that Tourmaline either completely missed Amethyst, or was trying to get out with other goals in mind. Too bad; the fight between them might have been fun to watch.

"Amethyst! Did our father forget to teach you to RESPECT THE BOOKS?!" she bellowed, trying to be heard above the cavalcade of falling tomes.

Gypsy rubbed at his noggin. "Th-th-this one is b-b-bumped, but not damaged... th-thank you f-f-for your c-c-concern." He smiled at Obsidian warmly... a warmth that turned to cold fear as Amethyst spoke up, her voice echoing through the entire library/well.

"I was taught that books are TOOLS, and when they are USED as such, one can do marvelous things!"

A greenish glow began enveloping different books on the floor... different, large books... and when one darted off the floor and attempted to hit Obsidian, the others began to try to follow suit.

Cupcake suddenly jumped in front of her, wearing a simple white robe with a black belt; he began to slap each book away as it approached her, making nonsense "WA-TAH!" and "Hoo-WAH!" sounds as he did. His muzzle looked dead serious, but mockingly so, as if purposely deadpanning to make it funnier.

How was Cupcake doing that?

Maybe they could just leave him here after asking him nicely to get rid of Onyx and Amethyst, and wait for his inevitable victory? It seemed that he had more aces up his sleeve (and right now he actually had sleeves!) than Obsidian would ever guess. And they got snuggly-wuggly and kissy-kissy before this mission... no doubt, it was going to be a very interesting relationship...

There was an annoyed growl, then the shelves themselves began to smash into wooden shards... which were then telekinetically hurled at Obsidian and her friends!

Obsidian rose a second shield so she wouldn't have to deal with the shards (heheheh, SHARDS) very much, and pulled Gypsy closer to keep their defenses more centered. "Amethyst, the last time we met, I had to be very careful to not kick your horn off your skull - why won't you just lie down on your back, expose your belly and surrender?"

Where WAS she at? There had to be a way to feel her Dark Magic - even though this whole place was positively reeking with it. "Gypsy, can you possibly catch her scent, perchance?"

"Why don't YOU just roll over and betray your so-called 'friends', already! With your blood, we all know it's going to happen, before long! Besides," the voice teased, "Onyx is... busy. She wants ME to deal with you, and she even said I could have my pick of your toys to play with!"

The venomous laughter that echoed through the library/well/deathtrap was spine-tingling. "Oh! Except for the cupcake - she wants to eat him personally!"

Cupcake grinned haughtily. "Well, tell her to bring it; this cupcake ain't so sweet when it comes to handling sour mares like her!" He turned to give Obsidian a wink... and was almost instantly covered as a large pile of gathered books landed on him all at once.

"Awwww... did I mash your little pastry into-"

The books suddenly flew off to the sides as Cupcake rose from the pile, now wearing a yellow tank top that said 'CUPAMANIA' across it in red letters. Cupcake himself now wore a red headband with a blond handlebar mustache, and he flexed like a bodybuilder.

"The question you should be asking yourself, sister, is whatcha gonna do when these big, bad guns come for you!" With that, he then reached up and, taking his shirt into his hooves, tore it open across his barrel, flinging it off to the side as he assumed a wrestling pose.

"Cupamania's runnin' WILD tonight!" he proclaimed, posing and flexing with a determined smile on his face. The idea of leaving Cupcake here and just hoping he would emerge victorious without a single wound (and with Onyx's head in his hooves) was getting more and more feasible with each passing second.

"Why can you not simply die already!?" Now chunks of the wall began to break off and sling downward at the group!

Mica gritted his teeth as a piece glanced off his left side ribs, while Clap nearly fell out of the air when her wing was assaulted. Stalwart Stance kept her attention focused, trying to generate a shield whenever she saw another chunk coming their way. Gypsy, looking towards Obsidian, pointed to his nose, then to one of the far shelves that was still attatched to the wall, indicating the very top of the lowest shelf.

Obsidian gritted her teeth when her friends were getting hit with more stuff thrown at them by her less stupid sister. "I'll keep her attention - healing all around for everyone afterwards, but first..."

She gripped her lance more firmly with her magic, shielded herself - and darted straight to the shelf pointed out by Gypsy. The very top, eh? It was a good thing she had some reach with her weapon, then!

"GRRRRRAGGHHH!!!!" As she was almost at the shelf, Amethyst suddenly appeared out of nowhere (right where Gypsy had pointed her out) and leapt across the gap, her hooves slamming into Obsidian's shield and flashing with sparks of green flame. Her hooves had been enchanted!

"Worthless cur! I was supposed to be the one to take that STUPID amulet from Ruby when she was gone! But YOUUUUUU!!!!!" Amethyst may have been a little upset at Obsidian.

The crazed mare began sending blast after blast of green energy against Obsidian's shield, trying with all her might to smash her way through it. And, with the force she was using, she would succeed quickly... if it hadn't been for her friends, all pitching in to attack Amethyst.

Thunderclap had repositioned herself over the fight, and was bucking downward toward the now-visible Amethyst's muzzle, attempting to strike her with those powerful back hooves. Mica was throwing his own hooves at her from the left, while Wart slashed with her sword at her right. Cupcake eventually reached out and grabbed Amethyst about the neck and, with a mighty roar, attempted to bodyslam her into the floor...

She caught herself with her magic, and took hold of both of Cup's forelegs... and started to pull them apart like a wishbone! However, when the floor opened up and a clawed paw reached up and grabbed the crazed mare by the tail, it jerked her downward hard enough for her to crack her jaw on the stone floor. She howled in anger, struggling to keep the diamond dog underneath her from dragging her underground.

Her horn flashed, and she burst up out of the floor, now hovering and surrounded by an aura of green energy, purple mist issuing from the corners of her eyes.

"I'LL END EVERY ONE OF YOU MYSELF!" She threw her forelegs to the sides, and the books surrounding them began to swirl and spiral through the air, coming together into what looked like a book-built giant mace, complete with a spiked ball on the end!

Obsidian had been under the impression that, without her dagger, Amethyst would be less dangerous. However, it seemed that her power levels had been boosted (possibly by Onyx) for the occasion. She was now far more dangerous than she was in the gym, where she'd failed to defeat Obsidian - despite having the numerical advantage with the use of the Slave Helmets.

It also seemed as though she'd had herself a few telekinesis lessons too...

And while it seemed that Obsidian's initial idea of pinning Amethyst with a few feet of pointy, sharp steel failed, her friends had once again saved her - by distracting her crazed sister and dealing her a bit of damage. This mace, however, looked dangerous... but at the same time, Amethyst looked vulnerable right now. So Obsidian made a very quick decision and hurled her lance with magic, straight at her.

The lance sailed through the air, right at Amethyst's barrel... but as it almost connected, it was surrounded by green energy and stopped in mid-air. The mare glared at it as if it were actively insulting her, then turned to them all as she held it in the air, hovering right in front of her. "Don't tell me you expected this puny throw to actually hit me?"

"Actually," Mica deadpanned, "the throw doesn't have to."

And with that, Mica Chip simply seemed to run up to her and turn a backflip... which resulted in his hooves stepping onto the pommel of the lance, where he pushed off... and sent the lance just far enough out of the magical grip to pierce her chest! The mace fell apart with the sound of a book-rain slapping the stone floor beneath her.

Amethyst didn't make a sound; her eyes slowly and crazily slid down until they looked at the lance sticking out of her. Then they looked back up at Obsidian.

"... oh... NO... you didn't..."

With a flare, Amethyst's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull as she suddenly GRIPPED the lance in her own magic and began to pull with a force unlike her previous strength - it was like Obsidian was suddenly playing tug-o-war with an elephant! No... more like multiple elephants!

It was almost the perfect outcome - but almost didn't seem to distract Amethyst as much as Obsidian had hoped; she was also far stronger than before and well... Obsidian didn't really want to kill her, but with the lance piercing her chest, it was the most probable outcome right now.

The (former) Dark Princess huffed and sweated as she started to struggle against Amethyst's magic. Why couldn't she just break her focus, fall to the ground and just let Obsidian turn off her magic and heal her wounds?

"Dis... tract... her..." Damnation - they'd come too far to stop now! "Sister, give up! I don't want to be forced to kill you!"

The ragged voice that answered her sounded more like a dragon's snarl than Amethyst's own.

"I WANT TO SUCKLE THE FLUID FROM YOUR EYEBALLS AS I CRUSH YOUR SPINAL COLUMN INTO CHALK DUST, YOU LOATHSOME WASTE! I WANT TO LICK YOUR STILL-COOLING BLOOD FROM MY HOOVES AS YOUR ESSENCE FADES AWAY INTO NOTHING! I WANT TO DANCE IN YOUR CORPSE'S RIBCAGE! I WANT TO BATHE IN YOUR ENTRAILS AS I SHATTER YOUR SKULL! I WANT-"

With that, Stalwart Stance reared up and slammed her hooves into Amethyst's head with enough force to bounce it off the wall; the blow broke the grip on the lance, yet forced the mare's body backwards, pulling the length of the steel pole out of her. Though it hadn't gone deep enough to hit an organ, her chest was now seeping lifeblood at a steady rate.

Amethyst growled like an animal, wounded and angry. "I WANT TO WEAR YOUR SKIN AS A RAINCOAT!"

"Ewwwww! You're a sick, sick puppy! Siddy, end this feeb!" Clap called out.

"NO. I SHALL END YOUUUUUUU..."

Now, in front of her, green magical energy began to form into the familiar shape of a curved dagger... eighteen of them, to be exact! "ONYX WAS RIGHT - YOU ARE EXPENDABLE!" Those daggers would be fully-formed in mere moments; there were only a few seconds to react.

It wasn't really a choice - just a reaction - as Obsidian once again plunged her lance forward. This time, far more desperately than before. It was only to be expected - she already saw, far too closely, what even a single one of these daggers could do.

The lance jutted forward... and connected. With Amethyst's own shield. And bent.

The mare let out a jagged, crazed giggling that sounded like the complete antithesis of 'laughter', and her daggers formed completely. They gleamed in the wan light, each one glowing that diseased green color as they began to wave back and forth, like before... but where a single blade looked like a cobra about to strike, the group amassed before them looked more like a small wave on the ocean, movements rolling down the line, copied by each blade in turn.

"NO. YOU WILL... NOT... WIN... THAT WAY..."

Each dagger suddenly twitched into place, all of them poised to strike and going stock still as Amethyst's eyes widened. They were the eyes of a mare who no longer had anything to do with the concept of sanity. "YOU... YOUUUUUUUU..." She stopped, staring at Obsidian with clear, unadulterated hatred in her eyes for the Light Princess.

"... PAIN... HATE... ANGER... SLASH! DESTROY! KILLLLLLLLLL YOUUUUUUU!!!!!"

All eighteen daggers flew right at her... and flew straight into the barrel of a cupcake-shaped cannon that was suddenly held out in front of the group.

"Ooops! Looks like I got some junk in my cannon!" Cupcake said with a smirk as he lowered the contraption, then turned it to face Amethyst. "Let's clear the barrel, shall we?"

When he yanked the cord, the eighteen daggers rocketed out of the device and straight towards Amethyst... but when they connected, they didn't penetrate; they made little 'boing' sounds and bounced harmlessly off her coat.

As she stared, Cup smiled. "What, you think I'd stoop to your level? Naaaaaaaaaah... not my style."

Amethyst stared... then began to roar and charge, but Cup just chuckled and pulled the cord a second time. The large pie that flew out of the cannon hit the crazed mare with the force of a battering ram, and she slammed into the wall behind her, plastered to it with whipped cream and pie crust.

Dazed, she merely hung there a moment. Cup looked back to Obsidian and motioned to her sister. "She's kinda stunned... now's your chance to... uh, do... whatever..." he shrugged.

By Darkness, she couldn't have a family and foals with him; if there was even the slightest chance that they would inherit powers of Darkness from Obsidian's father, powers of Light from her and powers of just plain crazy from Cupcake? They would be unstoppable! They would probably turn into eldritch abominations by the age of ten!

But still, Cupcake had saved her... AND defeated Amethyst (again, couldn't they just leave him here and wait for him to wreck Onyx's plans, self-respect and sanity?)

"Yes," Obsidian said as she charged her horn - and for the first time, she tried to use the Dark Magic sealing spell she'd gotten from Gypsy.

Amethyst's horn began to sparkle, and as they watched, a shell of stone began to roll down from the tip, encasing it in a shell of rock.

"... wha..? No. No! NOOBSIDIANIWILLNOTALLOWITNOTALLOWITNOTALLOW-"

Her magic aura began to try to flare up again, but Obsidian had her in place, and the spell was tough, but she had enough concentration to finish the incantation.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" With a small >clink!<, the spell finished its' magic, and Amethyst simply stared at Obsidian as she slid down the wall and sat on the floor.

"You... you... you've killed me."

The mare simply sat there as tears began to pour out of her eyes; no sobs, she had more dignity than that... but the look on her muzzle said it all. She was finished, and wouldn't be a viable threat any longer.

On her head, her horn was completely covered in stone, and the stone had turned completely black, moulding to fit the shape of the horn until it just looked as though she had a black horn, naturally. However, Obsidian couldn't feel even the slightest spark of magic coming from her sister.

Amethyst stared incredulously at her. "H... h-h-h... h-how? HOW do you know the sealing spell? How? Not even Onyx knows that spell... d-did you... h-h-h-how?"

'You've killed me'? What a whiny mare Amethyst actually was! It was just a small sealing off spell! Good grief, grow up!

"I had a lot of magical training with my father... and then I've got friends, which can be very surprising when it comes to research. Now, hold still..."

Obsidian's horn flashed once again as she healed the wound on Amethyst's chest. "Now, anyone else have any serious injuries? Mica, what about your ribs? Also, we'll also need to, er, 'take care' of Amethyst. I was fine with idea of Tourmaline hunting her - it would have been like torturing two slaves with a single lash, but considering we found her first, I'd prefer to keep her alive."

"Uh, Obsidian?" Mica offered. "Maybe you shouldn't use anything about 'torture' to explain things in the future? It's a bit... creepy, to anyone who doesn't know you."

Clap shrugged. "Heck, it's kinda creepy to me - and I DO know you! Not that you're creepy; just some of the stuff you say, sometimes."

Amethyst looked up at her as she healed the wound. "You... why are you doing that? I want you flayed and in agony; you're healing me." She now got a worried, almost scared look on her muzzle as she looked around at Obsidian's friends. "In Father's glorious name, what have these ponies done to you?"

"Terrible, horrible things, dear Amethyst... and you know what? The same will happen to you; I will see to it personally,"

Obsidian lowered her voice as if she was threatening her. "You will be laughing while basking in the light of the Sun, playing with your friends. Every single thought about hurting others will perish from your mind, replaced with dreams of long, happy days, filled with personal development and important friendship lessons. The only knife you'll ever want to touch will be to cut alfalfa - and I will look at it and laugh, Amethyst."

From the look on Amethyst's muzzle, what Obsidian promised her was the worst possible punishment that anypony had ever cursed her with... and she was visibly shaken as Siddy went on to describe what her future would be like. By the time she'd finished describing, there were tears of horror in her sister's eyes.

Obsidian straightened up. "After all, you are my sister... and I want you to be happy. And I will be happy to see you happy," she turned head to look at her friends. "Now, does anypony have any idea where we should put her to keep her safe until our glorious, victorious return?"

However, when she asked her question, she got a few different answers:

"Um, how about a safe?" Clap suggested.

"I am certain there is a cell in Princess Twilight's dungeon that would have ample room for her," Wart smirked.

"Another t-t-tunnel, except t-t-t-t-tie her t-t-tail to a root, to k-keep her there," Gypsy glowered at Amethyst.

"Maybe we could shove her into my cannon..." Cup said thoughtfully.

"Can you seal her legs up, like you did her horn?" Mica asked.

"I can't seal her legs, I'm afraid... and I don't think we have a safe nearby. A cell is too far away as well. Hmmmmmmm... well, the side tunnel or even the cannon doesn't sound too bad... Cuppy, do you have a rope somewhere, perchance?"

Cupcake smiled and reached into his... whatever it was... and brought out a bright red rope that looked thick and sturdy. "Will this do, Siddy dear?" He offered her the rope as he winked at Amethyst, making her shudder in revulsion. "I promise, it's 'one size fits all'!"

Wart, without even a signal from Obsidian, grabbed it and ran a whirlwind around Amethyst until she was wrapped from chin to flank in rope.

"Whoa... new hogtie record, Warty! Good go!" Clap cheered, and the usually stoic Wart smiled and bowed to her appreciative audience.

"Without my magic," Amethyst said distantly, "I am dead. Utterly dead. You've killed me."

"Lighten up, buttercup," Clap said, "you're alive and in the hooves of the good guys; you got off easy on this one, Thystie - trust me on that!"

Mica motioned to the doorway at the far end... the one Obsidian herself had used, only a few hours or so ago, yet it was like a lifetime ago. "Is that where we're headed?" he asked.

Obsidian nodded. "Don't worry Amy; we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Tourmy went another way, so he shouldn't be a problem... and you'll have your magic returned as soon as you start behaving properly. See you later, sis!"
Obsidian hugged her, then quickly stepped back.

When she embraced her, Amethyst shuddered and shrieked unintelligibly; she was having none of whatever Obsidian was giving her, and wasn't giving up without a fight... as hopeless as it was.

"Ok," Obsidian remarked as she turned back to the group, "that's all for now. Any wounds I need to take care of? Any last confessions before reaching Onyx's chambers? If not, then we can go straight there."

Sigh... bye-bye, lovely lance; apparently, you weren't meant to be turned into a magical artifact that would be forever remembered in history, after all.

It didn't seem like anyone had any wounds, but when she mentioned confessions... the group sort of listed about a moment, looking awkward and embarrassed, until Mica sighed and spoke up.

"Yes, I do - I love Thunderclap Dash, and have since she got me out of my shell. I can think of no other mare for me, and I don't want to. She's perfect, to me."

The others stared - and Clap looked thunderstruck - but that wasn't all...

"This... th-th-this o-one ch-ch-cheated to g-g-g-get into the F-Fr-Friendship S-S-School," Gypsy said ashamedly, then quickly added, "b-b-but d-diamond d-d-d-dogs don't r-r-really know h-h-how t-to m-m-m-make f-fr-f-fr-friends! He w-w-wanted in s-so b-b-b-b-badly!"

"I... like Siddy. I mean, really like her... as in, 'like-like' her. I mean, as in, I can see us married and... a-and stuff." Cupcake smiled at the Light Princess. "And I guess she counts as my first... uhh, marefriend. Which is okie dokie lokie by me."

"Um, Cuppie?" Clap spoke as if she were ashamed to. "... I did it. Me. I'M the one that bit the wheel of your cannon. It just, I mean - it looked so tasty! I couldn't h-help myself! I just saw how MAD you got about it, and I didn't wanna disappoint you, so... I just... y'know... kept it q-quiet. And stuff."

Wart looked at them all. "What? I've done nothing salacious; don't expect any confessions from me, Lady Obsidian!"

Wow, they really treated this 'last confessions' stuff seriously! Obsidian didn't mean it to be treated that way - she just said it in an out-of-hoof way, and yet they went full-in, charging through it as if they'd seen a defenseless party of limbless Umbrals!

Well... perhaps it WAS the best time for this kind of stuff? After all, nopony could tell if they would all survive the upcoming meeting with Onyx.

And who would have thought that Mica would start first? Hah, Clap looked as shocked as when he kissed her back at the castle! Then it was Obsidian's own turn to be a bit embarrassed when Cupcake mentioned marriage - especially considering that they'd just met...what, the day before yesterday? These Equestrians moved FAST; they didn't even ask her father for permission!

Though, admittedly, in Obsidian's case it would be a bit difficult - wait, Equestrian's didn't have arranged marriages, so that part probably wasn't important.

And eventually Obsidian really couldn't help herself but start to giggle when Thunderclap mentioned biting Cupcake's wheel - HA! And here, she thought it was Cup himself! Considering how serious all the other confessions were, the Light Princess just had to notice how terribly humorous was Clap's mention in contrast to the others.

"D-Don't worry, Stalwart. I'm sure that with us, sooner or later, you'll start doing salacious things too!" She barely squeezed out the words between giggles. "And I'm really glad you cheated, then, Gypsy. And, as for me... well, I've taken Cupcake into the closet in Twilight's Palace to test this kissing thing... and I liked it! I believe that's the only confession I can think about at the moment..."

She still couldn't stop giggling, even in the face of the adversity to come. "L-Let's show my sister that using zombies, fooling Equestria and being STUPID is a bad idea, shall we?"

The others all looked at her, and nodded as one.

"Yes. It's time to put this to rest."
"A-a-and bring in a n-new day's d-d-dawn."
"And bring peace and protection to all of Equestria, royal and civilian alike."
"And throw Onyx a huge 'going-away party'!"
"And kick some flank!"

They were ready. Her friends took up positions on all sides of her, and she could feel her own energy roaring inside; strong, potent and powerful. Onyx would have no chance in Tartarus to win. Not while Obsidian had her friends.

It was time to put that mare in her place.

"Fine... now, with power on our side, it is time to finish this." And by Darkness AND Light, she was eager to show Onyx that her stupid, easy-to-avoid mistakes were going to bite her right in the flank. Hard.

The doors to the library/well banged open, and Obsidian and her friends made their way out into the area she'd seen before. However...

There were no walls of crystal anymore; they were replaced with a thick, wet blackness that seemed oily and oozing, even dripping in a few places. On closer inspection, it actually turned out to be Umbral corpses, all running together like threads of snot, forming over the lovely crystals that had blessed the wall before.

The black water was now a constantly roiling surface that seemed to crank out an endless amount of undead... but not a one of them were headed towards Obsidian or her group; they seemed preoccupied with making their way out through a glowing red portal that stood at the far end of the chamber.

The dias and throne were still in place, but now they had an unmistakable aura of vileness about them, and they looked as though they were seeping drips of black ichor too. And seated on the throne, of course, was the mare they had all come to see... and she wasn't angry, irritated, surprised or even miffed...

She was smiling.

Aaaaaaah, this felt like home, but moreso - even during magical training with her most honourable father, Obsidian never knew so much power and Dark Magic - and the reason was obvious, wasn't it? She would love to spend her time here, researching every spell used by Onyx, trying to figure out the meanings of the Umbrals covering the walls... maybe there would even be something more in the books.

Assuming, of course, that she'd survive the upcoming battle.

"Hello, dear sister - we really need to stop bumping into each other in such circumstances, don't you think? I'm starting to worry that you're a bit of a workaholic." To be fair, during each one of their meetings, Onyx was working. All. The. Time.

She cast a shield around her friends and herself - better safe than sorry, in case magical bolts began to fly. Then, she touched her own amulet with a hoof; if only Ruby was here to see this moment...

With Obsidian's words, Onyx simply grinned wider.

She stood up and, looking at the lot of them together, she lifted her hooves... and the entire chamber began to glow a dull, ember-like red. Obsidian could feel the Dark Magic all around her, under her, over her... even through her, though she had not even the slightest bit of control of it.

The red energies all pulsed around the room, then slowly drifted towards Onyx, who simply chuckled as the red light swirled about her, then traveled to her muzzle and entered her throat, her ears, her nostrils... even her eyes!

"NOT... good," Mica understated.

It continued to flow into her until she thrust her hooves to the sides, the aura in front of her dissipating instantly. She looked at the group of friends, all ready to fight and possibly die for each other, and said a single word that would spell doom for them all...

"... SLEEP..."

"Oh, no... no, not like this... n-not..." >THUD< Mica.

"Aw, you gotta be... k-kiddin'... me..." >THUD< Thunderclap.

"Oh n-n-n-n-n... n... n..." >THUD< Gypsy.

"No, NO! NOT... not when we... were so... c-c..." >THUD< Stalwart.

"Siddy!" Cupcake turned to her. "Siddy! You... gotta... gotta ruuunnn..." >THUD< Cupcake.

And the last thing Obsidian saw before she passed out was her sister, waving to her.

>THUD<

Author's Note:

Sigh. Poor Obsidian; just when it seems that she finally was one step ahead, Onyx was already across the proverbial finish line YET AGAIN. Well, now they're in one heckuva pickle, aren't they? At the 'mercy' of her sister, now we get to see what sort of cruel and unusual things happen to our intrepid group of heroes. Are they coming back from this one?

And don't worry about 'Amy'; though I have to admit, the part with Obsidian threatening her with a life of Harmony was pretty funny when it was originally written - for what it's worth, almost the entire speech was unchanged, other than one or two spelling errors. Wungi absolutely wrote some hilarious stuff there, and it made me giggle until I got the hiccups. *chuckle*

Comments

[Mr cold ghost]

I loved the chapter! Thanks for the update!

[Edguy0009]

Amythest deserves a lot worse than just imprisonment.