Obsidian: Daughter of Sombra

by Randimaxis

Thirty Three: Cupcake

It wasn't the circus.

What she saw, instead, was a Ponyville... defeated.

Houses all around her were either on fire, blasted to splinters or boarded up and graffiti'd over. Not a single green thing grew anywhere within sight, and a cold wind sent random garbage blowing down the main street. Once alive with activity, it was now dull and lifeless.

Not a single pony (or anybeing else, for that matter) was in attendance, and Obsidian even saw the occasional equine skull or ribcage, some half-buried in the dirt, as if whatever had caused this had happened ages ago.

From where she was standing, the most prominent building was Sugarcube Corner... but it didn't look right. The paint was bland, peeling and colorless, the windows were all boarded over, and the smokestack collapsed. In fact, the only thing about the place that stood out now was the fact that the front door was lying on the ground, well off its' hinges, and there was a wavery light that seemed to be coming from inside it.

Ruby, unfortunately, was nowhere to be seen... nor heard, as her attitude would have helped Obsidian to find her; just follow the insults, right?

Yup, it certainly was a nightmare... and considering the main focus, it was most assuredly Cupcake's. A ruined Ponyville, vulgarized houses, the defiled sweets shop... a truly terrible vision, though Obsidian had no doubt that Onyx would probably be able to do something even worse to this place.

She went straight to Sugarcube Corner - though very carefully, just in case something inside would be hostile, hungry... or possibly even both.

Inside was no better; the walls, shelves and even the kitchen had been systematically stripped of anything that might be used to cook or make merriment with... almost. Towards the counter where sales had been made, the books and stuff that had been on the shelves next to the register were gone... but there was still a lone cookie jar, sitting with a layer of dust on it, which remained untouched out of everything else here.

Okay, either Cupcake wasn't even here, or he was shackled somewhere inside. Otherwise, this cookie jar wouldn't have any chance to get so covered in dust. Obsidian trotted deeper, looking around for any clues; maybe she could find him in the underground basement... but... how should she get there without the books? Maybe touching this jar would do the trick, or at least do something?

When she touched the jar, it tipped in a familiar way... and with a rusty grinding sound, she saw a square section of floor slide away, revealing the slide-tunnel to the underground area. The tunnel itself seemed to have its' colors a bit washed out also, as if the gloom above had been seeping into the ground over time. How much time, however, wasn't stated nor revealed - it simply seemed as though the tunnel itself had been abandoned.

Except for the wan amount of light that seemed to be coming from the bottom of it.

There was something down there, and Obsidian was fairly certain that it would be her best chance to get to Cupcake. Thus, no matter how much she disliked the idea of this tunnel... she decided to slide on down anyway.

The tunnel seemed about the same... until the halfway point, where she slid face-first through a mass of cobwebs that felt like sticky silk across her muzzle and barrel. However, the spiders that had made them were long gone, so when she reached the bottom, she didn't have any new mane accessories, so to speak.

Thankfully, the ball pit was still there; if it hadn't been, this would have been a very tragic rescue attempt.

The shelves that had once held rows and rows of party supplies were now empty and barren, and spotted with rust here and there. There was a single cannon wheel in one corner, but its' spokes were cracked and a section of the wheel itself was missing.

The dim light was originating from the back room, where she'd tended to a not-so-injured Pinkie Pie, not too long ago. The room itself had no door - it was separated with an old blanket, now moth-eaten and ragged. There was a smell, like rotten cotton candy and stale popcorn, that seemed to permeate every corner of this area.

Cupcake really should clean his nightmares more often. Even if these cobwebs weren't real, Obsidian was rather unhappy about getting her muzzle - as well as the rest of her body - cobwebby and messy. But at least she'd almost reached the source of the light!

The whole place looked as gloomy as the rest of the landscape, so Obsidian wasn't paying too much attention to it - though there was a cannon wheel, even if it wasn't a donut, so she felt as though she was on the right track, which was the important part. She trotted straight through the rotten curtain, unsure of what she was going to find there... but hoping it would be Cupcake.

The back room. Before, it had looked a bit like a makeshift lounge paired with an office; it had been somewhat tight, due to the boxes and presents that had covered almost every inch of flooring, but it had felt... comfortable. Like it would have been okay to hide back here if you just needed a moment to yourself.

Now, it was rather empty without all the presents there. There was a chill in the air, even though there was a fireplace that had a fire going quite well in it. She could see the stains of wear and water on the walls, and there was only a half-rotten old couch, a small pile of meager sticks to fuel the fire, and a foul-smelling bucket at the other end on the floor.

Sitting on that couch was a stallion so old, Obsidian thought he might turn to dust if she breathed too hard on him. His mane was sparse and thin and his tail was languid and limp; both were completely stark white. There were so many wrinkles on his muzzle that he looked more like he was wearing a pile of soggy pancakes on top of his neck. His body looked frail, worn and rail-thin, and he shook with some sort of palsy. One of his eyes was completely blind, the eerie milky film inside it reminding Obsidian of spoiled cream.

The other eye, though, was a vivid emerald green. This was Cupcake?

He simply sat there, his gaze distant and detatched from his surroundings. "Worthless. Useless. Meaningless." He said with a creaky and haggard voice as he sat there shivering in a ratty excuse for a shirt, as bereft of color as the rest of Ponyville.

Well, Onyx most certainly wasn't playing around with this Nightmare Spell, was she? Cupcake was barely recognizable in this state! Obsidian tried to figure it out: Was he afraid of getting old? Afraid of being useless? All of it, mixed into a single, powerful nightmare - possibly one of the worst, if not THE worst, of his life?

At least there weren't any horrific monsters, mutilated bodies of family members laying around - nothing like that.

As an outside observer, it wasn't too scary - which was a very good thing, as she would be better able to simply focus on her target. Obsidian trotted closer, to look Cup straight in his one healthy eye.

"Cup? Cuppy? Are you there?" she asked softly, looking around for something to cover his shivering form with. Nightmare or not, he was definitely cold. The search mostly fruitless, her horn flashed as she started to gather sticks to at least build up the current fire.

"Worthless. Useless. Meaningless," he repeated, his eye still not focusing on her - or anything at all, for that matter.

"HEY!" One of the sticks cried out as she lifted it with her magic. "Put me down, carrot-brain! It's ME!" The stick, upon closer examination, had a long and rather fetching trail of ivy hanging from the back (?) of it, and had little black and red stripes along its' surface.

"About time! I swear, if I have to listen to this jerk repeat those same three frickin' words much more, I'm gonna stick it to him, alright! FEH! What a chump!"

"Worthless. Useless. Meaningless."

"Yeah yeah, go soak yer head, ya corpsicle!" Stick Ruby yelled.

"Ruby, you really shouldn't waste your energy by yelling at him like that... but I'm glad you're here, dear sister of mine." Well, at least the rest of sticks should be fine enough to use for making the small fire a bit bigger. It seemed as though the direct approach wasn't reaching him at all; what could she do?

She reached out and gently touched his hoof - if he couldn't see or hear her, then maybe he could at least feel her?

He gave a slight start, taking in a quick breath... but not a single sign of recognition, even having been touched, was in his single eye. His gaze was almost as if he were seeing something beyond what anyone else could... and it was causing his mind to wither away.

"Okay, I'm no expert at 'chatting with friends' - especially 'cause I didn't really have any - but if you wanna get through to them, you're gonna have to let 'em know what they mean to you, dummy. Onyx's spell is affecting their very thoughts, their souls... and connecting with 'em, actually letting them know how much they mean to you, is probably your best chance at saving 'em!"

The stick huffed. "I still say we should just cut out of here and go grab the pegasus and the midget first; at least THEY can fight back well enough." As an afterthought, "Maybe the pup, too."

"Worthless. Useless. Meaningless."

The Ruby Stick groaned. "Look, just please shut him up, okay? Even if you gotta stick some of that nasty blanket in his mouth to gag him - I honestly think it'd be a favor, at this point!"

Stupid Onyx. How dare she send her friends through this sort of agony! Obsidian would gladly trap her in a nightmare herself and force her to relive the worst moments of her own meaningless, artificial life for all eternity!

Or... well, at least for a day or two, maybe - just to show her that her sister was NOT happy with her recent behaviour.

Talking to Cupcake in this state didn't seem to be much of a good idea, at least in Obsidian's opinion - after all, he was completely ignoring her attempts to reach him. She sat down next to him anyway and took his hoof in her own, detrmined to try again.

She noted the feel of the grimy couch beneath her - she just had to keep telling herself it was just a nightmare, that layer of nasty on it was just in her mind.

Oh, but there would be a thorough bathing when she woke up, if she had any say in it!

"Cupcake, you are not worthless, useless or - Darkness forbid - meaningless. You have a wonderful family, a group of loyal friends and plenty of skills and traits that help make the world around you better. And you are most certainly not meaningless to me, especially with these 'crush' things we have on each other! Do you remember that?"

Stalwart... Thunderclap... Mica... Gypsy... she'd get them back - ALL of them... but she HAD to start with him.

"Worthless. Use... less..." He blinked, once.

The look on his muzzle slowly became one of concentration. "... they came. They took... everything. Everything. They took the princesses... they took the stallions and mares... they took the foals... they took it all... but... they left... me... behind."

Now, the one green eye slowly turned in its' socket to meet hers, though it still looked more like he was looking through her than at her. "Took them all... except me... said I... I was... worthless. Useless. Meaningless."

"NO! Good grief, not that again!" Stick Ruby wailed helplessly.

"They... they wanted... s-slaves... they said... I was... was..."

"If he says it one more time, so help me Sombra..!"

Oh, by Darkness... enough of this!

Obsidian kissed him, squarely on the lips; effectively it was shock therapy, plus Ruby wouldn't explode with Dark Magic for perhaps a little bit longer.

It was like kissing sandpaper... at first. As she held the liplock, she heard a groan... then a questioning murmur... then a soft, relieved sigh as he began to put the slightest of pressure against her lips in return. A pressure that started to grow, and the feeling of kissing a dry rock began to change into something softer, warmer, and all together more involved.

The old stallion began to glow with a strange aura; it looked like a dappled bright blue and an inky jet black, rolling with each other in harmony as she continued... and when she finally pulled back from the kiss, it wasn't the elderly stallion on the couch, but Cupcake - her Cupcake - who sat there, his eyes bright and merry, his smile broad and a bit sheepish, and his being returned to the lovable stallion she remembered.

"Siddy, I... Sweet Luna's Plot, that was scary! It felt like I was trapped inside my own skin, and I couldn't get out! I was even trying to reach you, but," he grinned, "I guess you found a quicker way, hunh?"

He threw his forelegs around her and squeezed her tightly. "Thank you, Siddy... I..." He kissed her lips again, then smiled at her brightly. "I love you."

The stick made a sharp gagging sound, but Cup didn't even seem to take notice.

If she had any idea it would have been that easy, she would have gone for that move to begin with! Too bad it probably wouldn't work on the rest of the group... though if she rounded up Thunderclap before she found Mica, it would possibly be the right idea to ask her to get this kind of snuggly with him. Cupcake always rather liked getting physical, and this time was most certainly not an exception.

Obsidian still had only the haziest of knowledge about relationships, hugs, kisses and so on... but she knew he was hers right now - even his own mother had said such - so she had to get used to it, she supposed.

Not that it was a bad thing, of course.

"I love you too, Cuppy." She graciously nuzzled him. "It's good to see you a hundred years younger once more! Now, let's show the world we are not worthless, useless or meaningless, and save the rest of our gang, shall we?"

"Yeah," he smiled, "then after that... you and I have a date to plan, once this whole thing is dealt with! I'm thinkin', what, dinner? Whatever you feel would be a good meal, I'm sure I can make it!"

Cupcake then got up off the couch, then strolled over towards the blanket that sectioned off this room from the rest. Pushing it aside and looking out into the storeroom, he gave a low whistle. "Wow. I guess momma was right; you never really realize how much something means to you 'til it's gone. All that stuff that was in here? I don't think I've ever given it a second thought... until I see it like this, all bare and empty."

He looked back at her. "I am SO glad you saved me from being like everything else here." He then looked around a bit. "So, like... are we waiting for the next place to form up around us, or..?"

"Dinner sounds nice, but first things first - we have to stop Onyx." After all of this madness and chaos, it'd probably take a moment before life around them would return to any semblance of a normal state... including one where any places would be available where ponies could eat at - though Cupcake's cooking would be just as good as anyplace available.

She idly hoped the school wouldn't be in too bad of a shape after this.

"... and no, we need to look for figurative 'doors'; the path to you was a rather simple flyer for a circus - it was sticking out as the only colorful thing in the entire room. And it could literally be anywhere..."

She picked up Stick Ruby and put her behind her right ear, to keep her sister close. "But friendship, bonds and such things should help us make the discovery. Ruby, can these doors to the nightmares be found in another's nighmares, or must we go back to the place with that awful cell?"

"Eww, do you even wash back here!?" Stick Ruby admonished, but she still answered the question, "but like I said before, the lot of you have one of those sappy little bonds together; because of that, there are connections between all of 'em, so no, you don't have to go back to Blandsville to reach the next dream, dummy! You should just have to start thinking about who you're looking for next, and keep that in mind while you search."

Cupcake looked at her quizzically. "You're talking to Ruby? Is she here? I thought she was... well, you know? Is she invisible, or..?" He looked at her for a moment, then said with a grin. "You've got a little stick in your mane; here, let me get it..."

"Don't you let him touch me! He'll throw me in the fire!"

"No, Ruby is the stick; don't question it. She was far more cute in her previous form as a very small pony with a rather nice tail... but in this version, she's fairly easy to move around."

So, thinking... thinking... thinking...

"I say we should look for Thunderclap next - it would be nice to have air support for our search." She remembered their first meeting, when she proposed 'racing', took off ahead of them so that Mica used the opportunity to chat with Obsidian for a bit without interruption...

Cup looked at her flatly. "The stick. Behind your ear. Is Ruby."

He looked as if he was about to question her sanity... yet instead, he smiled and nodded. "Okie dokie lokie - if you say it's Ruby, then I'll take your word for it. I don't know everything, so I'll just fall back on the faith that you know what's going on better than I do!"

"At least he's trusting," Stick Ruby muttered.

Cupcake began looking about the place, though he actively avoided the rusted bucket at the end of the couch... and even draped a corner of the ratty blanket over it. To cover the awful smell, no doubt, but probably to cover the sight of it, too. The stallion looked under the couch, out in the storage area and around the blanket.

Then, looking back to her, he shrugged. "I don't see any doors... in fact, I don't see much of anything, aside from all this stuff that REALLY needs a good cleaning... or replacing. My vote's for the replacing."

"Think, stupid!" came from behind her ear, "what sort of stuff do you remember most about Blunderfat? Did she have a dumb walk? Was she a drooler? Did she need to have her name written on her hoof, so she wouldn't forget it?"

Stick Ruby was being a jerk... but maybe she had a point; what were things Obsidian remembered about Clap?

Well... she was surprisingly into shopping. Very, very much into it - Obsidian didn't even know half of the terms that she had used, or what reasons she had for caring about it so thoroughly. Without her, Obsidian would just buy the first clothing around and leave the shop as quickly as possible! Though 'as quick as possible' still wouldn't have been as quick as Thunderclap was...

Obsidian still regretted that she didn't get to jog with her, because of Tourmaline's sneak attack. It wasn't exactly surprising how athletic she was, though - Clap wanted to make one of those 'Sonic Rainboom' things all on her own, and had even acted as a bait for the Umbrals. She had to be fast! There was also that absolutely priceless look on her muzzle when Mica kissed her...

That's when she saw it, sitting over next to the fireplace; it had been overlooked because the fire's light had been bright, and it had been so close to it that it almost looked a bit burnt, at least on the side she could see. It was a saddlebag. An expensive one, from the look of it. And it looked exactly like the one Clap had given her, off her own flank.

Cup was still looking around out in the storage area. "Hey, Siddy... d'you think it would be in the ball pit?"

Aaaah, yes - good ol' Clap! Obsidian didn't have a lot of opportunity to walk around with these saddlebags lately because, well, zombie invasions and so on... so she'd almost forgotten about them.

"Cup, it's here - I found it! Get in here quickly!" She trotted closer, anticipation building up inside her; it was Thunderclap Rescuing Time!

Cup made his way back into the room, then balked when he saw the saddlebag. "That wasn't there earlier! How could I have missed THAT!?"

"Okay, look - confession time," Stick Ruby piped up, "Your guy over there? He is NOT a bright bulb, is he? I mean, yeah - he's a hunka hunka burnin' hotness - but I'm pretty sure you're gonna have to make all the smart decisions in the relationship. He's-"

"Of course," Cup continued, "maybe it just shows up for you, y'know? Like Ruby the Stick; maybe it's only for you to find?"

Ruby Stick pouted. "... I still say he's a stupe..."

Reaching out and taking up the saddlebag, Cup brought it to her. "Okay, we got the thing. Are we... um, supposed to, uh, get inside it?" He looked at it quizzically, turning it over curiously.

Cup couldn't hear Ruby, eh? Even if he would ignore her insults, calling him 'hotness' surely would have gotten a reaction out of him. "Nope - we just take it and think about Clap as hard as we possibly can."

Obsidian touched saddlebag herself. Thunderclap was actually quite brave, like when she volunteered to bait the Umbrals away from Sugarcube Corner - it had been a lot for her to give of herself...

The world around them melted away like before.

Author's Note:

Cupcake being forgotten, and feeling worthless... I can't even begin to mention how many people go through the same thing every day. To feel as though you don't matter to ANYONE... well, some folks might not get it, but that can be a nightmare all to itself. Depression isn't just a buzzword for psychologists to bandy about; it's a very real thing, and here, it threatened to turn a wonderful and boisterous Party Pony into nothing but an empty shell, waiting to die.

Nightmares about personal, real horrors are just as valid as monsters chasing you... it's just that the monster in this case is often in your own mind.

Comments

[jimerjam]

Are we really pulling a freddy krueger here?

[applezombi]

The sensory descriptions in this chapter are beyond good.

I'm a little concerned that it felt like the solution came too quickly.

On the other hand, it ended with a fairy tale kiss, so that's good.