Obsidian: Daughter of Sombra

by Randimaxis

Eight: School Daze

The two of them made their way to the school, Cupcake skipping along - practically bouncing - as they reached the campus.
He held the door for her as they entered, and he began whistling a whimsical tune as they made their way through the halls and towards the main offices.

Inside the large office, there was a secretary's desk, a stack of filing cabinets, a typewriter, and two individuals chatting with each other. The mare behind the desk had a dark green coat with a violet mane and tail. She seemed bored... but was still constantly typing, not even looking at what she was writing; she changed papers without ever breaking eye contact with her guest.

Who was a griffon.

The griffon had tan and orange feathers, and there was a big white circle of feathers around his right eye. He wore a school uniform, but looked like he was almost too old to be in school anymore. He spoke with a confident tilt to his attitude. "... so's then, I sized him up an' said, 'look here - this ain't YOUR lunch, but if you don't back off, it'll be your fashion statement, as yer gonna be wearing it, bucko!"

"Sure," the mare said with a bored inflection, "then what?"

"Well, he thought he was big an' bad, so I just-" The griffon now noticed the two newcomers. "Oh, hey Cupcake... who's dis?"

"Princess Obsidian! Here on orders! With me!"

The griffon smiled and rolled his eyes. "Lucky her."

Frankly, she really wanted to try to find a map to this whole place - sooner or later, she would have to walk around without any help from liaisons. Cupcake could easily walk her into a trap and she wouldn't even take notice before she would be surrounded by earth ponies with swords... or something even worse and more modern!

Though, of course, Cupcake didn't look like a pony that would try something like that, luckily. This office where he had brought her, however... a mare and a griffon. Was she the headmare? And this half-bird seemed to be a bit too old for school...

"Good morning. Is... is this the headmare's office?" She could only guess where Cupcake brought her; as far as she was concerned, he could just want to come with her here only to greet his... ugh... friends or something like that. It didn't help that he didn't introduce those two to her.

The griffon smiled, revealing a long scar beneath his beak. "Name's Gunther - Gunther Gadfly. Nice ta meetcha." He thumbed over his shoulder at the typist. "That's Bold Verdana; she's the secretary here."

Bold, still not looking at her work, nodded to Obsidian and Cupcake. "Hiya."

"If yer lookin' for the headmare," Gunther said, "she's in her office."

"Awww, I know that!" Cupcake said. "The princess here has to report to her to find out what we're doing today!"

"Yeah, well - best'a luck with that, Cup. I'm sure it'll be a riot, whatever it is."

There was a buzz from the secretary's desk, then she said, just as disinterested as she'd been before, "I've buzzed you in; go ahead."

"Okie dokie lokie! Thanks a heap, Boldie!"

"Mmm-hmm."

Cup motioned her to follow him as he went into the office. Gunther gave Obsidian a grin and a wink. "Don't mind Cup too much, ma'am - he's hyper, but he can be a heckuva loyal friend, once you get ta know 'im."

Another strange accent... not too strange, though - as long as she was able to understand the basics of what he was saying, it was fine. She could only wonder how much griffon civilization changed since the good, old times that, to her, were only the day before yesterday.

"Well, it's a bit hard not to notice that," she replied to griffon's advice with a calm voice. Cupcake was 'hyper'? Oh, who would think that? After all, he was only speaking more words in a minute than she ever did in a day... and he wasn't even walking, but practically bouncing. Yup. Hyper.

Without any further questions or small-talk, she followed her (apparent) friend into the office.

The office was nice, but not ostentatious; it was professional enough... though the sight of a box kite hanging from the ceiling did lend it a slightly whimsical feel. When she came in, Obsidian found Cupcake talking rapidly to a pink mare with a purple mane, with what looked like some aqua in it to match the slightly creeping grey.

The mare looked past Cup and grinned at Obsidian. "I'll guess you're the one Cupcake here is talking about," she said, "hi there - my name's Starlight Glimmer; welcome to the School of Friendship. I'm the headmare here, and I'm happy to welcome you." She stood up, and it was obvious she was still somewhat spry, even though the marks of age were beginning to show.

"Of course, Princess Twilight already filled me in on what the situation would be... but, I have to admit, I didn't think I was going to see you here so soon." Cupcake grinned, but looked around innocently. Starlight looked skeptical, yet didn't say anything more about it.

"So, if Cupcake's right, you're here to do a little odd-jobbing? Don't worry - it's not like I'm going to ask you to wrangle Shock Bees or anything; just a few light tasks, and you'll be free to go."

"See?" Cup beamed. "Easy-peasy-Lemon-got-squeezied!"

"Lemon? As in your oldest brother, Lemon Squee-... I mean, Custard?" Starlight sighed. "He never did get very high marks in Friendship... and I take it he's still a bit of a bitter pill to deal with?"

Now there was a hard question that began to flit about in her head - should Obsidian bow or not? She wasn't a princess... however, she also wasn't a mere slave. Back in the Crystal Empire everything was far, far easier. Headmare wasn't a royalty, but she had authority over her, so obviously she should pay her respect - but how much?

She bowed eventually - just a bit.

"Good morning, miss headmare. Yes, Lemon assigned me to do some jobs here. Yes, he is behaving like a pony that got too much authority and is trying to get even more." Starlight Glimmer... wasn't there something about her in the history books? Obsidian tried to focus on it; too bad that she fell asleep in the middle of one...

"He's always been like that," Starlight sighed, "even though his mother did everything she could to help him find friends, he just... never saw any merit in it, I guess. I just can't help but feel like I failed him, somehow..."

"Oh no, Headmare! He's just a stick in the mud! He's my brother, though - so I still love him like one... I just don't like him very much!"

Starlight shook her head, then addressed Obsidian. "So, I have a delivery for the guidance councilor, a notice for one of our teachers, and reorganizing the first two shelves of the non-fiction section in the library... after that, I'll be happy to sign you off for the day." She leaned in closely, "Unless you're interested in attending? If so, we can start the paperwork when you're done?"

Well, if one would add Lemon to Cupcake and then divide by two, a result would be two completely normal, average ponies. It seemed, however, that little Cupcake took most of 'friendly' traits completely for himself.

The assignments didn't sound too hard, though. Obviously, she would need to rely on Cupcake's help, since to properly find any councilor or teacher she would need to know who they were first. Or know where to look for them. Or...

Ahem, anyway, she needed Cupcake. And it seemed that her freedom of choice was even bigger than she initially thought, as they were asking her if she wants to attend? Obsidian assumed it would be forced upon her, sooner or later!

"I..." she hesitated for a moment. "... I'm not sure, headmare. Since yesterday, my life changed a bit, and I'm still adjusting. Thus, I'm not even sure if I know enough about anything around me to make a conscientious decision about that."

"Trust me," Starlight said with a knowing smirk, "I understand being hesitant to embrace friendship... but okay, just let me know if you make the choice."

Cupcake smiled at Starlight. "Headmare, since I'm officially excused from class for now, it would be okay for me to accompany the princess around the place?"

Starlight chuckled, "I expect she'd need you to get around... or a map, which I most certainly have." Reaching into a desk drawer, she brought out a printout of the school's basic floor plan - pocket-sized. "Here... in case Cup gets, eh... 'distracted' away from you."

Cup held a hoof over his heart in mock horror. "Headmare Glimmer! I would never-"

Starlight, nonplussed, simply held up a peppermint candy in its' wrapper. Instantly, Cup cut off his sentence and chased it as she lightly tossed it out the door. She then turned to Obsidian once more. "Really, though - Cup's a good friend. Just not a calm or reserved one. Okay," she smiled, "my secretary, Bold, has the deliveries for you, and Cupcake knows where the head librarian is. You should be all set for today. OH! And if there's anything you need, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask!"

It was a bit disconcerting to see a unicorn able to control other pony without dark magic or a mind-control helmet. However, it was apparently an easy trick - and as soon as Obsidian herself would get some candies, she could turn Cupcake into her obedient slave as well!

And everypony was encouraging her to ask in case of trouble or issues... that could prove to be useful as well.

"It's less about being hesitant to embrace friendship, miss headmare, and more about still trying to figure out what exactly I'm doing in a foreign country, thousand years into the future, with no one familiar and with every single life expectation thrown out of the window!"

She couldn't help herself but correct Starlight, surprising herself with a hint or two of bitterness in her voice. Friendship... as if it was the only important thing in the modern Equestria. "I'll do my best to finish everything in as timely a manner as possible. Good day, miss headmare." She turned away to leave the office.

The headmare's voice came to her from behind. "I... may be more able to relate than most; I had my life expectations shattered, no friends, and a lot of bitterness."

The look on her muzzle was actually genuine, and she seemed concerned... but wasn't going to force it. "If you feel like it's overwhelming you, you're always welcome in my office. I may not be in your exact shoes, but I've been close enough. Trust me."

Perhaps it would be a good idea to visit this place again, sooner or later. Obsidian bowed once again, turned away and left. Delivery, notice, shelves... she wondered how big this library could be. A thousand books? Two thousand? Surely no more than that, as the area around them wasn't truly a full-fledged city, but rather an overgrown village; there was no reason to keep so many books nearby.

Hopefully, Cupcake was done with his candy. A pocket-sized map could be useful, but Cupcake's main value was the fact that he apparently also already knew everypony around; no map could replace his experience.

Sure enough, he was seated like a squirrel, on top of Bold's desk, munching noisily on the candy disc. Bold, unperturbed as usual, simply continued on with her typing... though she was leaning back in her chair far enough to avoid his rump, which was practically in her face.

"Odd job, right?" She sounded completely bored. "Fine. There's the package," she pointed a hoof at a plain-brown wrapped box, about as big as a breadbox, "and the letter's under Cupcake."

"OH!" He reached down and pulled it up, holding it out to Obsidian. "Okay, I guess we're off, then!" The front of the letter said {To Professor Fluttershy, c/o Twilight's School Of Friendship}, and had a stamp of a pony she didn't recognize on it.

"Don't lose them," Bold said before she refocused on the window, looking out at the sunny day outside, sighing longingly.

"We won't! Okay, princess! Let's go DO THIS THANG!!!" Cup sprang off the desk like a rabbit, and skipped his way out into the hallway.

Fluttershy... oooh, one of the bearers of the elements of Harmony. Wonderful. Hopefully she would be an easy target - plotting against Princess Twilight would be hard, but Professor Fluttershy should be able to provide Obsidian with some information... with or without her knowledge.

The young mare grabbed both letter and package with her magic and rushed after Cupcake. Errands like these shouldn't take up too much time, and it would be wise to get something to read about Starlight Glimmer, as well.

In his own erratic way, Cupcake led her about the campus a bit before finally getting down to business and bringing her to another block of offices. This one had a name placard on the door: [THE GREAT AND POWERFUL GUIDANCE COUNCILOR IS IN!]

Cupcake smiled. "This is Councilor Trixie - she's lots of fun, and a former stage magician to boot! Don't mind if she gets loud and obnoxious and stuff; she's still really nifty!" He knocked on the door.

"Councilor Trixie, ma'am? Deliveryyyyyyyy!!!!!" From inside came a single word: "Enter!"

Cupcake's smile got brighter. "Heh, watch this!"

With that, he opened the door. At first, it simply appeared to be an office like Starlight's... though there were a number of promotional posters for 'The Great & Powerful Trixie' pinned to the walls in numerous places. However, there was nopony here...

}POOF!{

Smoke filled the room, and a proud voice called out, "Behoooolllllld!" As the smoke cleared, there was a powder blue mare standing on the desk, her forelegs out in a grand gesture, with what appeared to be a cloak on her back, festooned with stars.

"You have reached the offices of The Gr-r-r-r-reat and POWERful..." She stopped mid-sentence, then put on a small scowl. "Oh. It's you, Cupcake - why didn't you say so? Waste of a perfectly good smoke bomb..." She then noticed Obsidian, and she went stock still for a moment.

Then: ".... The, uh, Great - I MEAN, Gr-r-r-r-r-reat and POWERFUL Tr-r-r-r-rixie!"

Cup put on a goofy grin. "Yeah, she's STILL awesome!"

"So," the blue mare took her seat, waving away the last of the smoke and giving a slight cough, "what can I do for you?"

Considering that it was Cupcake calling councilor 'loud and obnoxious', Obsidian was expecting a small disaster, a pony that would be so repulsive that she wouldn't be able to force herself to enter her room - and his comment that she was 'lots of fun' didn't exactly ease her mind.

If anything, for obvious reasons, Sombra's daughter was intrigued by this claim of power and greatness - just who exactly was this mare, and why she was behaving that way?

Could she be a... challenge?

Maybe it was the same thing as with Lemon - a case of pony with a little bit of authority and far too high an opinion about themselves. And what was a 'stage magician'?

As soon as Obsidian entered the room, however, she saw something very, very familiar - smoke. A lot of it. Her first reaction was panicky and not too pleasant; usually smoke like this meant that her most honourable father was nearby, and in a VERY foul mood, if he was able to emit so much of it. Luckily, the councilor had immediately announced herself, putting her nerves on ease a bit.

Obsidian breathed deeply a few times to calm herself, before she levitated package forward. "Good morning. The headmare asked us to deliver this to you."

"A package? I don't recall ordering anything... why did-"

Trixie's own magic enveloped the box... and as soon as it did, the lid flew clean off, there was a loud }POP!{, and party streamers and confetti shot into the air as a score of filled balloons drifted out, and somewhere, a kazoo blew a single note.

Tied to the string of a bright pink balloon was a note that read: [HAVE A GREAT & POWERFUL HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!] Along with this, another balloon floated nearby, a small gift box hanging from its string.

Trixie jumped at first, then gave a half-smirk. "Hunh. Looks like your mother's still got it, Cup; I hardly expected anypony, apart from my Bestie, would even remember! I'm flatt-... ooh, what's in the box?"

She reached over and took hold of the smaller wrapped gift, eyeballed it for a moment, then opened it carefully... and her eyes grew wide when she saw whatever it was. "OH! Oh, WOW - it's perfect!"

She used her magic to withdraw a necklace with a pendant that was shaped like a magic wand; the star at its tip gave off a soft, blue glow. It was fitting, as the glow matched the color of the councilor's coat. With a giggle, she used her magic to fasten it around her neck. That done, she smiled beatifically at Cupcake and Obsidian.

"Trixie is most pleased! Make sure to let your mother know how kind this was of her! Oh, I can hardly wait to show it to Starlight - in fact, I'll show her right now!" She drew herself up onto the desk again, and smiled broadly.

"Please, show yourselves out - The Gr-r-r-r-reat and Powerful Tr-r-r-r-rixie is off!"

There was another large }POOF!{, and the desk was completely empty... though Obsidian caught the last glimpse of a silvery tail slipping out of the doorway behind them.

Cup beamed from ear to ear as he looked around at all the confetti. "That's my momma!"

Now just wait a second - while Obsidian was a bit put-off by the loud sounds around her, she quickly got over herself and started to think about this whole situation: there was literally no possibility that even a few of those balloons would fit into the package! And there were far, far more than balloons inside. Was it magical? Unfortunately she didn't think about scanning it before - it could be interesting, to taste modern magic, even when it was used in a such vulgar way.

"... is your mom a unicorn?"

Wait, that wasn't right - wasn't he the son of Pinkie Pie? Mica tried to explain his family tree to him, but without making notes there was no feasible way for her to remember it all.

"Hold on... as far as I remember, your mother is Pinkie Pie - I believe that, in the books, she was shown as an earth pony? Which makes this whole situation right now..." she sighed with exasperation, "... impossible!"

Cup gave Obsidian a knowing smile. "As I said... that's my momma."

He made a flourishing gesture with a hoof. "She has a magic that's pretty much practiced in defying the laws of... well, everything! She used to be the Element of Laughter, but she's always been weird and wondrous! I think she said something about a 'fourth wall' at one time, but I think she broke it. Still," he continued, "she's always been able to do things that a lot of others say is impossible."

He grew a proud expression. "Impossible just means momma hasn't tried yet! Heck, even ol' Discord says she's one of his favorite pones... after Miss Fluttershy, of course."

Earth ponies with magic... defying the laws of the universe...

Perhaps Obsidian wasn't learned enough to be able to research it properly, yet she was intrigued nonetheless. It seemed pretty chaotic, though, and was used in a way that Obsidian just couldn't approve - but it didn't change the fact-

"Discord? That name sounds familiar; are we possibly talking about a very, very... unconventional creature? At any rate, let us go to Miss Fluttershy already, and you can explain to me the rest during our travel".

"Oh, YEAH! I keep forgetting you're so new to all this!" Cupcake led the way as they left the office, but fell into step next to Obsidian as they continued down the hall.

"Discord the draconequus! He was a problem a looooooooong time ago, and got turned into a pigeon toilet - at least, that's what HE called it - for a thousand years. He got out, though, and tried to go back to his ways of being a TOTAL meanie... but Miss Fluttershy made friends with him - his first friend - and that's what started him on the road to redemption!"

"Since then, he's... been kinda troublesome, 'cuz he likes chaos and stuff, but he's no longer trying to turn Equestria into Chaos Central; he's living in his place in the Outer Realms, where he and Miss Fluttershy have tea parties and such." He smiled. "He used ta foalsit me and my siblings; he's sooooooo much fun, and he's really cool, too! This one time, he gave us all wings, and we flew all over the place, just like pegasi! Well," he amended with a sheepish grin, "more like clumsy, blind seagulls actually - we had the wings, we just couldn't control them very well! I had a blast, though!"

They reached the end of the hallway, where it almost looked as though the doorway to the last classroom was nothing but a bunch of vines.

"The doorway's a bunch of vines," Cup explained, "because Miss Fluttershy just loves nature and animals and stuff like that; she says it makes the critters feel more comfy!"

So modern Equestria had a problem with a mad god of chaos - a problem that they brought on themselves. He sounded pretty tame right now, but it didn't change the fact that he was THE spirit of disorder, brought to heel only with this so-called 'friendship'. It had to be a powerful force indeed; to hear such casual talk about such a legendary powerful being was a bit unnerving, to say the least.

In Sombra's daughter's humble opinion, the situation was far too delicate to just ignore... but it wasn't her problem. At least not now, and not too big to handle, perhaps? Besides, giving wings to foals didn't sound too unreasonable... in fact, it was downright tame, in comparison to what he was before.

"Vines? Inside?" She trotted forward to examine them closer. Honestly speaking, there wasn't much in the way of plantlife in her Crystal Empire... especially under her father's rule. Especially especially in his palace.

"Critters? Cupcake, what exactly does she keep in her class?"

Cupcake laughed. "Well, come find out!" With that, he easily pushed the vines aside and entered the classroom.

Author's Note:

If you're going to have a secretary/receptionist, I'd think you could do worse than naming them after a font style. And I love it when characters seem to name themselves so easily.

The Glim-Glam and the Trix. One of my favorite pairings from the show, I wanted to make sure to try to capture their personalities correctly... I think I must have re-re-REwritten Starlight's lines about a dozen times before I sent them along in the roleplay, and I just HAD to get Trixie as right as possible - I am a fan of hers, after all. But I believe I got it 'close enough for jazz', so to speak.

Comments

[Truthseeker]

It had to be a powerful force indeed; to hear such casual talk about such a legendaily powerful being was a bit unnerving, to say the least.

I think you mean legendary.

[Randimaxis]

10532136
Indeed I do - typos are magic. *chuckle*