Obsidian: Daughter of Sombra

by Randimaxis

Nine: Critters & Bugs

Inside, there was a LOT of plantlife; ivy covered the walls and ceiling, and there were overgrown planter boxes everywhere. But, even with all the foliage, everything was trimmed back well enough away from walking spaces, so there was still plenty of room to move.

All sorts of exotic-looking flowers were scattered about the classroom, but there were also animals here! Along the walls were a number of birds and squirrels, all nested in and cozy, and there were a few raccoons, some small foxes, and several rabbits. Seeing the large, grey-streaked bear sitting calmly at the rear of the class was a bit disconcerting, though.

A small jungle in the classroom? It was probably driving the cleaning slav-... er, staff mad, especially if these critters weren't taught to 'do their business' only in specified areas. Particularly especially the bear - stepping into his waste probably wouldn't be too pleasant, she wagered. Especially especially if there were things stuck in it... like, for instance, equine bones.

In the midst of all this was a small gathering of students, mostly ponies but a few other races were present, all paying rapt attention to a single mare at the center of it all. She had a creamy yellow coat, and a mane of long, flowing hair of a soft pink, the grey in it standing out like slivers of silvery dew.

Her eyes, however, held the kindest look that Obsidian had ever seen; it was almost alien to the cruelly-abused princess.

She was currently speaking to them... something about animal care... when she spotted them entering the classroom.

"Oh! Class, would you please excuse me for just a moment?" She made her way over, a long tail trailing behind her, flowing like water. She stepped close, and those beautiful eyes widened as she saw Obsidian.

"Hello, Cupcake... oh! I see you brought a friend! One I don't recognize... is she a new student?"

Cup smiled. "Oh, I hope she will be! Professor Fluttershy, meet Princess Obsidian of the Crystal Empire!"

The kind-eyed mare gave a polite, humble bow. "A Princess? Oh, it's an honor to-... wait." She looked at Cupcake curiously. "She doesn't look like one of Cadence's children, so who is-"

"Uhhhhh... no. She's... not. She's the one that Princess Twilight found in... i-in Sombra's old dungeon."

Fluttershy's eyes went wide. "Oh my! You poor, poor thing..." The mare's eyes teared up a bit. "When Twilight told me about finding you down in such a cold, hard place... why, my heart just went right out to you! I'm so sorry; you must be going through a LOT, adjusting to life in this time period!"

Though Obsidian wasn't exactly an animal expert, she was willing - in this case - to give miss Fluttershy the benefit of the doubt when it came to their relative safety... and aside from that, she just couldn't force herself to dislike her. There was something so... non-threatening in her.

No, that didn't quite sound right... maybe 'counter-threatening' would be a better term?

That was surprising - considering the fact that she was one of the much-lauded Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, she probably had a lot adventure in her life; to see a pony so gentle after those possible experiences was something to think about. And it spoke much of Fluttershy, as did her manners; she found the pegasus mare to be quite polite and respectful.

"Good morning, Professor," she bowed a bit as well, in response, "yes, I have to admit that everything is... er... rather different from the conditions I had back home."

She peeked a bit at Cupcake, the number one of those Very Different Things she'd met here.

"Headmare Starlight ordered us to deliver a message," she added quickly, levitating a scroll to the pegasus mare. After all, she was in a middle of class - Obsidian felt that she really shouldn't interrupt it.

"Oh! Thank you so very much." Fluttershy took the scroll in hoof and placed it gingerly into her mane, just behind her ear. "I'll have a look at it first thing, as soon as class is over; I appreciate you taking the time to do this for me."

Cupcake was, meanwhile, waving at members of the class, who quite apparently knew him personally. Four ponies (including one lovestruck-looking mare), two griffons and a... dragon?

There was a dragon in this classroom, and she hadn't noticed? A fire-breathing, gem-chewing, greedy lizard among ponies? Well, this school was surely SOMETHING - but she wasn't exactly sure what yet. To be fair, the dragon itself wasn't exactly looming in size; he was just a bit bigger than a regular pony... so maybe he wasn't a threat at all?

At least, he was nothing near what her tutors had taught her about - maybe they'd been excluding information, or perhaps it was merely outdated?

"Well, I do hope you manage to find something in this era that will bring you happiness, Princess Obsidian; with all you've been through, and what Sombra had planned for you... well, I'm just glad we found you!"

Carefully and gently, she reached out and gave the timidest of embraces to the dark princess; there was barely contact, and no squeeze to even consider... but the genuine care and affection was still most certainly there - and she did so without hesitation.

The contact was the least-intrusive touch she'd ever felt in her life... and the most loving one.

"I-if you'll excuse me, I still have a class to teach... but you're always welcome to stop by and visit me, if you'd like that. And I do hope to see you in class, should you choose to attend. I would be so very happy to see you there!"

With that, she gave another respectful, gentle bow and returned to her podium, giving a sweet little wave before she returned to her lesson. Cupcake waved back, and most of the animals returned it. The animals were so calm around Fluttershy... she also seemed to have a magic, all her own.

Fascinating...

Wait. Waaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiit... what was that about what her most honourable father had planned for her?

Princess Twilight had already mentioned that they had found his writings... but did Professor Fluttershy possibly know something more? And... why in Tartarus did she touch her? If it had been an attempt to strangle her, it certainly didn't work - but she truly didn't look like the type that would enjoy choking the life out of ponies, so most likely it was something else. Something friendly.

Then she noticed that animals were waving to them.

It was too much - she simply bowed and quickly left the classroom, flustered, confused and kinda excited about everything that happened here. Cupcake followed her out, a look of concern writ large on his muzzle.

"Ummmm... you... don't look okay. Princess, what's wrong? Are you okay? I mean, yeah, sometimes Miss Fluttershy's kindness is a bit overwhelming at times, but..." He continued to look at her with concern. "If you wanna talk about it, I'm right here - I might be able to answer it, if it's a question that's bugging you?"

She didn't even look at him; she was still mulling over everything that had happened to her. Maybe Professor Fluttershy would tell her more about her most honourable father's plans... she certainly seemed to know something or other that Obsidian didn't.

"I'm used to many things, Cupcake. Professor Fluttershy is a complete opposite of all of them! Every single one.
Just cultural shock, honestly; thou need not concern yourself about that," she intoned as she shook her head.

Those waving animals... it was not natural. It was so sweet that her teeth almost started to hurt.

Cup still wore a look of concern... but, with a small sigh of resignation, he nodded. "Princess, I... get the impression... that you haven't had very many nice things in your life. And honestly? I think that's a crying shame."

Almost as if the words conjured them, slight tears formed in the corner of his eyes.

"Not allowed good food, not taught how to care properly for your mane, never having had a friend... and kindness seems so foreign to you... oh, it actually kinda hurts me that you weren't treated like you were loved."

He held up a hoof, "No, I'm not being a meanie by saying that, I just... it's not fair. It's just not fair that you were treated so harshly that you don't even know how to handle meeting the Element of Kindness."

Cupcake wore a look that was a mixture of sorrow, pain and concern. The first two emotions, she was well aware of, but... the concern for her - not pity, but actual concern - was so obvious... but why?

"I wish I could help you understand friendship faster, but... but it's kinda something you gotta discover for yourself. I mean, forcing friendships is just... well, it's not being a real friend; it's just controlling someone." He sighed. "And history shows that that never ends well."

She literally told him just now that he doesn't need to be concerned, and yet he got concerned! These modern ponies just didn't know when to stop. Eww, it even seemed that he was crying! Disgusting!

"Life is not fair, Cupcake. I understood and accepted my role and everything that was connected with it. Everything... er..."

Pausing, she looked to the sides, to be sure that nopony else was there to overhear them. "Um... you have... pardon my language... tears in your eyes. Tell me, are those considered, in this world... indecent?"

She still remembered what happened last time when she dared to cry; her father had personally made it a certainty that she wouldn't ever dare to do so again in his presence.

Of course, she'd like to argue that controlling others is great, but this time she knew better - considering that her last 'outburst' (though she didn't consider it as one) left her without any 'friends', she didn't want to start a quarrel... especially in front of professor Fluttershy's classroom.

Cupcake wiped at his eyes, but tears still lingered. "Princess... no."

He sighed heavily. "Whatever was going on a thousand years ago, it's no longer relevant. Plus, the kind of treatment you were getting wouldn't have just been considered harsh... it would be called cruel and terrible."

"And I know life isn't fair - but that's why we do so much to make it as good as possible now! There's no call for starving anyone, or beating them, or punishing them for every tiny infraction!" Though it was obvious he felt passionately about the subject, he was following Obsidian's example and keeping his voice low.

"You were treated so mean... but, you don't have to suffer that stuff anymore; Sombra is gone, and he can't do anything to you anymore. He does NOT own you - you're free to be yourself now! No more harsh treatment, no more painful lessons, no more torture... and there's a lot of folks here that would probably be glad to be friends with you, help you learn about this world, maybe even help you get by in it!"

Again, he went to put a hoof on her shoulder... then thought better of it, and put the hoof back down.

"I really, reeeeeeally want to see you happy, y'know? My momma always said that spreading happiness to others is a gift: joy and good cheer help others feel better, so they actually end up having a better quality of life for it."

"I... I wish I had the words to help you see what I mean, but..." his face fell, "I gotta have patience, and keep on trying. You're smart - I'm 101% certain that you'll figure it out, and it'll stop being so frustrating for you. I just hope you do so sooner than later."

Especially with this stallion as her liaison - even his breakfast was royally-good, which meant that Obsidian was at risk of turning into a gluttonous, fat pig...

He was about to go on, when Obsidian heard a familiar voice:

"... yeah, and then I managed to finish my laps around the track before anyone else; that's why I'm a top-notch flyer, just like my awesome mom!"

That was the voice of Thunderclap Dash, bragging to what looked sort-of like a changeling... but the carapace was all colorful and such. Cupcake was so busy talking about feelings that he didn't even notice.

It seemed that Cupcake was, more or less, understanding her situation - though he was still looking at it from different, strange angles that were twisting her entire life into a series of cruelty, pain and tortures for no reason. Hopefully he'd sooner or later realize that her most honourable father was just doing everything he could to shape her into a proper tool.

Was there a better fate than to be used properly and fit into the world?

In a way, he was right; her father no longer owned her - at least not until his glorious return. It meant that she had to take care of herself, recall his lessons, and behave as a royal would... though she wasn't sure how long she would manage to avoid all the self-indulgent happiness and other joyful things that could corrupt her.

"Cupcake. Thunderclap is coming this direction, with... er..." she hesitated for a moment. "... I have no idea what it is. Let's intercept them."

He looked up, surprised but quickly recovering. "Oh? OH! Okay, yeah - now would be the time to try your hoof at apologies! I mean, she'll have to apologize too, but it's not impossible. Plus, as Professor Fluttershy always says: Apologizing first opens the way for others to do so, too!"

Clap and her... friend, one would assume... were almost right on top of them before they were noticed.

Thunderclap stopped short, and the accompanying entity stopped with her. "Huh? Oh, hiya Sid-..."

She abruptly stopped, then a look of neutrality settled onto her features. She didn't look... angry... as much as she seemed... cautious? Wary? Whatever the expression was, it didn't look right on the mare's muzzle.

"... Obsidian." She glanced next to her. "Cupcake." She looked like she wanted to be friendly... but it seemed like she was reserving herself, in case Obsidian didn't want to be friendly with her.

Apologizing first... so, that was like a war strategy?

She just had to start a pre-emptive attack, then. Hmmmm... perhaps the key of understanding 'friendship' was comparing it with an armed conflict? Of course she had a long way before she could call herself a Supreme General of Friendship - at the moment, she failed to even notice that Thunderclap seemed so hesitant.

"Good morning, Thunderclap. I'd been planning to find you later, so I'm glad we found each other. I truly hope I didn't hurt your feelings yesterday, and I'm s-..." she coughed - nothing serious; she just had a dry throat! Really! It's not like she literally choked on apologies or anything!

"... I'm sorry for upsetting you". It was probably the most dry apology in the universe, but at least she tried.

The change in Thunderclap's attitude was almost instantaneous.

"Whaaaaat, that thing yesterday? Ah, that was nothin', Siddy - friends argue all the time, y'know? Don't worry about it; we're cool! And hey, I'm sorry too - I mean, I don't know what-all you had to go through, where you're from... I didn't mean to pree... prez, uh... pree... um..."

"... presume?" Offered the weird beetle-thing next to her.

"Bless you," Clap said. Cupcake giggled behind a hoof.

"But yeah, it's all good - no harm, no foul, right?" Regardless of her words, Obsidian got the distinct impression that Clap was very relieved that 'Siddy' was still wanting to be friends. The bug-thing, whoever it was, simply stood back and allowed conversation to happen.

"So, you enroll in Friendship School already?" Clap asked curiously. "If so, you pick up fast; Fluttershy herself says 'apologizing first opens a road'... or something like that. Anyhoo, what're you doin' here, Siddy?"

That one was easy, it seemed. Nothing too complicated. If Mica and Gypsy will accept her apologies that quickly as well then, apparently, Cupcake was just making too much fuss about this whole situation yesterday.

"We've been told to run a few errands in the school by Lemon. I didn't enroll, but I consider it very likely in the close future. I will also have to meet Mica and Gypsy later, of course. Maybe Butter Churn as well", after all she needed all friends she could get, right? She trotted forward and went to put a hoof on Clap's shoulder... then, as if she thought better of it, she put the hoof back down.

Cupcake had done it twice already, it was surely something friendly?

"Now, could you perhaps introduce us?", she peeked a bit at the colorful, walking... something near Thunderclap. It looked like a... uhhhh... maybe a bug? Or a very, very weird pony. A very weird bug-pony?

Clap's lip curled in disgust. "Uck... Lemon! Cup, why in the wide, wide world of Equestria do you have him as a brother? How could he come from your mom?"

Cupcake shrugged. "I ask myself that all the time... and I never answer. Hmm."

"Still... uck. Anyhoo, you feel like... me, um... t-tagging..." she watched Obsidian raise & lower her hoof. "... what was that? Were you trying to do this?" Clap reached out and gave Obsidian a firm pat on her shoulder; it didn't hurt, but it sort of made her take a step back; Thunderclap Dash was a rather muscular pony, after all.

Was that what Cup had been doing? Avoiding touching her?

"Cute. But hey, y'gotta learn somehow, right?"

When she mentioned Gypsy and Mica, Clap's ears drooped a bit. "Uhhhhh... yyyeeeeaaaahhhhh... Gypsy was kinda, just... I dunno... he kinda felt bad, like he'd messed up or something. Mica..." she sighed, "... he might need some time. He kinda took it personally when you said... uh, that stuff you said." Great.

"Oh, but yeah - this here is-"

"Markannus," the bug pony said, "a Reformation Changeling. Charmed." He gave a little bow, then straightened up with a smile. "I hope Cup here hasn't been talking your ears off."

Cupcake pointed at Obsidian's head. "Nope - they're still there!"

Yesterday she had truly regretted that she still had ears on her head; today... well, she had at least gotten used to it somewhat, and of course Cupcake was a bit more humble.

Right now, however, Obsidian was more concerned and shocked by a sudden pat on her shoulder, and realization that maybe Cupcake tried to do the same with her. She had risen one hoof and started to rub the patted place, not sure what to do with this sudden physical contact.

Apparently it was her lesson for today - never try to parrot Cupcake's actions. Especially without asking him what they mean; it was just a bad idea that led to unsolicited contact.

"Cupcake, I'll have to talk with you about patting others later, apparently... just to be sure that I understand everything I can about it."

Cupcake's mouth opened and closed for a moment, confused at what she meant... then, like watching a little light turn on inside his cranium, understanding dawned on his muzzle.

"Oh, uhhh... I didn't do it 'cuz you... umm, you seem like you don't... really wanna be touched. I wanted to, 'cuz it's supposed to be for comfort - unlike some ponies who don't know their own strength, who make it hard and awkward."

Clap looked confused. "Whaaaaaaat? I just-"

"It's okay; I'll explain it all later, Princess."

At least she learned what happened with the rest of the group... and who Thunderclap's companion was. "A changeling... hunh. Your species looked different in the books I've read..."

Of course it was thousand years ago, so apparently something had happened to them that altered their physiology. In her opinion, something obviously quite terrible and cruel.

"I am Princess Obsidian - would you like to be my friend?"

Another friend - it would be a good start. Unfortunately, Princess Twilight didn't tell her how many friends she had to make... better safe than sorry, right? Besides, more friends meant she was excelling in her task; the alicorn would be duly impressed by the sheer size of the roster she would gather!

After her observation on changelings, Markannus nodded. "There are two types of changelings, and both have different appearances: those who feel that taking love to survive is their birthright, or 'Forthright Changelings', hold the classic look the stories all give... and those who feel it better to share love between creatures, or 'Reformation Changelings', have more color to them, like I do. The kind you're familiar with is probably the former kind, like most others."

At her asking if Markannus wanted to be her friend, both Cupcake and Thunderclap's muzzles lit up with smiles.

"THAT'S the ticket, Siddy!"

"Yeah, that's wonderful!"

Markannus, confused, looked at them both before giving Obsidian a half-grin. "Sure... but those two seem to think it's some sort of momentous occasion or something. Weird. Anyway, nice to meet you, princess; you might like meeting our king, someday."

Good. Another friend made, and apparently one as interesting as Gypsy.

'Reformed' changelings with their own king... maybe she'd be able to find something in the history books about it? And, of course, both Cup and Clap seemed to be overjoyed at the gesture.

But why? They reacted as if it was something strange, yet they were, literally, in a school of friendship. Surely it was something normal they should be used to by now?

"They both tend to surprise me with their reactions, and yes, meeting a king sounds very interesting."

Now, what sort of things should friends be doing? Did it count already as being done? Maybe she should be making a list - and each of her friends would have to sign it, stating that that, yes, they are definitely her friends, officially.

"I still have one thing to do, in the school's library, and then I have to go to meet with Gypsy and Mica. Are you possibly interested in going with us?"

Clap smiled broadly. "Yeah, I would! I mean, it's not like I'm really missing anything from mom's class, so I'd be happy to join you two!"

"As for me," Markannus said, "I'm afraid I'm only out of class to check on my brother; he's been shedding his carapace, and always has trouble-"

"-coming out of his shell!" Cupcake finished with him, laughing.

Amused, he continued. "So I'll have to take a pass on that for right now; another time, perhaps?"

Shedding his carapace? Obsidian, for a moment, was curious about that - how did it look? What did they do with it afterwards? There were so many things she felt she could learn from this creature... but alas, she already had her duties and there were other things that she wanted to understand today.

Cupcake waved a hoof at the changeling. "Sure, no problem - I'm sure Obsidian wouldn't mind, would you?"

Clap laughed. "Of course she doesn't mind! Siddy here is poised to make more friends than anyone else in the history of this school!"

"That," Cup intoned, "would be up to her. I mean, I hope she does, but it's her call; no way am I making decisions for her - how will she learn, otherwise?"

She also had to be careful around Thunderclap - this 'more friends than anyone' sounded like a threat. She already had far more 'friends' than she felt comfortable with, and still wasn't sure what exactly this whole 'friendship' deal was.

"I'm looking forward to our next meeting, then," she replied calmly. Diamond dogs were already a curiosity to her - these 'Reformed Changelings' could prove just as interesting.

Markannus smiled. "As do I - farewell." He glanced at Thunderclap. "And behave yourself."

"Whaaaaaaat??? I'm always behaved... even when I'm not!"

The changeling shook his head bemusedly, then made his way down the hall. Clap fell in behind Obsidian and Cupcake; smooth as if she'd been there the whole time. "So, we're headed to where to see who?"

"Library, to visit some non-fiction books!" Cup seemed to almost gleam with that statement. Clap, however, stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Ick. Sorting duty. Sucks to be you..." she sighed, "... aaaaand ME, by proxy, so we might as well maintain our partnership here. Can I just sit back and... I dunno... read something?"

"If you're sorting," Cup perked up, "I could pitch in & help it go by faster!"

Hm, so Cupcake was offering her help... good. It looked like she wouldn't have to work too hard - not that sorting was truly all that hard, though. After all, placing things in their proper order was a monarch's duty - so she had to do it as well.

If anything, it should be entertaining... for a bit, anyway.

And maybe, MAYBE... there would be some information about Headmare Starlight among the stacks - Obsidian was certain that she'd already noticed her name in one of the history books, but she had read too much in too short of a time and didn't retain as much as she'd wished.

"Library... I can hardly wait to see it with my own two eyes," she sighed.

Oh right, there was one more thing: "I also assume that you two are already my friends. I am correct, yes?"

After all, Obsidian never asked those two officially; she just wanted to be certain.

Clap gave a bark of a laugh. "Well, sure we-"

"Acquaintances, actually!" Cup interrupted. "We're still getting to know each other, so we're technically acquaintances, or 'friend potentials', so to speak... once we really get to know each other, we'll graduate to friends..."

His eyes got big, wide and teary. "But the thought that you're concerned enough to ask us if we're friends? Oh, that's exactly the kind of things friends do!"

Clap scratched her head, looking confused. "They do? I've never asked Mica if HE was my friend before; he was just... y'know, there."

Cupcake laughed. "Silly filly! You two have spent so much time together, you're practically siblings! Of COURSE he's your friend! Once you reach a certain point, you won't even need to ask - it'll be obvious!"

He glanced back at Obsidian. "Might wanna make a note of that, princess!"

It was only about a minute before they rounded a corner and beheld the large double-doors of the school's massive library. There were shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books, everywhere and almost as far as Obsidian could see! There were a few ponies milling about, but for the most part, they were pretty much by themselves.

After a moment of staring at the handy map next to the checkout desk, Cupcake proclaimed the non-fiction section to be 'over this way', and led them towards the back of the book-canyons around them.

Reaching the location, the three of them found two ponies already there...

Author's Note:

No, Markannus isn't exactly a canon changeling name... but then, it's MY alternate universe, and I can name him 'Duckyboos' if I want to. (Don't worry; I don't want to.)

Fluttershy, for the record, was the reason I got into MLP:FiM in the first place; she was so sweet, so very cute and just had that whole 'please hug me' vibe going on for her, I just sorta... heh, well, squee'd over her. I hope my portarayal here as her is accurate enough for her other fans to appreciate my efforts.

And, true to her personality, Clap just lets yesterday go so she can continue to be pals with 'Siddy'; she'd rather be a friend than not with her anyway, but she needed to know that Obsidian saw her as one, too - the apology was all the proof she needed. Will the others be as easy as Obsidian thinks? No spoliers.

Comments

[platogkrone]

Fluttershy is truly the most magical of the Mane Six.

Sorry, Twilight.

[Truthseeker]

I am, thus far, quite fond of this story. I am not generally a big fan of S.o.L. stories, but this one has me.

[Randimaxis]

10532185

One is glad to be of service. *bows humbly*

[A.P.O.N.I.]

Apologizing first... so, that was like a war strategy?

She just had to start a pre-emptive attack, then. Hmmmm... perhaps the key of understanding 'friendship' was comparing it with an armed conflict? Of course she had a long way before she could call herself a Supreme General of Friendship - at the moment, she failed to even notice that Thunderclap seemed so hesitant.

And I see that my comment from the previous chapter was presumptive. Why oh why did I not read the entire story before commenting on any of the chapters?