Obsidian: Shards Of Sombra

by Randimaxis

Five: Midnight Confessions

Obsidian stepped forward, standing between Clap and Midnight, glaring at the alicorn prince. He was threatening her friend at the top of his voice, and apparently getting angry enough to manifest some unexpected Dark Magic - and that wasn't just something she would allow from anypony.

"I think you should calm down, prince," she said, as she didn't want to have to challenge him... but she would if it was called for.

His eyes, dangerously sharp, slid over to look into Obsidian's own. "Then I think," he said calmly to her, "we need to leave." He gave Thunderclap one last, scalding glare... then he turned and stormed off, toward Ponyville.

Wart looked at Obsidian with worry writ large - not for Siddy, as she trusted her implicitly - but worry for Midnight. She quickly totted off to walk beside him, making sure he wasn't unescorted at the very least.

Clap stood there, staring after him. "I just... wanted to apologize."

Mica moved next to her, the hypnotic spell apparently broken. "After all you did to him? You're lucky he didn't blast you into next Tuesday as it is." He put a foreleg around her and led her towards the palace again. "Come on; let's finish up helping Cupcake."

Thunderclap had a look on her muzzle that was so alien that Siddy didn't like it at all: guilt. "Mica, I really-" she began.

"Uh-uh," he stopped her, "later, Clap. Right now, we have stuff to do." He led her inside, while she still seemed to be wanting to go to Midnight and beg forgiveness.

Exactly what did she do to him... it couldn't be that bad, right? Midnight still had four legs, two wings and horn. Eyes, ears and nose were still there. Were there any scars hidden under his fur?

"Mica, I'll look for you later - I believe I should have a bit more context about this, yes?" she asked the stallion as he was leading Clap away. She wondered what she could do for her pegasus friend, but she also knew that Mica would be a better choice right now... but that look was far from any of her usual expressions, and Obsidian could barely believe that it was her Clap she was seeing.

Over his shoulder, Mica looked back and nodded at her; he'd be willing to talk later, it was obvious... but right now, he saw two entities that needed separating, and he was simply doing his part.

Just 'blasting her into next Tuesday', as Mica aptly put it, was one thing - but using Dark Magic was something entirely different. Just what secrets was this 'cute egghead' hiding from the greater world?

But first things first - so she quickly followed Stalwart.

She caught up to the two of them as they walked the short road to Ponyville, and Midnight was most certainly not being very conductive to conversation; he walked along, brooding darkly as they travelled. Wart gave Siddy a concerned, almost fearful look - she apparently had never seen her friend so angry, and it wasn't sitting well with her at all.

After a few minutes though, he gave a great gust of a sigh and turned back to look at Obsidian and Stalwart. "I... please, forgive me for all that back there. I have a lot of... history... with Thunderclap Dash, and it's not a pretty story. I'm afraid I showed my temper back there, and that won't do for the child of Twilight Sparkle."

He stopped and turned to look fully at them both. "Stally, I'm sorry - you certainly didn't need to see that, especially from me. I hope this doesn't darken any friendship we might have, nor stained the one I hope to make with you, Miss Obsidian." He gave a low, deep bow. "Please forgive me for my outburst; I'll try not to let it happen again."

Wart looked to Obsidian, then decided to take the lead. "Midnight, I can easily forgive you; I remember how she used to be, and I understand." She looked at Siddy and gestured non-chalantly toward the alicorn, who still had his eyes closed and head bowed.

Yes! The natural position of every Equestrian in a front of the Queen of the Crystal Empire... BOWING! HA-HAAA!

... alas, she wasn't queen of anything, yet. Still, having an alicorn bowing to you always felt nice, and Obsidian wouldn't mind seeing it happen more often. She had to decide how she would handle this, what she would decide and say, and... and... and what? She'd started this fine day with only her spa plans - and right now, her day was spiralling out of control. Even Clap's mood was ruined.

"I... certainly understand that the past, and its remains, can be very unnerving sometimes. You need not worry about my opinion, prince." Yes, she could easily pretend that she didn't see anything Dark from him, and things were fine - but she felt something... and it was making her both uneasy and curious.

Midnight rose, and smiled slightly. "Thank you for understanding - I'm afraid there are just some things that sneak up on you... but come on, enough of that - let's not dwell on it any longer. There's a Ponyville to see, after all!"

Though he wasn't putting off anything now, Obsidian was certain she'd felt the tinge of darkness there for a second - and she most certainly knew darkness when she felt it. The issue was, she'd felt a very THICK tingle; the kind that came with a lot of Dark Magic. It was a similar tingle she'd felt in Onyx, but it wasn't Onyx - she was sure of that. Still, to feel darkness at that scale again... and from an alicorn..?

Eventually, they reached the town limits, and Midnight's smile widened more and more as they got closer. He sniffed at the air. "Ohhhhh... that smells like... raspberry tarts? Is Mr. and Mrs. Cake still in charge, or is it the twins?"

"Neither, I'm afraid," Wart clarified, "it belongs to the Pies now; the Cakes retired to Manehattan a while back, but the twins spend much of their time with the Crusaders, gathering new recruits."

"Ah, the Cutie Mark Crusaders," he said wistfully, "I remember them well. Are they still based from here, or have they retired too?" he joked.

Cutie Mark what? Gah! It almost felt as if she was unable to learn anything about this town on her own without some sudden remark about things she was blatantly unaware of! It made her feel ignorant, and Obsidian severely disliked the sensation.

"No, they are still active," Wart said, "and still helping every blank flank they come across. Princess Twilight has even declared a Crusader Day, in honor of their hard work and dedication. They're in Yakyakistan right now, but Sweetie keeps sending postcards back for her sister."

Midnight smiled at that, no trace of the anger from earlier. "Wonderful! Glad to hear it!"

They wandered up the main street, and Midnight's head seemed to almost be on a pivot as he took it all in. "It's still the same place I remember... yet it just feels so good to be back in it! And I'd say it's probably grown a bit, but I recognize so much! It's like..." he smiled sweetly, "... coming home again."

Obsidian swore that she'd find a book about Ponyville - covering the last last ten- no, twelve years - and would read it. Immediately. Cover to cover. Twice.

The three of them made their way to Sugarcube Corner, where the smell of sweet treats was the thickest. Midnight almost seemed to float through the door, the little bell jingling merrily as they entered.

"HiwelcometoSugarcubeCornerwhatdoyouwant?"

Behind the cash register was none other than Blue Raspberry herself, looking bored and annoyed - her usual face, in other words. When she looked up, however, she was caught fully in the proverbial light of the alicorn's appearance.

"Hhhhh... hhhow can I help you?" She stared at him with huge eyes, her sour expression gone from her features... in fact, she had a light blush going on. It was actually cute.

"Blue!" Midnight laughed. "It's me, Blue!"

She cocked an eyebrow. "Hunh?"

Midnight rolled his eyes and leaned in close. "Did you already forget me, Bugablue?"

NOW, her eyes went wide with recognition. "Midnight freakin' Star!? Holy Hacksaw, look at you! You're... WOW! WOWEE-WOW!" She came around the counter, and actually hugged him! "There's no way... I mean, you're..."

She then noticed Wart and Siddy, and visibly restrained herself, stepping back and clearing her throat. "I mean, uh... yeah. Hey, Mid. You look DAMN good."

Now it was Midnight's turn to give a questioning look. "And you look... Blue, what's with the spikes and black clothes? I mean, it's a good look for you, yeah, but... what happened to-"

"Mid," she stopped him, "don't embarrass me, 'kay? I'll bet I know why you're here, too. Just made 'em today, came out of the oven about ten minutes ago." She gestured to a display case showing a number of delicious-looking tarts that smelled divine.

"Go ahead and grab one, free of charge!" She slid a glance at Obsidian and Wart. "And I guess you two can have a sample, too. Just don't think you'll be making a habit out of this, 'kay?"

Of course Obsidian would have felt better to have met Miss Pinkie Pie herself running the shop, but on another hoof - she would probably immediately describe, in minute detail, everything that had happened over the last month in Ponyville, talking faster than Obsidian - maybe even Midnight - could possibly comprehend. And probably describe to Midnight the entirety of Siddy and Cup's relationship, with details and diagrams...

On yet another hoof, Blue wasn't that bad, and it would be nice to see her like this more often.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Blue," Obsidian sighed. The old griffon's grumpiness had made Obsidian feel nostalgia - but Blue's? It was just another reminder that the world had changed a lot. One day, she would become Blue's sister in law, and then... and then... by Darkness, it would be a constant reminder.

The tarts were just the right combination of sweet and tart that it was like a jubilee in her mouth; Wart and Midnight obviously felt the same, because both seemed to enjoy savoring their tarts with true relish.

"Blue, your recipe's even better than it was before! That's simply amazing! I have to admit, I didn't think they could get any better than when we were kids, but ohhhhhh..."

Blue still couldn't keep herself from grinning. "Yeah, lots of practice and taste-testing will do that. And uh-uh, I'm still not gonna tell you what I put in 'em, no matter if you're a friggin' hottie or not!"

Midnight actually blushed. "Bugablue, you're priceless!"

The punk mare gave Obsidian and Stalwart a firm look. "And if that nickname ever gets out, I'll know it was one of you two - and there will be noplace in Equstria safe from me, got it?"

Wart nodded, though she hardly looked intimidated, and Obsidian sighed and nodded as well. Good thing Blue was behaving in her typical manner again - otherwise, she would start to worry (far less jokingly than in Mica's case) if Midnight didn't cast some kind of brainwashing spell on Cup's sister, and if he did, then why he didn't force her to be nice to her and Stalwart as well? No fair.

"There weren't any treats like that in Griffon lands, eh?" she tried her hoof at small-talk.

Midnight swallowed the last of his tart, then shook his head at Obsidian. "No, not tarts like Blue's tarts, anyway! A number of griffons love sweets, but it took a long time before they became commonplace, as griffons used to be more hesitant about sharing. Nowadays, there's a lot more sweets to be had - but Blue's tarts have always been delicious!"

"Griffons seem to be a subject you've learned much on, Mid," Wart spoke between bites, "of course, living among them would lend that opportunity, wouldn't it?"

He nodded. "I've studied a LOT of griffon history, actually - there's a lot of surprising things in it, when you look hard enough! Still, can't beat good old Equestria... at least in my book!"

Sadly, Obsidian couldn't say the same about the Crystal Empire - mainly because she didn't really know too much about it, ironically. After all, she was practically imprisoned by her father... but now she didn't really have any good explanation for her lack of knowledge, maybe except the time shortage.

She munched away at her tart. "Did you travel to any other interesting places during your time?"

Midnight finished his treat and grinned. "Actually, I ended up going to a number of different places, all due to Gavin needing things from different lands, and being unable to go himself, due to his health. I've been to Saddle Arabia, The Shettish Isles, The Crystal Empire, the land of Troy, the Arctic Circle, Yakyakistan... and a number of other places as well!"

"Well," Wart remarked, "you've been all over the place, haven't you?"

"I have, but there's really no place like home. If Mom hadn't been so busy, or if maybe my teachers would have been more lenient, or maybe even if I wasn't needed so much by Gavin... well, I probably would've visited here by now. Alas, the best I could do was a letter every six months - and even that can be tricky, depending on the journey or the mail carrier's wingspan and speed." He looked at Blue. "Those were wonderful! I'd like to purchase the whole caseful!"

Blue let go a smile that wasn't anything like her usual cheeky or snarky grin. "For you? Twelve bits - no problem."

Midnight looked at her questioningly. "Only twelve? I think you'r shortsheeting yourself, y'know; I am a prince, after all - it's not like I can't-"

"-afford it, yeah, don't care, still charging twelve, and if you complain again, I'll make it eight!"

"Okay, okay," he laughed, "you win already! Twelve it is, then."

What, Obsidian had to be a breathtaking alicorn for Blue to start liking her too? She didn't even do anything to the mare! Well, Blue got off lucky this time; she still didn't understand that someone who might potentially need Dark Magic sacrifices would be a poor choice of ponies for the punk mare to irritate in such a manner!

Midnight paid for the whole case of raspberry tarts, and after a few more words (and another hug from Blue), he gladly shared them with Obsidian and Wart when they left.

"Okay that was one stop," he grinned, "so next I want to see the Town Hall; I'll bet it hasn't changed a bit!"

"Well, it was besieged during the attack; changes were inevitable, I'm afraid," Obsidian said soberly.

Town Hall was there, intact after the rebuilding of Ponyville and standing proud and bold, easily one of the biggest structures in the small town. Outside of it, right in front, was a statue of a determined mare wearing a worn and familiar hat, a lasso at her side, and a strong smile on her muzzle. The only splash of color on the statue were the three apples of her cutie mark, bright red and cheery, standing out on her flank from where they'd been painted.

The three of them stood there, looking it over in silence for a bit before one of them spoke.

"A number of us called her 'Mama AJ'," Midnight spoke solemnly, "because she was sort of a surrogate mother to all of us. She never judged, never lost her temper and never made us feel unloved. She never lied to us - even if it was for our own good - and she was kind and true."

Wart nodded. "She was one of a kind."

"That she was, Stally... that she was."

Obsidian couldn't help herself but wonder if she could have saved her as well, perhaps if she'd have cast that anti-undead spell earlier. Not that she was blaming herself for anything - after all, she wasn't the one who brought Umbrals in the first place... but still, she did regret the loss, and that never truly had the opportunity to meet her. She could only nod in silence.

From there, Midnight managed to wander the streets until he found himself at the outside of the Carousel Boutique. "Heh, do you remember, Stally? When we spent hours here, giving Sweetie Belle and Rarity grief by playing in the storeroom? How many times did we end up knocking over the clothes horses? Or unraveling so many spools of thread?"

Wart laughed. "Poor Opalescence - she ddn't know what to think of us, but she sure loved to play with that yarn!"

They both laughed, merrily trading memories between each other. They'd had quite a foalhood together, adventuring and playing, making merry even in the strangest of situations. Frankly, it was refreshing to see the usually stoic Stalwart (Stally!) smiling and laughing like this. It made her look so much more like a normal mare, a happy mare. She deserved this. She really did.

They continued to tour the town, Obsidian being treated to many stories that seemed to span the entire length and breadth of the entire town. They laughed and sighed, grinned and frowned, and even had a tear or two at the sight of the Sweet Apple Acres barn, over the horizon.

"How's Butter holding up?" Midnight asked solemnly.

Wart sighed. "She... is her mother's daughter. She has taken over the farm, and does the chores next to Big Macintosh. When Apple Bloom comes back, she'll probably join them until the Crusaders are needed somewhere else. But I don't believe I've seen her smile even once since it happened."

Now it was Midnight's turn to nod in silence.

Memories from their childhood... discussions about other friends... family duties that didn't consist of learning Dark Magic.
In a way, Obsidian was perhaps a wee bit jealous of these ponies - but there was no point in crying over spilt blood; she should be rather happy for Stalwart... and be busily thinking of how to prevent another potentially one-sided fight between Midnight and Clap.

The three of them ended up wandering the town for almost two hours, the whole time Wart and Midnight were chatting amicably, revealing things about each other and the past as they went. Things Siddy learned during this tour-de-memoir:

Eloquence used to be exceedingly fat, on top of his... 'unique' looks.

Butter Churn and Creature Comfort were caught practice kissing behind the bleachers at the buckball court.

Bold Verdana, Headmare Starlight's secretary, used to scare the young ones dressing as a very convincing Nightmare Moon for Nightmare Night.

Peppermint Patty built little clockwork toys for all the other children in town, even at her age.

The cross-eyed mailmare had a daughter who was once Jynx's only friend, until she stopped playing chaos pranks on everyone.

Lemon Custard had been afraid of the dark as a colt.

Shrinking Violet, Fluttershy's middle child, had lost her leg to a rabid manticore - and Wart herself had saved her life.

Gypsy Rover's elder, Skipper, had been the first diamond dog to visit Ponyville since what the dogs referred to as 'The Day of Many Pony Whines'. (Whatever that was...)

Licorice Twist had been a bit slower than the rest of them, but never snitched on them, even when they stole cupcakes from Mrs. Cake's supply.

Pinkie Pie never missed a birthday. Not even once.

... and similar things. The two friends seemed to have reconnected, and they were sharing and laughing together. And, as a loyal friend, Wart kept trying her best not to ignore Obsidian's presence, even asking her questions on occasion. Involving her in the conversation, even if she didn't have much to say.

It was an interesting experience; Obsidian had heard a number of stories since her coming to Ponyville, but usually when she was accompanied by the rest of the group and she could always ask for clarification, change the topic or start chatting with Gypsy, more or less ignoring the rest of the discussion. This time, however, she was practically feeling like an intruder - and didn't even learn anything new about Dark Magic!

Before long, the sun was down and the magic lamps along the streets poofed alight. Midnight nodded, then turned to Wart. "It's been a grand day, Stally - but I do think it's time to go home. Care to escort me to my quarters, milady?"

Wart blushed and giggled. "But of course, milord."

"Well then," Obsidian spoke up, "I bid farewell to you two; I'm sure we'll meet again tomorrow, sooner or later."

Stalwart seemed to be happy, and Obsidian really hoped that it would be yet another one of the 'best days in her life' - to be fair, the little mare had experienced a few of them lately: the day when she became a hero, the day when she graduated into training...

And dear old Lemon was afraid of the dark, eh? It would be a shame if a pony with Grey Magic - both Light and Dark - would use this knowledge for a small prank.

But first things first - and Obsidian really wanted to get back home. She should have asked Mica to write a letter describing Clap's and Midnight's past - that way, she'd have been able to read it without needing to wait for him to show up.

Arriving at the house, she could see a light in the attic; Amethyst was upstairs, so she wouldn't have to worry about her. Tourmaline was probably in his basement room, maybe with Gunther, maybe not. Regardless, after such a long day, it was good to be home.

Inside, the smell of buttered biscuits wafted through the air; maybe Cup had been baking? She could only hope; her belly rumbled, as she'd really had no chance to eat much today.

In the kitchen, there were biscuits in the oven, yes... and a very concerned-looking Cupcake sitting at the table, staring into a cup of milk with a plate of cookie crumbs next to him. He looked up when she came in, and he said, "Okay, what's wrong with Clap? Mica just sort of led her out earlier, and she looked like she was about to start crying. Do you know what happened?"

"Midnight happened," she replied simply before helping herself to some milk as well. Normally, she didn't even feel how hungry she was, a side-effect of King Sombra's education and his numerous 'fastings'. She really started to doubt if they had any real purpose - it was quite probable that he was just trying to save every possible bit, and starving his daughter could help him reduce cash spent on food, after all. "He is still angry for Clap over things she did to him, when they were younger."

Cup's eyes went wide when he heard the name Midnight. "Oh manure," he said, "that explains it."

He got up and went to the oven, taking out an entire tray of delicious-smelling rolls. He set them on the counter, motioning to Siddy. "Help yourself," he said absently, then he sat back down and just seemed to sigh and slump. "Well, it's been a long time coming; I guess it's finally at that point, then."

"It seems you already know what's going on, Cup. Care to explain something more?" By Darkness, these cookies were wonderful. Perfect. Just what she needed at the moment... and with milk, they were even better.

Cupcake nodded, but said nothing for about a solid minute. Then, with a sigh, he began. "Thunderclap was older than many of us, and like I said before, she'd been mercilessly teased as a filly. It... made her angry. An angry that she took out on the rest of us, eventually - more often than not."

"Especially Midnight. Because, of all of us - including Eloquence - he was the weakest... the smallest, even smaller than Wart was... the most easy to pick on, because he had so many bad traits."

He sighed. "She just... lit into him, you know? She was merciless, she was cruel, she was... well, a bully. She'd hit him when the adults ween't looking, she'd sit on him and make him beg for her to move, she'd even managed to shave off his mane on at least three separate occasions, never mind that she soaked his tail in skunk juice at least twice."

"Day after day, he was her favorite target; each one of us had dealings with her, but only Midnight saw the full depth of her anger. To the point where he once tried to stand up to her... and she beat him down so badly, she broke his left wing."

"And Midnight never told anyone who had done these things to him; he told his mother he'd accidentally hit a tree while showing off, but even she found it difficult to believe. It was part of what led her to send him away to Griffonstone; he wouldn't tell her who was hurting him, and she had zero proof. So, away he went."

Cup looked almost exhausted, just from telling the tale. "It was a couple of years later when she finally saw the error of her ways, and stopped being a bully. She even started going out of her way to do nice things to make it up to us. Mostly Mica's suggestions, but there were a few things she did on her own that... well, that told us she was serious about not being who she once was. It took time, but we all eventually forgave her, and she even ended up being a good friend... but Midnight never did get to see that part."

The son a princess - the prince himself - being weakest and smallest? Being a target? Equestria worked in mysterious ways, it seemed - considering that his mother was the ruling overlord of the entire land, he should be... well... guarded. Or maybe even separated from the other foals, especially after bullying started. It wasn't just a mere act against friendship, or just a private matter between foals - it was treason against the state itself! Who would think that Clap was such a dangerous criminal?

Obsidian shook her head. "That's absolutely absurd; as far as Midnight should be concerned, the old Clap practically vanished. How long can one hold a grudge?" Obsidian, being herself, sadly never had an opportunity to do that... she had once been close to holding a grudge against Lemon, but he turned out to be far more useful and friendly she thought initially, after all. "We have to do something. We can't have a crown prince threatening a hero of Equestria, after all... hopefully, he'll be more reasonable after a good sleep."

Cupcake sighed. "I hope you're right, Siddy... because if he hasn't let the past go, he's now in a position to bring great harm to our friend - heck, she's probably crying her eyes out right now. She looked miserable when I last saw her... and you know Clap; she takes EVERYTHING with the full force of her personality."

He stood up. "But we have to be careful - if Auntie Twilight discovers the truth, she might be inclined to do something bad to Clap, like exile her, or..." he gulped, "... t-t-turn her into a statue. We just can't let that happen!" He looked at Siddy with fear in his eyes. "So... how do we approach this? Do we try to explain things to Midnight? Maybe try to let him know she's a different pony now?"

Obsidian thought it over for a moment. So, Princess Twilight could be, potentially, turned into an enemy too, eh?

"Fine. First, Stalwart will need to start a conspiracy among the guards. Then, we need to make a quick, bloodless coup to oust Princess Twilight from the throne and..." No, that was a bad plan - the next natural succesor in line to the throne was Midnight. Besides they didn't have any support among ponies and were just a bunch of teenagers.

"... just jesting, of course. However, do you really think that Princess Twilight would hurt Clap? Our lovely, heroic Clap, who saved Equestria and is truly sorry for things she has done before?"

Cup gave her a worried look. "I hope you're right. I just hope we can convince him to give her another chance; there's a LOT of pain in his past from her, and we may have our work cut out for us." He looked at Siddy, then yawned and stretched. "So... I guess this means we should go snuggle up and grab some shuteye while we can, right?"

He gave a tired smile. "At least that's something nice coming out of today - a good snuggle with you always makes me feel better."

Maybe talking face-to-face with Midnight, alone, would allow Obsidian to find out how much he knew about Dark Magic and what he wanted to do with it. It was obvious he was holding quite a grudge against Thunderclap - but could he hold any others? Maybe for his mother, for abandoning him to the griffons? Maybe other bullies as well?

This could be dangerous. Even if he disliked Clap alone, Obsidian had to do something about this. Good-looking alicorn princes with powers of darkness... heh, her father would instantly regret not considering his daughters to be his real children, considering how much he could gain from such a relationship.

"I hoped we could do it before the effects of the spa faded - too bad you were so busy," Obsidian sighed as she got up to clean up after herself. "But yes - that's the best thing we can do right now."

To think that this day was so nice... until Midnight met Clap. Obsidian had a real stroke of luck or pure genius that she didn't take the pegasus with her and Stalwart to greet the young prince. "Strangely, Clap was very flirty with Midnight at the start, though Mica was right behind her - is that normal?" She remembered suddenly that small thing had bothered her.

Cup gave a light chuckle. "Actually, she just likes to show off - something about how she enjoys seeing others admiring her. I mean, we are talking about the proudest pegasus since Rainbow Dash, after all... but she doesn't mean anything by it. She just ikes being the center of attention, as I'm sure you've noticed, right?"

They made their way to the cozy bedroom they'd been sleeping in, and Cup slid onto the bed, burying his muzzle in his pillow before turning over and patting the mattress next to him. "Okay, after everything today, I think we both need a nice, warm hug." He held his forelegs out to her, smiling sweetly. "Free nuzzles, right here!"

Oh, that made a bit more sense - she didn't have to follow Clap's example, then. After all, Obsidian never really had to do any extra work to be in the spotlight; it came more or less naturally... and/or accidentially.

But first things first.

Obsidian climbed into bed, embracing Cupcake somewhat more tenderly than she did during last few days. After all, crushes were at least somewhat based on physical attraction, and right now she needed this kind of contact. It felt... nice. After having her first real problem in a few weeks, she really didn't want to think about whether or not this was a good idea to live together. Especially with those rumors...

Cupcake snuggled her lovingly, and nestled his muzzle against her chest, sighing contentedly. He raised a hoof to stroke at her shoulder tenderly, his smile just visible through her chest fur as he let out a contented sigh.

"Siddy," he murmured into her, "I've never wanted to be so close to anypony as much as you; your smile, your attitude, your charm, your warmth... I'm really glad we got to know each other. Nopony has ever meant so much to me..." He gave her a slight, gentle squeeze - the kind that made her feel warm and tingly.

"I love you," he whispered into her chest.

Well, her smile might not have been appearing on her muzzle as often as it was for average ponies, but she was smiling far more often than before meeting Cupcake. Her attitude could still use some work. Her charm, hmm... in this case Cupcake hit the right spot; she knew that, as a princess, she was grand! Warmth, though? Obsidian never thought that she possessed such a trait.

"I love you too, Cuppy," she replied, responding exactly with the same words she'd had for him in Onyx's Nightmare Spell, which felt like quite a long time ago. She squeezed him a bit harder, settling against him as he'd done to her, and closing her eyes to simply savor the welcome contact.

Author's Note:

History catches up to the best of us; you can run on for a long time, but sooner or later, it'll cut you down. For those of you who had to endure bullying for whatever reason, the past does tend to catch up with folks, more often than not - and sometimes, when it does, it comes with a fury. However, forgiveness is a trait that shines among the shadows - and holding a grudge can bring more trouble than it's worth.

And I still love writing about Cup & Siddy snuggling; I find it diabetes-inducingly sweet, and it always brings a smile to my face to write about them being cute together. Hopefully, you folks enjoy it too.

'Bugablue'... *chuckle*...

Comments

[Mr cold ghost]

Yep cup and obsidian are my favorite ship in this story. Thanks for the update!